Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

About: Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz is a education organization based out in Bydgoszcz, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Luminescence & Population. The organization has 1109 authors who have published 2923 publications receiving 19548 citations. The organization is also known as: Casimir the Great University & Uniwersytet Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy.

Exposure Assessment to Mycotoxins in a Portuguese Fresh Bread Dough Company by Using a Multi-Biomarker Approach.

Abstract: Mycotoxins are toxic mold metabolites that can persist in environment long after the fungi species responsible for their production disappear. Critical workplace for mycotoxins presence has already been studied and nowadays it is possible to recognize that exposure to mycotoxins through inhalation occurs due to their presence in dust. This study aimed to assess occupational co-exposure to multiple mycotoxins in a fresh bread dough company, an occupational setting not studied until now. Occupational exposure assessment to mycotoxins was done using a LC-MS/MS urinary multi-biomarker approach. Twenty-one workers and nineteen individuals that were used as controls participated in the study. Workers/controls (spot-urine) and environment (settled dust) samples were collected and analyzed. Concerning workers group, DON-GlcA, and OTA were the most prevalent biomarkers (>LOD), 66% and 90.5%, respectively. In the control group, OTA was also one of the most detected (68%) followed by CIT (58%) and DON-GlcA (58%). DON was the mycotoxin measured in high amounts in the settled dust sample (58.2 ng/g). Both workers and controls are exposed to several mycotoxins simultaneously. The workers group, due to their high contact with flour dust, revealed a higher exposure to DON. Considering these results, risk management measures must be applied including specific and adequate health surveillance programs in order to avoid exposure and consequently the associated health consequences.

Formation of ultracold SrYb molecules in an optical lattice by photoassociation spectroscopy: theoretical prospects

Abstract: State-of-the-art ab initio techniques have been applied to compute the potential energy curves for the SrYb molecule in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation for the electronic ground state and the first fifteen excited singlet and triplet states. All the excited state potential energy curves were computed using the equation of motion approach within the coupled-cluster singles and doubles framework and large basis-sets, while the ground state potential was computed using the coupled cluster method with single, double, and noniterative triple excitations. The leading long-range coefficients describing the dispersion interactions at large interatomic distances are also reported. The electric transition dipole moments have been obtained as the first residue of the polarization propagator computed with the linear response coupled-cluster method restricted to single and double excitations. Spin-orbit coupling matrix elements have been evaluated using the multireference configuration interaction method restricted to single and double excitations with a large active space. The electronic structure data were employed to investigate the possibility of forming deeply bound ultracold SrYb molecules in an optical lattice in a photoassociation experiment using continuous-wave lasers. Photoassociation near the intercombination line transition of atomic strontium into the vibrational levels of the strongly spin-orbit mixed b(3)Σ(+), a(3)Π, A(1)Π, and C(1)Π states with subsequent efficient stabilization into the v'' = 1 vibrational level of the electronic ground state is proposed. Ground state SrYb molecules can be accumulated by making use of collisional decay from v'' = 1 to v'' = 0. Alternatively, photoassociation and stabilization to v'' = 0 can proceed via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage provided that the trapping frequency of the optical lattice is large enough and phase coherence between the pulses can be maintained over at least tens of microseconds.

Epitaxial growth of gadolinium and lutetium-based aluminum perovskite thin films for X-ray micro-imaging applications

Abstract: Our work is related to the liquid phase epitaxy-based development of new scintillating screens for high-resolution X-ray imaging. We successfully grew undoped and Tb, Eu and Ce-doped GdAlO3 as well as GdxLu1−xAlO3 single crystalline films on YAlO3 substrates. We studied crystallization conditions as a function of melt composition, growth temperature and lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate. The film composition was measured by using an electron microprobe and the morphology of the film surface was studied by scanning electron microscopy. X-Ray diffraction was used to characterize the crystal structure and the mismatch between the film and the substrate. In addition, the light yield of the Eu3+-doped films, as well as the obtained spatial resolution show that GdxLu1−xAlO3 may advantageously compete with existing thin film scintillators in particular energy ranges.

Dam and reservoir removal projects: a mix of social-ecological trends and cost-cutting attitudes.

Abstract: The removal of dams and reservoirs may seem to be an unforeseen and sometimes controversial step in water management. The removal of barriers may be different for each country or region, as each differs greatly in terms of politics, economy and social and cultural awareness. This paper addresses the complex problem of removing dams on rivers and their connected reservoirs. We demonstrate the scales of the changes, including their major ecological, economic, and social impacts. Arguments and approaches to this problem vary across states and regions, depending on the political system, economy and culture, as confirmed by the qualitative and quantitative intensities of the dam removal process and its global geographical variation. The results indicate that the removal of dams on rivers and their connected reservoirs applies predominantly to smaller structures (< 2.5 m). The existing examples provide an important conclusion that dams and reservoirs should be considered with regard to the interrelations between people and the environment. Decisions to deconstruct hydraulic engineering structures (or, likewise, to construct them) have to be applied with scrutiny. Furthermore, all decision-making processes have to be consistent and unified and thus developed to improve the lack of strategies currently implemented across world.