The influence of powdered fruits of Foeniculum capillaceum Gilib. on the fecundity ofSitophilus oryzae was examined. The powder was added in paper bags to the rearing of the insects to prevent a direct contact. The sign i fi cant reduction of the fecundity of females was recorded. The sequent effect of activity of the powder was also observed. It resulted in the decrease of the fecundity of offspring generation - F2 reared on wheat grains without the powder.

Azadirachtin is the most active substance separated from Azadirachta indica. It acts destructively on numerous species of insects and mites. The aim of the presented investigations was to determine the effect of azadirachtin on one of the most dangerous pests of cabbage plants, Pieris brassicae, and on its natural enemy, Apanteles glomerarus. The results of the field observations did not show any repellent effect of azadirachtin relating to laying their eggs cabbage butterflies. However, a significant effect of the azadiraehtin solution on reduction the number of cabbage butterfly caterpillars (it was more distinctly marked in respect to young larva stages) as well as on limited feeding by caterpillars. No negative influence of azadirachtin on a parasite of Pieris brassicae caterpillars, Apanteles glomeratus was distinctly shown.

The research into the occurrence of herbivorous heteroptera of Orthops genus on Sosnowski’s hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden.) was carried out over 1999–2002 in the vicinity of Bydgoszcz. The analysis of the faunistic material collected of Heteroptera order showed the occurrence of 3 species where dominant heteroptera were represented by: Orthops campestris L. (48.57%) and Orthops kalmi L.(44.91%), while Orthops basalis Costa was scarce. The maximum abundance of these species coincided with full flowering and the beginning of hogweed fruit formation.

Water extractsfrom selected Geraniaceae plants, to which paraffin oil was added as adjuvant, were tested. It was observed that the plant extracts researched limited Colorado potato beetle feeding and development and adding adjuvant increased the effects. The highest antifeedant activity towards Colorado potato beetlesand their larvae wasobs erved in extractsobtained from Pelargonium × hortorum Bailey and Geranium pusillum L. The extract from Pelargonium × hortorum Bailey added to food showed a negative effect on the development of female reproductive organs and embryo development and showed the highest effectiveness in field conditions.

The aim of this study was to provide an estimation of climate variability in the Hornsund area in Southern Spitsbergen in the period 1976-2100. The climatic variables were obtained from the Polar-CORDEX initiative in the form of time series of daily air temperature and precipitation derived from four global circulation models (GCMs) following representative concentration pathways (RCP) RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios. In the first stage of the analysis, simulations for the reference period from 1979 to 2005 were compared with observations at the Polish Polar Station Hornsund from the same period of time. In the second step, climatic projections were derived and monthly and annual means/sums were analysed as climatic indices. Following the standard methods of trend analysis, the changes of these indices over three time periods - the reference period 1976-2005, the near-future period 2021-2050, and far-future period 2071-2100 - were examined. The projections of air temperature were consistent. All analysed climate models simulated an increase of air temperature with time. Analyses of changes at a monthly scale indicated that the largest increases were estimated for winter months (more than 11°C for the far future using the RCP 8.5 scenario). The analyses of monthly and annual sums of precipitation also indicated increasing tendencies for changes with time, with the differences between mean monthly sums of precipitation for the near future and the reference period similar for each months. In the case of changes between far future and reference periods, the highest increases were projected for the winter months.

In the years I 999-2000 the studies on the population of true bugs colonizing the inflorescences of quinoa (Chenopodiwn quinoa Willd.) were conducted in Chrząstowo near Bydgoszcz. The dominating species was Lygus rugulipennis Popp. The species was recorded in 81.44% in 1999 and 83.64% in 2000 of all collected true bugs.

In 1997 and 1998, insects settling cultures of goats rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) at Mochelek were caught. Amongst ground beetles the dominating species were: Pterostichus melanarius lll., Carabus auratus L., Harpalus rufipes De Geer, Harpalus aeneus F., and Bembidion lampros Hbst. and Harp alus frolichi Sturm. were subdominants.

Binary vapour-liquid equilibrium of thymoquinone and carbon dioxide at the isothermal conditions was carried out at temperature 323.15 K and pressures from 6 to 10 MPa. The experimental data were fitted to the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state. Results could be used for selection of process parameters in separation of volatiles from raw oil or for evaluation of existing separation technologies.

The role of seeds is crucial in tree production and development, and the future of forests depends on them. But what impact is climate change having on the seed life cycle? Will the trees that grow out of them manage to survive and adapt to the new environment?

W pracy analizowano wyniki pomiarów laboratoryjnych wykonanych na próbkach o zróżnicowanej litologii. Głównym celem było sprawdzenie, jak zmieniają się wartości prędkości fal sprężystych i dynamicznych modułów sprężystych w trójosiowym stanie naprężenia. Pomiary wykonano z wykorzystaniem nowatorskiego zestawu będącego na wyposażeniu Katedry Geofizyki, WGGiOŚ, AGH. Zestaw pomiarowy składa się z komory ciśnieniowej, prasy hydraulicznej i dźwigu oraz generatora fal sprężystych i specjalistycznego oprogramowania. Umożliwia pomiary prędkości fal podłużnych P i poprzecznych S wraz z pełną charakterystyką naprężeniowo-odkształceniową w trójosiowym stanie naprężenia. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki pomiarów uzyskane dla ciśnień okólnych odpowiednio dobranych dla głębokości występowania oraz wieku poszczególnych próbek. Pomiary wykonywano do momentu zniszczenia próbki. Wykonano analizę zmian prędkości przy stopniowym osiowym obciążaniu próbki. W efekcie uzyskano prędkości fal sprężystych oraz charakterystyki naprężeniowo-odkształceniowe. Uzyskano wyższe wartości prędkości fal sprężystych przy symulowanych ciśnieniach złożowych niż podczas pomiarów w warunkach atmosferycznych. Wyniki zestawiono z pozostałymi, dostępnymi rezultatami badań laboratoryjnych, np. porowatościami wyznaczonymi z eksperymentów NMR i porozymetrii rtęciowej. Równoczesne pomiary prędkości fal sprężystych P i S oraz charakterystyka naprężeniowo-odkształceniowa przy symulowanym ciśnieniu górotworu są efektywnym narzędziem do odtworzenia w laboratorium warunków złożowych i uzyskania wiarygodnych wartości dynamicznych i statycznych parametrów sprężystych i geomechanicznych.

Rola nasion jest kluczowa w procesach produkcji i rozwoju drzew. To od nich zależy przyszłość lasów. Jaki wpływ na cykl życiowy nasion mają zmiany klimatu? Czy drzewa, które z nich wyrosną, przetrwają i adaptują się do nowego środowiska?

Chemical heat pumps (CHP) use reversible exothermal and endothermal chemical reactions to increase the temperature of working fluids. In comparison to the “classical” vapour compression chemical heat pumps, CHP enables us to achieve significantly higher temperatures of a heated medium which is crucial for the potential application, e.g. for production of superheated steam. Despite the advantages presented, currently, there are no installations using CHP for lowgrade waste heat recovery available on the market. The scaling up of industrial processes is still one of the greatest challenges of process engineering. The aim of the theoretical and experimental concept study presented here was to evaluate a method of reclaiming energy from low temperature waste streams and converting it into a saturated steam of temperature from 120 to 150 ◦C, which can be useful in industry. A chemical heat pump concept, based on the dilution and concentration of phosphoric acid, was used to test the method in the laboratory scale. The heat of dilution and energy needed for water evaporation from the acid solutionwere experimentally measured. The cycle of successive processes of dilution and concentration has been experimentally confirmed. A theoretical model of the chemical heat pump was tested and coefficient of performance measured.

The thermal state of permafrost is a crucial indicator of environmental changes occurring in the Arctic. The monitoring of ground temperatures in Svalbard has been carried out in instrumented boreholes, although only few are deeper than 10 m and none are located in southern part of Spitsbergen. Only one of them, Janssonhaugen, located in central part of the island, provides the ground temperature data down to 100 m. Recent studies have proved that significant warming of the ground surface temperatures, observed especially in the last three decades, can be detected not only just few meters below the surface, but reaches much deeper layers. The aim of this paper is evaluation of the permafrost state in the vicinity of the Polish Polar Station in Hornsund using the numerical heat transfer model CryoGrid 2. The model is calibrated with ground temperature data collected from a 2 m deep borehole established in 2013 and then validated with data from the period 1990-2014 from five depths up to 1 m, measured routinely at the Hornsund meteorological station. The study estimates modelled ground thermal profile down to 100 m in depth and presents the evolution of the ground thermal regime in the last 25 years. The simulated subsurface temperature trumpet shows that multiannual variability in that period can reach 25 m in depth. The changes of the ground thermal regime correspond to an increasing trend of air temperatures observed in Hornsund and general warming across Svalbard.

Fresh water is essential for life. More and more countries around the world are facing scarcity of drinking water, which affects over 50% of the global population. Due to human activity such as industrial development and the increasing greenhouse effect, the amount of drinking water is drastically decreasing. To address this issue, various methods of sea and brackish water desalination are used. In this study, an energy analysis (specific energy consumption, SEC) of two laboratory membrane processes, reverse osmosis (RO) and pervaporation (PV), was conducted. A model feed system saline water at 0.8, and 3.5% wt. NaCl was used. The efficiency and selectivity of membranes used in PV and RO were examined, and power of the devices was measured. The desalination processes were found to have a high retention factor (over 99%) for both PV and RO. For PV, the permeate fluxes were small but they increased with increasing feed flow rate, process temperature and salt content in the feed. The calculated SEC values for both laboratory processes ranged from 2 to 70 MWh/m ³. Lowering the process temperature, which consumes 30 to 60% of the total energy used in the PV process, can be an important factor in reducing energy consumption.