Polish Academy Research Articles

Fotografie Alfreda Silkiewicza ze zbioru Karola Lanckorońskiego wykonane z okazji wizyty arcyksięcia Rudolfa w Tarnopolu jako przykład materiałów źródłowych do badań dziejów Galicji i jej mieszkańców

Alfred Silkiewicz’s photographs from the collection of Karol Lanckoroński taken during Archduke Rudolph’s visit to Ternopil as an example of source materials for researching the history of Galicia and its inhabitants In 1929 Karol Lanckoroński (1848–1933) donated his collection of scientific photographs to the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among the photographs of works of art and archeological relics in that collection we can also find prints of ethnographic nature, including photographs by Alfred Silkiewicz, a photographer with connections in Ternopil. On 6 July 1887 the heir to the throne Archduke Rudolph visited Ternopil and saw an ethnographic exhibition designed specially for his visit in the municipal garden. The central figures of the exhibition were residents of minor towns of Eastern Galicia brought to Ternopil, dressed in regional costumes. The text focuses on the circumstances of taking those photographs and on their significance as a source for researching the history of Galicia and its residents.

Fryderyk Papée (1856–1940). Lwowski i krakowski bibliotekarz

Fryderyk Papée (1856–1940). The librarian of Lviv and Kraków The paper presents an eminent Polish librarian and historian Fryderyk Papée (1856–1940). He was a long-time staff member and later deputy head of the University Library in Lviv. In the years 1905–1926 he was the head of the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków. The paper discusses Papée’s services as a reformer of those two libraries as well as the Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Czartoryski Library in Kraków. The author also presents Papée’s contribution to erecting new buildings of the University Library in Lviv and the Jagiellonian Library.

Korespondencja Józefa Sebastiana Pelczara do Stanisława Tomkowicza z lat 1886–1916 ze zbiorów Biblioteki Naukowej PAU i PAN w Krakowie

Bishop Józef Sebastian Pelczar’s letters of 1886–1916 to Stanisław Tomkowicz from the collection of the Scientific Library of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow In the Scientific Library of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Polish Academy of Sciences in Cracow there are rich collections of correspondence of famous people, including those connected with Przemyśl. In this paper the authors analyze 12 letters of Bishop Józef Sebastian Pelczar to Stanisław Tomkowicz of the years 1886–1916. They concern various matters: from religious art to the maintenance works in the Przemyśl Cathedral to political matters. They are a valuable testimony to the extensive interests of the Przemyśl Bishop.

From new documents to the biography of Innokentii Gizel

The publication presents four documents from the collections of the Manuscripts Department of the Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow (Poland), which have not yet been put into scientific circulation. The accompanying text analyses these documents and provides unpublished data on the biographies of prominent seventeenth-century church and cultural figures, graduates of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy I. Gisel and A. Radyvylovsky.

Air pollution and cardiovascular mortality in Poland: a panel time-series analysis of 80 million person-years (EP-PARTICLES study)

Abstract Introduction Air pollution is one of the leading environmental risk factors affecting the population worldwide. Studies so far mostly analysed urban and industrial areas excluding smaller towns and villages due to a lack of monitoring stations and recognition of these areas as potentially free from pollution. Our analysis focuses on Eastern Poland, one of the poorest regions of the EU, with a population of nearly 8 million people with almost half living in rural areas. We investigate the impact of "Polish smog" a new type of air pollution which - due to its composition and the conditions in which it is formed - is characterized by extremely adverse cardiovascular health effects. Purpose Analysis of the short and mid-term impact of air pollution on cardiovascular (CV) mortality. Methods We collected daily data on air pollution from the Voivodeship Inspectorate for Environmental Protection for the years 2010-2020 and used an algorithm developed in collaboration with the Department of Atmospheric and Climate Modeling at the Polish Academy of Sciences to model the average daily concentrations of pollutants in locations without available data. Causes of death with ICD-10 codes from I00 to I99 were extracted for analysis. We estimated county-specific associations of air pollution concentration with mortality using panel standard time-series with Poisson distribution regression models, adjusting for weather conditions, and short- and long-term trends in mortality. Odds ratios (ORs) with interquartile ranges (IQRs) were reported for each type of air pollutant and lag structure was analysed. Results We observed 831,246 deaths, including 377,344 due to CV diseases. The overall standardized death rate (SDR) was 533.3 cases/100,000 inhabitants/year, with an increasing trend over each year. The IQR increase in concentrations of PM2.5 (OR=1.034, 95%CI 1.029-1.04, P<0.001), benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) (OR=1.015, 95%CI 1.011-1.02; P<0.001), SO2 (OR=1.008, 95%CI 1.006-1.01; P<0.001), and NO2 (OR=1.013, 95%CI 1.01-1.016; P<0.001) were associated with an increase in CV mortality on the day of the exposure and this effect was persistent up to LAG6. The detrimental influence of pollutants was also observed in the mid-term [lag0-30 (BaP-OR=1.028, 95%CI 1.022-1.034; P<0.001), (PM2.5-OR=1.056, 95%CI 1.047-1.064; P<0.001), (SO2-OR=1.014, 95%CI 1.011-1.017; P<0.001), (NO2-OR=1.037, 95%CI 1.031-1.043; P<0.001)]. Conclusion The mortality rate due to CV diseases continues to rise. Our study highlights the negative impact of air pollution, both in the short and long term. Areas previously assumed to be free from pollution may actually be at high risk, emphasizing the need for careful monitoring of air quality. Further research should focus on identifying the most vulnerable areas and developing effective strategies to prevent the adverse health effects of air pollution on public health.

BULGARIAN STUDIES IN THE POLISH LINGUISTICS TODAY: A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE

The object of this article is a number of Bulgarian linguistic research studies in Poland from the beginning of the 21st century until today. The aim is to present the new trends manifested in them, related to the aspect of research and the research methodology. The motive for proceeding to such an overview is dictated by the understanding that knowing the new realities in the Bulgarian studies helps in planning and implementing the policy of the Bulgarian institutions regarding the cooperation with Poland. A review of the most significant publications of recent years is made, which shows that in the Polish Bulgarian studies there is a reorientation of the academic interest - from history to modernity, from the language system to communication and from "pure" linguistics to cultural and cognitive linguistics. It is also characteristic that most of the studies are conducted in a comparative Bulgarian-Polish plan. As a proof of this statement, the most significant publications of Polish researchers of the last two decades are commented on. Among these are scientists from the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw University, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Silesian University in Katowice, Mariа Curie-Sklodovska University in Lublin, etc. This reorientation of the academic interest was influenced both by the world processes of globalization and scientific international integration, and to a large extent by the scientific traditions and modern scientific schools existing in Poland.

Application of LiMgPO4 crystal for proton beam quality control in radiotherapy.

The radioluminescence (RL) emitted by LiMgPO4 detector under proton beam irradiation was investigated in real time at the radiotherapy facility in the Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow. The facility uses protons accelerated by the AIC-144 isochronous cyclotron up to the energy of 60MeV. The measurements of RL were carried out using a remote optical fiber device with a luminophore detector and photomultiplier located at opposite ends of the optical fiber. A thin slice of LiMgPO4 doped with Tm (1.2mol%) crystal was exposed to the proton beam. The tested detector allowed for the measurement of proton beam current, flux fluence and determination of proton beam time structure parameters. The investigation of LiMgPO4 crystal showed its high sensitivity, fast reaction time to irradiation and possibility of application as the detector for control of proton beam parameters.

Inductive sensor for measuring linear displacement and velocity – Version with stationary magnetic core

The article describes a displacement sensor designed and manufactured in the Rock Deformation Laboratory of the Strata Mechanics Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences for cooperation with the GTA-10 triaxial cell. This sensor measures the displacement and velocity of the strength machine's piston.The sensor has the form of a single-layer induction coil made of spring steel with a fixed magnetic core cooperating with the LC oscillator. The coil elongates during measurement without friction, causing oscillation frequency changes, unlike the LVDT sensor, where core movements produce a voltage signal. In this way, a displacement-frequency transducer is realised.The presence of the core linearizes the transducer's displacement-frequency characteristic and increases its sensitivity in this case. Moreover, the core increases the inductance of the sensor, which allows the increase in the capacitance of the resonant circuit and thus, the stability of the oscillations, which are influenced by the parasitic capacitances of the connections. In this way, a resolution of the transducer of less than 500 nm was achieved, with a measuring range of 70 mm (relative resolution 105). The new inductive sensor replaced the resistance displacement sensor, which had been used previously.The article shows the mathematical background of the sensor functioning as a displacement-frequency transducer, its structure and examples of its application.

Wandering Ideas: Circulations of Radical Social Thought in the long 19th century

ABSTRACT This article is an introduction to a special issue on ‘Wandering Ideas: Circulations of Radical Social Thought in the long 19th century’, which contributes to the ongoing debates on the revolutionary and socialist ideas on the move before the First World War. Collected papers touch upon, chiefly, such countries as Argentina, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, as well as the Russian and Ottoman Empires. Contributions in their previous forms were presented and discussed at the workshop held at the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, on October 21–22, 2022. This introduction provides a concise overview of methods applied in research on circulations of sociopolitical ideas in the past and currently, as well as proposes a prospect for grounding them within the frames of imperial history.

Changes in the area of early childhood education. Collage of theory and practice

The aim of the article is to show contemporary changes in various areas of early childhood education, including the opinions of educational theorists and practitioners participating in the INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE "EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN THE COLLAGE OF THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE NEW REALITY". The conference was organised by the Institute of Pedagogy of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the Elementary Education Section of the Committee of Pedagogical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Alanine/EPR dosimetry for mailed intercomparison at ocular proton therapy facilities-preliminary results for three centres for irradaitions at CCB IFJ PAN eyeline.

Quality control of therapeutic photon beams in the form of postal dose audits based on passive dosemeters is widely used in photon radiotherapy. On the other hand, no standardised dosimetry audit programme for proton centres has been established in Europe so far. We evaluated alanine/EPR dosimetry systems developed at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italy), the Hasselt Universiteit (Belgium) and the Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) for their applicability as a potential tool for routine mailed dose audits of passively scattered therapeutic proton beams. The evaluation was carried out in the form of an intercomparison. Dosemeters were irradiated in the 70MeV proton beam at ocular proton therapy facility in the Cyclotron Centre Bronowice at the Henryk Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics Polish Academy of Sciences in Krakow. A very good agreement was found between the dose measured by three laboratories and the delivered dose determined with an ionisation chamber. This, together with the inherent properties of alanine, such as non-destructive readout, tissue equivalence, weak energy dependence, dose rate independence and insignificant fading, makes alanine a good candidate for a dosemeter used in postal auditing in proton ocular radiotherapy.

Lifestyle and the risk of acute coronary event: a retrospective study of patients after myocardial infarction.

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviours that may contribute to the development of disorders leading to MI include consuming foods with a high glycaemic load and excessive supply of saturated fats, especially trans fats. Limiting the consumption of simple and refined carbohydrates, such as sweets, sweet drinks, white bread, or white pasta, has a positive effect on the lipid profile by lowering the concentration of triglycerides. Eliminating simple sugars, especially fructose, prevents the deposition of visceral adipose tissue. The study included 116 patients of the Silesian Centre for Heart Diseases in Zabrze (SCCS; Poland), with their average age being 59.45 ± 11.54 years, staying in the SCCS due to MI, from March to November 2022. The comprehensive assessment of diet quality included 72 patients: 15 women and 57 men. The research tool was the KomPAN questionnaire for examining dietary views and habits, developed by the Committee on Human Nutrition Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences, evaluating the diet in the year preceding the study. The following three indicators were used to assess the diet quality: pro-Healthy Diet Index (pHDI), non-Healthy Diet Index (nHDI) and Diet Quality Index (DQI). Most patients ate white wheat bread several times a day (39.66% of patients, with a higher percentage in men than in women - 42.35% vs. 32.26%), and white rice, fine-ground groats and pasta once a week (40.52% of patients, including 41.17% of men and 38.71% of women). Legume seeds were predominantly eaten 1-3 times a month (51.73% of responses, with comparable percentages of men and women, i.e., 51.76% vs. 51.62%), vegetables several times a week (42.25% of responses, including more women than men, i.e., 54.84% vs. 37.64%), and fruit once a day (40.52% of responses, including more men than women: 45.89% vs. 25.81%). The results of our assessment of individual behaviours of the whole group may indicate errors in the diet. The value of the pro-Healthy Diet Index appears to confirm this fact, while the non-Healthy Diet Index and Diet Quality Index values do not clearly demonstrate its potential adverse impact on health. These limitations of our study may be due to differences in the size of the study population and the size of the population included in the comprehensive diet assessment. Therefore, it seems necessary to conduct further research.

40th International Conference MSA'2022 joined with MASEP

The jubilee 40th International Conference MSA'2022 joined with MASEP took place on November 7–9, 2022, at the Training and Conference Center of the University of Lodz, Kopcińskiego 16/18 St. The conference was organized by the Department of Statistical Methods of the University of Lodz. This edition of the conference was organized in cooperation with the MASEP (Measurement and Assessment of Social and Economic Phenomena) conference. The conference was co-organized by: the Institute of Statistics and Demography (University of Lodz), the Department of Economic and Social Statistics (University of Lodz), the Statistics and Econometrics Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Polish Statistical Association, branch in Lodz and the Statistical Office in Lodz. The honorary patronage over the conference was taken by: Rector of the University of Lodz – prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska and the President of Statistics Poland – Dominik Rozkrut. The substantive partner of the conference was also StatSoft Polska Sp. z o. o.

Unlocking archival maps of the Hornsund fjord area for monitoring glaciers of the Sørkapp Land peninsula, Svalbard

Abstract. Archival maps are an important source of information on the state of glaciers in polar zones and are very often basic research data for analysing changes in glacier mass, extent, and geometry. However, basing a quantitative analysis on archival maps requires that they be standardised and precisely matched against modern-day cartographic materials. This can be achieved effectively using techniques and tools from the field of geographic information systems (i.e. GIS). The objective of this research was to accurately register archival topographic maps of the area surrounding the Hornsund fjord (southern Spitsbergen) published by the Polish Academy of Sciences and to evaluate their potential for use in studying changes in the geometry of glaciers in the north-western part of the Sørkapp Land peninsula in the following periods: 1961–1990, 1990–2010, and 1961–2010. The area occupied by the investigated glaciers in the north-western Sørkapp Land decreased in the years 1961–2010 by 45.6 km2, i.e. by slightly over 16 %. The rate of glacier area change varied over time and amounted to 0.85 km2 yr−1 in the period 1961–1990 and sped up to 1.05 km2 yr−1 after 1990. This process was accompanied by glacier surface lowering by about 90–100 m for the largest land-terminating glaciers on the peninsula and by up to more than 120 m for tidewater glaciers (above the line marking their 1984 extents). The dataset is now available from the Zenodo web portal: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4573129 (Dudek and Pętlicki, 2021).

체제 전환 이후 폴란드 학계에서 논의된 중유럽 지역 명칭 연구

The region called ‘Eastern Europe’ in Korea lies between three European seas - the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. In the Polish academic world, this region was called Central Europe, Central-Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Southern Europe, or several other ways, depending on time and conditions. And each of these names had justification to be called that. In this paper, the authors will focus on the use of the term ‘Central Europe’ and make the argument. Based on the research achievements of the Institute of Political Studies, the Polish Academy of Sciences, the current discourse in Polish academic world is the subject of this thesis. Numerous attempts have been made to define the concept of Central Europe in Polish literature on international relations. In this process, controversy often arose over which countries should be included in the Central European region. In this paper, while developing the thesis on Central European terminology, it was divided into four stages by period. With the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian War in 2022, the concept of ‘Central-Eastern Europe’, which was widely used in Polish academic world, began to lose its reason for existence. In the authors’ opinion, it seems logical to refer to the territory of the Three Seas Initiative as Central Europe. In other words, we conclude that it is reasonable to call Central Europe the group of 12 countries of the Three Seas Initiative, which are members of the European Union.

Family Functioning and Psychological Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies during Covid-19 Lockdown in Pakistan

This study was designed to explore the relationship between family functioning, coping strategies, and psychological well-being (PWB). It is hypothesized that coping strategies would mediate the relationship between family functioning and PWB. Data were collected from participants during lockdown (N = 224) including male (n=97) and female (n=127) by using a convenient sampling technique. Family functioning, Coping strategies, and PWB were measured using the ICPS Family Functioning Scale, Cope Inventory, and Flourishing Scale, respectively. The Pearson product-moment correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship among family functions sub-scales, coping strategies sub-scales, and PWB. The results suggested a mediating role of active coping between subscales of family functioning and psychological well-being. © 2021 Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

In Memoriam: Professor Jozef Zwislocki (1922–2018)

Biography of Jozef John Zwislocki (March 22, 1922 – May 14, 2018) – Polish-born American neuroscientist. Granted fellowship into the Acoustical Society of America, as well as membership to the United States National Academy of Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Association for Research in Otolaryngology (among others). He worked at Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland, taught at the University of Basel, was on a research fellowship at Harvard University, and was member of the Syracuse University faculty. Owner of twelve patents.

COVID-19 Lockdown as an Atypical Stressful Situation and Ways of Coping with It

Little is known as to what extent the pandemic lockdown has changed the perceived level of stress and stress-coping strategies. In response to this gap we present the results of quantitative and qualitative studies on stress levels and coping with stress conducted among Polish adults during the COVID-19 lockdown. The first study indicates that the lockdown has changed stress appraisal moderately, and it has also affected stress-coping strategies in various areas. The second study reveals miscellaneous reasons for stress appraisal (health, economic, political, social, freedom restriction, and religious). Participants perceived pandemic and lockdown as a moderate stressor, more as a challenge than a threat. Moreover the avoidant style recognized as the most adaptive reaction on stress in our study, confirms that people have a natural ability to adapt to unpredictable and unexpected situations like COVID-19 lockdown. © 2021 Polish Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Joanna Szpunar, a great chemical researcher internationally recognized, kindly spoke to BrJAC

Joanna Szpunar graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology in 1986 and obtained her Ph.D. (1992) and D.Sc. (Habilitation) (2000) from the University of Warsaw. Since 1997, she works at the National Research Council of France (CNRS). In 2007, she obtained in Poland the title of professor of chemistry. She has broad experience in the field of mass spectrometry-based bio-inorganic speciation analysis and metallomics with a focus on the identification and quantification of trace element species in biological systems and in the chemistry of metal-biomolecule interactions. She is the co-author of a book and approximately 250 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals. Joanna Szpunar is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and has been, for many years, a member of the boards of Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry' and Metallomics. She regularly gives invited lectures at international analytical chemistry meetings and was the chairperson of the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry (Kraków, Poland) in 2013. The investigations carried out under her supervision and/or with her active participation resulted in the identification of a number of molecular targets of metals in biological systems, as well as contribute to selenometabolomics and selenoproteomics studies in bacteria and plants. In recent years, her interests were broadened to the environmental fate of metal-containing nanoparticles and nanoplastics. She has supervised 12 Ph.D. theses and several post-doctoral fellows. Joanna Szpunar is the laureate of the 2013 Jerzy Fijalkowski Award of the Committee of Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the 2017 European Award for Plasma Spectrochemistry. In recent years, Joanna Szpunar has been involved in collaboration with analytical chemists in Brazil, hosting graduate students from the University of Campinas and the Federal University of Pelotas in the laboratory at the Institute of Analytical Sciences (IPREM) in Pau afiliated with the CNRS, lecturing at the Federal University of Santa Maria and co-supervising a Ph.D. student with work carried out at the University of Pau and the Federal University of Pelotas.

Women in Science and Engineering Matinee: WiSE at Microwave and Radar Week 2022 [Women in Microwaves

Two years ago I had the pleasure of reporting to the IEEE <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Microwave Magazine</i> readership <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[1]</xref> on the MIKON Polish traditional microwave conference, part of the 2020 Microwave and Radar Week (MRW) <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[2]</xref> and held under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences and IEEE. MRW2020 was special as one of the very first conferences taking place physically after the pandemic break, with live sessions, industrial exhibits, and networking opportunities. And for the first time in MIKON’s several decades’ history, it included a dedicated Women in Microwaves (WIM) session. As I summarized in my article, there were always women present at MIKON, but never before had there been a dedicated WIM event.