The article presents the research into hygienizing process of chicken manure using calcium peroxide (CaO₂) as an environmentally friendly biological deactivation agent. The influence of the addition of CaO₂ to chicken manure on the bioavailability of phosphorus was also analyzed. The process of biological deactivation using CaO₂, CaO and Ca(OH)₂ agents was analyzed applying the disk diffusion method. To optimize the effect of the hygienizing parameters, (CaO₂ concentration, pH, temperature and time) on the reduction of Enterobacteriaceae count the Taguchi method was applied. The content of bioavailable phosphorus was measured with the Egner-Riehm method and determined with spectrophotometry. The reduction in bacterial count followed an increase in the concentration of CaO₂ in a sample. The optimal experimental conditions (CaO₂=10.5 wt.%, pH=9.5, T=40°C, t=180 h) enabled a significant decrease in the Enterobacteriaceae count, from 10⁷ cfu/g to 10² cfu/g. Analysis of the samples with Egner-Riehm method showed that the phosphorus content decreased with the addition of biocide CaO₂: from 26.6 mg/l (for 3.5 wt.%) to 3.5 mg/l (for 10.5 wt.%). These values were slightly higher than the content of phosphorus deactivated with Ca(OH)₂ i.e., from 11.25 mg/l (for 3.5 wt.%) to 4.49 mg/l (for 10.5 wt.%). The application of CaO₂ for hygienizing chicken manure enables effective reduction of Enterobacteriaceae count to an acceptable level (below 1000 cfu/g). In comparison with the traditional techniques of hygienization, the application of CaO₂ has a positive effect on the recovery of bioavailable phosphorus.

In Mexico, one of the principal natural resources is oil, however, the activity related to it has generated hydrocarbon spills on agricultural soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biodegradability of diesel by means of indigenous bacteria isolated from agricultural soil contaminated with 68 900 mg kg ^-1 diesel. We examined indigenous bacterial strains in agricultural soils contaminated with diesel from Acatzingo, Puebla, Mexico. We performed a physicochemical soil characterization, and a bacterial population quantification favoring sporulated bacteria of the genera Bacillus and Paenibacillus taken from the study site. Six bacterial strains were isolated. The identification was made based on the 16S rRNA gene and API systems. The tolerance and biodegradation capacity in diesel were determined at 4 000 to 24 000 mg L ^-1 of diesel. Residual concentrations of diesel were determined by GC-FID. Soil contaminated with diesel alters the concentrations of organic matter, phosphorus and nitrogen. Analysis of soil samples showed heat resistant bacterial populations of 106 cfu g ^-1 dry soil. Six strains from soil pollution were identified – Pseudomonas stutzeri M1CH1, Bacillus pumilus M1CH1b, Bacillus cereus M1CH10, Bacillus subtilis M1CH15a, and Paenibacillus lautus strains M1CH19 and M1CH27. These bacteria showed different degradation behavior. Bacillus pumilus M1HC1b and Paenibacillus lautus M1CH27 use diesel oil as the sole carbon source. Bacillus pumilus degraded high concentrations of diesel (24 000 mg L ^-1), while for Paenibacillus lautus it became toxic and the degradation was less.

Operations conducted by petroleum industry generate an entire range of drilling waste. The chemical composition of drilling waste and its toxicity depend primarily on the geological and technological conditions of drilling, the type of drilled rock deposits and on the type and composition of the drilling mud used. In the course of drilling operations, drilling fluids are in constant contact with bacteria, fungi and other organisms infecting the mud. Pioneer species, capable of surviving and using the resources of this specific environment, are selected. For this reason, the effectiveness of microbiota survival on different types of spent drilling muds and in different dilutions with brown soil was measured. Spent drilling muds samples came from drilling operations in various regions of Poland, e.g. Subcarpathia, the Polish Lowland and Pomerania regions. Oxygen consumption after 96 h was around 20 μg·g^‒1 dry mass in soil or soil/drilling water-based mud mixture. Soil mixes contained 10 wt% synthetic base, mud had a higher oxygen consumption – 38 μg · g^‒1 dry mass. Oxygen consumption decreases sharply as the content of the spent synthetic base mud fraction increases. A higher concentration of spent SBM (35 wt%) reduced the aerobic metabolism by slightly more than 50%. A high concentration of reduced carbon decreased the respiratory quotient (RQ) value to 0.7. All the researched drilling waste shows microbiological activity. At the full concentration of drilling fluids and non-dilution options, the chemical composition (salinity, inhibitors, etc.) strongly inhibits microbiota development and consequently, respiration

Due to the increased environmental awareness, green chemistry becomes an important element of environmental protection. Unfortunately, it generate specific environmental costs, which are related to the use of toxic chemical reagents and waste generation. The most frequently determined analytes include inorganic and organic anions and cations. The methods used so far for their analysis in water, sewage and various other types of samples are increasingly being replaced by ion chromatography methods. This paper presents the most important advantages and limitations of ion chromatography in the context of “green analytical chemistry.” The progress of ion chromatography in gradient and isocratic elution, capillary and multidimensional ion chromatography, as well as miniaturization and methods of sample preparation for analysis, which allow to classify this technique as green analytical chemistry, are described

In environmental matrices there are mixtures of parent drug and its metabolites. The majority of research is focused on the biological activity and toxic effect of diclofenac (DCF), there is little research on the biological activity of DCF metabolites and their mixtures. The study focused on the assessment of the biological impact of DCF, its metabolites 4’-hydroxydiclofenac (4’-OHDCF) and 5-hydroxydiclofenac (5-OHDCF) and their mixtures on E. coli strains. The biological effects of tested chemicals were evaluated using the following: E. coli K-12 cells viability assay, the inhibition of bacteria culture growth, ROS (reactive oxygene species) generation and glutathione (GSH) content estimation. Moreover, we examined the influence of the mixture of DCF with caffeic acid (CA) on E. coli cells viability. Our results showed the strongest impact of the mixtures of DCF with 4’-OHDCF and 5-OHDCF on E. coli SM biosensor strains in comparison to parent chemicals. Similar results were obtained in viability test, where we noticed the highest reduction in E. coli cell viability after bacteria incubation with the mixtures of DCF with 4’-OHDCF and 5-OHDCF. Similarly, these mixtures strongly inhibited the growth of E. coli culture. We also found synergistic effect of caffeic acid in combination with DCF on E. coli cells viability. After bacteria treatment with the mixture of DCF and its metabolites we also noted the strongest amount of ROS generation and GSH depletion in E. coli culture. It suggests that oxidative stress is the most important mechanism underlying the activity of DCF and its metabolites.

This study aimed to determine the influence of the electric current density on the rate of nitrogen compounds removal (r_N) and the specific rate of denitrification (r_D) in a rotating electrochemical disk contractor (RECDC) and a rotating electro-biological disk contactor (REBDC). In REBDC and RECDC, the cathode consisted of disks with immobilized biomass and disk, from which biofilm was periodically removed, respectively. An aluminum anode was mounted in contactor chambers. The study was conducted using synthetic wastewater with characteristics similar to wastewater from soilless cultivation of tomatoes. The first stage of the study determined r_N and r_D in the RECDC. The second stage determined r_N and r_D in the REBDC. Four hydraulic retention times (HRT) were tested: 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, and 24 h, with electric current densities of 0.63 A/m², 1.25 A/m², 2.50 A/m², 5.00 A/m², and 10.00 A/m². In RECDC, a linear dependency was observed between r_N and current density in the examined HRTs, whereas in REBDC, a logarithmic dependency was confirmed between r_N and current density. In both contactors, an exponential dependency was observed between r_D and current density. The specific rate of denitrification decreased when the current density and HRT were increased. The study showed that, in both contactors, the rate of total nitrogen removal increased when the current density was increased and the HRT was decreased.

In water systems, both biologically and chemically synthesized molecules may reduce environmental quality and influence essential ecosystems structure and function. These substances include aldehydes from various sources, also those relates to the activities of primary producers. The focus of the study was vertical distribution of several aliphatic aldehydes and phytoplankton biomass in an urban lake in Poznań (Wielkopolska Lakeland, Poland) under human pressure. Water samples were collected from surface lake to bottom, every 2 m. Plankton was analyzed under inverted and epifluorescence microscopes. The biomass was estimated from microscopic measurements and cell volume of each species. Thirteen aldehydes and acetone were analyzed using gas chromatography with an electron capture detector after derivatization and extraction processes. Aldehydes concentrations varied between 32.7 and 346.2 μg L^-1. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and propanal were characterized by the highest concentration both at low and high phytoplankton biomass. Phytoplankton biomass included prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, and ranged between 0.25 and 2.94 mg L^-1. Cryptophytes and diatoms were often the most important components of phytoplankton communities, although in some cases the haptophytes and dinophytes comprised a much higher proportion. Total aldehyde concentration was significantly correlated with total phytoplankton biomass (r=0.705, p <0.05), and even higher correlation was observed between acetone and phytoplankton biomass (r=0.917). This indicates phytoplankton as an important source of carbonyl compounds in surface waters. Thus, the knowledge of different aspects of their origin and distribution in the lake is important both in ecological research and in water management.

The research determined the concentrations of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediments of Kłodnica River reservoirs and distribution depending on number of rings, ecotoxicological impact on studied ecosystems and possible sources of origin. Samples were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis by gas chromatography coupled with a GC-MS mass detector, using a ZB-5MS column and electron ionization. The sum of 16 PAHs in water ranged 0.111–0.301 μg/L (mean 0.200 μg/L) in Dzierżno Duże, 0.0410–0.784 μg/L (mean 0.303 μg/L) in Dzierżno Małe and 0.0920–1.52 μg/L (mean 0.596 μg/L) in Pławniowice. While in sediments respectively: 17.5–37.2 μg/g (mean 26.8 μg/g), 4.33–8.81 μg/g (6.43 μg/g) and 2.27–9.50 μg/g (5.30 μg/g). The concentration of PAHs in sediments of reservoirs, which spatial management of the catchment area accounts for over 90% of agricultural and forest land, was up to eight times lower than in sediments of the reservoir which is 69%, while built-up and transport areas are 24%. In sediments of Dzierżno Małe and Pławniowice PAHs with 5 and 6 rings dominate, while in Dzierżno Duże – 2 and 3 rings. Higher concentrations of PAHs with higher molecular weight, found in the bottom water layers, confirm the role of the sedimentation process in the transport of these compounds in reservoirs. Assessment of sediment quality, based on ecotoxicological criteria, showed that PAHs may cause toxic effects in Dzierżno Duże, while in Dzierżno Małe and Pławniowice can cause sporadic adverse effects. The likely source of PAHs in reservoirs is low emissions.

The aim of this study was an assessment of feasibility of conversion of sewage holding (SH) tanks to rainwater harvesting (RWH) tanks in Poland. Such a conversion may partly solve the problem of water scarcity for irrigation of plants in individual small gardens and reduce tap water consumption. Seven methods of RWH tanks sizing were applied to an example of a small harvesting system of the roof area equal to the garden irrigation area of 100 m² for three different irrigation doses. A new criterion was introduced to optimize the tank capacity. Economic optimization was provided for new RWH tanks and for the tanks adapted from abandoned SH tanks. Results obtained for a system sited in west-central Poland in an average year have shown that design capacity of RWH tanks varied markedly between sizing methods. The conversion of SH tanks to RWH tanks is profitable, especially for irrigation due to scarcity of water in relatively dry west-central regions. Conversion of individual SH tanks in a good technical state to RWH tanks is relatively simple and cheap. The potential increase in storage volume due to the conversion of individual SH tanks to RWH tanks could reach all over Poland 215–350 dam³ per year, and individually can save up to 18–25% of total annual water use.

Hydropower use of watercourses has tangible consequences for the environment, society and economy. Based on a literature review and their own research, the authors present current data on changes in the ecological status of waters within run-of-river and reservoir hydropower plants, i.e. changes in biological elements (benthic macroinvertebrates, plankton, ichthyofauna, macrophytes), as well as hydromorphological and physicochemical changes. Previous researchers have noted that the impact of hydropower use of rivers on ecological status of those rivers is extensive, consisting of, among others, changes in species structure and populations of macrophytes, benthic macroinvertebrates, plankton and ichthyofauna (positive as well as negative changes), algal blooms due to increased turbidity, constrained migration of water organisms, changes in temperature within hydroelectric power plants, the phenomenon of supersaturation, eutrophication, changes in hydrological conditions (e.g., increased amplitudes of diurnal water levels and their consequent annual reduction), and increased erosion below the damming and deposition of bottom sediments on the damming barriers. In addition to such changes in ecological status, hydropower use also has a visible impact on socio-economic conditions (e.g., living standards of the population) and the environment (e.g., quality of bottom sediments and biodiversity). The article offers an assessment of the impact of hydropower use of rivers on ecological status (biological, hydromorphological, physicochemical elements and hydrological conditions of such rivers), society, economy and environment; it also proposes a research scheme to assess the impact of hydropower structures.

The main objective of presented research work was the assessment of the impact of reduced straw content, as organic carbon source, on the course of sewage sludge composting process. During the research work performed in industrial conditions, the composting process going in periodically overturned windrows differing in proportion of dehydrated sludge, straw and structural material being 4:1:1 and 8:1:2 respectively, was observed. The consequence of increase of sludge concentration with relation to straw was decrease of C:N ratio in the input material from 11.5 to 8.5. The following parameters were analyzed as indicators for the assessment of the composting process: contents of fulvic acids (FA), humic acids (HA), lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose as well as absorbance in UV/VIS (λ=280, 465 and 665 nm) range. The results obtained have indicated that the increase of sludge content extends the elevated temperature (T>50°C) period from 42 days to approximately 65 days. Our tests did not confirm that limitation of straw content added to sewage sludge had any adverse effect on the course of composting. PI index (HA/FA), which qualifies the compost as mature in the first case – No 1, exceeds limit value of 3.6 on the 83rd day whereas, in the second case No 2, on the 48th day.

The anammox (anaerobic ammonia oxidation) process is one of the most efficient processes of nitrogen removal from wastewater. Although there are some applications of anammox-based technologies, it is still difficult to apply this process widely because of the high optimal temperature around 30–40°C. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term effects of MnO ₂ on the anammox and nitrification process activity at a wide range of temperatures between 10 and 30°C, using statistical methods based on the central composite design (CCD). The influence of MnO ₂ on anammox and nitrification activity, suspended biomass from the laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR), and activated sludge from WWTP, respectively, was used. MnO ₂ concentration range was set between 15 and 85 mg/L, and the temperature range was set between 10 and 30°C. Anammox and nitrification process activity was measured based on the batch test and oxygen uptake rate (OUR), respectively. The results were statistically analyzed. Results revealed that nanoparticles can slightly improve anammox activity by several percent, by up to 10%, but in most cases MnO ₂ influence was insignificant. The optimal concentration for the anammox stimulation at temperatures below 20°C was evaluated between 40 and 60 mg/L, corresponding to 36 and 56 mg/g VSS. Manganese oxides contribution in the nitrogen removal processes was proved and they should be considered in the field of the anammox process. Thus, further studies are suggested to investigate the long-term effects of MnO ₂ on the low-temperature anammox process, overcoming possibility of inhibition

In his voluminous memoirs compiled in the early 17th century the Dominican Martin Gruneweg describes a pageant named the Parade of the Planets that took place in Warsaw on 15 February 1580. Central to its stage design was the iconography of the seven planets, each of them represented by its Zodiac sign and its affiliated House. However, no less important for the spectacle was the appearance of numerous characters and stage props from the carnival tradition, e.g. richly dressed men from the Orient, Bacchus, a procession of floats. The Parade of the Planets was a festivity which brought together the court and the townsfolk; it was probably organized by both court and town. More generally, it could be described as an urban carnival parade mimicking some features of the Renaissance Trionfo. The knowledge of celestial phenomena presented in this spectacle was probably adjusted to the needs of a wide audience of the ‘middling sort of people’, whose belief in the geocentric model of the cosmos was still intact. It seems that the Parade of the Planets contained hardly any profound insights or hermetic clues. Gruneweg, though, does find it susceptible to an allegorical interpretation which reveals the spectacle's embedding in Christian spirituality and middle-class virtues. He is pleased with the colourful spectacle, but warns of taking too much pleasure in this kind of entertainment.

Cwaniary (Female Wanglers) is not only a metatextual novel with numerous references to popular culture, but above all an important contribution to the discussion about the place and role of women in contemporary society. The author breaks with the nineteenth-century image of matka Polka, the Polish Mother, whose existence is confined to family and home. The creations and actions of the female wanglers in Cwaniary, outsiders who defy popular stereotypes by pursuing outré lifestyles, are underpinned with allusions to a nascent rebellion against patriarchy, systemic suppression of women's rights, and the resulting marginalization of women in society. Unfortunately, Poles still have great problems with openness to other cultures, nations, and non-heteronormative sexual orientations. The Poles, it seems, are caught between an irrational fear of disintegration of the structures of their relatively homogeneous society and the need to move on and reinvent themselves as the 'modern subjects' of critical theory. It is a choice between holding on to an anachronistic model of Polish culture founded on suppression or catching up with the 21st-century world of openness, diversity and multiculturalism.

Maria Hagen-Schwerin was a 19th-century novelist and poet. She was a prolific author of popular romances with aristocratic heroes and plots that revolve around love and marriage in high society. However, what kept Mrs Hagen in the public eye was her unconventional life style, her debts and an unending string of affairs whose sensational twists eclipsed anything that could be found her polite fiction. Her feuds, especially with another controversial woman of the fin-de- siècle Cracow, the playwright and novelist Gabriela Zapolska, were the talk of the town. Maria Hagen descended, on her father's side from a long line of nobles (Łoś) and on her mother's side from one of Cracow's wealthiest merchant families (Kirchmayer). Her elder brother Wincenty Łoś was an acclaimed writer and art collector. It is no exaggeration to say that Maria Hagen was heir to a family legacy of great achievements and of great scandals, too, in politics as well as in economic and social life. Some of her ancestors also ventured into literature thus building a family tradition which continued for three centuries. Maria Hagen picked up that thread and became a successful writer in her day. Now she belongs to that large category of writers once famous, but quickly forgotten. The problem lies not in the fact that nobody reads her books, but that her work has attracted virtually no attention from students of nineteenth-century literature and culture, and, astonishingly enough, no critical study of her work has been written for over 150 years since her death.

The aim of this analysis of the oneiric representations of phantom women in the poetry of Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and Bolesław Leśmian is to compare and characterize the workings of the poetic imagination of a pair of poets who represent the first and the second generation of the Young Poland movement. Their poems are read and interpreted within the framework of Young Poland's conceptualization of dreams and its use of the dream motif so as to explain the functioning and the ontological status of the oneiric female characters. The analysis shows that both Przerwa-Tetmajer's and Leśmian's apparitions belong to more than one category. While some are wholly imaginary, others are known to have existed as real persons and have merely been transposed into an image of a man's mind.

This article is an attempt to re-read Tadeusz Miciński's poem ‘Blood-red Snow’ (‘Krwawy śnieg’, 1914) in the context of a tragedy that took place in February 1914 at Zakopane, or more precisely, in Kościeliska Valley in the Tatras. It was there that Jadwiga Janczewska, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz's fiancée, took her life by shooting himself in the head. Her suicide prompted Miciński, a close friend of Witkiewicz, to write the ‘Blood-red Snow’, a poetic reportage infused with ambiguity, which presents a highly subjective vision of the tragic event and its circumstances. Read out of context, the poem seems be just another product of the poet's fascination with the philosophy of the occult (Luciferianism). However, when its real-life context is restored, the heady symbolism turns out to be a camouflage of a poème à clef, a genre which ‘Blood-red Snow’ actually exemplifies. The poem is an instant reaction to a dramatic event. To make sense of it one does not need to be familiar with the whole story of the relations between Miciński and Witkiewicz. What is perhaps worth noting is that their relationship soured after Jadwiga Janczewska's suicide, which triggered an unending blame game on all sides. While the public held Witkiewicz responsible for the young woman's death, he himself put the blame on Miciński and, first and foremost, on Karol Szymanowski. These controversies are, however, beyond the scope of the 'Blood-red Snow'.

Wawrzyniec Engeström (altern. Lars Benzelstierna von Engeström) was a 19th-century Polish aristocrat with Swedish roots, a historian, writer and political activist who made it his life's mission to build bridges between Polish and Swedish culture. The rapprochement he sought was based on anti-German and anti-Russian sentiments. In his poems A Song about Our Stars (Pieśń o gwiazdach naszych, 1874, 1883) and The Vistula: A National Fantasy (Wisła – Fantazja narodowa, 1883) he drew on Wincenty Pol's Songs of Our Land (Pieśni o ziemi naszej). They all celebrated the idea of national unity based on historical memory, religion and custom. His inspiration came from Swedish Romantic literature, whose main works he translated into Polish.