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The basic contractual instrument among all involved parties of construction projects in the Czech Republic is a contract for work according to the Civil Code of the Collection of Law of the Czech Republic. The contract is further supplemented by provisions based on long-term business experience and needs of contractual partners. An essential part is the type of price, its amount and the method of determining or adjusting the price. For green constructions in general and green buildings in particular it is customar...

The central and northern parts of Poland are covered by a thick blanket of Pleistocene post-glacial sediment. Directly beneath this material lie loose, or of early diagenetic overprint, Neogene formations, mainly Miocene sediment. The thickness of Quaternary sediments in the northern part of the country locally exceeds 300 m. The loose and highly, internally diverse subsurface complex considerably hampers the completion of seismic surveys, especially those including the seismic reflection method. The basic issue o...

Sustainable architecture has always been associated with solar and low-energy objects using natural energy at various stages of their life cycle. The developmental morphology of the buildings influences the urban spatial structure of different scales (city, district, housing estate, quarter, building). Its analysis, which is generally extended to the nearest surroundings and the interior space of buildings, draws attention to the relationship between the energy intensity of buildings and the urban context, which a...

Biological waste - so-called wet garbage - is one of the problems of efficient and clean waste collection. Due to their nature - they quickly decompose and cause unpleasant odor. Waste management of this biological garbage is possible in several different ways. They can be transported to landfill with other MSW. They can be segregated and collected separately and then processed in a collective way also in several ways. They can also be utilize in the place of origin. The paper presents energy analysis and environm...

Today, we have to follow the principle of sustainable development in relation to the surrounding environment. Bearing in mind the mandatory requirements for energy efficient buildings, special attention should be paid to the strategy of conduct. In this respect, the key factor is the ability to visualize not only the building but also individual elements, including: cross-sections of walls, ceilings, roofs, presentation of potential materials before the necessary work is carried out. Such a state project is possib...

Steam based-thermal methods for improving oil recovery mainly includes steam injection, steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and cyclic steam injection (CSS). One of main goal of these methods is to achieve in-situ upgrading of heavy and extra-heavy oil. The high content of high-molecular compounds like asphaltenes is the one of main problems that is need to be solved during the process of the upgrading of heavy oils. Therefore, studying changes in the structure and properties of asphaltenes induced by thermal t...

In the article the results of research of variable humidity of CO2/N2 gas mixture (simulating power exhausts) influence on the parameters of CO2 separation are presented. The capillary polymer membrane AMS-A2 UBE was applied in the study.The paper indicates, results of the experiment where influence of variable (in the range of 0?100% H2O) humidity on a membrane was investigated Research was performed on the membrane used to dehumidify air - Air Dryer AMS-A2, utilized earlier to identify the ability of the CO2 sep...

Based on scientific-technical progress in modern period the industry and transport is developed, new technologies are introduced and requests at natural resources are grown. All the above-stated cause worsening of biosphere indicators. Therefore, studying air pollution and radiation background growing tendencies has international, global importance. During last years, in most countries of the world including Georgia worsening of environmental conditions are noted, pollution of atmospheric air and growing radiation...

Studies to determine the forms of finding copper and iron in the converter slag of the Balkhash copper production were carried out. The microprobe analyzes of converter slag show that in these samples a significant amount of copper is in a sulphide form, lead in both sulphide and oxide, and in the form of glass, and zinc in oxide. Laboratory studies on the flotation of the original converter slag, as well as after remelting and its slow cooling, were carried out according to a scheme including the basic, control f...

Access to cheap sources of energy has been a foundation of economic development of the modern world. High rates of GDP growth affect the dynamic development of civilization and, inter alia, make technological progress possible due to the increase in global energy consumption. Energy costs and energy availability also have a significant impact on the economic competitiveness of particular countries and regions of the world. Dynamic world economic development, population growth and the widespread use of energy in ev...

Innovative methods in the investigation of low-grade uranium ores were tested. As the individual ore components in the rock are optically undetectable, we focused on the detection of selected elements (U, Zr, Fe, Nb), their possible associations and distribution. For this purpose, mineral mapping of sample surface was used. The studied samples are uranium-bearing sandstones with remarkable elemental and mineral compositions. Low concentrations of the main ore elements and the small size of mineral phases (in micro...

Gasification is one of the methods of utilization of lignite. Studies on clean coal technologies are carried out on a wide scale in Poland and worldwide. One of the projects was "The Development of Coal Gasification Technology for High Production of Fuels and Energy? carried out under the framework of the National Centre for Research and Development. The project was based on the gasification of lignite from the Be?chat?w deposit. For syngas production, a circulating fluidized bed reactor and CO2 as the gasifying a...

The paper considers the problems that arise in the process of seeding in the production of sapphire single crystals by the method of Kyropoulos. This stage is the most important in the entire technological process, but at the same time the least automated. An approach is proposed for visualization of this stage, using technical vision. It is based on the processing of images received from the ip-camera. To observe the dynamics of growth and the crystallization front at the stage of seeding, we reviewed different a...

In the conditions of depletion of traditional energy resources, the development of hard-to-recover hydrocarbon resources is becoming increasingly important in the world economy. One of these potential sources of tight gas can be in carbonate-clay fractured reservoirs of the Cambrian deposits of Kazakhstan, located at the depth of about 6 km. The reservoir rocks consist of quartz, muscovite, albite, calcite, mixed layered clays, and chlorite. It is assumed that, the deposited particles from barite mud, which are us...

This contribution provides a prefabricated elements constructive system, which guarantees definite features and energy saving, with integrated energy performances and structural behaviors. First, we considered the requirement framework, identifying which were the indispensable energy, structural, environmental and product performances. These choices were then examined through UNI PdR13, which is today the benchmark for Sustainability in Italy. Secondly, the market scenario of this system was defined, identifying t...

Multispectral television measurements can be used for applied tasks of environmental monitoring, in particular for measuring the parameters of phytoplankton in aqueous media. In this case, the concentration of phytoplankton particles in the water volume is determined, the average particle sizes and the average concentration of chromophores in the near-surface layer. The aim of the work is to improve the multispectral television method to increase the accuracy of measuring the parameters of phytoplankton. An improv...

In this paper, resolve of improvement methods of performance of an elementary thermoacoustic cooler using the CFD approach was investigated. The research is based on preparing of possibly most accurate mathematical model of already constructed elementary cooling device and accomplishment of its further numerical analyses using commercially available numerical environment. In order to determine adequate methods of performance improvement, relevant changes in boundary conditions - concerning device geometry, materia...

An ecosystem cannot be fully and effectively described simply by simple mathematical rules. Sustainability is difficult to define or measure because it is inherently vague and complex. This paper presents a neuro-fuzzy model, which uses data from different parameters to monitor and assess a certain ecosystem. If classic mathematical methods cannot provide solutions of uncertain data and treating vague situations, a possible solution to represent these conditions may be the use of neuro-fuzzy approach. Therefore, a...

Based on data from long-term observations, dedicated to the study of mercury behavior in water bodies at the estuarine area of the Northern Dvina River, factors, criteria and indicators were identified. The choice of the "reference object" of the Northern Dvina River, due to the fact that based on the literature, and field studies here identified a relatively stable level of mercury in different components of the natural environment, and there are sources of anthropogenic mercury in the ecosystem in the absence of...

Today, the share of high-viscosity oil and natural bitumen in explored reserves is growing very rapidly and, thus, the volume of production of this unconventional hydrocarbons is growing. World oil reserves amount to about 320 billion tons of heavy oils and bitumen, mainly concentrated in Canada and Venezuela. More regarding the amount of bitumen reserves, is the territory of the Volga-Ural province, where the concentration ranges between 4.7 to 18 billion tons. The wide development of high-viscosity oil and natur...

This paper explores the possibilities of architectural design to benefit human condition, which encompasses physical well-being, environmental quality of life in big cities during the Climate Change era. The urban pollution is rising on a global scale. The present paper is focused on a new possibility to resolve the problem of air purification in highly-urbanized areas. The first part of the paper depicts possible usage of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) technology - nanoparticles of TiO2, as a building materials componen...

Chromium is widely used in the form of metal and in the form of compounds. The compounds of Cr(VI) are highly toxic. Therefore, the wastewater containing chromium must be thoroughly cleaned by sorption, extraction, electrochemical and biochemicals methods. Methods based on the reduction of Cr(VI) occupy an important place. A large number of reducing agents, including FeSO4, has been proposed for this. Studies carried out earlier showed that during this reaction a magnetoactive compound is formed. Lignosulfonic aci...

At present, there are tendencies in the world of depletion of ores and the involvement of low-grade and technogenic raw materials into processing. The ever-increasing scale of industrial production, with the involvement of valuable raw materials components in the processing of raw materials, led to an increase in the amount of man-made waste polluting the environment. Hundreds of millions of tons of flotation tailings accumulated in the tailings processing plants processing various ores, which contain significant ...

Energy production from renewable sources, such as wind energy, in small-scale generation systems can be increased by improving the efficiency of power generating equipment and expanding the applicability of the implemented technologies. The performance of wind turbines can be improved by developing solutions that expand the range of wind speeds over which energy can be effectively generated and by optimizing the location of wind turbines. The presented system for multipoint measurement of wind parameters (SMMWP) i...

Various sites with materials resulting from mining activities were investigated, as secondary sources for Rare Earth Elements (REE). The aim of our paper is to present the main methods used for characterizing these materials and the result of extraction processes in order to evaluate the efficiency of RRE recovery processes which are using environmentally friendly methods. The characterization of these materials is a first task aiming to identify the best sites which can furnish the most suitable materials for con...

Every year wildfires during the dry and hot summer season cause serious damage in agro-forest systems in Mediterranean area. Preventive measures are the most important issue in order to ensure agricultural production and sustainable tourism. One of preventive measures is planting of vegetation fire protection belts by using a low flammable plant species. Among low flammable plant species carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L., family of Fabaceae, subfamily of Caesalpinioideae) have special position. The carob tree grows...

Online monitoring of plankton in lake-type reservoirs requires the development of a model which is based on previous information, can assess the current state and predict the concentration of plankton in the future. An improved view of previous periods is possible on the basis of reanalysis techniques. These data can be used as a basis for modeling the profile of wind characteristics and the temperature profile which varies with its influence. A one-dimensional model for lake type reservoir is used in the program ...

Changes in group chemical composition in the modification processes are not dependent just on physical and chemical characteristics of bitumen, but rather on structural features of raw material composition and its modification products. The investigation of bitumen is difficult due to formation of paraffinic, naphthenic and aromatic group combinations. The result of modification is bitumen transformation, and this phenomenon is observed by quantitative change in structural fragment content. One of the most informa...

Brief Production of electrical power from renewable energy sources presents a chance to: satisfy the society?s power needs without encumbering the environment with combustion products of, among others, lignite and coal, energy security as well as become independent from traditional energy source suppliers. The aim of this article is to present the methodology used when designing wind farms utilising a group of wind turbines. The article presents the objectives of the European Union?s policy on renewable energy sou...

Emissions of industrial plants contain a considerable quantity of different chemical components. These include ash, soot, smoke, sulfates, nitrates, oxides of metals and other solid components. The size of dust particles emitted by enterprises are defined by the process environment and the composition of raw materials used. Particle fractions less than 10 microns (PM10) and less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) can penetrate to the upper and lower respiratory tract. Both short and long-term exposures of fine dust particle...

The work is devoted to the search for approaches to reducing the ecological risks of the urban population with the goal of preserving human health. It is assumed that a well-formed urban ecological framework will most compensate for negative environmental factors affecting human health. A methodology is proposed for constructing an urban ecological framework based on predicting the level of environmental risks in an industrial city. At the same time, the link between the quality of the urban environment and human ...

Forests and woodlands play a very important role in many aspects of human life, and they also affect the quality of the environment. Recently, the interest of researchers and governments has focused on the function of woodlands in terms of current climate change. In this regard forests perform four basic functions: they are ?causes?, ?victims?, ?beneficiaries?, and ?medicine? for the ongoing changes. The last function includes participation in the reduction of greenhouse gases, by absorbing carbon dioxide and prod...

Mastitis affects not only the health of milk-producing animals, having a direct consequence on the farm profitability, but it also affects the animals? well-being. After performing the microbiologic examination of the milk samples coming from cows diagnosed with sub-clinical mastitis, were isolated 9 different species, out of which 7 species of bacteria and 2 species of fungi. The predominant species were those of staphylococci, Staphylococcus intermedius being isolated in 45,45% of the samples. The second species...

Constant economic development has an influence on the global emission of greenhouse gases. Having experienced natural disasters, e.g. floods and droughts, most of the highly developed countries became more conscious about their impact on the environment. In 2014, the global CO2 emission accompanying fuels combustion and industrial processes totaled to 35.669 billion tonnes, in that 298.131 million tonnes in Poland[15]. The counteracting climate changes in view, in March 2007 the European Parliament assumed an ener...

Background: The aim of this study was to analyse the serum biochemistry of value intervals for the most commonly used energetic biochemical variables of European mouflon from a game reserve in the eastern part of Slovakia. From biochemical variables, glucose (GLUC), cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides (TRIGL) were analysed. The obtained values may be of use for the health assessment of Moulton in further studies. Methods: During the research between 2...

Into this paper there are presented physical and mechanical properties of control samples from self-compacting concrete realized with fly ash and silica fume (like powders) and superplasticizer. The slump of fresh self-compacting concrete was 680 mm, L-box h1/h2=0.92 and V-funnel = 12 sec. There were realized prismatic samples with dimensions 10 x 10 x 30 cm. The control samples were kept into laboratory curing conditions. The testing ages were at 28 days and 9 years. At 28 days age, the compressive strengths on p...

The management of solid waste is a challenge in municipalities of South Africa. The objectives of the study were to analyze the current status of recycling and challenges hindering efficient solid waste minimization mandate by municipalities in Limpopo province. The study employed both qualitative (through observation questionnaires interviews) and quantitative (fishers exact test) research methodology. The study was based on field surveys allowing for observation and measurement with respect to waste minimisation...

Key element of any soil environmental monitoring is correct reference site. In such big object of monitoring as Moscow megalopolis it cannot be only one reference site but in any case their number must be very limited and each monitoring site have to be very well validated by the previous monitoring investigated data. One of the best candidate for official local reference site of soil environmental monitoring in the northern part of Moscow is the central core of the Forest Experimental Station of the Russian Timir...

Quantitative supervision of the implementation of planning documents is one of the fundamental elements of good governance and is vital for ensuring sustainable development perspective. The sustainability of a territory may be specifically defined in developmental planning documents as a long-term goal or indirectly emanate from the territorial vision and set of defined measurable objectives. The most effective way to supervise progress towards planned objectives is with the help of the relevant indicator system (...

The need to create ecological and energy efficient architecture is evident today. In the contemporary discourse on architecture more and more attention is dedicated to the aesthetics that expresses the idea of sustainability. The article is a voice in this debate, concentrating on the architecture that features daylight. Solar light comes from the natural environment and brings some substantial benefits for the architectural space, such as light, warmth and atmosphere, which should be reflected in the aesthetics o...

Cereals and by-products of its processing are known to be applied for lactic acid bacteria fermentation. Wheat grains containing starch, protein and a lot of growth factors seem to be the rich nutrient media for some types of microbes. On the other hand, the niglible number of lactobacilli can produce amylases and proteinases (for native gluten decomposition), so at least the partial hydrolysis of substances mentioned is needed. The complex processing of wheat flour with amylases and proteases was shown to increas...

This paper demonstrates the practical applicability of higher-order partial cross-correlation function in hydrological system analysis. The study area is the karst hydrological system of two adjacent karst springs Jadro and ?rnovnica situated in the Dinaric karst of Croatia. The subject of interest is the hydrological relation between these two springs and three basins located in the central part of Jadro Spring catchment. The relation is investigated by the higher-order partial cross-correlation function between ...

The aim of the article is to show the possibility of using the Balanced Scorecard as a tool for performance and measurement of enterprise focusing on supporting activities covered under the facility management. The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management system, what is based on experiences of large multinational companies in the field of strategic management. The purpose of the measurement and evaluation is a shift towards set goals for improving the performance and quality of the company. Gener...

This study outlines the solution to the problem caused by too large numbers of hiking tourists and skiers walking on top of the Kasprowy Wierch Mountain in the Tatra National Park, between three ski stations (one cable car and two chairlifts). Their choice of route is limited mostly due to a large difference in altitude between the top chairlift station on the Gasienicowa Glade and two other ski stations. To improve the conditions in the area of those ski stations a solution was sought that would permit an easy pa...

Flood risk, associated with rapid climate changes, improper development of river basins (e.g. intensive house building, deforestation) and low retention capacity of water bodies, has been observed in recent years in EU countries, including Poland. Floods pose a threat to human life and health and cause great property loss and irreversible changes to the natural environment. Studies concerning flood risk management have shown that seeking measures aimed at limiting the tragic consequences of floods are more effecti...

The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and relatively simple protocol for the simultaneous quantitative determination of the main volatile compounds acetoin and diacetyl found in yogurt. Both these substances are the common flavor components in cultured dairy products. Acetoin/diacetyl determination is important because its concentrations represent criteria for the quality appreciation of the lactic starter cultures. This proposed method employs the reactions of acetoin and diacetyl with 1-naphthol and creat...

The main aim of this research work is to compare the performance of hyperspectral and multispectral data for spectral land cover classes and develop their spectral library in Samara, Russia. We were analyzed and compared Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion hyperspectral data to Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Advance Land Imager (ALI) multispectral data. Hyperspectral imagers, currently available on airborne platforms, provide increased spectral resolution over existing space based sensors that can docum...

At present the extraordinary and earlier unprecedented development of the industry is observed. The scale of the production of different goods is huge and concerns many areas on our planet. Some of these areas were not industrialized till today. Their development from the one hand gives the social and economic benefits ? like the life conditions improvement, money transfer, but from the other hand requires the location of new production lines or even plants. In many of them the old, worn out machines and the techn...

Abandoned oil and natural gas wells can pose a serious risk, mainly associated with uncontrolled oil spills and natural gas leakage due to imperfect sealing. In order to make the right decision for the need for repeated disposition of borehole, it is essential to have a functional, general, but sufficiently simple method of risk assessment. Certified methods for risk analyses used by Czech governmental institutions as well as other open methods available in literature were analysed and significant gaps recognised,...

Brewer?s spent yeast is a byproduct containing high amounts of nitrogen, vitamins and immunogen compounds such as ?-glucans. Several uses of spent yeast were described, but the phytostimmulatory potential was not previously tested. In the present paper, the effects of spent brewery yeast on rye microgreen growth and composition and the potential use as an elicitor is assessed. Rye microgreens elicited with spent yeast presented improved germination, especially after 4 days of cultivation. Increased plantlet length...