Rapeseed is considered as one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. Vegetable oil obtained from rapeseed is a valuable raw material for the food and energy industry as well as for industrial applications. Compared to other vegetable oils, it has a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids (5%–10%), a higher content of monounsaturated fatty acids (44%–75%), and a moderate content of alpha-linolenic acid (9%–13%). Overall, rapeseed is grown in all continents on an industrial scale, so there is a growing need to predict yield before harvest. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data were used in this work in order to build three independent prediction models, on the basis of which yield simulations were carried out. Empirical data collected during field tests carried out in 2008–2015 were used to build three models, QQWR15_4, QQWR31_5, and QQWR30_6. Each model was composed of a different number of independent variables, ranging from 21 to 27. The lowest MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) yield prediction error corresponded to QQWR31_5, it was 6.88%, and the coefficient of determination R2 was 0.69. As a result of the sensitivity analysis of the neural network, the most important independent variable influencing the final rapeseed yield was indicated, and for all the analyzed models it was “The kind of sowing date in the previous year” (KSD_PY).

This article aims to present the results of research on anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste wafers (WF-control) and co-substrate system—waste wafers and cheese (WFC-control), combined with digested sewage sludge. The aim of this study was to assess the physicochemical parameters of the diatomaceous earth/peat (DEP; 3:1) carrier material and to verify its impact on the enzymatic activity and the process performance. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory, in a periodical mode of operation of bioreactors, under mesophilic conditions. The results of analyses of morphological-dispersive, spectroscopic, adsorption, thermal, and microbiological properties confirmed that the tested carrier material can be an excellent option to implement in biotechnological processes, especially in anaerobic digestion. As part of the experiment, the substrates, feedstock, and fermenting slurry were subjected to the analysis for standard process parameters. Monitoring of the course of AD was performed by measuring the values of key parameters for the recognition of the stability of the process: pH, VFA/TA ratio (volatile fatty acids/total alkalinity), the content of NH4+, and dehydrogenase activity, as an indicator of the intensity of respiratory metabolism of microorganisms. No significant signals of destabilization of the AD process were registered. The highest dehydrogenase activity, in the course of the process, was maintained in the WFC + DEP system. The microbial carrier DEP, used for the first time in the anaerobic digestion, had a positive effect on the yield of methane production. As a result, an increase in the volume of produced biogas was obtained for samples fermented with DEP carrier material for WF + DEP by 13.18% to a cumulative methane yield of 411.04 m3 Mg−1 VS, while for WFC + DEP by 12.85% to 473.91 m3 Mg−1 VS.

We study scaling of the ground-state fidelity in neighborhoods of quantum critical points in a model of interacting spinful fermions -a BCS-like model. Due to the exact diagonalizability of the model, in one and higher dimensions, scaling of the groundstate fidelity can be analyzed numerically with great accuracy, not only for small systems but also for macroscopic ones, together with the crossover region between them. Additionally, in one-dimensional case we have been able to derive a number of analytical formulae for fidelity and show that they accurately fit our numerical results; these results are reported in the article. Besides regular critical points and their neighborhoods, where well-known scaling laws are obeyed, there is the multicritical point and critical points in its proximity where anomalous scaling behavior is found. We consider also scaling of fidelity in neighborhoods of critical points where fidelity oscillates strongly as the system size or the chemical potential is varied. Our results for a one-dimensional version of a BCS-like model are compared with those obtained by Rams and Damski [11] in similar studies of a quantum spin chain -an anisotropic XY model in transverse magnetic field. IntroductionIn the last decade quantum phase transitions and quantum critical phenomena continue to be a subject of great interest, vigorously studied in condensed matter physics. Both, experimental and theoretical developments point out to the crucial role that quantum phase transitions play in physics of high-T c superconductors, rare-earth magnetic systems, heavyfermion systems or two-dimensional electrons liquids exibiting fractional quantum Hall effect [1], [2]. The so called classical, thermal phase transitions originate from thermal fluctuations and are mathematically manifested as singularities in temperature and other thermodynamic parameters of various thermodynamic functions, and such correlation quantities like the correlation length, at nonzero temperatures. In contrast, quantum phase transitions originate from purely quantum fluctuations and are mathematically manifested as singularities in system parameters of the ground-state energy density, which is also the zero-temperature limit of the internal energy density. Naturally, singularities of thermodynamic functions appear only in the thermodynamic limit. The importance of quantum phase transitions for physics and the related wide interest in such transitions stems from the fact that, while a quantum 1

The article aims to present results of research on anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste wafers (WF-control) and co-substrate system–waste wafers and cheese (WFC-control), combined with digested sewage sludge, as inoculum. The purpose of this paper is to confirm the outcome of adding silica/lignin (S/L; 4:1) material, as a microbial carrier, on the process performance and genetic diversity of microbial communities. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory under mesophilic conditions, in a periodical operation mode of bioreactors. Selected physicochemical parameters of the tested carrier, along with the microstructure and thermal stability, were determined. Substrates, batches and fermenting slurries were subjected to standard parameter analysis. As part of the conducted analysis, samples of fermented food were also tested for total bacterial count, dehydrogenase activity. Additionally, DNA extraction and next-generation sequencing (NGS) were carried out. As a result of the conducted study, an increase in the volume of produced biogas was recorded for samples fermented with S/L carrier: in the case of WF + S/L by 18.18% to a cumulative biogas yield of 833.35 m3 Mg−1 VS, and in the case of WFC + S/L by 17.49% to a yield of 950.64 m3 Mg−1 VS. The largest total bacterial count, during the process of dehydrogenase activity, was maintained in the WFC + S/L system. The largest bacterial biodiversity was recorded in samples fermented with the addition of cheese, both in the case of the control variant and in the variant when the carrier was used. In contrast, three phyla of bacteria Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria predominated in all experimental facilities.

Samołęskie Lake is situated in the Poznań Lakeland in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Szamotuły County, Wronki District. The lake adjoins a little village of Samołęż of about 500 residents. The glacial waterbody of over 30ha acreage is a typical tunnelvalley lake having a maximum depth of over 22 meters. It predominantly serves fishing and recreation purposes offering a beach and a sailing center. Near the coastline (not in the direct vicinity) there is a farmland. The objective of the dissertation was to assess the quality of Samołęskie Lake waters that was delivered based on the studies carried out in spring and summer, when the waterbody demonstrates excessive fertility. The studies covered the analysis of the basic physical and chemical parameters of the lake water. The measurement was carried out on a fortnight basis by means of a measurement apparatus such as the photometer and the Secchi disc. The collected results are presented with the use of figures later in this paper, whereas their in-depth analysis allowed to compile and formulate conclusions. The results of studies and analyses lay the foundations to state that the quality of Samołęskie Lake waters requires continuous monitoring and application of remedial and rehabilitation measures.