Despite over 40 years of research on the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine, we still lack a considerable progress. Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a lentivirus in the Retroviridae family, akin to HIV-1 in genome structure and antigenicity. EIA is an important infectious disease in equids, characterized by anemia, persistent infection, and repeated fevers. The EIAV attenuated vaccine in China is the only lentiviral vaccine used on a large scale. Elucidating the mechanism of waning and induction of protective immunity from this attenuated vaccine strain will provide a critical theoretical basis and reference point for vaccine research, particularly in the development of lentivirus vaccines, with far-reaching scientific value and social significance. In this paper, we summarize the information related to EIAV integration site selection, particularly for the Chinese EIAV attenuated vaccine strains on the equine genome. This may improve our mechanistic understanding of EIAV virulence reduction at the host genome level. The obtained data may help elucidate the biological characteristics of EIAV, particularly the Chinese attenuated EIAV vaccine strain, and provide valuable information regarding retroviral infections, particularly lentiviral infection and associated therapeutic vectors.

This study presents the determination of the content of selected metals (Ba, Ca, Fe, Nb, Rb, Sr, Y, Zn, and Zr) in postglacial deposits from two glacial valleys (Ebbadalen and Elsadalen) in the Petunia Bay (southern Spitsbergen). The aim of the research was to experimentally check the usefulness of the handheld energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique in the study of samples from the polar zone, before performing the future field tests. Deposit analyses were performed (in parallel) with two handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometers from different manufacturers, to investigate the accuracy and reliability of the instruments. The statistical analysis of the results indicated that the measurements carried out with two spectrometers were statistically significantly different, which was probably due to the different calibration characteristics used by the manufacturers. However, the analysis of the spatial distribution of element concentrations using Geographic Information System tools showed that the distribution maps of elements concentrations were similar regardless of the spectrometer used in the analyses.

The material obtained between 1977 and 1979 has allowed to compare body length, age and sex of South Georgia fish caught in the region of South Georgia Island. The growth rate of body length and weight of individuals have been determined. According to results the South Georgia icefish at the time of investigations did not form a homogenous, stable stock in the region of South Georgia Island.

The coal fed to gravity enrichment consists of coals coming from different deposits and exploitation fronts. These coals differ in quality parameters, especially the amount of gangue (stone) changing over time. This results in the instability of work, especially jiggers, which have a relatively low accuracy assessed by probable scattering or imperfection rates. This deteriorates the quality of the concentrate obtained, the quality parameters of which change over time. The improvement of jiggers work would be possible by averaging the feed. This process is practically impossible due to the failure to design such a node during plant construction, which are, in most cases, directly related to the shaft. In the article, the authors propose to solve the process of averaging the feed before directing it to the enrichment process in jiggers by introducing its deshaling in vibratory- air separators of the FGX type.

Since the 1970s, the Legnica-Głogów Copper District has an area of intensive mining of copper. Mining activities resulted in the appearance of induced seismic activity. This situation caused the necessity of setting an underground seismological network. In the mid-1990s, due to the great damage of objects on the surface caused by the ground vibrations due to mining tremors, a surface strong motion seismic network equipped with accelerometers was created. They monitor the vibration levels of both the land and the buildings themselves. This contributed to a better knowledge of the nature of ground vibration and the resistance of objects. In recent years, anthropogenic threats, which include seismicity induced by mining activities, are arousing more and more interest. To be able to develop test methods for seismic source physics, the analysis of the impact of vibrations on the surface and the seismic hazard, network measurement should also be developed and modernized. In the years 2014–2015, the IS-EPOS “Digital research space of induced seismicity for EPOS purposes” project, extended the LUMINEOS modern seismological network presently consisting of 15 seismometers and 10 accelerometers, with the possibility of additional further expansion. The data obtained from the LUMINEOS network complements the existing underground mining network and surface strong motion network. This allows for an advanced seismic analysis.

The impact of the fuel feeding mode (continuous or periodic with different stand-by/operation time ratios) on carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NO, NOx) concentration values in the flue gas was analysed for coniferous wood pellet firing. Experiments were performed in a 25 kW water boiler equipped with an over-fed wood pellet furnace located in a full scale heat station simulating real-life conditions. Influence of oxygen concentration and temperature in the combustion chamber on carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide concentrations was presented in diagrams. Dust and hydrocarbon concentrations were also monitored. It was concluded that the commonly used periodic fuel supply does not necessarily cause a significant increase of carbon monoxide concentration, as compared to the continuous fuel feeding mode. Continuous fuel supply can even induce higher carbon monoxide concentrations when fuel mass stream is not chosen properly. Each time new fuel type is used in a specific furnace, one should perform experiments to determine the adequate settings (stand-by/operation time ratio, fuel mass streams, air stream) to obtain the optimal, lowest possible emission for a certain boiler heat output

The operating principles of RFID antennas should be considered differently than it is applied in the classical theory of radio communication systems. The procedure of measuring the radiation pattern of antennas that could be applied to RFID transponders operating in the UHF band is seldom discussed correctly in the scientific literature. The problem consists in the variability of the RFID chip impedance that strongly influences measurement results. The authors propose the proper methodology for determining the radiation pattern with respect to an individual transponder as well as an electronically tagged object. The advantage of the solution consists in the possibility of using components of different measuring systems that are available in typical antenna laboratories. The proposed procedure is particularly important in terms of parameter validation - the identification efficiency and costs of an RFID system implementation can be evaluated properly only on the basis of real values of considered parameters.

The article deals with West Slavonic words on cud represented by verbs such as Old Czech cúditi, Polish cudzić or adjectives such as Czech cudný, Polish cudny, czudny. These words are not etymologically clear, and the etymological dictionaries suggest different solutions, either considering these words as cognates or looking for other etymological connections. More light on the issue could be thrown by Old Church Slavonic študь ‘custom, manners, morals’ which has not been taken into account so far while reflecting the etymologies of the abovementioned words. Old Church Slavonic word corresponds to older Czech cud ‘discipline, good manners’ and this noun (in its late Proto Slavonic form) can be taken as a basis for the verb (Old Czech cúditi etc.) in the meaning ‘to clean, brush, remove’ and the adjective (Czech cudný etc.) in the meaning ‘chaste, modest, moral’. The Proto Slavonic root of the word can be reconstructed as * tjud from Pre Slavonic * teud which can be traced back to Indo European * teuH ‘to protect, friendly give one’s mind to sb.’. Nominal derivatives of this root offer striking semantic parallels in Germanic: Old English geđiede ‘good, decent, chaste’, đēaw ‘custom, manners, morals’, Old High German, Old Saxon thau ‘discipline’.