The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of some different environmental conditions prevailing during the development and ripening of Echinochloa crus-galli diaspores on their germination. Some seeds were tested in the autumn the same year, whereas others were divided into two groups: dispersed seedsand seeds within the inflorescence. Then the seeds of both groups were buried. After eight-month stratification in the soil, the diaspores were tested under the same conditions as the samples examined in the autumn. The seeds tested in the spring germinated faster than those tested in the autumn. Also the germination capacity of barnyard grass caryopses examined in the summer was almost twofold higher than the germination capacity of those examined in the autumn. Both autumn and spring tests revealed that the harvest time affected germination. The seeds obtained in the second half of August and at the beginning of September (in the middle of the growing season) were characterized by a higher germination capacity than the caryopses collected at the beginning and the end of the reproduction period. The results show that the germination capacity and rate were not influenced by the place of origin, habitat conditions and accompanying plants. It was found in spring tests that germination depended on the kind of dissemination unit stored in the soil. After eight-month soil stratification, dispersed caryopses germinated by approx. 20% better than those stored with a part of the inflorescence.

This article presents the evolution of the approach to the indicative designation of revitalization areas in Poland at central, regional and local level. The introduction shows rational for monitoring of degradation in Polish cities, i.e. a continuous assessment of its condition, and not just the designation of areas where intervention is needed. Monitoring ensures the comparability of observations and allows to evaluate the results of undertaken measures. Without it, it is impossible to fully assess the effects of revitalization in the previous financial perspectives. The first chapter of the article outlines the requirements for determining areas for revitalization before 2013, the reasons for their adoption, and the indicators used in the delimitations at the time. The second chapter contains the results of a study carried out in the fi rst half of 2016 at the Institute of Urban Development concerning the designation of degraded areas and revitalization areas just after the entry into force of the revitalization law. The results of the study are conclusions confirming the use of cities, which first delimited the areas of revitalization from the possibility of individualizing the approach to the designation of those areas, which was introduced by the Guidelines and the law.

The paper stresses the issue of strong temperature influence on the gain of a Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM). High sensitivity of the detector to light (single photons) requires stable parameters during measurement, including gain. The paper presents a method of compensating the change of gain caused by temperature variations, by adjusting a suitable voltage bias provided by a precise power module. The methodology of the research takes in account applications with a large number of SiPMs (20 thousand), explains the challenges and presents the results of the gain stabilization algorithm.