Piotr M. Tojza

The Influence of Electromagnetic Pollution on Living Organisms: Historical Trends and Forecasting Changes

Current technologies have become a source of omnipresent electromagnetic pollution from generated electromagnetic fields and resulting electromagnetic radiation. In many cases this pollution is much stronger than any natural sources of electromagnetic fields or radiation. The harm caused by this pollution is still open to question since there is no clear and definitive evidence of its negative influence on humans. This is despite the fact that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields were classified as potentially carcinogenic. For these reasons, in recent decades a significant growth can be observed in scientific research in order to understand the influence of electromagnetic radiation on living organisms. However, for this type of research the appropriate selection of relevant model organisms is of great importance. It should be noted here that the great majority of scientific research papers published in this field concerned various tests performed on mammals, practically neglecting lower organisms. In that context the objective of this paper is to systematise our knowledge in this area, in which the influence of electromagnetic radiation on lower organisms was investigated, including bacteria, E. coli and B. subtilis, nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, land snail, Helix pomatia, common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, and clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Arm EMG Wavelet-Based Denoising System

These paper presents research results of muscle EMG signal denoising. In the same time two muscles were examined - an adductor muscle (biceps brachii) and an abductor muscle (tricpeps brachii). The EMG signal was filtered using the wavelet transform technique, having selected the crucial parameters as: wavelet basis function (Daubechies 4), 10 th decomposition level, threshold selection algorithm (Heurestic) and a sln rescaling function (based on scaled white noise). After denoising the signal, a short analysis of the outcome signal is performed. Such developed system has a wide application possibility, mainly in Mechatronic systems where it can be used for example in teleoperation of a robot arm, control signals for a prosthetic arm, biomedical signal filtering or in rehabilitation aiding robots.

A conception of pairwise comparisons model for selection of appropriate body surface area calculation formula

Body surface area (BSA) may be computed using a variety of formulas, but the computed BSA differs from real BSA values for particular subjects. This is presented in the paper by computing BSA values for selected subject and comparing them to the real BSA value obtained with the use of a 3D body scanner. The results show inequalities in the relevant BSA computing formulas. Hence, there is a need to determine a method that will allow to select the best formula for calculating BSA in a particular case. For this purpose, the pairwise comparisons (PC) method is suggested. This article presents a proposition of using consistency-driven PC, as well as the basic and most important aspects of using PC to determine the appropriate BSA calculation formula.

Rational Use of Primary Energy in Single-Family Residential Houses

This work presents results of the primary energy use for heating residential single-family house. Analysis includes domestic hot water system (DHW) and heating, ventilation and air condition system (HVAC). During researches the conventional and alternative energy sources (natural gas, biomass, fuel oil, bituminous coal, lignite, or electric energy obtained from electric power system – EPS) were used in DHW and HVAC systems. Furthermore in the article, the analysis of sulfur dioxide emission to the atmosphere during energetic combustion of energy source was performed.

Platform Supporting the Esophageal Impedance Analysis

The esophageal pH-impedance examination is one of the most popular diagnostic methods for identifying the upper gastrointestinal tract’s diseases. Inconclusive test evaluation criteria makes it difficult to state the definite diagnosis. In this paper, the computer platform supporting the research and teaching process in the area of pH-impedance analysis is presented. Users, having a variety of mathematical and statistical methods at their disposition, have the opportunity to study and search for new methods of the impedance courses evaluation, which could translate into a significant broadening of knowledge in the field of esophageal impedance analysis. This could lead to acceleration and improvement of the upper gastrointestinal tract diseases diagnosing process.

An application supporting Gastroesophageal Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance-pH analysis

Due to a significant rise in the number of patients diagnosed with diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract and the high cost of treatment, there is a need to further research on one of the most popular diagnostic tests used in this case - esophageal Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance and pH measurement. This may lead to finding new diagnostically relevant information, used to quicken and improve the diagnostic procedure. The paper presents an algorithm used in a new computer application dedicated for researchers and physicians interested in research connected with Gastroesophageal impedance and pH data analysis. A possibility to modify a wide range of the algorithms parameters as well as rich set of the programs functions allows researchers to search for new criteria to assess the pH and impedance data when diagnosing diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract. This, in turn, may lead to improving the time and accuracy of the MII-pH analysis which will substantially affect the patients diagnosis time and treatment. Moreover, the diagnosing physician will be able to asses more tests, which is important, due to a significant rise in the number of patients seeking attention when speaking about the diseases of the upper gastrointestinal tract.