This study presents a non-destructive method for assessing changes in strawberry hardness induced by pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Strawberry samples were subjected to PEF at field strengths ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 kV/cm, and structural changes were evaluated using both mechanical hardness tests and OCT-based image analysis of subsurface tissue layers. Texture descriptors, including Haralick features and lacunarity measures, were extracted from OCT images to characterize microstructural heterogeneity. Due to high feature redundancy, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied, preserving over 99.7% of data variance in the textural feature space. A linear prediction model supported by RANSAC regression was developed to estimate hardness from PCA-transformed features, ensuring robustness to outliers. Model evaluation showed moderate predictive performance (mean R2 ≈ 0.6), with variability across data splits indicating sensitivity to sample heterogeneity. SHAP analysis revealed that the first principal component dominates the prediction. An additional linear regression model of changes in strawberry hardness under the influence of PEF with 7 different intensities was also introduced. Statistical analysis confirmed a significant effect of PEF on hardness (p = 0.002, η2=0.365). The results show that OCT combined with machine learning shows promising potential for exploring the non-invasive monitoring of PEF-induced structural changes associated with fruit tissue hardness.

This paper reports an experimental evaluation of electrostatic discharge (ESD) effects on three cable types—coaxial, LAN Cat. 6 UTP, and BNC signal–under IEC 61000-4-2 bench conditions. Discharges were applied in air-discharge mode at voltages up to 25 kV, and disturbances were analyzed using repeated measurements in both time and frequency domains. The results indicate that LAN cables exhibit the highest susceptibility, producing voltages above 30 V and high disturbance energies, while coaxial cables show predictable linear growth with moderate values. The BNC signal cable demonstrated the lowest disturbance levels and the most repeatable FFT spectral characteristics, confirming its superior robustness.

Vitamins B and C are crucial for maintaining human health, so it is important to develop effective methods to support their extraction from products of plant origin. The research conducted by the authors focused on modifying the content of these vitamins in dessert strawberries using a pulsed electric field (PEF) with an intensity of 1, 3 or 5 kV/cm. Experiments have shown that PEF treatment with an intensity of 1 kV/cm and 10 pulses for 10 s resulted in a significant improvement in vitamin content and extraction efficiency of vitamin C by 22 %, folic acid by 24 %, thiamine by more than 50 % and riboflavin by more than 60 %. Optical coherence tomography imaging revealed texture changes in fruit pulp under the influence of PEF, related to the release of additional vitamins detected by chromatography methods. Additionally, PEF treatment offers significant benefits in fruit processing, including improved dehydration characteristics, reduced time and energy required for freeze-drying, increased extraction efficiency, and potential improvements in bioactive compound content and antioxidant properties. The research results may have practical applications in the analytical determination of vitamins C and B by improving the extraction efficiency. Moreover, the use of the PEF method can be important for producers of fruit products (including strawberries), as it enables them to improve the nutritional value of their products.

Examples from living systems at various levels of the biological hierarchy and also from natural food products show that ultra-weak photon emission (UPE) has potential applications in the rating of vital functions and quality testing. In this study, the UPE of chicken eggs has been tested regarding the possibility of egg quality verification. The UPE from intact eggs and separated egg parts were subjected to supervised and unsupervised classification methods according to different housing types. The results of unsupervised egg grouping substantially agreed with the types of hen rearing. The Cohen’s Kappa test score for the K-means method was up to K=0.63. Supervised Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier with radial kernel function achieved a relatively high accuracy (AC), up to 88%, also confirmed by the value of the K-statistics up to 0.81. This study shows that the best result of egg types classification can be obtained using UPE emission data from all egg parts.

The research concerned the identification of the possibility of using solar radiation as a source of electricity, taking into account the current infrastructural capabilities of the agglomeration. To carry out this task, weather stations of the WH 2600 type with an Internet protocol allowing realtime data visualization and also data archiving and export in the desired frequency regime were selected. The weather stations were equipped with a wind vane, wind speed sensor, solar panel, temperature and humidity sensor, UV sensor, light sensor, rain sensor. Estimation of measurement uncertainty was carried out based on an in -laboratory experiment. It was noted that there was no significant variation within the mean values of solar radiation, while spatially the variation in solar radiation values within the analyzed agglomeration exceeded 50%.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the expression of CHK2 and p53 in tumor tissue in carriers of germline CHEK2 mutations can serve as a prognostic marker for PTC, and whether CHEK2 and TP53 copy numbers correlates with the course of PTC disease. This study included 156 PTC patients previously tested for the presence of CHEK2. Clinicopathological features, treatment response, disease outcome, and germline mutation status of the CHEK2 gene were assessed with respect to CHK2 and p53 expression, and CHEK2 and TP53 gene copy statuses. In patients with and without a germline mutation in CHEK2 and with higher CHK2 expression, the chances of an excellent treatment response and no evidence of disease were lower than in patients without or with lower CHK2 expression. TP53 deletion was associated with angioinvasion. In patients with a truncating mutation, the chance of a CHEK2 deletion was higher than in patients with WT CHEK2 alone or those with WT CHEK2 and with the missense I157T mutation. Higher CHK2 expression was associated with poorer treatment responses and disease outcomes. Higher CHK2 expression and positive p53 together with a TP53 deletion could be a prognostic marker of unfavorable disease outcomes in patients with germline truncating mutations in CHEK2.

Drying is one of the most energy-intensive food processing technologies and can contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, novel nonthermal pretreatment methods can be used to affect the plant tissue and decrease the drying time. A pulsed electric field (PEF), direct current electric field (DCEF), and electromagnetic field (EMF) were applied to black garlic cloves which were subsequently subjected to convective pre-drying followed by a vacuum-microwave finishing drying. The effect of these pretreatments on the physical properties, energy consumption, attributes of texture profile analysis (TPA), as well as microstructure determined by the use of X-ray computed tomography is presented. The application of pretreatments reduced the porosity of the material and resulted in an increased hardness compared to the unpretreated sample. Overall, nonthermal pretreatments proved beneficial in reducing the drying time and minimizing the energy consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions during processing while maintaining a high quality of dried black garlic.

Essential oils have found widespread use due to their properties observed back in nature. Eucalyptus oil is obtained from the knobby eucalyptus, grown mainly in Australia and Tasmania. The predominant component of the oil is eucalyptol. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a constant electric field affects the electromagnetic spectrum structure in the visible light range of eucalyptus oil. The experiments carried out showed differences in the electromagnetic spectrum depending on the applied values of the electric voltage parameters and the exposure time of the constant electric field. To generate significant changes in the light transmittance of eucalyptus oil, it should be subjected to electric field exposure with an electric voltage between 4 and 8.5 kV/cm and a time between 0.5 and 1.5 hours.

Background:Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia with increasing prevalence with respect to age and comorbidities. AF may influence the prognosis in patients hospitalized with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to assess the prevalence of AF among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 and the association of AF and in-hospital anticoagulation treatment with prognosis. Methods and results:We assessed the prevalence of AF among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 and the association of AF and in-hospital anticoagulation treatment with prognosis. Data of all COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland, between March 2020 and April 2021, were analyzed. The following outcomes: short-term (30-days since hospital admission) and long-term (180-days after hospital discharge) mortality, major cardiovascular events (MACEs), pulmonary embolism, and need for red blood cells (RBCs) transfusion, as a surrogate for major bleeding events during hospital stay were assessed. Out of 4,998 hospitalized patients, 609 had AF (535 pre-existing and 74 de novo). Compared to those without AF, patients with AF were older and had more cardiovascular disorders. In adjusted analysis, AF was independently associated with an increased risk of short-term {p = 0.019, Hazard Ratio [(HR)] 1.236; 95% CI: 1.035-1.476} and long-term mortality (Log-rank p < 0.001) as compared to patients without AF. The use of novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) in AF patients was associated with reduced short-term mortality (HR 0.14; 95% CI: 0.06-0.33, p < 0.001). Moreover, in AF patients, NOAC use was associated with a lower probability of MACEs (Odds Ratio 0.3; 95% CI: 0.10-0.89, p = 0.030) without increase of RBCs transfusion. Conclusions:AF increases short- and long-term risk of death in patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. However, the use of NOACs in this group may profoundly improve prognosis.

Essential oils have found wide use due to their properties already observed in nature. Because of the new interest in natural products such as essential oils, despite their widespread use and familiarity as fragrances, it is important to better understand their mode of biological action for new applications in medicine, agriculture and the environment. an important goal of modern chemical physics is to gain external control over the dynamics of elementary chemical processes. Manipulating chemical transformations with external electromagnetic fields is at the heart of modular chemistry, chemical stereodynamics and quantum control of molecular dynamics. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of influence of an alternating elecromagnetic field on the structure of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible light range of selected essential oils. The experiments conducted showed the effect of an alternating electromagnetic field on the electromagnetic spectrum of cedarwood oil. To generate significant changes in the light permeability of the suspension, for both oils, the oils must be subjected to a two-hour exposure to an electromagnetic field of 40 mT.

Background: It is a well-known fact that COVID-19 affects the cardiovascular system by exacerbating heart failure in patients with preexisting conditions. However, there is a poor insight into the cardiovascular involvement and sequelae in patients without preexisting conditions. The aim of the study is to analyse the influence of COVID-19 on cardiac performance in patients without prior history of structural heart disease. The study is part of the CRACoV project, which includes a prospective design and a 12-month follow-up period. Material and methods: The study included 229 patients hospitalised with a diagnosis of COVID-19 (median age of 59 years, 81 were women). A standard clinical assessment and laboratory tests were performed in all participants. An extended echocardiographic image acquisition was performed at baseline and at a 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. All analyses were performed off-line. A series of echocardiographic parameters was compared using repeated measures or Friedman analysis of variance. Results: In all subjects, the left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction at baseline was preserved [63.0%; Q1:Q3 (60.0-66.0)]. Elevated levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T were detected in 21.3% of the patients, and elevated NT-proBNP levels were detected in 55.8%. At the 1-year follow-up, no significant changes were observed in the LV diameter and volume (LV 48.0 +/- 5.2 vs. 47.8 +/- 4.8 mm, p = 0.08), while a significant improvement of the parameters in the biventricular strain was observed (LV -19.1 +/- 3.3% vs. -19.7 +/- 2.5%, p = 0.01, and right ventricular -19.9 +/- 4.5% vs. -23.2 +/- 4.9%, p = 0.002). In addition, a decrease in the LV wall thickness was also observed (interventricular septum 10.4 +/- 1.6 vs. 9.7 +/- 2.0 mm, p < 0.001; LV posterior wall 9.8 +/- 1.4 vs. 9.1 +/- 1.5 mm, p < 0.001). Conclusions: In an acute phase of COVID-19, the elevation of cardiac biomarkers in patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction is a frequent occurrence; however, it does not translate into clinically significant cardiac dysfunction after 1 year. The serial echocardiographic evaluations conducted in patients without preexisting structural heart disease demonstrate an overall trend towards an improved cardiac function and a reduced myocardial thickening at 1-year follow-up. This suggests that the acute cardiac consequences of COVID-19 are associated with systemic inflammation and haemodynamic stress in patients without preexisting conditions.

. The aim of the research was to parameterise the degree of influence of low-temperature plasma on the structure of the electromagnetic spectrum in the visible light range of a selected fluid, which, after being parameterised, will constitute a benchmark marker of the analysed interaction. The scope of the research included the generation of plasma water in a plasma generator, the intensity of which was the differentiating element. The fluid so prepared was subjected to spectral analysis. Subsequently, water of varying interaction degree was used to prepare a medium for microorganisms, the growth of which was monitored by measuring the optical density of the solution. Differences were also observed in the kinetics of microbial growth, which developed in water subjected to cold plasma interaction and in water without this interaction. The measured optical density after a 6-fold exposure and 50-hour incubation was 3.72 McF and was 1.93 McF lower than that of the reference sample (without exposure)

For many years, the country's forest area has been steadily increasing. As much as 68.3% of the species composition of forests are conifers. Needles can be used in forest biomonitoring. As early as ancient times, Greek researchers described the existence of the phenomenon we know today as bioluminescence. Biological systems emit very weak light without any external stimuli. The phenomenon of photon emission has been discovered in many microscopic as well as macroscopic systems. The source of specific electromagnetic radiation is every living organism. The presence of biomacromolecules and molecular oxygen in metabolically active cells, leads to the occurrence of changes in bioluminescence. The purpose of this research is to determine the possibility of using photon emission to identify selected types of conifers. The conducted research showed the possibility of using photon emission to identify the type of coniferous trees. There was a difference in the number of photons emitted by all the conifer needles studied, with common spruce needles emitting the highest number of photons compared to needles of other species. These differences, are probably related to the morphological structure of these organs and chlorophyll content.