The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is a newly formed, global collaboration dedicated to observing and studying cosmic rays (CR) and cosmic-ray ensembles (CRE): groups of at least two CR with a common primary interaction vertex or the same parent particle. The CREDO program embraces testing known CR and CRE scenarios, and preparing to observe unexpected physics, it is also suitable for multi-messenger and multi-mission applications. Perfectly matched to CREDO capabilities, CRE could be formed both within classical models (e.g., as products of photon–photon interactions), and exotic scenarios (e.g., as results of decay of Super-Heavy Dark Matter particles). Their fronts might be significantly extended in space and time, and they might include cosmic rays of energies spanning the whole cosmic-ray energy spectrum, with a footprint composed of at least two extensive air showers with correlated arrival directions and arrival times. As the CRE are predominantly expected to be spread over large areas and, due to the expected wide energy range of the contributing particles, such a CRE detection might only be feasible when using all available cosmic-ray infrastructure collectively, i.e., as a globally extended network of detectors. Thus, with this review article, the CREDO Collaboration invites the astroparticle physics community to actively join or to contribute to the research dedicated to CRE and, in particular, to pool together cosmic-ray data to support specific CRE detection strategies.

This study explores the influence of rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis (L.) essential oil (EO) on the biochemical (acetylcholinesterase, catalase, and glutathione S-transferase), physiological (oxygen consumption), and behavioral (open field test, repellency) parameters of an important stored product insect: cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.). R. officinalis EO exhibited effective insecticidal action against C. maculatus even at relatively low concentrations. LC₅₀ = 15.69 μL/L air, and was highly repellent at concentrations equal to or above LC₂₅. Statistically significant inhibition in locomotor activity occurred only after the acute exposure to the EO at LC_12.5 and LC₂₅. The oxygen consumption test showed metabolism increase only at LC₅₀. An increase in activity was observed in the case of all three enzymes examined. The presented data provides a potentially valuable resource in designing more environmentally friendly and safer insecticide agents.

Large numbers of Mallard Anas platyrhynchos (max. 10,490 ind.), Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus (max. 3,430 ind.) and Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (max. 1,449 ind.) were recorded on the Goczałkowice Reservoir, Poland (2,754 ha). Most of the waterbirds occurred in the backwater of this reservoir. The amount of phosphorus and nitrogen loaded by the most numerous waterbirds into Goczałkowice Reservoir was estimated at 958 kg and 2,621 kg, respectively in 2011 and 1,043 kg and 2,793 kg, respectively in 2012. In 2011 and 2012, the waterbirds introduced a considerable amount of phosphorus, nitrogen and a large number of coliforms into the backwater of the reservoir. The concentration of different forms of phosphorus and nitrogen, chlorophyll-a and bacteria coli in the water was not greater at the site of birds’ concentration (except dissolved organic nitrogen). The concentration of nitrates in the water at the site near the breeding colony of gulls in comparison with the reference site was not different. The amounts of P-tot and N-tot in the sediment were similar at the site affected by waterbirds and at the reference site. The dynamics of water masses was not the reason for the lack of differences between the studied sites.

Gamification is known to enhance users’ participation in education and research projects that follow the citizen science paradigm. The Cosmic Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) experiment is designed for the large-scale study of various radiation forms that continuously reach the Earth from space, collectively known as cosmic rays. The CREDO Detector app relies on a network of involved users and is now working worldwide across phones and other CMOS sensor-equipped devices. To broaden the user base and activate current users, CREDO extensively uses the gamification solutions like the periodical Particle Hunters Competition. However, the adverse effect of gamification is that the number of artefacts, i.e., signals unrelated to cosmic ray detection or openly related to cheating, substantially increases. To tag the artefacts appearing in the CREDO database we propose the method based on machine learning. The approach involves training the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to recognise the morphological difference between signals and artefacts. As a result we obtain the CNN-based trigger which is able to mimic the signal vs. artefact assignments of human annotators as closely as possible. To enhance the method, the input image signal is adaptively thresholded and then transformed using Daubechies wavelets. In this exploratory study, we use wavelet transforms to amplify distinctive image features. As a result, we obtain a very good recognition ratio of almost 99% for both signal and artefacts. The proposed solution allows eliminating the manual supervision of the competition process.

The essential oils (EOs) are volatile plant extracts that are commonly considered as potential biopesticides. They present promising properties as relatively safe and potent insecticides, primarily delivered via fumigation. Such specificity of the EOs has led to the growing interest of researchers and, subsequently, to an increasing body of publications. The studies focusing on assessing the insecticidal action of EOs frequently require testing the effects of several dilutions of a given EO. To this end, researchers employ a range of solvents differing widely between the studies. While informative, the standardization concerning either tested oil or pest species is lacking in these studies. The presented study herein aimed to test whether the solvent used could affect the observed insecticidal activity of tested EO. As the model setup for studying the possible influence of solvents on the insecticidal effect of EOs, two EOs: mint and rosemary were chosen. The EOs were applied in fumigation assay against three economically important species of stored product pests: Callosobruchus maculatus, Sitophilus oryzae, and Tribolium castaneum. Each EO was tested in three concentrations—diluted with a range of solvents; dimethyl sulfoxide, acetone, methanol, ethanol, paraffin (mineral) oil, ultrapure water with 0.1% polysorbate 20 (TWEEN^® 20). The results confirm the hypothesis that the applied solvent could significantly alter the observed efficiency of tested EO. Such a result is of crucial value for conducting credible meta-analysis as well as for establishing a high standard of reproducibility.

Background: Secondary salinity of river water reduces the value of ecosystem services, negatively impacting the entire aquatic ecosystem and reducing the possibility of water use. In Poland, significant anthropogenic salinity of rivers and water reservoirs is usually associated with mining activity consisting of pumping salty mine water into settling ponds or often directly into rivers. However, to assess the reasons for the salinity of the Vistula waters, it is necessary to identify all sources of salt in surface waters, enabling the assessment of the salt load in the waters. Methods: The paper presents four sources of data which have been compiled to propose a valuable method for analyzing the threat of the river. Patrol monitoring was one method of data acquisition, and State Environmental Monitoring data ware also used. Clustering and correlation statistical techniques were used for analysis. Results: Of the 20 physical and chemical parameters analyzed, chloride, calcium sulphate and magnesium ions are important for salinity. Measurements with multi-parameter probes allowed for the identification of increased salinity pressure sites, while flow analyses were required to calculate the load. Conclusions: The Vistula River had the highest concentrations of the analyzed ions in the Silesia Region. The use of patrol monitoring can be highly useful in determining the causes of emerging problems with water quality and supporting State Environmental Monitoring.