The hygienic practices on farms should reduce pathogenic microorganisms while simultaneously not harming the animals themselves; they must also not degrade the products’ quality. We assessed the effect of covering feed tables with paint containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and the periodic spraying of effective microorganisms (EM) on production indicators and basic chemical composition, mineral content and fatty acid profiles in the bodies of Cornu aspersum aspersum snails. The animals were divided into four groups: (1) control, (2) with feed tables covered with AgNPs paint, (3) with EM spray applied and (4) with both factors—AgNP paint and EM spray. The highest increase in Ag, Zn, Fe and Ca retention, and the remodelling of the fatty acid profile in the carcasses of snails was found to be in the group of animals in contact with the feed tables covered with AgNP paint. In the group of animals exposed to the action of EM, an increased retention of Fe, Cu, P, Mg and Zn was found.

The variety of vacuum carburizing with prenitriding (PreNitLPC® technology) consists in metering ammonia in the stage of charge heating for carburizing to reduce grain growth in the surface layer of carburized steel. This paper presents the effect of nitrogen interaction on the reduction of austenite grain growth during vacuum carburizing and on the mechanical properties (fatigue strength, impact resistance) of the layer treated in this way in relation to conventional carburizing methods.

The “boost-diffusion” low-pressure nitriding used to low-frictional coatings manufacturing of aircraft engines’ piston rings is a nonsteady-state process; therefore, designing and prediction of the process’ kinetics by analytical solutions of Fick’s equations or numerical methods of diffusion are difficult, due to the nonlinear relationship between the diffusion coefficient and the rate of diffusion as well as nonsteady-state boundary conditions. The best solution in this case, as the practice and theory indicate, is computer-aided design based on neural networks. The paper describes neural network model and its training procedures based on data mining in the application to the monitoring and control of low-pressure nitriding process for creation of low-frictional coatings on gray irons and steels used for the piston rings manufacturing. The goal was to study the usefulness of the multilayer feed-forward perceptrons and radial basis function of neural networks for modeling of multiphase kinetic diffusion for low-pressure nitriding. As it was shown, the use of specialist networks that designate single features gives more accurate prediction results than the use of general networks that design several features at the same time. It has been proved that it is possible to construct an industrial application of the low-pressure nitriding based on artificial neural networks. The results of the research will be the basis for the development of innovative, specialized software supporting the design of gradient low-friction layers based on the FineLPN low-pressure nitriding and consequently the design of intelligent supervision over their manufacturing technology.

The paper presents the new concept of low frictional hybrid composite coatings on nodular cast iron. The structure of it is multilayer and consists of MoS₂ and/or WS₂ nanoinclusions embedded in the iron nitrides’ zone and relatively deep hard diffusion zone. It offers a low friction coefficient as well as high wear resistance of coated parts. The details of technology as well as the mechanism of layer’s growth have been presented and discussed. The presented technology may be an interesting alternative for chromium-based galvanic coatings of piston rings made of nodular iron using Cr⁶⁺.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of Ag nanoparticles (nano-Ag) used in the paint covering feed tables or a multimicrobial preparation applied to feed tables on the microbiological composition of the feed table environment, the growth and mortality of snails, and selected parameters for assessing the quality of carcasses and snail shells. The research was carried out in a farm of Cornu aspersum (Müller) snails. In the control (K) group, paint without nano-Ag was used. In two other groups (N-Ag and N-Ag + effective microorganisms (EM)), the feed tables were covered with the same paint as in the control group but with the addition of 100 mg/L of nano-Ag it (N-Ag group). Additionally, multimicrobial preparation (EM Bokashi^®) at a concentration of 10% was spread on the tables in the N-Ag + EM group. In the last group (EM), the feed tables were covered with paint without nano-Ag, and only multimicrobial preparation was applied at a concentration of 10%. During the tests, the body weight of snails was measured three times, and swab samples were taken from the feed tables for the examination of microbiological composition. At the end of the experiment, the snails were killed, and the weight of the carcass and the size of the shell were measured. The content of Ag and the degree of lipid oxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)) in the carcasses were analyzed, and the content of Ca and the crushing strength of the shells were determined. In the N-Ag and N-Ag + EM groups, a significant reduction in the total number of bacteria, fecal streptococci, and Escherichia coli was found, while there was also a reduction in mold and fungi in the N-Ag + EM and EM groups. In the K and EM groups, the mortality of animals was higher than in the nano-Ag groups. In subsequent weight checks, the highest body weight was found in the EM group and the lowest in the N-Ag and N-Ag + EM groups. In addition, the carcass weight and shell size in the N-Ag group was significantly lower compared to the K and EM groups. In the N-Ag and N-Ag + EM groups, a higher Ag content in the carcasses and a greater degree of lipid peroxidation were found. The Ca content of the shells was the highest in the N-Ag group, and the hardness of shells was the highest in the N-Ag and N-Ag + EM groups.

The purpose of this article was to present in a concise and organized way the available knowledge about ferritic nitrocarburizing in low-pressure. The authors aimed to indicate the research gap, and the whole article is a starting point for further research.The research method was the analysis of available literature, patent database and industry notes from manufacturers of modern furnaces.The ferritic nitrocarburizing process has many advantages in line with the market demand and the lack of solutions. The article summarizes the knowledge in the field of the ferritic nitrocarburizing process as a systematization of knowledge and a starting point for further research.The information described in the article requires further laboratory research.The information collected by the authors was the basis for developing the technology discussed in the LIDER/3/0025/L-12/20/NCBR/2021 project.Research on this type of treatment will enable the development of technology and will meet the expectations and needs of the industry. It will also provide benefits in the form of a better understanding of the processes and the determination of the relationship between the parameters and the properties of the obtained surface layers.