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Czech Republic (czech + republic)
Selected AbstractsON THE ROAD TO DEMOCRACY: THE CZECH REPUBLIC FROM COMMUNISM TO FREE SOCIETYECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2006Jackie Newbury [source] GEOCHEMICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL ANOMALIES AT THE ZDANICE OIL- AND GASFIELD, SE CZECH REPUBLICJOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2008M. Matolin Oil at the Zdanice field in the SE Czech Republic is reservoired at a depth of 900 m in weathered Precambrian granitoids and Lower Miocene sandstones and conglomerates. Tertiary claystones, siltstones and sandstones form the top seal. Surface gamma-ray spectrometry carried out along two profiles across the field (6,880 m and 8,335 m in length, respectively) found perceptible decreases of K, U, and Th concentrations relative to background values. This can be explained in terms of enhanced leaching of these radionuclides by groundwater acids derived from hydrocarbons. Observed increases in radon and thoron in soil gas above the oil-producing zone at Zdanice may be caused by enhanced gas emanation from U- and Th-bearing minerals decomposed by groundwater acids. Laboratory analyses of 444 samples collected from 18 shallow boreholes (20 m deep) pointed to a trend of decreasing K, U and Th concentrations above the oil-producing zone at Zdanice. Decreases in rock porosity and organic carbon content were also noted together with an increase in mineralogical density, magnetic susceptibility and sulphur content. Petrophysical analyses of 330 samples from deep boreholes showed lower values of K and U in samples from oil-producing wells. These observations of minor petrophysical alterations in rocks overlying the Zdanice oilfield may be characteristic and may be applicable to hydrocarbon exploration operations elsewhere. [source] MINERALOGY OF MEDIEVAL SLAGS FROM LEAD AND SILVER SMELTING (BOHUTÍN, P,ÍBRAM DISTRICT, CZECH REPUBLIC): TOWARDS ESTIMATION OF HISTORICAL SMELTING CONDITIONS*ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 6 2009V. ETTLER Slags from the Pb/Ag medieval (14th century) smelting plant located at Bohutín, P,íbram district, Czech Republic, were studied from the mineralogical and geochemical points of view. Two types of slags were distinguished: (i) quenched slags formed mainly by Pb-rich glass and unmelted residual grains of SiO2 and feldspars, and (ii) crystallized slags mainly composed of Fe-rich olivine (fayalite) and glass. The mean log viscosity value of the slags calculated for 1200°C was 2.119 Pa s. The morphology of olivine crystals was used to estimate the cooling rates of the melt, for some slags indicating rates > 1450°C/h. The projection of the bulk composition of slags onto the SiO2,PbO,FeO ternary system was used for rough temperature estimates of slag formation, lying probably between 800 and 1200°C. [source] Retrospective clinical study of 90 avulsed permanent teeth in 58 childrenDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Vasileios Tzigkounakis We analyzed the documentations of a sample of patients containing 57 children who had a total of 90 avulsed teeth and were treated in Dentistry Department of Medical Faculty in Pilsen, Czech Republic, in the years between 1995 and 2005. We discovered that most frequently the children experience dental avulsion in the age between 8 and 11 years old, the most affected teeth are the upper central incisors and the most frequent causes are sports and games which are very common in these ages, in various environments, like schools, sport fields and home. The majority of the children were transferred to the Dentistry Department either quite long after the avulsion incident and without the avulsed teeth, or with the avulsed teeth which were carried in an inappropriate transport medium, indicating that there is insufficient knowledge of adult people, especially the ones who are in daily contact with children, on how to provide first aid in cases of dental avulsion. [source] Type 1 diabetes mellitus in Czech children diagnosed in 1990,1997: a significant increase in incidence and male predominance in the age group 0,4 yearsDIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 1 2000O. Cinek Summary Aims To overview total, age-and sex-specific incidence rates of type 1 diabetes mellitus and their trends in Czech children 0,14 years of age in the period of 1990,1997. Methods Type 1 DM cases were ascertained by two independent sources, data of general population were obtained from the annual demographic reports of the State Statistic Bureau. Incidence rates were computed using both ascertainment sources combined. Results In the study period 1.1.1990,31.12.1997, the total incidence was 10.1 (95% CI 9.6,10.6) per 100 000/year in both sexes, 10.0 (95% CI 9.4,10.7) in boys, and 10.2 (95% CI 9.5,11.0) in girls. The total age-standardized incidence was 9.9 (95% CI 9.4,10.4). The total incidence had a significant increasing trend over the study period (P = 10,4, annual increment 4.3%). A significant increasing trend was also found in the groups of children 0,4 (P = 0.033, increment 6.9%) and 5,9 years at diagnosis (P = 0.038, increment 4.8%). Statistically significant male predominance was observed in the group diagnosed at age 0,4 years (boys/girls ratio of incidence 1.33, P = 0.035). Conclusions We report the first population-based epidemiological data on incidence of childhood Type 1 DM in the Czech Republic. The incidence has increased significantly during the last 8 years. The present incidence is at an intermediate level compared to other European countries. [source] Diversity of native and alien plant species on rubbish dumps: effects of dump age, environmental factors and toxicityDIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS, Issue 3 2003Antonín Py Abstract. The flora of 96 rubbish dumps consisting of organic, inorganic and industrial wastes was studied in the Czech Republic. Some dumps contained toxic substances (heavy metals, chlorethylenes, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyls, oil hydrocarbons and biogas). Statistically significant factors explaining the number and proportional representation of native plant species, archaeophytes (introduced before 1500) and neophytes (introduced later) were determined. In total, 588 species of vascular plants were recorded, with archaeophytes (133 species) over-represented and native species (322 species) and neophytes (133 species) under-represented compared to their proportions in the national flora. Minimum adequate models were used to determine the effects of several factors on species numbers and proportions, independent of other factors. Dump area, human density in the region and altitude (non-significant only in archaeophytes) were correlated positively with species numbers. Dump age, expressed as time since dump establishment, interacted with the dump toxicity; species numbers increased with dump age on non-toxic dumps, whereas on toxic dumps no increase in numbers was noted. For neophytes, dump toxicity also interacted with human density; the increase in numbers of neophytes with human density is more pronounced on toxic than on non-toxic dumps. The variables measured failed to explain observed differences in proportional representation of native species, archaeophytes and neophytes. This suggests that the occurrence of species growing in such extreme habitats is driven overwhelmingly by factors such as anthropogenic disturbance. A possible explanation for the positive effect of altitude on species numbers on dumps is that the effect of heating of the deposited substrate by microbiological processes, documented by previous studies, overrides the effect of altitude which was shown repeatedly to have a negative effect on species richness. Neophyte distribution is driven by an interplay of factors distinct from those influencing the distribution of native species, namely toxicity and human density (the latter we interpret as a surrogate for propagule pressure). Their distribution on studied dumps is more restricted than that of native taxa and archaeophytes, and they are more limited by toxic substrata; more intensive propagule pressure is required for their establishment at dumps with higher toxicity levels. [source] A new specimen of Baphetes from Ný,any, Czech Republic and the intrinsic relationships of the BaphetidaeACTA ZOOLOGICA, Issue 2009Angela C. Milner Abstract ,Loxomma'bohemicum from the Upper Carboniferous assemblage from Ný,any, Czech Republic, is a nomen dubium restricted to the type and only specimen. The new binomen Baphetes orientalis is created for a skull referred to Baphetes bohemicus by later authors. A previously undescribed baphetid specimen from Ný,any is referred to B. orientalis despite differences in skull proportions. It comprises a skull in dorsal aspect, mandibles and some associated postcranial elements. The skull possesses sclerotic ring elements within the orbital region of the dorsal fenestration of the skull, confirming the eye location. The elongate gastralia are arranged perpendicular to the interclavicle edge in contrast to the condition in temnospondyls and colosteids. Cladistic analysis of 24 characters of 11 baphetoids was carried out using Acanthostega and Crassigyrinus as outgroups. Eucritta was the most primitive baphetoid, with Spathicephalus being the sister-taxon to the remaining taxa, justifying a monotypic Spathicephalidae as a sister-taxon to the Baphetidae. The Baphetidae are divided into a subfamily Baphetinae nom.nov. containing two Baphetes species; and a subfamily Loxommatinae with Loxomma as a paraphyletic grade leading to a Megalocephalus +Kyrinion clade. The Linton taxon ,Baphetes' lintonensis is transferred to the genus Loxomma to give the new combination Loxomma lintonensis. [source] Fish assemblages as influenced by environmental factors in streams in protected areas of the Czech RepublicECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISH, Issue 1 2006M. Humpl Abstract,,, Three streams of comparable size located in different landscape-protected areas were selected for studying the effect of environmental factors on fish assemblages using indirect (detrended correspondence analysis, DCA) and direct (canonical correspondence analysis, CCA) gradient analysis. DCA of species showed well a gradient of assemblage changes in the longitudinal profile. DCA of sites stressed the variability between the fish assemblages of the three streams. This pattern was then confirmed by the highly significant between-stream CCA. In the within-site CCA, environmental factors explained 50.7% variability for presence,absence data and 58.3% for the relative abundance data. The analysis revealed that number of ponds and land use are the most influential factors of the strongest environmental gradient. However, in the partial CCAs, factor substratum type explained the largest proportion of the variability affecting fish in their habitat choice. Generally, presence,absence and relative abundance data of fish gave similar results in both DCA and CCA analyses; the same environmental factors proved to be important in both data type analyses. The environmental factors explain more variability than the regional (between-stream) one. The total proportion of variability explained by the presence,absence data analysis was 71.9% and in the relative abundance analysis even 80.8%. The environmental factors measured during the field survey explain 2.1- and 3.4-times more assemblages' variability than factors measured from a hydrological map. Resumen 1. Tres ríos de tamaño comparable localizados en diferentes áreas de paisaje protegido de la República Checa fueron seleccionados para estudiar el efecto de factores ambientales sobre los ensamblajes de peces. Para ello, utilizando análisis de gradientes indirectos (DCA) y directos (CCA). 2. El DCA para las especies enfatizó la variabilidad entre los ensamblajes de peces de los tres ríos. Este patrón fue confirmado por un CCA altamente significativo. Para la variabilidad dentro de la localidad, un CCA reveló que los factores ambientales explicaron un 50.7% para datos de presencia-ausencia y un 58.3% para las abundancias relativas. 3. Los análisis revelaron que el número de pozas y el uso del suelo fueron los factores de mayor influencia en el gradiente ambiental. Sin embargo, en el CCA parcial, el tipo de sustrato explicó la mayor proporción de la variabilidad que afecta a los peces en la elección de hábitat. 4. Generalmente los datos de presencia-ausencia y abundancia relativa produjeron resultados similares tanto en los análisis DCA como en los CCA; los mismos factores ambientales probaron ser importantes en los análisis de ambos tipos de datos. Los factores ambientales explicaron mas variabilidad que los regionales (entre ríos). La proporción total de variabilidad explicada por el análisis de los datos de presencia-ausencia fue 71.9% mientras que para las abundancias relativas fue de 80.8%. Los factores ambientales medidos durante los muestreos de campo explicaron 2.1 y 3.4 veces mas variabilidad que los factores medidos sobre mapas hidrológicos. [source] The Institutional Trap in the Czech Rental Sector: Nested Circuits of Power, Space, and InequalityECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2005Stefan Buzar Abstract: An "institutional trap" is a sequence of misplaced regulatory steps that have increased the costs of institutional transformation to the level at which inefficient structures can remain stable, despite changes in the external economic environment. This is a common occurrence in Central and Eastern Europe because of the path-dependent nature of the postsocialist transformation process. This article examines the organizational and territorial transformations of housing, utility, and social welfare policies in the Czech Republic through a comparative analysis of institutional power geometries and household expenditures at the national scale. The results indicate that the Czech Republic is facing an institutional trap in the restructuring of its rent control and social welfare policies. The trap operates within three nested circuits: the power geometries of postsocialist reforms, the geographies of housing prices and social welfare, and the consumption patterns of disadvantaged households. The lock-in created by the trap can be resolved only through carefully targeted and synchronized social support and housing investment programs, parallel to rent liberalization. This article argues for comprehensive, rather than partial, solutions to the institutional trap and emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of the relationships among institutions, space, and inequality. [source] Maximum growth rates and possible life strategies of different bacterioplankton groups in relation to phosphorus availability in a freshwater reservoirENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 9 2006Karel, imek Summary We investigated net growth rates of distinct bacterioplankton groups and heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) communities in relation to phosphorus availability by analysing eight in situ manipulation experiments, conducted between 1997 and 2003, in the canyon-shaped ,ímov reservoir (Czech Republic). Water samples were size-fractionated and incubated in dialysis bags at the sampling site or transplanted into an area of the reservoir, which differed in phosphorus limitation (range of soluble reactive phosphorus concentrations , SRP, 0.7,96 µg l,1). Using five different rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes, net growth rates of the probe-defined bacterial groups and HNF assemblages were estimated and related to SRP using Monod kinetics, yielding growth rate constants specific for each bacterial group. We found highly significant differences among their maximum growth rates while insignificant differences were detected in the saturation constants. However, the latter constants represent only tentative estimates mainly due to insufficient sensitivity of the method used at low in situ SRP concentrations. Interestingly, in these same experiments HNF assemblages grew significantly faster than any bacterial group studied except for a small, but abundant cluster of Betaproteobacteria (targeted by the R-BT065 probe). Potential ecological implications of different growth capabilities for possible life strategies of different bacterial phylogenetic lineages are discussed. [source] Summer changes in cyanobacterial bloom composition and microcystin concentration in eutrophic Czech reservoirsENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Petr Znachor Abstract In mid-July and August 2003 and 2004, 18 reservoirs in the Czech Republic were sampled for phytoplankton species composition and concentration of intracellular microcystins (MCs). As a consequence of high nutrient loading, most of the reservoirs experienced cyanobacterial blooms of various intensities, with the prevalence of cyanobacteria increasing markedly in August, along with a conspicuous shift in species composition toward dominance of Microcystis spp. Microcystins were detected in 90% of the samples, and their amount also increased considerably in August, reflecting the cyanobacterial biomass. In Microcystis -dominated samples, a significantly higher amount of MCs (p < 0.001) occurred than in samples in which other taxa prevailed. Microcystins were positively correlated with chlorophyll a and cyanobacterial biovolume (p < 0.05, R2 = 0.61 and 0.66, respectively), with the strongest correlation found for Microcystis spp. biovolume (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.87). This taxon was the most important producer of MCs in Czech reservoirs. The main structural variants of MCs were MC-LR, MC-RR, and MC-YR. This study's data also indicate that the relative share of MC variants (MC-LR and MC-RR) varies considerably with time, most likely as a consequence of different species and strain compositions during the summer. This study clearly demonstrates a high prevalence of MC-producing cyanobacteria in Czech reservoirs. Therefore, regular monitoring of these reservoirs is highly desirable in an effort to minimize potential health risks to the human population. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 21: 236,243, 2006. [source] Alcohol use in the country with the world's highest per capita beer consumption , the Czech RepublicADDICTION, Issue 10 2006K KUBI No abstract is available for this article. [source] Monitoring river sediments contaminated predominantly with polyaromatic hydrocarbons by chemical and in vitro bioassay techniquesENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 7 2001Jan Vondrá Abstract Extracts of sediment samples collected from the Morava River and its tributaries (Czech Republic) were examined for mutagenic, dioxin-like, and estrogenic activities. Moreover, the human leukemic HL-60 cell line was tested as a potential model for the detection of effects of environmental contaminants on cell proliferation and differentiation processes. Analytical data indicate that the sediments were contaminated predominantly with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalate esters. The sums of concentrations of 16 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency priority PAHs ranged from 0.8 to 13.2 ,g/g and those of phthalates reached up to 3,000 ng/g, while only low levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons were found. The main goal of the present study was to determine effects of PAH prevalence on in vitro bioassays, with special emphasis on dioxin-like activity. The dioxin-like activity was tested using a reporter gene assay based on chemical-activated luciferase expression (the CALUX assay). Significant dioxin-like activity (2.6,40.1 ,g/g benzo[a]pyrene equivalents and 5.9,48.2 ng/g 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin equivalents) was detected in all samples, and the results obtained with various exposure times or with both crude and PAH-deprived extracts indicate that the response was probably caused almost exclusively by the presence of high concentrations of PAHs. This corresponds with results of chemical analyses and indicates that various exposure times would allow a discrimination between dioxin-like activities of persistent compounds and easily metabolized aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor inducers. Only sediment extracts containing the highest concentrations of PAHs were mutagenic, as determined by the umu assay. Estrogenic activity was found in several samples (4.75,22.61 pg/g estradiol equivalents) using cells stably transfected with an estrogen-responsive element linked to a luciferase promoter. Noncytotoxic doses of extracts had no effects on HL-60 cell proliferation, while two of the tested crude extracts significantly enhanced their all- trans retinoic acid-induced differentiation. These activities were not associated with phthalate esters and/or PAHs. Our results indicate that cellular and biochemical in vitro assays based on various specific modes of action may yield data complementary to results of mutagenicity tests and that they could be useful in environmental risk assessment. High levels of PAHs are apparently associated with dioxin-like and mutagenic activities rather than with estrogenic activity. [source] Official survey, in 2002, for detection of Erwinia amylovora in a proposed protected zone in Jihomoravsky region (Czech Republic)1EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 3 2004O. Vahala Inspectors of the Czech NPPO surveyed the occurrence of fireblight Erwinia amylovora in an area of Jihomoravsky region (South Moravia) proposed as an EU protected zone, including 16 designated buffer zones around nurseries. The disease was not detected in communes where fireblight hosts are grown (nurseries, variety testing stations, orchards) or in buffer zones around nurseries. In 902 communes where fireblight hosts are grown only in orchards or not at all, wild host plants were inspected at 2.629 observation points (2137 located by GARMIN GPS). In Vy,kov district, suspected fireblight was confirmed at one observation point on Crataegus, growing by a railway in Rousínov commune and, in the course of a delimiting survey outside observation points, in four other communes (Drnovice, Habrovany, Komo,any and Vy,kov). [source] After the Health Check What is the Future for the Common Agricultural Policy?EUROCHOICES, Issue 1 2009Nach dem Gesundheitscheck: Wie geht es weiter mit der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik? Summary After the Health Check What is the Future for the Common Agricultural Policy? The CAP has now completed another stage in its development. The Health Check negotiating marathon has ended. The Czech Republic has been against unequal conditions for member states as these deform fair competition and the common market. Progressive modulation in the originally proposed form would have created barriers to a unified Europe, thus going against the motto of the Czech presidency ,Europe without Barriers'. The Czech Republic can certainly be satisfied with the essence of the compromise. The cancellation of the milk quota in 2015 is a liberalising measure, and as such we support it. The Health Check opens the door to the Czech presidency for a discussion on the elimination of unfair differences in direct payments between member states and we will definitely take up the opportunity. After 2013 the CAP will have to take much greater account of the situation following the unprecedented expansion of the EU in 2004 and 2006. For the Czech Republic, a further reinforcing of freedom in decision making for farmers and their focus on the specific needs of the local, community and global market is fundamental. Further simplification of the CAP and ,better regulation', focussing on a reduction in the administrative burden on farmers, is one of the priority challenges. La PAC a maintenant atteint un autre stade de son développement. Le marathon de négociation du bilan de santé a abouti. La République tchèque s'est opposée aux conditions inégales proposées aux pays membres car elles faussent la concurrence équitable et le marché commun. La modulation progressive sous sa forme initiale aurait créé des barrières dans une Europe unifiée, ce qui va à l'encontre de la devise de la présidence tchèque "Une Europe sans barrières". La République tchèque peut certainement être satisfaite de l'essence du compromis. La suppression du système des quotas laitiers en 2015 est une mesure de libéralisation et nous la soutenons en tant que telle. Le bilan de santé ouvre la porte à la présidence tchèque pour une discussion sur l'élimination des différences injustes entre paiements directs selon le pays membre et nous profiterons bien entendu de l'occasion. Après 2013, la PAC devra prendre davantage en compte la situation créée par l'élargissement sans précédent de l'UE entre 2004 et 2006. Pour la République tchèque, il est fondamental de renforcer encore la liberté qu'ont les agriculteurs pour prendre leurs décisions et de s'orienter vers les besoins spécifiques du marché local, communautaire et mondial. Un des défis prioritaires est de continuer à simplifier la PAC et d'améliorer la réglementation en s'orientant vers une réduction de la charge administrative qui pèse sur les agriculteurs. Eine weitere Phase in der Entwicklung der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik ist nun abgeschlossen. Der Verhandlungsmarathon hinsichtlich des Gesundheitschecks ist vorbei. Die Tschechische Republik war dagegen, dass für die Mitgliedsstaaten unterschiedliche Bedingungen gelten sollen, da diese den fairen Wettbewerb und den gemeinsamen Markt verzerren. Eine progressive Modulation in der ursprünglich vorgeschlagenen Form hätte einem einheitlichen Europa Steine in den Weg gelegt und somit dem Motto "Europa ohne Grenzen" der tschechischen Präsidentschaft widersprochen. Die Tschechische Republik hat zweifellos mit dem Kompromiss ein im Wesentlichen zufriedenstellendes Ergebnis erzielt. Die Abschaffung der Milchquote bis 2015 ist eine Maßnahme zur Liberalisierung, und als solche findet sie unsere Unterstützung. Der Gesundheitscheck eröffnet der tschechischen Präsidentschaft die Diskussion über die Beseitigung unterschiedlich hoher , und somit ungerechter , Direktzahlungen an die Mitgliedsstaaten. Diese Gelegenheit werden wir uns nicht entgehen lassen. Nach 2013 wird sich die GAP sehr viel mehr mit der Situation beschäftigen müssen, die sich aus der beispiellosen EU-Erweiterung aus den Jahren 2004 und 2006 ergibt. Für die Tschechische Republik ist es von grundlegender Bedeutung, die Entscheidungsfreiheit für Landwirte und deren Orientierung an den lokalen, regionalen und globalen Märkten fortwährend zu stärken. Die weitere Vereinfachung der GAP und eine "bessere Regulierung", die den Verwaltungsaufwand für Landwirte verringern soll, gehören zu den vorrangigen Zielen. [source] The five-factor personality inventory: cross-cultural generalizability across 13 countriesEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 5 2003A. A. Jolijn Hendriks In the present study, we investigated the structural invariance of the Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) across a variety of cultures. Self-report data sets from ten European and three non-European countries were available, representing the Germanic (Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands, USA), Romance (Italy, Spain), and Slavic branches (Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovakia) of the Indo-European languages, as well as the Semito-Hamitic (Israel) and Altaic (Hungary, Japan) language families. Each data set was subjected to principal component analysis, followed by varimax rotation and orthogonal Procrustes rotation to optimal agreement with (i) the Dutch normative structure and (ii) an American large-sample structure. Three criteria (scree test, internal consistency reliabilities of the varimax-rotated components, and parallel analysis) were used to establish the number of factors to be retained for rotation. Clear five-factor structures were found in all samples except in the smallest one (USA, N,=,97). Internal consistency reliabilities of the five components were generally good and high congruence was found between each sample structure and both reference structures. More than 80% of the items were equally stable within each country. Based on the results, an international FFPI reference structure is proposed. This reference structure can facilitate standardized communications about Big Five scores across research programmes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Facing guilt: Role of negative affectivity, need for reparation, and fear of punishment in leading to prosocial behaviour and aggressionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2001Gian Vittorio Caprara The present study aims to further corroborate and to extend the scope of previous findings regarding the path of influence between negative affectivity, need for reparation and fear of punishment when examining the determinants and the motivational components of guilt. Data were collected from three different European countries (i.e. Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic). About 1100 young adolescents were involved in the research. The generalizability of a nomological network linking individual differences in Negative Affectivity to Need for Reparation, Fear of Punishment, Prosocial Behaviour, and Aggression has been investigated across countries and gender, by means of structural equation modelling. Need for Reparation turns out to be positively related to Prosocial Behaviour and negatively related to Aggression. Fear for Punishment turns out to be positively related to Aggression and negatively related to Prosocial Behaviour, with the exception of Hungary. Alternative paths of influence among considered variables have been examined. Practical implications for prevention and education are underlined. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Regulation of Telecommunications in the Czech RepublicEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003Andrew Skudder The rapid development of the telecommunications sector was to act as a catalyst for the general improvement of the entire national economy, whilst at the same time helping the country to meet its policy goal of creating the conditions precedent to its successful integration into the European Union. The purpose of this article is to trace the progress of the Czech telecommunications market to date and to assess the regulatory framework adopted by the Czech government in light of its stated policy goals. After giving a brief history of the development of the market and the corresponding development of a regulatory régime this article shall turn to examine the current legal position after the adoption of the recent Law on which came into force on 1 July 2000. As well as suggesting necessary modifications and amendments due to certain flaws or omissions in the Act, modifications arising from the adoption by the EU of its new regulatory framework for communications shall also be suggested. [source] Chenopodium probstii and Chenopodium missouriense: two North American plant species in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and neighbouring countriesFEDDES REPERTORIUM, Issue 5-6 2004J. Dostálek Ing. This paper presents the results of a floristic-taxonomic survey of two North American invasive species, Chenopodium probstiiAellen and Ch. missourienseAellen, in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and neighbouring countries. It is based mainly on the results of a re-analysis of the authors' herbarium material collected from 1957 to 2003, deposited mainly in the PRA Herbarium (herbarium of the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Pr,honice near Prague). Also, the chorology and ecology of both species in Czechian and Slovakian are discussed. In addition, a summary of data on the occurrence of both species throughout their distribution is presented, with emphasis on European records. On the basis of this analysis, the hypothetical origin of Ch. probstii in North America is confirmed. First-time records of this species are presented for Egypt, North Korea, Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. The second species, Ch. missouriense, is reported for the first time from Slovakia and Austria. Sources of further dissemination of both species in their secondary European area of distribution are described. In Europe, both these invasive species are in the pro- cess of naturalisation (ephemerophyte , epoecophyte), approximately in the resting-phase lag; significant range expansion can be expected in the near future, especially for Ch. probstii. Chenopodium probstii und Chenopodium missouriense, zwei nordamerikanische Arten in der Tschechischen Republik, der Slowakischen Republik und benachbarten Ländern Diese Arbeit präsentiert Ergebnisse einer floristisch-taxonomischen Untersuchung von zwei nordamerikanischen Invasionsarten, und zwar Chenopodium probstiiAellen und Ch. missourienseAellen in der Tschechischen Republik, in der Slowakischen Republik und in benachbarten Ländern. Sie stützt sich vorwiegend auf Resultate des eigenen Herbarmaterials der Jahre 1957,2003, das vorwiegend im Herbarium PRA (= Herbarsammlung des Botanischen Instituts der Akademie der Wissenschaften der Tschechischen Republik in Pr,honice bei Praha) deponiert ist. Auch wurden Chorologie und Ökologie beider Arten in Tschechien und in der Slowakei analysiert. Gleichzeitig wurden die Angaben über das Vorkommen beider Arten im gesamten Areal unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Geschichte ihrer Ausbreitung im sekundären Teil ihrer Areale, vor allem in Europa zusammengefasst. Durch diese Analyse wurde der Ursprung von Ch. probstii in Nordamerika bestätigt. Chenopodium probstii wurde als neue adventive Art auch in Ägypten und Nordkorea, in Europa zum ersten Mal in Polen, Slowenien, Kroatien und Rumänien beobachtet. Eine weitere Art, Ch. missouriense, wurde zum ersten Mal in der Slowakei und in Österreich erwähnt. Diasporenquellen beider Arten im sekundären europäischen Areal werden ebenfalls angeführt. In Europa sind beide invasive Arten im Prozess der Einbürgerung (Ephemerophyt , Epoökophyt), die vermutlich in der Ruhephase abläuft. Eine expansive Ausbreitung können wir in der nächsten Zeit vor allem von Ch. probstii erwarten. Bisher gehören beide Arten zu den potentiellen Unkräutern. [source] A new fossil species of Polypodium (Polypodiaceae) from the Oligocene of northern Bohemia (Czech Republic)FEDDES REPERTORIUM, Issue 3-4 2001Z. Kvacek A new fossil representative of Polypodium L. emend. CHING (Polypodiaceae s.str.) was recovered in the Early Oligocene diatomite shales of the Ceske stredohori Mountains, North Bohemia (localities Bechlejovice, Holy Kluk hill). Polypodium radonii sp. nova is characterised on the basis of fragmentary fronds, which have simple pinnatifid laminas, entire pinnae, free, anadromously branched venation, solitary broadly elliptic superficial sori and monolete spores in situ of the Polypodiisporites bock-witzensis type. This terrestrial (? to epiphytic or epilithic) fern was associated with vegetation of subtropical Mixed Mesophytic (Holy Kluk) and warm temperate Deciduous Broad-leaved (Bechlejovice) forest types. Actual taxonomy of extant Polypodiaceae s.str. as well as the Tertiary records of this fern group within the Holarctis are reviewed. [source] Conspiracy of yeast killers: The fifth international meeting on yeast apoptosis in Prague, Czech Republic, 3,7 September, 2006FEMS YEAST RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007Sabrina Büttner First page of article [source] Working Time, Gender and Family: An East-West European ComparisonGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 6 2005Ning Tang This article provides a comparison of three West European countries with five Central East European countries in respect of working time and the integration of work and family life. The countries are the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK in West Europe and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia in Central East Europe. As well as providing an East,West comparison, the article also takes into account the differing institutional and policy contexts in the selected countries and the different routes to flexibility. A further aim of the article is to extend our understanding of the culture and values which underpin the organization of family and work in each country. Whilst there is a clear East,West divide, all eight countries demonstrate diverse routes to flexibility and different mixes of social policies and gender cultures which have lead to considerable differences in the integration of work and family life. [source] Documentary Evidence of an Economic Character as a Source for the Study of Meteorological and Hydrological Extremes and their Impacts on Human ActivitiesGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2006Rudolf Brázdil Abstract This paper deals with documentary evidence of an economic character as a proxy for direct study of meteorological and hydrological extremes. Taxation records and reports of those who administrated domains and estates are described with respect to information about meteorological and hydrological extremes. Based on data from eight domains or estates from Moravia (in the Czech Republic), frequency series of floods and convective storms (including hailstorms) were developed for the period 1650,1849. One example of disastrous weather, which took place on 10 August 1694 in the Pern,tejn domain, is used to demonstrate the potential for such studies of the intensity of extremes and their impact on human activities. The importance of economic evidence in the instrumental period is shown through tax rebate data contingent upon hailstorm damage in Moravia (1896,1906). The benefits of employing documentary economic evidence for historical climatology and the study of the impact of meteorological and hydrological extremes on human activities are discussed. [source] Facies development, depositional settings and sequence stratigraphy across the Ordovician,Silurian boundary: a new perspective from the Barrandian area of the Czech RepublicGEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2006torch Abstract The Hirnantian and Llandovery sedimentary succession of the Barrandian area has been assigned to middle and outer clastic-shelf depositional settings, respectively. Deposition was influenced by the remote Gondwanan glaciation and subsequent, long-persisting, post-glacial anoxia triggered by a current-driven upwelling system. High-resolution graptolite stratigraphy, based upon 19 formally defined biozones,largely interval zones,and five subzones, enabled a detailed correlation between 42 surface sections and boreholes, and enabled linking of the sedimentary record, graptoloid fauna dynamics, organic-content fluctuations and spectral gamma-ray curves. The Hirnantian and Llandovery succession has been subdivided into four biostratigraphically dated third-order sequences (units 1,4). Time,spatial facies distribution recorded early and late Hirnantian glacio-eustatic sea-level lowstands separated by a remarkable mid-Hirnantian rise in sea-level. A major part of the post-glacial sea-level rise took place within the late Hirnantian. The highstand of Unit 2 is apparently at the base of the Silurian succession. Short-term relative sea-level drawdown and a third-order sequence boundary followed in the early Rhuddanian upper acuminatus Zone. Early Aeronian and late Telychian sea-level highstands and late Aeronian drawdown of likely eustatic origin belong to units 3 and 4. Sea-level rise culminated in the late Telychian, which may also be considered as a highstand episode of a second-order Hirnantian,early Silurian cycle. Facies and sequence-stratigraphic analysis supports recent interpretations on nappe structures in the core part of the Ordovician,Middle Devonian Prague Synform of the Barrandian. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Between EU Requirements, Competitive Politics, and National Traditions: Re,creating Regions in the Accession Countries of Central and Eastern EuropeGOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2002Martin Brusis The article studies the impact of the European Union (EU) on the reforms of regional administration in Central and East European (CEE) accession countries. It analyzes the motives, process and outcomes of regional, or mesolevel administrative reforms in five countries,Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia,considering whether the EU has shaped these reforms to a higher degree than in relation to its incumbent member states. The article finds that the EU Commission's interest in regional self,governments with a substantial fiscal and legal autonomy has provided an additional rationale and an incentive to re,create regional self,governments. Advocates of regional self,government and an institutionalization of regions in the accession countries have referred to European trends and (perceived) EU expectations of regionalization. Thus, the Commission and the preaccession framework have become catalysts for a process in which most CEE regions have already enhanced and will further increase their political salience. However, the trajectories and outcomes of regional,level reforms can be better explained by a combination of domestic institutional legacies, policy approaches of reformers and their adversaries, and the influence of ethnic/historical regionalism. [source] Tutors and Pupils: International Organizations, Central European Elites, and Western ModelsGOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2001Wade Jacoby In the past decade, political elites in Central and Eastern Europe have often sought to imitate Western organizational and institutional models, while organizations like the EU and NATO have often acted as "institutional tutors" in the region. Using evidence from Hungary and the Czech Republic, this paper demonstrates why imitating Western structures has been both administratively expedient and useful in building political coalitions. It also stresses that the short-term benefits of doing so are followed by longer-term costs. The paper answers four questions: How have certain models been held up to CEE elites? Why might some such models be targets for elites to imitate? How does such imitation occur? And what results from imitation? Contrary to expectations that institutional modeling would be merely technocratic and used only yearly in the transformation, the paper's threefold heuristic of templates, thresholds, and adjustments shows that the process is both politically contentious and sustained. [source] Effect of depth and width of cultivation and sowing date on establishment of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) by rotary slot-seeding into grasslandGRASS & FORAGE SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010P. Komárek Abstract The effect of different combinations of time of sowing and depth and width of soil cultivation using a rotary slot-seeding machine to introduce red clover (Trifolium pratense) was determined for some characteristics of newly established red clover plants in a lowland Dactylis glomerata -dominated grassland in the Czech Republic. Sowing was carried out on four sowing dates in one growing season: 11 May; 21 June (after the first cut); 9 August (after the second cut); and 19 September. The experimental treatments consisted of all combinations of four depths (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) and four widths (5, 10, 15 and 20 cm) of soil cultivation. Measurements were made of number of plants, weight and height of plants, weight and height of roots. Measurements at 2 months after sowing showed fewer seedlings for the 11 May sowing than for later sowing dates. The number of red clover plants increased as the row width was increased up to 15 cm, regardless of the depth of slot. Positive effects of slot width on weight and height of plants and weight and length of roots were recorded. A highly positive correlation was found between weight of plants and weight of roots. Width of row was the key factor for the successful establishment of seedlings into the existing sward by slot-seeding. A row width of 10 cm and depth of slot of 5 cm was considered a satisfactory combination. [source] Novel germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in breast and breast/ovarian cancer families from the Czech Republic ,,HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 6 2001Eva Machackova Abstract Germline mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are responsible for a substantial proportion of high-risk breast and breast/ovarian cancer families. To characterize the spectrum of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, we screened Czech families with breast/ovarian cancer using the non-radioactive protein truncation test, heteroduplex analysis and direct sequencing. In a group of 100 high-risk breast and breast/ovarian cancer families, four novel frame shift mutations were identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. In BRCA1, two novel frame shift mutations were identified as 3761-3762delGA and 2616-2617ins10; in BRCA2, two novel frame shift mutations were identified as 5073-5074delCT and 6866delC. Furthermore, a novel missense substitution M18K in BRCA1 gene in a breast/ovarian cancer family was identified which lies adjacent just upstream of the most highly conserved C3HC4 RING zinc finger motif. To examine the tertiary structure of the RING zinc finger domain and possible effects of M18K substitution on its stability, we used threading techniques according to the crystal structure of RAG1 dimerization domain of the DNA-binding protein. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Spatially distributed observations in constraining inundation modelling uncertaintiesHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 16 2005Micha Werner Abstract The performance of two modelling approaches for predicting floodplain inundation is tested using observed flood extent and 26 distributed floodplain level observations for the 1997 flood event in the town of Usti nad Orlici in the Czech Republic. Although the one-dimensional hydrodynamic model and the integrated one- and two-dimensional model are shown to perform comparably against the flood extent data, the latter shows better performance against the distributed level observations. Comparable performance in predicting the extent of inundation is found to be primarily as a result of the urban reach considered, with flood extent constrained by road and railway embankments. Uncertainty in the elevation model used in both approaches is shown to have little effect on the reliability in predicting flood extent, with a greater impact on the ability in predicting the distributed level observations. These results show that reliability of flood inundation modelling in urban reaches, where flood risk assessment is of more interest than in more rural reaches, can be improved greatly if distributed observations of levels in the floodplain are used in constraining model uncertainties. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Microscopy Congress in PragueIMAGING & MICROSCOPY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2007Collaborations, Plans, Platform for New Ideas The 8th Multinational Congress on Microscopy took place in Prague, Czech Republic, from 17 to 21 June 2007. It was a continuation in a series of seven successful international congresses, held by six regional societies for microscopy (Austrian, Croatian, Czechoslovak, Hungarian, Italian, and Slovene Societies), always organised in a close collaboration with the European Microscopy Society (EMS). The 8th MCM was held as an European Microscopy Society (EMS) extension and organised by the Czechoslovak Microscopy Society. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||