Twentieth-century photosynthesis research had strong roots in Germany, with the cell physiologist Otto H. Warburg being among its most influential figures. He was also one of the few scientists of Jewish ancestry who kept his post as a director of a research institution throughout the Nazi period. Based on archival sources, the paper investigates Warburg’s fate during these years at selected episodes. He neither collaborated with the regime nor actively resisted; he was harrassed by bureaucracy and denunciated to the secret police, but saved by powerful figures in economy, politics, and science. Warburg reciprocated this favour with problematic testimonies of political integrity after 1945. Warburg’s case, thus, defies wellestablished notions of how scientists in Germany lived and worked during the Nazi regime, and, therefore, helps provide a more nuanced perspective on this theme., K. Nickelsen., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
In this brief communication we provide an estimate of the part of the incident solar energy used for oxygen evolution as well as the time, in years, needed for the generation of the present amount of molecular oxygen in the biosphere by photosynthesis on land and in the ocean. We find this to be ~3,000 yr. We also find that the ocean produces 22% more oxygen than the land surface., A. Yu. Borisov, L. O. Björn., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The variable fluorescence at the maximum Fm of the fluorescence induction (Kautsky) curve is known to be substantially suppressed shortly after light adaption due to nonphotochemical qE quenching. The kinetic pattern of the dark decay at Fm consists of three components with rates ~20, ~1, and ~0.1 s-1, respectively. Light adaptation has no or little effect on these rate constants. It causes a decrease in the ratio between the amplitudes of the slow and fast one with negligible change in the small amplitude of the ultra-slow component. Results add to evidence for the hypothesis that the dark-reversible decrease in variable fluorescence accompanying light adaptation during the P-S phase of the fluorescence induction curve is due to an alteration in nonphotochemical qE quenching caused by changes in the trans-thylakoid proton motive force in response to changes in the proton conductance gH+ of the
CF0-channel of the CF0·CF1·ATPase., W. J. Vredenberg., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Recent efforts to catalogue global biodiversity using genetic techniques have uncovered a number of "cryptic" species within morphologically similar populations that had previously been identified as single species. Chlosyne lacinia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), with a range extending from the Southwest U.S. to South America, is one of the most phenotypically variable and broadly distributed butterfly species in the New World. We sampled populations of C. lacinia in two temperate locations (California and Arizona) and one tropical location (El Salvador) to determine if cryptic species were present at this scale (temperate vs. tropical). We examined mtDNA sequence variation in COI, COII, the intervening tRNA (Leucine-2), 16S, 12S and an additional intervening tRNA (Valine), accounting for approximately 20% of the mitochondrial genome (3479 bp). Among all C. lacinia individuals, sequence divergence did not exceed 0.0084 compared to a 0.06 estimated divergence between C. lacinia and congener C. leanira. We also found subclade structure which did not clearly correspond to geography or subspecific designation. Though the mitochondrial phylogeny suggests a complex evolutionary history and biogeography, we demonstrate that one C. lacinia species is distributed throughout North and Central America spanning a diverse set of temperate and tropical habitats. and Timothy C. Bonebrake, Ward B. Watt, Alejandro Perez, Carol L. Boggs.
Microscope images of scales from the wings of the male butterfly Apatura ilia of two forms (ilia and clytie) show parallel fibres with tiny transverse grooves. These can cause (due to the light interference) violet or blue iridescence on the wings, which normally have brown pigmentation. We examined the dependence of the sudden color changes on variable illumination and observation angles. and George O. Krizek a kol.
Abandoned military training ranges are important biodiversity refuges in the modern landscape. We surveyed 41 such areas across the Czech Republic in order to establish butterfly diversity and abundances. We found exceptionally high species richness, including many nationally-threatened rarities like Phengaris arion, Polyommatus dorylas and Zygaena punctum. We conclude that the high conservational value of these areas was maintained by the former army activities, which encouraged high habitat heterogeneity. and Pavel Vrba a kol.
The study deals with the dating and interpretation of the Latin text known under the title Ordo ostendendarum reliquiarum Crumlovii. The text is a detailed instruction of Corpus Christi processions and the subsequent exhibition and veneration of holy relics in the double monastery of the Minorites and the Poor Clares in Český Krumlov. According to the codicological analyses by Michal Dragoun (see Appendix II), the Ordo comes from the end of 1360s. The text is a rare monument also in terms of philology, because it contains the prescribed proclamations and responses of the faithful in both local languages, Czech and German. The study further deals with the displayed relics of the saints and their reliquaries. The hymns and songs in the course of the ceremony were determined by Hana Vlhová-Wörner., František Šmahel; komentáři v přílohách přispěli Michal Dragoun a Hana Vlhová-Wörner., Studie obsahuje 4 přílohy, and Obsahuje literaturu a odkazy pod čarou
Rozsáhlý materiál bráněnek (Stratiomyidae, Diptera) byl studován z různých částí orientální oblasti včetně chráněných území (národních parků a rezervací). V letech 1994–2012 bylo popsáno více než 60 nových druhů a mnoho dalších druhů revidováno na základě typových jedinců uložených v různých světových sbírkách. Probíhal také sběr larev bráněnek a jejich odchov v laboratorních podmínkách. Jejich ústní ústrojí a povrchové struktury byly studovány s ohledem na jejich potravní specializaci., Extensive material of soldier flies (Stratiomyidae) was examined from different parts of the Oriental region including protected areas (Nature Parks and Reserves). During the 1994–2013 period more than 60 oriental species were described and many further species were revised on the basis of type specimens deposited in various world collections. In addition to the study of adults, mainly phytosaprophagous larvae were collected and reared under laboratory conditions. Their mouthparts and surface structures were examined with regard to their food preference., and Rudolf Rozkošný.