Differences in maximal yields of chlorophyll variable fluorescence (Fm) induced by single turnover (ST) and multiple turnover (MT) excitation are as great as 40%. Using mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii we investigated potential mechanisms controlling Fm above and beyond the QA redox level. Fm was low when the QB binding site was occupied by PQ and high when the QB binding site was empty or occupied by a PSII herbicide. Furthermore, in mutants with impaired rates of plastoquinol reoxidation, Fm was reached rapidly during MT excitation. In PSII particles with no mobile PQ pool, Fm was virtually identical to that obtained in the presence of PSII herbicides. We have developed a model to account for the variations in maximal fluorescence yields based on the occupancy of the QB binding site. The model predicts that the variations in maximal fluorescence yields are caused by the capacity of secondary electron acceptors to reoxidize QA-., O. Prášil, Z. S. Kolber, P. G. Falkowski., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
We extend Rump’s verified method (S.Oishi, K.Tanabe, T.Ogita, S.M.Rump (2007)) for computing the inverse of extremely ill-conditioned square matrices to computing the Moore-Penrose inverse of extremely ill-conditioned rectangular matrices with full column (row) rank. We establish the convergence of our numerical verified method for computing the Moore-Penrose inverse. We also discuss the rank-deficient case and test some ill-conditioned examples. We provide our Matlab codes for computing the Moore-Penrose inverse., Yunkun Chen, Xinghua Shi, Yimin Wei., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Growth and development rates in many insects are affected by photoperiod, which enables insects to synchronize their life histories with seasonal events, but this aspect of insect photoperiodism remains understudied. Here we use several experimental combinations of constant day length and temperature to determine whether there are quantitative developmental responses to photoperiod in the bug Scantius aegyptius and leaf beetle Timarcha tenebricosa. The thermal ecology of these two species is strikingly different: the former is thermophilic and active throughout summer and the latter is spring-active and avoids the hottest time of the year. In accordance with their contrasting natural thermal environments, S. aegyptius survives better and achieves a larger final body mass at the high experimental temperatures, while T. tenebricosa survives better and is heavier at the low experimental temperatures. Despite this polarity, long-day conditions accelerate larval development relative to a short-day photoperiod in both species, and this developmental response is stronger at low temperatures. Our re-visitation of previous literature in light of the new findings indicates that this similarity in photoperiodic response is superficial and that relatively faster development in midsummer is likely to have a different ecological role in summer- and spring-active species. In the former, it may allow completion of an additional generation during the favourable season, whereas in the latter, this acceleration likely ensures that the larval stage, which is vulnerable to heat, is completed before the onset of hot weather., Dmitry Kutcherov, Elena B. Lopatina, Sergei Balashov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this study is to explore the sources of attitude constraints regarding the role of government in the economy, and to find out whether the sources of these constraints are the same as in Western democracies. Use is made of Converse’s approach to conceptualize attitude constraint where an individual’s belief system is seen to be a configuration of attitudes and values characterized by a functional interdependence, or constraint. This constraint may be interpreted in terms of the probability of being able to predict one attitude having knowledge of another. In this study, there is a review of the sources of attitude constraint and related measurement issues. Using ISSP 2006 (Role of Government module) an analysis of attitudinal constraints is presented using two attitudinal scales. This research confirms that the sources of attitude constraint in the Czech Republic are similar to those observed in Western Europe and the USA. Specifically, class, education, and other social-demographic variables are shown to have very limited effects. Moreover, Converse’s contention that attitude constraints are strongly determined by political involvement, political knowledge, or party identification is also shown to be valid for Czech society., Lukáš Linek., 1 obrázek, 4 tabulky, Obsahuje bibliografii, and Anglické resumé
This study extends our previous work by examining the effects of alpha2 -adrenoceptors under cold stimulation involving the increase of myogenic vascular oscillations as increases of very-low-frequency and low-frequency of the blood pressure variab ility. Forty-eight adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: vehicle; yohimbine; hexamethonium+yohimbine; guanethidine+yohimbine. Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, power spectral analysis of spontaneous blood pressure and he art rate variability and spectral coherence at very-low-frequency (0.02 to 0.2 Hz), low-frequency (0.2 to 0.6 Hz), and high-frequency (0.6 to 3.0 Hz) regions were monitored using telemetry. Key findings are as follows: 1) Cooling-induced pressor response was attenuated by yohimbine and further attenuated by hexamethonium+yohimbine and guanethidine+yohimbine, 2) Cooling-induced tachycardia response of yohimbine was attenuated by hexame - thonium+yohimbine and guanethidine+yohimbine, 3) Different patterns of p ower spectrum reaction and coherence value compared hexamethonium+yohimbine and guanethi-dine+yohimbine to yohimbine alone under cold stimulation. The results suggest that sympathetic activation of the postsynaptic alpha2-adrenoceptors causes vasoconstriction and heightening myogenic vascular oscillations, in turn, may increase blood flow to prevent tissue damage under stressful cooling challenge., Y.-H. Lin, Y.-P. Liu, Y.-C. Lin, P.-L. Lee, C.-S. Tung., and Obsahuje bibliografii