V ČR a Polsku se v posledním období významným zahraničněpolitickým i vnitropolitickým tématem stal záměr vlády USA umístit v těchto zemích některé komponenty budovaného amerického systému obrany proti mezikontinentálním balistickým střelám, který by podle deklarovaného záměru měl chránit kontinentální území Spojených států před případným útokem prostřednictvím menšího počtu raket dlouhého doletu z tzv. „ničemných států“ (rogue states), jak je označuje americká administrativa. Vlády ČR a Polska byly v tomto směru nedávno oficiálně americkou stranou požádány diplomatickou nótou o jednání v této záležitosti. V případě Polska by se mělo jednat o odpalovací zařízení raket určených k ničení mezikontinentálních balistických střel, na českém území by pak měl být dislokován radar, jehož prostřednictvím protiraketový systém vyhledává nepřátelské střely a navádí na ně své rakety. Probíhající diskuse jak uvnitř obou oslovených středoevropských států, tak i na mezinárodním foru zřetelně ukazují, že jak konkrétní plán umístit základny antibalistické obrany v ČR a Polsku, tak zejména samotný záměr budovat byť i jen omezený systém strategické obrany tohoto druhu, představuje závažnou, značně citlivou a kontroverzní otázku s globálním dosahem. Pochopitelný a průběžně sílící zájem o věc projevují také obyvatelé obou zemí. A právě postojům české a polské veřejnosti k celému projektu, jejich aktuálnímu stavu a také možnému dalšímu vývoji se bude věnovat tento text., The text focuses on public opinion in Czech Republic and Poland relating to the plan of U.S. government to locate some parts of U.S. national missile defence in these countries. It describes and compares main shifts of developments of public attitudes in both countries to the project as well as to eventual referendum in this matter within the period up to the first half of 2007. The text shows main demographical, societal and political differences in both countries and discusses reasons and motives behind particular attitudes of Czech and Polish citizens., Jan Červenka., and Seznam literatury
CD163 is a marker of macrophages with anti-inflammatory properties and its soluble form (sCD163) is considered a prognostic predictor of several diseases including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We explored sCD163 levels at baseline and after very low-calorie diet (VLCD) or bariatric surgery in 32 patients with obesity (20 undergoing VLCD and 12 bariatric surgery), 32 obese patients with T2DM (22 undergoing VLCD and 10 bariatric surgery), and 19 control subjects. We also assessed the changes of CD163 positive cells of monocyte-macrophage lineage in peripheral blood and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in subset of patients. Plasma sCD163 levels were increased in obese and T2DM subjects relative to control subjects (467.2±40.2 and 513.8±37.0 vs. 334.4±24.8 ng/ml, p=0.001) and decreased after both interventions. Obesity decreased percentage of CD163+CD14+ monocytes in peripheral blood compared to controls (78.9±1.48 vs. 86.2±1.31 %, p=0.003) and bariatric surgery decreased CD163+CD14+HLA-DR+ macrophages in SAT (19.4±2.32 vs. 11.3±0.90 %, p=0.004). Our data suggest that increased basal sCD163 levels are related to obesity and its metabolic complications. On the contrary, sCD163 or CD163 positive cell changes do not precisely reflect metabolic improvements after weight loss., A. Cinkajzlová, Z. Lacinová, J. Kloučková, P. Kaválková, P. Trachta, M. Kosák, J. Krátký, M. Kasalický, K. Doležalová, M. Mráz, M. Haluzík., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The velocities of the Global Positioning System (GPS) stations are widely employed for numerous geodynamical studies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the reliability of station velocities and to draw reader’s attention that for proper estimates of velocity, we need to consider the optimal character of noise. We focus on a set of 115 European GPS stations which contributed to the newest release of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), i.e. ITRF2014. Based on stacked Power Spectral Densities (PSDs), we show that amplitudes o f seasonal signals are significant for nine harmonics of tropical year (365.25 days) and two harmonics of draconitic year (351.60 days). The amplitudes of tropical annual signal fall between 0.1-8.4 mm and are much higher for vertical component than for horizontal. Draconitic annual signal reaches the maximum amplitudes of 1.2 and 0.9 mm for North and East, respectively, whereas is slightly higher for the Up component with a maximum of 3.1 mm. We performed a noise analysis with Maximum Like lihood Estimation (MLE) and found that stations in Central and Northern Europe are characterized by spectral index between flicker and random-walk noise, while stations in Southern and Western Europe: between white and flicker noise. Both amplitudes and spectral indices of power-law noise show a spatial correlation for Up component. We compared the uncertainties of velocities derived in this study with a combination of power-law and white noises to the ones offici ally released in the ITRF2014 with a pure white noise. A ratio of the two estimates is larger than 10 for 13 % and 30 % of stations in horizontal and vertical direction, respectively with medians of 6 and 7. The large differences support the fact that at the velocity determination the proper noise characteristic should be taken into account to avoid any mislead interpretation., Anna Klos and Janusz Bogusz., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Water is one of the most important components of the environment, having a direct effect on the maintenance of life on the Earth. In this paper, analysis of groundwater level variations, water balance and all the parameters included in these quantities, i.e. precipitation, evapotranspiration, surface run-off and subsurface run-off, were performed in the area of the Sudety Mountains for the period of November 2002 - October 2015. The groundwater level variations were computed on the basis of the mean Terrestrial Water Storage (TWS) values determined from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observations and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLD AS). TWS data have been determined with a spatial resolution of one degree and temporal resolution of one month. According to the results, groundwater level variation can be approximately determined by water balance changes (with reverse sign). Specifically, for the Sudety area a high average stability of total water storage over the period of past 13 years and decline in groundwater level by about 13 cm (approximately 1 cm/year) was detected., Zofia Rzepecka, Monika Birylo, Joanna Kuczynska-Siehien, Jolanta Nastula and Katarzyna Pajak., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
High temperature alters the internal microstructure of rocks and consequently changes the physical and mechanical properties of rocks. Many studies have been carried out to examine the transformations in the microstructures of rocks under high temperature through near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), Raman spectroscopy, or thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The current review synthesizes the data from a number of literatures and summarizes the major transformations of silica rocks under high temperature. The analysis shows that silica rocks starts to lose the water adsorbed in open pores upon heating at about 150 °C. At 200-300 °C, the reaction between SiOH (silanole) in the rocks generates new Si-O-Si bonds as well as H2O, and decreases the open pores. The rocks undergo volume expansion at >550 °C, and the volume contracts and forms new micro pores or cracks which play an important role in the evacuation of the water., Jishi Geng, Qiang Sun, Yuchun Zhang and Yuliang Zhang., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a type of thrombotic microangiopathy, in the course of which some patients may develop chronic kidney disease (CKD). It is clinically important to investigate the markers of a poor prognosis. The levels of angiotensinogen (AGT) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in serum and urine were evaluated. Study was conducted in 29 children with a history of HUS. Serum and urine AGT concentration was significantly higher in children after HUS as compared to the control group. No differences depending on the type of HUS and gender were noted. The serum concentration of IL-18 in children after HUS was significantly lower, whereas in urine did not differ significantly between the sick and healthy children. A negative correlation between the concentration of AGT in serum and albuminuria in patients after HUS was detected. The results indicate that the concentration of AGT in serum and urine in children after HUS increases, which may indicate the activation of the intrarenal renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. The statement, that AGT may be a good biomarker of CKD after acute kidney injury due to HUS requires prospective studies with follow-up from the acute phase of the disease on a larger group of patients. Reduced IL-18 serum concentration in children after HUS with no difference in its urine concentration may indicate a loss of the protective effects of this cytokine on renal function due to previously occurred HUS., K. Lipiec, P. Adamczyk, E. Świętochowska, K. Ziora, M. Szczepańska., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The use of Continuously Operating Reference Stations, both singly and as part of an active network, is widely employed in surveying, engineering and other geomatics applications, achieving high accuracy positioning even in real time. With an active network the measurements of the reference stations are processed jointly in order to model the errors and compute network RTK corrections. Due to distance dependent errors (ionospheric and tropospheric delays), single base RTK positioning accuracy decreases with increased baseline length. However, the network solution (NRTK) retains the accuracy and the time to fix ambiguities (TTFA) at a constant level. This study aims to contribute to the scientific research on real time positioning based on active networks. In Southern Spain, ERGNSS, a national CORS network that provides GNSS data for post-processing and real time single- b ased reference station corrections, shares territory with the Andalusian Positioning Network (RAP), a local active network. RAP provides network an d single-based RTK corrections. In order to analyze the quality of real time positioning based on both networks, several tests have been performed on a sample of test points. The reference frame, the time to fix ambiguity resolution, precision, accuracy and repeatability of RTK positioning are considered as the evaluation parameters. The results confirm that the RAP network complements the precise positioning services provided by the ERGNSS network, ensuring accurate real time positioning, full cove rage and reliable positioning services in the Andalusian Community., Mª Selmira Garrido, Antonio J. Gil and Rafael Gaitán., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Tento článek přibližuje čtenáři svět prvních portugalských mořeplavců a jejich setkání s exotickou faunou Asie v 16. století. Důraz klade především na nosorožce a slona, ale neopomíjí ani další živočichy a věnuje se i původu některých drahocenných orientálních látek živočišného původu, pro Evropany dlouho neznámému. Text bohatě využívá citací z pramenů., This article presents the world of the first Portuguese navigators and their encounters with exotic Asian fauna in the 16th century. It primarily highlights the rhinoceros and elephants, but does not omit other animals. It also focuses on the sources of some valuable oriental substances of animal origin, which was unknown to Europeans for a long time., and Karel Staněk.
Již podruhé se v bubenečské vile Lanně sešli odborníci zabývající se historickými astronomickými deskami. První setkání se konalo před dvěma lety, kdy se diskutovaly problémy desek sužovaných degradací emulze vlivem dlouhého a často nešetrného skladování - letošní akce se zúčastnilo 44 odborníků z 20 zemí od Mexika až po Čínu. and Petr Skala.