How can European social housing institutions contribute to combating housing deprivation in the context of the post-2009 crisis? The paper examines the main issues and constraints in the Greek case by first questioning the extent of the immediate relevance of major established social housing models in western Europe vis-a-vis housing assistance for the needy and second by highlighting the exceptional conditions in the European South that make for very limited social housing sectors and a predominant bias in favour of widespread owner-occupation across all social classes. Both features are especially pronounced in Greece, where, in fact, social rented housing has never emerged as a viable model. Nevertheless, social housing assistance for renters based on fair allowances should be the main priority under the present crisis conditions, while ‘bricks-and-mortar’ social rented housing can only have a marginal role.
This paper summarizes work done in this laboratory over the last two years on the cloning of microsporidian rRNA by homology PCR and its subsequent use in diagnostic tests and phylogenetic studies. Using highly conserved primers in the 16S or small subunit rRNA (SSU-rRNA) these genes were cloned from human intestinal biopsies with transmission electron microscopy proven Enterocytozoon bieneusi and Septata intestinalis. The SSU-rRNA genes were then used to design and test several primer pairs for the diagnosis of microsporidian infection. Utilizing the polymerase chain reaction and primers V1 and EB45Ü Ent. bieneusi infected duodenal aspirates or intestinal biopsies could be detected. Using V I and SI500 infection with S. intestinalis could be detected. In addition to diagnostic tests, phylogenetic relationships were examined using sequence data from the fragment amplified by PCR by primer 530f in the SSU-rRNA and primer 580r in the large subunit rRNA. This data supported the placement of S. intestinalis in the family Encephalitozoonidae. In addition, it confirmed that Encephalitozoon cuniculi, E. hellem and S. intestinalis are distinct organisms. These techniques have broad applications to the study of other microsporidia and the development of a molecular phylogeny.
The energy utilization of the alternative fuels is one of the main topics for future developments of recoverable sources in the European Union and in the Czech Republic. The aim of research is combustion tests in the fluidized-bed boiler Foster Wheeler located at Štětí. The experiments are carried out for Czech brown coal, wood, sewage sludge and wastes including analyses and recommendations for optimal thermal utilization and minimizing harmful emissions. The second step is thermal analyses of coal, alternative fuel- wood pellets and sewage sludge from treatment plant. From the results of experiments and thermal modeling it is clear that 15 % of alternative fuels can be used in the large fluidized-bed boilers located in the Czech Republic., Pavel Kolat, Bohumir Čech, Dagmar Juchelková, Helena Raclavská and Juraj Leško., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Geophysical data are used not only, in geological mapping, exploration of mineral resources, hydrogeology, but are also important for other branches such as environmental protection, civil engineering and archeology. That is why, within the project CzechGeo/EPOS (www.czechgeo.cz), geophysical data access is solved as a separate topic under the guidance of the Czech Geological Survey (hereinafter CGS). In accordance with the current needs of national and international activities (INSPIRE, EPOS, IAGA), an inventory of available data, its consolidation and harmonization according to national and international standards is conducted. The aim is to store securely and permanently valuable data, which in many cases cannot be reinstated. On the example from the Nízký Jeseník Mts. possible advantages and utilization of Archive data for mapping and verification of the movement tendencies gained from GNSS networks – EPN, EAST SUDETEN and MORAVA are demonstrated. Very valuable information for the interpretation of structural and tectonic conditions is provided by geophysical data (seismic reflection profiles, gravity and magnetic data, etc.) in the area of interest, especially in terms of monitoring the main fault systems and the character of the basement structures.
The use of wooden (modified Stratmann) boxes by bats was studied in three different tree stands (80-year old beech forest, 150-year old oak-beech forest with admixture of pine, 50–70-year old pine forest) of a managed woodland (Darżlubska Forest) in northern Poland. Two species (Pipistrellus nathusii and Plecotus auritus) inhabited these boxes after 2–13 months. The occupation of shelters in pine monoculture was several tens of times higher than in both deciduous forests. The main factors responsible for such differences are: 1) almost complete lack of natural roosts (tree holes) in young pine forest, 2) unfavourable (colder and more humid) microclimate in broadleaf (especially beech) forests, 3) much higher abundance of some invertebrates (mainly gastropods), that make boxes in beech forest unattractive for bats.
Review article presents utilisation of coal in industry, coal in power generation, gas production, Czech energy policy and outlook and application of clean coal technology in the Czech power stations. The further exploitation and utilisation of Czech coal resources requires the implementation of development programme aimed at the application of the new, economically effective technologies, of coal mining, utilisation, gasification. Emissions of GHG in CR., Václav Roubíček, Pavel Kolat and Jaroslav Buchtele., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Cultivated fruits can serve as an important winter food resource for medium-sized carnivores in rural areas that experience heavy snowfall. However, studies on the food analysis of medium-sized carnivores in heavy snowfall areas, particularly on the use of cultivated fruits, are limited. We evaluated the use of cultivated fruits by medium-sized carnivores during winter in a heavy snowfall area by comparing their feeding habits in rural and forest landscapes. We conducted faecal analysis of Japanese martens (Martes melampus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in rural and forest landscapes in north-eastern Japan during periods of snow cover. Based on a faecal analysis in the rural landscape, both Japanese martens and red foxes consumed mammals, birds, fruits, and other plant material. In the forest landscape, mammals and insects were consumed by Japanese martens and mammals, fruits, and other plant material were consumed by red foxes. Our results showed that cultivated fruits, such as persimmons and apples, were a major food source in snowy environments, suggesting a wider range of available resources and overlapping feeding habits. It has been suggested that red foxes in forest landscapes move long distances (several kilometres) to consume cultivated fruits. This study suggests that cultivated fruits may also indirectly feed wildlife, even in areas with heavy snowfall.
Research of the physiological traits of a long-distance migratory insect, the common cutworm Spodoptera litura, in relation to flight and reproduction, was focused on triacylglycerol (TG) levels and their fatty acid composition.
Tethered flight experiments demonstrated that three-day old male moths can fly more than 20 h. Among eight identified fatty acids of which the adult TG is composed, the ratios of the following unsaturated fatty acids, palmitoleic acid (C 16:1), oleic acid (C 18:1), linoleic acid (C 18:2) and linolenic acid (C 18:3), gradually declined with longer flight duration. On the other hand, the TG levels of non-flown males reared for ten days on only water, were the same as those of three-day old males after 12 hr of flight, but the ratios of these unsaturated fatty acids in TG's remained nearly unchanged. These results suggest that the unsaturated fatty acids in TG are mainly used as a flight energy source.
As ovarian development in females of this species occurs shortly after adult emergence, long-distance migratory capacity has been regarded as highly unlikely. In fact, ovarian development was completed within three days after adult emergence and females laid eggs thereafter. During this three day period TG increased in the ovary, accompanied by increasing ratios of unsaturated fatty acids in the TG's and the ovary eventually occupied most of the abdomen, in spite of a nearly constant level of TG in the abdomen and unchanged ratio of its unsaturated fatty acids. These facts support the transfer of TG from the fat body to the ovary, and further suggest that the mature females utilize the TG deposited in the ovaries as a flight energy source. Then if they migrate a long distance, they use residual TG after flight for egg production.
Larvae of the stag beetle, Dorcus rectus, feed on decaying wood, which they digest with the aid of symbiotic yeasts; however, they can be successfully reared on artificial diets containing only fungal tissue. In this study we tested whether D. rectus larvae can utilize fungal cell walls, which are an insoluble component of mycelium. Lyophilized Bjerkandera adusta mycelium cultured in potato-dextrose liquid medium consisted of a 47.6% hot-water insoluble fraction by mass, which contains 53.7% of the total nitrogen in the mycelium. D. rectus larvae that hatched from surface-sterilized eggs were reared for 14 days on agar-based diets containing either the soluble fraction, insoluble fraction or both, extracted from 100 mg of mycelium. The larvae increased in mass most on the mixed diet, and there was no difference in their growth on the mixed and positive control diets. Both the soluble and insoluble fractions improved larval growth compared to the negative control diet; however, the growth rates were much lower than those expected from the nitrogen dose-growth response curve obtained in a previous study. Addition of b-chitin to the soluble fraction did not positively affect larval growth. Therefore, we conclude that (1) D. rectus larvae need both the soluble and insoluble fractions of mycelium and (2) the larvae digest the insoluble fraction using their own enzymes., Masahiko Tanahashi, Kôhei Kubota., and Seznam literatury