The light-induced nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) can safely dissipate excess of absorbed light to heat. Here we describe an application of spectrally resolved fluorescence induction (SRFI) method for studying spectral variability of NPQ. The approach allows detection of spectrally-resolved nonphotochemical quenching (NPQλ) representing NPQ dependency on fluorescence emission wavelength in the whole spectral range of fluorescence emission. The experimental approach is briefly described and NPQλ is studied for the cryptophyte alga Rhodomonas salina and for green alga Chlorella sp. We confirm presence of NPQλ only in membrane-bound antennae (chlorophyll a/c antennae) and not in phycobiliproteins in lumen in cryptophyte and show that NPQλ is inhibited in the whole spectral range by NPQ inhibitors in Chlorella sp. We discuss variability in the quenching in the particular spectral ranges and applicability of the NPQλ parameter to study quenching locus in vivo., R. Kaňa., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
In this study, the FRIER rainfall-runoff model with distributed parameters was developed to assess changes in runoff and water balance due to changes in land use and climate. The water balance was calculated at 3 levels: on the surface and in unsaturated and saturated zones. Six basins from the central and eastern parts of Slovakia were selected on the basis of their similar size, but different topography, land use, soil texture and climate: the upper Hornád, the upper Hron, the Poprad, the Rimava, the Slaná and the Torysa River basins. Model parameters were estimated using data from the period from June 1998 to May 2000 in daily time steps. The differences and similarities of the hydrologic processes in individual basins were investigated during the calibration period. Several scenarios of changes in land use and two simple scenarios of changes in climate were developed to estimate the impact of these changes on water balance and runoff. The changes in the hydrological regime were compared and discussed. and V posledných rokoch sa veľmi často hodnotia a diskutujú vplyvy zmien využitia krajiny a klímy na procesy hydrologickej bilancie, aj keď miera ich vplyvu na hydrologický režim sa najmä pre komplexnosť týchto procesov veľmi ťažko kvantifikuje. Na odhad vplyvu zmien využitia krajiny a klímy na odtok a zložky hydrologickej bilancie bol vyvinutý zrážkovo-odtokový model FRIER s rozčlenenými parametrami. Na základe podobnej veľkosti, ale rôznej topografie, využitia krajiny a pôdnej štruktúry bolo vybraných šesť pilotných povodí: povodie horného Hornádu, horného Hrona, Popradu, Rimavy, Slanej a Torysy. Parametre modelu boli kalibrované pre obdobie jún 1998 - máj 2000 v dennom časovom kroku. Na základe simulácií hydrologickej bilancie pre súčasný stav sa hodnotili rozdiely a podobnosti procesov tvorby odtoku v jednotlivých povodiach. Odtok a zložky hydrologickej bilancie boli následne simulované pre sedem scenárov zmien využitia krajiny a dva jednoduché scenáre zmeny zrážok a teploty vzduchu. Zmeny odtoku a hydrologickej bilancie boli porovnané a diskutované.
This study deals with the application of the previously developed immobilized and perfused isolated hepatocytes as a cellular system for the study of representative phase 1 and phase II of biotransformation reactions. To illustrate phase I reactions, aminopyrine (0.17-4.25 mmol/1) and hexobarbital (0.2 mmol/1) were selected. For phase II reactions, glutathione transferase activity was evaluated by using l-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) as a substrate (0.125-2.0 mmol/1). Formaldehyde, that was formed from aminopyrine, increased steadily in the perfusion medium with time. The perfused hepatocytes eliminated hexobarbital at a much higher rate than the hepatocytes in suspension. At several time points the amount of CDNB-glutathione conjugate formed per one million hepatocytes in the bioreactor was almost twice the amount formed by the hepatocytes in suspension. The present data illustrate the successful application of the hepatocyte bioreactor in phase I and phase II of xenobiotic metabolism and indicate that the cells were metabolically more active than the cells in suspension.
It has been shown that, in addition to conventional contact electrode techniques, optical methods using fluorescent dyes can be successfully used for cardiac signal measurement. In this review, the physical and technical fundamentals of the method are described, as well as the properties of the most common systems for measuring action potentials and intracellular calcium concentration. Special attention is paid to summarizing limitations and trends in developing this method., M. Ronzhina, ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The aim of this article is to inform reader about the development steps which are used during the development of a critical control algorithm in aerospace industry. An article describes the motivation for use of automatic code generators for the development of critical control applications. A V-cycle model based design is introduced and its advantages and development practices that lead from design of a MATLAB/Simulink models to a real target application are depicted. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The aim of this paper is an investigation of damping properties of polyurethane materials that were produced from polyurethane foam granules. There were used polyurethane materials with different thickness and inertial masses. After measurements of damping vibration, the polyurethane samples were compared and recommended in reference to their damping properties. and Tématem tohoto příspěvku je vyšetření tlumících vlastností polyuretanových materiálů vyrobených z polyuretanových pěnových granulí. Byly použity polyuretanové materiály s různými tloušťkami a setrvačnými zátěžemi. Po provedení měření útlumů vibrací polyuretanových vzorků byly jednotlivé vzorky porovnány a doporučeny z hlediska jejich tlumících vlastností.
Authors propose a beneficial methodology for hydrological planning in their study. Prospective evaluations of the basins' net capacity can be done using the technique presented. The HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modelling System) software can be used to estimate in a basin, the sediment emitted. For a certain precipitation, this methodology allows estimating, within a certain range, the gradual blockage of a reservoir, and even a projected date for total blockage. This has some applications to adopt corrective measures that prevent or delay the planned blockage deadlines. The model is of the semi-distributed type, estimating the generation and emission of sediments by sub-basins. The integration of different return periods in HEC-HMS with a semi-distributed model by sub-basins and the application of a mathematical model are the differentiating element of this research. The novelty of this work is to allow prognosing the reservoir sedimentation rate of basins in a local and regional scale with a medium and large temporary framework. The developed methodology allows public institutions to take decisions concerning hydrological planning. It has been applied to the case of "Charco Redondo" reservoir, in Cádiz, Andalusia, in southern Spain. Applying the methodology to this case, an average soil degradation of the reservoir basin has been estimated. Therefore, it is verified that in 50 years the reservoir is expected to lose 8.4% of its capacity.
Knowledge of hydrological processes and water balance elements are important for climate adaptive water management as well as for introducing mitigation measures aiming to improve surface water quality. Mathematical models have the potential to estimate changes in hydrological processes under changing climatic or land use conditions. These models, indeed, need careful calibration and testing before being applied in decision making. The aim of this study was to compare the capability of five different hydrological models to predict the runoff and the soil water balance elements of a small catchment in Norway. The models were harmonised and calibrated against the same data set. In overall, a good agreement between the measured and simulated runoff was obtained for the different models when integrating the results over a week or longer periods. Model simulations indicate that forest appears to be very important for the water balance in the catchment, and that there is a lack of information on land use specific water balance elements. We concluded that joint application of hydrological models serves as a good background for ensemble modelling of water transport processes within a catchment and can highlight the uncertainty of models forecast.
In this paper, we show two applications of the Banach's Fixed-Point Theorem: first, to approximate the ultimate ruin probability in the classical risk model or Cramér-Lundberg model when claim sizes have some arbitrary continuous distribution and second, we propose an algorithm based in this theorem and some conditions to guarantee the continuity of the ruin probability with respect to the weak metric (Kantorovich). In risk theory literature, there is no methodology based in the Banach's Fixed-Point Theorem to calculate the ruin probability. Numerical results in this paper, guarantee a good approximation to the analytic solution of the ruin probability problem. Finally, we present numerical examples when claim sizes have distribution light and heavy-tailed.
Aprotinin, a nonspecific serine protease inhibitor, has been primarily used as a haemostatic drug in cardiac surgery with cardio-pulmonary bypass (CPB). This study investigated the effect of Aprotinin on the post-operative levels of procalcitonin (PCT) and a set of cytokines in patients undergoing pulmonary artery endarterectomy (PEA). We analyzed 60 patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension undergoing PEA. 30 patients (Group A) were treated with Aprotinin (2000000 IU prior anesthesia, then 2000000 IU in CPB prime and 50000 IU per hour continuously); a further 30 patients (Group B) received Tranexamic Acid (1 g before anesthesia, 1 g after full heparin dose and 2 g in CPB prime). PCT, TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 arterial concentrations were measured from before until 72 hours after surgery. Aprotinin significantly affected early post-PEA plasma PCT. Patients treated with Aprotinin (Group A) had lower peak PCT levels compared to patients in Group B (1.52 ng/ml versus 2.18, p=0.024). Postoperative peak values of PCT and IL- 6 correlated closely in both groups (r=0.78, r=0.83 respectively). Aprotinin attenuates the post-PEA increase of PCT in the same manner as other pro-inflammatory cytokines. Significant correlation between PCT and IL-6 post-surgery may be indicative of an indirect IL-6-mediated pathway of PCT alteration., P. Maruna, ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury