The objective of this study is to analyse the spatial variability of seasonal flood occurrences in the Upper Danube region for the period 1961-2010. The analysis focuses on the understanding of the factors that control the spatial variability of winter and summer floods in 88 basins with different physiographic conditions. The evaluation is based on circular statistics, which compare the changes in the mean date and in the seasonal flood concentration index within a year or predefined season. The results indicate that summer half-year and winter half-year floods are dominant in the Alps and northern Danube tributaries, respectively. A comparison of the relative magnitude of flood events indicates that summer half-year floods are on average more than 50% larger than floods in winter. The evaluation of flood occurrence showed that the values of seasonal flood concentration index (median 0.75) in comparison to the annual floods (median 0.58) shows higher temporal concentration of floods. The flood seasonality of winter events is dominant in the Alps; however, along the northern fringe (i.e. the Isar, Iller and Inn River) the timing of winter half-year floods is diverse. The seasonal concentration of summer floods tends to increase with increasing mean elevation of the basins. The occurrence of the three largest summer floods is more stable, i.e. they tend to occur around the same time for the majority of analysed basins. The results show that fixing the summer and winter seasons to specific months does not always allow a clear distinction of the main flood generation processes. Therefore, criteria to define flood typologies that are more robust are needed for regions such as the Upper Danube, with large climate and topographical variability between the lowland and high elevations, particularly for the assessment of the effect of increasing air temperature on snowmelt runoff and associated floods.
Spatial and temporal variability of snow line (SL) elevation, snow cover area (SCA) and depletion (SCD) in winters 2001-2014 is investigated in ten main Slovak river basins (the Western Carpathians). Daily satellite snow cover maps from MODIS Terra (MOD10A1, V005) and Aqua (MYD10A1, V005) with resolution 500 m are used. The results indicate three groups of basins with similar variability in the SL elevation. The first includes basins with maximum elevations above 1500 m a.s.l. (Poprad, Upper Váh, Hron, Hornád). Winter median SL is equal or close to minimum basin elevation in snow rich winters in these basins. Even in snow poor winters is SL close to the basin mean. Second group consists of mid-altitude basins with maximum elevation around 1000 m a.s.l. (Slaná, Ipeľ, Nitra, Bodrog). Median SL varies between 150 and 550 m a.s.l. in January and February, which represents approximately 40–80% snow coverage. Median SL is near the maximum basin elevation during the snow poor winters. This means that basins are in such winters snow free approximately 50% of days in January and February. The third group includes the Rudava/Myjava and Lower Váh/Danube. These basins have their maximum altitude less than 700 m a.s.l. and only a small part of these basins is covered with snow even during the snow rich winters. The evaluation of SCA shows that snow cover typically starts in December and last to February. In the highest basins (Poprad, Upper Váh), the snow season sometimes tends to start earlier (November) and lasts to March/April. The median of SCA is, however, less than 10% in these months. The median SCA of entire winter season is above 70% in the highest basins (Poprad, Upper Váh, Hron), ranges between 30-60% in the mid-altitude basins (Hornád, Slaná, Ipeľ, Nitra, Bodrog) and is less than 1% in the Myjava/Rudava and Lower Váh/Danube basins. However, there is a considerable variability in seasonal coverage between the years. Our results indicate that there is no significant trend in mean SCA in the period 2001-2014, but periods with larger and smaller SCA exist. Winters in the period 2002-2006 have noticeably larger mean SCA than those in the period 2007-2012. Snow depletion curves (SDC) do not have a simple evolution in most winters. The snowmelt tends to start between early February and the end of March. The snowmelt lasts between 8 and 15 days on average in lowland and high mountain basins, respectively. Interestingly, the variability in SDC between the winters is much larger than between the basins.
Dehydration affects the photosynthetic apparatus. The impact of dehydration on photosynthesis was assessed in twelve Mediterranean species representing different growth forms. Rapid and slow dehydration experiments were conducted to (1) compare the impact of water stress among species and growth forms, (2) rank species according to their drought tolerance. Rapid dehydration reduced the electron transport up to PSI, the reduction being linearly related to leaf relative water content (RWC), except for the deciduous species. Specific energy fluxes per reaction center and maximum photochemical activity of PSII remained relatively stable until 10-30% RWC. The modification pattern of the studied parameters was similar for all the growth forms. Slow rehydration increased specific energy fluxes and decreased quantum yields. The dehydration pattern was similar among growth forms, while the recovery pattern was species-specific. Drought tolerance ranking through drought factor index was relatively modified with the integrated biomarker response method.
Mixed evergreen-deciduous broadleaved forest is the transitional type of evergreen broadleaved forest and deciduous broadleaved forest, and plays a unique eco-hydrologic role in terrestrial ecosystem. We investigated the spatiotemporal patterns of throughfall volume of the forest type in Shennongjia, central China. The results indicated that throughfall represented 84.8% of gross rainfall in the forest. The mean CV (coefficient of variation) of throughfall was 27.27%. Inter-event variability in stand-scale throughfall generation can be substantially altered due to changes in rainfall characteristics, throughfall CV decreased with increasing rainfall amount and intensity, and reached a quasi-constant level when rainfall amount reached 25 mm or rainfall intensity reached 2 mm h–1. During the leafed period, the spatial pattern of throughfall was highly temporal stable, which may result in spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture.
In the process of population screening for apo E gene polymorphism with the PCR and subsequent restriction analysis, we identified a female who demonstrated heterozygosity for an unusual restriction fragment caused by the loss of a CfoI restriction site. Sequence analysis of the apo E gene was performed and a carrier of the mutant allele with C - T substitution at cDNA position 3817 was identified, which caused an Arg136 - Cys change. The first-line relatives have been screened for this rare mutation with PCR and restriction analysis of PCR products. The complete lipoprotein parameters have been determined in the probands family. In the family, only one child had the same mutant allele as his mother had. The proband (7.49 mmol/l) with her siblings had hypercholesterolemia and a high body mass index (BMI 31.6 kg/m2). By contrast, her son had a normal lipid spectrum with normal BMI. We described the mutation apo E2* (Arg136 - Cys) in a family with elevated lipid levels, but there was no confirmation of the connection between this mutation and type III hyperlipoproteinemia or hyperlipoproteinemia at all. In the case of this mutation, other factors (mainly genetic) are important for the development of lipid metabolism disorders., J. A. Hubáček, J. Piťha, P. Stávek, G. Schmitz, R. Poledne., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Some reports indicate that mesophyll conductance (gm) to carbon dioxide varies greatly with the substomatal carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) during the measurement, while other reports indicate little or no change in g m with Ci. I used the oxygen sensitivity of photosynthesis to determine the response of gm to Ci over the range of about 100 to 300 μmol mol-1 Ci at constant temperature in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and soybean (Glycine max) grown over a range of temperatures and photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD). In soybean grown and measured at high PPFD there was only a slight, approximately 15% decrease in gm with Ci over the range of 100 to 300 μmol mol-1. With lower PPFD during the measurement of gm, and especially with low PPFD during plant growth, there was a larger decrease in gm with Ci in soybean. In common bean, the same range in Ci resulted in about a 60% decrease in g m for plants grown and measured at high PPFD, with an even larger decrease for plants at low growth or measurement PPFD. Growth temperatures of 20 to 30°C had little influence on the response of gm to Ci or its absolute value in either species. It is concluded that these two species differed substantially in the sensitivity of gm to Ci, and that PPFD but not temperature during leaf development strongly affected the response of gm to Ci. and J. A. Bunce.
The article deals with Zdeněk Fibich’s (1850–1900) Variations in B major for piano which Vladimír Hudec, the author of the Tematický katalog Zdeňka Fibicha (Thematic Catalogue of Zdeněk Fibich’s Works), believed to have been lost. Its complete autograph, however, was recently discovered by the author of this article in the music collection of the Prague Hlahol Choral Society. The discovery of this composition, therefore, has substantially changed the existing knowledge of this work – as shown in the following paper, describing its context, such as the Fibich sources linked to it (including the Moser catalogue and the estate of Stanislav Kamenick˘). The article also points out the discrepancies found in the secondary literature.
Říká se, že jedním ze znaků správné fyzikální teorie je její krása. Máme-li na mysli estetičnost matematickou, patří variační počet k matematickým metodám, které naplňují tento požadavek vrchovatě. Je také pravda, že správné (zkušeností a experimentem prověřené) fyzikální teorie bývají variační, tj. odvoditelné z variačního principu: Klasická mechanika, relativistická mechanika, kvantová mechanika, klasická elektrodynamika... Na zcela elementární úrovni předkládáme základní myšlenku a klasické postupy variačního počtu, s ukázkami použití v geometrii a fyzice. Zaměříme se pouze na variační princip prvního řádu, s důrazem na mechaniku, kde na rozdíl od teorie pole závisí řešené úlohy pouze na jedné nezávisle proměnné, ve fyzice obvykle na čase., It is said that one of the characteristic features of physical theories is their beauty. Having in mind the "mathematical aesthetic appearance" one can say that the calculus of variations highly fulfils this requirement! It is also well known that correct physical theories (those verified experimentally), are often variational, i.e. based on a variational principle: classical mechanics, relativistic mechanics, quantum mechanics, classical electrodynamics, etc. We present, at a very basic level, the fundamental ideas and classical approaches of the calculus of variations, including examples of their use in geometry and physics. We focus on the first order variational principle, emphasizing mechanics, because contrary to field theories, the variational problems in mechanics depend on one independent variable only (usually time in physics)., Jana Musilová, Pavla Musilová., and Obsahuje bibliografii