During the last decade many electronic databases of vegetation plots, mainly phytosociological relevés, were established in different European countries. These databases contain information which is extremely valuable for both testing various macroecological hypotheses and for nature conservation surveying or monitoring. The aim of this paper is to provide estimates of the number of vegetation plots there are in Europe, how many are stored in an electronic format and to assess their distribution across European countries and regions.We sent a questionnaire to the managers of national or regional databases of vegetation plots and other prominent vegetation ecologists. Meta-data obtained in this way indicate that there are > 4,300,000 vegetation-plot records in Europe, of which > 1,800,000 are already stored electronically. Of the electronic plots, 60% are stored in TURBOVEG databases. Most plot records probably exist in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, UK, Switzerland and Austria. The largest numbers of plots per unit area are in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and countries of central Europe. The most computerized plots per country exist in the Netherlands (600,000), followed by France, the Czech Republic and the UK. Due to its strong phytosociological tradition, Europe has many more vegetation plots than any other part of the world. This wealth of unique ecological information is a challenge for future biodiversity studies. With the alarming loss in biodiversity and environmental problems like global warming and ongoing changes in land use, there is an urgent need for wide-scale scientific and applied vegetation research. Developments of information systems such as SynBioSys Europe and facilitation of data flow between the national and regional databases should make it easier to use these vegetation-plot data.
The article contains an example detailing the application and analysis of the accuracy of the method called continuous dynamic vehicle weighing during travel, using the telematic system. A model was built using the input data obtained through laboratory experiments on a running vehicle. This model was then applied to study the effects of error probability for the measured input data on the resulting expected accuracy of vehicle weight measuring in a normal running regime. Based on this point, hereby presented is a proposal of selected measured variables of great importance, and a proposal for the computation relationship of the used variables. By statistically processing a set of measured data taken during one vehicle travel, it is possible to attain -10.7% extreme relative error of the given method for the dynamic determination of vehicle weight.
Příspěvek je věnován opevnění mocenské aglomerace Staré Město – Uherské Hradiště, jednoho z nejvýznamnějších center raně středověkého státního útvaru, Velké Moravy. Ve studii je vyhodnocen jeden ze starších, dosud nepublikovaných terénních výzkumů, které se uskutečnily na východním okraji aglomerace v hradišťské čtvrti Rybárny. V průběhu těchto výzkumů byly objeveny zbytky mohutné fortifikace tvořené čelní kamennou zdí a dřevo-hliněnou konstrukcí táhnoucí se v délce bezmála 400 m. Průběh opevnění byl potom ověřen geofyzikálními i geologickými metodami. Následně došlo v poloze Rybárny k objevu velkomoravského pohřebiště a pravděpodobně i kostela, což kromě jiného vyvolalo nové otázky vztahující se k charakteristice, funkci a dataci nedaleké hradby. and The article is devoted to the fortification of the powerful Staré Město – Uherské Hradiště agglomeration, one of the most important centres of the Early Medieval state formation – Great Moravia. The study evaluates an earlier, hitherto unpublished, excavation that was conducted on the eastern edge of the agglomeration in the quarter Rybárny. During this excavations the remains of massive fortifications were discovered, with a stone facing and an earth and timber structure running a length of no less than 400 m. The course of the fortification was subsequently verified using geophysical and geological methods. Later, a Great Moravian cemetery and probably church were also found at Rybárny, which amongst other things raised news questions relating to the characteristics, function and dating of the nearby rampart.
To investigate the vestibular and somatosensory interaction in human postural control, a galvanic vestibular stimulation of cosine bell shape resulting in a small forward or backward body lean was paired with three vibrations of both soleus muscles. The induced body lean was registered by the position of the center of foot pressure (CoP). During a quiet stance with eyes closed the vibration of both soleus muscles with frequency (of) 40 Hz, 60 Hz and 80 Hz resulted in the body lean backward with velocities related to the vibration frequencies. The vestibular galvanic stimulation with the head turned to the right caused forward or backward modification of CoP backward response to the soleus muscles vibration and peaked at 1.5-2 s following the onset of the vibration. The effect of the paired stimulation was larger than the summation of the vestibular stimulation during the quiet stance and a leg muscle vibration alone. The enhancement of the galvanic stimulation was related to the velocity of body lean induced by the leg muscle vibration. The galvanic vestibular stimulation during a faster body movement had larger effects than during a slow body lean or the quiet stance. The results suggest that velocity of a body postural movement or incoming proprioceptive signal from postural muscles potentiate the effects of simultaneous vestibular stimulations on posture., O. Dzurková, F. Hlavačka., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive and disabling disease that has been associated with aging. Several factors may potentially impair performance during exercise in elderly patients with COPD. This study was conducted to evaluate what characteristics related to lung function, peripheral muscle strength and endurance can predict the performance of elderly patients with COPD during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Forty elderly patients with COPD underwent resting lung function tests, knee isokinetic dynamometry, and CPET. Three models were developed to explain the variability in peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak) after controlling for age as an independent confounder. The pulmonary function model showed the highest explained variance (65.6 %); in this model, ventilation distribution (p<0.001) and pulmonary diffusion (0.013) were found to be independent predictors. Finally, the models that included the muscle strength and endurance variables presented explained variances of 51 % and 57.4 %, respectively. In these models that involved muscular dysfunction, however, only the endurance variables were found to be independent predictors (p<0.05). In conclusion, ventilation distribution and pulmonary diffusion, but not the degree of airway obstruction, independently predict CPET performance in elderly patients with COPD. In addition, peripheral muscle endurance, but not strength, also predicts CPET performance in these subjects.
Hypoxia stimulates ventilation, but when it is sustained, a decline in the ventilatory response is seen. The mechanism responsible for this decline lies within the CNS, but still remains unknown. In this study, we attempted to elucidate the possible role of hypoxia-induced depression of respiratory neurons by comparing the ventilatory response to hypoxia in intact rats and those with denervated carotid bodies. A whole-body plethysmograph was used to measure tidal volume, frequency of breathing and minute ventilation (VE) in awake and anesthetized intact rats and rats after carotid body denervation during exposure to hypoxia (FIO2 0.1). Fifteen-minute hypoxia induced an initial increase of VE in intact rats (to 248 % of control ventilation in awake and to 227 % in anesthetized rats) followed by a consistent decline (to 207 % and 196 % of control VE, respectively). Rats with denervated carotid bodies responded with a smaller increase in VE (to 134 % in awake and 114 % in anesthetized animals), but without a secondary decline (145 % and 129 % of control VE in the 15th min of hypoxia). These results suggest that afferentation from the carotid bodies and/or the substantial increase in ventilation are crucial for the biphasicity of the ventilatory response to sustained hypoxia and that a central hypoxic depression cannot fully explain the secondary decline in VE., H. Maxová, M. Vízek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Ventricular assist devices (VAD ) have recently established themselves as an irreplaceable th erapeutic modality of terminal heart failure. Because of the worldwide shortage of donors, ventricular assist devices play a key role in modern heart failure therapy. Some clinical data have revealed the possibility of cardiac recovery during VAD applic ation. On the other hand, both clinical and experiment al studies indicate the risk of the cardiac atrophy development, especially after prolonged mechanical unloading. Little is known about the specific mechanisms governing the unloading-induced cardiac atrophy and about the exact ultrastructural changes in cardiomyocytes, and even less is known about the ways in which possible therapeutical interventions may affect heart at rophy. One aim of this review was to present important aspects of the development of VAD- related cardiac atrophy in humans and we also review the most significant observations linking clinical data and those derived from studies using experimental mo dels. The focus of this article was to review current methods applied to alleviate cardiac atrophy which follows mechanical unloading of the heart. Out of many pharmacological agents studied, only the selective beta2 agonist clenbuterol has been proved to have a significantly beneficial effect on unloading-induced atrophy. Mechanical means of atrophy alleviation also seem to be effective and promising., M. Pokorný ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Aims of the study were to compare the development of electrocardiographic responses of the ischemia-induced heterogeneities of activation and repolarization in the ventricular myocardium of normal and diabetic animals. Body surface ECGs and unipolar electrograms in 64 epicardial leads were recorded before and during 20 min after the ligation of the left anterior descending artery in diabetic (alloxan model, 4 weeks, n=8) and control (n=8) rabbits. Activation times (ATs), end of repolarization times (RTs) and repolarization durations (activation-recovery intervals, ARIs) were determined in ischemic and periischemic zones. In contrast to the controls, the diabetic rabbits demonstrated the significant prolongation of ATs and shortening of ARIs (P<0.05) during ischemia in the affected region resulting in the development and progressive increase of the ARI and RT gradients across the ischemic zone boundary. The alterations of global and local dispersions of the RTs in diabetics correlated with the Tpeak-Tend interval changes in the limb leads ECGs. In the ischemic conditions, the diabetic animals differed from the controls by the activation delay, significant repolarization duration shortening, and the increase of local repolarization dispersion; the latter could be assessed by the Tpeak-Tend interval measurements in the body surface ECGs., K. A. Sedova, M. A. Vaykshnorayte, A. O. Ovechkin, P. Kneppo, O. G. Bernikova, V. A. Vityazev, J. E. Azarov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This work deals with the changes of rhetorical education and emotional orders in the second half of the 18th century. The aim of the research is to assess the relations among language education, funtions of medias, anthropological models and expression of emotions on the Threshold of enlightenment. The background of the research shapes the transformation of rhetorical tradition. The research of the broad field of pedagogical, rhetorical and moral discurs is focused on the collegium of Karl Heinrich Seibt., Václav Smyčka., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy