The photosynthetic parameters in leaves of three-year-old seedlings of Fraxinus rhynchophylla L. were studied under different soil water conditions and CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) with a
LI-COR 6400 portable photosynthesis system. The objective was to investigate the response of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance (gs) to various [CO2] and soil water conditions, and to understand the adaptability of F. rhynchophylla to such conditions. The results showed that the soil water content (RWC) required to maintain high photosynthetic productivity in F. rhynchophylla was 49.5-84.3%; in this range, net photosynthetic rate (PN) rose with [CO2] increasing from 500 to 1,400 μmol mol-1. Outside this RWC range, PN decreased significantly. The apparent maximum photosynthetic rate (Pmax,c) and carboxylation velocity (Vc) increased with increasing RWC and remained relatively high, when RWC was between 49.5 and 96.2%. CO2 compensation points and photorespiration rate exhibited a trend opposite to that of Pmax,c and Vc, indicating that moderate water stress was beneficial for increasing plant assimilation, decreasing photorespiration, and increasing production of photosynthates. gs declined significantly with increasing [CO2] under different water supplies, but the RWC range maintaining high gs increased. gs reached its maximum, when RWC was approximately 73% and then decreased with declining RWC. The maximal gs was found with increasing RWC. Thus, based on photosynthetic characteristics in artificial, vegetation construction in semiarid loess hill and gully area, F. rhynchophylla could be planted in habitats of low soil water content. and S. Y. Zhang ... [et al.].
L-arginine is a substrate for nitric oxide synthase (NOS) responsible for the production of NO. This investigation studied the effect of apocynin, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor and catalase, an H2O2 scavenger on L-arginine-induced oxidative stress and hypotension. Forty Wistar-Kyoto rats were treated for 14 days with vehicle, L-arginine (12.5 mg/ml p.o.), L-arginine + apocynin (2.5 mmol/l p.o.), L-arginine + catalase (10000 U/kg/day i.p.) and L-arginine plus apocynin + catalase respectively. Weekly renal functional and hemodynamic parameters were measured and kidneys harvested at the end of the study for histopathological and renal NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4) assessments. L-arginine administration in normotensive rats decreased systolic blood pressure (120±2 vs. 91±2 mmHg) and heart rate (298±21 vs. 254±15 bpm), enhanced urinary output (21.5±4.2 vs. 32±1.9 ml/24 h, increased creatinine clearance (1.72±0.56 vs. 2.62±0.40 ml/min/kg), and fractional sodium excretion (0.88±0.16 vs. 1.18±0.16 %), caused proteinuria (28.10±1.93 vs. 35.26±1.69 mg/kg/day) and a significant decrease in renal cortical blood perfusion (292±3 vs. 258±5 bpu) and pulse wave velocity (3.72±0.20 vs 2.84±0.13 m/s) (all P<0.05). L-arginine increased plasma malondialdehyde (by ~206 % P<0.05) and NO (by ~51 %, P<0.05) but decreased superoxide dismutase (by ~31 %, P<0.05) and total antioxidant capacity (by ~35 %, P<0.05) compared to control. Renal Nox4 mRNA activity was approximately 2.1 fold higher (P<0.05) in the L-arginine-treated rats but was normalized by apocynin and apocynin plus catalase treatment. Administration of apocynin and catalase, but not catalase alone to rats fed L-arginine, restored the deranged renal function and structure, prevented hypotension and enhanced the antioxidant capacity and suppressed Nox4 expression. These findings suggest that apocynin and catalase might be used prophylactically in the states of oxidative stress.
The article discusses the theoretical and methodological considerations as well as the partical application of two incarnations of the rhetorical turn in socio-cultural anthropology. Rhetorical turn is understood as a linguistic and constructivist turn, which marks a substantial part of contemporary thinking in the social sciences and humanities.
This article outlines the right of asylum as a judicial institute in the early modern period, when modern states have been forming. Special attention is given to the dynamic struggle between the church asylum, as well as the church judicial system in general, and the state’s secular power.Specific attributes of the right of asylum and its evolution in time are studied from different viewpoints; understanding of the term and its content, legal continuity of the right of asylum,conditions, under which asylum was granted and the different forms of asylum. General observations and supported by specific historical examples and references.
The author of this article focused his attention on the new wave in the frame of privacy protection in the EU law: from co called "right to be forgotten" (case Google vs. Gonzáles) to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Author explained expecially the impact of the recent European development of the personal data protection on the Czech law including the newly prepared Czech Personal Data Protection Act, the changes of doctrinal thinking and the challenges to the juridical practice in the Czech Republic., Jan Hurdík., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
It is argued in the article that the peaceful transition to capitalism in communist countries was not possible without the co-action of the nomenklatura, whose interest was to transform their informal access to state-owned capital into an authentic 'grand entrepreneurship'. The necessary acquisition of physical cap ital was achieved by means of mass privatisation schemes in which the nomenklatura took advantage of their social capital and information asymmetries. In the Czech case, there were three social groups competing for a position among the new entrepreneurial elite. The initially large gains of the nomenklatura gradually eroded when new businesses opened to domestic and international competition, where competitiveness depended on endowments of human (entrepreneurial) and economic capital. In the subsequent wave of ownership restructuring, initiated after 1994, the former nomenklatura was partially squeezed out of the tradable sector, which was occupied by better skilled foreign and domestic entrepreneurs. The exiting entrepreneurs converted their holdings into consumer goods, or defected to sectors less open to competition, where the alignment of social capital and bureaucracy persisted. Their position depends now on the pending reforms of public administration and the search for a more efficient social model.
Salinization is an increasing enviromental problem in ecosystems. The assessment of total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), alkalinity and the concentrations of main ions makes possible to identify salinization and alkalization degree. The saltaffected soils occur in the south part and south-east part of Žitný ostrov, where the dry and mild summer climate, evaporation soil water regime and mineralized groundwater create conditions for development of the saline and alkaline soils. Five localities with highly-mineralized groundwater were monitored to evaluate salinity and alkality in the period 1989-2006. At the bottom horizons in localities 1 - 5 evaporative residues (salt content) reached value 0.1 - 0.2 %. In 2006 dry evaporative residues (salt content) was higher than 0.2 %, EC was higher than 250 mS m-1 at the bottom horizons in localities 1, 2, 4. The mentioned data allow us to state that salinization and alkalization of soils is developing, it starts from the bottom of soil horizons through middle part of the soil profile up to the top horizons. This phenomenon was observed in all investigated soils in different stages of development. and Salinizácia v ekosystémoch je stále významnejší enviromentálny problém. Stanovenie celkového množstva rozpustených látok (TDS), elektrickej vodivosti (EC), sodíkového adsorpčného pomeru (SAR) a obsahu výmenného sodíka (ESP) umožňuje identifikáciu kritického potenciálu salinizácie a degradácie pôdy. Záujmové územie bolo vymedzené vo východnej časti Žitného ostrova, kde suché a horúce klimatické podmienky spolu s vysokomineralizovanými podzemnými vodami sú príčinou translokácie solí do pôdneho profilu. Bolo monitorovaných 5 lokalít v období 1989 - 2006. Namerané údaje poukazujú na vzrastajúci obsah solí, ktorý v r. 2006 dosiahol 0,1 - 0,2 % v celom pôdnom profile vo všetkých monitorovaných lokalitách, hodnoty EC 200 - 400 mS m-1 v spodných horizontoch vytvárajú podmienky pre rozvoj zasolených pôd.
This work concerns a discrete-time Markov chain with time-invariant transition mechanism and denumerable state space, which is endowed with a nonnegative cost function with finite support. The performance of the chain is measured by the (long-run) risk-sensitive average cost and, assuming that the state space is communicating, the existence of a solution to the risk-sensitive Poisson equation is established, a result that holds even for transient chains. Also, a sufficient criterion ensuring that the functional part of a solution is uniquely determined up to an additive constant is provided, and an example is given to show that the uniqueness result may fail when that criterion is not satisfied.