The orientation of the Earth in space is measured by space geodetic techniques. Each technique has its weaknesses so the best way how to get a representative solution of Earth orientation parameters is to combine all of them together using some appropriate method. There are basically two approaches, the rigorous and non-rigorous one. The method used in this paper belongs to the second category. Since 1999, when the authors Kostelecký and Pešek put basis of the combination method, the method has been modified and improved. The particular improvements are described hereafter and recent results are presented. These results of collocation station velocities are compared with the velocities published by ITRF 2005 and NUVEL-1A. The mean values of differences are 2.7 mm/y and 5.9 mm/y, respectively., Vojtěch Štefka, Ivan Pešek, Jan Vondrák and Jan Kostelecký., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Recently we derived a new star catalog EOC-4 that contains not only the mean positions and linear proper motions, but also periodic changes, due to orbital motions, for double and multiple star systems. The catalog contains 4418 stars that were observed in programs monitoring Earth orientation by optical astrometry during the 20th century. 599 stars of the catalog have significant periodic components. This catalog is now used, as a basic celestial frame, to obtain the Earth orientation parameters from optical astrometric observations of latitude/universal time/altitude in the interval 1899.7-1992.0. Polar motion is determined in 5-day steps for the whole interval studied, Universal time covers the interval 1956.0-1992.0 (i.e., after the invention of atomic clocks) also in 5-day steps, and celestial pole offsets (with respect to recent IAU2000 and IAU2006 models of nutation and precession) are modeled by second-order polynomials of time. In addition to these, a combination of Love and Shida numbers for each observing site is computed., Jan Vondrák, Cyril Ron and Vojtěch Štefka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The European Academies Science Advisory Council was formed by the national science academies of EU Member States to enable them to collaborate with each other in providing advice to European policy-makers. It thus offers the means for the collective voice of European science to be heard. The EASAC covers all scientific and technical disciplines, and its experts are drawn from all coutries of the European Union. The most recent EASAC meeting was held in June 2008 in Prague. and Luděk Svoboda, Gabriela Adámková.
Commercial chambers for in vivo gas exchange are usually designed to measure on vascular plants, but not on cryptogams and other organisms forming biological soil crusts (BSCs). We have therefore designed two versions of a chamber with different volumes for determining CO2 exchange with a portable photosynthesis system, for three main purposes: (1) to measure in situ CO2 exchange on soils covered by BSCs with minimal physical and microenvironmental disturbance; (2) to acquire CO2-exchange measurements comparable with the most widely employed systems and methodologies; and (3) to monitor CO2 exchange over time. Different configurations were tested in the two versions of the chamber and fluxes were compared to those measured by four reference commercial chambers: three attached to two respirometers, and a conifer chamber attached to a portable photosynthesis system. Most comparisons were done on biologically crusted soil samples. When using devices in a closed system, fluxes were higher and the relationships to the reference chambers were weaker. Nevertheless, high correlations between our chamber operating in open system and measurements of commercial respiration and photosynthetic chambers were found in all cases (R2 > 0.9), indicating the suitability of the chamber designed for in situ measurements of CO2 gas exchange on BSCs., M. Ladrón De Guevara, R. Lázaro, J. L. Quero, S. Chamizo, F. Domingo., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Na nedávném kongresu Evropské urologické asociace (EAU) ve švédském Stockholmu byla prezentována data, která jednoznačně ukazují na to, že se lékaři při léčbě příznaků syndromu dolních cest močových u mužů až příliš soustřeďují na evakuační (obstrukční) symptomy a opomíjejí příznaky jímací (iritační), které zřejmě ještě negativněji ovlivňují kvalitu života jejich pacientů. Výsledky studie NEPTUNE II naopak demonstrují, že kombinovaná léčba tohoto onemocnění je účinná a dobře tolerovaná při krátkodobém i dlouhodobém použití., At recent EAU meeting in Stockholm (Sweden) new data were presented, clearly demonstrating that urologists treating symptoms associated with lower urinary tract syndrome focus too much on voiding (obstructive) symptoms while neglecting filling (irritating) symptoms, which might have substantially larger negative impact on patient quality of life. Results of NEPTUNE II Study show, that combination therapy of this condition is effective and well tolerated when used both short- and long-term., and Pacík D., Varga G.