The photochemical reflectance index (PRI), based on reflectance signatures at 531 and 570 nm, and associated with xanthophyll pigment inter-conversion and related thylakoid energisation, was evaluated as an indicator of photosynthetic function in a Mediterranean holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) coppice. The chlorophyll fluorescence pulse-amplitude-modulation and the eddy correlation techniques were used to estimate the photosystem 2 photochemical efficiency of leaves and the CO2 flux over the canopy, respectively. The reflectance and fluorescence techniques yielded identical estimates of the photosynthetic activity in leaves exposed to dark-light-dark cycles or to a variable irradiance in laboratory. However, there was no such correlation between photosynthetic performance and PRI when applied to a sun-exposed canopy in field conditions. Fluorescence profiles inside the canopy and especially a helpful use of multispectral reflectance imaging highlight the limitations of such method.
Nitrogen (N) starvation resulted in degreening, inhibition of photosynthetic oxygen evolution and dark respiration, reduced survival, and increased age-specific mortality in both Chlorella fusca and Chlorella vulgaris. Analysis of in vivo chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence induction kinetics revealed the presence of N-starvation-induced changes at the level of degreened thylakoids in both species. These changes included decreased yield of the photochemistry of photosystem 2 (PS2), and a declined photosynthetic efficiency. Synthesis of secondary carotenoids represented a biochemical change in carotenogenesis that had a photoprotective effect in degreened C. fusca. This inferred photoprotection was reflected in the delayed inhibition of oxygen evolution and improved survival of C. fusca under N-starvation. The effect was further elucidated by comparison with C. vulgaris which was not able to synthesize secondary carotenoids under the same conditions.
Redox polymer/protein biophotoelectrochemistry was used to analyse forward electron transfer of isolated PSII complexes with natural PsbA-variants. PsbA1- or PsbA3-PSII was embedded in a redox hydrogel that allows diffusion-free electron transfer to the electrode surface and thus measurement of an immediate photocurrent response. The initial photocurrent density of the electrode is up to ~2-fold higher with PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, the most prominent under high-light [2,300 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1] illumination with 5 μA cm-2 for PsbA3-PSII and 9.5 μA cm-2 for PsbA1-PSII. This indicates more efficient electron transfer in low-light-adapted PsbA1-PSII. In contrast, the photocurrent decays faster in PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, which suggests increased stability of high-light-adapted PsbA3-PSII. These results confirm and extend previous observations that PsbA3-PSII has increased P680+/QA- charge recombination and thus less efficient photon-to-charge conversion, whereas PsbA1-PSII is optimised for efficient electron transfer with limited stability., V. Hartmann, A. Ruff, W. Schuhmann, M. Rögner, M. M. Nowaczyk., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The study concentrates on analysis of heterogeneous rock mass deformations in the final years of underground coal extraction and during the revitalisation period after the end of mining. The research has been carried out in the Walbrzych Coal Basin where underground mining ceased at the end of the 20th Century. In the paper results of initial stages of ground deformation studies on a fragment of the Walbrzych mining grounds concerning analysis of benchmark height changes in a selected levelling line has been described. The results indicate ground subsidence in the period immediately after end of coal extraction and change to a steady uplift of the ground a few years later (2000-2008). Abnormal changes of heights in tectonic fault zones have also been observed. These could be related to heterogeneous rock mass reaction during the revitalisation period., Jan Blachowski, Stefan Cacoń and Wojciech Milczarek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The study focuses on ceramic production from Žďár nad Sázavou – Staré město, an agglomeration that formed in the third quarter of 13th century and was abandoned after the founding of the ‘new’ town in the early 14th century. The large pottery collection is well dated and captures changes in pottery production during the medieval transformation, tightly connected with the colonisation of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. The pottery assemblage from the 2004 excavation season was processed in this study. Material from the pottery kiln discovered in 2006 and found during the review of the research documentation was supplemented afterwards. The main part of study evaluates ceramic production technology, which was rapidly changing during this period. Pottery fragments were divided into ceramic classes according to the properties of the ceramic mass and firing. The descriptive system of technological marks is a part of the study, but it could be used for other medieval pottery collections. Detailed attention was paid to pottery-forming technique marks: coiling, wheel forming and wheel throwing. The analysis of pottery technology is based on the chaîne opératoire of medieval ceramic production. The macroscopic analysis of pottery-making technology is connected with the conclusions of natural science analyses. Their aim was to validate and specify the macroscopic description of ceramic classes and also detailed information about pottery provenance and technology. The analysis of the pottery provides information for the future productiondistribution model of pottery production in the area.
The adaptation of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Akcent) plants to low (LI, 50 µmol m-2 s-1) and high (HI, 1000 µmol m-2 s-1) growth irradiances was studied using the simultaneous measurements of the photosynthetic oxygen evolution and chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence at room temperature. If measured under ambient CO2 concentration, neither increase of the oxygen evolution rate (P) nor enhancement of non-radiative dissipation of the absorbed excitation energy within photosystem 2 (PS2) (determined as non-photochemical quenching of Chl a fluorescence, NPQ) were observed for HI plants compared with LI plants. Nevertheless, the HI plants exhibited a significantly higher proportion of QA in oxidised state (estimated from photochemical quenching of Chl a fluorescence, qP), by 49-102 % at irradiances above 200 µmol m-2 s-1 and an about 1.5 fold increase of irradiance-saturated PS2 electron transport rate (ETR) as compared to LI plants. At high CO2 concentration the degree of P stimulation was approximately three times higher for HI than for LI plants, and the irradiance-saturated P values at irradiances of 2 440 and 2 900 µmol m-2 s-1 were by 130 and 150 % higher for HI plants than for LI plants. We suggest that non-assimilatory electron transport dominates in the adaptation of the photosynthetic apparatus of barley grown at high irradiances under ambient CO2 rather than an increased NPQ or an enhancement of irradiance-saturated photosynthesis. and I. Kurasová ... [et al.].
The paper presents review of occurrence frequency of extreme hydrological events in a small agricultural basin in the flysh region over the period of 40 years (1964/65 - 2003/04). No human alterations were carried out in the basin over the period studied and hence influence of climatic changes on intensification of water cycle could be evaluated. Peaks over threshold (POT) method was applied separately to winter and summer hydrological events. In comparison with annual maximum series, all mean daily discharge values over a certain thresholds were taken into account for POT frequency analysis. The frequency of POT events has decreased in the past two decades (1984/85 - 1993/94 and 1994/95 - 2003/04). The results reveal that the most extreme values occurred in the 1964/65 - 1973/74 decade, mostly caused by summer rainfall. High event frequency also emerges in the 1974/75 - 1983/84 decade, especially in winter seasons as the consequence of snow melting. It is most likely that influence of climatic changes has not resulted yet in increase of occurrence frequency of POT events in the basin studied over the 40 years period. and Príspevok sa zaoberá frekvenciou výskytu extrémnych hydrologických udalostí na malom poľnohospodárskom povodí vo flyšovom pásme počas 40-ročnej periódy (1964/65-2003/04). Počas tohto obdobia nebolo povodie ovplyvnené významnými zmenami ľudskej činnosti a preto mohol byť zhodnotený vplyv klimatických zmien na intenzifikáciu hydrologického cyklu. POT metóda bola aplikovaná zvlášť pre zimné a letné hydrologické udalosti. V porovnaní so sériami ročných maxím, všetky priemerné denné prietoky nad určitou prahovou hodnotou boli zahrnuté do POT frekvenčných analýz. Frekvencia POT udalostí (nad zvolenou prahovou hodnotou) klesla v posledných dvoch dekádach (1984/85-1993/94 a 1994/95- 2003/04). Výsledky ukazujú, že najextrémnejšie hodnoty priemerných denných prietokov, spôsobené prevažne letnými prívalovými zrážkami sa objavili v dekáde 1964/65-1973/74. Vysoké hodnoty prietokov, spôsobené prevažne topením snehovej pokrývky sa vyskytli tiež v dekáde 1974/75-1983/84. Je nanajvýš pravdepodobné, že v študovanom povodí za obdobie 40-tich rokov klimatické zmeny nemali zatiaľ vplyv na zvyšovanie frekvencie extrémnych udalostí.
Six barley chlorophyll (Chl) mutants, viridis, flavoviridis, chlorina, xanhta, lutea, and albina, differed in the contents of Chl (a+b) and carotenoids (Cars). In accordance with their Chl-deficient phenotype, the Chl a and b and Car contents of mutants decreased from viridis to albina, only xantha had the same or even higher concentration of Cars as the wild type plant. The albina mutant completely lacked and xantha had a significantly reduced photosynthetic activity. We found quantitative differences in protein contents between wild type and mutant plants, with the lowest concentration per fresh mass in the albina mutant. Chl fluorescence analysis revealed that heat-treated barley leaves of both the wild type and Chl mutants had a lower photosystem 2 efficiency than the untreated ones. With 35S-methionine labelling and SDS-PAGE we found that six to nine de novo synthetized proteins appeared after heat shock (2 h, 42 °C) in the wild type and Chl mutants. In albina the expression of heat shock proteins (HSPs) was reduced to 50 % of that in the wild type. Hence mainly albina mutants, with a completely destroyed proteosynthetic apparatus of the chloroplasts, are able to synthesize a small set of HSPs. The albina mutant is a very useful tool for the study of different gene expression of chloroplast and nuclear DNA. and E. Gálová, B. Böhmová, A. Ševčovičová.
GPS permanent stations KRAW, KATO and ZYWI are part of so called Active Geodetic Network which covers entire area of Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) in Poland and forms precise reference frame for geodetic and geodynamic applications. Moreover the above mentioned stations belong to EUREF Permanent Network. The stations, as datum points, play important role in precise positioning and geoid determination in area of USCB. The study of the stability of these points is one of the main components in precise monitoring of ground deformation in mining areas. The analysis of stability of permanent GPS stations KRAW, KATO and ZYWI are based on the coordinate time series obtained from the EUREF weekly solutions. The relative coordinate time series of weekly solutions for the vectors KRAW - KATO, KRAW - ZYWI , KATO - ZYWI are presented. The consistency, linearity, seasonal variations and jumps in the relative coordinate time series are discussed., Władysław Góral and Jacek Kudrys., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We investigate Solutions provided by the finite-context predictive model called neural prediction machine (NPM) built on the recurrent layer of two types of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). One type is the first-order Elman’s simple recurrent network (SRN) trained for the next symbol prediction by the technique of extended Kalman filter (EKF). The other type of RNN is an interesting unsupervised counterpart to the “claissical” SRN, that is a recurrent version of the Bienenstock, Cooper, Munro (BCM) network that performs a kind of time-conditional projection pursuit. As experimental data we chose a complex symbolic sequence with both long and short memory structures. We compared the Solutions achieved by both types of the RNNs with Markov models to find out whether training can improve initial Solutions reached by random network dynamics that can be interpreted as an iterated function system (IFS). The results of our simulations indicate that SRN trained by EKF achieves better next symbol prediction than its unsupervised counterpart. Recurrent BCM network can provide only the Markovian solution that is not able to cover long memory structures in sequence and thus beat SRN.