The Treaty on Friendship, Mutual Assistance and Postwar Cooperation between the Czechoslovak Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed on 12 December 1943 in Moscow had a fundamental impact on the orientation of Czechoslovak foreign policy at the end of the war and in the years that followed. At the same time, the lengthy negotiations in 1943, which ultimately resulted in signing the treaty in question, were one of the few moments during the war when Czechoslovakia became the object of an opinion clash between the Great Powers. In this study, which is based primarily on British and US documents (some of which have not been used before), the author analyses in detail the role of the Czechoslovak-Soviet treaty project in the policies of the two Western powers until the signing of the document, before assessing the impact of the treaty in concern on Czechoslovakia’s relations with the United Kingdom and the United States at the end of the war. He points out that neither the British nor the Americans were prepared to conclude a similar treaty with Czechoslovakia since both Western powers wanted the international security system to be based on foundations different from those which had repeatedly failed during the previous three decades. However, the signing of the Czechoslovak-Soviet Treaty dramatically reduced any chance for a federative or confederative arrangement in the region of Central Europe, as well as hopes for a multilateral treaty of alliance ensuring security in this region. For this reason, it was accepted without enthusiasm both in London and in Washington.
C4 photosynthetic pathway and life form were determined for 159 species in 71 genera and 13 families in the grassland of North China. 45 % of the C4 species were found in Graminae, 19 % in each of Cyperaceae and Chenopodiaceae. More than 51 % of these C4 species were in therophyta and 36 % hemicryptophyta, while fewer species were in nanophanerophyta (9 %) or geophyta (5 %). The numbers of C4 species and their life forms were closely related with grassland deterioration and succession in North China. This indicated that the C4 species had greater capacity to tolerate environmental stress (e.g. drought and salinity) caused by animal grazing and cultivation.
When insect herbivores develop over many generations on the same plant species, their descendants may evolve physiological adaptations that enable them to develop more successfully on that plant species than naïve conspecifics. Here, we compared development of wild and lab-reared caterpillars of the cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae, on a cultivar of cabbage Brassica oleracea (cv. Cyrus) and on a wild plant species, sorrel, Rumex acetosa, on which the wild strain had been collected and reared for two earlier consecutive generations. The lab strain had been reared on the same cabbage cultivar for more than 20 years representing > 200 generations. Survival to adult did not vary with strain or plant species. Both strains, however, developed significantly faster when reared on R. acetosa than B. oleracea. Pupae from the field strain were larger when reared on B. oleracea than on R. acetosa, whereas the identity of the plant species did not matter for the lab strain. Our results show that long-term rearing history on cabbage had little or no effect on M. brassicae performance, suggesting that some generalist herbivores can readily exploit novel plants that may be chemically very different from those on which they have long been intimately associated., Jeffrey A. Harvey, Eke Hengeveld, Miriama Malcicka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Interception is one of the most underestimated processes in hydrological cycle in arid and semiarid regions. In Qilian Mountains of northwestern arid and semiarid China, the Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) forest plays an important role in the hydrological cycle of the inland Heihe River basin. The historical disturbance of Qinghai spruce forest has resulted in various ecological problems. In order to realize the sustainable development of Heihe River basin, the Chinese government implemented restoration practices for Qinghai spruce in the past three decades. In this study, we estimated the rainfall interception in the actual and potential distribution of Qinghai spruce forest. Some of the important findings include: (1) The interception ratio of rainfall events ranged from 11-51% with a mean value of 27.02%; (2) Totally, 147 Mt of rainfall is intercepted by canopy of actual Qinghai spruce forest, in the projected potential distribution of the forest, totally 407 Mt of rainfall will be intercepted.
The Capsalidae are monogeneans parasitizing ''skin'', fins and gills of marine fishes. Some capsalids are pathogenic to cultivated fish and a few have caused epizootic events. It is a cosmopolitan family with broad host associations (elasmobranchs and teleosts, including sturgeons). Approximately 200 capsalid species are placed in nine subfamilies and 44-46 genera, some of which are well known (Benedenia, Capsala, Entobdella, Neobenedenia). Sturgeons host two capsalid species (Nitzschiinae) and 15 species in five genera are reliably reported from elasmobranchs. The combination of ancient (shark, ray, sturgeon) and modern (teleost) host fish lineages indicates that capsalid evolution is likely a blend of coevolution and host-switching, but a family phylogeny has been lacking due to deficient knowledge about homologies. The current phenetic subfamilial classification is discussed in detail using a preliminary phylogeny generated from large subunit ribosomal DNA sequence data from representatives of five subfamilies. Monophyly of the Capsalidae is supported by possession of accessory sclerites. Hypotheses are proposed for the possible radiation of capsalids. A suggestion that Neobenedenia melleni, a pathogenic species atypical due to its broad host-specificity (>100 host teleost species from >30 families in five orders), may be a complex of species is supported from genetic evidence. This may explain peculiarities in biology, taxonomy, host associations and geographic distribution of N. 'melleni' and has implications for fish health. Holistic studies using live and preserved larval and adult capsalid specimens and material for genetic analysis are emphasised to further determine identity, phylogeny and details of biology, especially for pathogenic species.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), an endogenous “gasotransmitter”, exists in the central nervous system. However, the central cardiovascular effects of endogenous H2S are not fully determined. The present study was designed to investigate the central cardiovascular effects and its possible mechanism in anesthetized rats. Intracerebrovent ricular (icv) injection of NaHS (0.17~17 μ g) produced a significant and dose-dependent decrease in blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) (P<0.05) compared to control. The higher dose of NaHS (17 μ g, n=6) decreased BP and HR quickly of rats and 2 of them died of respiratory paralyse. Icv injection of the cystathionine beta-synthetase (CBS) activator s-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM, 26 μ g) also produced a significant hypotension and bradycardia, which were similar to the results of icv injection of NaHS. Furthermore, the hypotension and bradycardia induced by icv NaHS were effectively attenuated by pretreatment with the KATP channel blocker glibenclamide but not with the CBS inhibitor hydroxylamine. The present study suggests that icv injection of NaHS produces hypotension and bradycardia, which is dependent on the KATP channel activation., W.-Q. Liu ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
We tested whether seal location at iliac crest (IC) or upper abdomen (UA), before and during lower body negative pressure (LBNP), would affect thoracic electrical impedance, hepatic blood flow, and central cardiovascular responses to LBNP. After 30 min of supine rest, LBNP at -40 mmHg was applied for 15 min, either at IC or UA, in 14 healthy males. Plasma density and indocyanine green concentrations assessed plasma volume changes and hepatic perfusion. With both sealing types, LBNP-induced effects remained unchanged for mean arterial pressure (-3.0±1.1 mm Hg), cardiac output (-1.0 l min-1), and plasma volume (-11 %). Heart rate was greater during UA (80.6±3.3 bpm) than IC (76.0±2.5 bpm) (p<0.01) and thoracic impedance increased more using UA (3.2±0.2 Ω) than IC (1.8±0.2 Ω) (p<0.0001). Furthermore, during supine rest, UA was accompanied by lower thoracic impedance (26.9±1.1 vs 29.0±0.8 Ω , p<0.001) and hepatic perfusion (1.6 vs 1.8 l.min-1, p<0.05) compared to IC. The data suggest that the reduction in central blood volume in response to LBNP depends on location of the applied seal. The sealing in itself altered blood volume distribution and hepatic perfusion in supine resting humans. Finally, application of LBNP with the seal at the upper abdomen induced a markedly larger reduction in central blood volume and greater increases in heart rate than when the seal was located at the iliac crest., N. Goswami ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
To explore the cause of difference in photosynthetic performance between different cultivars of crops, leaf net photosynt rate (PN) and photosystem 2 (PS2) photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), apparent quantum yield of carbon assimilation (φc), electron transport rate, photophosphorylation activity, etc. were measured in two soybean cultivars, Heinong 42 and Heinong 37. At pod setting and filling, significant differences in PN between them were observed. The former with a higher PN (from 7 to 38 %) had a significantly higher leaf thickness, leaf dry mass/area (LMA), chlorophyll content, soluble protein content, apparent quantum yield of electron transport through PS2 (φe), carboxylation efficiency (CE), and ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPC) activity. The significantly higher PN of Heinong 42 is mainly due to its higher content and activity of RuBPC. and Hua Jiang, Da-Quan Xu.