Preliminary measurements of lumbar spine kinematics and stiffness

The purpose of the presented study was the experimental measurement of lumbar spine stiffness and its range of motion. The dependence of torsion moment of lumbar spine segment on deflection of flexion, extension and torsion was observed during experiments. Stiffness of spine segment was determined from measured data. Human lumbar spine was used for verification of the experimental technique. The sample consisted of one lumbar vertebrae composed by five vertebral bodies and four intervertebral discs. All muscles were removed, however all ligaments were preserved. Experiments were ca rried out on the test system MTS 858.2 MiniBionix, where loading by axial force and torsion moment is possible at the same time. Special Modular Bionix Spine Test Fixator, attached to the test system was used for the measurements. Loading was controlled kinematically (gradual turning) by keeping the axial force equal zero. Measurement was timedependent. The results of these experiments are going to be used as input data for creating a model of artificial lumbar spine and new type of artificial disc replacement

Toxicity of perfluorinated carboxylic acids for aquatic organisms

Toxicity of perfluorinated carboxylic acids with carbon chain C8 to C12 were tested with oligochaeta Tubifex tubifex. Toxicity was evaluated as the exposure time ET50 from onset of damage of the oligochaeta in saturated aqueous solutions. The ET50 fluctuated between 25 and 257 minutes. No statistically significant difference was found among the C8, C9 and C12 acids (ET50 between 143 and 257 minutes with large standard deviation). The acids with carbon chain C10 and C11 induced the effect significantly quicker (25 to 47 minutes). No acute toxicity measured in the three-minute test was observed in any case

A test on Ellenberg indicator values in the Mediterranean evergreen woods (Quercetea ilicis)

The consistency and reliability of Ellenberg’s indicator values (Eiv) as ecological descriptors of the Mediterranean evergreen vegetation ascribed to the phytosociological class Quercetea ilicis have been checked on a set of 859 phytosociological relevés × 699 species. Diagnostic species were identified through a Twinspan analysis and their Eiv analyzed and related to the following independent variables: (1) annual mean temperatures, (2) annual rainfall. The results provided interesting insights to disentangle the current syntaxonomical framework at the alliance level demonstrating the usefulness of ecological indicator values to test the efficiency and predictivity of the phytosociological classification

Koncepce bydlení Plzeň 2023+

Koncepce – neboli návrh – politiky bydlení Plzně 2023+ je politickou deklarací samosprávy formulující dlouhodobé cíle a popisující směry rozvoje města v oblasti bydlení společně s nástroji k jejich dosažení. Jedná se o projev vůle města se bydlením vážně, aktivně, systematicky a dlouhodobě zabývat. Výsledná Koncepce politiky bydlení Plzně 2023+ se skládá ze dvou částí – Návrhové a Analytické

EUNIS Habitat Classification: Expert system, characteristic species combinations and distribution maps of European habitats

Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Hennekens, S.M., Knollová, I., Janssen, J.A.M., Rodwell, J.S., Peterka, T., Marcenò, C., Landucci, F., Danihelka, J., Hájek, M., Dengler, J., Novák, P., Zukal, D., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Mucina, L., Abdulhak, S., Aćić, S., Agrillo, E., Attorre, F., Bergmeier, E., Biurrun, I., Boch, S., Bölöni, J., Bonari, G., Braslavskaya, T., Bruelheide, H., Campos, J.A., Čarni, A., Casella, L., Ćuk, M., Ćušterevska, R., De Bie, E., Delbosc, P., Demina, O., Didukh, Y., Dítě, D., Dziuba, T., Ewald, J., Gavilán, R.G., Gégout, J.-C., Giusso del Galdo, G.P., Golub, V., Goncharova, N., Goral, F., Graf, U., Indreica, A., Isermann, M., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jansen, J., Jašková, A., Jiroušek, M., Kącki, Z., Kalníková, V., Kavgacı, A., Khanina, L., Yu. Korolyuk, A., Kozhevnikova, M., Kuzemko, A., Küzmič, F., Kuznetsov, O.L., Laiviņš, M., Lavrinenko, I., Lavrinenko, O., Lebedeva, M., Lososová, Z., Lysenko, T., Maciejewski, L., Mardari, C., Marinšek, A., Napreenko, M.G., Onyshchenko, V., Pérez-Haase, A., Pielech, R., Prokhorov, V., Rašomavičius, V., Rodríguez Rojo, M.P., Rūsiņa, S., Schrautzer, J., Šibík, J., Šilc, U., Škvorc, Ž., Smagin, V.A., Stančić, Z., Stanisci, A., Tikhonova, E., Tonteri, T., Uogintas, D., Valachovič, M., Vassilev, K., Vynokurov, D., Willner, W., Yamalov, S., Evans, D., Palitzsch Lund, M., Spyropoulou, R., Tryfon, E., Schaminée, J.H.J