Civil disobedience as a political phenomenon in work of Henry David Thoreau, Hannah Arendt and Vaclav Havel

56 s. +CD ROMTato práce představuje jistý vhled do světa jednoho politického fenoménu, který je znám pod názvem občanská neposlušnost. V této práci jsou zmíněny tři hlavní postavy. První z ni je Henry D. Thoreau, americký spisovatel, básník zakladatel moderního pojetí občanské neposlušnosti. Druhou osobou je známá německá politická teoretička Hannah Arendtová. Posledním autorem je český spisovatel, politik a disident, Václav Havel. Všechny tyto tři osobnosti mají ke zkoumanému fenoménu občanské neposlušnosti co říci. Důležitým cílem práce je popsat vztah těchto tří autorů k danému fenoménu, a prozkoumat konkrétní charakter občanské neposlušnosti v jejich myšlení. Hlavním cílem této práce je vyvodit z těchto názorů obecný závěr, který napomůže popsat obecný charakter občanské neposlušnosti

CCS TECHNOLOGY ISSUES IN CONDITIONS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

In recent time, carbon dioxide capture from fossil fuel fired power plants is a highly actual topic for research and development. The paper is focused on issue of CCS technology implementation into a production unit of a lignite coal fire power plant as well as into a combined cycle gas fired plant in the Czech Republic. There are various methods of CO2 capture. In this paper post-combustion scrubbing as the reference technology is used. In the paper several interactions and the most important impacts on the studied power plants are shown. The most discussed impact is overall decrease of net efficiency of the production unit. For the case of coal combustion, the efficiency is decreases by 10.7 % points by application of the post-combustion capture technology. In the case of combined gas cycle, the decrease is by 8.5 % points. The main reason of this decrease is high electricity consumption for compression and pumping work in the scrubbing system. In addition, increased consumption of water is not negligible

Divide and Conquer: Chromosomal Approach to Cope with the Wheat Genome

Póster presentado en el Olomouc Biotech. Plant Biotechnology: green for good, celebrado en Olomouc (República Checa) del 19 al 21 de junio de 2011.Peer Reviewe

Impact of rice straw management strategies on rice rhizosphere microbiomes

Rice is the third most important crop worldwide. Unfortunately, in most rice-producing countries, crop residues are burned, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and toxic compounds. Incorporation of rice straw (RS) into the soil, either or not accompanied by a microbial inoculum, may offer a viable alternative. However, the effects of such treatments on soil, including the microbial community structure and function in the next crop cycle, still remain largely unknown. Here, we studied the effect of four different RS management strategies (leaving RS as mulch with or without a microbial inoculum, incorporation of RS into the soil with microbial inoculum, and RS burning) on rice growth and flowering-stage rhizosphere microbiomes. The relevant microbiomes were examined by amplicon sequencing based on the 16S rRNA and ITS1 gene regions. In comparison to the zero situation, all four treatments tended to increase the soil organic carbon content, albeit without significant differences. Furthermore, none of the treatments had major effects on either (rice) crop yield or phytopathogen incidence in the next cycle. However, leaving RS as a mulch incited a decrease in soil pH, and showed a trend of reducing yield by up to 1 ton·ha−1. Moreover, the different RS treatments affected the structures and predicted functions of the bacteriomes and fungomes in the rice rhizosphere. The mulching treatment was associated with an enhanced abundance of Acidobacteria, particularly Bryobacter spp. In contrast, the non-mulch treatments incited raised abundances of GammaProteobacteria, Bacteroidia and Campylobacteria. The rice rhizosphere fungomes, consisting mostly of Ascomycota, were less affected by the treatments, although the microbial inoculum was shown to drive the respective fungome structures

Gas diffusion electrodes on the electrosynthesis of controllable iron oxide nanoparticles

The electrosynthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles offers a green route, with significant energy and environmental advantages. Yet, this is mostly restricted by the oxygen solubility in the electrolyte. Gas-diffusion electrodes (GDEs) can be used to overcome that limitation, but so far they not been explored for nanoparticle synthesis. Here, we develop a fast, environmentally-friendly, room temperature electrosynthesis route for iron oxide nanocrystals, which we term gas-diffusion electrocrystallization (GDEx). A GDE is used to generate oxidants and hydroxide in-situ, enabling the oxidative synthesis of a single iron salt (e.g., FeCl_2) into nanoparticles. Oxygen is reduced to reactive oxygen species, triggering the controlled oxidation of Fe^(2+) to Fe^(3+), forming Fe_(3-x)O_(4-x) (0 <= x <= 1). The stoichiometry and lattice parameter of the resulting oxides can be controlled and predictively modelled, resulting in highly-defective, strain-heavy nanoparticles. The size of the nanocrystals can be tuned from 5 nm to 20 nm, with a large saturation magnetization range (23 to 73 A m^2 kg^(-1)), as well as minimal coercivity (similar to 1 kA m^(-1)). Using only air, NaCl, and FeCl_2, a biocompatible approach is achieved, besides a remarkable level of control over key parameters, with a view on minimizing the addition of chemicals for enhanced production and applications

Anopheles (Díptera: Culicidae) vectores de malaria en el municipio de Puerto Carreño, Vichada, Colombia

Introduction. The study of the biological aspects of Anopheles spp., strengthens the entomological surveillance.Objective. To determine biological aspects and behavior of adult Anopheles mosquitoes in the urban area of Puerto Carreño municipality, Vichada, Colombia.Materials and methods. Wild anophelines were collected landing on humans both indoors and outdoors between 18:00h and 06:00h for 50 min/h during two consecutive nights/month for eight months in the urban area of Puerto Carreño. The biting rate activity, the natural infection by Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax VK247 and VK210 using ELISA, and the annual entomological inoculation rate were determined for each species. The members of the Albitarsis complex were determined by amplificacion of the white gene by polymerase chain reaction. Results. In order of abundance the species found were An. darlingi (n=1,166), An. marajoara sensu stricto (n=152), An. braziliensis (n=59), An. albitarsis F (n=25), An. albitarsis sensu lato (n=16), An.argyritarsis (n=3) and An. oswaldoi sensu lato (n=2). An. darlingi showed two activity peaks between 21:00 to 22:00 and 05:00 to 06:00 hours outdoors and between 21:00 to 22:00 and 04:00 to 05:00 indoors. Natural infection of this species was found with P. vivax VK210 and its annual entomological inoculation rate was 2. Natural infection of An marajoara sensu stricto with P. falciparum was found, with an annual entomological inoculation rate of 5 and a peak biting activity between 18:00 to 19:00 hrsboth indoors and outdoors. Conclusion. Transmission of malaria in the urban area of Puerto Carreño, Vichada, can occur by An. darlingi and An. marajoara s. s.Introducción. El estudio de los aspectos de la biología de los mosquitos Anopheles spp. fortalece la vigilancia entomológica.Objetivo. Determinar los aspectos de la biología y el comportamiento de las especies adultas del género Anopheles presentes en el área urbana de Puerto Carreño.Materiales y métodos. Se capturaron Anopheles spp. silvestres que se habían posado en personas, en el intradomicilio y peridomicilio de viviendas ubicadas en el área urbana del municipio de Puerto Carreño (Vichada), entre las 18:00 y las 06:00 horas, durante dos noches consecutivas por mes y durante ocho meses. Se determinó la actividad de picadura para cada especie, la infección natural por Plasmodium falciparum y P. vivax VK247 y VK210 mediante la técnica ELISA, y se determinó la tasa de inoculación entomológica. Los individuos pertenecientes al complejo Albitarsis se determinaron mediante amplificación en cadena de la polimerasa del fragmento del gen white.Resultados. En orden de abundancia, se encontraron: An. darlingi (n=1.166), An. marajoara sensu stricto (n=152), An. braziliensis (n=59), An. albitarsis F (n=25), An. albitarsis sensu lato (n=16), An. argyritarsis (n=3) y An. oswaldoi sensu lato (n=2). Anopheles darlingi registró dos picos de actividad de picadura entre las 21:00-22:00 y las 5:00-06:00 horas en el peridomicilio y, entre las 21:00-22:00 y las 04:00-05:00 horas, en el intradomicilio. Esta especie se encontró naturalmente infectada por P. vivax VK210 y registró una tasa de inoculación entomológica de dos para el año. Anopheles marajoara s.s. se encontró naturalmente infectado por P. falciparum y registró una tasa de inoculación entomológica de 5 para el año, con un máximo de actividad de picadura entre las 18:00 y las 19:00 horas, tanto en el intradomicilio como en el peridomicilio.Conclusión. Es posible que exista transmisión de malaria en el área urbana de Puerto Carreño (Vichada) y An. darlingi y An. marajoara s.s. serían las especies incriminadas

Growth and characterization of ZnO thin films at low temperatures: from room temperature to − 120 °C

ZnO thin films have been grown by e-beam evaporation in the range from room temperature to − 120 °C on two types of substrates, Al2O3 (0001) and Si (100). Although the ZnO/Al2O3 system has been thoroughly characterized, including optical and electrical techniques, the morphological, structural and chemical properties show no significant differences between both substrates. Thus, the general features of the ZnO growth mode at low temperature can be generalized. The relatively low growth temperatures reduce the diffusion of atoms at the surface, which leads to morphological and chemical changes. As the temperature decreases, the growth mode changes from a van der Drift model to a gradual bilayer system composed of an interfacial layer in contact with the substrate and a second columnar-based layer. This second well-ordered film disappears for the lowest temperatures while a Zn-rich interface in contact with the substrate emerges. Precisely from this interface, Zn-rich whiskers develop under the ZnO film and cause the loss of adhesion at temperatures below − 100 °C. These extreme temperatures also affect the crystal size, lattice strain, and total amount of oxygen vacancies. The behavior of the optical and electrical properties in terms of band gap, transparency, electrical resistivity, and Seebeck coefficient is discussed in the light of structural and chemical characterization. Samples grown at 0 °C exhibit an enhanced transmittance compared to those grown at room temperature while preserving similar electrical resistivity values and natural n-type doping. These results open a promising route to enhance ZnO films properties below the typical high temperature windowThis investigation has been funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades of Spain through the FIS2015-67367-C2- 1-P project and by the Comunidad de Madrid through the NANOMAGCOST-CM P2018/NMT4321 project. One of the authors (C.M.) thanks Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deportes for FPU014/02020 gran

Spin transition nanoparticles made electrochemically

Materials displaying novel magnetic ground states signify the most exciting prospects for nanoscopic devices for nanoelectronics and spintronics. Spin transition materials, e.g., spin liquids and spin glasses, are at the forefront of this pursuit; but the few synthesis routes available do not produce them at the nanoscale. Thus, it remains an open question if and how their spin transition nature persists at such small dimensions. Here we demonstrate a new route to synthesize nanoparticles of spin transition materials, gas-diffusion electrocrystallization (GDEx), wherein the reactive precipitation of soluble metal ions with the products of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), i.e., in situ produced H_2O_2, OH^-, drives their formation at the electrochemical interface. Using mixtures of Cu^(2+) and Zn^(2+) as the metal precursors, we form spin transition materials of the herbertsmithite family-heralded as the first experimental material known to exhibit the properties of a quantum spin liquid (QSL). Single-crystal nanoparticles of similar to 10-16 nm were produced by GDEx, with variable Cu/Zn stoichiometry at the interlayer sites of Zn_xCu_(4-x)(OH)_6Cl_2. For x = 1 (herbertsmithite) the GDEx nanoparticles demonstrated a quasi-QSL behavior, whereas for x = 0.3 (0.3 < x < 1 for paratacamite) and x = 0 (clinoatacamite) a spin-glass behavior was evidenced. Finally, our discovery not only confirms redox reactions as the driving force to produce spin transition nanoparticles, but also proves a simple way to switch between these magnetic ground states within an electrochemical system, paving the way to further explore its reversibility and overarching implications