The transition from high school to university - perspective of first-year university students of Teacher Education on the Faculty of Education on the Charles University

Katedra psychologieFaculty of EducationPedagogická fakult

Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI): Facing the Challenges and Pathways of Global Change in the Twenty-first Century

During the past several decades, the Earth system has changed significantly, especially across Northern Eurasia. Changes in the socio-economic conditions of the larger countries in the region have also resulted in a variety of regional environmental changes that can have global consequences. The Northern Eurasia Future Initiative (NEFI) has been designed as an essential continuation of the Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI), which was launched in 2004. NEESPI sought to elucidate all aspects of ongoing environmental change, to inform societies and, thus, to better prepare societies for future developments. A key principle of NEFI is that these developments must now be secured through science-based strategies codesigned with regional decision-makers to lead their societies to prosperity in the face of environmental and institutional challenges. NEESPI scientific research, data, and models have created a solid knowledge base to support the NEFI program. This paper presents the NEFI research vision consensus based on that knowledge. It provides the reader with samples of recent accomplishments in regional studies and formulates new NEFI science questions. To address these questions, nine research foci are identified and their selections are briefly justified. These foci include warming of the Arctic; changing frequency, pattern, and intensity of extreme and inclement environmental conditions; retreat of the cryosphere; changes in terrestrial water cycles; changes in the biosphere; pressures on land use; changes in infrastructure; societal actions in response to environmental change; and quantification of Northern Eurasia’s role in the global Earth system. Powerful feedbacks between the Earth and human systems in Northern Eurasia (e.g., mega-fires, droughts, depletion of the cryosphere essential for water supply, retreat of sea ice) result from past and current human activities (e.g., large-scale water withdrawals, land use, and governance change) and potentially restrict or provide new opportunities for future human activities. Therefore, we propose that integrated assessment models are needed as the final stage of global change assessment. The overarching goal of this NEFI modeling effort will enable evaluation of economic decisions in response to changing environmental conditions and justification of mitigation and adaptation efforts

Reproductive isolation barriers in the hybrid zone of the house mouse (Mus musculus)

Reprodukční izolace (RI), která může vést až ke vzniku nových druhů, může probíhat na několika úrovních a zahrnuje jak předreprodukční morfologické odlišnosti nebo biogeografická a fyziologická omezení bránící kopulaci mezi jedinci z divergujících populací, tak postreprodukční nekompatibility gamet. RI brání v toku genů mezi nepříbuznými druhy a v určité míře též mezi vznikajícími druhy či poddruhy. V práci se zaměřuji na reprodukční izolaci probíhající na úrovni gamet, takzvanou gametickou izolaci mezi blízce příbuznými poddruhy myši domácí (Mus musculus). Vhodným modelem pro studium RI je hybridní zóna (HZ) mezi dvěma poddruhy myši domácí, myší západoevropskou (M. m. domesticus) a myší východoevropskou (M. m. musculus). O šíři přibližně 10 kilometrů prochází HZ napříč celou Evropou. V hybridní zóně dochází ke kontaktu a vzájemnému křížení obou poddruhů. Pokud se mezi poddruhy vyskytne gametické izolace, může to představovat jistou bariéru toku genů a zamezení výskytu hybridního potomstva, které může být v konkurenci s rodičovskými poddruhy v nevýhodě. Haldanovo pravidlo speciace říká, že u hybridů je poškozeným pohlavím to heterogametické. U savců je postiženo samčí pohlaví kvůli přítomnosti XY pohlavních chromozomů. Některé z takových nevýhod mohou být, neživotaschopnost hybridů či skryté...Reproductive isolation occurring at the gamete level is called gametic isolation and almost always prevents gene flow between unrelated species and (to some extent) between closely related species or subspecies. The hybrid zone of the house mouse (HMHZ), which was formed by contact and interbreeding of two subspecies, the Western European house mouse (M. m. domesticus) and the Eastern European house mouse (M. m. musculus) provides a usefull model for the study of speciation processes involving gametic isolation. The probability of sperm competition within the female reproductive tract is high in the house mouse because high levels of sexual promiscuity (in 20˗40 % of all reproductive cycles) have been observed in this species. Thus, the reproductive isolation at gametic level may be determined both by the phenotypic characteristics of sperm (the ability to outcompete heterospecific sperm in the process of sperm- sperm competition) and by the preference of the sperm of conspecific males in the female reproductive tract (cryptic female choice). In my Ph.D. thesis I tested the degree of affinity of male and female gametes reciprocally between the both subspecies of M. musculus and the phylogenetically more distant species M. spretus, which is characterized by a higher degree of promiscuity. Although a...Katedra zoologieDepartment of ZoologyPřírodovědecká fakultaFaculty of Scienc

Expanze přímého bankovnictví v ČR - srovnání bankovních produktů

Import 20/04/2006Prezenční výpůjčkaVŠB - Technická univerzita Ostrava. Ekonomická fakulta. Katedra (154) financ

Reproductive isolation barriers in the hybrid zone of the house mouse (Mus musculus)

Reproductive isolation occurring at the gamete level is called gametic isolation and almost always prevents gene flow between unrelated species and (to some extent) between closely related species or subspecies. The hybrid zone of the house mouse (HMHZ), which was formed by contact and interbreeding of two subspecies, the Western European house mouse (M. m. domesticus) and the Eastern European house mouse (M. m. musculus) provides a usefull model for the study of speciation processes involving gametic isolation. The probability of sperm competition within the female reproductive tract is high in the house mouse because high levels of sexual promiscuity (in 20˗40 % of all reproductive cycles) have been observed in this species. Thus, the reproductive isolation at gametic level may be determined both by the phenotypic characteristics of sperm (the ability to outcompete heterospecific sperm in the process of sperm- sperm competition) and by the preference of the sperm of conspecific males in the female reproductive tract (cryptic female choice). In my Ph.D. thesis I tested the degree of affinity of male and female gametes reciprocally between the both subspecies of M. musculus and the phylogenetically more distant species M. spretus, which is characterized by a higher degree of promiscuity. Although a..

The Effect of Leaf Stacking on Leaf Reflectance and Vegetation Indices Measured by Contact Probe during the Season

The aims of the study were: (i) to compare leaf reflectance in visible (VIS) (400–700 nm), near-infrared (NIR) (740–1140 nm) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) (2000–2400 nm) spectral ranges measured monthly by a contact probe on a single leaf and a stack of five leaves (measurement setup (MS)) of two broadleaved tree species during the vegetative season; and (ii) to test if and how selected vegetation indices differ under these two MS. In VIS, the pigment-related spectral region, the effect of MS on reflectance was negligible. The major influence of MS on reflectance was detected in NIR (up to 25%), the structure-related spectral range; and weaker effect in SWIR, the water-related spectral range. Vegetation indices involving VIS wavelengths were independent of MS while indices combining wavelengths from both VIS and NIR were MS-affected throughout the season. The effect of leaf stacking contributed to weakening the correlation between the leaf chlorophyll content and selected vegetation indices due to a higher leaf mass per area of the leaf sample. The majority of MS-affected indices were better correlated with chlorophyll content in both species in comparison with MS-unaffected indices. Therefore, in terms of monitoring leaf chlorophyll content using the contact probe reflectance measurement, these MS-affected indices should be used with caution, as discussed in the paper. If the vegetation indices are used for assessment of plant physiological status in various times of the vegetative season, then it is essential to take into consideration their possible changes induced by the particular contact probe measurement setup regarding the leaf stacking

Data from: Trade-off between carotenoid-based sexual ornamentation and sperm resistance to oxidative challenge

It has been hypothesized that carotenoid-based sexual ornamentation signals male fertility and sperm competitive ability as both ornamentation and sperm traits may be co-affected by oxidative stress, resulting in positive covariation (the ‘redox-based phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis’; redox-based PLFH). On the other hand, the ‘sperm competition theory’ (SCT) predicts a trade-off between precopulatory and postcopulatory traits. Here, we manipulate oxidative status (using diquat dibromide) and carotenoid availability in adult zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) males in order to test whether carotenoid-based beak ornamentation signals, or is traded off against, sperm resistance to oxidative challenge. Initial beak colouration, but not its change during the experiment, was associated with effect of oxidative challenge on sperm velocity, such that more intense colouration predicted an increase in sperm velocity under control conditions but a decline under oxidative challenge. This suggests a long-term trade-off between ornament expression and sperm resistance to oxidative challenge. Shortening of the sperm midpiece following oxidative challenge further suggests that redox homeostasis may constrain sperm morphometry. Carotenoid supplementation resulted in fewer sperm abnormalities but had no effect on other sperm traits. Overall, our data challenge the redox-based PLFH, partially support the SCT and highlight the importance of carotenoids for normal sperm morphology