Rich, Average And Poor Regions In The Czech And Slovak Republic - Model Based Clustering

One way to analyse the actual state of economics can be done by quantitative illustration of the financial power of households. The current economical crisis has the greatest negative impact on the poorest households below the poverty threshold. Therefore, this paper focuses on quantification of the financial situation of households in individual regions in correlation with the poverty threshold. It contains description of methods used and results of their application with respect to evaluation of spatial distribution of poverty of population on the regional level in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The methodology is based on finite mixtures of regression models that belong to methods called Model Based Clustering. It concerns special methods of clustering of objects that are based on probability models. The criterion for clustering of regions is the level of risk of poverty rate of households. The regions are divided into three clusters (components) - "rich", "middle", and "poor". The households are scored according to the level of national poverty threshold, in our case according to the level 60% of median of the national equivalised disposable household income. The results of the statistical survey EU SILC (European Union - Statistics on Income and Living Conditions) made by the Czech Statistical Office and the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic in year 2005 through 2009 form the data base. All calculations have been made in the freeware programming environment R, which is accessible on the internet (http://cran.r-project.org/). For the purpose of modelling of the poverty rate of households using the regression clusters, the upgrade package flexmix was used

Behavioral Factors Affecting Reproduction in Domestic Horses: Sociobiological Approach

Fetal loss is a common phenomenon in domestic horses, being usually highest (up to 40%) of all domestic ungulates. However, in all studies investigating this problem, sociobiological approach, such as conflict between the evolutionary interests of individuals of the two sexes, has been neglected. Here we summarize results of three consecutive studies considering infanticide as a male’s reproductive strategy and a mare’s counter strategies against it. When a mare was either artificially inseminated or removed from her home environment and transported elsewhere for mating and then returned back into her home environment, containing a stallion (and/or gelding) who did not sire her fetus, she got into a potentially infanticidal danger. She more likely disrupted her pregnancy than a mare living in an environment with the sire of her fetus. This was highly affected by the social environment. Lowest percentage of pregnancy disruption can be achieved when the pregnant mare was released into an enclosure shared with the non-sire male whom she can “convince” he is the father of her expected foal by promiscuous mating. The effects of social environment leading to pregnancy block and/or disruption may thus explain substantial part of the high incidence of domestic horse fetal loss

Habituating to handling: Factors affecting preorbital gland opening in red deer calves

The preorbital gland plays not only an olfactory role in cervids but also a visual one. Opening this gland is an easy way for the calf to communicate with the mother, indicating hunger/satiety, stress, pain, fear, or excitement. This information can be also useful for farm operators to assess how fast the calves habituate to handling routines and to detect those calves that do not habituate and may suffer chronic stress in the future. Thirty-one calves were subjected to 2 consecutive experiments to clarify if observing preorbital gland opening is related to habituation to handling in red deer calves (Cervus elaphus). Calves were born in 3 different paddocks, handled as newborns (Exp. 1), and then subjected to the same routine handling but with different periodicity: every 1, 2, or 3 wk (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1, preorbital gland opening was recorded in newborns during an initial handling (including weighing, ear tagging, and sex determination). Preorbital gland opening occurred in 93% of calves during this procedure and was not affected by sex, time since birth, or birth weight. Experiment 2 consisted of measuring preorbital opening during the same routine handling (weighing, blood sampling, and rump touching to assess body condition) when calves were 1, 3, and 5 mo old. Binary logistic regression showed that gland opening was associated with habituation to handling, since at 1 and 3 mo the probability of opening the gland decreased with the number of handlings that a calf experienced before (P = 0.008 and P = 0.028, respectively). However, there were no further changes in preorbital gland opening rate in the 5-mo-old calves (P = 0.182). The significant influence of the number of previous handlings on the probability of opening the preorbital gland was confirmed through generalized linear model with repeated measures (P = 0.007). Preorbital gland opening decreased along the phases of the study. Nevertheless, we found a significant trend in individuals to keep similar opening patterns (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.807, P < 0.001), which suggests that the more stressed individuals can be detected with this method. Therefore, we conclude that preorbital gland opening during routine handlings is related to the number of previous handlings, and thus it can be used as an indicator of lack of habituation to handling in farmed cervids.This study was supported by projects AGL2012-38898 (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Spain), MZERO0714‏ (Ministry of Agriculture, Czech Republic), CIGA20145001 (Czech University of Life Sciences, Czech Republic), and IGA no. 20145026 (Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech Republic).Peer Reviewe

Long-term trends in the body condition of parents and offspring of Tengmalm's owls under fluctuating food conditions and climate change

Physical condition is important for the ability to resist various parasites and diseases as well as in escaping predators thus contributing to reproductive success, over-winter survival and possible declines in wildlife populations. However, in-depth research on trends in body condition is rare because decades-long datasets are not available for a majority of species. We analysed the long-term dataset of offspring covering 34 years, male parents (40 years) and female parents (42 years) to find out whether the decline of Tengmalm's owl population in western Finland is attributable to either decreased adult and/or juvenile body condition in interaction with changing weather conditions and density estimates of main foods. We found that body condition of parent owl males and females declined throughout the 40-year study period whereas the body condition of owlets at the fledging stage very slightly increased. The body condition of parent owls increased with augmenting depth of snow cover in late winter (January to March), and that of offspring improved with increasing precipitation in late spring (May to June). We conclude that the decreasing trend of body condition of parent owl males and females is important factor probably inducing reduced adult survival and reduced reproduction success thus contributing to the long-term decline of the Tengmalm's owl study population. The very slightly increasing trend of body condition of offspring is obviously not able to compensate the overall decline of Tengmalm's owl population, because the number of offspring in turn simultaneously decreased considerably in the long-term. The ongoing climate change appeared to work in opposite ways in this case because declining depth of snow cover will make the situation worse but increased precipitation will improve. We suggest that the main reasons for long-term decline of body condition of parent owls are interactive or additive effects of reduced food resources and increased overall predation risk due to habitat degradation (loss and fragmentation of mature and old-growth forests due to clear-felling) subsequently leading to decline of Tengmalm's owl study population

Interactive infuences of fuctuations of main food resources and climate change on long‑term population decline of Tengmalm’s owls in the boreal forest

Recent wildlife population declines are usually attributed to multiple sources such as global climate change and habitat loss and degradation inducing decreased food supply. However, interactive efects of fuctuations in abundance of main foods and weather conditions on population densities and reproductive success have been studied rarely. We analysed long-term (1973–2018) data on Tengmalm’s owl (Aegolius funereus) and the infuence of prey abundance and weather on breeding densities and reproductive success in western Finland. We found that fedgling production per breeding attempt declined and laying date of the owl population delayed during the period between 1973 and 2018. The breeding density of the owl population decreased with increasing temperature in winter (October–March), fedgling production increased with increasing temperature and precipitation in spring (April–June), whereas the initiation of egg-laying was delayed with increasing depth of snow cover in late winter (January–March). The decreasing trend of fedgling production, which was mainly due to starvation of ofspring, was an important factor contributing to the long-term decline of the Tengmalm’s owl study population. Milder and more humid spring and early summer temperatures due to global warming were not able to compensate for lowered ofspring production of owls. The main reason for low productivity is probably loss and degradation of mature and old-growth forests due to clear-felling which results in loss of coverage of prime habitat for main (bank voles) and alternative foods (small birds) of owls inducing lack of food, and refuges against predators of Tengmalm’s owls. This interpretation was also supported by the delayed start of egg-laying during the study period although ambient temperatures increased prior to and during the egg-laying period.</p

Benefits for Dominant Red Deer Hinds under a Competitive Feeding System: Food Access Behavior, Diet and Nutrient Selection

Social dominance is widely known to facilitate access to food resources in many animal species such as deer. However, research has paid little attention to dominance in ad libitum access to food because it was thought not to result in any benefit for dominant individuals. In this study we assessed if, even under ad libitum conditions, social rank may allow dominant hinds to consume the preferred components of food. Forty-four red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus) were allowed to consume ad libitum meal consisting of pellets of sunflower, lucerne and orange, and seeds of cereals, corn, cotton, and carob tree. The meal was placed only in one feeder, which reduced accessibility to a few individuals simultaneously. During seven days, feeding behavior (order of access, time to first feeding bout, total time spent feeding, and time per feeding bout) were assessed during the first hour. The relative abundance of each meal component was assessed at times 0, 1 and 5 h, as well as its nutritional composition. Social rank was positively related to the amount of time spent feeding during the 1st h (P = 0.048). Selection indices were positively correlated with energy (P = 0.018 during the 1st h and P = 0.047 from 1st to 5th) and fat (only during the 1st h; P = 0.036), but also negatively with certain minerals. Thus, dominant hinds could select high energy meal components for longer time under an ad libitum but restricted food access setting. Selection indices showed a higher selectivity when food availability was higher (1st hour respect to 1st to 5th). Finally, high and low ranking hinds had longer time per feeding bout than mid ones (P = 0.011), suggesting complex behavioral feeding tactics of low ranking social ungulates

Selected aspects of poverty

Bakalářská práce se zabývá problematikou chudoby primárně v České republice s důrazem na její prožívání a důsledky pro zasažené osoby. Teoretická část vysvětluje základní pojmy související s chudobou, definice chudoby, chudobu výhradně v České republice a obsahuje aktuální statistiky o chudobě. Praktická část na základě dotazníkového šetření a rozhovoru se sociálním pracovníkem města Lázně Bohdaneč analyzuje pohled občanů na chudobu, a naopak pohled a názor zkušeného pracovníka.The bachelor's thesis deals with the issue of poverty mainly in the Czech Republic with emphasis on its consequences for those affected and their experience. The theoretical part explains the basic concepts related to poverty, the definition of poverty, poverty in the Czech Republic and shows current statistics. The practical part, based on a questionnaire survey and interview with a social worker of the town Lázně Bohdaneč, analyzes the view of citizens on poverty, and conversely, the view and opinion of an experienced worker.Fakulta ekonomicko-správníStudentka představila komisi svou bakalářskou práci s názvem Vybrané aspekty chudoby. Cílem práce bylo analyzovat chudobu v České republice v kontextu veřejné politiky. V rámci prezentace studentka popsala cíl, postup a výsledky zpracované analýzy. Následně byly studentce během rozpravy položeny následující dotazy: Otázka 1. Jak si stojí ČR v porovnání s jinými zeměmi? Otázka 2. Jaký je Váš názor na zálohové výživné? Studentka položené dotazy zodpověděla v požadované míře i kvalitě.Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo

Nursing care of the patient with mechanical support HeartMate III.

Ústav ošetřovatelství 3. LF UKDepartment of Nursing 3FM CUThird Faculty of Medicine3. lékařská fakult

Nursing care of the patient with mechanical support HeartMate III.

Ústav ošetřovatelství 3. LF UKDepartment of Nursing 3FM CUThird Faculty of Medicine3. lékařská fakult