Radicalised Transformation, the Institutional Tensions and Modernisation Challenges

Draws on recent modernization theory & discussions of postmodernity to suggest a theoretical approach to the analysis of postcommunist institutional change in Central & Eastern Europe. Modernization is taken to be an evolutionary process in the direction of societal subsystem functional differentiation with institutional features such as economic extensification & intensification, social mobility, specialization, functionalization of values, & (sometimes) institutionalization of conflicts. This framework is applied to assess intended & unintended social consequences of economic transformation in the Czech Republic. It is concluded that simultaneous economic & political modernization are causing interinstitutional conflicts, resolution of which requires a legitimate arena for voicing social claims &/or the creation of intermediary capacities to avert direct institutional confrontation

COMPARISON OF END-EXPIRATORY LUNG VOLUME MEASUREMENT BY ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE TOMOGRAPHY AND NITROGEN WASHOUT METHOD IN PIGS

End-expiratory lung volume (EELV) can be determined using several methods that allow clinically accurate measurements, but it is difficult to apply these methods to the patient's bedside. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is offered as another method for measuring EELV. The aim of the study is to compare changes in EELV measured by nitrogen washout method with changes of EELV calculated from the change in end-expiratory lung impedance (EELI) measured by EIT and to determine whether changes in EELV calculated from changes in chest impedance can be used as one of the parameters for EIT data analysis and description. The prospective interventional animal study was performed on ten pigs. The animals received total intravenous anesthesia with muscle relaxation. Mechanical lung ventilation was conducted in the volume-controlled mode. 16-electrode EIT system was used for data acquisition. End-expiratory lung volume was measured by a modified nitrogen wash-in/wash-out technique developed by Olegard et al. The study protocol consisted of the baseline phase, two incremental PEEP steps, two decremental PEEP steps and from normal saline i. v. administration. For each animal, a reference frame (baseline frame) was selected from the initial baseline phase and was used for the reconstruction of EIT images and impedance waveforms. For each breath cycle, tidal variation image was calculated as a difference between the end-inspiratory and the previous end-expiratory EIT image. An equivalent end-expiratory volume change (ΔEELVequiv) was calculated from EELI. The values of ΔEELVequiv were compared with reference EELV data measured by a modified nitrogen wash-in/wash-out technique (ΔEELVmeas). The measured and the estimated changes in EELV were statistically compared and correlation between ΔEELVequiv and ΔEELVmeas was calculated. Statistically significant difference between ΔEELVequiv and ΔEELVmeas was observed only in administration of normal saline bolus. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were 0.29 for increase in PEEP, 0.45 for decrease in PEEP and -0.1 during administration of normal saline bolus. The study showed that during changes in PEEP in the porcine model, there was no linear relationship between ΔEELVequiv and ΔEELVmeas. Although there was no linear relationship between ΔEELVequiv and ΔEELVmeas with changes in PEEP, no statistically significant difference was demonstrated between these two methods, which justifies the use of ΔEELVequiv as a parameter suitable for description and evaluation of EIT data

[1,5-Bis(2-methoxyphenyl)thiocarbazonato-ĸ²N⁵,S]phenylmercury(II)

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2,3-Bis(2-methoxyphenyl)tetrazolium-5- thiolate–acetone–dichloromethane (1/0.4/0.1)

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Průvodce možnými budoucnostmi české společnosti

A review essay on a book by Martin Potucek et al, Pruvodce krajinou priorit pro CKeskou republiku ([A Guide in the Landscape of Priorities for the Czech Republic] Prague: Centre Social & Economic Strategies, 2002). This publication presents the results of a 2-year forecasting project initiated (& funded) by the Czech government & prepared by a wide circle of academic & executive experts. The review follows two aims: to (1) introduce the reader to the structure & complexity of the text & to present the reviewer's evaluation of it, & (2) outline the role of forecasting studies in modern societies & their specific evolution & current situation in the domestic (academic & political) context. The review appreciates that the preparation of the study was based on the interaction of actors in academic, executive, & political spheres who see a stake for themselves in future studies. The critical assessment focuses on the theoretical claims of the study, which suggest understanding current transformations with reference to debates about modernity

1-(2-Meth­oxy­phen­yl)-2-{[2-(2-meth­oxy­phen­yl)hydrazinyl­idene](nitro)­meth­yl}diazene

In the title compound, C15H15N5O4, a nitro­formazan derivative, the formazan unit is essentially planar with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0204 (6) Å and adopts a closed syn,s-cis configuration with an intra­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond. The formazan plane makes dihedral angles of 4.32 (5) and 24.35 (5)° with the benzene rings. The dihedral angle between the formazan plane and the nitro group is 12.58 (8)°. In the crystal, C—H⋯O inter­actions connect the mol­ecules into an inversion dimer

2,3-Bis(3-fluoro­phen­yl)tetra­zolium-5-thiol­ate

The zwitterionic title compound, C13H8F2N4S, is situated on a twofold rotation axis running along the C—S [1.691 (2) Å] single bond. The phenyl­ene ring is twisted out of the tetra­zolium plane by 42.18 (7)°. Relatively short distances [3.7572 (9) and 4.0625 (6) Å] between the centroids of the phenyl­ene and tetra­zolium rings of neighbouring mol­ecules suggest π–π inter­actions. The crystal under investigation was a non-merohedral twin, with a 33% twin component

[1,5-Bis(4-fluoro­phen­yl)thio­carbazo­nato-κ2 N 5,S]phenyl­mercury(II) dichloro­methane hemisolvate

In the title compound, [Hg(C6H5)(C13H9F2N4S)]·0.5CH2Cl2, the Hg(C6H5) units are twisted out of the planes of the thio­carbazo­nate ligands by 61.49 (10) and 67.79 (11)° in the two complex mol­ecules comprising the asymmetric unit. Important geometrical parameters include Hg—C = 2.079 (4) and 2.087 (4) Å, Hg—S = 2.3869 (10) and 2.3889 (11) Å, and C—Hg—S = 166.42 (12) and 168.09 (13)°. Weak intramolecular Hg—N bonding inter­actions of 2.589 (4) and 2.626 (4) Å are observed. In the crystal, C—H⋯Cl, C—H⋯F, C—H⋯N, C—H⋯π and π–π [centroid–centroid distances = 3.648 (3) and 3.641 (3) Å] inter­actions, create parallel planes along [101]