Yearbook of Organic Farming in the Czech Republic 2009

The yearbook brings summary of situation on field of organic farming, production, sale, distribution, consumption, promotion, education and research in the Czech Republic. The total acreage of organically farmed land at 31. 12. 2009 had increased to 398,407 ha, which represents 9,38 % of total agricultural land in CZ. Acreage under conversion had reached 26 % (i.e. 103,964 ha). This means the biggest yearly increase in the whole history of OF development (i.e. an increase of 56,775 ha)

Southern Philanthropy, Social Justice and Human Rights

In this discussion paper, based on interviews with 12 innovative foundations based in the global south, CIVICUS examines the question of how philanthropists in the global south could better support the activities of human rights and social justice CSOs. This paper has found that there is a nascent local culture of institutionalised philanthropy for human rights and social justice causes in the global south, but so far it is not sufficiently developed to bridge the gap left by reducing support from foreign donor agencies and increased government restrictions on the receipt of funding

Ročenka ekologického zemědělství 2012

The yearbook brings summary of situation on field of organic farming, production, sale, distribution, consumption, promotion, education and research in the Czech Republic

Coaching versus Einzelsupervision : gemeinsame Schnittmengen und Unterschiede im methodischen Vorgehen

Diese Arbeit im Rahmen der Weiterbildung in „Supervision und Coaching“ befasst sich mit der Frage ob es möglich ist die Beratungsformate „Supervision“ und „Coaching trennscharf voneinander zu unterscheiden. Im folgenden Text werden die geschichtliche Entwicklung und die Begriffsbestimmung beider Formate untersucht und aufgezeigt, um erste Unterschiede und Gemeinsamkeiten auf theoretischer Ebene festzuhalten. Um mein methodisches Vorgehen und die daraus resultierenden Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zu untersuchen und zu schlussfolgern, inwieweit diese mit dem theoretischen Ergebnissen deckungsgleich sind, werden 2 exemplarische Fallbeispiele aus meiner Praxis vorgestellt und erläutert. Es handelt sich hierbei um eine Einzelsupervision und ein Einzelcoaching. In einem ersten Schritt werden ausgewählter Grundvoraussetzungen der beraterischen Haltung auf ihre Passung miteinander verglichen. Ein zweiter Schritt beinhaltet das Untersuchen der Beratungsphasen in der Einzelberatung auf Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede im jeweiligen Format. Dabei spielen das Anliegen, die Dauer, die Methode, der Inhalt und die Transparenz in beiden Fällen eine zu beleuchtende Rolle und werden im Text erläutert. Zusammenfassend wird reflektiert, inwieweit die theoretischen Ansätze im methodischen Vorgehen relevant und spürbar sind und ob es sich nach dieser Untersuchung um zwei trennscharf unterscheidbare Praxeologien handelt. Das Fazit stellt schließlich eine eigene Klarheit im Umgang mit beiden Terminie im theoretischen Verständnis und im methodischen Vorgehen dar

Modular and ontogenetic evolution of virtual organisms

Růst vypočetního výkonu umožňuje v současné době automatizovat mnoho praktických problémů pomocí počítačových programů. Automatizace zahrnuje i problémy jako je návrh virtuálních chodích robotů, na základě kterých je v některých případech možné zkonstruovat reálného robota. Tato práce porovnává dva odlišné přístupy k vývoji virtuálních robotických organismů: umělou ontogenezi (artificial ontogeny), kdy virtuální organismus nejprve vyroste umělým ontogenetickým procesem, a přímé metody bez ontogenetického procesu. Dále je na základě srovnání různých přístupů navržena nová metoda pro vývoj virtuálních robotických organismů: Hypercube-based artificial ontogeny, která je kombinací umělé ontogeneze a Hypercube-based neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (HyperNEAT). Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)Increase of computational power and development of new methods in artificial intelligence allow these days many real-world problems to be solved automatically by a~computer program without human interaction. This includes automatized design of walking robots in a~physical virtual environment that can eventually result in construction of real robots. This work compares two different approaches to evolve virtual robotic organisms: artificial ontogeny, where the organism first grows using an~artificial ontogenetic process, and more direct methods. Furthermore, it proposes a~novel approach to evolve virtual robotic organisms: Hypercube-based artificial ontogeny that is combination of artificial ontogeny and Hypercube-based neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (HyperNEAT). Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)Department of Software and Computer Science EducationKatedra softwaru a výuky informatikyMatematicko-fyzikální fakultaFaculty of Mathematics and Physic

Development Of Image Analysis Methods Applied To Collagen Imaged With Different Techniques

This thesis is concerned with the development of analysis strategies for microscopic images of collagen, with the specific aim to minimise as far as possible the need for user input, thereby reducing potential bias. Images of collagen were chosen for analysis, as collagen is an easily available and biologically important molecule, whose organisation in tissues is of great interest due to its pivotal role in biomechanics, and its implication in many disease states. Quantifying its structure and organisation can facilitate better understanding of the physiological and mechanical role of collagen, as well as provide the basis for a more detailed knowledge of the structural foundation of the body. We had access to a limited number of collagen images from porcine sclera obtained by Atomic Force Microscopy, Polarised Light Microscopy, Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. The challenges in developing analysis strategies arose from collagen itself, from the intrinsic differences in the data gathered by different microscopies, and from the presence of artifacts. We developed successful methods to analyse data relevant to collagen characterisation from Atomic Force Microscopy, Polarised Light Microscopy and Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy images, and propose a quantification method where our analysis attempts were not successful. This thesis aims to contribute to a growing body of work in image analysis, which can be applied across disciplines wherever image data are used. It is hoped that further development and refinement of the work presented here may be the focus of future work

Long-term complications of prone position ventilation with relevance for acute and postacute rehabilitation: a systematic review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Prone positioning ventilation (PPV) is an effective treatment for patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Despite the benefits of PPV, different kinds of short and long-term consequences have been noted. This review summarizes long-term complications of PPV that impact treatment strategies and outcomes in acute and postacute rehabilitation. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: PubMed/Medline, Cochrane Library, Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register databases and the Google Scholar search engine were systematically searched for studies investigating long-term complications of PPV. The final search date for all sources/databases was January 31, 2022. For our methodological appraisal, we conducted a systematic review of articles without any restrictions on types of articles or publication dates. Only articles published in English and available as full texts were eligible for inclusion. After the screening process, data of interest were extracted from eligible sources: PPV sequelae and conclusions (i.e. possible effects on the course of rehabilitation and therapy strategies). EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: A total of 59 studies are included in this review. Long-term consequences are mainly pressure ulcers and nerve lesions that exist after discharge from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Publications rarely recommend treatment strategies for long-term complications after PPV. Due to the quality of the included studies, no robust conclusions as to effective strategies can be drawn. CONCLUSIONS: Further high-quality research is required, considering the different long-term complications after PPV and their impact on rehabilitation in order to draw conclusions about viable physical therapies. Crucially, however, prone positioning (PP) sequelae pose new challenges to physicians and therapists in acute and postacute rehabilitation medicine as well as follow-up care

Disturbance Severity and Human-Nature Relationships: A New Approach to Analyze People's Well-Being along a Bark Beetle Infestation Gradient

Contact to nature and greenspace is important for emotional well-being and can promote human health. Forest landscapes provide such access to greenspace, especially in protected areas. However, forested protected areas are impacted by natural disturbances such as bark beetle infestations. On the one hand, such disturbances have positive impacts on ecological processes and biodiversity. On the other hand, they have allegedly negative impacts on the recreational value of a landscape. Limited knowledge about the public's perception of forests subject to natural disturbances still hampers forest management to balance ecological functions and visitors' recreational experience. Thus, our aim was to determine how attitudes towards nature influence the personal well-being in a naturally disturbed landscape. We investigated self-reported well-being and attitudes towards nature in a standardized questionnaire-based survey of 1008 German inhabitants in an experimentally adapted landscape visualization. Self-reported well-being was generally highest in landscapes with relatively few bark-beetle-killed trees. This was especially the case for people who felt included with nature and preferred an appreciative use or preservation of nature. Conversely, people who had previously visited a national park with visible bark beetle infestations rated their personal well-being highest in landscapes with larger proportions of beetle-killed trees. Our results indicate that it is necessary to analyze people's knowledge about and relations to forest landscapes as well as concepts of nature conservation, natural landscapes, and biodiversity to gain a better understanding of people's perceptions of natural disturbances

Peripheral signaling pathways contributing to non-histaminergic itch in humans

BACKGROUND: Chronic itch (chronic pruritus) is a major therapeutic challenge that remains poorly understood despite the extensive recent analysis of human pruriceptors. It is unclear how the peripheral nervous system differentiates the signaling of non-histaminergic itch and pain. METHODS: Here we used psychophysical analysis and microneurography (single nerve fiber recordings) in healthy human volunteers to explore the distinct signaling mechanisms of itch, using the pruritogens β-alanine, BAM 8-22 and cowhage extract. RESULTS: The mode of application (injection or focal application using inactivated cowhage spicules) influenced the itch/pain ratio in sensations induced by BAM 8-22 and cowhage but not β-alanine. We found that sensitizing pre-injections of prostaglandin E2 increased the pain component of BAM 8-22 but not the other pruritogens. A-fibers contributed only to itch induced by β-alanine. TRPV1 and TRPA1 were necessary for itch signaling induced by all three pruritogens. In single-fiber recordings, we found that BAM 8-22 and β-alanine injection activated nearly all CM-fibers (to different extents) but not CMi-fibers, whereas cowhage extract injection activated only 56% of CM-fibers but also 25% of CMi-fibers. A "slow bursting discharge pattern" was evoked in 25% of CM-fibers by β-alanine, in 35% by BAM 8-22, but in only 10% by cowhage extract. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that no labeled line exists for these pruritogens in humans. A combination of different mechanisms, specific for each pruritogen, leads to itching sensations rather than pain. Notably, non-receptor-based mechanisms such as spatial contrast or discharge pattern coding seem to be important processes. These findings will facilitate the discovery of therapeutic targets for chronic pruritus, which are unlikely to be treated effectively by single receptor blockade

Electrogenicity accompanies photoreduction of the iron-sulfur clusters FA and FB in photosystem I

AbstractPhotovoltage responses accompanying electron transfer on the acceptor side of photosystem I (PS I) were investigated in proteoliposomes containing PS I complexes from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 6301 using a direct electrometrical technique. The relative contributions of the FX→FB and the FX→FA electron transfer reactions to the overall electrogenicity were elucidated by comparing the sodium dithionite-induced decrease in the magnitude of the total photoelectric responses in control and in FB-less (HgCl2-treated) PS I complexes. The results obtained suggest that the electrogenesis on the acceptor side of PS I is related to electron transfers between both FX and FA and FA and FB. Based on the electrogenic nature of the latter reaction in PS I complexes, we conclude that FA rather than FB is the acceptor proximal to FX