The effects of resource availability and environmental conditions on genetic rankings for carbon isotope discrimination during growth in tomato and rice

Carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) is frequently used as an index of leaf intercellular CO2 concentration (ci) and variation in photosynthetic water use efficiency. In this study, the stability of Δ was evaluated in greenhouse grown tomato and rice with respect to variable growth conditions including temperature, nutrient availability, soil flooding (in rice), irradiance, and root constriction in small soil volumes. Δ exhibited several characteristics indicative of contrasting set-point behavior among genotypes of both crops. These included generally small main environmental effects and lower observed levels of G x E interaction across the diverse treatments than observed in associated measures of relative growth rate, photosynthetic rate, biomass allocation pattern, or specific leaf area. Growth irradiance stood out among environmental parameters tested as having consistently large main affects on Δ for all genotypes screened in both crops. We suggest that this may be related to contrasting mechanisms of stomatal aperture modulation associated with the different environmental variables. For temperature and nutrient availability, feedback processes directly linked to ci and/or metabolite pools associated with ci may have played the primary role in coordinating stomatal conductance and photosynthetic capacity. In contrast, light has a direct effect on stomatal aperture in addition to feedback mediated through ci

Tolkienova imaginace v textech současných blackmetalových kapel

This thesis deals with Tolkien´s imagination in lyrics of Tolkien black metal bands from English-speaking countries. Its main goal is to analyze those lyrics, find common elements and contrast their usage with Tolkien´s literary work. The first part of the paper defines this musical genre and describes Tolkien´s influence on the black metal scene. The second part consists of text analysis that contrasts the portrayal of evil and nature in both fictional universes.Tato práce se zabývá propojením Tolkienova fiktivního světa s jeho otiskem v hudebních textech tolkien black metalových kapel z anglicky mluvícíh zemí. Jejím hlavním cílem je analyzovat tyto texty, najít společné prvky a následně porovnat jejich použití s Tolkienovou předlohou. První část práce se zabývá obecnou teorií, přiblížením tohoto hudebního žánru a popisem vlivu Tolkienovi práce na black metalovou hudební scénu. Ve druhé části se nachází samotná analýza textu, která porovnává především vyobrazení zla a použití přírody v obou svtětech.Fakulta filozofickáStudent nejprve představil téma a zjištění své práce. Poté se věnoval otázkám a podnětům z posudků. Velkou pozornost věnoval otázce týkající se definice "dobra a zla". Projev studenta byl místy rozpačitý, v některých oblastech kvalitní. Komise se shodla na hodnocení CDokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo

Using carbon isotopes and organic composition to decipher climate and tectonics in the Early Cretaceous: an example from the Hailar Basin, Inner Mongolia, China

When conducted in tandem, organic petrography and isotopic analyses can be used to interpret regional tectonics and palaeoclimate within a global context. As an example, a sequence of lignite (vitrinite reflectance average = 0.27%) in the Lower Cretaceous Yimin Formation, Inner Mongolia, China, was investigated. The study area is within the intracratonic Hailar Basin and was situated at ∼ 45ºN palaeolatitude. Globally warm temperatures allowed temperate to tropical vegetation such as ferns, cycads and gymnosperms to form thick, laterally extensive palaeomires within the basin. Probabilistic assessment indicates that the lower, thick (∼40 m) Seam #16 may have accumulated over a time span between 174 (P10) to 481 (P90) thousand years, whereas the thin (∼6 m) overlying Seam #16 Upper took between 20 (P10) and 96 (P90) thousand years. Thermal sag processes were active in the basin during these time periods, with subsidence rates balanced to allow enough accommodation space to accumulate thick peat, but not so fast as to induce flooding and burial by clastics. A high proportion of fossil charcoal (‘inertinite’) in both seams indicate that throughout the peat-forming period, fire was an important part of the mire ecology. This is consistent with global high oxygen content and an in-land continental palaeogeographic position with seasonal precipitation. Stable isotopes of carbon indicate periods of high precipitation but also times of significant relative dryness. The palaeoclimatic conditions are likely to be both seasonal as well as longer term, possibly decadal to millennium in scale and would have occurred over the whole region, not just mire specific