Data4City – A Hyperlocal Citizen App

Exploring upon the phenomena of smart cities, this paper elaborates the potential of crowdsourced data collection in small scale urban quarters. The development of the Data4City (D4C) hyperlocal app – PinCity – is based on the idea of increasing the density of real-time information in urban areas (urban neighborhoods) in order to optimize or create innovative urban services (such as public transportation, garbage collection) or urban planning, thus improving the quality of life of quarter inhabitants as a long-term goal. The main principle of the app is the small-scale implementation, as opposed to top-down smart city approaches worldwide, preferably in a city quarter, or a community, which can be subsequently scaled and interlaced to other parts of the city

Biosilica-nanogold composite: Easy-to-prepare catalyst for soman degradation

A very fast single-step biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using algal cells of Mallomonas kalinae (MK) is introduced. The average particle size of crystalline AuNPs was approximately 10 nm. Subsequently, the catalytic activity of two systems - MK-biosilica scales and MK-biosilica scales with AuNPs - was compared with a control hydrolysis of soman (GD) performed in demineralized water. The kinetics of GD degradation was studied using a gas chromatography with mass detector (GC-MS) and solid-phase microextraction. The residual content of GD was 3.8% and 3.5% for both initial concentrations of GD (68 mu g mL(-1) and 340 mu g L-1, respectively) after 48 h of testing when nanogold was used as a catalyst. Experimental results confirmed the catalytic activity of biosynthesized AuNPs, as well as the role of biosilica itself in the degradation of GD.Web of Science12227126

The Establishment of the Union of European Football Associations and the Czechoslovak Footprint in International Football (1954-1989)

(English) The diploma thesis The Establishment of the Union of European Football Associations and the Czechoslovak Footprint in International Football (1954-1989) deals with the formation of UEFA in the 1950s and the interference of Czechoslovak football in European football at various levels in 1954-1989. The thesis represents a unique contribution to the history of UEFA, especially in the Czech environment, where it is an unexplored issue. Due to the subject of the work, a historical approach was used. The work is based mainly on archival materials, which are stored in the National Archives in the collection of the ÚV ČSTV and periodicals focused on sports and football (Československý sport, Kopaná). The work first focuses on the form of European football in the absence of a European body and describes the form of competitions at the time. Subsequently, the political events that influenced the creation of UEFA and at the same time shaped the environment in which the confederation operated are considered. Specifically, it is a matter of dividing Europe into two blocks, which defined each other on several levels and football was no exception. This factor is reflected throughout the work. In the last part, the work deals with the influence of UEFA on the form of European football, especially on its...(česky) Diplomová práce Vznik Unie evropských fotbalových asociací a československá stopa v mezinárodní kopané (1954-1989) se zabývá formováním UEFA v 50. letech 20. století a zasahování československé kopané do kopané evropské na různých úrovních v letech 1954-1989. Práce představuje ojedinělý příspěvek k historii UEFA, a to zejména v českém prostředí, ve kterém se jedná o neprobádanou problematiku. Vzhledem k předmětu práce byl využit historický přístup. Práce je založena především na archivních materiálech, které jsou uchovány v Národním archivu ve fondu ÚV ČSTV a dobových periodicích zaměřených na sport a kopanou (Československý sport, Kopaná). Práce se nejprve soustředí na podobu evropské kopané při absenci evropského tělesa a popisuje podobu tehdejších soutěží. Následně je přihlédnuto k politickým událostem, které měly vliv na vznik UEFA a zároveň utvářely prostředí, ve kterém konfederace působila. Konkrétně se jedná o rozdělení Evropy na dva bloky, které se vůči sobě vymezovaly na několika úrovních a kopaná nebyla výjimkou. Tento faktor je reflektován v průběhu celé práce. V poslední části se práce věnuje vlivu UEFA na podobu evropské kopané, především na její organizaci a dopady na fotbalové asociace, v tomto případě na Československý fotbalový svaz. Je popsáno, jak Československý fotbalový...Programme Historical SociologyProgram Historická sociologieFakulta humanitních studiíFaculty of Humanitie

Organization and Management of Selected Youth Hockey Clubs

Tématem bakalářské práce je srovnání managementu dvou vybraných hokejových klubů. Konktrétně tedy HC Frýdek-Místek a HC Kopřivnice. Cílem je zjistit nedostatky a následně navrhnout řešení pro optimalizaci chodu klubu. V teoretické části jsou vymezeny klíčové pojmy, popsaná tělesná kultura a sport obecně. Dále jsou zde rozepsány základní informace o ledním hokeji a následně popsány pojmy spjaty se sportovním managementem. Praktická část je zaměřena na porovnání vybraných klubů a následně jsou zpracovány návrhy a doporučení pro efektivnější chod klubu.The topic of the bachelor's thesis is a comparison of the management of two selected hockey clubs. Specifically, HC Frýdek-Místek to HC Kopřivnice. The goal is to identify deficiencies and then propose solutions to optimize the club's operation. In the theoretical part, key terms are defined, physical culture and sport in general are described. Furthermore, basic information about ice hockey is detailed here, followed by a description of terms related to sports management. The practical part is focused on comparing selected clubs, and then suggestions and recommendations for more efficient running of the club are elaborated.115 - Katedra managementudobř

The Metallicity of the Intracluster Medium Over Cosmic Time: Further Evidence for Early Enrichment

We use Chandra X-ray data to measure the metallicity of the intracluster medium (ICM) in 245 massive galaxy clusters selected from X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect surveys, spanning redshifts $0<z<1.2$. Metallicities were measured in three different radial ranges, spanning cluster cores through their outskirts. We explore trends in these measurements as a function of cluster redshift, temperature, and surface brightness "peakiness" (a proxy for gas cooling efficiency in cluster centers). The data at large radii (0.5--1 $r_{500}$) are consistent with a constant metallicity, while at intermediate radii (0.1-0.5 $r_{500}$) we see a late-time increase in enrichment, consistent with the expected production and mixing of metals in cluster cores. In cluster centers, there are strong trends of metallicity with temperature and peakiness, reflecting enhanced metal production in the lowest-entropy gas. Within the cool-core/sharply peaked cluster population, there is a large intrinsic scatter in central metallicity and no overall evolution, indicating significant astrophysical variations in the efficiency of enrichment. The central metallicity in clusters with flat surface brightness profiles is lower, with a smaller intrinsic scatter, but increases towards lower redshifts. Our results are consistent with other recent measurements of ICM metallicity as a function of redshift. They reinforce the picture implied by observations of uniform metal distributions in the outskirts of nearby clusters, in which most of the enrichment of the ICM takes place before cluster formation, with significant later enrichment taking place only in cluster centers, as the stellar populations of the central galaxies evolve.Comment: 13 pages. Accepted version, to appear in MNRA

Update on the Fishes of Texas Project

Poster presentation presented at the 2017 Texas Academy of Sciences annual meeting in Belton, Texas on March 4, 2017.The Fishes of Texas project (www.fishesoftexas.org), originating in 2006, remains the most reliable (quality controlled) and data rich site for acquiring occurrence data for Texas fishes, holding over 124,000 records from 42 institutions. Among many discoveries, the project is responsible for detecting at least 3 freshwater species not previously known from the state. We continue making improvements, but substantial updates so far have been onerous for our developers for various reasons. A recent major update reduces coding redundancies, points the website to a new massively restructured and more fully normalized PostgreSQL database (was MySQL), and places the code in a versioning environment. These changes have little immediate effect on user experience, but will greatly accelerate development. PostgreSQL allows for complex spatial queries which will allow users to quickly map occurrence data alongside many more political/environmental layers than currently possible. While our database/web designers have been implementing these changes and fixing bugs etc., we’ve been preparing resources for them to integrate into the website. Some highlights to expect: 1 new updates to the state Species of Greatest Concern list; 2 expert opinion-determined nativity spatial layers for all freshwater fishes displaying in our new mapping system; 3 dynamic statistical summaries; 4 new data types from the literature (>14,900 records), citizen science (>4,300), anglers (>37,000), and agency databases (>1,000,000); 5 new museum records, many derived from our gap sampling (~19,000, 4 museums); 6 more specimen examinations (>400) and photographs (1000); 7 document archive with “smart” text search tools (currently in beta testing using TPWD fisheries reports). So be patient and keep your eyes open for updates.University of Texas at Austin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of the Interior,Integrative Biolog

Cosmology and Astrophysics from Relaxed Galaxy Clusters I: Sample Selection

This is the first in a series of papers studying the astrophysics and cosmology of massive, dynamically relaxed galaxy clusters. Here we present a new, automated method for identifying relaxed clusters based on their morphologies in X-ray imaging data. While broadly similar to others in the literature, the morphological quantities that we measure are specifically designed to provide a fair basis for comparison across a range of data quality and cluster redshifts, to be robust against missing data due to point-source masks and gaps between detectors, and to avoid strong assumptions about the cosmological background and cluster masses. Based on three morphological indicators - Symmetry, Peakiness and Alignment - we develop the SPA criterion for relaxation. This analysis was applied to a large sample of cluster observations from the Chandra and ROSAT archives. Of the 361 clusters which received the SPA treatment, 57 (16 per cent) were subsequently found to be relaxed according to our criterion. We compare our measurements to similar estimators in the literature, as well as projected ellipticity and other image measures, and comment on trends in the relaxed cluster fraction with redshift, temperature, and survey selection method. Code implementing our morphological analysis will be made available on the web.Comment: MNRAS, in press. 43 pages in total, of which 17 are tables (please think twice before printing). 18 figures, 4 tables. Machine-readable tables will be available from the journal and at the url below; code will be posted at http://www.slac.stanford.edu/~amantz/work/morph14

Urban Pierius: Geschichte der kursächsischen Kirchen- und Schulreformation (MS germ. quart. 91 der Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz), hrsg. und eingeleitet von Thomas Klein. N. G. Elwert Verlag, Marburg 1970, 718 pp

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A Polyclonal Immune Function Assay Allows Dose-Dependent Characterization of Immunosuppressive Drug Effects but Has Limited Clinical Utility for Predicting Infection on an Individual Basis

Dosage of immunosuppressive drugs after transplantation critically determines rejection and infection episodes. In this study, a global immune function assay was characterized among controls, dialysis-patients, and transplant-recipients to evaluate its utility for pharmacodynamic monitoring of immunosuppressive drugs and for predicting infections. Whole-blood samples were stimulated with anti-CD3/toll-like-receptor (TLR7/8)-agonist in the presence or absence of drugs and IFN-γ secretion was measured by ELISA. Additional stimulation-induced cytokines were characterized among T-, B-, and NK-cells using flow-cytometry. Cytokine-secretion was dominated by IFN-γ, and mainly observed in CD4, CD8, and NK-cells. Intra-assay variability was low (CV = 10.4 ± 6.2%), whereas variability over time was high, even in the absence of clinical events (CV = 65.0 ± 35.7%). Cyclosporine A, tacrolimus and steroids dose-dependently inhibited IFN-γ secretion, and reactivity was further reduced when calcineurin inhibitors were combined with steroids. Moreover, IFN-γ levels significantly differed between controls, dialysis-patients, and transplant-recipients, with lowest IFN-γ levels early after transplantation (p < 0.001). However, a single test had limited ability to predict infectious episodes. In conclusion, the assay may have potential for basic pharmacodynamic characterization of immunosuppressive drugs and their combinations, and for assessing loss of global immunocompetence after transplantation, but its application to guide drug-dosing and to predict infectious on an individual basis is limited