History of development and applications of nuclear analytical methods in the Czech Republic

This article presents the evolution of the field of nuclear analytical methods, as well as its inventions and applications from the 1960s to the present in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia.     

Expression pattern of a hematopoietic proteoglycan core protein gene during human hematopoiesis

Expression of the hematopoietic proteoglycan core protein (HpPG) gene was examined in normal peripheral blood, normal bone marrow, and leukemic peripheral blood leukocytes samples to assess the expression pattern of the HpPG gene in these cells and to ascertain points of regulation of this gene during hematopoiesis. In situ hybridization to normal bone marrow and peripheral blood leukocytes demonstrated that the gene was expressed in the promyelocytes at a approximately two fold greater level than in the segmented neutrophils and the expression decreased as the granulocytes matured. The ratio of expression in the other leukocytes to expression in the segmented neutrophils were as follows: eosinophils/basophils approximately 7; monocytes approximately 2; lymphocytes less than 1. Expression of the HpPG gene during myeloblast differentiation was assessed by Northern blot analysis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) RNA samples. The expression of this gene, when compared to the levels in HL-60 cells, was approximately ten fold lower in the poorly differentiated blast cells obtained from three AML patients classified M"0". Conversely, the expression in the more differentiated blast cells obtained from 10 of 11 AML patients classified as M1 and M2 were at levels similar to the levels in HL-60 cells. The expression level found in eight lymphoid leukemias was approximately ten fold or more lower than in HL-60 cells. Gene copy number determination confirmed that the HpPG gene is present in one copy per haploid genome. Thus the HpPG gene's expression pattern denotes a single copy gene being differentially expressed during hematopoiesis with initial regulation occurring very early in this developmental process and an additional up-regulatory event occurring during granule genesis.     

Zooplankton community structure along a trophic gradient in a canyon-shaped dam reservoir

The zooplankton community was surveyed along the longitudinalaxis of Rimov Reservoir (Czech Republic) on seven occasionsduring the vegetative season of 1996. The dimictic Rimov Reservoirhas a pronounced trophic gradient along its axis. In nearlyall samples, rotifers were dominant by numbers and formed onaverage 60–95% of the total zooplankton (including copepodnauplii). There was a consistent pattern of increasing relativeabundance of rotifers in the upper regions of the reservoircompared with the downstream parts. Very large rotifer populationscould develop in the upper regions, often associated with floodevents, but also coinciding with reduced abundance of crustaceansassociated with stronger wash-out effects and the advent ofturbid conditions. There was a greater similarity between twoadjacent sites in the proportions of crustacean species thanof rotifer species. This is partially due to the greater speciesdiversity of rotifers than of crustaceans. The timing of theseasonal succession of zooplankton species showed a coherentpattern along the whole longitudinal profile. The site-specificzooplankton patchiness seems to be reduced as there was no sitedependence if average data on zooplankton composition from downstreamlacustrine sites were compared.     

Insight into the environment of a pre-Roman Iron Age hillfort at Vladař, Czech Republic, using a multi-proxy approach

The large fortified hilltop site of Vladař, northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic (50°05′N, 13°13′E), has recently been studied intensively by way of environmental archaeology, in which palaeoecological methods have played a crucial role. The latter include the analyses of pollen, green algae, Cladocera, other microfossils, plant macro-remains (including charcoal and wood) and chemical composition, carried out on the wet sediments from an artificial cistern/pond situated in the middle of the large citadel, supplemented by charcoal and wood analysis on material from dry situations. The continuous palaeoecological record consists of well-preserved biological remains and covers the period from ca. 400 b.c. to recent times. The chronology is primarily based on radiocarbon dating, supplemented by archaeological finds. The main focus is on the La Tène period of the Iron Age. During the early to middle La Tène the hillfort had a considerable number of permanent inhabitants and woodland was almost completely replaced by an agricultural landscape. The site became partly abandoned by the end of the 3rd century b.c. and completely abandoned around the birth of Christ, after which it reverted to natural woodland communities.     

Stakeholder Perceptions of the Impacts of Rural Funding Scenarios on Mountain Landscapes Across Europe

This article examines how alternative rural funding scenarios might influence the pattern of functional land types in mountain areas. The study aims were to explore the use of stakeholders to predict landscape change and to provide a future policy context for other papers in the Carbomont program. EU rural funding policies could have a strong influence on land use and landscapes in mountain areas. At eight sites across Europe, groups of local stakeholders were asked to compare the possible effects of three contrasting funding scenarios over an imagined period of 20 years on (1) the importance of the main land-use sectors; (2) the areas of the main land functional land types; and (3) the management of individual land types. Stakeholders also listed their interests in the area to help define the perspective of the group. The protocols used were ranking and scoring procedures that permitted quantification of changes and of the degree of consensus within the group. The scenarios were (1) continuation of current rural funding (status quo), (2) rapid reduction of farm income support (reduce support), and (3) increasing rural diversification funding (diversification). The eight countries sampled included five established EU members (UK, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain), two new accession members (Czeck Republic and Slovakia), and Switzerland. There were predicted to be widespread reductions in the importance of the agricultural sector across Europe and increases in the transport, built environment, and tourism sectors. In general, the status quo scenario was perceived to be unsatisfactory in various respects, reduce support was worse, but diversification offered opportunities for conservation and development of mountain communities and land use. Changes in the areas of land types would mainly involve loss of arable and grazing land and increases in scrub, and settlements. Some elements of the landscape such as most forests, mountain tops, and wetlands would, however, be little affected by any of the scenarios. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Vertical distribution of attached algae in shallow fishponds of different trophic status

Spring and summer vertical distributions of attached algae were studied on artificial substrates (glass cover slips) in shallow fishponds of different trophic status. Differences were found in colonization process between two fishponds, two seasons and between two sites at each fishpond (central part, fishpond shore). Oligotrophic fishpond U třech krátkych can be characterized by better light conditions and lower temperatures. While equal vertical distribution of periphytic algae was observed at oligotrophic site, their relative cover decreased continuously in spring and strongly in summer with the increasing depth at eutrophic site. Oligotrophic fishpond can be characterized by very slow colonization rate and increasing abundance of Chrysophyceae. On the other hand Cyanobacteria were more frequent in eutrophic fishpond where periphyton displayed high colonization rate. Diatom species richness was the highest at oligotrophic site during spring experiments. The sites near the fishpond shore compared to sites in the central part of the fishpond can be characterized by higher rate of colonization, higher periphyton relative cover, lower proportion of Chrysophyceae and higher proportions of diatoms and cyanophytes indicating probably higher trophic level.     

Influence of vegetation cover on thermal regime of mountainous catchments

Air temperature at heights of 5 and 200 cm above soil surface, as well as soil temperature at depths of 15, 30 and 60 cm were studied in the cold climatic zone at three localities (catchments) under different plant cover during the growing season of 2002. The catchments Kout (dead forest), Doupě (clearing) and Stolec (mature spruce forest) are situated in the National Park of the ?umava Mts. (Czech Republic) in elevation of 1105–1330 m a.s.l., in which Kout and Doupě form some small “islands” inside an extensive spruce forest. Plant transpiration was not limited by water shortage in all the three localities. It was found that both soil and air temperatures were influenced with plant cover. In hot and dry days, the extremes in daily and night air temperatures were a function of transpiring vegetation height, with higher daily maximum and lower night minimum for smaller vegetation. For the whole growing season (from 29 July to 10 October 2002), the mean values of air temperature were independent upon the plant cover, but the magnitude of the dispersion variance followed the sequence in ascending order: mature forest-clearing-dead forest.