https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14178/908 2026-04-09T16:14:01Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14178/3732 Effects of Bioturbation by Earthworms on Litter Flammability in Young and Mature Afforested Stands Martinovská, Aneta; Mudrák, Ondřej; Frouz, Jan The quantity, quality, and accumulation rate of plant litter play a key role in forest floor flammability and, by extension, fire regimes. The varying foliage properties of different tree species also determine litter's decomposition and its accumulation on the forest floor. The removal of litter by soil fauna, i.e., bioturbation, depends on both the dominant tree species and the successional stage of the forest stand. This research involved laboratory mesocosm experiments aiming to determine the effects of litter quality and earthworm activity on the flammability of the forest floor material at different successional ages. The mesocosms simulated the planting of four tree species (the broadleaf species Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. (Black alder) and Quercus robur L. (English oak) and the conifers Picea omorika (Pan & ccaron;i & cacute;) Purk. (Serbian spruce) and Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold (Austrian pine)) at a reclamation site near Sokolov (NW Czechia). The mesocosms contained litter from these different tree species, placed directly on overburden soil (immature soil) or on well-developed Oe and A layers (mature soil), inoculated or not inoculated with earthworms, and incubated for 4 months. The surface material in the mesocosms was then subjected to simulated burn events, and the fire path and soil temperature changes were recorded. Burn testing showed that litter type (tree species) and soil maturity significantly influenced flammability. Pine had longer burning times and burning paths and higher post-burn temperatures than those of the other tree species. The immature soil with earthworms had significantly shorter burning times, whereas in the mature soil, earthworms had no effect. We conclude that earthworms have a significant, immediate effect on the litter flammability of immature soils. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14178/3726 Informatorium pro Repozitář skenů a fotografií herbářových položek Novotný, Petr; Šída, Otakar; Mikšík, Daniel; Mráz, Patrik Herbářové sbírky mají ve svých depozitech velké množství herbářových položek, které je možné studovatprezenčně, nebo po jejich zapůjčení. Jejich digitalizace a následné zpřístupnění prostřednictvím onlineplatforem umožní daleko širší využití, a zároveň to slouží jako jakási pojistka pro případ "kdyby se něconedejbože stalo"; takové zpřístupnění rovněž významně snižuje riziko poškození fyzického herbářovéhomateriálu plynoucího z manipulace s ním či z jeho přepravy. Digitalizace herbářových dokladů probíhá vedvou rovinách - jednak se digitalizují vlastní údaje o nálezu (přepis schedy) a také se fotí či skenují vlastnípoložky neboli specimeny. Oba tyto přístupy umožňují (mezi)národním výzkumníkům udělat si rámcovoupředstavu o datech dostupných v daném herbáři a vzájemně se doplňují. V okamžiku kdy herbář začněpořizovat skeny specimenů ve velkém rozlišení, tak záhy vzniká otázka, kde je uložit, spravovat a jak jezpřístupnit odborné veřejnosti. Odpověď na otázku "proč" tedy zní "aby bylo pro české herbáře snadné archivovata následně zpřístupňovat obrazové doklady herbářových položek", aniž by dílčí instituce museliřešit úložné místo, konektivitu a technické otázky interoperability s globálními agregátory.; Herbarium collections have a large number of herbarium items in their deposits, which can be studied in person or after borrowing them. Their digitization and subsequent access via online platforms will enable much wider use, and at the same time it serves as a kind of insurance in case "if something God forbid happens"; such access also significantly reduces the risk of damage to physical herbarium material resulting from its handling or transportation. The digitization of herbarium documents takes place on two levels - first, the actual data on the find is digitized (transcription of the schedule) and the actual items or specimens are also photographed or scanned. Both of these approaches allow (inter)national researchers to get a general idea of the data available in a given herbarium and complement each other. The moment the herbarium starts taking high-resolution scans of specimens, the question soon arises of where to store them, manage them and how to make them available to the professional public. The answer to the question "why" is therefore "to make it easy for Czech herbaria to archiveand subsequently make available image evidence of herbarium items", without sub-institutions having todeal with storage space, connectivity and technical issues of interoperability with global aggregators. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14178/3719 Discovery of Novel Murine PML Isoforms Anderová, Karolína; Horníková, Lenka; Šroller, Vojtěch; Rjabčenko, Boris; Pánek, Dalibor; Andrikopoulos, Prokopios; Zahradník, Jiří; Forstová, Jitka; Huerfano Meneses, Sandra Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) orchestrates the formation of PML nuclear bodies (PML NBs), membraneless organelles with diverse regulatory roles. Despite their importance, the specific functions of individual PML splicing variants remain unclear, particularly in murine models. Here we study the repertoire of murine PML isoforms expressed in mouse tissues and cells. We demonstrate that in addition to canonical mPML1-3, mice express five predicted variants (mPMLX1, mPMLX2, mPMLX4-X6) and a novel isoform, mPMLX7, distinguished by unique RBCC domain splicing. All isoforms exhibit distinct turnover kinetics at endogenous PML NBs. In PML-knockout cells, all isoforms except mPMLX7 form NBs de novo and are degraded upon arsenic exposure. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest mPMLX7 adopts a stable conformation; furthermore, this isoform is enriched in the nucleoplasm, suggesting a specialized function. Altogether, this isoform-resolved PML system provides a relevant model for dissecting the wide spectrum of PML-associated processes. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14178/3718 15: Primary schools abroad in the context of transnational relations: the example of the Czech diaspora Janská, Eva; Boccou Kestřánková, Marie Kraftl, Peter; Holloway, Sarah L.; Cheng, Yi’En; Kučerová, Silvie R. This chapter examines the role of mother tongue education within the transnational experiences of the Czech diaspora, and how Czech language instruction abroad intersects with the mobility of young people and the strategies of families considering a return to Czechia or long-term residence abroad. Based on qualitative research involving 18 interviews with directors and teachers of 15 Czech Heritage Language (HL) schools, the chapter identifies the various types of these schools and their significance in promoting Czech as a heritage language and cultural identity. While schools play an essential role in language and cultural education, they face challenges such as insufficient financial support, lack of tailored educational materials and limited integration with the Czech educational system. The chapter emphasises the need for enhanced collaboration between Czech institutions and HL schools abroad to more effectively support the linguistic and cultural identity of the Czech diaspora. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z