MendelNet, 2019 (vol. 26)

Boxwood blight, caused by Calonectria spp., is the most dangerous disease on Buxus worldwide. Since 2010 Calonectria is present in the Czech Republic and causes great loss, by infecting young boxwood plants in the production nurseries as well as grown plants in landscape, mainly historical gardens. To offer an alternative solution within the species, eight species and cultivars in total, commonly used in landscape architecture and propagated in the Czech Republic, were selected and their susceptibility to Calonectria henricotiae was tested on detached leaves. Species Buxus microphylla ‘Faulkner’ (4–67% spotted leaf area) and Buxus microphylla var. japonica (9–41%) appeared to be the most resistant, on the other hand, the most susceptible cultivar was B. sempervirens ‘Aurea’ (44–95%).

The aim of this paper was to determine the species composition of plants that are able to sustain themselves in an active landfill (sites are located in Zlín Region, Czech Republic). Four different habitats on the recultiveted parts of municipal waste landfill were chosen for evaluation. Three habitats were selected on the land with the recultivated part of the landfill (recultivation between years 2010 and 2012). Fourth habitat is not maintained and is not use like landfill. Recultivation on fourth habitat was not carried out. The evaluation of the vegetation was carried out using the recording phytosociological methods. Altogether 90 plant species were found. It is clear from the results that the cultivated areas differ in the composition of plant species vegetation compared to the original vegetation. At the habitat with a younger recultivation, expansive species such as Calamagrostis epigejos, Arrhenatherum elatius or the nitrophilic species as Elytrigia repens, Galium album were more frequent. At the habitat with the oldest recultivation there were more frequent species, which were sown at the habitat and original plant species as Festulolium, Lathyrus pratensis. Recultivated landfills are an interesting ecosystem where succession takes place. However, species rich vegetation is not stable and the species composition changes.

Caraway is a very important agricultural commodity whose quality is determined by parameters such as dry matter, essential oil content and composition, especially the ratio of its two major components – carvone and limonene. Appropriate method for their analysis is given in the Český lékopis (2017); however, this method is rather time-consuming, costly and demands large quantity of sample. The use of a NIR spectrometer could be a viable alternative; it is much faster and cheaper, as can be clearly seen from the comparison of both methods in this paper. In the time aspect, it’s saving from many hours to a few minutes. Newly presented method could potentially be more accessible to agricultural companies who need quick quality verification of their product before taking it to the market from the viewpoint of final product quality – not just the quantity, which, in most cases, is nowadays a current state of practice.

Drought stress is one of the most important limiting factor in agriculture. Growth and production of crops have led to a reduction of more than 50%. Climate change may influence the field crops but also survival and distribution of weeds. Weeds reduce forage yield by competing for water, sunlight, and nutrients. In addition to yield losses, weeds can also decrease the forage quality. The importance of weed control in forage production should not be overlooked. The weed species composition was assessed in three forage crops in the cadastral area of Velke Opatovice (district Blansko, South Moravian region, Czech Republic) within one land block. In total, we identified 25 weed species, the highest number, 19 species, in Medicago sativa, where also highest weed infestation, 355 individuals per 10 m², was found. Observation over several years is necessary to draw more accurate conclusions.

Six varieties were tested for silage use in the conditions of more humid location with higher nutrient content (location Obora) and poorer dry soil (location Písky) in the area of Žabčice, South Moravia. Highest fresh and dry matter yields were measured in the location Písky, which supports the economic relevance and low-maintenance character of sorghum. Expediency of two sowing dates was evaluated, higher overall yields were observed in sorghum sown in May. Most versatile in the followed year in terms of soil conditions is the variety KWS Titus, in terms of sowing date it is KWS Merlin. Based on fresh and mostly dry matter yields from our study, best properties were found in varieties such as KWS Titus or Pampa Centurion (sown in May) and KWS Merlin (sown in June) on fertile soil conditions. For areas with less fertile soil, best properties were found in KWS Titus, KWS Merlin and Triunfo BMR. Lowest yields were observed in Sweet Susana variety and therefore it was deemed not sufficiently yielding.

M-Sunagreen and Primseed products applied to seeds by treating were tested in 2018. The effect of these applications on the root system size, formation of yield components, grain yield and its quality was evaluated. Seed treating by M-Sunagreen increased the yield by approximately 200 kg/ha, while the Primseed stimulant application increased the specific weight of barley, thousand grain weight as well as the grain size above 2.5 mm usable for malting. The application of both products increased the plant root system size, number of spikes per m², the number of grains per spike increased as well as the number of grains per plant.

Correct application of nitrogen fertilizers in crop management on arable land has high importance both from economic and environmental point of view, mainly in the condition of higher spatial variability of farm fields. One of the solutions could be a variable rate application (VRA) of nitrogen fertilizers based on the spatial variability and identification of management zones, which addresses site specific crop changes, soil characteristics and crop requirements. The aim of the study was to compare proximal and remote sensing systems of winter wheat mapping for variable rate application of nitrogen fertilizers. The methodology of the work was based on the collection of spectral data from the ISARIA proximal crop sensor system, represented by the vegetation indices IRMI and IBI, and set of vegetation indices indices from Sentinel–2 satellite imagery, both on the trial fields. All experimental work was carried out at the farm company SALIX MORAVA a.s. (locality Zdounky, Kroměříž, Czech Republic) during the year 2018 on the selected fields with winter wheat and total area of 355 ha. Spatial data were processed and analyzed by using geographic information systems and then statistically evaluated the relationships between variables. The study has shown higher level of correlation between the ISARIA vegetation indices and all evaluated indices from Sentinel–2. Highest values of correlation with Sentinel–2 indices were achieved for the ISARIA’s IRMI index. The most sensitive Sentinel-2 vegetation indices were EVI, GNDVI and SRI indices, while the lowest correlation values were found for the NRERI, REIP, RENDVI and S2REP indices. Overall, the results of this study indicate high relationship between proximal and remote sensing, thus the use by farmers depends on the practical aspects of their in crop management practices.

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is the most cultivated oilseed in the Czech Republic, where its cultivation occupies approximately 13% of arable land (395 thousand ha). In terms of nutrient consumption, oilseed rape ranks among very demanding crops and therefore the supply of nutrients (especially N) in sufficient quantities plays an essential part of its cultivation. This study focused on two qualitative and quantitative parameters of oilseed rape - yield and oiliness. In the experiment, as basic fertilizers were used Urea and UAN. In the variants fertilized with urea-based fertilizers, Alzon 46 (Urea + NI) and Alzon neo-N (Urea + NI + UI) were used as nitrification (NI) and urease (UI) inhibitors. In variants fertilized with UAN, Piadin served as NI and StabilureN served as UI. The highest yields were recorded in variants fertilized with Alzon neo-N and UAN + NI. In the experiment, LOVOGRAN IN, LOVOGRAN B (Urea based variants) and LAS (UAN variants) fertilizers were used as source of sulfur, essential for the growth, development and synthesis of rapeseed oil. The differences in oil content between the individual varieties of oilseed rape did not show a significant positive or negative character.

In areas suffering by deficient annual rainfall, drought stress is considered to be one of the main reasons for the decline in crop yields. Zinc, as a significant microelement, plays a key role in the resistance of plants to drought-induced stress. The aim of the experiment established in 2019 on the locality Žabčice was to determine the influence of foliar nutrition by selected forms of zinc: zinc oxide (ZnO), zinc sulphate (ZnSO₄), zinc chelate (Zn-EDTA) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) on yield of pea grain production (Pisum sativum). The effect of foliar application was significantly dependent on the form of zinc, where the effect of selected fertilizers was demonstrably dependent on the variety. Leaf application of zinc increased pea grain production in the range of 1.2 to 18.7%. Seed production was most affected by the application of zinc sulfate at a rate of 300 g/ha Zn. Based on the results of this study, zinc foliar application in pea vegetation can be presented as an intensifying factor increasing yield, especially in arid conditions.

Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare var. sudanense) is a cultural thermophilic crop, its properties and appearance are most similar to maize. It is one of the world's longest-cultivated crops and has a wide range of uses, particularly as an alternative to maize. This contribution dealt with the monitoring of sorghum pests in the field conditions of South Moravia in the vegetation season 2019. Due to the weather, when the temperatures were high and the amount of precipitation was low, the occurrence of pests was very low and the plants were not significantly damaged. The presence of especially two key pests, namely the Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera) and the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), was observed. Western corn rootworm was recorded in the field, but only adults. The presence of European corn borer was monitored using a light trap, also only adults were recorded. However, the damage typical for these two pests has not been recorded.

The ladybug (Harmonia axyridis (Pallas 1773)) is considered not only in the Czech Republic to be an invasive species. Despite this fact, it is intentionally introduced in many countries for use in biological pest control. This contribution deals with the impact of selected insecticide active substances on the non-target species mentioned above. Resistance levels of the studied populations in the Czech Republic were evaluated. Laboratory tests were performed using adult-vial-test. A negative effect of the active substances of plant protection products (PPP) on non-target organisms has been demonstrated. Knowledge of the effect of PPP, respectively insecticides, used on the non-target species Harmonia axyridis is one of the prerequisites for finding out how to decrease the negative impact of plant protection on beneficial arthropods, in this case the ladybugs.

The increase of agricultural drought risk, as climate models predict, enhance the importance of the crop root system in the future. Moreover, quantitative features characterizing the root system such as length, area, weight, root density, depth of root penetration and root diameter are genotypically bound but also influenced by the environment. It is difficult to predict or model their behaviour. Adaptability allows the plant to optimize the costs expended to create and maintain the root system with access to water and nutrients. Selecting a suitable variety (based on the root system properties) into a specific area can be the key to a grower's success. The aim of this article is (i) to provide detailed description and thus standardization of promising procedures: for sampling of the plant root system using a direct soil-core method that allows for evaluation of the root system architecture, (ii) subsequent evaluation of root system parameters using digital image analysis, (iii) demonstrate practical experience using the direct method of sampling and evaluation of the plant root system for application in plant breeding. The described method of plant root system evaluation applicable in field conditions, usable for root phenotyping have been applied in research and practice many times. However, they have not been standardized in the Czech Republic and obligatory procedures have not yet been published.

During the two-year monitoring, samples of spikes in the milk, soft dough and hard dough maturity stages were taken from coloured wheats of the PS Karkulka variety with a purple pericarp and the Skorpion variety with blue pigmentation in the aleurone layer. Each of the varieties was grown in 2 different levels of nitrogen fertilization: 150 kg/ha N and 210 kg/ha N. For each of the samples, the weight of the spikes, the weight and the number of grains in the spike and the grain yield were monitored. It was found out that the higher values of the yield-relevant parameters were reached by the Skorpion variety. The Skorpion variety was characterized by significantly higher growth in the grain weight during their formation. This was also reflected in the grain yield that was up to 20% higher than in the PS Karkulka variety. A higher nitrogen dose did not have any effects on the grain yield. The yield of both varieties was significantly influenced by weather conditions during the period of the grain formation.

Sorghum belongs to the most cultivated cereals in the world. The biggest producers for food industry are Africa and Asia. In Europe it is mostly used as animal´s feed. The sorghum is a minority crop in the Czech Republic, it is cultivated mainly for silage as a forage crop for livestock production systems or for biogas production. Five evaluations were performed in 2019 (June–July) under the field condition on sorghum variety ´KWS Tarzan´. The occurrence of fungal pathogens on sorghum were observed and evaluated in the field experimental station in Žabčice. Leaves which were affected by fungal pathogens were photographed and collected for their determination. The fungal pathogens were identified according to morphological and microscopic characteristics which appeared on a leaves surface (spots, mycelium, and spores) on the field or after laboratory ´wet-cell´ cultivation. The sorghum plants were infected by pathogens from the group of leaves and stalks spots (Colletotrichum sublineola, Cercospora sorghi, Exserohilum turcicum, Bipolaris cookei) and sorghum rust (Puccinia sorghi).

The aim of this paper is to determine the effect of a different type of waste on the plant species composition on the active part of landfill in Nětčice (Kroměříž District, Czech Republic). Three variants were selected for evaluation of the plant species composition within the actively used part of the landfill: biodegradable waste, inert waste and non-sorted municipal solid waste. A total of 124 plant species were found in all three variants together. Amaranthus powellii, Ballota nigra, Bromus sterilis, Echinochloa crus-galli, Elytrigia repens, Robinia pseudoacacia and Setaria pumila were found as characteristic species for a part of landfill with mixed municipal waste, whereas Atriplex patula, Atriplex sagittata, Cucurbita maxima, Hordeum murinum, Chenopodium album and Sisymbrium officinale as characteristic species for biodegradable waste and Arrhenatherum elatius, Cirsium arvense, Plantago major and Tussilago farfara for a part with inert waste. The landfill is a very specific environment for plants and the type of waste influences the species composition of vegetation.

In 2019 (May–July) the efficiency of two delta traps and pheromone lures from two manufacturers (Pherobank B.V. and Propher s.r.o.) for the plum fruit moth (Grapholita funebrana) were compared. The monitoring was carried out in 3 study areas, namely Kyjov, Starý Lískovec and Soběšice. In total, 6 traps from the manufacturer Pherobank and 6 traps from the manufacturer Propher were placed. Grapholita funebrana was found in all the study areas and 5,667 adults were caught in total. Most individuals were caught in Kyjov (3,083 in total). The green traps attracted 3,081 adults and the transparent traps 2,586 adults. A total of 3,581 adults were captured using the Pherobank pheromone lure, and 2,086 using the Propher lure. A total of 459 non-target species individuals were captured from the families Tortricidae, Noctuidae, and Autostichidae. The Pherobank pheromone lure attracted 201 less of the non-target species than the Propher pheromone lure. The largest number of non-target species were attracted in Kyjov (191 adults).

Bioassays were conducted to explore the effects of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO₂ NPs) against larvae of Tenebrio molitor. Silica nanoparticles were applied at the rates of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 1000 ppm on larvae. Larvae were placed in Petri dishes and sprayed with SiO₂ NPs two times in 72 hours. The mortality was counted after 24h, 48h and 72h of exposure. Silica nanoparticles have high toxicity on larvae T. molitor and mortality of larvae increased with increasing concentrations
and exposure time. Obtained results showed that silica dioxide nanoparticles were efficient against
T. molitor and can be used effectively in plant protection.

Elevated CO₂ concentration [EC] generally leads to increased rates of photosynthesis, increased formation of assimilates and finally to storing them in the grain. Increased storage of starch
in the grain, however, leads to an unbalanced proportion to the proteins, and their relative content decreases. This is particularly apparent in the conditions of nitrogen deficiency. The interactive effects of EC, nitrogen nutrition and reduced water availability are, however, not yet sufficiently understood. Within the manipulation experiment in open top chambers (Domanínek near Bystřice nad Pernštejnem) that allow simulation of EC (expected by the end of this century – 700 ppm) and  drought, the effect
of these interactions on protein content, and other quality parameters of spring barley grain was studied. EC reduced grain protein content, increased extract, Kolbach index and also summary Malting quality index. Such effect was more pronounced under higher nitrogen dose, which generally worsened malting quality parameters. Reduced water availability slightly enhanced all malting quality parameters
and also showed slight synergistic effect to EC. No clear interactive effects on malting quality were found for nitrogen nutrition and water availability.

Sorghum is known for its ability to grow in localities with limited water supply. Not only plant structure but also balanced nutrition is important for coming through shortage water stress. Especially zinc plays role in plant dealing with water stress and this microelement appears to be suitable for improving sorghum biomass yield. The aim of this study was describing the effect of foliar zinc application in combination with nitrogen and sulphur fertilizations on green forage and dry matter sorghum yield in condition of small-plot experiment in Žabčice. Fertilizer with nitrification and urease inhibitors ALZON neo-N (contains nitrogen), fertilizer with nitrification inhibitor ENSIN (contains nitrogen and sulphur) and ZINKOSOL forte with ZnSO₄ form of zinc were used. Sulphur positive effect on sorghum yield did not prove but variants with zinc foliar application shown enhancing of sorghum biomass yield (but not significantly). The highest green forage yield (48.6 t/ha) and the highest dry matter yield (9 t/ha) was found in variant with application of ALZON neo-N and ZINKOSOL forte.

One research line into living wall system (LWS) focused now on use of suitable plants. It is very important to find the specific types of plants that are ideal for planting at the minimal costs. Vitality and prosper of each specific type is always based on climate, substrate, irrigation, fertigation, etc., therefore it is important to evaluate the plants for use in a specific LWS system and for specific site. In this experiment was used eight standards substrates to evaluate fifteen species and cultivars of plants suitable to be used on vertical green wall. At the beginning of vegetation was observed high conclusive differences between terms and side (exposure) were found. At the west side, there was a significantly reduced vitality compared to east side. During the season there were no significant increases or decreases in other terms. Between evaluation of individual species viability were found high conclusive differences. The highest adaptability had species Festuca glauca, together with the Sedum spectabile ´Stardust´. Another species with the higher adaptability and viability were Nepeta racemosa ´Walker´s Low´, Sempervivum arachnoideum, Sedum spectabile ´Matrona´. On the other hand, the worse adoption was at the species Heuchera, Carex comans and Festuca scoparia. Those species showed verifiable higher mortality than others.

The trend toward more efficient methods of compost production and handling requires a complete understanding of the process, the materials involved, and the physical parameters of the materials. This paper describes the evaluation of three compost bases recipes with different ratio/proportion of grape pomace grass and wooden chips. The results prove significant impact of input goods on nutrient content and grain composition of compost structure. The resulting values show that all variants of the proposed recipes meet the requirements of the standard ČSN 46 5735 “Industrial composts”. The highest content of macro elements was determined in the stock (Var.1) with predominance of marc and wood chips over other variants (K – 7150 mg/kg, Mg – 923.5 mg/kg, N – 1.96% and C_ox – 13.4%). On the other hand, in terms of particle size distribution, the largest share of elements of produced compost in the size fraction was 0–10 mm (77.72%) in Var.3 with a smaller portion of structural raw materials in the input. When it comes to the grain composition of compost, the highest share of elements of produced compost was in the size of fraction at the Var. 3 with lower share of structured input goods at the beginning.

Nutrition is one of the major concerns related to the world decline in honey bee populations as malnutrition in the honeybee is associated with immune system impairment and increased pesticide susceptibility. The aim of this study was to test the effect of biologically active substances (mixture of phenolic acids and flavonoids) on mortality of worker bees intoxicated by thiacloprid. The tests were carried out in vitro on caged bees. Significantly lower mortality rate was observed in intoxicated bees treated by a mixture of phenolic compounds compared with the intoxicated and the untreated bees. It resulted probably from increased detoxification abilities of bees (due to increased phenol content and antioxidant activity in bee bodies). Therefore, the addition of phenolic substances to bee nutrition can probably lead to increased detoxifying capacity of bees which is often reduced by malnutrition caused by degradation of environment and common beekeeping management.

Dogs may sometimes perform unwanted behaviour. Among the most frequent problematic behaviour for owners is dogs jumping on people. A little is known about factors that may be associated with the dogs jumping on people. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess whether the breed, dog size and living only with adults may affect dogs jumping on people. Two hundred and thirty jumping on people were examined. Terriers jumped on strangers on a walk and closely before feeding more often than other breeds (P < 0.05). Large dogs jumped on their household members closely before feeding less often than small dogs (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the dog’s breed and size may affect dogs jumping on people.

Dogs may sometimes show problematic behaviours. Among the most undesirable for owners is dog bites to the face. Little is known about factors that may be associated with the human behaviour closely before face bites. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to examine whether the presence of the dog’s owner, familiarity and location may affect the victim’s behaviour before face bites. One hundred and thirty-two face bites were examined. Familiarity (P = 0.07), location (P = 0.06)
and presence of the dog’s owner (P = 0.07) had a nearly significant effect on the incidence of face bites when the victim put his/her face close to the dog’s muzzle. In conclusion, familiarity, location and presence of owner may influence facial bites when the victim put his/her face close to the dog’s muzzle.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the Ladykiller and Cor de la Bryère lines in Czech Warmblood breeding. Offspring by stud horses authorized to operate in Czech Warmblood breeding were used to evaluate the significance of these breeding lines. The observed attributes for evaluating the quality of the stud horses and lines were the values of the basic body measurements of their offspring (SHW – stick height at withers, THW – tape height at withers, ChC – chest circumference and CBC – cannon bone circumference). The descendants of a total of 24 breeding stallions were compared, of which 14 were Holsteiners, four were Hanoverians, four were Czech Warmbloods and two were Bavarian Warmbloods. The group for comparison consisted of 804 descendants from the Czech Warmblood breed by these sires. An underlying database was created on the basis of information published on the website of the Association of Czech Warmblood Breeders.  The data were processed in the statistical programme Unistat 6.5 using a GLM linear model and the results obtained were subjected to multiple testing by the Tukey-B method. The influence of the line, the sire, the year of birth, the sire’s breed and sex on the basic body measurements of descendants were determined and compared. Evaluation by the GLM model revealed a high statistically conclusive influence of the sire on THW, ChC and CBC. The stud horses with the greatest influence on chest circumference were found to be the stallions Landino and Loutanos Orion. Cannon bone circumference is influenced most by the stud horse Caesar. Descendants from the 1994 year group have statistically highly conclusively greater cannon bone circumference, chest circumference and tape height at withers. The influence of the line was demonstrated in only one observed attribute: cannon bone circumference. Here the Cor de la Bryère line achieved statistically highly conclusively greater results than the Ladykiller line.

The aim of this study was to evaluate effect of boars on reproductive performance in sows, birth weight of piglets and losses of piglets from birth to weaning. Effect of three different boars marked A (Large White - sire line x Pietrain), B (Large White - sire line x Duroc) and C (Duroc) was observed. No statistically significant differences were found between the evaluated boars and their effect on reproductive performance and losses of piglets. Evaluation of boars’ effect on birth weight of piglets revealed statistically significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) between mean birth weight of piglets from the boar A (1.33 kg) and mean birth weight of piglets from the boar B (1.28 kg) and between the birth weight of gilts from the boar A (1.39 kg) and the birth weight of gilts from the boar B (1.23 kg). Another statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) was found between the birth weight of gilts from the boar B (1.23 kg) and the birth weight of gilts from the boar C (1.42 kg). The values of mean birth weight of piglets from the boar B (1.28 kg) and mean weight of piglets from the boar C (1.45 kg) were highly significantly different (P ≤ 0.01). Also the difference between the birth weight of gilts from the boar B (1.23 kg) and birth weight of boars from the boar C (1.48 kg) was highly statistically significant (P ≤ 0.01). The results document that the evaluated boars have a comparable effect on reproductive performance in sows and losses of piglets, on the contrary, the effect on birth weight of piglets was significantly different among the observed boars.

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of season of birth of females, their season of calving, as well as sex of calves and incidence of twins on the gestation length and milk yield during their first pregnancy and lactation. Data, 277 records, were collected from two farms located in northern and western Slovakia. The data in the herd “A” were collected in years 2006–2017, in the herd “B” in years 2014–2018. The herd “A” consisted of Slovak Spotted breed (127 records), the herd “B” consisted of black Holstein cows (150 records). Among observed environmental and animal factors were included: season of birth, season of calving, sex of the offspring and incidence of twins. Factor that reached at least to some degree statistical significance in relation to gestation length was season of calving in the both herds (P < 0.03; P < 0.06). 305-d milk yield tended to be influenced by season of calving (P < 0.09). Impact of season of calving on gestation length differed between studied herds. The herd “A” reached longest average gestation length at spring calving (286.66 ± 3.26 days), the herd “B” at autumn calving (278.49 ± 1.35 days). In the herd “A” calving season was associated with the highest milk production in summer (5876 ± 380 kg), however in the herd “B”, the most productive milk yield was reached in spring (9865 ± 269 kg). The physiological mechanisms of these changes are not clear, hence more research in larger scale is needed.

Oxalic acid is a powerful acaricide commonly used for the control of varroosis. The winter trickling of a bee colony constitutes an easy and effective treatment method leaving no harmful residues in bee products. Due to some scepticism in the Czech Republic about using oxalic acid for the winter treatment of a colony the object of the study was to verify this application under the Czech conditions and to test an alternative way of the oxalic acid application potentially reducing the winter disturbation of a colony. The results prove the high effectiveness (> 95%) of the trickling also under conditions in the Czech Republic including for newly proposed way of treatment not requiring a super unfolding. The results are discussed also in relation to the Czech beekeeping practice.

This paper is aimed at the effect of THI (temperature-humidity index) and SET (sum of effective temperatures) on the milk protein content and RCT (rennet coagulation time). Both of these milk traits have a direct influence on milk sales and therefore are very important for farmers. The experiment for this work took place on Mendel University farm between July and August 2018. In total 532 Holstein were included to this experiment. Environmental data (temperature and humidity) were collected by data logger placed in the stable. Data about milk quality were analysed from samples in the lactologic laboratory of Department of Animal Breeding of Mendel University in Brno. SET, as a one way to evaluate heat stress, had a bigger relation to the both RCT and protein content (r=-0.455; -0.330 respectively). The THI had a lower relation to both RCT and protein content (r=-0.197; -0.302 respectively) throughout the whole experiment.

The effect of feed mixture with increased content of anthocyanins was studied during this study. The experimental feed mixture contained 10% of wheat variety PS Karkulka flakes with purple pericarp. The 10% of common wheat variety Vanessa flakes was used in the control group. Both of feed mixtures were made in non-pelleted form. The 18 female rabbits were divided into two groups: experimental (n = 9) and control (n = 9). The trial was performed at the age of 42 days to day 103 of the rabbits’ age. The performance parameters and biochemical blood parameters were analysed after the slaughter. No significant differences (P > 0.05) between the control and experimental group in all performance parameters as average weight gain, carcass weight, carcass yield, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio was observed. The same trend was found in biochemical blood parameters. Based on the results, we can conclude that the 10% of purple wheat PS Karkulka flakes in diet had no significant effect on performance parameters and biochemical blood parameters and their inclusion in rabbits’ nutrition is safe.

Easier breeding and shortening of the lambing period is mainly achieved with the use of insemination with the preceding oestrus cycle synchronization. With these biotechnical methods we are thus able to estimate the time span of lambing. However, another topic closely tied to this issue is the length of pregnancy, which can depend on the breed, the age of the individual animal, the number of foetuses, etc. Higher accuracy in the pregnancy length estimation might again lead to easier breeding and higher quality reproduction. In this research were observed thirty five Zwartbles ewes (from 2017 to 2019), first synchronized using tough intravaginal sponges (hormonal) Chronogest, Ovigest and CIDR (Controlled internal drug release). Afterwards, the ewes were inseminated with fresh, diluted and chilled semen taken from four ram lineages. Due to writing down the exact time of insemination and, subsequently, the exact time of lambing in each individual animal, it was possible to evaluate and compare the pregnancy lengths in individual animals. The total pregnancy rate after insemination was 50% in 2017 and 64.7% in 2018. The pregnancy length ranged between 142 and 148 days, and most of the animals lambed down between the 143^rd and 146^th day of pregnancy.

Taurine is the main amino acid in sperm cells and seminal fluid. It plays role in antioxidant system, in capacitation of sperm, in membrane stabilization and improves sperm motility. Pigs have a very poorly developed thermoregulatory system. Boar thermoneutral zone renges form 12 to 20 °C. Temperatures above 23 °C are considered to thermal. In this study, Duroc boars where divided into two groups (n = 6). Control group was fed by basic diet (12.6 MJ/kg, 3.5 kg/day), experimental group was fed by basic diet with supplementation of 15 g taurine per boar per day. Monitored parameters of ejaculate were volume of ejaculate, concentration of sperm cells, total rate of sperm, motility of sperm and percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm. It has been found, that supplementation of 15 g taurine/boar/day had significant results in sperm motility. In omparison between groups, there can be observed statistically significant differences in motility in June by 0.47% (P<0.05) and July by 0.49% (P<0.05). However, supplementation of taurine into Duroc boar diet had no significant effect on quality and quantity of ejaculate.

The main objective of the performed experiments was assessment of susceptibility
and resistance poultry red mites (Dermanyssus gallinae), from two farms with cages system of egg-laying hens in the Czech Republic in 2019, against three commercially used acaricides (Milba STOP ultra, Elector, Poultry Shield) by Method No. 11 from IRAC (Insecticide Resistance Action Committee) Susceptibility Test Methods Series. This is in vitro direct contact method. According to the method concentrations of acaricides were used as follow: 0% (acetone only control); 4%; 20%; 100%; 500% of the recommended field application rates. All used commercial acaricides caused mortality of poultry red mites in all their stages of development. The assessment of susceptibility and resistance of PRM (Poultry Red Mites) against commercially used acaricides by Susceptibility rating scheme showed, that PRM were highly susceptible to acaricide Poultry Shield on the both farms, moderately resistant on the Farm 2 and highly resistant on the Farm 1 against acaricide Milba STOP ultra and highly resistant against acaricide Elector on both farms.

The presence of contaminants in milk may pose a great risk to consumer health. The aim of this work was to evaluate the presence of selected chemical contaminants (pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy metals, mycotoxins and dioxins) in raw milk samples of ruminant (n=12310). Results of monitoring data from the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic from 2005–2017 were used. The highest percentage of positive samples was found in PCBs (25.1%) and in dioxins (22.7%). A low percentage of positive samples was found for aflatoxin M1 (0.5%) in cow's milk. Although banned substances (e.g. lindane) are still detected in milk, their amounts do not exceed the maximum residue level.

This paper focuses on the stage of embryonic development determination after laying, based on the age of the parental flock of bearing type chicken. This study worked with a paternal flock of the Bovans Brown hybrid of 26 weeks of age. Fertilized eggs were extracted to determine the stage of embryonic development every two weeks from this age, until the parental flock reached the age of 52 weeks. Altogether, 780 fertilized eggs of Bovans Brown hybrid chickens were used in this study. After determination of the stage of embryonic development in given time frame, the study shows that during the 44^th and 52^nd week of age of the parental flock, there has been a statistically significant (P < 0.05) growth in the embryo from stage 10 to an average stage 10.8 and 10.4.

Ketosis is a serious metabolic disease in high-producing dairy cows. It causes not only other health problems but also economic losses. The aims of the study were to monitor the ketosis (especially according to blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration) and to draw a comparison between the hand-held device measuring with the laboratory methods. There were included 16 Holstein dairy cows in the trial. The animals were divided into two groups according to the Body Condition Score (BCS) – lower BCS group (BCS ≤ 3.5; n = 8) and higher BCS group (BCS ≥ 3.75; n = 8). Cows were observed once a week in almost 3 months. The first blood samples were collected by coccygeal venipuncture 2–3 weeks before the parturition (concentrations of triglycerides – TAG, non-esterified fatty acids – NEFA, β-hydroxybutyrate – BHB, total bilirubin – BILI, and activity of aspartate aminotransferase – AST and gamma-glutamyl transferase – GGT were determined). Another blood metabolic profile test was done at the end of the experiment that means 2 months after calving. In addition, the values of BHB and glucose (GLU) were measured by the FreeStyle Optium Neo hand-held device every week after calving till the end of the trial. According to the trial results, the higher concentrations of BHB were observed in the lower BCS group in the 2^nd and 3^rd week after parturition. Also, the low levels of glucose were observed in the lower BCS animals. The high correlation between laboratory and hand-held device measuring was calculated (r = 0.94, P < 0.01). The levels of most biochemical parameters were increased after parturition in both lower and higher BCS group. The incidence of ketosis was similar in both groups of cows.

The aim of the study was to compare the influence of two forms of selenium (sodium selenite, selenium nanoparticles) on the health status of animal organism. As model animals for this experiment males of the Wistar albino rat were selected and divided into 3 groups of 5 pieces. The first group (n = 5) served as control with no selenium (Se) addition. The second group was fed with mixture containing 1.2 mg/kg of diet of sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃). The third group (n = 5) was fed with mixture containing selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs, 1.2 mg Se/kg of diet). The experiment lasted 28 days, during which rats were regularly weighed. At the end of experiment animal were euthanized and samples of liver and small intestine tissue were collected and subjected to histological analysis. Histological analysis showed liver damage in all experimental groups (treated and non-treated) of rats. Another measured parameter was total content of selenium in blood and liver tissue. Analysis showed that the addition of selenium to the feed dose has an effect on increasing amount of selenium in the liver and blood tissues. However, statistically significant difference was observed only in group Na₂SeO₃ in blood (by 97%). From the results of regular weighing of rats during the experiment, it is apparent that the addition of selenium nanoparticles has no significant effect on weight gain.

The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of clinoptilolite as a feed supplement the fatty acid profile of rainbow trout muscle. A total of 180 rainbow trout were placed in twelve tanks of the volume of 160 l (15 fish in each). The duration of the experiment was 51 days. The industrially produced granular feed Biomar EFICO Enviro 920 Advance 4.5 mm was used as a base for the feed mixture. The clinoptilolite was mixed with commercial trout feed in five different rates (1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 6%). The control group was without the addition of clinoptilolite. Lipids for determination of the fatty acid profile were extracted with methanol-chloroform solution according to Folch et al. (1957). The lipid analysis of muscle samples was performed individually from six fish in each group. We found significant differences in the fatty acid content of fish muscles, but no differences in the relative fatty acid content were confirmed. In general, the addition of 3% clinoptilolite was different from other treatments and controls. The lowest n-3/n-6 fatty acid ratio was found in the control, while the addition of clinoptilolite increased this ratio. For human nutrition, fish is indispensable as a valuable source of quality animal protein and fat. Fish fat is a rich in n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. The composition of the fatty acid groups depends on the diet, age or environmental conditions. The composition of fatty acid spectrum in fish can be adjusted by special diet with some additives such as clinoptilolite.

The effect of tonalide, known as polycyclic musk compound, was studied on rainbow trout. Total of 65 individuals were acclimatized and consequently exposed to two tonalide concentrations – one environmentally-relevant (854 µg/kg); the second one 10× higher for evaluation of dose-dependent effect (8,699 µg/kg). The tonalide was incorporated into feed and fish were fed twice a day in amount 1% of their body weight. After six weeks of experimental phase, fish were sampled for gaining data for the biometrical, haematological, biochemical and oxidative stress analysis and for evaluation of endocrine disruption using plasma vitellogenin. In conclusion, the biochemical and oxidative stress parameters did not revealed any changes. In haematological profile, only the haematocrit was increased as reaction on both concentrations of tonalide. The endocrine disruption caused by tonalide was not observed in rainbow trout.

The high amount of sediments in ponds is a common problem in Czechia. In most cases, pond owners are not able to manage this problem neither financially, nor organizationally or professionally. An innovative solution could be a product that is able to decompose organic deposits directly on the bottom and in the water column using natural, unmodified microbial assemblages. The aim of the experiment was to evaluate the ability of a bacterial-enzymatic preparation to decompose pond sediments and to investigate the influence of this preparation on the quality and overall composition of sediments and water. According to our experiment the decomposition of pond sediments during the application of the preparation is not demonstrable. Our experiment did not confirm any significant effect of the product on the quality of the water in aquatic environment during the application of the products. However, the experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions, the results of this experiment do not fully correspond to the results that can be obtained in ponds under natural conditions.

The aim of the study was to determine the main factors influencing phytoplankton in Zámecký fishpond in Lednice (South Moravia, Czech Republic) during years 2016 and 2017. Taxa were classified in eight divisions and six morphologically based functional groups (MBFG II-VII). Redundancy analysis of taxonomic groups revealed a positive relation of total phosphorus (explaining 21.4% of total variability) with cyanobacteria and cryptophytes, and negative with diatoms and chlorophytes. The model including functional groups and selected environmental variables (explaining 53.5% of variability) showed a negative correlation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen to soluble reactive phosphorus ratio with groups MBFG III and VII, and positive correlation of the total nitrogen with the same functional groups. Results also showed that the most dominant taxonomic group – cyanobacteria – was affected by phosphorous concentrations.

Salmonid fishes are an important element of freshwater ecosystems in upper river basins, not least as they also play an important role in recreational fishing. In this study, I undertook an assessment of theoretical numbers and the economic value of salmonid stocks in northeastern fishing grounds. Summaries of angling catches served as a proxy for the first goal, while two methodologies were applied for assessing their monetary value. Angling catches strongly suggest a decline in the numbers of brown trout and grayling caught each year, while numbers of rainbow and brook trout have generally increased due to compensatory stocking. The theoretical monetary value salmonids was approximately 31 000 € according to the Czech Anglers Union’s methodology (food value only), and 55 000 € according to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic’s methodology (food, breeding, genetic and trophy value), based on 6.2 tonnes caught in 2018. Anthropogenic factors, climatic change and increasing occurrence of fish predators all play an important role in this negative assessment and collaboration between stakeholders may be the only way to address this situation.

In the past, one of the basic components of fish feed was fish meal and other meals of animal origin. Thanks to a good amino acid profile, fish meal is one of the most advantageous sources of protein. Due to the reduced availability and relatively high price of fish meal and restrictions
of the use of other feeds of animal origin, there have been efforts to replace these with alternative components of plant origin. However, plant components in fish feed carry limitations due to anti-nutrients. One of these is phytic acid, a phytate binding phosphorus. Phosphorus is essential for plants and animals. It is a component of nucleic acids and plays a role in the metabolism of lipids, saccharides and proteins. Phytate cannot be used by monogastric animals and fish because
their digestive tracts lack the enzyme phytase needed to separate phosphorus from the phytic acid molecule. Undigested phosphorus excreted into water further contributes to the eutrophication. The ideal solution for increasing the digestibility of phosphorus from phytate is to add a phytase enzyme to compound feeds for fish. Phytases are commonly found in nature. Plants contain endogenous phytase which helps the plant grow during germination. Microbial phytases are generally more active than endogenous phytases. Phytase activity is affected by temperature and pH. Most phytases exhibit the greatest activity between a pH of 2.5–5.5. Fish without a stomach are not able to actively utilize phytase additives. A solution may be to acidify compound feeds with organic acids. Another limiting factor is the temperature in which phytases act. The maximum temperature at which industrially produced phytases are active is 46–60 °C. During the production of compound feeds by extrusion, this limit tends to be exceeded, resulting in denaturation of the enzyme.
The addition of phytase and organic acids and the use of proper technological processes when manufacturing fish compound feeds may be a solution in the effort to increase the use of phytate phosphorus in feed and thus reduce water pollution.

In 2019, we initiated a research focusing on sawflies in the south of Central Slovakia at the Upland called Cerová vrchovina. During this investigation we found three new species for Slovakia. Up to date, 654 species are recorded from this country. Euura calcicola (Benson, 1948) is for the first time reported from the Carpathian Basin. Furthermore, Aprosthema austriacum (Konow, 1892) and Pseudocephaleia praeteritorum (Semenov, 1934) are new findings for Slovakia.

The article evaluates the importance of agroecosystems (ie. fields and pastures) for nesting preferences of house martin. From the faunistic database Czech Society for Ornithology (CSO) were gathered 12 094 records concerning the nesting of house martin from 2009 to 2017 in the Czech Republic. The data about the occurrences was paired to data containing environmental condition. The boosted regression trees (BRT) and the generalized least squares method (GLS) were used for data analysis. The main result of this study showed that agroecosystems represent an important part of house martin living space. Our results also revealed that occurrence of house martin sharply increased with increasing percentages of pastures and after exceeding 30% the trend stabilized. In contrast, the occurrence of house martin rapidly increased after the area of the field reached 50% compared to other land uses. Based on the results we can conclude that a landscape suitable for survivor of house martin must consist from suitable combination of fields and pastures.

True bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) were intensively studied in the Cerová vrchovina Upland during the last two years (2018 and 2019). The species richness of the area is weakly known with only 116 published species. In our study, the records of 80 species are presented and 40 species of them are firstly reported from the area. The most interesting species of them are discussed.

The paper listed distribution data of all species of the genus Nemorhaedus, combining 257 field observations supplemented by information from the labels on the museum specimens. The localities data are defined by GPS coordinates and altitude. The species determination was carried out on the basis of the pelage colour characters, which allows work directly in the field.

The greylag goose is a nesting bird species of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic makes few divided nesting populations. By the morphological differences, the greylag goose bird species has been divided into three subspecies. This pilot study aimed to determine the genetic structure of this species using variability in microsatellite loci, with the main focus on populations in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic with a future goal to determine how the geese populations mix. We used microsatellites from feathers of 27 bird individuals collected from 8 different nesting areas. The basic parameters of genetic variability were determined, the overall observed heterozygosity was 0.42 and polymorphic information content 0.52. The genotypic analysis revealed that an optimized panel of 6 microsatellites is suitable for studying diversity in this population.

The new larger nest site of Colletes inexpectatus was discovered for the first in the Czech Republic. Obtained numerous material of this species was used for study of the species bionomy. It resulted that C. inexpectatus is not oligolectic on Fabaceae and its nest parasite is Epeolus variegatus. We proposed reclassification of the threat of C. inexpectatus in the Czech Republic and recommend the natural protection of the habitat.

The research consisted of two parts. In the first part, the influence of the microclimate of hibernating hiding place (shade of shells) on the gregarious hibernation was solved and thus possible explanation of the formation of unusual social behaviour in these predatory species. In the second part, the presence/absence of spider species of interest – Pellenes tripunctatus (Walckenaer, 1802) and P. nigrociliatus (Simon, 1875) were observed at localities without calcareous bedrock, respectively without natural presence of gastropods by using scattered empty shells. The results showed that P. nigrociliatus also occurs at localities with acidic bedrock (27.59% occupancy of shells). It is interesting that individuals overwintered in larger shells of Caucasotachea vindobonensis (Férussac, 1821) despite the more frequent overwintering and affinity to the shell of Xerolenta obvia (Menke, 1828), what is mentioned in previous works. Up to 59.38% of individuals chose a larger shell. It has not been confirmed that the microclimate of shells affects group wintering. The white shells were the most inhabited (25.74%), but mainly by one individual, the brown shells were the least inhabited (17.61%). Regarding to gregarious hibernation, uncoloured shells were the most inhabited (20.65%). The highest number in the group of overwintering individuals was six individuals of P. tripunctatus.

The aim of the work was to evaluate selected directions od sewage sludge management such as composting, anaerobic stabilization and thermal conversion-combustion of sludge. The Hierarchy Process Analysis (AHP) method was used for assessment. The whole assessment was based on a multicriteria approach considering a number of characteristic parameters. The most important criteria for the assessment was the sterilization of sewage sludge and the reduction of waste mass. The remaining assessment criteria include the content of organic matter and the humidity of the process residue. As a result of the analysis, a compilation containing assessments for accepted development directions was created. This allowed to determine that the process of thermal treatment of sewage sludge best meets the accepted criteria of analysis.

Crop-management factor (C) is essential part of average annual soil loss calculation by USLE. Several methods were developed due to lack of optimal data required in original methodology. For designing optimal crop rotation expressed by C factor is presented methodology of calculation average annual soil loss over permissible limits for representative drainage subbasins of land parcel and C factor limits in combination with STD-C tool. This methodology brings a good opportunity for erosion control measures designing in land use planning with reflecting geographic location and local climate conditions and enables adequate allocation of financial expense for erosion control.

Content of suspended solids analysed in several Czech and Slovak rivers exhibit two peaks: in summer caused by heavy rainfall, in spring caused by snow melting. As a critical period were identified after harvest and snow melting period (August–April). Methodology of average annual soil loss (G_NG) calculation in after harvest period (AH) is presented. Rainfall erosivity factor for AH represents 34.4% of average annual R factor, R_AH = 15.4 MJ/ha x cm/h. Average snow melting erosivity value is R_SM = 36.6 cm x mm/day. Results show that 49.7% of arable land exceeds the permissible limits (G_P) by an average of 6.4 t/ha/yr. If fallow land condition is evaluated then 72.7% of arable land exceeds G_P by an average of 15.7 t/ha/yr. It proved that G_P values can be exceeded only in AH period and even only during snow melting in March or April.

This paper discusses and evaluates the results of the impact of several types of cover materials on soil erosion in the vineyards in the Czech Republic. The experiment included a comparison of three variants for soil runoff and soil washdown in the rows of vineyards with a slope of 17.4%. In two variants, the cover materials used were crushed grain straw (var. A, 1200 g/m²) and compost (var. B, 2000 g/m²). The third control variant (var. C) consisted of cultivated interlayer without cover material. For the purposes of experimental measurements, a rainfall simulator was used, simulations were performed using a FullJet nozzle with a wide square spray, at a spray pressure of 0.8 bar and a selected intensity of 120 mm/h. Out of evaluated variants, the lowest cumulative surface runoff values were measured for variant A with a straw cover and corresponded to 8655.66 ml/m², as well as soil washdown values of 8.84 ml/m². The results of the statistical evaluation showed a significant difference between all evaluated variants. In the case of surface runoff, var. A decreases to 7.5% and var. B to 56.6% compared to control variant C. For soil washdown, it decreases to 4.6% for variant A and B at 55.0% compared to control var. C.

The aim of this study is quantification and evaluation of surface runoff and water retention capacity of the landscape depending on land cover in Janovice u Frýdku-Místku in Moravia. For that selected catchment area were analyzed land cover, hydrological, geomorphological and hydropedological conditions using geographical information system (GIS) tools and database data. In the analysis were also identified 8 critical points in this area, where the concentrated surface runoff enters into the village. In the next step water retention capacity was evaluated in selected catchment area with current land cover as well as the volume of direct runoff in watersheds of determined critical points. In selected catchment area there were designed adaptation measures and the significance of land cover change was determined in relation to the water retention capacity of the landscape and direct runoff. Both the water retention capacity and the runoff were calculated using the CN curve number method and the hydrological model DesQ-MaxQ.

This research was focused onto food waste composting with some additives. It studies the impact of additive on the process of food waste composting. Additives used were sawdust and biochar. Composting samples were cooked potatoes, cooked rice and vegetables. The objective of this study was to compare 6 composts of different compositions. A–100% food waste, B–10% sawdust and 90% food waste, C–10% sawdust from rat’s litter and 90% food waste, D–20% sawdust and 80% food waste, E–40% sawdust and 60% food waste and F–10% sawdust + 10% biochar and 80% food waste. The process of composting took 63 days and the composts were tested for physicochemical properties (temperature, pH, electrical conductivity) and biological properties (phytotoxicity test). The research results revealed that the concentration of 20% sawdust as additive was optimal for food waste compost because the compost exhibited the optimum pH and EC value, and the test of phytotoxicity proved the best results, too. The concentration of 20% sawdust was better than the concentration of 40% sawdust as the latter represented a large volume quantity.

Most fen and wet-meadow habitats in the Czech Republic have been transformed by drainage, fertilizers inputs and ploughing for agriculture purposes. At nowadays, despite regular management measures at many sites, we can see qualitative deterioration and gradual area loss of the low-productive wetland habitats. Using local historical vegetation data and current data, we demonstrate changes in studied natural habitats at 24 localities within southeastern Bohemian-Moravian Highlands after twenty years. The original habitats were found as same only at three localities, while the rest of localities changed somehow. Less than two-thirds of fens and wet meadows remained preserved up today, whereas a significant area changed into mesic meadows, reed beds, willow carrs, young alder forests or even ruderal vegetation, tree plantations or arable land. The main cause of degradation is mainly the abandonment of the traditional use, resulting in eutrophication and succession leading to above mentioned secondary habitats. Moreover, the deliberate destruction of the habitats for agriculture or forestry use was also documented.

This paper deals with the state of territorial systems of ecological stability in the territory of the municipality with extended competence, Hodonín, which manages 18 municipalities, each of which has one cadastral area. Specifically, this looks at five municipalities: Čejč, Čejkovice, Mutěnice, Starý Poddvorov, Nový Poddvorov. It analyses the situation at the time of planning and today, considering the state of implementation of the planned network. Orthophoto images and field survey were used for verification. The results were then displayed using ArcGIS. The results show that 76.7% of the proposed areas for TSES already exist, 6.9%, partly exist and 16.4% do not exist at all. In further analyses it is necessary to broaden the analysis to the verification of target communities and the correct proportions of individual elements according to the approved methodology.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method that allows a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of the process of extracting raw materials, manufacturing specific products from them, using and managing waste resulting from them. The increase in the mass of small household appliances introduced to the market raises the question of the environmental effects of their manufacture and use. In addition, it is essential from a cognitive point of view to know if recycling of certain components of the e-waste device can offset the negative effects on the environment. Three different iron models were subjected to the comprehensive LCA analysis. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the negative effect on the environment in the case of an iron was determined by the phase of its use in the household. Moreover, it was revealed that the design of irons allows recycling of very few of their components, which did not compensate for environmental damage resulting from the process of production and operation of these appliances.

Municipal solid waste landfills represent sources of anthropogenic pollution
of the environment. Waste degradation gives rise to leachates, which are source of pollutants. Landfill leachate are processed by using various methods. One of them being return of leachates into the landfill body, other methods include purification of leachates in the wastewater treatment plant, and there are also newly emerging trends of leachate processing by using the method of phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is a technology of gentle removal of pollutants from the environment by means of higher plants. Reasons for the development of this method lie mainly in achieving lower costs of decontamination. We performed a flowerpot test to demonstrate that ecotoxicity of leachates from the landfill can be reduced. In the test, we assessed the vitality of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.). Pollutants monitored in this research were primarily heavy metals. The dilution of added leachate were 20%, 50%, 75%, 90% and 100%. The goal of this work was to describe the response of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) to the application of leachate during the simultaneously conducted targeted experiment focused on increasing the phytoremediation potential of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.)
and on increasing affinity of heavy metals by the plant by using controlled LED illumination. Based on the research, the positive effect of LED lighting on the biomass growth of the white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) was apparent. The highest growth stimulation occurred at a dilution of 20% of added leachate. It is clear that LED lighting had a beneficial effect on biomass growth and plant vitality compared
 to the natural lighting experiment.

This paper consists of two parts: i. analysis of phenological data ii. calculation of the protective effect value of vegetation. Crops with low ground cover were analysed i.e. maize, potato and sugar beet. Phenological data were obtained from direct phenological observations of the Czech Hydro-meteorological Institute. The period 1990–2012 was analysed at maize and potatoes. A shorter period was analysed at sugar beet namely the period 1992–2012. Outline of the possibilities of using phenological data from phenological observations in calculation of soil erosion is the aim of this paper. Phenology can be understood as a tool for detecting changes in the development of vegetation while recent global warming. It was found that phenological data in individual years show great variability. Primarily the influence of vintage has a significant influence on the onset of phenological phases and conducting agricultural operations. The length of growing period of the crop has a major influence on the resulting value of the protective effect of vegetation (C factor). The higher value of the C factor was found at the shorter growing season. The largest percentage difference between short a long growing season was found in sugar beet and to 17.60% (locality Kroměříž). If we are able to reduce the value of one element of the equation through crop management (in this case C factor), then the total erosion value is reduced by a given percentage.

The field experiment assessing the effect of biochar application on physical and hydro-physical properties of soil was performed at the Research station Vatín. Observed variants of biochar on the experiment were: a) without application of biochar, b) the dose of biochar was 15 t/ha, 30 t/ha and 45 t/ha. Biochar is charcoal biomass, its composition and properties depend on the input material and the process of pyrolysis. The higher dose of biochar in soil significantly decreases bulk density but porosity increases. At the depth of 15 cm, a significant difference between the porosity in the control variant (51.40%) and in the variant 45 t/ha (54.39%) was determined. As far as the effect of biochar doses on field capacity is concerned, it was found out that at the depths of 5 and 15 cm, the highest average values of field capacity were after the biochar application of 30 t/ha. In the crop rotation without manure application and clover growing, the difference in field capacity among the control variant, 15 t/ha, 30 t/ha and 45 t/ha was significant at the depth of 15 cm. In the crop rotation
with manure usage and clover growing, a noticeable difference was noted between field capacity in the control variant (27.02%) and in the variant 30 t/ha (31.39%).

Landfilling of municipal solid waste (MSW) and waste handling in the landfill may be risk of pollution to the environment. Rainwater which does not fall into the open landfill body should not be contaminated with pollutants from waste and therefore, it is stored in a separate rainwater pond. There is however a risk that the precipitation water will come into contact with contaminants, which might occur on the landfill site (handling surfaces, access roads etc.). The pond is isolated from the surrounding environment by the HDPE foil. Because water from the rainwater pond can be used for watering e.g. the poplar plantation in the landfill site, it is necessary to evaluate its possible toxicity. This study focuses on the assessment of landfill rainwater effects on plant material. Phytotoxicity was assessed in modified semichronic tests with the seeds of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) and white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) Vital seeds were cultivated on Petri dishes in laboratory conditions in the solution of landfill rainwater at various concentrations. Inhibition or stimulation of root growth was evaluated through calculation and comparison of seed root lengths from reference samples and tested samples. The tests demonstrated higher susceptibility of Sinapis alba L. to contamination as compared with Cannabis sativa L. The lowest value of mustard seed inhibition was recorded in March at a concentration of 20%. Values of inhibition were high in all tests with Sinapis alba L. (up to 89.5%). Inhibition in Cannabis sativa L. seeds from September, October and November was high. The tests with the use of Sinapis alba L. did not show any stimulation of root growth. In some cases, Cannabis sativa L. could resist the toxic influence of water samples and it was recorded growth stimulation of up to 33.2%. Results of the tests of landfill rainwater toxicity were fluctuating and pointing to the contamination of this water.

Instead of the quality raw material – grapes, the quality of wines can be fundamentally influenced by the technological conditions applied in the wine process. It is the fermentation of musts by using the autochthonous or active (selected) wine yeast, different length and temperature applied during maceration and temperature during fermentation process (below 15 ºC, up to 20 ºC) as well. The main aim of these measurements is to propose an optimal procedure of wine production and focus on their analytical parameters and aromatic character.

Phthalic acid esters are used as plasticizers for plastics. These plastics can also be used as food packaging. Our aim was determined the concentrations of phthalic acid esters in food packagings purchased in the Czech Republic. Two phthalic acid esters, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were detected on high-performance liquid chromatography. Foods from which the packages were analyzed were: potato croquettes, pommes frites, fish fillets in oil, two types of cheese, coffee cream, sunflower bread, puffed rice bread, spreadable vegetable fat, hazelnut spread, goulash soup, salt crackers, dried meat, olives, lentils with smoked meat, salted wafers, half dipped biscuits, beef broth, frozen puff pastry. The highest average DBP concentration was found in food packaging: soft transparent plastic without print (from puffed rice bread), type of material polypropylene, 335.03 µg/g of plastic. The lowest average DBP concentration was found in food packaging: lower hard plastic (from fish fillets), type of material unspecified, 0.72 µg/g of plastic. And the highest average concentration of DEHP was found in food packaging, outer plastic packaging with print (from lentils with smoked meat), type of material other plastic, 157.73 µg/g of plastic. And the lowest concentration of DEHP was found in the food packaging: white hard plastic bowl without print (from lentils with smoked meat), type of material polypropylene, 2.08 µg/g of plastic. In some cases, high concentrations of phthalic acid esters have been found, therefore we recommend replacing phthalic acid esters with a less toxic alternative.

Gelatine is a partial hydrolysate of collagen obtained from pre-treated raw material extracted in distilled water at higher temperatures. Its excellent functional properties predestine it for various applications not only in the food industry but also in further sectors. Technological conditions of the preparation process may influence gelatine structure and thus its quality. That is mainly assessed by gelatine gel strength and its thermal stability which was tested in this study. Chicken skin gelatines (CSG) were gained by enzymatic pre-treatment of the feedstock followed by extraction at five different temperatures. Series of CSG gels were prepared and their thermal stability was tested at three different temperatures (23, 29 and 35 °C). Changes in gelatine gel strength were monitored. What is more, results of CSG were compared with commercial beef and pork food-grade gelatines. The highest thermal stability was observed within CSG70 (CSG extracted at the temperature of 70 °C) at the temperature of 23 °C, within CSG50 at the temperature of 29 °C and CSG40 at the temperature of 35 °C. The lowest thermal stability was recorded in CSG80. These results have shown that thermal stability of CSG gels is comparable or even better than the one of commercial gelatines. Therefore, CSG provides a wide range of applications, particularly in the food industry, i.e. in confectionery.

In this experiment, three groups of frankfurters with different recipe composition were produced. The pork backfat was partially replaced by fish oil to compare the differences among individual groups from the point of view better nutritional and quality parameters. Frankfurters included control group without and groups with 1.5% and 3.0% of fish oil. The addition of fish oil had a positive effect on fatty acid profile of products, especially on n-6 : n-3 ratio. The significant differences were also found in value of total colour difference (dE*_ab) of frankfurters with fish oil addition to control, the change in the recipe has made higher lightness (L*) values. Despite that some of sensory parameters were negatively influenced by typical fishy odour of added oil, fish oil has a potential to successfully replace pork fat in some meat products.

The aim of this study was to monitor the effect of additives on strength, color, water release and whiteness of egg albumen gels prepared from hen eggs. It was prepared albumen gels with additions of 3% sugar + 3% salt and 6% salt were selected. Albumen gels were prepared using temperatures of 80 and 90 °C in combination with a heat treatment time of 30 or 60 minutes. The highest strength of albumen gel (3.62 N) was obtained with a sample containing 3% sugar + 3% salt at 90 °C with a heat treatment time of 30 minutes, while the lowest strength (1.49 N) showed a sample with addition 6% salt/80 °C/60 min. The water release ranged from 0.0057 kg/m³ (without addition/30 min/90 °C) to 0.0353 kg/m³ (6% salt/30 min/80 °C and 6% salt/60 min/90 °C). The largest color difference being found in a sample containing 3% sugar + 3% salt/60 min/90 °C (4.58 slightly disturbing). The whiteness of the albumen gels of all samples ranged from 83.01 (without addition/60 min/90 °C) to 88.47 (3% sugar + 3% salt/30 min/90 °C).

Traditional Czech sausage „Špekáček” was prepared with pharmaceutical cod liver oil as a replacement for pork back fat. Pharmaceutical cod liver oil acts as a source of EPA and DHA fatty acids. Fish oil was incorporated directly to meat emulsion in cutter in amount 1.5% and 3.0%. Basic chemical analysis was performed (the content of protein, fat, salt and dry matter). Fatty acid profile was also determined. The amount of EPA and DHA was gradually increased with the addition of fish oil (p < 0.05). Instrumental measurement of texture and colour was executed. Sausages with added oil in amount 3.0% had higher L* value than control (p < 0.05). Microbiological analysis was performed 21 days after processing, the microbial population was low and sausages were microbiologically acceptable. Hedonic test was used for sensory analysis. Heated sausages with fish oil (1.5%, 3.0%) were evaluated worse in taste against control (p < 0.05). Evaluators have responded positively to unheated sausages with fish oil (3.0%). This shows that meat products that are consumed unheated (bologna salami, fermented salami) have a greater potential in fat replacement with fish oil.

Chicken stomachs are by-products of the meat industry which are obtained when the poultry is processed in the slaughterhouse; they are animal tissue that contains fat, minerals and proteins (mainly collagen). Chicken stomachs can be used for the preparation of hydrolysates and gelatines of different molecular weight and subsequently applied mainly in the pharmaceutical-, cosmetic- and food industry. The aim of the study was to verify the possibility of extracting gelatines from chicken stomachs after pretreatment with proteolytic enzyme Protamex. Prior to extraction, accompanying non-collagenous proteins were removed from chicken stomachs using 0.2 M NaCl and 0.03 M NaOH. The mixture was then defatted with acetone and Lipolase. The purified collagen was then treated with a proteolytic enzyme and the gelatine was extracted with hot water. The influence of selected technological conditions, which mainly influenced gel strength and process yield, was studied. The extraction conditions were: amount of enzyme added (0.0–0.9%), extraction temperature (63–69 °C) and extraction time (1–3 hours). The process yield was 38.80 to 95.90% and the gel strength of hydrolysates/gelatines was 0 to 155 Bloom. The prepared gelatines (with a gel strength of 50–155 Bloom) would be suitable for application in the food industry for the manufacture of confectionery or in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of soft gelatine capsules.

The present work examines the effects of storage conditions on the colour stability of Tuzemák, a typical Czech alcoholic drink. The measurements were carried out over a period of 24 months. Samples were stored in bottles made of dark and clear glass and were stored in two different temperature modes, 20 °C and 6 °C, with light allowed in, light not allowed in, and lighting with an LED bulb. During the storage period, the dynamics of the colour changes were determined using a Konica Minolta CM 3500d spectrophotometer. The measured value was lightness L*(D65). The results confirmed that storage conditions have a significant influence and effect on the stability and permanence of the colour of alcoholic drinks. In the samples, the parameter L*(D65) ranged between 83.32 and 92.22. Storage with no light (in the dark) at a low temperature (± 6 °C) and using a dark bottle as a container was found to be the best combination for ensuring maximum colour stability. The influence of light and temperature on storage was less pronounced in dark bottles than in the clear bottles where the lightening of the product was more obvious.

UV–light as a ubiquitous part of solar radiation belongs to abiotic stress factors. It is a long time known that light within this spectrum could damage many parts of the cells. Here we have focused on the tolerance of the Arabidopsis mutant lines with impaired UV–light signalling to specific UV–light source. Two independent lines with a mutation in the UVR8 gene with particular wild type plants were used and cultivated under 2 lamps emitting in UV–B light spectrum. Our results show that UV–B light damage plantlets leave and reduce the rosette area. This effect was more pronounced in lines with impaired UV–B signalling showing the importance of the functional UVR8 signalling in process of the protection plants against UV–B light treatment.

In vitro storage of genetic materials is crucial for multiplication and breeding reasons. It prevents loosing valuable genotypes, which can happen due to biotic and abiotic effects while in vivo planting. Conventional in vitro storage of Petunia hybrida and Calibrachoa genotypes is labor and cost effective. Three explants are usually cultivated in one glass Erlenmeyer flask with MS Cultivation medium with 20 g/l saccharoses and 6 g/l agar added. Passaging needs to be done four times a year. The aim of this experiment was to determine a way how to store genotypes of vegetative propagated Petunia hybrida (diploid and tetraploid materials) and Calibrachoa in the conditions, so only one passaging will be needed. Stored material must regenerate fast, so it can be used promptly in breeding programs or experiments.

Unicellular algae are promising organisms potentially suitable for plethora of biotechnological applications. However, currently utilized methods of biomolecule delivery are limiting factor for broader utilization of the microalgae in genetic and metabolomic engineering. Currently utilized methods are often inefficient and result in cellular damage with accompanying difficulties with consequent regeneration. In order to overcome the barrier of the cell wall and membrane, nanomaterials can be employed in order to deliver molecular cargo. Within this study, we evaluated influence of different Au nanomaterials with and without surface modifications on viability and growth in order to select suitable material for delivery of genetic material into the unicellular alga Ch. reinhardtii.

Seed germination is a crucial phase of plant's life, which may be affected by multiple factors. Most importantly, seed performance is defined by seed vitality, which is strongly affected by the seed maturation environment. Thus, unfavourable environmental conditions may be negatively projected in both maternal plant growth and next generation performance. Recently, drought is one of the most important sources of abiotic stress, causing significant yield losses. However, the effects of drought stress on the quality of produced seeds are understood poorly. In this work, we focused on the seed performance and proteome composition of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds produced under drought stress conditions. Our results suggest that the drought stress causes reduction in seed dormancy level, corresponding with faster seed germination of freshly harvested seeds and  higher mortality of artificially aged seeds. The proteomic analysis revealed more than 50 canditate proteins. Among others, we found significant changes in proteins ensuring seed desiccation tolerance and protein folding, as well as abscisic acid and gibberellin responsive proteins.

Catalases (CAT) are family of important antioxidant enzymes present in different isoforms and responsible for scavenging of hydrogen peroxide in almost all aerobically living organisms. In plants, they were found both in unicellular and multicellular species. Here, we performed bioinformatics analysis and analysed catalase evolutionary relationship and expression patterns. By comparing expression profiles of CATs and expression profiles of genes related to abiotic stimuli we found that almost 50% of light signalling genes were co-expressed with CATs. Further, by datamining in available resources and structural modelling we pinpointed candidate amino acid residues responsible for CAT thermostability.

Heat shock proteins are important proteins which have a complex role in organisms. Here, we performed bioinformatics analysis of a HSP70 family protein found in root pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae. We aligned HSPs sequences from 13 organisms and determined approximate time of protein divergence for three of them. Further, a closer characterization of orthologues in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed a putative role of P. brassicae HSP70 in suppressing host’s defence mechanisms.

To verify the effect of artificial LED lighting, especially the possibility of setting its spectral composition and intensity on rooting cuttings an experiment with three model plants was established. The effect on the chlorophyll content of the leaves during rooting as well as the formation of roots, their length and the overall rooting percentage of cuttings were studied. Based on the results it is not possible to clearly determine the positive effect of the investigated intensities and spectral composition of light on the rooting of cuttings. The model plants reacted differently to the experimental conditions. The best results were achieved with the model plant Forsythia intermedia 'Maluch', where plants placed in the variant Blue 75% achieved the highest percentage of rooting and the highest score of the number of roots.

Apical dominance in plants is a phenomenon enabling to accommodate to environmental factors and compete with other plant species for living space. The aim of this work was to obtain more details in regulatory system of cotyledonary bud outgrowth of pea plants (Pisum sativum L.). Plantlets were studied after decapitation of the shoot apex and removal of cotyledons and their subsequent substitution with agar gel containing different substances. Experiments were performed in light and dark conditions. The obtained results proved that auxin could regulate outgrowth of pea cotyledonary buds. Furthermore, cotyledons could regulate bud outgrowth depending on light or dark conditions.

Circadian clock is the endogenous mechanism that allows organisms to time different processes during the day/night cycles. The presence of the system among the various domains of life proves its fundamental importance for organismal growth and survival. For plants, as sessile organisms, this system is even more important than in animals because they cannot easily escape from biotic and abiotic stimuli. Plant internal clock helps them to anticipate changes in their environment,
but an unexpected change of environmental stimuli can result in damage or even can be lethal for them. Here, to further study the changes in diurnal rhythmicity in the line with disrupted light perception, we employed integrated LC-MS proteomic and GC-MS metabolomic profiling to comparatively analyze Arabidopsis thaliana mutant line phyB and its corresponding wild type. Results revealed 682 proteins with a significant change of protein abundance in the day/night phase, including a disrupted regulation of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase accumulation and possible induction of sugar metabolism.

Changing climatic conditions have placed a challenge for plants to survive in adverse growth conditions. These environmental conditions are affecting both soil and plant health. One of the main focus of this study was to observe the properties of different soil substrates as water retention and homogeneity of drying of different soil substrates. Steckmedium substrate was observed as a better candidate for growing plants in abiotic stress condition. Another aim of this study was to observe the effect of drought conditions on plant. It was found that unavailability of water resulted in retarded growth of plant however the negative effects of drought can be reverted back if water application is done before they cross their threshold level of survival from dehydration.

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) belongs among proinflammatory cytokines that are produced by activated macrophages as an immune response of the organism. Therefore, IL-1β could serve as a possible biomarker of a bacterial infection caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia. In this study, we applied matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) together with immunohistochemical analyses (IHC) using primary antibody anti-IL-1β for IL-1β detection in cryo-sectioned pulmonary tissues. Using MALDI MSI, we detected and spatially visualized the tryptic fragment of IL-1β. This IL-1β tryptic fragment was more frequently detected in infected pulmonary tissues compared to healthy pulmonary tissue except one necrotic lung tissue where was not revealed the statistically significant difference. IHC confirmed the occurrence of IL-1β in necrotic pulmonary tissues. This knowledge could be useful for further clinical studying as a targeted therapy.

To better understanding the pathogenesis of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) infection in pigs, expression of cytokines and chemokines at the protein level was detected by immune-histochemical method (IHC) and method of immunofluorescence (IF) in different parts of the lungs of infected pigs. Production of pro-inflammatory mediators in the lungs is an important feature of APP infection. In this work we focused on pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-alpha and chemokines CCL2, CCL4 and CXCL14. Four pigs were inoculated intranasally with APP infection, pigs were sacrificed according to the development of clinical signs of infection. Significant increase in cytokine expression of IL-8, less IL-1beta was detected in frozen-sections of necrotic areas (NA) of infected lungs, however expression of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in NA of the lungs was not detected. In the areas bordering on necrotic areas – marginal zone (MZ) and visually unaffected areas (UA) the pro-inflammatory cytokine levels were not significantly increased. Very low expression levels of CCL4 and CXCL14 were detected in the NA, no expression of chemokines in MZ and UA was detected.

The aim of this work was the isolation of monocytes from bovine blood with the use of immunomagnetic beads coated with the monoclonal antibody, and magnetic separation and morphology determination of DCs generated from the monocytes. The experiment was performed on a group of healthy cows. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 100 ml of whole blood. Samples were incubated and centrifuged to achieve the desired concentration for the experiment. The isolated monocytes were cultured in the concentration of 1 x 10⁶ cells/mL in standard culture flasks in RPMI 1640 medium at 37 °C in a humidified 5% CO₂ atmosphere in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and recombinant bovine interleukin-4 (IL-4). Cells were cultivated for 3 days. Cells transformed into DCs during this time. Morphology of DCs was observed in the light microscope. During 3 days of cultivation, there were found out morphological changes in the cell membrane of the cells. On the cell membrane, there were developed protrusions and during the time of incubation, there were developed typically elongated pseudopodia.

Ascosphaera apis is a heterothallic fungus causing widespread honey bee disease called chalkbrood. In many countries, beekeepers use fungicides to control this pathogen. However, this approach results in residues in bee products as well as in resistance which are serious problems. For these reasons, in European Union countries is not allowed to use nor fungicides, neither antibiotic to control bee diseases. Therefore, there is an increasing need to find environmentally friendly methods to control honey bee pathogens. One of the most promising approaches seems to be using natural botanical compounds with antifungal effects. In this paper, 2 essential oils and 2 main components were tested for A. apis inhibition in in vitro conditions. Local strain of A. apis was cultivated on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA) with different concentrations of tested botanical compounds. Cultivation was carried out at 30 °C for 21 days. The greatest inhibitory effect reached thymol (MIC 500 µg/ml). Very promising seems to be also clove bud oil (MIC 2500 µg/ml) and eugenol (MIC 2500 µg/ml). Cedarwood oil did not stop the growth of A. apis even in the highest concentration (MIC >5000 µg/ml). This experiment confirmed that these plant substances are efficient as an antimicrobial agent against chalkbrood disease. Despite problems with unstable botanical compounds composition in the same plant species, application of essential oils and their main components could be gentle and safe way how to control a lot of bee diseases in the future.

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) is a rare fatal autosomal recessive disease. It is caused by mutations in the perforin protein encoded by PRF1 gene that lead to disruption of cytotoxic activity of cytotoxic cells that cannot fight viral infections. When mutations in PRF1 are found in patients with FHL-type symptoms, it is not fully clear whether these mutations are indeed causing the disease. In this study, I constructed a targeting vector containing wild-type exon 3 of PRF1gene. This vector is suitable for CRISPR-Cas9 mediated knock-in with adeno-associated virus delivering the vector. This approach might be beneficial in studying adoptive T-cell therapy as a conditioning treatment of FHL patients. Moreover, I introduced mutations in the targeting vector. These mutations are described in the literature to be present in FHL patients. Targeting vectors carrying these mutations upon delivery to primary human T-cells might serve in a model of the disease.

Mammary gland is important organ for all calf. The mammary gland of the bovine is divided lengthwise into left and right halves and is further divided into anterior and posterior quarters. Inflammation of the mammary gland is one of the most serious production diseases of dairy cattle. Lukocytes play an important role during mammary gland inflammation. During inflammation, leukocytes move from the blood to the mammary gland. Programmed leukocyte cell death plays an important role in the inflammatory response of the mammary gland. The study was implemented on eight healthy heifers in age 16 to 18 months. Each mammary gland in each quarter of the udder was injected with 20 ml phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with 500 μg of muramyl dipeptide synthetic derivate. The lymphocytes obtained by lavages of mammary glands were analysed by flow cytometry and subsequently by software WinMDI 2.8. Proportion of apoptotic lymphocytes was enumerated by staining with Annexin-V and propidium iodide. The cytokine concentrations were determined using sandwich ELISA. Apoptosis of lymphocytes and concentration of TNF-α were peaked 48 hours following stimulation of the mammary glands by muramyl dipeptide. We have found high correlation in initial stage of mastitis between apoptosis of lymphocytes and TNF-α production especially in 48 hours after experimentally induced inflammation.

Osteoporosis in laying hens, which causes bone weakness, is a pathological condition that is associated with the progressive loss of structural bone throughout lay. This results in increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. This work was focused on detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms in selected genes encodes non-collagenous proteins that could play a key role in osteoporosis in laying hens. In this study, polymorphisms of three genes (IBSP, SPP1 and SPARC) was studied in order to survey their relationship with parameters of bones in hens of ISA Brown hybrids (bone breaking strength, length, width, and bone mass). PCR and DNA sequencing were used to search for polymorphisms in nineteen samples for each marker. No polymorphisms were found in selected regions of the genes in the experimental group of animals.

The aim of the present study was to characterize ZP3 protein expression in bovine oocytes before and after maturation and short-term interaction of mature oocytes with acrosome-reacted spermatozoa. It was confirmed that ZP3 glycoprotein is expressed in bovine oocytes before and after maturation. A band with molecular weight of about 47 kDa corresponding to molecular weight of ZP3 protein was detected by Western blot both in immature and mature oocytes. Unlike them, no expression of ZP3 protein was found in mature oocytes after their interaction with acrosome-reacted spermatozoa.

The article deals with the influence of photovoltaic module tilt angle on the photovoltaic system energy production. In central European region the optimal tilt angle of photovoltaic module is 35°, but it depends on the photovoltaic system location and on the azimuth angle orientation of photovoltaic module. In the text are presented dependencies which characterize relation between the tilt angle of photovoltaic module and electricity energy production for different month. Data from photovoltaic system were processed by editor Microsoft Excel and software Matlab version R2015b. The basic statistical characteristics were calculated. The results of research are presented as two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphical relations. For all dependencies were obtained regression equations with relatively high coefficients of determinations. On the three-dimensional relations was applied polynomial approximation of the second degree. Model mathematical dependencies allow simple prediction of the photovoltaic system energy production in the real operating conditions. It can be used for the design, dimensioning and the optimization of photovoltaic power plant operating conditions.

Degradable plastic bags made from biopolymers present one of the alternatives to single-use plastic bags for food packaging in markets and supermarkets. Many works are focused on bags degradability and effects on quality of packaged food, however only little is known about tensile strength of these materials. Within the experimental part of our research, a tensile test of 6 variants of biopolymers was performed to verify their tensile strength, with both biodegradable and oxo - degradable biopolymers being represented. From the measured data, tensile strength, elongation and Young's modulus were calculated and the stress-strain curves were drawn. The obtained values are comparable with material characteristics of the polymers commonly used for the production of plastic bags – low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene.

This template describes the features of the components created by additive technology called 3d printing. The material tested was PETG. This is a very popular print material. Normalized samples in the fish bone shape with a 20% grid fill were tested. The tested samples were subjected to chemical degradation in various types of environments and subsequently a tensile test was performed. The result of the research is the influence of the degradation factor on the mechanical properties of these samples and possible use in practice, specifically in agriculture.

Composition and quality of maize silage used as a raw material in biogas plants can influence production of biogas in positive or negative way. Decrease in biogas production can be caused for example by the presence of heavy metals as contaminants. Decreased biogas production has a negative effect on economic of biogas plant. Therefore, known elemental composition of input materials should be important for all biogas plant operators. This study is part of long-term research which is focused on finding easy, non-destructive and time-saving screening analysis of elemental composition of maize silage and other vegetal input material for biogas plants. Our samples of maize silage were obtained from 23 biogas plants in the Czech Republic. Samples were dried, ground and incinerated. After preparation, samples were measured by XRF spectrometer. A universal standardless method for a biological matrix was used for comparison. The presented step of long-term research, adds a correction factors, confirms the reduction of balance compounds after combustion and shows the presence of commonly occurring elements and no significant amount of heavy metals in analysed materials.

Television sets have become an integral part of human daily life all over the world. From the cognitive point of view, the assessment and comparison of various TV models in terms of the impact of their life cycle on the environment is thought-provoking. The aim of the study was to assess the life cycle (LCA) of selected TV sets: CRT (cathode-ray tube) and plasma (PDP – Plasma Display Panel) applying the ReCiPe and CML methods with the use of the SimaPro 8.1 software. As part of the realization of the main objective of the study, the system limitations were determined, the masses of individual elements and sub-assemblies of each TV set were identified, and the characteristics of materials from which they had been made were specified. One TV set of an average weight of 15 kg constituted the functional unit. Research results indicate that replacing cathode-ray tube TVs with newer, more economical plasma TVs was beneficial to the environment, as cathode-ray tube TVs had emitted far more harmful substances into the environment, primarily at the production (consumption of natural resources) and End of Life phase.

This paper deals with testing the inorganic corrosion coating for heterogeneous weldments protection.  Metallic materials are the most commonly used construction materials that are electrically and thermally conductive due to the metal bond of atoms, solid, flexible, impermeable, etc. By constantly acting on their surfaces various environments such as atmosphere, water, soil, aqueous environments of acids, bases, salts, but also organic compounds, melts of metals, alloys and plastics, are degraded. Not only does their appearance change, but also their mechanical, electrical, etc. properties are therefore unusable for their purpose. Corrosion is a common cause of this degradation. Environmental protection of metal products can be achieved in a variety of ways, the most common of which are material selection, corrosion treatment and the use of protective coatings. In this case, the main method of material protection is based on the application of protective coatings, where 90% of inorganic coatings are predominantly in the form of paint systems that provide the desired properties such as weathering, abrasion resistance, high temperatures, insulation or surface conductivity chemical resistance, health and of course corrosion resistance and aesthetic appearance. Their application does not require complex and complicated devices and is not limited by the shape or size of the objects. This coating was applied to a set of CMT weldments (Cold Metal Transfer) which were subjected to a corrosion degradation test together with other CMT samples without a corrosion protective coating in a NaCl corrosion chamber under norm by EN ISO 9227:2006. Both sets of samples were then subjected to a tensile test in which measurements were performed using AE (acoustic emission).

The paper deals with the use of tribodiagnostics in predictive maintenance in corporate practice. It is generally dealt with maintenance, then tribodiagnostics in the company Škoda Auto a.s. Used offline and online diagnostic tools are described. The experimental part is focused on detailed analysis of the comparison of measurement results offline and online diagnostics. The main aim of this experiment is verification and prove the high accuracy of tested online tool. There is also an economic evaluation of savings obtained by operation the online filter unit. In conclusion, the tribodiagnostics recommendations are given for Škoda Auto a.s. company.

This article presents comparison of two versions of driving wheels of a small tractor. Special spikes tires were developed and compared with standard tires according to drawbar pull at 100% driving wheels slip. Spikes elements of the special spikes tires were placed into grooves made in tire-tread pattern of the standard tractor tires. When the spikes tires are in base position, the spikes elements don’t exceed the diameter of the standard tires. When the spikes tires are activated, the spikes elements change they position to improve drawbar properties of the tractor. The experiments were realised on a cultivated soil at soil moisture 30.98%. Percentage difference of drawbar pull 17.3% shows improvement
of the drawbar properties of the tractor with the special spikes tires in comparison with the tractor
with the standard tires.

Determination of DNA damage products in various samples including urine, plasma or cells is an important process enabling the evaluation of the overall body condition. Therefore, a powerful sensitive and selective analytical technique is needed. Here, the combined use of molecularly imprinted polymeric biorecognition extraction and capillary electrophoretic separation with UV/Vis detection is demonstrated. The tagged analytes are nucleobases and their biologically important derivatives. Capillary micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sodium dodecyl sulphate enabled the baseline separation of cytosine and methylcytosine and imprinted polydopamine polymeric surface allowed for selective extraction of a selected nucleobase.

Nanomedicine in cancer treatment has a great potential. With usage of proper nanocarrier we would be able to eliminate negative side effects and excessively high toxicity of chemotherapeutical drugs to normal cells. Ferritins in general are proteins which could do the trick. Their ability to change structure in low pH could be used for drug delivery. Ferritins are also ubiquitous so there is also very small chance of immune reaction in body. First and the most used and described ferritin is EcaLHFt (ferritin from horse spleen). Its ability to encapsulate various molecules is already known and used in research laboratories. Only molecules with negative charge are troublesome to encapsulate into EcaLHFt. For this reason, we created recombinant human ferritin – HsaHFt-RK, which is designed to encapsulate predominantly negatively charged molecules. We were able to confirm this hypothesis by comparing the encapsulation efficiency of FAM-siRNA inside EcaLHFt and HsaHFt-RK.

The porcine pleuropneumonia belongs to common pig bacterial infection caused by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. This disease is affecting the economy of pig breeding. Therefore, it is important to better understand its effects and to find targeted therapy. To elucidate this infection different approaches can be used. One of them is to monitor the response of organism and detect changed expressions of proteins connected to immune reaction, especially cytokines subgroup called interleukins. Usually, these proteins are detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), but other methods like label-free liquid chromatography connected with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) can be used. This study was aimed at adapting/developing a high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QqTOF MS) method for analysing these infection markers after on-tissue digestion and extraction from the surface of porcine lung tissue sections.

Targeted therapy of porcine pleuropneumonia, which is caused by the bacterium Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, would help pig breeders to lower their expenses related with solving this problem. In order to find potential receptors of a targeted therapy it is important to know the response of the organism on an infection and detect proteins connected to an immune reaction. Nowadays, a liquid chromatography connected with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is one of the most used methods for this purpose. This study was aimed at detection and identification of proteins after homogenization and extraction from the porcine lung tissue cryosections by applying LC-MS/MS method using high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation quadrupole-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-QqTOF MS).

An alternative to conventional way is needed to treat multiple drug resistant bacteria. In this work, four different amine modified carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were obtained by microwave irradiation treatment. The four different biogenic amines (spermidine, putrescine, cadaverine, and histamine) as capping agent and citric acid as a carbon precursor were used. Prepared CQDs were evaluated for their antibacterial activity against three common pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus), and the growth curves were modeled. The CQDs showed a strong broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. The bactericidal activity was linked to their specific surface chemistry and caused bacterial death, which was due to the electrostatic interactions between protonated CQDs and the lipids of the bacterial cell membrane. The biocompatibility of CQDs was tested in HBL100 and HEK293 cell lines and low or absence of toxicity was indicated.

Fungi can bioaccumulate mercury from the substrate by mycelium and can be a health risk to their consumers. The transfer and bioavailability of mercury from contaminated forest soils to mycelia of Armillaria cepistipes and Pleurotus ostreatus was observed. The mercury concentration in mycelia increased linearly with increasing concentration of mercury in contaminated forest soils. The maximum mercury contents in mycelia were observed at 3–5 day after inoculation of mycelia on test soil. Statistically significantly higher mercury content was found in Pleurotus ostreatus mycelium, when mycelia were cultivated on highly contaminated soils. Bioconcentration factors were in the range 0.13–0.41 for Armillaria cepistipes, and between 0.16–0.56 for Pleurotus ostreatus.

In this work, we focused on four types of oils and their response on wound healing of the skin of rats after dietary exposure. A set of samples consisted of 48 adult male rats of Wistar albino, which were divided into four groups according to the respective oil. The content of hydroxyproline in the skin tissue, used as a biomarker for wound healing, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector. There was found out, that the highest content of hydroxyproline was detected in the group of rats, which have been fed with the addition of palm oil (118.4 ± 1.9 µg/g). These results indicate that palm oil had the most positive effect on wound healing.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), as a critical secondary messenger, is important for in vitro and in vivo study. In addition, it is of great significance in monitoring the biological condition under chemical oxidative stress. A non-enzymatic sensor was developed for the detection and monitoring of H₂O₂ using a nanocomposite (NC). The NC is prepared and modified by using multi-walled carbon nanotubes and tris(2,2’-bipyridyl) copper(II) dichloride complex acts as a mediator. The electrochemical techniques like cyclic voltammetry and chrono-amperometry were used to study the electrochemical behaviour of H₂O₂ at the developed electrode. The reduction peak of H₂O₂ shifts to less negative potential with increasing the reducing current at the developed electrode. The calibration curve of the proposed sensor was plotted using chrono-amperometry at −0.1 V as applied potential with stepwise addition of H₂O₂. The developed sensor has high stability and able to detect H₂O₂ with a high sensitivity and repeatability. The linear range was found to be 2.4–33.0 µg/ml. Furthermore, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification were 0.7 µg/ml and 2.4 µg/ml, respectively. The reproducibility of the prepared sensor was evaluated by calculating the RSD% = 7.2.

Herein, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) was used to investigate the oligomerization of mammalian metallothionein (MT) isoform MT-1. A FRET system was developed based on a highly fluorescent ZnCd quantum dot (QD) and cyanine 3 (Cy3) as a powerful tool to probe small distance changes between acceptor and donor fluorophores in nanometer range. In this study, the water-soluble 450-nm emitting ZnCd QDs as donor and 570-nm Cy3 as acceptor were covalently conjugated with MT-1. Metallothionein MT1 forms dimers (as well as higher oligomers) upon storing under aerobic conditions. These dimers/oligomers were investigated using capillary electrophoresis (CE) coupled with fluorescence detection.

The present study describes the determination of mycotoxins deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) in barley from Brazil and in malted barley. The quality of the raw materials involved in the malting process plays a decisive role in the creation of a safe beer product. Immunoaffinity columns for extraction and clean-up, and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) are the most commonly used method for determining the presence of mycotoxins. A total of 24 samples were analysed for DON and ZEA. The average concentration of DON and ZEA was 2859.5 µg/kg and 727.9 µg/kg for barley and 1057.3 µg/kg and 275.1 µg/kg for malt, respectively. The content of mycotoxin decreases by about 63% during the malting process. The validation parameters of an analytical method such as linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), and recovery were tested. The calibration curves were linear at least in the range of 10–1000 ng/mL, LOD and LOQ ranging 2.8–3.5 µg/kg and 9.2–11.6 µg/kg, respectively. Recovery for DON and ZEA ranged 87.6%–92.9% with a RSD range of 2.9%–9.2% and 89.6%–105.7% with a RSD range of 0.4%–5.3%, respectively.

Bisphenol A (BPA) and alkylphenols (APs) such as 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) and mixture of nonylphenol isomers (iso-NP) are frequent contaminants of various environmental analyses. Analyse of various blanks is a serious problem in the residue analysis. Secondary contamination of analysed samples can come from laboratory air, septa vials, solvents and other chemicals used. Plastic tubes and connections could be another important source of sample contamination. This can be a problem especially in determination of alkylphenols and bisphenol A at low environmentally relevant concentrations. The analytical method for determination of residues of pollutants in water samples using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is presented here. In principle, alkylphenols can be analysed without derivatization. However, pre-column derivatization with 5-(dimethylamino) naphthalene-1-sulfonyl chloride (dansylchloride, DNSC) improves the sensitivity and selectivity of LC-MS/MS analysis. The instrumental blank for all compounds is under the limit of detection (LOD). The system contamination was maintained
about 0.5 ng (reagent blank), and below 0.05 µg/L for the glass SPE columns and below 0.1 µg/L
for the plastic columns (procedure blank).

This study deals with the issue of metallothioneins as potential tumor markers using the multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method, for which specific primers were designed, with the subsequent sequencing of their products. The following step involved a study of expression using the PCR method for selected MT1A, MT2A and MT3 genes after treating cell lines with cisplatin. Experiments were carried out on PNT1A, LNCaP and DU145 prostatic cell lines. Despite a very high similarity of the individual isoforms of metallothioneins, a triplex of three genes for two cell lines, PNT1A and DU145, was created. Upon a statistical evaluation of data obtained via the method of polymerase chain reaction in real time, it was found that, after the application of cisplatin, there was an increase in metallothionein expression.

The aim of this study was develop suitable nanomaterial modified by fish oil using microwave-assisted synthesis. Dietary omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can influence an inflammatory process, as well as they can modulate the inflammatory responses to stress situations. Thus, these fatty acids can be beneficial for wound healing. Also, the NPs are important components for many scientific fields, including nanomedicine and development of new and better wound dressing. This work deals with synthesis of ZnSe NPs with fish oil, and their subsequent in vitro testing on different bacterial strains. The synthesized nanomaterial was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, which showed the spherical NPs covered by fish oil. Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant S. aureus, and Escherichia coli were used for the monitoring of NPs effect on bacteria. Wound care is inevitably important clinical challenge, which definitely requires fast growing.

This work is focused on a new, fast, simple, and robust method, based on physical-chemical changes caused in UV-irradiated sample. UV-IFS is an innovative approach for verification of authenticity and origin of drugs, pesticides, juices and beverages, but also useful tool for comparative analysis of clinical samples. UV-induced fingerprint spectroscopy is based on comparison of patterns (fingerprints), which are characteristic for a sample. There is no need for separation and the method
is suitable for analysis of samples with complex matrixes within a short time.

DNA methylation is one of the well-known epigenetic mechanism which plays a crucial role in the development of various diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases or diabetes. Electrochemical biosensors promise excellent results for clinical diagnostics, especially in term of their sensitivity, stability, selectivity, portability, they are cost-effective, easy-to-use and provides a fast response. In this study, simply, reliably and selective DNA based electrochemical biosensor for detection of methylated DNA was fabricated. The proposed biosensor was modified with the synthesised reduced graphene oxide combined with gold nanoparticles (rGO-AuNPs). This nanocomposite has shown a strong affinity to the DNA probe and demonstrated promising analytical characteristics. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used for the chara-cterization of interface properties of the gold electrode (GE). Additionally, the sensitivity of the developed biosensor was performed by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) to investigate the activity of enzyme methyltransferase M.SssI (MTase). Fabricated biosensor offers quite a low detection limit (LOD), which was 3.2 U/ml and limit of quantification (LOQ) was 3.3 U/ml.

This project was focused on targeted chemotherapy based on ferritin nanocarriers with encapsulated various types of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Then this nanoconstruct is surface-modified by folic acid, with the aim to achieve specific targeting to folate receptor overexpressed in targeted breast cancer cell line.

Resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is a major issue in cancer therapy, as almost every patient undergoing this treatment gains chemoresistance. In this project, we attempted to develop chemoresistant cell lines insensitive to three recently approved TKIs – vandetanib, lenvatinib and cabozantinib. Our goal was to obtain these cell lines by continuous growth in the presence of said inhibitors for further examination and research of chemoresistance mechanisms. Unfortunately, we came across some problems and the long-term character of our experiment forced us to take up a different approach. In the future, we plan to continue our project by inducing chemoresistance with transfection of an expression vector containing mutated sequence of receptor tyrosine kinase.

Mineral springs Hronovka and Regnerka located in the northeast Bohemia, Czech Republic are characteristic for high content of arsenic. The diffusive gradient in thin films technique (DGT) was used for determination of arsenic bioavailable fraction in both mineral water samples. Despite the high concentration of iron in both mineral water, the arsenic content measured by DGT (c_DGT) corresponded to the total arsenic concentration measured directly by ET-AAS in the grab sample of mineral water (c_GRAB) with the final ratio c_DGT/c_GRAB 1.09 for Hronovka, and 1.06 for Regnerka. These results indicate that the composition of the mineral water prevents the complexation of arsenic and iron and so arsenic in tested spring waters is completely bioavailable.

Eight different forms of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO−NPs, labelled A−H) were synthetized. Basic toxicity testing has undergone for possible use in nanomedicine. The ZnO−NPs (A−H) stability in three different solutions was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nanoparticle size. In addition, the ability to intercalate into DNA as well as the ability to cleave plasmid DNA were tested to verify the mechanism of toxicity. Subsequently, the hemocompatibility of nanoparticles was also examined.

Sarcosine is extensively discussed as potential prostate cancer oncometabolite. Sarcosine dehydrogenase (SARDH) is one of the key enzymes involved in sarcosine metabolism that catalyses oxidative demethylation of sarcosine to glycine in mitochondrion. This study investigates the effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA) mediated SARDH knockdown on gene expression of sarcosine metabolism related enzymes: glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT), peroxisomal sarcosine oxidase (PIPOX) and dimethylglycine dehydrogenase (DMGDH). The effect of SARDH knockdown was studied in three human prostate cell lines (PNT1A, DU-145, PC3) and gene expression was evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Although the lowest SARDH knockdown was achieved in cancer DU-145 cell line, the highest changes in expression of other sarcosine metabolism genes were detected. In particular, the significant increase in DMGDH and PIPOX expression was observed. Our findings revealed potential stimulation effect of SARDH knockdown on DMGDH and PIPOX expression in prostate cancer cell line DU-145.

The rise of antibiotic-resistant strains is an important public health problem and thus the development of an alternative to antibiotics is imminent. The Ruthenium–Schiff base with benzimidazole (RU–S2), a co-ordinate compound is novel and first of its kind to be synthesized in such combination. The aim of the experiment is based on the synthesis of RU–S2 and to study its antibacterial activity against the pathogenic resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus like Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The antibacterial activity was studied using growth curve analysis based on turbidimetry which was confirmed by the fluorescence live/dead cell microscopic imaging of the bacteria after treatment with RU–S2. Lastly, the cytotoxicity test was performed by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay against human normal and cancer epithelial cell lines to understand the toxic effects of RU-S2 at 160 µg/ml concentration. The concentration 160 µg/ml of RU–S2 was very effective against those resistant strains and also nontoxic in this concentration. Thus RU-S2 can be used as an efficient alternative to antibiotics that have promising antibacterial efficacy against the pathogenic strains with no toxicity and biocompatibility towards human cells.

This study comprises thirteen selected phenolic antioxidants as follows: vanillin, acetosyringone, eugenol, isoeugenol, 4-ethylguaiacol, guaiacol and acids: gentisic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, protocatechuic, ferulic, syringic, coffee, chlorogenic. For each of the phenolic substances, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was measured using the FRAP and DPPH method expressed as TEAC (Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity); antioxidants with the concentration of 20 mg/l were compared with each other as well as against Trolox. It was found based on the results of measurements that the presence and position of some substitution groups on fenolic ring significantly affect the antioxidant capacity of these substances. Larger antioxidant capacity was measured in multiple hydroxylated substances. An effect was also observed of the type of the functional group where substances possessing a hydroxyl group instead of the methoxyl group featured significant antioxidant capacity. Similar was seen for substances possessing a carboxyl group instead of acetyl group. An effect was also observed immediately between the ortho and para positions of hydroxyl groups in aromatic ring. Examples include gentisic and protocatechuic acid, where while either of the acids has the identical molecular formula, i.e., C₇H₆O₄, for the hydroxyl group the antioxidant capacity is 1.2 to 1.7 times higher in case of the ortho position in gentisic acid than in the para position in protocatechuic acid.

Lenvatinib is an oral multi-target tyrosine-kinase (TK) inhibitor. Ferritins are proteins naturally occurring in human body, where they are responsible for the iron storage, transport and harmful ferrous species detoxification. The ferric-ions-free apo-form of ferritins can be used for drug encapsulation and delivery to tumor cells. To avoid harmful side effects and increase the anticancer efficiency, we investigated to prepare lenvatinib-loaded apoferritin (ApoLen) nanoparticles. We tested various experimental conditions, i.e. different lenvatinib solvents and pH. Nevertheless, the construction of ApoLen nanoparticles was not successful. Therefore, lenvatinib interactions with the apoferritin cavity as well as lenvatinib encapsulation into the ApoLen nanoparticles were studied in silico using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In accordance with experimental results, theoretical models demonstrated that lenvatinib molecules are not suitable for preparation of ApoLen nanoparticles.

The effects on immunocompatibility after performed surface modifications (PEGylation
and PASylation) of natural nanocarriers based on ferritin (FRT) were tested in this work. Potential cytostatic drug ellipticine (Elli) was encapsulated into FRT, leading to formation of FRTElli. The main goals of prepared PEG-FRTElli, PAS-10-FRTElli and PAS-20-FRTElli were to achieve decreased in vitro macrophage uptake and decreased in vivo complement activation. Macrophage uptake was studied via flow cytometry and complement activation via western blot. According to performed experiments PAS-10 modification was the only one that was sufficient to ensure both aspects.

The aim of this study was to prepare a sensitive electrochemical biosensor for detection of oncogenic miRNA-21 as a potential biomarker for early detection of cancer. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA, which play an important role in the regulation of gene expression. miRNAs are present in extracellular fluids like urine, serum, etc. in extremely low concentration. It is important for the biosensor to detect extremely low concentrations of specific miRNA as potential biomarkers. The aim of this experiment was designing, preparing and optimizing a sensitive and selective biosensor for the detection of miRNA-21. A biosensor was prepared to detect the lowest concentration of miRNA‑21 in the sample. The linear concentration range for the calibration curve was 1 fM to 10 nM. LOD was 1 fM and obtained from the regression equation was 3.2 zM and LOQ was 10.8 zM. Subsequently, prepared biosensor was measured in artificial urine (AU) samples to verify the functioning of the sensor in induced real conditions. The results showed a minimal effect of the matrix for the determination of the target miRNA.

Laser ablation followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry is an analytical method suitable for low concentration measurement of elements in a sample. This can be used not only for detection of elemental distribution within a sample but also as a detection means for immunoanalytical techniques using nanoparticle-antibody conjugates as recognition elements. The aim of this work was to prepare a conjugate of 10nm gold nanoparticles with anti-p53 antibody, to verify the antigen binding ability, and to use this construct for identification of p53 in a real sample of cell lysate. It has been experimentally verified that it is possible to use nanoparticle-modified antibodies for immunochemical analysis coupled to LA-ICP-MS detection. However, the nonspecific sorption of nanoparticles on the sample surface needs to be minimized by optimization of the blocking step.

UV-Fingerprinting is a new unique spectroscopic method based on the natural spectral (fluorescent) properties of the samples that change after irradiation with an external UV source (λ_em = 254 nm). In this work, it was demonstrated by samples of pesticides (Nurelle, Gallant super, ZATO 50 WP) that the resulting signals (excitation spectra) are typical and can be used for sample identification. The method is robust, time-effective and simple. This method can be used to monitor pesticides
in the environment or to verify the authenticity of samples.

The aim of this study was to develop suitable zinc selenium-based nanoparticles modified by algal oil containing mainly polyunsaturated fatty acids. Dietary omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can affect inflammation reaction of the human body. Polyunsaturated fatty acids include eicosapentaenoic fatty acid and docosahexaenoic fatty acid, which could favourably enhance the correct wound healing. The algal oil would be a great complementary element to accelerate wound healing in combination with nanoparticles. Nowadays, the nanomaterials are beneficial part in different branches, including medicine (e.g. development of new cover materials containing nanoparticles to accelerate the healing effect, targeted drug delivery), cosmetics, textiles, protective equipment, and agriculture. This study includes synthesis of ZnSe nanoparticles modified by algal oil and their characterization by scanning electron microscopy. For the determination of in vitro effect
of these nanoparticles on microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus were employed. No antibacterial activity was found at these nanoparticles, therefore they could be used as nanocarrier for polyunsaturated fatty acids.

This work was focused on anticancer therapy through targeting ligands to raise the treatment efficacy of neuroblastoma, embryonal malignant tumor. Active targeting was attained by surface modifications of apoferritin (EcLHFRT) nanocarriers with encapsulated ellipticine, a potential chemotherapeutic drug. For the purpose of selective delivery of highly potent and highly cytotoxic ellipticine to neuroblastoma cells, surface modification of EcLHFRT nanocarrier was managed by targeting biomimetic peptide ligands, derived from neurotoxin of Conus marmoreus called conotoxin. These peptides exhibit a natural affinity towards human norepinephrine receptor, which is commonly overexpressed on membranes of neuroblastoma cells.

Nowadays, the cultivation of energy plants to produce biomass energy is becoming common. In the Czech Republic, areas with oilseed rape and maize are greatly expanded, but cultivation of perennial energetic grasses is more environmentally friendly. The article presents the results of a long-term experiment focused on cultivation of grass species namely tall wheatgrass (Elymus elongatus subsp. Ponticus cv. Szarvasi-1), and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L. cv. Chrastava) in various fertilization variants (Control, Mineral, Digestate). Their potential yield during spring harvesting was monitored, the elementary analysis of dry biomass was performed, and the higher heating value was calculated. Subsequently, the energy gain was determined for all variants. The positive effect of fertilization on their yield was recorded in both grass species. Higher yields were achieved by tall wheatgrass, which was also characterized by higher heating value. The energy gain of the monitored variants ranged from 63.9–148 GJ/ha.

Ponds are most important part of the Czech Republic landscape. At present, the quality of water in them is strongly influenced by the negative effects of anthropogenic activity (runoff from field, nutrient source from Wastewater Treatment Plants and in some cases inappropriately adjusted way of fishery management). The aim of this study was to evaluate water quality in three ponds (Žabakor – 49 ha, Rokytnický – 8 ha and Hrudka – 5 ha) in Bohemian Paradise (Protected Landscape Area). Monitoring took place from 2^th April 2018 to 6^th October 2018. The main monitored parameter of these ponds is transparency of water. It reaches relatively high values due to lower initiation stocks of fish. The highest average transparency value was found in Rokytnický pond (100 ± 69 cm). The lowest was in Žabakor pond (49 ± 27 cm). On all three ponds, the highest transparency values were measured in April and May. Furthermore, the oxygen content at various water column heights, water and air temperature, pH, conductivity and ANC_4,5 were monitored. At the same time, other water quality indicators were determined, such as BOD₅, COD_Cr, TN, TP, Ca²⁺ and Chla. In terms of the total phosphorus content, all three ponds complied with Government Regulation No. 401/2015 Coll. for water quality in ponds. The average value of total phosphorus (TP) in Žabakor pond was 0.05 ± 0.001 mg/l TP, in Rokytnický pond 0.04 ± 0.01 mg/l TP and in Hrudka pond 0.03 ± 0.01 mg/l TP. The average values of chlorophyll a on the monitored ponds ranged from 11.84 ± 2.96 to 21.46 ± 0.74 μ/l, which corresponds to the mesotrophic level of trophi.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of active logging interventions on spiders in formerly coppiced oak-hornbeam forests in the Kukle National Nature Monument, which were conserved for overall 80 years without any active management. Ten study plots were selected for the research, which were subsequently divided into five unmanaged plots (control) and five, where active management took place in the last 2–3 years. The spiders were collected using pitfall traps during vegetation season of 2018. We used three pitfall traps per plot, placed five meters from each other across the diagonal of each research plot. A total of 5,445 adult spiders belonging to 17 families, 47 genera and 82 species were captured. Of the 82 species found, 72 were on the plots with active management and 49 on the unmanaged plots. The species richness, conservation value and presence of rare and endangered species was significantly higher in areas under active conservation management. The results show that the forest opening and restoration of the management in the form of a transfer to the coppiced forest with standards had a positive effect on the overall diversity of the spiders in oak woodlands. However, the logging activities should not be applied by large scale clearings.

Olšovec Pond is an important recreational area for the small town of Jedovnice and the surrounding area. In recent years, the pond has been suffering from strong eutrophication, especially mass occurrences of cyanobacterial water bloom. As a result the recreational function of the pond is severely limited. This paper will focus on identifying sources of pollution that degrade the condition of the Olšovec pond and its tributaries. It will also include a discussion of measures that can be taken and the overall state of water protection in the Czech Republic.

Consumers currently prefer low-sugar, low-calorie, natural and so-called safe products which is same for nuts, groceries and products. The European Union is the largest importing market for edible nuts in the world. Considering the increasing demand of new sources of foods, this study evaluates the influence of rotation speed in the extraction of hazelnut, walnut, almond nut, peanut and cashew nut oils by means of screw pressing. In tested samples, oil content was in average between 46.7 ± 1.45% (peanut) until 69.14 ± 0.79% (walnut). From the experiment, it is seen that the oil yield decreased when pressing speed increased (from 30 rpm to 90 rpm, for example in walnut from 0.42 kg to 0.22 kg/1kg) and that the oil sediment yield increased when speed increased (for example in almond nut from 5.56% to 19.54%). The highest amount of yields of oil had hazelnut with 3.03 ± 0.05 kg/h, then walnut with 2.05 ± 0.02 kg/h, almond nut with 2.34 ± 0.05 kg/h, peanut with 2.15 ± 0.01 kg/h, and cashew nut with 2.07 ± 0.03 kg/h.

Plants are naturally colonized by various microbes which contain bacteria and fungi and constitute the unique microbiome of each plant. Endophytic fungi are part of the plant microbiome and often have beneficial effects such as providing nutrients or protecting their host against diseases. The endophytic fungus Acremonium alternatum is known to reduce disease symptoms of several plant diseases. Other species of Acremonium produce antimicrobial compounds but nothing in that regard has been reported yet for A. alternatum. We extracted proteins from petri dish cultures of this species and did proteome analyses. We identified 3605 peptides and 951 corresponding proteins. The majority of proteins were involved in energy metabolism, translation and protein folding. The three most abundant proteins were elongation factor 1-α-like protein, heat shock 70 kDa protein-like protein and Actin-like protein. Our results are the first proteome analysis of this species and will hopefully serve as a basis for future proteome studies.

Nonwoven geotextiles are commonly used as filters around edge drains and trench drains. The main functions of the geotextile filter are to retain soil particles without causing clogging inside the geotextile openings and to avoid the development of excessive pore water pressure on the interface between the base soil and the nonwoven geotextile filter. The properly design of a geotextile filter is a very complex process due to the large number of parameters involved. Generally, it depends on the geotechnical characterization of the base soil and on the physical and hydraulic parameters of nonwoven geotextiles. The most commonly used method for measuring filtration compatibility of soil-geotextile systems is the Gradient Ratio test. In this paper some exemplar GR tests performed on silty sand with a nonwoven geotextile with different number of constrictions are presented. The number of constrictions is a property of non-woven geotextiles, which is complementary to opening size to predict their filtration behaviour. Test results show that the number of constrictions is important factor affecting clogging process and should be always determined in the designing of the geotextile filters.

Metabolomics analyses provide a highly useful tool for analysing molecular mechanisms in plants. In contrast to transcriptomics or proteomics, small molecules are identical among diverse species, and a single metabolomics workflow can be easily adapted. Recently, a high-end orbitrap instrument has been introduced into the field of GC metabolomics, but the vendor-provided software does not meet the high-throughput standard. Here, we describe the novel workflow and demonstrate its efficiency in the analysis of Solanum tuberosum leaf metabolites.