Institutional Evolution in Water Management in the Czech Republic and Poland

Concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) constitutes internationallyrecognized framework for water management. Its implementation faces difficulties though, andintroduction of IWRM is country specific. In the paper the shifts in water resources governancein Czech Republic and Poland after 1989 are analyzed. It is investigated, taking the new institutional economics framework, which factors were responsible for water policy changes, withIWRM as the reference framework of the institutional reform, after 1989.For both countries there were two major, water resources management shifts, one connectedwith the collapse of communism (1989/1990), the second – the EU accession (2002). In bothcountries the general direction of water policy changes tend towards reduction of the directstate control. Similarities between the countries dominate, and the EU accession reinforcedthem. One similarity of the two countries is the reluctance of the water engineers towards thesubstance of the WFD. “Hydraulic mission”, aiming at harnessing the power of waterdominates in both countries. Enforcement for IWRM comes mainly from outside the water sector.The Czech and Polish cases suggest that public participation is not the panacea for improvingwater management. The further development of IWRM in the Czech Republic and Poland isuncertain

Relationships among six north-eastern Bantu languages.

Six north-eastern Bantu languages spoken in Kenya are the subject of this thesis. They are Dawida, Saghala, Giryama, Kikuyu, Mvita and Unguja, Saghala, Giryama and Mvita lack substantial primary documentation, Dawida lacks any, and Kikuyu and Unguja are adequately documented. A study of the kind of relationships these languages display with each other has not been undertaken before, and consequently their place in existing classifications has not been free from ambiguities. Chapter 1is a general introduction to the subject of the study, its aims and scope, and the procedures employed. The comparative approach adopted here is M. Guthrie's methodology as it is presented in his Comparative Bantu: an introduction to the comparative linguistic and -prehistory of the Bantu languages (4 volumes, The Gregg Press Ltd., Farnborough, Hants, 1967-1971 ). It is based on the examination of lexicons of particular languages and on relating items with a common meaning and regular sound- correspondence s. Results of such examination may or may not be interpreted diachronically. Since this study seeks to establish how close the relationships are between the six selected languages against their common Bantu background, the second chapter contains description of the processes by means of which Common Bantu cognates were identified in each language. It also contains notes on the tendencies, as far as they were found to exist, among sound- correspondences of items which are not perfect cognates of Common Bantu. Items which have been identified as perfect cognates of Common Bantu are then treated statistically (chapter 3) and several indices are obtained for degrees of closeness of relationships between each two pairs. The resulting degrees of closeness are then ordered hierarchically and, in conclusion (chapter 4), languages are grouped according to the degree of closeness of relationship between each other, and a tentative diachronic statement is made regarding their likely genealogy

Substrate Effects of Noble Metal Nanostructures Prepared by Sputtering

Cathode sputtering is a well-established technique for preparation of metal nanostructures. However, the substrate properties are very important in this process. On glass substrates, there is a difficulty with poor adhesion of the metal layers, but thanks to this, metal nanostructures can be produced using solid state dewetting process. Thin metal films on polymer substrates are strongly influenced by the surface properties of the polymers, which originate in the method of their preparation. A recent focus is direct sputtering of metal nanoparticles (NPs) into liquid substrates and their characterizations and applications. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is one of the most commonly used liquid, which provides “stealth” character to nanostructures. Recent results in this area are reviewed in this chapter. PEGylated NPs could find application in drug delivery systems, therapy, imaging, biosensing, and tissue regeneration

An autophagy-associated Atg8 protein is involved in the responses of Arabidopsis seedlings to hormonal controls and abiotic stresses

Eukaryotes contain a ubiquitous family of autophagy-associated Atg8 proteins. In animal cells, these proteins have multiple functions associated with growth, cancer, and degenerative diseases, but their functions in plants are still largely unknown. To search for novel functions of Atg8 in plants, the present report tested the effect of expression of a recombinant AtAtg8 protein, fused at its N-terminus to green fluorescent protein (GFP) and at its C-terminus to the haemagglutinin epitope tag, on the response of Arabidopsis thaliana plants to the hormones cytokinin and auxin as well as to salt and osmotic stresses. Expression of this AtAtg8 fusion protein modulates the effect of cytokinin on root architecture. Moreover, expression of this fusion protein also reduces shoot anthocyanin accumulation in response to cytokinin feeding to the roots, implying the participation of AtAtg8 in cytokinin-regulated root–shoot communication. External application of cytokinin leads to the formation of novel GFP–AtAtg8-containing structures in cells located in the vicinity of the root vascular system, which are clearly distinct in size and dynamic movement from the GFP–AtAtg8-containing autophagosome-resembling structures that were observed in root epidermis cells. Expression of the AtAtg8 fusion construct also renders the plants more sensitive to a mild salt stress and to a lesser extent to a mild osmotic stress. This sensitivity is also associated with various changes in the root architecture, which are morphologically distinct from those observed in response to cytokinin. The results imply multiple functions for AtAtg8 in different root tissues that may also be regulated by different mechanisms

Review of policy instruments for climate-smart mountain forestry

Implementing the Climate-Smart Forestry (CSF) concept into practice requires interaction among key stakeholders, especially forest owners and managers, policymakers (or regulators in general), forest consultants, and forest users. But what could be the most effective policy instruments to achieve climate smartness in mountain forests? Which ones would be the most acceptable for forest owners? And for the local forest communities? Should they be designed and implemented with the use of participatory approaches or rather on a top-down basis? This chapter summarizes key policy instruments structured in three subsequent categories: commandand-control, voluntary market-based instruments, and community cooperation. It provides examples of their functioning in the forestry sector and discusses their suitability for the implementation of climate smart forestry. It appears that there are many policy instruments used with varying degrees of success such as forest concessions or voluntary certifcation schemes. A wide range of instruments are responding to direct regulation; this has been seen as insuffcient to deal with natural hazards and calamities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Land Policy for Flood Risk Management-Toward a New Working Paradigm

Flood risk management (FRM) aims to integrate necessary technical measures with environmental and societal approaches. Focusing on the process and governance of how to plan, implement, and maintain solutions therefore becomes essential. Among the different stakeholders, landowners are a key group to be considered. This contribution elaborates on the interconnections between land policy, FRM and private land ownership. It is based on the European COST Action network LAND4FLOOD, which brings together academics and stakeholders from various disciplines and more than 35 countries. We argue for a less project oriented and more process oriented approach, a focus on land management and more emphasis on small-scale measures. This represents a break with some of the recent working paradigms of FRM