• Open Access close
• Restricted close
• Publications close
• Research software close
• CZ close

This bachelor thesis examines the phenomenon of internet discussions on Facebook. The starting theoretical framework for the thesis is Erving Goffman's focused interaction and the principles of fun in games theory in terms of focused interaction. The aim of this study is to find out whether the elements of fun occur in the researched environment and what form they take up. Research units were specified as discussions on the official Facebook websites of chosen online news portals. These discussions are embodied in the comments section below shared political article. 70 research units were subjected to conversation analysis. The results of the analysis show that most of the examined internet discussions can be determined as focused interaction and the elements of the game are strongly present in the discussions. The real situation in a virtual environment, however, differs from the way game elements manifest themselves in the face-to-face interaction, in which Goffman defined the concept of focused interaction originally. This work also deals with the situation of the participants leaving the interaction. In this case, it appeared that not all the characteristics of the internet discussions can be interpreted in terms of fun in games theory. Some aspects of the interaction in a virtual environment...

Due to the prospect of climate change and the challenges posed by the European Union to the modern power grid, a decentralized system based on distributed energy sources is being created from a centralized system based on utility power. It also involves new ideas on the operation and management of power grids, especially at the level of low-voltage distribution networks, where prosumers play a special role. In addition to the transformation of sources to renewables, the aim is to increase the flexibility of power grids by exploiting the regulatory potential of flexible grid components. The issue of grid flexibility assumes particular importance in the case of microgrids and local grids covered by the energy communities. Many posts describe the realization of the task of flexibility through energy storage, e.g., storing storage resources in electric vehicles or the use of energy transformation through conversion to heat, air compression air, or process cooling. However, there seems to be a lack of exploration of the topic, where the photovoltaic inverter could provide a flexible energy source while maintaining the rigor of power quality. This article presents current developments in low-voltage grids and the prospect of using prosumer installations to provide grid flexibility and stability.

AbstractBackgroundThe grey partridge is an important game bird in Europe that has declined considerably over the last decades. The production and release of farm-bred birds can be threatened by infectious agents. The objective of this study was to describe the outbreak, pathology, and blood and tissue biochemical responses in a flock of grey partridges naturally infected withMycoplasma gallisepticum.ResultsMorbidity and mortality rates were 100% and 60%, respectively. Necropsy revealed an accumulation of caseous exudate within the infraorbital sinuses, tracheitis, pneumonia and airsacculitis. There were significant increases in activities of lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase and amylase, and levels of total protein and glucose inMycoplasma-infected birds when compared to control. Catalase showed significantly lower activity in the heart, lungs, liver and gonads ofMycoplasma-infected birds. Glutathione-S-transferase activity was elevated in the eye and the associated infraorbital sinus and kidneys, and decreased in the liver. Decreased levels of reduced glutathione were found in the heart, kidneys, liver and gonads. The activity of glutathione reductase was lower only in the lungs. Compared to healthy birds, mycoplasmosis in the grey partridge caused significant differences in the level of lipid peroxidation in lungs and plasma (p < 0.05), while the ferric reducing antioxidant power was lower in the heart and kidneys (p < 0.01). Significant correlations among responses of the antioxidant parameters were found namely in the heart, lungs, spleen, liver and plasma. There were also numerous significant inter-tissue correlations of all the studied antioxidant parameters.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrates the high susceptibility of grey partridges to natural infection byM. gallisepticum, the severity of the disease based on histopathology, and the modulation of blood chemical profiles and oxidative stress-associated parameters in the avian hosts, thus enhancing the understanding of the pathogenesis of mycoplasmosis in birds. Moreover, the reported reference values can be useful for the evaluation of the state of health in grey partridges.

Abstract We search for CP violation in the decay ${D^{+}}\to K_S^0{K^{+}}$ using a data sample with an integrated luminosity of 977 fb−1 collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB e + e − asymmetric-energy collider. No CP violation has been observed and the CP asymmetry in ${D^{+}}\to K_S^0{K^{+}}$ decay is measured to be (−0.25 ± 0.28 ± 0.14)%, which is the most sensitive measurement to date. After subtracting CP violation due to ${K^0}-{{\overline{K}}^0}$ mixing, the CP asymmetry in ${D^{+}}\to {{\overline{K}}^0}{K^{+}}$ decay is found to be (+0.08 ± 0.28 ± 0.14)%.

Abstract Several sequences forming G-quadruplex are highly conserved in regulatory regions of genomes of different organisms and affect various biological processes like gene expression. Diverse G-quadruplex properties can be modulated via their interaction with small polyaromatic molecules such as pyrene. To investigate how pyrene interacts with G-rich DNAs, we incorporated deoxyuridine nucleotide(s) with a covalently attached pyrene moiety (Upy) into a model system that forms parallel G-quadruplex structures. We individually substituted terminal positions and positions in the pentaloop of the c-kit2 sequence originating from the KIT proto-oncogene with Upy and performed a detailed NMR structural study accompanied with molecular dynamic simulations. Our results showed that incorporation into the pentaloop leads to structural polymorphism and in some cases also thermal destabilization. In contrast, terminal positions were found to cause a substantial thermodynamic stabilization while preserving topology of the parent c-kit2 G-quadruplex. Thermodynamic stabilization results from π–π stacking between the polyaromatic core of the pyrene moiety and guanine nucleotides of outer G-quartets. Thanks to the prevalent overall conformation, our structures mimic the G-quadruplex found in human KIT proto-oncogene and could potentially have antiproliferative effects on cancer cells.

Transformation of a random variable is a common need in a design of many algorithms in signal processing, automatic control, and fault detection. Typically, the design is tied to an assumption on a probability density function of the random variable, often in the form of the Gaussian distribution. The assumption may be, however, difficult to be met in algorithms involving non-linear transformation of the random variable. This paper focuses on techniques capable to ensure validity of the Gaussian assumption of the non-linearly transformed Gaussian variable by approximating the to-be-transformed random variable distribution by a Gaussian mixture (GM) distribution. The stress is laid on an analysis and selection of design parameters of the approximate GM distribution to minimise the error imposed by the non-linear transformation such as the location and number of the GM terms. A special attention is devoted to the definition of the novel GM splitting directions based on the measures of non-Gaussianity. The proposed splitting directions are analysed and illustrated in numerical simulations.

CHARLES UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Department of security studies Nuclear Security Studies Scholarship: A Social Network Analysis Master's thesis Author: Kryštof Kučmáš Study programme: Security Studies Supervisor: PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. Year of the defence: 2020 Declaration 1. I hereby declare that I have compiled this thesis using the listed literature and resources only. 2. I hereby declare that my thesis has not been used to gain any other academic title. 3. I fully agree to my work being used for study and scientific purposes. In Prague on 5. 1. Kryštof Kučmáš References KUČMÁŠ, Kryštof. Nuclear Security Studies Scholarship: A Social Network Analysis. Praha, 2020. Master's thesis (Mgr.) Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science. Department of Security Studies. Supervisor PhDr. Michal Smetana, Ph.D. Length of the thesis: 46382 char Abstract The nuclear security scholarship is as influential as varied. The thesis Nuclear Security Studies Scholarship: A Social Network Analysis tries to provide a different angle of literature analysis. Author compiled a high amount of citational data in the field of nuclear security studies and then analyzed it with the tools provided by Social Network Analysis and Citational Analysis....