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The aim was to determine the conversion of alimentary substances of laying hens (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) into the production of eggs and to determine the emission of nitrogen, air pollution by dust and microorganisms in accordance with different technologies of layer rearing. The studies were conducted in 6 poultry houses. The birds were kept in premises in cage batteries BKN-3, "Spech", OBN-1, OBN-3 or on littered floor. It was found out that there was 1.6 times more dust in the air of poultry house where laying hens were kept on litter and the total number of bacteria was 2.4 times higher than in the bird cages (P < 0.001). The laying hens assimilated 21.95-28.42% of nitrogen, 19.63-31.25% of phosphorus, 6.04-8.33% of potassium for egg production and weight gains when feed is balanced. If cage technologies are applied, over a year, there is a loss of 6.7 ± 1.4% of nitrogen through the excrements because of nitrogen emission. When the technologies of littered floor are used, there is a loss of 18.5 ± 4.8% of nitrogen extricated with the excrements (P < 0.025). When the birds were kept in cages, 0.059 ± 0.011 kg of nitrogen per each bird evaporated because of ammonia emission, while in the case of littered floor - 0.227 ± 0.126 kg of nitrogen.

An extent of the damage of Austrian pine trees was evaluated in urban greenery in selected sites in Slovak Republic during the years 2004-2005. Fungi Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.: Fr.) Dyko & B. Sutton (syn. Diplodia pinea (Desm.) J. Kickx fil) and Pestalotia sp. were diagnosed on all observed trees. Symptoms of the disease were recorded. S. sapinea was isolated successfully from needles and from cone scales. The growth rate of hyphae of mycelium and the mean daily growth were evaluated on three types of cultivated media at different temperatures. The highest mean daily growth of mycelium was recorded on maltose agar at 25°C after 24 hours of cultivation (31.7 mm). Conidia of S. sapinea and Pestalotia sp. on water agar began to germinate after 3 and 2 hours, respectively. After 6 hours the mean germination rate of conidia of S. sapinea was 81.75% (from cone) and 89.3% (from needles); for Pestalotia it was 88.5%.

The article stresses the importance of analysing the inflow of foreign direct investments to the countries of the Visegrad Group. In this context, what is shown is the attractiveness of the CEE countries, including the Visegrad Group, in terms of the FDI location; and there are also other factors depicted, which determine the attractiveness of regions for foreign investors. The EU accession gave the Visegrad Group countries new opportunities to attract FDI; the point is to take advantage of these opportunities. Actions at both national and regional level are constantly needed in order to enhance the location attractiveness, since the VG countries need capital to modernize their economies. The quality of the investments attracted is also crucial, as the "modern" ones will create stable bases for the economy modernization and for building of a sustainable competitive advantage.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change accepted in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro provides principles and framework for cooperative international action on mitigating climate change. But it soon became clear that more radical targets were needed to encourage particular countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In response, countries that have ratified the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change accepted the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The rulebook for how the Kyoto Protocol will be implemented - the Marrakech Accord, was agreed in 2001. This paper describes political instruments and facilities of mitigating climate change by forestry proposed in those political documents.

In May 31, 2000, the Government of the Czech Republic, has adopted the Decision No. 532, assigning the minister of agriculture to realize liming and fertilizing in the Krušné hory Mts. and Orlické hory Mts. Based on the decision, in 2000-2003, liming of forest stands was done, at the area of 34,000 ha. Changes of soil and leaf chemistry two years after liming were studied in the Western Krušné hory Mts., Forest administration Horní Blatná. Slight pH increase layer was stated both in the humus layer, and in upper horizons of mineral soil. Increased contents of calcium and magnesium, same as nitrogen and potassium were also recorded. Content of basic cations, mainly of magnesium and calcium, in the sorption complex was increased, aluminium content was decreased. C/N ratio in the humus layer did not change, ratio of basic cations and aluminium in the humus layer was increased significantly. Analyses of the assimilation organs of spruce have proved increase of magnesium and calcium content. The increase was higher in the stands of originally lower values of these elements. While before liming, in about a half of the samples of second needle year class, magnesium was under the deficiency level, two years after liming no deficient values were recorded.

Certain physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the flavoured kefir drink were studied during refrigerated storage. Kefir drink batches were prepared using 2% addition of kefir grains, incubation for 18 h and subsequent filtration. The batches were then flavoured with blackberry, raspberry and strawberry aromas in the concentrations of 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15%, respectively. The samples were taken for analysis on 1^st, 4^th, 7^th, and 10^th days of storage at 4 ± 1°C. The sensory analysis of the flavoured kefir samples revealed the best acceptability level on the 4^th day of storage. Nevertheless, the samples were acceptable all throughout the storage. The percentage of the aroma addition significantly influenced the odour, flavour, texture, and mouth-feel, and the overall acceptability ratings. The higher percentage of the added aroma the more sensed, however, the lowest aroma addition was preferable. The pHs of the flavoured kefir drinks decreased throughout the storage time whereas, the titratable acidity, alcohol content and CO₂ values increased.

The aim of this study was to reveal morphological and morphometrical properties of the sacculus rotundus (SR) and ileum in the Angora rabbit. For this purpose, a total of thirteen adult healthy Angorarabbits of both sexes were used. At the level of the junction of the ileum and SR, the ileum invaginated into the SR by protruding in 9 Angorarabbits, but joined directly the SR in 21. Numerous aggregate lymph follicles located just under the tunica serosa formed outstanding macroscopic polygonal areas on the external surface of the SR. In the inner wall of the SR, irregular projections were seen grossly. The saccorotundocecal orifice was found to be bordered laterally by two folds facing the cecum. These folds enclosed small polygonal spaces with mushroom shaped protrusions. The mean lengths and weights of SR and ileum in male were larger than those in female, and the related values also had statistical significance (P < 0.05). Compared with the ileum, the SR had short and thick villi, had a large amount of crypts and aggregated lymphoid follicles, and had a much thicker wall and much wider lumen. The crescent-like-hollows were detected between the lamina propria and the apical portions of the lymph follicles. The results from this study are thought to shed light on future studies on the digestive system and proper diagnosis of pathological disorders related to it in the Angora rabbit, and to contribute to the present morphological knowledge on the SR and ileum in this species.

The modified PAGE method (TRIS - Glycine buffer pH 8.9) was used for the characterisation of selected 25 registered potato varieties. This method enabled to identify each variety from the examined variety set. The calculation of identity indexes (proportion of common bands) helped to evaluate the similarity of varieties from these aspects. The examination of electrophoretic profiles of soluble tuber proteins, which are highly polymorphic and stable, can be considered as valuable for variety characterization and identification.

In 1995-1997, the population dynamics of the flea beetles Chaetocnema tibialis and Phyllotreta vittula, associated with Amaranthus retroflexus (wild species) and Amaranthus caudatus (cultivated species), were studied at the locality Nitra-Malanta (48°19'N, 18°09'E) in south-western Slovakia. On both plant species, the number of C. tibialis adults was usually very low until the beginning of July. During July the number of C. tibialis increased, but sooner on cultivated amaranth. An increased number of C. tibialis adults was observed on both amaranth species until the middle of September. The results showed that amaranth plants are a very important reservoir of C. tibialis during summer. P. vittula was a common flea beetle on amaranth during the whole summer, but its numbers never exceeded more than 10 adults per 25 plants. Low temperatures in winter had a negative effect on populations of C. tibialis on both amaranth species and also on populations of P. vittula on A. retroflexus. The lower the precipitation was in July, the higher were the populations of C. tibialis on both amaranth species and the populations of P. vittula on A. retroflexus.

In 2001-2004, the influence of various ways of farming unmanaged grasslands on the mineral nitrogen content in lysimetric waters was monitored. Field trials with 11 variants were performed 420 m above sea level, at depths of 0.2 and 0.4 m, 4-5 times annually. The average amount of N_min released per ha per year in lysimetric waters ranged from 0.84 to 5.12 kg. The upper layer to a depth of 0.2 m had a higher content. The conclusive difference, in comparison with properly farmed control, was with the black fallow and in the variant where fallow followed mulching. With the exception of this method of farming the pratotechnics of unmanaged grasslands - mulching did not increase the load of rhisosphere, either by the overall mineral nitrogen, or by the concentration of N-NO₃^-. Even by using fallow for a four-year period, a conclusive increase in the content of N_min was not observed.

The aim of this study was to investigate an association between aggressiveness and high level of feeding in a half-open feedlot production system. An experiment was conducted on 72 head of beef cattle of different breeds. The animals were at about 10 months of age. Medium quality silage was offered ad libitum and supplemented with high (HE) and low level (LE) of barley (2.5 and 1.5 kg/day/head, respectively) and supplemented without (nil) or with (+) extracted soybean meal (0.45 kg/day/head). Several types of animal behaviour were observed such as those parameters that are categorized to be main aggressive behaviours, butting, being butted, mounting and being mounted. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were found in butting, being butted behaviours between HE and LE treatment groups. Mounting and being mounted behaviours were significantly different (P < 0.05) in steers and heifers and between the seasons as well. Steers performed more incidents of mounting behaviour than heifers and it was the same for spring, during which animals had more mounting behaviours. It was concluded that there was a close relationship between high-energy diets and aggressive behaviour, which necessitates some management measures to be taken in order to ensure better animal welfare and beef production.

The aim of study was to verify a possibility of adding boron to multi-nutrient soil tests: Mehlich 3, water (1:5) and 0.5M NH₄-acetate extraction. Thirty-six different soils from topsoils of agriculturally farmed field were used for the study. The basic set of 36 soils was doubled when the same soil samples with gypsum addition at an equivalent dose 2 t Ca/ha were used. The closest correspondence between B in soil (n = 72) and B in plant was found out by the NH₄-acetate soil test. This test proved its good universality and independence on a radical intervention in soil chemistry by gypsum treatment. It responded to an increase in B-availability to plants after gypsum treatment of soil. The adjustment of NH₄-acetate boron by the percentage difference between the actual and the desired pH of soil improved the closeness of the correlation. Although the H₂O soil test showed its lower universality, it is assumed to use the H₂O soil test for prediction of B-status in soil when the history of previous fertilisation of the field will be known. The Mehlich 3 soil test did not prove to be suitable for diagnostics of B-status in soil.

The primary goal of our analysis is to evaluate the effects of changes in the Slovak agriculture subsidy system on the selected farms located in different production areas between the years 2003 and 2004. Our comparative analysis divides the farms into two groups: The first group represents all those farms that operate in good farming conditions i.e. primarily the land is more productive (PA). The second group of farms operates in less favorable farming conditions (LFA). The regions differ from each other in terms of geographical position, location, production and climatic conditions, as well as the quality of land. We analyzed data of 119 farms.

Rural villages are the sole subjects in rural area which integrate all elements acting in the rural area to one functional whole. They can be therefore taken as the pivotal element of rural development. The research was done in 2004 and was based on the search for rural villages' characteristics and exploration of the elements of regional differentiation. The project results from the presumption of difference between the rural villages given by their size, location in specific areas or on exposed roads, distance from civic centers etc. It is supposed that these characteristics have specific and significant connections with such phenomenon as the level of unemployment, the level of civic and technical facilities in villages, the activity of inhabitants and the village itself, etc. The challenge was to define problem characteristics of rural areas, which mirror significant regional differences, structure and interconnectedness of these differences and their importance for future regional development. Interdependence of particular indicators was explored by statistical evaluation.

At present, the professionals in the industry and farming still miss comparative technical data indicating the potential of agricultural vehicles and mobile machinery to inflict compaction damage upon the cultivated soil. Harmful compaction means especially the increase of soil bulk density above a critical level required for efficient plant production. In general, it seems reasonable to restrict the excessive soil compaction by loaded wheels starting from the design of farm power and machinery, which means to provide technical data on the compaction potential of tyres. This paper presents the technique of tyre rating by means of the index Compaction Capacity (CC), which simply reflects the compaction potential of any individual tyre contained in a tyre catalogue within the whole range of loads and inflation pressures.

The present study addresses the characteristics of the frequency and segregation of alleles determining the SNP 775C>T polymorphism within the bovine ITGB2 gene in the Black-and-White cattle population as well as in two endemic breeds of Polish Red and Polish White-Back cattle population qualified to the international programme of genetic resource diversity preservation in farm animals. The SNP 775C>T polymorphism revealed three amplified restriction fragments of 31 bp, 77 bp and 108 bp, forming three genotypes CC (31 bp, 77 bp), CT (31 bp, 77 bp, 108 bp) and TT (108 bp). A group of randomly selected Black-and-White cows was characterized by a negligible percentage of homozygous genotypes TT (5.1%) and by a prevailing percentage of heterozygous CT (60.1%) and homozygous CC (34.8%). In contrast, the between breeds analysis revealed that cows involved in the programme of genetic diversity preservation had a high prevalence of homozygotes CC (Polish Red - 55.9%, Polish White-Back - 60.0%), and a low percentage of homozygotes TT (Polish Red - 8.8%, Polish White-Back - 5.7%) in comparison with the Black-and-White cattle population. The degree of homozygosity in groups of Polish White-Back cows (65.7%) and Polish Red cows (64.7%) was remarkably higher than that of the Black-and-White cows (39.9%).

As a fermented product, tarhana is the dry form of yogurt-cereal mixture and represents an important part of the diets of many people in different countries including Turkey. In the present study, the effects of the addition of baker's yeast on the quality and functional properties of tarhana were investigated. Tarhana was produced under laboratory conditions (uncontrolled and controlled conditions) using two formulas. Some physicochemical, functional, and sensory properties of the samples were analysed. An increase was found in the acidity value of all samples during the fermentation period. The addition of baker's yeast affected the functional properties (water absorption capacity, foaming capacity, foaming stability, emulsifying activity) of the samples (P< 0.05). The tarhana samples produced by the addition of yeast and under controlled conditions had shorter fermentation times and better sensory properties. This research suggests that the addition of baker's yeast and the employment of controlled conditions can be recommended in the production of the commercial type of tarhana.

The presence of the chloramphenicol resistance genes cat, cmlA, flo, and the role of plasmids and class 1 integrons in the spread and persistence of chloramphenicol resistance were investigated on a collection of 40 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains isolated from animals and humans in Hungary, by PCR and conjugation. Three groups of chloramphenicol resistant strains were identified. Eleven animal and 13 human isolates harboured the flo gene, encoding resistance to chloramphenicol and florfenicol, and possessed integrons of 1.0 Kb and 1.2 Kb typically found on the multidrug resistance island of S. Typhimurium DT104. Fifteen human strains had two different chloramphenicol resistance genes: the catB3 gene, identified as a gene cassette within a 1.45 Kb integron, and the catA gene, both of which were located on and transferred by a 140 Kb plasmid from a representative strain to the E. coli recipient via conjugation. A single animal strain had the catA gene alone, which was also transferred by a 35 Kb plasmid via conjugation. These three groups of strains belonged to three distinct genetic clusters, as it was revealed by macrorestriction analysis of 18 selected strains. This study provides information on the versatile genetic background of the chloramphenicol and florfenicol resistances in S. Typhimurium in Hungary and points to the significance of mobile genetic elements such as conjugative R-plasmids and integrons in the spread and persistence of chloramphenicol resistance genes. The results also indicate the predominance of the flo gene among animal strains and its appearance among human strains inHungary.

Study of the intrarenal arterial pattern of kidney by a corrosion cast method was carried out on 10 kidneys of wolves. The left renal artery was longer than the right one. The renal arteries divided into two dorsal and one ventral branches. The dorsal branches were longer and thinner than the ventral one. Both dorsal and ventral branches gave off the interlobar, arcuate and interlobular arteries, respectively. The right dorsal branch gave off 5-7 segmental arteries, the right ventral branch 4-5 segmental arteries, the left dorsal branch 6-9 segmental arteries and the left ventral branch 7-8 segmental arteries. No anastomoses were observed between the renal arteries and their branches.

Trees of prune (Prunus domestica L.), cv. Jojo, were inoculated by chip budding with three different strains of PPV isolated from European plum in the Czech Republic. These isolates included Plum pox virus M strain (PPV-M), Plum pox virus D strain (PPV-D) and a PPV-recombinant both strains (PPV-Rec). The results of the evaluation of the inoculated trees over 2 years are presented. Trees of plum cv. Jojo behaven differently to infection with the three PPV strains. A strong hypersensitive reaction appeared a year after inoculation with PPV-M and PPV-Rec strains, although not all inoculated tree died. PPV must have been present in the tissue of cv. Jojo because the virus was transferred to the rootstock St. Julien. Plants of the rootstock became systemically infected with the PPV-M and PPV-Rec strains, showing severe PPV symptoms. The presence of PPV was proved by ELISA in leaves of rootstock St. Julien, but not in leaves of cv. Jojo. Inoculation with strain PPV-D resulted in partial hypersensitive reaction of plants of cv. Jojo, but after initial stunting and partial death of shoots recovering of plants was observed.

Two potato cultivars Kufri Bahar and Kufri Jyoti were stored in heaps and pits under ambient conditions of sub-tropical plains of northern India and their chipping quality was determined after 90 days of storage. During storage there was a significant reduction (33.84%) in the reducing sugar content of potatoes and improvement (31.63%) in chip colour. Sugar levels in stored potatoes were within the acceptable limit for processing and table purposes indicating that potatoes stored up to 90 days on the farm in heap and pits are suitable for these two purposes.

The paper compares the main factors influencing the key supplier-industries for brewing and wine-production in the Czech Republic - hop-growing and winegrowing - and it is a part of a more extensive research focused especially on the processing industries, and the specifics of their analyses. The importance of hop-growing and winegrowing is based on the fact that they significantly influence not only the final product, but also the competitiveness in the successive industries of the product vertical. Similar influence within the examined industries is evidenced in the close interconnection with the above-mentioned (main) successive processing-part, and in the complicated position of the small growers. Differences are shown especially in the flexibility of reaction to the changes of demand for final products of the successive industries, and also in the position of both industries in the Czech Republic, and in the world.

Social-political transition in the former socialist countries led to a new understanding of borders and created the prerequisites for renaissance and significant activation of the cross-border co-operation. This way, Slovakia along with other countries joined the Euro-regional movement in Europe, which spread since the end of 60-ies through Western-European countries. Formation and institutionalisation of Euro-regional relations, links and co-operation was initially hindered by a whole range of obstacles, including the ones with political background. It was obvious mainly in Slovakia where it influenced the existence and potential establishment of new Euro-regional associations. Rebirth of the Euro-regional activities started after 1998. Currently, there are Euro-regions practically operating along the entire Slovak border with its neighbours. The extent and form of institutionalisation and professional staffing varies. Activities of Euro-regions are merely based on projects which bring funding. Projects are broadly oriented, while the prevailing focus is currently on the economic activation of Euro-regions. There is a lack of partner co-operation and co-ordination of activities between countries and their activities, including cross-border activities and activities of Euro-regions. Euro-regional activities play a significant role in activation of border areas in the country, while they have a complementary character for the regional state policy and regional policy of self-governed regions which is being formulated.

In this research, leaf area prediction models were developed for some leaf-used medicinal plants namely Calamintha nepeta, Datura stromonium, Melissa officinalis, Mentha piperita, Nerium oleander, Origanum onites and Urtica dioica growing wild in Black Sea region of Turkey. Lamina width, length and leaf area were measured non-destructively to develop the models. The actual leaf areas of the plants were measured by PLACOM Digital Planimeter, and multiple regression analysis with Excel 7.0 computer package program was performed for the plants separately. The produced leaf area prediction models in the present study were formulized as LA = (a) + (b₁ × L) + [(b₂ × (L × W)] + (b₃ × L²) + (b₄ × W²) + [b₅ × (L × W²)] + [b₆ × (L² × W)] + [b₇ × (L² × W²)] where LA is leaf area, W is leaf width, L is leaf length and a, b₁, b₂, b₃, b₄, b₅, b₆, and b₇ are coefficients. R² values for medicinal plants tested varied with species from 0.82 in Origanum onites to 0.98 in Urtica dioica. All R² values and standard errors were found to be significant at the P < 0.001 level.

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of dynamics of species diversity, abundance, distribution of fruiting bodies and dominance of macromycetes in mycocoenosis of beech monocultures. The problems were studied in beech monocultures on three permanent research plots with various impacts of air pollutants generated by the aluminium plant in Žiar nad Hronom. Over the research period we determined 121 macromycete species and one species of imperfect fungus. We found relatively balanced values of abundance, fruiting body distribution and species dominance on all the examined plots. The species diversity in groups consisting of the most dominant species was practically the same on each plot. As for the ecotrophic requirements of individual macromycetes, we can conclude that the diversity of tree parasites decreased with decreasing pollutant load. We also found out relatively balanced numbers of lignicolous saprophytes and terrestrial saprophytes on each research plot. Air pollutants also influenced the species spectrum of ectomycorrhizal macromycetes negatively (only 6 species on the plot with highest pollution stress and 21 species on the plot with lowest pollution stress).

Yellowing of the Norway spruce is a relatively common problem in many areas of the Czech Republic. In some of them, it is also connected with forest decline; it was studied in the Šumava (Bohemian Forest) Mts. and in the western part of the Krušné hory Mts. This unfavourable phenomenon is initiated by several ecological as well as anthropic processes, one of the most important being the imbalance of forest stand nutrition. Particular reasons lead to the deficiency of nutrients, especially of magnesium. Solution of this undesirable trend is the profound ecological analysis and cause-oriented treatments. Besides lowering the air pollutant input, fertilization with deficient nutrients is a successful treatment in the forest stand management in affected areas. In the areas of interest, the application of a relatively small amount of appropriate fertilizer (SILVAMIX Mg) led to considerable improvement in the defoliation dynamics and yellowing progress since the first years after use.

Ochratoxin A is a very common mycotoxin which can be found rather often, predominantly in various cereal materials and in products from this type of plants. Our aim was to apply an analytical procedure with a suitable detection level of ochratoxin A for its estimation in beer. The detection level of the method suggested was close to 0.001 µg/kg. The analytical procedure is based on HPLC separation with fluorescence detection. The application of this method is demonstrated and analytical results obtained with beer of domestic provenience are reported.

The aim of this study was to characterise and compare Pasteurella multocida isolates originating from pigs (n = 43), calves (n = 31), rabbits (n = 27), and to a lesser extent from other hosts (n = 6). A total of 107 P. multocida isolates were obtained from various locations in the Czech Republic. They were analysed by capsular PCR typing and ribotyping, and tested for the production of dermonecrotoxin. Most frequently, serogroup A isolates (n = 74) were found, followed by serogroup D (n = 25) and serogroup F (n = 8) isolates. From a total of fifteen different ribotypes (1-15) generated by restriction endonuclease MspI, four ribotypes (1, 3, 4, and 7) were predominant. The prevalence of predominant ribotypes was different in isolates originating from different hosts. Ribotype 1 was characteristic for rabbit isolates, ribotype 3 was primarily found in pig isolates, and ribotype 7 dominated among calf isolates. Sixteen (mainly porcine) isolates produced dermonecrotoxin but significant correlation among ribotypes and dermonecrotoxin production was not observed.

Six field strains of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale isolated from chickens in Elazig province located in the East of Turkey were typed by serotyping and random amplified polymorphic DNA assay using a random primer (OPG-11). Using the AGP test used for serotyping, serotype A was found to be the predominant serotype, only one strain was serotyped as serotype B. By RAPD assay, the tested ORT strains were found to have different RAPD profiles. In addition, the RAPD assay showed almost similar DNA profiles among the tested strains of the serotypes A, B, D and E. The strain of serotype C did give a different RAPD profile. Within strains of the same serotype (A), different profiles were found but the strain of serotype (B) had an identical profile as strains of serotype A. This study suggests that more genotypes of ORT strains are present within the same serotype and thus that no relationship exists between the RAPD pattern of ORT and their serotype.