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Phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment is commonly achieved by chemical precipitation, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) or a simultaneous combination of the two. A defined anaerobic condition is widely regarded as the critical element to sustain EBPR. However, this study demonstrates that EBPR is indeed occurring in a 4.5 m3/h membrane bioreactor (MBR) pilot plant without a defined anaerobic condition. Although designed for chemical precipitation alone, a low average Fe/P molar ratio (iron dose/phosphorus removed) of 0.9 ± 0.1 suggests that EBPR could be contributing to a simultaneous phosphorus removal. Weekly flow-proportional grab samples through the process showed a phosphate (P) release between the primary anoxic tanks, followed by a larger uptake in the aerobic tanks. In laboratory batch tests with limited acetate supply in the presence of nitrates, the anoxic P-release began and then abruptly stopped whilst the nitrate concentration continued to decrease. This could be explained by denitrifiers out-competing PAOs for soluble substrate since a large P-release occurred when excess acetate was supplied in the presence of nitrates. It is therefore unlikely that PAOs are operating in the pilot despite the presence of nitrates as was concluded in a study with similar spontaneous EBPR observations. Instead, it is suggested that EBPR is enabled by intermittent anaerobic conditions in the primary anoxic tanks due to low nitrate concentrations (< 1 mg NO3/l) recirculating back after post-denitrification. The external carbon source supplied to the pilot was changed from glycerol to ethanol to assess any effect on the spontaneous EBPR. After ethanol had been supplied for 30 days, increased P-release rates were observed in batch tests supplied with ethanol (0.1 to 0.4 mg P/g VSS∙h) and batch tests supplied with acetate (8.6 ± 0.4 to 10.3 ± 0.4 mg P/g VSS∙h). However, the overall consumption of glycerol was less than that of ethanol, whilst the total phosphorus removal and the Fe/P ratio remained similar whether ethanol or glycerol was supplied to the pilot plant. Should operators wish to avoid any possible spontaneous P-release in the post-denitrification step, methanol is recommended as the external carbon source when considering laboratory P-release results, past research and operation costs. / Fosforrening av avloppsvatten uppnås vanligtvis genom kemisk utfällning, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) eller en kombination av dessa två samtidig. Ett definierat anaeroba förhållanden betraktas allmänt som det kritiska elementet för att upprätthålla EBPR. Dock visar denna studie att EBPR verkligen förekommer i en pilotanläggning med membranbioreaktor (MBR) utan ett definierat anaeroba förhållanden. Veckovis flödesproportionella stickprover genom processen visade en ökad fosfat (P) halt mellan de primära anoxisk tankarna, följt av ett upptag i de aerobiska tankarna. Även om det är planerat för bara kemisk fosforrening, ett lågt medel Fe/P molförhållande (järndos/fosfor bortagning) på 0,9 ± 0,1 föreslår att EBPR kan bidra till ett samtidigt fosforrening. Laboratorie-P-utsläppningstest bekräftade EBPR-aktivitet med en hög medel P-utsläpp av 9,3 ± 0,9 mg P/g VSS∙h med acetat. Tillsammans indikerar dessa resultat att biologiskt fosforrening kompletterade den kemiska fosforrening under undersökningsperioden. P- utsläppningstest visade att närvaron av nitrater inte påverkade PAO-aktiviteter när acetat tillfördes i överskott. Med begränsad acetattillförsel förhindrade emellertid närvaron av nitrater någon initial P-utsläpp och inga efterföljande fermenteringsbiprodukter observerades. Slutsatsen dras att effektiv nitrifikation-denitrifikation och hög recirkulation resulterar i låga nitrathalt i primär anox tankar. Detta orsakar intermittenta anaerobisk förhållanden som, tillsammans med lämpliga substrathalt i inloppsvatten, möjliggör EBPR att ske. Den externa kolkällan som levererades till MBR-piloten ändrades från glycerol till etanol för att undersöka potentialen att öka EBPR-andelen av fosforrening. P-utsläpp i labbtester med etanol dosering ökade från 0,1 till 0,4 mg P/g VSS∙h och tester med acetat dosering ökade från 8,6 ± 0,4 till 10,3 ± 0,4 mg P/g VSS∙h när slam hade anpassats till etanol i 30 dagar. Vid pilotanläggningens drift konsumerades i alla fall mindre glycerol under dess användningsperiod än etanol, och Fe / P- förhållandet var likadant oavsett om glycerol eller etanol tillsatts. Olika andra kolkällor testades i parallella P-utsläppningstest. VFA producerat genom jäsning av matavfall och primärt slam i ett pågående projekt, och huvudsakligen bestående av kapronsyra, resulterade i den näst högsta P- utsläpp. P-utsläpp från alkoholer var märkbart lägre än VFA-baserade kolkällor. Det betyder att risken är låg för oväntat P-utsläpp i den slutliga biologiska zonen om en alkoholbaserad kollkällan doseras där. Minskad förluftning och en liten dos VFA-baserat substrat i den första biologiska zonen skulle bidra till en betydande EBPR som skulle möjliggöra en ytterligare reducerad basdos av järnsulfat.

This diploma thesis deals with the inner immigration of inhabitants in the South Bohemia region in 1992-2004 from the point of view of administrative districts with extended operation. Furthermore, the thesis defines and evaluates the migration region of České Budějovice. Apart from the balance characteristics of migration, it is also concerned with the structural analysis based on the migration purposes as well as selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics of migrants.

All small business owners are not necessarily entrepreneurial. A small business owner starts a venture as a means of earning a living. An entrepreneurial business owner will convert an opportunity into a venture and would seek further opportunities to grow the business. It appears that the difference between the two lies in their potential for opportunity recognition, which is an essential constituent of entrepreneurship (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000). Stevenson and Jarillo (1990) claim that the skill of opportunity recognition, irrespective of the availability of resources, is the “heart of entrepreneurship”. According to several authors, the potential for opportunity recognition (ORP) represents the skill of the entrepreneur to recognize those ideas which have commercial viability, evaluate them in the context of customer needs, understand the availability of resources, and finally convert them into business ventures (Singh et al., 1999; Krueger, 2001; Shane et al., 2003, and Sarason et al., 2006). The entire process of opportunity identification, opportunity evaluation and opportunity implementation is influenced by both the entrepreneur’s personal and interpersonal attributes (Shane and Venkataraman, 2000; Short et al., 2010). Shane and Venkataraman (2000), distinguished between those entrepreneurs who had higher ORP and those entrepreneurs who had lower ORP on the basis of characteristics such as possession of financial capital, social ties with resource providers, greater self-efficacy and motivation to achieve. Variability amongst the entrepreneurs on these attributes was found to decide their performance in terms of recognizing profitable opportunities (Alvarez and Busenitz, 2001). In addition to the steps in opportunity recognition and differences in the characteristics of entrepreneurs that provide for variation in ORP, the stage of entrepreneurship has also been found to add to this variation (DeTienne, 2010). Entrepreneurship follows a cycle of three phases, which begins with the planning to create a venture, is followed by the creation of an enterprise and ends with ensuring sustenance and growth of the enterprise (Reynold and Curtin, 2009). Current research has named these phases as pre-stage, early-stage and late-stage of entrepreneurship. Prior research studies on ORP of entrepreneurs were limited to its examination in the initial phase of entrepreneurship (idea generation) and that each strand of research was confined to the influence of a particular attribute on ORP. There was a lack of studies that integrated both the attributes and the stages to examine the influence of the attributes on ORP of entrepreneurs along the different stages of entrepreneurship. Thus, the objectives of this research study are to find whether the stages of entrepreneurship affect ORP of entrepreneurs, the attributes that would influence ORP of entrepreneurs, and how their influence on ORP of entrepreneurs would differ across the stages. The attributes considered for this study were social capital, cognitive styles, self-efficacy and motivation of entrepreneurs. Each of these attributes was further divided into their sub-types, i.e., bridging and bonding for social capital, intuitive, adaptive and analytical for styles of cognition, hope of affiliation or fear of rejection for affiliation motivation, hope for success or fear of failure for achievement motivation and hope of power or fear of loss of power for power motivation. To attain these objectives, this study hypothesized and tested for several relationships. To begin with, the presence of ORP for entrepreneurs in the different stages of entrepreneurship and variations in these attributes which influenced ORP of entrepreneurs who were in different stages of entrepreneurship were hypothesized for in H1 and H2. The next attempt was to identify those attributes which affected the potential for opportunity recognition in those entrepreneurs who were found to have high and low ORP, and this was hypothesized in H3. This comparison would help delineate those attributes which would contribute to higher ORP of entrepreneurs. The scope of the study was then extended to explore if differences in personal and interpersonal attributes of entrepreneurs would lead to differences in their ORP. Hence, this research study tested if those attributes which would significantly influence ORP of entrepreneurs who were found to have high social capital and self-efficacy were different from those attributes which would significantly influence ORP of those entrepreneurs who were found to have low social capital and self-efficacy. The study also intended to find if ORP of entrepreneurs and the attributes influencing their ORP differed for those entrepreneurs who were found to use different styles of cognition and different types of motivations. These relationships were stated in hypotheses H4. Before examining the above stated hypotheses, a preliminary study was conducted to critically assess the clarity of items in the existing ORP scale. Data was collected for this preliminary study from 251 students and 24 entrepreneurs (a total of 275 ). All the students were second year post-graduates of the Business Administration programme after having done an undergraduate programme in engineering. These students have a higher probability of starting their own business and can be used as surrogates for entrepreneurs (Khera & Benson, 1970, Gaglio & Katz, 2001). An analysis of the preliminary study using item-to-total correlations and Cronbach’s alpha values was then done to revise the ORP questionnaire. The analysis of the preliminary study helped trim down 11 items in the ORP questionnaire. The original scale consisting of 24 items was thus revised to 13 items. This 13-item revised questionnaire was used to collect responses from entrepreneurs in the main study. The main study considered those entrepreneurs who were at different stages of venture creation, i.e., pre-stage (118), early-stage (73) and late-stage (88). Pre-stage entrepreneurs were potential entrepreneurs who were either enrolled for a two-year full-time programme in entrepreneurship or enrolled for elective courses in entrepreneurship as part of their postgraduate programme in management. Early-stage entrepreneurs were business owners who had started their business and their business was less than 3 years old (Korunka et al., 2003). Late-stage entrepreneurs were business owners who had businesses which were more than 3 years old (Korunka et al., 2003). The hypotheses H1, H2, H3 and H4 were tested using ANOVA, correlations and multiple linear regressions. The results of the ANOVA did not show sufficient evidence to support H1, i.e. ORP was not found to increase linearly but was instead, found to follow a ‘U’ shaped curve. The results obtained by correlation and regression analyses showed that hypotheses H2a and H2b were not supported and that both bridging social capital and self-efficacy did not influence the ORP of pre-stage entrepreneurs but that both types of social capital were important for ORP of pre-stage entrepreneurs. The hypotheses H2c and H2d were supported, which meant that the ORP of pre-stage entrepreneurs was significantly influenced by their cognition style and their motivation by hope and not motivation by fear. The study did not find evidence sufficient enough to support the hypotheses H2e, H2f and H2h about the early-stage entrepreneurs, but found sufficient evidence to support hypothesis H2g. These results indicated that ORP of early-stage entrepreneurs was influenced only by bonding social capital (instead of the expectation that they would be influenced by both types of social capital) and cognitive style. A frequency analysis of early-stage entrepreneurs indicted that their cognition style was analytical. The hypotheses H2j and H2k were not supported whereas H2i was supported and H2l was partially supported. This indicated that ORP of late-stage entrepreneurs was influenced by bonding social capital and that they were motivated by hope, particularly by hope for power. A frequency analysis of late-stage entrepreneurs indicated that their cognitive style was predominantly analytical. Among the demographic attributes, the age of the pre-stage and of the late-stage entrepreneurs and gender of the early-stage entrepreneurs were found to influence their ORP respectively. These findings further revealed that pre-stage entrepreneurs were found to be optimistic about their ORP and it was found to be significantly influenced by their social capital (both bridging and bonding) and cognitive style. The early-stage entrepreneurs were realistic and bonding social capital and their cognitive style were found to significantly influence their ORP. Late-stage entrepreneurs were experienced and thus their ORP was found to be significantly influenced by their bonding social capital and motivation by hope for power. These results have been described in Chapter 4. The study then used quartiles to divide entrepreneurs into four groups. Entrepreneurs who had scores less than and equal to quartile one-46 (Low-ORP) were compared with those entrepreneurs who had scores greater than and equal to the third quartile-55 (High-ORP). A binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis was conducted to examine if the division of potential for opportunity recognition (ORP) based on the quartiles was powerful enough to predict the effect of the independent variables on the dependent variable (ORP). The Chi-square values showed that the classification was robust enough to predict the ORP of entrepreneurs. The third set of hypotheses H 3 was then tested using the multiple linear regression and results revealed that the evidence was insufficient to support H3a, H3b, H3c and H3d. Bonding social capital was found to significantly influence the ORP of those entrepreneurs who had high ORP and cognitive style was found to significantly influence the ORP of those entrepreneurs who had low ORP. An F-test was used to investigate whether the difference in personal and interpersonal attributes of entrepreneurs could lead to difference in attributes affecting ORP of entrepreneurs. Later, a K-mean cluster analysis was used to identify homogenous groups of entrepreneurs with high dissimilarity between clusters, based on both the personal and interpersonal attributes that were found to significantly influence their ORP. The F-test scores showed that the attributes which divided the entrepreneurs into three groups were ORP, social capital, cognition style and self-efficacy. The F-test scores did not show motivation as an attribute that could significantly distinguish between entrepreneurs of the three groups. These results have been described in Chapter 5. The study further obtained new groups using quartiles to divide the entrepreneurs who had high (28 and 29) and low social capital (24) and high (30) and low (24) self-efficacy. The chi-square values of the binary logistic regression indicated that the models were robust enough to distinguish between those entrepreneurs who were found to have high and low self-efficacy and those entrepreneurs who were found to have high and low social capital. The results of multiple linear regressions found evidence to support hypotheses H4a, H4b and H4d. The demographic attributes age and education, were found to significantly influence the ORP of those entrepreneurs who had high bridging social capital. Cognitive style was found to significantly influence the ORP of those entrepreneurs who had high bonding social capital. Self-efficacy, cognitive style and age were found to significantly influence the ORP of entrepreneurs who had low bridging social capital. Cognitive style, work experience and age were found to significantly influence the ORP of entrepreneurs who had low bonding social capital. Bonding social capital and motivation by hope for success were found to significantly influence ORP of entrepreneurs who had high self-efficacy. Cognitive style and work experience were found to significantly influence ORP of entrepreneurs who had low self-efficacy. Subsequently, an analysis was done to identify attributes which significantly influenced the ORP of entrepreneurs who were found to use adaptive and analytical styles of cognition by using multiple linear regressions. Based on the results, the study found sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis H4c. The attributes that significantly influenced ORP of those entrepreneurs who used adaptive style were bridging social capital, and motivation by hope for success, work experience and age and attributes found to significantly influence ORP of those entrepreneurs who used analytical style of cognition were bonding social capital and gender. To conclude, the results of the study highlighted the importance of social capital, cognitive style and age for ORP of entrepreneurs from across all the stages and groups. There was very little evidence to support the role of self-efficacy and no evidence to support the role of motivation in influencing the ORP of those entrepreneurs who were in any stage and in any of the high and low groups. This study has developed a theoretical perspective on the role of ORP of entrepreneurs who are in different stages of entrepreneurship. It has also suggested a rationale for the use of social capital by entrepreneurs. The findings of this study would assist in guiding pre-stage entrepreneurs to develop realistic expectations while implementing their projects, and would help early-stage entrepreneurs persist with their ventures against any initial setbacks therefore findings of this study can be judiciously used for training potential entrepreneurs in the field of opportunity recognition.

Fischerova, B. Disadvantaged areas of the South Moravian Region according to selected demographic and economic indicators. Diploma theses, Brno: Mendel University, 2017. The subject of the diploma theses is evaluation situation in the disadvantaged areas of the South Moravian Region according to selected demographic and economic indicators in the years 2005 till 2015. In this timeframe the indicators of population trends, economic load index/economic dependence index, level of entrepreneurial activity and unemployment rate are being analyzed in more detail and a comparison of individual territories within South Moravian Region is made. On the basis of the identification of the intra-regional differences of the South Moravian Region, four administrative districts of the municipality have been selected (in particular SO ORP Hodonín, Kyjov, Moravský Krumlov, Veselí nad Moravou) to examined in detail according to the same indicators and for the same time period. The analysis shows that four selected disadvantaged areas implement the characteristics of the peripherals and thus fall into the problematic areas of the South Moravian Region. In conclusion, therefore, measures are proposed for the development of the particular SO ORP and the integration of disadvantaged areas in order to reduce the regional disparities.

Of the challenges facing the improvement of human health, none has taken the forefront quite like the endeavor to discover novel treatments for heart disease. As heart disease has now become the leading cause of death throughout the world [1], the medical community has made incredible strides in the mission to treat atherosclerosis which is the major contributor to heart disease. Very Low Density Lipoproteins (VLDL) are secreted by the liver and subsequently converted to Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL). Many factors contribute to the narrowing of the arterial walls, however oxidized LDL is the main factor that leads to the deposition of plaque, leading to atherosclerosis pathologies. Recently, a main focus of research into atherosclerotic processes has been the synthesis and trafficking of VLDL in hepatocytes. The rate-limiting step for the secretion of VLDL from the liver has been determined to be the transport of VLDL from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus. VLDL molecules are transported in a specialized transport vesicle the Very Low Density Lipoprotein Transport Vesicle (VTV) [2]. VLDL’s core protein, apolipoproteinB-100 (apoB100), is initially lipidated in the ER, and then subsequently delivered to the Golgi apparatus where the VLDL molecule undergoes maturation involving further lipidation and glycosylation of apoB100. Oxysterol Binding Proteins (OSBP) and the sub family OSBP Related Proteins (ORP) have been implicated in many different trafficking processes, mainly the trafficking of sterols, cholesterol, and lipids. Recently, ORP 10 was shown to be a negative regulator of apoB100 secretion in growth medium [3]. Using co-immunoprecipitation, the current study shows that ORP 10 interacts with VLDL’s core protein apoB100 directly. Employing an in vitro budding assay, we show that the blocking of ORP 10 with a specific antibody against ORP10 increases VTV formation from the ER. Given that the ER to Golgi pathway is the rate-limiting step in overall VLDL secretion, these findings support the conclusion that ORP 10 is a negative regulator of VLDL trafficking between the ER and Golgi, and that this process is mediated by the ORP 10 protein binding with apoB100.

The main objective of the master thesis was to compare municipalities within the Telč region from the perspective of rural tourism. The comparison was based on historical, sociodemographic and geographic description and analysis of their potential for tourism, including analysis of opinions of selected subjects towards tourism and its development. In the theoretical part, basic concepts of tourism or rural tourism were characterized, based on the review of pertinent professional literature. In the next section, the Telč region was characterized in terms of particular tourism-related factors, i.e. localization, selective and implementation factors. The characteristic consisted in comparing the objective data of the municipalities studied. Evaluation of tourism potential of the Telč region was based on evaluation of the factors and on the survey that addressed representatives of the municipalities with the aim to acquire their opinions on tourism and all components of tourism infrastructure.

The theme of this diploma thesis is GPS devices in teaching as a means of developing inter-subject relations between educational fields of Geography and English language at the 2nd stage of elementary school (on the example of ORP Chotěboř). Presented work consists of theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part includes the methodology of creating both parts, where the author introduces the whole process of making her work. The first part contains the theoretical background, where the author briefly introduces the basic concepts; the chapter focus on GPS devices, their potential use in teaching and the possibilities for inter-subject relations. The integral part of the theoretical part, especially for its thematic setting, is the study of curriculum documents. The practical part of this work contains educational activities that connecting curriculum of the local region, ie. geography, with English language. All presented educational activities consist of the introductory part and a methodical commentary.

The work focuses on the analysis of EU funds. Described is also the general functioning of the European community in terms of politics, economics, geographical kontext, regional policy and economics and social cohesion. Subsequently, the theoretical part of the work is devoted to tourism and choosing suitable program for derive financial resources for tourism development. The aim of this work is to draft a specific project based on information obstained from the analysis of the Rural Development Program in the Czech republic. Another objective is to assess the effects and benefits resulting from the project. The project proposal is developed in the practical part of the thesis. Finances are drawn from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) through the Rural Development Program (RDP). The entire project is analyzed and evaluated in particular in economic and financial terms. Social and development aspect, creating new jobs and the overall of the project are evaluated too.

Title: Implementation of Personal Development Plans in Non-Governmental Organisations Author: Michaela Čížková Abstract The aim of this thesis is to identify factors which might prevent or help non-profit organizations in implementation of Personal Development Plans as a mean of employee development in the Czech Republic. Theoretical part of this paper describes non-profit organisations in context of their specificity in frame of employee development and introduces the variables, which influence this subject and which it is necessary to take into consideration when planning the implementation of Personal Development Plans. The empirical part uses the Grounded Theory method to research phenomena, which can serve as prerequisite in successful implementation of PDP, either in the initial phase or when solving issues caused by this tool. Conclusion and discussion chapter is dedicated to interpretation of the research results from perspective of employee development, their comparison with professional resources and the possible implication for non-profit organisations in the Czech Republic. Key words: Personal Development Plans (PDP), employee development, Non-Profit Non- Governmental Organisations, Human Resource Management