This thesis presents an ethnography of public discourse in postcolonial, decolonial, queer, and multimedia contexts, as part of a critical analysis of imperialism in the digital age. In mixing experiences with theory and social practice, I draw on the work of activists who have already begun to mold these theories into everyday practice, paying particular attention to Occupy Wall Street, the Zapatistas of Mexico, and Southerners on New Ground (SONG)—a regionally focused non-profit organization based in the southern United States. I develop techno-seduction as a term to deconstruct the lure of technological determinism promoting static interpretations of democracy, consensus, and participation, and to describe the impact these interpretations have on intrapersonal and group identity formation.

Objective: The paper deals with the evaluation of the status of pulmonary and postural functions of the patients with pectus carinatum. Further, it deals with the development of pulmonary and postural functions after Welch surgery. Methods: Between the years 2010 and 2011 20 patients (19 men, 1 woman) went through Welch surgery at the Pediatric Clinic of the Faculty Hospital, Prague Motol. The average age of the group was 16,2 ± 1,2 years. Before surgery, pulmonary functions, respiratory muscle strength and posturography were evaluated. The received values were compared with the predicted, i.e. the controlled group, and in order to find mutual dependencies, also among themselves. 7 patients were repeatedly checked for pulmonary functions and posturography in the interval of 8,1 ± 3,0 months after their surgery. Pre and post - surgery values were compared. Results: Dynamic and static hyperinflation and also an increased patency of periphery respiratory tracts was found in 20 pre-surgery patients with PC. Testing of respiratory muscle strength showed significantly lower values than the predicted. Checking for posturography revealed the differences in postural system resulting, especially with complicated postural demands, in medio-lateral instability of the body. Worsening of the balance functions...

Resume Title: Hellenistic wall painting Author: Danica Dekýšová Department: Institute for classical archeology, Charles University Supervisor: PhDr. Ladislav Stančo, PhD. Supervisor′s email: ladislav.stanco@ff.cuni.cz Abstract: The work focuses on monuments with preserved original Hellenistic paintings. It gives a description of these monuments and a detailed analysis of the extant murals. It also follows motivs used on paintings and it looks for parallels to these themes on older funerary monuments. Marginally the work deals with Roman copies of lost Hellenistic originals. Keywords: wall painting, Hellenistic tombs, Hellenistic grave stelai

Phosphoglucosamine mutase (GlmM) is an enzyme of bacterial cell wall biosynthesis. The main aim of this thesis was to find out, whether gene glmM is essential for viability of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, we prepared merodiploid strain containing two copies of glmM; the genomic gene and ectopic copy under control of zinc inducible promoter. Subsequently, depletion strain was prepared by deletion of genomic copy of glmM. This strain was further used for analysis of viability and phenotype features in the medium containing various concentrations of zinc ions, an inducer of ectopic glmM expression. We found out, that the viability of this strain was strictly dependent on the concentration of inducer and further, that depletion of GlmM resulted in remarkable morphological defects. The rescue of mutant strain was observed after addition of inducer up to the level of the control sample. These results have provided the evidence of glmM essentiality for S. pneumoniae viability. Furthermore, we analyzed, whether phosphorylation of key amino acid residues, S99 and S101, is essential for GlmM functionality. Four different strains were prepared by means of site-directed mutagenesis expressing glmM with substitutions of key serine residues for alanine or glutamic acid. Since deletion of chromosomal locus in...

Title: First ascent in Big Wall The sumary: This thesis is devoted to rock-climbing and especially to unique big wall climbing. This thesis is focused on a special discipine of the climbing Big Walls - first ascent. It should provide complete strategy and technique of big wall rock-climbing. It consists of history of Big Wall climbing, basic equipment, technique, tactics, methods of first ascent and many other specific aspects. This thesis should also help with comprehension of the basic as well as the more specific technique of firs ascent in the Big Wall. Keywords: Mountaineering, Big Wall, first ascents

L’étude entreprise dans le cadre de cette thèse tente d’établir une synthèse sur l’évolution de la peinture murale romaine en Narbonnaise, sur une période chronologique allant du Ier s. av. J-C. au IIIème s. ap. J.-C. Elle s’appuie sur un catalogue recensant tous les décors connus jusqu’en 2011, soit 394 décors de parois et 29 décors de plafonds. Chaque décor fait l’objet d’une fiche synthétique qui replace chaque élément dans son contexte archéologique, avant de le décrire le plus précisément possible, en l’accompagnant des illustrations disponibles les plus pertinentes. L’analyse des décors a permis, dans un premier temps, de répertorier et classer tous les motifs existants. Le regroupement des motifs a été ensuite l’occasion de mettre en évidence des systèmes décoratifs (agencement des zones inférieure, médiane et supérieure) qui s’éloignent des styles pompéiens traditionnels. Enfin, la confrontation des systèmes décoratifs et des contextes architecturaux dans lesquels ils ont été trouvés, offrent la possibilité de s’interroger sur le rapport entre le décor et l’espace. / This PhD thesis presents a synthetical analysis and evolution of Roman paintings found in the province of Narbonensis from the 1st c. BC to the 3rd c. AD. It includes a catalogue of all the paintings known up to 2011: 394 wall paintings and 29 ceiling paintings. Each decorative effect is carefully described and placed within its archaeological context, and accompanied by the most relevant and best illustrations available. The subsequent analysis of the paintings allowed the reorganisation and classification of all the decorative elements. The resulting groups of elements demonstrate the use of various decorative systems (decoration of lower, medium and upper parts of the walls) which appear to be different from the canonical Pompeian styles. Finally, a comparison of these decorative systems with the architectural contexts in which theywere displayed allows a reflection on the relationship between decoration and its architectural setting.

Heritage tourism and the concept of sustainability have some certain intrinsic associations between each other. They both possess the characteristics of inheritance and continuance. In 2015, World Heritage Convention has stated that it is critical to consider present and future needs from economic, societal and environmental aspects when conserving the heritage resources. The Great Wall is one of the most popular and well-known heritage tourism destinations throughout the world, which was designated on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987. Badaling Great Wall, as the study case in the thesis, is one of the eight sections of the Great Wall being located in Beijing. Based on the review of previous literature, there are a lot of research studying on heritage tourism within the context of sustainability from the aspect of local resident. However, there is little research studying from the perspective of tourist, who are the major consumers, financial support and a key group of stakeholders in heritage tourism. Hence, this thesis puts emphasis on exploring the current challenges to sustainability at Badaling Great Wall site, through investigating its current situation of sustainability from a tourist perspective. The research findings are that Badaling Great Wall site has confront several management-related challenges. Lack of commercial appeal and promotion, absence of cooperation between stakeholders, the negative effects caused by excessive visitors, lack of efficient energy, water and waste management, and absence of a sound scheme for monitoring the situation of heritage conservation and supervising negative tourist behaviors.

Rop/Rac proteins are plant-specific monomeric guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins (G-proteins) with important functions in plant development. Until recently, only three cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Rop/Rac G-protein genes were sequenced, representing subfamilies III and IV of the plant monomeric Gprotein family. In this project, members of subfamilies II and I were cloned, sequenced, and named GhRac2 and GhRac3, respectively. Using real-time reverse transcription PCR, expression of GhRac2 was highest during fiber elongation, decreasing significantly when cellulose biosynthesis began. Transcript abundance of GhRac3 doubled between fiber elongation and secondary wall synthesis, remaining constant until 20 days post-anthesis. Expression of GhRac2 and GhRac3 was compared between the unfertilized ovules of Gossypium hirsutum, Texas Marker 1 and two near-isogenic fiber-impaired mutants. Expression of GhRac2 and GhRac3 was significantly higher in wild type ovules than in Ligon lintless, a mutant impaired in fiber elongation, but was not different in Naked Seed, a mutant impaired in fiber initiation.

In the 21st century, this planet has experienced an explosion of social movements and protests. From the Arab Spring to the Occupy Movement, global protests had become such a prominent feature of the first decade of the new millennium that Time Magazine named the protester as its person of the year in 2011. This project examines the relationship between social theory and political practice in an attempt to gain further insight into contemporary social movements. In particular, it examines the theoretical assumptions underlying the Occupy Movement in the United States and compares these assumptions with 19th century individual and collective anarchist theories, as well as with contemporary theories that have taken the postmodern turn.

M.A. (Historical Studies) / Please refer to full text to view abstract