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With regret, we have to inform the community of plant pathologists, plant virologists, and plant protection scientists. Assoc. Prof. Jaroslav Polák, a former and long-time Plant Protection Science editorial board member, passed away on May 20, 2024.

In 2024, the journal Plant Protection Science (PPS) completes 60 years of publication (1965-2024). Its roots extend back to the year 1921. In recent years, PPS has developed into an international scientific journal focused on all aspects of plant protection science, published exclusively in English, and with an international editorial board. The publisher is the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), celebrating its 100th anniversary (1924-2024). PPS is one of eleven agricultural journals published by CAAS. On its 50th anniversary, PPS published a detailed overview of its history and development. This latest critical review summarises developments during the last ten years; however, in special cases, also with a longer-term perspective. During the last decade, PPS has made impressive progress and is now among the world's key scientific journals. Recently, the journal has been added to the indexing and abstracts of many international databases, e.g. BIOSIS Previews, SCOPUS and Web of Science. In 2014, PPS had an impact factor of 0.597, but during the last few years, PPS's IF has ranged between 1.3 and 1.4 (for 2023, IF = 1.7), with the possibility of further increase. Each year, PPS is published quarterly, with a total of around 40 papers (original papers, reviews, short communications, biographical notices, and book reviews). Per year, about 70-80% of papers by authors/co-authors from abroad are published (Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Oceania). In the final part of this presentation, we describe some recent achievements and discuss key topics related to PPS's future development.

Brassica and related crops are one of the most important and widely growing crops around the world. They have very broad utilization in human activities as fresh and processed food, fodder and forage of animals, condiments and ornamental plants. This group of plants belongs to one of the oldest domesticated crops with very wide geographic distribution and history of growing and human utilization. Brassicas are also very diverse from taxonomical and genetic viewpoint with rather long history of breeding. The First Edition of this book was published by CABI in 2006, this volume received very high evaluation and by reviewers was considered as "an exemplary job in making horticultural sense". However, during the last two decades there was made enormous progress in research, breeding, growing and practical aspects of utilization of these crops. This newest edition of the book represents a very impressive, comprehensive and complex treatment of all the most important aspects related to vegetable brassicas and related crucifers used in horticulture.

The overall mechanical response of a fractured rock mass is, to a large extent, affected by naturally occurring fractures that exhibit sizes from millimeters to kilometers. Thus, in analysis of underground structures, such as tunnels, it is required that the fractures’ influence on the stress and deformation state in the vicinity of the structure is taken into account. In the present work, we examine the applicability of the statistical volume element (SVE) approach to determining the apparent stiffness tensor of an equivalent continuum representation of the fractured rock, which is then used in the framework of the finite element method. The equivalent continuum properties are determined by volume-averaging the effect of individual fractures that intersect the SVE, while the fractures are represented using the “parallel plate model”. Stochastically generated discrete fracture networks are used to represent the fractures’ geometry. Presently, we solve the problem linearly for an incremental change of the stress state. An application of the concept is demonstrated on simulation of tunnel excavation.

This article focuses on the occurrence of powdery mildews in the Lamiaceae family in the Czech Republic. A comprehensive analysis of morphological characteristics supported by molecular analysis of partial ITS sequences and analysis of host species gained important insights regarding the occurrence and diversity of powdery mildews. Thirty-four plant samples of the Lamiaceae family infected by powdery mildew collected in the Czech Republic between 2015-2022 were analysed. In these samples, the occurrence of all newly described species within the former Golovinomyces biocellatus complex was confirmed (G. biocellatus, G. salviae, G. neosalviae and G. monardae), and Neoërysiphe galeopsidis was also verified. Moreover, our study expands the already reported host species list of G. biocellatus complex within the Lamiaceae family.

The diffusion behaviour of the Ti–Ag system was investigated using classical molecular dynamics by simulating a diffusion couple at various temperatures. One bulk of the diffusion couple consisted of titanium atoms arranged in a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structure, i.e., α-Ti, and the other consisted of silver atoms arranged in a face-centred cubic (fcc) structure. The modern second nearest-neighbour modified embedded-atom method (2NN-MEAM) interatomic potential was used. The mean square displacement (MSD) of Ti atoms diffusing into Ag and Ag atoms into α-Ti was recorded during the simulation. Diffusion coefficients were determined from the slopes of lines fit to linear regions of MSD dependence on time. The Arrhenius relation was used to determine the activation energy and the frequency of attempts. The activation energy of Ti was 0.61eV and frequency of attempts 1.90⋅10−8m2s−1. The determined activation energy of Ag and frequency of attempts were not considered reliable because the Ag diffusion coefficient did not grow exponentially with temperature. Ti atoms penetrated deeper and greater amounts into Ag than Ag into α-Ti and also had a greater diffusion coefficient at all temperatures. The results were compared with the available experimental data, and for these purposes, self-diffusion in α-Ti and Ag was further investigated. Finally, it was determined that Ag diffuses in α-Ti by hopping over interstitial positions and Ti in Ag via vacancies.

Abstract In this work we present a keV-scale sterile-neutrino search with a low-tritium-activity data set of the KATRIN experiment, acquired in a commissioning run in 2018. KATRIN performs a spectroscopic measurement of the tritium $$\upbeta $$ β -decay spectrum with the main goal of directly determining the effective electron anti-neutrino mass. During this commissioning phase a lower tritium activity facilitated the measurement of a wider part of the tritium spectrum and thus the search for sterile neutrinos with a mass of up to $$1.6\, \textrm{keV}$$ 1.6 keV . We do not find a signal and set an exclusion limit on the sterile-to-active mixing amplitude of $$\sin ^2\theta < 5\times 10^{-4}$$ sin 2 θ < 5 × 10 - 4 ( $$95\%$$ 95 % C.L.) at a mass of 0.3 keV. This result improves current laboratory-based bounds in the sterile-neutrino mass range between 0.1 and 1.0 keV.

The secondary analysis focuses on teachers’ perspectives on welcome culture (Willkommenskultur) in German schools for pupils who have fled from Ukraine. The following research question was pursued: What aspects of the welcome culture become apparent in statements of teachers? Data from five group discussions with individuals from primary and secondary schools and an educational institution in Rhineland-Palatinate were analyzed. Participants included teachers (n = 12), school principals (n = 2), and one director. The study indicates that refugees from Ukraine are treated differently from refugees originating from Syria or other countries; these differences can be recognized at both the individual and societal levels.

Simulations of tunnel excavations have to take into account the natural occurrence of joints and faults in the surrounding rock mass, which dominantly control its mechanical response. In this paper, we present work in progress toward 3D finite element analysis of excavation using equivalent rock-mass properties derived from stochastically generated discrete fracture networks (DFNs). The equivalent stiffness is determined by volume averaging. Presently, we solve the problem linearly for an incremental change of the stress state. The fracture’s stiffness is assumed to depend on the initial normal stress acting in direction normal to it. However, within the solved incremental step, we assume the fracture’s stiffness to be constant. This assumption is acceptable for small stress changes. Since the fractures represented in the DFN model have preferred directions, the equivalent stiffness is anisotropic.

The obituary of Assoc. Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Polák, DrSc. (1942-2024) in Plant Protection Science informs the community of plant pathologists, plant virologists, and plant protection scientists about his passing on May 20, 2024. Polák, a former editorial board member of the journal, had a distinguished career in plant virology, focusing on diagnostic methodology, epidemiology of plant viruses, and purification procedures. He also had extensive international experience and was actively involved in various scientific societies and research projects. His contributions to plant virology in the Czech Republic and former Czechoslovakia are remembered with respect and appreciation. [Extracted from the article]

We review the concept of ultranonlocality in density functional theory and the relation between ultranonlocality, the derivative discontinuity of the exchange energy, and the static electric response in extended molecular systems. We present the construction of a new meta-generalized gradient approximation for exchange that captures the ultranonlocal response to a static electric field in very close correspondence to exact exchange, yet at a fraction of its computational cost. This functional, in particular, also captures the dependence of the response on the system size. The static electric polarizabilities of hydrogen chains and oligo-acetylene molecules calculated with this meta-GGA are quantitatively close to the ones obtained with exact exchange. The chances and challenges associated with the construction of meta-GGAs that are intended to combine a substantial derivative discontinuity and ultranonlocality with an accurate description of electronic binding are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Praxisphasen in der (Pflege-)Lehrer*innenausbildung erfordern ein spezifisches Format der Reflexion, um sowohl die Rollenfindung als auch die Betrachtung der berufspraktischen Handlungsprobleme im Studienprozess zu verstehen und zu entwickeln. Im Lichte dieser Überzeugung wurden im Studienprogramm Pflegepädagogik an der Katholischen Hochschule NRW in Köln unterschiedliche Seminare entworfen, in denen sich eine beratende Begleitung realisieren lässt, die diesen Lernprozess fördern kann. Diese Seminare werden nun kontinuierlich angeboten und evaluiert. Wir stellen in diesem Beitrag zwei Beispiele der Seminargestaltung vor: zunächst den Seminartyp der „Lehrer*innenbezogenen Selbsterfahrung“, in dem die Entwicklung der Berufsrolle als Pflegelehrer*in im Vordergrund steht. Dabei wird insbesondere dem Prozess der Entwicklung bzw. der Transformation der Rolle beruflich Pflegender zu professionell Lehrenden Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet. Im Beispiel arbeiten die Studierenden mit den eigenen Biographien und ihren beruflichen Erfahrungen, die gemeinsam als Erzeuger eines beruflichen Habitus gelten. Dieses reflexive Format in Kleingruppen bietet sowohl ein Transformationsangebot als auch die Förderung von Empathie, denn diese ist unmittelbar verbunden mit der Erfahrung von Anerkennung und Wertschätzung in einer Gruppe. In einem zweiten Beispiel stellen wir die Ausgestaltung eines „Kasuistischen Seminars“ vor, in dem es um die analytische Rekonstruktion eines Arbeitspapiers geht, das die Studierenden aus ihren Praxiseinsätzen mitgebracht haben. Über die unterschiedlichen methodischen Herangehens- und Betrachtungsweisen lernen die Studierenden, sich analysierend von ihren bisherigen Rollen zu distanzieren, neue Sinnstrukturen zu erkennen und alternative Denkstile zu entwickeln bzw. zuordnen zu können.

Electoral integrity is one of the principle conditions of free political competition among parties and candidates. The electoral processes must be transparent and controllable in all its aspects, so that voters can trust the results of the elections. Representatives of every democratic society must therefore minimize such acts that can lead to questioning the vote and the results of the elections. The main aim of our article is to analyze the various types of electoral malpractice and fraud that occur at the polling stations. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, we have created a set of issues that can be identified in the process of election administration at the level of electoral districts. Part of the article is also a set of proposals which are amendments to legal and subordinate standards and will lead to a higher electoral integrity in the Czech Republic.

Representing a sparse histogram, or more generally a sparse vector, is a fundamental task in differential privacy. An ideal solution would use space close to information-theoretical lower bounds, have an error distribution that depends optimally on the desired privacy level, and allow fast random access to entries in the vector. However, existing approaches have only achieved two of these three goals. In this paper we introduce the Approximate Laplace Projection (ALP) mechanism for approximating k-sparse vectors. This mechanism is shown to simultaneously have information-theoretically optimal space (up to constant factors), fast access to vector entries, and error of the same magnitude as the Laplace-mechanism applied to dense vectors. A key new technique is a unary representation of small integers, which we show to be robust against ''randomized response'' noise. This representation is combined with hashing, in the spirit of Bloom filters, to obtain a space-efficient, differentially private representation. Our theoretical performance bounds are complemented by simulations which show that the constant factors on the main performance parameters are quite small, suggesting practicality of the technique.

Abstract The KATRIN experiment is designed for a direct and model-independent determination of the effective electron anti-neutrino mass via a high-precision measurement of the tritium $$\upbeta $$ β -decay endpoint region with a sensitivity on $$m_\nu $$ m ν of 0.2 $$\hbox {eV}/\hbox {c}^2$$ eV / c 2 (90% CL). For this purpose, the $$\upbeta $$ β -electrons from a high-luminosity windowless gaseous tritium source traversing an electrostatic retarding spectrometer are counted to obtain an integral spectrum around the endpoint energy of 18.6 keV. A dominant systematic effect of the response of the experimental setup is the energy loss of $$\upbeta $$ β -electrons from elastic and inelastic scattering off tritium molecules within the source. We determined the energy-loss function in-situ with a pulsed angular-selective and monoenergetic photoelectron source at various tritium-source densities. The data was recorded in integral and differential modes; the latter was achieved by using a novel time-of-flight technique. We developed a semi-empirical parametrization for the energy-loss function for the scattering of 18.6-keV electrons from hydrogen isotopologs. This model was fit to measurement data with a 95% $$\hbox {T}_2$$ T 2 gas mixture at 30 K, as used in the first KATRIN neutrino-mass analyses, as well as a $$\hbox {D}_2$$ D 2 gas mixture of 96% purity used in KATRIN commissioning runs. The achieved precision on the energy-loss function has abated the corresponding uncertainty of $$\sigma (m_\nu ^2)< {{10}^{-2}}{\hbox {eV}^{2}}$$ σ ( m ν 2 ) < 10 - 2 eV 2 [1] in the KATRIN neutrino-mass measurement to a subdominant level.

On February 23, 2022, the great Czech plant pathologist, and my personal friend and esteemed colleague, prof. Václav Kůdela passed away. For over 15 years (1990-2006), he served as the Editor-in-Chief for our journal, Plant Protection Science. His whole adult life was connected with agriculture, plant pathology, plant protection and the science of phytotherapy. However, he was also man who accepted, maintained, applied and lived his life following specific, serious traditional rules. The trajectory of his life and its fundamental message arose primarily from his family origins and experiences in youth.

Pseudoperonospora cubensis, causal agent of cucurbit downy mildew, is a common and highly variable pathogen of cucurbit vegetables. Pathogen virulence can be considered on two different levels, that is, pathotypes and races. Pathotypes characterize the interactions between pathogen isolates and the set of genotypes represented by different species and/or genera of the host plant family. Races are characterized by the interactions between pathogen isolates and the set of genotypes (e.g., cultivars, lines, accessions) of one host species (or very closely related species). Differential sets for pathotype and/or race determination are composed of distinct (different) genotypes. Until recently, only differentiation of pathotypes was used to characterize P. cubensis. Most recent research of virulence variation in P. cubensis populations in the Czech Republic working with the Cucumis melo differential set demonstrated the existence of a large number of races of this pathogen. The differential capacity of this set was primarily created for the determination and denomination of virulence phenotypes/races of cucurbit powdery mildew (Golovinomyces orontii, Podosphaera xanthii). However, this set is also efficient for differentiating virulence phenotypes in P. cubensis. This means that one set of C. melo differential genotypes can be used for two independent plant–pathogen systems: cucurbit powdery mildew and cucurbit downy mildew. Results showed that isolates of P. cubensis developing identical virulence reaction patterns at the level of pathotype, develop different reaction patterns at the level of races and vice versa. It is demonstrated and explained that pathotypes and races are two different categories for the assessment of virulence variation, which should be clearly defined, recognized and used within international scientific and breeding communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon materials comprise a wide range of microstructures and excellent electrical and thermal properties while being cost‐effective and readily available. They can be obtained through carbothermal processes at high temperatures, starting from cellulose. Catalytically active compounds, for example, iron salts, strongly influence the carbon microstructure during the graphitization process. Different degrees of structural order can, therefore, be achieved by adjusting the concentration of the iron salts. An infusion withdrawal impregnation approach is used on filter paper to prepare a continuous gradient of the carbon microstructure. This structural change is accompanied by a continuous variation of the closely related electrical and thermal transport properties. Even more, the synergistic interplay of local sheet resistance and thermal diffusivity results in the formation of switchable temperature gradients when an external current is applied. Steady state temperature differences of up to 80 °C are observed along the centimeter‐scaled samples. The controllable temperature gradient formation will be of great interest for applications requiring a fast temperature screening. Furthermore, the temperature gradient can be imposed onto other materials, which will be particularly relevant for advanced thin film characterization applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2024, the journal Plant Protection Science (PPS) completes 60 years of publication (1965-2024). Its roots extend back to the year 1921. In recent years, PPS has developed into an international scientific journal focused on all aspects of plant protection science, published exclusively in English, and with an international editorial board. The publisher is the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), celebrating its 100th anniversary (1924-2024). PPS is one of eleven agricultural journals published by CAAS. On its 50th anniversary, PPS published a detailed overview of its history and development. This latest critical review summarises developments during the last ten years; however, in special cases, also with a longer-term perspective. During the last decade, PPS has made impressive progress and is now among the world's key scientific journals. Recently, the journal has been added to the indexing and abstracts of many international databases, e.g. BIOSIS Previews, SCOPUS and Web of Science. In 2014, PPS had an impact factor of 0.597, but during the last few years, PPS's IF has ranged between 1.3 and 1.4 (for 2023, IF = 1.7), with the possibility of further increase. Each year, PPS is published quarterly, with a total of around 40 papers (original papers, reviews, short communications, biographical notices, and book reviews). Per year, about 70-80% of papers by authors/co-authors from abroad are published (Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Oceania). In the final part of this presentation, we describe some recent achievements and discuss key topics related to PPS's future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall mechanical response of a fractured rock mass is, to a large extent, affected by naturally occurring fractures that exhibit sizes from millimeters to kilometers. Thus, in analysis of underground structures, such as tunnels, it is required that the fractures' influence on the stress and deformation state in the vicinity of the structure is taken into account. In the present work, we examine the applicability of the statistical volume element (SVE) approach to determining the apparent stiffness tensor of an equivalent continuum representation of the fractured rock, which is then used in the framework of the finite element method. The equivalent continuum properties are determined by volume-averaging the effect of individual fractures that intersect the SVE, while the fractures are represented using the "parallel plate model". Stochastically generated discrete fracture networks are used to represent the fractures' geometry. Presently, we solve the problem linearly for an incremental change of the stress state. An application of the concept is demonstrated on simulation of tunnel excavation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mapping of election results has long been a popular topic among cartographers, journalists, data scientists and infographic authors. However, their work usually concludes with simple visualizations of a single election, and in most cases only the winning party is represented. Can we tell the story of a political party over two decades via maps? What were the reasons for the rise and fall of such party; in our case the Czech Social Democrats? Moreover, how were the changes in voting patterns spatially distributed and manifested? With our paper, we explore voting patterns as well as the voting history of specific parties related to the fate of Social Democrats in the Czech Republic in several national elections from 2006 to 2017. We would like to invite other political scientists to explore the election results in their countries, not just over time, but also in space, and ideally via maps.

Abstract The KArlsruhe TRItium Neutrino experiment (KATRIN) aims to determine the effective electron (anti)-neutrino mass with a sensitivity of 0.2eV/c $$^2$$ 2 by precisely measuring the endpoint region of the tritium $$\beta $$ β -decay spectrum. It uses a tandem of electrostatic spectrometers working as magnetic adiabatic collimation combined with an electrostatic (MAC-E) filters. In the space between the pre-spectrometer and the main spectrometer, creating a Penning trap is unavoidable when the superconducting magnet between the two spectrometers, biased at their respective nominal potentials, is energized. The electrons accumulated in this trap can lead to discharges, which create additional background electrons and endanger the spectrometer and detector section downstream. To counteract this problem, “electron catchers” were installed in the beamline inside the magnet bore between the two spectrometers. These catchers can be moved across the magnetic-flux tube and intercept on a sub-ms time scale the stored electrons along their magnetron motion paths. In this paper, we report on the design and the successful commissioning of the electron catchers and present results on their efficiency in reducing the experimental background.

Powdery mildews on the Asteraceae family were surveyed during 2007-2015 in the Czech Republic with the aim to increase our knowledge about occurrence, morphological characteristics and host specificity of powdery mildews on this family. In total, 32 host species with symptoms of powdery mildew were collected, and the fungal species were identified based on microscopic observations. These showed great variability in their morphological characteristics. Our study confirmed the high host specificity of powdery mildew species to their original hosts. A deeper knowledge of the taxonomy of the Asteraceae has brought substantial changes in the delimitation of powdery mildew species. In particular, delimitation of the three varieties of Golovinomyces asterum was studied and discussed.