Acquisition of industrial enterprises and its relations with regional identity: The case of the beer industry in Central Europe

ABSTRACT

The development of globalisation has ushered in fundamental changes that have led to a break in the relationship between places of production and places of consumption, and sometimes a rejection of global products and corporations at the local level in accordance with neolocalism. The objective of the article is to examine the effect of regional identity on the local impacts of global processes by applying a multilevel analysis of the brewing industry, in which consumers are very sensitive to changes in the beer offered and can influence it, for example by putting pressure on representatives of restaurants. Beginning with extensive research on the international level, the authors point out the various impacts of brewery acquisitions in three Central European countries – Czechia, Poland and Slovakia – that differ regarding the role of beer in the identity of their inhabitants. Thereafter, they focus on two Czech beer brands, the production of which was relocated to other regions after acquisitions. Based on field studies in the regions of the brands’ original production, the authors find that both brands lost popularity among their original customers. They conclude that for Czech customers, the place of production may be an important factor when choosing a beer brand.     

Mesozooplankton spatial distribution and community structure in the South Adriatic Sea during two winters (2015, 2016)

Whereas the data on mesozooplankton in the epipelagic offshore Mediterranean Sea are extensive, less information is available about plankton in the deeper layers. The present study aims to describe the vertical and horizontal structure and distribution of mesozooplankton species and their associations down to 1,200 m in the water of the Southern Adriatic Sea. Zooplankton were sampled using a Nansen net of 200‐μm mesh size during two cruises in the winters of 2015 and 2016, extending from the coast to the open sea. In total, 203 zooplankton taxa were identified. The community was dominated by copepods, representing between 67% and 91% of the total abundance. The highest total densities were recorded in the upper layers where a high proportion (up to 36%) of appendicularians was also observed in the first sampled year. Five groups of samples were determined based on their community structure. In 2015 communities were distinct between the 0 and 50 m layer and the underlying one (50–100 m), whereas in 2016 epipelagic waters were inhabited by a more uniform mesozooplankton community. The mesopelagic and deep‐water fauna, especially copepods, showed a relatively stable composition in both sampling years Overall, our study confirms the oligotrophic character of the Southern Adriatic, with occasional density outbreaks of appendicularians under favourable conditions.     

Visibility of Prominences Using the He <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">i</Emphasis> D<Subscript>3</Subscript> Line Filter on the PROBA-3/ASPIICS Coronagraph

We determine the optimal width and shape of the narrow-band filter centered on the He?i D₃ line for prominence and coronal mass ejection (CME) observations with the ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun) coronagraph onboard the PROBA-3 (Project for On-board Autonomy) satellite, to be launched in 2020. We analyze He?i D₃ line intensities for three representative non-local thermal equilibrium prominence models at temperatures 8, 30, and 100 kK computed with a radiative transfer code and the prominence visible-light (VL) emission due to Thomson scattering on the prominence electrons. We compute various useful relations at prominence line-of-sight velocities of 0, 100, and 300 km?s^?1 for 20 Å wide flat filter and three Gaussian filters with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) equal to 5, 10, and 20 Å to show the relative brightness contribution of the He?i D₃ line and the prominence VL to the visibility in a given narrow-band filter. We also discuss possible signal contamination by Na?i D₁ and D₂ lines, which otherwise may be useful to detect comets. Our results mainly show that i) an optimal narrow-band filter should be flat or somewhere between flat and Gaussian with an FWHM of 20 Å in order to detect fast-moving prominence structures, ii) the maximum emission in the He?i D₃ line is at 30 kK and the minimal at 100 kK, and iii) the ratio of emission in the He?i D₃ line to the VL emission can provide a useful diagnostic for the temperature of prominence structures. This ratio is up to 10 for hot prominence structures, up to 100 for cool structures, and up to 1000 for warm structures.     

The global structural response model for multi-deck ships in concept design phase

This paper is an attempt to contribute to the improvement of an analysis model within overall structural synthesis procedure for the multi-deck ships. The paper is organized in two parts: modeling principles and model validation. Principles of the proposed generic model formulation on the global and sub-structure levels are given in detail while the load model is briefly summarized. The basic building blocks (macro-elements and gross-elements) for the modeling of ordinary stiffened panels, combining numerical and analytical approaches, are presented and discussed w.r.t. requirements for a multi-deck structure. Different surrogates (sets of elements and ordinary macro-elements) used for equivalent modeling of large side openings are evaluated, since the reduced shear stiffness of superstructure sides has large influence on the hull girder stress distributions along the entire cross section height. The generic ship models developed using outlined principles and the basic building blocks are further validated through complex examples of a large cruise ship and a livestock carrier. On the global level, the accuracy of the generic model w.r.t. the longitudinal stress distribution over ships height is compared with a standard full ship FE model. The results confirmed that the suggested structural modeling principles, based on the generic FE model can be applied for the fast investigation of different structural topological/geometrical concepts as well as for the ordinary scantling/material optimization.     

IGR J17445-2747—Yet another X-ray burster in the galactic bulge

The discovery of a type I X-ray burst from the faint unidentified transient source IGR J17445-2747 in the Galactic bulge by the JEM-X telescope onboard the INTEGRAL observatory is reported. Type I bursts are believed to be associated with thermonuclear explosions of accreted matter on the surface of a neutron star with a weak magnetic field in a low-mass X-ray binary. Thus, this observation allows the nature of this source to be established.     

Implications for behavior of volatile elements during impacts—Zinc and copper systematics in sediments from the Ries impact structure and central European tektites

Moldavites are tektites genetically related to the Ries impact structure, located in Central Europe, but the source materials and the processes related to the chemical fractionation of moldavites are not fully constrained. To further understand moldavite genesis, the Cu and Zn abundances and isotope compositions were measured in a suite of tektites from four different substrewn fields (South Bohemia, Moravia, Cheb Basin, Lusatia) and chemically diverse sediments from the surroundings of the Ries impact structure. Moldavites are slightly depleted in Zn (~10–20%) and distinctly depleted in Cu (>90%) relative to supposed sedimentary precursors. Moreover, the moldavites show a wide range in δ⁶⁶Zn values between 1.7 and 3.7‰ (relative to JMC 3‐0749 Lyon) and δ⁶⁵Cu values between 1.6 and 12.5‰ (relative to NIST SRM 976) and are thus enriched in heavy isotopes relative to their possible parent sedimentary sources (δ⁶⁶Zn = ?0.07 to +0.64‰; δ⁶⁵Cu = ?0.4 to +0.7‰). In particular, the Cheb Basin moldavites show some of the highest δ⁶⁵Cu values (up to 12.5‰) ever observed in natural samples. The relative magnitude of isotope fractionation for Cu and Zn seen here is opposite to oxygen‐poor environments such as the Moon where Zn is significantly more isotopically fractionated than Cu. One possibility is that monovalent Cu diffuses faster than divalent Zn in the reduced melt and diffusion will not affect the extent of Zn isotope fractionation. These observations imply that the capability of forming a redox environment may aid in volatilizing some elements, accompanied by isotope fractionation, during the impact process. The greater extent of elemental depletion, coupled with isotope fractionation of more refractory Cu relative to Zn, may also hinge on the presence of carbonyl species of transition metals and electromagnetic charge, which could exist in the impact‐induced high‐velocity jet of vapor and melts.     

Meridional Motion and Reynolds Stress from Debrecen Photoheliographic Data

The Debrecen Photoheliographic Data catalogue is a continuation of the Greenwich Photoheliographic Results providing daily positions of sunspots and sunspot groups. We analyse the data for sunspot groups focussing on meridional motions and transfer of angular momentum towards the solar equator. Velocities are calculated with a daily shift method including an automatic iterative process of removing the outliers. Apart from the standard differential rotation profile, we find meridional motion directed towards the zone of solar activity. The difference in measured meridional flow in comparison to Doppler measurements and some other tracer measurements is interpreted as a consequence of different flow patterns inside and outside of active regions. We also find a statistically significant dependence of meridional motion on rotation velocity residuals confirming the transfer of angular momentum towards the equator. Analysis of horizontal Reynolds stress reveals that the transfer of angular momentum is stronger with increasing latitude up to about \(40^{\circ}\), where there is a possible maximum in absolute value.     

Geomagnetic Effects of Corotating Interaction Regions

We present an analysis of the geoeffectiveness of corotating interaction regions (CIRs), employing the data recorded from 25 January to 5 May 2005 and throughout 2008. These two intervals in the declining phase of Solar Cycle 23 are characterised by a particularly low number of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). We study in detail how four geomagnetic-activity parameters (the Dst, Ap, and AE indices, as well as the Dst time derivative, \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\)) are related to three CIR-related solar wind parameters (flow speed, \(V\), magnetic field, \(B\), and the convective electric field based on the southward Geocentric solar magnetospheric (GSM) magnetic field component, \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\)) on a three-hour time resolution. In addition, we quantify statistical relationships between the mentioned geomagnetic indices. It is found that Dst is correlated best to \(V\), with a correlation coefficient of \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.6\), whereas there is no correlation between \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) and \(V\). The Ap and AE indices attain peaks about half a day before the maximum of \(V\), with correlation coefficients ranging from \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.6\) to \(\mathrm{cc}\approx0.7\), depending on the sample used. The best correlations of Ap and AE are found with \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\) with a delay of 3 h, being characterised by \(\mathrm{cc}\gtrsim 0.6\). The Dst derivative \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) is also correlated with \(\mathit{VB}_{s}\), but the correlation is significantly weaker \(\mathrm{cc}\approx 0.4\)?–?0.5, with a delay of 0?–?3 h, depending on the employed sample. Such low values of correlation coefficients indicate that there are other significant effects that influence the relationship between the considered parameters. The correlation of all studied geomagnetic parameters with \(B\) are characterised by considerably lower correlation coefficients, ranging from \(\mathrm{cc}=0.3\) in the case of \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) up to \(\mathrm{cc}=0.56\) in the case of Ap. It is also shown that peak values of geomagnetic indices depend on the duration of the CIR-related structures. The Dst is closely correlated with Ap and AE (\(\mathrm{cc}=0.7\)), Dst being delayed for about 3 h. On the other hand, \(\mathrm{dDst}/\mathrm{d}t\) peaks simultaneously with Ap and AE, with correlation coefficients of 0.48 and 0.56, respectively. The highest correlation (\(\mathrm{cc}=0.81\)) is found for the relationship between Ap and AE.     

A review of marine mammal,sea turtle and seabird bycatch in USA fisheries and the role of policy in shaping management

This paper reviews the available information (observer programs, estimates, statutes, regulations) for bycatch of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds in fisheries of the United States. Goals of the review were to evaluate the state of knowledge of bycatch and the role of existing protective legislation in shaping bycatch management for different taxa. Pressing issues are identified, as well as knowledge gaps and policy limitations that hinder multi-species bycatch reduction. The USA has made important progress toward reducing bycatch in its fisheries, but the efficacy of its management has been limited somewhat by a focus on taxon- and fishery-specific regulation and the lack of consistent mandate across taxa for taking a cumulative perspective on bycatch. Applying consistent criteria across taxa for setting bycatch limits (e.g., extending the approach used for marine mammals to sea turtles and seabirds) would be the first step in a multi-species approach to bycatch reduction. A population-based multi-species multi-gear approach to bycatch would help identify priority areas where resources are needed most and can be used most effectively.     

Automatic grid azimuth by hour angle of the sun,a star or a planet using an electronic theodolite Kern E2

The paper deals with the automatic grid azimuth determination of an object on the earth using the electronic theodolite Kern E2 by observing the sun, a star, or a planet. The observation time and the readings of horizontal and vertical circles of the electronic theodolite enter automatically the electronic calculator Hewlett-Packard HP41CX. The calculator computes the grid azimuth of the terrestrial object and directs the observer what to do. Therefore, even a personnel without specific high education can make observations. For the solar observations it is not necessary to have an astronomical almanac, because the program computes the solar coordinates. The general input data, together with the measured ones, can be stored on a magnetic cassette and later on, if necessary, one can correct the general data and recalculate the azimuth. The method proved to be very practical in the field work.