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U.S. Invasion of Grenada - Reagan's Attempt at Democracy Promotion?
Hřivna, Václav ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
The concern of the thesis is the US Foreign Policy after Ronald Reagan took the office of the President of the USA. It deals with the question whether the US invasion of Grenada in October 1983 was in accordance with such policy. Apart from a general conception of Reagan's Foreign Policy which is important for understanding the development of events, the US policy towards Latin America is directly analysed. The thesis follows with the outlining of US-Grenada relations from 1979 which was the year during which a leftist coup d'état took place on Grenada until the invasion itself. Simultaneously there is also outlined the internal Grenadian agenda which played a crucial role in the whole context prior the US invasion. The invasion itself partly took place as a result of a turmoil, which was created by the power struggle within the leading party on Grenada. The thesis also analyses the consequences of the US invasion, especially debates over legitimacy of the whole action which took place on a domestic as well as international level. The goal of the thesis is to find and explain the causes that led the US and Ronald Reagan to invade the island of Grenada.
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Adaptability and Phenotype Plasticity of Invasive Parrots in Europe
Nový, Jakub ; Figura, Roman (advisor) ; Makal, Jakub (referee)
The diploma thesis on Adaptability and Phenotypic Plasticity of Invasive Parrots in Europe deals with the analysis of a recent phenomenon, which is the emergence of non-native parrot populations in European cities. Until now, this issue has been studied mainly from the perspective of the fight against invasive species. So far much less is known about the ecological and ethological characteristics of these populations. Although most of the large non-indigenous populations are located in the territory of southern or northern Europe, this work also examined the observation and semi-wild population of parrots located in the Czech Republic. Research into phenotypic plasticity and overall adaptability of invasive species is also discussed here. The work includes hypotheses and theories related to the invasion process, including predictions of the future development of non-native populations.
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Analysis of functional interaction between PKN3 kinase and CARMIL1 protein
Novotná, Petra ; Rösel, Daniel (advisor) ; Groušl, Tomáš (referee)
Cancer cell motility and cytoskeletal rearrangements are crucial for metastasis formation. These complex changes involve multiple cellular processes affected by many different proteins. One such protein is the Ser/Thr kinase PKN3. This kinase has been shown to be essential for metastasis formation in some aggressive types of breast and prostate cancer. Interestingly, the PKN3 kinase is not only important in malignant cancers but also in normal tissues. In endothelial cells, the PKN3 kinase can alter their adhesion, or in osteoclasts it helps to promote bone resorption. The effects of the PKN3 kinase on cancer malignancy and cell motility are well documented, but the mechanism behind these effects is still unclear. Therefore, our laboratory seeks to identify novel substrates and interaction partners of the PKN3 kinase. This work focuses on a novel potential substrate of the PKN3 kinase, CARMIL1. This protein is involved in actin cytoskeleton rearrangements by regulating actin polymerisation and thus cell motility. Here we provide evidence that the PKN3 kinase interacts with CARMIL1. Key words: PKN3, CARMIL1, actin cytoskeleton, cancer, invasion
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The effect of pathogens on invasive plants
Sládečková, Julie ; Koubek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Čuda, Jan (referee)
Invasive plants can destroy entire ecosystems, reduce biodiversity and thus threaten the environment. Number of invasive species is increasing and so their negative impact on the environment. Various reasons can be behind the emergence of invasions, one of them is, for example, escaping from natural enemies. This can make the plant more competitive, have greater reproductive potential and spread better. However, if natural enemies are added to the new area, the number of invasive plants can be regulated. This is the principle of biocontrol, which is a method used to reducing the magnitude of invasions and their consequences. This method has almost no negative impacts on the environment, unlike chemical and mechanical methods of plant removal. Biocontrol has a long-term effect and therefore is also cheaper. However, when biocontrol is used, there is a certain risk that non-target plant species will be affected or that it will not be effective enough. Pathogens are also used as biocontrol agents because they are more specialized than herbivores, so the risk for non-target plants is lower. The aim of this thesis is to compare biological control with other methods used to removing invasive plants and to summarize the most significant positives and negatives of using fungal pathogens in plant biocontrol.
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Role of NAV3 in glioblastoma cells invasiveness
Legátová, Anna ; Brábek, Jan (advisor) ; Libusová, Lenka (referee)
The invasion of tumor cells from the primary lesion and the formation of metastases are the main reasons for the severe impact of cancer diseases. An option for dealing with this poor impact is the development of drugs (so-called migrastatics) that would target these processes and thus limit the spread of tumor cells from the site of the primary tumor. However, to develop such drugs, it is essential to clarify the molecular mechanisms that control or promote cell migration. One of the possible strategies for migrastatics development is the targeting of cytoskeletal structures, which play an indispensable role in cell migration. This work is focused on Neuron navigator 3 (NAV3), a protein that binds to + ends of microtubules (MTs), participates in their stabilization, and is able to mediate crosstalk between MTs and the actin network. The function of NAV3 is important for directing MTs into growing axons and proper neurite outgrowth, which is necessary for brain development. The results of this thesis suggest that NAV3 could act as a pro-tumor factor, which localizes not only to the + ends of MTs, but also to the cell protrusions, and whose presence supports the cell expansion and increases the invasive potential of glioblastoma cell lines. Key words: neuron navigator 3, microtubules, cancer,...
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Czech desinformative of the first stage of Russian invasion of Ukraine (so-called "Speciál Military Operation" in Ukraine).
Štorek, Michal ; Stracený, Josef (advisor) ; Samek, Tomáš (referee)
The aim of the diploma thesis is to analyse the content of 8 websites that were blocked by the CZ.NIC association on the 25th of February 2022 for providing disinformation in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The theoretical part covers disinformation in general, the annual reports of the Security Information Service and formation of Russian-Ukrainian relations from the creation of Ukraine until the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In the practical part, an analysis of the content of eight websites blocked by CZ.NIC spanning the period of the so-called first stage of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, is carried out. The analysis examines, on the one hand, the extent to which the so-called disinformation websites focus on the war in Ukraine and, on the other hand, which of the disinformation techniques described in the theoretical part were used and whether the narrative of the blocked websites in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine corresponds to the view that the disinformation websites promote the interests of the Russian Federation in the Czech Republic.
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Vliv různých teplot na konkurenceschopnost raka mramorovaného v agresivních interakcích
KREJČÍ, Miloslav
Crayfish are an important aquatic ecosystems engeneers. Non-indigenous crayfish often decrease the abundance of native species and they affect ecosystem balance. Changes in freshwater ecosystems are usually caused by invasive species of crayfish, especially North American species. These species transmit crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci) too. One of these species is marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis).Aim of the thesis was an experimental comparison of the competitiveness of marbled crayfish in interspecies interactions with red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and spiny-cheek crayfish (Faxonius limosus) depending on water temperature. The experiment included 20 runs of interspecific interactions at 16 °C, 18 runs of interspecific interactions at 20 °C and 19 runs of interspecific interactions at 24 °C. Interactions occurred in individual plastic tanks with tempered water. Interactions in tanks were recorded by camera. Subsequently, the agonistic interactions of crayfish were evaluated from 30 minutes of recordings. In conclusion, marbled crayfish is competitive opponent for psychrophilic and thermophilic crayfish species, especially at higher temperatures. The global warming could increase the success of spreading to new areas for marbled crayfish, as well as the survival of winter. In new areas, marbled crayfish could cause negative impacts for native organisms, especially native crayfish species.
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Characterization of perinuclear actin fibers and their role in cell migration
Hlaváčková, Tereza ; Vomastek, Tomáš (advisor) ; Binarová, Pavla (referee)
Cell migration is crucial for such physiological and pathological processes as wound healing, emryonal development, immune response, and methastasizing of the cancer cells. It is tightly coupled with cell polarization, nuclear traslocation, and turnover of actin cytoskeleton. Substantial, but so far poorely explored, part of actin cytoskeleton is perinuclear actin cap - dome-like structure above the nucleus costructed from perinuclear actin fibers. At the apical side of the nucleus perinuclear actin fibers are associated with LINC complex through nesprin proteins; at the edges of the cell they are anchored to focal adhesions. In the literature there were assumptions that this type of actin fibers can generate traction forces for nuclear reorientation during cell migration. The aim of this thesis is to elucidate the mechanism involved in the attachment of perinuclear actin to the LINC complex and the nucleus, thereby regulating the formation of the perinuclear actin cap. In addition, we aimed to establish a semi- automatic tool for perinuclear actin fibers quantification. Rat2 fibroblasts were used as the model cell line because they contain well-developed perinuclear actin cap. We focused on the inactivation of LINC complex components, namely Giant nesprin proteins (nesprin 1 and nesprin 2) and...
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Radauti Municipal (Co)housing
Grosu, Gabriel Andrei ; Widholmová, Alžběta (referee) ; Toman, Radek (advisor)
Since the beginning of the Ukrainian invasion, the booming demand for accommodation within proximity to the border turned into a delicate housing crisis. This project investigates the current housing condition made available for the Ukrainian refugees while searching for the best way of addressing the sudden increase in the medium and long-term housing demand. The findings of the investigation along with the input from many consultations with Ukrainian war refugees were translated into developing a detailed architectural design for a municipal (CO)housing refugee camp in the city of Radauti.
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The Bay of Pigs and its influence on U.S.-Cuba relations
Jaroš, Milan ; Pondělíček, Jiří (advisor) ; Perutka, Lukáš (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on the Bay of Pigs invasion which had been an important part of the U.S.-Cuba relations in the 1960s. The period between the Cuban revolution and the Cuban missile crisis was marked by rapid deterioration of those relations. The thesis is set exactly in this time frame. The invasion was the outcome of the previous deterioration and Castro's victory became the reason for further escalation of the hostilities between the United States and Cuba. This thesis answers the question what decision-making process led to the actual execution of the invasion, what mistakes caused the invasion to fail, who is to blame for this outcome and what consequences did the American failure have on further evolution of the U.S.-Cuba relations. It analyses steps of the planning process and the influence of all the interested parties on this process. It reaches conclusion that the aggressive approach was implemented because of cold war circumstances and the communist threat, the American fear of losing their influence in the western hemisphere and personal ambitions of involved participants. The responsibility for the failure cannot be assigned to just Kennedy's decision making, the CIA's planning or poorly organized Cuban opposition because the fiasco resulted from all these things together....
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