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The article discusses research into international businesses centered in Central and Eastern Europe. Much of this has focused on theories such as transaction cost economics, agency theory, and institutional perspectives. Articles in this issue analyze the dynamic processes in transitional economies. Each papers analyze different aspects of transition that businesses must go through to fully internationalize themselves. Several researchers found that positive emotions were the key to increasing a Dutch firm's chances of internationalization. Another showed the rough entry of several Swedish firms into the Russian marketplace.

Presents an overview of articles featured in the special issue of "Studies in East European Thought," in 2002, devoted to the topic of nationalism in the Central and Eastern European context. Novel elements in the tradition of philosophical debate, in the issue; Schematics of the alternatives concerning the issue of nations and ethnicity which Central and East European peoples and states face at the beginning of the millennium; Papers concerned with supra-statal models.

This paper analyzes institutional dynamics surrounding common-pool resources in postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe. It is conceived in close conjunction with the case studies by Penov, Schleyer, and Wasilewski and Krukowski (this issue). The purpose of this paper is to frame the individual case inquiries, compare their findings, and relate those to broader agrarian and environmental changes in the region.The case studies report a broad shift in resource governance from the previously dominant legal and administrative state hierarchies towards markets. In addition, state power has moved from central towards local authorities. The waning and decentralization of state power has caused the emergence of significant gaps between property legislation and rights-in-practice, which have been particularly stark in fragmented political systems. The discrepancy between legal texts and rights-in-practice leads to the exclusion of wider interests in favor of individual interests in the management of common-pool resources, resulting in resource deterioration and dwindling resource stocks. Thus, the comparative assessment suggests a tentative framework for understanding the effects of postsocialist transformations on governance of the commons and environmental change in Central and Eastern Europe. Its findings indicate an additional dimension to the diversity and distributive conflicts characterizing postsocialist privatization: the distribution of various rights to a resource among different actors. The findings also suggest the need for postsocialist states to take an active role in the governance of common-pool resources, particularly in the enforcement of legal rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents changes in water and sewage management in the cross-border Oder River basin in the period since the post-communist political and economic system transformation, including the period after Poland's accession to the European Union. The Oder River basin, with an area of 124,000 km2, is the second largest basin in the Baltic Sea Basin, and therefore requires particular protection. It was emphasised that in the years 1989–2017, water withdrawal for production purposes considerably decreased (by 42%), as well as water withdrawal for exploitation of the water supply system (by 33%). The amount of sewage discharged to rivers was also reduced (by approximately 50%), and treatment technologies considerably improved. Changes in water and sewage management were presented in spatial form, i.e. by hydrographic regions of the Oder River basin. Particular attention was paid to changes in sewage management in cities. They involved among others the liquidation of mechanical treatment plants and a considerable increase in the number of cities with treatment plants with increased nutrient removal. The analysis of the effect of the changes in water and sewage management on the quality of the Oder River and Baltic Sea was also performed, and the rate of decrease in loads of contaminants most harmful to water ecosystems was determined. The role of European Union funds and national funds in the implementation of investments in the scope of water management was emphasised. Finally, attention was drawn to the need to intensify works for protecting waters in agricultural areas, which currently constitute the primary threat to their quality. Several top-priority tasks were also specified that should be implemented in the near future for the purpose of obtaining a good ecological state of waters in the Oder River basin pursuant to the Water Framework Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the sparse existing literature on structural breaks in emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe by analyzing structural breaks in the intercept, trend and variance of monthly key macroeconomic variables, such as industrial production, inflation, monetary aggregates, nominal exchange rates and series related to the labor market. Using the Bayesian procedure developed by Wang and Zivot (, A Bayesian time series model of multiple structural changes in level, trend and variance. J Busi Econom 18:374–386), we provide strong evidence in favor of multiple structural breaks in the series under study. As most of the existing empirical literature on European emerging markets does not sufficiently deal with structural breaks, the instability found in this paper has important implications for macro-econometric modeling as well as the ensuing recommendations for economic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyze the nature of the shocks hitting the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) over the recent years. To this end, we first evaluate the relative importance of symmetric versus asymmetric shocks, and then extract their temporary component. Our final aim would be assessing the vulnerability of the CEECs to temporary and asymmetric shocks, which would be the most harmful case for the operation of a monetary union. Finally, a comparison with the case of the current EMU members is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of cross-platform arbitrage profits. We develop a structural model that enables us to decompose the likelihood of an arbitrage opportunity into three distinct factors: the fixed cost to trade the opportunity, the level at which one of the platforms delays a price update and the impact of the order flow on the quoted prices (inventory and asymmetric information effects). We then investigate the predictions from the theoretical model for the European Bond market with the estimation of a probit model. Our main finding is that the results found in the empirical part corroborate strongly the predictions from the structural model. The event of a cross market arbitrage opportunity has a certain degree of predictability where an optimal ex ante scenario is represented by a low level of spreads on both platforms, a time of the day close to the end of trading hours and a high volume of trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses contributions by researchers in Central, East and South Europe to science and technology research. Topics include expanding research base, institutional organizations and physical sciences research. Institutions including Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) and Academy of Sciences (RAS) in Russia and National Science Center in Poland are discussed. Academy of Sciences in Hungary is mentioned. Charts presenting details of the research papers are included.

The paper presents the MULTEXT-East language resources, a multilingual dataset for language engineering research, focused on the morphosyntactic level of linguistic description. The MULTEXT-East dataset includes the morphosyntactic specifications, morphosyntactic lexica, and a parallel corpus, the novel '1984' by George Orwell, which is sentence aligned and contains hand-validated morphosyntactic descriptions and lemmas. The resources are uniformly encoded in XML, using the Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines, TEI P5, and cover 16 languages, mainly from Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, English, Estonian, Hungarian, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Resian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, and Ukrainian. This dataset, unique in terms of languages covered and the wealth of encoding, is extensively documented, and freely available for research purposes. The paper overviews the MULTEXT-East resources by type and language and gives some conclusions and directions for further work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note addresses issues, concerns, and opportunities for teachers and researchers of the third sector in Central and Eastern Europe, drawing on experiences in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, and Hungary. The paper briefly outlines the development of the third sector in the aforementioned countries, and describes the current state of third sector teaching and research there. It then frames the challenges for the region's teachers and researchers, and proposes an appropriate role for the West, commenting upon the West's relevance within Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on a conference held at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland in December 1999 about transition in Central and Eastern Europe. Organizers; Information on the paper by Gennady Batygin.

In this paper, we compare integrated water vapour (IWV) retrievals from the Moderate Resolution Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on board the polar-orbiting Terra platform with those from the coupled regional climate model system BALTIMOS for a period of 2 years (October 2001 to October 2003). The comparison was made for the whole drainage basin of the Baltic Sea as well as major parts of Central Europe. The qualitative comparison between the two data sets of the integrated water vapour shows a good agreement. The patterns in the spatial distribution of the averaged integrated water vapour in both data sets are quite similar. However, significant differences occur in the Hungarian Lowlands, along the Po River and the Wallachia (Romania) in the order of 2.5 to 7.0 kg/m. For these areas, the BALTIMOS model is dryer than the MODIS observations. This could be an indication for the known summer drying effect of BALTIMOS but needs further investigations. The annual cycle as well as a diurnal developing of integrated water vapour from 09:00 to 12:00 UTC is well pronounced in both data sets. For both data sets, the overall annual variations are 17.5 kg/m. The observed overall diurnal variability are 1.4 kg/m for MODIS and 1.04 kg/m for BALTIMOS, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early transition phase in post-communist Europe, citizens' perceptions of the national economy appeared more favorable than objective economic indicators would suggest. With triple and quadruple digit annual inflation rates and a severe economic contraction, there was a substantial portion of the population in these countries who still thought that the national economy had been and would be improving. Thus, sociotropic economic perceptions in the wake of the democratic transformation appeared to be disconnected from the real economic situation. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it explores the link between objective economic indicators and public evaluations of the economy. Second, it investigates the microfoundations of economic perceptions. And finally, it tests a well-established proposition that political sophisticates are more accurate in their perceptions than their less informed counterparts. The findings of the study can be generalized to any political and economic system undergoing transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of animal habitat selection aims at the detection of selective usage of habitat types and the identification of covariates influencing their selection. The results not only allow for a better understanding of the habitat selection process but are also intended to help improve the conservation of animals. Usually, habitat selection by larger animals is assessed by radio-tracking or visual observation studies, where the chosen habitat is determined for some animals at a set of specific points in time. Hence the resulting data often have the following structure: a categorical variable indicating the habitat type selected by an animal at a specific point in time is repeatedly observed and will be explained by covariates. These may either describe properties of the habitat types currently available and/or properties of the animal. In this paper, we present a general approach to the analysis of such data in a categorical regression setup. The proposed model generalizes and improves upon several of the approaches previously discussed in the literature. In particular, it accounts for changing habitat availability due to the movement of animals within the observation area. It incorporates both habitat- and animal-specific covariates, and includes individual-specific random effects to account for correlations introduced by the repeated measurements on single animals. Furthermore, the assumption that the effects are linear can be dropped by including the effects in nonparametric manner based on a penalized spline approach. The methodology is implemented in a freely available software package. We demonstrate the general applicability and the potential of the proposed approach in two case studies: The analysis of a songbird community in South-America and a study on brown bears in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines the position of the industrial working class in Romania before 1989, its role in the overthrow of the communist regime during the December 1989 revolution, and its status during the postcommunist transition to democracy after 1989. The subordination of labor interests by both communist and postcommunist regimes to ideologies that underestimated the issue of class differentiation is emphasized throughout the paper. This analysis is undertaken at two levels, namely, the rewriting of the history of communism after 1989 and the obstacles encountered during the process of democratic transition. The later aspect refers to the problematic relationship between the intellectuals and the working class and labor's lack of involvement in shaping the post-1989 economic and political reforms. The argument that I pursue is that many of the setbacks experienced during the democratization process are partly rooted in the status of labor as an important absentee from the discourse and agenda of both incumbent governments and intellectual elites. It has been a significant factor in pushing the working class towards an illiberal right-wing politics and ideologies of a populist, xenophobic, and anti-intellectual nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the fact—despite a widespread impression to the contrary—that the collapse of Communism in the fall of 1989 did not happen overnight, the paper explores the kind of gradual societal work that had led to the emergence of democratic polities in Central Europe but that had generally escaped the notice not only of policy makers and the leaders of the “free world” but also of theorists. The concept and practices of performative democracy as it manifested itself in the period of late Communism (1970s–1989), but also in South Africa at the dusk of apartheid, and the conditions for political performativity, as well as its main features, are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to identify implicit exchange rate regimes for currencies of the Central and Eastern European Countries vis-à-vis the euro. To that end, we apply a sequential procedure that considers the dynamics of exchange rates to data covering the period from 1977:01 to 2006:02. Our results would suggest that implicit bands have existed in many subperiods for almost all currencies under study. Once we detect de facto discrepancies between de facto and de iure exchange rate regimes, we propose a model in order to explain these decisions. Our results suggest a positive association between the previous inflation rate and the probability of a peg with the euro, and a negative association with past unemployment rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  This paper reviews the archaeobotanical research conducted on the plant material recovered from the Iceman′s body, his garment and equipment, as well as that from the sediments of the gully in which the body was discovered more than 15 years ago. These recent results are discussed against the background of the archaeological findings during the last few years and disclose both conformities and discrepancies of the disciplinary-centred views. In particular the archaeobotanical results concerning the season of death as well as the taphonomic interpretation of the find assemblage give cause for controversial discussions and constitute the future research focus. Furthermore, the singularity of this discovery demands an evaluation of the archaeobotanical findings within a circum-alpine context to reveal the representativeness of this find assemblage for the inner alpine Neolithic. This was the objective of a specific symposium at the 17th International Botanical Congress in Vienna in 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Results of research on relics of cultivation in Central Europe are presented, based on the example of Malva alcea L. (hollyhock mallow). Species from this group were cultivated in the past for various purposes, but are no longer utilized. Thanks to the detailed studies conducted in Mecklenburg (NW Germany) and in Wielkopolska (W Poland), M. alcea is one of the best-studied relics of cultivation. This paper presents the available information on its former uses, general and regional distribution, and habitat preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of new capital accumulation on capital-labor and capital-output ratios in 26 transition economies (TE) of Central and Eastern Europe and former USSR. Using a perpetual inventory method, we estimate the amount of capital accumulated in these countries since the start of market reforms and compare it to results for developed countries and largest emerging market economies. We found that on per worker basis, capital accumulation in TE is lagging far behind that of their mature market neighbors in European Union. Disparities in capital-output ratios were not as pronounced, as higher capital-labor ratios were reached in economies with higher levels of GDP per capita. Regression analysis indicates that capital per worker was accumulated faster in TE having higher saving rates, relatively higher priced labor, closer proximity to Western Europe, and higher manufacturing share in the economy. The K/Y levels were influenced by the same determinants except for relative input costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationalisation processes have been a core interest of international business research since the seminal contribution by Johanson and Vahlne (1977). The unique context of economic transition in CEE directs the attention to dynamic aspects of these processes, and to the interaction with changing environmental conditions. This introductory paper reviews the contributions of recent CEE research, and this special issue in particular, to advance our understanding of internationalisation processes. Key Results Research in this special issue advances the IP model by exploring concepts of "opportunity creation", "discovery", "emotions" and "subsidiary roles". Future research on these concepts, as well as on the interaction of internationalisation processes of firms and their networks, may further enhance our understanding of internationalisation. In addition to the dominant theories, contextual organization theory and new economic sociology may provide appropriate foundations for process-oriented research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the determinants of intended electoral participation. We analyze attitudes to both referenda and voting in national elections. Sample survey data are obtained from the Eurobarometer survey of transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The empirical results suggest that intended electoral participation increases with age, income and education. But attitudinal variables are also important and in particular confidence in the free market economy and satisfaction with the general development of the country impact positively on intended electoral participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades authoritarian regimes in many parts of the developing world, as well as in East/Central Europe, have been replaced by democracies. This paper looks at the issue of democratization from a gender perspective. While many of the problems afflicting the new democracies, such as the elitist character of political parties, and the failure of the state to guarantee civil and political rights or make a significant dent in poverty affect all citizens, they are manifested and experienced in gender-specific ways. Women's persistent exclusion from formal politics, in particular, raises a number of specific questions about how to reform democratic institutions since these institutions are not automatically gender-equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is twofold. It intends to reformulate the assumptions of interpretive archaeology and within this context to elaborate the framework within which one can study social and symbolic relationships between humans and animals in the prehistoric farming communities of Central Europe. Postprocessual archaeology has failed to provide a satisfactory account of how to judge the credibility of competing issues about the past. In the interpretive approach to animal bone assemblages, it is argued that the results of actualistic studies justify this credibility. The objective of actualistic studies is to establish how, when, and by whom the archaeological record has been produced. Credibility is also provided by the biological characteristics of animals maintained and consumed. The first level of credibility is a prerequisite to a further interpretation of the social dimensions of human action with respect to animals. The second level of interpretation is based on the horizontal distribution of archaeological pasts within and between sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a growing debate about the ethics of management buy-outs (MBOs). One possible criticism of the MBO is that it serves the interests of incumbent management at the expense of shareholders. In this paper we develop the general arguments concerning the ethical aspects of the MBO to include other forms of buy-out beyond "going privates" and apply the analysis to MBOs as a mode of privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). MBOs are justified in this context post perestroika as a means of incentivising economic activity by giving managers an ownership stake in former state enterprises. The actual mode of privatisation, though, raises issues of social justice and the criticism that MBOs are at the expense of the broader social good. The ethical problem for the CEE is to balance the economic gains of a move to markets with the ethical risks to the agents of these markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature is an important physical factor that is known to strongly affect biodiversity as well as ecosystems and their functioning. However, research in this area is still relatively limited; this may also be attributed to the multitude of influencing factors and the complexity of the statistics involved. This study analyzes the differences between the surface temperature of three Central European broadleaf tree species. A better understanding of these differences may help to elucidate the role of microclimate in biodiversity. We consider a time series of high-resolution thermal images taken from a meteorological observation tower and calculate mean canopy leaf temperatures for beech, ash and maple ( Fagus silvatica, Fraxinus excelsior and Acer pseudoplatanus). In a first step, comparable image areas are extracted from the thermal image sections of the crown of each tree species avoiding shadow areas, branches, etc. We used an automatic segmentation technique, the Otsu thresholding. Extracted canopy leaf temperature values were then processed and the resulting temperature profiles estimated by O'Sullivan penalized splines. For comparing the differences in canopy leaf temperature over time, we propose the construction of simultaneous confidence bands. The analyses show that there are significant-though small-differences in canopy surface temperature between the three tree species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stations of the Metropolitan Station Network in Olomouc (Czech Republic) were assigned to local climatic zones, and the temperature characteristics of the stations were compared. The classification of local climatic zones represents an up-to-date concept for the unification of the characterization of the neighborhoods of climate research sites. This study is one of the first to provide a classification of existing stations within local climate zones. Using a combination of GIS-based analyses and field research, the values of geometric and surface cover properties were calculated, and the stations were subsequently classified into the local climate zones. It turned out that the classification of local climatic zones can be efficiently used for representative documentation of the neighborhood of the climate stations. To achieve a full standardization of the description of the neighborhood of a station, the classification procedures, including the methods used for the processing of spatial data and methods used for the indication of specific local characteristics, must be also standardized. Although the main patterns of temperature differences between the stations with a compact rise, those with an open rise and the stations with no rise or sparsely built areas were evident; the air temperature also showed considerable differences within particular zones. These differences were largely caused by various geometric layout of development and by unstandardized placement of the stations. For the direct comparison of temperatures between zones, particularly those stations which have been placed in such a way that they are as representative as possible for the zone in question should be used in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on immigrants from Western countries who have moved to Central Europe. Issues related to the study of immigration in the region; Study on the American community in Prague, Czech Republic; Features characteristic of West-East migration.

On the basis of existing data on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central European economies in transition, the paper evaluates some aspects of FDI development implications for these economies. Too high expectations about FDI development implications could lead to a kind of restrictive reaction which would limit future inflow of greenfield FDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central Europe has experienced a severe drought almost every April for the last 14 years consecutively, driven by record high temperatures, low flows, high evapotranspiration, and high soil moisture deficit. The dynamic of this recent and recurrent mid-spring dryness is not yet understood. Here we show that the period 2007–2020 was characterized by a reduction of ~50% of the usual April rainfall amount over large areas in central Europe. The precipitation deficit and the record high temperatures were triggered by a multiyear recurrent high-pressure system centered over the North Sea and northern Germany and a decline in the temperature gradient between the Arctic region and the mid-latitudes, which diverted the Atlantic storm tracks northward. From a long-term perspective, the precipitation, temperature, and soil moisture anomalies observed over the last 14 years have reached the highest amplitudes over the observational record. Our study provides an in-depth analysis of the hydroclimate extremes in central Europe over the last 140 years and their atmospheric drivers, enabling us to increase our dynamical understating of long-term dry periods, which is vital to enhance forecasting and mitigation of such events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change affects the distribution of many species, including Burgundy and Périgord truffles in central and southern Europe, respectively. The cultivation potential of these high-prized cash crops under future warming, however, remains highly uncertain. Here we perform a literature review to define the ecological requirements for the growth of both truffle species. This information is used to develop niche models, and to estimate their cultivation potential in the Czech Republic under current (2020) and future (2050) climate conditions. The Burgundy truffle is already highly suitable for cultivation on ~ 14% of agricultural land in the Czech Republic (8486 km2), whereas only ~ 8% of the warmest part of southern Moravia are currently characterised by a low suitability for Périgord truffles (6418 km2). Though rising temperatures under RCP8.5 will reduce the highly suitable cultivation areas by 7%, the 250 km2 (3%) expansion under low-emission scenarios will stimulate Burgundy truffles to benefit from future warming. Doubling the moderate and expanding the highly suitable land by 352 km2 in 2050, the overall cultivation potential for Périgord truffles will rise substantially. Our findings suggest that Burgundy and Périgord truffles could become important high-value crops for many regions in central Europe with alkaline soils. Although associated with uncertainty, long-term investments in truffle cultivation could generate a wide range of ecological and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the spring 2018, a large part of Europe has been in the midst of a record-setting drought. Using long-term observations, we demonstrate that the occurrence of the 2018–2019 (consecutive) summer drought is unprecedented in the last 250 years, and its combined impact on the growing season vegetation activities is stronger compared to the 2003 European drought. Using a suite of climate model simulation outputs, we underpin the role of anthropogenic warming on exacerbating the future risk of such a consecutive drought event. Under the highest Representative Concentration Pathway, (RCP 8.5), we notice a seven-fold increase in the occurrence of the consecutive droughts, with additional 40 ( ± 5 ) million ha of cultivated areas being affected by such droughts, during the second half of the twenty-first century. The occurrence is significantly reduced under low and medium scenarios (RCP 2.6 and RCP 4.5), suggesting that an effective mitigation strategy could aid in reducing the risk of future consecutive droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobility of people and goods during the Upper Paleolithic has proven difficult to reconstruct given the relative rareness of remains. Nevertheless, archaeological contexts like the Late Pleistocene horizon of Borsuka Cave (Southern Poland) represent a unique opportunity to explore patterns of objects' transportation across Central Europe. We investigated the origin of four ornaments made of European elk (Alces alces L.) incisors recovered at Borsuka Cave – the oldest known burial site in Poland, possibly a child grave. Laser-ablation plasma source mass spectrometric analyses of trace elements and Sr isotopic compositions revealed that one elk was roaming within a geologically uniform area while the others changed their pastures during their lifetimes. The non-local origin of the elk teeth is inferred from their exotic Sr isotopic compositions and the lack of evidence for the presence of elk in this territory during the Pleistocene. Instead, the elks' Sr isotopic composition show good agreement with sites near the Austria-Slovakia border region and northern Hungary, ~250 km away from the study site. We argue that the artefacts were most likely brought to Borsuka Cave by humans or by a network of exchange, so far never reported in the time range 32.5–28.8 ka cal BP for Southern Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstructing long-term continental temperature change provides the required counterpart to age equivalent marine records and can reveal how terrestrial and marine temperatures were related during times of extreme climate change such as the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO) and the following Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (MMCT). Carbonate clumped isotope temperatures (T(Δ47)) from 17.5 to 14.0 Ma Central European paleosols (Molasse Basin, Switzerland) display a temperature pattern during the MCO that is similar to coeval marine temperature records. Maximum temperatures in the long-term soil T(Δ47) record (at 16.5 and 14.9 Ma) lag maximum ocean bottom water temperatures, lead global ice volume, and mark the initiation of minimum global ice volume phases. The suggested onset of the MMCT, deduced by a marked and rapid decline in Molasse Basin soil temperatures is coeval with cooling reported in high-latitudinal marine records. This is best explained by a change in the seasonal timing of soil carbonate formation that was likely driven by a modification of rainfall seasonality and thus by a major reorganization of mid-latitude atmospheric circulation across Central Europe. In particular, our data suggest a strong climate coupling between the North Atlantic and Central Europe already in the middle Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local extinction and recolonization events can shape genetic structure of subdivided animal populations. The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was extirpated from most of Europe, but recently recolonized big part of its historical range. An exceptionally dynamic expansion of wolf population is observed in the western part of the Great European Plain. Nonetheless, genetic consequences of this process have not yet been fully understood. We aimed to assess genetic diversity of this recently established wolf population in Western Poland (WPL), determine its origin and provide novel data regarding the population genetic structure of the grey wolf in Central Europe. We utilized both spatially explicit and non-explicit Bayesian clustering approaches, as well as a model-independent, multivariate method DAPC, to infer genetic structure in large dataset (881 identified individuals) of wolf microsatellite genotypes. To put the patterns observed in studied population into a broader biogeographic context we also analyzed a mtDNA control region fragment widely used in previous studies. In comparison to a source population, we found slightly reduced allelic richness and heterozygosity in the newly recolonized areas west of the Vistula river. We discovered relatively strong west-east structuring in lowland wolves, probably reflecting founder-flush and allele surfing during range expansion, resulting in clear distinction of WPL, eastern lowland and Carpathian genetic groups. Interestingly, wolves from recently recolonized mountainous areas (Sudetes Mts, SW Poland) clustered together with lowland, but not Carpathian wolf populations. We also identified an area in Central Poland that seems to be a melting pot of western, lowland eastern and Carpathian wolves. We conclude that the process of dynamic recolonization of Central European lowlands lead to the formation of a new, genetically distinct wolf population. Together with the settlement and establishment of packs in mountains by lowland wolves and vice versa, it suggests that demographic dynamics and possibly anthropogenic barriers rather than ecological factors (e.g. natal habitat-biased dispersal patterns) shape the current wolf genetic structure in Central Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the level of awareness of hypoglycemia, the level of fear for hypoglycemia, and the response to hypoglycemic events among insulin-treated diabetes patients from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The impact of hypoglycemia on the use of healthcare resources and patient productivity was also assessed. Methods: This was a multicenter, non-interventional, two-part, patient self-reported questionnaire study that comprised both a retrospective cross-sectional evaluation and a prospective observational evaluation. Study participants were insulin-treated adult patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from CEE. Results: Most patients (85.4% T1DM and 83.6% T2DM) reported normal hypoglycemia awareness. The median hypoglycemia fear score was 5 out of 10 for T1DM and 4 out of 10 for T2DM patients. Patients increased glucose monitoring, consulted a doctor/nurse, and/or reduced the insulin dose in response to hypoglycemia. As a consequence of hypoglycemia, patients took leave from work/studies or arrived late and/or left early. Hospitalization was required for 31 (1.2%) patients with T1DM and 66 (2.1%) patients with T2DM. Conclusion: Hypoglycemia impacts patients' personal and social functioning, reduces productivity, and results in additional costs, both direct (related to increased use of healthcare resources) and indirect (related to absenteeism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense herbaceous understorey layers can impact tree regeneration and thereby affect forest succession. However, the implications of this interaction on large spatial and temporal scales are not well understood. To analyse the role of overstorey-understorey interactions for forest dynamics, we implemented an understorey layer (composed of the plant functional types grasses, forbs, ferns, herbs and shrubs) in the forest landscape model LandClim, focusing on competition for light as the main mode of interaction. The model was used to simulate post-disturbance dynamics over an elevational gradient of 560-2800 m a.s.l. in Central Europe. Simulation results showed strong impacts of the herbaceous understorey on tree regeneration within the first decades, but generally little effect on late-successional forests, i.e. not providing any evidence for 'arrested' succession. The results also demonstrated varying overstorey-understorey interactions across the landscape: strongest effects were found at low to mid elevations of the study landscapes, where tree establishment was substantially delayed. At high elevations, tree growth and establishment were more limited by low temperatures, and the effect of light competition from the understorey was negligible. Although the inclusion of large windthrow disturbances increased the biomass of herbaceous understorey across the landscape, this had only a small impact on the overstorey due to the presence of advance regeneration of trees. Overall, our results demonstrate that the herbaceous understorey can have a significant impact for forest landscape dynamics through light competition, and that non-woody plants should not be neglected in forest modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most essential requirement for water management is efficient and informative monitoring. Operating water quality monitoring networks is a challenge from both the scientific and economic points of view, especially in the case of river sections ranging over hundreds of kilometers. Therefore, spatio-temporal optimization is vital. In the present study, the optimization of the monitoring system of the River Tisza, the second largest river in Central Europe, is presented using a generally applicable and novel method, combined cluster and discriminant analysis (CCDA). This area for the study was chosen because, spatial inhomogeneity of a river's monitoring network can more easily be studied in a mostly natural watershed - as in the case of the River Tisza - since the effects of man-made obstacles: e.g water barrage systems, hydroelectric power plants, artificial lakes, etc. are more pronounced. Furthermore, since the temporal sampling frequency was bi-weekly, the opportunity of optimizing the monitoring system on a temporal (monthly) scale arose. In the research, 15 water quality parameters measured at 14 sampling sites in the Hungarian section of the River Tisza were assessed for the time period 1975-2005. First, four within-year sections ('hydrochemical seasons') were determined, characterized with unequal lengths, namely 2, 4, 2, and 4 months long starting with spring. Homogeneous groups of sampling sites were determined in space for every season, with the main separating factors being the tributaries and man-made obstacles. Similarly, an overall pattern of homogeneity was determined. As an overall result, the 14 sampling sites could be grouped into 11 homogeneous groups leading to the possibility of reducing the number of sampling locations and thus making the monitoring system more cost-efficient. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimum and maximum temperature in two regional climate models and five statistical downscaling models are validated according to a unified set of criteria that have a potential relevance for impact assessments: persistence (temporal autocorrelations), spatial autocorrelations, extreme quantiles, skewness, kurtosis, and the degree of fit to observed data on both short and long times scales. The validation is conducted on two dense grids in central Europe as follows: (1) a station network and (2) a grid with a resolution of 10 km. The gridded dataset is not contaminated by artifacts of the interpolation procedure; therefore, we claim that using a gridded dataset as a validation base is a valid approach. The fit to observations in short time scales is equally good for the statistical downscaling (SDS) models and regional climate models (RCMs) in winter, while it is much better for the SDS models in summer. The reproduction of variability on long time scales, expressed as linear trends, is similarly successful by both SDS models and RCMs. Results for other criteria suggest that there is no justification for preferring dynamical models at the expense of statistical models-and vice versa. The non-linear SDS models do not outperform the linear ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to identify the vegetation pattern in the different types of watercourses basing on survey in reference conditions in a wide geographical gradient, including mountain, upland and lowland rivers. We tested relationship between composition of macrophytes to environmental variables including: altitude, slope, catchment area, geology of valley, land use, hydromorphological features, water physical and chemical measurements. Analysis based on 109 pristine river sites located throughout major types of rivers in Central Europe. Qualitative and quantitative plant surveys were carried out between 2005 and 2013. Based on TWINSPAN classification and DCA analysis, six macrophyte types were distinguished. The lowland sites were divided into the following three types: humic rivers and two types of siliceous rivers depending on the catchment area, including medium-large and small rivers. The mountain and upland rivers were divided into three geological types: siliceous, calcareous and gravel. We found that the variation of macrophyte communities was determined by several habitat factors (mainly altitude, flow type, riverbed granulometry, conductivity and alkalinity), whereas the spatial factor was rather limited; further, the plant diversity was not reflected accurately by the European ecoregion approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread paradigm in ecology that community structure determines function has recently been challenged by the high complexity of microbial communities. Here, we investigate the patterns of and connections between microbial community structure and microbially-mediated ecological function across different forest management practices and temporal changes in leaf litter across beech forest ecosystems in Central Europe. Our results clearly indicate distinct pattern of microbial community structure in response to forest management and time. However, those patterns were not reflected when potential enzymatic activities of microbes were measured. We postulate that in our forest ecosystems, a disconnect between microbial community structure and function may be present due to differences between the drivers of microbial growth and those of microbial function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the ways to assess the impacts of climate change on plants is analysing their long-term phenological data. We studied phenological records of 18 common tree species and their 8 phenological phases, spanning 65 years (1946−2010) and covering the area of the Czech Republic. For each species and phenophase, we assessed the changes in its annual means (for detecting shifts in the timing of the event) and standard deviations (for detecting changes in duration of the phenophases). The prevailing pattern across tree species was that since around the year 1976, there has been a consistent advancement of the onset of spring phenophases (leaf unfolding and flowering) and subsequent acceleration of fruit ripening, and a delay of autumn phenophases (leaf colouring and leaf falling). The most considerable shifts in the timing of spring phenophases were displayed by early-successional short-lived tree species. The most pronounced temporal shifts were found for the beginning of seed ripening in conifers with an advancement in this phenophase of up to 2.2 days year in Scots Pine ( Pinus sylvestris). With regards to the change in duration of the phenophases, no consistent patterns were revealed. The growing season has extended on average by 23.8 days during the last 35 years. The most considerable prolongation was found in Pedunculate Oak ( Quercus robur): 31.6 days (1976−2010). Extended growing season lengths do have the potential to increase growth and seed productivity, but unequal shifts among species might alter competitive relationships within ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenological responses to climate of residents and migrants (short- and long-distance) differ. Although few previous studies have focussed on this topic, the agree that changes in phenology are more apparent for residents than for long-distance migrants. We analysed the breeding times of two selected residents ( Sitta europaea, Parus major) and one long-distance migrant ( Ficedula albicollis) from 1961 to 2007 in central Europe. The timing of the phenophases of all three bird species showed a significant advance to earlier times. Nevertheless, the most marked shift was observed for the long-distance migrant (1.9 days per decade on average in mean laying date with linearity at the 99.9 % confidence level). In contrast, the shifts shown by the residents were smaller (1.6 days for S. europaea and 1.5 days for P. major also on average in mean laying date for both, with linearity at the 95 % confidence level). Spearman rank correlation coefficients calculated for pairs of phenophases of given bird species in 20-year subsamples (e.g. 1961-1980, 1962-1981) showed higher phenological separation between the residents and the migrant. This separation is most apparent after the 1980s. Thus, our results indicate that the interconnections between the studied phenological stages of the three bird species are becoming weaker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study deals with changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation (represented by circulation types) and associated surface air temperatures as projected in an ensemble of regional climate models (RCMs) from the ENSEMBLES project. We examine changes of circulation type frequencies and means of daily maximum and minimum temperatures within circulation types in individual seasons for two time slices of transient runs under the SRES A1B scenario (2021–2050 and 2071–2100) with respect to the control period (1961–1990). To study the influence of driving data, simulations of the driving general circulation models (GCMs) also are evaluated. We find that all models project changes of atmospheric circulation that are statistically significant for both future time slices. The models tend to project strengthening of the westerly circulation in winter and its weakening in summer. We show that increases of daily maximum and minimum temperatures in all seasons differ for individual circulation types. There are, however, only few features of the projected changes in the future circulation–temperature links that are common among the models, in particular relatively smaller warming for westerly types. Only in winter, projected changes in circulation types tend to contribute to the projected overall warming. This effect is negligible and mostly opposite in the other seasons. We also detect a strong influence of driving data on RCMs’ simulation of atmospheric circulation and temperature changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oak trees were sampled in a flood plain forest in the valley of the Zapadnaya Dvina (Daugava) river (Tver region, Russia). Annual rings of the time period from 1826 to 2010 were studied. Anatomically distinct rings with a stripe of small-sized cells in the innermost part and narrow earlywood vessels located in three to four rows occurred in 1861, 1862, 1929, 1940, 1942, 1956 and 1979. Deviations of earlywood development were associated with the drop of winter temperature below −42 °C. The percentage of severe winter ring (SWR) occurrence depends upon tree age and decreases from 75.6 % in younger specimens (under 41 years old at the time of the severe winter) to 27.1 % in middle-aged ones (from 41 to 80 years) to 3.5 % in trees older than 80 years. Described anatomical features can be used in the reconstruction of severe winter frequency in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism destinations often require information about climate to assess their climate potential. This can be performed in terms of mean conditions of relevant climatological parameters. For a user-friendly analysis and visualization of climate data relevant for tourism application in Luxembourg, information is prepared based on the facets of climate in tourism. Information on thermal comfort/stress conditions as well as aesthetical and physical parameters is considered. In the present study, relevant and sensible factors were identified and presented. Therefore, physiologically equivalent temperature, precipitation patterns and the Climate-Tourism/Transfer-Information-Scheme are applied. In addition, extreme events relevant for heat stress are analysed based on existing data sets (i.e. heat waves of 2010). Expected climatic conditions for the future are investigated using the projections of two different regional climate models. The results concerning climate change conditions reveal increasing heat stress and sultriness but decreasing cold stress. This information is the basis for an adequate assessment to provide relevant information for different environmental planning issues as well as for the growing tourism sector of Luxembourg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study regarding the establishment chain's concept for the market entry in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The study evaluates the impact of market entry timing for its manufacturing success in the foreign industry among German firms. It mentions that marketing entry pattern involves incremental internalization which are more common for the pioneers than late entrants and early followers. It adds that the pattern contributes to the increasing foreign competition.

Fungi from the genus Geosmithia (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) are associated with bark beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae), though little is known about ecology, diversity, and distribution of these fungi across beetle and its host tree species. This study surveyed the diversity, distribution and vector affinity of Geosmithia isolated from subcortical insects that colonized trees from the family Pinaceae in Central and Northeastern Europe. Twelve Geosmithia species were isolated from 85 plant samples associated with 23 subcortical insect species (including 14 bark beetle species). Geosmithia community composition was similar across different localities and vector species; although the fungal communities associated with insects that colonized Pinus differed from that colonizing other tree species ( Abies, Larix, and Picea). Ten Geosmithia species from four independent phylogenetic lineages were not reported previously from vectors feeding on other plant families and seem to be restricted to the vectors from Pinaceae only. We conclude that presence of such substrate specificity suggests a long and stable association between Geosmithia and bark beetles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between the mid-eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, commercial networks of Ashkenazim in central Europe experienced major shifts. I argue that this was a transitional period between the extensive trading and credit networks of central European Court Jews in the early modern period and the rise of new Jewish banking houses across Europe in the nineteenth century. Based on examples from Amsterdam, Frankfurt an der Oder (Prussia), and Warsaw I demonstrate how Amsterdam served as a center for the provision of credit to central and, indirectly, eastern Europe until the late eighteenth century, with Jewish merchants in central European cities like Frankfurt an der Oder serving as middlemen. Relying not on far-reaching networks but rather on more regional ones, a new mercantile Jewish elite rose in Warsaw beginning around the turn of the century, creating a new financial hub in east-central Europe. I suggest that the rise of Warsaw as a new center of Jewish banking and commerce can be described as a parallel development-though one on a much smaller scale-to the rise of London and that both new centers prospered at the expense of Amsterdam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]