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National audience; Crop mixtures may decrease reliance on pesticides but reducing herbicide use might increase weeds. Individual-based crop models can provide management guidelines. In heterogeneous canopies, light availability of individual plants depends on their dominant or dominated position. Estimating nitrogen demand at the plant scale, independently of light environment, is a challenge for modelling. A relationship linking shoot nitrogen amount to leaf biomass (or leaf area) at optimal nitrogen nutrition was investigated to establish if it could allow estimating nitrogen demand at the plant scale independently of its light environment. Crop and weed species were grown in greenhouse under various nitrogen treatments and, for two species, under two light levels. At the plant scale, shoot nitrogen amount was proportional to leaf biomass (or leaf area) at optimal nitrogen nutrition at vegetative stage. At reproductive stage, the relationship was allometric. The effect of light on shoot nitrogen amount per leaf biomass was minor and greater when using leaf area. Using data from previous experiments showed that the relationship using leaf biomass was stable across diverse growing conditions. The relationship linking shoot nitrogen amount to leaf biomass at optimal nitrogen nutrition can be used to model nitrogen demand of individual plants in heterogeneous canopies.

International audience; Reducing herbicide use requires alternative strategies to regulate weeds. In the context of climate change, these alternative strategies must tolerate climatic hazards, among which is water deficit. Simulations models that predict the effects of cropping systems, in interaction with pedoclimate, on crop-weed demography are powerful tools to identify weed management strategies that tolerate climatic hazards. However, due to knowledge gaps, competition for water is rarely included in models of crop-weed demography, which can thus not be used to identify weed management strategies that tolerate water deficit. The present study aimed to quantify the response of weed species to water stress, and to identify mathematical formalisms to introduce competition for water into a crop-weed demography model, i.e. FLORSYS. In a greenhouse experiment, Alopecurus myosuroides, Amaranthus hybridus and Abutilon theophrasti were grown at 4-5 water regimes, ranging from 75 to 20% of the water holding capacity. Plants were grown individually in pots. Three times per day, each pot was automatically weighted and, whenever necessary, watered with a complete nutrient solution (N-P-K) to reach the targeted water regime. Seven weeks after germination, plants were sampled to measure plant growth traits. For the three species, leaf, stem and root biomasses were all affected by water regime. The intensity of the response to water stress differed among species, with A. theophrasti being the most sensitive and A. hybridus the least sensitive species. The higher the leaf area was when water availability was non-limiting, the more it was affected by the water regime. Data analysis (under progress) and literature are used to identify mathematical formalisms accounting for the response of annual crop and weed species to water stress, especially biomass production (photosynthesis) and allocation within the plant (aboveground vs. belowground, leaf vs. stem, reproductive vs. vegetative biomass). The aim is to identify generic equations, i.e. valid for a wide range of annual crop and weed species, each species being characterised by a set of specific parameters. These formalisms will be included in the FLORSYS model which simulates weed dynamics and crop canopy growth in virtual fields over the years with a daily time step. The final aim is to use the completed model to identify sustainable weed management strategies that are robust to climatic hazards.

International audience; Reducing herbicide use requires identifying alternative strategies to regulate weeds. Using crop species that are more competitive for resources than problematic weed species is one lever, but requires a better understanding of weed response to water stress. The present study aimed to quantify the response of three weed species to water stress. In a greenhouse experiment, Alopecurus myosuroides, Amaranthus hybridus and Abutilon theophrasti were grown at 4-5 water regimes, ranging from 75 to 20% of the water holding capacity. Plants were grown individually in pots. Each pot was automatically weighted three times per day, and watered whenever necessary to reach the targeted water regime. A nutrient-rich solution was used. The lower water regimes probably concurred with lower nutrient levels, in line with what is usually going on in agricultural fields. Seven weeks after germination, plants were sampled. For the three species, leaf, stem and root biomasses were affected by the water regimes. The intensity of the response to water stress differed among species, with A. theophrasti being the most sensitive and A. hybridus the least sensitive species. For plant leaf area, the ranking of plant species for the sensitivity to water regime was similar to the ranking for the potential plant leaf area (i.e. leaf area at 75 % of the water holding capacity). We will identify mathematical equations accounting for the response of plant growth and biomass allocation to water stress. The aim is to identify generic equations, i.e. valid for a wide range of annual species. They will be included in the FlorSys model which simulates weed dynamics and crop canopy growth in virtual fields over the years. The final aim is to use the completed model to identify sustainable weed management strategies that are robust to climatic hazards.

Dedicated experiments have been performed in the COMPASS tokamak to thoroughly study the power deposition processes occurring on poloidal and toroidal edges of castellated plasma-facing components in tokamaks during steady-state L-mode conditions. Surface temperatures measured by a high resolution infra-red camera are compared with reconstructed synthetic data from a 2D thermal model using heat flux profiles derived from both the optical approximation and 2D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. In the case of poloidal leading edges, when the contribution from local radiation is taken into account, the parallel heat flux deduced from unperturbed, upstream measurements is fully consistent with the observed temperature increase at the leading edges of various heights, respecting power balance assuming simple projection of the parallel flux density. Smoothing of the heat flux deposition profile due to finite ion Larmor radius predicted by the PIC simulations is found to be weak and the power deposition on misaligned poloidal edges is better described by the optical approximation. This is consistent with an electron-dominated regime associated with a non-ambipolar parallel current flow. In the case of toroidal gap edges, the different contributions of the total incoming flux along the gap have been observed experimentally for the first time. They confirm the results of recent numerical studies performed for ITER showing that in specific cases the heat deposition does not necessarily follow the optical approximation. Indeed, ions can spiral onto the magnetically shadowed toroidal edge. Particle-in-cell simulations emphasize again the role played by local non-ambipolarity in the deposition pattern.

Renewable energy sources are major components of the strategy to reduce harmful emissions and to replace depleting fossil energy resources. Data from remote sensing can provide information for multicriteria analysis for sources of renewable energy. Advanced land cover quantification makes it possible to search for suitable sites. Multicriteria analysis, together with other data, is used to determine the energy potential and socially acceptability of suggested locations. The described case study is focused on an area of surface coal mines in the northwestern region of the Czech Republic, where the impacts of surface mining and reclamation constitute a dominant force in land cover changes. High resolution satellite images represent the main input datasets for identification of suitable sites. Solar mapping, wind predictions, the location of weirs in watersheds, road maps and demographic information complement the data from remote sensing for multicriteria analysis, which is implemented in a geographic information system (GIS). The input spatial datasets for multicriteria analysis in GIS are reclassified to a common scale and processed with raster algebra tools to identify suitable sites for sources of renewable energy. The selection of suitable sites is limited by the CORINE land cover database to mining and agricultural areas. The case study is focused on long term land cover changes in the 1985-2015 period. Multicriteria analysis based on CORINE data shows moderate changes in mapping of suitable sites for utilization of selected sources of renewable energy in 1990, 2000, 2006 and 2012. The results represent map layers showing the energy potential on a scale of a few preference classes (1-7), where the first class is linked to minimum preference and the last class to maximum preference. The attached histograms show the moderate variability of preference classes due to land cover changes caused by mining activities. The results also show a slight increase in the more preferred classes for utilization of sources of renewable energy due to an increase area of reclaimed sites. Using data from remote sensing, such as the multispectral images and the CORINE land cover datasets, can reduce the financial resources currently required for finding and assessing suitable areas.

prod 2018-237 EA SPE BAP GESTAD INRA AGROSUP; National audience

The experimental study of damage to tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), and silicon carbide (SiC) surfaces induced by focused extreme ultraviolet laser radiation (λ ~ 47 nm/~1.5 ns/21–40 µJ) is presented. It was found that W and Mo behaved similarly: during the first shot, the damaged area is covered by melted and re-solidified material, in which circular holes appear – residua of just opened pores/bubbles, from which pressurized gas/vapors escaped. Next cracks and ruptures appear and the W has a tendency to delaminate its surface layer. Contrary, single-crystalline SiC has negligible porosity and sublimates; therefore, no escape of “pressurized” gas and no accompanying effects take place. Moreover, SiC at sublimating temperature decomposes to elements; therefore, the smooth crater morphology can be related to local laser energy density above ablation threshold. When more shots are accumulated, in all three investigated materials, the crater depth increases non-linearly with number of these shots. The surface morphology was investigated by an atomic force microscope, the surface structure was imaged by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the structure below the surface was visualized by SEM directed into a trench that is milled by focused ion beam. Additionally, structural changes in SiC were revealed by Raman spectroscopy.

Permeation barriers represent one of the crucial fields in materials development for thermonuclear fusion. Primary objective of the barriers is to suppress the permeation of hydrogen isotopes (mainly tritium) from future thermonuclear fusion facilities. Secondary objective is to reduce hydrogen retention in structural materials, potentially also improving their corrosion resistance. Expected reactor conditions put high demands on the material, as well as on the final barrier quality. Key properties are tritium permeation reduction, absence of defects (especially cracks), high-temperature stability and corrosion resistance, and compatibility with structural materials (mostly ferritic-martensitic steels). Regarding industrial scale production, ability of the deposition method to coat large complex surfaces is desirable. Thin nitride layers, identified as promising permeation barriers, were prepared by diffusion-based nitridation and physical vapour deposition (PVD) and characterized.

Elderberry cultivars ‘Albida’, ‘AllesA¶â€™, ‘Aurea’, ‘Bohatka’, ‘Dana’, ‘Haschberg’, ‘Heidegg 13’, ‘KA¶rsA¶r’, ‘Mammut’, ‘Pregarten’, ‘Riese aus VoAŸloch’, ‘Sambo’, ‘Sambu’, ‘Samdal’, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samyl’, ‘Weihenstephan’ and wild elderberry were grown in a unique experimental collection of elderberry at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology at Holovousy Ltd. This collection was examined for composition of substances in fruits because elderberry has high concentrations of compounds with antioxidative activity, especially anthocyanins, flavonoids and vitamins. The aim of this study was to compare content of selected substances in fruits of elderberry cultivars and wild elderberry. Results showed the highest juice yield in cultivars ‘AllesA¶â€™, ‘Haschberg’, ‘KA¶rsA¶r’ and ‘Samyl’. In contrast, the lowest juice yield was detected in fruits of wild elderberry as well as ‘Aurea’ and ‘Sambo’ cultivars. The highest total antioxidant capacity was found in fruits of ‘Haschberg’, followed by wild elderberry and ‘Weihenstephan’, ‘Pregarten’ and ‘Riese aus VoI²loch’. The lowest values were recorded in cultivars ‘Albida’ and ‘Aurea’. High content of reducing sugars was found in cultivars ‘Samdal’, ‘Haschberg’ and ‘KA¶rsA¶r’ compared to other cultivars and wild elderberry.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is an underutilized crop on commercial fruit farms in the Czech Republic. Although the species is native, elderberry has not been grown commercially there, despite its great potential. Currently, there is interest among organic growers in growing elderberry as a complementary crop. Interest in elderberry blossoms and fruits has also been expressed by both domestic and foreign processing industries. A unique, experimental collection of elderberry in terms of cultivar numbers was developed at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy Ltd. In 2009, the cultivars ‘Albida’, ‘AllesA¶â€™, ‘Aurea’, ‘Bohatka’, ‘Dana’, ‘Haschberg’, ‘Heidegg 13’, ‘KorsA¸r’, ‘Mammut’, ‘Pregarten’, ‘Riese aus VoAŸloch’, ‘Sambo’, ‘Sambu’, ‘Samdal’, ‘Sampo’, ‘Samyl’ and ‘Weihenstephan’ were planted. During ensuing years, this collection has been gradually supplemented with other cultivars including ‘Juicy’, ‘Tulbing’ and ‘Weisser Holunder’. Some of these cultivars were obtained from neighbouring countries, which have grown and carried out the research on this crop for a long time and have similar natural and climatic conditions. Vegetative and fruit characteristics of the different cultivars were evaluated under the conditions in the Czech Republic. Based on our findings, suitable elderberry cultivars were recommended for growers.

EASPEGESTAD INRA; Le tropisme racinaire correspond à l’orientation des racines au sein d’un système racinaire. On parle de gravitropisme positif lorsque le système racinaire s’étend principalement dans une direction verticale, et de plagiotropisme lorsque la direction est principalement horizontale, toutes les situations existant entre ces deux extrêmes. Notre objectif a été de mettre au point un dispositif permettant l’étude du tropisme racinaire adapté à une majorité d’espèces herbacées annuelles (adventices et cultivées, monocotylédones et dicotylédones), et permettant une croissance en 3-D du système racinaire. Le dispositif est constitué d’un bac contenant du sol, ainsi que des cadres grillagés empilés les uns sur les autres, afin de localiser la position des racines par leurs coordonnées (x, y) sur les différents cadres situés à différentes profondeurs dans le bac. Nous illustrons l’utilisation de ce dispositif pour caractériser le tropisme de deux espèces adventices.

EASPEGESTAD INRA; Mieux gérer la compétition culture : adventice dans des systèmes de culture moins dépendants de l’azote minéral et des herbicides nécessite de mieux connaître l’architecture racinaire des cultures et des adventices en lien avec la disponibilité en azote du sol. Pour cela, nous avons mené deux essais en serre sur douze espèces cultivées et adventices, cultivées à deux concentrations contrastées en azote du sol. Nous avons utilisé les paramètres d’un modèle d’architecture racinaire comme traits pour comparer les espèces et analyser la réponse de l’architecture racinaire à la disponibilité en azote. Les traits racinaires étudiés sont variables entre les espèces mais peu affectés par la disponibilité en azote du sol. La connaissance des caractéristiques racinaires des espèces fournit des informations sur leur aptitude à la compétition pour les ressources du sol.

Over short periods of time, the amount of generated electricity is relatively fixed, but demand for electricity fluctuates throughout the day. Thus, technology for storing electrical energy is needed to manage the amount of power required to supply customers at times when need is greatest, during peak load. Also it can help to make renewable energy, whose power output cannot be controlled by grid operators, without interruptions of power supply and smooth. Suitable local energy storage can balance microgrids to achieve a good match between generation and load. Storage devices can achieve a more reliable power supply for industrial facilities, and hold considerable promise for transforming the electric power industry. Energy storage technology is applied to a wide range of areas that differ in power and energy requirements. It includes batteries, electrochemical capacitors, superconducting magnetic storage, pumped-storage hydroelectricity, and flywheels. Also new technology seeks to improve energy storage density in electrolytes and nano-structured electrodes.

Tungsten is considered as the most suitable material for the plasma-facing armour of future fusion reactors. However, in spite of many advantageous properties, pure tungsten has a major drawback, namely, brittleness at lower temperatures and embrittlement by neutron irradiation. Tungsten fibre-reinforced tungsten (W f /W) composites are thought to be a promising candidate material for armour owing to the pseudo-toughness effect which is based on controlled cracking of coated interfaces. In this material concept, the reliability of the material during service relies on the fabrication quality as well as the stability of microstructure, particularly, of the interfacial coating under high-heat-flux loads. In this paper, the durability and chemical stability of W f /W composite specimens under cyclic heat-flux loads up to 20 MW/m² (surface temperature: 1260 °C) was investigated using hydrogen neutral beam. The bulk material was fabricated by means of spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) method using fine tungsten powder and a stack of tungsten wire meshes as reinforcement where the surface of the wire was coated with zirconia thin film to produce an engineered interface. The impact of plasma beam irradiation on microstructure was examined for two kinds of specimens produced at different sintering temperatures, 1400 °C and 1700 °C. Results of microscopic (SEM) and chemical (EDX) analysis are presented comparing the microstructure and element distribution maps obtained before and after heat flux loading. Effects of different sintering temperatures on damage behaviour are discussed. The present composite materials are shown to be applicable as plasma-facing material for high-heat-flux components.

Hydropower has been used for energy supply for many centuries. Now it accounts for about a few percent of world energy production. Hydropower is described as a renewable source, but it is slightly different, because it occupies large areas of land and can disrupt the local ecosystems. The dam prevents the upstream migration of aquatic animals, which can be overcome by building fish ladders. The areas below the dam are deprived of silt that causes lower yield in organic farming. Hydroelectric power is widely utilized by mountainous countries like Austria, Norway, and Switzerland. Nowadays, the expansion is limited in many developed countries, because most of the suitable sites have already been used. The hydroelectric potential can be increased by the concept of distributed generation from small hydro plants that are connected to conventional electrical distribution networks as a source of low-cost renewable energy. Also small hydro projects may be built in isolated areas, where there is no national electrical distribution network. Since small hydro projects generating capacity of 1–20 megawatts have minimal civil construction work, they are seen as having a relatively low environmental impact compared to large hydro plants.

The Sun energy falling on the Earth at the rate of about 100 PW/year is enough to support our energy needs about a few thousand times. If new technology could find a practical way of transformation and accumulation, we would have supply by energy our industry and personal consumption without any energy crisis. Although the heat of the Sun stirs up the atmosphere and causes wind and water circulations on the surface of the Earth, a considerable part can be used to generate electricity or used directly. The currently used photovoltaic cells are inefficient and expensive to substitute traditional fossil energy sources. Also the territorial claims are high and output power variable due to meteorological conditions. Despite the Sun giving approximately 1.4 kW per square meter to the Earth, we can use a small part such as about 100–200 W per square meter at the Earth’s surface, with higher values at the equator. Although current technology for electricity generation is still too costly for general use, there are many applications for relatively small amounts of electricity needed in remote sites such as navigation lights, road signs, computer networks, power supply, or recharging of consumer electronics. Another way is to use solar energy for domestic water heating. Many houses are equipped with solar panels that can substitute a part of heating energy produced by traditional heating systems on sunny days.

Spatial and temporal modeling can be extended by other computer tools focused on optimization of fuel and power supply. Multi-criteria analysis is used for regional energy planning and development because the optimization of energy systems requires physical, economic, environmental, and social considerations. The more complex energy supply models can be used for predicting the feature. They deal with technological innovations and efficiency improvements, which can provide better optimization on the local and global scale. Many of the assessment tools are used to support decision-making. Renewable energy sources can be included in the models as a component that helps to reduce the environmental impacts of energy consumption. In order to develop an efficient power grid, it is important to know the exact capacity of various renewable energy sources because each renewable energy source has a different energy generation capacity. Optimized deployment of innovated existing power sources and renewable energy sources will reduce the operational and maintenance costs of the energy generated units. In general, cost minimization and power maximization under defined environmental restrictions are the two main objectives in the described assessment tools.

Biomass is generally represented by an organic material that can be used to produce heat or allowed to decay and emit natural gas. In the form of wood, this has been done for centuries. It is still widely used as a predominant heating source in poorer countries. The uncontrolled use can lead to desertification. It is an environment-friendly source that does not add to global warming since the carbon dioxide produced when it is burned equals the amount absorbed by the photosynthesis that originally produced it. But carbon savings are decreased by additional services that are necessary for its agricultural production, such as transportation and needed agricultural operations. Unsuitable agricultural practices can rise to erosion. An expansion of biofuel production affects water availability and pesticide use. The growth of industrial crops for biofuels requires large areas of land, which can lead on a large scale of exploitation to disaster. Also the massive switch from food production to growing industrial crops will lead to the growing shortage of food, especially in developing countries.

Better managing crop : weed competition in cropping systems while reducing both nitrogen and herbicide inputs is a real challenge that requires a better understanding of crop and weed root architecture in relation to soil-nitrogen availability. An original approach was used which considered the parameters of a simulation model of root architecture as traits to analyse (a) the interspecific diversity of root system architecture, and (b) its response to soil-nitrogen availability. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted using three crop and nine weed species grown at two contrasted concentrations of soil-nitrogen availability. Plant traits were measured to characterise both overall plant growth and root architecture, with a focus on primary root emergence, root elongation and branching. The studied root traits varied among species (from a twofold to a fourfold factor, depending on the trait), validating their use as indicators to analyse the interspecific variability of root architecture. The largest interspecies differences were for two traits: ‘maximal apical root diameter’ and ‘interbranch distance’ (distance between two successive laterals on the same root). Conversely, most of the studied root traits varied little with soil-nitrogen availability (from no variation to a 1.1-fold factor, depending on the trait) even though soil-nitrogen availability varied with a 17-fold factor and impacted the overall shoot and root biomass. So, the root traits used in this article are stable whatever soil-nitrogen availability. As they reflect processes underlying root system architecture, this low effect of nitrogen suggests that the rules governing root architecture are little affected by plant nitrogen status and soil-nitrogen availability. We propose that the determinants of differences in root system architecture between soils with contrasted nitrogen availability mainly originate from differences in the amount of carbon allocated to and within the root system. Characterising each plant species by a combination of root traits gave insights regarding the potential species competitive ability for soil resources in agroecosystems.

SPE EA BIOmE GESTAD INRA SUPDAT; International audience; How plant species associations affect the rhizosphere microbiota, in comparison to each plant species, has been overlooked. Here we investigated how bi-species plant associations affect total bacterial and N-cycling microbial communities (nitrate reducers and ammonia-oxidizers), as an example of functional communities, at low and high soil N levels. At low N level, the total bacterial abundance in the rhizosphere of the bi-species associations was significantly higher than that of either plant on its own for half of the bi-species associations. For the other associations, the bacterial abundance was not different from the corresponding mono-species cultures. The abundance of several N-cycling guilds was also enhanced by some of the bi-species associations with increases of up to 125% and no negative effects were recorded, which highlights the importance of plant diversity in agro-ecosystems.

Wind power plants have been indicated great progress for last decades. They consist of large propeller blades driving turbines mounted on high towers. Hundreds of wind power plants are approximately needed to equal the output of one coal power station. The energy output of wind turbines is highly variable, because it is proportional to the cube of the wind velocity. The wind power plants are mostly grouped into the wind farms that occupy large areas of land, so many of them are often being built offshore. It results in the highly variable output power that can oscillate during an hour. In many countries, the subsidies for wind power are on the low level, which causes stopping further the development. Wind power is useful on remote windy sites where the electricity demand is insufficient for the development of large power stations and the transport of electrical power is uneconomical.

At present fossil fuels are the most important sources of energy. In many countries most of the energy is still generated by nonrenewable sources, which are represented by a limited reserve coal, oil, and gas. They will become scarce and therefore prohibitively expensive after a few decades. The choice can be limited by other criteria such as air pollution and climate change. The pollution due to coal power stations depends on the quality of the coal. A coal power station can emit each year a few million tonnes of carbon dioxide, a million tonnes of ash, half a million tonnes of gypsum, and other pollutants such as nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, and smaller amounts of other toxic wastes. Besides that coal mining is dangerous, dirty and many miners contract debilitating diseases such as silicosis. Oil became one of the world’s leading energy sources. It has a higher caloric value than coal and is more easily transported. Transport and industry are more dependent on oil supply than on the availability of coal. Moreover oil is the basis of petrochemical industries such as plastics, drugs, and paints. Similarly to coal, main oil reserves last for a few decades, and then the production becomes increasingly expensive. The changes can be more rapid in individual countries, which do not have their own oilfields. Since a large fraction of the oil is used for transport, it is imperative to discover new ways of driving cars and ships. The energy supply of gas has risen rapidly. As the rate of consumption is rising, it is unlikely to last longer than oil. In comparison with other fossil fuels, gas is now the cheapest and convenient energy source, but its world’s reserve is severely limited.

In this book, the concepts and procedures for assessment of energy systems are discussed in order to apply a number of spatial and temporal analyses with geographic information system (GIS). In addition to digital mapping, GIS can change the way of viewing our Earth’s resources in a more complex way by integrating data from remote sensing, GPS, and a wide range of databases. Many GIS packages are freely available as open software or as commercial software broadly used in industry, government, and academia. This chapter introduces some fundamental concepts that are dealt with in next chapters. After identifying certain open issues in spatial and temporal analysis, a case-oriented approach is proposed for assessment of energy sources including nonrenewable sources and renewable sources with their temporal dynamics and spatial patterns. Also presentation of new GIS technologies will discuss the strengths and weaknesses, along with the opportunities and limitations of using GIS methods for wide-ranging applications in assessment of energy sources.

Over the centuries, the energy has been extracted from nature in many ways. From ancient times to almost modern times, wood was the main fuel, which was often used more rapidly than was replaced by new growth, and therefore the forests of countries surrounding the Mediterranean were gradually destroyed, followed by the forests of central Europe and South America nowadays. The scarcity of wood stimulated utilization of other energy sources based on fossil fuels. Coal became the main energy source in many developed countries and provided the power for the industrial revolution, because it can be transported and has a higher caloric values than wood. During the twentieth century, coal is gradually displaced by oil and gas. In comparison with coal, these fossil fuels can be more easily transported over large distances by pipelines and tankers. Since the nineteenth century, the rapid development of the electrical industry has become a complex change of our civilization. The advantage of electricity being very easily transported displaced many local energy sources for heating, air-conditioning, suburban transport, and communication. It became a convenient power source for our factories and household articles. Electricity is mostly generated by turbines driven by steam produced by burning fossil fuels. It can be complemented by hydroelectric power and nuclear power. Nowadays the electrical industry makes possible to integrate a number of other sources, such as solar farms, wind and biofuel production, and small hydro energy plants.

Remobilization is one of the most prominent unresolved fusion dust-relevant issues, strongly related to the lifetime of dust in plasma-wetted regions, the survivability of dust on hot plasma-facing surfaces and the formation of dust accumulation sites. A systematic cross-machine study has been initiated to investigate the remobilization of tungsten micron-size dust from tungsten surfaces implementing a newly developed technique based on controlled pre-adhesion by gas dynamics methods. It has been utilized in a number of devices and has provided new insights on remobilization under steady-state and transient conditions. The experiments are interpreted with contact mechanics theory and heat conduction models.

An interest of customers in berry fruits – gooseberries, currants and their hybrids was examined in the framework of the project “Investigation of new technologies in growing gooseberries and currants with focus on quality and use of fruits” by questionnaire and presentation with degustation. This survey was carried out in June and July 2011 in four shopping centres with 500 respondents. Gooseberry and currant have traditionally been a popular Czech fruit. In the past, these species were grown mostly in home gardens and fruits were used for procession. Commercial production and sales of table fruits were relatively rare. The general part of our research was aimed at complex tendencies and preferences of consumers during their shopping and subsequent use of fruits and further at species composition. Totally 93.4 % of respondents buy fruits for direct consumption. Gooseberries (65.5%) as the second and currants (black 37.0 %, red 36.1 %) as the third followed strawberries, which are in the first place concerning preferences and interest of consumers in berry fruits. Consumers displayed smaller interest in white currant and hybrids of currant with gooseberry. Plastic trays (79.8 % of respondents) with content weight from 200 to 300 g (67 %) and from 301 to 600 g (25 %) were evaluated as optimal retail packaging. The survey has also shown interest of consumers (44.5 %) in off-season purchase of gooseberries and currants.

Design of an optimal controller for higher-order or time-delay systems often leads to complex control algorithms. One of the possibilities of control of such processes is their approximation by a lower-order model with a time-delay (dead time). These time-delay processes can be effectively handled by the Model-based Predictive Control (MPC) method. The paper deals with design of an algorithm for adaptive predictive control of higher-order processes, which are approximated by a second-order model of the process with a time-delay. Most processes in industrial practice are characterized by nonlinear behavior and contain uncertainties. The adaptive control strategy is one of the possible approaches to optimal control of such systems. The proposed adaptive predictive controller for control of the time-delay system was tested and verified by simulation of a model of a laboratory heat exchanger which was obtained from measured experimental data.