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The Hranice hypogenic karst region includes urban, spa and agricultural areas and industry complexes that affect water quality in the region. Emerging organic contaminants (EOCs), especially pesticides and pharmaceuticals, are released into the complex aquatic system. These substances and their metabolites can affect aquatic and human life, as well as the regional development of the wider area traditionally associated with the spa. In this study, we conducted preliminary screening for pesticides and pharmaceuticals at 33 sampling sites and across different location types, including surface water, drainage water, a shallow well, groundwater and thermal karst water. Sampling occurred between February 2022 and June 2023. The results generally confirm that current land use is causing pollution in the karst system. The monitored substances were present in all water types, and in most cases the concentrations of pesticides were lower than those of their metabolites. Chloridazon desphenyl (DESPH) is the most widespread pesticide in surface, ground and hypogenic waters. Its concentrations in surface waters were 5.7 ng·L−1–2,230 ng·L−1, in groundwaters were 11.3 ng·L−1–1,490 ng·L−1 and in karst hypogenic waters 5.4 ng·L−1–378 ng·L−1. Diclofenac was the most widespread substance from the pharmaceutical group. Its concentrations ranged from 5.6 ng·L−1–549 ng·L−1 in surface waters, 8.4 ng·L−1–112 ng·L−1 in groundwaters and 5.1 ng·L−1–47.4 ng·L−1 in karst hypogenic waters. Directly in the karst hypogenic waters, the following EOCs were repeatedly detected: atrazine and its metabolites, simazin, metazachlor ethane sulfonic acid (ESA), metolachlor ESA, alachlor ESA, chloridazon DESPH, diclofenac, ibuprofen, azithromycin, bisphenol A and diethyltoluamide (DEET). The initial research hypothesis is that hydrothermal karst waters are of sub-recent age and deep circulation and, unlike surface and groundwaters, are not contaminated by recent pollutants. A certain component of these waters is therefore a shallow and shorter circulation.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has prompted great interest in novel broad-spectrum antivirals, including perylene-related compounds. In the present study, we performed a structure–activity relationship analysis of a series of perylene derivatives, which comprised a large planar perylene residue, and structurally divergent polar groups connected to the perylene core by a rigid ethynyl or thiophene linker. Most of the tested compounds did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity towards multiple cell types susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and did not change the expressions of cellular stress-related genes under normal light conditions. These compounds showed nanomolar or sub-micromolar dose-dependent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, and also suppressed the in vitro replication of feline coronavirus (FCoV), also termed feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). Perylene compounds exhibited high affinity for liposomal and cellular membranes, and efficiently intercalated into the envelopes of SARS-CoV-2 virions, thereby blocking the viral–cell fusion machinery. Furthermore, the studied compounds were demonstrated to be potent photosensitizers, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), and their anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities were considerably enhanced after irradiation with blue light. Our results indicated that photosensitization is the major mechanism underlying the anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of perylene derivatives, with these compounds completely losing their antiviral potency under red light. Overall, perylene-based compounds are broad-spectrum antivirals against multiple enveloped viruses, with antiviral action based on light-induced photochemical damage (ROS-mediated, likely singlet oxygen-mediated), causing impairment of viral membrane rheology.

ABSTRACT Both temperate and obligately lytic phages have crucial roles in the biology of staphylococci. While superinfection exclusion among closely related temperate phages is a well-characterized phenomenon, the interactions between temperate and lytic phages in staphylococci are not understood. Here, we present a resistance mechanism toward lytic phages of the genus Kayvirus, mediated by the membrane-anchored protein designated PdpSau encoded by Staphylococcus aureus prophages, mostly of the Sa2 integrase type. The prophage accessory gene pdpSau is strongly linked to the lytic genes for holin and ami2-type amidase and typically replaces genes for the toxin Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL). The predicted PdpSau protein structure shows the presence of a membrane-binding α-helix in its N-terminal part and a cytoplasmic positively charged C terminus. We demonstrated that the mechanism of action of PdpSau does not prevent the infecting kayvirus from adsorbing onto the host cell and delivering its genome into the cell, but phage DNA replication is halted. Changes in the cell membrane polarity and permeability were observed from 10 min after the infection, which led to prophage-activated cell death. Furthermore, we describe a mechanism of overcoming this resistance in a host-range Kayvirus mutant, which was selected on an S. aureus strain harboring prophage 53 encoding PdpSau, and in which a chimeric gene product emerged via adaptive laboratory evolution. This first case of staphylococcal interfamily phage-phage competition is analogous to some other abortive infection defense systems and to systems based on membrane-destructive proteins. IMPORTANCE Prophages play an important role in virulence, pathogenesis, and host preference, as well as in horizontal gene transfer in staphylococci. In contrast, broad-host-range lytic staphylococcal kayviruses lyse most S. aureus strains, and scientists worldwide have come to believe that the use of such phages will be successful for treating and preventing bacterial diseases. The effectiveness of phage therapy is complicated by bacterial resistance, whose mechanisms related to therapeutic staphylococcal phages are not understood in detail. In this work, we describe a resistance mechanism targeting kayviruses that is encoded by a prophage. We conclude that the defense mechanism belongs to a broader group of abortive infections, which is characterized by suicidal behavior of infected cells that are unable to produce phage progeny, thus ensuring the survival of the host population. Since the majority of staphylococcal strains are lysogenic, our findings are relevant for the advancement of phage therapy.

To investigate the different responses of crops to drought stress under field conditions of Central European Climate for selected crop rotations, a field experiment was conducted at a test site in the Czech Republic from 2014 to 2021. Depending on the crop, rainout shelters were placed in late spring and early summer to study the effects of drought in the final stages of crop development. Due to these rainout shelters and the associated lower water availability for the crops during the summer, a reduction in leaf area index, biomass and yield was observed. For example, a yield decrease of more than 30% was observed for spring barley, winter rape and winter wheat compared to conditions without rainout shelters. The reduction was 25% and 18% for winter rye and silage maize, respectively, under rainout shelters. Soil moisture played a significant role in yield, where a predictive model based on monthly soil moisture explained up to 79% (winter rape) of the yield variance.

The Nuclear Energy Agency’s High Priority Nuclear Data Request List is a compilation of the highest priority nuclear data requirements. The U-120M cyclotron of the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences is a suitable tool for studies of several reactions from this list. In this paper, we present the measurements of the 7Be and 3H production in the lithium-7 after the irradiation with deuterons and the validation measurement for the 39Ar production in 39K after irradiation with neutrons .

This article focuses on a type of surgical implant used in orthopaedics and traumatology—cannulated femoral nails. Femoral nails are used in medical treatment for purposes of osteosynthesis, i.e., when treating various types of complicated fractures, in this case fractures of the femur. The article investigates cases in which a nail has been implanted in the proximal part of the femur for a short time (with the fracture still not healed), compared with cases in which the bone has already healed. According to AO classification, examined fractures are described as AO 31B3 AO 32A3. The main focus is on strength-deformation analysis using the finite element method (FEM), which makes it possible to determine the behaviour of the femur-implant system. FEM analysis was used to compare 1.4441 steel nails made by two manufacturers, Medin (Czech Republic) and Tantum (Germany). Boundary conditions including external loading, prescribed supports and elastic foundation are defined. There were solved FEM analyses for five cases of healed femur and five cases of broken femur both including implants with prescribed collo-diaphyseal angles. The results of the analysis were used to assess stress-deformation states from the perspective of appropriateness for clinical treatment, biomechanical reliability and safety. All examined femoral nails are compared, safe and suitable for patient treatment.

Temporary crating may be a more acceptable housing system for lactating sows than permanent crating and loose-housing because it combines benefits of both systems while reducing some of their limitations. It remains unclear whether nursing and sucking behaviour is influenced after crate opening. The aim of this study was to assess the short- (24 h post-crate opening) and long-term (day 25 postpartum (pp.)) effects of opening the farrowing crate from day 3 pp. to weaning on nursing and suckling behaviour. Sows were crated from 5 days prepartum either to weaning (permanently crated group; n = 14) or 3 days pp. (temporarily crated group; n = 13). Sows and their litters were observed on days 4 and 25. Duration of pre- and post-massages, nursing termination, number of piglets missing milk ejection and number of piglets fighting during pre- and post-massages were scored at 15-s intervals. Nursing success (i.e. with or without milk ejection) was also recorded. Data were analysed using PROC GLM and PROC GENMOD of SAS including housing, litter size and parity as fixed effects. Nursing behaviour did not differ between sows housed in temporary crates and those housed in permanent crates on days 4 and 25 pp., that is, same number of nutritive nursings (NNs), same proportion of non-NNs, same duration of post-massages and same proportion of termination of post-massages. There was only a housing effect on day 25; with sows having longer pre-massages in permanent crates (P < 0.05). Suckling behaviour was overall similar between treatments. There were no differences in the number of piglets attending pre- and post-massages, proportion of piglets fighting during pre-and post-massages and the proportion of piglets missing milk ejection on both days. The only housing effect was found on day 25 during which fewer piglets attended post-massages (P < 0.05) in permanent crates. Sows with larger litters terminated post-massages more often (P < 0.05), allowed shorter post-massages (P < 0.05) on day 4, and had more piglets miss milk ejection on days 4 and 25 (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study showed that housing had a very limited effect on nursing and suckling behaviour. Sow and piglet behaviours were not altered after crate opening (short-term effect) and nursing was to some extent calmer (shorter pre-massages and more piglets attended post-massages) in temporary crates on day 25. Increased litter size impaired nursing and suckling behaviour of sows and piglets independently of the housing system.

Biochar can increase the microbial activity of a soil and the seed yield of oilseed rape. We performed a field experiment to determine the effect of different doses of biochar and the impact of nutrient additions on microbial activity in soils with low pH (4.69). Different doses of biochar were applied to plots in 2016 (0 t/ha (control), 15 t/ha (B15), 30 t/ha (B30), or 45 t/ha (B45)), and fertilization was applied during 2019 (90 kg P/ha) and 2020 (50 kg N/ha, 80 kg P/ha, and 50 kg K/ha). Maize was grown in 2016, barley in 2017, maize in 2018, wheat in 2019, and winter oilseed rape in 2020. All analyses were carried out in 2020. Higher biochar doses led to reduced seed yield of oilseed rape and inhibition of microbial activity (cumulative soil respiration, dehydrogenase activity (DHA), and leaching of mineral forms of nitrogen). Notably, dehydrogenase activity was more than 60% lower in plots with the highest biochar dose. All doses of biochar increased the soil pH compared to the control (control: 4.51 ± 0.04, B15: 4.69 ± 0.04, B30: 5.06 ± 0.05, B45: 5.05 ± 0.04) but did not increase microbial activity or the seed yield of oilseed rape. Thus, application of biochar alone did not increase the seed yield of oilseed rape or soil microbial activities, although it did increase soil pH.

The Spanish legislation does not regulate in any law the protection of employees against mobbing, with the exception of public administration. Violence on workplace violates fundamental rights governed by the Constitution, mainly the right for equal handling and the right for dignity. The branch of public administration is regulated by the Law No. 7/2007 of Fundamental Status of an Employee in Public Administration that determined that moral harassment (mobbing) is a disciplinary offence. Procedural process that deals with the harassment in public administration is regulated by notice which states specific actions and procedure with the aim to prevent harassment on workplace in the field of public administration as well as actions and sanctions for cases that occur in this matter.

The Spanish legislation does not regulate in any law the protection of employees against mobbing (with the exception of public administration). Violence on workplace violates fundamental rights included in the Constitution, mainly the right for equal handling and the right for dignity. Even though the Labour Code, nor the Law for Prevention of Hazard on Workplace do not contain definition of prohibition of mobbing, but protection of employees can be found in general provisions of the law. The legislation of administrative penalties in labour relations can be found in the Law of Offences and Sanctions in Social Order. The protection is provided by the Social Court Order in case of violation. The activity of the inspection of labour in the field of harassment and violence on workplace is regulated by notice which determines the procedure in the administrative trial. The important role plays the jurisdiction in trials dealing with mobbing.

Utilization of plasma activated water (PAW) for plant growing is mainly connected with the treatment of seeds and subsequent stimulation of their germination. A potential of PAW is its relatively simple and low-cost preparation that calls for studying its wider application in plant production. For this purpose, a pot experiment was realized in order to prove effects of the foliar PAW application on maize growth. The stepped PAW foliar application, carried out in 7-day intervals, led to provable decrease of chlorophyll contents in leaves compared to the distilled water application. The PAW application significantly increased root electrical capacitance, but it had no provable effect on weight of the aboveground biomass. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters expressing the CO2 assimilation rate and variable fluorescence of dark-adapted leaves were provably decreased by PAW, but quantum yield of photosystem II electron transport was not influenced. A provably higher amount of nitrogen was detected in dry matter of plants treated by PAW, but contents of other macro- and micro-nutrients in the aboveground biomass of maize were not affected. Results of this pilot verification of the PAW application have shown a potential for plant growth optimization and possibility for its further utilization, especially in combination with liquid fertilizers.

Recently, the bactericidal and fungicidal effects of plasma-activated water (PAW) have been confirmed for its application in agriculture. Although the PAW application is beneficial in plant growth, no information is available about processes induced by PAW in soil. This paper gives the first experimental results about PAW’s influence on selected physical and physical–chemical properties of soil. PAW was prepared using the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating in the multistreamer mode at a frequency of 11 kHz. The total energy consumption was 60 J/ml. The obtained results show minimal changes in the natural water evaporation from the soil exposed to PAW, slower tap water absorption if a higher amount of PAW (16 doses per 10 ml to 90 g of the soil) is applied, as well as water retention in the soil of over 30%. The soil pH remains in the neutral range of values even at the highest applied PAW amount of 1.7 weight of soil, which represents the best conditions with respect to the plant growth. Thus, we can conclude that the PAW application, even at high amounts, has no negative influence on the physical and physical–chemical properties of soil and it can be safely applied in sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture.

Currently, there is an increasing emphasis on the use of renewable sources. The Czech Republic is no exception. There has been an increase in the number of biogas plants and composting plants. The main purpose of these facilities is to process organic wastes of various origins in order to utilize the waste, both for energy production and as soil fertility enhancers. Last but not least, the biogas station produces digestate, which could be further utilized. The present work deals with the assessment of the effect of digestate (doses of 220; 150 and 80 kg N ha−1), mineral fertilizer (150 kg N ha−1), and compost application (150 kg N ha−1) on selected indicators of soil environment: (a) soil microbial activity (basal and substrate-induced respiration); (b) plant nutrient content (P, K, Ca, Mg); (c) leaching mineral N from the soil; and (d) production of plant biomass of model plant Lactuca sativa L. Furthermore, the work aims to assess the individual doses of digestate and to determine the optimal one. The above effects were studied within a pot experiment for 63 days in controlled conditions. There were significant differences in Nmin leaching, which was significantly the highest in the variant with the application of a mineral fertilizer and lowest in variants with the application of digestate (variant 150 and 80 kg N ha−1) and compost (150 kg N ha−1). In terms of soil microbial activity, a significant effect of digestate application (150 kg N ha−1) on basal respiration versus the mineral fertilizer application was found (difference > 20%). This dose of digestate also had the highest positive effect on substrate-induced respiration, proven against all other variants, except for the digestate application at 220 kg N ha−1. Particularly, as compared with the mere application of mineral fertilizer, the application of digestate dose at 150 kg N ha−1 had the best positive effect on plant biomass production (+20%). On the other hand, compost application most positively affected the increase in available contents of nutrients and thus long-term soil fertility. Therefore, the dose of 150 kg N ha−1 digestate may represent an interesting alternative to increase actual soil fertility and thus to partially replace conventional mineral nutrition.

New experimental data on the peak neutron production in the 7Li(p,n) reaction were collected during several irradiation campaigns at the NPI CAS. Time-of-flight method was used to measure the number of the peak neutrons in the forward direction, and the number of produced 7Be nuclei was determined using γ-spectrometry. The new measurement results are compared with experimental data from the literature and used for the validation of several different systematics and nuclear data libraries developed over the years.

Intensive neutron beams with energies up to 33 MeV are produced using cyclotron driven broad-spectrum and quasi-monoenergetic neutron generators at the NPI CAS. The neutron beams are well characterized with the TOF and PRT measurements. The segmented Fe-CH2 collimator is used to collimate the neutron beam and two detection systems are being developed for the studies of the reactions with neutrons. The first one is the detection system of the charged particles at different angles from the (neutron, charged particle) reactions in a vacuum chamber, the second is an array of four HPGe detectors for the detection of direct and delayed gamma photons produced in reactions of the studied material with neutrons. The advanced bunching system is also being developed at the U120M cyclotron. It will allow to direct a short (few ns long) pulse of accelerated particles to the neutron converter with the 1 µs delay between bunches. Together with 7 m long flight path this extension will open new possibilities in the cross section measurements.

Fast neutron generators driven by isochronous cyclotron U-120M developed at Nuclear Physics Institute were used for neutron cross-section measurements. The target station with 2 mm thin lithium was used to produce pulsed beams of fast quasi-monoenergetic neutrons in the 7Li(p,n) reaction. The Time-of-Flight technique was used to determine the exact neutron energy spectra. The transmission measurements on liquid oxygen were conducted for several neutron peak energies between 18 and 27 MeV and the cross-sections for reaction natO(n,tot) were derived.

Good knowledge of cross section neutron induced reactions on Zr becomes of importance due to the use of zirconium as structural material in reactors, its applicability in neutron dosimetry and the theoretical model testing. Thin Zr foils (0.05 mm thickness, 99.2% purity) were irradiated in the quasi-monoenergetic p-Li neutron fields, the proton beams from NPI CAS variable-energy cyclotron U120M at proton energies 20.33, 22.44, 24.69, 27.64, 29.85, 32.31 and 35.11 MeV. Li target with carbon stopper was used for the generation of neutron flux. The reaction 7Li (p,n) produces the high-energy quasi-monoenergetic neutrons with a tail to lower energies. The flux density and neutron spectra were evaluated by MCNPX code and validated with set of measurements including Time-Of-Flight and Proton recoil Telescope and additional activation monitors. The pneumatic tranfer system enables the investigation of short living isotopes. The foil activity determination was performed by the nuclear spectrometry method employing two calibrated HPGe detectors. The reaction rates for natZr(n,*)89m,89g,89Zr, 87m,87,88,89m,90m,91m,92,93,94,95Y and 87m,91,92Sr were obtained and cross sections were extracted. The preliminary results are discussed.

A broad spectrum of tumors develop resistance to classic chemotherapy, necessitating the discovery of new therapies. One successful strategy exploits the synthetic lethality between poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1/2 proteins and DNA damage response genes, including BRCA1, a factor involved in homologous recombination–mediated DNA repair, and CDK12, a transcriptional kinase known to regulate the expression of DDR genes. CHK1 inhibitors have been shown to enhance the anti-cancer effect of DNA-damaging compounds. Since loss of BRCA1 increases replication stress and leads to DNA damage, we tested a hypothesis that CDK12- or BRCA1-depleted cells rely extensively on S-phase-related CHK1 functions for survival. The silencing of BRCA1 or CDK12 sensitized tumor cells to CHK1 inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. BRCA1 downregulation combined with CHK1 inhibition induced excessive amounts of DNA damage, resulting in an inability to complete the S-phase. Therefore, we suggest CHK1 inhibition as a strategy for targeting BRCA1- or CDK12-deficient tumors.

The breeding value (EBV) of Holstein cattle milk performance from the first lactation was evaluated using a regular Animal Model or by Single-Step Prediction of the genomic breeding value (GEBV). A total of 838 bulls were genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 Beadchip V2. Two overlapping sets of milk performances were evaluated: calving years 1991-2004, with 729 341 lactations and 1 394 487 animals in the pedigree and calving years 1996-2009, with 808 436 lactations and 1 487 608 animals in the pedigree. The older data set included 526 genotyped bulls, in which the daughters' milk performance was known for 210 individuals. All of the genotyped animals were included in the newer data set. Of the young genotyped bulls from the older set, 279 had more than 50 daughters with performance records in the newer set. Genomic relationship matrices (G) were constructed from the allele frequencies of the current genotyped population or by assuming a constant value of 0.5 for all loci. Using current allele frequencies, the correlation of G with the pedigree relationship (A) was 0.74, while it was 0.77 when the constant value was used. G was blended with A with weights of 80 or 99%. The average EBV of the genotyped bulls exceeded the mean EBV of the entire population by 3 SD. Although the number of reference bulls was small, genotyping resulted in an increase of approximately 0.05 in the correlation of the GEBV of young bulls with their results after progeny testing. Only small differences in correlations were found in dependency on the methods used for the determination of G and in dependency on the weight used in blending G with A. Both EBV and GEBV in the older set showed higher correlations with the GEBV of the newer set than the EBV of the newer set.

The proton- and deuteron-induced reactions are of a great interest for the assessment of induced radioactivity of accelerator components, target and beam stoppers as well as isotope production for medicine. In the present work, the deuteron-induced reaction cross sections on zinc were investigated by stacked-foil activation technique with deuteron beam of 20 MeV energy from the cyclotron U-120M of NPI CAS Řež. Also the proton activation cross section measurement of iron is presented. The comparison of present results to data of other authors and to predictions of evaluated data libraries is discussed. The investigation shall continue for higher proton and deuteron energy interval 20–35 MeV at SPIRAL2/NFS facility using a charged particle irradiation chamber with pneumatic transport system to measure isotopes and isomers with half-lives in minutes-regions.

The cyclotron driven fast quasi-monoenergetic neutron source based on the p+ 9Be (thin target) reaction was studied at the proton energy around 30 MeV Due to higher melting point of Be, the p+ 9Be(thin), reaction could be considered as an alternative to the most used p+Li(thin) neutron source, providing a similar quasi-monoenergetic neutron spectrum at significantly higher neutron output owing to advance in higher incident proton beam current. The neutron spectrum measured by the time-of-flight method agrees with other experimental data and indicates dominant contribution of ground and first excited states leading to only two peaks, separated by some 2–3 MeV, in the p+thin 9Be neutron spectrum.

The proton and deuteron induced reactions are of a great interest for the assessment of induced radioactivity of accelerator components, target and beam stoppers. In order to investigate the important nuclides, we have carried up the irradiation experiments with the variable-energy cyclotron U-120 M of the NPI CAS Řež. The production cross sections of the nuclides 179,181,182m,182,183,184m,184,186Re and 187W from reaction on natural W were investigated by deuteron beams of 20 MeV energy. A part of preliminary results of deuteron activation of natural Zr is also shown. The stacked-foil technique was utilized. The comparison of present results to data of other authors and to predictions of evaluated data libraries is discussed.

Numerous domains, in fundamental research as well as in applications, require the study of reactions induced by neutrons with energies from few MeV up to few tens of MeV. Reliable measurements also are necessary to improve the evaluated databases used by nuclear transport codes. This energy range covers a large number of topics like transmutation of nuclear waste, design of future fission and fusion reactors, nuclear medicine or test and development of new detectors. A new facility called Neutrons For Science (NFS) is being built for this purpose on the GANIL site at Caen (France). NFS is composed of a pulsed neutron beam for time-of-flight facility as well as irradiation stations for cross-section measurements. Neutrons will be produced by the interaction of deuteron and proton beams, delivered by the SPIRAL-2 linear accelerator, with thick or thin converters made of beryllium or lithium. Continuous and quasi-mono-energetic spectra will be available at NFS up to 40 MeV. In this fast energy region, the neutron flux is expected to be up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than at other existing time-of-flight facilities. In addition, irradiation stations for neutron-, proton- and deuteron-induced reactions will allow performing cross-section measurements by the activation technique. After a description of the facility and its characteristics, the experiments to be performed in the short and medium term will be presented.

natCu and natV samples were irradiated several times with quasi-monoenergetic neutrons from the p+7Li reaction in the energy range of 18–35 MeV. The activities of the samples were measured with the HPGe detector and the reaction rates were calculated. Time-of-flight measurements of the produced neutron spectra and the measurements of the residual 7Be activity in the Li target were performed to improve the knowledge of the neutron spectra. The cross-sections were extracted using the SAND-II procedure with the reference cross-sections from the EAF-2010 database. The uncertainties of the final results are discussed.

Ve 2. polovině 19. století se u nás začala výrazně zvyšovat průmyslová výroba a s ní související obchod. S rozvojem trhu byla stále aktuálnější otázka konku­rence mezi jednotlivými podnikateli a začala se objevo­vat i možnost nekalé konkurence ze strany zaměstnan­ce. Snaha zaměstnavatele omezit činnost zaměstnance, kterou mu mohl konkurovat, potom našla svůj odraz i v právní úpravě.