Mendel University Brno

The fifteenth part of the series on the distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic includes grid maps of 87 taxa in the genera Asperugo, Bassia, Brunnera, Bupleurum, CoeloVentenata. These maps were produced by taxonomic experts based on examined herbarium specimens, literature and field records. The paper encompasses both native and alien taxa, representing diverse ecological groups, from terrestrial herbs inhabiting dry grasslands, ruderal sites and forests to submerged aquatic species and alien woody plants. It also continues the mapping of orchids, one of the most rapidly declining plant groups, with valuable implications for nature conservation. Almost half of the species covered are listed on the national Red List, including the critically threatened Bassia prostrata, Groenlandia densa, Potamogeton coloratus and P. praelongus, each now restricted to single sites, as well as Bupleurum affine, B. tenuissimum, Goodyera repens and Ventenata dubia, surviving only in few, isolated populations. Four species, namely Bassia laniflora, Herminium monorchis, Potamogeton compressus and P. friesii, are now nationally extinct. Among the alien taxa included, only Bassia scoparia has become invasive, while the others are mostly casual introductions or escapes. Four of the previously introduced neophytes, Bupleurum croceum, Rapistrum rugosum, Sclerolaena tricuspis and Sedobassia sedoides, are no longer recorded in the country. Particular attention is given to Cotoneaster, whose diversity has only recently been fully recognized and taxonomically evaluated, resulting in 22 distinguished escaped species. Spatial distributions and often also temporal dynamics of individual taxa are displayed in grid maps and documented by records included in the Pladias database and available in the Supplementary materials. Each map is accompanied by a commentary providing an analysis of distribution patterns, habitat descriptions, taxonomic notes and biological characteristics.

This article investigates recent patterns of Bangladeshi migration to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), focusing on the Czech Republic and Poland as emerging destinations and transit spaces within broader European mobility systems. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research and 74 semi-structured and in-depth interviews conducted in Bangladesh, the Czech Republic, and Poland between 2018 and 2024, the study examines how aspirations, capabilities, and perceptions shape migration trajectories among young, educated Bangladeshis. The findings reveal that contemporary migration is increasingly driven by a middle-class culture of emigration, linked to aspirations for social mobility, security, and freedom. CEE countries are perceived as attainable and affordable entry points to Europe, often serving as temporary stops on the way to Western Europe. Three distinct modes of transit are identified: long-term strategies combining study and employment; interrupted trajectories resulting from debt, unmet expectations, or precarious work; and broker-mediated transits facilitated by recruitment agencies and informal networks. The analysis highlights the central role of intermediaries and digital platforms in shaping migrants' imaginaries and practices, leading to fluid transitions between categories such as student, labour migrant, and asylum seeker. The article argues that CEE countries function simultaneously as destinations and corridors, and that migrants' trajectories are deeply influenced by their moral obligations, indebtedness, and access to capital for mobility. Transit migration should therefore be understood as a dynamic and relational process, reflecting the fragmented and evolving nature of contemporary mobility from Bangladesh to Europe.

Purpose-Ageing workforces require organisations to decide what to prioritise when older workers' work abilities differ. This article develops the Cyclical Meaning Pattern of Abilities (CMPA) as aprogramme-oriented human resource (HR) decision heuristic. CMPA conceptualises how communicated observations of reconstructed work ability configurations may inform conditional HR decision premises. Design/methodology/approach-The study uses a cross-sectional survey of older workers aged 50-64 from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Fuzzy-similarity modelling is used to identify robust co-valuations among abilities and supports. CMPA is then developed through abductive theorising, integrating these co-valuations with the Work Ability House model, self-efficacy and Luhmannian decision-programme theory. Findings-The analysis identifies four shared co-valued work-ability configurations: Expert Knowledge-Practical Skills, Technical Skills-Intuition, Workflow Discussion-Intuition and Health-Workplace Relationships. These configurations are interpreted as meaning-relevant patterns, not as direct evidence of a self-referential system. They are grouped into operational forms, which support task execution and problem solving, and supportive forms, which stabilise the conditions under which task-related abilities can be used. Practical implications-CMPA is positioned primarily as an organisational age-management heuristic. It supports age-management decisions by helping HR specialists and line managers connect observed work ability (WA) configurations with decision contexts such as digital learning/training allocation, task redesign/role redesign, health accommodation/workload adjustment and appraisal/development dialogue. Social implications-By reframing WA as an organisational observation translated into decision premises, the approach supports more transparent and defensible age-management decisions, with potential benefits for sustainable employability. Originality/value-CMPA links work ability research to Luhmannian decision-programme theory. Its distinct contribution lies in developing a theoretically grounded framework through which communicated, co-valued WA configurations may inform conditional organisational decision premises. Fuzzy similarity provides exploratory empirical grounding, while CMPA remains an abductive heuristic rather than a validated predictive model.

Plums are an important fruit that is widely grown in temperate climates in Europe, such as the Czech Republic. Currently, stone fruits, including plums, are more susceptible to ongoing climate changes, which leads to a lower production. One possible solution is to cultivate Asian species, which show greater resistance in that regard. The fruit of Asian plum trees feature a higher variability of fruit - size, aroma and color. To support more significant distribution of such species in the European temperate zone, it is necessary to monitor their resistance as well as the potential of storing the fruits. The low storage temperature of 1 degrees C vs. 20 degrees C (shelf-life) had a more significant effect on carbon dioxide and ethylene production than the composition of the ultra low oxygen (ULO) atmosphere vs. random atmosphere (RA). Based on the physiological response observed, the "Sorriso Di Primavera" fruit can be classified as having a suppressed climacteric phase.

Background:Changes in climate and land use as well as expanding livestock production around the world, including southeastern Europe, result in growing public health risk of tick-borne pathogens. Cattle and other livestock serve as important hosts sustaining tick populations as well as tick-borne zoonotic and animal pathogens. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and co-circulation of the spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia spp. in ticks from cattle and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in cattle in Kosovo. Methods:Ticks from pastured cattle in the Malishevë district, Kosovo were screened for SFG Rickettsia spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing and cattle serum was screened for CCHFV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Ticks were identified by amplification and sequencing of the partial COI gene. Results:All 110 ticks analyzed were identified as Rhipicephalus annulatus. SFG Rickettsia were detected in 9 ticks, seven Rickettsia aeschlimannii and two Rickettsia sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae, representing their first report in Kosovo as well as in Rh. annulatus. Serological assessment revealed CCHFV antibodies in 23 of 100 cattle indicating virus circulation. Conclusion:These findings demonstrate the simultaneous exposure of bacterial and viral tick-borne pathogens in a shared livestock interface. Integrated One Health surveillance is essential for early detection and risk mitigation in hyperendemic regions of the Western Balkans.