The claim by many authors that Spinitectus inermis (Zeder, 1800), a narrowly specific parasite of European eels Anguilla anguilla (L.), is a rare species is considered at three levels: its geographical range, its frequency of occurrence compared to other eel parasites and its relative abundance in component communities. The parasite is widely distributed in freshwater throughout the European range of the eel but its occurrence is erratic and unpredictable, being known from only 8 countries. Surveys of eel parasites in the United Kingdom and in Continental Europe show that it is present in only 13% of British and 29% of continental localities. This satisfies one of the criteria for rarity. When present, its prevalence ranges from 1.8% to 43.3%, so it can be considered rare in some localities but in a few it may be common and on occasion it may be the dominant species in the gastro-intestinal community. Populations of S. inermis are almost always characterised by high levels of overdispersion, even at low prevalence. The species also displays an ability to colonise a locality following introduction there. Overall it meets many of the criteria of a rare species including a restricted distribution and a low frequency of occurrence and so it can be considered to exhibit diffusive rarity.
Safranal and crocin are biologically active compounds isolated from Crocus sativus L., commonly known as saffron. Clinical trials confirm that saffron has antidepressant effect, thus being a potential valuable alternative in the treatment of depression. The aim of the present study was to determine, whether systemic administration of safranal and crocin can influence the metabolic activity of CYP3A, CYP2C11, CYP2B, and CYP2A in rat liver microsomes (RLM). The experiments were carried out on male Wistar albino rats intragastrically administered with safranal (4, 20, and 100 mg/kg/day) or with intraperitoneal injections of crocin (4, 20, and 100 mg/kg/day). Our results demonstrate the ability of safranal and crocin to increase the total protein content and to change the metabolic activity of several CYP enzymes assessed as CYP specific hydroxylations of testosterone in RLM. Crocin significantly decreased the metabolic activity of all selected CYP enzymes, while safranal significantly increased the metabolic activity of CYP2B, CYP2C11 and CYP3A enzymes. Therefore, both substances could increase the risk of interactions with co-administered substances metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes., G. Dovrtělová, K. Nosková, J. Juřica, M. Turjap, O. Zendulka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Chlorophyll fluorescence has developed into a well-established noninvasive technique to study photosynthesis and by extension, the physiology of plants and algae. The versatility of the fluorescence analysis has been improved significantly due to advancements in the technology of light sources, detectors, and data handling. This allowed the development of an instrumention that is effective, easy to handle, and affordable. Several of these techniques rely on point measurements. However, the response of plants to environmental stresses is heterogeneous, both spatially and temporally. Beside the nonimaging systems, low- and high-resolution imaging systems have been developed and are in use as real-time, multi-channel fluorometers to investigate heterogeneous patterns of photosynthetic performance of leaves and algae. This review will revise in several paragraphs the current status of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, in exploring photosynthetic features to evaluate the physiological response of plant organisms in different domains. In the conclusion paragraph, an attempt will be made to answer the question posed in the title., R. Valcke., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
After a brief discussion of Creative reasoning modelling significance
for transportation reliability modelling this páper continues by a discussion of-the known applicable techniques of creativity modelling. Because tlie most significant one seems to be analogical and associative reasoning, a unified model of analogical and associative reasoning is presented. Dne to its real-time capabilities, the model enables to model reasoning under the condition of a processing capacity limitation (and concluding the increase of producing mistaking reactions).
The aim of this work was to use standardized digital cartography of vegetation coverage to test whether or not the predicted range of habitat suitability for wild boar in Bulgaria coincides with the georeferenced/presence records of this species. The predicted range of habitat suitability based on potential biological resources in Bulgaria encompasses 13 land uses from the CORINE program, being “Broad-leaved forests” (23432 km2) the most representative. The total potential resources for wild boar correspond to 57.54 % of the country area. A high level of correlation (0.86) was found between inverse distance of wild boars presence and habitat suitability areas. A significant level of correlation (0.71, p < 0.0001) per Bulgarian region between area of habitat suitability category 2 (resources suitable for use as both food and shelter) and number of wild boar was also found.Suitable wild boar habitat on borders appeared
as the most relevant parameter for evaluating the risk of introduction of diseases by wild boar into the European Union from neighbouring countries. Despite being the longest (608 km), the Bulgaria-Romania border did not
represent the most important corridor for wild boar since only 12.78 % of its surface is suitable habitat; the percentage of the importance of this border edges the passage of wild boar is 20.63 %. The Bulgaria-Macedonia (FYROM) border must be regarded as the most
important passageway for wild boar (96.88 %), with 148 km of border and 12.34 % of its surface area of suitable habitat. Our findings could be highly useful for developing adequate strategies for wildlife management practices on large spatial scales, as well as for the control of wildlife and its habitats (territorial integration and spatial planning according to the casuistry of the zone), and relationships between wildlife and other human interests.
Haloperidol when applied intraperitoneally to cold-exposed febrile rabbits induces a strong hypothermic effect. This effect is due to the downward shift of the threshold central temperature for induction of cold thermogenesis and vasomotion. The shift occurs during the early phase of the fever and is less prominent during the late phase of the fever. The hypothermic effect of high doses of haloperidol can eliminate the increase of body temperature in febrile individuals.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder with a heterogeneous origin with a global incidence that continues to grow. Its causes and pathophysiological mechanisms are not fully understood. It includes a combination of persistent symptoms such as difficulty in concentration, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. Maternal methamphetamine (MA) abuse is a serious problem worldwide, it can lead to behavioral changes in their offspring that have similarities with behavioral changes seen in children with ADHD. There are several types of ADHD animal models, e.g. genetic models, pharmacologically, chemically and exogenously induced models. One of the exogenously induced ADHD models is the hypoxia-induced model. Our studies, as well as those of others, have demonstrated that maternal MA exposure can lead to abnormalities in the placenta and umbilical cord that result in prenatal hypoxia as well as fetal malnutrition that can result in irreversible changes to experimental animals. Therefore, the aim the present study was to compare the cognitive impairments in MA exposure model with those in established model of ADHD – prenatal hypoxia model, to test whether MA exposure is a valid model of ADHD. Pregnant Wistar rats were divided into four groups based on their gestational exposure to MA: (1) daily subcutaneous injections of MA (5 mg/kg), (2) saline injections at the same time and volume, (3) daily 1-hr hypoxia (10 % O2), and (4) no gestational exposure (controls). Male rat offspring were tested for short-term memory in the Novel Object Recognition Test and the Object Location Test between postnatal days 35 and 40. Also their locomotor activity in both tests was measured. Based on the present results, it seems that prenatal MA exposure is not the best animal model for ADHD since it shows corresponding symptoms only in certain measures. Given our previous results supporting our hypothesis, more experiments are needed to further test possible use of prenatal MA exposure as an animal model of the ADHD.
Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) flies were exposed for 3 days in laboratory cages to yellowish, green or white surrogate leaves with or without food (sucrose) on the leaf surface. When tested in an arena minutes after fly removal from an exposure cage, yellowish surrogate leaves were more attractive to tested flies than green surrogate leaves irrespective of the nature of surrogate leaves to which flies had been exposed. However, flies exposed to green surrogate leaves having food exhibited greater propensity to alight on green surrogate leaves than flies exposed to yellowish or white surrogate leaves having food. This propensity disappeared when flies were tested 24 h after termination of exposure to green surrogate leaves having food. There was no evidence of enhanced propensity of flies exposed to yellowish surrogate leaves having food to alight on yellowish surrogate leaves when tested minutes after removal from an exposure cage. We discuss the potential ecological significance of the evidence presented here that R. pomonella flies are capable of learning to associate the presence of food with green color of leaf surface on which food could be found.