In five genotypes of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), the influence of salicylic acid (SA) on photosynthetic activity and biochemical constituents including peroxidase activity at the genotypic level was determined. After SA treatment the total free sugar content increased in IFC 8401 and IGFRI 450 genotypes, whereas the content of total leaf soluble proteins decreased significantly in IFC 902. The high chlorophyll (Chl) (a + b) content in IFC 902 showed a good correlation with the net photosynthetic rate (PN), as in this genotype a significant increase in PN was found after the SA treatment. and Amaresh Chandra,, R. K. Bhatt.
The objective of this study was to investigate the early biological response in the olive flounder exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of waterborne phenanthrene (0.5, 1 or 2 μM). The fish were exposed for 4 weeks and we analyzed their enzymatic defense system, antioxidant and phase II enzyme activities, to evaluate the chronic exposure toxicity of phenanthrene. Waterborne phenanthrene affected antioxidant enzymes and glutathione-mediated detoxification as an enzyme defense system. Hepatic, gill and kidney glutathione reductase as well as glutathione S-transferase, and catalase activities were markedly elevated after two or four weeks of exposure. These enzyme activities of the olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, seem to be a convenient approach for monitoring pollution in coastal areas against polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollution including phenanthrene.
The aim of our study was to evaluate potential differences in the concentration of biochemical markers of endothelial dysfunction between essential hypertension, endocrine hypertension (pheochromocytoma, primary hyperaldosteronism) and control healthy group and to assess a potential relationship between these markers of endothelial dysfunction and
vasopressor substances overproduced in endocrine hypertension. We have investigated 21 patients with moderate essential hypertension, 29 patients with primary hyperaldosteronism, 24 subjects with pheochromocytoma and 26 healthy volunteers. Following parameters of endothelial dysfunction were measured, von Willebrand factor (vWf),
plasminogen activator (t-PA) and E-selectin (E-sel). Clinical blood pressure was measured according to the European Society of Hypertension recommendations. We found significantly higher levels of the von Willebrand factor in patients with essential hypertension in comparison with a control group (114±20 IU/dl vs 90±47 IU/dl; P=0.04) and patients with primary hyperaldosteronism (114±20 IU/dl vs 99±11 IU/dl; P=0.01). Patients with endocrine hypertension revealed increased levels of vWF compared to the control group, but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Levels of t-PA were increased in patients with pheochromocytoma in comparison with the control group (4.6±1.9 ng/ml vs 3.4±0.9 ng/ml; P=0.01) and with primary hyperaldosteronism (4.6±1.9 ng/ml vs 3.4±1.1 ng/ml; P<0.01). In case of E-selectin we found lower levels in patients with pheochromocytoma in comparison with other
groups, but they differed significantly only with primary hyperaldosteronism (40.2±15.0 ng/ml vs 51.3±23.0 ng/ml; P=0.05). Our study did not reveal any convincing evidence of differences in the levels of biochemical markers of endothelial dysfunction between essential and endocrine hypertension. No correlation between the biochemical markers of endothelial dysfunction and vasopressor substances activated in endocrine hypertension was found.
The well-known bottleneck of systems pharmacology, i. e., systems biology applied to pharmacology, refers to the model parameters determination from experimentally measured datasets. This paper represents the development of our earlier studies devoted to inverse (ill-posed) problems of model parameters identification. The key feature of this research is the introduction of control (or periodic forcing by an input signal being a drug intake) of the nonlinear model of drug-induced enzyme production in the form of a system of ordinary differential equations. First, we tested the model features under periodic dosing, and subsequently, we provided an innovative method for a parameter estimation based on the periodic dosing response measurement. A numerical example approved the satisfactory behavior of the proposed algorithm.
Many extracellular signals are at the cell surface received by specific receptors, which upon activation transduce information to the appropriate cellular effector molecules via trimeric G proteins. The G protein-mediated cascades ultimately lead to the highly refined regulation of systems such as sensory perception, cell growth, and hormonal regulation. Transmembrane signaling may be seriously deranged in various pathophysiological conditions. Over the last two decades the major experimental effort of our group has been devoted to better understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying transmembrane signaling regulated by G proteins and to the closely related process of desensitization of hormone response. This review provides general information about the basic principles of G protein-regulated transmembrane signaling as well as about our contribution to the current progress in the field.
Spinal cord injury results in a permanent neurological deficit due to tissue damage. Such a lesion is a barrier for “communication” between the brain and peripheral tissues, effectors as well as receptors. One of the primary goal s of tissue engineering is to bridge the spinal cord injury and re-establish the damaged connections. Hydrogels are biocompatible implants used in spinal cord injury repair. They can create a permissive environment and bridge the lesion cavities by providing a scaffold for the regeneration of neurons and their axons, glia and other tissue elements. The advantage of using artificial materials is the possibility to modify their physical and chemical properties in order to develop the best implant suitable for spinal cord injury repair. As a result, several types of hydrogels have been tested in experimental studies so far. We review our work that has been done during the last 5 years with various types of hydrogels and their applications in experimental spinal cord injury repair., A. Hejčl, P. Lesný, M. Přádný, J. Michálek, P. Jendelová, J. Štulík, E. Syková., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The presence of biocrusts changes water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert. Knowledge of the hydraulic properties of biocrusts and parameterization of soil hydraulic properties are important to improve simulation of infiltration and soil water dynamics in vegetation-soil-water models. In this study, four treatments, including bare land with sporadic cyanobacterial biocrusts (BL), lichen-dominated biocrusts (LB), early-successional moss biocrusts (EMB), and latesuccessional moss biocrusts (LMB), were established to evaluate the effects of biocrust development on soil water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert, northwest of China. Moreover, a combined Wooding inverse approach was used for the estimation of soil hydraulic parameters. The results showed that infiltration rate followed the pattern BL > LB > EMB > LMB. Moreover, the LB, EMB, and LMB treatments had significantly lower infiltration rates than the BL treatment. The saturated soil moisture (θs) and shape parameter (αVG) for the EMB and LMB treatments were higher than that for the BL and LB treatments, although the difference among four treatments was insignificant. Water retention increased with biocrust development at high-pressure heads, whereas the opposite was observed at low-pressure heads. The development of biocrusts influences van Genuchten parameters, subsequently affects the water retention curve, and thereby alters available water in the biocrust layer. The findings regarding the parameterization of soil hydraulic properties have important implications for the simulation of eco-hydrological processes in dryland ecosystems.
This paper examines the changes in the species composition of aphids living in dry calcareous grasslands in Central Europe over a 25-year period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analysis of this type in the world that takes into account both previous and current data on species richness as well as groups of aphids that are distinguishable on the basis of biological and ecological criteria such as host-alternation and feeding types, life cycle, ecological niche, symbiosis with ants and their ecological functional groups. Over the period of more than 25 years, there has been a significant decrease in aphid α-diversity, from 171 to 105 species. The gain, which is in species not previously recorded, was 17 taxa. The loss of biodiversity occurred despite the fact that these habitats are protected and are valuable regional biodiversity hotspots. The losses are mostly related to intensive human activity in adjacent areas, which, unfortunately, has resulted in the isolation of these small, protected environmental islands by the removal of ecological corridors. Since, as is shown in this study, the frequencies between individual biological and ecological groups of aphids have been retained, it would be possible to restrict this loss of biodiversity if appropriate actions are taken., Barbara Osiadacz, Roman Hałaj, Damian Chmura., and Obsahuje bibliografii