Stone columns consist of granular material compacted in long cylindrical holes. They are used for improving the strength and consolidation characteristics of compressible soils. However, they are still less effective at supporting heavy loads, since they still cannot transfer applied stresses to deeper layers of soil. The main objective of this numerical study was to investigate the geotechnical performance of a combined foundation system composed of stone columns and piles grouped together under a rigid raft foundation in compressible soil. The failure mechanism of this hybrid foundation system was examined, and configurations optimizing the performance of the combined foundation system were explored. An analytical model was developed for predicting the ultimate carrying capacity of the combined system in compressible soils. It was deduced that combining stone columns and piles in one foundation system improved considerably the system’s carrying capacity. Moreover, the uppermost improvement was observed when the piles were installed on the periphery or edge of the raft foundation, while stones columns were placed at the center area of the raft. The failure of the combined foundation system started from the center of the raft and noticeably extended to its edges. Due to the presence of stone columns in the combined foundation system, the piles did not interact. The areas affected or influenced by the soil–pile interaction also did not overlap.
Increased plasma cholesterol levels are listed between the major
atherosclerosis risk factors. The final plasma cholesterol levels
result from the interplay between the genetic and environmental
(diet, physical activity) factors. Little is known, how dietary
factors influence epigenetics. We have analyzed, if an overgeneration feeding of rat with cholesterol influences total liverDNA methylation, and if total liver-DNA methylation differ
between the different rat strains (Prague hereditary
hypercholesterolemic rats, Prague hereditary hypertriglyceridemic
rats and Wistar Kyoto rats). The animals were feed with high fat
(additional 5 % over normal capacity) high cholesterol (2 %) diet
for 14 days. DNA methylation in the liver tissue in different
generations was analyzed using the liquid chromatography
coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. We have not observed
any significant changes in total liver-DNA methylation over the
9 generations of animals feed by fat/cholesterol enriched diet.
Additionally, there were no differences in DNA methylation
between different rat strains. In animal model, the dietary
changes (hypercholesterolemic diet) not significantly influence
the total DNA methylation status within the liver.
Through their receptors at each level of hypothalamo-pituitarygonadal axis glucocorticoid excess, either endogenous or administered or stress-induced, could affect steroid production in the testis and thus male fertility. The main ways by which glucocorticoids act are as follows: 1) Affecting gonadoliberin and LH synthesis and release through glucocorticoid receptors in hypothalamic neurons and pituitary gonadotropes. 2) By so far not clearly evidenced reduction of the number of LH receptors on the membrane of Leydig cells. 3) By affecting expression and function of steroidogenic enzymes in the testis. 4) By regulation of in situ access of glucocorticoid to its target cells in the testis. 5) By promotion Leydig cell apoptosis. The review provides a survey of physiological and molecular mechanisms staying behind these effects. It does not deal with the clinical effects of glucocorticoid treatment which would substantially exceed the scope of the pater., Richard Hampl, Luboslav Stárka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Recently, there has been rapidly growing interest in the effects of the microbiota on host physiology and behaviour. Due to the nutritional value of bacteria, gut microflora may be particularly important in species that present nuptial gifts during courtship. Here, we explore whether the presence or absence of gut microbiota in males and females of the nuptial gift-giving species Drosophila subobscura (Collin, 1936) alters mating behaviour in terms of female preference, male investment, and female fecundity. We found that females that had been fed antibiotics, compared to females with intact gut bacteria, were more willing to mate with a male that had been fed normally. However female fecundity was higher when both males and females lacked gut bacteria compared to both individuals having a full complement of gut bacteria. This implies that the presence of the microbiota acts to reduce female fecundity in this species, and that male gut bacterial content influences female fecundity. Our results provide further evidence to the growing consensus that the microbiota of an individual may have important effects on both reproductive behaviour and physiology, and suggest that it may also contribute to the nutritional value of the nuptial gift in this system., Benjamin S. Walsh, Chloe Heys, Zenobia Lewis., and Obsahuje bibliografii