The outcome of assessments of the biodiversity of a taxonomic group often depend on the sampling method. The choice of an adequate method is especially important for biomonitoring purposes. In this study, the effectiveness of two methods of sampling syrphids (Diptera: Syrphidae) is compared: observation plot method vs. line transect, both sampled by sweep netting. Altogether, 18 meadows were selected in three mountain regions in the Austrian and Swiss Alps. We recorded a significantly higher abundance and richness of syrphids using the observation plot method than the line transect method in 2015. Comparing data for one region recorded in 2015 and 2016, similar results were obtained. Syrphid species assemblages were affected by sampling method in both years. More syrphid species and individuals were recorded using the observation plot method, which makes it more suitable for studies aiming at comparing differences in the numbers of adult syrphids in different grassland habitats., Raja I. Hussain, Ronnie Walcher, David Brandl, Arne Arnberger, Johann G. Zaller, Thomas Frank., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This study aimed to examine the effect of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by muscle overload and the associated intracellular signaling pathways. Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to oral treatment with either EPA or corn oil for 6 weeks. After 4 weeks of treatment, the gastrocnemius muscle of the right hindlimb was surgically removed to overload the plantaris and soleus muscles for 1 or 2 weeks. We examined the effect of EPA on the signaling pathway associated with protein synthesis using the soleus muscles. According to our analysis of the compensatory muscle growth, EPA administration enhanced hypertrophy of the soleus muscle but not hypertrophy of the plantaris muscle. Nevertheless, EPA administration did not enhance the expression or phosphorylation of Akt, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), or S6 kinase (S6K) in the soleus muscle. In conclusion, EPA enhances skeletal muscle hypertrophy, which can be independent of changes in the AKT-mTOR-S6K pathway.
Faecal samples from the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis jayakari Thomas) were collected from the Ibex Reserve in central Saudi Arabia. Eimerian oocysts, which are believed to represent a new species described here as Eimeria tamimi sp. n., were detected in 40 out of 93 samples. Oocysts were fully sporulated in 24-48 hours at 25 ± 2 °C. Sporulated oocysts of E. tamimi sp. n. were ovoid, measuring 35-42 × 19-25 μm (39 × 23 μm), a length/width ratio 1.5-2 (1.7). Oocyst wall was bilayered and measured 1.5 μm in thickness. Micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granules were not present. Sporocysts are elongate, measuring 12-18 × 9-12 μm (15 × 10 μm), with a length/width ratio 1.1-1.8 (1.5) prominent Stieda bodies and sporocyst residuum. Experimental infection of two clinically healthy rock hyraxes with sporulated oocysts of E. tamimi sp. n. resulted in shedding unsporulated oocysts 5-10 days post infection. Partial sequences of 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rDNA) and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (COI) regions were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rDNA using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods revealed that E. tamimi sp. n. grouped with Eimeria quokka Barker, O'Callaghan et Beveridge, 1988, E. mundayi Barker, O´Callaghan et Beveridge, 1988, E. potoroi Barker, O'Callaghan et Beveridge, 1988 and E. gaimardi Barker, O'Callaghan et Beveridge, 1988 marsupials. Eimerian species have been regarded as a paraphyletic group and the present investigation confirmed the conflict between phenotypic traits, used widely in the classification of this group of parasites., Osama B. Mohammed, Manei M. Aljedaie, M. S. Alyousif and Nabil Amor., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Animals have always represented an important part of life and thus they can evoke a wide range of emotions. This work has focused on the positive emotions evoked by animals in humans, specifically beauty as seen by human eyes. Since there is a multitude of species in the world that belong to various taxonomic groups, it is important to examine, how humans cognitively categorize them and what characteristics influence the perception of beauty in individual groups. The question was whether the size and shape of the animals’ bodies or their colour and markings influence their beauty. Previous research has successfully employed the testing method of presenting stimuli in form of photographed animals, which were then rated by respondents according to perceived beauty. Numerous works based on this method originated, studying both positive and negative attitude towards animals, which enabled further research to be carried out in other countries. Crosscultural comparison of the perception of beauty is an important part of the research of animal beauty, because it allows a comparison of opinions on animals of people from different cultural backgrounds, including native groups still living in hunter-gatherer hierarchy to this day. Identical features of what is seen as beautiful across cultures would imply that the positive perception of animals evolved before the humans settled the whole world and is thus independent of the current environment. The perception of animal beauty is an interesting subject not merely from an evolutionary standpoint, but also since it opens a possibility to use the findings in campaigns targeted to help endangered species. This work is a summary of results of studies focused on positive perception of animals on different levels and in different contexts, and it offers a concise overview of the perception of beauty by humans. and Zvířata vždy představovala důležitou součást života člověka, a proto v něm mohou vyvolávat nejrůznější emoce. V této práci jsme se zaměřili na pozitivní emoce, které v nás zvířata vzbuzují, a to zejména na krásu viděnou lidskýma očima. Jelikož na světě existuje velké množství druhů patřících do různých taxonomických skupin, je důležité se podívat, jak lidé zvířata kognitivně kategorizují a jaké charakteristiky ovlivňují hodnocení krásy v každé skupině zvířat zvlášť. Zajímalo nás, zda krásu ovlivňuje velikost a tvar těla nebo barevnost či vzor jednotlivých druhů. V předchozích pracích byla úspěšně využita testovací metoda předkládání stimulů v podobě fotografií zvířat, které respondenti hodnotí podle vnímané krásy. Na základě této metody vzniklo mnoho prací zkoumající vztah ke zvířatům (jak pozitivní, tak negativní) a umožnilo provádět výzkumy i v jiných zemích. Mezikulturní srovnání vnímání krásy je důležitou součástí výzkumu krásy zvířat, neboť umožňuje porovnat názory lidí na zvířata z odlišných kulturních prostředí, včetně domorodých obyvatel žijících dodnes v lovecko-sběračském uspořádání. Pokud by totiž byly znaky určující, co je na zvířatech krásné, mezikulturně shodné, dá se předpokládat, že pozitivní vnímání zvířat se vyvinulo v evoluci dříve, než lidé osídlili celý svět, a tudíž není závislé na současném prostředí. Vnímání krásy zvířat není zajímavé jen z hlediska evoluce, ale dává nám možnost využít tyto poznatky v cílených kampaních na pomoc ohroženým druhům zvířat. Tato práce je shrnutím výsledků studií zabývajících se pozitivním vnímáním zvířat na různé úrovni a v různých souvislostech a přináší ucelený pohled na vnímání krásy zvířat u lidí.
Zvířata představují pro člověka prioritizované stimuly, je jim věnována větší pozornost než neživým objektům a tento zájem je doprovázen nejen pozitivními, ale také negativními emocemi, jako je strach a odpor. Obě emoce mají významnou adaptivní roli v situacích, které mohou být pro člověka potenciálně nebezpečné. Strach reaguje na přítomnost predátora či jiného strachového stimulu, který jej bezprostředně ohrožuje, zatímco odpor se vyvinul jako ochrana před chorobami a infekcemi. Tyto emoce však byly důležité nejen v evoluční minulosti člověka, do značné míry nás ovlivňují i dnes, přestože se se zvířaty ve volné přírodě setkáváme stále méně. Strach a odpor hrají zásadní roli také ve fobiích ze zvířat.
Tato práce tedy shrnuje naše dosavadní poznatky o negativních emocích, které v lidech vzbuzují zvířata. Zabývá se rozdíly mezi fungováním strachu a odporu, jejich vzájemným vztahem a také psychopatologiemi. V neposlední řadě se pak věnuje tomu, které konkrétní znaky zvířat ovlivňují nejen jejich přednostní vnímání, ale také pociťování specifických emocí, strachu a odporu, u různých skupin zvířat. and Animals represent prioritised stimuli for humans, they are given more attention than inanimate objects, and this attention is accompanied by not only positive emotions, but also negative ones, such as fear and disgust. Both of these emotions play an important adaptive role in potentially dangerous situations. Fear represents human reaction to the presence of a predator or another fear-inducing stimulus posing an immediate threat, while disgust has evolved as a protection against diseases and infections. These emotions were significant during human evolutionary history, but they continue to influence us to this day, despite humans coming into contact with animals in the wild with increasing rarity. Fear and disgust are also a substantial part of animal phobias. This work summarises our findings so far regarding negative emotions caused by animals. It deals with differences between the function of fear and disgust, their relation to each other, and their psychopathologies. Last but not least, it also discusses which specific features of animals influence their prioritized perception and experiencing of fear and disgust evoked by distinct animal groups.
Anthropogenic environmental pollutants affect many physiological, biochemical, and endocrine actions as reproduction, metabolism, immunity, behavior and as such can interfere with any aspect of hormone action. Microbiota and their genes, microbiome, a large body of microorganisms, first of all bacteria and co-existing in the host´s gut, are now believed to be autonomous endocrine organ, participating at overall endocrine, neuroendocrine and immunoendocrine regulations. While an extensive literature is available on the physiological and pathological aspects of both players, information about their mutual relationships is scarce. In the review we attempted to show various examples where both, endocrine disruptors and microbiota are meeting and can act cooperatively or in opposition and to show the mechanism, if known, staying behind these actions., Richard Hampl, Luboslav Stárka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
As environmental and genetic components contribute to the PCOS expression, we compared levels of endocrine disruptors, steroid hormones, cytokines, and metabolic parameters in twenty healthy, nine normal-weight PCOS women, and ten obese PCOS women. Steroid hormones, bisphenols (BPA, BPS, BPF, BPAF) and parabens (methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, butyl-, benzyl-parabens) were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Differences between the groups were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated for the individual parameters relationship. Significantly higher levels of BPA, anti-Müllerain hormone, lutropine, lutropine/folitropine ratio, testosterone, androstenedione, 7β-OH-epiandrosterone, and cytokines (IL-6, VEGF, PDGF-bb), were found in normal-weight PCOS women compared to controls. Between normal-weight and obese PCOS women, there were no differences in hormonal, but in metabolic parameters. Obese PCOS women had significantly higher insulin resistance, fattyliver index, triglycerides, cytokines (IL-2, IL-13, IFN-γ). In healthy, but not in PCOS, women, there was a positive correlation of BPA with testosterone, SHBG with lutropine, and folitropine, while testosterone negatively correlated with SHBG. In obese women with PCOS, insulin resistance negatively correlated with SHBG and estradiol. No differences were observed in the paraben exposure. Levels of BPA were higher in PCOS women, indicating its role in the etiology. Obesity significantly worsens the symptoms., Markéta Šimková, Jana Vítků, Lucie Kolátorová, Jana Vrbíková, Michala Vosátková, Josef Včelák, Michaela Dušková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The Three Gorges Reservoir region suffers from severe soil erosion that leads to serious soil degradation and eutrophication. Interrill erosion models are commonly used in developing soil erosion control measures. Laboratory simulation experiments were conducted to investigate the relationship between interrill erosion rate and three commonly hydraulic parameters (flow velocity V, shear stress τ and stream power W). The slope gradients ranged from 17.6% to 36.4%, and the rainfall intensities varied from 0.6 to 2.54 mm·min–1. The results showed that surface runoff volume and soil loss rates varied greatly with the change of slope and rainfall intensity. Surface runoff accounted for 67.2–85.4% of the precipitation on average. Soil loss rates increased with increases of rainfall intensity and slope gradient, Regression analysis showed that interrill erosion rate could be calculated by a linear function of V and W. Predictions based on V (R2 = 0.843, ME = 0.843) and W (R2 = 0.862, ME = 0.862) were powerful. τ (R2 = 0.721, ME = 0.721) did not seem to be a good predictor for interrill erosion rates. Five ordinarily interrill erosion models were analyzed, the accuracy of the models in predicting soil loss rate was: Model 3 (ME = 0.977) > Model 4 (ME = 0.966) > Model 5 (ME = 0.963) > Model 2 (ME = 0.923) > Model 1 (ME = 0.852). The interrill erodibility used in the model 3 (WEPP) was calculated as 0.332×106 kg·s·m–4. The results can improve the precision of interrill erosion estimation on purple soil slopes in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.