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1022. Uterine Natural Killer cells in context of implantation: immunohistochemical analysis of endometrial samples from women with habitual abortion and recurrent implantation failure
- Creator:
- Lapides, Lenka, Klein, Martin, Belušáková, Viera, Csöbönyeiová, Mária, Varga, Ivan, and Babál, Pavel
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- uterine NK cells, recurrent implantation failure, habitual abortion, immunohistochemistry, and CD56
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Infertility affects approximately 48 million couples globally. Despite the enormous progress of the methods of reproductive medicine that has been made since the first test-tube baby was born in 1978, the implantation rate of day-3 embryos is only around 15-20 % and 30 % of day-5 embryos. Numerous strategies aim to improve implantation rates and prevent repeated implantation failure. However, there is no specific general recommendation leading to satisfying results. One of the many risk factors relevant in this regard is the uterine immunological make-up, mainly the uterine Natural Killer (uNK) cells. They orchestrate the overall immune response during implantation by influencing trophoblast invasion and vascular remodeling and throughout pregnancy, uNK cells are also the main immune cells at the maternal–fetal interface. Previously, uNK count has been correlated with various fertility issues including idiopathic recurrent miscarriage. The present study used endometrial samples collected from 256 patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF), habitual abortion (HA) and idiopathic sterility. Samples were collected between day 19 and 21 of the menstrual cycle mainly by Pipelle endometrial sampling. The samples were fixed in formalin for 24 hours and further processed for immunohistochemistry using anti-CD56 to visualize this antigen marker of uNK cells. Immunohistochemical counting was performed to assess the low, normal, or elevated count of uNK cells. According to the one-way ANOVA test, the age of our patients did not have any influence on the count of uNK cells. With Spearman correlation analysis, we found statistically significant correlation (p-value 0.05) of -0.133 between prior miscarriage and lower uNK cell count. Using the same analysis we found statistically significant correlation (correlation 0.233 with p-value 0.01) between number of uNK cells and activation status. Patients with higher uNK cells were more frequenty diagnosed with endometriosis (p-value 0.05, correlation 0.130). Patients with an immunological factor of sterility (defined by a clinical immunologist) had a lower chance of gravidity (-0.203 with p-value 0.01). Based on our results, we can confirm that there is a correlation between RIF, HA, idiopathic sterility, endometriosis, and immunological factor of sterility (uNK cell count). The true predictive value with regard to fertility outcomes needs to be addressed in future research.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
1023. Utilization of cultivated fruits by Japanese martens and red foxes in a snowy environment: a comparison of feeding habits between rural and forest landscapes
- Creator:
- Nakane, Asumi, Enomoto, Takaaki, and Saito, Masayuki U.
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- carnivores, cool-temperate zone, diet, feeding ecology, wildlife management, and winter ecology
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Cultivated fruits can serve as an important winter food resource for medium-sized carnivores in rural areas that experience heavy snowfall. However, studies on the food analysis of medium-sized carnivores in heavy snowfall areas, particularly on the use of cultivated fruits, are limited. We evaluated the use of cultivated fruits by medium-sized carnivores during winter in a heavy snowfall area by comparing their feeding habits in rural and forest landscapes. We conducted faecal analysis of Japanese martens (Martes melampus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in rural and forest landscapes in north-eastern Japan during periods of snow cover. Based on a faecal analysis in the rural landscape, both Japanese martens and red foxes consumed mammals, birds, fruits, and other plant material. In the forest landscape, mammals and insects were consumed by Japanese martens and mammals, fruits, and other plant material were consumed by red foxes. Our results showed that cultivated fruits, such as persimmons and apples, were a major food source in snowy environments, suggesting a wider range of available resources and overlapping feeding habits. It has been suggested that red foxes in forest landscapes move long distances (several kilometres) to consume cultivated fruits. This study suggests that cultivated fruits may also indirectly feed wildlife, even in areas with heavy snowfall.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
1024. Variability of peripheral pulse wave velocity in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 during orthostatic challenge
- Creator:
- Svačinová, Jana, Hrušková, Jana, Jakubík, Juraj, Budinskaya, Ksenia, Hidegová, Simona, Fabšík, Martin, Sieglová, Helena, Kaščáková, Zuzana, Novák, Jan, and Nováková, Zuzana
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- pulse wave velocity, variability, diabetes mellitus, arterial stiffness, and orthostasis
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Diabetes mellitus 2 (DM2) is the seventh cause of death worldwide. One of the reasons is late diagnosis of vascular damage. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) has become an independent marker of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk. Moreover, the previous studies have shown the importance of beat-to-beat PWV measurement due to its variability among the heart cycle. However, variability of PWV (PWVv) of the whole body hasn't been examined yet. We have studied a group of DM II and heathy volunteers, to investigate the beat-to-beat mean PWV (PWVm) and PWVv in the different body positions. PWV of left lower and upper extremities were measured in DM2 (7 m/8 f, age 68±10 years, BP 158/90±19/9 mm Hg) and healthy controls (5 m/6 f, age 23±2 years, BP 117/76±9/5 mm Hg). Volunteers were lying in the resting position and of head-up-tilt in 45° (HUT) for 6 min. PWVv was evaluated as a mean power spectrum in the frequency bands LF and HF (0.04-0.15 Hz, 0.15-0.5 Hz). Resting PWVm of upper extremity was higher in DM2. HUT increased lower extremity PWVm only in DM2. Extremities PWVm ratio was significantly lower in DM2 during HUT compared to controls. LF and HF PWVv had the same response to HUT. Resting PWVv was higher in DM2. Lower extremity PWVv increased during HUT in both groups. PWVm and PWVv in DM2 differed between extremities and were significantly influenced by postural changes due to hydrostatic pressure. Increased resting PWVm and PWVv in DM2 is a marker of increased arterial stiffness.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public
1025. Variability of species of Babesia Starcovici, 1893 in three sympatric ticks (Ixodes ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus and Haemaphysalis concinna) at the edge of Pannonia in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
- Creator:
- Rybářová, Markéta, Honsová, Michaela, Ivo Papoušek, and Pavel Široký
- Format:
- print, počítač, and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- parazitologie, parasitology, host-specificity, piroplasms, species diagnosis, 18S rRNA, 2, and 59
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- The distribution, variability and host specificity of species of Babesia Starcovici, 1893 were studied in questing ticks collected on the northwestern edge of the Pannonian Basin in the south-easternmost part of the Czech Republic and in western Slovakia. The area is characterised by relatively natural floodplain habitats and the sympatric occurrence of three tick species possessing wide host spectra, namely Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus), Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius) and Haemaphysalis concinna Koch. Analysis was carried out on 1,408 I. ricinus, 2,999 D. reticulatus and 150 H. concinna altogether, collected from 59 localities. We documented the presence of Babesia spp. not only in I. ricinus but also in H. concinna in the Czech Republic. Two isolates from I. ricinus were classified as B. venatorum Herwaldt, Cacciò, Gherlinzoni, Aspöck, Slemenda, Piccaluga, Martinelli, Edelhofer, Hollenstein, Poletti, Pampiglione, Löschenberger, Tura et Pieniazek, 2003 (formerly determined as Babesia sp. EU1), which is a zoonotic parasite and can cause human babesiosis. The rest of our amplicons were very similar to B. canis (Piana et Galli-Valerio, 1895), which is usually transmitted by D. reticulatus. Despite the huge amount of examined samples, all D. reticulatus ticks were Babesia-free. Due to this finding, we did not consider our obtained isolates to be B. canis, but other closely related species possessing a similar sequence of the studied portion of 18S rDNA. Although this genetic marker is most frequently used in PCR-based diagnostic methods of babesias, its low variability compromises its reliability in studies based only on this marker., Markéta Rybářová, Michaela Honsová, Ivo Papoušek, Pavel Široký., and Obsahuje bibliografii
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public
1026. Variation in the morphology of the wings of the endangered grass-feeding butterfly Coenonympha oedippus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in response to contrasting habitats
- Creator:
- Jugovic, Jure, Zupan, Sara, Bužan, Elena, and Čelik, Tatjana
- Format:
- print, počítač, and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- motýli, babočkovití, křídla (zoologie), adaptace (biologie), butterflies, Nymphalidae, wings (zoology), adaptation (biology), Lepidoptera, Coenonympha oedippus, False Ringlet, classical morphometrics, geometric morphometrics, environmental heterogeneity, 2, and 59
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- At the southern limit of its range the endangered butterfly Coenonympha oedippus inhabits grasslands (wet, dry) that differ significantly in the abundance of its larval hostplants (wet > dry) and mean annual air temperature (wet < dry). We determined the difference in the wing morphology of individuals in the two contrasting habitats to test whether and how traits associated with wing size, shape and eye like spots vary in the sexes and two ecotypes. We show that sexual dimorphism follows the same (wing size and shape, number of eyespots on forewing) or different (relative area of eyespots on hindwings) patterns in the two contrasting habitats. Irrespective of ecotype, females had larger, longer and narrower wings, and more forewing eyespots than males. Sexual dimorphism in the relative area of eyespots on hindwing was female-biased in the wet, but male-biased in the dry ecotype. Ecotype dimorphism in wing size and the relative area of eyespots on the hindwing is best explained by mean annual air temperature and abundance of host-plants. While ecotype dimorphism in wing size did not differ between sexes, neither in direction (wet > dry) or in degree, in the two sexes the relative area of eyespots on hindwing had opposite patterns (males: dry > wet; females: wet > dry) and was more pronounced in males than in females. The differences in wing shape between ecotypes were detected only in the hindwings of males, with more rounded apex in the dry than in the wet ecotype. We discuss the life-history traits, behavioural strategies and selection mechanisms, which largely account for the sex- and ecotype-specific variation in wing morphology., Jure Jugovic, Sara Zupan, Elena Bužan, Tatjana Čelik., and Obsahuje bibliografii
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public
1027. Variation of thorax flight temperature among twenty Australian butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae)
- Creator:
- Nève, Gabriel and Hall, Casey
- Format:
- print, počítač, and online zdroj
- Type:
- article, články, journal articles, model:article, and TEXT
- Subject:
- Zoologie, otakárkovití, babočkovití, běláskovití, motýli, Papilionidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae, butterflies, Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, thorax flight temperature, wing loading, infra red thermometer, warming-up rate, physical constraint, allometry, 2, and 59
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Thermal requirements for flight in butterflies is determined by a combination of external factors, behaviour and physical constraints. Thorax temperature of 152 butterflies was monitored with an infra-red thermometer in controlled laboratory conditions. The temperature at take-off varied from 13.4°C, for a female Heteronympha merope to 46.3°C, for a female Junonia villida. Heteronympha merope, an understorey species, had the lowest recorded take-off temperatures, with females flying at a much lower thorax temperatures than males. Among the tested butterfly species, warming-up rate was positively correlated with take-off temperature and negatively with body mass. Wing loading is a major variable in determining the thorax flight temperature. Butterflies with the highest wing-loadings experienced the highest thorax temperatures at take-off. A notable exception to this rule is Trapezites symmomus, the only Hesperiidae of our data set, which had thorax flight temperatures of 31.5°C and 34.5°C, well within the range of the observed butterflies, despite a wing load ca. five times higher. The high thorax temperature recorded in J. villida is probably linked to its high flight speed. The results highlight the importance of physical constraints such as body size on the thermal requirements for flight across a range of butterfly species., Gabriel Nève, Casey Hall., and Obsahuje bibliografii
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public
1028. Variations in the trophic niches of the golden jackal Canis aureus across the Eurasian continent associated with biogeographic and anthropogenic factors
- Creator:
- Tsunoda, Hiroshi and Saito, Masayuki U.
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- anthropogenic food sources, Carnivora, diets, landscape modification, mesopredator, and scavenging
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Our aim was to determine biogeographical patterns in the food habits of golden jackals by first reviewing their dietary patterns at the continental scale and then analysing associations between the food items in their diets and geographical, regional productivity and land-use variables, using multivariate analyses. Our findings indicated that jackals generally consume small mammals as a staple food but shift to consume plant materials or the carcasses of larger mammals when food resources are scarce owing to changes in the regional climate and productivity, as well as anthropogenic habitat modifications. Disruption of natural food resources (specifically small mammals) due to anthropogenic landscape modifications provokes dietary shifts in golden jackals, potentially increasing their reliance on anthropogenic resources. Consequently, conservation of their habitat in combination with waste management to decrease the accessibility to anthropogenic resources is required to resolve human-jackal conflicts.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public
1029. Various aspects of sex and gender bias in biomedical research
- Creator:
- Plevkova, Jana, Brozmanova, Mariana, Harsanyiova, Jana, Sterusky, Miroslav, Honetschlager, Jan, and Buday, Tomas
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- sex bias, biomedical research, testosterone, and estrogen
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- The main role of research in medicine is to provide relevant knowledge which, after successful translation to clinical practice, improves the quality of healthcare. The sex bias which is still present in the majority of research disciplines prefers male subjects despite legislation changes in the US grant agencies and European research programme Horizon 2020. Male subjects (cells, animals) still dominate in preclinical research and it has detrimental consequences for women’s health and the quality of science. Opposite bias exists for data obtained mainly in animal models utilizing female subjects (e.g. research in multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis) with skewed outcomes for men affected by these diseases. Either way, scientists are producing results which compromise half of the population. Assumptions that females as cohorts are more variable and another assumption that the oestrous cycle should be tracked in case the females are enrolled in preclinical studies were proven wrong. Variability of male versus female cohorts are comparable and do not only stem from hormonal levels. The widespread prevalence of sex differences in human diseases ultimately requires detailed experiments performed on both sexes, unless the studies are specifically addressing reproduction or sex-related behaviors.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public
1030. Visualisation of Parkinsonian, essential and physiological tremor planes in 3D space
- Creator:
- Jombík, Peter , Spodniak, Pavel , Bahýľ, Vladimír, and Necpál , Ján
- Format:
- počítač and online zdroj
- Type:
- model:article and TEXT
- Subject:
- 3-axial linear tremor accelerometry, analysis of tremor plane in 3D space, Parkinsonian tremor, assential tremor, and physiologic tremor
- Language:
- English
- Description:
- Based on the fact that tremors display some distinct 3D spatial characteristics, we decided to visualize tremor planes in 3D space. We obtained 3-axial linear accelerometer signals of hand tremors from 58 patients with Parkinson´s disease (PD), 37 with isolated resting tremor (iRT), 75 with essential tremor (ET), and 44 healthy volunteers with physiological tremor (Ph). For each group analysis was done with subsequent spatial 3D regression of the input data i.e. along the x, y and z axes; the projected vector lengths in the individual (vertical transversal XY, vertical longitudinal XZ and horizontal YZ) reference frame planes and their angles. Most meaningful and statistically significant differences were found in the analyses of the 3D vector lengths. The tremor of the PD and the iRT group was oriented mainly in the horizontal YZ plane. The tremors of the patients with ET and Ph were oriented approximately in the midway between the all three referential planes with less tilt toward the vertical longitudinal XZ plane.
- Rights:
- http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public