Obesity is a disease that affects about 13 % of the world population (2016) (Who 2018). This condition generates a process of systemic inflammation that may contribute to the release of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) into the bloodstream. cfDNA has been considered a potential biomarker to monitor several physiological and pathological conditions, such as tumors, exercise intensity and obesity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the association of cfDNA levels with the amount of weight and fat mass lost six months after bariatric surgery. Thirty-eight subjects classified as obese (BMI, 43.5±6.2; BFP, 46.6±4.8) were evaluated anthropometrically and underwent bariatric surgery. Weight, BMI, body fat percentage (BFP), waist circumference, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and cfDNA levels were evaluated before and six months after surgery; furthermore, a correlation was performed between cfDNA levels and BFP and CRP. Decrease in total body weight and CRP were observed after bariatric surgery; however, the cfDNA levels remained unchanged. There was a weak correlation between cfDNA levels and BFP before the bariatric surgery, and a moderate correlation between cfDNA and CRP. Obese subjects who underwent bariatric surgery, the decrease in body fat percentage did not result in changes in cfDNA levels six months after surgery.
Metabolic flux investigations of cells and tissue samples are a rapidly advancing tool in diverse research areas. Reliable methods of data normalization are crucial for an adequate interpretation of results and to avoid a misinterpretation of experiments and incorrect conclusions. The most common methods for metabolic flux data normalization are to cell number, DNA and protein. Data normalization may be affected by a variety of factors, such as density, healthy state, adherence efficiency, or proportional seeding of cells. The mussel-derived adhesive Cell-Tak is often used to immobilize poorly adherent cells. Here we demonstrate that this coating strongly affects the fluorescent detection of DNA leading to an incorrect and highly variable normalization of metabolic flux data. Protein assays are much less affected and cell counting can virtually completely remove the effect of the coating. Cell-Tak coating also affects cell shape in a cell line-specific manner and may change cellular metabolism. Based on these observations we recommend cell counting as a gold standard normalization method for Seahorse metabolic flux measurements with protein content as a reasonable alternative.
Inwardly rectifying potassium (Kir) channels play key roles in functions, including maintaining the resting membrane potential and regulating the action potential duration in excitable cells. Using in situ whole-cell recordings, we investigated Kir currents in mouse fungiform taste bud cells (TBCs) and immunologically identified the cell types (type I-III) expressing these currents. We demonstrated that Kir currents occur in a cell-type-independent manner. The activation potentials we measured were -80 to -90 mV, and the magnitude of the currents increased as the membrane potentials decreased, irrespective of the cell types. The maximum current densities at -120 mV showed no significant differences among cell types (p>0.05, one-way ANOVA). The density of Kir currents was not correlated with the density of either transient inward currents or outwardly rectifying currents, although there was significant correlation between transient inward and outwardly rectifying current densities (p<0.05, test for no correlation). RT-PCR studies employing total RNA extracted from peeled lingual epithelia detected mRNAs for Kir1, Kir2, Kir4, Kir6, and Kir7 families. These findings indicate that TBCs express several types of Kir channels functionally, which may contribute to regulation of the resting membrane potential and signal transduction of taste.
The term cellular immune response refers to haemocyte-mediated responses, including phagocytosis, nodulation, and encapsulation. In the present study, we identified five types of circulating haemocytes in larvae of the haemolymph of the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée), including granulocytes, oenocytoids, plasmatocytes, prohaemocytes, and spherulocytes. The relative number of total free haemocytes per larva decreased significantly 0.5, 24, and 36 h after the injection of Beauveria bassiana conidia. Upon conidia challenge, both phagocytosis and nodulation were observed in the collected haemolymph from O. furnacalis larvae. In addition, plasma was found to be necessary for both phagocytosis and nodulation. Therefore, we here confirm that phagocytosis and nodulation are involved in O. funacalis larvae during their fight against infection by B. bassiana, and further, that the cellular immune response of O. furnacalis helps eliminate the invading organisms despite the fact that not all the fungal conidia are killed., Dongxu Shen, Miao Li, Yuan Chu, Minglin Lang, Chunju An., and Obsahuje bibliografii
It is assumed that the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is associated with the central autonomic dysregulation, however, the studies are rare. Analysis of pupillary light reflex represents a non-invasive tool to provide information related to the central autonomic regulation; thus, we aimed to evaluate potential disturbances in the central autonomic integrity using pupillary light reflex examination in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. We have examined 20 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (10 boys, 13.0±2.3 years) and 20 age/gender-matched healthy subjects. Pupillary light reflex was examined at rest for both eyes using Pupillometer PLR-2000 (NeurOptics, USA). Evaluated parameters were: diameter of the pupil before the application of light stimulus and after illumination at the peak of the constriction, the percentual change of the pupil diameter during constriction, average constriction velocity, maximum constriction velocity and average dilation velocity. We found significantly lower percentual change of the pupil diameter during constriction for both eyes in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder group compared to controls (right eye: -25.81±1.23 % vs. -30.32±1.31 %, p<0.05, left eye: -25.44±1.65 % vs. -30.35±0.98 %, p˂0.05). The average constriction velocity and maximum constriction velocity were significantly shortened in left eye in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder group compared to controls (p˂0.05). Our findings revealed altered pupillary light reflex indicating abnormal centrally-mediated autonomic regulation characterized by parasympathetic underactivity associated with relative sympathetic predominance in children suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
A new myxozoan, Ceratomyxa bohari sp. n., infecting the gall bladder of two-spot red snapper, Lutjanus bohar Forsskål, in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia, is described using light microscopy and characterised genetically. The infection was recorded as mature spores floating free in the bile. The overall prevalence of infection of the type host was 19% (67 fish infected of 360 examined), with the highest prevalence in autumn (31%; 28/90) and the lowest in winter at 12% (11/90). Mature spores are slender and slightly crescent-shaped in the frontal view, with anterior and posterior margins tapered gradually to rounded valvular tips. Spore valves are unequal with a prominent sutural line. The spore dimensions are 3-4 μm (mean 3.5 μm) in length and 16-19 μm (mean 17 μm) in thickness. Two polar capsules are spherical, equal in size, 1.5 μm in diameter. Coils of the polar filament are indiscernible. The sporoplasm is binucleated and fills nearly one third of the extracapsular space restricted to the area below the capsules. The molecular analysis based on the small subunit rDNA (SSU rDNA) sequence revealed a close relationship with majority of species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 and phylogenetic clustering with species from different geographical location. Thus, the shorter spore of the present Ceratomyxa species and the divergence of the SSU rDNA sequences were the distinctive features that separate it from all previously described species and identified this parasite as a new species of Ceratomyxa., Lamjed Mansour, Abdel-Azeem S. Abdel-Baki, Ahmad F. Tamihi, Saleh Al-Quraishy., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of the study was to translate the Intrapersonal Curiosity Scale (InC) into the Czech language and to verify its factor structure and psychometric properties on the sample of grammar school students in the Czech Republic. The Intrapersonal Curiosity Scale InC is a 12-item tool that measures the tendency to inquisitively explore own identity and inner experience in order to better understand own inner self. The sample consisted of 1020 participants, of which 353 (34.6%) were boys, 665 (65.2%) were girls, and two participants (0.2%) did not state their sex or age. The authors compared several considered models using CFA. The results suggest that the original theoretical model, which calculates the total InC score as the sum of three mutually correlated subscales EPI, ROP and UEM, is still uncertain in the Czech version verified on a group of adolescents. In the authorsʼ opinion, the version with three factors with minor corrections fits to the data best of all compared models, although with a lack of evidence for the unidimensionality of the overall InC scale. In this model, verification of the weak invariance of the measurements was achieved when comparing girls and boys using MGCFA. Significant correlations of latent scores of EPI, ROP and UEM subscales with other assessed constructs were found., Cílem studie bylo adaptovat Škálu intrapersonální zvídavosti (Intrapersonal Curiosity, InC) do českého jazyka a ověřit její faktorovou struk-turu a psychometrické vlastnosti na souboru studentů gymnázií v České republice. Škála intrapersonální zvídavosti InC je 12položkovým nástrojem, který zachycuje tendenci zvídavě zkoumat svoji identitu a vlastní prožívání s cílem lépe porozumět vlastnímu nitru. Výběrový soubor tvořilo celkem 1020 participantů, z toho bylo 353 chlapců (34,6 %), 665 dívek (65,2 %) a dva participanti (0,2 %) svůj gender ani věk neuvedli. V rámci analýz autoři pomocí CFA porovnávali několik uvažovaných modelů. Výsledky naznačují, že původní teoretický model, který počítá celkový skór InC jakou součet tří vzájemně korelovaných subškál EPI, ROP a UEM, je u české verze ověřované na souboru adolescentů nejistý. Verze se třemi faktory dle názoru autorů odpovídá s drobnými korekcemi datům nejlépe ze všech porovnávaných modelů, byť s nedostatkem důkazů pro unidimenzionalitu celkové škály InC. Na tomto modelu bylo dosaženo ověření slabé invariance měření při porovnávání dívek a chlapců pomocí MGCFA. Byly nalezeny významné korelace latentních skórů subškál EPI, ROP a UEM s ostatními posuzovanými konstrukty., Martina Friedlová, Zuzana Vaculčíková Sedláčková, Miroslav Charvát., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Cílem dvou provedených studií je zjišťování psychometrických vlastností české verze Škály na měření důležitosti morální identity. Škála se skládá z devíti morálních vlastností vystihujících morální osobnost. Měří dvě dimenze morální identity, internalizaci a symbolizaci. Pro analýzu jsme si zvolili autory originální 13 položkovou škálu. Na základě statistické analýzy v pilotní studii (n = 163) jsme z původní škály vyloučili dvě položky, které nesplňovaly stanovená psychometrická kritéria. V druhé studii, na jiném souboru respondentů (n = 185), jsme následně ověřovali míru interní konzistence upravené 11 položkové škály. Konstruktovou validitu jsme měřili pomocí nástrojů měřících morální vyvázání a podvádění v práci. Na základě dosažených výsledků v naší studii doporučujeme zvážit pro použití v české populaci námi navrhovanou, jedenácti položkovou alternativu dotazníku, u které jsme zjistili dostatečně dobré základní psychometrické charakteristiky. and Two studies aim to determine the psychometric properties of the Czech version of The SelfImportance of Moral Identity Scale (Aquino, Reed, 2002). The scale consists of nine moral personality qualities that measure two dimensions of moral identity: internalization and symbolization. For the analysis, we chose the authors' 13-item scale originally proposed. Based on the statistical analysis in the pilot study (n = 163), we excluded from the original scale two items that did not meet the established psychometric criteria. In the second study, on a different set of respondents (n = 185), we subsequently verified the degree of internal consistency of the adjusted 11-item scale. We measured construct validity using tools measuring moral untying and cheating at work. Based on the results obtained in our study, we recommend considering the proposed eleven-item alternative of the questionnaire for use in the Czech population, for which we found sufficiently good basic psychometric characteristics.