Cíl: Cílem je standardizace české verze Londýnské věže (TOL). Popsat pomůcky, administraci a skórování. Dále ověřit rozlišovací schopnost testu srovnáním kontrolních osob s pacienty s mírnou kognitivní poruchou u Parkinsonovy nemoci (PD‑MCI) a poskytnout základní srovnávací údaje. <p align="">Úvod: TOL je mírou schopnosti plánování a řešení problémů, která se řadí mezi exekutivní funkce. V zahraničí existuje několik standardizovaných verzí TOL. Původní je verze vytvořená v roce 1982 Timem Shallicem, jejíž standardizace v české verzi dosud chybí. <p align="">Metodika: Soubor 76 pacientů s idiopatickou Parkinsonovou nemocí (PD) podstoupil neuropsychologické vyšetření dle diagnostického postupu pro PD‑MCI. Třicet pět pacientů ze souboru splnilo kritéria pro PD‑MCI a k nim byl přiřazen dle věku a vzdělání soubor 70 kontrolních osob (CS). <p align="">Výsledky: Mezi skupinami PD‑MCI a CS byl zjištěn signifikantní rozdíl ve schopnosti plánování. Rozdíl byl nalezen v obou TOL skórech (S1 a S2) popsaných Shallicem: ve skóru S1 (p = 0,004) a S2 (p < 0,001). Oblast pod ROC křivkou byla 0,64 pro S1 a 0,73 pro S2. Jedině skór S1 signifikantně koreluje se vzděláním (p = 0,02), jinak je výkon v TOL na vzdělání a věku nezávislý. <p align="">Závěr: Naše studie zprovozňuje pro českou psychodiagnostiku klasický nástroj k měření schopnosti plánování. TOL spolehlivě rozlišuje kontrolní osoby od osob s PD‑MCI, která představuje model poškození exekutivních funkcí. Uvádíme také základní srovnávací u zdravých osob vyššího věku pro odhad míry a profilu deficitu v plánování., Aim: The aim of the study was to standardize (test construction, administration and scoring) the Czech version of the Tower of London test developed by Tim Shallice in 1982 (TOL). We sought to determine potential of the TOL to differentiate between patients with Parkinson’s disease mild cognitive impairment (PD‑MCI) and control participants and to provide preliminary normative data. <p align="">Introduction: TOL is a measure of planning and problem solving ability, subsumed under executive functions. There are several standardized TOL versions available. The original is the version developed by Shallice in 1982. Standardization of its Czech version is still lacking. <p align="">Method: Sample of 76 patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) underwent neuropsychological diagnostic procedure for PD‑MCI. Thirty‑five PD patients met the criteria for PD‑MCI. These were matched according to age and education with 70 subjects from a control sample (CS). <p align="">Results: There was a statistically significant difference between PD‑MCI and CS in planning ability in both scoring systems (S1 and S2) proposed by Shallice: S1 (p = 0.004) and S2 (p < 0.001). Area under the curve was 0.64 in S1 and 0.73 in S2. S1 only correlated significantly with education (p = 0.02), TOL performance was unrelated to age and education. <p align="">Conclusions: This study standardizes TOL Czech version. Our findings support the discriminative validity of TOL Czech version on a classical model of executive dysfunction represented by PD‑MCI. We provide preliminary normative data for elderly people, thus enabling an estimation of planning deficit., and J. Michalec, O. Bezdicek, T. Nikolai, P. Harsa, H. Zaloudkova, E. Ruzicka, T. Shallice
In this article the history and current status of the standard model of electroweak interactions is briefly described. Starting with quantum electrodynamics and the phenomenological V - A theory of weak interactions, we proceed to the key theoretical concepts of the Yang-Mills field and the Higgs mechanism. The idea of the electroweak unification and the birth of the standard model is then discussed in more detail, including the peculiarities of the quark sector, anomalies and CP violation. Some open problems that could lead us to new physics beyond the standard model are mentioned in the concluding section. Future prospects of particle physics using high energy colliders are also briefly discussed., Jiří Hořejší., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Úvod: Cílem práce je posoudit význam CEA, EGFR a hTERT jako markerů okultních nádorových buněk v břišní laváži v predikci léčebných výsledků u adenokarcinomu pankreatu, včetně stanovení jejich cut-off hodnot. Metoda: Práce porovnává skupinu 87 pacientů operovaných pro duktální adenokarcinom pankreatu ve stadiu III - IV (UICC) u nichž byl proveden paliativní výkon (biliodigestivní spojka, odběr biologického materiálu pro následnou onkologickou léčbu) s kontrolní skupinou 24 pacientů. U všech pacientů byly odebrány vzorky peritoneální laváže za použití 100 ml fyziologického roztoku (phosphate buffered saline, pH=7,2) do transportních lahví obsahujících 1,5 ml 0,5M EDTA a 10 ml fetálního bovinního séra. Celková RNA všech vzorků byla purifikována a zpracována procesem reverzní transkripce. Okultní nádorové buňky v peritoneální laváži byly detekovány RT-PCR metodou využitím CEA, EGFR a hTERT. Sekundárním cílem studie bylo stanovení cut-off hodnot exprese těchto markerů. Pro statistické analýzy byly použity softwary R (www.r-project.org) a Statistica (StatSoft, Inc., USA). Výsledky: Průměrná exprese CEA, EGFR a hTERT v peritoneální laváži kontrolní skupiny byla 2501, 716749, resp. 104 kopií mRNA/?g RNA. Prahové, cut-off hodnoty, byly stanoveny jako „průměr + 2x směrodatná odchylka“. Hodnoty absolutní exprese byly dále normalizovány na expresi house-keepingového genu glyceraldehdyd-3-fosfát dehydrogenázy (GAPDH). Cut-off hodnoty testovaných markerů po normalizaci byly 4,89; 115,88 resp. 0,02 kopií mRNA genu/kopií mRNA GAPDH. V případě absolutní exprese testovaných markerů, pouze hTERT dokáže statisticky významně (p <0,001) odlišit obě analyzované skupiny, kdy pacienti s pokročilým adenokarcinomem pankreatu mají vyšší hodnotu exprese hTERT. Absolutní exprese CEA ani EGFR nevykazovala statisticky signifikantní rozdíly mezi skupinou s pokročilým karcinomem pankreatu a kontrolní skupinou. Použitím přesnějších - normalizovaných hodnot exprese testovaných markerů byla prokázána statisticky významně vyšší exprese CEA a hTERT (p<0,005, resp. p<0,001) u pacientů s pokročilým adenokarcinomem pankreatu v porovnání s kontrolní skupinou. Závěr: Absolutní exprese hTERT v peritoneální laváži pacientů s pokročilým adenokarcinomem pankreatu byla signifikantně vyšší v porovnání s kontrolní skupinou. Naopak absolutní exprese CEA a EGFR nebyla signifikantně rozdílná., Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess the significance of CEA, EGFR and hTERT as markers of occult tumor cells for predicting treatment outcomes in pancreatic cancers, as well as determining the cut-off values of these markers individually in peritoneal lavage. Method: The study compared 87 patients undergoing palliative operations (bypass surgery, biological sampling for subsequent oncological treatment) for either stage III or IV (UICC) pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas with a control group of 24 healthy patients. Abdominal cavity lavage was performed at the beginning of the surgery in both groups, using 100 ml of physiological solution (phosphate buffered saline, pH 7.2). The samples were transported in bottles containing 1.5 ml 0.5 M EDTA and 10 ml of fetal bovine serum. Total RNA samples were all processed and purified by reverse transcription. Occult tumor cells in the peritoneal lavage were detected by the real-time RT-PCR method using CEA, EGFR and hTERT as markers of tumor cells. Another aim was to calculate the cut-off values of these markers. Statistical analysis was done using software R (www.r-project.org) and Statistica (StatSoft, Inc. USA). Results: Mean expression of CEA, EGFR and hTERT in peritoneal lavage in the control group was 2501, 716749 and 104 copies of mRNA / mg RNA. Threshold, cut-off values were determined as the “mean + 2 times standard deviation”. Absolute expression values were further normalized to expression of the house-keeping gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). After normalization, cut-off values of the tested markers were 4.89, 115.88 and 0.02 copies of mRNA/GAPDH mRNA. As regards absolute expression of the markers tested, only hTERT was able to statistically significantly (p<0.001) distinguish the analysed groups, where patients with advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma had a higher expression of hTERT. Absolute expression of CEA or EGFR was not able to discriminate between the two groups. The more accurate normalized expression values of the test markers demonstrated a statistically significantly higher expression of hTERT (p<0.005) and CEA (p<0.001) in patients with advanced adenocarcinoma compared to the control group. Conclusion: Absolute hTERT expression in peritoneal lavage of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer was significantly higher compared to the control group., and M. Ghothim, J. Srovnal, L. Bébarová, J. Tesaříková, P. Skalický, D. Klos, A. Prokopová, M. Vahalíková, H. Slavík, J. Vrbková, Č. Neoral, R. Havlík, M. Hajdúch, M. Loveček
Tento článek pojednává o metodice výpočtu termofyzikálních parametrů (hustota, měrná tepelná kapacita, tepelná vodivost a tepelná difuzivita) tkání a tělních tekutin na základě znalosti obsahu hlavních chemickych kategorií látek (vody, proteinů, lipidů, sacharidů a popelovin)., This article discusses a procedure for calculating thermophysical parameters (mass density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity) of soft tissues and bodily fluids in relation to the temperature based on the main chemical categories of the substances (water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and ashes). In a comparison with earlier models, our model incorporates the deviations of thermophysical parameters of present proteins both in native (natural) and denatured states. The model is applicable for human tissues in temperatures from 0°C to 50°C, while the reaction heat of denaturing proteins can be omitted and there are no changes in the phase of water., Jana Urzová., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Increased excitability of the spinal motor system has been observed after loud and unexpe cted acoustic stimuli (AS) preceding H-reflexes. The paradigm has been proposed as an electrophysiological marker of reticulospinal tract activity in humans. The brainstem reticular formation also maintains dense anatomical interconnections wi th the cortical motor system. When a startling AS is delivered, prior to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the AS produces a suppression of motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitud e in hand and arm muscles of healthy subjects. Here we analyzed the conditioning effect of a startling AS on MEP amplitude evoked by TMS to the primary motor leg area. Ten healthy volunteers participated in two experiments that used a conditioning-test paradigm. In the first experiment, a startling AS preceded a suprathreshold transcranial test stimulus. The interstimulus interval (ISI) varied between 20 to 160 ms. When given alone, the test stimulus evoked a MEP amplitude of approximately 0.5 mV in the slightly preinervated soleus muscle (SOL). In the seco nd experiment, the startling AS was used to condition the size of the H-reflex in SOL muscle. Mean MEP amplitude was calc ulated for each ISI. The conditioning AS suppressed MEP amplitude at ISIs of 30-80 ms. By contrast, H-reflex amplitude was augmented at ISIs of 100- 200 ms. In conclusions, acoustic stimulation exerts opposite and ISI-specific effects on the amplitude of MEPs and H-reflex in the SOL muscle, indicating different mechanism of auditory-to-motor interactions at cortical and spinal level of motor system., T: V. Ilic ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Statin-associated myopathy (SAM) represents a broad spectrum of disorders from insignificant myalgia to fatal rhabdomyolysis. Its frequency ranges from 1-5 % in clinical trials to 15-20 % in everyday clinical practice. To a large extent, these variations can be explained by the definition used. Thus, we propose a scoring system to classify statin-induced myopathy according to clinical and biochemical criteria as 1) possible, 2) probable or 3) definite. The etiology of this disorder remains poorly understood. Most probably, an underlying genetic cause is necessary for overt SAM to develop. Variants in a few gene groups that encode proteins involved in: i) statin metabolism and distribution (e.g. membrane transporters and enzymes; OATP1B1, ABCA1, MRP, CYP3A4), ii) coenzyme Q10 production (e.g. COQ10A and B), iii) energy metabolism of muscle tissue (e.g. PYGM, GAA, CPT2) and several others have been proposed as candidates which can predispose to SAM. Pharmacological properties of individual statin molecules (e.g. lipophilicity, excretion pathways) and patients´ characteristics influence the likelihood of SAM development. This review summarizes current data as well as our own results., M. Vrablik, L. Zlatohlavek, T. Stulc, V. Adamkova, M. Prusikova, L. Schwarzova, J. A. Hubacek, R. Ceska., and Obsahuje bibliografii
PATNET, the seismic network of the University of Patras, monitores regularly the seismic activity in the whole western Greece, using for a HYPO location a model, derived as an average representation for this broad area. One of the active regions of the western Greece is the Gulf of Corinth, which central part lies partially on the edge of the PATNET. Due to this and to the fact that the PATNET stations have mostly the vertical component only, the PATNET HYPO location of events in this region are often characterized by large standard errors in epicentres and especially in depths. Using a sequence of small earthquakes that occurred from February to May 2001 close to the city of Aigion, and was recorded by PATNET and as well by local Corinth rift laboratory (CRL) three-component network (CRLNET), we have derived for PATNET station and local model constants whose aplication improves the PATNET HYPO location of events in central part of Gulf of Corinth. These constants represent the main result useful for improvement of the future PATNET location in the given region., Jaromír Janský, Efthimios Sokos, Anna Serpetsidaki and Helene Lyon-Caen., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The results obtained by four years long TM 71 extensometer monitoring of 3D micro-tectonic displacements of Dinaric Fault Zone on two sites, being 260 m apart in Postojna Cave, were statistically evaluated with different methods (Kolmogorov- Smirnov test, comparison between relative displacement and earthquakes, linear regression, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance, histograms and correlation coefficients). Responses to stress changes regarding x, y and z-axes are not the same on two monitoring sites even if we are monitoring the same fault zone. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for comparing the two curves is applicable only for three axes combination (Postojna 1 z - Postojna 2 z, Postojna 2 y - Postojna 1 z, and Postojna 2 z - Postojna 2 y). Kruskal-Wallis analysis is most representative for z-axes. Some sharp peaks coincide with earthquake occurrences (Krn M=5.2, Cerkno M=4.0, Ilirska Bistrica M=3.9, Brežice M=2.9 and Krško M=3.1). Generally we detect very small tectonic deformations, dextral horizontal movement of 0.05 mm in 4 years for Postojna 1 and extension of 0.03 mm in 4 years for Postojna 2. Discrepancies between two sites can be attributed to complex geological structure and by the fact that studied fault zone is cut by cross-Dinaric fault zone., Stanka Šebela, Janez Turk, Janez Mulec, Blahoslav Košťák and Josef Stemberk., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In this paper we analyze the use of statistics and associated problems, in three Czech biological journals in the year 2000. We investigated 23 articles Folia Biologica, 60 articles in Folia Microbiologica, and 88 articles in Physiological Research. The highest frequency of publications with statistical content have used descriptive statistics and t-test. The most usual mistake concerns the absence of reference about the used statistical software and insufficient description of the data. We have compared our results with the results of similar studies in some other medical journals. The use of important statistical methods is comparable with those used in most medical journals, the proportion of articles, in which the applied method is described insufficiently is moderately low., T. Pilčík., and Obsahuje bibliografii