Ghrelin is a gut peptide produced mainly by stomach, well known to induce appetite stimulatory actions. Obestatin, a recently identified peptide derived from preproghrelin, was initially described to antagonize stimulatory effect of ghrelin on food intake. The postprandial response of obestatin and its relationship with ghrelin in humans remains unknown. We therefore investigated the postprandial response of obestatin and total ghrelin, acyl and desacyl ghrelin and neuropeptide Y (NPY) to a high-carbohydrate breakfast (1 604 kJ) in eight healthy women (age: 24.2±0.82 years; BMI 21.6±0.61 kg/m2). Blood samples were collected before the meal, and 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 min after the breakfast consumption. Postprandial plasma obestatin concentrations significantly decreased compared with preprandial levels as well as total ghrelin concentrations and reached the lowest values 90 and 120 min after the meal consumption, respectively (p 0.05). Plasma acyl and desacyl ghrelin concentrations decreased after the breakfast and reached lowest values in 30 and 60 min, respectively (p<0.05). Plasma NPY concentrations were lower than preprandial levels 90 and 150 min after consuming breakfast (p<0.05). In conclusion, we demonstrated in healthy young women that plasma obestatin concentrations decrease similarly to ghrelin after a high-carbohydrate breakfast., D. Sedláčková, I. Dostálová, V. Hainer, L. Beranová, H. Kvasničková, M. Hill, M. Haluzík, J. Nedvídková., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
The chlorophyll fluorescence Fo, excited by polsed ultra-weak blue radiatíon, and thermoluminescence (TL) were recorded in ďie same sample. Temperature-dependent variations of the fluorescence yield influenced ťhe TL emission.
a1_Statins, the inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase, are most frequently used drugs in the prevention of coronary artery disease due to their cholesterol- lowering activity. However, it is not exactly known whether these effects of statins or those independent of cholesterol decrease account for the protection ag ainst myocardial ischemia- reperfusion (I/R) injury. In this study, we investigated the effect of 5-day treatment with simvastatin (10 mg/kg) in Langendorff- perfused hearts of healthy control (C) and diabetic- hypercholesterolemic (D-H; strept ozotocin + high fat-cholesterol diet, 5 days) rats subjected to 30-min global ischemia followed by 40-min reperfusion for the examination of postischemic contractile dysfunction and reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias or to 30-min (left anterior descending) coronary artery occlusion and 2-h reperfusion for the infarct size determination (IS; tetrazolium stai ning). Postischemic recovery of left ventricular developed pressu re (LVDP) in animals with D-H was improved by simvastatin therapy (62.7±18.2 % of preischemic values vs. 30.3±5.7 % in the untreated D-H; P<0.05), similar to the values in the simvastatin-treated C group, which were 2.5-fold higher than those in the untreated C group. No ventricular fibrillation occurred in the simvastatin-treated C and D-H animals during reperf usion. Likewise, simvastatin shortened the duration of ventri cular tachycardia (10.2±8.1 s and 57.8±29.3 s in C and D-H vs. 143.6±28.6 s and 159.3±44.3 s in untreated C and D-H, respectively, both P<0.05). The decreased arrhythmogenesis in the simvastatin-treated groups correlated with the limitation of IS (in % of risk area) by 66 % and 62 % in C and D-H groups, respectively. However, simvastatin treatment decreased plasma cholesterol levels neither in the D-H animals nor in C., a2_The results indicate that other effects of statins (independent of cholesterol lowering) are involved in the improvement of contractile recovery and attenuation of lethal I/R injury in both, healthy and diseased individuals., A. Adameová, A. Harčárová, J. Matejíková, D. Pancza, M. Kuželová, S. Čarnická, P. Švec, M. Barteková, J. Styk, T. Ravingerová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (statins) have been proven to reduce effectively cholesterol level and morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease and/or dyslipoproteinemia. Statins inhibit synthesis of mevalonate, a precursor of both cholesterol and coenzyme Q (CoQ). Inhibited biosynthesis of CoQ may be involved in some undesirable actions of statins. We investigated the effect of simvastatin on tissue CoQ concentrations in the rat model of NO-deficient hypertension induced by chronic L-NAME administration. Male Wistar rats were treated daily for 6 weeks with L-NAME (40 mg/kg) or with simvastatin (10 mg/kg), another group received simultaneously L-NAME and simvastatin in the same doses. Coenzyme Q9 and Q10 concentrations were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. L-NAME and simvastatin alone had no effect on CoQ concentrations. However, simultaneous application of L-NAME and simvastatin significantly decreased concentrations of both CoQ homologues in the left ventricle and slightly decreased CoQ9 concentration in the skeletal muscle. No effect was observed on CoQ level in the liver and brain. We conclude that the administration of simvastatin under the condition of NO-deficiency reduced the level of CoQ in the heart and skeletal muscle what may participate in adverse effect of statins under certain clinical conditions., J. Kucharská, A. Gvozdjáková, F. Šimko., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In a qualitative study of single people conducted in 2003 one particular finding stood out: a significant number of the interviewees (economically independent and without a partner) revealed their involvement in various other forms of regular or even long-term relationships. In an analysis of in-depth interviews conducted in 2003-2005 the following categories of alternative relationships were identified as typical for the social context of contemporary Czech society: 'relationships with married lovers', 'weekend marriages', 'long-distance relationships', 'one-night stands', 'open relationships', 'lover in case of need', and 'relationships to prove oneself'. The existence of relationships that are not longterm or reproduction-oriented is not a result of any deliberate strategy but is rather a consequence of the complex changes in mentality and behaviour that occurred in the 1990s. These shifts, for example, relating to professional commitment and career satisfaction, tend to be understood as the explicit result of labour-market pressures on individual actors, but research has shown that, even at the level of individual actors, alternative approaches to partner relationships and reproduction are much more the result of people adopting and internalising post-1989 cultural templates.
Molekulární metody umožnily studovat šíření rostlin v povodí Labe. Druhy šířené vodou (zevar, stulík) migrují především jednosměrně podél řek. Bylo prokázáno i šíření mezi říčními systémy, častější je u druhů šířících se také větrem (rákos, orobinec). Klonální šíření mezi populacemi není u těchto studovaných druhů rostlin tak běžné, jak se dosud předpokládalo., Molecular approaches have allowed for the study of plant dispersal in the catchment area of the River Elbe. Plants dispersed by water (Bur-reed, Pond Lily) migrated mainly unidirectionally along streams. Dispersal among river systems was also detected and is more common among plants with wind dispersal (Common Reed, Cattail). Clonal dispersal does not seem to be as common in the studied species as previously suggested., and Tomáš Fér.