In late Medieval Poland, and by analogy in all of Europe, luxury at the royal table was represented by the use of imported choice products that were accessible only to a selected few. Similar to jewels, valuable robes or articles of precious metals, these products were kept in the royal treasury. In addition to the obvious culinary impact (however limited it may have been) and alleged healing powers of certain spices, the choice products most certainly played their part in issues of prestige and propaganda. The use of luxury products can be considered as an interesting indicator of change, particularly with respect to relations among the estates in late Medieval Poland. The presence of such products at the table or in the diet was the very article that distinguished the royal court from other courts of the late Medieval Polish kingdom; at the same time, it brought them closer to contemporary courts of the rulers of west Europe. and Agnieszka Januszek-Sieradzka.
Člověk trpí méněcenností ve vztahu k mocným zvířatům, která ho předstihují silou a rychlostí. Dokladem toho je i paleolitická soška, na které je zobrazena lví hlava s lidským tělem. Pokrok představují egyptské sfingy, kde z obrazu člověka zůstává alespoň hlava, sídlo jeho svébytnosti. Nejrůznější zvířecí motivy, jako chiméry, se podařilo pomíchat až Řekům. Tak jako v Evropě kraloval lev a orel, na Dálném východě - zvláště v posledním století - nastoupil tygr coby představitel útočnosti a vítězství. Příkladem uveďme japonského císařského generála, který pronikl Malajskem, a byl proto vzýván jako malajský tygr, než bídně zhynul při americké invazi na jednom z tichomořských atolů. and Jan Svoboda.
Vzniku trombózy v arteriálním nebo venózním cévním systému předchází složitá souhra faktorů vnějšího prostředí a faktorů genetických. Rozsáhlé genomové asociační studie se ukazují jako velice přínosné v identifikaci lokusů spojených s kardiovaskulárními onemocněními a souvisejícími rizikovými faktory. Ještě zbývá mnoho práce v identifikaci určujících genů a jejich kauzálních variant, stejně jako v definici mechanizmů, které ovlivňují vývoj a progresi onemocnění. Z výsledků studií lokusů spojených s dříve identifikovanými onemocněními se očekává zlepšení našich znalostí o patofyziologii kardiovaskulárních onemocnění a možnost identifikovat nové cíle pro léčbu. V oblasti aterotrombózy a trombofilie jsou významné výsledky z asociačních studií zaměřených na oblast ischemické choroby srdeční, ischemické cévní mozkové příhody a žilního tromboembolizmu. Klíčová slova: ateroskleróza – aterotrombóza – celogenomové asociace (GWAS) – infarkt myokardu – ischemická choroba srdeční – jednonukleotidový polymorfizmus (SNP) – trombofilie – žilní tromboembolizmus, Thrombosis in the arterial or venous vascular systems is preceded by a complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors, and it is the underlying cause of several common complex diseases. The genomewide association approach has proved successful in identifying loci associated with cardiovascular disease and related risk factors. However, much work remains to identifyning the culprit genes and causal variants as well as the mechanisms whereby they influence disease development and progression. In-depth studies of previously identified disease-associated loci are expected to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease and identify novel targets for treatment. In the field of atherothrombosis and thrombophilia are significant results from association studies focused on the area of coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolism. Key words: atherosclerosis – atherothrombosis – coronary artery disease – genomewide association study (GWAS) – myocardial infarction – single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) – thrombophilia – venous thromboembolism, and Tomáš Kvasnička
Metformin is the first line therapy of type 2 diabetics, but continued reduction of their life expectancy warrants further investigation into alternative treatment strategies. This study reports on the combinational use of metformin with aspalathin, a C-glucosyl dihydrochalcone with known glucose lowering and antioxidant properties, as an effective hypoglycemic therapy in a type 2 diabetic (db/db) mouse model. When tested as a monotherapy, a low dose of aspalathin (13 mg/kg) showed no effect, while a high dose (130 mg/kg) has already displayed a better potential than metformin in protecting against diabetes associated symptoms in db/db mice. Thus, it remains of interest to determine whether this dihydrochalcone can improve the efficacy of metformin. The results showed that this combination therapy was more effective than the use of metformin as a monotherapy in ameliorating diabetes associated symptoms, including abnormal raised fasting plasma glucose levels, impaired glucose tolerance, as well as excessively increased body weights and fat content. The treated mice also had reduced food and water consumption when compared to untreated controls, with a pronounced effect evident in the last week of treatment. Therefore, this study supports further investigations into the ameliorative effect of combination therapy of metformin and aspalathin against diabetes associated symptoms., P. V. Dludla, K. B. Gabuza, C. J. F. Muller, E. Joubert, J. Louw, R. Johnson., and Obsahuje bibliografii
INTRODUCTION: The issue of resistance to antiplatelet therapy has raised many questions in the area of neurovascular diseases. The first objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of aspirin resistance in neurovascular patients with clinical non-responsiveness to aspirin treatment and a high-risk of atherothrombotic complications using two interpretable and independent methods (aggregation and PFA 100). The second objective was to find the correlation between both assays and to evaluate the results in groups at risk for various cerebrovascular diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Laboratory tests of aspirin resistance were performed in 79 patients with clinical non-responsiveness to aspirin treatment suffering from neurovascular diseases. Patients were divided into the two groups: expected low risk for aspirin resistance due to the first manifestation of a neurovascular disease (n = 34) and expected high risk due to the second clinical manifestation of a neurovascular disease (n = 45). RESULTS: The prevalence of aspirin resistance in both groups combined as determined by the PFA-100 and CPG techniques were 50.6% and 17.7%, respectively. No correlation was found between the two techniques. CONCLUSIONS: No significant prevalence of aspirin resistance was demonstrated by either method despite the heterogeneous pathophysiological mechanisms. However, we are presently unable to provide an accurate opinion on the value of laboratory test result or routine monitoring in clinical neurology. and M. Vališ, D. Krajíčková, J. Malý, R. Malý, I. Fátorová, O. Vyšata, R. Herzig