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763. An early suitability assessment of two exotic Ophraella species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) for biological control of invasive ragweed in Europe

Creator:
Lommen, Suzanne T. E., Jolidon, Emilien F., Sun, Yan, Bustamante Eduardo, José I., and Müller-Schärer, Heinz
Format:
print, počítač, and online zdroj
Type:
article, články, journal articles, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Zoologie, brouci, mandelinkovití, beetles, Chrysomelidae, Coleoptera, Ophraella, biological control, invasive plant, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, 2, and 59
Language:
English
Description:
Classical biological control is an important means of managing the increasing threat of invasive plants. It constitutes the introduction of natural enemies from the native range of the target plant into the invaded area. This method may be the only cost-effective solution to control the rapidly expanding common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, in non-crop habitats in Europe. Therefore, candidate biocontrol agents urgently need to be assessed for their suitability for ragweed control in Europe. A previous literature review prioritized the host-specific leaf beetle Ophraella slobodkini as a candidate agent for ragweed control in Europe, whereas it rejected its oligophagous congener O. communa. Meanwhile, O. communa was accidentally introduced and became established south of the European Alps, and we show here that it is expanding its European range. We then present a short version of the traditional pre-release risk-benefit assessment for these two candidate agents to facilitate fast decision-making about further research efforts. We selected two complementary tests that can be conducted relatively rapidly and inform about essential risks and benefits. We conducted a comparative no-choice juvenile performance assay using leaves of ragweed and sunflower, the most important non-target plant, in Petri dishes in climatic conditions similar to that in the current European range of O. communa. This informs on the fundamental host range and potential for increasing abundance on these host plants. The results confirm that O. slobodkini does not survive on, and is hence unlikely to cause severe damage to sunflower, while O. communa can survive but develops more slowly on sunflower than on ragweed. In parallel, our species distribution models predict no suitable area for the establishment of O. slobodkini in Europe, while O. communa is likely to expand its current range to include a maximum of 18% of the European ragweed distribution. Based on this early assessment, the prioritization and further assessment of O. slobodkini seem unwarranted whereas the results urgently advocate further risk-benefit analysis of O. communa. Having revealed that most of the European area colonized by ragweed is unlikely to be suitable for these species of Ophraella we suggest the use of such relatively short and cheap preliminary assessment to prioritise other candidate agents or strains for these areas., Suzanne T. E. Lommen, Emilien F. Jolidon, Yan Sun, José I. Bustamante Eduardo, Heinz Müller-Schärer., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

764. An eight-year survey of the intestinal parasites of carnivores, hoofed mammals, primates, ratites and reptiles in the Ljubljana zoo in Slovenia

Creator:
Kvapil, Pavel, Kastelic, Marjan, Dovč, Alenka, Eva Bártová, Petr Čížek, Lima, Natacha, and Štrus, Špela
Format:
print, počítač, and online zdroj
Type:
model:article and TEXT
Subject:
zvířata chovaná v ZOO, zoo animals, helminths, protists, long-term monitoring, coprology, 2, and 59
Language:
English
Description:
Problems with parasitic infections and their interspecies transmissions are common in zoological gardens and could pose serious health damage to captive animals. This study presents results of eight-year monitoring of intestinal parasites in animals from Zoo Ljubljana, Slovenia. A total of 741 faecal samples from 40 animal species were collected two to four times per year and examined microscopically. Intestinal parasites were detected in 45% of samples, with detection of helminths (Cestoda, Nematoda - Ascaridida, Enoplida, Strongylida, Oxyurida, Rhabditida and Trichurida) and protists (Apicomplexa and Ciliophora) in 25% and 13% of samples, respectively; mixed infection was found in 7% of samples. The mostly infected were ungulates (61%), followed by reptiles (44%), ratites (29%), primates (22%) and carnivores (7%). During the observation period, the number of infected animal species increased from 8 to 25. This is the first long-term monitoring study of intestinal parasites in zoo animals from Slovenia. Routine monitoring of parasitic infection and regular deworming and hygienic measures are necessary to prevent gastrointestinal infections in captive animals., Pavel Kvapil, Marjan Kastelic, Alenka Dovč, Eva Bártová, Petr Čížek, Natacha Lima, Špela Štrus., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public

765. An enhanced cAMP pathway is responsible for the colonic hyper-secretory response to 5-HT in acute stress rats

Creator:
Li, Y., Li, L. S., Zhang, X. L., Zhang, Y., Xu, J. D., and Zhu, J. X.
Format:
print, bez média, and svazek
Type:
article, články, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Fyziologie člověka a srovnávací fyziologie, tračník, stres (fyziologie), colon, stress (physiology), 5-hydroxytryptamine, ion transport, cAMP, 14, and 612
Language:
English
Description:
5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is involved in the stress-induced alteration of colonic functions, specifically motility and secretion, but its precise mechanisms of regulation remain unclear. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of 5-HT on rat colonic mucosal secretion after acute water immersion restraint stress, as well as the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon, using short circuit current recording (ISC), real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, and enzyme-linked immunosorbance assays. After 2 h of water immersion restraint stress, the baseline ISC and 5-HT-induced ISC responses of the colonic mucosa were significantly increased. Pretreatment with selective 5-HT4 receptor antagonist, SB204070, inhibited the 5-HT-induced colonic ISC response by 96 % in normal rats and 91.2 % in acute-stress rats. However, pretreatment with the selective antagonist of 5-HT3 receptor, MDL72222 or Y-25130, had no obvious effect on 5-HT-induced ISC responses under either set of conditions. Total protein expression of both the mucosal 5-HT3 receptors and the 5-HT4 receptors underwent no significant changes following acute stress. Both colonic basal cAMP levels and foskolin-induced ISC responses were significantly enhanced in acute stress rats. 5-HT significantly enhanced the intracellular cAMP level via 5-HT4 receptors in the colonic mucosa from both control and stressed animals, and 5-HT-induced cAMP increase in stressed rats was not more than that in control rats. Taken together, the present results indicate that acute water immersion restraint stress enhances colonic secretory responses to 5-HT in rats, a process in which increased cellular cAMP accumulation is involved., Y. Li, L. S. Li, X. L. Zhang, Y. Zhang, J. D. Xu, J. X. Zhu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

766. An evaluation of the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and bone turnover markers in professional football players and in physically inactive men

Creator:
Krzysztof Solarz, Kopeć, A., Pietraszewska, J., Majda, F., Słowińska-Lisowska, M., and Mędraś, M.
Format:
print
Type:
article, články, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Fyziologie člověka a srovnávací fyziologie, vitamin D, fotbalisté, soccer players, bone turnover markers, football players, physical activity, 25(OH)D3, 14, and 612
Language:
English
Description:
Vitamin D is synthesised in the skin during exposure to sunlight and its fundamental roles are the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism and bone mineralisation. The aim of our study was to evaluate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 , PTH and bone turnover markers (P1NP, OC, β -CTx, OC/ β -CTx) and the intake of calcium and vitamin D in Polish Professional Football League (Ekstraklasa) players and in young men with a low level of physical activity. Fifty healthy men aged 19 to 34 years were included in the study. We showed that 25(OH)D3 and P1NP levels and OC/ β -CTx were higher in the group of professional football players than in the group of phys ically inactive men. The daily vitamin D and calcium intake in th e group of professional football players was also higher. We showed a significant relationship between 25(OH)D3 levels and body mass, body cell mass, total body water, fat-free mass, muscle mass, vitamin D and calcium intake. Optimum 25(OH)D3 levels were observed in a mere 16.7 % of the football players and vitamin D deficiency was observed in the physically inactive men. The level of physical activity, body composition, calcium and vitamin D intake and the duration of exposure to sunlight may significantly affect serum levels of 25(OH)D3 ., K. Solarz ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

767. An evaluation of velocity estimates with a correlated noise: case study of IGS ITRF2014 European stations

Creator:
Klos, Anna and Bogusz, Janusz
Format:
print, bez média, and svazek
Type:
article, články, journal articles, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Geologie. Meteorologie. Klimatologie, GPS sítě, GPS netwoks, ITRF2014, noise analysis, velocity, 7, and 551
Language:
English
Description:
The velocities of the Global Positioning System (GPS) stations are widely employed for numerous geodynamical studies. The aim of this paper is to investigate the reliability of station velocities and to draw reader’s attention that for proper estimates of velocity, we need to consider the optimal character of noise. We focus on a set of 115 European GPS stations which contributed to the newest release of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), i.e. ITRF2014. Based on stacked Power Spectral Densities (PSDs), we show that amplitudes o f seasonal signals are significant for nine harmonics of tropical year (365.25 days) and two harmonics of draconitic year (351.60 days). The amplitudes of tropical annual signal fall between 0.1-8.4 mm and are much higher for vertical component than for horizontal. Draconitic annual signal reaches the maximum amplitudes of 1.2 and 0.9 mm for North and East, respectively, whereas is slightly higher for the Up component with a maximum of 3.1 mm. We performed a noise analysis with Maximum Like lihood Estimation (MLE) and found that stations in Central and Northern Europe are characterized by spectral index between flicker and random-walk noise, while stations in Southern and Western Europe: between white and flicker noise. Both amplitudes and spectral indices of power-law noise show a spatial correlation for Up component. We compared the uncertainties of velocities derived in this study with a combination of power-law and white noises to the ones offici ally released in the ITRF2014 with a pure white noise. A ratio of the two estimates is larger than 10 for 13 % and 30 % of stations in horizontal and vertical direction, respectively with medians of 6 and 7. The large differences support the fact that at the velocity determination the proper noise characteristic should be taken into account to avoid any mislead interpretation., Anna Klos and Janusz Bogusz., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ and policy:public

768. An evidence for regulatory cross-talk between aryl hydrocarbon receptor and glucocorticoid receptor in HepG2 cells

Creator:
Zdeněk Dvořák, Radim Vrzal, Petr Pávek, and Jitka Ulrichová
Format:
print, bez média, and svazek
Type:
article, články, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Biochemie. Molekulární biologie. Biofyzika, biochemie, buněčné signály, membránové receptory, xenobiotika, glukokortikoidy, genetická informace, biochemistry, cell signals, membrane receptors, xenobiotics, glucocorticoids, genetic information, dioxin, transcriptional control, 2, and 577
Language:
English
Description:
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) play crucial role in the regulation of drug metabolizing enzymes and in many essential physiological processes. Cellular signaling by these receptors shares several functional and regulatory features. Here we investigated regulatory cross-talk between these two receptors. Human hepatoma cells (HepG2) were the model of choice. We analyzed the effects of dexamethasone (DEX) and dioxin (TCDD) on i) expression of AhR and GRα mRNAs; ii) levels of AhR and GR proteins; iii) transcriptional activities of AhR and GR in reporter assays; iv) 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity (EROD). We found that both DEX and TCDD affected AhR and GR mRNAs expression, proteins levels and transcriptional activities in HepG2 cells. These effects on cellular signaling by AhR and GR comprised up-/down-regulation of gene expression and ligand-dependent protein degradation. We conclude that interactive regulatory cross-talk between GR and AhR receptors in HepG2 cells defines possible implications in physiology and drug metabolism. Future research should be focused on the investigation of AhR-GR cross-talk in various normal human cells and tissues both in vitro and in vivo., Z. Dvořák, R. Vrzal, P. Pávek, J. Ulrichová., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliigrafické odkazy
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

769. An experimental, non-uremic rabbit model of peritoneal dialysis

Creator:
Zunic-Bozinovski, S., Lausevic, Z., Krstic, S., Jovanovic, N., Trbojevic-Stankovic, J., and Stojimirovic, B.
Format:
print, bez média, and svazek
Type:
article, články, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Patologie. Klinická medicína, experimentální medicína, peritoneální dialýza, králík, experimental medicine, peritoneal dialysis, Oryctolagus, experimental model, non-uremic rabbit, 14, and 616
Language:
English
Description:
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a well established method of depuration in uremic patients. Standard dialysis solutions currently in use are not biocompatible with the peritoneal membrane. Studying effects of dialysate on peritoneal membrane in humans is still a challenge. There is no consensus on the ideal experimental model so far. We, therefore, wanted to develop a new experimental non-uremic rabbit model of peritoneal dialysis, which would be practical, easy to conduct, not too costly, and convenient to investigate the long-term effect of dialysis fluids. The study was done on 17 healthy Chinchilla male and female rabbits, anesthetized with Thiopental in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg body mass. A catheter, specially made from Tro-soluset (Troge Medical GMBH, Hamburg, Germany) infusion system, was then surgically inserted and tunneled from animals' abdomen to their neck. The planned experimental procedure was 4 weeks of peritoneal dialysate instillation. The presented non-uremic rabbit model of peritoneal dialysis is relatively inexpensive, does not require sophisticated technology and was well tolerated by the animals. Complications such as peritonitis, dialysis fluid leakage, constipation and catheter obstruction were negligible. This model is reproducible and can be used to analyze the effects of different dialysis solutions on the rabbit peritoneal membrane., S. Zunic-Bozinovski, Z. Lausevic, S. Krstic, N. Jovanovic, J. Trbojevic-Stankovic, B. Stojimirovic., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

770. An ideal biological marker of Alzheimer's disease: dream or reality?

Creator:
Daniela Řípová and Anna Strunecká
Format:
print, bez média, and svazek
Type:
article, články, model:article, and TEXT
Subject:
Fyziologie člověka a srovnávací fyziologie, Alzheimerova choroba, bílkoviny, recenze, Alzheimer's disease, proteins, reviews, biological peripheral marker, β-amyloid, 14, and 612
Language:
English
Description:
Senile dementia of Alzheimer´s type (AD) is commonly characterized as a neurodegenerative disorder, which exhibits gradual changes of consciousness, loss of memory, perception and orientation as well as loss of personality and intellect. AD prevalence increases dramatically with age and is the fourth cause of death in Europe and in the USA. Currently, there are no available biological markers, which gives clinicians no other alternative than to rely upon clinical diagnosis by exclusion. There is no assay of objective ante mortem biochemical phenomena that relate to the pathophysiology of this disease. The pathophysiology of AD is connected with alterations in neurotransmission, plaque formation, cytoskeletal abnormalities and disturbances of calcium homeostasis. The search for a test, which is non-invasive, simple, cheap and user-friendly, should be directed at accessible body fluids. Only abnormalities replicated in large series across different laboratories fulfilling the criteria for a biological marker are likely to be of relevance in diagnosing AD. To date, only the combination of cerebrospinal fluid t and Ab42 most closely approximate an ideal biomarker of Alzheimer´s disease. A short review on the role of biological markers in AD on the basis of the literature, contemporary knowledge and our own recent findings are presented., D. Řípová, A. Strunecká., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Rights:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and policy:public

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