The aim of the present study was to examine the role of nutritional status, the metabolic hormone ghrelin and their interrelationships in the control of chicken hormones involved in the regulation of reproduction. For this purpose, we identified the effect of food deprivation, administration of ghrelin 1-18 and their combination on plasma levels of testosterone (T), estradiol (E), arginine-vasotocin (AVT) and growth hormone (GH) as well as the release of these hormo nes by isolated and cultured ovarian fragments. It was observed that food deprivation reduces plasma T and E and increases plasma AVT and GH levels. Food restriction also reduced the amount of E produced by isolated ovaries, but it did not affect the ovarian secretion of T and AVT. No ovarian GH secretion was detected. Ghrelin administered to ad libitum fed chickens did not affect plasma T and E levels, but it did increase plasma GH and AVT concentrations. Moreover, it partially prevented the effect of food deprivation on plasma E and AVT levels, but not on T or GH levels. Ghrelin administration to control birds promoted ovarian T, but not E or AVT release and reduced T and no other hormonal outputs in birds subjected to food restriction. Our results (1) confirmed the ovarian origin of the main plasma T and E and the extra-ovarian origin of the main blood AVT and GH; (2) showed that food deprivation-induced suppression of reproduction may be caused by suppression of T and E and the promotion of AVT and GH re lease; (3) suggest the involvement of ghrelin in control chicken E, AVT and GH output; and (4) indicates that ghrelin can either mimic or modify the effect of the intake of low calories on chicken plasma and ovarian hormones, i.e. it can mediate the effect of metabolic state on hormones involved in the control of reproduction., A. V. Sirotkin, A. H. Harrath, R. Grossmann., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The cellular pool of purines is maintained by de novo purine synthesis (DNPS), recycling and degradation. Mutations in genes encoding DNPS enzymes cause their substrates to accumulate, which has detrimental effects on cellular division and organism development, potentially leading to neurological impairments. Unspecified neurological symptoms observed in many patients could not be elucidated even by modern techniques. It is presumable that some of these problems are induced by dysfunctions in DNPS enzymes. Therefore, we determined the concentrations of dephosphorylated DNPS intermediates by
LC-MS/MS as markers of yet unpublished mutations in PFAS and PAICS genes connected with dysfunctions of carboxylase/phosphoribosylaminoimidazolesuccinocarboxamide synthase (PAICS) or phosphoribosylformylglycinamidine synthase (PFAS). We determined the criteria for normal values of
metabolites and investigated 1,447 samples of urine and 365 dried blood spots of patients suffering from various forms of neurological impairment. We detected slightly elevated aminoimidazole riboside (AIr) concentrations in three urine samples and a highly elevated 5-formamidoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside (FGAr) concentration in one urine sample. The accumulation of AIr or FGAr in body fluids can indicate PAICS or PFAS deficiency, respectively, which would be new disorders of DNPS caused by mutations in the appropriate genes. Measurement of DNPS intermediates in patients with neurological symptoms can uncover the cause of serious cellular and functional impairments that are otherwise inaccessible to detection. Further genetic and molecular analysis of these patients should establish the causal mutations for prenatal diagnosis, genetic consultation, and reinforce the DNPS pathway as a therapeutic target. and Corresponding author: Marie Zikanová
Parameters of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA; leucine, isoleucine and valine) and protein metabolism were evaluated using L-[1-14C]leucine and a-keto[1-14C]isocaproate (KIC) in the whole body and in isolated perfused liver (IPL) of rats fed ad libitum or starved for 3 days. Starvation caused a significant increase in plasma BCAA levels and a decrease in leucine appearance from proteolysis, leucine incorporation into body proteins, leucine oxidation, leucine-oxidized fraction, and leucine clearance. Protein synthesis decreased significantly in skeletal muscle and the liver. There were no significant differences in leucine and KIC oxidation by IPL. In starved animals, a significant increase in net release of BCAA and tyrosine by IPL was observed, while the effect on other amino acids was non-significant. We conclude that the protein-sparing phase of uncomplicated starvation is associated with decreased whole-body proteolysis, protein synthesis, branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) oxidation, and BCAA clearance. The increase in plasma BCAA levels in starved animals results in part from decreased BCAA catabolism, particularly in heart and skeletal muscles, and from a net release of BCAA by the hepatic tissue., M. Holeček, L. Šprongl, I. Tilšer., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This report addresses the possible impacts of local habitat characteristics on the metacercariae of Clinostomum schizothoraxi Kaw, 1950 infecting crucian carp, Carassius carassius (Linnaeus), from three lakes in Kashmir. The lakes chosen encompass an extremely wide gradient in trophic status - Manasbal (less polluted and mesotrophic), Dal (moderately polluted and eutrophic) and Anchar (strongly polluted and hypertrophic). The results indicate that infrapopulation-level descriptors of abundance of C. schizothoraxi in fish differed between the three lakes and revealed that the infection levels were greater at Anchar Lake. Furthermore, the prevalence, mean abundance and mean intensity of infection also changed during the period of investigation along the seasonal gradient of water temperature. The fact that the abundance patterns of the parasite differed in different populations of the same host provided a unique opportunity for a comparative study on the temporal variations in infection patterns attained during different seasons. In particular, the lake environments showed a high degree of variability in the density profiles of mollusc intermediate hosts and, thus, the differences in the infection status of crucian carp were derived on the basis of intermediate host population size which, in turn, was influenced by the trophic characteristics of the three lakes.
Studie se věnuje jednomu z aspektů tvůrčí činnosti německého filosofa J. G. Hamanna, bezprostředního předchůdce hnutí Sturm und Drang a jednoho z prvních kritiků I. Kanta. Tímto aspektem je nesrozumitelnost jeho textů, která je ovšem v německém prostředí téměř příslovečná. Autor popisuje základní charakteristické rysy, jimiž se vyznačují Hamannovy texty, a hledá důvody, kvůli nimž Hamann zvolil právě formu literární reprezentace. Důležité je upozornění na skutečnost, že sám Hamann zanechal klíč k dešifrování vlastní nesrozumitelnosti: skrývá se pod metaforou archipelagu, souostroví složeného z množství malých ostrůvků rozumění, mezi nimiž se rozlévá moře. Chce-li kdo Hamannovi porozumět, musí se „naučit plavat“ – ovšem ve smyslu známého Sókratova výroku o Hérakleitovi a „délském potápěči“. Závěr studie představuje hypotézu, jejímž prostřednictvím chce autor otevřít diskusi jak o faktickém nerozumění Hamannovi, tak o jeho livonském pojetí osvícenství., The study addresses one aspect of the creative activity of the German philosopher J. G. Hamann, a direct predecessor of the Sturm und Drang movement and one of the first critics of Kant. This aspect is the incomprehensibility of his texts, a quality that, however, could almost be considered proverbial in the milieu of German philosophy. The author describes the basic characteristics that distinguish Hamann’s texts and seeks the reasons why Hamann might have chosen this form of literary representation. It is important to note that Hamann himself left a clue, hiding under the metaphor of the archipelago, for the deciphering of his own incomprehensibility: an archipelago composed of a number of diminutive islets of understanding, between which the sea flows. If somebody wants to understand Hamann, he must “learn how to swim”, but do so in the sense of Socrates’ famous statement about Heraclitus and the “Delian diver”. The conclusion of the study presents a hypothesis by which the author hopes to open a discussion both about the factual misunderstandings of Hamann’s work, as well as about his Livonian conception of the Enlightenment., and Die Studie ist einem Aspekt des Schaffens des deutschen Philosophen J. G. Hamann gewidmet, einem unmittelbaren Vorgänger des Sturm und Drang und einem der ersten Kritiker Immanuel Kants. Bei diesem Aspekt handelt es sich um die Unverständlichkeit seiner Texte, die insbesondere im deutschen Sprachraum nahezu sprichwörtlich ist. Der Autor beschreibt die Grundzüge von Hamanns Texten und sucht nach Gründen, warum Hamann gerade die Form der literarischen Darstellung wählte. Wichtig ist dabei die Tatsache, dass Hamann selbst einen Schlüssel zur Dechiffrierung der eigenen Unverständlichkeit hinterließ, der sich in der Metapher des Archipels verbirgt; damit ist eine Inselgruppe inmitten des Meeres gemeint, die sich aus einer Vielzahl von kleineren Inseln des Verstehens zusammensetzt. Für ein Verständnis Hamanns ist es notwendig, „schwimmen zu lernen“ – freilich im Sinne der bekannten Aussage Sokrates über Heraklit und den „delischen Taucher“. Zum Schluss der Studie wird eine Hypothese aufgestellt, mit der der Autor eine Diskussion über das tatsächliche Nichtverstehen Hamanns sowie über dessen livonische Auffassung von der Aufklärung eröffnen möchte.
Vo svojej práci Otázka viny Jaspers načrtol koncept metafyzickej viny, ktorá zakladá všetky ostatné pojmy viny. Vina je jedným z ľudských existenciálov. Metafyzická vina sa vynorila u človeka v hraničnej situácii, v ktorej bol svedkom vraždenia, na ktorom sa síce nepodieľal a ktorému nemohol zabrániť, ale ako pozostalý sa hanbí za to, že prenasledovanému neprejavil solidaritu. Obdobné východisko môžeme nájsť v Levinasovej etike zodpovednosti, podľa ktorej sú na človeka kladené ešte väčšie nároky. Vedomie viny Levinas nechápe ako následok rozhodnutia nejako konať, alebo sa konania zdržať. Zlé svedomie je už súčasťou nekonečnej a nevypočítateľnej zodpovednosti za druhého. Nemôžem zostať ľahostajným voči utrpeniu smrteľnej bytosti. Štúdia upozorňuje na spojitosť nepodmienenej viny a zodpovednosti v etickom myslení Jaspersa a Levinasa, pričom ich spoločný rys nachádza práve v odmietnutí sebaospravedlňovania., In Die Schuldfrage (The Question of German Guilt), Jaspers sketches out a concept of metaphysical guilt that is fundamental to every other concept of guilt. Guilt is one of the constituents of human existence. Metaphysical guilt had emerged in such a limit situation when one was a witness to murder but was unable to help the victim. The survivor must live with inner shame because of a missing manifestation of solidarity for the affected person. We could find a similar approach developed in Levinas’ ethics of responsibility that seems even more demanding. Levinas suggests the reader comprehend the conscience of guilt not primarily as a result of the freedom to act or to refrain from acting. Culpability is already part of an infinite and incalculable responsibility for the other. One cannot stay indifferent to the suffering of the mortal being. The paper points out the role of unconditional culpability and responsibility in Jaspers’ and Levinas’ thinking and shows a refusal of self-justification as its intersection., and Jaspers dans son ouvrage Die Schuldfrage (La culpabilité allemande) a esquissé le concept de la culpabilité métaphysique fondant toutes les autres notions de la culpabilité. La culpabilité est l’une des structures existentielles. La culpabilité métaphysique a surgi chez l‘homme se trouvant dans une situation délicate de témoin d’un meurtre auquel il ne participait pas, qu’il ne pouvait pas empêcher, et qui éprouve ensuite la honte de n’avoir pas manifesté la solidarité avec celui qui était poursuivi. On peut trouver le même point de départ chez Levinas dans son éthique de la responsabilité confrontant l’individu avec des exigences plus grandes encore. Levinas ne considère pas la conscience de la culpabilité en tant que la conséquence de la décision humaine de se comporter d’une façon ou de l’autre ou, à la rigueur de s’en abstenir. La mauvaise foi fait partie de la responsabilité infinie et incalculable de l’autrui. On ne peut pas rester impassible envers la souffrance d’un être mortel. Notre article veut attirer l’attention au lien entre la culpabilité inconditionnelle et la responsabilité présent dans la pensé éthique de Jaspers aussi bien que dans celle de Levinas. Les deux pensées manifestent en plus un trait commun, à savoir le refus de la déculpabilisation de soi.
The work analyzes two competing arguments in the issue of abortion and shows that each requires a different theory of personal identity. Further, I analyze those theories and show what moral premises they are compatible with and what implications there are for the abortion debate., Práce analyzuje dva protichůdné argumenty v problematice potratů a ukazuje, že každá z nich vyžaduje jinou teorii osobní identity. Dále analyzuji tyto teorie a ukážu, jaké morální podmínky jsou slučitelné a jaké jsou důsledky pro diskusi o potratech., and Radim Bělohrad
Kovový depot objevený v r. 2013 při detektorovém průzkumu na západním svahu skalnatého hřebene geomorfologického okrsku Babí lom na katastru Svinošic (okr. Blansko) obsahuje šest sekerek s tulejkou, dva hroty kopí a polovinu slitku mědi. Podle sekerek a neobvyklého hrotu kopí s otvory v listu cizí provenience je nález datován do pozdního stupně doby popelnicových polí. Depot je výjimečný jak dokumentací jeho původního, záměrného uspořádání, tak topografickou situací ve vztahu k vodnímu toku, krajinné dominantně Babího lomu a předpokládané původní komunikaci. Analýza zakonzervovaných rostlinných zbytků s využitím radiokarbonového datování přispěla k rekonstrukci způsobu uložení a lokálního vegetačního spektra. Sídelně-topografická analýza prokázala korelace se soudobým osídlením regionu, ve kterém se i díky novému nálezu nachází jedna z depozitních makrokumulací na Moravě. and The metal hoard discovered in 2013 during a metal detector survey on the western slope of the rocky Babí lom ridge near Svinošice village (Blansko district) contains six socketed axes, two spearheads and half of an ingot of nearly pure copper. Based on the axes and the unusual point of the spearhead with openings in the blade of foreign origin, the find is dated to the final stage of the Urnfield period. The hoard is remarkable both for the documentation of its original intentional arrangement and for the topographical situation in connection with a watercourse, the dominant landscape feature of the Babí lom ridge and assumed original road. An analysis of preserved plant remnants also contributed in conjunction with radiocarbon dating to the reconstruction of the way the hoard was deposited and the local vegetation spectrum. The settlement- topographic analysis showed a correlation with the period settlement of the region, where, thanks also to the new find, one of the deposition macro-accumulations in Moravia is located.
The article presents the metallographic examination of three sabres and one double-edged sword coming from the 7th–8th century Slavic-Avar site of Želovce (Slovakia). All four weapons had been subjected to metallography as early as 1975, but the results were not published in sufficient detail. With this article, written in honour of Radomír Pleiner, the authors wish to repay this debt. The blades are compared with other (metallographically examined) weapons from Želovce, and the manufacturing methods of early medieval production of sabres are discussed. and Článek představuje metalografické rozbory tří šavlí a jednoho dvojbřitého meče, pocházejících ze slovanskoavarské lokality Želovce, datované do 7. až 8. století. Všechny čtyři zbraně byly metalograficky zkoumány již v roce 1975, výsledky rozborů však nebyly nikdy zveřejněny ve všech podrobnostech. Tímto článkem, napsaným k poctě Radomíra Pleinera, by autoři chtěli tento dluh splatit. Dané čepele jsou porovnány s dalšími (metalograficky zkoumanými) zbraněmi ze Želovců a diskutovány jsou i metody výroby šavlí daného období.