Animal studies (on transgenic and knock-out mice) and human association analysis assessed the importance of APOAV gene for plasma triglyceride determination. New APOAV missense variants (Val153 → Met and Cys185 → Gly) have been detected recently. We have analyzed these variants in 83 unrelated patients with extreme lipid parameters (triglycerides of 20.4±12.8 mmol/l and total cholesterol of 10.4±3.7 mmol/l) and in a control population group consisting of 2,559 unrelated Caucasians. In patients, the frequency of the Met153 carriers was slightly but not significantly higher (9.64 % vs. 6.49 %) compared to the population sample. This suggested that Val153 → Met polymorphism in the APOAV gene does not represent an important risk factor for developing the extreme levels of plasma triglycerides. We did not detect carriers of the Gly185 allele among patients or 420 healthy individuals. We suppose that this variant is probably not present in Caucasian populations.
The paper deals with the washout algorithms of driving simulators. The simulators enable human beings to test the properties of vehicles or to train their control before they are manufactured in extremely realistic circumstances. The problem is that the movement of the platform is limited by its workspace. The washout algorithm realizes the most realistic movement of the simulator within the limited workspace. New improved washout algorithms are described and their improved properties are demonstrated by simulations. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
A stem-girdling experiment was carried out on an evergreen conifer, the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc.), in mid summer in Northeast China. A 50 % higher respiration rate at the upper part of the stem was observed 3 d after stem girdling, and a stable higher rate (1.2-2.8 times) one week later. However, no higher soluble sugar or starch contents were found in the upper bark of the girdled stems in measurements over three weeks. These findings indicate that most of the newly-formed photosynthates were consumed by the high respiratory activity; this is also implied by the strong correlation between the photosynthetic photon flux over the canopy (PPF) and respiration at the upper parts of girdled stems. Moreover, the maximum PPF and cumulative PPF one day before measurement (PPFmax-Y and CPPF-Y, respectively) were closely correlated with the respiratory difference between the upper and the lower parts, but no such correlation was found with the instantaneous PPF (PPF-I) and cumulative PPF on the current day from sunrise to measured time point (CPPF-C). This shows that photosynthates newly formed by canopy needles need at least one day for transportation in order to increase the stem respiration at tree breast height. and W. J. Wang ... [et al.]
The Moon is our nearest celestial body, small variations of its motion are easy to observe. Ptolemy described the ecliptic longitude inequality in lunar motion, now known as the evection. From Ptolemy to the time of Newton the motion of the Moon was determined using kinematic models. The first qualitative dynamic model was published in Principia, where Newton showed that evection is a periodic inequality caused by the attraction of the Sun., Vladimír Štefl., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Z širokého spektra fyzikálních zákonů profesora Martina Černohorského je mi obzvláště blízký jeho zájem o převratné etapy v dějinách fyziky, i když já jsem na rozdíl od něho v tomto oboru spíše amatér. Přesto máme to společné, že považujeme za fascinující boj člověka-pozorovatele o získání nového pohledu na svět v těch historických obdobích, kdy dochází ke konfliktu nově pozorovaných jevů s dříve nabytými, ustálenými a kdysi uspokojivě vyhovujícími představami o okolním světě. Boj je podněcován úsilím člověka o získání nového, pravdivějšího obrazu o světě, obrazu, který by nadto byl - v duchu zásady Viléma z Occamu - ze všech možných obrazů co nejjednodušší., Jan Fischer., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Phylogeography is experiencing a revolution brought on by next-generation sequencing methods. A historical survey of the phylogeographic literature suggests that phylogeography typically incorporates new questions, expanding on its classical domain, when new technologies offer novel or increased numbers of molecular markers. A variety of methods for subsampling genomic variation, including restriction site associated DNA sequencing (Rad-seq) and other next generation approaches, are proving exceptionally useful in helping to define major phylogeographic lineages within species as well as details of historical demography. Next-generation methods are also blurring the edges of phylogeography and related fields such as association mapping of loci under selection, and the emerging paradigm is one of simultaneously inferring both population history across geography and genomic targets of selection. However, recent examples, including some from our lab on Anolis lizards and songbirds, suggest that genome subsampling methods, while extremely powerful for the classical goals of phylogeography, may fail to allow phylogeography to fully achieve the goals of this new, expanded domain. Specifically, if genome-wide linkage disequilibrium is low, as is the case in many species with large population sizes, most genome subsampling methods will not sample densely enough to detect selected variants, or variants closely linked to them. We suggest that whole-genome resequencing methods will be essential for allowing phylogeographers to robustly identify loci involved in phenotypic divergence and speciation, while at the same time allowing free choice of molecular markers and further resolution of the demographic history of species.