In order to study a possible effect of mini-invasive heart intervention on a response of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal stress axis, we analyzed four stress markers (cortisol, cortisone, DHEA and DHEAS) in 25 sows using minimally invasive heart catheterisation as the stress factor. The marker levels were assessed in four periods of the experiment, (1) the baseline level on the day before intervention, (2) after the introduction of anesthesia, (3) after conducting tissue stimulation or ablation, and (4) after the end of the catheterisation. For statistical analyses we used the non-parametric Friedman test for four dependent samples (including all four stages of the operation) or three dependent samples (influence of operation only, baseline level was excluded). Statistically significant differences in both Friedman tests were found for cortisol and for cortisone. Significant differences for DHEA as well as for DHEAS were found for all tested stages but not for the effect of operation itself. We have concluded that cortisol levels are blunted by the influence of anesthesia after its administration, and therefore decrease back to the baseline at the end of the operation. The other markers (cortisone, DHEA and DHEAS) acted as balanced systems against the injurious stress effect., H. Skarlandtová, M. Bičíková, P. Neužil, M. Mlček, V. Hrachovina, T. Svoboda, E. Medová, J. Kudlička, A. Dohnalová, Š. Havránek, H. Kazihnítková, L. Máčová, E. Vařejková, O. Kittnar., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Action potentials (APs) and the force of isometric contractions of the right ventricular papillary muscles were measured in adult and newborn guinea-pigs. The measurements were carried out in the steady state with the rate of stimulation of 0.1, 1, and 2 Hz, and further some measurements were done in which Sr2+ was substituted for Ca2- The duration of APs of the newborn animals without pharmacological treatment was significantly shorter in comparison with that of the adults at all the used stimulation frequencies. An analogous sensitivity was found in the contractile force to increased stimulation frequency and when the steady state stimulation was discontinued by the insertion of interpolated extrasystoles in papillary muscles of adult or newborn animals. The biphasic contractions of papillary muscles were evoked in both groups of animals by the incomplete substitution of Sr2+ by Ca2+ in the presence of isoprenaline. The early component of the biphasic contractions had a faster course as compared to the late component and disappeared in the presence of caffeine in both groups of animals. Our results suggest that the heart cells of newborn guinea-pigs probably possess the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), whose function does not differ in quality from that of the adult guinea-pigs. The postnatal prolongation of APs is therefore not probably the result of postnatal development changes of the functions of SR, but could be related to changes in the relations between the surface and volume of the heart cell during its growth.
Two hundred and ninety-nine specimens of Atherina boyeri, collected from five Mediterranean sites (three from the open sea (Chioggia, Catania and Gaeta) and two from river mouths (the Birgi and S. Bartolomeo rivers) were analyzed in order to confirm previous genetic studies. Eigtheen loci were scored from 12 enzymatic systems, 3 of which were polymorphic: EST*, PGM* and PGI*. Mean Fst value (0.300, pFst and genetic distance revealed that samples from the river mouths (Birgi and S. Bartolomeo) were grouped separately from the open sea samples (Catania, Chioggia and Gaeta). These results are in agreement with the most recent classification, which considers A. boyeri as a complex of 3 different species.
Altogether 445 bats, representing nine species, caught during swarming in the Lodowa Cave in Mount Ciemniak, Western Tatra Mountains, southern Poland, were examined for ectoparasitic mites. In total, 259 spinturnicid (Spinturnix mystacina, S. andegavinus, S. kolenatii, S. plecotinus and S. myoti) and 95 argasid (Carios vespertilionis) mites were collected from seven bat species, Myotis myotis, M. mystacinus, M. brandtii, M. daubentonii, Eptesicus nilssonii, Plecotus auritus, and Vespertilio murinus. There were sex-based differences in the prevalence of mites in some hosts but no differences in their mean intensity and there was no observed relationship between the number of mites and the condition of the bats. The prevalence of mites differed significantly between years in E. nilssonii. The results suggested a very low mite load on swarming bats that had no impact on the body condition of bats.
The article provides a reassessment of Aristotle’s accounts of Socrates, which modern historians describe as one of the four main sources in solving the so-called Socratic problem. In the first part, the article returns to the grammatical distinction by which Aristotle mentions Socrates’ name. In the next part, it analyzes those places in Metaphysics and in Aristotle’s ethical writings that make mention of Socrates. In a more detailed fashion the structure of Aristotle’s Protrepticus, in which Socrates does not appear but his absence could be important for understanding Aristotle’s approach to philosophy, is then presented. In the last part, the article returns to the problem of the Sokratikoi logoi and asks whether Aristotle uses this term to mean a prose genre in which the fictional is mixed with the historical. These respective analyzes lead us to the conclusion that Aristotle worked freely with the character of Socrates, relying primarily on the representations of Socrates in Plato’s dialogues. Thus, Aristotle’s accounts do not help us in the reconstruction of Socrates’ historical attitudes. and Článok sa pokúša o prehodnotenie Aristotelových správ o Sókratovi, ktoré označujú moderní historici za jeden zo štyroch hlavných zdrojov pri riešení tzv. sókratovského problému. V prvej časti sa článok vracia ku gramatickému rozlíšeniu, ktorým Aristotelés uvádza Sókratovo meno. V ďalšej časti podrobuje analýze jednotlivé miesta v Metafyzike a v etických spisoch, ktoré sa zmieňujú o Sókratovi. Podrobnejšie sa pristavuje pri štruktúre Aristotelovho Protreptika, v ktorom Sókratés nevystupuje, ale jeho absencia by mohla byť významná pre pochopenie aristotelovského prístupu k filosofii. V poslednej časti sa vracia k problematike Sókratikoi logoi a kladie si otázku, či má Aristotelés na mysli pod týmto výrazom prozaický žáner, v ktorom sa mieša fiktívne s historickým. Jednotlivé analýzy vyúsťujú do záveru, že Aristotelés pracuje s postavou Sókrata voľne, opiera sa hlavne o obrazy Sókrata v Platónových dialógoch, takže Aristotelove správy nám nepomáhajú pri rekonštrukcii Sókratových historických postojov.