Autologous vein grafts used as aortocoronary bypasses are often prone to intimal hyperplasia, which results in stenosis and occlusion of the vein. The aim of this study was to prevent intimal hyperplasia using a newly developed perivascular system with sustained release of sirolimus. This system of controlled drug release consists of a polyester mesh coated with a copolymer of L-lactic acid and ε -caprolactone that releases sirolimus. The mesh is intended for wrapping around the vein graft during surgery. The mesh releasing sirolimus was implanted in periadventitial position onto arteria carotis communis of rabbits, and neointimal hyperplasia was then assessed. We found that implanted sirolimus-releasing meshes reduced intima thickness by 47±10 % compared to a vein graft after 3 weeks. The pure polyester mesh decreased vein intima thickness by 35±9 %. Thus, our periadventitial system for controlled release of sirolimus prevented the develo pment of intimal hyperplasia in autologous vein grafts in vivo in rabbits. A perivascularly applied mesh releasing sirolimus is a promising device for preventing stenosis of autologous vein grafts., I. Skalský ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
A phycoerythrin-allophycocyanin (PE-AP) complex was obtained from intact phycobilisomes of the marine red alga Polysiphonia urceolata. Study of spectral properties and polypeptide components showed that the complex contains PE, phycocyanin, AP, and higher proportional linker proteins of the four groups present in intact phycobilisomes. and Li Sun, Shumei Wang.
We have assessed the phylogenetic status of the Leishmania genome project Friedlin reference strain by MLEE and multiprimer RAPD including a set of 9 stocks representative of the main Leishmania species and of the whole genetic diversity of the Leishmania genus. To our knowledge, the detailed genetic characterization of the Friedlin strain has never been published before. As previously recorded (Tibayrenc et al. 1993), MLEE and RAPD data gave congruent phylogenetic results. The Friedlin reference strain was definitely attributed to Leishmania (Leishmania) major Yakimoff et Schokhor, 1914. Five specific RAPD patterns made it possible to distinguish between the Friedlin strain and the 2 other L. (L.) major stocks included in the study. Various specific MLEE and RAPD characters permitted to distinguish between the Leishmania species included in the study. All these characters are usable to detect accidental laboratory mix-ups involving the Friedlin reference strain. In confirmation with previous studies involving a more limited set of genetic markers, the general genetic diversity of the Leishmania genus proved to be considerable. It must be made clear that only one strain cannot be considered as representative of the whole genetic variability of the genus Leishmania. In the future, it is therefore advisable to complement the results obtained in the framework of the Leishmania genome project with data from other strains that should be selected on a criterion of important genetic differences with the Friedlin strain.
Objectives. The aim of this study was to explore possible relationships between the HEXACO personality traits (i.e., Extraversion, Emotionality, Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to experience) and negative effects of psychotherapy. Sample and settings. A total of 148 respondents answered an online survey. Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Hypotheses. Clients’ personality traits were expected to predict negative effects of psychotherapy. Results. Extraversion was the strongest negative predictor of negative effects, serving as a protective factor against worsening of symptoms, hopelessness, and stigma. Furthermore, Emotionality was related to lower perceived quality of psychotherapy, Conscientiousness was related to hopelessness, and Openness to experience served as a protector against dependency. Limitations. The findings are based on a onetime retrospective measurement and a convenience sample. The results must be interpreted with caution because the assumptions of linear regression were not fulfilled. and Cíle.Cílem této studie bylo prozkoumat možné vztahy mezi osobnostními rysy HEXACO (tj. Extraverze, Emocionalita, Poctivost-Pokora, Přívětivost, Svědomitost, Otevřenost vůči zku-šenosti) a negativními účinky psychoterapie.Výzkumný soubor a metody.V online průzkumu odpovídalo celkem 148 respondentů. Ve výzku-mu byly provedeny deskriptivní a vícerozměrné regresní analýzy. Hypotézy. Od osobnostních rysů klientů autoři očekávali, že predikují negativní účinky psy-choterapie. Výsledky. Extraverze byla nejsilnějším nega-tivním prediktorem negativních účinků psy-choterapie, sloužila jako ochranný faktor před zhoršením symptomů, beznadějí a stigmatizací. Faktor Emocionalita souvisel s nižší vnímanou kvalitou psychoterapie, Svědomitost souvisela s beznadějí a Otevřenost vůči zkušenosti slouži-la jako ochrana před závislostí na psychoterapii. Limity.Nálezy jsou založeny na jednorázovém retrospektivním měření a na limitujícím vzorku. Výsledky je nutné interpretovat opatrně, protože předpoklady lineární regrese nebyly zcela spl-něny.Závěr.Tato pilotní studie poskytla nové důkazy o roli faktorů na straně klienta při vysvětlování negativních účinků v psychoterapii. V datech vysvětlovaly osobnostní rysy HEXACO od 9 % do 23 % rozptylu u negativních účinků psycho-terapie. I když to znamená, že tyto osobnostní rysy hrají důležitou roli při vzniku negativních jevů, procenta vysvětlené variance (spolu se zkreslenými rezidui na provedených regres-ních analýzách) jasně ukázala, že existují další podstatné faktory, které je třeba pro vysvětlení těchto účinků objevit. Budoucí studie se mohou pokusit zahrnout kontextové, předterapeutické a terapeutické faktory, terapeutické procesy a důvody ukončení (Curran et al., 2019) spolu s osobnostními rysy klientů, aby určily jejich relativní vlivy na negativní účinky psychoterapie.
Diabetic nephropathy (DN), the most serious complication of Type 1 diabetes (DM1), has a strong genetic component. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an in ducible enzyme by a number of stimuli, has been implicated in pathophysiology of cardiovascular and renal disease, including DN. The allele -765C, of the -765G>C polymorphism (rs20417) in the COX-2 promoter has lower promoter activity compared with the -765G allele and protective effects in cardiovascular disease. This polymorphism was not investigated in patients with DM1 and nephropathy. The study was conducted in 779 Caucasian patients with DM1 and compared to a representative sample of healthy Czech population. The patients demonstr ated lower frequencies of the CC genotype (P=0.005). From th e DM1 cohort, 153 patients met the criteria for low risk of the development of DN (LRDN, duration of DM1>10 years, normoalbuminuria, normotension) and 139 patients had manifest DN. There were no differences in -765G>C polymorphisms between LRDN and DN patients. Moreover, the C/G allele frequenc ies did not also differ between the groups. In conclusion, patients with DM1 display lower freqencies of the protective CC genotype as compared to healthy subjects. However, the study did not reveal associations of -765G>C polymorphism with the risk of DN., J. A. Hubáček ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
PAM (pulse amplitude modulation) fluorometers can be used to estimate the electron transport rate (ETR) [μmol(e-) m-2 s-1] from photosynthetic yield determinations, provided the absorptance (Abtλ) of the photoorganism is known. The standard assumed value used for absorptance is 0.84 (leaf absorptance factor, AbtF). We described a reflectance-absorptancetransmittance (RAT) meter for routine experimental measurements of the actual absorptance of leaves. The RAT uses a red-green-blue (RGB) LED diode light source to measure absorptances at wavelengths suitable for use with PAM fluorometers and infrared gas analysers. Results using the RAT were compared to Abtλ spectra using a Taylor integrating sphere on bird’s nest fern (Asplenium nidus), banana, Doryanthes excelsa, Kalanchoe daigremontiana, and sugarcane. Parallel venation had no significant effect upon Abt465 in banana, Doryanthes, a Dendrobium orchid, pineapple, and sugarcane, but there was a slight difference in the case of the fern A. nidus. The average Abt465 (approximately 0.96) and Abt625 (approximately 0.89) were approximately 14% and 6% higher than the standard value (AbtF = 0.84). The PAR-range Abt400-700 was only approximately 5% higher than the standard value (approximately 0.88) based on averaged absorptance from the blue, green, and red light data and from where the RGB-diode was used as a ‘white’ light source. In some species, absorptances at blue and red wavelengths are quite different (e.g. water lily). Reflectance measurements of leaves using the RAT would also be useful for remote sensing studies., R. J. Ritchie, J. W. Runcie., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This article discusses the issues raised by James M. Robertson in his review of Joseph Grim Feinberg’s The Paradox of Authenticity: Folklore Performance in Post-Communist Slovakia, which appeared in Contradictions (2019, no. 2). Focusing on the nature and form of a re-politicized folklore, the article argues that to make full sense of the question of authenticity in a modern folkloric movement, authenticity must be seen against the broader backdrop of the alienation inherent to consumer capitalist society. Folklore, it concludes, can become re-politicized by emphasizing people’s participation in art as part of a broader countercultural movement that challenges the consumerist paradigm.
Chronic sojourn in hypoxic environment results in the structural remodeling of peripheral pulmonary arteries and pulmonary hypertension. We hypothesize that the pathogenesis of changes in pulmonary vascular structure is related to the increase of radical production induced by lung tissue hypoxia. Hypoxia primes alveolar macrophages to produce more hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, the increased release of oxygen radicals by other hypoxic lung cells cannot be excluded. Several recent reports demonstrate the oxidant damage of lungs exposed to chronic hypoxia. The production of nitric oxide is high in animals with hypoxic pulmonary hypertension and the serum concentration of nitrotyrosine (radical product of nitric oxide and superoxide interaction) is also increased in chronically hypoxic rats. Antioxidants were shown to be effective in the prevention of hypoxia induced pulmonary hypertension. We suppose that the mechanism by which the radicals stimulate of the vascular remodeling is due to their effect on the metabolism of vascular wall matrix proteins. Non-enzymatic protein alterations and/or activation of collagenolytic matrix metalloproteinases may also participate. The presence of low-molecular weight cleavage products of matrix proteins stimulates the mesenchymal proliferation in the wall of distal pulmonary arteries. Thickened and less compliant peripheral pulmonary vasculature is then more resistant to the blood flow and the hypoxic pulmonary hypertension is developed., J. Herget, J. Wilhelm, J. Novotná, A. Eckhardt, R. Vytášek, L. Mrázková, M. Ošťádal., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Tzv. teorie optimality patří к nejnovějším směrům současného lingvistického bádání. Nejdříve nalezla uplatnění ve fonologii, později v syntaxi a nejnověji i v sémantice. Naše stať naznačuje možnosti a meze uplatnění tohoto pohledu na oblast aktuálního členění věty.