Mild hyperhomocysteinemia has been established as a new independent risk factor for atherosclerosis and thrombosis. The metabolic syndrome of insulin resistance is associated with a high risk of coronary heart disease. Our objective was to determine if any relationship exists between the metabolic syndrome of insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects and total serum homocysteine levels. Sixty-six healthy volunteers (33 males and 33 females) were selected from the population of Pilsen. Insulin resistance was measured by the Insulin Suppression Test using Octreotide. Steady-state plasma glucose concentrations at the end of the test period provided a quantitative measure of insulin resistance. Serum homocysteine level was estimated by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Serum folate and vitamin B12 were estimated using commercial kits on an Abbott IMx analyzer. All other laboratory tests were performed by standard methods in a routine biochemical laboratory. Subjects with the highest tertile of steady-state plasma glucose showed a significantly higher body mass index, blood pressure, fasting plasma triglyceride levels, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and lower HDL-cholesterol, i.e. an insulin resistance pattern. These subjects had significantly lower serum homocysteine levels compared with non-insulin resistant subjects. The negative association of insulin resistance and serum homocysteine was unexpected. The contribution of plasma folate levels to serum homocysteine levels and serum creatinine was significantly negative and positive, respectively., H. Rosolová, J. Šimon, O. Mayer Jr., J. Racek, T. Dierzé, D. W. Jacobsen., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Článek je odpovědí prof. Munzarové, jež kritizovala mou obhajobu sebevraždy za asistence lékaře. Článek upozorňuje na nedostatky v replice prof. Munzarové, jež plynou z autorčina podceňování normativní teorie. Mezi tyto nedostatky patří: přehlížení argumentů oponenta; zpochybňování morálního kreditu nositelů konkurenční teorie (utilitarismu) namísto její kritické analýzy; nevyjasněná vlastní teoretická východiska (lavírování mezi paternalismem a autonomií, vydávání „principu dvojího účinku“ za stanovisko zdravého rozumu); nepřesvědčivá verze „argumentu kluzkého svahu“ (ignorování diametrálních rozdílů mezi současnými požadavky některých pacientů na asistovanou smrt a nacistickým programem nedobrovolné eutanazie)., The article is an answer to prof. Munzarová who criticised my defence of physician‑assisted suicide. The article points to shortcomings in the reply of prof. Munzarová which flow from the author’s underestimation of normative theory. Among these shortcomings are the ignoring of the arguments of her opponent; her calling into question the moral credit of the proponents of the competing theory (utilitarianism) rather than a critical analysis; unclear theoretical principles (a switching between paternalism and autonomy, the presentation of the “principle of double-effect” as the standpoint of common sense); an unconvincing version of the “argument of the slippery slope” (ignoring the diametrical differences between the contemporary demand of some patients for assisted death and the Nazi programme of involuntary euthanasia)., and Tomáš Hříbek.
This study is dedicated to documenting the relationship between these two important musicians on the basis of excerpts from extant written sources. The most important documentation of contacts between Vaclav Jan Tomasek (1774-1850) and Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826), who worked in Prague from 1813 until 1817 as Kapellmeister of the Estates Theatre, is Tomaseks autobiography published in Prague in 1845-1850 in a yearbook titled Libussa. We find additional brief documentation in Weber's diaries and in the correspondence of both men addressed to other persons. Tomasek's autobiography is also important documentation of how Weber's works were viewed by the German public and music critics., Obsahuje seznam literatury, and Anglické resumé na s. 82.
It is important to determine and clarify the variability of mammary carcinogenesis induction in animal experimental studies particularly in connection with chemoprevention projects. The circannual seasonal rhythms of hormone levels or various parameters within the immune system may involve factors participating in mammary gland carcinogenesis. In our study, 19 experiments were conducted and all of them lasted for about 25 weeks after chemical carcinogen administration (DMBA or NMU) under standard laboratory conditions. Females of two rat strains - a medium susceptible Sprague-Dawley strain and a very low susceptible Wistar:Han were used. We observed not only the effect of seasonal changes but also the effect of age after single or repeated carcinogen administration. The seasonal dependence of mammary carcinogenesis with higher tumor incidence during long days in comparison with winter short days has been demonstrated in Sprague-Dawley rats. In experiments on the Wistar:Han strain, certain features of seasonal character were recorded, although the very low susceptibility of this strain to mammary carcinogenesis might have influenced the results. A limited period of carcinogen administration in early puberty around postnatal days 43-46 (higher susceptibility), when compared to the period after postnatal day 50, is the factor significantly increasing incidence and frequency of mammary carcinogenesis in the Sprague-Dawley strain. Our results indicate the need to consider the effect of season and age of animals at the time of carcinogen administration on rat mammary carcinogenesis induction. However, the application of the results obtained in one strain of experimental animals may only lead to misleading conclusions., P. Kubatka, E. Ahlersová, I. Ahlers, B. Bojková, K. Kalická, E. Adámeková, M. Marková, M. Chamilová, M. Čermáková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Visual cognitive responses (P300) to moving stimuli were tested in 36 subjects with the aim to find the normal range of P300 parameters. Concomitantly, the circadian intra-individual variability of the P300 was studied in a subgroup of 6 subjects. Visual stimuli consisted of either coherent (frequent stimulus) or non-coherent motion (random stimulus). The oddball paradigm was applied for recording cognitive responses. P300 to rare stimuli had an average latency of 447.3±46.6 ms and amplitude of 12.9±6.0 mV. The average reaction time was in the range from 322 to 611 ms and there was no correlation between the reaction time and P300 latency. We did not find any significant circadian changes of the P300 parameters in the 6 subjects tested four times during the same day. Cognitive (event-related) responses (P300) displayed distinctly greater inter-individual variability (S.D. of 50 ms) when compared with pattern-reversal and motion-onset VEPs (S.D. of 6.0 ms and 14 ms, respectively). For this reason, the clinical use of P300 elicited by this kind of visual stimuli seems to be rather restricted and the evaluation of its intra-individual changes is preferable., Z. Kubová, J. Kremláček, J. Szanyi, J. Chlubnová, M. Kuba., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The relationship between vitamin D receptor (VDR) intragenic polymorphisms FokI, BsmI, ApaI and TaqI and bone mineral density (BMD) or biochemical markers of bone remodeling were investigated in 114 Czech postmenopausal women, on the average 62.5±8.9 years of age. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms in the VDR gene were assessed by PCR amplification and digestion with restriction enzymes FokI, BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI recognizing polymorphic sites in the VDR locus. Bone mineral density was measured at the lumbar spine and at the hip by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA, g/cm2). After adjusting for age and the body mass index (BMI), subjects with the ff genotype had 9.4 % lower BMD at the hip than those with the Ff genotype (p=0.0459, Tukey´s test). FF individuals had an intermediate BMD at the hip. A similar pattern of lower lumbar spine BMD was also found in ff individuals, but it did not reach statistical significance. There was no relationship between BsmI, ApaI and TaqI VDR polymorphisms and BMD at any skeletal site. Subjects with Aa (ApaI) genotypes had higher levels of propeptide of type I collagen (PICP) than homozygous AA (p=0.0459, Tukey´s test). In FokI, BsmI and TaqI restriction sites the biochemical markers of bone remodeling did not differ by genotype. In addition, no significant difference was observed in VDR genotypic distribution between osteoporotic women and non-osteoporotic controls in the study group. To conclude, the FokI genotype of the vitamin D receptor gene is related to bone mass at the hip in Czech postmenopausal women, whereas the importance of remaining VDR genotypes was not evident., K. Zajíčková, I. Žofková, R. Bahbouh, A. Křepelová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Studie shrnuje, porovnává a kriticky zhodnocuje koncepty, modely a teorie zabývající se vtahováním dětí do rodičovských konfliktů. Zabývá se modely, které vzešly z praxe systemických terapeutů, jako např. triangulace, perverzní koalice nebo aliance. Dále se věnuje konceptům, které vznikly v rámci studia rozvodových konfliktů jako je syndrom zavrženého rodiče a odcizený rodič. Cílem této studie je představit komplexní, jasný a ucelený popis, který by charakterizoval principy vtahování dětí do konfliktů jak v úplných, tak rozvedených rodinách., The review summarizes, compares, and critically evaluates theoretical constructs, which deal with the inclusion of children into the interparental conflict. The authors review constructs based on the work of systemic therapist, such as triangulation, alliance, perverse coalition, and alliance, and psychosomatization. Either, they review theories based on studies of divorced families, such as parental alienation syndrome, and parental alienation. The goal of this study is to introduce enough complex, clear, and comprehensive description, which embrace the principles of inclusion of children into interparental conflicts, both in non-divorced and divorced families., Olga Trampotová, Lenka Lacinová., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The article outlines the book culture of the Rudolphine period on the examples of several works by Tycho Brahe (Instruments of the Renewed Astronomy), Johannes Kepler (Somnium: The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy; Conversation with the Starry Messenger) and Galileo Galilei (The Starry Messenger). It is based on both research outcomes that have already been published and those that are being prepared for printing. and Alena Hadravová.
Studie Klause Dögeho obsahuje analytické poznámky ke kompozici hudebního skladatele Bohuslava Martinů, věnovanému památce vyhlazení Lidic., In his Memorial to Lidice (composed in the summer of 1943) Martinů pays tribute to the complete extinction of the Czech village Lidice and its inhabitants by the Nazis. In the composition he uses – as he has never done before in this way – many traditional idioms and quotation-like elements in order to express all the sadness, fright and pain of his subject., Klaus Döge., Rubrika: Studie, and Německé resumé na s. 18, anglický abstrakt 5.
a1_Cíl. Autoři v článku shrnují nejrozšířenější postupy testování neuropsychologického konstruktu figurální fluence a představují základní východiska pro tvorbu Olomouckého testu figurální fluence. Soubor a design studie. Celkem bylo Olomouckým testem figurální fluence vyšetřeno 215 osob. U osob starších 60 let byl proveden screening syndromu demence metodami ACECZ a MMSE. Studie zahrnula tři soubory: 146 dobrovolníků neklinické populace bez známek kognitivního deficitu, 39 osob s rizikem kognitivního deficitu (pozitivní screening syndromu demence prostřednictvím MMSE a ACE-CZ) a 30 pacientů s prokázaným syndromem demence. Tyto soubory byly porovnány s ohledem na základní parametry Olomouckého testu figurální fluence., a2_Statistická analýza a výsledky. Chronologický věk u neklinické populace koreluje statisticky signifikantně negativně s celkovým výkonem v testu a s počtem perseverací, a statisticky významně pozitivně s počtem let vzdělávání. Mezi výkonem žen a mužů nebyl zjištěn statisticky významný rozdíl. Index celkového výkonu statisticky významně odlišuje výkon neklinické populace od populace rizikové a klinické. U osob starších 60 let existuje statisticky významná pozitivní korelace mezi celkovým výkonem v testu a screeningovými testy na syndrom demence. Dílčí proměnné autoři diskutují s ohledem na potřeby klinické praxe. Limity studie. Mezi limity studie patří nenáhodný výběr motivované populace dobrovolníků a nevyrovnané zastoupení osob ve věkovém rozpětí 31–50 let vzhledem k počtu osob v dalších věkových skupinách., b1_Objectives. The authors try to summarize the most influential possibilities for testing the neuropsychological construct of figural fluency. Sample and setting. 215 persons were assessed by Olomouc test of figural fluency. Persons older than 60 years were screened for syndrome of dementia by methods ACE-CZ and MMSE. In the study, three samples were used: 146 volunteers of nonclinical population without evidence of cognitive deficit, 39 of those at risk of cognitive deficit (positive screening for sy. dementia through the MMSE and ACE-CZ) and 30 patients with proven sy. dementia. These samples were compared with respect to the basic parameters of the Olomouc figural fluency test., b2_Statistical analysis and results. It was found that chronological age in non-clinical population is statistically significantly negatively correlated with the overall performance of the test and the number of perseveration, and significantly positively with the number of years of education. Performance of women and men is not statistically different. Index of overall performance statistically significantly differentiates performance of non-clinical population and both clinical populations. Among persons aged over 60 years statistically significant positive correlation of overall performance in the test and screening tests for dementia syndrome was found. Partial variables are discussed syndrome the needs of clinical practice. Study limitations. Among limits of the study non-randomized selection of research population and unequal distribution of participants in the age range 31-50 years due to the number of persons in other age groups can be mentioned., Martin Lečbych., and Obsahuje seznam literatury