The establishment of a dose-response relationship and its quantification is the usual procedure for analysing drug action on an isolated organ. However, the time course of the effect seems to be an inherent characteristic of the agonist which produces it. In our study, we have analyzed the time-response curves of four cholinergic agonists (acetylcholine, methacholine, carbachol and bethanechol) which produce tonic contractions of the isolated rat gastric fundus. The order of affinity of agonists to muscarinic receptors on the rat fundus were carbachol > bethanechol > methacholine > acetylcholine (Ka values: 46 ±12, 84±21, 380±110 and 730±120 nM, respectively). The effective concentrations which produced 60 % of the maximal response (EC5Q) were used for establishing the time-response curves. The time-response curves were also recorded after partial alkylation of muscarinic receptors with phenoxybenzamine, after exposure of the isolated rat fundus to physostigmine and after addition of supramaximal concentrations of the agonists. The experimental time-response curve for acetylcholine was on the extreme left, followed by curves for methacholine, bethanechol and carbachol, respectively. Phenoxybenzamine and supramaximal doses of the agonists did not change the order of response development in time, but supramaximal doses shifted all curves to the left and phenoxybenzamine shifted all time-response curves to the right. Only physostigmine shifted the time-response curve for methacholine to the right. The results of our study suggest that the response rate of the isolated rat gastric fundus to cholinergic agonists depends on the intrinsic activity of these agents, but not on their affinity for muscarinic receptors.
The sequence of changes in circulating immune cells and in free radical production was studied during the small intestine reperfusion. Rat small intestine ischemia/reperfusion was induced by a 45 min superior mesenteric artery occlusion followed by a 4-hour reperfusion. Samples of peripheral blood were collected every 20 min during reperfusion. While the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes increased significantly both in the sham-operated controls and the experimental group (about 400 % at the end of reperfusion), a decrease in lymphocyte counts to 60 % was observed in the experimental group only. Although there were no changes in the counts of total T lymphocytes, a significant reduction in B cell counts was observed. Flow-cytometrical measurements showed no changes in the Tc subpopulation, while the Th subpopulation increased in the experimental group only. Free radical generation in blood (luminometric measurements) increased gradually and reached an eight-fold level by the end of reperfusion in both groups. Thus, it has been shown that the increase in free radical production is mainly due to the increased number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes mobilized already at the initial stages of reperfusion. The reduction in B lymphocyte population is probably due to homing mechanisms., J. Hamar, I. Rácz, M. Číž, A. Lojek, É. Pállinger, J. Fűrész., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Time of oviposition and investment in reproduction output are a crucial decision for animals which could affect their fitness. In this study, the factors determining the time of oviposition and the consequences it has for clutch size and juvenile survival were investigated in the orb-web spider Argiope bruennichi. Egg-sacs laid at different times in the field were collected and inspected for eggs, hatching success and presence of parasites. Relationships between spider body condition, clutch size and time of oviposition were established. The influence of supplementary food on the number of eggs in a clutch and on the time of oviposition was determined both in the field and laboratory. Early clutches were larger and the eggs in late clutches were not heavier than those in early clutches indicating that spiders invested more in eggs at the beginning of the reproductive period. Furthermore, eggs in late egg-sacs were less likely to hatch and more likely to be parasitized. Clutch size was linked to spider body condition but not the time of oviposition. In the field, additional food to females resulted in larger clutches but did not influence the time of oviposition. Laboratory experiments showed that the daily rate of prey consumption affected egg oviposition.
Nejistota měření je důležitým konceptem laboratorní medicíny. Tento koncept je popsán v dokumentu ISO „Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement”, všeobecně známém pod zkratkou GUM. Výpočet nejistoty má dva důležité aspekty – jeden statistický, založený na zákonu o šíření standardních odchylek, a druhý analytický, zabývající se použitelností výsledku v důsledku různých vlivů působících v procesech měření. Tento článek je stručným úvodem do problematiky stanovení nejistot podle GUM a poskytuje laboratořím orientaci k aplikaci nejistoty měření v praxi. Kromě některých základních postupů vycházejících z GUM jsou popsány i přístupy vycházející z dostupných dat uváděných v pracovních návodech výrobců. Sdělení se také zabývá důležitým dilematem, jak postupovat při měření nejistoty s hodnotami bias. Rovněž demonstruje použití hodnot vnitřní kontroly kvality k výpočtu nejistot., Measurement uncertainty is an important evolving concept in laboratory medicine. This concept is described in the ISO document “Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement”, often referred to as “GUM”. GUM has two important aspects; a statistical one, which deals with the propagation of standard deviations; an analytical one, which counts on the expertise of the analytical chemist for addressing measurement uncertainty that extends beyond the obvious (sample related effects, stability of analytes, etc.). This paper gives a short introduction to the GUM concept and addresses the main challenges for its application in laboratory medicine (for example, the treatment of bias). Besides some basic GUM calculations, it describes a generic laboratory approach for calculating measurement uncertainty from available data (typically from manufacturers’ data sheets). The latter example shows the “spirit of GUM” which is equally important to the “statistics of GUM”. The dilemma connected to the treatment of bias (correct or not correct) is demonstrated by internal quality control data., Stöckl D., and Lit.:13