The article deals with Zdeněk Fibich’s (1850–1900) Variations in B major for piano which Vladimír Hudec, the author of the Tematický katalog Zdeňka Fibicha (Thematic Catalogue of Zdeněk Fibich’s Works), believed to have been lost. Its complete autograph, however, was recently discovered by the author of this article in the music collection of the Prague Hlahol Choral Society. The discovery of this composition, therefore, has substantially changed the existing knowledge of this work – as shown in the following paper, describing its context, such as the Fibich sources linked to it (including the Moser catalogue and the estate of Stanislav Kamenick˘). The article also points out the discrepancies found in the secondary literature.
The aim of the present pilot pharmacogenetic study was to analyse quantitative effects of sulphonylurea treatment in addition to metformin on parameters of glycemic control with respect to CDKAL1 genotypes in patients with type 2 diabetes. Effect of 6-month sulphonylurea therapy on glycemic control according to CDKAL1 genotypes was evaluated in 101 patients with type 2 diabetes who failed to achieve glycemic control on metformin monotherapy. CDKAL1 rs7756992 polymorphism was determined by melting curve analysis of small amplicon following real-time PCR. After sulphonylurea treatment fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were significantly different (p=0.045) among three CDKAL1 genotype groups (AA: n=49; AG: n=36; GG: n=16). In a dominant genetic model, carriers of the G-allele (AG+GG, n=52) achieved significantly lower FPG levels in comparison with patients with the AA genotype (6.90±1.08 vs. 7.48±1.12 mmol/l, p=0.013). Consequently, adjusted ΔFPG was significantly higher in the AG+GG compared to the AA group (1.48±1.51 vs. 1.02±1.33 mmol/l, p=0.022). Similar trend was observed for HbA1c levels, but the difference between the genotype groups did not reach the level of statistical significance. Relatively small number of included patients is a limitation of the present study. In conclusion, our results suggest that the magnitude of FPG reduction after 6-month sulphonylurea treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes is related to the variation in CDKAL1., Z. Schroner ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Variation with altitude in the composition of dung beetle assemblages and species richness was measured by sampling in spring, summer and autumn, both manually and with pitfall traps at twelve localities in the western Rhodopes Mountains. Non-parametric estimates indicate that most of the regional species pool was collected, some 73% of all taxa previously recorded in the entire region. The rate of species richness decrease with altitude is around 11 species per km, with an evident altitudinal change in the incidence of two main dung beetle functional groups in which Aphodiinae species begin to dominate Rhodopes assemblages at around 1400-1500 m. Species richness of dung pats is dominated by Scarabaeinae in spite of the fact that the number of Aphodiinae species is highest at each locality. Thus, Aphodiinae species are the main contributors to both local and regional pool richness and to species turnover between localities. These characteristics are similar to those observed in the assemblages from another European mountain range, also located near the Mediterranean-Eurosiberian boundary, the Iberian Central System. These results suggest that eastern European dung beetle assemblages are similar in compositional turnover and species richness variation with altitude to that observed in western Europe and North America.
nvestigating the function of both male and female mating behaviours is essential in our attempts to understand the evolution of mating systems. Variation in mating behaviours among different populations within a species provides a useful opportunity to explore how behaviours may co-vary, although comparative studies are still rather few in number. Population variation in mating behaviour may also have important implications in terms of the evolution of reproductive isolation, the distribution of genetic diversity within and between populations, and the associated ability of those populations to adapt. Here we consider male and female mating behaviour in two populations of the two-spot ladybird, Adalia bipunctata, from the UK and Russia. We find that male and female mating behaviours differ between the populations in terms of the length of female rejection behaviour and the duration of mating, and that this variation is independent of which population an individual's mating partner is from. Our data confirm that patterns of sexual selection and reproductive behaviour are likely to vary across populations in the two-spot ladybird. The extent to which this variation is due to current ecological factors or population history remains to be verified for this species, as for many others., Penelope R. Haddrill, Michael E.N. Majerus, David M. Shuker., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The last specimens of indigenous Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Croatia were exterminated around year 1903. Lynx dispersed back to Croatia after six animals were reintroduced to Slovenia from Slovakia in 1973. Considering the consequences of founder effect, genetic drift and expected high level of homozygosity, the goal of this paper was to determine variation in teeth number, teeth and skull disorders in Croatian lynx. It should also determine whether there has been a change in frequency of occurrence of developmental anomalies in relation to the population it originates from and in relation to other lynx populations. We studied 58 lynx skulls originating from the reintroduced lynx population. Changes on teeth and skull were found on 23 skulls (39.7%): supernumerary maxillary second premolar P2 (9 skulls, 15.5%), supernumerary mandibular second molar M2 (3 skulls, 5.2%), congenitally absent maxillary incisor (3 skulls, 6.9%), extra tooth between maxillary third incisor I3 and canine (1 skull, 1.7%) and acquired disorders of teeth and skull (9, 15.5%).
The occurrence of colour polymorphism in wild populations of the necrophagous fly Prochyliza nigrimana (Diptera: Piophilidae) is recorded but never treated in detail. The present paper shows that there is a seasonal distribution in the morphotypes, with the dark morphs emerging in spring and pale morphs emerging later and most abundant in summer. Furthermore, different proportions of each morph occur along altitudinal gradients, with dark morphs significantly more abundant at low altitudes, where mean temperatures are warmer than at high altitudes where the pale coloured morphs were more abundant. Explanations based on the adaptive value of thermal melanism are discussed. and Daniel Martín-Vega, Arturo Baz.
We investigated variation in the Melampyrum sylvaticum group in the Carpathian and Hercynian regions using morphological and molecular tools. The aim of our study was to examine differences in the pattern of variation between the Eastern Carpathians and region of theWestern Carpathians and the Hercynian Massif. We also tested correlations between putatively taxonomically important variation in corolla colour present in the Melampyrum sylvaticum group in the Eastern Carpathian region and other morphological and molecular traits. Samples were collected from populations of the M. sylvaticum group in the Hercynian Massif and the Eastern and Western Carpathians. Morphometric analyses of the size and shape of the corolla (based on thin plate spline with sliding semilandmarks), length of the anthers and especially molecular analyses based on sequencing the nuclear ITS and trnL-trnT regions of chloroplast DNA, confirmed that the populations occurring on the opposite sides of the Eastern-Western Carpathian biogeographic boundary are very different. It is likely that the eastern and western lineages have been isolated for a long time and the extant pattern of variation with character disagreement within the border zone, originated from hybridization and introgression. The differences in corolla colour did not coincide with the variation in morphological traits or molecular markers within the North-Eastern Carpathian region. In addition, the geographical distribution of the populations with contrasting corolla colours lacked any pattern and there are populations with both corolla colours as well as plants with transitional pale-yellow flowers. Therefore, it is suggested that M. saxosum and M. herbichii, microspecies delimited on the basis of corolla colour, are conspecific. The high level of molecular variation and its pattern indicate that the M. sylvaticum group may have survived in or near the Eastern Carpathians during the Weichselian Ice Age. This hypothesis is supported by several recent phytogeographical and palaeoecological studies, which indicate the existence of a glacial refuge in the Eastern Carpathian region. Molecular uniformity of theWestern Carpathian and Hercynian populations might in contrast indicate recent (Holocene) migration from assumed perialpine refuges.
In the present study changes of some blood parameters of wild female yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) caught from Persian Gulf were assayed during reproductive cycle. Altogether, 120 female A. latus (15 each month) were captured monthly from October 2010 to May 2011 from the Mussa Creek in the north-west of Persian Gulf. Blood samples were collected from caudal vein; plasma was separated and kept at –80 °C till analysis. Total protein, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, electrolytes, calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium plus hepatic enzymes, Alanine Amino Transferase (ALT) and Aspartate Amino Transferase (AST), were assayed in plasma sample. Total protein and calcium increased parallel to ovarian development and decreased after spawning time. Cholesterol and triglyceride had a peak during vitellogenesis and decreased after spawning but glucose had a peak during spawning time. Most of the electrolytes (sodium, magnesium and potassium) did not show any significant changes during the reproductive cycle in A. Latus. AST reached a peak during final
maturation of ovaries but ALT did not show any significant difference during differentsampling times.Our findings showed that biochemical parameters could be used as indicators of physiological status during differentmaturation stage in this species.
Thermal requirements for flight in butterflies is determined by a combination of external factors, behaviour and physical constraints. Thorax temperature of 152 butterflies was monitored with an infra-red thermometer in controlled laboratory conditions. The temperature at take-off varied from 13.4°C, for a female Heteronympha merope to 46.3°C, for a female Junonia villida. Heteronympha merope, an understorey species, had the lowest recorded take-off temperatures, with females flying at a much lower thorax temperatures than males. Among the tested butterfly species, warming-up rate was positively correlated with take-off temperature and negatively with body mass. Wing loading is a major variable in determining the thorax flight temperature. Butterflies with the highest wing-loadings experienced the highest thorax temperatures at take-off. A notable exception to this rule is Trapezites symmomus, the only Hesperiidae of our data set, which had thorax flight temperatures of 31.5°C and 34.5°C, well within the range of the observed butterflies, despite a wing load ca. five times higher. The high thorax temperature recorded in J. villida is probably linked to its high flight speed. The results highlight the importance of physical constraints such as body size on the thermal requirements for flight across a range of butterfly species., Gabriel Nève, Casey Hall., and Obsahuje bibliografii