In this paper I have introduced one case of modification of articulation at the word-boundary, i. e. the assimilation, which regularly takes place in Dutch, but is impeded in Czech. In Dutch the assimilation of [s] in front of [j] is the result of coarticulation, applied in order to reduce the articulatory effort. It is, however, not an isolated phenomenon, but it is connected with the not clearly defined phonological and phonetic opposition of [s] and [š]. In Czech, despite the presumption that the coarticulation of the [s] in front of [j] also is possible, it is not audible for the speakers as modification, and - most importantly - it does not yield assimilation of the former to the latter, i. e. the realization of [š]. In our opinion the constraints are complex, in the first place we should point to the distinctive role of the /s/ and /š/ in the whole system. The perceptual segmentation in Czech, moreover, is ruled by the distribution of word-stress at the initial syllable of the word (after a pause); this brings about the hyperarticulation of the syllable, so that no need is felt to reduce the articulation. Because of the typological difference between Czech and Dutch, as respectively inflective and not-inflective languages, the phonetic phenomena at the word-end can be very significant and should be examined further.
Metformin is the first line therapy of type 2 diabetics, but continued reduction of their life expectancy warrants further investigation into alternative treatment strategies. This study reports on the combinational use of metformin with aspalathin, a C-glucosyl dihydrochalcone with known glucose lowering and antioxidant properties, as an effective hypoglycemic therapy in a type 2 diabetic (db/db) mouse model. When tested as a monotherapy, a low dose of aspalathin (13 mg/kg) showed no effect, while a high dose (130 mg/kg) has already displayed a better potential than metformin in protecting against diabetes associated symptoms in db/db mice. Thus, it remains of interest to determine whether this dihydrochalcone can improve the efficacy of metformin. The results showed that this combination therapy was more effective than the use of metformin as a monotherapy in ameliorating diabetes associated symptoms, including abnormal raised fasting plasma glucose levels, impaired glucose tolerance, as well as excessively increased body weights and fat content. The treated mice also had reduced food and water consumption when compared to untreated controls, with a pronounced effect evident in the last week of treatment. Therefore, this study supports further investigations into the ameliorative effect of combination therapy of metformin and aspalathin against diabetes associated symptoms., P. V. Dludla, K. B. Gabuza, C. J. F. Muller, E. Joubert, J. Louw, R. Johnson., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Comparative scanning electron microscopical studies were carried out on Chonopeltis australis Boxshall, 1976 collected from different localities in the Orange-Vaal River System in South Africa and on material of Chonopeltis minutus Fryer, 1977 and Chonopeltis australissimus Fryer, 1977 on loan from the Albany Museum, Grahamstown. This elucidates the fine structure of morphological features, which are of taxonomic importance and illustrates the significance of the copulatory structures on the legs as a taxonomic tool. It was also concluded that C. australissimus is the same as C. minutus, with C. australissimus the junior synonym.
Záměr. Cílem studie bylo ověření psychometrických parametrů české verze Jeffersonské škály empatie (JSPE-S) na podkladě výpovědí českých studentů medicíny a testování diferencí z hlediska pohlaví, délky studia medicíny a místa studia. Soubor a procedura. Soubor tvořilo 725 studentů medicíny 3. lékařské fakulty UK a 871 studentů Fakulty medicíny UPOL. Studie byla průřezová a odpovědi byly získány od studentů všech šesti ročníků. Výsledky. Explorační faktorová analýza přinesla podporu pro existenci tří ortogonálních faktorů „Perspective taking“ (přebírání perspektivy), „Compassionate care“ (soucitná péče), „Empathetic understanding“ (empatické porozumění) a vnitřní konzistence stupnice byla pro celý soubor 0,76. Efekt pohlaví a místa studia nebyl statisticky významný. Výše JSPE-S skórů českých studentů statisticky i klinicky významně klesala v prvních dvou letech studia a zůstala beze změn do konce šestého ročníku. Nálezy obecně podpořily konstruktovou validitu i vnitřní konzistenci české verze nástroje. Omezení studie. Postoje k roli empatie se mohou výrazně lišit od skutečného chování, vzhledem k průřezovému plánu studie je zde možný kohortový efekt, data byla získána pouze na dvou lékařských fakultách., Objectives. The objective of the study was to examine the psychometric parameters of the Czech version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student (JSPE-S), and to study differences in empathy scores between women and men, and students in different years of medical school. Sample and setting. The JSPE-S was administered to 725 students at the 3rd Medical School, CU Prague and to 871 students at the Faculty of Medicine UPOL. The design was cross-sectional and first to sixth year students were surveyed. Results. Exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of three components of “Perspective taking”, “Compassionate care”, “Empathetic understanding” and the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.76. The effects of gender and locality were not statistically significant. The JSPE-S scores of Czech students decreased in a statistically significantly and clinically meaningfully way over the first two years of study, staying low until the 6th year. The construct validity and internal consistency of the Czech version of the JSPE-S was generally supported. Study limitations. Firstly, attitude toward the role of the empathy in doctor-patient relation may differ substantially from actual behavior. Secondly, there is very strong possibility of cohort effects. Thirdly, the survey was conducted at one Czech and at one Moravian medical school only, what potentially limits the external validity of our finding., Jiří Kožený, Lydie Tišanská, Cyril Höschl., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The population structures of different species of Calliphoridae flies are highly diverse at different locations. We investigated populations of the Eastern European L. sericata using chaetotaxy and eight microsatellite loci. Our results strongly indicate that a panmictic population of L. sericata exists in the area studied, possibly with a high rate of intra-population gene flow. Analysis of chaetotaxy also supports the panmictic population hypothesis., Anna V. Diakova, Dmitry M. Schepetov, Nadezhda Y. Oyun, Anatole I. Shatalkin, Tatiana V. Galinskaya., and Obsahuje bibliografii