A theoretical model is presented, which attempts to account for the evaluation of complex stimuli in terms of their constituent elements that are relevant to the intent of the assessment. The subjective evaluation of a compound stimulus is postulated to be a function of the number, weight and integrity of critical components, or sub-qualities, and their interactions. The model has application to the evaluation of any stimulus complex including works of “art”. For illustrative purpose, it will here be applied to the analysis of pictorial works of art., J. P. Huston., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This work discusses the clinical performance of deconjugated metanephrine (MN), normetanephrine (NMN) and 3-methoxytyramine (3MT) determined in the basal first morning urine using a chromatographic method with electrochemical detection for the clinical diagnosis of pheochromocytoma (PHEO) and paraganglioma (PGL). Urine samples were collected from 44 patients (36 with PHEO, 8 with PGL) aged 54+/-17 (20-78) years (22 females, 22 males). A sampling of biological materials was performed preoperatively and about one week, six months and one year after adrenal gland surgery. The control group consisted of 34 PHEO/PGL patients more than 4 months after adrenal gland surgery. All subjects in the control group were without a diagnosis of PHEO or PGL. Clinical sensitivity was 55 % for MN, 64 % for NMN, 80 % for combination of both MN and NMN, and only 23 % for 3TM. Clinical specificity calculated from the control group was 93 % for MN, 95 % for NMN, 95 % for the combination MN and NMN, and 97 % for 3TM. Cut-off values for deconjugated metanephrines in the basal urine were 310 (MN), 690 (NMN) and 250 μg/l (3MT). Chromatographic determination of deconjugated urinary metanephrines, which is simple without the necessity of special laboratory material, can serve for the screening of PHEO or PGL patients. Urine NMN and 3MT exerts an association to malignity, and all markers are associated with tumor mass. However, the principal laboratory diagnosis of PHEO or PGL must be based on plasma-free metanephrines and plasma chromogranin A with better performance in the laboratory diagnosis of PHEO or PGL., R. Bílek, T. Zelinka, P. Vlček, J. Dušková, D. Michalský, K. novák, J. Bešťák, J. Widimský Jr., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Interleukin-21 (IL-21) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of our study was to assess serum levels of IL-21 in patients with recent-onset RA in relation to disease activity and response to treatment. We analyzed serum levels of IL-21 in 51 RA patients, both before and 12 weeks after the initiation of treatment and in 36 healthy individuals. Disease activity was assessed at baseline and at weeks 12 and 24 using the Disease Activity Score for 28 joints, serum levels of C-reactive protein, and the total swollen joint count. We found that IL-21 levels were not increased in patients with recent-onset RA compared with healthy controls, but they had significantly decreased from baseline to week 12 during treatment. Baseline levels of IL-21 significantly correlated with measures of disease activity (p<0.02 for all). Although IL-21 levels did not predict achievement of remission, decrease in IL-21 levels correlated with improvement in disease activity after 12 weeks (p<0.02) and also after 24 weeks (p<0.04) of treatment. Our data suggest that circulating IL-21 levels may serve as a biomarker of disease activity and better outcome in early phase of RA., O. Sglunda, H. F. Mann, H. Hulejová, O. Pecha, L. Pleštilová, O. Růžičková, M. Fojtíková, O. Šléglová, Š. Forejtová, K. Pavelka, J. Vencovský, L. Šenolt., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress participate in the development of diabetic complications, however, the mechanisms of their origin are not entirely clear. Coenzyme Q has an important function in mitochondrial bioenergetics and is also a powerful antioxidant. Coenzyme Q (CoQ) regenerates alpha-tocopherol to its active form and prevents atherogenesis by protecting low-density lipoproteins against oxidation. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether the experimentally induced diabetes mellitus is associated with changes in the content of endogenous antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol, coenzymes Q9 and Q10) and in the intensity of lipoperoxidation. These biochemical parameters were investigated in the blood and in the isolated heart and liver mitochondria. Diabetes was induced in male Wistar rats by a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin (45 mg.kg-1), insulin was administered once a day for 8 weeks (6 U.kg-1). The concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol and CoQ homologues in the blood of the diabetic rats were increased. The CoQ9/cholesterol ratio was reduced. In heart and liver mitochondria of the diabetic rats we found an increased concentration of alpha-tocopherol, however, the concentrations of CoQ9 and CoQ10 were decreased. The formation of malondialdehyde was enhanced in the plasma and heart mitochondria. The results have demonstrated that experimental diabetes is associated with increased lipoperoxidation, in spite of the increased blood concentrations of antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and CoQ. These changes may be associated with disturbances of lipid metabolism in diabetic rats. An important finding is that heart and liver mitochondria from the diabetic rats contain less CoQ9 and CoQ10 in comparison with the controls. We suppose that the deficit of coenzyme Q can participate in disturbances of mitochondrial energy metabolism of diabetic animals., J. Kucharská, Z. Braunová, O. Uličná, L. Zlatoš, A. Gvozdjáková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulphate-bound form (DHEAS) are important steroids mainly of adrenal origin. Their physiological and pathophysiological functions are not yet fully identified, although a number of various possible features have been hypothesized. Most popular is the description of the “hormone of youth” as the long-term dynamics of DHEA levels are characterized by a sharp age-related decline in the late adulthood and later. Low levels of DHEA are, however, associated not only with the ageing process but also with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases and some neurological or immunological entities. In the past decade, a number of brief studies have concentrated on these relationships and also on the role of exogenous DHEA in health, disease and human well-being. This article tries to summarize some of the most important facts achieved recently., P. Celec, L. Stárka., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This study aimed to examine relationships between DHEA(S), anthropometric parameters, oral glucose tolerance test derived data and lipid spectra in a Czech non-diabetic population. 380 healthy volunteers both with and without a family history of diabetes type 2 (DM2) were en rolled into the study (women: n=235, age 28.9±9.4 years, BMI 22.3±4.5 kg/m2, men: n=145, age 32.3±10.0 years, BMI 24.7±3.6 kg/m2). Spearman’s correlations (both without and with the adjustment for age, age and BMI), as well as ANCOVA were used. Non-adjusted data showed many “beneficial” correlations between DHEA(S) and both anthropometric and metabolic variables. Statistical analysis revealed that almost all correlations of DHEA(S) to adiposity and fat distribution in men as well as in women disappeared after the adjustment. There are, however, differences between men and women in the correlation of DHEA(S) to insulin sensitivity and lipid levels. The use of hormonal contraceptives (COC) is also an important factor in this relationship. In men and also in women using COC, DHEA-S after adjustment correlated positively with fasting and stimulated glucose, insulin and C-peptide, and negatively with insulin sensitivity. In this respect, the benefit of DHEA(S) supplementation seems - at least in terms of its alleged antiobesity and antidiabetogenic effects - to be more than controversial., B. Bendlová, J. Vrbíková, M. Hill, M. Vaňková, P. Lukášová, J. Včelák, D. Vejražková, K. Dvořáková, R. Hampl, K. Vondra, L. Stárka., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) possesses fat-reducing effect, while little information is available on whether DHEA regulates cell proliferation and mitochondrial function, which would, in turn, affect lipid droplet accumulation in the broiler. In the present study, the lipid droplet accumulation, cell proliferation, cell cycle and mitochondrial membrane potential were analysis in primary chicken hepatocytes after DHEA treated. The results showed that total area and counts of lipid droplets were significantly decreased in hepatocytes treated with DHEA. The cell viability was significantly increased, while cell proliferation was significantly inhibited in a dose-dependent manner in primary chicken hepatocytes after DHEA treated. DHEA treatment significantly increased the cell population in S phase and decreased the population in G2/M in primary chicken hepatocytes. Meanwhile, the cyclin A and cyclin-dependent kinases 2 (CDK2) mRNA abundance were significantly decreased in hepatocytes after DHEA treated. No significant differences were observed in the number of mitochondria, while the mitochondrial membrane permeability and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity were significantly increased in hepatocytes after DHEA treated. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that DHEA reduced lipid droplet accumulation by inhibiting hepatocytes proliferation and enhancing mitochondrial function in primary chicken hepatocytes., Long-Long Li, Dian Wang, Chong-Yang Ge, Lei Yu, Jin-Long Zhao, Hai-Tian Ma., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We studied delayed effects of elevated plasma levels of corticosterone (Cort) on volumetry, neuronal quantity, and gross marks of neurodegeneration in the hippocampal formation of Long-Evans rats. Animals were exposed to increased CORT levels for three weeks via implanted subcutaneous pellets. Volumetry, neuronal quantification and gros s marks of degeneration were measured seven weeks after the termination of CORT treatment. We observed significant differences in volumes and especially in laterality of hippocampal subfields between control and CORT- treated animals. We found th at the left hippocampus was substantially larger than the right hippocampus in the corticosterone-treated group, but not in the control group. In the control group, on the other hand, right hippocampal volume was markedly higher than all other measured volumes (hippocampal left control, hippocampal left CORT-treated and hippocampal right CORT-treated). Left hippocampal volume did not differ between the groups., P. Zach, J. Mrzílková, L. Řezáčová, A. Stuchlík, K. Valeš., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Dendritic cell (DC) vaccination is an attractive approach to the treatment of patients with lymphoid tumors. To evaluate its feasibility, we have tested the functional properties of DC and T-lymphocytes in patients with treated and untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). Healthy volunteers were used both as controls and as a source of cells for allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR). In these reactions, dendritic cells from both untreated and treated patients were comparable to dendritic cells from healthy volunteers. In all the untreated patients studied, autologous dendritic cells promoted the survival and proliferation of both CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes (though the proliferation response was much better in the CD4 subset), whereas only 3 out of 5 treated patients were able to mount this response with CD4 lymphocytes and 4 out of 5 with CD8 lymphocytes. In 3 out of 5 untreated patients, pulsing of DCs with tetanus toxoid promoted a better CD4 response than was achieved with unpulsed DCs, while none of 5 treated patients had an additional response after pulsing with tetanus toxoid. None of patients studied, either treated or untreated, had a better CD8 response to pulsed DCs than to unpulsed ones. During CD4 lymphocyte proliferation, more CD4+CD25hi lymphocytes were generated in both treated and untreated patients than in healthy controls. Poor proliferation of cytotoxic cells and preferential proliferation of CD4+CD25hi T-regulatory cells in response to self and/or foreign antigens might be one of the mechanisms responsible for immunosuppression and impaired tumor surveillance in patients with lymphoid malignancies., R. Pytlík, P. Hofman, L. Kideryová, P. Červinková, P. Obrtlíková, J. Šálková, M. Trněný, P. Klener., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Index of vulnerability is a parameter based on ventricular gradient evaluating the risk of arrhythmia development. The index is derived from isointegral maps of the QT interval. Individual characteristics of isointegral maps are influenced by different factors, which contribute to the relatively high variability among measured parameters of maps in measured subjects. While several electrocardiographic indexes have been introduced, there are only few studies of their dependence on heart rate. In this study we set out to establish the dependence of vulnerability index on the RR interval or heart rate in healthy population. A positive linear correlation between RR intervals and mean and minimum values of vulnerability indexes was found., J. Martinka, K. Kozlíková., and Obsahuje bibliografii