Nuptial flights of Crematogaster teranishii Santschi occur in autumn. Queens and possibly larvae pass the first winter without workers in Okayama, Japan. This study examines and tests the hypothesis that C. teranishii queens regulate not only their own diapause, but also that of their larvae. Some queens collected immediately after their nuptial flight in early October were exposed to a low temperature of 10°C for 3 months before transfer to 25°C; these queens started oviposition approximately 8 days after the transfer. Larvae reared by these previously chilled queens pupated synchronously until day 50. Other field-collected queens reared at 25°C without prior chilling reproduced soon after collection. They started oviposition, but the development of their larvae was arrested and pupation occurred late or not at all within the120 day experimental period. The delay in pupation in colonies in which the queens were not previously exposed to low temperature strongly indicates that many larvae are in diapause. Because eggs and larvae were not exposed to low temperatures, they were unable to determine the developmental pathway providing the best response to environmental factors. Results indicate that queens regulate whether their larvae undergo diapause.
Obesity is characterized by chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation. Obesity may also be associated with chronic cough. The aim of this pilot study was to clarify relation of cough reflex sensitivity and body mass index (BMI) in children with chronic cough. Altogether 41 children having symptoms of chronic cough were submitted to cough reflex sensitivity measurement. We assessed the relation of cough reflex sensitivity (CKR) due to BMI. Cough reflex sensitivity was defined as the lowest capsaicin concentration which evoked two (C2) or five (C5) coughs. Capsaicin aerosol in doubling concentrations (from 0.61 to 1250 µmol/l) was inhaled by a single breath method (KoKo DigiDoser; nSpire heath Inc, Louisville, CO, USA), modified by the addition of an inspiratory flow regulator valve (RIFR; nSpire heath Inc, Louisville, CO, USA). BMI was calculated. Pulmonary function was within normal range. Concentrations of capsaicin causing two (C2) and five coughs (C5) were reported. Children' (22 boys and 19 girls, mean age 6.8 years) cough reflex sensitivity (median, with the InterQuartile Range) for C2 was 19.5 (73.4) µmol/l; for C5 it was 78.1 (605.5) µmol/l. We have noticed statistically significant relation of the cough reflex sensitivity (C5) and body mass index (P<0.0001); however, the effect size was small, R2 =0.03. Increase of body mass index in one unit is associated with -34.959 µmol/l decrease of C5. We did not find a statistically significant relation between C2 and BMI (P=0.41). The median value of CKR (C2) in boys is not statistically significantly different than the median value of CKR (C2) in girls (P-value 0.5). The median value of CKR (C5) in boys is not statistically significantly different than the median value of CKR (C5) in girls (P-value 0.5). Increase of body mass index in children suffering from chronic cough relates to decrease of cough reflex sensitivity (C5 value).
V roce 2009 patřil dotazník SPARO k nejpoužívanějším metodám psychologické diagnostiky v ČR (Urbánek, 2010), a to zejména mezi psychology působícími v personalistice, vězeňství, policii a armádě. Empirické důkazy jeho validity a reliability ovšem chybějí. S využitím rozsáhlého vzorku policistů a uchazečů o práci u policie jsme proto ověřili reliabilitu a faktorovou validitu dotazníku. Výsledky ukazují, že vnitřní konzistence je neuspokojivá u zhruba poloviny škál, jednotlivé škály navíc nejsou jednodimenzionální. Faktorová validita je problematická zejména u hlavních komponent dotazníku, které spolu oproti předpokladům silně korelují. Tyto korelace navíc byly přítomny i v původních standardizačních vzorcích, protože se neliší námi pozorované a originální korelační matice. Faktorová struktura dvou „obecnějších faktorů“ je komplikovaná, nelze v rozporu s teorií identifikovat dvě nezávislé latentní proměnné. Výsledky nepodporují využití dotazníku v běžné praxi. Za tímto účelem by bylo nezbytné prokázat prediktivní validitu jednotlivých škál dotazníku; souběžnou validitu ověřujeme v další studii (Cígler & Rudá, 2021). and In 2009, the SPARO questionnaire was one of the most used assessment methods in the Czech Republic (Urbánek, 2010), especially between psychologists in human resources, prisons, police, or the army. However, empirical evidence of its reliability and validity is missing. Using a significant sample of police officers and applicants to police, we researched the questionnaire's reliability and factor validity. About half of the scales do not have adequate internal consistency; the majority of them are not unidimensional. Factor validity is questionable, especially in the main components of the questionnaire, which are highly correlated. These correlations were also present in the original standardized samples as our and original correlation matrices do not differ. The factor structure of the two general factors items is not clear and two-dimensional. Our results do not support the use of the questionnaire in practice. It is necessary to confirm its’ predictive validity; the criterion validity is evaluated in our follow up study (Cígler & Rudá, 2021).
Polystomatid monogeneans have a wide diversity of life cycles correlated with the varied ecology and behaviour of their aquatic vertebrate hosts. Typically, transmission involves a swimming infective larva but most hosts are amphibious and invasion is interrupted when hosts leave water. A key life cycle adaptation involves a uterus that, in the most specialised cases, may contain several hundred fully-developed larvae prepared for instant host-to-host transmission. By contrast, one subfamily of the Polystomatidae - the Polystomoidinae, specific to chelonians (freshwater turtles) - has a simplified reproductive system without a uterus. Recently, Polystomoides nelsoni Du Preez et Van Rooyen, 2015 has been described with a uterus containing multiple eggs. The present study explores the exceptional interest of this parasite - for the functional biology of egg production, for the evolution of a reproductive system unique amongst ca 60 species in the subfamily, and for systematic relationships. A new genus is proposed, Uteropolystomoides gen. n., separate from the four currently-recognised genera Polystomoides Ward, 1917, Uropolystomoides Tinsley et Tinsley, 2016, Neopolystoma Price, 1939 and Polystomoidella Price, 1939 which lack a uterus. In addition, U. nelsoni (Du Preez et Van Rooyen, 2015) comb. n. has a suite of distinctive copulatory stuctures: a massive genital bulb with an exceptionally large number of very long genital spines and hyper-development of the vaginal openings. These characters set U. nelsoni apart from all other polystomoidines worldwide except Polystomoides multifalx Stunkard, 1924 and P. stunkardi Harwood, 1931. Missing data for these latter species preclude definitive assessment of inter-relationships but the distinguishing characters of U. nelsoni, especially the unique occurrence of the uterus, suggest a novel evolutionary pathway isolated from other lineages of polystomatids infecting chelonians., Richard C. Tinsley., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Sensorineural hearing loss and vertigo, resulting from lesions in the sensory epithelium of the inner ear, have a high incidence worldwide. The sensory epithelium of the inner ear may exhibit extreme degeneration and is transformed to flat epithelium (FE) in humans and mice with profound sensorineural hearing loss and/or vertigo. Various factors, including ototoxic drugs, noise exposure, aging, and genetic defects, can induce FE. Both hair cells and supporting cells are severely damaged in FE, and the normal cytoarchitecture of the sensory epithelium is replaced by a monolayer of very thin, flat cells of irregular contour. The pathophysiologic mechanism of FE is unclear but involves robust cell division. The cellular origin of flat cells in FE is heterogeneous; they may be transformed from supporting cells that have lost some features of supporting cells (dedifferentiation) or may have migrated from the flanking region. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition may play an important role in this process. The treatment of FE is challenging given the severe degeneration and loss of both hair cells and supporting cells. Cochlear implant or vestibular prosthesis implantation, gene therapy, and stem cell therapy show promise for the treatment of FE, although many challenges remain to be overcome., Lu He, Jing-Ying Guo, Ke Liu, Guo-Peng Wang, Shu-Sheng Gong., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Parkinson's disease (PD) is most commonly manifested by the
presence of motor symptoms. However, non-motor symptoms
occur several years before the onset of motor symptoms
themselves. Hallmarks of dysfunction of the respiratory system are
still outside the main focus of interest, whether by clinicians or
scientists, despite their indisputable contribution to the morbidity
and mortality of patients suffering from PD. In addition, many of
the respiratory symptoms are already present in the early stages
of the disease and efforts to utilize these parameters in the early
diagnosis of PD are now intensifying. Mechanisms that lead to the
development and progression of respiratory symptoms are only
partially understood. This review focuses mainly on the
comparison of respiratory problems observed in clinical studies
with available findings obtained from experimental animal models.
It also explains pathological changes observed in non-neuronal
tissues in subjects with PD.
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), i.e. heart rate (HR) variations
during inspiration and expiration, is considered as a noninvasive
index of cardiac vagal control. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) could
be associated with increased cardiovascular risk; however, the
studies are rare particularly at adolescent age. Therefore, we
aimed to study cardiac vagal control indexed by RSA in adolescent
patients suffering from MVP using short-term heart rate variability
(HRV) analysis. We examined 12 adolescents (girls) with MVP (age
15.9±0.5 years) and 12 age and gender matched controls. Resting
ECG was continuously recorded during 5 minutes. Evaluated HRV
indices were RR interval (ms), rMSSD (ms), pNN50 (%), log HF
(ms2
), peak HF (Hz) and respiratory rate (breaths/min). RR interval
was significantly shortened in MVP group compared to controls
(p=0.004). HRV parameters-rMSSD, pNN50 and log HF were
significantly lower in MVP compared to controls (p=0.017,
p=0.014, p= 0.015 respectively). Our study revealed reduced RSA
magnitude indicating impaired cardiac vagal control in MVP already
at adolescent age that could be crucial for early diagnosis of
cardiovascular risk in MVP.
The Loess Plateau is the main source of water in Yellow River, China. After 1980s, the Yellow river water presented a significant reduction, what caused the decrease of the Yellow river discharge had been debated in academic circles. We proceeded with runoff generation mechanisms to explain this phenomenon. We built saturation excess runoff and infiltration excess runoff generation mechanisms for rainfall–runoff simulation in Jingle sub-basin of Fen River basin on the Loess Plateau, to reveal the influence of land use change on flood processes and studied the changes of model parameters under different underlying conditions. The results showed that the runoff generation mechanism was mainly infiltration-excess overland flow, but the flood events of saturation-excess overland flow had an increasing trend because of land use cover change (the increase of forestland and grassland areas and the reduction of cultivated land). Some of the model parameters had physical significances，such as water storage capacity (WM), infiltration capacity (f), evapotranspiration (CKE), soil permeability coefficient (k) and index of storage capacity distribution curve (n) showed increasing trends, and index of infiltration capacity distribution curve (m) showed a decreasing trend. The above results proved the changes of runoff generation mechanism from the perspective of model parameters in Jingle sub-basin, which can provide a new perspective for understanding the discharge reduction in the Yellow River basin.