There is growing evidence that methamphetamine use during pregnancy may produce detrimental cardiovascular effects in the adult offspring. Prior work demonstrated that chronic methamphetamine exposure throughout the gestational period causes adult female offspring to become hypersensitive to myocardial ischemic injury. The goal of the present study was to determine whether this methamphetamine-induced effect occurs early or late in the gestational period. Pregnant female rats were divided into 4 experimental groups. Groups 1 and 2 received subcutaneous injections of saline (group 1) or methamphetamine (5 mg/kg) (group 2) throughout the gestational period. Group 3 received methamphetamine injections on days 1-11 and saline on days 12-22, and group 4 received saline on days 1-11 and methamphetamine on days 12-22. Hearts were isolated from adult (8 weeks) female offspring and subjected to 30 min ischemia and 2 hours reperfusion on a Langendorff isolated heart apparatus. Contractile function was measured via an intraventricular balloon, and infarct size was measured by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Infarcts were significantly larger in methamphetamine exposed offspring regardless of whether they had been exposed to methamphetamine during the first half or the second half of the gestational period. Prenatal exposure to methamphetamine had no effect on preischemic contractile function or postischemic recovery of contractile function. These data indicate that methamphetamine use during either the first half or second half of pregnancy increases susceptibility to myocardial infarction in adult female offspring. These data provide further evidence that prenatal exposure to methamphetamine may increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases during adulthood.
Methamphetamine (MA), as massively abused psychoactive stimulant, has been associated with many neurological diseases. It has various potent and neurotoxic properties. There are many mechanisms of action that contribute to its neurotoxic and degenerative effects, including excessive neurotransmitter (NEU) release, blockage of NEU uptake transporters, degeneration of NEU receptors, process of oxidative stress etc. MA intoxication is caused by blood-brain barrier disruption resulted from MA-induced oxidation stress. In our laboratory we constantly work on animal research of MA. Our current interest is to investigate processes of MA-induced alteration in neurotransmission, especially during development of laboratory rat. This review will describe current understanding in role of NEUs, which are affected by MA-induced neurotoxicity caused by altering the action of NEUs in the central nervous system (CNS). It also briefly brings information about NEUs development in critical periods of development.
Emotion has an essential effect on various cognitive processes in humans including attention, perception, learning, and memory. Long-term memories are affected not only by the emotion experienced during learning but also by the emotional state during retrieval. The term “emotional memory” is often associated with episodic memory and mental time-travel; however, emotion influences every aspect of memory (e.g., both declarative memory and non-declarative memory). Here the authors discuss the methodological advantages and limitations across the current methods in emotional memory research. Traditional neuropsychological methods use emotionally arousing stimuli; however, such stimuli are often reduced to a simple list of words or pictures. In comparison to these methods, virtual reality (VR) is a relatively new tool, but with growing importance in neuroscience research and clinical practice. VR allows to study human behavior, cognitive functions, and brain activity in ecologically valid situations even under laboratory conditions. Future directions and potential use of virtual reality in emotional memory testing are discussed. and Emoce mají zásadní vliv na různé kognitivní procesy u lidí, včetně pozornosti, vnímání, uče-ní a paměti. Dlouhodobé vzpomínky jsou ovliv-něny nejen emocemi prožitými při jejich učení, ale také emočním stavem při jejich vybavová-ní. Termín „emoční paměť“ je často spojován s epizodickou pamětí a s mentálním cestováním v čase, emoce však ovlivňují každý aspekt paměti (např. jak deklarativní paměť, tak nedeklarativ-ní paměť). V této přehledové studii autoři dis-kutují metodologické výhody a omezení napříč současnými metodami výzkumu emoční paměti. Tradiční neuropsychologické metody využívají podněty vzbuzující emoce; takové podněty se však často redukují na jednoduchý seznam slov nebo obrázků. Ve srovnání s těmito metodami je virtuální realita (VR) relativně novým nástro-jem s rostoucím významem v neurovědním vý-zkumu a klinické praxi. VR umožňuje studovat lidské chování, kognitivní funkce a mozkovou aktivitu v ekologicky validních situacích i v la-boratorních podmínkách. Ve studii jsou shrnuty budoucí cíle a potenciální využití virtuální reali-ty při testování emoční paměti.
We propose a modified and updated protocol to obtain mitotic chromosomes from the regenerated tissue of Pelophylax tadpole tail tips. Chromosomal preparations from regenerated tissue results in high-quality and clean slides suitable for further staining and study. Tadpoles remain alive, undergo minimum suffering, and can be grown to adulthood for further investigation. The method could be used for other groups of Anura and modified for other species with the ability to regenerate their tissues.
Existuje čoraz viac dôkazov o zachytávaní každodenných zážitkov človeka v podobe intenzívnych longitudinálnych údajov získaných prostredníctvom denných zápiskov alebo metódy Experience sampling. Tieto údaje ponúkajú širokú škálu informácií o dynamike duševných procesov a správania, ich vývoja v čase a v rámci špecifických situácií. Cieľom tohto príspevku je predstaviť metódu zachytávania každodenných zážitkov (Experience Sampling Method – ESM) v kontexte výskumu duševného zdravia a prostredníctvom vybraných príkladov opísať možnosti, ako tieto údaje využiť v rámci nomotetického a idiografického prístupu a robenia záverov. Tento príspevok nie je vyčerpávajúcim opisom témy ESM, ale skôr stručným prehľadom čoraz viac využívanej metódy zachytávania každodenných zážitkov týkajúcich sa psychopatológie, jej limitov a perspektívy do budúcna. and There is growing evidence of capturing human experience in daily life using intensive longitudinal data obtained via daily diaries or experience sampling. These data offer a wide range of information regarding the dynamics of mental processes and behavior and how they unfold within individuals over time and within specific situations. The aim of this paper is to present the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) in the context of mental health research and through selective examples explain the possibilities of how to use data for nomothetic and idiographic inferences and conclusions. This paper is not an exhaustive description of the ESM topic, but rather a brief overview of the emerging methods for capturing daily experience regarding psychopathology, its limitations and future perspective.
Surrogacy can be already considered as one of the common parts of assisted reproduction which is due to its nature associated with a number of controversies. The aim of our article will be to point out the fact that the use of this procedure is connected not only to the discussed ethical and legal problems but also to associated and often neglected psychosocial consequences. In this regard, we will focus on a specific area of international surrogacy as a new form of reproductive tourism which develops dynamically and uncontrollable on the market principle and against the background of the globalization and the absence of supranational rules. This situation leads to the social and legal uncertainty of the applicants to this procedure, the surrogate mother and the child. The global closure of state borders and restrictions on movement due to the handling SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic only exacerbated the situation, or more precisely created unexpected barriers to communication between the surrogate mother and the applicants, including takeover of child care, what has implications for the live of all parties involved. and Náhradní mateřství lze již v dnešní době považovat za jednu z běžných součástí asistované reprodukce, se kterou je z povahy věci spojena řada kontroverzí. Cílem našeho článku bude poukázat na skutečnost, že využívání daného způsobu získání dítěte je kromě diskutovaných eticko-právních problémů spojeno rovněž s často opomíjenými důsledky psychosociálního charakteru. V tomto ohledu se zaměříme na specifickou oblast mezinárodní surrogace, jakožto novou formu reprodukční turistiky, která se na tržním principu dynamicky a do značné míry nekontrolovatelně rozvíjí na pozadí globalizace a absence nadnárodních pravidel. Uvedený stav pochopitelně vede k sociální a právní nejistotě jak žadatelů o danou proceduru, tak náhradní matky a dítěte. Celosvětové uzavírání státních hranic a omezování pohybu v důsledku zvládání pandemie koronaviru SARS-CoV-2 pak danou situaci jen prohloubilo, respektive náhle vytvořilo neočekávané překážky navázání komunikace mezi náhradní matkou a žadateli, včetně převzetí dítěte do péče, což má dopady do života všech zúčastněných osob.
Microorganisms and eukaryotic human cells coexist in synergistic relationships in nearly every niche of the human body. The female genital tract consisting of the vagina, uterus with its cervix and endometrium, uterine tubes and ovaries – harbors its own typical microbiota, which accounts for 9 % of the total bacterial population in females. To this organ system, we also assigned the microbiome of the placenta, which has not been studied much until now. Among the spectrum of microbial species, the female genital tract is mainly dominated by Lactobacillus species, which are considered to be one of the simplest yet most important microbial communities. However, this relationship between macro- and micro-organisms seems to have a number of physiological functions, e.g., the vaginal and cervical microbiota have unique impact on reproductive health. The aim of this review was to provide current view on female genital tract microbiota and its role in reproductive health. We describe in detail the association of vaginal or tubal epithelium with microbiota or the role of microbiota in normal placental function.
Gastropathy is one of the most common diseases of the human gastrointestinal tract. Apart from its consequences in the stomach, it is also manifested in other parts of the digestive tract, particularly in the duodenum. The aim of this pilot study was to verify on animal model the empirically observed alleviation of gastropathy symptoms in patients who underwent a drinking treatment of Vincentka natural mineral water during their spa treatment. Sixteen male Wistar rats were included in the study. The animals were randomly divided into two groups: experimental group (E; n=8) and control group (C; n=8). The experimental protocol consisted of three phases: (1) handling phase (7 days); (2) mineral water (E)/tap water (C) administration (7 days); (3) acute gastritis induction (1 day). Twenty-four hours after the induction of acute gastritis, the animals were sacrificed. The collected tissues (stomach and duodenum) and blood were examined by standard histological microscopy, and by immunohistochemical and biochemical methods. Histopathological analysis revealed significantly reduced damage to the gastric mucosa in the experimental group. Significantly different values of blood plasma antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress parameters and blood plasma biochemical parameters were also found. Based on these results, we conclude that the mineral water Vincentka has a positive impact on development and symptoms of acute gastric ulcers.
The study aimed to recognize whether the activity of a semi-aquatic invasive carnivore – the American mink Neovison vison – is related to the distribution of waterbird colonies. For this reason, we monitored mink occurrence in lake reedbeds and the fate of artificial nests imitating those of the great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus. The location of artificial nests in the grebe colony increased the probability of their survival compared to those placed outside the grebe colony. During the study, mink activity increased over time. In general, it was lower in colonies than outside of them, suggesting that the presence of natural nests does not increase the probability of mink occurrence in lake reedbeds. However, mink activity was negatively correlated with the distance from the lake shoreline and differed spatially according to the presence or absence of natural grebe nests. In grebe colonies, the probability of mink occurrence at greater distances from the lake shoreline was higher than outside, which can be explained by optimizing swimming effort while searching for prey. In conclusion, mink activity in colonies was lower than in areas with no waterbird nests, and nest location in a colony decreased predation risk by mink.