Tissue samples from wildlife from South Africa were opportunistically collected and screened for haemoprotozoan parasites using nonspecific PCR primers. Samples of 127 individuals were tested, comprising over 50 different species. Haemogregarines were the most commonly identified parasites, but sarcocystids and piroplasmids were also detected. Phylogenetic analyses estimated from the 18S rDNA marker highlighted the occurrence of several novel parasite forms and the detection of parasites in novel hosts. Phylogenetic relationships, which have been recently reviewed, appear to be much more complex than previously considered. Our study highlights the high diversity of parasites circulating in wildlife in this biodiverse region, and the need for further studies to resolve taxonomic issues., D. James Harris, Ali Halajian, Joana L. Santos, Lourens H. Swanepoel, Peter John Taylor, Raquel Xavier., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The Trophic Cascade Theory has been used to explain the organization of herbivorous insect communities in tropical ecosystems. In addition, the insect community associated with a species of plant can also be determined by the geographical distribution and taxonomic isolation of the plant. In this study, the following predictions about the number of herbivores associated with particular host plants were tested: (i) plant species belonging to large taxonomic groups with broad geographical distributions have a higher number, (ii) the abundance of ants negatively affects herbivore insect diversity, (iii) local plant diversity positively affects chewing herbivore diversity and (iv) local abundance of a specific host plant positively affects the diversity of sucking herbivores. The samples of insect herbivores were collected from 32 plants (16 plants of Erythroxylum suberosum and 16 of Qualea parviflora) by beating. A total of 71 ants (13 species) and 158 herbivorous insects (90 species) were collected from these two species of plants. The richness and abundance of the insect herbivores collected from E. suberosum differed from those collected from Q. parviflora. The abundance of ants negatively affected the diversity of sucking insects associated with E. suberosum. In addition, the interaction between the variables total plant richness per plot and ant abundance affected the diversity of chewing insects associated with E. suberosum. The density of Q. parviflora per plot affected the diversity of associated sucking insects. In addition, the interaction of the variables abundance of ants and abundance of Q. parviflora influenced the diversity of chewing insects. Our results indicate that there is no predominance of bottom-up or top-down forces in the organization of herbivorous insect communities in this area of tropical savanna, but the roles of these forces on insect communities are guild-dependent., Juliana Kuchenbecker, Marcílio Fagundes., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Former authors claimed that, due to parasites' aggregated distribution, small samples underestimate the true population mean abundance. Here we show that this claim is false or true, depending on what is meant by 'underestimate' or, mathematically speaking, how we define 'bias'. The 'how often' and 'on average' views lead to different conclusions because sample mean abundance itself exhibits an aggregated distribution: most often it falls slightly below the true population mean, while sometimes greatly exceeds it. Since the several small negative deviations are compensated by a few greater positive ones, the average of sample means approximates the true population mean., Jenő Reiczigel, Lajos Rózsa., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Dihydromyricetin (DHM) is a natural flavonoid showing several health promoting effects such as protective activity during severe alcohol intoxication. The mechanism underlying the effects of DHM on alcohol metabolism is virtually unknown. The present paper is focused on clarifying the role of DHM in the liver alcohol elimination at its molecular level. First, impact of DHM on alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity in vitro and the enzyme induction in vivo was examined. Neither the ADH activity nor the enzyme expression were influenced by DHM. Next, the effect of DHM during alcohol intoxication were studied on primary hepatocytes isolated from EtOH-premedicated and untreated rats. The viability of cells exposed to alcohol, estimated based on the released enzymes, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), was slightly affected by DHM. Although the expected hepatoprotective effect of DHM was not fully achieved, DHM (in a concentration manner) proved to reduce the level of ROS/RNS in hepatocytes. However, no change in the rate of alcohol metabolism in vivo was found when rats were administered with a single or repeated dose of ethanol supplemented with DHM. In conclusion, the proposed positive effect of DHM during alcohol intoxication has not been proven. Moreover, there is no effect of DHM on the alcohol metabolism. The “hoped-for” DHM hepatoprotective activity can be attributed to the reduction of ROS/RNS levels in cells.
It is expected that environmental conditions impact the distribution of galls on host plants. Moreover, insects may induce their galls randomly or choose certain parts of a host to induce such growths. This study aimed to determine whether or not the gall midge, Hartigiola annulipes (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which induces galls on leaves of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica), prefers leaves facing a particular cardinal direction. In addition, we wanted to ascertain whether the galls are evenly spread across three leaf zones: proximal, median and distal, distinguished by dividing leaf area along the midrib. The results show that H. annulipes chose leaves facing various directions in different studied locations, and leaf choice is not restricted to the specific leaf area, a parameter that accurately reflects the light conditions of leaf growth. Moreover, the medial leaf zone was preferred, while the distal zone was avoided. The choice of the leaf zone modified the distance between the mid-rib and a gall. Gall distribution in the crown of trees is probably random, while at the leaf level, it is determined by leaf morphology., Sebastian Pilichowski, Marian J. Giertych., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of this review is to summarize main aspects of the book Euthanasia and Decision at the End of Life: Legal aspects. and Tento příspěvek je recenzí publikace Eutanazie a rozhodnutí na konci života: právní aspekty, která vyšla v roce 2017.
We report that decreased expression of miR-30c in tumor compared to adjacent tissue is sex-dependent in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. High expression of miR-30c was associated with better survival in the whole cohort. When the cohort was split into male and female subcohorts, decreased miR-30c expression in tumor compared to adjacent tissue was observed only in males. Expression of miR-30c was decreased in CRC tumor tissue in male patients with nodes involvement compared to those without metastases in nodes and this difference was not observe in females. Next dependency of miR-30c expression on oestrogen receptor β (ERβ) mRNA levels in tumor was tested. In males with low expression of ERβ, we observed a significant decrease in miR-30c levels in patients with nodes involvement compared to those without nodes involvement. This difference was not observed in males with high ERβ mRNA levels and in females. Accordingly, males with low expression of ERβ and high expression of miR-30c showed a better survival that those with low expression ERβ and low expression of miR-30c. It is possible to conclude that whole cohort survival dependence on miR-30c is mostly generated by a subcohort of males with low expression of ERβ mRNA in tumor tissue.
Objectives.This study attempts to introduce the Driving Locus of Control (DLoC), a method focused on the internal or external source of at-tribution of the driving behaviour, to the Czech context. This study also relates DLoC to atti-tudes towards autonomous vehicles (AVs).Participants and setting.Out of the general population, 59 inquirers personally interviewed (CAPI) 1 065 respondents (49% women) in the age range between 15 and 92 years (M = 50, SD = 17). The respondents were sampled via multi-stage random sampling procedure, based on the list of addresses in the Czech Republic.Hypotheses.The authors hypothesised to rep-licate the original two-factor structure of the DLOC Scale and that the higher levels of inter-nal DLoC result in not considering the improve-ment in traffic safety as the AVs replace human drivers.Statistical analysis.Confirmatory factor analy-sis was used to analyse the factor structure of DLoC Scale. Hypotheses related to the empiri-cal validity of the method were assessed via structural equation modelling. Reliability of DLoC Scale was calculated in terms of internal consistency (McDonald coefficient).Results.Confirmatory factor analysis revealed reasonably good support for structural valid-ity of the one-dimensional DLoC-CZ15 factor model (χ2 = 426.967, df = 90, CFI = 0.964, TLI = 0.958, SRMR = 0.066, RMSEA = 0.065). In addition, the one-dimensional DLoC-CZ15 factor model showed acceptable internal con-sistency - ω = 0.9 (95% CI [0.89, 0.91]). The structural equation modelling found a relation-ship between DLoC and some of the items cap-turing attitudes towards AVs, too.Study limitations.The analysed data were ob-tained via interviews between respondents and inquirers. As a result, the study does not contain indicators of empirical validity measured by a methodologically different approach, such as an observation of driving behaviour. and Problém. Tato studie uvádí Driving Locus of Control (DLoC), metodu zaměřenou na atribu-ovaný zdroj chování při řízení, do českého kon-textu. Dále pak tato studie ověřuje vztah DLoC k postojům k autonomním vozidlům (AV).Metoda. 59 tazatelů osobně oslovilo (metoda CAPI) 1 065 respondentů z obecné populace (49% žen) ve věkovém rozmezí od 15 do 92 let (M = 50, SD = 17). Respondenti byli vybráni pomocí vícestupňového náhodného výběru na základě seznamu adres v České republice.Hypotézy.Autořipředpokládali replikaci pů-vodní dvoufaktorové struktury škály DLoC. Současně předpokládali, že vyšší úroveň inter-ního DLoC nesouvisí s očekáváním zlepšení bezpečnosti provozu, když AV nahradí lidské řidiče.Analýza dat. K analýze faktorové struktury metody byla použita konfirmační faktorová analýza. Hypotézy týkající se empirické vali-dity metody byly ověřeny pomocí strukturního modelování. Reliabilita škály DLoC ve smyslu vnitřní konzistence byla vypočítána pomocí Mc-Donaldova koeficientu.Výsledky. Konfirmační faktorová analýza při-nesla adekvátní podporu strukturní validity jednorozměrného faktorového modelu DLoC--CZ15 (χ2 = 426,967, df = 90, CFI = 0,964, TLI = 0,958, SRMR = 0,066, RMSEA = 0,065). Navíc jednorozměrný faktorový model DLoC--CZ15 vykázal přijatelnou vnitřní konzistenci – ω = 0,9 (95% CI [0,89; 0,91]). V rámci struktur-ního modelování byla zjištěna souvislost mezi DLoC a částí položek zachycujících postoje k AV.Limity studie.Analyzovaná data byla získána prostřednictvím rozhovorů mezi respondenty a tazateli. V důsledku toho studie neobsahuje indikátory empirické validity měřené metodolo-gicky odlišným přístupem, například pozorová-ním chování při řízení.
Since the recognition of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors
(ACEIs)-induced cough, drug has been considered as a potential
cause of chronic cough. This review presents recent knowledge
on drug-induced coughs in patients with chronic cough. The
focus is placed on ACEIs, for which there are a multitude of
studies documenting their associations with cough. Additional
drugs are discussed for which there are reports of cough as
a side effect of treatment, and the potential mechanisms of these
effects are discussed.