Granulosa cells (GCs) are somatic cells essential for establishing and maintaining bi-directional communication with the oocytes. This connection has a profound importance for the delivery of energy substrates, structural components and ions to the maturing oocyte through gap junctions. Cumulus cells, group of closely associated GCs, surround the oocyte and can diminished the effect of harmful environmental insults. Both GCs and oocytes prefer different energy substrates in their cellular metabolism: GCs are more glycolytic, whereas oocytes rely more on oxidative phosphorylation pathway. The interconnection of these cells is emphasized by the fact that GCs supply oocytes with intermediates produced in glycolysis. The number of GCs surrounding the oocyte and their age affect the energy status of oocytes. This review summarises available studies collaboration of cellular types in the ovarian follicle from the point of view of energy metabolism, signaling and protection of toxic insults. A deeper knowledge of the underlying mechanisms is crucial for better methods to prevent and treat infertility and to improve the technology of in vitro fertilization.
The Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis is an invasive insect in Europe and the Americas and is a great threat to the environment in invaded areas. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that non native species are resistant to many groups of parasites that attack native insects. However, very little is known about the complex microbial community associated with this insect. This study based on sequencing 16S rRNA genes in extracted metagenomic DNA is the first research on the bacterial flora associated with H. axyridis. Lady beetles were collected during hibernation from wind turbines in Poland. A mean ± SD of 114 ± 35 species of bacteria were identified. The dominant phyla of bacteria recorded associated with H. axyridis were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Representatives of these phyla are common in the environment, e.g. in the soil, and are often identified as the dominant bacteria associated with arthropods. We also identified animal pathogenic bacteria, such as Burkholderia, Rhodococcus, Chlamydiae and Anaplasmataceae spp. (Neorickettsia helminthoeca and Ehrlichia ovina). We also identified Wolbachia pipientis in a single beetle. This bacterium is a causative agent of reproductive alterations in arthropods. These results support the enemy release hypothesis in the case of this ladybird invasion. Pathogenic bacteria were recorded in only a few samples. Moreover, male-killing bacteria such as Spiroplasma spp., Wolbachia spp. and Rickettsia spp. were only recorded in single insects so they cannot be responsible for the observed alterations in the sex-ratio of the ladybird population studied., Krzysztof Dudek, Kinga Humińska, Jacek Wojciechowicz, Piotr Tryjanowski., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Methamphetamine (MA), as a psychostimulant drug that crosses
the placental barrier, may disrupt the development of social play.
The present study aims to examine the effect of prenatal MA
(5 mg/kg) exposure during the first (gestational day (GD) 1-11)
or second (GD 12–22) halves of prenatal development of rats on
social play behavior. To investigate an acute effect of MA on
social play in adulthood, juvenile rats were exposed to a dose of
1 mg/kg MA or saline on the test day and tested for social play
for 15 min. Prenatal exposure to MA during GD 1–11 increased
social play behavior during 5-10 min interval of the test in males
but not females. Prenatal MA during GD 12–22 did not influence
social play in males nor females. However, social play occurred to
a greater extent in GD 12–22 groups compared with GD 1–11.
Acute exposure to MA eliminated playful behavior in all groups
and decreased social exploration in GD 1–11. Our results suggest
that manipulation of prenatal development during the first half of
the gestational period has a greater impact on social play
behavior than during the second half.
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.