Flowers of dicotyledonous plants host communities of arthropod species. We studied the community associated with dandelion (Taraxacum section Ruderalia), a complex of apomictic micro-species abundant in central Europe. Identification of microspecies in the field was impracticable. These plants produce an abundance of flowers that host arthropod communities that are not yet fully documented. We investigated species occurrence, its diurnal and seasonal variation and some of the factors that determine the abundance of the dominant species. Insect and spiders were collected from 2010 to 2012 at a locality in Prague. Whole capitula were harvested at weekly intervals and resident arthropods were identified. Diurnal variation in insect presence and the effect of pollen and microclimate on some of the species were also examined. The insect community (> 200 species) consisted mainly of species of Hymenoptera (86 spp.), Coleoptera (56 spp.), Diptera (46 spp.) and Heteroptera (23 spp.). The most abundant were Thysanoptera (2 spp.). Pollen eaters/collectors and nectar feeders dominated over predators and occasional visitors. From April to mid-August, the insect community was dominated by Coleoptera, and later by Diptera and Hymenoptera. Except for Meligethes spp. and species breeding in the capitula, the insects occupied flowers during the daytime when the flowers were open (10-12 h in spring and only 2-4 h in late summer). The presence of Meligethes spp. in particular flowers was associated with the presence of pollen; the occurrence of Byturus ochraceus with pollen and flower temperature. Although pollination is not necessary, dandelion plants produce both nectar and pollen. The community of arthropods that visit dandelion flowers is rich despite their being ephemeral.The composition of local faunas of flower visitors, presence of floral rewards and flower microclimate are important factors determining the composition of the flower community., Alois Honěk, Zdenka Martinková, Jiří Skuhrovec, Miroslav Barták, Jan Bezděk, Petr Bogusch, Jiří Hadrava, Jiří Hájek, Petr Janšta, Josef Jelínek, Jan Kirschner, Vítězslav Kubáň, Stano Pekár, Pavel Průdek, Pavel Štys, Jan Šumpich., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Samples of bottom ash and fly ash coming from the combustion of lignite with the addition of limestone, from the cocombustion of lignite and wood residue with limestone and from co-combustion of lignite, wood residue, biological sludges from the waste water treatment plant and municipal waste as well with the addition of limestone were examined. Scanning electron microscopy with X-ray microanalyser were used for study of morphology and chemical composition of ash particles. The results were compared with average composition of bottom ashes, fly ashes and input materials found by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and with phase composition found by X-ray diffraction method. There were proved no significant differences in the character and the structure of individual samples coming from various regimes of combustion., Vladimír Tomášek, Ondřej Šustai, Jana Seidlerová, Zdeněk Klika, Martin Stach, Zdeněk Weiss and Václav Roubíček., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Člověk trpí méněcenností ve vztahu k mocným zvířatům, která ho předstihují silou a rychlostí. Dokladem toho je i paleolitická soška, na které je zobrazena lví hlava s lidským tělem. Pokrok představují egyptské sfingy, kde z obrazu člověka zůstává alespoň hlava, sídlo jeho svébytnosti. Nejrůznější zvířecí motivy, jako chiméry, se podařilo pomíchat až Řekům. Tak jako v Evropě kraloval lev a orel, na Dálném východě - zvláště v posledním století - nastoupil tygr coby představitel útočnosti a vítězství. Příkladem uveďme japonského císařského generála, který pronikl Malajskem, a byl proto vzýván jako malajský tygr, než bídně zhynul při americké invazi na jednom z tichomořských atolů. and Jan Svoboda.
Vzniku trombózy v arteriálním nebo venózním cévním systému předchází složitá souhra faktorů vnějšího prostředí a faktorů genetických. Rozsáhlé genomové asociační studie se ukazují jako velice přínosné v identifikaci lokusů spojených s kardiovaskulárními onemocněními a souvisejícími rizikovými faktory. Ještě zbývá mnoho práce v identifikaci určujících genů a jejich kauzálních variant, stejně jako v definici mechanizmů, které ovlivňují vývoj a progresi onemocnění. Z výsledků studií lokusů spojených s dříve identifikovanými onemocněními se očekává zlepšení našich znalostí o patofyziologii kardiovaskulárních onemocnění a možnost identifikovat nové cíle pro léčbu. V oblasti aterotrombózy a trombofilie jsou významné výsledky z asociačních studií zaměřených na oblast ischemické choroby srdeční, ischemické cévní mozkové příhody a žilního tromboembolizmu. Klíčová slova: ateroskleróza – aterotrombóza – celogenomové asociace (GWAS) – infarkt myokardu – ischemická choroba srdeční – jednonukleotidový polymorfizmus (SNP) – trombofilie – žilní tromboembolizmus, Thrombosis in the arterial or venous vascular systems is preceded by a complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors, and it is the underlying cause of several common complex diseases. The genomewide association approach has proved successful in identifying loci associated with cardiovascular disease and related risk factors. However, much work remains to identifyning the culprit genes and causal variants as well as the mechanisms whereby they influence disease development and progression. In-depth studies of previously identified disease-associated loci are expected to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease and identify novel targets for treatment. In the field of atherothrombosis and thrombophilia are significant results from association studies focused on the area of coronary artery disease, ischemic stroke, venous thromboembolism. Key words: atherosclerosis – atherothrombosis – coronary artery disease – genomewide association study (GWAS) – myocardial infarction – single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) – thrombophilia – venous thromboembolism, and Tomáš Kvasnička
INTRODUCTION: The issue of resistance to antiplatelet therapy has raised many questions in the area of neurovascular diseases. The first objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of aspirin resistance in neurovascular patients with clinical non-responsiveness to aspirin treatment and a high-risk of atherothrombotic complications using two interpretable and independent methods (aggregation and PFA 100). The second objective was to find the correlation between both assays and to evaluate the results in groups at risk for various cerebrovascular diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Laboratory tests of aspirin resistance were performed in 79 patients with clinical non-responsiveness to aspirin treatment suffering from neurovascular diseases. Patients were divided into the two groups: expected low risk for aspirin resistance due to the first manifestation of a neurovascular disease (n = 34) and expected high risk due to the second clinical manifestation of a neurovascular disease (n = 45). RESULTS: The prevalence of aspirin resistance in both groups combined as determined by the PFA-100 and CPG techniques were 50.6% and 17.7%, respectively. No correlation was found between the two techniques. CONCLUSIONS: No significant prevalence of aspirin resistance was demonstrated by either method despite the heterogeneous pathophysiological mechanisms. However, we are presently unable to provide an accurate opinion on the value of laboratory test result or routine monitoring in clinical neurology. and M. Vališ, D. Krajíčková, J. Malý, R. Malý, I. Fátorová, O. Vyšata, R. Herzig
Záměr. Cílem studie bylo ověření psychometrických parametrů české verze Jeffersonské škály empatie (JSPE-S) na podkladě výpovědí českých studentů medicíny a testování diferencí z hlediska pohlaví, délky studia medicíny a místa studia. Soubor a procedura. Soubor tvořilo 725 studentů medicíny 3. lékařské fakulty UK a 871 studentů Fakulty medicíny UPOL. Studie byla průřezová a odpovědi byly získány od studentů všech šesti ročníků. Výsledky. Explorační faktorová analýza přinesla podporu pro existenci tří ortogonálních faktorů „Perspective taking“ (přebírání perspektivy), „Compassionate care“ (soucitná péče), „Empathetic understanding“ (empatické porozumění) a vnitřní konzistence stupnice byla pro celý soubor 0,76. Efekt pohlaví a místa studia nebyl statisticky významný. Výše JSPE-S skórů českých studentů statisticky i klinicky významně klesala v prvních dvou letech studia a zůstala beze změn do konce šestého ročníku. Nálezy obecně podpořily konstruktovou validitu i vnitřní konzistenci české verze nástroje. Omezení studie. Postoje k roli empatie se mohou výrazně lišit od skutečného chování, vzhledem k průřezovému plánu studie je zde možný kohortový efekt, data byla získána pouze na dvou lékařských fakultách., Objectives. The objective of the study was to examine the psychometric parameters of the Czech version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy-Student (JSPE-S), and to study differences in empathy scores between women and men, and students in different years of medical school. Sample and setting. The JSPE-S was administered to 725 students at the 3rd Medical School, CU Prague and to 871 students at the Faculty of Medicine UPOL. The design was cross-sectional and first to sixth year students were surveyed. Results. Exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of three components of “Perspective taking”, “Compassionate care”, “Empathetic understanding” and the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.76. The effects of gender and locality were not statistically significant. The JSPE-S scores of Czech students decreased in a statistically significantly and clinically meaningfully way over the first two years of study, staying low until the 6th year. The construct validity and internal consistency of the Czech version of the JSPE-S was generally supported. Study limitations. Firstly, attitude toward the role of the empathy in doctor-patient relation may differ substantially from actual behavior. Secondly, there is very strong possibility of cohort effects. Thirdly, the survey was conducted at one Czech and at one Moravian medical school only, what potentially limits the external validity of our finding., Jiří Kožený, Lydie Tišanská, Cyril Höschl., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Light trapping is the most widely used tool for determining the diversity of nocturnal Lepidoptera, but UV LEDs have yet to be used as light sources for the large-scale monitoring of Lepidoptera. We assessed the efficiency of this novel light source for sampling moths using a Heath type moth equipped with a strip of 150 high brightness UV LEDs (emission peak 398 nm, ~ 15 W) powered by a 12 V battery. We compared the number of individuals, the number of species and the Geometridae / Noctuidae ratio recorded for the samples collected using UV LED traps with those collected in two monitoring programs carried out in the same geographic region using two different light sources: a 200 W incandescent lamp (Rothamsted trap) and a 160 W mercury vapour lamp (manual catch). The total catch consisted of 61,120 individuals belonging to 699 species. The species richness rarefaction curves revealed that the Rothamsted trap collected fewer species and individuals than UV LED traps. Furthermore, the median numbers of species and individuals caught by UV LED traps fell within the range of those caught by mercury vapour lamp traps. In addition, the community composition recorded using incandescent lamps and UV LEDs was similar. The data obtained using UV LED traps, in absolute terms and in comparison with the other light sources and different sampling methods, clearly reveal that this light source is suitable for sampling macro-moth communities. For field work UV LEDs have many advantages, as they are resistant to mechanical damage, easily protected from heavy rain and energy efficient., Marco Infusino, Gunnar Brehm, Carlo Di Marco, Stefano Scalercio., and Obsahuje bibliografii
While including gradual long-term flooding of individual residual mining pits, the re-vitalization program of the Podkrušnohorská brown-coal basin area has to assure - beside general water quality standards - satisfactory stability level of future lake banks and their wider environment as required for safe usage of future water lakes. General assessment of factors and conditions influencing bank and/or slope stability of future lakes was realized within the frames of the Czech Republic Academy of Sciences grant project. The grant project solutions include a study of exogenous processes on localities where the mining has been terminated. Also, prognoses were developed on behaviour of future banks during flooding and subsequent operation of future lakes. The presented paper is focused on assessment of mayor factors that participate on initiation and intensity of the bank abrasion and sliding deformations., Tamara Spanilá, Zdeněk Kudrna, Vladislav John, Filip Hartvich and Vladimír Chour., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy