The study newly identifies a woman depicted in relief on a sandstone tympanum, walled-in secondarily in building Reg. No. 72 in Tišnov in Moravia. The tympanum can be assigned to the second half of the 1230s or to the 1240s, with its vegetable décor matching in detail a similar motif on the well-known western portal of the church of the Cistercian convent at Porta Coeli at Tišnov. Characteristic features establish the woman as being Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia (1207-1231), a major person in European spirituality of the 13th C., canonised in 1235. This is, then, evidence of very early reception of the new saint in the Czech Lands, clearly inspired by tight dynastic ties: the Czech queen - widow Constance of Hungary, who founded the Porta Coeli convent in 1232, was Elisabeth’s aunt by bloodline. The sculpture is at the same time one of the very oldest artistic depiction of Saint Elisabeth in the European context, with typical accent on the saint’s tight ties to the ideals of Saint Francis of Assisi. Nevertheless, we do not yet know the original location of the tympanum, but apart from the site of Porta Coeli itself the parish church of Saint Wenceslas at Tišnov does fall into consideration. and Jiří Doležel.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide released from the autonomic nerves exerting multiple antiinflammatory effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of severe sepsis and hemofiltration in two settings on plasma and tissue concentrations of VIP in a porcine model of sepsis. Thirty-two pigs were di vided into 5 groups: 1) control group; 2) control group with conventional hemofiltration; 3) septic group; 4) septic group with conventional hemofiltration; 5) septic group with high-volume hemofiltration. Sepsis induced by faecal peritonitis continued for 22 hours. Hemofiltration was applied for the last 10 hours. Hemodynamic, inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters (heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor- α , interleukin-6, thiobarbituric acid reactive species, nitrate + nitrite, asymmetric dimethylarginine) and the systemic VIP concentrations were measured before faeces inoculation and at 12 and 22 hours of peritonitis. VIP tissue levels were determined in the left ventricle, mesenteric and coronary arteries. Sepsis induced significant increases in VIP concentrations in the plasma and mesenteric artery, but it decreased peptide levels in the coronary artery. Hemofiltration in both settings reduced concentrations of VIP in the mesenteric artery. In severe sepsis, VIP seems to be rapidly depleted from the coronary artery and, on the other hand, upregulated in the mesenteric artery. Hemofiltration in both settings has a tendency to drain away these upregulated tissue stores which could result in the limited secretory capacity of the peptide., J. Kuncová ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
a1_The tissue factor plays a crucial role in initiating blood coagulation after plaque rupture in patients with acute coronary syndrome. It is abundant in atherosclerotic plaques. Moreover, P-selectin, some cytokines, endotoxin and immune complexes can stimulate monocytes and induce the tissue factor expression on their surface. The aim of the study was to compare plasma levels of the tissue factor, tissue factor pathway inhibitor, P-selectin, E-selectin and ICAM-1 in patients with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, stable coronary artery disease and normal control subjects. In addition, plasma levels of the tissue factor, tissue factor pathway inhibitor, P-selectin, E-selectin and ICAM-1 were measured in the blood withdrawn from the coronary sinus in a subgroup of patients with unstable angina pectoris and stable coronary artery disease in which the difference between concentrations in the coronary sinus and systemic blood was calculated. A significant increase in tissue factor pathway inhibitor plasma levels was detected in patients with acute myocardial infarction (373.3±135.1 ng/ml, p<0.01) and unstable angina pectoris (119.6±86.9 ng/ml, p<0.05) in contrast to the patients with stable coronary artery disease (46.3±37.5 ng/ml) and normal subjects (45.1±14.3 ng/ml). The plasma levels of tissue factor pathway inhibitor were significantly increased both in the coronary sinus and systemic blood in the patients with unstable angina pectoris. There was only a non-significant trend to higher plasma levels of the tissue factor in patients with acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina pectoris as compared to the patients with stable coronary artery disease and normal subjects, the values being 129.1±30.2 pg/ml, 130.5±57.8 pg/ml, 120.2±45.1 pg/ml and 124.9±31.8 pg/ml, respectively., a2_Plasma levels of soluble P-selectin was only slightly, but non-significantly higher in patients with unstable angina pectoris and stable coronary artery disease (184.2±85.4 ng/ml and 201.6±67.9 ng/ml, respectively) than in patients with the acute myocardial infarction (157.4±88.4 ng/ml) or normal subjects (151.4±47.1 ng/ml). The difference in plasma levels of soluble ICAM-1 between the blood withdrawn from the coronary sinus and systemic circulation correlated significantly with the corresponding difference in plasma levels of soluble P-selectin and E-selectin. In conclusion, the tissue factor and the tissue factor pathway inhibitor play a crucial role in the initiation of arterial thrombosis. The tissue factor pathway inhibitor levels are increased both in the systemic blood and in the coronary sinus of patients with the acute coronary syndrome., M. Malý, J. Vojáček, V. Hraboš, M. Semrád, M. Mates, J. Kvasnička, P. Salaj, V. Durdil., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Chronic administration of clenbuterol, a beta-adrenoceptor agonist (2 mg/kg body weight/day for 30 days) to mice resulted in an increased body mass. Measurement of dry tissue mass suggested a protein anabolic effect in the gastrocnemius and heart. Quantitative estimation of collagen content, a non-contractile element as calculated from
hydroxyproline assay revealed its proliferation in the gastrocnemius, cardiac ventricle, intestine and to some extent also in the kidney. Clenbuterol did not induce collagen proliferation in non-muscle tissues such as the lungs and liver. Histopathological examination of sections from treated ventricles showed an extensive collagen infiltration in the subendocardium and at myonecrosis sites.
Currently-used mechanical and biological heart valve prostheses have several disadvantages. Mechanical prostheses, based on carbon, metallic and polymeric components, require permanent anticoagulation treatment, and their usage often leads to adverse reactions, e.g. thromboembolic complications and endocarditis. Xenogenous and allogenous biological prostheses are associated with immune reaction, thrombosis and degeneration, and thus they have a high rate of reoperation. Biological prostheses of autologous origin, such as pulm onary autografts, often burden the patient with a complicated surgery and the risk of reoperation. Therefore, efforts are being made to prepare bioartificial heart valves with an autologous biological component by methods of tissue engineering. They should be biocompatible, durable, endowed with appropriate mechanical properties and able to grow with a child. For this purpose, scaffolds composed of synthetic materials, such as poly(lactic acid), poly(caprolactone), poly(4-hydroxybutyrate), hydrogels or natural polymers, e.g. collagen, elastin, fibrin or hyaluronic acid, have been seeded with autologous differentiated, progenitor or stem cells. Promising results have been obtained with nanostructured scaffolds, and also with cultivation in special dynamic bioreactors prior to implantation of the bioartificial grafts into an animal organism., E. Filová ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury