The effects of body size on mating success and duration of copulation were investigated in Pyrrhocoris apterus. Under laboratory conditions relative mating success of small and large males was investigated in groups of 2 males (majority sex) : 1 female (minority sex). Large males were recorded significantly more often in copulation than small males when the female was large but not when the female was small. This was also the case when the group size was 24 males : 12 females or population density decreased by increasing the area of the experimental arena. In groups of 2females : 1 male, large females were recorded in copulation significantly more often than small females when the male was large but not when the male was small. Proportion of individuals of the minority sex that copulated was similar for males and females, regardless of body size. The average duration of copulation was similar for small and large males, but shorter for small than large females. The difference in the duration of copulation of small and large females was greater when it was with small rather than large males. The prolonged guarding of large females by small males may be explained by a trade-off between increasing the probability of inseminating an uneasily accessible high quality partner and copulating with more females.
The hypothesis that small species of aphidophagous coccinellids need lower aphid population densities for reproduction than large species (Dixon, 2007) was tested in the field. In 2006 we compared seasonal changes in the oviposition behaviour of two coccinellid species regularly found in cereal stands in central Europe, the large Coccinella septempunctata L. and the small Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (L.). Adults of both species were collected at 2-3 day intervals from stands of winter wheat and spring barley, females were allowed to deposit eggs for 24 h following collection and the percentage that laid eggs and the number of eggs were recorded. Both species colonized the cereal crop simultaneously in the middle of May. After colonization of the crop, while the aphid density was still low, few females of C. septempunctata oviposited and laid only a few eggs. Oviposition increased up to a maximum c. 1 month later and was closely associated with prey abundance. Of the females of P. quatuordecimpunctata, whose mass is about one quarter of that of the former species, the percentage ovipositing and number of eggs laid varied less in time and was less associated with prey abundance than in C. septempunctata. As predicted by theory, the small P. quatuordecimpunctata was more effective at exploiting the lower prey densities as it produced proportionally more of its eggs during the early stages of the aphid infestation than the larger C. septempunctata.
The aim of our study was to evaluate the adequacy of a new mapping device for obtaining a reliable set of normal maps characteristic for this approach. We studied body surface isochrone maps of peak R in four healthy adolescent girls using the mapping system CARDIAG 128.1 with 80 unipolar leads placed in a regular grid. The constructed maps were compared with published data using 10 criteria. None of the maps obtained could be regarded as normal. After evaluating the reasons for the "abnormality", we assume that they could be caused mostly by the processing of signals. This fact can be eliminated by improving the existing software.
The departure index area of departure maps before and after the PTCA procedure was evaluated in 10 randomly chosen patients with clinically significant ischaemic heart disease. The body surface mapping system CARD1AG 128.1, (ZPA Prague-£akovice) was used. The departure index was calculated using Kubota's formula. The departure indexes of the ST-T interval and departure maps of 36 ms and 80 ms intervals from the J point were followed. A decrease of the departure index area was considered as a sign of successful PTCA. A correct classification was made in 6 patients out of 9 (66 %) with successfully performed PTCA. The identification of one patient with unsuccessful PTCA procedure was also correctly determined. The overall correlation between the effect of PTCA and the departure index area change was 7 out of 10 (70 %). The authors consider this method to be a useful non-invasive method for identifying of successful or unsuccessful PTCA in patients with coronary artery disease.
Species number - body weight distributions are generally thought to be skewed to the right. While this pattern is well documented in vertebrates, comparative studies on species rich invertebrate taxa are still scarce. Here I show that the weight distributions of central European Coleoptera (based on 8257 species body weight data compiled from Freude et al., 1964-1994) are predominantly right skewed. Skewness and species richness per taxon were positively correlated. The number of modes of the body weight distributions was negatively correlated with species richness. 273 of the 558 genera had bimodal distributions. Species richness per genus did not significantly depend on mean genus body weight. In general the coleopteran size distributions differed from those of European Hymenoptera but were similar to the respective distributions of vertebrates. I conclude that we should be cautious when generalizing patterns found in one taxon.
In the present paper we describe changes of anatomical parameters in inbred Lewis strain rats, namely their body weight, body weight gain per week, absolute and relative heart, thyroid gland and skeletal muscle weights, that are assumed to reflect experimentally altered thyroid status. The hyperthyroid state was induced by DL-thyroxine or Na 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine, while methimazole was employed for inducing hypothyroidism. We have found that when compared to euthyroid rats, hypothyroidism resulted in a significantly lower body weight gain, absolute and relative heart weight and, in contrast, in a significant increase of absolute and relative thyroid gland weight. On the other hand, hyperthyroidism led to a significant increase of absolute and relative heart weight and to a significant reduction of absolute and relative thyroid gland weight. However, the body mass was not significantly altered in hyperthyroidism as compared with euthyroid rats. We conclude that our protocol leads to chronic hyper- or hypothyroidism as demonstrated by body, heart and thyroid gland weight changes. These anatomical data can thus be utilized as supplemental criteria for the assessment of the thyroid state of experimental rats., T. Soukup, G. Zachařová, V. Smerdu, I. Jirmanová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The aim of the current study was to clarify the effect of high sucrose diet (HSD) on bile formation (BF) in rats with hereditary hypertriglyceridemia (HHTg). Potentially positive effects were studied for boldine, a natural choleretic agent. Administration of HSD to HHTg rats led to increased triglyceride deposition in the liver. HSD reduced BF as a consequence of decreased biliary secretion of bile acids (BA) and glutathione. Responsible mechanism was down-regulation of hepatic transporters for BA and glutathione, Bsep and Mrp2, respectively. Moreover, gene expressions of transporters for other constituents of bile, namely Abcg5/8 for cholesterol, Abcb4 for phospholipids, and Oatp1a4 for xenobiotics, were also reduced by HSD. Boldine partially attenuated cholestatic effect of HSD by promotion of biliary secretion of BA through up-regulation of Bsep and Ntcp, and by increase in biliary secretion of glutathione as a consequence of its increased hepatic disposition. This study demonstrates mechanisms of impaired BF during nonalcoholic fatty liver disease induced by HSD. Altered function of responsible transporters suggests also potential for changes in kinetics of drugs, which may complicate pharmacotherapy in subjects with high intake of sucrose, and with fatty liver disease. Sucrose induced alterations in BF may be alleviated by administration of boldine., M. Zagorova, A. Prasnicka, Z. Kadova, E. Dolezelova, L. Kazdova, J. Cermanova, L. Rozkydalova, M. Hroch, J. Mokry, S. Micuda., and Obsahuje bibliografii