Molecular analysis of an extensive specimen collection of morphologically distinct tapeworms of the genus Caryophyllaeus Gmelin, 1790 (Cestoda: Caryophyllidea), parasites of cyprinid fishes in the Palaearctic Region, brought evidence of host-related plasticity in critical morphological characters widely used for species circumscription and classification of these tapeworms. The results obtained here do not support the traditionally used morphological concept of species-defining characters of the order Caryophyllidea Carus, 1863, especially due to high morphological plasticity of the scolex and the anterior end of the body. Several morphotypes within both Caryophyllaeus laticeps (Pallas, 1781) and Caryophyllaeus brachycollis Janiszewska, 1953 generally corresponding to different hosts and geographical regions, were recognised likely suggesting host- and geography-related intraspecific morphological variability. Genetic data confirmed euryxenous host specificity of both species, most profoundly C. laticeps, but did not support the existence of cryptic species. In fact, some of the fish hosts may harbour both of the congeneric species including several of their respective morphotypes. The pattern of morphological and genetic divergence observed in both cestode species studied indicates a scenario of possible host range extensions and subsequent parasite diversification. If molecular sequence variability and host-related morphological polymorphism are confirmed in other groups of monozoic cestodes, it may complicate species identification and straightforward classification of these parasites.
The effect of tonsillectomy on production of Czech vowels /a/ and /i/ is numerically examined. Similar experimental studies are difficult to realise on living subjects. Finite element (FE) models of the acoustic spaces corresponding to the human vocal tract for the Czech vowels /a/ and /i/ with acoustic space around the human head are used in numerical simulations of phonation. The acoustic resonant characteristics of the FE models are studied by modal and transient analyses. The production of vowels is simulated in time-domain using transient analysis of FE models excited at the position of vocal folds by analytically desctibed Liljencrants-Fant‘s (LF) glottal signal model. The results show that tonsillectomy causes frequency shifts of some formant frequencies up to 150 Hz. The frequency shift of formants significantly depends on position and size of the tonsils. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
We establish some sufficient conditions under which the subspaces of Dunford-Pettis operators, of M-weakly compact operators, of L-weakly compact operators, of weakly compact operators, of semi-compact operators and of compact operators coincide and we give some consequences.
Watermelon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Mansfeld] is a photophilic plant, whose net photosynthetic rate was significantly decreased when seedlings were grown under low light condition. However, treatment with 100 mg kg-1 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) could significantly restore the photosynthetic ability under the environmental stress. The parameters of leaf gas exchange, chlorophyll modulated fluorescence and fast induction fluorescence of the ALA-treated plants were higher than that of the control. Additionally, ALA treatment increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Nevertheless, the treatment of diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), an inhibitor of SOD activity, dramatically depressed photosynthesis of watermelon leaves, while ALA could reverse the inhibition of DDC. Therefore, it can be deduced that ALA promotion on photosynthesis of watermelon leaves under low light stress is attributed to its promotion on antioxidant enzyme activities, and the increased activities of the enzymes, which are mainly located near the reaction centers of PSI, can scavenge superoxide anions, leading to an increase of apparent electron transport rate and an alleviation of photosynthetic photoinhibition under the stressed environment. and Y.-P. Sun, Z.-P. Zhang, L.-J. Wang.