The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of troglitazone (TRO) - a new insulin-sensitizing agent - on some metabolic parameters in an experimental model of hypertriglyceridemia and insulin resistance, hereditary hypertriglyceridemic rats, and to compare its effects with those of vitamin E, an antioxidant agent. Three groups of the above rats were fed diets with a high content of sucrose (70 % of energy as sucrose) for four weeks. The first group was supplemented with TRO (120 mg/kg diet), the second one with vitamin E (500 mg/kg diet), and the third group served as the control. Vitamin E supplementation did not lower serum triglycerides (2.42±0.41 vs. 3.39±0.37 mmol/l, N.S.) while TRO did (1.87±0.24 vs. 3.39±0.37 mmol/l, p<0.01). Neither TRO nor vitamin E influenced the serum levels of free fatty acids (FFA). Both drugs influenced the spectrum of fatty acids in serum phospholipids - TRO increased the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) n-6 (36.04±1.61 vs. 19.65±1.56 mol %, p<0.001), vitamin E increased the levels of PUFA n-3 (13.30±0.87 vs. 6.79±0.87 mol %, p<0.001) and decreased the levels of saturated fatty acids (32.97±0.58 vs. 51.45±4.01 mol %, p<0.01). In conclusion, TRO lowered the level of serum triglycerides but vitamin E did not have this effect in hypertriglyceridemic rats. Compared with TRO, vitamin E had a different effect on the spectrum of fatty acids in serum phospholipids., Š. Chvojková, L. Kazdová, J. Divišová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A cytoskeletal network contributes significantly to intracellular regulation of mechanical stresses, cell motility and cellular mechanics. Thus, it plays a vital role in defining the mechanical behaviour of the cell. Among the wide range of models proposed for dynamic behaviour of cytoskeleton, the soft glassy rheology model has gained special attention due to the resemblance of its predictions with the mechanical data measured from experiment. The soft glassy material, theory of soft glassy rheology and experiment on cytoskeleton has been discussed, which leads to a discussion of the unique features and flaws of the model. The soft glassy rheological model provides a unique explanation of the cytoskeleton ability to deform, flow and remodel. and Obsahuje seznam literatury
For lower-semicontinuous and convex stochastic processes Zn and nonnegative random variables ϵn we investigate the pertaining random sets A(Zn,ϵn) of all ϵn-approximating minimizers of Zn. It is shown that, if the finite dimensional distributions of the Zn converge to some Z and if the ϵn converge in probability to some constant c, then the A(Zn,ϵn) converge in distribution to A(Z,c) in the hyperspace of Vietoris. As a simple corollary we obtain an extension of several argmin-theorems in the literature. In particular, in contrast to these argmin-theorems we do not require that the limit process has a unique minimizing point. In the non-unique case the limit-distribution is replaced by a Choquet-capacity.
The correlation between baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and the spectrum component at a frequency of 0.1 Hz of pulse intervals (PI) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) was studied. SBP and PI of 51 subjects were recorded beat-to-beat at rest (3 min), during exercise (0.5 W/kg of body weight, 9 min), and at rest (6 min) after exercise. BRS was determined by a spectral method (a modified alpha index technique). The subjects were divided into groups according to the spectral amplitude of SBP at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. The following limits of amplitude (in mm Hg) were used: very high ≥ 5.4 (VH); high 5.4 > H ≥ 3 (H); medium 3 > M ≥ 2 (M), low < 2 (L). We analyzed the relationships between 0.1 Hz variability in PI and BRS at rest, during the exercise and during recovery in subgroups VH, H, M, L. The 0.1 Hz variability of PI increased significantly with increasing BRS in each of the groups with identical 0.1 Hz variability in SBP. This relationship was shifted to the lower values of PI variability at the same BRS with a decrease in SBP variability. The primary SBP variability increased during exercise. The interrelationship between the variability of SBP, PI and BRS was identical at rest and during exercise. A causal interrelationship between the 0.1 Hz variability of SBP and PI, and BRS was shown. During exercise, the increasing primary variability in SBP due to sympathetic activation was present, but it did not change the relationship between variability in pulse intervals and BRS., N. Honzíková, A. Krtička, Z. Nováková, E. Závodná., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Two new species of coccidian parasites are described from African reptiles. Oocysts of Eimeria foulshami sp. n. from the plated lizard Gerrhosaurus major bottegoi Del Prato of Sudan are ellipsoidal, 24.1 × 14.9 (23-26.5 × 14-17.8) µm with a bilayered, colourless oocyst wall and lack polar granules. The ellipsoidal sporocysts average 8.6 × 4.6 (7-10.6 × 4.4-7) µm and possess a prominent, globular, sporocyst residuum. Oocysts of Caryospora regentensis sp. n. from the green mamba Dendroaspis viridis Hallowell of Kenya are spherical to subspherical, 16.8 × 16.4 (16-17.6 × 15-17.2) µm with a bilayered oocyst wall and a single polar granule. The ellipsoidal sporocysts average 13.0 × 10.3 (10.2-14 × 9.2-11) µm and possess a Stieda and substieda body and a prominent globular sporocyst residuum. Oocysts of Caryospora legeri Hoare, 1933 are reported from a hissing sand snake, Psammophis sibilans sibilans L. from Nigeria, representing a new geographical record. The oocysts are slightly larger than the type, but otherwise identical. Caryospora psammophi Bray, 1960 and C. hermae Bray, 1960 from Psammophis sibilans phillipsi, oocysts of which are morphologically similar to and overlap in dimensions with C. legeri Hoare, 1933, are synonymised with the latter species. Eimeria samiae Iskander et Tadros, 1979 is emended to E. samyadeli to reflect the gender of the person the species was named after and because E. sami is preoccupied. In addition to these findings, Eimeria bohemi Modrý, Šlapeta et Koudela, 2000 and oocysts of an unidentified spherical Eimeria sp. are reported from Chamaeleo dilepis dilepis Leach from Cameroon.
We have developed a PCR assay that in a single reaction distinguishes between Leishmania infantum and Leishmania donovani strains on the basis of different size of the amplicon. The targeted intergenic region between putative biopterin transporter and nucleotide binding protein on chromosome 35 is highly variable, species-specific and can be amplified from clinical samples. Based on the assay, five tested Leishmania archibaldi and L. infantum strains from the Sudan and Ethiopia clearly belong to L. donovani, which is in accordance with a recent multifactorial analysis of these strains. The nucleotide sequence reported in this paper has been submitted to the GenBankTM with accession number EU068004.
Opegaster ouemoensis sp. n. is described from Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes (Gobiidae). Distinctive features included the weak or undetectable papillae of the ventral sucker and the small, but distinct cirrus-sac. The new species is compared with 25 marine species of Opegaster for which a table of measurements and ratios is presented. The new combination Opegaster queenslandicus (Aken'Ova, 2007) (originally in Opecoelus) is formed. Fifteen mudskippers were intensively examined for parasites; larval anisakid nematodes and acanthocephalans were found, but no monogeneans, cestodes, copepods, isopods, hirudineans or adult nematodes. A brief summary of the helminth parasites of mudskippers is included.
The antipyretic effect of AVP, α-MSH and ACTH consists in lowering the thrmoregulatory threshold and in shortening the time span of the fever. Thus, neuropeptides influence activity of hypothalamic neurones regulating body temperature. This was confirmed by recent experiments of Moravec (this volume) which indicate that spontaneous activity and thermosensitivity of neurones in hypothalamic slices can be influenced, by AVP. Why neuropeptides of different chemical structure such as AVT, on one hand, and α-MSH and ACTH, on the other hand, induce the same effect on thermoregulation remains to be elucidated.