Among-population variation in drought responses is consistent across life stages but not between native and non-native ranges.

Understanding how widespread species adapt to variation in abiotic conditions across their ranges is fundamental to ecology. Insight may come from studying how among-population variation (APV) in the common garden corresponds with the environmental conditions of source populations. However, there are no such studies comparing native vs non-native populations across multiple life stages.

The driving factors of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substance (PFAS) accumulation in selected fish species: The influence of position in river continuum, fish feed composition, and pollutant properties.

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) represent a group of highly recalcitrant micropollutants, that continuously endanger the environment. The present work describes the geographical trends of fish contamination by individual PFASs (including new compounds, e.g.

Perinatal hypoxic-ischemic damage: review of the current treatment possibilities.

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a disorder with heterogeneous manifestation due to asphyxia during perinatal period. It affects approximately 3-12 children per 1000 live births and cause death of 1 million neonates worldwide per year. Besides, motor disabilities, seizures, impaired muscle tone and epilepsy are few of the consequences of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

What mental health experts in Slovakia are learning from COVID-19 pandemic?

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Slovakia on 6th March 2020. To date of paper submission, it has very favorable course. However, since the beginning healthcare workers have been working under increasing pressure, anxiety and fear.

Perioperative care of elderly patients.

As life expectancy increases in economically developed countries, there is an increasing need for medical care for the elderly. In surgical fields, this means that the number and spectrum of surgical interventions in elderly patients is increasing. Because of this special attention should be paid to the preoperative evaluation in these patients.

Intraspecific variability in allelopathy of Heracleum mantegazzianum is linked to the metabolic profile of root exudates.

Background And Aims: Allelopathy may drive invasions of some exotic plants, although empirical evidence for this theory remains largely inconclusive. This could be related to the large intraspecific variability of chemically mediated plant-plant interactions, which is poorly studied. This study addressed intraspecific variability in allelopathy of Heracleum mantegazzianum (giant hogweed), an invasive species with a considerable negative impact on native communities and ecosystems.

CT imaging and spontaneous behavior analysis after osmotic blood-brain barrier opening in Wistar rat.

In our previous experiments we demonstrated that osmotic opening of the blood brain barrier (BBB) in rats by administration of mannitol into the internal carotid artery leads to cerebral edema. The aim of this study was to confirm objectively the development of brain edema and determine whether it affects spontaneous locomotor activity in rats (SLA). Brain edema was verified by computer tomography (CT) examination of the brain and SLA was observed during open field test.

Influence of low-dose neonatal domoic acid on the spontaneous behavior of rats in early adulthood.

Consumption of seafood containing toxin domoic acid (DA) causes an alteration of glutamatergic signaling pathways and could lead to various signs of neurotoxicity in animals and humans. Neonatal treatment with domoic acid was suggested as valuable model of schizophrenia and epilepsy. We tested how repeated early postnatal DA administration influences the spontaneous behavior of rats in adulthood.

Subconvulsive dose of kainic acid transiently increases the locomotor activity of adult Wistar rats.

Kainic acid (KA) is a potent neurotoxic substance valuable in research of temporal lobe epilepsy. We tested how subconvulsive dose of KA influences spontaneous behavior of adult Wistar rats. Animals were treated with 5 mg/kg of KA and tested in Laboras open field test for one hour in order to evaluate various behavioral parameters.

Low dose domoic acid influences spontaneous behavior in adult rats.

Domoic acid (DA) is a potent marine neurotoxine present in seafood. Intoxication by DA causes gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea and also the so-called amnesic shellfish poisoning (inflicting memory impairment and seizures). Since exposure to non-convulsive doses is relevant to the human health, we investigated the effect of low dose DA administration in adult Wistar rats.

Fast and delayed locomotor response to acute high-dose nicotine administration in adult male rats.

The aim of the present study was to compare the immediate and delayed locomotor response to high-dose nicotine (NIC) administration in rats. The vertical and horizontal activity of behavior in adult male rats exposed to 1 mg/kg NIC or saline (SAL) were tested in a Laboras apparatus for one hour after drug application. Animals were then returned to their cages and housed for another seven days.

Influence of allopurinol on evoked cortical afterdischarges during early ontogenesis.

The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis, whether repeated allopurinol pre-treatment (in dose of 135 mg/kg s.c.) can influence changes of brain excitability caused by long-term hypoxia exposition in young immature rats.

Ascorbic acid and alpha-tocopherol protect age-dependently from hypoxia-induced changes of cortical excitability in developing rats.

Objectives: The effects of ascorbic acid and α-tocopherol pre-treatment on hypoxia induced changes in brain cortex excitability were tested in immature rats exposed chronically to simulated altitude of 7 000 m.

Methods: Rat pups were kept together with their mothers for 8 hours a day in hypobaric chamber since the day of the birth till the postnatal day 11 or 17. Each day immediately before placing to hypobaric chamber pups were pretreated intraperitoneally either with ascorbic acid (100 mg/kg) or α-tocopherol (1 500 mg/kg).

Histopathological autoptic findings in 8 patients with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) pneumonia.

Unlabelled: In the years 2009 and 2010 a novel influenza A (H1N1) caused the first influenza pandemic after 41 years. In the Czech Republic it culminated in November and December 2009 and there were 101 laboratory-confirmed deaths. Another few cases occurred later in the year 2010 and at the beginning of 2011.

Nicotine and kainic acid effects on cortical epileptic afterdischarges in immature rats.

Aim of the study was to test the effect of nicotine (NIC) and kainic acid (KA) co-treatment in immature rats. Male Wistar albino rats (two different age groups) were chosen for the study. Experiments started on postnatal day (PD) 8 or 21 and animals were treated twice a day for three days with nicotine, fourth day KA was administered.

Impact of chronic ethanol intake of rat mothers on the seizure susceptibility of their immature male offspring.

The aim of present study was to examine the impact of prenatal ethanol exposure on seizure susceptibility of the offspring. Pregnant Wistar rats were compelled to drink either 10% or 20% ethanol solution, as the only drinking fluid since conception up to the weaning of their offspring at the age of 28 days. Pregnant and nursing rats of the control group drank water.

Magnesium and posthypoxic changes of nitrergic population in rat hippocampus.

We used NADPH-diaphorase staining to study effects of magnesium pre-treatment during long-lasting hypoxia on the brain structure of rats. NADPH-diaphorase is an enzyme co-localized in neurons with NO-synthase that is responsible for NO synthesis. NO participates in hypoxic-ischaemic injury of the brain.

Voltammetric determination of aminobiphenyls at a boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond film electrode.

Voltammetric behavior of 2-aminobiphenyl, 3-aminobiphenyl, and 4-aminobiphenyl at a boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond film electrode was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. Optimum conditions have been found for the determination of those genotoxic substances by differential pulse voltammetry at the above given electrode in the concentration range of 2 x 10(-7) to 1 x 10(-5) mol/L.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) profiles of vulvar lesions: possible implications for the classification of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma precursors and for the efficacy of prophylactic HPV vaccination.

The term vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) introduced in 1986 incorporates 3 grades of usual VIN (u-VIN I-III) and the differentiated VIN (d-VIN). Although u-VIN is etiologically associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, d-VIN represents an alternative HPV negative pathway of vulvar carcinogenesis. In 2004, the u-VIN I category was abandoned and u-VIN II and III were merged.

[Kainic acid and neurobiology].

Kainic acid, the analog of excitatory amino acid L-glutamate, interacts with specific receptors in the central nervous system. During last 25 years it has become a tool for studying many human brain disorders, for example human temporal lobe epilepsy, Huntington's chorea etc. Systemic administration of kainic acid results in neuronal death in experimental animals.

Pentylentetrazol associated changes of hippocampal neurons in immature rats.

Using histochemical analysis, the NADPH-diaphorase, Fluoro-Jade B and bis-benzimide (Hoechst 33342) the effect of intraperitoneal administration of pentylentetrazol (PTZ) on hippocampal neurons was studied. 18-day-old male rats of the Wistar strain received PTZ (60 mg/kg) in one dose. The next day, the 19-day-old animals were transcardially perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde under deep thiopental anaesthesia.

Kainic acid and nitrergic neurons in immature hippocampus.

Using histochemical analysis the effect of intraperitoneal administration of kainic acid on hippocampal neurons was studied. 18-day-old male rats of the Wistar strain received kainic acid (10mg/kg) in one dose. Two days later, the 20-day-old animals were transcardially perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde under deep thiopental anaesthesia.

Changes of hippocampal neurons after perinatal exposure to ethanol.

The effect of ethanol on the structural development of the central nervous system was studied in offspring of Wistar rats, drinking 20 % ethanol during pregnancy and till the 28th day of their postnatal life. The structural changes in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus were analyzed at the age of 18, 35 and 90 days. A lower width of pyramidal and granular cell layers, cell extinction and fragmentation of numerous nuclei were found in all experimental animals compared to control animals.