Use of Telehealth in Autism Spectrum Disorder Assessment in Children: Evaluation of an Online Diagnostic Protocol Including the Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the need to develop the field of remote assessment for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of the study was to evaluate an online assessment protocol that includes the Brief Observation of Symptoms of Autism (BOSA). The online protocol consisting of BOSA and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) was administered by experienced examiners to 29 children with suspected ASD.

Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis in wild small mammals from the Czech Republic.

Wild rodents are an important source of the tick-borne pathogens Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of antibodies and possible coexistence of these pathogens in wild small mammals from three localities in the Czech Republic. A total of 614 wild small mammals (324 Apodemus flavicollis, 145 Myodes glareolus, 50 Sorex araneus, 48 A.

Detection of antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in wild small mammals and sensitivity of PCR and cultivation.

The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi s.l.

Pilot study of Ixodes ricinus ticks preference for human ABO blood groups using a simple in vitro method.

Introduction And Objectives: The existence of a blood group preference for ticks is a problem widely discussed among the lay public but often neglected by the scientific community. The tick transmits serious zoonotic diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, tick encephalitis, or anaplasmosis. The preventive strategies include vaccination (if available) and individual measures including the use of repellents and avoidance of risk areas.

Divergent branches of mitochondrial signaling regulate specific genes and the viability of specialized cell types of differentiated yeast colonies.

Mitochondrial retrograde signaling mediates communication from altered mitochondria to the nucleus and is involved in many normal and pathophysiological changes, including cell metabolic reprogramming linked to cancer development and progression in mammals. The major mitochondrial retrograde pathway described in yeast includes three activators, Rtg1p, Rtg2p and Rtg3p, and repressors, Mks1p and Bmh1p/Bmh2p. Using differentiated yeast colonies, we show that Mks1p-Rtg pathway regulation is complex and includes three branches that divergently regulate the properties and fate of three specifically localized cell subpopulations via signals from differently altered mitochondria.

Activity of the tick Ixodes ricinus monitored in a suburban park in Brno, Czech Republic, in association with the evaluation of selected repellents.

The ever-increasing number of Lyme borreliosis patients led us to consider more effective procedures for disease prevention. The aim of our study was to monitor the annual activity and infectivity of Ixodes ricinus ticks in the Pisárky region, City of Brno, CR, and to test the responses of the locally-captured ticks to selected repellents. The result of regular one-hour-per-week monitoring in 2011 was the collection of ticks that directly reflected the highest number of Lyme disease patients (4,835) detected throughout the period of recording in the Czech Republic.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces cigarette consumption in schizophrenia patients.

Introduction: High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) seemed to decrease tobacco consumption and craving in nicotine-dependent people without psychiatric disorder or otherwise healthy people. Even if the prevalence of cigarette smoking in schizophrenia patients is high and estimated to be between 45% and 88%, this technique has not been systematically studied in this indication in schizophrenia yet.

The Aim Of The Study: The aim of this study was to test the ability of high-frequency (10Hz) rTMS over the left DLPFC to decrease cigarette consumption in schizophrenia patients.

SUN family proteins Sun4p, Uth1p and Sim1p are secreted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and produced dependently on oxygen level.

The SUN family is comprised of proteins that are conserved among various yeasts and fungi, but that are absent in mammals and plants. Although the function(s) of these proteins are mostly unknown, they have been linked to various, often unrelated cellular processes such as those connected to mitochondrial and cell wall functions. Here we show that three of the four Saccharomyces cerevisiae SUN family proteins, Uth1p, Sim1p and Sun4p, are efficiently secreted out of the cells in different growth phases and their production is affected by the level of oxygen.

Prevalence of remission and recovery in schizophrenia in the Czech Republic.

Objective: The aim of the study was to map the point prevalence of remission and recovery in patients with schizophrenia in the Czech Republic.

Method: The point-symptomatic remission criteria were based on the definition of remission in schizophrenia according to Andreasen, without the time criterion. The definition of complete remission contained, in addition to the point-symptomatic remission criteria, a time aspect which was determined by the absence of psychiatric hospitalisation or a change in antipsychotic medications due to inefficiency in the preceding six months.

The transport of carboxylic acids and important role of the Jen1p transporter during the development of yeast colonies.

On solid substrates, yeast colonies pass through distinct developmental phases characterized by the changes in pH of their surroundings from acidic to nearly alkaline and vice versa. At the beginning of the alkali phase colonies start to produce ammonia, which functions as a quorum-sensing molecule inducing the reprogramming of cell metabolism. Such reprogramming includes, among others, the activation of several plasma membrane transporters and is connected with colony differentiation.

Can repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation be considered effective treatment option for negative symptoms of schizophrenia?

Objective: Despite the development of second-generation antipsychotic drugs, treatment-resistant symptoms still represent a serious problem in schizophrenia. The aim of the present article was to review studies with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for negative symptoms of schizophrenia and draw conclusions for clinical decision making.

Method: Literature for this review was identified by searching MEDLINE and ISI Web of Science up to the year 2011.

Ato protein interactions in yeast plasma membrane revealed by fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM).

Each of the three plasma membrane Ato proteins is involved in ammonium signalling and the development of yeast colonies. This suggests that although these proteins are homologous, they do not functionally substitute for each other, but may form a functional complex. Here, we present a detailed combined FRET, FLIM and photobleaching study, which enabled us to detect interactions between Ato proteins found in distinct compartments of yeast cells.

Dynamics of neurological soft signs and its relationship to clinical course in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

The aim of the study was to assess the dynamics of neurological soft signs (NSS) over four years from the clinical onset of schizophrenia, depending on the clinical course of the disease, and to evaluate the relationship of NSS to symptomatic dimensions in patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Sixty-eight patients with first-episode schizophrenia were included in the trial. The clinical status was assessed using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at the same time as the neurological examination, at admission to the hospital for first-episode schizophrenia and at a check-up examination four years later.

[Monitoring the prevalence of pathogenic Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in ticks in two Brno locations].

Objective: The aim of the article is to present the results of monitoring the prevalence of the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) in Ixodes ricinus ticks in two different locations in the city of Brno, Pisárky and Zamilovaný hájek (ZH). At the same time, factors potentially affecting the activity of ticks in these locations were studied. Results of the monitoring carried out in the first three spring months of the year 2011 are compared with 2010 results.

Effect of electroconvulsive therapy on cortical excitability in a patient with long-term remission of schizophrenia: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.

The exact effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the brain are still not accurately known. Hypotheses considered include the effect of ECT on cortical excitability of the brain. The aim of this trial was to assess the changes in cortical excitability in the brain of a patient with remitted schizophrenia, undergoing maintenance ECT.

Attentional networks in euthymic patients with unipolar depression.

Background: The capacity to focus and concentrate or to direct attention supports many aspects of cognitive functioning including short-term memory and higher-level cognitive functions. The purpose was to assess attentional networks in euthymic patients with unipolar depression using the Attentional Network Test (ANT).

Materials And Methods: We investigated performance of attention by virtue of ANT during remission from unipolar depressive disorder and tested a hypothesis that there are no differences between outpatient group (euthymic patients, N=32) and matched controls in attentional variables, the relationship of attentional networks and everyday cognitive failures.

Paliperidon mediated modification of cortical inhibition.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a neurophysiological method which enables direct quantitative in vivo assessment of cortical excitability and inhibition. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of paliperidone on the motor threshold and cortical silent period, in a drug-naive patient, with first episode schizophrenia using this technique. Paliperidone monotherapy caused a significant reduction of severity of schizophrenic symptomatology in the patient.

Cognitive deficits in the euthymic phase of unipolar depression.

Although neuropsychological deficits have been reported in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) during an acute episode, relatively little is known about the persistence of these deficits in remission. This study investigated the performance of attention, executive function and verbal memory during remission from unipolar depressive episodes. We tested the hypothesis that outpatients do not differ in cognitive variables from controls.

Gray matter morphology and the level of functioning in one-year follow-up of first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Unlabelled: Schizophrenia is a condition with a highly variable course that is hard to predict. The aim of the present study was to investigate if local gray matter volume (GMV) can differentiate poor (PF) and good (GF) functioning patients using voxel-wise analysis in a group of first-episode schizophrenia subjects (FES).

Method: 32 FES male patients were assessed twice: at the time of the first episode of schizophrenia and one year later.

Synchronous plasma membrane electrochemical potential oscillations during yeast colony development and aging.

Microorganisms that survive in natural environments form organized multicellular communities, biofilms and colonies with specific properties. During stress and nutrient limitation, slow growing and senescent cells in such communities retain vital processes by maintaining plasma membrane integrity and retaining the ability to generate transmembrane electrochemical gradients. We report the use of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae colonial model to show that population growth in a multicellular community depends on nutrient diffusion and that resting cells start to accumulate from the beginning of the second acidic phase of colony development.

Putative role for ABC multidrug exporters in yeast quorum sensing.

Pleiotropic drug resistance (PDR) transporters play essential roles in cell resistance to various toxic compounds in various organisms including bacteria, mammals and yeasts. A large group of PDR transporters have been described in yeasts so far, including those that are controlled by transcription factor Pdr1p. Here, we show that besides their role in removing extracellularly added toxic compounds, the Pdr5p and Snq2p transporters play important physiological roles and significantly influence the developmental phases and physiology of yeast populations growing in a liquid culture.

Metabolic diversification of cells during the development of yeast colonies.

Microorganisms in nature form organized multicellular structures (colonies, biofilms) possessing properties absent in individual cells. These are often related to the better ability of communities to survive long-lasting starvation and stress and include mechanisms of adaptation and cell specialization. Thus, yeast colonies pass through distinct developmental phases characterized by changes in pH and the production of ammonia-signalling molecules.