Carbon border adjustment mechanism challenges and implications: The case of Visegrád countries.

Stricter climate policies across the European Union are enhancing the phenomenon of free riding by nonacting countries, which translates into carbon leakage and loss of competitiveness. This paper investigates the trade, economic and environmental implications of the future implementation of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in Visegrád countries as EU member states. We exploit trade data to estimate price and income elasticities for emission-intensive trade-exposed (EITE) goods imported from non-EU trading partners to Visegrád countries.

Research in the Field of Drug Design and Development.

The processes used by academic and industrial scientists to discover new drugs have recently experienced a true renaissance, with many new and exciting techniques being developed over the past 5-10 years alone. Drug design and discovery, and the search for new safe and well-tolerated compounds, as well as the ineffectiveness of existing therapies, and society's insufficient knowledge concerning the prophylactics and pharmacotherapy of the most common diseases today, comprise a serious challenge. This can influence not only the quality of human life, but also the health of whole societies, which became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DMD Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Cardiac Cells Recapitulate Human Cardiac Pathophysiology.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe genetic disorder characterized by the lack of functional dystrophin. DMD is associated with progressive dilated cardiomyopathy, eventually leading to heart failure as the main cause of death in DMD patients. Although several molecular mechanisms leading to the DMD cardiomyocyte (DMD-CM) death were described, mostly in mouse model, no suitable human CM model was until recently available together with proper clarification of the DMD-CM phenotype and delay in cardiac symptoms manifestation.

Percentile Curves for Body-Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Waist-To-Height Ratio and Waist-To-Height Ratio(Exp) in Croatian Adolescents.

Purpose: The main purpose of the present study was to establish percentile curves for body-mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and WHtR(exp) in adolescents.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 1036 secondary-school students aged 15 to 18 years from eight randomly selected schools (55.3% girls).

Alternative method to measure the VAT gap in the EU: Stochastic tax frontier model approach.

In this paper, we pursue an alternative method to measure the Value Added Tax gap in the European Union using the stochastic tax frontier model. We use the Value Added Tax total tax liability as the input to estimate the optimal frontier of the Value Added Tax, as well as to predict technical inefficiency. Using the latest innovations of the stochastic frontier approach, we aim to obtain the accurate size of the Value Added Tax gap in the EU-26 countries and contrast them with extant estimates.

Antioxidant status of rats' blood and liver affected by sodium selenite and selenium nanoparticles.

Background: Selenium is an essential element; however, at higher doses, it can be toxic. Therefore, alternative nanotechnological solutions are required to overcome toxicological issues, rather than conventional alternatives. Nanoparticles show new and promising properties that may be able to suppress toxicity while maintaining the positive effects of selenium on an organism.

Metronomic therapy has low toxicity and is as effective as current standard treatment for recurrent high-risk neuroblastoma.

The metronomic therapy concept uses low doses of continuously applied chemotherapeutic, anti-angiogenetic, and immunomodulating drugs. Twenty patients with recurrent and 3 with refractory high-risk neuroblastoma were treated by the metronomic concept using celecoxib, cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, and etoposide for up to 24 months. The outcome was compared to 274 matched patients with a first recurrence from stage 4 neuroblastoma using the variables time from diagnosis to first recurrence, number of organs involved, and MYCN amplification.

[Non-intubated, uniportal, video assisted thoracic surgery [VATS] lobectomy, as a new procedure in our department].

Aim: Due to the emerging experience in VATS (video assisted thoracic surgery) lobectomies, in some centers the so called "non-intubated" VATS lobectomies (NITS - non-intubated thoracic surgery) gained increased authority, during which endotracheal intubation and muscle relaxation of the patient is not carried out, thus surgery is being performed with the patient breathing spontaneously. The recent study deals with our initial experience gained during uniportal NITS VATS lobectomies.

Patients And Method: Between 24.

Limb volume measurements: comparison of accuracy and decisive parameters of the most used present methods.

Limb volume measurements are used for evaluating growth of muscle mass and effectivity of strength training. Beside sport sciences, it is used e.g.

Study of linkage between glutathione pathway and the antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli from patients' swabs.

In this work, we focused on the differences between bacterial cultures of E. coli obtained from swabs of infectious wounds of patients compared to laboratory E. coli.

Increased cardio-ankle vascular index in hyperlipidemic patients without diabetes or hypertension.

Aim: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a sensitive non-invasive marker of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis. The aim of this work was to compare the CAVI values in patients with dyslipidemia (without diabetes mellitus and hypertension) and healthy controls.

Methods: A Total 248 subjects with dyslipidemia (104 men, 144 women), 55.

Diversity of zoonotic enterohepatic Helicobacter species and detection of a putative novel gastric Helicobacter species in wild and wild-born captive chimpanzees and western lowland gorillas.

A number of Helicobacter species cause gastrointestinal or hepatic disease in humans, including H. pylori, gastric non-H. pylori helicobacters from animal origin and enterohepatic Helicobacter species.

Cardio-ankle vascular index in subjects with dyslipidaemia and other cardiovascular risk factors.

Aim: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a novel non-invasive marker of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis. The aim of this work was to examine whether the CAVI value in patients with dyslipidaemia (DLP) is increased by the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and smoking.

Methods: A total of 392 subjects with DLP (166 male, 226 female), with a median age of 58.

Cardio-ankle vascular index in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.

Aim: The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is a new non-invasive marker of arterial stiffness and atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to compare CAVI in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and in healthy controls.

Methods: 82 FH subjects (27 males, 65 females), aged 53.

Pectate hydrolases of parsley (Petroselinum crispum) roots.

The presence of various enzyme forms with terminal action pattern on pectate was evaluated in a protein mixture obtained from parsley roots. Enzymes found in the soluble fraction of roots (juice) were purified to homogeneity according to SDS-PAGE, partially separated by preparative isoelectric focusing and characterized. Three forms with pH optima 3.

Electrical stimulation of skeletal muscles. An alternative to aerobic exercise training in patients with chronic heart failure?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether electrical stimulation of skeletal muscles could represent a rehabilitation alternative for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Thirty patients with CHF and NYHA class II-III were randomly assigned to a rehabilitation program using either electrical stimulation of skeletal muscles or bicycle training. Patients in the first group (n = 15) had 8 weeks of home-based low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) applied simultaneously to the quadriceps and calf muscles of both legs (1 h/day for 7 days/week); patients in the second group (n = 15) underwent 8 weeks of 40 minute aerobic exercise (3 times a week).

Influence of flow design on microcirculation in conditions of undulation pump-left ventricle assist device testing.

To study the microvessels in bulbar conjunctiva, we conducted an experiment in goat with a pneumatically driven left heart bypass pump, which was replaced with an undulation pump-left ventricle assist device for 9 days. Three flow patterns were tested: complete pulsatile, continuous, and percentage of pulsatile. We studied the morphology of arterioles and venules of the bulbar conjunctiva using photograph records.

Novel cation [N(SO2NMe3)2]+ and its synthesis and crystal structure. Dichloride of imido-bis(sulfuric) acid HN(SO2Cl)2. Part 1. Crystal structures of KN(SO2Cl)2.(1/2)CH3CN, KN(SO2Cl)2.(1/6)CH2Cl2, and [PCl4][N(SO2Cl)2].

Several salts of bis(chlorosulfonyl)imide HN(SO2Cl)2 (1), namely, two solvates of its potassium salt, KN(SO2Cl)2.(1/2)CH3CN (1K1), KN(SO2Cl)2.(1/6)CH2Cl2 (1K2), and its tetrachlorophosphonium salt, [PCl4][N(SO2Cl)2] (2), were prepared and structurally characterized.

Using nematodes in soil ecotoxicology.

Nematodes represent a very abundant group of soil organisms and non-parasitic species are important for soil quality and in the soil food web. In recent years, it has been shown that nematodes are appropriate bioindicators of soil condition and they are also suitable organisms for laboratory toxicity testing. The aims of this paper are to overview and critically assess methods and approaches for researching soil nematode ecotoxicology.

Standardisation in ultrasonography: principle and diagnostic significance.

Disadvantage of ultrasonography is its dependence on subjective assessment of displayed images. The way how to minimize both intraobserver and interobserver differences is creation of standard conditions for examination including a quantitative approach to evaluation of tissue reflectivity. The oldest mode of standardisation is standardised A- scan, used in ophthalmology.

Recombinant urokinase is safe and effective in restoring patency to occluded central venous access devices: a multiple-center, international trial.

Background: The treatment of choice for central venous access device (CVAD) occlusion is intracatheter thrombolysis, which has been reported to reestablish patency in up to 80% of cases. However, these salient results have only been achieved in highly selected CVAD subgroups such as nontunneled devices in adult patients, devices with recent occlusion, and in partially occluded devices through which fluid can still be infused (withdrawal occlusions). Less is known about the success of intracatheter thrombolysis in the broader range of CVAD malfunction encountered in clinical practice, especially in those devices that are totally occluded.

Electron paramagnetic resonance study of free-radical kinetics in ultraviolet-light cured dimethacrylate copolymers.

A spin-trapping technique and direct kinetic measurements of electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were used to investigate the kinetics of radical production in the cross-linking photo-initiator system based on camphoroquinone and dimethyl-aminoethylmethacrylate in the presence of the corresponding monomer dimethacrylate copolymer mixture, as well as in the pure photo-initiator system. Consequently, in both cases, the kinetics of radical production and decay was measured. From the measured data the formal kinetic parameters of particular radical processes were calculated by the non-linear least-squares regression method.

Monitoring microbial biomass and respiration in different soils from the Czech Republic--a summary of results.

The microbial biomass (Cbio), respiration (basal respiration (BR) and potential respiration (PR)), and derived indices for 520 independent soil samples of 117 different soils from the Czech Republic were statistically analysed. The broad range of soil samples allowed the stepwise breakdown of the database into six reasonable categories of soil: arable soils, loamy grassland soils, sandy grassland soils with weak organic matter content, sandy grassland soils with moderate organic matter content, forest soils with moderate organic matter content, and forest organic soils with rich organic matter content. Because soil microbiology lacks benchmarking values, the ranges of the microbial characteristics for these categories were stated and are presented here.

Melatonin protects against ischemia-reperfusion injury and inhibits apoptosis in isolated working rat heart.

INTRODUCTION: Melatonin (MEL), a pineal hormone, is well known as a potent antioxidant in a variety of ischemia-reperfusion models. Recent studies have assumed a pivotal role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the development of apoptosis. There are few pieces of information concerning a possible protective role of MEL against apoptosis in ischemia-reperfusion injury of myocardium.

Frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the PRNP gene in Polish Red, Czech Pied and Czech Black-and-White cattle.

Frequencies of alleles and genotypes of the PRNP gene in 65 Polish Red cows kept under a conservation programme and 52 randomly chosen cows of two Czech breeds: Czech Pied (42) and Black-and-White (10) were studied. All cows were at the age of 4 years or older. It was found that the frequency of allele 5 (5 copies of the octapeptide repeat) ranged from 0.