Elektrochemická detekce biomolekul se neustále posouvá a má velký potenciál využití v klinické praxi. V posledních letech je kladen důraz na přesné a rychlé stanovení biomarkerů na bázi nukleových kyselin – DNA a RNA. Značná část výzkumných projektů však nereflektuje požadavky na demonstraci vyvinutých metod na klinickém materiálu, což jejich aplikační potenciál značně snižuje. Klinický materiál vnáší do výzkumu oproti modelovým vzorkům větší variabilitu a práce s ním vyžaduje specifické podmínky. Problém získávání klinického materiálu pro výzkumné účely z velké části řeší banky biologického materiálu, které mohou nabídnout vzorky a data vhodné pro konkrétní výzkumný záměr.

Precise diagnostics of cancer or other diseases is crucial when selecting proper treatment. Personalized medicine puts high demands on the accuracy of nucleic acid biomarkers analysis, where subtle differences at the nucleotide level are often involved. Isothermal amplification techniques offer new possibilities of DNA and RNA amplification without using PCR, and their combination with electrochemistry provide a promising fast and cost-effective alternative diagnostic tool. Although electrochemical biosensors are still insufficiently applied to clinical material, thus hindering their development, recent advancements show great promise in translational research. Banks of biological material (biobanks) are specialized workplaces focused on the long-term preservation and processing of clinical material and offer a wide range of expert services, primarily for research purposes, in particular the provision of biological samples and associated pseudonymized data. Their involvement in the field of electrochemical biosensors can facilitate application of electrochemical methods into clinical laboratories and expand the portfolio of currently used diagnostic methods.

• MeSH
• Biological Specimen Banks MeSH
• Biosensing Techniques methods   MeSH
• Electrochemical Techniques * methods   MeSH
• Biomarkers, Tumor * analysis   classification   MeSH
• Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques methods   MeSH
• Translational Research, Biomedical MeSH
• Publication type
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

BACKGROND: One of the important areas of heart research is to analyze heart rate variability during (HRV) walking. OBJECTIVE: In this research, we investigated the correction between heart activation and the variations of walking paths. METHOD: We employed Shannon entropy to analyze how the information content of walking paths affects the information content of HRV. Eight healthy students walked on three designed walking paths with different information contents while we recorded their ECG signals. We computed and analyzed the Shannon entropy of the R-R interval time series (as an indicator of HRV) versus the Shannon entropy of different walking paths and accordingly evaluated their relation. RESULTS: According to the obtained results, walking on the path that contains more information leads to less information in the R-R time series. CONCLUSION: The analysis method employed in this research can be extended to analyze the relation between other physiological signals (such as brain or muscle reactions) and the walking path.

• MeSH
• Time Factors MeSH
• Walking * MeSH
• Electrocardiography * MeSH
• Entropy MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Heart Rate physiology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Kolorektální karcinom má v České republice nejvyšší četnost výskytu a zaujímá jednu z čelních příček incidence na světě. Pouze nemocní s resekovatelnými vzdálenými metastázami mají naději na vyléčení. Hlavním cílem onkologické léčby tedy zůstává prodloužení přežití a zlepšení kvality života. Možnosti klasické chemoterapie se v současnosti zdají být vyčerpány. Další prodloužení přežití pacientů s metastazujícím kolorektálním karcinomem (mKRK) přinesla cílená biologická léčba. Klíčové je nalezení vhodných prediktivních biomarkerů, které dovolí identifikaci cílové populace pacientů. V přehledovém článku je analyzován stav mutace RAS vzhledem k možné sekvenci cílené biologické léčby u nemocných s mKRK.

Colorectal cancer has the highest incidence rate in the Czech Republic and occupies one of the leading positions in incidence worldwide. Only patients with resectable distant metastases have hope for a cure. Prolongation of survival and improvement in the quality of life thus remain the main goal of cancer treatment. The possibilities of classic chemotherapy appear to be currently exhausted. Further prolongation of survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) has been provided by targeted biological therapy. It is crucial to find suitable predictive biomarkers that will allow identification of a target population of patients. The review article analyses the RAS mutation status with respect to the possible sequence of targeted biological therapy in patients with mCRC.

• MeSH
• Survival Analysis MeSH
• Biological Therapy methods   trends   MeSH
• Genes, ras * genetics   MeSH
• Colorectal Neoplasms * diagnosis   drug therapy   genetics   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neoplasm Metastasis drug therapy   genetics   MeSH
• Mutation genetics   MeSH
• Biomarkers, Tumor * analysis   genetics   blood   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH

• MeSH
• Quality of Health Care MeSH
• Nursing Care MeSH
• Patient Care MeSH
• Publication type
• Abstracts MeSH
• Congress MeSH
• Collected Work MeSH

• Conspectus
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NML Fields
• ošetřovatelství
• veřejné zdravotnictví

V rámci diagnostiky, určení rizika či rozhodování o možných terapeutických intervencích v případě akutní pankreatitidy spoléháme v současné době na počítačovou tomografii (CT). Nízké dávky ionizujícího záření spojené s provedením tohoto vyšetření bývají spojovány s rizikem vzniku maligního onemocnění. Cílem naší studie bylo analyzovat kumulativní efektivní dávky u nemocných hospitalizovaných s akutní pankreatitidou ve Fakultní nemocnici Brno v letech 2021–2022. Během sledovaného období bylo provedeno 222 CT vyšetření u 146 nemocných, medián kumulativní efektivní dávky na pacienta činil 23,86 ± 28,94 mSv. CT bylo pouze v malé míře (11,7 %) následováno intervencí (ERCP, operační revize, CT navigovaná drenáž, endoskopická drenáž). Průměrná kumulativní efektivní expozice ionizujícímu záření během sledovaného období nedosáhla významného rizika vzniku maligního onemocnění. U několika jedinců však kumulativní efektivní dávka přesáhla hodnotu 200 mSv a byla srovnatelná s několikaměsíčním pobytem na Mezinárodní vesmírné stanici. I nadále je nutné pečlivé individuální posouzení pravděpodobnosti změny klinického managementu na základě výsledku daného CT vyšetření.

Currently, we rely on computed tomography (CT) to diagnose, determine risk or decide on possible therapeutic interventions in acute pancreatitis. The low doses of ionising radiation associated with this scan are associated with a risk of malignancy. The aim of our study was to analyze the cumulative effective dose in patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis at the University Hospital Brno in the years 2021-2022. During the study period, 222 CT scans were performed in 146 patients; the median cumulative effective dose per patient was 23.86 ± 28.94 mSv. CT was followed by intervention (ERCP, surgical revision, CT-guided drainage, endoscopic drainage) only to a small extent (11.7%). The mean cumulative effective exposure to ionizing radiation during the follow-up period did not reach a significant risk of malignant disease. However, in a few individuals the cumulative effective dose exceeded 200 mSv and was comparable to several months at the International Space Station. Careful individual assessment of the likelihood of a change in clinical management based on the outcome of a given CT scan remains necessary.

• MeSH
• Radiation Dosage * MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Radiation, Ionizing MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Pancreatitis * radiotherapy   therapy   MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Statistics as Topic MeSH
• Tomography, Emission-Computed MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Clinical Study MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

Various studies within the Good-Enough Approach observe that people often make errors in answering comprehension questions after reading garden-path sentences such as While Anna dressed the baby played in the crib. Recently, it has been claimed that readers form a full syntactic analysis of these sentences, but they do not completely prune the original misanalysis. This article presents evidence that these findings do not hold for all garden-path sentences. The main finding of the Good-Enough Approach-that the comprehension questions targeting the initial misanalysis yield significantly higher rates of incorrect answers after garden-path sentences, in comparison with after control sentences-was replicated here in three self-paced reading experiments on Czech. However, these experiments show a similar pattern of results for other comprehension questions, such as questions targeting an analysis that is not syntactically licensed at any point of processing. These results point out that certain garden-path structures may be very hard to process and that the process of garden-path repair might not be successful at all. Based on these results and the results of previous studies, the idea of a range of difficulty levels for garden-path structures is proposed.

• MeSH
• Reading MeSH
• Language * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Comprehension * MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

The eukaryotic phylum Apicomplexa encompasses thousands of obligate intracellular parasites of humans and animals with immense socio-economic and health impacts. We sequenced nuclear genomes of Chromera velia and Vitrella brassicaformis, free-living non-parasitic photosynthetic algae closely related to apicomplexans. Proteins from key metabolic pathways and from the endomembrane trafficking systems associated with a free-living lifestyle have been progressively and non-randomly lost during adaptation to parasitism. The free-living ancestor contained a broad repertoire of genes many of which were repurposed for parasitic processes, such as extracellular proteins, components of a motility apparatus, and DNA- and RNA-binding protein families. Based on transcriptome analyses across 36 environmental conditions, Chromera orthologs of apicomplexan invasion-related motility genes were co-regulated with genes encoding the flagellar apparatus, supporting the functional contribution of flagella to the evolution of invasion machinery. This study provides insights into how obligate parasites with diverse life strategies arose from a once free-living phototrophic marine alga.

• MeSH
• Alveolata genetics   MeSH
• DNA, Algal chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• Evolution, Molecular * MeSH
• Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
• Sequence Analysis, DNA * MeSH
• Gene Expression Profiling MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH

INTRODUCTION: Path integration (PI) is an important component of spatial navigation that integrates self-motion cues to allow the subject to return to a starting point. PI depends on the structures affected early in the course of Alzheimer's disease (AD) such as the medial temporal lobe and the parietal cortex. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether PI is impaired in patients with mild AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and to investigate the role of the hippocampus, entorhinal and inferior parietal cortex in this association. METHODS: 27 patients with aMCI, 14 with mild AD and 18 controls completed eight trials of Arena Path Integration Task. The task required subjects with a mask covering their eyes to follow an enclosed triangle pathway through two previously seen places: start-place1-place2-start. Brains were scanned at 1.5T MRI and respective volumes and thicknesses were derived using FreeSurfer algorithm. RESULTS: Controlling for age, education, gender and Mini-Mental State Examination score the aMCI and AD subjects were impaired in PI accuracy on the pathway endpoint (p=0.042 and p=0.013) compared to controls. Hippocampal volume and thickness of entorhinal and parietal cortices explained separately 36-45% of the differences in PI accuracy between controls and aMCI and 28-31% of the differences between controls and AD subjects. CONCLUSIONS: PI is affected in aMCI and AD, possibly as a function of neurodegeneration in the medial temporal lobe structures and the parietal cortex. PI assessment (as a part of spatial navigation testing) may be useful for identification of patients with incipient AD.

• MeSH
• Alzheimer Disease complications   diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Cognitive Dysfunction complications   diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging MeSH
• Brain diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Neuropsychological Tests MeSH
• Perceptual Disorders diagnostic imaging   etiology   MeSH
• Image Processing, Computer-Assisted MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Case-Control Studies MeSH
• Space Perception physiology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

After the break-up of Gondwana dispersal of organisms between America, Australia and Africa became more complicated. One of the possible remaining paths led through Antarctica, that was not yet glaciated and it remained habitable for many organisms. This favourable climate made Antarctica an important migration corridor for organisms with good dispersal ability, such as Aculeata (Hymenoptera), till the Oligocene cooling. Here we tested how cooling of Antarctica impacted global dispersal of Aculeata parasites (Strepsiptera: Xenidae). Our data set comprising six nuclear genes from a broad sample of Xenidae. Bayesian dating was used to estimate divergence times in phylogenetic reconstruction. Biogeography was investigated using event-based analytical methods: likelihood-based dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis and Bayesian models. The Bayesian model was used for reconstruction of ancestral host groups. Biogeographical methods indicate that multiple lineages were exchanged between the New World and the Old World + Australia until the Antarctica became completely frozen over. During the late Paleogene and Neogene periods, several lineages spread from the Afrotropics to other Old World regions and Australia. The original hosts of Xenidae were most likely social wasps. Within one lineage of solitary wasp parasites, parallel switch to digger wasps (Sphecidae) occurred independently in the New World and Old World regions. The biogeography and macroevolutionary history of Xenidae can be explained by the combination of dispersal, lineage extinction and climatic changes during the Cenozoic era. A habitable Antarctica and the presence of now-submerged islands and plateaus that acted as a connection between the New World and Old World + Australia provided the possibility for biotic exchanges of parasites along with their hymenopteran hosts. Although Xenidae are generally host specialists, there were significant host switches to unrelated but ecologically similar hosts during their evolution. There is little or no evidence for cophylogeny between strepsipteran parasites and hymenopteran lineages.

• MeSH
• Bayes Theorem MeSH
• Biological Evolution * MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Phylogeography MeSH
• Host-Parasite Interactions * MeSH
• Parasites physiology   MeSH
• Likelihood Functions MeSH
• Genetic Speciation MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Antarctic Regions MeSH

Úvod: Duchovní péče o seniory se zaměřuje na saturaci jejich existenciálních, duchovních a náboženských potřeb. Spočívá v individuálním přístupu, aktivním naslouchání a rozhovorech s respektem k autonomii a osobním hodnotám každého pacienta seniora. Jejím poskytovatelem je nemocniční kaplan. Cílem příspěvku je ukázat význam duchovní péče o seniory v nemocničním prostředí. Metodika: K realizaci výzkumu byla zvolena kvalitativní metoda, kazuistika. Byly stanoveny dvě výzkumné otázky: Která spirituální témata považují pacienti senioři v duchovní péči za nejdůležitější? Které významově silné momenty vzhledem k personálním vztahům, vzniklým situacím a odhaleným souvislostem obnáší duchovní doprovázení pacientů seniorů? Ke sběru dat byla použita narativní výpověď nemocniční kaplanky, která duchovně doprovázela pacientku ve věku 76 let. Výsledky: Z analýzy situace pacientky vyplynulo, že nejdůležitějšími spirituálními hodnotami ve stáří pro ni bylo odpuštění a smíření. Na cestě k jejich dosažení jí pomáhaly zdravotní sestry, kněz, manžel, a především nemocniční kaplan. Závěr: V geriatrii je podporována interprofesní spolupráce s dalšími lékařskými i nelékařskými obory napříč resorty. Jedním z těchto oborů je i duchovní péče, která sleduje naplnění spirituálních potřeb, zvláště potřeby odpuštění a smíření u nemocných seniorů.

Introduction: Spiritual care for the elderly focuses on saturating their existential, spiritual, and religious needs. It consists of an individual approach, active listening, and conversations with respect for the autonomy and personal values of each elderly patient. Its provider is a hospital chaplain. The aim of the contribution is to show the importance of spiritual care for the elderly in a hospital setting. Methods: A qualitative method, casuistic, was chosen to carry out the research. Two research questions have been identified: Which spiritual themes do elderly patients in spiritual care consider most important? What meaningfully powerful moments, given the personnel relationships, the situations created and the exposed context, entail the spiritual accompaniment of elderly patients? A narrative testimony from a hospital chaplain spiritually accompanying a patient of 76 years was used to collect the data. Results: Analysis of the patient’s situation revealed that the most important spiritual values in old age were forgiveness and reconciliation. Nurses, a priest, a husband and, above all, a hospital chaplain helped her on her way to achieving them. Conclusion: In geriatrics, interprofessional cooperation with other medical and non-medical disciplines across the resorts is encouraged. One of these fields is spiritual care, which monitors the fulfillment of spiritual needs, especially the need for forgiveness and reconciliation in the sick elderly.

• Keywords
• nemocniční kaplan, smíření,
• MeSH
• Hospitalization MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Forgiveness MeSH
• Pastoral Care * MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Case Reports MeSH