70 research outputs found
"QUO VADIS EAST-WEST JOINT VENTURE?" Reflections on Selected Aspects of the Development of East-West Joint Ventures
No full textThis working paper is one of a series produced by TES-MTC project discussing the problems of East-West Joint Ventures located in the CMEA countries on a country basis.
The paper gives an overview on the main features of the process of East-West joint ventures' establishment and operation. The author concentrates his efforts on analyzing the state-of-the-art, the recent problems and their possible solutions in the fields of joint ventures' establishment, management, technology related to joint ventures, joint ventures' effectiveness, bookkeeping and supply in a joint venture, consultancy for joint ventures. The paper also stresses other possible forms of East-West joint ventures in order to overcome some of the operational problems with respect to East-West payment options, supply, market opportunities, etc.
At present discussions are going on in Czechoslovakia in connection with the latest legislation on enterprises with foreign property participation, as well as on the state-of-the-art of the joint venture practice in this country.
The Management of Technological Change (MTC) project, part of the Technology, Economy & Society (TES) Program, has developed an international network which is performing an empirical study on practical problems of joint ventures located in various CMEA countries. This working paper is an intermediate report of the Czechoslovakian national group headed by the Research Institute of Economy in Electrotechnical Industries in Prague. The author is member of the international MTC network and works closely together with the project
Experimental transmission of Leishmania (Mundinia) parasites by biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)
No full textLeishmania parasites, causative agents of leishmaniasis, are currently divided into four subgenera: Leishmania, Viannia, Sauroleishmania and Mundinia. The recently established subgenus Mundinia has a wide geographical distribution and contains five species, three of which have the potential to infect and cause disease in humans. While the other Leishmania subgenera are transmitted exclusively by phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae), natural vectors of Mundinia remain uncertain. This study investigates the potential of sand flies and biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to transmit Leishmania parasites of the subgenus Mundinia. Sand flies (Phlebotomus argentipes, P. duboscqi and Lutzomyia migonei) and Culicoides biting midges (Culicoides sonorensis) were exposed to five Mundinia species through a chicken skin membrane and dissected at specific time intervals, post bloodmeal. Potentially infected insects were also allowed to feed on ear pinnae of anaesthetized BALB/c mice and the presence of Leishmania DNA was subsequently confirmed in the mice using polymerase chain reaction analyses. In C. sonorensis, all Mundinia species tested were able to establish infection at a high rate, successfully colonize the stomodeal valve and produce a higher proportion of metacyclic forms than in sand flies. Subsequently, three parasite species, L. martiniquensis, L. orientalis and L. sp. from Ghana, were transmitted to the host mouse ear by C. sonorensis bite. In contrast, transmission experiments entirely failed with P. argentipes, although colonisation of the stomodeal valve was observed for L. orientalis and L. martiniquensis and metacyclic forms of L. orientalis were recorded. This laboratory-based transmission of Mundinia species highlights that Culicoides are potential vectors of members of this ancestral subgenus of Leishmania and we suggest further studies in endemic areas to confirm their role in the lifecycles of neglected pathogens. Copyright: © 2021 Becvar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
The trisection problem
No full textNa/ev prace: Trisekce uhlu. zajimave pfibli/.ne melody Autor: Michacla Sveeova Katedra (uslav): Katedra didaktiky matematiky Vedouei bakalafske prace: doc. RNDr. Jindfieh Becvaf, CSc. e-mail vedoueiho: beevano^karlin.mff.cuni.c/ Abslrakt: Tato pracc se zabyva problemein trisekce uhlu, coz je jedna z klasickych uloh fecke malematiky. Krome duka/u, /e tato uloha neni eukleidovsky fesitelna, jsou zde uvedeny ru/ne metody, k nimT: matematici beliem rady staleti dosli. Jednak to jsou postupy ,,pfesne", ktcre nejakym /pusobem porusuji pravidla cukleidovskyeh konstrukci. dale pak ..nepfesne" poslupy provadcne pouze za pomoci pravitka a kruzitka. Zde je mira nepresnosti odhadnuta vypoelem odchylky od occkavane tfetiny iihlu pro nektere specialni velikosti uhlu. Dale sc prace zabyva ruznymi nastroji - trisektory - pomocf nich/ l/e uhcl tfctinovc velikostijednoduse najit. Klicova slova: trisekce uhlu. eukleidovske konstrukcc, recka matematika Title: The Triseclion Problem Author: Michaela Sveeova Deparment: Department of Mathematics IZducation Supervisor: doc. RIM Dr. Jindfieh Becvar, CSc. Supervisor's e-mail adrcss: becvar(^karlin.mff.cuni.cx Abstract: This work deals with the problem of the angle triscclion which is one of the classical tasks of the Greek mathematics. Besides proving that this problem has no..
In the presence of grief helping family members resolve death, dying and bereavement issues
No full textIlluminating the impact of loss and grief on our psychological and emotional lives, this book provides vital information to ease painful transitions and facilitate healing. The author emphasizes that dealing with the death of a loved one involves more than picking up the pieces and moving on: rather, survivors live indefinitely in the presence of grief. For those in a supportive role, the focus is on helping the bereaved to navigate the grieving process and, ultimately, to reclaim joy as well as sadness as an integral part of life. The book explores pathways to recovery from different kinds of loss, including the death of a child, sibling, parent, spouse, or extended family member or friend, as well as challenges that may emerge around care of the dying and issues at the end of life. Personal accounts and therapeutic case material are interwoven with practical suggestions for helping individuals and families share their stories, find meaning in their experience, and create funerals and other rituals
Developmental Acoustic Analysis of the /r/ Phoneme
No full textabstract: The purpose of this study was to identify acoustic markers that correlate with accurate and inaccurate /r/ production in children ages 5-8 using signal processing. In addition, the researcher aimed to identify predictive acoustic markers that relate to changes in /r/ accuracy. A total of 35 children (23 accurate, 12 inaccurate, 8 longitudinal) were recorded. Computerized stimuli were presented on a PC laptop computer and the children were asked to do five tasks to elicit spontaneous and imitated /r/ production in all positions. Files were edited and analyzed using a filter bank approach centered at 40 frequencies based on the Mel-scale. T-tests were used to compare spectral energy of tokens between accurate and inaccurate groups and additional t-tests were used to compare duration of accurate and inaccurate files. Results included significant differences between the accurate and inaccurate productions of /r/, notable differences in the 24-26 mel bin range, and longer duration of inaccurate /r/ than accurate. Signal processing successfully identified acoustic features of accurate and inaccurate production of /r/ and candidate predictive markers that may be associated with acquisition of /r/.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Communication Disorders 201
Pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with systemic sclerosis in the Czech Republic
No full textOral glucocorticoids for skin fibrosis in early diffuse systemic sclerosis: a target trial emulation study from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research group database
No full textObjectives
The objective of this study is to evaluate whether adding oral glucocorticoids to immunosuppressive therapy improves skin scores and ensures safety in patients with early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc).
Methods
We performed an emulated randomized trial comparing the changes from baseline to 12±3 months of the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS: primary outcome) in early dcSSc patients receiving either oral glucocorticoids (≤20 mg/day prednisone-equivalent) combined with immunosuppression (treated), or immunosuppression alone (controls), using data from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research Group. Secondary endpoints were the difference occurrence of progressive skin or lung fibrosis, and scleroderma renal crisis. Matching propensity score was used to adjust for baseline imbalance between groups.
Results
We matched 208 patients (age 49 years; 33% male; 59% anti-Scl70), 104 in each treatment group, obtaining comparable characteristics at baseline. In the treated group, patients received a median prednisone dose of 5 mg/day. Mean mRSS change at 12±3 months was similar in the two groups (decrease of 2.7 [95% CI 1.4 - 4.0] in treated vs. 3.1 [95% CI 1.9 - 4.4] in control, p = 0.64). Similar results were observed in patients with shorter disease duration (≤ 24 months) or with mRSS ≤22. There was no between-group difference for all prespecified secondary outcomes. A case of scleroderma renal crisis occurred in both groups.
Conclusions
We did not find any significant benefit of adding low-dose oral glucocorticoids to immunosuppression for skin fibrosis, and at this dosage, glucocorticoid did not increase the risk of scleroderma renal crisis
Development of Leishmania (Mundinia) in guinea pigs
No full textBackground: Leishmaniasis is a human and animal disease caused by parasites of the genus Leishmania, which is now divided into four subgenera, Leishmania, Viannia, Sauroleishmania and Mundinia. Subgenus Mundinia, established in 2016, is geographically widely dispersed, its distribution covers all continents, except Antarctica. It consists of 5 species; L. enriettii and L. macropodum are parasites of wild mammals while L. martiniquensis, L. orientalis and an unnamed Leishmania sp. from Ghana are infectious to humans. There is very little information on natural reservoir hosts and vectors for any Mundinia species. Methods: Experimental infections of guinea pigs with all five Mundinia species were performed. Animals were injected intradermally with 107 culture-derived promastigotes into both ear pinnae. The courses of infections were monitored weekly; xenodiagnoses were performed at weeks 4 and 8 post-infection using Lutzomyia migonei. The distribution of parasites in different tissues was determined post-mortem by conventional PCR. Results: No significant differences in weight were observed between infected animals and the control group. Animals infected with L. enriettii developed temporary lesions at the site of inoculation and were infectious to Lu. migonei in xenodiagnoses. Animals infected with L. martiniquensis and L. orientalis developed temporary erythema and dry lesions at the site of inoculation, respectively, but were not infectious to sand flies. Guinea pigs infected by L. macropodum and Leishmania sp. from Ghana showed no signs of infection during experiments, were not infectious to sand flies and leishmanial DNA was not detected in their tissue samples at the end of experiments at week 12 post-inoculation. Conclusions: According to our results, guinea pigs are not an appropriate model organism for studying Mundinia species other than L. enriettii. We suggest that for better understanding of L. (Mundinia) biology it is necessary to focus on other model organisms.[Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2020 The Author(s)
08.49 Efficacy of an intensive 24-week physiotherapy programme in scleroderma patients – preliminary data from a single-centre controlled study
No full textHeat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibition targets canonical TGF-β signalling to prevent fibrosis
No full textObjectives: Targeted therapies for systemic sclerosis (SSc) and other fibrotic diseases are not yet available. We evaluated the efficacy of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibition as a novel approach to inhibition of aberrant transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling and for the treatment of fibrosis in preclinical models of SSc.
Methods: Expression of Hsp90 was quantified by quantitative PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. The effects of Hsp90 inhibition were analysed in cultured fibroblasts, in bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis, in tight-skin (Tsk-1) mice and in mice overexpressing a constitutively active TGF-β receptor I (TβRI).
Results: Expression of Hsp90β was increased in SSc skin and in murine models of SSc in a TGF-β-dependent manner. Inhibition of Hsp90 by 17-dimethylaminoethylamino-17-demethoxy-geldanamycin (17-DMAG) inhibited canonical TGF-β signalling and completely prevented the stimulatory effects of TGF-β on collagen synthesis and myofibroblast differentiation. Treatment with 17-DMAG decreased the activation of canonical TGF-β signalling in murine models of SSc and exerted potent antifibrotic effects in bleomycin-induced dermal fibrosis, in Tsk-1 mice and in mice overexpressing a constitutively active TβRI. Dermal thickness, number of myofibroblasts and hydroxyproline content were all significantly reduced on treatment with 17-DMAG. No toxic effects were observed with 17-DMAG at antifibrotic doses.
Conclusions: Hsp90 is upregulated in SSc and is critical for TGF-β signalling. Pharmacological inhibition of Hsp90 effectively blocks the profibrotic effects of TGF-β in cultured fibroblasts and in different preclinical models of SSc. These results have translational implications, as several Hsp90 inhibitors are in clinical trials for other indications
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