Search

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive narrative of the current status of Chinese language teaching at upper secondary schools in the Czech Republic. Processes involved in developing the Chinese language curriculum in upper secondary schools were mapped through a qualitative survey. Representatives of 20 schools were interviewed to identify factors associated with the successful implementation of Chinese language courses. The research focuses on answering two questions: (1) What factors determine the success or failure of a Chinese language programme at a secondary school? (2) What systemic support can be provided to facilitate Chinese teaching at upper secondary schools? In answer to the first question, factors such as the mindset of stakeholders, curricular classification, employment, and partnerships are discussed. As for systemic support, fostering a realistic attitude, institutional support and cooperative partnerships are suggested. These findings may serve as a source of inspiration for countries where the Chinese language in secondary education is still in the process of development, as is the case in the Czech Republic.

Purpose: Various manifestations of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have been reported since the pandemic began. Some articles have reported acute pancreatitis in adult patients due to COVID-19 infection. To our knowledge this is the first report of acute hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis in children associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Case presentation: A 7-year-old girl with congenital immunodeficiency was referred to the intensive care (ICU) unit with acute respiratory distress syndrome. She required mechanical ventilation (MV) due to pulmonary involvement of COVID-19 (chest CT with lower lung ground-glass opacities). SARS-CoV-2 infection was laboratory confirmed. Following a 49-day stay in the ICU, due to the clinical and radiological signs of acute abdomen and to the rapid deterioration in the clinical status, an indication to proceed an urgent surgerical intervention was made. Intra-operatively an adhesiolysis with blunt dissection of the of gastrocolic ligament was performed, then followed by debridement of the necrotic pancreas (more than 1⁄2 of the pancreas was damaged). Continuous lavage and drainage were placed. During the post-operative period, patient required aggressive MV and insulin therapy for persistent hyperglycemia. The CT scans reported a necrosis of the pancreas and we observed amylase and lipase elevation in the peritoneal lavage sample. Despite active intensive therapy, the patient's condition did not improve and she died 38 days after laparotomy as a result of multi-organ failure. Conclusion: The mechanism for the development of acute haemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis in the COVID-19 positive patients is unclear; perhaps it is due to a direct cytopathic effect from the COVID-19 virus, or due to the ACE2 expression in pancreas.

Thirty-eight otolith-based species of fishes and 41 foraminifera species have been recorded in the Borský Mikuláš-Vinohrádky section in the upper Badenian deposits in the eastern part of the Vienna Basin, in West Slovakia. Two new species of otoliths are introduced here: Thorogobius antirostratus n. sp. and Gerres mlynskyi n. sp. Among the foraminifera Biasterigerina planorbis and Elphidium crispum associated with other elphidiids, Lobatula lobatula and Cibicides crassiseptatum prevail. Overall, the family of Gobiidae dominate in the assemblage of otoliths (>90 % of specimens). Meso- and epipelagial fishes or diversified gadids and sciaenids are missing. From the molluscs, the first record of Aturia sp. in the Borský Mikuláš section is observed. Otoliths and foraminifera document a normal marine environment of well-aerated shallow water with a depth of 30-50 metres, with muddy to sandy bottoms of marine meadows and plenty of light in the subtropical climatic conditions. Several fish genera (for example Gerres) give evidence for the nearness of reef structures. There are no species (excepting Lesueurigobius vicinalis) in common with the known Lower Serravallian otolith fauna from the Eastern Paratethys. Some species from the Borský Mikuláš-Vinohrádky section can also be found in the Mediterranean Langhian-Serravallian interval and are interpreted as a relic of the lower Badenian (Langhian) fish assemblages.

Ryanodine receptor channels at calcium release sites of cardiac myocytes operate on the principle of calcium-induced calcium release. In vitro experiments revealed competition of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in the activation of ryanodine receptors (RyRs) as well as inhibition of RyRs by Mg2+. The impact of RyR modulation by Mg2+ on calcium release is not well understood due to the technical limitations of in situ experiments. We turned instead to an in silico model of a calcium release site (CRS), based on a homotetrameric model of RyR gating with kinetic parameters determined from in vitro measurements. We inspected changes in the activity of the CRS model in response to a random opening of one of 20 realistically distributed RyRs, arising from Ca2+/Mg2+ interactions at RyR channels. Calcium release events (CREs) were simulated at a range of Mg2+-binding parameters at near-physiological Mg2+ and ATP concentrations. Facilitation of Mg2+ binding to the RyR activation site inhibited the formation of sparks and slowed down their activation. Impeding Mg-binding to the RyR activation site enhanced spark formation and speeded up their activation. Varying Mg2+ binding to the RyR inhibition site also dramatically affected calcium release events. Facilitation of Mg2+ binding to the RyR inhibition site reduced the amplitude, relative occurrence, and the time-to-end of sparks, and vice versa. The characteristics of CREs correlated dose-dependently with the effective coupling strength between RyRs, defined as a function of RyR vicinity, single-channel calcium current, and Mg-binding parameters of the RyR channels. These findings postulate the role of Mg2+ in calcium release as a negative modulator of the coupling strength among RyRs in a CRS, translating to damping of the positive feedback of the calcium-induced calcium-release mechanism.

Mlyňany Arboretum is 127 years old and it has the largest woody-plant collection in Middle-Europe, with almost 2,000 taxa. Therefore, it is not surprising that this arboretum became a most important research institute focussing on foreign dendroflora, in the second half of the twentieth century. Moreover, each year there is a wide choice from many research – popularising and environmental consciousness enhancing events organized for public/ children. The most popular of these include the Ambrozy´s days, Science and Technology Week, “Plant your own tree” and “The world water day in the Mlyňany Arboretum”. Most importantly, it also has an interactive lesson room, “The Tree´s World”, which provides education services for younger pupils throughout the year. Here, children of all ages can form their own creativity as combined with education on nature protection in a creative workshop facility.

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans that is devastating to Nearctic bat populations but tolerated by Palearctic bats. Temperature is a factor known to be important for fungal growth and bat choice of hibernation. Here we investigated the effect of temperature on the pathogenic fungal growth in the wild across the Palearctic. We modelled body surface temperature of bats with respect to fungal infection intensity and disease severity and were able to relate this to the mean annual surface temperature at the site. Bats that hibernated at lower temperatures had less fungal growth and fewer skin lesions on their wings. Contrary to expectation derived from laboratory P. destructans culture experiments, natural infection intensity peaked between 5 and 6°C and decreased at warmer hibernating temperature. We made predictive maps based on bat species distributions, temperature and infection intensity and disease severity data to determine not only where P. destructans will be found but also where the infection will be invasive to bats across the Palearctic. Together these data highlight the mechanistic model of the interplay between environmental and biological factors, which determine progression in a wildlife disease.

BackgroundPhosphoinositide 3-kinase γ (PI3Kγ) signaling engaged by β-adrenergic receptors is pivotal in the regulation of myocardial contractility and remodeling. However, the role of PI3Kγ in catecholamine-induced arrhythmia is currently unknown.Methods and resultsMice lacking PI3Kγ (PI3Kγ(-/-)) showed runs of premature ventricular contractions on adrenergic stimulation that could be rescued by a selective β(2)-adrenergic receptor blocker and developed sustained ventricular tachycardia after transverse aortic constriction. Consistently, fluorescence resonance energy transfer probes revealed abnormal cAMP accumulation after β(2)-adrenergic receptor activation in PI3Kγ(-/-) cardiomyocytes that depended on the loss of the scaffold but not of the catalytic activity of PI3Kγ. Downstream from β-adrenergic receptors, PI3Kγ was found to participate in multiprotein complexes linking protein kinase A to the activation of phosphodiesterase (PDE) 3A, PDE4A, and PDE4B but not of PDE4D. These PI3Kγ-regulated PDEs lowered cAMP and limited protein kinase A-mediated phosphorylation of L-type calcium channel (Ca(v)1.2) and phospholamban. In PI3Kγ(-/-) cardiomyocytes, Ca(v)1.2 and phospholamban were hyperphosphorylated, leading to increased Ca(2+) spark occurrence and amplitude on adrenergic stimulation. Furthermore, PI3Kγ(-/-) cardiomyocytes showed spontaneous Ca(2+) release events and developed arrhythmic calcium transients.ConclusionsPI3Kγ coordinates the coincident signaling of the major cardiac PDE3 and PDE4 isoforms, thus orchestrating a feedback loop that prevents calcium-dependent ventricular arrhythmia.

Abstract Background Hibernation allows animals to survive periods of resource scarcity by reducing their energy expenditure through decreased metabolism. However, hibernators become susceptible to psychrophilic pathogens if they cannot mount an efficient immune response to infection. While Nearctic bats infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS) suffer high mortality, related Palearctic taxa are better able to survive the disease than their Nearctic counterparts. We hypothesised that WNS exerted historical selective pressure in Palearctic bats, resulting in genomic changes that promote infection tolerance. Results We investigated partial sequences of 23 genes related to water metabolism and skin structure function in nine Palearctic and Nearctic hibernating bat species and one non-hibernating species for phylogenetic signals of natural selection. Using maximum likelihood analysis, we found that eight genes were under positive selection and we successfully identified amino acid sites under selection in five encoded proteins. Branch site models revealed positive selection in three genes. Hibernating bats exhibit signals for positive selection in genes ensuring tissue regeneration, wound healing and modulation of the immune response. Conclusion Our results highlight the importance of skin barrier integrity and healing capacity in hibernating bats. The protective role of skin integrity against both pathophysiology and WNS progression, in synergy with down-regulation of the immune reaction in response to the Pseudogymnoascus destructans infection, improves host survival. Our data also suggest that hibernating bat species have evolved into tolerant hosts by reducing the negative impact of skin infection through a set of adaptations, including those at the genomic level.

Moericke traps are commonly used to monitor pests in agriculture and at the same time, they have gradually been applied in forestry. Therefore, four Moericke traps were placed in two fir stands (Valšovice, Czech Republic) to investigate the spectrum and intensity of aphidomorphic insects between 2019 and 2021. The traps were consistently positioned at a height of two meters in the monitored stands throughout the monitoring period. Each stand was evaluated separately, and their distribution differences were compared to the nearest Johnson-Taylor suction trap in the locality called Věrovany. A total of 400 samples were collected over three years, out of which 1,674 specimens belonging to 111 species or genera, classified into three families (Aphididae, Adelgidae, and Phylloxeridae), were analyzed. The eudominant species found in these stands was Phyllaphis fagi, while the dominant species was Mindarus abietinus. Additionally, 11 species or genera were identified as subdominant, 5 species as recedents, and the remaining species fell under the category of subrecessive. It means that the majority of the captured specimens was not from fir trees but from undergrowth, adjacent stands, or other woody species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large uniaxial magnetic anisotropy, expressed by a negative value of the axial zero-field splitting parameter D, has been achieved in a series of trigonal prismatic Co(II) complexes with the general formula [Co(L)X]Y, where L = 1,5,13,17,22-pentaazatricyclo[15.2.2.17,11]docosa-7,9,11(22)-triene, X = Cl−(1a,b), Br−(2), N3−(3), NCO−(4), NCS−(5), NCSe−(6), and Y = Cl−(1), Br−(2), NCS−(4), NCSe−(5), ClO4−(3,6). Complexes 1–6 are six-coordinate with the distorted trigonal prismatic geometry imparted by the pentadentate pyridine-/piperazine-based macrocyclic ligand L and by one monovalent coligand X−. Based on magnetic studies, all complexes 1–6 exhibit strong magnetic anisotropy with negative D-values ranging from about −20 to −41 cm−1. This variation in D (i.e. the increase of magnetic anisotropy) parallels the trend obtained by theoretical calculations and the lesser distortion of the coordination sphere with respect to the trigonal prismatic reference geometry. AC magnetic susceptibility investigations revealed field-induced single-molecule magnet behaviour for all complexes except Cl− derivative 1. The series investigated represents a rare example of Co(II) complexes with a robust trigonal prismatic geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]