Showing papers by "Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic published in 1993"

Image representation via a finite Radon transform

Abstract: A model of finite Radon transforms composed of Radon projections is presented. The model generalizes to finite group projections in the classical Radon transform theory. The Radon projector averages a function on a group over cosets of a subgroup. Reconstruction formulae that were formally similar to the convolved backprojection ones are derived, and an iterative reconstruction technique is found to converge after a finite number of steps. Applying these results to the group Z/sub 2//sup P/, new computationally favorable image representations have been obtained. A numerical study of the transform coding aspects is attached. >

Melatonin rhythm in human milk

Abstract: The pineal hormone melatonin exhibits a circadian rhythm in body fluids. No data are available on melatonin in human milk. The present study was undertaken to determine whether melatonin is detectable in human milk and, if so, whether it exhibits a daily rhythm. Blood and milk were sampled between 1400-1700 h and again between 0200-0400 h from 10 mothers 3-4 days after delivery. Melatonin in both fluids was beyond the limit of detection during the day, whereas during the night, its concentration was 280 +/- 34 pmol/L in serum and 99 +/- 26 pmol/L in milk. Six mothers collected milk after each feeding throughout 1 24-h period within 3 months after delivery. Melatonin in the milk of all subjects exhibited a pronounced daily rhythm, with high levels during the night and undetectable levels during the day. The presence of the rhythm in milk suggests that melatonin fluctuations in milk might communicate time of day information to breast-fed infants.

The H 1 liquid argon calorimeter system

Abstract: The liquid argon calorimeter of the H 1 detector presently taking data at the HERA ep collider at DESY, Hamburg, is described. The main physics requirements and the most salient design features relevant to this calorimeter are given. The aim to have smooth and hermetic calorimetric coverage over the polar angular range 4° ≤ θ ≤ 154° is achieved by a single liquid argon cryostat containing calorimeter stacks structured in wheels and octants for easy handling. The absorber materials used are lead in the electromagnetic part and stainless steel in the hadronic part. The read-out system is pipelined to reduce the dead time induced by the high trigger rate expected at the HERA collider where consecutive bunches are separated in time by 96 ns. The main elements of the calorimeter, such as the cryostat, with its associated cryogenics, the stack modules, the read-out, calibration and trigger electronics as well as the data acquisition system are described. Performance results from data taken in calibration runs with full size H 1 calorimeter stacks at a CERN test beam, as well as results from data collected with the complete H 1 detector using cosmic rays during the initial phase of ep operations are presented. The observed energy resolutions and linearities are well in agreement with the requirements.

Results from pion calibration runs for the H 1 liquid argon calorimeter and comparisons with simulations

Abstract: We present results on calibration runs performed with pions at the CERN SPS for different modules of the H 1 liquid argon calorimeter which consists of an electromagnetic section with lead absorbers and a hadronic section with steel absorbers. The data cover an energy range from 3.7 to 205 GeV. Detailed comparisons of the data and simulation with GHEISHA 8 in the framework of GEANT 3.14 are presented. The measured pion induced shower profiles are well described by the simulation. The total signal of pions on an energy scale determined from electron measurements is reproduced to better than 3% in various module configurations. After application of weighting functions, determined from Monte Carlo data and needed to achieve compensation, the reconstructed measured energies agree with simulation to about 3%. The energies of hadronic showers are reconstructed with a resolution of about 50% √E ⨸ 2% . This result is achieved by inclusion of signals from an iron streamer tube tail catcher behind the liquid argon stacks.

Coupling Among Energy Failure, Loss of Ion Homeostasis, and Phospholipase A2 and C Activation During Ischemia

Abstract: — The objective of the present experiments was to correlate changes in cellular energy metabolism, dissipative ion fluxes, and lipolysis during the first 90 s of ischemia and, hence, to establish whether phospholipase A2or phospholipase C is responsible for the early accumulation of phospholipid hydrolysis products. Ischemia was induced for 15–90 s in rats, extracellular K+ (K+e) was recorded, and neocortex was frozen in situ for measurements of labile tissue metabolites, free fatty acids, and diacylglycerides. Ischemia of 15-and 30-s duration gave rise to a decrease in phosphocreatine concentration and a decline in the ATP/free ADP ratio. Although these changes were accompanied by an activation of K+ conductances, there were no changes in free fatty acids until after 60s, when free arachidonic acid accumulated. An increase in other free fatty acids and in total diacylglyceride content did not occur until after anoxic depolarization. The results demonstrate that the early functional changes, such as activation of K+ conductances, are unrelated to changes in lipids or lipid mediators. They furthermore suggest that the initial lipolysis occurs via both phospholipase A2 and phospholipase C, which are activated when membrane depolarization leads to influx of calcium into cells.

Fast drift burst observations with the new Ondřejov radiospectrograph

Abstract: The new 100–4200 MHz Ondřejov radiospectrograph and the high-time resolution 3 GHz radiometer are described and the observations of fast drift bursts during the increased solar activity of September 5–7, 1992 are presented and analyzed

Stabilization via static output feedback

Abstract: Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a stabilizing static output feedback gain matrix are presented. It is shown that any such gain matrix is the solution of some linear quadratic control problem where the cost functional has a suitable cross term. >

Small‐scale spatial dynamics of plant species in a grassland community over six years

Abstract: . In a species-rich mountain grassland in the Krkonosse Mts., Czechoslovakia, data from four permanent plots of 50 cm x 50 cm were recorded annually from 1985 to 1990 to study the spatial dynamics of the species. Plots were divided into 15 x 15 subplots and the number of vegetative units of all plants within each subplot was determined. There was not much net change at the plot level, but the subplots were very dynamic. Two aspects of the spatial dynamics of the species were followed: (1) persistence, i.e. the tendency of the species to remain in the same subplot, and (2) long-distance spreading, i.e. movement to subplots beyond the immediate neighbourhood. Species differed widely in their persistence and longdistance spreading and were classified into mobility types: long-range guerrilla, short-range guerrilla, phalanx and 'sitting’. The mobility types were, to a certain extent, correlated with the growth form of plants, but some species of one growth form showed different types of small-scale dynamics and some species with different growth forms had the same spatial dynamics.

Cross-linking of CD59 and of other glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-anchored molecules on neutrophils triggers cell activation via tyrosine kinase

Abstract: Many membrane proteins are attached via a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Proteins anchored in this way make no direct contact with the interior of the cell, therefore a role in signaling or activation would seem unlikely. Nevertheless, cross-linking of GPI-anchored proteins on human and murine T lymphocytes has been shown to cause calcium transients and cell activation. Our studies address the non-lethal events caused by the membrane attack complex of complement, which include release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores, and have suggested that the GPI-anchored complement inhibitor CD59 may be involved in signaling these events. We here report that cross-linking of CD59 on human neutrophils using specific monoclonal antibody and second antibody caused a rapid increase in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration (Ca2+ transient) due to release of Ca2+ from stores and also caused neutrophil oxidase activation. All antibodies against CD59 tested were effective and cross-linking of any other GPI-anchored protein expressed on neutrophils also initiated an increase in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, whereas cross-linking of transmembrane proteins caused little or no response. A tyrosine kinase-dependent activation pathway was indicated by the demonstration of tyrosine phosphorylation on cross-linking and by blocking of the Ca2+ transient with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor herbimycin.

Small-scale variability as a mechanism for large-scale stability in mountain grasslands

Abstract: . Data from a 7-yr permanent plot study of grassland dynamics were used to address the relationship between processes at two levels of resolution (3.3 cm x 3.3 cm, 50 cm x 50 cm). Grasslands mown and manured in the traditional way in the Krkonose Mts. (Riesengebirge) were used as a model system. Spatial dynamics at the finest scale were very high, as demonstrated by turnover of individual species in 3.3 cm x 3.3 cm subplots and year-to-year transition matrices of the same subplots. The direction of these dynamics was not correlated with grassland treatment, although there was some correlation within years. An extrapolation of such year-to-year dynamics to larger time scales would result in big large-scale changes on the community level, and large shifts in species composition of the whole sward. However, dynamics at larger spatial or temporal scales were generally small. Some directional change occurred in manured plots, whereas little change occurred in unmanured plots. Large-scale dynamics were not correlated with small-scale dynamics in plots without manuring, but some correlation was detectable in manured plots. There are probably several processes that drive small-scale dynamics, such as non-linear interactions and environmental fluctuations. We argue that within certain limits these forces act on species composition so as to make small-scale dynamics non-directional. This results in both large-scale species diversity and apparent large-scale stability of these grasslands. However, if these forces are beyond these limits, the small-scale dynamics may become directional, resulting in rapid changes at larger spatial scales.

Do small riverine fish move inshore at night

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that numbers of small fish increase along river banks with decreasing light levels. Fish were sampled every 3h over a 24-h period (30–31 August 1992) along two adjacent stretches of bank (one shallow sand, one steep boulder) on the R. Morava near Breelav, Czech Republic. The size of fish was significantly greater along the boulder bank than along the sand bank. Numbers of fish along the steep boulder bank did not increase with decreasing light levels, except in Rhodeus sericeus and perch Perca fluviatilis, which were significantly more abundant at night. Along the shallow sand bank, all species increased in number at night, most significantly so. As light levels decreased, numbers of whitefin gudgeon Gobio albipinnatus and roach Rutilus rutilus decreased along the boulder bank, as their numbers increased along the sand bank, suggesting a dusk migration to the sand bank to avoid predation. This assumption was corroborated by the significantly higher number of potentially piscivorous fishes (P. ftuviatilis and chub Leuciscus cephalus≥ 80 mm) along the boulder bank during the night.

Place navigation in rats with unilateral tetrodotoxin inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus: place but not procedural learning can be lateralized to one hippocampus

Abstract: Lateralization of the Morris water maze task was examined by injecting 5 ng of tetrodotoxin (TTX) into one dorsal hippocampus (HPC) of chronically cannulated rats (n = 20). The task, acquired (A) during unilateral HPC block, was retrieved (R) during TTX blockade of the ipsi- (I) or contralateral (C) HPC. Escape latencies (in seconds) at 3 levels of acquisition and in the first 4-trial block of I or C retrieval suggest lateralization was absent after the first block (A = 49, I = 40, C = 44), partial after training to an efficient search strategy (A = 6, I = 9, C = 14), and complete after overtraining to goal-directed escape (A = 4, I = 4, C = 12), as further indicated by comparisons of A vs. R behavior and probe trials. The analyses also indicate that (a) HPC contributes to the acquisition but is unnecessary for retrieval of the procedural engram, (b) overtrained learning with one HPC or intact brain is similar, and (c) there is no left-right hemispheric specialization for place learning.

Extension of the time window for investigation of relaxation effects in high-Tc superconductors

Abstract: Measurements of the dependence of the magnetic hysteresis loop amplitude in a superconductor on the magnetic field sweep rate dHe/dt are shown to provide essentially the same information as magnetic relaxation experiments (flux-creep) at fixed external field He. For practical reasons, however, magnetic hysteresis loop measurements are better suited to investigate fast flux-line movements than conventional flux-creep measurements. From the general flux movement differential equation it is shown that each magnetic hysteresis loop recorded at a given dHe/dt can be labelled by an effective time t M 0 so that this experimental information can be used to extend the time window of flux-creep measurements to short times. This method is applied to the experimental data obtained on a YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal. In this way the time window is extended to less than 10-2 s which is valuable for a more precise check of existing theoretical models for the activation energy of flux motion. It is found that the experimental data are well described by using an activation energy U(j)=(Uc/μ)[(jc/j)μ-1] with μ=0.74 at 16 K and 1.8 T.

Habitat and food specificity in aphidophagous predators

Abstract: Current knowledge of the processes underlying prey location and choice by aphidophagous predators is reviewed by considering the succession of behavioural mechanisms required for the predator to obtain prey. The predator may locate areas where prey are likely to be found by responding to physical aspects of the habitat, or to semiochemicals produced by the host plant. The predator may then respond to visual or olfactory cues to locate the aphid prey. The predator's readiness to attack and consume aphids is influenced by any behavioural or chemical defence strategies, and by the palatability or nutrient value of the aphids. Toxic allelochemicals ingested by aphids from their host plant may have a detrimental effect on predators.

Activation of human monocytes and granulocytes by monoclonal antibodies to glycosylphosphatidelinositol-anchored antigens

Abstract: The present study investigated possible receptor-like characteristics of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked antigens on human monocytes and granulocytes by measuring cytoplasmic calcium fluxes and the oxidative burst in cells following cross-linking of GPI-linked antigens. Cross-linking of cell-bound anti-CD14, -CDw52 and -CD55 induced cytoplasmic calcium fluxes and oxidative bursts in unprimed human monocytes similar to those observed following Fc gamma R cross-linking. In granulocytes primed with 200 mM N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP), cross-linking of cell-bound anti-CD16, -CD24, -CD59 and -CD67 led to calcium fluxes and activation of the oxidative burst. The oxidative bursts mediated by GPI-linked antigens were stronger than those induced by 200 nM FMLP, even though FMLP induced a larger increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration. The responses were likely to be independent of Fc gamma R interactions as F(ab')2 fragments of IgG or IgM antibodies were used in the experiments. Activating effects of monoclonal antibody to GPI-linked antigens were not observed in cells from patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, which are deficient in GPI-linked antigens. In addition, treatment with GPI-specific phospholipase C led to inhibition of cell activation through GPI-linked antigens but not through transmembrane receptors. Cross-linking of a number of non-GPI-linked antigens (CD11a, CD18, CD31, CD35, CD43, and CD45) neither induced calcium fluxes, nor activated the oxidative burst. The results indicate that most, if not all, GPI-linked surface glycoproteins on myeloid cells are capable of mediating cell activation and suggest that the GPI anchor is a structure facilitating signal transduction.