Viral hepatitis A continues to occur in the Czech Republic due to the high susceptibility of the population and existing opportunities for the transmission of the disease. The aim was to describe and ...analyse the incidence of viral hepatitis A in the Hradec Králové Region in the Czech Republic in 2005-2014, including the study of two outbreaks that required a different approach of field epidemiologists.
In 2015, a retrospective analysis was carried out of the data on the incidence of viral hepatitis A in Hradec Králové Region in 2005-2014. The EPIDAT system where cases of infectious diseases and data from epidemiological investigations are reported was used as a data source for the purposes of the present analysis. In addition, two final reports on epidemic outbreaks of viral hepatitis A from 2014 were assessed.
The incidence of viral hepatitis A at the regional level follows, to a certain extent, the pattern of the incidence of this disease at the national level. The highest number of cases was reported in 2010 due to a country-wide epidemic. The most affected age groups were children, adolescents, and young adults. The incidence of viral hepatitis A in individual years has a significant effect on the emergence of local outbreaks.
The incidence of viral hepatitis A in the Czech Republic has a fluctuating trend, at both the national and regional levels. The highest incidence of viral hepatitis A was observed in the younger and middle-age categories. The high susceptibility of these population groups suggests the importance of vaccination against viral hepatitis A that confers specific personal protection.Key words: viral hepatitis A - incidence - outbreak - Czech Republic.
Expressive deficiency of iodine (level of iodine in the urine is under 50 micrograms/l) is characteristic for 10% children and 20% adult. Low levels of iodine in the urine were described by women ...after the delivery and by newborns. In the article are described specificity physiology of the thyroid gland, consequences of low intake of iodine, importance and risk of supplementation of iodine in the pregnancy. Intake of dose 200 micrograms iodine per day for pregnant women is important as the prevention of pathophysiological changes in the pregnancy and for development of foetus.
The authors report favourable results with implantation of an intraocular lens after extracapsular extraction in diabetic subjects. In 1989 they implanted only one intraocular lens in 49 eyes without ...diabetic retinopathy, in 1991 in 110 eyes from 111 without diabetic retinopathy and 12 eyes from 26 with diabetic retinopathy. The incidence of complications did not differ significantly from that in non-diabetic patients. In 76.6% eyes without diabetic retinopathy 6 months following implantation of an intraocular lens the vision was 6/12 or better, in eyes with diabetic retinopathy this applied to 62% of the eyes. In the course of 6 months following operation diabetic retinopathy developed in 5 of 110 eyes. To achieve long-term favourable results it is necessary to check the patients regularly after operation and in case of progressing diabetic retinopathy prompt laser photocoagulation is indicated.
Mutations in the GnRH receptor (GNRHR) have been described as a cause of reproductive failure in a subset of patients with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). Given the apparent rarity of ...these mutations, we set out to determine the frequency and distribution of GNRHR mutations in a heterogeneous population of patients with IHH who were well characterized with respect to diagnosis, phenotype, and mode of inheritance and to define their distribution within the receptor protein. One hundred and eight probands with IHH were screened for mutations in the coding sequence of GNRHR. Forty-eight of the 108 patients had a normal sense of smell, whereas the remaining 60 had anosmia or hyposmia (Kallmann syndrome). Exon segments in the GNRHR were screened for mutations using temperature gradient gel electrophoresis, and all mutations were confirmed by direct sequencing. Five unrelated probands (3 men and 2 women), all normosmic, were documented to have changes in the coding sequence of the GNRHR. Two of these probands were from a subgroup of 5 kindreds consistent with a recessive mode of inheritance, establishing a GNRHR mutation frequency of 2 of 5 (40%) in patients with normosmic, autosomal recessive IHH. The remaining 3 probands with GNRHR mutations were from a subgroup of 18 patients without evidence of familial involvement, indicating a prevalence of 3 of 18 (16.7%) in patients with sporadic IHH and a normal sense of smell. Among the five individuals bearing GNRHR mutations, a broad spectrum of phenotypes was noted, including testicular sizes in the male that varied from prepubertal to the normal adult male range. Three probands had compound heterozygous mutations, and two had homozygous mutations. Of the eight DNA sequence changes identified, four were novel: Thr(32)Ile, Cys(200)Tyr, Leu(266)Arg, and Cys(279)TYR: COS-7 cells transiently transfected with complementary DNAs encoding the human GNRHR containing each of these four novel mutations failed to respond to GnRH agonist stimulation. We conclude that 1) the spectrum of phenotypes in patients with GNRHR mutations is much broader than originally anticipated; 2) the frequency of GNRHR mutations may be more common than previously appreciated in familial cases of normosmic IHH and infrequent in sporadic cases; and 3) functional mutations of the GNRHR are distributed widely throughout the protein.
In the paper, we prepared a hydrogenated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD-H) film by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. A variable degree of NCD-H surface destruction and surface graphitization ...was achieved by Ar ion bombardment using monoatomic beam (Ar+) and cluster ion beam (ArCIB). Bombardment with ArCIB manifests itself by the formation of a very thin altered layer on the surface of NCD-H accompanied by no Ar atoms embedded in the surface region. In contrast, bombardment with Ar+ beam leads to the creation of thicker, homogeneous altered layer characterized by dominating C sp2 hybridization, by the embedded Ar atoms, and by the reduced dimensions of diamond grains located near the surface of the samples. A combination of multiple microscopy and spectroscopy methods enabled us to evaluate the contribution of the C-Hx bonds to the asymmetry of the C 1s core level line shape and to measure the H concentration on the surface. The limitation of Auger spectroscopy (D-parameter) analysis for the sp2/sp3 phase concentration measurement on rough, NCD-H surface is demonstrated. The controllable amorphization or graphitization of diamond surface can further extend its functionality in detectors, electrochemical sensing or supercapacitor uses.
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•Hydrogen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD-H) surfaces were bombarded by the monoatomic Ar+ ions and the Ar ion clusters.•The NCD-H surfaces were studied using several microscopy and spectroscopy methods: ARXPS, AES, Raman spectroscopy, REELS, EPES, SEM.•The Ar+ ion beam increased the sp2 content, decreased the grain size and led to Ar implantation into the sub-surface of the diamond. Ar clusters had minimal affect on the sp2 content and showed unchanged grains size and Ar-free diamond surface.•Hydrogen concentration was quantified and lower values were found for the diamond surface bombarded with Ar+ ions.•Ar+ ions reduced the mass density from diamond to amorphous carbon films.
•Polyphenols phloroglucinol (PG) and gallic acid (GA) added to chitosan hydrogels.•PG and GA have no negative effect on gelation kinetics and mineralizability.•PG and GA enhanced antioxidant activity ...of hydrogels.•Hydrogels containing GA, PG and without polyphenols reduced Escherichia coli growth.•PG had no negative effect on MG63 osteoblast-like cell adhesion and growth.
Injectable hydrogels for bone regeneration consisting of chitosan, sodium beta-glycerophosphate (Na-β-GP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were enriched with the polyphenols phloroglucinol (PG) and gallic acid (GA) and characterized physicochemically and biologically with respect to properties relevant for applications in bone regeneration, namely gelation kinetics, mineralizability, antioxidant properties, antibacterial activity, cytocompatibility and ability to support adhesion and growth of human osteoblast-like MG63 cells. Enrichment with PG and GA had no negative effect on gelation kinetics and mineralizability. PG and GA both enhanced antioxidant activity of unmineralized hydrogels. Mineralization reduced antioxidant activity of hydrogels containing GA. Hydrogels containing GA, PG and without polyphenols reduced colony forming ability of Escherichia coli after 1h, 3h and 6h incubation and slowed E. coli growth in liquid culture for 150min. Hydrogels containing GA were cytotoxic and supported cell growth more poorly than polyphenol-free hydrogels. PG had no negative effect on cell adhesion and growth.
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