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The influence of tanning chemical agens on DNA degradation
Hebenstreitová, Kristýna ; Vaněk, Daniel (advisor) ; Novák, Jindřich (referee)
The illegal wildlife trade is currently on the rise, and it is becoming the fourth most lucrative sector of crime. The traded commodities of this sector are, for example, various animal artefacts from skins, teeth, scales, tusks, claws to whole animal bodies, as well as eggs of endangered birds (parrots and birds of prey) or amphibians and snakes. The rarer the species is, the higher the demand for it grows. Wildlife trade is regulated (among other things) under the international CITES convention (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Proving that this convention has been violated, is complex process and can be very difficult to achieve. In many cases a DNA analysis of the artefact, is the only way to prove, that it originates from a protected animal species and not from a species with which it is legal to trade. This thesis deals with a specific type of animal artefact - tanned skins. With this type of biological material, it is often problematic to obtain amplifiable DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). This thesis is investigating the influence of the chemicals used in the tanning process on the DNA degradation. Furthermore, it analyses, the influence of these substances on the inhibition of the polymerase chain reaction. The quantity of DNA is determined...
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Human in vitro models for epilepsy research
Hebenstreitová, Kristýna ; Danačíková, Šárka (advisor) ; Valeš, Karel (referee)
Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease that affects around 1 % of the world population. It is a multifactorial disease, which is characterised by recurrent seizures. Present pharmacological treatment is symptomatic and approximately one third of the patients develop pharmacorezistant epilepsy. This bachelor thesis presents an overview of current knowledge about the modelling of epilepsy, while focusing on human in vitro models. Cell lines appear to be very promising in vitro models for modelling genetic epilepsies. For example, cell lines derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells or human neural stem cells, which both allow for introduction of potentially pathological mutations and further differentiation into many different cell types. Human in vitro models of epilepsy play important role in understanding the process of epileptogenesis, ictogenesis, mechanism of antiepileptic drugs effects and are used in the search for new active substances. Epilepsy comes with great burden of disease for the patients, that is why it is very important to research not only the molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis, but also advancements of personalised therapy, which could give hope to many (even pharmacorezistant) patients.
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