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Personality predictors of exercise addiction in competitive sport
Vítková, Tereza ; Mudrák, Jiří (advisor) ; Bezdíček, Ondřej (referee)
Exercise addiction is becoming a recognized concern, particularly prevalent in elite athletic environments where the pursuit of perfection is emphasized. Despite growing awareness of problematic exercise behaviors, research investigating the underlying risk factors remains limited. This study aimed to examine personality predictors of exercise addiction in Czech elite athletes. A sample of 168 competitive athletes, aged 18 to 30 years, completed assessments including the Exercise Addiction Inventory, Sport Motivation Scale-6, the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale, Performance Perfectionism Scale-Sport, and the Neuroticism Scale from Big Five Inventory. In terms of prevalence, the findings revealed that 16.5 % of athletes exhibited problematic signs of exercise addiction, while 76.7 % were potentially at risk with low severity of symptoms. No significant differences were observed between different groups of sports. Using multiple linear regression, the study demonstrated a significant overall effect of personality predictors on exercise addiction. Neuroticism, introjected regulation, and athletic identity were identified as significant predictors of exercise addiction. These findings highlight the importance of psychological factors such as personality traits and motivational regulation in...
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Influence of urbanization patterns on the escape behaviour of birds
Dontová, Alena ; Mikula, Peter (advisor) ; Brlík, Vojtěch (referee)
Urbanization, i.e., the anthropogenic transformation of natural habitats into urban areas, has significant impact on the biodiversity. One of the key factors for successful animal survival in urban environments is the increase in their tolerance towards humans manifested by their decreased shyness. One of the field methods for assessing the level of the shyness across different individuals, populations, and species of animals is measuring their flight initiation distance. In this thesis, I focus primarily on birds, as their responses have been most extensively studied. Previous studies focused on differences in escape behaviour among birds mainly between urban and rural areas, and focused mainly on Europe and North America. However, human settlements vary in their history, size, population density, and other characteristics. Therefore, the observed patterns in bird behaviour may not always be universally applicable across all cities. In this thesis, through a literature review, I summarize how the escape behaviour of birds differs not only between urban and rural environments but also depending on the characteristics of human settlements, such as their size, history, degree of urbanization, the density of the local human population and the ecoregion. I found that the most important characteristics are the...
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Effect of Sleep Education and Behavioral Techniques on Sleep and Emotional Regulation in Patients with Insomnia.
Smolková, Eliška ; Janků, Karolina (advisor) ; Horáková, Hana (referee)
This diploma thesis introduces the topic of a short-termed approach to treating insomnia. The theoretical part addresses healthy sleep and sleep assessment methods. It describes insomnia and a large part of the thesis is devoted to the treatment of this sleep disorder. The thesis introduces the relationship between emotional regulation and sleep. The aim of the empirical part is to investigate the effect of a short program dedicated to insomnia on sleep parameters (time in bed, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency), on the severity of insomnia and on difficulties in emotional regulation in individuals suffering from insomnia. The pilot research is examining the variables listed above before and after the programme. The results suggest significant changes in sleep parameters, insomnia severity and difficulties in emotional regulation after the programme. Limitations of the present study are discussed and recommendations for further research in the area of short-term therapies for insomnia are provided. Key words: insomnia; emotion regulation; behavioural approach; cognitive behavioural therapy
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The role of swimming of the robusticity of the human upper limb
Toperczerová, Barbora ; Sládek, Vladimír (advisor) ; Struška, Michal (referee)
This bachelor thesis discusses effect of regular swimming on human bone tissue robusticity. The goal of this thesis is to summarize results of studies focusing on bone tissue of swimmers and to describe why is the bone tissue of swimmers less robust than bone tissue of individuals participating in other athletic activities. In the first part of the thesis, robusticity, bone modeling and remodeling, and responses of bone tissue on athletic activity are described. Further, the thesis focuses specifically on regular swimming. Forces, which are acting upon swimmers body and which are making swimming possible, are described. Next, four swimming strokes are described and which muscles have the highest contributions in those four swimming strokes. Bone tissue properties are compared between swimmers, other athletes and non-athletes. Special attention is given to bone tissue of human upper limbs. Lastly, the effects of weightlessness environment and absence of mechanical stimuli is described. Key words robusticity, bone functional adaptation, swimming, swimming strokes, upper limb
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The influence of roots on the chemical properties of the apoplast and the rhizosphere
Puldová, Kristýna ; Fendrych, Matyáš (advisor) ; Šámalová, Markéta (referee)
Chemical properties of the apoplast and rhizosphere are crucial for plant development and its overall well-being. Apoplast includes space outside the plasma membrane and its content, such as gas, water, and solutes. Changes in apoplast properties significantly influence various processes. One of them is cellular growth - the pH-dependent extension of cell walls. The rhizosphere is the soil environment near and under the influence of roots. It is characterised by abiotic factors like the availability of nutrients and toxic compounds. It is also a space with a high representation of microbiome communities. Plants can significantly influence the chemical properties of both apoplast and rhizosphere to improve their growth conditions. This thesis summarises the most important mechanisms of plants' roots that change these chemical properties, focusing on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. It shows how and where these mechanisms intersect and in which way they influence each other. Emphasis is placed on the process of growth regulation and mechanisms of increasing nutrient availability. Keywords: apoplast, rhizosphere, H+ ATPase, root growth, rhizodeposition, root exudates, nutrients, microbiome
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Effect of dysbiosis on proportion of particular neutrophil subsets and their functional capacities
Sklenářová, Lydie ; Hrdý, Jiří (advisor) ; Dobeš, Jan (referee)
The gut microbiota is crucial for maintaining physiological balance and influences metabolic processes, immune responses, and intestinal barrier function. Dysbiosis, or the imbalance of microbial composition, is associated with a range of health complications, including chronic inflammatory conditions such as non-specific intestinal inflammations. Inflammatory processes associated with dysbiosis and changes in microbial metabolites can directly affect the activation of neutrophils, impacting the pathogenesis of various diseases. Probiotics, defined as live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host, offer the potential for positive modulation of these inflammatory conditions The aim of this thesis was to explore how experimentally induced intestinal dysbiosis affects the heterogeneity of neutrophils in the bone marrow. Dysbiosis was induced by administering antibiotics to mice, which were subsequently treated with the probiotic strain Escherichia coli O83:K24:H31 (EcO83). Neutrophil phenotypes were assessed using flow cytometry based on the expression of surface markers CD11b, Ly6G, CD62L, and CXCR2. Meanwhile, gene expression related to their antimicrobial functions and the inflammatory environment was analyzed by quantitative PCR. The results...
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Impact of leisure and social activites on quality of life among erderly in Europe - SHARE data analysis
Pluhařová, Markéta
Impact of leisure and social activites on quality of life among erderly in Europe - SHARE data analysis Abstract Due to demographic aging, the quality of life of an increasing proportion of seniors is becoming more important than ever. According to activity theory and the concept of active aging, active life is a way to experience good old age. The diploma thesis focuses on the impacts of leisure and social activities on the quality of life of elderly over 65 in 17 European countries. Sixth wave data from The Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) from 2015 and the easySHARE panel dataset are analyzed using binary regression analysis and multilevel modeling using binary regression analysis. The relationship of 11 selected activities, which were divided for the needs of this thesis into social, individual activities and activities aimed at helping others, and quality of life is controlled for socio-economic, demographic and health characteristics. Quality of life is meassured using the CASP-12 indicator. For social and individual activities, active elderly have a higher chance of a high quality of life (CASP-12 score> 39) than inactive. Elderly who do not provide personal care assistance to people from the same household also have a better chance than caregivers. Key words ageing, ageing of...
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Variability of Lepidium campestre seed mass concerning nutrition
Tučková, Kristýna ; Mašková, Tereza (advisor) ; Dostál, Petr (referee)
Seed production allows plants to maintain their genetic diversity, survive in dormancy through unfavourable conditions and disperse to new distant sites. Seed's own size reflects the amount of provisions designated for its germination, thus the rate and success of its germination. Seed size can also suggest dispersion distance, a chance to avoid seed predators, and how likely the seedling will withstand unfavourable conditions right after germination and before the formation of necessary structures for growth independent of maternal supplies. In general, the more nutrients a plant acquires during seed production, the bigger the number or size of seeds it can produce. In some cases, more nutrient uptake can lead to the production of more numerous and bigger seeds simultaneously, however, the direction of increased investment in reproduction highly depends on plant species. This work studies the effect of nutrient gradient in the environment on the variability of seed size in Lepidium campestre. It explores how seed traits change along the maternal environmental nutrient gradient, specifically how their number, size and seed coat thickness responds to the gradient. Subsequently, this work discusses the persistence of the maternal nutrient effect in the second generation, phenomenon called the...
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Effect of mitochondrially targeted senolytic agents on the development of respiratory diseases
Rennerová, Michaela ; Štemberková-Hubáčková, Soňa (advisor) ; Neckář, Jan (referee)
Aging is a complex biological process characterized by gradual decline in the physiological functions of cells and tissues, leading to the activation of a process known as cellular senescence. This results in the development of structural and functional changes in the organism accompanied by an increased risk of various diseases. Respiratory diseases are among the most common chronic conditions associated with the accumulation of senescent cells in the body. Current treatment for chronic respiratory diseases primarily focuses on symptom relief rather than addressing the primary cause of these conditions. Given that senescent cells play a significant role in the pathogenesis of respiratory diseases, the future of therapies lies in their elimination using senolytic agents. Despite promising results from some studies, current research is limited by the heterogeneity of senescent cells, which is reflected in their sensitivity to senolytic agents and the variability of therapeutic responses. Mitochondria play a central role in the development and maintenance of the senescent cell phenotype by regulating key processes such as energy metabolism and cellular signaling, regardless of the type of senescent cell. Thus, targeting mitochondria in senescent cells may represent a promising therapeutic strategy...
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Practical aspects of vitamin D and calcium supplementation in patients with renal disease
Bělohlávková, Adéla ; Vachek, Jan (advisor) ; Zakiyanov, Oskar (referee)
Vitamin D deficiency is typical of kidney disease, as are disorders of calcium- phosphate metabolism. Supplementation of native vitamin D and the resulting correction of calcemia values could contribute to improving the health status of these patients, even though native vitamin D has been considered ineffective in patients with more severe kidney disease. Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of native vitamin D supplementation on patients with chronic kidney disease. Methods: In the practical part, retrospective data of patients with chronic kidney disease treated in nephrology and internal medicine outpatient clinics were used. These data were obtained from the Klatovy Hospital database. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations at the beginning of vitamin D supplementation and changes in these values after one year were compared. In addition, data on muscle strength, fractures, propensity to falls and calcemia were evaluated. Patients' level of education regarding proper vitamin D supplementation was assessed by questionnaire. Conclusion: The results show that supplementation with native vitamin D leads to an increase in serum 25(OH)D concentration even in patients with more severe renal impairment, while optimizing serum total calcium concentration, and probably has numerous...
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