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Models for Stress Testing in the Insurance Sector
Komárková, Zlatuše ; Gronychová, Marcela
The project is focused on top-down stress testing of the Czech insurance sector. The aim of the present paper is to describe the advanced method for macro stress testing of insurance companies used by the CNB. We apply the presented stress test to eleven Czech insurance companies. The shocks applied are designed to replicate a macroeconomic scenario and to impact on both the asset and liability sides of the balance sheet. We consider both investment and insurance risks relating to the Czech insurance sector. An application of the simulated scenario to the Czech insurance sector illustrates that the sector is sufficiently resilient and stable.
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Proteins demaged by oxidative stress, their role in physiology and ageing of yest cells
Mikešová, Jana ; Palková, Zdena (advisor) ; Borčin, Kateřina (referee)
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are regularly produced in cells as a by-product of aerobic metabolism. Hence, organisms developed various defence mechanisms, which are able to avoid molecular damages caused by ROS under physiological conditions. In stress conditions, however, such defence mechanisms are not sufficient to avoid molecular damages. Accumulation of oxidized proteins is supposed to be a reason for ageing and many diseases including Friedreich's ataxia, Amylotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and many others. During oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species are reflected in oxidation of cystein residues in transcription factors, regulation proteins and active canters centers of enzymes. Oxidative modifications however could lead also to changes in transcription factor activity and activation of specific pathways, including changes in gene expression, cell cycle and proteolysis. This work shows defence mechanisms, ROS and proteins altered by reactive oxygen species that may function as important signalling molecules, which are essential for many cellular processes.
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Memes and the Theory of Universal Darwinism
Havlík, Vladimír
The article deals with the philosophical presuppositions and groundwork of the memetics. The central question is an analysis of Universal Darwinism as a common and universal evolutional principle or pattern that always springs in every environment when there're fulfilled required conditions. An evolutional process could be possibly described like an algorithmic process that faces to the rise of organized orderliness. Darwinism in this generally universal sense points to a distinctness survival of any kind self replicated code of information that has some influence over its probability of replication. The article stresses methodological importance of memetics as it makes possible to introspect variety of cultural development from a simple unification perspective.
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Effect of Selected Substances on the Respiratory System of Rat in Vivo and in Vitro
Kottová, Martina ; Pourová, Jana (advisor) ; Herink, Josef (referee) ; Nosálová, Gabriela (referee)
BACKGROUND: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which a number of cells and cellular elements play a role. It is a lifetime disease which is not completely curable. Many factors contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma, oxidative stress being an important one. In healthy humans, the toxicity of free radicals is inhibited by enzymatic and non-enzymatic systems. In asthmatics, the function of these endogenous systems is impaired. Despite treatment, asthma morbidity and mortality steadily increases. The search for new drugs can be based on the knowledge of the pathological changes associated with the disease, and can also be inspired by folk medicine. As regards the latter approach, new, more potent substances could be obtained by isolation and chemical modification of natural products. The aim of this doctoral thesis was to elucidate the effects of selected substances on the respiratory system of rats by in vivo and in vitro methods. We investigated the effects of orally administered α-tocopherol on the lung response in an in vivo rat model of allergic asthma. The second part of this thesis deals with natural quinazoline alkaloids (Justicia adhatoda standardized extract, vasicine, vasicinone) and their synthetic analogues, and their relaxant effects on an isolated rat trachea. The...
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The effect of extreme physical exertion on the percentage of dendritic cell subpopulations in professional athletes
Bočínská, Helena ; Radvanský, Jiří (referee) ; Kolář, Pavel (advisor)
The main goal of this tesis is to describe changes in representation of various subpopulations dendritic cells (myelogenic and plasmocytoigenic) in peripheral blood after intense physical stress and to review their activation status. Early count changes and changes of function of basic elements of cellular immunity after a sport load was described, whereas a behaviour of circulating dendritic cells hasn't been studied yet. The amount and the stage of differentation of dendritic cells was specified by analysis of blood samples taken before and after the load. According to the result of the tesis the reaction to extreme physical load had two effects. The amount of dendritic cells was increased, whilst the expression of kostimulative molecules (their activation) was decreased. Described changes support an opinion, that physical load initates reaction to a danger of body damage. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
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Introduction of Western blotting method for detection of AMPK cascade activation in LS174T cell line
Dubecká, Michaela ; Pávek, Petr (advisor) ; Nachtigal, Petr (referee)
Charles University in Prague Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Student: Michaela Dubecká Supervisor: Doc. PharmDr. Petr Pávek, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: Introduction of Western blotting method for detection of AMPK cascade activation in LS174T cell line LKB1/AMPK is the main cellular energetic pathway, which acts as the sensor of various extra- and intracellular signals. In response to the signals, it regulates energy metabolism and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis, so its major role lies in the survival, growth and development of the whole organism. This pathway is of significant importance because it has the potential to suppress tumoral progress in the cell. Metformin, the widely used drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, exerts a significant antitumour activity. However, the direct mechanism of metformin's action is still unknown. Metformin induces cellular stress similar to the metabolic stress via inhibiting mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I, which results in an increase of AMP levels in plasma. AMP then binds to the AMPKγ subunit, so metformin mediates the activation of AMPK. AMPK is suddenly phosphorylated on Thr172 of the AMPKα kinase domain via LKB1, which mediates the downregulation of many downstream kinases. The...
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Regulace exprese TLX proteiny rodiny p53
Syslová, Markéta ; Pávek, Petr (advisor) ; Skálová, Lenka (referee)
Charles University in Prague Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Candidate: Markéta Syslová Supervisors: Prof. Keiko Funa, Erik Johansson, Ph.D., Doc. PharmDr. Petr Pávek, Ph.D. Title of diploma thesis: Regulation of TLX expression by p53 family members The p53 mutation is associated with poor therapeutic response and prognosis, being observed in almost 60% of human cancers. p53 is kept at low steady-state levels in the absence of cellular stress. In response to various stress, p53 becomes activated. It binds DNA in a sequence specific manner to activate the transcription of a number of genes mostly belonging to cell cycle inhibitors and apoptosis inducers. When p53 is mutated it cannot fulfil its function and regulate target genes. p73, analogue of p53, has two different isoforms with two different functions. In neuroblastoma, TAp73, as well as p53, is infrequently mutated but overexpression of DNp73 is connected with poor prognosis. TLX (also called NR2E1) is an orphan nuclear receptor, a member of a highly conserved family in both vertebrates and invertebrates. TLX is an essential transcriptional regulator of maintenance and self-renewal of neural stem cells. In this study I investigated if there is a functional link between p53 family members and TLX....
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Differentiation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae colonies
Čáp, Michal ; Palková, Zdena (advisor) ; Pichová, Iva (referee) ; Demnerová, Kateřina (referee)
Yeast colonies are, alongside to bacterial biofilms, multicellular communities formed by unicellular microorganisms. These specific communities differ in many ways from populations cultivated in planktonic cultivations. Gradients of nutrients, metabolic by- products and other factors are formed and preserved within these structures, which provides a basis for cellular differentiation. Current literature concerning these issues with emphasis on yeast colonies and biofilms is summarised in the Introduction of this work. Section Results then describes my contribution to the knowledge on the differentiation of the colonies of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system for studying microbial multicellular structures. Previously described horizontal differentiation, i.e. differentiation between colony centre and margin, is further characterised with respect to ammonia signalling and stress resistance. The importance of genes conferring the cell`s oxidative stress resistance in colony differentiation was studied and it was concluded that not stress resistance but rather metabolic and other changes promoted by ammonia signal are important for colony differentiation and survival. A new type of colony differentiation - the horizontal, i.e. differentiation between upper and lower part of the colony, is...
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Biotransformation aspects on novel carbocyclic nucleoside analogs.
Rozumová, Nela ; Mertlíková Kaiserová, Helena (advisor) ; Rumlová, Michaela (referee)
Carbocyclic nucleoside analogs with norbornane moiety that have been synthesized at IOCB AS CR, represent new potential chemotherapeutic agents with significant activity against Coxsackieviruses. The main objective of this work was to study the metabolism and mechanism of action of the original analog carbocyclic nucleoside MS 254, which is characterized by its antiviral and cytostatic effects. The attention was partially paid also to the two structurally related substances (MS 255, MS 320). In this work, we determined cytotoxicity of these compounds in cell culture and the effect of MS 254 on the amount of total and oxidized glutathione, activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR) and the effect on cellular oxidative stress. The kinetics of the conjugation of MS 254 by human GST was also studied. It was found that of the three substances tested MS 255 was the most cytotoxic and MS 254 was the least cytotoxic compound. It was further found that MS 254 does not cause significant oxidative stress and that it increases the activity of GST and GR in a dose-dependent manner. Michaelis-Menten constant of the conjugation of MS 254 with the glutathione (main metabolic pathway) was determined in the milimolar range, indicating a relatively low affinity of MS 254 for GST.
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The effect of metabolite terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy on early life stages of marbled crayfish
PEŘINOVÁ, Eliška
Terbuthylazine belongs to the group of pesticides on triazine-based for use in agriculture as herbicides. Terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy is the main metabolite of terbuthylazine. The aim of this study was evaluate the effect of terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy on mortality, growth, occurrence the deformations and the development of early life stages, and levels of oxidative stress, assess the activity of antioxidant enzymes of marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis) and also augment data for assessing the impact of this metabolite on the environment. For assess of effect of this metabolite was used embryo larval toxicity test with crayfish. The effect of terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy was evaluated in four concentrations (0.75 g.l-1, 75 g.l-1, 375 g.l-1 and 750 g.l-1) for 62 days. Terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy in concentrations 375 g.l-1 and 750 g.l-1 caused decrease of activity superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the levels lipid peroxidation (measured as TBARS) and inhibition of growth. Inhibition of growth was also observed in the group exposed to 75 g.l-1 of terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy. Additionally, there was delay in ontogenetic development of crayfish exposed to concentration 750 g.l-1. The real tested concentration of 75 g.l-1 terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy had no effect to monitored indices in the early life stages of marbled crayfish. Terbuthylazine-2-hydroxy caused oxidative damage of cellular lipids and proteins, changes in antioxidant activity, reduction of growth, delay in ontogenetic development of marbled crayfish.
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