Ekologické zemědělství, učebnice pro školy i praxi. I. díl. Základy EZ, agroenvironmentální aspekty a pěstování rostlin

První učebnice ekologického zemědělství v České republice. Obsahuje základy filosofie a praxe v ekologickém zemědělství, zaměřené na rostlinnou produkci a v samostatné kapitole informuje o biodynamickém zemědělství

Organic Agriculture

The “Organic Agriculture” (OA) book provides anyone interested in this type of farming with a practically focused textbook. The book gives a basic summary of work covering all relevant themes on which the most competent authors, coordinated by Czech experts - Borivoj Šarapatka and Jirí Urban, provide definitive contributions valid not only within the Czech Republic. The book is recommended for practical farming but also as a textbook for teachers and students. The real value of the book is in the fact that it has been compiled by a number of OA specialists and institutions focusing on this area of agriculture - to meet the demand for a comprehensive publication. The book includes chapters on the history and present status of OA in Europe, the legal status of organic agriculture methods (in accordance with European Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007 and Commission Regulation No. 889/2008), the environmental effects of OA, plant production, soil, plant nutrition and fertilization, cultivation of crops, weed control, permanent grassland, organic fruit and vegetable-growing, organic viticulture and wine-making, animal husbandry and animal breeding

Repetitive Intrathecal Catheter Delivery of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Improves Functional Recovery in a Rat Model of Contusive Spinal Cord Injury

Transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has been shown to improve the functional recovery in various models of spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the issues of the optimal dose, timing, and route of MSC application are crucial factors in achieving beneficial therapeutic outcomes. The objective of this study was to standardize the intrathecal (IT) catheter delivery of rat MSCs after SCI in adult rats. MSCs labeled with PKH-67 were administered by IT delivery to rats at 3 or 7 days after SCI as one of the following treatment regimens: (1) a single injection (5×10 5 MSCs/rat), or (2) as three daily injections (5×10 5 MSCs/rat/d for a total of 1.5×10 6 MSCs/rat over 3 days, injected on days 3, 4, and 5, or days 7, 8, and 9 following SCI. The animals were behaviorally tested for 4 weeks using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale, and histologically assessed for MSC survival, distribution, and engraftment properties after 28 days. Rats treated with a single injection of MSCs at 3 or 7 days post-injury showed a modest, non-significant improvement in function and low survival of grafted MSCs, which were found attached to the pia mater or accumulated around the anterior spinal artery. In contrast, rats treated with three daily injections of MSCs at days 7, 8, and 9, but not on days 3, 4, and 5, showed significantly higher motor function recovery (BBB score 16.8±1.7) at 14–28 days post-injury. Transplanted PKH-67 MSCs were able to migrate and incorporate into the central lesion. However, only a limited number of surviving MSCs, ranging from 24,128±1170 to 116,258±8568 cells per graft, were observed within the damaged white matter. These results suggest that repetitive IT transplantation, which imposes a minimal burden on the animals, may improve behavioral function when the dose, timing, and targeted IT delivery of MSCs towards the lesion cavity are optimized

Localization of N-type Ca2+ channels in the rat spinal cord following chronic constrictive nerve injury

Previous studies have shown that spinal L-type, N-type, and P-type Ca2+-channel blockers are effective in modulating pain behavior caused nerve injury. In the present work, using the loose ligation of the sciatic nerve model, we characterized the time course of the appearance of tactile and cold allodynia and the corresponding spinal expression of the N-type Ca2+ channel alpha(1B)-subunit after nerve ligation. Within 1 week after ligation, the majority of rats developed a unilateral sensitivity to mechanical stimulation (von Frey filaments), as well as sensitivity to cold, which persisted for 30 days. Immunocytochemical analysis of the spinal cord in sham-operated animals for the alpha(1B)-subunit showed a smooth, moderate staining pattern in the superficial laminae I-II, as well as in ventral alpha-motoneurons. In nerve-ligated animals, an intense, dot-like immunoreactivity in the ipsilateral dorsal horn was observed from 5-20 days after nerve ligation. The most prominent alpha(1B)-subunit upregulation was found in the outer as well as the inner part of lamina II (II(o), II(i)), extending from the medial toward the lateral region of the L4 and L5 spinal segments. The behavioral changes which developed after chronic constriction injury directly correlated with the alpha(1B)-subunit upregulation in the corresponding spinal cord segments. These data suggest that upregulation of the spinal alpha(1B)-subunit may play an important role in the initiation and maintenance of pain state after peripheral nerve injury

Umbilical Cord Blood Cells CD133+/CD133− Cultivation in Neural Proliferation Media Differentiates Towards Neural Cell Lineages

Umbilical cord blood (UCB) has been identified as a good source of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic stem cells that can be easily isolated. In the present study we investigated the possibility of whether stem cells in mononuclear UCB grown under defined conditions can produce progeny with neural phenotype. A combination of antigen-driven magnetic cell sorting (MACs) method and defined culture conditions specific for cells of neural lineages were used for isolation, expansion and differentiation of CD133+/− cells from UCB. Both UCB-derived fractions were expanded by exposure to growth factors (EGF, bFGF). Differentiation was induced by replacing them with fetal bovine serum. Using immunocytochemistry, the cell markers for neural (MAP2, GFAP, RIP) and non-neural lineages (S-100, von Willebrand factor) were detected. The analysis revealed occurrence of fully mature neural and non-neural lineages, which showed qualitative and quantitative differences between population of CD133+ and CD133− cells. The expression levels of MAP2 and RIP in CD133+ were significantly higher than in CD133−, more GFAP positive cells were found in the CD133−. At the same time, S-100 was expressed by 32.47 ± 6.24% of CD133− cells and 29.42 ± 1.32% of CD133− cell expressed a von Willebrand factor antigen. Our results indicate that stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood are easy to obtain, proliferate and are able to differentiate towards the cells of neural lineages, which represents a promising way for their utilization in cell-based therapies for CNS injuries and diseases

Agroekologie: východiska pro udržitelné zemědělské hospodaření

Kniha ukazuje, že k dlouhodobému řešení problémů moderního zemědělství je možno dospět jedině restrukturalizací a takovou správou zemědělských systémů, která změní jejich podobu a fungování na základě agroekologie. Agroekologie je věděcká disciplína, která využívá ekologické teorie ke studiu, designu, managementu a hodnocení produktivních zemědělských systémů, jež současně chrání přírodní zdroje. Kniha se zaměřuje jak na tradiční obhospodařování pro praktické zemědělce tak sofistikované využití ekosystémových poznatků. Kniha slouží jako učebnice pro moderní zemědělský provoz tak pro akademickou obec