Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging is noninvasive technique often used in plant physiology, molecular biology and precision farming. Captured sequences of images record the dynamic of chlorophyll fluorescence emission which contain the information about spatial and time changes of photosynthetic activity of plant. The goal of this Ph.D. thesis is to contribute to the development of chlorophyll fluorescence imaging by application of advanced statistical techniques. Methods of statistical pattern recognition allow to identify images in the captured sequence that are reach for information about observed biotic stress and to find small subsets of fluorescence images suitable for following analysis. I utilized only methods for identification of small sets of images providing high performance with realistic time consumptions.

Recently, non-cellular viral agents became the focus of a large number of scientific groups. A prominent and widespread group of these viruses are flaviviruses, which include, for example, Zika virus, Dengue fever virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus and West Nile virus. There is a considerable diversity among these viruses, however, highly conserved proteins can be found throughout this viral genus. The largest and most conserved protein encoded by flaviviruses is the nonstructural NS5 protein. Its N-terminal domain bears the methyltransferase (MTase) activity. Thanks to the methylation of its genome, it allows the virus to initiate translation and at the same time mask it from the host's immune system. By blocking the active site of this enzyme with a small molecule, viral infection could be stopped not only in one flavivirus, but, due to the high conservation of MTases, in all other flaviviruses. This diploma thesis deals with the aforementioned MTase domain of the NS5 protein, specifically of the West Nile virus (WNV). After designing an insert encoding the WNV MTase domain, amplifying it and ligating it into the vector, the MTase domain was prepared by a recombinant expression, followed by purification. Subsequently, complexes of the protein with small molecules (MTase ligands) were formed, in...

Preterm labor with intact membranes (PTL) is responsible for approximately 40% of all preterm deliveries. PTL is frequently complicated by intra-amniotic inflammation (IAI), characterized by the elevation of inflammatory mediators in the amniotic fluid. Based on the presence or absence of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC), two different clinical phenotypes of IAI are distinguished: i) intra-amniotic infection, when microorganisms are present in the amniotic fluid, and ii) sterile IAI, when there are no microorganisms in the amniotic fluid. The clinical severity of both phenotypes of IAI is underlined by their association with adverse neonatal outcomes. In addition to the presence or absence of MIAC, there are also differences between the phenotypes of IAI in terms of their intra-amniotic inflammatory status characteristics. The clinical part of this thesis has addressed these differences in women with PTL. The first specific aim of this clinical study was to determine the concentration of interleukin (IL)-6 in the cervical fluid of women with PTL complicated by intra-amniotic infection and sterile IAI. The second specific aim was to determine the concentration of IgGFc-binding protein (FcgammaBP) in the amniotic and cervical fluids of women with PTL complicated by intra-amniotic...

Infectious diseases are a very hot topic nowadays in society. In recent years, there were several epidemics, infectious diseases (hepatitis A, Avian influenza, pandemic influenza A) and nobody knows when will the next "new" infection. At the outbreak of epidemics, there is great interest in the company to obtain information about the disease, but often also to unnecessary panic, because the media often publish incorrect information. It would be preferable, in order to improve public awareness and prevent the unnecessary spread of disease. Great emphasis should be given to prevent the disease - primarily on immunization, hygiene rules and principles of safe sex. Quality information should be mainly from teachers in teaching their pupils, as is clear from research books, infectious diseases are only mentioned in textbooks and the number of substantive information in them is missing. The fact that pupils of primary schools and grammar schools with basic information on infectious diseases do not meet in the classroom, evidenced by the results of a survey carried out in the 6th classes and first year at selected elementary schools and grammar schools in Prague. To raise awareness of the pupils in school was to create a methodical manual for teachers, which summarizes information about bacterial and...

The available antiretroviral compounds can effectively suppress the replication of HIV-1 and block the disease progression. However it is impossible to eradicate the virus from the organism as the HIV-1 integrated in the genome is not affected by the existing anti-HIV-1 drugs. Therefore, new latency reversing agents are being actively developed as part of "shock and kill" therapy to reactivate the provirus and clear the reservoir. Normosang (heme arginate; HA) is a human hemin- containing compound used to treat acute porphyria. Heme is physiologically catabolised by heme oxygenases to form iron (Fe2+ ), carbon monoxide (CO) and biliverdin that is further converted to bilirubin by biliverdin reductase. In this study, we have demonstrated that HA inhibited HIV-1 replication during the acute infection, which was accompanied by the inhibition of reverse transcription. On the other hand, HA synergised with phorbol myristyl acetate (PMA) and reactivated the HIV-1 provirus in ACH-2 cells and the HIV-1 "mini-virus" in Jurkat cell clones A2 and H12. HIV-1 ''mini-virus'' was reactivated also by HA-alone. Further, we have studied the effects of heme degradation products on latent HIV-1 reactivation when added individually. We employed addition of ascorbate to generate Fe2+ , resulting in an increased...

Project title: Optimalization of the regime of marker's examination of clinically important infections in blood donors Project author: Daniela Dušková, M.D. Project supervisor: prof. Vladimír Tesař, M.D., Dr.Sc., MBA, FASN The aim of this project is to contribute to the discussion about introducing the methods of molecular biology into the routine blood donor testing in the transfusions departments in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part includes a brief history and some turning points in transfusion medicine. The next part within the theoretical section is dedicated to the problems of infectious diseases concerning transfusion and the general examination processes used during the selection of blood donors. The end of the theoretical part concentrates on existing possibilities of markers' examination of clinically important infections in blood donors, including the list of processes performed in the Czech Republic, the European Union and other countries. The practical part describes this study, ie. the routine screening test of blood donors using the CMIA method (a routine method) and using RT-Real Time PCR method (a molecular biology method) for detecting infectious markers (HCV, HBV, HIV). Within this part, the principle of both methods and the process of actual examinations are described in...

Charles University Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Biological and Medical Sciences Subject of study: Specialist in laboratory methods Student: Bc. Miroslava Hošková Supervisor: RNDr. Klára Konečná, Ph.D. Title: Microbiological diagnostics of causative agents of infectious diseases associated with central venous catheter insertion Background: The purpose of the thesis is to provide a comprehensive insight into the issue of microbiological diagnosis of agents that cause central venous catheter related infectious processes. The primary objective of the thesis is to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of individual microbiological agents and draw a comparison between published reports and empirical findings. The secondary objective of the thesis is to consider the extent of central venous catheter microbial colonization, i.e., in how many cases of positive culture cultivation, their contamination or significant colonization have been determined, and eventually whether system catheter infection has been proved in correlation with the results of blood culture. Methods: One hundred and seventy-one central venous catheters from different inpatient departments were delivered to the microbiological section of hospital Nemocnice Boskovice s. r. o. for culture examination have been...

Multiorgan dysfunction syndrom is the major driving pathophysiological mechanism of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Gastrointestinal dysfunction usually develops as a result critical illness and it is believed to play a key role in the development and progression of multiple organ dysfunction. Moreover, any primary disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, if severe enough, can lead to a critical state and secondary multiorgan dyfunction. Despite intensive experimental and clinical research, reliable tools for monitoring and evaluation of the severity of gastrointestinal dysfunction remain unknown. In the same line, therapy of this complex pathology remains largely supportive. The aim of this thesis was first to explain the severity of the most common and most serious nosocomial infection of the digestive tract, second to elucidate the safety and effectiveness of the endoscopic dual enteral probe insertion in ventilated critically ill patients, and, third to evaluate new diagnostic tools of the gastrointestinal dysfunction. Finally, we present an ongoing project aimed at investigating esophageal dysfunction in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients.