Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem

BACKGROUND: Severe trauma continues to represent a global public health issue and mortality and morbidity in trauma patients remains substantial. A number of initiatives have aimed to provide guidance on the management of trauma patients. This document focuses on the management of major bleeding and coagulopathy following trauma and encourages adaptation of the guiding principles to each local situation and implementation within each institution. METHODS: The pan-European, multidisciplinary Task Force for Advanced Bleeding Care in Trauma was founded in 2004 and included representatives of six relevant European professional societies. The group used a structured, evidence-based consensus approach to address scientific queries that served as the basis for each recommendation and supporting rationale. Expert opinion and current clinical practice were also considered, particularly in areas in which randomised clinical trials have not or cannot be performed. Existing recommendations were reconsidered and revised based on new scientific evidence and observed shifts in clinical practice; new recommendations were formulated to reflect current clinical concerns and areas in which new research data have been generated. This guideline represents the fourth edition of a document first published in 2007 and updated in 2010 and 2013. RESULTS: The guideline now recommends that patients be transferred directly to an appropriate trauma treatment centre and encourages use of a restricted volume replacement strategy during initial resuscitation. Best-practice use of blood products during further resuscitation continues to evolve and should be guided by a goal-directed strategy. The identification and management of patients pre-treated with anticoagulant agents continues to pose a real challenge, despite accumulating experience and awareness. The present guideline should be viewed as an educational aid to improve and standardise the care of the bleeding trauma patients across Europe and beyond. This document may also serve as a basis for local implementation. Furthermore, local quality and safety management systems need to be established to specifically assess key measures of bleeding control and outcome. CONCLUSIONS: A multidisciplinary approach and adherence to evidence-based guidance are key to improving patient outcomes. The implementation of locally adapted treatment algorithms should strive to achieve measureable improvements in patient outcome.

PCR has become one of the most valuable techniques currently used in bioscience, diagnostics and forensic science. Here we review the history of PCR development and the technologies that have evolved from the original PCR method. Currently, there are two main areas of PCR utilization in bioscience: high-throughput PCR systems and microfluidics-based PCR devices for point-of-care (POC) applications. We also discuss the commercialization of these techniques and conclude with a look into their modifications and use in innovative areas of biomedicine. For example, real-time reverse transcription PCR is the gold standard for SARS-CoV-2 diagnoses. It could also be used for POC applications, being a key component of the sample-to-answer system.

The versatile family of nanoparticles is considered to have a huge impact on the different fields of materials research, mostly nanoelectronics, catalytic chemistry and in study of cytocompatibility, targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering. Different approaches for nanoparticle preparation have been developed, not only based on "bottom up" and "top down" techniques, but also several procedures of effective nanoparticle modifications have been successfully used. This paper is focused on different techniques of nanoparticles' preparation, with primary focus on metal nanoparticles. Dispergation methods such as laser ablation and vacuum sputtering are introduced. Condensation methods such as reduction with sodium citrate, the Brust-Schiffrin method and approaches based on ultraviolet light or biosynthesis of silver and gold are also discussed. Basic properties of colloidal solutions are described. Also a historical overview of nanoparticles are briefly introduced together with short introduction to specific properties of nanoparticles and their solutions.

BACKGROUND: Graphene oxide composites with photocatalysts may exhibit better properties than pure photocatalysts via improvement of their textural and electronic properties. RESULTS: TiO2-Graphene Oxide (TiO2 - GO) nanocomposite was prepared by thermal hydrolysis of suspension with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and titania peroxo-complex. The characterization of graphene oxide nanosheets was provided by using an atomic force microscope and Raman spectroscopy. The prepared nanocomposites samples were characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and Barrett-Joiner-Halenda porosity, X-ray Diffraction, Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. UV/VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was employed to estimate band-gap energies. From the TiO2 - GO samples, a 300 μm thin layer on a piece of glass 10×15 cm was created. The photocatalytic activity of the prepared layers was assessed from the kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation of butane in the gas phase. CONCLUSIONS: The best photocatalytic activity under UV was observed for sample denoted TiGO_100 (k = 0.03012 h-1), while sample labeled TiGO_075 (k = 0.00774 h-1) demonstrated the best activity under visible light.

Intense ultrasound in a pressurized batch reactor was used for preparation of monolayered MoS2 nanosheets from natural mineral molybdenite. Exfoliation of bulk MoS2 using ultrasound is an attractive route to large-scale preparation of monolayered crystals. To evaluate the quality of delamination, methods like X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and microscopic techniques (TEM and AFM) were employed. From single- or few-layered products obtained from intense sonication, MoS2 quantum dots (MoSQDs) were prepared by a one-pot reaction by refluxing exfoliated nanosheets of MoS2 in ethylene glycol under atmospheric pressure. The synthesised MoSQDs were characterised by photoluminescence spectroscopy and laser-scattering particle size analysis. Our easy preparation leads to very strongly green luminescing quantum dots.

The fraction of quaternary benzophen-anthridine alkaloids from roots of Chelidonium majus L., containing chelerythrme and sanguinarme, has been tested for its antiinflammatory activity. On the basis of its low toxicity, high antiinflammatory activity and antimicrobial action, it is recommended for medical use in the treatment of oral inflammatory processes.

Recently observed rapid climate changes have focused the attention of researchers and river managers on the possible effects of increased flooding frequency on the mobilization and redistribution of historical pollutants within some river systems. This text summarizes regularities in the flood-related transport, channel-to-floodplain transfer, and storage and remobilization of heavy metals, which are the most persistent environmental pollutants in river systems. Metal-dispersal processes are essentially much more variable in alluvia than in soils of non-inundated areas due to the effects of flood-sediment sorting and the mixing of pollutants with grains of different origins in a catchment, resulting in changes of one to two orders of magnitude in metal content over distances of centimetres. Furthermore, metal remobilization can be more intensive in alluvia than in soils as a result of bank erosion, prolonged floodplain inundation associated with reducing conditions alternating with oxygen-driven processes of dry periods and frequent water-table fluctuations, which affect the distribution of metals at low-lying strata. Moreover, metal storage and remobilization are controlled by river channelization, but their influence depends on the period and extent of the engineering works. Generally, artificial structures such as groynes, dams or cut-off channels performed before pollution periods favour the entrapment of polluted sediments, whereas the floodplains of lined river channels that adjust to new, post-channelization hydraulic conditions become a permanent sink for fine polluted sediments, which accumulate solely during overbank flows. Metal mobilization in such floodplains takes place only by slow leaching, and their sediments, which accrete at a moderate rate, are the best archives of the catchment pollution with heavy metals.

Significant differences in the frequency of spontaneous and induced acrosome reactions (identified by electron microscopy) were detected between 5 individual sperm samples. Maximal stimulation of the acrosome reaction was achieved with ionophore A23187, no differences being detected between the two preincubation times used (5 and 15 h). The cumulus oophorus and follicular fluid caused a similar increase in the proportion of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa after 5 h of preincubation. It is concluded that specific products of the cumulus and/or granulosa cells may contribute to the acrosome reaction-inducing activity of human follicular fluid.

This review summarizes principles and current stage of development of fiber-optic chemical sensors (FOCS) and biosensors (FOBS). Fiber optic sensor (FOS) systems use the ability of optical fibers (OF) to guide the light in the spectral range from ultraviolet (UV) (180 nm) up to middle infrared (IR) (10 μm) and modulation of guided light by the parameters of the surrounding environment of the OF core. The introduction of OF in the sensor systems has brought advantages such as measurement in flammable and explosive environments, immunity to electrical noises, miniaturization, geometrical flexibility, measurement of small sample volumes, remote sensing in inaccessible sites or harsh environments and multi-sensing. The review comprises briefly the theory of OF elaborated for sensors, techniques of fabrications and analytical results reached with fiber-optic chemical and biological sensors.

Zirconium-based metal-organic frameworks were recently investigated as catalysts for degradation of organophosphate toxic compounds, such as pesticides or chemical warfare agents. The most utilized UiO-66 is considered as a stable material for these applications in an aqueous environment. However, the presented results indicate that the properties of UiO-66 are changing considerably in aqueous media under common conditions used for organophosphate degradations, and therefore its catalytic activity is not related to the number of structural defects created during the material synthesis. We delineate the stability of UiO-66 in water of various pHs, the in situ formation of new catalytic sites, and the correlation of these two parameters with the degradation rate of a model organophosphate pollutant, dimethyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphate (methyl-paraoxon). The stability was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) by measuring the amounts of leached terephthalic acid, the linker of UiO-66, and monocarboxylic acids, the modulators bound at UiO-66 defects. We demonstrate that the HPLC analysis is a more suitable method for metal-organic frameworks stability assessment than commonly used methods, e.g., powder X-ray diffraction, adsorption isotherms, or electron microscopy.

Most of the heavy metals (HMs), and metals/metalloids are released into the nature either by natural phenomenon or anthropogenic activities. Being sessile organisms, plants are constantly exposed to HMs in the environment. The metal non-hyperaccumulating plants are susceptible to excess metal concentrations. They tend to sequester metals in their root vacuoles by forming complexes with metal ligands, as a detoxification strategy. In contrast, the metal-hyperaccumulating plants have adaptive intrinsic regulatory mechanisms to hyperaccumulate or sequester excess amounts of HMs into their above-ground tissues rather than accumulating them in roots. They have unique abilities to successfully carry out normal physiological functions without showing any visible stress symptoms unlike metal non-hyperaccumulators. The unique abilities of accumulating excess metals in hyperaccumulators partly owes to constitutive overexpression of metal transporters and ability to quickly translocate HMs from root to shoot. Various metal ligands also play key roles in metal hyperaccumulating plants. These metal hyperaccumulating plants can be used in metal contaminated sites to clean-up soils. Exploiting the knowledge of natural populations of metal hyperaccumulators complemented with cutting-edge biotechnological tools can be useful in the future. The present review highlights the recent developments in physiological and molecular mechanisms of metal accumulation of hyperaccumulator plants in the lights of metal ligands and transporters. The contrasting mechanisms of metal accumulation between hyperaccumulators and non-hyperaccumulators are thoroughly compared. Moreover, uses of different metal hyperaccumulators for phytoremediation purposes are also discussed in detail.

Global patterns of regional (gamma) plant diversity are relatively well known, but whether these patterns hold for local communities, and the dependence on spatial grain, remain controversial. Using data on 170,272 georeferenced local plant assemblages, we created global maps of alpha diversity (local species richness) for vascular plants at three different spatial grains, for forests and non-forests. We show that alpha diversity is consistently high across grains in some regions (for example, Andean-Amazonian foothills), but regional 'scaling anomalies' (deviations from the positive correlation) exist elsewhere, particularly in Eurasian temperate forests with disproportionally higher fine-grained richness and many African tropical forests with disproportionally higher coarse-grained richness. The influence of different climatic, topographic and biogeographical variables on alpha diversity also varies across grains. Our multi-grain maps return a nuanced understanding of vascular plant biodiversity patterns that complements classic maps of biodiversity hotspots and will improve predictions of global change effects on biodiversity.

The European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires EU member states to produce and implement river basin management plans, which are to be designed and updated via participatory processes that inform, consult with, and actively involve all interested stakeholders. The assumption of the European Commission is that stakeholder participation, and institutional adaptation and procedural innovation to facilitate it, are essential to the effectiveness of river basin planning and, ultimately, the environmental impact of the Directive. We analyzed official documents and the WFD literature to compare implementation of the Directive in EU member states in the initial WFD planning phase (2000–2009). Examining the development of participatory approaches to river basin management planning, we consider the extent of transformation in EU water governance over the period. Employing a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach, we map the implementation “trajectories” of 13 member states, and then provide a detailed examination of shifts in river basin planning and participation in four member states (Germany, Sweden, Poland and France) to illustrate the diversity of institutional approaches observed. We identify a general tendency towards increased, yet circumscribed, stakeholder participation in river basin management in the member states examined, alongside clear continuities in terms of their respective pre-WFD institutional and procedural arrangements. Overall, the WFD has driven a highly uneven shift to river basin-level planning among the member states, and instigated a range of efforts to institutionalize stakeholder involvement—often through the establishment of advisory groups to bring organized stakeholders into the planning process.

Although invasive alien species have long been recognized as a major threat to nature and people, until now there has been no comprehensive global review of the status, trends, drivers, impacts, management and governance challenges of biological invasions. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and Their Control (hereafter ‘IPBES invasive alien species assessment’) drew on more than 13,000 scientific publications and reports in 15 languages as well as Indigenous and local knowledge on all taxa, ecosystems and regions across the globe. Therefore, it provides unequivocal evidence of the major and growing threat of invasive alien species alongside ambitious but realistic approaches to manage biological invasions. The extent of the threat and impacts has been recognized by the 143 member states of IPBES who approved the summary for policymakers of this assessment. Here, the authors of the IPBES assessment outline the main findings of the IPBES invasive alien species assessment and highlight the urgency to act now. This Perspective highlights the global consensus on the urgency and growing threat of invasive alien species, and management needs, as found by the 2023 report on invasive alien species conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

We studied the electrical and optical properties, density, and crystalline structure of Au nanostructures prepared by direct current sputtering on glass. We measured temperature dependence of sheet resistance and current-voltage characteristics and also performed scanning electron microscopy [SEM] analysis of gold nanolayers. It was shown that within the wide range of temperatures, gold nanolayers (<10 nm) exhibit both metal and semiconducting-like type of conductivity. UV/Vis analysis proved the semiconducting characteristic of intrinsic Au clusters. SEM analysis showed the initiatory stadium of gold layer formation to be running over isolated islands. Gold density calculated from the weight and effective thickness of the layers is an increasing function of the layer thickness up to approximately 100 nm. In thin layers deposited on solid surface, a lattice expansion is observed, which is manifested in the increase of the lattice parameter and the decrease of metal density. With increasing layer thickness, the lattice parameter and the density approach the bulk values.

In the paper Barta et al. (ApJ 737, 2011) the authors study spontaneous fragmentation of the current sheet and energy cascades in magnetic reconnection. In this paper we applied aforementioned theory to solar flares and we related predicted quantities of the model with observations. It was shown that the mechanism of cascading reconnection can account for observed characteristics of solar flares (organized large-scale dynamics & signatures of fragmented energy release).

Dendrimers are well-defined macromolecules whose highly branched structure is reminiscent of many natural structures, such as trees, dendritic cells, neurons or the networks of kidneys and lungs. Nature has privileged such branched structures for increasing the efficiency of exchanges with the external medium; thus, the whole structure is of pivotal importance for these natural networks. On the contrary, it is generally believed that the properties of dendrimers are essentially related to their terminal groups, and that the internal structure plays the minor role of an 'innocent' scaffold. Here we show that such an assertion is misleading, using convergent information from biological data (human monocytes activation) and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations on seven families of dendrimers (13 compounds) that we have synthesized, possessing identical terminal groups, but different internal structures. This work demonstrates that the scaffold of nanodrugs strongly influences their properties, somewhat reminiscent of the backbone of proteins.

A simple method of horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was described for the simultaneous phenotyping of transferrin, post-transferrin, albumin and post-albumin in the blood plasma of cattle. A step gradient gel of 8, 4, 12 and 14% acrylamide concentration was used. The method enabled the detection of a new protein polymorphism in the post-transferrin region. Two alleles were observed. The transferrin phenotypes involving D1 and D2 alleles were clearly separated. The resolution of the post-albumin fractions was also better than described by earlier methods.

Potential depletion of fossil fuel and climate change have globally accelerated the demand in renewable and alternative energy. Most of the Southeast Asian countries have an abundance of biomass sources for the energy sector due to their agriculture-based economy and enormous forest resources. Therefore, the study aimed at highlighting an overview of biomass energy in the Southeast Asia countries to convey the environmental and economic benefits from the available biomass sources in the region. In order to achieve the aim, the study synthesized and evaluated the biomass sources, energy potential, utilization, and management in the region, based on the published research papers, review papers, and country reports. It was found that the major biomass sources in this region were fuelwood, wood residues, rice husk, rice straw, sugarcane residues, oil palm residues, and coconut residues. The total annual quantity of the biomass potential from agriculture and forest sector in the region was estimated at more than 500 million tons per year and equal to over 8000 million gigajoules of total energy potential. In order to implement the sustainable utilization of biomass sources, the study specified the barriers and challenges of biomass utilization in these countries and proposed a sustainable approach of biomass energy, by comparing the way of traditional biomass utilization.

Iron humate (IH) was examined as a new low-cost sorbent for removing basic dyes (Methylene Blue, Methyl Violet, Crystal Violet, Malachite Green, and Rhodamine B) from waters. The sorption of the dyes from aqueous solutions was described by a multisite Langmuir isotherm; the sorption capacities ranging from ca. 0.01 to 0.09 mmol/g were calculated from the parameters of the isotherm for individual dyes. A more detailed study was carried out with Methylene Blue to examine an influence of the composition of aqueous phase on the sorption. pH and the presence of inorganic salts have only minor effects on the sorption. The presence of anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) increases dramatically the sorption of Methylene Blue. A model describing the sorption of basic (cationic) dyes in the presence of anionic surfactants was proposed; two main mechanisms are considered in this model: the sorption of cationic dyes onto the polar (or cation-exchange) active sites and the sorption of relatively small dye-surfactant aggregates onto the nonpolar part of the sorbent. Experimental dependencies comply well with those predicted from the model. Both in the presence as well as in the absence of SDS, the dye sorption proceeds relatively quickly--most of the dye is sorbed within the first several hours. Leachability of the dye from the loaded sorbent was found to be very low, especially with water as leachant.