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Low-temperature plasma (LTP) is currently one of the non-invasive and environmentally friendly methods of seed treatment and is massively tested on various types of crops. For the needs of gene banks, the use of LTP technology represents the treatment of seeds before sowing to improve the germination and emergence of long-term stored seed samples. Seeds of four genotypes of wheat, oats, flax, and rapeseed stored in the gene bank for 1, 10, and 20 years were plasma treated for 20, 25, and 30 min. Standard germination parameters (SG3, SG7, GR, MGT, and GI), as well as predictive models, were used to evaluate the effect of plasma treatment on seeds, and the effect on seed metabolism was assessed by superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The plasma treatment had different effects on germination and on the enzymatic activity of the tested species, and the result was influenced by both the duration of the treatment and the crop species/genotype. The plasma treatment has a positive effect on germination parameters in flax and rapeseed; in some variants, as in wheat, oats generally reacted negatively. SOD activity was variable in wheat, while higher activity with increasing treatment time was found in other crops. The results of this first study focused on long-term stored seeds and showed the potential of plasma treatment of seeds of plant genetic resources, the possibility of stimulating the germination of stored PGRs, and the need to optimize treatment conditions for individual genotypes.

Intercropping is a technique in which two or more crops are grown together that is reported to be soil and water friendly. Field trials were conducted at three different localities in the Czech Republic. Spring wheat was grown together with different legumes (Egyptian clover, crimson clover, red clover, white clover, common pea, dun pea, common vetch, bird’s-foot-trefoil, common kidney vetch, and fenugreek) in an organic cropping system. Two basic systems were compared mixture and row-by-row cropping. The yield of grain was lower on average in row-by-row cropping than in the mixture. Lower yields were found in Prague (PR) compared to Uhříněves (UH) and Zvíkov (ZV). The mixture system seemed to be more effective in grain production than cultivation in separate rows (PR 2.14 t/ha, UH 4.71 t/ha, ZV 3.00 t/ha) in terms of spring wheat grain yield in comparison with the mixture system (PR 2.45 t/ha, UH 5.44 t/ha, ZV 3.14 t/ha). Quality parameters such as crude protein, wet gluten, gluten index, Zeleny test of wheat grown with legumes were compared to the control. The mean quality parameters of both systems were the following: test weight 75.75%, crude protein 13.9%, wet gluten 31.5%, Zeleny test 56.2 mL, falling number 266.4 s. The combinations of spring wheat with Egyptian clover, white clover, common vetch, common kidney vetch, and bird’s-foot-trefoil are recommended as the most promising according to the results obtained across all sites and considering all parameters.

Immune tolerance is mediated by the deletion of autoreactive T cells via medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTEC) and dendritic cells (DC), and by the induction of regulatory T cells (Treg). Here the authors show that mTEC receiving toll-like receptor signaling control the recruitment of CD14+Sirpα+ DC population that is capable of inducing Treg for establishing tolerance.

Quinoa displays huge genetic variability and adaptability to distinct climatic conditions. Quinoa seeds are a good source of nutrients; however, the overall nutritional composition and nutrient content is influenced by numerous factors. This study focused on the nutritional and morphologic evaluation of various quinoa genotypes grown in the Czech Republic. Significant differences between years were observed for morphological traits (plant height, inflorescence length, weight of thousand seeds). The weather conditions in the year 2018 were favorable for all the morphological traits. The protein content of quinoa accessions ranged between 13.44 and 20.01% and it was positively correlated to mauritianin. Total phenolic content varied greatly from year to year, while the antioxidant activity remained relatively stable. The most abundant phenolic compounds were the flavonoids miquelianin, rutin, and isoquercetin. Isoquercetin, quercetin, and N-feruoloyl octopamine showed the highest stability under variable weather conditions in the analyzed years. A total of six compounds were detected and quantified in quinoa for the first time. Most varieties performed well under Central European conditions and can be considered a good source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. These data can be used as a source of information for plant breeders aiming to improve the quality traits of quinoa.

Low-temperature plasma (LTP) is currently one of the non-invasive and environmentally friendly methods of seed treatment and is massively tested on various types of crops. For the needs of gene banks, the use of LTP technology represents the treatment of seeds before sowing to improve the germination and emergence of long-term stored seed samples. Seeds of four genotypes of wheat, oats, flax, and rapeseed stored in the gene bank for 1, 10, and 20 years were plasma treated for 20, 25, and 30 min. Standard germination parameters (SG3, SG7, GR, MGT, and GI), as well as predictive models, were used to evaluate the effect of plasma treatment on seeds, and the effect on seed metabolism was assessed by superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The plasma treatment had different effects on germination and on the enzymatic activity of the tested species, and the result was influenced by both the duration of the treatment and the crop species/genotype. The plasma treatment has a positive effect on germination parameters in flax and rapeseed; in some variants, as in wheat, oats generally reacted negatively. SOD activity was variable in wheat, while higher activity with increasing treatment time was found in other crops. The results of this first study focused on long-term stored seeds and showed the potential of plasma treatment of seeds of plant genetic resources, the possibility of stimulating the germination of stored PGRs, and the need to optimize treatment conditions for individual genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Preoperative parathyroid imaging is inevitable part of focused parathyroid surgery. The aim of our study was assessment of parathyroid scintigraphy diagnostic accuracy regarding to size and metabolic parameters of hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue. Material and methods: Parathyroid scintigraphy for suspected primary hyperparathyroidism was performed in 95 patients during years 2015 and 2016. Of them, 75 patients with known clinical outcome (40 underwent surgery, 35 had documented laboratory follow-up) were further retrospectively evaluated. The performance of dual tracer 99mTc-pertechnetate and 99mTc-MIBI subtraction and dual-time-point 99mTc-MIBI imaging with SPECT/CT was analysed. Serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcaemia, ionized calcaemia and phosphataemia and ultrasound detected adenoma volume and largest diameter in false negative and true positive findings were compared using Mann-Whitney test. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of parathyroid scintigraphy was 74.5% and 95.8%, respectively. NPV was 63.8% and PPV 97.4%. Hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue detectability was almost significantly associated with hypophosphataemia and PTH levels. Conclusion: Parathyroid scintigraphy provides high sensitivity and superior specificity in parathyroid adenoma location, nevertheless the diagnostic accuracy tends to decline in smaller adenomas and in less metabolically active parathyroid tissue causing only subtle biochemical changes. 18F-Fluorocholine PET/CT or 3D SPECT/CT subtraction should be a reasonable option for those cases.

Snake fruit (Salacca zalacca (Gaert.) Voss) is a fruit species traditionally cultivated in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries. The edible parts of the fruits contain a certain amount of total phenolic, flavonoid, and monoterpenoid compounds, proving them to be their perfect sources. The main goal of this work was to detect, quantify, and identify various phenolic compounds present in snake fruit pulp. Ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to a Q-Orbitrap tandem mass spectrometer was able to detect 19 phenolic compounds in the salak pulp, including 5 flavanols, 6 phenolic acids, 2 flavonols, 1 flavone, and also 5 presumably new phenolic compounds. Among the detected compounds, 11 were reported and quantified for the first time in salak pulp. Chlorogenic acid was by far the most predominant phenolic compound. The next relatively abundant compounds in snake fruit were epicatechin, isoquercetin, neochlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, gallic acid and procyanidine B2 (levels at ca 5–10 μg/g in MeOH extract), syringic acid, and caffeic acid (levels at ca 1 μg/g in H2O extract). A significant total phenolic content (257.17 μL/mL) and antioxidant activities (10.56 μM TE/g of fruit pulp) were determined. In conclusion, S. zalacca fruit has potential to serve as a natural source of phenolic compounds with antioxidative activities which may be associated with their health benefits.

A simple and efficient protocol for micropropagation of Incarvillea delavayi (Bignoniaceae), an ornamental plant from China, was developed in this study. As initial plant material, adventitious shoots were used. Effect of 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg l-1 BAP in half-strength MS medium on shoot multiplication was studied. For rooting, 0.1 and 0.3 mg l-1 NAA were tested. The highest shoot number (8.60 ± 0.78 shoots per explant) and plant height (5.50 ± 0.31 cm) were obtained on medium supplemented with 1 mg l-1 BAP. The shoots optimally rooted on medium with addition of 0.3 mg l-1 NAA (8.48 ± 0.51 roots per shoot; root length 1.64 ± 0.18 cm). Well rooted plants were transferred ex vitro. Eight weeks after ex vitro transfer, 62.5% plants survived. The protocol optimized here, can be used for large-scale propagation of ornamental plant I. delavayi.

Current clinical studies confirm that the consumption of oats for people suffering from celiac disease is safe. Some studies have confirmed different levels of immunoreactive gluten epitopes of oats in different cultivars, while others explain these differences due to contamination with gluten-rich species or as random cross-reactivity ELISA of homologous oat epitopes with anti-wheat gliadin antibodies. The aim of our two-year study was therefore to map cross-reactive oat epitopes in a set of 132 oat cultivars using a G12-based ELISA kit. The results were focused on the varietal and annual level of cross-reactivity (interference) of avenin epitopes with the G12 antibody on the identification of potential cultivars with significantly different interferences and assessing the degree of risk of possible false-contamination with external gluten. Although repeated evaluations confirmed high year-to-year variability (RSD ≥ 30%) in approximately 2/3 of the cultivars, the content of interfering avenin epitopes with G12 did not exceed the considered safe limit (20 mg·kg−1) for celiacs. At the same time, not only annual but, above all, significant cultivar dependences in the interference of avenins to the G12 antibody were demonstrated. Genetic dependence was further confirmed in connection with the proven avenin polymorphism as well as immunoblotting with the identification of interfering peptides with the G12 antibody in the 25 and 30 kDa regions. It was the occurrence of two bands around 30 kDa that predominantly occurred in oat cultivars with a relatively higher content of cross-reactive avenins (12–16 mg·kg−1). Due to the fact that the contents of interfering avenins ranged in several cultivars even over 16 mg·kg−1, the choice of a suitable oat cultivar may be crucial for gluten-free food producers, as it reduces the risk of a possible false-response of the commercial ELISA kits when checking the real-gluten contamination.

Our study was focused on the evaluation of the content of a wider spectrum of eight avenanthramides (AVNs) as unique components of oat grain under the effects of four selected factors (cultivar, locality, cropping system, and year). The weather effects on changes in the AVN content and their relationship to other important parameters of oat grain were further evaluated in more detail. A sensitive UHPLC system coupled with a QExactive Orbitrap mass spectrometer was used for AVN quantification. AVNs confirmed a high variability (RDS = 72.7–113.5%), which was dominantly influenced by the locality and year factors. While most AVN types confirmed mutually high correlations (r = 0.7–0.9), their correlations with the other 10 grain parameters were lower (r ≤ 0.48). Their significant correlations (0.27–0.46) with β-D-glucan could be used in perspective in breeding programs for the synergetic increase of both parameters. PCA analysis and Spearman correlations based on individual cultivars confirmed a significant effect of June and July precipitation on the increase of Σ AVNs. However, the results also indicated that higher precipitation can generate favorable conditions for related factors, such as preharvest sprouting evoking a direct increase of AVNs synthesis in oat grain.

Buckwheat is a nutritionally valuable crop, an alternative to common cereals also usable in gluten-free diets. The selection of buckwheat genotypes suitable for further breeding requires the characterization and evaluation of genetic resources. The main objective of this work was to evaluate selected phenotypic and morphological traits using international buckwheat descriptors, including total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, on a unique set of 136 common buckwheat accessions grown in 2019–2020 under Czech Republic conditions. In addition, UHPLC-ESI- MS/MS was used to analyze a wide spectrum of 20 phenolic compounds in buckwheat seeds, including four flavanols, three phenolic acids, seven flavonols, four flavones, and two flavanones. Significant differences among years and genotypes were observed for morphological traits (plant height and 1000-seed weight) and antioxidant activity, as well as levels of observed chemical compounds. Antioxidant activity, crude protein content, plant height and rutin content were characterized by higher mean values in 2020 than in 2019 and vice versa for total polyphenol content and 1000-seed weight. Crude protein content was the most stable across years, while total polyphenol content and rutin content varied greatly from year to year. The most abundant phenolic compounds were rutin, hyperoside, epicatechin, catechin, vitexin, isovitexin, orientin and isoorientin. Protein content was negatively correlated with plant height, catechin and epicatechin content. On the other hand, AA and TPC were positively correlated with rutin, hyperoside and chlorogenic acid. Five accessions showed high stability of the evaluated traits under changing conditions within both years of observation. These materials can be used in breeding programmes aimed at improving buckwheat genotypes with emphasis on quality traits.

The clinical outcome of 153 Graves’ disease patients treated with a wide dose range of radioactive iodine-131 (RAI) was analyzed retrospectively. Six to nine months after the first dose of RAI 60 patients (39%) were hypothyroid (or rather thyroxine-substituted) and 26 (17%) were euthyroid, while 67 patients (44%) did not respond properly: in 32 (21%) their antithyroid drug (ATD) dose could be reduced but not withdrawn (partial response) and 35 (23%) remained hyperthyroid or the same dose of ATD was necessary (no response). The outcome did not correspond significantly to the administered activity of RAI (medians 259, 259, 222, and 259 MBq for hypothyroid, euthyroid, partial, and no response subgroups, respectively), or the activity retained in the gland at 24 h (medians 127, 105, 143, and 152 MBq). The effect was, however, clearly, and in a stepwise pattern, dependent on initial thyroid volume (17, 26, 33 and 35 ml, P 6 MBq/g, cure rate 80%) and lower (≤ 6 MBq/g, cure rate 46%) doses gave highly significant difference (P < 0.001). With our dosing range we found a dose-dependent clinical outcome that suggests an optimum delivered dose near 6.5 MBq/g, resulting in successful treatment of ca 80% patients.

An analysis of the population structure and genetic diversity for any organism often depends on one or more molecular marker techniques. Nonetheless, these techniques are not absolutely reliable because of various sources of errors arising during the genotyping process. Thus, a complex analysis of genotyping error was carried out with the AFLP method in 169 samples of the oil seed plant Plukenetia volubilis L. from small isolated subpopulations in the Peruvian Amazon. Samples were collected in nine localities from the region of San Martin. Analysis was done in eight datasets with a genotyping error from 0 to 5%. Using eleven primer combinations, 102 to 275 markers were obtained according to the dataset. It was found that it is only possible to obtain the most reliable and robust results through a multiple-level filtering process. Genotyping error and software set up influence both the estimation of population structure and genetic diversity, where in our case population number (K) varied between 2-9 depending on the dataset and statistical method used. Surprisingly, discrepancies in K number were caused more by statistical approaches than by genotyping errors themselves. However, for estimation of genetic diversity, the degree of genotyping error was critical because descriptive parameters (He, FST, PLP 5%) varied substantially (by at least 25%). Due to low gene flow, P. volubilis mostly consists of small isolated subpopulations (ΦPT = 0.252-0.323) with some degree of admixture given by socio-economic connectivity among the sites; a direct link between the genetic and geographic distances was not confirmed. The study illustrates the successful application of AFLP to infer genetic structure in non-model plants.

Monk's rhubarb, Rumex alpinus L. (R. alpinus), is a perennial plant native to the mountains of Central and Southern Europe. Currently, the distribution of R. alpinus has been partly affected by its utilization as a vegetable and a medicinal herb. In the mountains of the Czech Republic, it is considered an invasive plant, probably introduced into the Krkonoše Mountains by colonists from the Alps. This study's main aim was to verify whether R. alpinus was introduced into the Krkonoše Mountains by alpine colonists or whether it was anthropogenically introduced from the Carpathians. Furthermore, the genetic structure of native and introduced populations of R. alpinus was determined. For the evaluation of genetic structure, 417 samples of R. alpinus were collected from the Alps, Carpathians, Balkan, Pyrenees, and Czech Mountains. In total, 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were applied. The results of AMOVA showed a high 60% variation within populations, 27% variation among groups, and 13% among the population within groups. The overall unbiased gene diversity was high (̂ĥ = 0.55). The higher level of genetic differentiation among populations (FST = 0.35; p <.01) indicated restricted gene flow between populations. Compared to native populations, limited genetic variability was observed in the nonnative populations. It was concluded that local adaptation, low gene exchange, and genetic drift affected the genetic diversity of nonnative R. alpinus. The results support a genetic link between Alpine and Czech genotypes of R. alpinus, while the Carpathians genotypes corresponded to the Balkan genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An artificial neural network approach, based on fractal leaf parameters, and classical ampelography were used to identify nine grapevine varieties cultivated at the St. Claire’s vineyard, Prague Botanic Garden. Fifty healthy, fully-expanded leaves were collected for each variety, scanned using an optical scanner and then elaborated by computer programs. Fourteen phyllometric parameters were qualitatively and quantitatively analysed by the digital image analysis. Comparative frames were constructed for each variety and the relationships among varieties were assessed using artificial neural networks. Results were then compared with the outcome from traditional ampelographic analysis. The Artificial Neural Network technique appears to be a complementary approach to the traditional ampelography methods commonly used for cultivar discrimination, since the equipment necessary for this analysis is very inexpensive and available. Application of the technique led to the distinction of nine selected varieties of Vitis vinifera.