ŽIVOTNE I AKADEMSKE AKTIVNOSTI ZASLUŽNIH I UMIROVLJENIH PROFESORA SVEUČILIŠTA U MARIBORU

Higher education lecturers go through a long developmental path from graduate students to academic title of professor. On this path, the most delicate period is the retirement. The age of 60 or 65, which is approximately the same as the retirement age in most developed countries, is supposed to be the onset of old age. Today, when we live longer and healthier, irreparable damage would occur if society and the state didn’t take advantage of the knowledge, wisdom and skills that senior professors have accumulated throughout their careers. The vast majority of senior professors could still contribute and participate in the development of society. In our article, we presented the results of a survey regarding the academic and life activities of senior professors, members of the Center for Retired and Distinguished higher education teachers of the University of Maribor. The results showed that the vast majority of retired and professors emeriti were still active in academic life and contributed to the development and functioning of the University.Visokoškolski učitelji prolaze dugi razvojni put od diplomanta do profesora. Na tom putu je jedno od najdelikatnijih razdoblja odlazak u mirovinu. Starost od 60 ili 65 godina, otprilike ista kao i starost za umirovljenje u većini razvijenih zemalja, označava početak starosti. Danas, kada živimo duže i zdravije, događa se nepopravljiva šteta ako društvo i država ne iskoriste znanje, mudrost i vještine koje je starija generacija akademika akumulirala tijekom svoje karijere. Velika većina starijih profesora može doprinijeti i sudjelovati u razvoju društva. U ovom članku prikazujemo rezultate istraživanja o akademskim i životnim aktivnostima članova Centra za umirovljene i zaslužne profesore Sveučilišta u Mariboru. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da je velika većina umirovljenih i zaslužnih profesora aktivna u akademskom životu i konstruktivno doprinosi razvoju i djelovanju Sveučilišta

Virulence genes and cytokine profile in systemic murine infection

Campylobacter coli are one of the most common bacteria in bacterial gastroenteritis and acute enterocolitis in humans. However, relatively little is known regarding the mechanisms of pathogenesis and host response to C. coli infections. To investigate the influence of genetic changes, we first used PCR to demonstrate the presence of the known virulence genes cadF, virB11, cdtB, cdtC and ceuE in the clinical isolate C. coli 26536, which was isolated from the liver of infected BALB/c mice. Sequence analyses of the cadF, virB11, cdtB and ceuE genes in C. coli 26536 confirmed the stability in these virulence genes during their transmission through the host. We further investigated C. coli infection for the bacterial clearance from the liver and spleen of infected mice, and for their immune response. C. coli persisted well in both organs, with better survival in the liver. We also determined the levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., interleukin [IL]-6, IL-12, interferon-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in plasma and in liver homogenates from the infected mice, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The lowest levels among these cytokines were for tumor necrosis factor-α in the plasma and IL-6 in the liver on days 1, 3 and 8 post-infection. The most pronounced production was for IL-10, in both plasma (days 1 and 8 post-infection) and liver (day 8 post-infection), which suggests that it has a role in healing of the organ inflammation. Our findings showed dynamic relationships between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and thus contribute toward clarification of the healing processes involved in the resolution of C. coli infections

Pomen vitamina D za zdravje ljudi

Vitamin D označuje skupino kemično sorodnih spojin z antirahitičnim delovanjem. Trenutno definiranje optimalnega statusa temelji na določanju serumskih koncentracijah 25%hidroksi vitamina D [25(OH) D]. V organizem se lahko vnese s hrano (predvsem mastno ribo, mlekom, z obogatitvenimi živili ter s prehranskimi dodatki), ali pa se sintetizira v koži po izpostavitvi kože soncu. Vlogo in pomen vitamina D so podrobneje preučili pri rahitisu, ki so ga skoraj izkoreninili s dodajanjem vitamina D prehrani. V zadnjem času je prišlo do ponovnega velika zanimanja za vitamin D, ker so številne opazovalne študije dokazale pomembnost vitamina D, ne samo pri zdravi kostni gostoti, temveč tudi pri kardiovaskularnih, nalezljivih, imunskih, metaboličnih, degenerativnih boleznih in raku. Kljub temu imajo številni zdravi otroci in odrasli pomanjkanje, kar je še bolj izraženo pri posameznikih s kroničnimi boleznimi, predvsem pri boleznih gastrointestinalnega trakta. V prihodnosti bo opredelitev različnih funkcionalnih učinkov vitamina D omogočila individualiziran pristop k dodajanju vitamina D glede na zdravstveno stanje in tveganje posameznika za določene bolezni ter njegov odgovor na dodajanje vitamina D

Dojenje skozi zgodovino v Sloveniji

Dojenje je optimalna prehrana, ki omogoča zdravo rast in razvoj dojenčkov. Obstajajo številni kazalniki, ki govorijo o pozitivnem vplivu dojenja na zdravje otrok, kot tudi pozneje v življenju. Čeprav je dojenje zelo priporočljivo s strani Evropskega Združenja za pediatrično gastroenterologijo, hepatologijo in prehrano (ESPGHAN), Ameriške Akademije za pediatrijo (AAP), Svetovne Zdravstvene Organizacije (SZO), Sklada Združenih narodov za otroke (UNICEF) in številnih drugih, ni vedno izvedljivo, primerno ali ustrezno (npr. pri nekaterih presnovnih motnjah). Materino mleko je bilo in je še vedno najboljša hrana za skoraj vse dojenčke. Skozi zgodovino so dojilje bile najvarnejša in najpogostejša alternativa za materino mleko pred izumom steklenic, dudic ter mlečnih pripravkov za dojenčke. Čeprav so starši odgovorni za izbiro dojiti ali ne, je vloga zdravstvenih delavcev, vključno s pediatri, spodbujanje in podpiranje dojenja. V članku je podan zgodovinski pregled dojenja v Sloveniji ter predstavljen opis socio-ekonomskih razmer v preteklosti

Preprečevanje adhezije Campylobacter jejuni K49/4 na celično kulturo prašičjih črevesnih celic PSI cl1 z uporabo različnih rastlinskih ekstraktov

Namen: Da bi preverili inhibicijo adhezije C. jejuni, smo v poskusih in vitro testirali različne rastlinske ekstrakte na celičnem monosloju celic PSI cl1, in sicer ekstrakt tropin sorte Modri pinot (GSS), ekstrat oljčnih listov (OE) in timijana (TE) ter njegov preostanek po hidrodestilaciji eteričnega olja (TE-R) ter ekstrakt iz semen rastline Alpinia katsumadai (SEE) in njegov preostanek po hidrodestilaciji eteričnega olja (hdSEE-R). Želeli smo preveriti uporabnost odpadnega materiala in stranskih proizvodov agro-živilstva pri preprečevanju adhezije C. jejuni na celično linijo PSI cl1. Metode: Pred poskusom protiadhezijske učinkovitosti ekstraktov smo preverili njihovo protimikrobno delovanje ter citotoksičnost na celični liniji PSI cl1 in s tem določili koncentracijsko območje za testiranje protiadhezijske aktivnosti uporabljenih ekstraktov. Rezultati: Najučinkovitejša ekstrakta pri preprečevanju adhezije C. jejuni na celice PSI sta bila SEE in hdSEE- R, sledila sta TE in TE-R, ki sta do 30 % zmanjšala adhezijo bakterije na celično linijo. Najslabšo protiadhezijsko učinkovitost je imel ekstrakt GSS. Zaključek: Odpadni materiali (TE%R in hdSEE%R) ter OE, ekstrakt iz stranskega proizvoda agro%živilske industrije, so se pokazali kot zelo uspešni pri preprečevanju adhezije C. jejuni tudi pri zelo nizkih koncentracijah. Obetavni rezultati študije kažejo možnosti uporabe ekstraktov iz odpadnih rastlinskih materialov na različnih področjih, vključno z industrijo in skrbjo za zdravje ljudi in živali

History of infant milk formula in Slovenia

Abstract   Optimal nutrition is one of the most important aspects in the care of infants, especially for the preterm infants and neonates. Until the 1900s, an infant’s survival and health were closly related to the availability of breastmilk.  Human milk was and still is the best food for nearly all infants. Besides physical growth, human milk offers a variety of other benefits, including modulation of postnatal intestinal function, maturation of immune system, and has positive effect on brain development. Even though breastfeeding is highly recommended, it may not always be possible, suitable or adequate. Through history, the evolution of infant feeding included wet nursing, bottle feeding, and formula use. Wet nursing was the safest and most common alternative to the breastmilk before bottles and infant milk formula were invented. However, society's negative view of wet nursing together with the invention and improvements of the feeding bottle, the availability of animal’s milk, and advances in milk formula development, gradually led to replacing wet nursing with bottle feeding. Such evolution of infant feeding methods was similar throughout the world and Slovenia followed the trend. In this article, we review the history of different methods of infant feeding, other than breastfeeding, all of which presented an alternative to breastfeeding

The multi-strain probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC® Active reduces the duration of acute upper respiratory disease in older people

Immunosenescence is the adverse change in the human immune function during aging, leaving older people more prone to an increased risk of infections and morbidity. Acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are very common among older people, often resulting in continued morbidity and mortality. Therefore, approaches, such as consuming probiotics, that shorten the duration or even reduce the incidence of URTIs in older people are being studied. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a multi-strain probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC® Active, which contains 11 live probiotic strains, on the incidence, duration, and severity of URTIs in older people. In this randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study, 95 participants, with an average age of 70.9 years in the probiotic group and 69.6 years in the placebo group, were randomly allocated to two groups: 1010 cfu per day of the multi-strain probiotic intervention OMNi-BiOTiC® Active (49) or placebo (46). The incidence of URTIs in older people after 12 weeks supplementation with OMNi-BiOTiC® showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.5244). However, the duration of the URTI infections was statistically significantly different between the groups (p = 0.011). The participants that consumed the probiotic had an average duration of illness of 3.1 ± 1.6 days, whilst participants that received the placebo had symptoms for an average of 6.0 ± 3.8 days (p = 0.011). Statistically significant differences in lymphocyte counts in both groups after supplementation (p = 0.035 for the probiotic group and p = 0.029 for the placebo group) and between both groups were found (p = 0.009). Statistically significant differences in eosinophil (p = 0.002) and basophil counts (p = 0.001) in the probiotic groups before and after supplementation with probiotics were also found. Supplementation with the multi-strain probiotic OMNi-BiOTiC® Active may benefit older people with URTIs. Larger randomised controlled clinical trials are warranted. Clinical Trial Registrationidentifier NCT05879393