94 research outputs found

    Advantage of four-electrode over two-electrode defibrillators

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    Defibrillation is the standard clinical treatment used to stop ventricular fibrillation. An electrical device delivers a controlled amount of electrical energy via a pair of electrodes in order to reestablish the normal heart rate. We propose a new technique that is a combination of biphasic shocks applied with a four-electrode system rather than the standard two-electrode system. We use a numerical model of a one-dimensional ring of cardiac tissue in order to test and evaluate the benefit of such a new technique. We compare three different shock protocols, namely, a monophasic and two types of biphasic shocks. The results obtained by using a four-electrode system are compared quantitatively with those obtained with the standard two-electrode system. We find that a huge reduction in defibrillation threshold is achieved with the four-electrode system. For the most efficient protocol (asymmetric biphasic), we obtain a reduction in excess of 80 % in the energy required for a defibrillation success rate of 90 %. The mechanisms of successful defibrillation are also analyzed. This reveals that the advantage of asymmetric biphasic shocks with four electrodes lies in the duration of the cathodal and anodal phase of the shock

    The fauna of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Vojvodina province, Serbia

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    Many hoverfly species of faunal and zoogeographical interest are found in Serbia's northern province of Vojvodina due to the diversity of its biotopes. In this paper, the presence of 252 species of hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) from 69 genera is documented. Five species are here recorded for the first time in Serbia: Anasimyia contracta Claussen & Torp Pedersen, 1980; Anasimyia transfuga (Linnaeus, 1758); Eristalinus megacephalus (Rossi, 1794); Helophilus hybridus Loew, 1846; and Mallota fuciformis (Fabricius, 1794). One species is recorded for the first time in Vojvodina: Cheilosia brunnipennis (Becker, 1894). The records of 12 species from Vojvodina Province are the only ones on the Balkan Peninsula, while the records of 15 species are the only ones in Serbia

    Malting quality indicators of Croatian dual-purpose barley varieties

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    Malting barley varieties usually demand higher expences than feed varieties, at least as far as management practice is concerned. For this reason, many growers in Croatia search for a quality replacement of malting varieties. Croatian market allows dual-purpose varieties, but strict quality parameters have to be met in order for a variety to be recognized as a malting/feed variety. The aim of this research was to preliminary assess the malting quality of several malting, feed and multipurpose (dual or combined) malting/feed barley varieties. 11 barley varieties were grown in Osijek area during 2011: seven malting/feed (M/F), two malting (M) and two feed barley varieties (F). The suitability for the beer production was assessed according to the malting quality indicators, determined by using standard methods of analytica EBC (European Brewing Convention). As expected, both malting varieties (Vanessa and Tiffany) demonstrated the best malting quality parameters. Most of the combined malting/feed varieties were within recommended values, except Maxim, Lukas and Gazda, which showed the lowest results in friability. Considering that the results were collected and evaluated over a period of one year, this study was taken as a good pointer to future, longer lasting investigations

    Epidemiologic characteristics of campylobacteriosis in hospitalized patients

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    Među 1632 bolesnika s kampilobakteriozom hospitalizirana od 1994.ā€“2002. godine, nije utvrđen porast udjela kampilobakterioza u odnosu na sve druge uzročnike proljeva (p=0,333), niti u odnosu na salmoneloze (p=0,751), te je utvrđen porast bolesnika s C. jejuni (71,7%) u odnosu na one s C. coli (28,3%) infekcijom (p<0,001). NajviÅ”e je bolesnika u dobnoj skupini mlađih od tri godine (38,5 %), zatim u skupini 18ā€“29 g. (9,9 %). Mu{karci prevladavaju u svim dobnim skupinama, osim u najstarijoj (ā‰„60 g.) (p<0,001). Značajno najveći broj bolesnika je hospitaliziran u toplijim mjesecima godine; 14,3% bolesnika s C. jejuni tijekom lipnja, a po 11,5 % bolesnika s C. coli u lipnju i kolovozu (p<0,001). U skupinama seoskog, prigradskog i gradskog stanovniÅ”tva je omjer bolesnika s C. jejuni i C. coli infekcijom podjednak (p=0,289). Bolest se u 83,9% bolesnika javila sporadično, a u 13,1% bolesnika nakon putovanja. Pohađanje kolektiva se pokazalo značajnim u odnosu na epidemijski oblik pojavnosti bolesti (p<0,001).Among 1632 patients with campylobacteriosis hospitalized in the period from 1994ā€“2002, we did not record an increase in the ratio of campylobacteriosis compared to all other causative agents of diarrhoeal diseases (p=0.333), nor in comparison to salmonelloses (p=0.751), but a significant increase in the number of C. jejuni (71.7%) compared to C. coli infections (28.3 %) was noticed (p<0.001). The majority of patients belonged to age group of three years and younger (38.5 %), and to 18 ā€“29 years group (9.9 %), respectively. Males predominated in all age groups, except in the oldest one (ā‰„60 years) (p<0.001). Significantly highest number of patients was hospitalized during warm months of the year; 14.3% patients with C. jejuni infection during June, and 11.5 % of patients with C. coli infection in both June and August (p<0.001). In the groups of rural and urban population, the difference in the ratio between C. jejuni and C. coli infections was not recorded (p=0.289). The disease appeared in 83.9% of patients sporadically, and in 13.1% after travelling. Community setting was a significant factor in epidemic pattern of the disease (p<0.001)

    Clinical characteristic of campylobacteriosis in hospitalised patients

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    Bolest izazavana gram-negativnim bakterijama iz roda Campylobacter u ljudi najčeŔće prolazi kao akutna proljevna bolest u trajanju do tjedan dana. Komplikacije bolesti su rijetke, a najznačajnije su među njima sepsa, bakterijemija s vancrijevnim žariÅ”tima zaraze, septički pobačaj, te imunoloÅ”ki uvjetovan Guillain-BarrĆ©ov sindrom. Među 1632 bolesnika s kampilobakteriozom hospitalizirana od 1994.ā€“2002. godine analizom pojedinih kliničkih parametara logističkom regresijom uočeno je značajno duže trajanje proljeva u bolesnika zaraženih s C. jejuni (p = 0,014, OR 1,06, 95 % CI 1,01ā€“1,11). Komplikacije bolesti su zabilježene u 4,6 % bolesnika, a smrtni ishod ili naknadna hospitalizacija zbog Guillain-BarrĆ©ovog sindroma u klinikama zagrebačkog područja nisu u njih zabilježeni. S učestaloŔću od 7,2 % komplikacije su bile značajno čeŔće u dobnoj skupini mlađih od tri godine (p = 0,010). Odgovarajućim antimikrobnim lijekom je liječeno 78,7 %, neodgovarajućim antimikrobnim lijekom 6,7 %, a simptomatski 14,6 % bolesnika. Kliničke osobine u naÅ”ih bolesnika s kampilobakteriozom ne odudaraju znatnije od onih opisanih u populacijama razvijenih zemalja. Kao osobitost bilježi se česta primjena antimikrobnog liječenja, a azitromicin, kojeg je dobijalo 46,4 % bolesnika liječenih odgovarajućim antimikrobnim lijekom, je najčeŔće primjenjivani lijek.Diseases caused by gram-negative bacteria from genus Campylobacter in humans are most often presented as an acute diarrhoeal illness, which lasts up to seven days. Complications are rare, and among them the most important are: sepsis, bacteremia with extraintestinal sites of infection, septic abortion, and immunologically triggered Guillain-BarrĆ© syndrome. Among 1632 hospitally treated patients in the period from 1994ā€“2002, the analysis of a particular clinical parameters using logistic regression showed significantly longer duration of diarrhoea among patients with C. jejuni infection (p = 0.014, OR 1.06, 95 % CI 1.01ā€“1.11). Disease complications were observed in 4.6 % patients, and no fatalities or hospitalisations of observed patients due to Guillain-BarrĆ© syndrome in any of the hospitals from Zagreb region were recorded. Complications were significantly more frequent (7.2 %) in the age group younger than three years (p = 0.010). Adequate antimicrobial treatment received 78.7 % of patients, unadequate antimicrobial treatment 6.7 %, and 14.6 % of patients were treated symptomaticaly. Clinical characteristics in our patients with campylobacteriosis do not differ significantly from those described in populations of developed countries. As a peculiarity, a common use of antimicrobial therapy is recorded, and azithromycin, used in 46.4 % of patients treated with adequate antimicrobial treatment, was the most frequently used drug

    Batch Crystallizer Scale-up

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    U svrhu pronalaženja odgovarajućeg pravila uvećanja, provedena su mjerenja u tri geometrijski slična kristalizatora Rushtonovih dimenzija različitih veličina, u laboratorijskom mjerilu. Za mijeÅ”anje je upotrijebljeno mijeÅ”alo s četiri lopatice nagnute pod kutem od 45Ā°. Mjerenja su provedena pri različitim hidrodinamičkim uvjetima, odnosno različitim brzinama vrtnje mijeÅ”ala. Za kriterij usporedbe primijenjene su granulometrijske karakteristike (oblik i raspodjela veličina) dobivenih kristala. Provedena je Å”aržna kristalizacija hlađenjem vodene otopine kalijeva klorida. Kalijev klorid je odabran radi izuzetne osjetljivosti na radne uvjete. Naime i oblik i raspodjela veličina kristala jako se mijenjaju s promjenom radnih uvjeta. PoboljÅ”anjem hidrodinamičkih uvjeta u kristalizatoru dobivaju se kristali pravilnijeg oblika. Ispitana je primjenljivost različitih pravila uvećanja, koja se primjenjuju kod uređaja za mijeÅ”anje suspenzija. S obzirom da hidrodinamički uvjeti u kristalizatoru u velikoj mjeri utječu na kvalitetu dobivenog produkta (oblik, veličina i granulometrijski sastav kristala), uz geometrijsku sličnost nije moguće zadovoljiti niti jedan istraživan kriterij uvećanja. Na temelju metodologije koja se primjenjuje za uvećanje kada se mjerenja mogu provesti u tri ili viÅ”e uređaja, određen je kriterij uvećanja Å”aržnog kristalizatora za kristalizaciju kalijeva klorida hlađenjem iz vodene otopine.In order to define an appropriate scale-up criterion for a batch crystallizer batch cooling crystallization of potassium chloride from the aqueous solution has been performed. The measurements were undertaken on the laboratory scale in three geometrically similar pieces of equipment (Table 1) under mixing intervals from 300 to 600 min ā€“1 . A stirrer was supplied with pitched (at 45Ā°) 4- blade propeller. Granulometric properties (shape and size distribution) of the obtained crystals were used as a comparison criterion. Hydrodynamic conditions in the crystallizer and size of the equipment had major influence on the properties of the crystals. Under higher mixing intensity and with larger equipment the crystals assumed more regular shape (Fig. 3.), and their size distribution showed finer fractions (Fig. 2, Fig. 4.). Actually, these conditions reduced the amount of agglomerates in the finished product. In addition, better hydrodynamic conditions for heat and mass transfer were achieved, whereas the secondary nucleation (contact) was minor. The comparison between the obtained crystal size distributions in all three pieces of laboratory equipment showed that the mixing rate of n = 500 min ā€“1 yielded satisfactory results (Fig. 4 b.). They were further used to define the scale-up criterion for the batch crystallizer. Applicability of different scale-up criteria to the suspension stirrers was tested. Compliance with the geometric similarity and hydrodynamic conditions did not allow for compliance with the conventional scale-up criteria (Fr = const, Re = const). Based on the scale-up methodology, when the measurements can be undertaken in three or more pieces of equipment, the scale-up criterion, for the batch crystallizer for cooling crystallization of potassium chloride from the aqueous solution, is defined (Fig. 5.). The methodology proposed for the studied crystallizer gives a relatively low mixing intensity (237 min ā€“1), which corresponds to the solution homogeneity 1 (Table 2.). Given that crystallization required suspension homogeneity between 6 and 9 (Chemineer ChemScale),8 implying that the suspension homogeneity was 95ā€“98 % of the liquid height, the mixing intensity for these conditions were determined as well. The obtained values were within the range of the used mixing intensity

    GRAIN YIELD AND BREWING QUALITY OF BARLEY IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

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    Provedeno je istraživanje o proizvodnji ozimog i jarog ječma u suodnosu s pivarskom kakvoćom i urodom zrna u Republici Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 1970. do 2002. godine. Analizom uroda zrna na temelju pokusa na Poljoprivrednom institutu Osijek, sorata koje su bile najzastupljenije u pojedinim petogodiÅ”njim razdobljima u Å”irokoj proizvodnji ustanovili smo povećanje uroda zrna od 94 kg/ha/godini kod ozimog ječma i 26 kg/ha/godini kod jarog ječma. Analiza pivarske kakvoće slada u Republici Hrvatskoj u razdoblju od 1999. do 2002. godine pokazuje da je ukupno ostvaren sadržaj ekstrakta od 79.19%, razlika ekstrakta od 2.49%, uz maseni udio bjelančevina u sladu od 12.53%, te Kolbach indeks od 41.12%, Hartongov broj od 42.36%, viskozitet cp 8.6 od 1.549 mPas i dijastatska snaga od 309 U.WK. Uspoređujući kakvoću slada sorti ozimog i jarog ječma, uočavamo da su u prosjeku sorte jarog ječma u odnosu na ozime imale viÅ”i i nepovoljniji sadržaj bjelančevina u sladu, ali povoljniji niži viskozitet i veću dijastatsku snagu slada. U proizvodnji ozimog ječma u istraživanom razdoblju najznačajnije sorte bile su Mursa, Alpha, Pan, Robur, Sladoran, Plaisant, Rex, Zlatko, Angora, Lord i Barun. U proizvodnji jarog ječma u istraživanom razdoblju najznačajnije sorte bile su Union, Velebit, Berenice, Jaran, Gimpel, Astor, Scarlett.The investigation into winter and spring barley production in correlation with the brewing quality and yield of grains in the Republic of Croatia from 1970 to 2002 was carried out. The regression analysis of yield of kernels using the data from the State Institute for Statistics, Croatia, shows for this period the annual yield increase by 52 kg/hectare. The yield analysis from the trials at the Osijek Institute of Agriculture with the prevailing varieties in specific five-year periods in the large scale production, an annual increase by 94 kg/hectare/year in winter barley and by 26 kg/hectare in spring barley was found. The quality analysis in the Republic of Croatia of the period from 1970 to 2002 showed that, in total, the extract content was 79.19%, the extract difference 2.49%, mass portion of proteins in malt 12.53%, Kolbach index 41.12%, Hartong 42.36%, viscosity cp 8.6 1.549 mPas and diastatic power 309 U.WK. When comparing the malt quality in winter and spring barley varieties it was noticed that on average the spring barley varieties vs. the winter barley varieties had a higher and more unfavorable protein content in malt, but lower viscosity and greater diastatic malt power. In production of winter barley and in investigated thirty year period the most important varieties were Mursa, Alpha, Pan, Robur, Sladoran, Plaisant, Rex, Angora, Zlatko, Lord, Barun and in production of spring barley varieties Union, Velebit, Berenice, Jaran, Gimpel, Astor, Scarlett

    Gene expression profiling of the dorsolateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex in schizophrenia

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    Schizophrenia is a complex polygenic disorder of unknown etiology. Over 3,000 candidate genes associated with schizophrenia have been reported, most of which being mentioned only once. Alterations in cognitive processing - working memory, metacognition and mentalization - represent a core feature of schizophrenia, which indicates the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Hence we compared the gene expression in postmortem tissue from the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, Brodmann's area 46), and the medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC, Brodmann's area 11/12), in six patients with schizophrenia and six control brains. Although in the past decade several studies performed transcriptome profiling in schizophrenia, this is the first study to investigate both hemispheres, providing new knowledge about possible brain asymmetry at the level of gene expression and its relation to schizophrenia. We found that in the left hemisphere, twelve genes from the DLPFC and eight genes from the MOFC were differentially expressed in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls. In the right hemisphere there was only one gene differentially expressed in the MOFC. We reproduce the involvement of previously reported genes TARDBP and HNRNPC in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and report seven novel genes: SART1, KAT7, C1D, NPM1, EVI2A, XGY2, and TTTY15. As the differentially expressed genes only partially overlap with previous studies that analyzed other brain regions, our findings indicate the importance of considering prefrontal cortical regions, especially those in the left hemisphere, for obtaining disease-relevant insights

    Ī²-glucan content and Ī²-glucanase activity of winter and spring malting barley cultivars

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    Ī²-Glucan content and Ī²-glucanase activity of winter and spring barley cultivars grown under different environments were evaluated. There were significant differences in both Ī²-glucan content and Ī²-glucanase activity between analysed barleys. The results showed that, for all cultivars and locations, approximately 75% of Ī²-glucan present in grains was degraded after malting, and that marked differences existed among winter and spring type of cultivars in malt Ī²-glucan content. The correlation analysis of Ī²-glucan content and malt quality parameters showed that malt Ī²-glucan content was significantly positively correlated with viscosity and extract difference, and negatively with malt Ī²-glucanase activity and friability. Regarding malt Ī²-glucanase activity, significantly higher activity was found in spring cultivars in contrast to winter cultivars
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