Assessment of nutritional status of gastroenterology patients in Croatia [Procjena nutritivnog statusa gastroenteroloških bolesnika u Republici Hrvatskoj]

Malnutrition is a common feature of gastroenterological diseases. In this study, nutritional status of the patients admitted to Department of Gastroenterology at University Hospital Center Zagreb was assessed. Anthropometric, dietetic, biochemical methods and method of Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) was used. The study group included 284 patients admitted to the Hospital. Malnutrition, as defined by SGA, was found in 61.1% of the patients, of whom 75% were moderately and 25% severely malnourished. Those patients classified as moderately and extremely malnourished by SGA were found to have statistically lower values of BMI, albumin, total proteins, calcium, iron, triglycerides, cholesterol, vitamin A and lymphocytes as compared to those who were adequately nourished. The prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalized patients treated at the Department of Gastroenterology is high. The use of nutritional screening with multiple measures would be important in the early identification and treatment of these patients and would help decrease this high prevalence

Klinička prehrana i kolorektalni karcinom

Cachexia-anorexia syndrome, characterized by anorexia and loss of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle mass, is common feature in majority of patients with cancer, especially in cancer localized in gastrointestinal tract. Malnutrition is recognized as a negative prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer. Malnutrition in cancer patients reduces response to specific oncological therapy, slows down recovery after surgical treatment, leads to impairement of quality of life and decreases survival. It is considered that developement of cancer cachexia is a multifactorial process, however inflammation plays a major role. Therefore, targeting inflammation may represent an effective strategy to prevent/treat cachexia. Treatment should be patient-tailored and based on a multimodal approach.Kaheksija-anoreksija sindrom je karakteriziran anoreksijom i gubitkom masnog tkiva i skeletne mišićne mase. Sindrom je prisutan u većine onkoloških bolesnika, osobito u bolesnika s tumorima probavnog sustava. Odavno je prepoznato kako malnutricija predstavlja negativni prognostički faktor kod bolesnika s kolorektalnim karcinomom. Malnutricija u onkoloških bolesnika dovodi do slabijeg odgovora na specifičnu onkološku terapiju, sporijeg oporavka nakon kirurških zahvata, do smanjenja kvalitete života, ali i sveukupnog preživljenja. Istraživanja su pokazala kako je tumorska kaheksija multifaktorijalan proces. Međutim, smatra se kako glavnu ulogu u patogenezi tumorske kaheksije ima upala. Stoga je upravo djelovanje na upalni proces potencijalni terapijski cilj u liječenju, odnosno prevenciji kaheksije. Liječenje tumorske kaheksije trebalo bi biti individualizirano i temeljeno na multimodalnom pristupu

Nutritional issues andconsiderations in the elderly: an update

Nutritional aspects of some common clinical conditions of older age are often neglected. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to describe the prevalence, recognition, and gen- eral management of four common and interrelated clini- cal problems in the elderly: sarcopenia, dysphagia, chronic wounds, and dementia. In the modern era of clinical nu- trition tailored to elderly patients, we should encourage a multidimensional personalized approach that includes as- sessment, counseling, dietary modification, targeted oral nutritional supplements, adjusted physical activity or ther- apy, and psychosocial suppor

Electrochemical Determination of Organic Surface Active Substances in Model and Natural Sea Water with Au(lll) Monocrystal Electrode

The applicability of Au(lll) monocrystal electrode for the determination of the amount of surface active organic substances was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, CV, and phase selective alternating current voltammetry, PSACV. The behaviour of the electrode was tested in a simple sea water model solution (0.55 M NaCl or 0.55 M NaCl plus 9.6 × 10-4 M KBr), as well as in natural sea water samples from the northern Adriatic. Surface active organic molecules used for model adsorption investigations were Triton X-100, T-X-100, and humic acid, HA. Their behaviour in NaCl medium is discussed and typical CV and PSACV curves are compared for Cl- and Br- media. The characteristic of Au(lll) surface reconstruction to be lifted by the adsorption of anions such as Cl- or Br- was used for analytical purposes, since competition in adsorption between inorganic anions and organic molecules changes strongly the reconstruction behaviour of Au(lll). Calibration curves for T-X-100 and HA in model sea water were constructed and were used for determination of the relative concentrations of surface active molecules in natural sea water samples. The PSACV method was chosen as more reproducible and practical since no deaeration of the solution was necessary

A perspective on contemporary Croatian women’s playwriting awards for the play Marin Držić

The authors present one of the ways that dramatic creativity is encouraged and promoted in the Republic of Croatia, namely the competition for the Marin Držić Award, which was introduced by the Croatian Ministry of Culture in 1991. The authors are particularly interested in the manner and extent to which women, that is, authors and playwrights, are represented in the arena of contemporary trends in national theatrical and dramatic creativity

Electrochemical Determination of Organic Surface Active Substances in Model and Natural Sea Water with Au(lll) Monocrystal Electrode

The applicability of Au(lll) monocrystal electrode for the determination of the amount of surface active organic substances was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, CV, and phase selective alternating current voltammetry, PSACV. The behaviour of the electrode was tested in a simple sea water model solution (0.55 M NaCl or 0.55 M NaCl plus 9.6 × 10-4 M KBr), as well as in natural sea water samples from the northern Adriatic. Surface active organic molecules used for model adsorption investigations were Triton X-100, T-X-100, and humic acid, HA. Their behaviour in NaCl medium is discussed and typical CV and PSACV curves are compared for Cl- and Br- media. The characteristic of Au(lll) surface reconstruction to be lifted by the adsorption of anions such as Cl- or Br- was used for analytical purposes, since competition in adsorption between inorganic anions and organic molecules changes strongly the reconstruction behaviour of Au(lll). Calibration curves for T-X-100 and HA in model sea water were constructed and were used for determination of the relative concentrations of surface active molecules in natural sea water samples. The PSACV method was chosen as more reproducible and practical since no deaeration of the solution was necessary

Isolation and characterization of endophytic bacteria from soybean (Glycine max L.)

Endofitske bakterije koloniziraju unutrašnjost biljnih tkiva, a pritom ne uzrokuju negativne posljedice. Glavni cilj ovih istraživanja je genotipska i fenotipska karakterizacija endofitskih bakterija izoliranih iz različitih sorti soje. Izolirano je ukupno 29 endofita iz tri različita tkiva – korijena, kvržica i stabljike. Genotipska karakterizacija uključila je primjenu sekvenciranja 16S rRNA (rrs) gena. Pomoću navedene molekularne metode identificirane su bakterijske vrste i utvrđena je genetska raznolikost unutar populacija endofitskih bakterija na soji. Identificirano je pet skupina bakterija različitih rodova: Pseudomonas spp., Sphingomonas spp., Bradyrhizobium spp., Rhizobium spp. i Agrobacterium spp. Od 29 izolata, najveća pripadnost jednoj vrsti pripada skupini roda Pseudomonas spp. Svi izolati koji su identificirani kao B. japonicum, izolirani su iz korijena i kvržice biljke. Dokazana je uska povezanost rodova Rhizobium i Agrobacterium. Fenotipska karakterizacija sojeva prikazala je raznolikost i otpornost endofitskih bakterija. Većina izolata je Gram negativna, štapićastog oblika, bez mogućnosti stvaranja kapsule. Dokazana je varijabilnost fenotipskih karakteristika izolata, ali i otpornost prema nepovoljnim uvjetima poput povišene temperature, povećanog sadržaja soli te niske i visoke pH vrijednosti. Prilikom ispitivanja izolata za detekciju fluorescentnog pigmenta dokazano je kako samo bakterije vrste Pseudomonas produciraju pigment pod UV svjetlom. Većina sojeva pokazala je tolerantnost na istraživane antibiotike. Većina katalaza pozitivnih izolata pripadaju unutar rodova Bradyrhizobium ili Rhizobium, dok su katalaza negativni izolati identificirani kao Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas i Agrobacterium spp.. Dokazano je kako 85% ispitanih izolata ne reagira na enzim oksidazu, dok oni koji reagiraju pripadaju vrsti Pseudomonas spp. Potrebna je daljnja karakterizacija endofita kako bi se utvrdio njihov utjecaj na razvoj biljke.Endophytic bacteria colonize the inside of the tissue without causing any negative effects. The main aim of this study is the genotypic and phenotypic characterization of endophyitic bacteria isolated from different soybean cultivar. A total of 29 endophytes were isolated from three different tissues – root, nodule and stem. Genotypic characterization includes using of sequencing 16S rRNA (rrs) genes. Bacterial species were identified by using this molecular method and genetic diversity was determined within the population of endophztic bacteria of the soybean. Five different genera of bacteria were identified: Pseudomonas spp., Sphingomonas spp., Bradyrhizobium spp., Rhizobium spp., and Agrobacterium spp. From a total of 29 endophytes, most strains were identified as Pseudomonas spp. All isolates identified as B. japonicum were isolated from the roots and nodules of the plant. The close assocation beetwen Rhizobium and Agrobacterium species is proven. The phenotypic characterization of strains shows diversity and resistance of endophytes. Most of the isolates are Gram negative, rod-shaped, without capability of capsule production. The variability of the phenotypic characteristics of isolates was demonstrated, as well as the resistance to adverse conditions such as elevated temperature, increased salt content, and low and high pH values. During the detection of fluorescent pigment, it has been shown that only Pseudomonas species produce pigment under UV light. Most strains showed tolerance to the specific antibiotics. Most of the catalase positive isolates belong to Bradyrhizobium or Rhizobium spp., while the catalase negative isolates belong to the Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas and Agrobacterium spp. It was shown that 85% of the tested isolates do not respond to the enzyme oxidase while those that react to the enzyme belongs to the Pseudomonas spp. Further characterization of endophytes is needed to determine their influence on plant development