Genetic Factors Underlying Susceptibility to Acute Pyelonephritis and Post-infectious Renal Damage

Chapter of the book "Recent Advances in the Field of Urinary Tract Infections" [https://doi.org/10.5772/46044

REVITALIZATION PROCESS OF PRESCHOOL BUILDINGS

Abstract. This paper represents the research associated with establishment of the methodological approach to reviving architecture designed for children’s upbringing and education, and consider new possible strategies for implementing eco-principles in the existing construction fund of preschool facilities in Serbia. Basic research problem is global state of resources, energy consumption and disrupted children comfort in preschool facilities. Research gives concrete proposals for future architectural praxis in Serbia in terms of eliminating the aforementioned problems. The aim of the research is to record and valorize practical measures for environmental, energy-efficient and economic reshaping in accordance with pre-set criteria, which will provide healthy, safe, comfortable, functional and progressive eco inner and outer environment of a child in preschool facility. Key words: revitalization, methodology, preschool building, energy savings, children comfor

Content of Trace Metals in Medicinal Plants and their Extracts

The heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents of selected plant species, grown in Southeast region of Serbia, that are traditionally used in alternative medicine were determined. Among the considered metals, iron content was the highest one and varied from 137.53 up to 423.32 mg/kg, while the contents of Cu, Zn and Mn were remarkably lower, and ranged from 8.91 to 62.20 mg/kg. In addition, an analysis of plants extracts showed a significant transfer of heavy metals during extraction procedure; therefore, the corresponding extraction coefficients reached values up to 88.8%. Those were especially high in the ethanol based extracts. Moreover, it is was established that such coefficients mostly depend on the solvent nature and also on the treated plant species. The obtained results impose that medicinal plants from Southeast region of Serbia due to rather low content of heavy metals are appropriate for preparation of teas and medicinal extracts

A GENERALIZATION OF NIL-CLEAN RINGS

The conditions that allow an element of an associative, unital, not necessarily commutative ring R, to be represented as a sum of (commuting) idempotents and one nilpotent element are analyzed. Some applications to group rings are also presented

Anatomic and MRI bases for medullary infarctions with patients' presentation

Objective: There is a low incidence of the medullary infarctions and sparse data about the vascular territories, as well as a correlation among the anatomic, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neurologic signs. Materials and methods: Arteries of the 10 right and left sides of the brain stem were injected with India ink, fixed in formalin and microdissected. The enrolled 34 patients with medullary infarctions underwent a neurologic, MRI and Doppler examination. Results: Four types of the infarctions were distinguished according to the involved vascular territories. The isolated medial medullary infarctions (MMIs) were present in 14.7%. The complete MMIs comprised one bilateral infarction (2.9%), whilst the incomplete and partial MMIs were observed in 5.9% and 8.9%, respectively. The anterolateral infarctions (ALMIs) were very rare (2.9%). The complete and incomplete lateral infarctions (LMIs), noted in 35.3%, comprised 11.8% and 23.6%, respectively, that is, the anterior (5.9%), posterior (8.9%), deep (2.9%), and peripheral (5.9%). Dorsal ischemic lesions (DMIs) occurred in 11.8%, either as a complete (2.9%), or isolated lateral (5.9%) or medial infarctions (2.9%). The remaining ischemic regions belonged to various combined infarctions of the MMI, ALMI, LMI and DMI (35.3%). The infarctions most often affected the upper medulla (47.1%), middle (11.8%), or both (29.5%). Several motor and sensory signs were manifested following infarctions, including vestibular, cerebellar, ocular, sympathetic, respiratory and auditory symptoms. Conclusions: There was a good correlation among the vascular territories, MRI ischemia features, and neurologic findings regarding the medullary infarctions.Peer reviewe

Vrste plesni na kukuruznom klipu uskladištenom u koševima na teritoriji opština Vrnjačka Banja i Kruševac

Corn cob owned by individual producers is stored on multiple ways: in barns, attics, sheds etc. If corn cob is not dried properly when stord in barns, it represents ideal foundation for field and storage molds.For our examinations we used corn from 20 barns originating from ten plain and mountain villages in Vrnjacka Banja municipality. Mold isolation was performed on saburo ager on temperature of 27oC. Most commonly isolated sorts of mold were: Penicillium sp., Aspergillus ustus, Alternaria tenuis, Yeast, Mucor mucedo, Fusarium roseum, Aspergillus candidus, Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus flavus. Our results show that dominant role was frequently represented by field molds – Alternaria and Fusarium, most common of storage molds were molds from the genus Aspergillus and Penicillium, and most common progressive decay molds were Mucor and Rhisopos. Infection of grain was by rule 100% with rare exeptions.Kukuruzni klip u vlasništvu individualnih proizvođača skladišti se na više načina: u koševima, tavanima, šupama i dr. Ukoliko se kukuruzni klip, nedovoljno osušen, skladišti u koševe on predstavlja idealnu podlogu za razvoj poljskih i skladišnih plesni. Za ispitivanja smo koristili kukuruz iz 20 koševa koji su poreklom iz 10 sela ravničarskog i planinskog predela sa područja opštine Vrnjačka Banja. Izolaciju plesni vršili smo na Saburo agaru na temperaturi od 27°C. Najčešće su izolovane sledeće vrste plesni: Penicillium sp., Aspergillus ustus, Alternaria tenuis, Kvasnice, Mucor mucedo, Fusarium roseum, Aspergillus candidus, Trichoderma viride i Aspergillus flavus. Naši rezultati pokazuju da su dominantnu ulogu u frekvenciji predstavljale plesni s polja- Alternaria i Fusarium, od plesni uskladištenja najučestalije su bile plesni iz roda Aspergillus i Penicillium, a od plesni uznapredovanog kvarenja Mucor i Rhisopus. Infekcija zrna je bila po pravilu 100% sa retkim odstupanjima

Natural and natural-like polyphenol compounds: in vitro antioxidant activity and potential for therapeutic application

Introduction Phenols are a large family of natural and synthetic compounds with known antioxidant activity. The aim of this study was to preform an in vitro screening of natural and natural-like phenol monomers and their C2-symetric dimers (hydroxylated biphenyls) in order to identify those representatives which pharmacophores have the strongest antioxidant and the lowest prooxidant activity. Material and methods Antioxidative properties of 36 compounds (monomers and their C2-symmetric dimers) were evaluated in vitro. Different (red/ox) assays were used to measure their total oxidative potential (TOP), their total antioxidative capacity (TAC), the pro-oxidative-antioxidant balance (PAB) and total SH-group content (SHG) in a biologically relevant environment. The Pro-oxidative Score, Antioxidative Score and the Oxy Score were also calculated. Trolox, a water soluble analogue of α- tocopherol was used as a positive control. Results In an assay consisting of pooled human serum 6 of the 36 compounds indicated significant antioxidant activity (compounds 6, 7, 12, 13, 26, and 27) whereas 4 indicated extremely weak antioxidant activity (compounds 2, 29, 30, and 31). Within the 36 compounds comprising of zingerone, dehydrozingerone, aurone, chalcone, magnolol derivatives, in both monomeric and dimeric forms, the 2 compounds that indicated the highest antioxidant activity were dehydrozingerone derivatives (compounds 6 and 12). Trolox’s activity was found between the strong and weak antioxidant compounds analysed in our study. Conclusions In this study selected dehydrozingerones were identified as good candidates for in-depth testing of their biological behaviour and for possible precursors for the synthesis of novel polyphenolic molecules with potential therapeutic applications

Comprehensive Ultrasound Assessment of the Craniocervical Circulation in Transient Global Amnesia

Objectives Structural changes and metabolic stress have been reported on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the cornu ammonis 1 area of the hippocampus in patients with transient global amnesia (TGA), but a consensus on pathogenesis is still lacking. The aim of our study was to perform a comprehensive ultrasound analysis of the cerebrovascular circulation in our population of patients with TGA. Methods One hundred patients with TGA and 50 age- and sex-matched control participants underwent ultrasound examinations of the cervicocranial circulation. Results The most significant risk factor for TGA was arterial hypertension (P .05). Rarely detected microembolic signals or a right-left cardiopulmonary shunt excluded an emboligenic mechanism of TGA (P > .05). The internal jugular vein valves were incompetent in 54% of patients with TGA, and this condition was associated with an increased risk of TGA (odds ratio, 4.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.91–9.04). The mean values of the breath holding index and pulsatility index, as parameters of small-vessel function, were within normal ranges and without differences between the TGA and control groups (P > .05). Conclusions Our ultrasound examination did not detect significant structural atherosclerotic changes of cervicocranial arteries, and an emboligenic mechanism was excluded. Only a significant rise of blood pressure in TGA and significant valvular insufficiency of the internal jugular vein were established. New research should clarify whether these simultaneous functional circulatory changes have relevance for metabolic stress in the cornu ammonis of the hippocampus