Global DNA Methylation as a Potential Underlying Mechanism of Congenital Disease Development

During the last decade, quantitative measurement of the methylation status in white blood cells (WBCs) has been used as a potential biomarker in a variety of diseases. Long interspersed nucleotide element-1 (LINE-1) has been used widely as a surrogate marker of global DNA methylation. Altered maternal DNA methylation is suggested to be an underlying mechanism in the trisomy 21 and the development of birth defects, including congenital heart defects (CHDs). The molecular mechanisms that underlie the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription are independent of DNA sequence, but they do depend on environmental stimuli, which are especially important in fetal development in utero environment. Folic acid deficiency and genetic variations of folate pathway genes, such as the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR), are foremost among these maternal risk factors. Also, there are exogenous risk factors (cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, medication use, periconceptional maternal supplementation, body mass index, and dietary habits) with impact on maternal LINE-1 methylation. MTHFR C677T genotype/diet and other environmental factors as significant predictors of LINE-1 DNA methylation in regard to congenital diseases will be discussed in the chapter

Uticaj nekih motoričih sposobnosti na brzinu bacanja lopte u Golbalu - pilot istraživanje

The aim of the research was to determine the influence of sprint performance and explosive strength on ball throwing velocity in Goalball. The sample of participants consisted of 12 nationally and internationally ranked Goalball players, with an average age of (25.17±8.03). To evaluate sprint performance, the 5 and 10 meter sprint tests were used. To evaluate explosive strength, the standing long jump and seated medicine ball throw were used. The results of the regression analysis have indicated that the entire system of applied variables is statistically significantly connected and influences ball throwing velocity. At the same time, we evaluated the statistically significant influence of the seated medicine ball throw variable. We can conclude that as part of the fitness training of Goalball players, it is necessary to work on improving sprint performance and explosive strength due to the ability of rapid transition of the players from the defensive phase to the attack phase. It is especially important to develop upper-body explosive strength in order to increase ball throwing velocity and create the possibility for greater effectiveness of Goalball players.Cilj istraživanja je bio da se utvrdi uticaj brzine i eksplozivne snage na brzinu bacanja lopte u Golbalu. Uzorak ispitanika je činilo 12 golbalista prosečne starosti (25.17±8.03) godina nacionalnog i međunarodnog ranga. Za procenu brzine korišćeni su testovi trčanja na 5 i 10 metara. Za procenu eksplozivne snage korišćeni su testovi skok u dalj iz mesta i bacanje medicinke iz sedećeg položaja. Rezultati regresione analize pokazali su da ceo sitem primenjenih varijabli ima statistički značajnu povezanost i uticaj na brzinu bacanja lopte. Pojedinačno posmatrano statistički značajan uticaj ima varijabla bacanje medicinke iz sedećeg položaja. Može se zaključiti da je u okviru kondicione pripreme golbalista potrebno raditi na razvoju brzine i eksplozivne snage zbog sposobnosti brzog prelaska igrača iz faze odbrane u fazu napada. Posebno je bitno razvijati eksplozivnu snagu mišića ruku i ramenog pojasa kako bi se povećala brzina bacanja lopte i stvorila mogućnost za veću efikasnost Golbal igrača

Comparison of gamma ray effects on EPROMs and E2PROMs

This paper compares the reliability of standard commercial Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM) and Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (E2PROM) components exposed to gamma rays. The results obtained for CMOS-based EPROM (NM27C010) and E2PROM (NM93CS46) components provide the evidence that EPROMs have greater radiation hardness than E2PROMs. Moreover, the changes in EPROMs are reversible, and after erasure and reprogramming all EPROM components restore their functionality. On the other hand, changes in E2PROMs are irreversible. The obtained results are analyzed and interpreted on the basis of gamma ray interaction with the CMOS structure

Implicitne pedagogije nastavnika i njihova inicijativa za saradnju s roditeljima

The article presents an analysis of the results of the research aimed at examining the relatedness of the teachers' implicit pedagogies and their initiatives for cooperation with students' parents. The starting hypothesis was that the acceptance of modern pedagogical ideas (new pedagogic paradigm) leads towards more successful initiative of the teachers for the cooperation with their students' parents. The sample included 118 subject teachers and 78 class teachers from elementary schools in Serbia. The procedure included a correlation chart and special assessment scales were construed for examining implicit pedagogies and teacher's readiness for cooperation with parents. The results indicate the lack of the initiative of both groups of teachers for enhanced cooperation with parents as it should be in modern school. The research showed the implicit pedagogies of the teachers are still somewhere between traditional and modern pedagogic ideas. Subject teachers showed lower levels of initiative for cooperation with parents, as well as lower levels of acceptance of the 'new pedagogic paradigm' in comparison with class teachers. Among the latter the relatedness of their implicit pedagogies and initiatives for cooperation with parents was established, while it was not evident among subject teachers. In order to enhance the cooperation between school and family the existing personal pedagogic ideas of the teachers should change and come closer to the 'new pedagogic paradigm' which might be achieved through pre-service and in-service teacher training and provision of more support by school and educational system.U radu su analizirani rezultati istraživanja koje je imalo za cilj ispitivanje povezanosti implicitnih pedagogija nastavnika i njihove inicijative za saradnju s roditeljima. Polazi se od pretpostavke da prihvatanje savremenih pedagoških ideja (nova pedagoška paradigma) doprinosi većoj inicijativi nastavnika za saradnju s roditeljima. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 118 nastavnika predmetne nastave i 78 nastavnika razredne nastave iz osnovnih škola u Srbiji. Primenjen je korelacioni nacrt, a za ispitivanje implicitnih pedagogija i inicijative nastavnika za saradnju s roditeljima kreirane su skale procene. Rezultati ukazuju na nedostatak inicijative učitelja i nastavnika za produbljeniju saradnju s roditeljima, kakva bi u savremenoj školi trebalo da se odvija. Istraživanje je pokazalo da su implicitne pedagogije nastavnika još uvek između tradicionalnih i savremenih pedagoških ideja. Rezultati našeg istraživanja ukazuju na manju inicijativu nastavnika predmetne nastave za saradnju s roditeljima, kao i na njihovo manje prihvatanje 'nove pedagoške paradigme', u poređenju s učiteljima. Kod nastavnika razredne nastave je utvrđena povezanost između njihovih implicitnih pedagogija i inicijative za saradnju s roditeljima, dok ta povezanost nije uočena kod predmetnih nastavnika. Za poboljšanje saradnje škole i porodice neophodno je da se postojeća lična pedagoška uverenja nastavnika promene i približe 'novoj pedagoškoj paradigmi', putem inicijalnog obrazovanja i daljeg stručnog usavršavanja nastavnika, kao i kroz obezbeđivanje veće podrške na nivou škole i obrazovnog sistema

Nickel Catalysts on Porous Ceramic Supports for the Reaction of Partial Oxidation of Propane to CO and H2

In this paper synthesis, textural and structural properties as well as selectivity of Ni based catalysts for partial oxidation of propane to CO and H2 are given. The influence of aluminosilicate and magnesia based porous ceramic supports on catalyst performance is emphasized. The influence of concentration of impregnation solution, number of successive impregnations and nature of modifier was investigated. The catalytic test was performed in order to define the catalyst with the highest selectivity toward CO and H2 while the presence of side-products like CO2, CH4, and coke as well as unreacted C3H8 are reduced to minimum. All synthesized catalysts samples were dominantly macroporous. The selectivity of catalysts increased with presence of modifiers in the following order: CaO < MgO < Al2O3. The selectivity of studied catalysts is governed mainly by two structural parameters: nickel loading and nickel crystallite size. The comparison of the best performing aluminosilicate and magnesia supported catalysts with Al as modifier revealed that the latter express somewhat lower selectivity particularly toward CO

AIR POLLUTION FROM TRAFFIC AND RESPIRATORY HEALTH

Air pollution has very important influence on human health. Earlier investigations were not employed with estimation of influence of air pollution, which spring from traffic, on people health who live near busy cross – road.The aim of this paper was to determine how living near busy cross – road influences on appearance of respiratory symptoms and illness.400 adult people between 18-76 age who live five year least on this location at took a part in investigation. One group (200) live in Nis near the busiest cross-road, another group live in Niska Banja near cross-road with the smallest concentration of pollutants in last five years.We have determined that examines, who live near busy cross – road had statistical signify greater prevalence of all respiratory symptoms and pneumonia.Our investigation showed that living near busy cross road present risk factor for appearance of respiratory symptoms and pneumonia

Pathway analysis of peripheral blood CD8+ T cell transcriptome shows differential regulation of sphingolipid signaling in multiple sclerosis and glioblastoma

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and glioblastoma (GBM) are CNS diseases in whose development and progression immune privilege is intimately important, but in a relatively opposite manner. Maintenance and strengthening of immune privilege have been shown to be an important mechanism in glioblastoma immune evasion, while the breakdown of immune privilege leads to MS initiation and exacerbation. We hypothesize that molecular signaling pathways can be oppositely regulated in peripheral blood CD8+ T cells of MS and glioblastoma patients at a transcriptional level. We analyzed publicly available data of the peripheral blood CD8+ T cell MS vs. control (MSvsCTRL) and GBM vs. control (GBMvsCTRL) differentially expressed gene (DEG) contrasts with Qiagen’s Ingenuity pathway analysis software (IPA). We have identified sphingolipid signaling pathway which was significantly downregulated in the GBMvsCTRL and upregulated in the MSvsCTRL. As the pathway is important for the CD8+ T lymphocytes CNS infiltration, this result is in line with our previously stated hypothesis. Comparing publicly available lists of differentially expressed serum exosomal miRNAs from MSvsCTRL and GBMvsCTRL contrasts, we have identified that hsa-miR182-5p has the greatest potential effect on sphingolipid signaling regarding the number of regulated DEGs in the GBMvsCTRL contrast, while not being able to find any relevant potential sphingolipid signaling target transcripts in the MSvsCTRL contrast. We conclude that the sphingolipid signaling pathway is a top oppositely regulated pathway in peripheral blood CD8+ T cells from GBM and MS, and might be crucial for the differences in CNS immune privilege maintenance of investigated diseases, but further experimental research is necessary

On some verbal short-term and working memory properties in patients suffering from clinical depression

Veza depresije i kratkoročnog verbalnog pamćenja nije jednoznačno rasvetljena. Deficiti kratkoročnog pamćenja (KP) depresivnih pacijenata doslednije se ispoljavaju u zadacima koji iziskuju efikasnost radne memorije (RM) i s njom skopčanu izvršnu pažnju no što je to slučaj sa zadacima isključivo pasivnog skladištenja jezičkog materijala u kratkoročnu memoriju (KM). Cilj istraživanja. Primarni cilj bio je pribavljanje nalaza o verbalnom KP kod pacijenata na lečenju od depresije u domaćim ustanovama. Proverili smo dodatno upotrebljivost subtestova RM skale WAIS IV za procenu problema KP kod depresivnih pacijenata. Metod. Uporedili smo uzorak pacijenata na lečenju od depresije s paralelnom grupom zdravih ispitanika u pogledu učinka na subtestovima 'Aritmetika', 'Ponavljanje brojeva' i 'Slova pa brojevi', kao i na zadacima slobodnog prisećanja lista reči i semantičke fluentnosti bez promene kategorije i s promenom kategorije. Rezultati. Mere učinka u zadacima RM, sa izuzetkom 'Ponavljanja brojeva unazad', razlikuju grupe depresivnih pacijenata i kontrolnih ispitanika. Zadaci pasivnog pohranjivanja verbalnog materijala u KM, sa izuzetkom KP lista reči, ne pružaju tu mogućnost. Za pomenute izuzetke ponudili smo objašnjenje u terminima efikasnosti RM. Od subtestova WAIS IV, 'Aritmetika', 'Ponavljanje brojeva rastućim redosledom' i 'Slova pa brojevi' diskriminišu depresivne pacijente i kontrolne ispitanike. Učinak u zadacima KP nalazi se u srednjoj do visokoj negativnoj korelaciji sa intenzitetom depresije. Zaključak. Problemi KP pacijenata sa depresijom pre se mogu očekivati u zadacima koji iziskuju izvršnu pažnju i efikasnost RM nego u uobičajenim zadacima procene opsega verbalne KM. Deficiti verbalnog KP u negativnoj su vezi sa intenzitetom depresije.Clinical depression with verbal short-term memory relation research does not yield unequivocal results. While short-term memory (STM) deficits in depressed patients are consistently displayed in working memory (WM) and executive attention tasks, for STM passive memorizing tasks this holds less correct. Objective. Primary goal was to collect initial data on depressed patients treated in Serbian institutions WM/ STM. In addition, we estimated the power of WAIS IV WM subtests to discriminate depressed patients from normal subjects. Method. Depressed patients' sample was contrasted with the parallel group in WAIS' IV Arithmetic, Digit Span, and Letter- Number Sequencing; free word recall task, semantic fluency task, without and with category switching. Results. All the WM measures, with the exception of Digit Span Backward score, discriminate depressed from no depressed subjects. On the other hand, STM tasks, with the exception of short-term word free recall, fail to do the same. We suggest explanation for both the exceptions in terms of WM efficiency. WAIS IV Arithmetic, Digit Span Sequencing and Letter-Number Sequencing can be used to discriminate depressed from control subjects. Performance in STM/WM tasks is in moderate to strong negative correlation with depression severity as assessed with the Hamilton scale. Conclusion. STM deficits in the depressed are likely to be observed in tasks requiring executive attention and WM efficiency rather than in standard STM span tasks. The deficits are inertly related to depression severity

AIR POLLUTION AS A RISK FACTOR FOR PNEUMONIA

Abstract. Air pollution has been shown to exacerbate respiratory diseases such as pneumonia. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between the longterm exposure to air pollution, as a risk factor, and the development of pneumonia in the population. The observed sample consisted of Niš citizens of different age groups who lived in area with high concentrations of air pollutants (investigated group) such as the Square of the October Revolution, as well as the citizens of Niška Banja (control group) which is the zone with the lowest concentration of air pollution. The investigation was carried out in the Public Health Institute in Niš, in the period between 2000 and 2012. A sample of 500 participants from Niš and Niška Banja was split into three age groups: up to 25, between 26 and 50, and above 51. Modified WHO, British MRC and American Thoracis Society questionnaires were run among the investigated and contol population sample group. A significance test was performed using a Mantel-Haenszel chi square (χ2) statistic. This test was used to check for a statistically significant difference between the prevalence of pneumonia between the investigated group and the control group across all age groups. The odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) were determined. The statistical significance between measured concentrations in the air at observed measured spots was determined using the Student's t-test. The highest value of the chi square test was determined in the age group up to 25 (RR = 8,00, OR = 8,87, p0,05.The obtained results prove that the prevalence of pneumonia is significantly higher in the exposed population than in the non-exposed, especially among younger than 25 years old.  Key words: air pollution, pneumoni

Troškovi za zaštitu životne sredine i javno-privatno partnerstvo

U kontekstu sve složenijeg okruženja, ograničenih finansijskih resursa, ističe se značaj detaljnijeg sagledavanja troškova za zaštitu životne sredine i praćenja njihovog kretanja. Pored toga, ograničenost resursa dovodi do još većeg značaja javno-privatnog partnerstva i značaja koji može imati sprovođenje projekata u vezi sa zaštitom životne sredine. Cilj rada je analiza kretanja troškova za zaštitu životne sredine Republike Srbije u periodu posmatranja od 2008-2017. godine, kako bi se na osnovu toga istakle mogućnosti promena određenih kategorija u okviru troškova za zaštitu životne sredine. Troškove za zaštitu životne sredine čine investicije i tekući izdaci za zaštitu životne sredine. U radu je posebno sagledano javno-privatno partnerstvo u kontekstu primenjenih odabranih načela od značaja za cilj ovog rada, načela ekonomske efikasnosti i načela zaštite životne sredine, kako bi se, sveukupno, ukazalo na značaj javno-privatnog partnerstva u vezi sa projektima koji se bave različitim aspektima zaštite životne sredine