Interaction of the Ability of Planned Behavior and Motor Functioning of Patients after Stroke

Planning and organizing activities, as well as the ability to specify the strategies by which the intentions would be implemented and the aim accomplished represent the highest level of frontal lobes functioning and is comparable to the concept of metacognition. Preservation of executive function may be important for motor function of patients after a stroke. Aim of the paper is to determine whether the ability to plan behavior in patients after a stroke is preserved, associated with the quality of motor functioning. The sample consisted of 100 subjects, 50 patients after a stroke involved in the process of rehabilitation and 50 patients randomly chosen , matched by age and general characteristics, which in its medical history and neurological examination had no symptoms of acute or chronic neurological disease. For the evaluation of this variable the following tests were used: WCST Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for assessing executive functions; FAC Functional Ambulation Category test for assessing the quality of movement and performance of motor tasks, including spatial and temporal parameters of walk. The obtained results show the statistically significant difference between the tested patients after a stroke and patients without neurological damage in the area of planned behavior (p < .001 ), as well as in the area of ??motor skills including parameters of walk (p < .001 ). Having in mind the results of this study it can be concluded that there is a significant link between low effective ability to plan behavior with mild quality of movement, worse performance of motor tasks and low values ??of the estimated parameters of walk

Adeno-associated viral vector-mediated human vascular endothelial growth factor gene transfer stimulates angiogenesis and wound healing in the genetically diabetic mouse

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Integrity and life estimation of turbine runner cover in a hydro power plant

This paper presents integrity and life estimation of turbine runner cover in a vertical pipe turbines,Kaplan 200 MW nominal output power, produced in Russia, and built in six hydro-generation units ofhydroelectric power plant „Đerdap 1” in Serbia. Fatigue and corrosion-fatigue interaction have been taken intoaccount using experimentally obtained material properties, as well as analytical and numerical calculations ofstress state, to estimate appropriate safety factors. Fatigue crack growth rate, da/dN, was also calculated,indicated that internal defects of circular or elliptical shape, found out by ultrasonic testing, do not affect reliableoperation of runner cover

N-Myc-induced metabolic rewiring creates novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in neuroblastoma

N-Myc is a transcription factor that is aberrantly expressed in many tumor types and is often correlated with poor patient prognosis. Recently, several lines of evidence pointed to the fact that oncogenic activation of Myc family proteins is concomitant with reprogramming of tumor cells to cope with an enhanced need for metabolites during cell growth. These adaptions are driven by the ability of Myc proteins to act as transcriptional amplifiers in a tissue-of-origin specific manner. Here, we describe the effects of N-Myc overexpression on metabolic reprogramming in neuroblastoma cells. Ectopic expression of N-Myc induced a glycolytic switch that was concomitant with enhanced sensitivity towards 2-deoxyglucose, an inhibitor of glycolysis. Moreover, global metabolic profiling revealed extensive alterations in the cellular metabolome resulting from overexpression of N-Myc. Limited supply with either of the two main carbon sources, glucose or glutamine, resulted in distinct shifts in steady-state metabolite levels and significant changes in glutathione metabolism. Interestingly, interference with glutamine-glutamate conversion preferentially blocked proliferation of N-Myc overexpressing cells, when glutamine levels were reduced. Thus, our study uncovered N-Myc induction and nutrient levels as important metabolic master switches in neuroblastoma cells and identified critical nodes that restrict tumor cell proliferation

Effect of oleic acid supplementation on prostaglandin production in maternal endometrial and fetal allantochorion cells isolated from late gestation ewes

Elevated circulating non-esterified fatty acids including oleic acid (OA) are associated with many pregnancy related complications. Prostaglandins (PGs) play crucial roles during parturition. We investigated the effect of OA supplementation on PG production using an in vitro model of ovine placenta

A conceptual framework for modelling the role of livestock systems in sustainable diets and a sustainable planet

The role of livestock in sustainable food systems and sustainable diets is a complex issue. It should be assessed in terms of its impacts on environmental, economic, and social sustainability, as well as the levels of animal performance, the human food supply, and the human food production system. However, such nuanced analyses are made difficult by the lack of multi-metric, multi-domain modelling frameworks and a lack of data on regional variation in livestock production. This paper proposes a conceptual biophysical modelling framework that could be used as a pathway to address existing methodology gaps and improve sustainability analyses across multiple levels. Realising this modelling framework requires clear, transparent, and enforceable frameworks for multi-scale sustainability assessments, as well as long-term investment into region-specific data collection, particularly from under-represented regions. To ensure representativeness and broader utility, this framework must also be able to model variation in both production systems and consumer dietary patterns, and the feedback loops between producer/consumer decisions and on-farm production. Beyond the level of science, this will also require concerted effort by the various actors in the livestock and food-chain sectors such as governmental bodies, the food production industry and local communities. Once realised, this framework could be used to assess trade-offs between potential food-system changes and to ensure that decisions are being made from a big picture, net-benefit perspective, while exploring methods for building flexible, diverse food systems that are sustainable across multiple scales

Wild Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L., Ericaceae) from Montenegro as a Source of Antioxidants for Use in the Production of Nutraceuticals

The aim of this study was to establish correlation of chemical composition and antioxidant activity of bilberry plants from Montenegro. Total phenolic, tannin, flavonoid, procyanidin and anthocyanin contents were determined in fruits and leaves extracts using spectrophotometric methods, while the measurements of metal content was carried out in an Inductively Coupled Atomic Emission Spectrometer. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of major phenolics were achieved by HPLC. In the investigated extracts, the most abundant phenolic was chlorogenic acid, followed by protocatechuic acid, while resveratrol, isoquercetin, quecetin and hyperoside were also present in significant quantities. Antioxidant potential was evaluated using two in vitro assays-FRAP and DPPH-being in the accordance with the cyclic voltammetry tests, performed as well. The results revealed that all the investigated extracts were rich in phenolic and essential mineral constituents, with significant antioxidant activity, depending on the polyphenolic and mineral contents, which was confirmed by principal component analysis.Supplementary material: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3314

Supplementary data for the article: Brasanac-Vukanovic, S.; Mutic, J.; Stankovic, D. M.; Arsic, I.; Blagojevic, N.; Vukasinovic-Pesic, V.; Tadic, V. M. Wild Bilberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus l., Ericaceae) from Montenegro as a Source of Antioxidants for Use in the Production of Nutraceuticals. Molecules 2018, 23 (8). https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23081864

Supplementary material: [https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23081864]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2221

Cyclin A2 Mutagenesis Analysis: A New Insight into CDK Activation and Cellular Localization Requirements

Cyclin A2 is essential at two critical points in the somatic cell cycle: during S phase, when it activates CDK2, and during the G2 to M transition when it activates CDK1. Based on the crystal structure of Cyclin A2 in association with CDKs, we generated a panel of mutants to characterize the specific amino acids required for partner binding, CDK activation and subcellular localization. We find that CDK1, CDK2, p21, p27 and p107 have overlapping but distinct requirements for association with this protein. Our data highlight the crucial importance of the N-terminal α helix, in conjunction with the α3 helix within the cyclin box, in activating CDK. Several Cyclin A2 mutants selectively bind to either CDK1 or CDK2. We demonstrate that association of Cyclin A2 to proteins such as CDK2 that was previously suggested as crucial is not a prerequisite for its nuclear localization, and we propose that the whole protein structure is involved