Comparative analysis of morphological lesions and distribution of viral antigen in mute swans and hens naturally infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N8

Infekcije izazvane visoko patogenim virusima avijarne influence ustanovljene su kod ptica, velikog broja domaćih i divljih životinja i ljudi i iz tog razloga predstavljaju veliku opasnost sa aspekta veterinarske medicine i javnog zdravlja. Izrazita genetička varijabilnost i nestabilnost genoma influenca virusa omogućavaju nastanak velikog broja različitih podtipova virusa avijarne influence sa izmenjenim svojstvima u pogledu antigenskih osobina, patogenosti i specifičnosti prema domaćinu. Novi, resortirani podtip visoko patogene avijarne influence H5N8 prvi put je dijagnostikovan na evropskom kontinentu 2014. godine. U Republici Srbiji, prva zabeležena epizootija avijarne influence podtipa H5N8 desila se krajem 2016. godine. Tokom ove epizootije, najveća stopa mortaliteta zabeležena je kod labudova grbca (Cygnus olor), a pored toga virus je dijagnostikovan i kod malog broja domaćih kokošaka gajenih u seoskim domaćinstvima. Istraživanja u ovoj doktorskoj disertaciji imala su za cilj uporedno ispitivanje makroskopskih i mikroskopskih promena, distribucije i tropizma virusa, kao i određivanje imunofenotipa ćelija inflamacije u organima dve različite vrste ptica prirodno inficiranih virusom avijarne influence podtipa H5N8. U ispitivanjima su korišćeni organi 15 labudova grbaca (red Anseriformes) i 15 kokošaka (red Galliformes) uginulih tokom ove epizootije. Pored toga, cilj istraživanja bio je identifikacija i molekularna karakterizacija virusa avijarne influence detektovanog u Srbiji tokom zime 2016. – 2017. godine. Za dokazivanje prisustva virusa influence u ispitanom materijalu poreklom od prirodno inficiranih ptica korišćena je real time RT-PCR metoda. Za utvrđivanje karaktera lezija, distribucije virusnog antigena i imunofenotipa ćelija inflamacije u tkivu pluća, srca, slezine, creva, bubrega, pankreasa i mozga, primenjena su patohistološka i imunohistohemijska ispitivanja...Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses cause infections in birds, a large number of domestic and wild animals as well as in humans, and are the cause of serious veterinary and public health concern. The distinct genetic variability and instability of the influenza virus genome enable the creation of a large number of different subtypes of avian influenza virus with altered characteristics in terms of antigenic properties, pathogenicity and host specificity. In 2014, a novel reassortant subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 was detected for the first time on the European continent. In the Republic of Serbia, the first outbreak of avian influenza subtype H5N8 was recorded at the end of 2016. The highest mortality rate during this outbreak was detected in the mute swans (Cygnus Olor) and the virus was also diagnosed in a small number of domestic hens in rural households. The aim of this PhD thesis was a comparative analysis of macroscopic and microscopic lesions, distribution and virus tropism as well as the determination of the inflammatory cell immunophenotyping in the organs of two different bird species naturally infected with the avian influenza virus subtype H5N8. The carcasses of 15 mute swans and 15 hens that died during the avian influenza outbreak were examined. In addition, the aim of this research was the identification and molecular characterization of the avian influenza virus detected in Serbia during the winter 2016-2017. The real-time RT-PCR method was performed for detection of H5N8 HPAI virus presence in materials originating from naturally infected birds. Pathohistological and immunohistochemical methods were used to determine the character of lesions, the distribution of viral antigen and immunophenotyping of inflammatory cells in the lung, heart, spleen, intestine, kidney, pancreas and brain tissue..

Bryophyte extracts as immunomodulators

Briofite (mahovine, jetrenjače i rožnjače) predstavljaju drugu najveću grupu kopnenih biljaka posle cvetnica, sa više od 20 000 vrsta rasprostranjenih širom sveta. Iako se od davnina koriste u tradicionalnoj medicini, tek je u skorije vreme počelo intenzivnije istraživanje njihovog hemijskog sastava, kao i potencijalnih bioloških aktivnosti. Među mnogobrojnim aktivnim komponentama briofita, polifenoli i triterpeni predstavljaju najvažnije grupe jedinjenja, koja su ujedno i nosioci njihove biološke aktivnosti. Antioksidativni, anti-inflamatorni, antitumorski, antineurodegenerativni, antimikrobni, antidijabetični i proregenerativni potencijal ekstrakata različitih briofita dokazan je u velikom broju studija. Ovaj pregledni rad ima za cilj da predstavi najnovija istraživanja o hemijskom sastavu i biološkimaktivnostima ekstrakata briofita sa posebnim osvrtom na mahovine Hypnum cupressiforme i Hedwigia ciliata i njihovoj potencijalnoj upotrebi kao imunomodulatora u prevenciji i/ili terapiji različitih bolesti čoveka.Bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) are the second largest group of land plants after flowering plants, with more than 20,000 species distributed worldwide. Although they have been used in traditional medicine since ancient times, their chemical composition and potential biological activities have only recently begun to be studied more intensively. Among the numerous bioactive constituents of moss plants, polyphenols and triterpenes represent the most important groups of compounds, which are also carriers of their biological activity. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antineurodegenerative, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and proregenerative potential of various moss extracts have been confirmed in a large number of studies. This review presents the latest research on the chemical composition and biological activity of bryophyte extracts with special reference to the mosses Hypnum cupressiforme and Hedwigia ciliata and their potential use as immunomodulators in the prevention and/or therapy of various human diseases

Pregled aktuelnih vakcina za profilaksu bakterijskih infekcija

Antibacterial vaccines play a central role in modern medicine by providing an effective approach to combating infectious diseases caused by bacteria. The importance of these vaccines lies in their ability to stimulate the immune system to recognise and neutralise bacterial pathogens, or exotoxins produced by them, thereby preventing, or mitigating the severity of bacterial infections. The development and widespread use of antibacterial vaccines have contributed significantly to reducing the global burden of diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. Today, the global increase in vaccine-preventable diseases is a worrying trend that is closely linked to the emergence and advocacy of anti-vaccination policies. According to the latest World Health Organisation report, vaccination coverage in Serbia has declined over the past decade, jeopardising the collective immunity and led to recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles. Understanding the significance of antibacterial vaccines underscores their importance in promoting individual and community immunity, which ultimately leads to a healthier population and the prevention of antibiotic resistance. This paper summarises the main characteristics of the different types of antibacterial vaccines, such as whole cell vaccines, subunit vaccines and toxoid vaccines, and provides an overview of the types of bacterial antigens contained in vaccines available for mandatory immunisation (vaccines against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae and pneumoccus) or for non-mandatory immunisation (meningococcal vaccine, typhoid vaccine, cholera vaccine).Antibakterijske vakcine igraju glavnu ulogu u savremenoj medicini obezbeđujući efikasan pristup u borbi protiv zaraznih bolesti izazvanih bakterijama. Važnost ovih vakcina leži u njihovoj sposobnosti da stimulišu imunski sistem da prepozna i neutrališe bakterijske patogene, ili egzotoksine koje oni proizvode, čime sprečavaju ili ublažavaju ozbiljnost bakterijskih infekcija. Razvoj i široka upotreba antibakterijskih vakcina značajno su doprineli smanjenju globalnog tereta bolesti kao što su pneumonija, meningitis i sepsa. Danas je globalni porast bolesti koje se mogu sprečiti vakcinama zabrinjavajući trend koji je usko povezan sa pojavom i zagovaranjem politike protiv vakcinacije. Prema poslednjem izveštaju Svetske zdravstvene organizacije, pokrivenost vakcinacijom u Srbiji je opala tokom protekle decenije, što je ugrozilo kolektivni imunitet i dovelo do nedavnih izbijanja bolesti koje se mogu sprečiti vakcinom, poput velikog kašlja i malih boginja. Razumevanje značaja antibakterijskih vakcina naglašava njihov značaj u promovisanju imuniteta pojedinca i zajednice, što na kraju dovodi do zdravije populacije i prevencije rezistencije na antibiotike. Ovaj rad sumira glavne karakteristike različitih tipova antibakterijskih vakcina, kao što su celo ćelijske vakcine, podjedinične vakcine i toksoidne vakcine, i daje pregled tipova bakterijskih antigena sadržanih u vakcinama dostupnim za obaveznu imunizaciju (vakcine protiv tuberkuloze, difterije, tetanusa, pertusisa, Haemophilus influenzae i pneumoka) ili za neobaveznu imunizaciju (vakcina protiv meningokoka, tifusa i kolere)

The role of immunophenotyping in differential diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Introduction. Accurate diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) acquires immunophenotyping by flow cytometry in order to facilitate differential diagnosis between CLL and other mature B-cell neoplasms (MBCN). Objective. The aim of this study was to define immunological profile of CLL cells. Methods. Immunophenotyping by flow cytometry was performed on peripheral blood specimens at diagnosis in the group of 211 patients with de novo MBCN. Results. Absolute count of B-cells was significantly increased in all MBCN patients comparing to healthy control group (p<0.05). B-cell monoclonality was detected in 96% of all MBCN patients, by using surface immunoglobulin (sIg) light chain restriction. B-cell antigens, CD19, CD20, CD22, were expressed with very high frequency in CLL and other MBCN. In comparison with other MBCN, in CLL group, the frequency of expression was higher for CD5 and CD23 (p<0.0001), though lower for FMC7 antigen (p<0.0001). CLL patients were characterized by lower expression patterns of CD20, CD22, CD79b, and sIg (p<0.0001) as well as higher expression pattern of CD5 antigen (p<0.05). Correlation between the final diagnosis of MBCN and values of CLL scoring system showed that the majority of CLL patients (97%) had higher values (5 or 4) whereas the majority of other MBCN patients (96%) had lower score values (0-3). Conclusion. Our results have shown that characteristic immunophenotype which differentiates CLL from other MBCN is defined by following marker combination - CD19+ CD20+low CD22+low CD5+high CD23+ FMC7- CD79b+low sIg+low. CLL score values of 5 or 4 points are highly suggestive for diagnosis of CLL

Lesion Focused Super-Resolution

Super-resolution (SR) for image enhancement has great importance in medical image applications. Broadly speaking, there are two types of SR, one requires multiple low resolution (LR) images from different views of the same object to be reconstructed to the high resolution (HR) output, and the other one relies on the learning from a large amount of training datasets, i.e., LR-HR pairs. In real clinical environment, acquiring images from multi-views is expensive and sometimes infeasible. In this paper, we present a novel Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) based learning framework to achieve SR from its LR version. By performing simulation based studies on the Multimodal Brain Tumor Segmentation Challenge (BraTS) datasets, we demonstrate the efficacy of our method in application of brain tumor MRI enhancement. Compared to bilinear interpolation and other state-of-the-art SR methods, our model is lesion focused, which is not only resulted in better perceptual image quality without blurring, but also more efficient and directly benefit for the following clinical tasks, e.g., lesion detection and abnormality enhancement. Therefore, we can envisage the application of our SR method to boost image spatial resolution while maintaining crucial diagnostic information for further clinical tasks.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, Accepted as Oral Presentation by the SPIE Medical Imaging Conference 201

Antiproliferative and antimigratory effects of 3-(4-substituted benzyl)-5-isopropyl-5-phenylhydantoin derivatives in human breast cancer cells

In this study, a series of synthesized 3-(4-substituted benzyl)-5-isopropyl-5-phenylhydantoin derivatives as a potential antiproliferative and antimigratory agents were investigated. The possible antitumor mechanisms of investigated hydantoin derivatives were examined on human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The cells were treated with different concentrations of compounds (from 0.01 mu M to 100 mu M) during 24 h and 72 h. The proliferation index, nitric oxide production, apoptosis rate, and migration capacity were measured. The cell invasion potential was examined by measuring the level of MMP-9 and COX-2 gene expression. All tested compounds expressed antiproliferative activity and induced dose- and time-dependent increase in the level of nitrites. The investigated molecules significantly decreased cell survival rate, migration capacity and the expression levels of genes included in the process of tumor invasion. Obtained data suggest that the tested hydantoin derivatives express considerable antitumor activity by reducing cell division rate, elevating apoptosis level, and inhibiting the motility and invasiveness of breast cancer cells. The results obtained in this study indicate that investigated compounds express potential as a novel chemotherapeutic agents against breast cancer growth and progression. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University

Analiza metoda georeferenciranja podataka terestričkog laserskog skeniranja

From the point of engineering geodesy this paper discuses registration and georeferencing methods of the terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data. The different functional and stochastic spatial transformation models of the registration and georeferencing are presented and different sources of the errors are analyzed. Advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches are analyzed and recommendations for improving the precision of georeferencing are given.U radu se razmatraju modeli registracije i georeferenciranja oblaka tačaka prikupljenog tehnologijom terestričkog laserskog skeniranja (TLS), imajući u vidu njegovu primenu u inženjersko-tehničkim oblastima. Predstavljeni su različiti pristupi georeferenciranju preko funkcionalnih i stohastičkih modela prostorne transformacije i analizirani su uticaji različitih izvora grešaka. Razmatrane su prednosti i nedostaci različitih pristupa i date su preporuke za poboljšanje preciznosti georeferenciranja oblaka tačaka tehnologijom TLS. PR Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR36009: Primena GNSS i LIDAR tehnologije u monitoringu stabilnosti infrastrukturnih objekata i terena"

Crosstalk between vitamin status and gut microbiota: The key to maintaining immune homeostasis in the gut

The human gut microbiota is a diverse ecosystem that harbours a variety of microorganisms, including proteobacteria, bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, and archaea. These microorganisms are collectively involved in several vital functions, including nutrient metabolism, vitamin synthesis, immune system regulation, neurotransmitter production, drug metabolism, and communication with the central nervous system. Dysbiosis within the gut microbiota has been shown to be a critical factor in the development of chronic disease. Investigating the effects of gut microbiota composition on overall health holds promise for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and the development of new therapeutic interventions. One notable aspect of the functionality of the gut microbiota is its involvement in the production of essential B vitamins. These vitamins exert a significant influence on immune responses and the composition of the gut microbiota. Competition may occur between the host and the gut microbiota for B vitamins, which some bacteria obtain from food or from synthesis by other gut bacteria. Thus, the availability of B vitamins in the diet has the potential to influence the composition of the gut microbiota and thus immune homeostasis. The profile of the gut microbiota varies individually, with diet proving to be an important modulator of both its composition and functional properties. However, further extensive research efforts are needed to understand the complex interplay between the gut microbiota, vitamins, and immune response mechanisms. Such investigations have the potential to develop innovative therapeutic strategies for a spectrum of inflammatory diseases, opening new avenues for improved patient outcomes

Maligni tumori kod Labrador retrivera koji se koriste za pronalaženje narkotika

The two corpses of police dogs, of Labrador retriever breed used for fi nding narcotics, were sent to the Scientific Veterinary Institute 'Novi Sad', and examined post-mortem, in order to determine the cause of death. Post-mortem examination revealed the presence of neoplastic changes in the mandibular region, pulmonary parenchyma and axillary region. The samples of neoplastic changes were sent to the Laboratory of Patohistology within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, in order to specify the diagnosis. Histopathology examination revealed an adenocarcinoma in lungs and haemangioendothelioma in axillary region. Is there any role of drug sniffing on the occurrence of neoplasia in Labrador retriever breed is still unknown, but it could be an important factor in the development of neoplasia in these dogs.Dva leša policijskih službenih pasa, rase Labrador retriver koji se koriste za pronalaženje narkotika, dostavljeni su u Naučni institut za veterinarstvo 'Novi Sad', kako bi se na osnovu patomorfološkog pregleda utvrdio uzrok smrti. Tokom obdukcije utvrđeno je prisustvo neoplastičnih promena u mandibularnoj regiji, plućnom parenhimu i aksilarnoj regiji. Uzorci promenjenog tkiva dostavljeni su na Fakultet veterinarske medicine, Univerziteta u Beogradu, u laboratoriju za patohistologiju kako bi se odredila tačna dijagnoza. Patohistološkim nalazom utvrđeno je prisustvo adenokarcinoma u plućima i hemangioendotelioma u predelu aksilarne regije. Kakvu ulogu može imati udisanje narkotika na pojavu neoplazmi kod Labrador retrivera još uvek nije poznato, ali se pretpostavlja da to može biti jedan od faktora u nastanku neoplastičnih promena kod ovih službenih pasa