The effect of intravitreal administration of bevacizumab on macular edema and visual acuity in age-related macular degeneration with subfoveolar choroidal neovascularisation

Background/Aim. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of the loss of central visual acuity in population older than 70 years. We can distinguish wet and dry form of AMD. The aim of the study was to present our early results in treatment of the wet (neovascular) form of AMD with intravitreal administration of bevacizumab. Methods. The study included 39 patients. Each patient underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). All the patients received 1.25 mg of intravitreal bevacizumab (0.05 mL of commercial phial of Avastin®). The total of three doses was given with a one-month interval between doses. Results. Among 39 patients, 24 were women and 15 men. The average best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was improved from 0.09 before the therapy to 0.24 after the administration of all the three doses of bevacizumab (p < 0.001). The average central macular thickness (CMT) measured by OCT was improved from 474 μm in the beginning to 341 μm after the administration of all the three doses of the drug (p < 0.001). There were no side effects. Conclusions. Our short-term experience indicates that intravitreal administration of three doses of bevacizumab in one-month intervals between the doses leads to a significant reduction of macular edema and improvement of BCVA in patients with neovascular AMD

Aurivillius BaBi4Ti4O15 based compounds: Structure, synthesis and properties

The discovery of some Aurivillius materials with high Curie temperature or fatigue-free character suggests possible applications in high temperature piezoelectric devices or non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories. Furthermore, increasing concerns for environmental issues have promoted the study of new lead-free piezoelectric materials. Barium bismuth titanate (BaBi4Ti4O15), an Aurivillius compound, is promising candidate to replace lead-based materials, both as lead-free ferroelectric and high temperature piezoelectric. In this review paper, we report a detailed overview of crystal structure, different synthesis methods and characteristic properties of barium bismuth titanate ferroelectric materials

ANOTHER DISCOVERY OF GOLD JEWELLERY IN SV. IVAN KORNETSKI IN ISTRIA

U proljeće 2009. godine u naselju Sv. Ivan Kornetski nedaleko Umaga pronađena je grobna parcela s zidanom grobnom konstrukcijom unutar koje je, ritualom spaljivanja, bila pokopana ženska osoba. Bogatstvo priloga, među kojima se naročito izdvajaju zlatni nalazi, prsten i privjesci, ukazuju na njen visoki položaj u društvu. Pronalazak grobne parcele ukazuje na postojanje antičke nekropole na području Sv. IvanaIn the spring of 2009, a grave lot was discovered in Sv. Ivan Kornetski near Umag. The lot held a constructed grave with the remains of a female individual who was buried following an incineration rite. Rich accompanying funerary gifts, prominent among which were gold items, a ring and pendants, all indicate that the deceased held a high social position. The discovery of the grave lot indicates the presence of an antique necropolis in the area of Sv. Ivan

ANOTHER DISCOVERY OF GOLD JEWELLERY IN SV. IVAN KORNETSKI IN ISTRIA

U proljeće 2009. godine u naselju Sv. Ivan Kornetski nedaleko Umaga pronađena je grobna parcela s zidanom grobnom konstrukcijom unutar koje je, ritualom spaljivanja, bila pokopana ženska osoba. Bogatstvo priloga, među kojima se naročito izdvajaju zlatni nalazi, prsten i privjesci, ukazuju na njen visoki položaj u društvu. Pronalazak grobne parcele ukazuje na postojanje antičke nekropole na području Sv. IvanaIn the spring of 2009, a grave lot was discovered in Sv. Ivan Kornetski near Umag. The lot held a constructed grave with the remains of a female individual who was buried following an incineration rite. Rich accompanying funerary gifts, prominent among which were gold items, a ring and pendants, all indicate that the deceased held a high social position. The discovery of the grave lot indicates the presence of an antique necropolis in the area of Sv. Ivan

La-doped and La/Mn-co-doped Barium Titanate Ceramics

Barium titanate ceramics doped with 0.3 mol.% lanthanum and co-doped with 0.3 mol.% lanthanum and 0.05 mol.% manganese were investigated. The powders were prepared by a modified polymeric precursor method based on the Pechini process. The ceramics were obtained by sintering at 1300 degrees C for 8 h. The influence of dopants on structural changes and grain size reduction was analyzed. The presence of dopants influenced the tetragonality of the barium titanate crystal structure. Reduction of polygonal grain size with dopant addition was noticed. In the doped ceramics, characteristic phase transitions were shifted to lower temperatures in comparison with pure barium titanate. The dielectric permittivity value showed the tendency of a slight increase with lanthanum addition and further increase with adding of manganese. La as a single dopant increased the diffuseness of phase transitions indicating the formation of a diffuse ferroelectric material but in the co-doped ceramics the phase transition diffuseness decreased. The resistivity of the co-doped ceramics was higher than for lanthanum doped ceramics, indicating possible segregation of manganese at grain boundaries that influenced the total resistivity of the material

SUBSTITUTION REACTIONS OF THE MONOFUNCTIONAL GOLD(III) COMPLEX AND SULPHUR-DONOR BIOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT LIGANDS

Gold(III) complexes have found application in catalysis, materials science and medical inorganic chemistry. Considering that the right choice of inert ligands in the structure of Au(III) complexes is crucial for their properties and reactivity toward biomolecules, we have studied the substitution reactions between monofunctional Au(III) complex, [Au(Cl-Ph-tpy)Cl]Cl2 (Cl- Ph-tpy = 4′-(4-chlorophenyl)-2,2′:6′, 2″-terpyridine) and sulfur-donor biomolecules, glutathione (GSH) and L-methionine (L-Met), in 25 mM Hepes buffer (pH = 7.2) and 40 mM NaCl. The reactions were followed under the pseudo-first-order conditions as a function of ligand concentration and temperature, using the stopped-flow technique. Calculations were made by Microsoft Excel 2019 and Origin2019b 64Bit. Observed kinetics traces follow a single exponential function, suggesting that the process of the substitution undergoes as one reversible step. Also, L-Met was more reactive than GSH. This order is related to the positive inductive effect of the methyl group, which increases the nucleophilicity of the thioether. According to the values of the activation parameters, the reactions follow an associative model. These results demonstrate the strong connection between the reactivity of Au(III) complexes and the structural and electronic characteristics of the biologically important ligands.The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia (Agreement No. 451-03-9/2021- 14/200378 and Agreement No. 451-03-68/2021-14/200122) for financial supportPublishe