Students Remember Siniša Maričić (1926–2017): Upright to the End

Siniša Maričić, the father of Croatian biophysics, passed away on October 31, 2017. On this occasion, three of his students wish to share the memory of their teacher with the readers of the Croatica Chemica Acta. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Učenici se sjećaju Siniše Maričića (1926.–2017.): Uspravan do kraja

Siniša Maričić umro je 31. listopada 2017. Tim su povodom troje njegovih učenika elektronskim putem razmijenili uspomene na dr. Maričića. Te uspomene ovdje žele podijeliti s čitateljima časopisa Croatica Chemica Acta. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Anti-IgE terapija astme i alergijskog rinitisa omalizumabom

The pharmacology, efficacy, dosage, adverse effects, and economics of anti IgE (omalizumab) are discussed. Omalizumab is the generic name for the human/murine chimeric (recombinant humanized) monoclonal IgG antibody. Anti-IgE prevents IgE from attaching to effector cells, and thereby blunts IgE-mediated inflammatory responses. After subcutaneous administration its absorption is slow, reaching peak concentration in serum after an average of 7-8 days. At recommended doses, serum free IgE levels decrease within 1 hour following the first dose and maintained between doses. Dose and dosing frequency are adjusted according to body mass and serum total IgE concentration before the start of treatment. Omalizumab administered subcutaneously is an effective treatment for add-on therapy in patients with poorly controlled, moderate-to-severe allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis (adults and adolescents >12 years). It reduces the requirement for inhaled corticosteroids while protecting against disease exacerbation. Omalizumab is well tolerated, but the safety profile requires long-term assessment in adults as well as in children.Opisani su farmakologija, djelotvornost, doziranje, nuspojave i ekonomičnost primjene anti IgE antitijela – omalizumab. Omalizumab je generičko ime za ljudsko / mišje kimerično (rekombinantno humanizirano) monoklonalno IgG antitijelo. Anti-IgE sprječava vezanje IgE na efektorske stanice i sprječava upalni odgovor posredovan s IgE. Nakon subkutane primjene sporo se apsorbira te dostiže vršnu koncentraciju u serumu nakon 7 do 8 dana. Uz preporučene doze koncentracija slobodnog IgE u serumu smanjuje se unutar jednog sata. Doziranje se podešava prema tjelesnoj masi i koncentraciji IgE-a u serumu. Omalizumab je djelotvoran kao dopunska terapija u pacijenata (starijih od 12 godina) sa slabo kontroliranom umjerenom do teškom alergijskom astmom odnosno s alergijskim rinitisom. Smanjuje potrebu za inhalacijskim kortikosteroidima te pogoršanje astme. Dobro se podnosi, ali sigurnost primjene, kako u odraslih tako i u djece, treba još ispitati

quality of electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing images compressed using jpeg and jpeg2000

Aim: High quality of all image elements must be maintained for the purpose of telepathology. The aim of this study was to compress the images of electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing samples using JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) and JPEG2000 algorithms, and to assess the quality of the compressed images before and after electronic transmission. Methods: Scanograms of serum protein electrophoresis samples of a patient with Zagreb albumin and albumin samples for isoelectric focusing of a patient with Krapina albumin were selected for the study together with a photographed scanogram of isoelectric focusing. Each image was compressed at eight compression rates (from 3.00 bpp (bit per pixel) to 0.1 bpp) using JPEG and JPEG2000 compression algorithms. All images (N = 51), both compressed and uncompressed, we retransmitted by email for assessment to eight medical biochemists: six from Croatia, one from Italy and one from Denmark. Image quality was also assessed by objective measures, i.e. compared to the quality of PSNR (Peak-Signal-to-Noise-Ratio), SNR (Signal-to-Noise-Ratio), OQF (Optimized Quality Factor) and MSE (Mean Squared Error) images. Results: All images compressed using the JPEG2000 algorithm were subjectively rated as excellent. Contrarily, images compressed using JPEG at 0.1 bpp were rated as completely useless, those at 0.2 bpp as moderately blurred, and those at 0.3-3.00 as excellent. At JPEG compression at 0.3 bpp, PSNR and SNR values corresponded to PSNR and SNR values obtained by JPEG2000 compression at 0.1 bpp

Anti-IgE therapy with omalizumab in asthma and allergic rhinitis

Opisani su farmakologija, djelotvornost, doziranje, nuspojave i ekonomičnost primjene anti IgE antitijela – omalizumab. Omalizumab je generičko ime za ljudsko / mišje kimerično (rekombinantno humanizirano) monoklonalno IgG antitijelo. Anti-IgE sprječava vezanje IgE na efektorske stanice i sprječava upalni odgovor posredovan s IgE. Nakon subkutane primjene sporo se apsorbira te dostiže vršnu koncentraciju u serumu nakon 7 do 8 dana. Uz preporučene doze koncentracija slobodnog IgE u serumu smanjuje se unutar jednog sata. Doziranje se podešava prema tjelesnoj masi i koncentraciji IgE-a u serumu. Omalizumab je djelotvoran kao dopunska terapija u pacijenata (starijih od 12 godina) sa slabo kontroliranom umjerenom do teškom alergijskom astmom odnosno s alergijskim rinitisom. Smanjuje potrebu za inhalacijskim kortikosteroidima te pogoršanje astme. Dobro se podnosi, ali sigurnost primjene, kako u odraslih tako i u djece, treba još ispitati.The pharmacology, efficacy, dosage, adverse effects, and economics of anti IgE (omalizumab) are discussed. Omalizumab is the generic name for the human/murine chimeric (recombinant humanized) monoclonal IgG antibody. Anti-IgE prevents IgE from attaching to effector cells, and thereby blunts IgE-mediated inflammatory responses. After subcutaneous administration its absorption is slow, reaching peak concentration in serum after an average of 7-8 days. At recommended doses, serum free IgE levels decrease within 1 hour following the first dose and maintained between doses. Dose and dosing frequency are adjusted according to body mass and serum total IgE concentration before the start of treatment. Omalizumab administered subcutaneously is an effective treatment for add-on therapy in patients with poorly controlled, moderate-to-severe allergic asthma and allergic rhinitis (adults and adolescents >12 years). It reduces the requirement for inhaled corticosteroids while protecting against disease exacerbation. Omalizumab is well tolerated, but the safety profile requires long-term assessment in adults as well as in children

Analysis of the In Vitro Secretory Activity of Human Pituitary Adenomas: Modification of Corticotropin Release from Adenoma Tissue Explant Cultures by Addition of a Human Plasma Ultrafiltrate Bioactive Fraction

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