Chemical Profile, Radical Scavenging and Cytotoxic Activity of Yellow Gentian Leaves (Genitaneae luteae folium) Grown in Northern Regions of Montenegro

LC-ESI-MS and HPLC were used for the identification of the constituents from G. lutea leaves collected at different localities, as well as for quantification of the main compounds. Seven secoiridoids, five C-glucoflavones and three xanthones, were identified. Swertiamarin derivatives, namely eustornorusside (2), eustomoside (3) and septemfidoside (5), were detected in G. lutea for the first time. Concentrations of five constituents (swertiamarin, gentiopicrin, isovitexin, mangiferin and isogentisin) were determined. The relationship between concentrations of gamma-pyrones and altitude was observed with statistically significant correlation (r = 0.94). The extracts were also evaluated for their content of total phenolics, and antiradical and cytotoxic activities. The total phenolics content ranged from 7.7 to 12.7 mg GAE/g, and the IC50 values for DPPH radical scavenging activity varied between 0.45 to 2.02 mg/mL. The leaf extract exhibited moderate cytotoxic effects toward HeLa cells with an IC50 value of 41.1 mu g/mL, while gentiopicrin, mangiferin and isogentisin exerted strong activity against HeLa cells, with IC50 values ranging from 5.7 to 8.8 mu g/mL. The results confirm the traditional usage of G. lutea leaves and also suggest their possible utilization as hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic and anti-inflammatory agents

Melas syndrome - Case report

Syndrome that includes mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes is briefly called MELAS. It is a rare (estimated prevalence is 16/100 000), progressive, neurodegenerative and incurable disease. It is a result of mutation of mitochondrial DNA. We report herein a case of 24-year-old woman who suffers from MELAS. First simptoms occurred in the age of 13 in the manner of headache and vomiting. Later on seizures have been registered, in the beginning as atypical apsans like, and than in the way of complex partial and generalised tonic-clonic seizures. They were often refractory with the applied antiepileptic therapy. In the course of illness speech disorder, memory loss, sight and hearing disorder occured with psychiatric changes. Motor weakness appeared as a result of repeated brain ischaemia and ecephalomalacia. Previously mentioned signs of the disease had their correlation in the diagnostic procedures. Endocranial MR showed signs of continuous deterioration of the disease with necrosis in numerous parts of the brain. Elevated lactate level has been found, marked with press sequences that matches sequelaes of oxidative metabolism. EEG showed signs of epileptiform dysfunction. Genetic investigation was positive. Since there is no causal therapy, early recognition and symptomatic treatment may be of certain benefit

Chemical Profile, Radical Scavenging and Cytotoxic Activity of Yellow Gentian Leaves (Genitaneae luteae folium) Grown in Northern Regions of Montenegro

LC-ESI-MS and HPLC were used for the identification of the constituents from G. lutea leaves collected at different localities, as well as for quantification of the main compounds. Seven secoiridoids, five C-glucoflavones and three xanthones, were identified. Swertiamarin derivatives, namely eustornorusside (2), eustomoside (3) and septemfidoside (5), were detected in G. lutea for the first time. Concentrations of five constituents (swertiamarin, gentiopicrin, isovitexin, mangiferin and isogentisin) were determined. The relationship between concentrations of gamma-pyrones and altitude was observed with statistically significant correlation (r = 0.94). The extracts were also evaluated for their content of total phenolics, and antiradical and cytotoxic activities. The total phenolics content ranged from 7.7 to 12.7 mg GAE/g, and the IC50 values for DPPH radical scavenging activity varied between 0.45 to 2.02 mg/mL. The leaf extract exhibited moderate cytotoxic effects toward HeLa cells with an IC50 value of 41.1 mu g/mL, while gentiopicrin, mangiferin and isogentisin exerted strong activity against HeLa cells, with IC50 values ranging from 5.7 to 8.8 mu g/mL. The results confirm the traditional usage of G. lutea leaves and also suggest their possible utilization as hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic and anti-inflammatory agents

Mental Health Assessment of Cancer Patients: Prevalence and Predictive Factors of Depression and Anxiety

Background: Patients with oncological diseases often have mental disorders in the form of comorbidity. The aim of this study was to research the association of cancer with the presence of symptoms of depression and anxiety in primary health care patients.Methods: This prospective observational study done in 2020 included adult users of health care at the Health Center Trstenik, Central Serbia, aged 19 and over, both sexes, with a diagnosis of oncological disease. A research instrument to assess depressive symptoms is used PHQ-9 (The Patient Health Questionnaire) questionnaire, derived from PRIME MD- and (The Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders), and the Beck Anxiety Scale (BAI) to register the presence of certain anxiety symptoms.Results: The largest percentage of patients had symptoms of mild (27.2%) or moderate depression (22%), while 18% reported symptoms of major depression. The level of depression was higher in older subjects, in the presence of chronic diseases with greater limitations of activity and the presence of difficulties in performing daily activities, with a more pronounced effect of pain on activity, the presence of stress. All subjects were characterized as persons with severe anxiety (score 26-63). The level of anxiety was higher in older respondents, in the presence of long-term illness, with greater limitations of activities and difficulties in performing daily activities, with a more pronounced influence of pain on performing activities and the influence of the media.Conclusion: Caring for the mental health of cancer patients must occupy a significant part of each country's national health policy

Impact of clinical phenotypes on management and outcomes in European atrial fibrillation patients: a report from the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in AF (EORP-AF) General Long-Term Registry

Background: Epidemiological studies in atrial fibrillation (AF) illustrate that clinical complexity increase the risk of major adverse outcomes. We aimed to describe European AF patients\u2019 clinical phenotypes and analyse the differential clinical course. Methods: We performed a hierarchical cluster analysis based on Ward\u2019s Method and Squared Euclidean Distance using 22 clinical binary variables, identifying the optimal number of clusters. We investigated differences in clinical management, use of healthcare resources and outcomes in a cohort of European AF patients from a Europe-wide observational registry. Results: A total of 9363 were available for this analysis. We identified three clusters: Cluster 1 (n = 3634; 38.8%) characterized by older patients and prevalent non-cardiac comorbidities; Cluster 2 (n = 2774; 29.6%) characterized by younger patients with low prevalence of comorbidities; Cluster 3 (n = 2955;31.6%) characterized by patients\u2019 prevalent cardiovascular risk factors/comorbidities. Over a mean follow-up of 22.5 months, Cluster 3 had the highest rate of cardiovascular events, all-cause death, and the composite outcome (combining the previous two) compared to Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 (all P <.001). An adjusted Cox regression showed that compared to Cluster 2, Cluster 3 (hazard ratio (HR) 2.87, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.27\u20133.62; HR 3.42, 95%CI 2.72\u20134.31; HR 2.79, 95%CI 2.32\u20133.35), and Cluster 1 (HR 1.88, 95%CI 1.48\u20132.38; HR 2.50, 95%CI 1.98\u20133.15; HR 2.09, 95%CI 1.74\u20132.51) reported a higher risk for the three outcomes respectively. Conclusions: In European AF patients, three main clusters were identified, differentiated by differential presence of comorbidities. Both non-cardiac and cardiac comorbidities clusters were found to be associated with an increased risk of major adverse outcomes

Mg-Cu-Al layered double hydroxides based catalysts for the reduction of nitrates in aqueous solutions

The secondary waste and bacterial contamination in physico-chemical and biological separation processes used today for nitrate removal from ground water make novel catalytic technologies that convert nitrates to unharmful gaseous nitrogen, very attractive for scientific research. The Mg-Cu-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) based catalysts with different Mg/Al ratio were investigated in water denitrification reaction in the presence of hydrogen and with solely copper as an active phase. Since LDHs have ion exchange properties and their derived mixed oxides possess memory effect (restoration of layered structure after thermal decomposition), their adsorption capacity for nitrates was also measured in the same model system. All studied samples showed nitrate removal from 23% to 62% following the decrease in Al content, as well as the substantial adsorption capacity ranging from 18% to 38%. These results underlie the necessity to take into account the effects of the adsorption in all future investigations

POTENTIALS AND LIMITATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TOURISM IN VOJVODINA

The natural attractiveness of rural areas in Vojvodina is a good basis for a rural tourism development. However, the available natural resource base is not sufficient to ensure the rapid and successful development of tourism in rural areas in Vojvodina. In this process all available resources need to be activated. The human and financial resources for rural tourism development in the region of Vojvodina are the subject of this research. The aim of this research is to determine the condition of existing resources and propose measures for their improvement

Suffering from cerebral small vessel disease with and without metabolic syndrome

© 2019 Tatjana Bošković Matić et al., published by De Gruyter. Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) and metabolic syndrome were separately associated with cognitive impairment and depression. However, whether metabolic syndrome adds to cognitive impairment and depression in patients who already have CSVD remained unanswered. The aim of our study was to investigate the association of metabolic syndrome with cognitive impairment and depression in patients with CSVD who have lacunar lesions or white matter hyperintensities. This prospective cohort study was conducted at Neurology Clinic, Clinical Center, Kragujevac, Serbia. Main outcomes of the study were cognitive assessment, and assessment of depression among hospitalized patients with or without CSVD. The study included 74 inpatients, 25 of them having lacunary infarctions, 24 with the white matter hyperintensities, and 25 control patients without CSVD. The CSVD was accompanied by impairment of cognition and depression, the patients with lacunary lesions being more cognitively impaired and more depressive than the patients with the white matter hyperintensities. The patients with CSVD who also had metabolic syndrome were more cognitively impaired and depressed than the patients with CSVD alone. In conclusion, our study showed that metabolic syndrome is associated with further worsening of already impaired cognition and existing depression in patients with CSVD

Meat in traditional Serbian cuisine

The use of meat in traditional Serbian cuisine can be divided into three periods. The first period is the time from the arrival of Slavs in the Balkans, through the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. The second period, the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, can be marked as special due to significant changes that impacted traditional Serbian cuisine, compared to the first period. It was a period during which the Europeanization of Serbia took place in all spheres of life, including cuisine. After World War II, Serbia and many surrounding countries eperienced a great surge in industrialization in all economic fields, including that of food production. The last sixty years has seen the globalization of our food supply, with food being transported globally from one part of the world to another, and which resulted in neglected traditional, local cuisines. Therefore, many countries, including Serbia, recognize a need for preserving traditional cuisine. This recognition has initiated several mechanisms for maintaining Europe’s gastronomic heritage. Preservation of traditional cuisine in Serbia has special significance for tourism development