Determination of Population Structure of Wheat Core Collection for Association Mapping

The microsatellites, as one of the most robust markers for identification of wheat varieties, were used for assessment of genetic diversity and population structure to promote effective use of genetic resources. In this study, the set of 284 wheat varieties were genotyped using 30 microsatellite markers. The chosen SSR markers were located among almost all linkage groups and covered all three genomes. The genotypes used originate from 24 different breeding centers worldwide and are included in an extensive core collection of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. The total number of detected alleles was 349 at all analyzed loci. The average number of detected allelic variant per locus was 11.5. The mean value of polymorphic information content was 0.68. According to the probability of data obtained by program Structure, the results have shown presence of 6 subpopulations within the studied set of genotypes. The population structure positively correlated to some extent with geographic origin. The available pedigree data were included for additional explanation of population structure. The results of this study should provide valuable information for future association studies using the diverse wheat breeding material

Genesis of sociological periodicals in Serbia: Faculties of law in Belgrade and Subotica professors' contribution to the establishment of sociological periodicals between the two World Wars

The first sociological journals in Serbia appeared in 1920, Društveni život (Social life), and in 1938 Sociološki pregled (Sociological review). The key role in initiation and publication of these journals have had professors of faculties of law in Belgrade and Subotica, led by professors Mirko M. Kosić and Đorđe Tasić. In addition to these journals important role in this area had also 'Biblioteka javnog prava' (Series on the Public Law), series 'Politika i društvo' (Politics and Society) and a paper Napred (Forward), edited by professor Mihailo Ilić. These professors, together with their colleagues from Belgrade's Faculty of Law, have given a substantial contribution to the development of sociological periodicals in Serbia. By acting in this way they have invested a substantial effort in establishing sociology in Serbia, on the theoretical heritage of French and, to a significantly smaller extent, German sociology. These sociological journals and series would cease to be published after a few years due to lack of financial resources, war, and post-war rigid rule of the Communist party manifested in lack of support for science and periodical publications. Now liberated country saw a dark period for all social sciences. This situation had specifically affected sociology and sociological periodical which had practically vanished. Despite that, the heritage left by Kosić, Tasić and Ilić and their associates (with two professional sociological journals, two acclaimed book series, and one progressive paper) have been useful in the sixties of XX century to their successors at the University of Belgrade as a solid foundation for constituting sociology as a scientific and academic discipline in Serbia

Telmisartan in daily clinical practice: Factors affecting efficacy in treatment of primary arterial hypertension

<b>Background:</b> Telmisartan provides effective treatment of hypertension in a broad spectrum of patients. <b>Aims:</b> To evaluate factors affecting the efficacy of telmisartan in daily clinical practice. <b> Setting and Design:</b> Prospective practice-based 12-week uncontrolled cohort study. <b> Materials and Methods:</b> Consecutive incident/prevalent outpatients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were started on telmisartan 40 mg/day with optional up-titration to 80 mg/day in order to achieve seated systolic (SSBP) and diastolic (SDBP) blood pressure &#60; 140/90 mm Hg. Intent-to-treat (ITT, N=282) and per protocol (PP, N=275) efficacy assessment was based on SSBP/SDBP reduction and delivered doses. <b>Results:</b> SSBP/SDBP decreased (165.2&#x00B1;13.1 / 98.3&#x00B1;6.7 mm Hg to 137.9&#x00B1;13.2 / 82.6&#x00B1;7.3 mm Hg), whilst telmisartan was up-titrated in 40.5&#x0025; of patients during the study. Multivariate (practically identical ITT and PP) analysis indicated poorer response in obese vs. non-obese patients: lesser SDBP reduction (by around 2.2-2.3 mm Hg, <i> P</i> &#60; 0.05) with higher odds of dose up-titration (odds ratio, OR around 1.90, <i> P</i> &#60; 0.05); and better response in: a) patients started on telmisartan monotherapy than when added to a preexisting treatment: greater SSBP/SDBP reduction (by around 4.0 and 3.0 mm Hg, respectively, <i> P</i> &#60; 0.05) with comparable odds of up-titration; b) diabetics vs. non-diabetics: greater SDBP reduction (by around 3.6-3.7 mm Hg, <i> P</i> &#60; 0.05) with comparable odds of up-titration; c) men vs. women: slightly greater SDBP reduction (by around 1.2 mm Hg, 0.05<<i> P</i> &#60; 0.1) with lower odds of up-titration (OR around 0.51, <i> P</i> &#60; 0.05). <b>Conclusion: </b>Previous unsuccessful treatment, obesity, diabetes and gender should be considered in order to optimize the use of telmisartan for mild to moderate essential hypertension in daily clinical practice

Telmisartan in Daily Clinical Practice: Factors Affecting Efficacy in Treatment of Primary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Telmisartan provides effective treatment of hypertension in a broad spectrum of patients. Aims: To evaluate factors affecting the efficacy of telmisartan in daily clinical practice. Setting and Design: Prospective practice-based 12-week uncontrolled cohort study. Materials and Methods: Consecutive incident/prevalent outpatients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were started on telmisartan 40 mg/day with optional up-titration to 80 mg/day in order to achieve seated systolic (SSBP) and diastolic (SDBP) blood pressure < 140/90 mm Hg. Intent-to-treat (ITT, N=282) and per protocol (PP, N=275) efficacy assessment was based on SSBP/SDBP reduction and delivered doses. Results: SSBP/SDBP decreased (165.2±13.1 / 98.3±6.7 mm Hg to 137.9±13.2 / 82.6±7.3 mm Hg), whilst telmisartan was up-titrated in 40.5% of patients during the study. Multivariate (practically identical ITT and PP) analysis indicated poorer response in obese vs. non-obese patients: lesser SDBP reduction (by around 2.2-2.3 mm Hg, P < 0.05) with higher odds of dose up-titration (odds ratio, OR around 1.90, P < 0.05); and better response in: a) patients started on telmisartan monotherapy than when added to a preexisting treatment: greater SSBP/SDBP reduction (by around 4.0 and 3.0 mm Hg, respectively, P < 0.05) with comparable odds of up-titration; b) diabetics vs. non-diabetics: greater SDBP reduction (by around 3.6-3.7 mm Hg, P < 0.05) with comparable odds of up-titration; c) men vs. women: slightly greater SDBP reduction (by around 1.2 mm Hg, 0.05< P < 0.1) with lower odds of up-titration (OR around 0.51, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Previous unsuccessful treatment, obesity, diabetes and gender should be considered in order to optimize the use of telmisartan for mild to moderate essential hypertension in daily clinical practice

Dexamethasone for adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis: 20 years of experience in daily practice

The aim of the study was to assess adjunctive intravenous dexamethasone in adult community-acquired bacterial meningitis (BM) in daily practice. Analysis of consecutive patients (1990-2009) with acute community-acquired bacterial meningitis in a single centre in Zagreb, Croatia, N = 304. Adjusted relative risks [RR, dexamethasone vs. no dexamethasone (control)] of Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) = 1 (death) and GOS = 5 (full recovery) at discharge/end of specific treatment were estimated considering demographics; co-morbidity; BM pathogenesis and on-admission characteristics, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inflammation markers; causative agent and antibiotic use. Two hundred forty (79%) patients had proven BM (43.1% Streptococcus pneumoniae, any other agent ≤ 8.2%). No independent effects of dexamethasone on GOS = 1 or GOS = 5 were observed in the entire cohort (dexamethasone n = 119, control n = 185; RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.77-1.45 and RR = 0.99, CI 0.83-1.20, respectively), microbiologically proven disease (dexamethasone n = 104, control n = 136; RR = 0.97, CI 0.69-1.38 and RR = 1.03, CI 0.82-1.28), pneumococcal disease (dexamethasone n = 71, control n = 60; RR = 0.95, CI 0.53-1.70 and RR = 0.82, CI 0.57-1.18), and also in other BM, subgroups based on consciousness disturbance, CSF markers, prior use of antibiotics and timing of appropriate antibiotic treatment. CSF markers did not predict the outcomes. Conclusions: Our experience does not substantiate the reported benefits of adjunctive dexamethasone in adult BM. Socio-economic and methodological factors do not seem to explain this discrepancy. Empirical use of dexamethasone in this setting appears controversial

Intracranial tumors in adult population of the Varaždin County (Croatia) 1996-2004: a population-based retrospective incidence study

Aim: To estimate the incidence of intracranial tumors in the adult population of the Varazdin County, Croatia, for the 1996-2004 period. - - - - - Methods: Setting: Varazdin County General Hospital and four university hospitals in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Study period: January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2004. Incident patients: county residents admitted for newly diagnosed intracranial tumors according to the WHO diagnostic criteria. Demographic data were extracted from the 2001 Croatian census. Incidence rates (IRs) per 100,000 person-years (p-y) and annual IRs (per 100,000 persons) were determined and compared as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% CI. - - - - - Results: For primary intracranial tumors (PITs), IR was 12.1/100,000 p-y (95% CI: 10.3-14.2), comparable in men and women. The highest incidence was recorded for glioblastoma (IR 4.8, 3.7-6.2) and meningioma (IR 3.1, 2.2-4.2). The incidence of PIT was somewhat greater than that of metastatic tumors (IRR 1.58, 95% CI: 1.22-2.05, P = 40 vs. population aged <= 39 (all IRRs with 95% CI greater than 1, P < 0.05 or < 0.001), comparable in men and women. Women were somewhat older than men at the time of diagnosis of PIT: median difference -6 years (95.1% CI: -10 to -1, P < 0.05). Annual IRs for all these tumor categories showed increasing trends over the study period. - - - - - Conclusion: Overall, there was an increasing trend in the incidence of primary intracranial tumors in the Varazdin County. Data did not allow estimation for most of the specific tumor types

Relationships among oil content, protein content and grain yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.)

Assessment of health-beneficial chemicals in wheat grain and oran, such as proteins and oil is important for the breeding due to increased consume: cernands ior healthier food. Also, it is very important to know their relationships with the grein yield and to what extent they could be modified by growing conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate oil and protein contents, as well as grain yield of 25 winter wheat (Triticum aestivum, L.) varieties and to establish correlations among these traits in different environments. The field studies were performed on three different experimental sites in Serbia during two growing seasons (2009/10 and 2010/11). The investigated locations representing Serbia’s most important wheat-growing areas: Rimski Sancevi (45°20’N, 19°51'F 37 m altitude), Sremska Mitrovica (46°06'N, 19°33'E, 83 m altitude) and Pancevo (44°50 N, 20°40°E, 76 m altitude). The oil was extracted from wheat bran obtained by laboratory mi! MLU 202. Classical Rushkovsky method was used to determine oil content, while protein content was determined by the ICC 105/2 method. Significant variability was found among the genotypes for all analysed traits. In the six environments, the oil content varied from 2 “> 5.6%. with the average value of 3.8% and coefficient of variation (CV) 15.7%. The protein content ranged from 11.2% to 17.8% with the CV of 5.4%, while the grain yield varied fram 2.3 to 9.8 t/ha, with the CV of 17.8%. The average genotypic values for all environments have shown negative correlation between protein content and grain yield (r=-0.739**). This correlation was highly significant in three (E3, E4 and £6) out of six environments, while significant positive correlation between oil content and grain yield (r=0.441*) was found only in Ee. The established correlations between the traits are highly environmentally dependant and co. » modified by variable growing conditions. It will be very valuable for breeding process to identufy climatic variables and growing conditions that modify unwanted correlations, 2s well as to identify genotypes in which these correlations are not expressed !n orce iow successful breeding for improvement of both traits at the same time. For positive correlations it is also useful to know the favourable conditions in which they can be maximiz