Alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in children with respiratory disease

Cilj: Prikazati elektroforetsku sliku izoenzima ALP u serumu dojenčadi i djece koja su u tijeku akutne respiracijske bolesti imala povećanu ukupnu katalitičku aktivnost ALP. Ispitanici i metode: Prikazani su rezultati u 21 djeteta (od toga 17 dojenčadi), 8 djevojčica i 13 dječaka, u dobi od 2 mjeseca do 8 godina, hospitaliziranih zbog respiracijskih bolesti. U serumu djece određena je ukupna katalitička aktivnost ALP i provedeno elektroforetsko razdvajanje izoenzima ALP. Rezultati: Osmoro djece (38,1%) je u tijeku hospitalizacije imalo povećanu ukupnu katalitičku aktivnost ALP (raspon od 528 do 5622 U/L). Tipičnu sliku benigne prolazne hiperfosfatazemije, koja podrazumijeva pojavu brze anodne frakcije (brža od jetrene frakcije) i tzv. katodne frakcije (brža od koštane frakcije), imalo je petero djece. Izoenzim nalik placentalnom izoenzimu izdvojio se u dvoje djece. Izraženu koštanu frakciju, ali i frakciju nalik placentalnoj imalo je dijete s rahitisom. Predjetreni oblik ALP otkriven je kod dvoje djece, a jetreni izoenzim u jednog djeteta. Zaključak: Akutna respiracijska bolest u dojenčadi i djece može imati za posljedicu prolazno povećanje katalitičke aktivnosti ALP odnosno pojavu različitih izoenzimskih vrpca, primjerice brze anodne i tzv. katodne frakcije (kod prolazne hiperfosfatazemije), predjetrene frakcije i frakcije koja odgovara placentalnom izoenzimu. Prolazna hiperfosfatazemija se dokazuje nakon što se ukupna aktivnost ALP značajno smanji odnosno vrati u referentne raspone unutar 3-4 mjeseca. U tom slučaju daljnje analize nisu potrebne.Aim: To present the electrophoretic pattern of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzymes in serum of infants and children exhibiting increased total ALP catalytic activity in the course of acute respiratory disease. Subjects and methods: Results obtained in 21 children (17 of them infants), including 13 male and eight female children aged 2 months to 8 years, hospitalized for respiratory diseases are presented. Total ALP catalytic activity was determined and electrophoretic separation of ALP isoenzymes was performed in children\u27s sera. Results: Increased total ALP catalytic activity (range, 528-5622 U/L) during hospital stay was recorded in eight (38.1%) children. A typical picture of be-nign transient hyperphosphatasemia (TH), which implies the occurrence of fast anodal fraction (faster than hepatic fraction) and near-cathode fraction (faster than bone fraction), was recorded in five children. The placental-like isoenzyme was detected in two children. Expression of bone fraction and placental-like fraction was recorded in a rachitic child. Prehepatic ALP was expressed in two children, and hepatic ALP isoenzyme in one child. Conclusion: Acute respiratory disease in infants and children may entail transient increase in the ALP catalytic activity with the occurrence of various isoenzyme bands such as fast anodal and near-cathode fraction (in TH), prehepatic fraction and placental-like fraction. TH is verified when total ALP activity has decreased and returned to reference intervals. In this case, no additional testing is required

Current account imbalances in the EMU: An assessment of official policy responses

To handle the sovereign debt crisis in general and macroeconomic imbalances in particular the leading EU institutions and the Troika (European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund) adopted two broad approaches: The short-term approach is based on enhancing the Stability and Growth Pact and to impose fiscal austerity on crisis countries. The medium- to long-term strategy consists of internal devaluation via reducing wage costs. Both approaches were combined with structural adjustment programs in the spirit of the Washington Consensus. The Troika’s policy implies an asymmetric adjustment process burdening only crisis countries. It led to the shrinking of demand and output in crisis countries comparable to the Great Depression and brought the European Monetary Union to the edge of deflation. These polices must be judged as mislead increasing the risk of Japanese disease with more than one lost decade

Zinc biofortification of bread winter wheat grain by single zinc foliar application

Wheat grain Zn concentration has important implications for Zn dietary intake in humans. Zn biofortification of wheat by Zn foliar application has been recognized as an efficient tool to enhance grain Zn level. In Serbia, wheat is a staple crop, and no attention is paid to wheat grain as a source of Zn. For the first time, we investigated the effect of Zn foliar application on grain Zn concentration and yield of high-yielding local bread wheat cultivars in Serbia as potential to improve Zn intake in local population. Field experiments were conducted over two growing seasons at two sites located in Vojvodina Province. Zn was applied by spraying of 0.5% water solution of ZnSO4 at the end of flowering stage. Zn foliar application had no significant effect on grain yield. Significant increases of Zn grain concentration resulted from Zn treatment in all of five cultivars tested, ranging from 15 to 49%. No significant difference between the two sites was found in the mean increase in grain Zn concentration by Zn foliar application compared with the control. No correlation was found between grain yield and grain Zn concentration, implying that high grain yields common in intensive wheat production in Serbia do not limit Zn biofortification of grain by Zn foliar application. Zn biofortification of wheat grain by a single foliar spray at the end of the flowering stage can be recommended as an efficient tool to increase Zn intake in human population and prevent low dietary Zn intake

Validation of Diagnostic Accuracy and Disease Severity Correlation of Chest Computed Tomography Severity Scores in Patients with COVID-19 Pneumonia

The aim of our study was to establish and compare the diagnostic accuracy and clinical applicability of published chest CT severity scoring systems used for COVID-19 pneumonia assessment and to propose the most efficient CT scoring system with the highest diagnostic performance and the most accurate prediction of disease severity. This retrospective study included 218 patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and chest CT. Two radiologists blindly evaluated CT scans and calculated nine different CT severity scores (CT SSs). The diagnostic validity of CT SSs was tested by ROC analysis. Interobserver agreement was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.982–0.995). The predominance of either consolidations or a combination of consolidations and ground-glass opacities (GGOs) was a predictor of more severe disease (both p < 0.005), while GGO prevalence alone was not. Correlation between all CT SSs was high, ranging from 0.848 to 0.971. CT SS 30 had the highest diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.805) in discriminating mild from severe COVID-19 disease compared to all the other proposed scoring systems (AUC range 0.755–0.788). In conclusion, CT SS 30 achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy in predicting the severity of COVID-19 disease while maintaining simplicity, reproducibility, and applicability in complex clinical settings

1 CLASS PS PROBLEMS BY

Definition of class PS Deterministic polynomial space bounded turing machine Non-deterministic polynomial space bounded turing machin