The effect of antipsychotic drugs on nonspecific inflammation markers in the first episode of schizophrenia

Background/Aim. Immune system disorder, including inflammation, takes a significant place when considering still unclear etiology of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to determine the blood levels of nonspecific inflammation markers in the first episode of schizophrenia and their relation to the therapy response. Methods. In this study we determined the blood levels of nonspecific inflammation markers: white blood cells count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR) and the elements of differential white blood cell counts (or the leukocyte formula): granulocytes (Gra), lymphocytes (Lym) and monocytes (Mon), in the first episode of schizofrenia, in 78 patients hospitalized at the Clinic for Psychiatric Disorders “Dr Laza Lazarević” in Belgrade. The levels were measured at admission to the clinic, as well as after 4 weeks of antipsychotic treatment. The Positive and negative syndrome scale for schizophrenia (PANSS) was applied to measure the severity of psychopathology and response to the treatment. Results. During the first episode of schizophrenia, before initiation of antipsychotic treatment, the frequency of abnormal values was high (≥ 25% of the patients) for the following non-specific inflammation markers: WBC, CRP, ESR and Gra, in the leukocyte formula, but dropped after 4 weeks of antipsychotic treatment at the level of high statistical significance for WBC and Gra (p < 0.001). The ESR remained unchanged in as many as 50% of the patients even after 4-week antipsychotic treatment, at the level of statistical significance in the non-responders compared to the responders (p = 0.045). Conclusion. The obtained results indicate that in the first episode of schizophrenia the blood levels of non-specific inflammation markers (WBS, CRP, ESR and Gra from the leukocyte formula) were high in the subpopulation of patients with the tendency towards normalization of inflammation parameters after a 4-week antipsychotic treatment

Predictive value of cerebrospinal fluid visinin-like protein-1 levels for Alzheimer's disease early detection and differential diagnosis in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) recently emerged as a potential biomarker of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This neuronal calcium sensor protein previously used as a marker of acute ischemic stroke is elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of AD patients. The goal of this study was to assess CSF VILIP-1 potential in early AD diagnosis and in differentiating mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients with and without risk of AD. Additionally, we tested VILIP-1 ability to differentiate AD from other primary causes of dementia, and predict the progression of AD-related cognitive decline. VILIP-1 levels were compared with five CSF AD biomarkers (t-tau, Aβ1-42, p-tau181, p-tau199, and p-tau231). VILIP-1 successfully differentiated two MCI patient groups characterized by absence or presence of pathological levels of these CSF biomarkers, except for t-tau. VILIP-1/Aβ(1-42) and VILIP-1/p-tau181 ratios also differentiated MCI patients with pathological CSF biomarker levels. However, there was no difference in VILIP-1 levels between AD and MCI patients. VILIP-1/Aβ(1-42) and VILIP-1/p-tau231 ratios reached high sensitivities (above 70%) and very high specificities (above 85%) in differentiating AD patients from HC. Additionally, VILIP-1 differentiated AD from patients with Lewy body disease with 77.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity. VILIP-1 potential as a prognostic biomarker of cognitive decline in AD was also proved since VILIP-1/t-tau, VILIP-1/p-tau181, and VILIP-1/p-tau231 ratios correlated with MMSE scores. These data indicate that VILIP-1 alone or in combination with other AD CSF biomarkers represent a valuable marker for the early diagnosis of AD, recognition of MCI patients at higher risk to develop dementia, and in differentiating AD from LBD

Game of eclogue in humanism and renaissance - Arcadia, Ribanje i Planine

U radu se obrađuje tematika renesansne književnosti kroz odnose hrvatske i talijanske književnosti toga doba. Odabrana djela temeljni su kanon dviju književnosti, te se komparativnom analizom nastoji obraditi i prikazati razlike i sličnosti između djela. Uz analizu, obrađen je književno-povijesni kontekst renesanse koji daje dodatnu sliku istraženog razdoblja. Arkadija kao humanistički talijanski književni manifest renesanse utrla je put oblikovanju renesansnog puta na hrvatskom području. Renesansu na hrvatskom području, osim znakovitog talijanskog utjecaja, oblikovala je višestoljetna glagoljaška i pučka tradicija, te su ti elementi važan sastojak višeslojnih djela poput Ribanja i Planina. Ekloga kao središnji idiom rada, pojavljuje se u različitim varijantama, a hrvatska se djela u najvećoj mjeri uspoređuju s pastirskom eklogom Jacopa Sannazara. Važnost se isto tako usmjeruje prema raščlanjivanju vanjskog i unutarnjeg utjecaja u književnosti koje je za ovu tematiku od relevantne težine

Game of eclogue in humanism and renaissance - Arcadia, Ribanje i Planine

U radu se obrađuje tematika renesansne književnosti kroz odnose hrvatske i talijanske književnosti toga doba. Odabrana djela temeljni su kanon dviju književnosti, te se komparativnom analizom nastoji obraditi i prikazati razlike i sličnosti između djela. Uz analizu, obrađen je književno-povijesni kontekst renesanse koji daje dodatnu sliku istraženog razdoblja. Arkadija kao humanistički talijanski književni manifest renesanse utrla je put oblikovanju renesansnog puta na hrvatskom području. Renesansu na hrvatskom području, osim znakovitog talijanskog utjecaja, oblikovala je višestoljetna glagoljaška i pučka tradicija, te su ti elementi važan sastojak višeslojnih djela poput Ribanja i Planina. Ekloga kao središnji idiom rada, pojavljuje se u različitim varijantama, a hrvatska se djela u najvećoj mjeri uspoređuju s pastirskom eklogom Jacopa Sannazara. Važnost se isto tako usmjeruje prema raščlanjivanju vanjskog i unutarnjeg utjecaja u književnosti koje je za ovu tematiku od relevantne težine

Game of eclogue in humanism and renaissance - Arcadia, Ribanje i Planine

U radu se obrađuje tematika renesansne književnosti kroz odnose hrvatske i talijanske književnosti toga doba. Odabrana djela temeljni su kanon dviju književnosti, te se komparativnom analizom nastoji obraditi i prikazati razlike i sličnosti između djela. Uz analizu, obrađen je književno-povijesni kontekst renesanse koji daje dodatnu sliku istraženog razdoblja. Arkadija kao humanistički talijanski književni manifest renesanse utrla je put oblikovanju renesansnog puta na hrvatskom području. Renesansu na hrvatskom području, osim znakovitog talijanskog utjecaja, oblikovala je višestoljetna glagoljaška i pučka tradicija, te su ti elementi važan sastojak višeslojnih djela poput Ribanja i Planina. Ekloga kao središnji idiom rada, pojavljuje se u različitim varijantama, a hrvatska se djela u najvećoj mjeri uspoređuju s pastirskom eklogom Jacopa Sannazara. Važnost se isto tako usmjeruje prema raščlanjivanju vanjskog i unutarnjeg utjecaja u književnosti koje je za ovu tematiku od relevantne težine

Investigation of control structures for a four‐product laboratory multiple dividing‐wall column using dynamic simulation

Multiple dividing‐wall columns offer high investment and energy cost savings in distillation. To ensure these savings during operation, robust control structures must be applied. Three basically simple and practical control structures were investigated for a simplified multiple dividing‐wall column. All three control structures allow a robust control of the laboratory column. The dynamic behavior of a multiple dividing‐wall column pilot plant is evaluated by means of dynamic simulation. Three different control structures are developed or adapted from the literature, which are constrained by the actual design features of the pilot plant column. Since in the present case the design of the column was chosen such that very different mixtures can be separated, it cannot be optimally designed for each of these potential mixtures. Rather, the design focused on the flexibility of the plant. All three investigated control structures were tested on feed flow rate and feed composition disturbance and allowed a robust control of the pilot plant, whereby control structure 2 is slightly better than others in terms of steady‐state deviations and less pronounced fluctuations during the dynamic phase. The transferability of control structure 2 to other variants of multiple dividing‐wall columns is easily possible