CLINICALLY SIGNIFICANT PHARMACOKINETIC INTERACTIONS OF ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS

Antiepileptic drugs show clinically significant interactions among themselves as well as with other medications, because of a specific pharmacokinetic profile and relatively small therapeutic spectrum. The most significant clinical interactions of AE occur during their metabolism and distribution. In the combined antiepileptic therapy, it is very important to know the order of application of AE because of their influence on liver enzymes and the affinity to attach to plasma proteins. The AE with shorter half-time elimination have a greater potential for interaction which is why therapy monitoring is recommended. Populational pharmacokinetic analysis can provide significant information concerning interactions of AE with other medications. Vulnerable, pediatric population is under a special risk of developing interactions alongside patients with liver and kidney function damage

Effect of chemical composition on the microstructure, hardness and electrical conductivity profiles of the Bi-Ge-In alloys

In this study, the microstructure, hardness, and electrical properties of selected ternary Bi-Ge-In alloys were investigated. Isothermal sections of the Bi-Ge-In system at 25, 200, and 300 ° C were extrapolated using optimized thermodynamic parameters from the literature. The used experimental techniques include optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS), Brinell hardness, and electrical conductivity measurements. The results of EDS phase composition analysis were compared with the calculated isothermal sections and a good overall agreement was reached. The results of the XRD were also in line with the predicted phase balance. By using ANOVA analysis and experimental results of Brinell hardness and electrical conductivity, a mathematical model was suggested for the calculation of these properties along with all composition ranges. The appropriated mathematical model was subsequently used for the prediction of hardness and electrical conductivity throughout the whole composition range

Mechanical and electrical properties of the Bi-Ge-Sn alloys

Mechanical and electrical properties of the ternary Bi-Ge-Sn alloys were investigated in this study. Calculation of isothermal section at 200, 300, and 25 ºC was carried out by using optimized thermodynamic parameters for the constitutive binary systems. Microstructures of alloys were observed by using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Phases in microstructures have been detected by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and compositions of the phase by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). EDS results were compared with the predicted isothermal section at 200 and 300 ºC, and good agreement has been reached between them. The Brinell hardness and electrical conductivity of selected alloys were measured.  Through ANOVA analysis and application of the obtained results, an appropriate mathematical model is proposed for every composition of alloys. By using the appropriated mathematical model for Brinell hardness and electrical conductivity, isolines for those properties were presented

Pomološke i proizvodne osobine nekih novijih sorti šljive

Plum assortment in Serbia is dominated by old autochthonous cultivars, well-known cultivar ‘Stanley’ and cultivars named and released in Fruit Research Institute, Čačak such as: ‘Čačanska lepotica’, ‘Čačanska rodna’, ‘Čačanska rana’ and ‘Čačanska najbolja’. In order to fulfill different demands of fresh fruit market and achieve better results in modern plum production, it is necessary, among other things, to introduce new cultivars. Before introduction of new cultivars in orchards, significant evaluation of these cultivars in environmental conditions of region they are being introduced is required. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the most importand pomological and productive traits of six introduced plum cultivars: ‘Hanita’, ‘Jojo’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Presenta’, ‘Tegera’ and ‘Valor’. The most important phenological (flowering and ripening time), and morphometric traits (fruit and stone weight, fruit dimensions and flash percentage), as well as tree vigour (trunk cross section area) and cropping potential (yield per tree and yield efficiency) were evaluated. Flowering phenofase in all examined cultivars lasted during the second decade of april, whereby flowering abundance was estimated as very good. The largest fruit weight, and fruit dimensions (height, width and thickness) were determined in ‘Valor’, whereas the largest stone weight and tree vigour were determined in ‘Jubileum’. The largest flesh percentage was found in cultivars ‘Jojo’, ‘Tegera’ and ‘Valor’. Cultivars ‘Presenta’ and ‘Jojo’ had largest yield per tree, while ‘Jojo’ had the highest yield efficiency.U sortimentu šljive u Srbiji dominiraju stare, authtone sorte, dobro poznata sorta ‘Stanley’ i sorte stvorene u Institutu za voćarstvo, Čačak, pre svih ‘Čačanska lepotica’, ‘Čačanska rodna’, ‘Čačanska rana’ i ‘Čačanska najbolja’. Da bi se zadovoljili različiti zahtevi tržišta i postigli što bolji rezultati u savremenoj proizvodnji šljive, neophodno je, između ostalog, introdukovati nove sorte. Pre uvođenja u proizvodnju, ove sorte zahtevaju značajno ispitivanje u ekološkim uslovima regiona u koji se introdukuju. Cilj ovog rada je bio da se ispitaju najznačajnije pomološke i proizvodne osobine šest introdukovanih sorti šljive: ‘Hanita’, ‘Jojo’, ‘Jubileum’, ‘Presenta’, ‘Tegera’ i ‘Valor’. Ispitivane su najznačajnije fenološke (fenofaza cvetanja i sazrevanja plodova) i morfometrijske osobine (masa i dimenzije ploda, masa koštice i randman mezokarpa ploda), kao i bujnost (površina poprečnog preseka debla) i rodnost (prinos po stablu i koeficijent rodnosti). Fenofaza cvetanja je kod svih ispitivanih sorti trajala tokom druge dekade aprila u obe ispitivane godine, pri čemu je obilnost cvetanja ocenjena kao veoma dobra. Najveća masa, visina, širina i debljina ploda su utvrđeni kod sorte ‘Valor’, dok su najveća masa koštice i bujnost stabla utvrđeni kod sorte ‘Jubileum’. Najveći randman ploda imale su sorte ‘Jojo’, ‘Tegera’ i ‘Valor’. Sorte ‘Presenta’ i ‘Jojo’ su imale najveći prinos po stablu, dok je sorta ‘Jojo’ imala i najveći koeficijent rodnosti

Biološko-pomološke osobine autohtonih sorti šljive u agroekološkim uslovima Čačka

This study was carried out to determine basic biological and pomological traits of eight ex situ autochthonous plum cultivars (‘Belošljiva Ljubić’, ‘Bugarka’, ‘Cerovački piskavac’, ‘Crnošljiva’, ‘Crvena ranka’, ‘Dragačevka’, ‘Papračanka’ and ‘Petrovača’) during two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). Examination included investigation of the main phenological properties (flowering and ripening time), morphometrical (fruit and stone weight and flesh percentage) and sensorial properties of fruit (fruit scin and flesh colour, flesh firmness and stone adherence), as well as vigour (trunk cross sectional area) and cropping potential (yield per tree and yield efficiency). Studied plum cultivars flowered from the end of the first to the mid of the third decade of April and ripened during the third decade of July and the first and the second decade of August. The highest vigour and yield per tree was found in cultivar ‘Dragačevka’, while the highest yield efficiency was observed in cultivar ‘Cerovački piskavac’. Cultivar ‘Belošljiva Ljubić’ had the highest values of fruit and stone weight. The highest velue of flesh percentage was observed in cultivar ‘Dragačevka’. Dark-blue fruit skin colour was dominant, while flesh colour varied from yellowish green to yellow. Flesh was medium firm to firm and non adherent, semi adherent or adherent to the stone.Ispitivanja obuhvaćena ovim radom su sprovedena sa ciljem determinacije najvažnijih biološko-pomoloških osobina osam autohtonih sorti šljive (Belošljiva Ljubić, Bugarka, Cerovački piskavac, Crnošljiva, Crvena ranka, Dragačevka, Papračanka i Petrovača) u ex situ uslovima tokom 2015. i 2016. godine. Proučavane su najznačajnije fenološke osobine (fenofaze cvetanja i sazrevanja plodova), morfometrijske (masa ploda i koštice, randman mezokarpa ploda) i senzorne osobine ploda (boja pokožice i mezokarpa ploda, čvrstina mezokarpa i stepen prijanjanja koštice), kao i bujnost (površina poprečnog preseka debla) i rodnost (prinos po stablu i koeficijent rodnosti). Proučavani genotipovi šljive su cvetali od kraja prve do sredine treće dekade aprila, a sazrevali tokom treće dekade jula i prve i druge dekade avgusta. Najvećom bujnošću i najvišim prinosom po stablu se odlikovala sorta Dragačevka, dok je najviši indeks rodnosti utvrđen kod sorte Cerovački piskavac. Najveća masa ploda i koštice su utvrđene kod sorte Belošljiva Ljubić, a najveći randman mezokarpa ploda kod sorte Dragačevka. Dominirala je tamno plava boja pokožice ploda. Mezokarp ploda je bio žute ili žuto-zelene boje, srednje čvrst do čvrst, dok je koštica bila slobodna, delimično slobodna ili je u potpunosti prijanjala za mezokarp ploda

Hypercalcemic type of small cell carcinoma of the ovary

© 2015, Institut za Vojnomedicinske Naucne Informacije/Documentaciju. All rights reserved. Introduction. Extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma is a rare, prognostically bad tumor category. Primary, it can be localized in every organ, even in the ovary, where, due to its clinical specifici-ties, it represents a challenge in diagnosis, as well as in therapy. Small cell ovarian carcinoma (SCOC) is biologically very aggres-sive malignant tumor of unknown histogenesis. We presented a rare case of SCOC with hypercalcemia of aggressive course and fatal outcome in a postmenopausal woman at International Fed-eration of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) Ia stage. Case re-port. A 60-year-old woman, Caucasian, came to the doctor be-cause of discomfort in the lower abdomen and pain of greater in-tensity in last few days. Ultrasound examination and CT scan of the abdomen confirmed the presence of large adnexal masses of cystic-solid appearance with the largest diameter of 13 cm, regu-lar structure of the other gynecological organs, without verifying the existence of metastatic deposits. All the results of laboratory analysis gave normal values, except for calcium, which was ele-vated. Explorative laparotomy with complete hysterectomy, bi-lateral salpingo-oophorectomy, dissection of lymph nodes and omentectomy were conducted. Based on pathohistological analy-sis of the operative material, SCOC at FIGO Ia stage was diag-nosed. No complications were observed in a postsurgery period and after 10 days the patient was discharged in a good condition and with normal calcemia. The treatment was continued with concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, in spite of overall treatment, the disease progressed, and the patient died of disseminated metastatic disease, 26 months after the diagnosis. Conclusion. Small cell carcinoma localized in the ovary is gener-ally a tumor category with bad prognosis depending on the stage of the disease

von Willebrand Factor and Oxidative Stress Parameters in Acute Coronary Syndromes

Considering the role of von Willebrand factor (vWf) in hemostasis, and the role of oxidative stress in the development of endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic disease, the aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between vWf, parameters of oxidative stress and different types of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Levels of vWf activity (vWfAct), vWf antigen (vWfAg), nitric oxide (estimated through nitrites–NO2 −), superoxide anion radical (O2 −), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), index of lipid peroxidation (estimated through thiobarbituric acid reactive substances–TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity of 115 patients were compared with those of 40 healthy controls. ACS patients had significantly higher vWfAct and vWfAg levels, as well as TBARS levels, while their levels of NO2 −, H2O2, SOD and CAT activities were lower than controls'. vWfAg showed high specificity and sensitivity as a test to reveal healthy or diseased subjects. Multivariant logistic regression marked only vWfAg and TBARS as parameters that were under independent effect of ACS type. The results of our study support the implementation of vWf in clinical rutine and into therapeutic targets, and suggest that ACS patients are in need of antioxidant supplementation to improve their impaired antioxidant defence

Experimental Evaluation of 300 degrees C section of Cu-In-Ni Phase Diagram, Hardness and Electrical Conductivity of Selected Alloy

The paper reports comparative experimental and thermodynamic calculation of a Cu-In-Ni ternary system. An isothermal section of the Cu-In-Ni system at 300 degrees C was extrapolated using optimized thermodynamic parameters for the constitutive binary systems from literature. Microstructural and phase composition analysis were carried out using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) technique. Brinell hardness and electrical conductivity of a selected number of alloy samples with compositions along three vertical sections (Cu-In0.5Ni0.5, In-Cu0.8Ni0.2, and x(In) = 0.4) of the studied Cu-In-Ni system were experimentally determined. Based on the obtained experimental results and by using appropriate mathematical models values of hardness and electrical conductivity for the whole ternary system were predicted. A close agreement between calculations and experimental results was obtained both in case of thermodynamic, electrical conductivity and hardness predictions

Involvement of proteasome activation

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia worldwide, characterized by a progressive decline in a variety of cognitive and non-cognitive functions. The amyloid beta protein cascade hypothesis places the formation of amyloid beta protein aggregates on the first position in the complex pathological cascade leading to neurodegeneration, and therefore AD might be considered to be a protein-misfolding disease. The Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS), being the primary protein degradation mechanism with a fundamental role in the maintenance of proteostasis, has been identified as a putative therapeutic target to delay and/or to decelerate the progression of neurodegenerative disorders that are characterized by accumulated/aggregated proteins. The purpose of this study was to test if the activation of proteasome in vivo can alleviate AD pathology. Specifically by using two compounds with complementary modes of proteasome activation and documented antioxidant and redox regulating properties in the 5xFAD transgenic mice model of AD, we ameliorated a number of AD related deficits. Shortly after proteasome activation we detected significantly reduced amyloid-beta load correlated with improved motor functions, reduced anxiety and frailty level. Essentially, to our knowledge this is the first report to demonstrate a dual activation of the proteasome and its downstream effects. In conclusion, these findings open up new directions for future therapeutic potential of proteasome-mediated proteolysis enhancement.publishersversionpublishe

DEFICIT IRRIGATION TECHNIQUE FOR REDUCING WATER USE OF TOMATO UNDER POLYTUNNEL CONDITIONS

The aim of paper was to asses the use of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) for production of two tomato cultivars (Cedrico and Abellus) in polytunnels in Serbia. RDI plants received 60% of the water that was applied to FI plants and significant saving of water for irrigation and increased in irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were achieved. Yield data for Cedrico cultivar showed no differences between RDI and FI, while due to the bigger sensitivity to drought, yield of Abellus was reduced under RDI. In general, fruit quality (soluble solids, titrable acidity) was sustained or improved in both cultivars under RDI. Economic analyses showed that due to the current low prices of water and electricity in Serbia, the profit increase of Cedrico, similarly to the previously trialed cultivar Amati, was not high under RDI comparing to FI. Reduction of yield and consequent profit for Abellus, indicated that for future commercial growing of tomato under RDI should be used drought resistant cultivars