Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter spp.: A review of the literature

Campylobacter spp. are commensal organisms in the intestinal tract of food producing and companion animals. There is an increasing trend of human campylobacteriosis worldwide, including complicated cases that request treatment by antibiotics. Prevalence of resistance continually increases, especially to fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines. There are many reports on multiresistant strains of Campylobacter spp. In this work we present the available information about the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. worldwide, as well as studies from Serbia published in last two decades. Campylobacter strains isolated from animal samples in Serbia showed increased prevalence of antimicrobial resistance to all clinically relevant antibiotics. Preliminary data (2014 2019) from Reference laboratory for Campylobacter and Helicobacter at the Institute of Public Health of Nis, Serbia show high resistance rates to ciprofloxacin (90%) and to tetracycline (50%) but low resistance to erythromycin (<5%) in human Campylobacter isolates

Changes in cardiac Na+/K+-ATPase expression and activity in female rats fed a high fat diet

This work is supported by the Grant Nos. 173033 and III41028 from the Ministry of Science, Republic of Serbia.The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence of endogenous estradiol alters the effects of a high-fat (HF) diet on activity/expression of the cardiac Na+/K+-ATPase, via PI3K/IRS and RhoA/ROCK signalling cascades in female rats. For this study, female Wistar rats (8 weeks old, 150–200 g) were fed a standard diet or a HF diet (balanced diet for laboratory rats enriched with 42% fat) for 10 weeks. The results show that rats fed a HF diet exhibited a decrease in phosphorylation of the α1 subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase by 30% (p < 0.05), expression of total α1 subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase by 31% (p < 0.05), and association of IRS1 with p85 subunit of PI3K by 42% (p < 0.05), while the levels of cardiac RhoA and ROCK2 were significantly increased by 84% (p < 0.01) and 62% (p < 0.05), respectively. Our results suggest that a HF diet alters cardiac Na+/K+-ATPase expression via molecular mechanisms involving RhoA/ROCK and IRS-1/PI3K signalling in female rats.PostprintPeer reviewe

Analysis of the Impact of Oral Health on Adolescent Quality of Life Using Standard Statistical Methods and Artificial Intelligence Algorithms

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral health on adolescent quality of life and to compare the results obtained using standard statistical methods and artificial intelligence algorithms. In order to measure the impact of oral health on adolescent quality of life, a validated Serbian version of the Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) scale was used. The total sample comprised 374 respondents. The obtained results were processed using standard statistical methods and machine learning, i.e., artificial intelligence algorithms&mdash;singular value decomposition. OIDP score was dichotomized into two categories depending on whether the respondents had or did not have oral or teeth problems affecting their life quality. Human intuition and machine algorithms came to the same conclusion on how the respondents should be divided. As such, method quality and the need to perform analyses of this type in dentistry studies were demonstrated. Using artificial intelligence algorithms, the respondents can be clustered into characteristic groups that allow the discovery of details not possible with the intuitive division of respondents by gender

Probable Bruxism and Psychological Issues among Dental Students in Serbia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the routine way of life, having consequences in many segments of life, including dental practice and education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of probable bruxism in a sample of dental students in Serbia and to estimate the potential association between psychological factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the presence of bruxism. A cross-sectional study included 178 dental students in Serbia, who were interviewed using a specially-designed self-administered online questionnaire, which consisted of three sections, and after that, a clinical examination for the presence of bruxism symptoms in the oral cavity. Psychological status was evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). Saliva samples were taken to analyze salivary cortisol levels. The prevalence of probable bruxism was 34.8%. Respondents with probable bruxism had significantly higher DASS-21 and FCV-19S scores and mean values of salivary cortisol compared to non-bruxers. A history of COVID-19 infection, high stress, and fear of COVID-19 scores were associated with the presence of probable bruxism. The findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great psychological impact and impact on the presence and worsening of bruxism symptoms in a sample of dental students in Serbia