Gel-combustion synthesis of CoSb2O6 and its reduction to powdery Sb2Co alloy

Sb2Co alloy in powdery form was synthesized via reduction with gaseous hydrogen of the oxide CoSb2O6, obtained by the citrate gel-combustion technique. The precursor was an aqueous solution of antimony nitrate, cobalt nitrate and citric acid. The precursor solution with mole ratio Co(II)/Sb(V) of 1:2 was gelatinized by evaporation of water. The gel was heated in air up to the temperature of self-ignition. The product of gel combustion was a mixture of oxides and it had to be additionally thermally treated in order to be converted to pure CoSb2O6. The reduction of CoSb2O6 by gaseous hydrogen yielded powdery Sb2Co as the sole phase. The process of oxide reduction to alloy was controlled by thermogravimetry, while X-ray diffractometry was used to control the phase compositions of both the oxides and alloys

The significance of adiponectin as a biomarker in metabolic syndrome and/or coronary artery disease

© 2015, Institut za Vojnomedicinske Naucne Informacije/Documentaciju. All rights reserved. Background/Aim. Adiponectin exerts profound protective actions during insulin resistence or prediabetes progression towards more severe clinical entities such as metabolic syndrome and/or cardiovascular disease. Since hypoadiponectinaemia contributes to the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease the level of circulating adiponectin may be an early marker of cardiovascular events. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between serum adiponectin levels and parameters of both insulin sensitivity and obesity in patients with the metabolic syndrome and/or coronary artery disease, as well as to assess predictive value of adiponectin serum levels as a biomarker of these entitetis. Methods. The study included 100 patients with metabolic syndrome and/or coronary artery disease with different degree of insulin resistance and healthy, normoglycemic individuals. The control group comprising healthy, normoglycemic individuals was used for comparison. Serum level of adiponectin, fasting glucose, fasting insulinemia Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMAIR) index and anthropometric parameters were determined in all the subjects. Adiponectin was measured by using the ultrasensitive ELISA method. Insulinemia was measured by the radioimmunoassay (RIA) method. The presence of glycemic disorders was assessed on the basis of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Results. Adiponectin level was inversely correlated with age (ϱ = - 0.015), parameters of both obesity (R = 0.437; p < 0.001) and insulin resistance (R = 0.374; p < 0.01). Decreasing in the level of adiponectin was strongly implicated in the development of insulin resistance. Most importantly, a statistically significant rapid decrease in adiponectin was in the prediabetic stages (p < 0.01). The predictor value of adiponectin was 1,356.32 ± 402.65 рg/mL. Conclusions. The obtained resultats suggest that adiponectin may be a useful marker in identification of individuals with risk of developing metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease, as well as a predictor of prediabetes

Risk factors for brain metastases in surgically staged IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy

mortality among patients with carcinomas. The aim of this study was to point out risk factors for brain metastases (BM) appearance in patients with IIIA (N2) stage of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with three-modal therapy. Methods. We analyzed data obtained from 107 patients with IIIA (N2) stage of NSCLC treated surgically with neoadjuvant therapy. The frequency of brain metastases was examined regarding age, sex, histological type and the size of tumor, nodal status, the sequence of radiotherapy and chemotherapy application and the type of chemotherapy. Results. Two and 3-year incidence rates of BM were 35% and 46%, respectively. Forty-six percent of the patients recurred in the brain as their first failure in the period of three years. Histologically, the patients with nonsquamous cell lung carcinoma had significantly higher frequency of metastases in the brain compared with the group of squamous cell lung carcinoma (46%: 30%; p = 0.021). Examining treatment-related parameters, treatment with taxane-platinum containing regimens was associated with a lower risk of brain metastases, than platinum-etoposide chemotherapy regimens (31%: 52%; p = 0.011). Preoperative radiotherapy, with or without postoperative treatment, showed lower rate of metastases in the brain compared with postoperative radiotherapy treatment only (33%: 48%; p = 0.035). Conclusion. Brain metastases are often site of recurrence in patients with NSCLC (IIIA-N2). Autonomous risk factors for brain metastases in this group of patients are non-squamous NSCLC, N1-N2 nodal status, postoperative radiotherapy without preoperative radiotherapy

Diarylheptanoids from Alnus viridis ssp viridis and Alnus glutinosa: Modulation of Quorum Sensing Activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Diarylheptanoids from the barks of Alnus viridis ssp. viridis (green alder) and Alnus glutinosa (black alder) were explored for anti-quorum sensing activity. Chemicals with anti-quorum sensing activity have recently been examined for antimicrobial applications. The anti-quorum sensing activity of the selected diarylheptanoids was determined using two biosensors, namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Chromobacterium violaceum CV026. Although all of the investigated compounds negatively influenced the motility of P. aeruginosa PAO1, four were able to inhibit biofilm formation of this human opportunistic pathogen for 40-70%. Three of the diarylheptanoids (3, 4, and 5) negatively influenced the biosynthesis of pyocyanin, which is under the control of quorum sensing. Platyphyllenone (7) and hirsutenone (5) were able to inhibit the biosynthesis of violacein in C. violaceum CV026, with 5 being able to inhibit the synthesis of both biopigments. Only one of the tested diarylheptanoids (1) was shown to significantly decrease the production of acyl homoserine lactones (AHL) in P. aeruginosa PAO1, more specifically, production of the long chain N-(3-oxododecanoyl)- l-HSL. On the other side, four diarylheptanoids (2-5) significantly reduced the synthesis of 2-alkyl-4-quinolones, part of the P. aeruginosa quinolone-mediated signaling system. To properly assess therapeutic potential of these compounds, their in vitro antiproliferative effect on normal human lung fibroblasts was determined, with doses affecting cell proliferation between 10 and 100 mu g/mL. This study confirms that the barks of green and black alders are rich source of phytochemicals with a wide range of biological activities that could further be exploited as natural agents against bacterial contaminations and infections.Supplementary material: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3034

Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea in a patient with Pallister–Hall syndrome

Pallister-Hall syndrome (PHS) is extremely rare autosomal dominant disorder with typical clinical features such as presence of polydactyly, hypothalamic hamartoma, bifid epiglottis, anal, renal, genitourinary and pulmonary abnormalities, mainly located in the midline of the body. Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is also a rare condition, and it is used to describe nasal discharge of CSF unrelated to previous trauma, localized tumour, surgery, or previous radiation therapy. The exact cause is not yet fully understood. We report a case of adult female patient previously diagnosed with PHS and late onset of spontaneous nasal liquorrhea, due to defect in the anterior skull base. Although it can be incidental finding, we believe that described defect in the body midline can be another presentation of congenital craniofacial abnormality which are common in PHS

Sequencing, Mapping, and Analysis of 27,455 Maize Full-Length cDNAs

Full-length cDNA (FLcDNA) sequencing establishes the precise primary structure of individual gene transcripts. From two libraries representing 27 B73 tissues and abiotic stress treatments, 27,455 high-quality FLcDNAs were sequenced. The average transcript length was 1.44 kb including 218 bases and 321 bases of 5′ and 3′ UTR, respectively, with 8.6% of the FLcDNAs encoding predicted proteins of fewer than 100 amino acids. Approximately 94% of the FLcDNAs were stringently mapped to the maize genome. Although nearly two-thirds of this genome is composed of transposable elements (TEs), only 5.6% of the FLcDNAs contained TE sequences in coding or UTR regions. Approximately 7.2% of the FLcDNAs are putative transcription factors, suggesting that rare transcripts are well-enriched in our FLcDNA set. Protein similarity searching identified 1,737 maize transcripts not present in rice, sorghum, Arabidopsis, or poplar annotated genes. A strict FLcDNA assembly generated 24,467 non-redundant sequences, of which 88% have non-maize protein matches. The FLcDNAs were also assembled with 41,759 FLcDNAs in GenBank from other projects, where semi-strict parameters were used to identify 13,368 potentially unique non-redundant sequences from this project. The libraries, ESTs, and FLcDNA sequences produced from this project are publicly available. The annotated EST and FLcDNA assemblies are available through the maize FLcDNA web resource (www.maizecdna.org)

The burden of injury in Central, Eastern, and Western European sub-region : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study

Background Injury remains a major concern to public health in the European region. Previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study showed wide variation in injury death and disability adjusted life year (DALY) rates across Europe, indicating injury inequality gaps between sub-regions and countries. The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare GBD 2019 estimates on injury mortality and DALYs across European sub-regions and countries by cause-of-injury category and sex; 2) examine changes in injury DALY rates over a 20 year-period by cause-of-injury category, sub-region and country; and 3) assess inequalities in injury mortality and DALY rates across the countries. Methods We performed a secondary database descriptive study using the GBD 2019 results on injuries in 44 European countries from 2000 to 2019. Inequality in DALY rates between these countries was assessed by calculating the DALY rate ratio between the highest-ranking country and lowest-ranking country in each year. Results In 2019, in Eastern Europe 80 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 71 to 89] people per 100,000 died from injuries; twice as high compared to Central Europe (38 injury deaths per 100,000; 95% UI 34 to 42) and three times as high compared to Western Europe (27 injury deaths per 100,000; 95%UI 25 to 28). The injury DALY rates showed less pronounced differences between Eastern (5129 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 4547 to 5864), Central (2940 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 2452 to 3546) and Western Europe (1782 DALYs per 100,000; 95% UI: 1523 to 2115). Injury DALY rate was lowest in Italy (1489 DALYs per 100,000) and highest in Ukraine (5553 DALYs per 100,000). The difference in injury DALY rates by country was larger for males compared to females. The DALY rate ratio was highest in 2005, with DALY rate in the lowest-ranking country (Russian Federation) 6.0 times higher compared to the highest-ranking country (Malta). After 2005, the DALY rate ratio between the lowest- and the highest-ranking country gradually decreased to 3.7 in 2019. Conclusions Injury mortality and DALY rates were highest in Eastern Europe and lowest in Western Europe, although differences in injury DALY rates declined rapidly, particularly in the past decade. The injury DALY rate ratio of highest- and lowest-ranking country declined from 2005 onwards, indicating declining inequalities in injuries between European countries.Peer reviewe

Detailed Analysis of a Contiguous 22-Mb Region of the Maize Genome

Most of our understanding of plant genome structure and evolution has come from the careful annotation of small (e.g., 100 kb) sequenced genomic regions or from automated annotation of complete genome sequences. Here, we sequenced and carefully annotated a contiguous 22 Mb region of maize chromosome 4 using an improved pseudomolecule for annotation. The sequence segment was comprehensively ordered, oriented, and confirmed using the maize optical map. Nearly 84% of the sequence is composed of transposable elements (TEs) that are mostly nested within each other, of which most families are low-copy. We identified 544 gene models using multiple levels of evidence, as well as five miRNA genes. Gene fragments, many captured by TEs, are prevalent within this region. Elimination of gene redundancy from a tetraploid maize ancestor that originated a few million years ago is responsible in this region for most disruptions of synteny with sorghum and rice. Consistent with other sub-genomic analyses in maize, small RNA mapping showed that many small RNAs match TEs and that most TEs match small RNAs. These results, performed on ∼1% of the maize genome, demonstrate the feasibility of refining the B73 RefGen_v1 genome assembly by incorporating optical map, high-resolution genetic map, and comparative genomic data sets. Such improvements, along with those of gene and repeat annotation, will serve to promote future functional genomic and phylogenomic research in maize and other grasses

Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019 : a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Ending the global tobacco epidemic is a defining challenge in global health. Timely and comprehensive estimates of the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden are needed to guide tobacco control efforts nationally and globally. Methods We estimated the prevalence of smoking tobacco use and attributable disease burden for 204 countries and territories, by age and sex, from 1990 to 2019 as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study. We modelled multiple smoking-related indicators from 3625 nationally representative surveys. We completed systematic reviews and did Bayesian meta-regressions for 36 causally linked health outcomes to estimate non-linear dose-response risk curves for current and former smokers. We used a direct estimation approach to estimate attributable burden, providing more comprehensive estimates of the health effects of smoking than previously available. Findings Globally in 2019, 1.14 billion (95% uncertainty interval 1.13-1.16) individuals were current smokers, who consumed 7.41 trillion (7.11-7.74) cigarette-equivalents of tobacco in 2019. Although prevalence of smoking had decreased significantly since 1990 among both males (27.5% [26. 5-28.5] reduction) and females (37.7% [35.4-39.9] reduction) aged 15 years and older, population growth has led to a significant increase in the total number of smokers from 0.99 billion (0.98-1.00) in 1990. Globally in 2019, smoking tobacco use accounted for 7.69 million (7.16-8.20) deaths and 200 million (185-214) disability-adjusted life-years, and was the leading risk factor for death among males (20.2% [19.3-21.1] of male deaths). 6.68 million [86.9%] of 7.69 million deaths attributable to smoking tobacco use were among current smokers. Interpretation In the absence of intervention, the annual toll of 7.69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking will increase over the coming decades. Substantial progress in reducing the prevalence of smoking tobacco use has been observed in countries from all regions and at all stages of development, but a large implementation gap remains for tobacco control. Countries have a dear and urgent opportunity to pass strong, evidence-based policies to accelerate reductions in the prevalence of smoking and reap massive health benefits for their citizens. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe