Blood alcohol concentration in fatally injured drivers and the efficacy of alcohol policies of the new law on road traffic safety: A retrospective 10-year study in autonomous province of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia

<p><b>Objective</b>: The aim of this study was primarily to evaluate inebriated fatally injured drivers (FIDs) according to blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a 10-year period (2004–2013) in Autonomous Province (AP) of Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia, to analyze the efficacy of alcohol polices in the new law on road traffic safety through changes in the number of inebriated FIDs before and after implementation of the law, as well as to identify factors that influence the occurrence of FIDs with BACs above the legal limit.</p> <p><b>Methods</b>: All data for this retrospective study were obtained from the Centre of Forensic Medicine, Toxicology and Molecular Genetics of Clinical Centre of Vojvodina, Novi Sad. Autopsy records for each case included age, gender, BAC, type of vehicle, and date of accident (year, month, and recalculated day of the week). BAC was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. Statistical analysis was carried out by chi-square tests and Student's <i>t</i> test, with <i>P</i> < .05 as a statistical significance, and multiple binary logistic regression.</p> <p><b>Results</b>: Of the 354 inebriated FIDs (60% of all FIDs), the majority had BACs between of 0.031 and 0.3 mg/ml (28%), followed by those with BAC > 2.01 mg/ml (23%). The average BAC of those driving under the influence of alcohol (DUIA) for the whole period was 1.235 ± 1.00 mg/ml and the average number of DUIA/year was 35. Among the total number of FIDs there were significantly more males (93.7%; <i>P</i> < .001) than females (6.3%), though the distribution of intoxicated men and women was not different (<i>P</i> > .05). There was a statistically significant difference in the distribution of sober and inebriated FIDs according to age (<i>P</i> < .001) with the predominance of inebriated FIDs between 21 and 30 years. Although gender and age were found to be significant predictors of BAC above legal limit in FIDs, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve showed that the model had poor discrimination (ROC = 0.673). Of all observed FIDs, 65 cases per year were attributed to the first 5-year period (2004–2009) and 49 to the second 5-year (2010–2013) period, which indicates that there was no statistically significant decrease in the number of FIDs after implementation of the new law.</p> <p><b>Conclusion</b>: The highest number of intoxicated FIDs during the period in AP Vojvodina were mildly and completely inebriated. In the 4-year post-policy period (2010–2013), the number of FIDs and average BAC levels of inebriated FIDs did not significantly change. The abolition of a permissible BAC should be considered.</p

Effects of Athamanta turbith Fruit Essential Oils on CCl4-induced Hepatic Failure in Mice and Their Antioxidant Properties

The effects of essential oils isolated from mature fruits of Athamanta turbith ssp. hungarica (Borbás) Tutin and A. turbith ssp. haynaldii (Borbás & Uechtr.) Tutin (Umbelliferae) on some liver biochemical parameters in mice intoxicated with carbon tetrachloride were investigated. Pretreatment with both essential oils extenuated the effects caused by carbon tetrachloride. In order to investigate in vitro antioxidant properties of the oils, three methods were applied: scavenging of both 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and OH radicals, as well as a test of inhibition of Fe2+/ascorbic-induced lipid peroxidation. Investigated essential oils exhibited modest antioxidant capacity. Therefore, their infl uence on biochemical parameters in intoxicated animals might be linked to the inhibition of enzymes (cytochrome P450 2E1) involved in metabolic activation of halomethanes

Farmakovigilancija u Srbiji: desetogodišnja farmakoepidemiološka analiza

Pharmacovigilance as a science and group of activities related to detection, collection, analysis, understanding and prevention of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is an essential activity in the regulatory system of drugs of any country. Defining increased patient safety as the main purpose of ADR reporting, a well-designed national pharmacovigilance system achieves its ultimate goal, i.e., protection of public health. In organizational and technical terms, the Republic of Serbia has a well-developed system of pharmacovigilance, created on the basis of a proven reliable system of the former SFR Yugoslavia, and carried out by the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of Serbia (ALIMS), which conducts all organized activities aimed at strengthening the national system of ADR monitoring and reporting. Unlike the neighboring Croatia and Montenegro with similar pharmacovigilance systems, Serbia has only recently approached the WHO standard of 200 reports per million inhabitants despite a significant increase of 180 ADR reports per million inhabitants in 2019 (1251 in total). Considering this, our study aimed to provide a critical insight into the practice of pharmacovigilance in Serbia by pharmacoepidemiologic analysis of a ten-year period of ADR monitoring and reporting activities.Farmakovigilancija kao znanost i skupina aktivnosti vezanih za otkrivanje, prikupljanje, analizu, razumijevanje i sprječavanje nuspojava lijekova (NPL) predstavlja važnu aktivnost u regulatornom sustavu lijekova bilo koje zemlje. Definiranjem povećane sigurnosti bolesnika kao glavne svrhe prijavljivanja nuspojava, dobro osmišljen nacionalni sustav farmakovigilancije postiže svoj krajnji cilj, a to je zaštita javnog zdravlja. U organizacijskom i tehničkom smislu Republika Srbija ima dobro razvijen sustav farmakovigilancije utemeljen na provjerenom sustavu bivše SFR Jugoslavije, a provodi ga Nacionalna agencija za lijekove i medicinska sredstva Srbije (ALIMS), koja organizira sve aktivnosti usmjerene na jačanje nacionalnog sustava praćenja i izvješćivanja o NPL. Za razliku od susjedne Hrvatske i Crne Gore sa sličnim sustavima farmakovigilancije, Srbija se tek nedavno približila standardu Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije od 200 izvještaja na milijun stanovnika unatoč značajnom povećanju od 180 izvješća o neželjenim reakcijama na milijun stanovnika u 2019. godini (ukupno 1251). S obzirom na to, ovaj je rad imao za cilj pružiti kritički uvid u praksu farmakovigilancije u Srbiji kroz farmakoepidemiološku analizu desetogodišnjeg razdoblja praćenja i izvješćivanja o neželjenim reakcijama na lijekove

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties of Achillea collina Becker ex Heimerl s.l. and A. pannonica Scheele Essential oils

The in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of two Achillea millefolium (Adanson) Koch s.l species essential oils (A. collina Becker ex Heimerl s.l. and A. pannonica Scheele, Asteraceae) originating from the Golija and Radan mountains (Serbia) were investigated. The chemical profiles of the essential oils were evaluated by GC-MS. Antioxidant activity was assessed as free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) towards 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) radicals, together with effects on lipid peroxidation (LP). Antibacterial activity was examined on 21 bacterial strains. Based on the chemical composition of the essential oil, A. collina s.l. from Mount Golija was classified as a chamazulene chemotype (tetraploid). The high percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes and absence of azulene in the essential oil obtained from A. pannonica from Radan pointing that this population is octaploid. Essential oil of A. pannonica expressed stronger antimicrobial activity on almost all tested bacteria. Furthermore, this essential oil expressed higher scavenging effects on DPPH radical (IC50 = 0.52 comparing to 0.62 μg/mL). Only in the LP evaluation, essential oil of A. collina s.l. from Golija exhibited stronger antioxidant activity (IC50 = 0.75 comparing to 2.12 μg/mL)

Impact of Origin and Biological Source on Chemical Composition, Anticholinesterase and Antioxidant Properties of Some St. John’s Wort Species (Hypericum spp., Hypericaceae) from the Central Balkans

The study shows the influence of the origin of plant material and biological source on the in vitro antioxidant (neutralization of DPPH and OH radical, nitric oxide, and inhibition of lipid peroxidation) and anticholinesterase activity of chemically characterized and quantified ethanol extracts of ten St. John’s wort samples. The investigated samples were: five Hypericum perforatum species representatives collected at different localities, one commercial sample of Hyperici herba purchased at a local market and four Hypericum species autochtonous to the Balkan Peninsula (H. maculatum subsp. immaculatum, H. olympicum, H. richeri subsp. grisebachii and H. barbatum). All the examined extracts exhibited notable antioxidant potential, but in most of the cases indigenous Hypericum species expressed stronger effects compared to the original source of the drug, H. perforatum. The changes in the content of phenolic compounds, especially flavonoids, hyperforin and hypericin, related to the source of the drug affected the investigated activities. Since all of the investigated species have shown prominent inhibition of acetylcholinesterase in vitro activity, they could be further investigated as potential substances in preventing of Alzheimer’s disease

Chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Achillea collina Becker ex Heimerl s.l. and A. pannonica scheele essential oils

The in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of two Achillea millefolium (Adanson) Koch s.l species essential oils (A. collina Becker ex Heimerl s.l. and A. pannonica Scheele, Asteraceae) originating from the Golija and Radan mountains (Serbia) were investigated. The chemical profiles of the essential oils were evaluated by GC-MS. Antioxidant activity was assessed as free radical scavenging capacity (RSC) towards 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH) radicals, together with effects on lipid peroxidation (LP). Antibacterial activity was examined on 21 bacterial strains. Based on the chemical composition of the essential oil, A. collina s.l. from Mount Golija was classified as a chamazulene chemotype (tetraploid). The high percentage of oxygenated monoterpenes and absence of azulene in the essential oil obtained from A. pannonica from Radan pointing that this population is octaploid. Essential oil of A. pannonica expressed stronger antimicrobial activity on almost all tested bacteria. Furthermore, this essential oil expressed higher scavenging effects on DPPH radical (IC50 = 0.52 comparing to 0.62 mu g/mL). Only in the LP evaluation, essential oil of A. collina s.l. from Golija exhibited stronger antioxidant activity (IC50 = 0.75 comparing to 2.12 mu g/mL)

The influence of chronic intake of saccharin on rat hepatic and pancreatic function and morphology: gender differences

There are opposite hypotheses on the effect of saccharin. Our aim was reviewing the influence of chronically ingested saccharin on the function and histological structure of liver and pancreas and all this in light of gender differences. The rats were divided into control group – (Group C) and saccharin-treated group – (Group S) which was given a normal diet and 0.0005% saccharin in drinking water for 6 weeks. Liver and pancreas were histologically processed and quantitative histological analysis was performed. Glucose blood levels and plasma activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT), body weight, and food intake were analyzed. Quantitative histological analysis determined that the values of diameter and volume density of both Langerhans islets and exocrine acini were significantly higher in S group, especially in males. AST levels were significantly higher in treated group. Glucose levels were higher in treated group, mainly due to the values of the female subgroup. Food intake was significantly higher in control group, while weight gain was higher in treated group. Treated males had significantly higher food intake and weight gain in comparison with treated females. The data presented here suggests that chronic saccharin intake affects the examined parameters. Reported facts reflect various metabolic, hormonal and neural responses in males and females