Fatty acid composition of maize germ oil from high-oil hybrids wet-milling processing

Maize germ was obtained by wet-milling laboratory processing of domestic high-oil maize hybrids. After separation, the germ was subjected to extraction of maize oil. Fatty acid composition of maize germ oil was determined by gas chromatography. The results showed very high levels of unsaturated fatty acids and a constant sum of oleic and linoleic acids in oils of different maize hybrids

Antimicrobial susceptibility of the most common microorganisms isolated from blood

Cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi učestalost i antimikrobnu osjetljivost najčešćih mikroorganizama izoliranih iz krvi na području Požeško-slavonske županije, te usporedba dobivenih rezultata s podacima iz Hrvatske i Europe. Materijali i metode: U ovom retrospektivnom istraživanju ukupno je obrađeno 2536 uzoraka krvi uzetih u razdoblju od 1. 1. 2015. do 31. 12. 2016. Uzorci krvi uzimani su na odjelima, u dvije bočice za hemokulturu (aerobnu i anaerobnu), po 10 ml krvi. Dječje hemokulture uzimane su u jednu bočicu, po 5 ml krvi. Bočice su zatim stavljene u Bact/Alert 3D aparat (BioMerieux, Marcy-l\u27Étoile, Francuska), gdje su inkubirane na 37°C kroz 7 dana. Identifikaciju poraslih mikroorganizama i antimikrobnu osjetljivost određivali smo pomoću Vitek 2 uređaja (BioMerieux, Marcy-l\u27Étoile, Francuska). Rezultati: Od 2536 uzoraka krvi, pozitivno je bilo njih 89 (3,5%). Gram-pozitivne bakterije (stafilokoki i streptokoki) činile su 77%, a gram-negativne (enterobakterije) 22%, dok je jedan izolat bio bio Candida albicans (1%). Statistički je značajno veća učestalost gram-pozitivnih mikroorganizama izoliranih iz krvi (p< 0,001). Najčešće izolirani mikroorganizmi su bili koagulaza negativni stafilokoki (KNS), 57%. Od gramnegativnih bakterija, najčešći izolat je bila Escherichia coli (E. coli), 13%. Rasprava: Antimikrobna osjetljivost E. coli je bila najveća na karbapeneme, treću i četvrtu generaciju cefalosporina , ko-amoksiklav i ciprofloxacin, a najmanja na amoxicillin, dok je osjetljivost na ko-trimoksazol i gentamicin umjerena. Zaključak: Vrlo niska prevalencija (3,5%) mikroorganizama izoliranih iz krvi ukazuje na nekritično uzimanje hemokultura. Najveći broj izolata su bili KNS (57%) koji se normalno nalaze na koži, stoga je prije vađenja krvi za hemokulturu, potrebno dobro dezinficirati kožu i pažljivo izvaditi krv kako se ne bi kontaminirala bakterijama s kože. Podaci o antimikrobnoj osjetljivosti uzročnika izoliranih iz krvi mogu poslužiti u planiranju empirijske terapije u liječenju sepse.The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobal susceptibility of the most common microorganisms isolated from the blood in the Pozega-Slavonia County and to compare it with data from Croatia and Europe. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, we processed 2,536 blood samples taken from January 2015 to December 2016. Blood samples were taken in medical wards, in two vials for blood cultures (aerobic and anaerobic), 10 ml blood in each. Children\u27s blood cultures were taken into one vial, 5 ml of blood. Vials were incubated at 37°C for 7 days in the Bact/Alert 3D system (BioMerieux, Marcy-l\u27Étoile, France). Identification and antimicrobial testing were performed using commercially available automated Vitek 2 system (BioMerieux, Marcy-l\u27Étoile, France). Results: Out of the 2,536 submitted blood samples, 89 samples (3.5%) were positive for bacterial growth. Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus spp and Streptococcus spp) were 77% and the gram-negative (Enterobacteriaceae) 22%, and one isolate was Candida albicans (1%). The most commonly isolated organisms were coagulase-negative staphylococci (KNS), 57%. Of the gram negative bacteria, the most common isolate was E. coli (13%). Discussion: Antimicrobial susceptibility of E. coli was the highest to carbapenems, third and fourth generation cephalosporins, co-amoxiclav and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: Very low prevalence (3.5%) of microorganisms isolated from the blood indicates uncritical blood culture sampling. The most common isolates were KNS (57%), which are normally found on the skin, so before sampling blood cultures, it is essential to disinfect the skin and carefully take the blood sample. These resistance data can serve as a clinical tool in the prescription of empiric antimicrobial therapy

Nature schools in the Republic of Serbia

The first open-air schools date back to the Middle Ages. Today, teaching in nature represents a form of educational work that covers compulsory subjects, elective programs, project-based learning, and ex- tracurricular activities in the curriculum for the first cycle of primary education. This kind of work is car- ried out in climate-friendly places for health-recreational and educational reasons. To determine how much class teachers in the Republic of Serbia do this type of work, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to over 100 elementary schools. The research results show that teaching in nature is mostly carried out in the fourth grade, most often in the mountains, in the month of May, lasting for 7-8 days. The suggested hypotheses predict statistically significant differences between the attitudes of teachers of different gender, years of work experience, school location, and regarding whether teachers conduct classes in nature at all, in different grades

Usporavaenje progresije hronične insuficijencije bubrega kaptoprilom kod pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom i adriamicinskom nefropatijom

In SHRs with ADR nephropathy treatment with captopril normalized systemic blood pressure, and slowed down CRF progression in their early stage. These functional changes correlate with significant slowing of glomerular and interstitial changes.Uticaj arterijske hipertenzije na progresiju hronične insuficijencije bubrega opisan je u brojnim eksperimentalnim i kliničkim studijama. Samim tim uticaj različitih antihipertenzivnih lekova ka regulisanju pritiska krvi i usporavaju progresne hronične insuficijencije bubrega još uvek je predmet rasprava i neslaganja mnogih naučnika. Cilj ovog rada bio je da se ispita uticaj kaptoprila na kliničke, biohemijske i morfološke promene kod pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom i nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicinom. Šezdeset i devet ženki pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom (stare 24 nedelje) svrstane su u tri grupe: 1. kontrolna grupa - 12; 2. grupa s nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicinom - 27 sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom koja je tretirana adriamicinom (2 mg/kg i.V. dva puta u 20 dana); 3. grupa s nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicinom - grupa S: 30 sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom tretirana adriamicinom i kaptoprilom (60 mg/kg dnevno). Sistolni pritisak krvi meren je na dve nedelje, a analize seruma i urina na početku studije i u 6-oj, 12. i 18. nedele posle druge injekcije adriamicina. Životinje su žrtvovane 6-e, 12. i 18. nedelje od početka tretiranja kaptoprilom. Patomorfološke promene prikazane su semikvantitativno izračunavanjem indeksa glomerula vaskularnog indeksa, kao i indeksa fibroze intersticijuma i infiltracije, i atrofije tubula. Kaptopril je normalizovao sistemski pritisak krvi, ali nije smanjio proteinuriju kod pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom. Ureja i kreatinin u serumu progresivno su rasli u svim ispitivanim grupama pacova, ali brže kod pacova koji su tretirani adriamicinom. Klirens kreatinina najbrže je opadao u grupi kod pacova s nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicmom. Kaptopril smanjuje promene u glomerulima kod pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom i nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicinom s visokom statističkom značajnošću u 18-oj nedelji studije. Promene u intersticijumu kod pacova sa spontanom arterijskom hipertenzijom koji su tretirani adriamicinom uvećavaju ce u toku ogleda, ali statistički značajno sporije u svim nedeljama studije u grupi pacova s nefropatijom izazvanom adriamicinom (grupa C) Kaptopril nije uticao na promene u tubulima kod ovih životinja

Contemporary approach to primary prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism regarding the impact of risk factors on anticoagulation therapy duration

Odgovarajuća tromboprofilaksa podrazumeva pravovremeno identifikovanje reverzibilnih i ireverzibilnih faktora rizika za venski tromboembolizam (VTE), kao i njihovu kategorizaciju. Podaci da najveći procenat plućnih embolija nastaje kod bolesnika sa nehirurškim oboljenjima i da se kod hirurški lečenih bolesnika VTE uglavnom javlja posle otpusta iz bolnice nameću potrebu za odgovarajućom zaštitom od VTE osoba obolelih od inflamatornih oboljenja, akutnih bolesti i drugih nehirurških oboljenja, kao i produženjem i optimalizacijom antikoagulantnog režima posle hirurških intervencija u primarnoj profilaksi VTE. Kao gotovo potpuno neprepoznate i u praksi zanemarene značajne faktore rizika za VTE posebno ističemo hroničnu opstruktivnu bolest pluća (HOBP) i insuficijenciju srca, naročito kod bolesnika koji pripadaju trećoj i četvrtoj funkcionalnoj klasi prema klasifikaciji Njujorškog udruženja za srce (NYHA III i IV) sa značajno smanjenom funkcijom leve komore. Postoji opasnost da se kod bolesnika sa HOBP znaci dispneje i kašalj jednostrano pogrešno protumače kao tipični simptomi uzrokovani isključivo osnovnom respiratornom bolešću, a da se znaci pogoršanja oboljenja kod osoba s insuficijencijom srca pripišu samo pogoršanju kardijalnog statusa, zanemarujući mogućnost da je u osnovi reč o plućnom tromboembolizmu koji nije na odgovarajući način prepoznat i lečen. Savremeni način života pogoduje nastanku novih faktora rizika za VTE, kao što je 'putnička' tromboza, naročito kod osoba koje lete na dugačkim avionskim linijama, kao i ljudi koji veći deo dana sede ispred kompjutera (engl. e-thrombosis). Utvrđivanje i prepoznavanje faktora rizika za VTE, naročito zanemarenih nehirurških, i istovremenog postojanja višestrukih faktora rizika u određenom vremenskom intervalu neophodno je radi određivanja odgovarajućeg antikoagulantnog terapijskog režima kod bolesnika s nehirurškim oboljenjima i onih koji su hirurški lečeni u primarnoj prevenciji VTE.Adequate thromboprophylaxis primarily requires timely detection of reversible and irreversible risk factors of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and their categorization. It is important to note that the highest percentage of VTE episodes occur in non-surgical (medical) patients and that VTE develops in a large number of surgical patients upon hospital discharge; this emphasizes the need for adequate VTE prevention in inflammatory diseases, acute medical illness and other medical diseases as well as for prolonging and optimizing the anticoagulant regimen after surgical intervention in the primary VTE prophylaxis. As almost completely unrecognized and neglected major risk factors of VTE in clinical practice, we particularly point out the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure, especially in NYHA functional class III and IV patients with significantly reduced left heart ventricle. It is necessary to raise clinicians' awareness of a potential danger from wrongly and one-sidedly interpreted dyspnea and coughing signs in patients with COPD as typical symptoms of basic respiratory disease as well as from ascribing the signs of disease aggravation in heart failure patients exclusively to cardial status worsening, neglecting the possibility of having unrecognized and untreated pulmonary embolism at issue. Contemporary way of life enhances the development of new VTE risk factors such as traveler's thrombosis, in particular during long-haul flights as well as in individuals sitting at a computer for prolonged periods (e-thrombosis). Determining and recognizing VTE risk factors, especially those formerly neglected nonsurgical ones and simultaneous presence of multiple risk factors within a given period is required for defining an adequate anticoagulant regimen in primary VTE prophylaxis for surgical and non-surgical (medical) patients

The effect of antioxidant status on overall survival in renal cell carcinoma

Introduction The oxidative stress contributes to all three phases of carcinogenesis and represents a concomitant condition in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC is the most common type of neoplasm of the kidney, and despite numerous studies the set of predictive and prognostic markers of survival are still unknown. The aim of our study was to examine the relation between antioxidant (AO) status and overall survival (OS) in RCC patients. Material and methods Our study included 95 patients with RCC, who underwent radical nephrectomy. We analysed the prognostic role of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, glutathione reductase, glutathione, and malondialde-hyde) and other clinicopathological factors (size, grade, stage, and histological subtype) on the OS of RCC patients. Results The 5-year OS was 54.6%. The survival analysis related to AO parameters showed no significant difference in survival of RCC patients. The concentration of malondialdehyde, an indicator of lipid peroxidation, also had no significant effect on the survival rate of RCC pa-tients. Univariate and multivariate analysis confirmed the significance of clinicopathological parameters (size, p < 0.001; Fuhrman grade, p = 0.001, and stage, p < 0.001) for patients’ survival. Conclusions In our cohort of patients, different antioxidant parameters were not found to be predictors for OS of patients with RCC, who underwent radical nephrectomy

Metabolomic Profiling of Bipolar Disorder by 1H-NMR in Serbian Patients

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a brain disorder that causes changes in a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function. It has a prevalence of 60 million people worldwide, and it is among the top 20 diseases with the highest global burden. The complexity of this disease, including diverse genetic, environmental, and biochemical factors, and diagnoses based on the subjective recognition of symptoms without any clinical test of biomarker identification create significant difficulties in understanding and diagnosing BD. A 1H-NMR-based metabolomic study applying chemometrics of serum samples of Serbian patients with BD (33) and healthy controls (39) was explored, providing the identification of 22 metabolites for this disease. A biomarker set including threonine, aspartate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, 2-hydroxybutyric acid, serine, and mannose was established for the first time in BD serum samples by an NMR-based metabolomics study. Six identified metabolites (3-hydroxybutyric acid, arginine, lysine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and glycerol) are in agreement with the previously determined NMR-based sets of serum biomarkers in Brazilian and/or Chinese patient samples. The same established metabolites (lactate, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, glutamine, glutamate, glucose, and choline) in three different ethnic and geographic origins (Serbia, Brazil, and China) might have a crucial role in the realization of a universal set of NMR biomarkers for BD

The possibility of in vitro multi-enzymatic method application for the assessment of the influence of thermal treatments on organic matter digestibility of feed for ruminants

In vitro multi-enzymatic method is a two-step procedure that uses exogenous enzymes for incubation of feed that aim to imitate digestive processes in the animal. It is used for determination of organic matter digestibility (OMD) of various feedstuffs and complete mixtures used in ruminant nutrition. The aim of the present work was to determine whether this in vitro multi-enzymatic method can be applied for the assessment of the influence of thermal treatments on OMD of feed for ruminants. Samples of corn and complete mixture for cows (based on corn) were subjected to pelleting, steam flaking, micronization and extrusion. Statistical analysis of the results did not show significant increase of corn and complete mixture OMD after various thermal treatments compared to untreated samples, which can be explained by high digestibility of corn itself (exceeds 90%). Based on obtained results it can be concluded that applied in vitro method is not suitable for the assessment of the influence of thermal treatments on OMD of corn and corn based mixture, while future research should be broadened to analysis of samples with lower OMD, such as sorghum, oats and barley

1H-NMR-based serum metabolomics of bipolar disorder patients

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a mental disorder that causes alteration of mood states including mania, depression, and euthymia and it is ranked as one of the leading causes of disability and premature mortality, with a prevalence of 60 million people worldwide. BD is a heterogenous illness including diverse genetic, environmental, and biochemical factors and its pathophysiology is still largely unknown. Diagnosis of BD exclusively depends on the subjective recognition of symptoms without any objective methods such as a clinical test of biomarker identification, instigating misdiagnosis, inadequate treatments and deficient clinical outcomes. 1H-NMR-based serum metabolomics of Serbian patients with BD (33) and healthy controls (39) contributed to identification of 22 metabolites for this disease. Threonine, aspartate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, 2-hydroxybutyric acid, serine, and mannose make a unique biomarker set, and were confirmed for the first time in BD Serbian serum samples. Additional six identified metabolites (3-hydroxybutyric acid, arginine, lysine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and glycerol) are in accordance with the previously determined NMR-based sets of serum BD biomarkers in Brazilian and/or Chinese patient samples, while nine identified metabolites (lactate, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, glutamine, glutamate, glucose, and choline) are the same established biomarkers in three different ethnic and geographic origins (Serbia, Brazil, and China). The same confirmed metabolites are an indicator of the right path in discovery of the universal set of BD biomarkers by NMR