The frequency of chromosomal aberrations in sheep from the area contaminated by depleted uranium during NATO air strikes in 1999

This paper presents the results of cytogenetic studies in sheep from the region of Bujanovac that was contaminated by depleted uranium during the NATO air strikes in 1999. The study was conducted on sheep blood lymphocytes, in order to determine the frequency of chromosomal aberrations and to assess the presence of genetic risk as a result of the possible impact of depleted uranium. Blood samples for lymphocyte cultures were taken at random from the 20 animals of the households in the village of Borovac, near Bujanovac. The animals were chosen because they were pastured, fed, and watered in the NATO bombing area. With the purpose of comparing the results two control groups were cytogenetically analyzed, each consisted of 20 sheep from Zemun and Ovča, two northern localities that were not contaminated with depleted uranium. The established structural chromosomal changes were of breaks and gap types, and their frequencies in sheep of all surveyed localities were within the range of basic level values that are commonly found in the sheep lymphocyte cultures analyses. Significant differences are apparent between the values defined in the sheep from Bujanovac compared to those obtained in the sheep from the northern locality (Zemun), probably as a result of breeding of animals in the farm conditions and their being less exposed to the impact of environmental agents. There were neither elevated values of polyploid and aneuploid cells nor significant differences between the sites. According to earlier known data, depleted uranium was below the detection limit of the method applied both in the soil and feed given to cytogenetically analyzed animals. Based on the low-level changes that are in the range of the basic level changes, commonly observed in sheep lymphocytes control cultures, it cannot be said with certainty that it was depleted uranium that caused the changes, or that it is wide-spread in the region of Bujanovac. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 1518/2002, br. 20061-TR i br. 173034

Citogenetička analiza ćelija kostne srži pacova tretiranih toluenom

The paper presents the results of investigations of the effect of toluene on bone marrow cells of female Wistar rats treated intraperitoneally with toluene for 8 or 11 days, in doses of 0.602 μg/200 g body mass. Cytogenetic analyses were performed on the metaphase figure of chromosomes in order to determine the frequency of structural aberrations – breaks and gaps. The values of the mitotic index and number of poliploid cells were determined. No significant increase was determined in the frequency of breaks and gaps in chromosomes of treated animals in comparison with the controls, which means that, under the experimental conditions, toluene did not exhibit a definite genotoxic effect. However, it has been determined that there was a significant increase in the value of the mitotic index, as well as a significant increase in the number of poliploid cells in both groups of treated rats in comparison with controls.U ovom radu su navedeni rezultati ispitivanja efekata toluena na ćelije kostne srži ženki Wistar pacova, koji su intraperitonealno dobijali toluen tokom 8 i 11 dana, u dozi od 0.602 μg /200 g telesne mase. Citogenetički su analizirane metafazne figure hromozoma da bi se utvrdila učestalost pojavljivanja strukturnih aberacija – prekida i gapova. Utvrđene su vrednosti mitotskog indeksa i broja poliploidnih ćelija. Nije ustanovljeno značajno povećanje učestalosti pojavljivanja prekida i gapova na hromozomima tretiranih jedinki u odnosu na kontrole, što znači da u uslovima ovog eksperimenta toluen nije iskazao nesumnjiv genotoksični efekat. Međutim ustanovljeno je značajno povećanje vrednosti mitotskog indeksa, kao i značajno povećanje broja poliploidnih ćelija u obe grupe tretiranih pacova u odnosu na kontrole

Morphology versus DNA barcoding: two sides of the same coin. A case study of Ceutorhynchus erysimi and C. contractus identification

Genotyping of 2 well-known weevil species from the genus Ceutorhynchus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) distributed in west Palearctic, C. erysimi and C. contractus, revealed phenotype versus genotype inconsistencies in a set of 56 specimens (25 C. erysimi and 31 C. contractus) collected from 25 locations in Serbia and Montenegro. An analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI), widely used as a barcoding region, and a nuclear gene, elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha), revealed stable genetic divergence among these species. The average uncorrected pairwise distances for the COI and EF-1 alpha genes were 3.8%, and 1.3%, respectively, indicating 2 genetically well-segregated species. However, the genetic data were not congruent with the phenotypic characteristics of the studied specimens. In the first place, C. erysimi genotypes were attached to specimens with phenotypic characteristics of C. contractus. Species-specific PCR-RFLP assays for the barcoding gene COIwere applied for themolecular identification of 101 additional specimens of both morphospecies (33 C. erysimi and 68 C. contractus) and were found to confirm this incongruity. The discrepancy between the genetic and morphological data raises the question of the accuracy of using a barcoding approach, as it may result in misleading conclusions about the taxonomic position of the studied organism. Additionally, the typological species concept shows considerable weakness when genetic data are not supported with phenotypic characteristics as in case of asymmetric introgression, which may cause certain problems, especially in applied studies such as biological control programs in which the biological properties of the studied organisms are the main focus

Korisni i štetni efekti azot-monoksida

In living systems synthesis of nitric oxide occurs during metabolism from Larginin, nitrite and ascorbate. Being very significant carrier of information within numerous both physiological and pathological processes in mammals' organisms, nitric oxid could possibly be useful as well as harmful. Nitric oxide synthesis is adjuvant in a healthy organism because it represents the basic molecule for understanding numerous processes in neurology, psychology, immunology and varios related fields. In other words, nitric oxide participate in number of physiological processes, such as: transmission of nerve signals (neurotransmitter role), regulation of smooth muscle tissue relaxation (eg. vasodilatation), peristaltic movements, immunomodulation, mastocyte activation, development of inflammatory response, apoptosis regulation, angiogenesis and glucose metabolism, normal heart functioning and antioxidation role. Besides being useful, nitric oxide can be harmful as well, because it has one unpaired electron, so consequently it is susceptible to oxidation becoming a stable free radical. Being such, it reacts quickly with superoxide-anion radical, givind at first an extremely reactive peroxinitrite anion, and subsequently peroxidnitrite acid. This acid is very dangerous causing thiol groups oxidation, tyrosine and phenylalanine nitrosylation, lipid oxidation, DNK chain splitting, nitrification and nucleic bases deamination. These damages of macromolecules can cause a series of undesirable changes which subsequently disturb functions of molecules, and thus of cells, tissues and even organs.U živim sistemima sinteza azot-monoksida nastaje tokom metabolizma, od L-arginina, nitrita i askorbata. S obzirom da je važan prenosilac informacija u okviru mnogih fizioloških ali i patoloških procesa u organizmu sisara, azot-monoksid može biti i koristan i štetan. Sinteza azot-monoksida u zdravom organizmu je poželjna jer predstavlja osnovni molekul za razumevanje brojnih procesa u neurologiji, psihologiji, imunologiji i najrazličitijim drugim oblastima. Naime, azotmonoksid učestvuje u nizu fizioloških procesa, među kojima su: prenos nervnih signala (neurotransmiterska uloga), regulacija relaksacije glatkomišićnih tkiva (npr. vazodilatacija), odvijanje peristaltičkih pokreta, imunomodulacija, aktivacija mastocita, razvoj zapaljenske reakcije, regulacija apoptoze, angiogeneze i metabolizma glukoze, normalno funkcionisanje srca i antioksidantna uloga. Osim što je koristan, azot-monoksid može da bude i štetan jer poseduje jedan nespareni elektron, tako da podleže oksidaciji i postaje stabilan slobodni radikal. Kao takav, brzo reaguje sa superoksidanjon radikalom, dajući prvo izuzetno reaktivan peroksinitrit anjon, a potom i peroksinitritnu kiselinu. Ona je vrlo opasna jer dovodi do: oksidacije tiolnih grupa, nitrozilovanja tirozina i fenil-alanina, oksidacije lipida, cepanja lanaca DNK, nitrovanja i dezaminacije nukleinskih baza. Ova oštećenja makromolekula mogu izazvati niz nepoželjnih promena kojima se remeti funkcija molekula a time i ćelije, tkiva pa i organa

Eksperimental evaluation of efficacy of the strategies for the persuasion resistance

U ovom članku izloženi su rezultati eksperimentalnog istraživanja strategija sticanja otpornosti na ubeđivanje. Cilj istraživanja bio je da se ispita efikasnost dve konkretne strategije kontraargumentovanja i obezvređivanja izvora i eventualna zavisnost efekata ovih strategija od kanala prijema poruke. Istraživanje se oslanja na modifikovanu eksperimentalnu paradigmu korišćenu u istraživanju Kameronove i saradnika (Cameron et al., 2002), sa namerom da se provere njihovi nalazi i to u situaciji prezentovanja poruke putem video, audio-zapisa ili pismenim putem. Ubeđujuća poruka proizvela je statistički značajne efekte - stav ispitanika prema prekidu trudnoće značajno je promenjen; ni jedna od strategija građenja otpornosti, međutim nije se pokazala efikasnom, kao što ni efekat promene stava nije zavisio od kanala prijema poruke.The present research took an experimental approach to examining strategies of resistance to persuasion. We tested the effects of two strategies (counterarguing and source derogation) and their relation to channel through which a message is received (print, audio and video). The experiment is based on modified experimental paradigm used in one previous research (Cameron et al, 2002) in order to retest their findings and examine the role of communication modality in inoculation. Persuasive message generated statistically significant effects- attitude towards abortion was significantly changed. Both resistance strategies, on the other hand, failed to elicit resistance and measured attitude change wasn't significantly related to communication channel

Sol-gel as a Method to Tailor the Magnetic Properties of Co1+yAl2-yO4

The magnetic properties of mesoscopic materials are modified by size and surface effects. We present a sol-gel method used to tailor these effects, and illustrate it on Co1+yAl2-yO4 spinel. Nanocomposites made of spinel oxide Co1+yAl2-yO4 particles dispersed in an amorphous SiO2 matrix were synthesized. Samples with various mass fractions -x of Co1+yAl2-yO4 in composite, ranging from predominantly SiO2 (x = 10 wt%) to predominantly spinel (x = 95 wt%), and with various Co concentrations in spinel y were studied. The spinel grain sizes were below 100 nm with a large size distribution, for samples with predominant spinel phase. Those samples showed Curie-Weiss paramagnetic behavior with antiferromagnetically interacting Co ions (theta approximate to -100 K). The grain sizes of spinel stays confined in 100 nm range even in the spinel samples diluted with as low as 5 wt% concentration of amorphous SiO2. For the samples with predominant SiO2 the crystalline nanoparticles are well separated and of size of around 100 nm, but with presence of much smaller spinel nanoparticles of about 10 nm. The magnetic properties of the samples with predominant silica phase showed complex behavior, spin-glass magnetic freezing at the lowest temperatures and lower absolute value of theta and consequently lower exchange constant

Approaching the socialist factory and its workforce: considerations from fieldwork in (former) Yugoslavia

The socialist factory, as the ‘incubator’ of the new socialist (wo)man, is a productive entry point for the study of socialist modernization and its contradictions. By outlining some theoretical and methodological insights gathered through field-research in factories in former Yugoslavia, we seek to connect the state of labour history in the Balkans to recent breakthroughs made by labour historians of other socialist countries. The first part of this article sketches some of the specificities of the Yugoslav self-managed factory and its heterogeneous workforce. It presents the ambiguous relationship between workers and the factory and demonstrates the variety of life trajectories for workers in Yugoslav state-socialism (from model communists to alienated workers). The second part engages with the available sources for conducting research inside and outside the factory advocating an approach which combines factory and local archives, print media and oral history

Mink's ovarial morphology and arterial vascularisation

Mink (Mustela vison) is often used as very convenient model when there is a research to be conducted on different urogenital infections; BecaUse of multipurpose usage of this animal, we wanted to investigate morphological characteristics and arterial vascularisation of ovaries. ; During this experiment, we used 15 females average age between the first and the two year. After sacrificing animals, we caught sight of ovarial position fn siru. That is when we injected colored gel into aorta abdominalis, which resulted in creating ovaries' arterial net. Ovariurn is an even organ located in abdominal cavity, in fossa ovaria. It's external side, facies lateralis; connects it to the lateral side of pelvis, while it's lower, wombal side lies on incisura ischiadica major. Average height of an ovarium is 7mm, width is Smrn and weight is about 0,5g. A.ovarica and Ramus ovaricum arteriae uterinae take major part in vascularisation. R. ovaricus a. uterinae is the strongest arterie in ovarium, and it provides ovarium with blood from wombal arterie, visceral branch of A. iliacae internae. A. ovarica is divided into two branches: lower and stronger branch which anastomizes in mesoovarium with R. ovaricum a. uterinae; and upper and weaker branch of unknown caliber, which pases through the upper edge od mesosalpynx and anastomizes with R. tubarus a. uterinae. A. ovarica is dominant blood vessel in irrigation of genital organs of mink, just as Ramus uterinus of the arterie with same name. It is quite variable, and it's importance is especially noticed during pregnancy.Zbornik radova i kratkih sadržaj

Inervacija jajnika malog zelenog majmuna (Cercopithecus aethiops sabeus) noradrenergičnim vlaknima

Zbornik radova i kratkih sadržaj

Useful and harmful effects of nitric oxide

In living systems synthesis of nitric oxide occurs during metabolism from Larginin, nitrite and ascorbate. Being very significant carrier of information within numerous both physiological and pathological processes in mammals' organisms, nitric oxid could possibly be useful as well as harmful. Nitric oxide synthesis is adjuvant in a healthy organism because it represents the basic molecule for understanding numerous processes in neurology, psychology, immunology and varios related fields. In other words, nitric oxide participate in number of physiological processes, such as: transmission of nerve signals (neurotransmitter role), regulation of smooth muscle tissue relaxation (eg. vasodilatation), peristaltic movements, immunomodulation, mastocyte activation, development of inflammatory response, apoptosis regulation, angiogenesis and glucose metabolism, normal heart functioning and antioxidation role. Besides being useful, nitric oxide can be harmful as well, because it has one unpaired electron, so consequently it is susceptible to oxidation becoming a stable free radical. Being such, it reacts quickly with superoxide-anion radical, givind at first an extremely reactive peroxinitrite anion, and subsequently peroxidnitrite acid. This acid is very dangerous causing thiol groups oxidation, tyrosine and phenylalanine nitrosylation, lipid oxidation, DNK chain splitting, nitrification and nucleic bases deamination. These damages of macromolecules can cause a series of undesirable changes which subsequently disturb functions of molecules, and thus of cells, tissues and even organs.U živim sistemima sinteza azot-monoksida nastaje tokom metabolizma, od L-arginina, nitrita i askorbata. S obzirom da je važan prenosilac informacija u okviru mnogih fizioloških ali i patoloških procesa u organizmu sisara, azot-monoksid može biti i koristan i štetan. Sinteza azot-monoksida u zdravom organizmu je poželjna jer predstavlja osnovni molekul za razumevanje brojnih procesa u neurologiji, psihologiji, imunologiji i najrazličitijim drugim oblastima. Naime, azotmonoksid učestvuje u nizu fizioloških procesa, među kojima su: prenos nervnih signala (neurotransmiterska uloga), regulacija relaksacije glatkomišićnih tkiva (npr. vazodilatacija), odvijanje peristaltičkih pokreta, imunomodulacija, aktivacija mastocita, razvoj zapaljenske reakcije, regulacija apoptoze, angiogeneze i metabolizma glukoze, normalno funkcionisanje srca i antioksidantna uloga. Osim što je koristan, azot-monoksid može da bude i štetan jer poseduje jedan nespareni elektron, tako da podleže oksidaciji i postaje stabilan slobodni radikal. Kao takav, brzo reaguje sa superoksidanjon radikalom, dajući prvo izuzetno reaktivan peroksinitrit anjon, a potom i peroksinitritnu kiselinu. Ona je vrlo opasna jer dovodi do: oksidacije tiolnih grupa, nitrozilovanja tirozina i fenil-alanina, oksidacije lipida, cepanja lanaca DNK, nitrovanja i dezaminacije nukleinskih baza. Ova oštećenja makromolekula mogu izazvati niz nepoželjnih promena kojima se remeti funkcija molekula a time i ćelije, tkiva pa i organa