Utjecaj akarboze na katalitičke aktivnosti alanin aminotransferaze i aspartat aminotransferaze u jetri kontrolnih i dijabetičnih CBA miševa

The purpose of this study was to examine the short-term effects of diet containing 0.1% (m/m) of acarbose in standard laboratory chow on specific liver enzyme activities: alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in control and diabetic CBA mice. Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of alloxan monohydrate in a dose of 75 mg kg-1 mouse body mass seven days before the treatment with acarbose. There were four groups of CBA mice in the experiment: control (C) mice (n = 6) and diabetic (D) mice (n = 8) fed standard chow; control (C/A-100) mice (n = 8) and diabetic (D/A-100) mice (n = 8) fed standard chow containing 0.1% acarbose. Diabetes induced the decrease of the ALT catalytic activities to 69.6% of control value. A similar level of decreased ALT catalytic activity was detected in the liver of control and diabetic mice fed with chow containing 0.1% acarbose. No changes in the specific and total activities of AST in the liver of the experimental groups were observed.Svrha ovog rada bila je ispitati kratkotrajni učinak 0.1% (m/m) akarboze u suhoj hrani na katalitičku koncentraciju specifičnih jetrenih enzima: alanin aminotransferaze (ALT) i aspartat aminotransferaze (AST) u jetri kontrolnih i dijabetičnih CBA miševa. Dijabetes je bio izazvan i.v. injekcijom aloksan-monohidrata u dozi od 75 mg kg -1 tjelesne mase miša sedam dana prije početka ishrane s akarbozom. U pokusu su ispitane četiri skupine CBA miševa: kontrolna (C) (n = 6) i dijabetična (D) (n = 8) skupina bile su sedam dana na standardnoj ishrani, te kontrolna (C / A – 100) (n = 8) i dijabetična (D / A-100) (n = 8) skupina koje su hranjene 0.1 % akarbozom umiješanom u standardnu hranu. U skupini D katalitička koncentracija ALT-a bila je značajno snižena u usporedbi s kontrolnom skupinom C. Sličan pad katalitičke koncentracije ALT-a zabilježen je i u jetri kontrolnih i dijabetičnih miševa hranjenih suhom hranom u koju je bila umiješana akarboza (0.1%). U ispitanim skupinama nisu zabilježene promjene u specifičnoj i ukupnoj aktivnosti AST-a

design of selective peptide antibiotics by using the sequence moment concept

New antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria are urgently needed, but rapid acquisition of resistance limits their usefulness. Endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with moderate selectivity, but multimodal mechanism of action, have remained effective against bacteria for millions of years. Their therapeutic application, however, requires optimizing the balance between antibacterial activity and selectivity, so that rational design methods for increasing selectivity are highly desirable. We have created training (n=36) and testing (n=37) sets from frog-derived AMPs with determined therapeutic index (TI). The 'sequence moments' concept then enabled us to find a one-parameter linear model resulting in a good correlation between measured and predicted TI (r2=0.83 and 0.64 for each set, respectively). The concept was then used in the AMP-Designer algorithm to propose primary structures for highly selective AMPs against Gram-negative bacteria. Testing the activity of one such peptide produced a TI>200 as compared to the best AMP in the data-base, with TI=125

Ukupna taložna tvar na području Primorsko-goranske županije u razdoblju 1975.-2008.

Dustfall measurements in Primorsko-goranska county started in 1975 in the Bakar Bay (Site 2 - Bakar and Site 3 - Kraljevica). The measurements were extended to the city of Rijeka (Site 1 - Rijeka) in 1982, to the nearby islands (Site 4 - Krk and Site 5 - Cres) in 1986, and inland to Gorski Kotar (Site 6 - Delnice and Site 7 - Lividraga) in 1995. This article brings the results of dustfall measurements from 1975 to 2008. Dustfall was low in the city, the nearby islands, and Gorski Kotar. Recommended and limit values were occasionally exceeded in the Bakar Bay due to emissions from the coke plant and harbour at Site 2 (1979-1997) and from the shipyard at Site 3. Lead content in the dustfall was below the national limits, save for two occasions at Site 2. Deposition of sulphur and nitrogen at the inland sites were below the respective critical load values.Ispitivanja ukupne taložne tvari u Primorsko-goranskoj županiji započela su 1975. godine na području Bakarskog zaljeva. Mjerenja su se 1982. god proširila na grad Rijeku, 1986. na otoke Krk i Cres, a 1995. i na područje Gorskog kotara. U radu su prikazani rezultati mjerenja ukupne taložne tvari u razdoblju 1975.-2008. na sedam odabranih postaja: u gradu Rijeci, dvije na području Bakarskog zaljeva (Bakar i Kraljevica), dvije na otocima (Krk i Cres) te dvije u Gorskom kotaru (Delnice i Lividraga). Analizirano je kretanje prosječnih godišnjih vrijednosti ukupno istaloženih tvari te u njima prisutnih količina sagorivog pepela, sulfata, nitrata, amonija i olova. Na području grada Rijeke, otoka Krka i Cresa te Gorskog kotara količina ukupne taložne tvari je niska. Količine ukupne taložne tvari povremeno su prelazile preporučenu graničnu vrijednost u Bakru (1979.-1994.), zbog emisija iz koksare i iz luke za rasuti teret te u Kraljevici, gdje se osamdesetih godina osjećao utjecaj koksare u Bakru, a od sredine devedesetih pojačani rad u brodogradilištu. Količine olova u taložnoj tvari su niske na svim postajama, osim povremenih skokova u Bakru, kada su prijeđene preporučene vrijednosti. Količine istaloženog sumpora i dušika na području Gorskog kotara ispod su odgovarajućih vrijednosti kritičnog opterećenja za ispitivana područja

Simultaneous Extrema in the Entropy Production for Steady-State Fluid Flow in Parallel Pipes

Steady-state flow of an incompressible fluid in parallel pipes can simultaneously satisfy two contradictory extremum principles in the entropy production, depending on the flow conditions. For a constant total flow rate, the flow can satisfy (i) a pipe network minimum entropy production (MinEP) principle with respect to the flow rates, and (ii) the maximum entropy production (MaxEP) principle of Ziegler and Paltridge with respect to the choice of flow regime. The first principle - different to but allied to that of Prigogine - arises from the stability of the steady state compared to non-steady-state flows; it is proven for isothermal laminar and turbulent flows in parallel pipes with a constant power law exponent, but is otherwise invalid. The second principle appears to be more fundamental, driving the formation of turbulent flow in single and parallel pipes at higher Reynolds numbers. For constant head conditions, the flow can satisfy (i) a modified maximum entropy production (MaxEPMod) principle of \v{Z}upanovi\'c and co-workers with respect to the flow rates, and (ii) an inversion of the Ziegler-Paltridge MaxEP principle with respect to the flow regime. The interplay between these principles is demonstrated by examples.Comment: Revised version 2; 5 figure

Enzyme activity and AGE formation in a model of AST glycoxidation by D-fructose in vitro

Neenzimska glikacija je proces kojim se reducirajući šećeri kovalentnim vezama povezuju s amino skupinama proteina, bez posredovanja enzima. Taj proces dijelom je i oksidativan pa se često naziva glikooksidacija. Konačni produkti glikacije (AGE) nastaju polimerizacijom mnogih intermedijarnih produkata. U ovom radu, praćen je u in vitro uvjetima, mjerenjem katalitičke aktivnosti enzima i fluorescencije nastalih ukupnih AGE produkata i pentozidina, utjecaj D-fruktoze kao reaktivnog šećera na aspartat aminotransferazu (EC 2.6.1.1.) kao modelni protein. Promjena katalitičke aktivnosti enzima pokazatelj je promjenjene funkcije proteina glikacijom dok je intenzitet fluorescencije ukupnih AGE produkata i pentozidina samo djelomičan pokazatelj glikoksidacijskih promjena. Katalitička aktivnost AST izmjerena IFCC preporučenom metodom u inkubacijskoj smjesi koja je sadržavala 50 mmol L-1 fruktoze, smanjena je na 42% (p<0.05) petog dana, te na 11% (p<0.05) dvadeset i prvog dana. Statistički su značajne razlike u katalitičkoj aktivnosti enzima inkubiranog sa i bez fruktoze već nakon petog dana.Stvaranje ukupnih AGE produkata i pentozidina statistički je značajno nakon pet, odnosno 15 dana inkubacije enzima s fruktozom. Katalitička aktivnost enzima jasno ukazuje na funkcionalne promjene uzrokovane glikiranjem, dok je evaluacija stvaranja ukupnih AGE produkata, a pogotovo pentozidina, mjerenjem fluorescencije manje pouzdan pokazatelj promjena.Non-enzymatic glycation as the reaction chain between reducing sugars and free amino groups of proteins has been shown to correlate with physiological ageing and severity of diabetes. The process involves oxidative steps (glycoxidation). In this paper, the effect of D-fructose as a reactive sugar on aspartate aminotransferase (AST) as a model protein was monitored by measurements of the enzyme activity and formation of fluorescent advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Change in the AST activity was considered as a measure of the overall protein damage caused by glycation, and total AGEs and pentosidine represent, at least partly, the formation of glycoxidation products. Catalytic activity of AST in an incubation mixture containing D-fructose (50 mmol L-1), decreased compared to control values to 42% (p < 0.05) and to 11% (p < 0.05) on 5th and on 21st day of incubation, respectively. In the presence of fructose, total fluorescent AGEs concentrations were significant higher since 5th day of incubation (110 %, p < 0.05) and the fluorescent pentosidine concentrations from 15th day of incubation (117 %, p < 0.05) compared to control values, respectively. Catalytic activity of AST clearly and quantitatively demonstrated functional changes in the enzyme molecule caused by structural modifications initiated by fructose, while the evaluation of AGE formation and especially that of pentosidine by fluorescence measurement was less reliable

Two Different Manifestations of Locked-InSyndrome

Locked-in syndrome (LIS) is an entity that usually occur a consequence of the lesion of ventral part of pons. Etiology of locked-in syndrome can be vascular and nonvascular origin. Locked-in syndrome usually occurs as a consequence of thrombosis of intermedial segment of basilar artery that induces bilateral infaction of the ventrobasal part of the pons. Additionally, LIS can be caused by trauma which often leads to posttraumatic thrombosis of basilar artery. The incidence of locked-in syndrome is still unknown. The basic clinical features of locked-in syndrome are: quadriplegia (a consequence of disruption of corticospinal pathways located in ventral part of pons), different stages of paralysis of mimic musculature, paralysis of pharynx, tongue and palate with mutism and anarthria. The patient can not move, but is conscious and can communicate only by eye movements. Two patients with locked-in syndrome were present in this article. In the first case, the patient had classic locked-in syndrome that was first described by Plum and Posner1. Other patient had incomplete form of locket-in syndrome which was first described by Bauer2. In these two patients locked-in syndrome occurred as a consequence of trauma. In the first patient locked-in syndrome was caused by direct contusion of ventral part of pons while in other patient locked-in syndrome was a consequence of posttraumatic thrombosis of vertebrobasilar artery. The introduction of anticoagulant therapy, besides the other measures of intensive therapy, has shown complete justification in the second patient. The gradual partial recovery of neurologic deficit has developed in the second patient without any additional complications

Seroprevalence and entomological study on Chikungunya virus at the Croatian littoral

During 2011–2012, a total of 1008 serum samples from randomly selected inhabitants of seven Croatian counties located on the Adriatic Coast were tested for the presence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) IgG antibodies using indirect immunofluorescence assay. Nine participants (0.9%) from four counties were found to be seropositive to CHIKV. Seroprevalence varied from 0.5% to 1.8% between counties. Additionally, a total of 3,699 mosquitoes were captured in 126 localities from August 16 to September 24, 2011. Three mosquito species were found: Ae. albopictus (3010/81.4%), Cx. pipiens (688/18.6%) and only one specimen of the Cs. longiareolata. Female mosquitoes (N = 1,748) were pooled. All pools tested negative for CHIKV RNA using a real-time RT-PCR