HACEK endocarditis complicated by pancreatitis after antibiotic therapy

HACEK (Haemophilus spp., Aggregatibacter spp., Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella kingae) endocarditis (HE) is a relatively rare disease with an excellent prognosis and simple management if the organism is properly identified. Administration of appropriate antimicrobial therapy in this case led to an excellent resolution of HE but also to a rare complication – acute pancreatitis

Povezanost izraženosti rezistina s histološkom slikom aterosklerotskoga plaka [Expression of resistin in atherosclerotic plaque]

The principal aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between serum and atherosclerotic plaque expression of resistin and clinical symptomatology as well as histological features of atherosclerotic plaque. The study included 78 patients with significant (>60 %) unilateral stenosis of carotid artery hospitalized due to carotid endarterectomy. Patients were divided into two groups based on clinical symptoms. Based on the histological features, the plaques were divided into groups I-VIII according AHA classification and into groups with unstable and stable plaque phenotype. Immunohistochemistry was performed with the primary antibody for human resistin (Resistin/RETN antibody, eBioscience), and the resistin expression was determined semi-quantitatively. The serum concentration of resistin was determined by the ELISA method. A confirmed hypothesis that expression of resistin is higher in unstable plaques indicates its association with the plaque destabilization process and suggests that resistin could potentially be used as one of the histological markers of plaque instability. Significant correlation of resistin with the symptoms of the patient also indicates potential utilization of resistin to stratify high-risk patients. Further research will be required to detect potential drugs whose purpose would be to reduce serum resistin values and consequently reduce cardiovascular risk

GOSPODARSKO ZNAČENJE DIONIČKOG DRUŠTVA

U radu se analiziraju uloga dioničkog društva u pravnom sustavu, njegova svojstva i njihovo značenje s gledišta uspješnosti gospodarske aktivnosti i izazova u ekonomskoj teoriji. Najprije se određuje pojam poduzeća i dioničkog društva definiran Zakonom o trgovačkim društvima, a potom se analiziraju temeljna obilježja dioničkog društva, kao specifičnog oblika društva kapitala; ostvarivanje funkcija vlasništva, kontrole i upravljanja u dioničkom društvu; prava i obveze društva koje proizlaze iz njegovog poslovanja, te skup imovinskih i upravljačkih prava dioničara. Slijedi analiza značaja definiranih specifičnih svojstava dioničkog društva s gledišta pravnog prometa i gospodarskih pothvata; preduvjeta rasprostranjenosti dioničkih društava i njezin pozitivan utjecaj na gospodarsku aktivnost i na kraju analiza pitanja koju je ta rasprostranjenost nametnula mikroekonomiji u vidu kritike tradicionalne i pojave alternativnih teorija firme, te izbora odluke o dividendi, odnosno izbora optimalne kombinacije triju međusobno povezanih odluka: - odluka o dividendi, o investiranju i o financitanju firme s gledišta maksimizacije blagostanja dioničara

Right ventricular strain for detecting subclinical dysfunction of the right ventricle in systemic sclerosis

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) function and cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is important factor for the prognosis of SSc but often remains undetectable despite echocardiographic screening. 1,3 Speckle derived strain (2D-STE) of the right ventricle (RV GLS) was utilized to detect subclinical abnormalities in regional and global contractility in SSc patients with no echocardiographic signs of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Aim of pilot study was to study the advantages of 2D speckle-tracking echocardiographic derived parameters in identifying RV dysfunction in SSc patients for quantifying myocardial deformation and conventional RV indexes in patients with SSc and to investigate whether these could be indicative of right heart failure or can be used as non-invasive methods of screening in SSc. Methods and Results: 27 SSc patients (mean age, 54.3 years; 96% female) with technically adequate echocardiograms were studied. Standard morphological measurements of RV chamber function, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), fractional area change (FAC), tricuspid tissue Doppler annular velocities (TDIs,), right ventricular myocardial performance index (RIMP) and global longitudinal right ventricular free wall strain (RV FW GLS) were obtained. Twenty-two patients without pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) due to systemic sclerosis were studied. When we used the cutoff value recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography Guidelines to identify abnormal RV function4, patients were determined to have normal RV function, TAPSE 21.9 (±2.21), RV FAC 49.4 (±3.45), RIMP 0.44 (±0.08) respectively. Global longitudinal strain (LS) of the RV was calculated by averaging the LS value of 3 segments of the RV free wall in RV focused apical 4-chamber view (Figure 1). 40.9% of those patients had abnormal RV FW GLS (-14.8%) more pronounced in the basal regional longitudinal strain. Conclusion: Right ventricular strain reveals a diverse pattern of regional strain in SSc that is not detected by conventional measures of function, suggestive of subclinical RV myocardial disease and could be used as non-invasive method in screening for PAH in SSc to select patients eligible for right heart catheterization or to monitor the effects of PAH therapy.1-