Integument in Apfelbeckia insculpta (L. Koch, 1867) (Diplopoda, Callipodida) – morphoanatomical and ultrastructural study

The morphoanatomical and ultrastructural features of the integument (cuticle + epidermis) of an endemic Balkan millipede, Apfelbeckia insculpta (L. Koch, 1867), are investigated utilizing light (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cuticle consists of epicuticle (outermost layer), exocuticle, endocuticle and membranous layer that is in contact with the underlying epidermis. Epicuticle is layer of varying thickness, while exocuticle is composed of helicoidally arranged sheets of microfibriles that appear as close-spaced light and dark bands. Endocuticle is the widest part of cuticle with the broad light bands that are oriented in the same direction. TEM micrographs show that these bands are composed of lamellae arranged in arcuate pattern and curved microfibriles. Membranous layer is intersected in some regions by canals that connect epidermis and different levels of the cuticle and/or surface. The epidermis is monostratified layer of cells that are characterized by distinct polarity. Basal part of epidermal cells is rich in rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, while apical part contains numerous osmiophilic granules. Nuclei of epidermal cells are ovoid and positioned in different regions of cells. Interdigitations are formed among cells in some epidermal regions. Our study corroborates previous findings on integument organization in Diplopoda and shows that species-specific patterns of cuticular ultrastructure can be present in these arthropods

Standardized Aronia melanocarpa Extract as Novel Supplement against Metabolic Syndrome: A Rat Model

The aim of our study was to examine the effects of different dietary strategies, high-fat (HFd) or standard diet (Sd) alone or in combination with standardized oral supplementation (0.45 mL/kg/day) of Aronia melanocarpa extract (SAE) in rats with metabolic syndrome (MetS). SAE is an official product of pharmaceutical company Pharmanova (Belgrade, Serbia); however, the procedure for extraction was done by EU-Chem company (Belgrade, Serbia). Rats were divided randomly into six groups: control with Sd, control with Sd and SAE, MetS with HFd, MetS with HFd and SAE, MetS with Sd and MetS with Sd and SAE during 4 weeks. At the end of the 4-week protocol, cardiac function and liver morphology were assessed, while in the blood samples glucose, insulin, iron levels and systemic redox state were determined. Our results demonstrated that SAE had the ability to lower blood pressure and exert benefits on in vivo and ex vivo heart function. Moreover, SAE improved glucose tolerance, attenuated pathological liver alterations and oxidative stress present in MetS. Obtained beneficial effects of SAE were more prominent in combination with changing dietary habits. Promising potential of SAE supplementation alone or in combination with different dietary protocols in triggering cardioprotection should be further examined in future

Primary Merkel cell carcinoma of the eyelid - clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopical features: A case report

Introduction. Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare eyelid neoplasm which can cause significant diagnostic and especially therapeutic challenges. Case Outline. This is the first documented report of the case of primary MCC of the eyelid in Serbia. Conclusion. The optimal therapy must be individualized in any given patient and, early diagnosis and meticulous follow-up are mandatory to achieve a long-term cure

Estradiol In Vivo Induces Changes in Cardiomyocytes Size in Obese Rats

We studied the in vivo effects of estradiol on size and biochemical parameters of cardiomyocytes in pathophysiological conditions such as obesity and insulin resistance. Male Wistar rats were normally fed (controls, n = 7) or fed with high-fat diet (obese, n = 14). Half of the obese rats (obese + estradiol, n = 7) were treated with a single dose of estradiol (40 g/kg, intraperitoneally) and 24 hours after treatment all the rats were killed. Estradiol in vivo in obese rats resulted in a significant increase in protein kinase B (Akt) activation (P LT .05) and decrease in heart mass (P LT .05), ratio of the heart mass/body mass (P LT .05), transverse diameters of cardiomyocytes (P LT .001), concentration of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (P LT .001), and total cholesterol (P LT .01) compared with obese nontreated rats. Our results suggest that estradiol in obese/IR rats affects the size of cardiomyocytes and its actions lead in vivo to a reduction in obesity-induced cardiac hypertrophy, via Akt

Correlation of structural defects in the ascending aortic wall to ultrasound parameters: benefits for decision-making process in aortic valve surgery

Abstract Background Histopathological changes in the ascending aorta wall in patients with severe tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) stenosis were graded and correlated to echocardiographic parameters. Objective was to associate threshold echocardiographic values with structural defects in the ascending aorta providing a tool to improve decision-making process in cases when simultaneous aortic valve replacement (AVR) and ascending aorta replacement is considered. Methods Biopsies from 108 TAV stenosis patients subjected to AVR were graded into three grades according to severity of aortic wall changes. Echocardiographic parameters obtained preoperatively and correlated to grade, age, gender and risk factors, were diameters of ventriculo-aortic junction (AA), sinus Valsalva (SV), sinotubular junction (STJ), the largest diameter of the visualized ascending aorta (AscA) as well as indexes: sinus Valsalva (SVI), sinotubular junction (STJI), AscA/AA and STJ/AA. Results Two echocardiographic parameters portrayed grades with statistical significance: STJ (F = 5.417; p = 0.006 (p  3.3 cm, while Grade 3 is identified in patients with values of AscA > 3.5 cm, STJ > 2.9 cm and STJI > 1. Conclusions Hemodynamic stress induced by TAV stenosis leads to elastic lamellae disruption in the aortic wall. Those changes could be graded and correlated with echocardiographic parameters of the aortic root and ascending aorta, providing a tool for decision to replace ascending aorta concomitantly with AVR

The role of gut hormones in appetite regulation (review)

Eating process is an aggregate of complex and different forms of behavior. Its regulation is based on energy homeostasis and appetite control which includes two components: the homeostatic and the hedonistic control. Important signals in appetite regulation are gut-derived hormones. They are produced by enteroendocrine cells in response to nutrient and energy intake, and achieve their effects by influencing brain structures involved in food intake regulation. The key brain structure involved in this process is the hypothalamus. Gut hormones reach the hypothalamus from the circulation or by the vagal nerve via the nucleus of the solitary tract. Among gut peptides, ghrelin is the only orexigenic hormone, leading to an increase in food intake and body weight. All others, such as cholecystokinin, glucagon like peptide-1, oxyntomodulin, peptide tyrosine tyrosine or pancreatic polypeptide, are anorexigenic, leading to decrease in food intake. Also, gut-derived endocannabinoids exert orexigenic effect on appetite. Keeping in mind the growing problem of obesity, the crucial issue when considering gut derived peptides is to understand their mechanisms of acting because of potential role in clinical therapy, and discovering long-lasting gut peptides or their analogues, with no or minimal side effects

Natural history of the aortic wall changes in adults with the degenerative tricuspid aortic valve stenosis: The morphometric proofs and implications for echocardiography

Background/Aim. So far, no study has been focused exclusively on the tricuspid aortic valve stenosis (TAV) in the aorta without severe dilatation and none has aimed at correlating the high mycroscopy findings with the echocardiographic parameters. This research was conducted on the postulate that detecting the histopathological changes of different severity in the aortic wall could tailor decision about an aortic surgery. The aim of this study was to grade the histopathological changes in the wall of the nonseverely dilated ascending aorta in patients with the severe, calcific TAV stenosis and to correlate them with the echocardiographic parameters in order to analyze when the ascending aorta should be replaced simultaneously with the aortic valve replacement (AVR). Methods. The samples from 37 patients subjected to the AVR and the samples from the control group were analyzed morphologically. The echocardiographic parameters obtained in the TAV stenosis patients were preoperatively correlated with the morphological data, age and gender, diameters of the ventriculo-aortic junction (AA), the sinus Valsalvae (SV) and sinotubular junction (STJ), the largest diameter of the visualized ascending aorta (AscA), the sinus Valsalvae index (SVI) and AscA/AA index. Results. We confirmed morphometrically the exact region of the hemodynamic stress influence with the mathematical distinction in comparison to the controls. In this region, the gradual elastic lamellae disruption was proved by a statistically significant difference through the 3 grades. The elastic skeleton alterations were potentiated with aging and in females. The morphometric parameters of the ascending aorta wall statistically significantly correlated with the echocardiographic parameters: AA, SV, AscA and SVI. The echocardiographic parameters tended to be higher in the most severe grade 3, in the patients younger than 65 years of age. The AscAof more than 4.5 cm was associated with the irreversible morphological defects in these patients. Conclusion. The hemodynamic stress induced by the TAV stenosis leads to the ascending aorta elastic lamellae disruption that could be histopathologically graded and correlated with the echocardiographic parameters of the ascending aorta providing a potential tool for decision-making process in cases when the ascending aorta replacement is considered simultaneously with the AVR. [Projects of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 175005, Grant no. 175061, Grant no. III45005, Grant no. III41002, Grant no. III41022

Structural features of arterial grafts important for surgical myocardial revascularization: Part II - Histology of the radial, inferior epigastric, and right gastroepiploic arteries

[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175005, 175061, III41002, III45005 i 41022

Structural features of arterial grafts important for surgical myocardial revascularization: Part I - Histology of the internal thoracic artery

[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175005, 175061, III41002, III45005 i 41022

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on cardiac Na+/K+-ATPase in high fat diet fed rats

The aim of this study was to investigate in vivo effects of estradiol on Na+/K+-ATPase activity/expression in high fat (HF) diet fed rats. Adult male Wistar rats were fed normally (Control, n = 7) or with a HF diet (Obese, n = 14) for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks, half of the obese rats were treated with estradiol (Obese + Estradiol, n = 7, 40 mu g/kg, i.p.) as a bolus injection and 24 h after treatment all the rats were sacrificed. Estradiol in vivo in obese rats in comparison with obese non-treated rats led to a statistically significant increase in concentration of serum Na+ (p LT 0.05), Na+/K+-ATPase activity (p LT 0.01), expression of alpha 1 (p LT 0.01) and alpha 2 (p LT 0.05) subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase, both PI3K subunits p85 (p LT 0.01), p110 (p LT 0.05), and association of IRS-1 with p85 (p LT 0.05), while significantly decrease expression of AT1 (p LT 0.05) and Rho A (p LT 0.01) proteins. Our results suggest that estradiol in vivo in pathophysiological conditions, such as obesity accompanied with insulin resistance stimulates activity and expression of Na+/K+-ATPase by a mechanism that involves the participation of IRS-1/PI3K/Akt signaling. In addition, the decreasing level of AT1 and Rho A proteins estradiol probably attenuates the detrimental effect of obesity to decreased IRS-1/P13K association and consequently reduce Na+/K+-ATPase activity/expression. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved