A non-fatal potassium cyanide poisoning

Iznesen je slučaj otrovanja kalijevim cijanidom, kod kojega je pacijent uzeo per os u namjeri samoubistva približno petnaesterostruku letalnu dozu i ostao na životu. Komentirane su mogućnosti terapije. Iznesena je toksikologija cijanida, dijagnostički i terapeutski postupci.A case of potassium cyanide poisoning in a somatically healthy man, aged 24, is presented. With intention of committing suicide he swallowed 3.75 g of potassium cyanide (fifteen times the lethal dose) in a slice of bread. 30 minutes afterwards he was taken to the hospital in deep coma. After lavage of the stomach respiration stopped with slowing of the heart rate and extrasystolia. Artificial intratracheal breathing was applied, as well as the inhalation of amyl nitrite through 10 minutes (in the intervals of 2 minutes). This produced sporadic spontaneous respiration, and soon rhythmic respiration began. In half an hour the patient became conscious and was out of danger. The mechanism of intoxication and the therapy are discussed

Screening of Satureja subspicata Vis. honey by HPLC-DAD, GC-FID/MS and UV/VIS: prephenate derivatives as biomarkers

The samples of Satureja subspicata Vis. honey were confirmed to be unifloral by melissopalynological analysis with the characteristic pollen share from 36% to 71%. Bioprospecting of the samples was performed by HPLC-DAD, GC-FID/MS, and UV/VIS. Prephenate derivatives were shown to be dominant by the HPLC-DAD analysis, particularly phenylalanine (167.8 mg/kg) and methyl syringate (MSYR, 114.1 mg/kg), followed by tyrosine and benzoic acid. Higher amounts of MSYR (3-4 times) can be pointed out for distinguishing S. subspicata Vis. honey from other Satureja spp. honey types. GC-FID/MS analysis of ultrasonic solvent extracts of the samples revealed MSYR (46.68%, solvent pentane/Et2O 1:2 (v/v); 52.98%, solvent CH2Cl2) and minor abundance of other volatile prephenate derivatives, as well as higher aliphatic compounds characteristic of the comb environment. Two combined extracts (according to the solvents) of all samples were evaluated for their antioxidant properties by FRAP and DPPH assay; the combined extracts demonstrated higher activity (at lower concentrations) in comparison with the average honey sample. UV/VIS analysis of the samples was applied for determination of CIE Lab colour coordinates, total phenolics (425.38 mg GAE/kg), and antioxidant properties (4.26 mmol Fe2+/kg (FRAP assay) and 0.8 mmol TEAC/kg (DDPH assay)

Endemic nephropathy

Autori iznose podatke o rezultatima dosadašnjih ispitivanja endemske nefropatije („nefropatije balkanskih zemalja“) jugoslavenskih, bugarskih, rumunjskih i drugih istraživača. Osvrću se na historijat, geografsku rasprostranjenost, učestalost i ističu epidemiološke značajke ove endemske bolesti. Razmatraju etiološke hipoteze, analizirajući potanje suvremene postavke o mogućim etiološkim faktorima. Navode obdukcijske i bioptičke pato-morfološke nalaze, ističući nađene razlike između nalaza pojedinih skupina istraživača. Osvrću se na kliničku sliku, teškoće u dijagnostici i dosadašnje rezultate u razradi i provjeri dijagnostičkih metoda koje doprinose dijagnozi dokazivanjem tubularnog tipa proteinurije. Kritički razmatraju pojedine rezultate i postavke, iznoseći svoje stavove koji rezultiraju iz vlastitih iskustava. U zaključku ističu socijalno-medicinske aspekte problema endemske nefropatije i zalažu se za potrebu intenzivnijeg planskog, usklađenog rada na istraživanju, koje bi omogućilo djelotvorne preventivne mjere.The results of studies of endemic nephropathy (Balkan Nephropathy) obtained by Yugoslav, Bulgarian, Roumanian and other authors are reviewed. The history of the disease, its geographical distribution and frequency are dealt with and epidemiological significance pointed out. Hypotheses concerning the etiology of the disease are considered and current assumptions about possible etiological factors are analyzed in detail. Pathological findings obtained by autopsy and biopsy are presented and differences in findings of various groups of authors discussed. The clinical picture of the disease, difficulties encountered in diagnosis and current results in the development and checking up of diagnostic methods for the detection of the tubular type of proteinuria are also described. Certain results and assumptions arc critically evaluated and commented upon from the point of view of own experience. In conclusion, socio-medical aspects of the problem of endemic nephropathy are presented and the necessity for intense, well planned and coordinated research which would result in efficient preventive measures is emphasized

The white collar complex is essential for sexual reproduction but dispensable for conidiation and invasive growth in Fusarium verticillioides

Fvwc1 and Fvwc2, orthologues of the wc-1 and wc-2 genes encoding for proteins of the white collar complex (WCC) in Neurospora crassa were cloned from Fusarium verticillioides and lack-of-function wc mutants were obtained by targeted gene disruption. Photo-conidiation was found to be absent in F. verticillioides, on the contrary, the wild type strain produced less conidia under continuous illumination than in the dark. Inactivation of any of the wc genes led to total female sterility, without affecting male fertility or asexual conidiation. No loss in colonization capability/invasive growth of the wc mutants was observed, when assessed on tomato fruits. Both Fvwc1 and Fvwc2 showed constitutive expression in the wild type cultures incubated in the dark and exposure to light caused only negligible increases in their transcription. Both Fvwc1 and Fvwc2 were down-regulated in a ΔFvmat1-2-1 gene disruption mutant, lacking a functional mating type (mat1-2-1) gene, suggesting that the MAT1-2-1 product has a positive regulatory effect on the white collar genes

Low oxygen affects photophysiology and the level of expression of two-carbon metabolism genes in the seagrass <i>Zostera muelleri</i>

© 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. Seagrasses are a diverse group of angiosperms that evolved to live in shallow coastal waters, an environment regularly subjected to changes in oxygen, carbon dioxide and irradiance. Zostera muelleri is the dominant species in south-eastern Australia, and is critical for healthy coastal ecosystems. Despite its ecological importance, little is known about the pathways of carbon fixation in Z. muelleri and their regulation in response to environmental changes. In this study, the response of Z. muelleri exposed to control and very low oxygen conditions was investigated by using (i) oxygen microsensors combined with a custom-made flow chamber to measure changes in photosynthesis and respiration, and (ii) reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR to measure changes in expression levels of key genes involved in C4 metabolism. We found that very low levels of oxygen (i) altered the photophysiology of Z. muelleri, a characteristic of C3 mechanism of carbon assimilation, and (ii) decreased the expression levels of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase and carbonic anhydrase. These molecular-physiological results suggest that regulation of the photophysiology of Z. muelleri might involve a close integration between the C3 and C4, or other CO2 concentrating mechanisms metabolic pathways. Overall, this study highlights that the photophysiological response of Z. muelleri to changing oxygen in water is capable of rapid acclimation and the dynamic modulation of pathways should be considered when assessing seagrass primary production

Study and interest of cellular load in respiratory samples for the optimization of molecular virological diagnosis in clinical practice

BACKGROUND: Respiratory viral diagnosis of upper respiratory tract infections has largely developed through multiplex molecular techniques. Although the sensitivity of different types of upper respiratory tract samples seems to be correlated to the number of sampled cells, this link remains largely unexplored. METHODS: Our study included 800 upper respiratory tract specimens of which 400 negative and 400 positive for viral detection in multiplex PCR. All samples were selected and matched for age in these 2 groups. For the positive group, samples were selected for the detected viral species. RESULTS: Among the factors influencing the cellularity were the type of sample (p < 0.0001); patient age (p < 0.001); viral positive or negative nature of the sample (p = 0.002); and, for the positive samples, the number of viral targets detected (0.004 < p < 0.049) and viral species. CONCLUSION: The cellular load of upper respiratory samples is multifactorial and occurs for many in the sensitivity of molecular detection. However it was not possible to determine a minimum cellularity threshold allowing molecular viral detection. The differences according to the type of virus remain to be studied on a larger scale

Glial ankyrins facilitate paranodal axoglial junction assembly

Neuron-glia interactions establish functional membrane domains along myelinated axons. These include nodes of Ranvier, paranodal axoglial junctions, and juxtaparanodes. Paranodal junctions are the largest vertebrate junctional adhesion complex, are essential for rapid saltatory conduction, and contribute to assembly and maintenance of nodes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying paranodal junction assembly are poorly understood. Ankyrins are cytoskeletal scaffolds traditionally associated with Na+ channel clustering in neurons and important for membrane domain establishment and maintenance in many cell types. Here, we show that ankyrinB, expressed by Schwann cells, and ankyrinG, expressed by oligodendrocytes, are highly enriched at the glial side of paranodal junctions where they interact with the essential glial junctional component neurofascin 155. Conditional knockout of ankyrins in oligodendrocytes disrupts paranodal junction assembly and delays nerve conduction during early development in mice. Thus, glial ankyrins function as major scaffolds that facilitate early and efficient paranodal junction assembly in the developing central nervous system

Tamm-Horsfall Protein in Balkan Endemic Nephropathy

Peer Reviewe

Tuberculin illness as an occupational affection

Opisana je epidemija generalizirane febrilne reakcije na inhalaciju raspršenih čestica pri produkciji PPD turberkulina kod veterinarskog osoblja, U jednom mahu oboljelo je akutno 9 osoba, a ukupno 15, od kojih neke više puta. Bolest je izbila nakon 3-6 sati (kod većine oboljelih) latencije poslije ekspozicije od 0,5 minuta do 3 sata. S obzirom na kratko vrijeme latencije, pretpostavljamo da se radilo o »ranom«, »humoralnom« tipu alergičnog reagiranja na tuberkulin. Pojavu da se Iebrilna reakcija javila kod jedne osobe s· negativnim Mantoux-testom, a kod jedne Mantoux-pozitivne nije se javila unatoč višekratnoj ekspoziciji inhalacije, pokušali smo protumačiti disocijacijom »humoralne« i »celularne« alergične reakcije. Dijagnoza je laka, ali se takve pojave moraju poznavati, da bi se mogle ispravno interpretirati. Važna je prevencija, koja se može uspješno provoditi jednostavnim sredstvima, a ozbiijnost pojedinih oboljenja pokazuje potrebu efikasne terapije.An epidemic outbreak of systemic »influenza-Iike« disease following the inhalation of tuberculin aerosol in 14 persons engaged in the production of PPD tuberculin is described. The manifestations of febrile illness became apparent within 3-6 hours after exposure. Exposure varied from 0,5 minutes to 3 hours. Disease lasted from 8 hours to 6 days, three patients showing a serious clinical picture. The convalescence period lasted 1 to 14 days. The symptoms and signs observed are dealt with and 5 cases of the disease are described in detail. The disease is interpreted as a systemic allergic reaction due to occupational inhalation of tuberculin aerosol. Comparison has been made with the data from literature. The manifestations of »tuberculin illness«.in one person with the negative Mantoux test were observed. Absence of systemic reaction in one exposed person who showed a strongly positive Mantoux test was marked. Attempt has been made to, explain these phenomena