Host lipid metabolism in experimental toxoplasmosis

Инфекција паразитом T. gondii се зове токсоплазмоза и представља једну од најраспрострањенијих антропозооноза. Истраживања патогенезе токсоплазмозе, у in vitro условима, су показала да T. gondii не може да синтетише холестерол, већ га мора преузети од ћелије домаћина. Како су међутим подаци о утицају ове инфекције на липидни метаболизам домаћина у in vivo условима веома оскудни, предмет ове тезе је било истраживање утицаја експерименталне инфекције T. gondii на серумски и ткивни липидни метаболизам домаћина. У експериментима смо користили женке мишева соја Swiss-Webster, старе шест недеља које смо инфицирали са 8 цисти BGD соја T. gondii путем орофарингеалне гаваже. У првом експерименталном моделу смо анализирали динамику кретања серумских липида мерећи укупни серумски холестерол, HDL, LDL и треиглицериде код инфицираних и контролних мишева након 7, 14, 21, 28 и 42 дана од експерименталне инфекције. Након 42 дана, мишеви су жртвовани а у мозговима су анализиране цисте паразита. У другом експерименталном моделу смо жртвовали групе од 6-12 мишева 14 и 42 дана након инфекције и анализирали елементе ткивног липидног метаболизма (рецепторе за HDL и LDL, аполипопротеине А-I и Б-100, транспортни протеин ABCA1, и ензим HMG-CoA редуктазу) у ткиву јетре и мозга инфицираних и контролних животиња. Резултати нашег истраживања су показали значајан пад серумских вредности укупног холестерола и HDL-a, код инфицираних животиња од 14. па до 42. дана и позитивну корелацију овог пада са бројем цисти у мозгу индивидуално праћених мишева, након 42 дана од инфекције (p<0,05). Поред серумског, долази и до поремећаја ткивног липидног метаболизма у смислу снижења генске експресије рецептора за HDL у јетри 14. дана и пораста активности LDL рецептора у мозгу 42. дана код инфицираних животиња (p<0,05). Додатно, 42. дана у мозгу инфицираних животиња долази и до пораста активности транспортног протеина ABCA1, као и ензима HMG-CoA редуктазе (p<0,05). На основу изложених резултата можемо закључити да T. gondii користећи холестерол домаћина доводи до смањења реверзног холестеролског транспорта од мозга ка јетри. Поред тога, паразит доводи до повећане синтезе и транспорта холестерола у мозгу инфицираних животиња као и до повећања директног холестеролског транспорта ка мозгу, па можемо рећи да су у патогенезу инфекције T. gondii укључене и промене на нивоу метаболизма липида домаћина...T. gondii infection is called toxoplasmosis and it is one of the most prevalent anthropozoonosis. Investigations of toxoplasmosis pathogenesis in the in vitro conditions have showed that T. gondii cannot synthesize cholesterol and therefore takes it from host cells. Since there is very limited information on lipid metabolism during T. gondii infection in the in vivo conditions, the aim of this work was to analyze the influence of experimental T. gondii infection on host serum and tissue lipid metabolism in the in vivo conditions. Six-week old female Swiss-Webster mice on regular diet were inoculated with 8 cysts of the Toxoplasma BGD-1 strain or left uninfected to serve as controls. In the first experimental model, infected and control mice were bled at day 0 and 42 post-infection (p.i.), and subgroups of 6-12 mice were bled weekly at alternative weeks for the measurement of total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. At d42 p.i., all brains were harvested for cyst enumeration. In model 2, groups of infected and control mice were sacrificed at, d14 and d42, for measurement of gene expression of HDL and LDL receptors, apolipoproteins A-I and B-100, transport protein ABCA1 and enzyme HMG-CoA reductase in brain and liver of infected mice We showed that there was a significant decrease in HDL, and in total Chl, in infected vs. control mice at d14 which persisted up to d42. This drop was in positive correlation with number of cysts in brain. In addition there was a tissue lipid metabolism alteration in infected mice. There was a gene expression decrease in liver HDL receptor at d14 and increase in brain LDL receptor expression at d 42. Additionally, there was an increase in gene expression of ABCA1 and HMG-CoA reductase in brain of infected animals at d42 post infection. On the basis of our in vivo results, we concluded that T. gondii uses host cholesterol for its growth and consequently induces a decrease in host reverse cholesterol transport from brain to liver. In addition, this parasite increases brain cholesterol synthesis and transport. Moreover, T. gondii increases direct cholesterol transport toward the brain of infected animals. We have concluded that T. gondii alters host lipid metabolism on both serum and tissue level in infected animals..

Controlling the thermal environment of underground power cables adjacent to heating pipeline using the pavement surface radiation properties

This paper shows how the pavement surface radiation properties can be used to control the thermal environment of 110 kV underground cables in order to increase their ampacity. It is assumed that the ampacity is additionally affected by the cable bedding size and an underground heating pipeline. Thanks to an experimental apparatus, some useful data were collected for the validation of two different finite element method based models that predict the effect of the pavement surface radiation properties on the cable ampacity. The first model corresponds to the experimental apparatus and actual indoor conditions, while the second one corresponds to the theoretical case and assumed outdoor conditions (taking into account the thermal effects of solar radiation, cable bedding size, and heating pipeline). This paper examines two possible cases of outdoor conditions, one corresponding to summer period (the most unfavorable ambient conditions) and another one corresponding to winter period (the most common winter conditions in Serbia). This proposed new method is based on the experimental data and generalized using the finite element method in COMSOL. It is found that the ampacity of the considered 110 kV cable line can be increased up to 25.4 % for the most unfavorable ambient conditions and up to 8 % for the most common winter conditions. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR33046

Hypothesis regarding the effects of gonadotropins on the level of free fatty acids and phospholipids in serum and follicular fluid during controlled ovarian stimulation

Controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) is used to augment the number of retrieved oocytes in in vitro fertilization (IVF). Follicular fluid (FF) contributes significantly to oocyte quality. Since the FF is composed of follicular secretions and plasma exudation, it reflects alterations in granulosa and thecal cells secretion as well as changes in the level of plasma constituents. Phospholipids (PL) and free fatty acids (FFA) are important constituents of both, FF and serum. Our hypothesis is that COS affects the level of PL and FFA in serum. Furthermore, since the level of PL and FFA in FF partially depends on their levels in serum, as a collaterally of our hypothesis is that the existing level of PL and FFA in serum correlates with the levels of PL and FFA in FF, and that the dose of applied gonadotropins during COS will correlate with the levels of PL and FFA in serum and FF. In addition, we assume that the level of PL and FFA in serum and in FF after COS will correlate with the retrieved number of GQ oocytes, one of the most important outcomes of COS.. © 201

Galectin-3 Deficiency Accelerates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Amplifies Inflammation in Adipose Tissue and Pancreatic Islets

Obesity-induced diabetes is associated with low-grade inflammation in adipose tissue and macrophage infiltration of islets. We show that ablation of galectin-3 (Gal-3), a galactoside-binding lectin, accelerates high-fat diet-induced obesity and diabetes. Obese LGALS3(-/-) mice have increased body weight, amount of total visceral adipose tissue (VAT), fasting blood glucose and insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, and markers of systemic inflammation compared with diet-matched wild-type (WT) animals. VAT of obese LGALS3(-/-) mice exhibited increased incidence of type 1 T and NKT lymphocytes and proinflammatory CD11c(+)CD11b(+) macrophages and decreased CD4(+)CD25(+)FoxP3(+) regulatory T cells and M2 macrophages. Pronounced mononuclear cell infiltrate, increased expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in macrophages, and increased accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and receptor for AGE (RAGE) expression were present in pancreatic islets of obese LGALS3(-/-) animals accompanied with elevated phosphorylated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) p65 and mature caspase-1 protein expression in pancreatic tissue and VAT. In vitro stimulation of LGALS3(-/-) peritoneal macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and saturated fatty acid palmitate caused increased caspase-l-dependent IL-1 beta production and increased phosphorylation of NF-kappa B p65 compared with WT cells. Transfection of LGALS3(-/-) macrophages with NLRP3 small interfering RNA attenuated production in response to palmitate and LPS plus palmitate. Obtained results suggest important protective roles for Gal-3 in obesity-induced inflammation and diabetes.Serbian Ministry of Science and Technological Development [175071, 175069

Looking at Zagreb: The Italian State as a Popularizer of Contemporary Art

In 1965, at the 12th International Conference of Critics, Artists and Art Scholars, held in Rimini, Verucchio and San Marino and devoted to the theme Art and Technology, Italian art critic Giulio Carlo Argan declared that Yugoslavia had overcome the problem of the relationship between art and technology. His statement concerned to the cultural milieu of Zagreb that Argan had known from the early Sixties. In the same year, Palma Bucarelli, the chief curator of the Rome National Gallery, attended the Brezovica conference held for Nova tendencija 3, to present a project in which the museum had a significant role as a state institution that had to encourage contemporary art in order to free artists from the pressures of the art market and private art galleries. In 1963, another art scholar, Umbro Apollonio, the curator of the Venice Biennale Archive for Contemporary Arts who had directly participated in the Venice exhibition Nuova tendenza 2, claimed that Italian Public Art School needed a new relationship between teaching and industries. My presentation aims to highlight how Argan, Bucarelli, Apollonio and other Italian scholars hoped for the state to intervene in the Italian art system and also how their ideas were inspired by the Croatian political and cultural situation of the 1960s

Brašno - Kruh '13

The "Flour-Bread '13“ Congress topics were the following: breeding and quality of cereal grains, grain storage and milling technology, analytical and rheological methods, baking technology, improvers and additives, starch and modified starch, extrusion and pasta production, biscuit and pastry products, nutritional quality of cereals, cereal food safety and cereal based functional foods

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts. Data and metadata are stored on the Open Science Framework website (https://osf.io/mhg94/)

Data from an international multi-centre study of statistics and mathematics anxieties and related variables in university students (the SMARVUS dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts. Data and metadata are stored on the Open Science Framework website [https://osf.io/mhg94/]

Data from an International Multi-Centre Study of Statistics and Mathematics Anxieties and Related Variables in University Students (the SMARVUS Dataset)

This large, international dataset contains survey responses from N = 12,570 students from 100 universities in 35 countries, collected in 21 languages. We measured anxieties (statistics, mathematics, test, trait, social interaction, performance, creativity, intolerance of uncertainty, and fear of negative evaluation), self-efficacy, persistence, and the cognitive reflection test, and collected demographics, previous mathematics grades, self-reported and official statistics grades, and statistics module details. Data reuse potential is broad, including testing links between anxieties and statistics/mathematics education factors, and examining instruments\’ psychometric properties across different languages and contexts. Data and metadata are stored on the Open Science Framework website [https://osf.io/mhg94/]