Suconjunctval hemorrhages

Introduction:Subconjunctival hemorrhage or suffusion is bleeding that occurs between the conjunctiva and episclera. It has a distinctive look and often frightens patients. The causes can be varied. Objective: The research was undertaken in order to determine the characteristics of patients within whomsubconjunctival hemorrhage occur. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients of the Eye Department of the Health Center in KosovskaMitrovica, during 6 months. Results were analyzed SPSS ver 22, i GraphPad INSTAT software package. Results: The change was observed in 63 patients. Male gender was significantly more frequent. The age of patients was diverse-between 5 and 86 years. The causes and conditions associated with subconjunctival hemorrhages are usually eye trauma, in young,and arterial hypertension in elderly patients. Conclusion: Subconjunctival hemorrhage is a relatively common diagnosis in ophthalmology. The change is benign and spontaneously disappears during one to two weeks. It is important to note that the subconjunctival hemorrhage occur in patients with certain risk factors

Deciphering the reward-related impulsivity domains in rats: The big data study of historical control

Impulsivity is a lack of ability to control own impulses, and encompasses many subdomains. The variable-delay-to-signal (VDS) paradigm is behavioral procedure for assessing motor impulsivity and delay intolerance in rats, but it was unclear whether all parameters contributed to these domains. Therefore, the aim of this study was to uncover the relationship between impulsivity parameters in a large cohort. VDS adapted to a touchscreen environment was used to assess impulsivity in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. After 1 week of training, animals were tested in a 3-stage testing protocol. The first stage included 20 trials with 6s inter-trial interval (ITI6si) that suggested motor impulsivity. The second stage, with 60 randomly distributed trials of ITI9s or 15s, was interpreted as delay intolerance, whereas for the last stage (ITI6sf), which is similar to the first stage, it was unclear to which type of impulsivity it was associated. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the different behavioral domains. The results of 132 controls from 11 independent VDS experiments were analyzed. Based on the cumulative variance explained, scree plot, and eigenvalues, the main components were extracted whereby varimax rotation was used on factor loadings to extract the components. PCA with varimax rotation was performed in R studio. PCA revealed that 96.45% of the variance could be explained by 3 principal components (PCs). After varimax rotation, loadings for ITI9s and ITI15s were 0.8189 and 0.9419, respectively, for rotated PC1 (RC1), loading for ITI6sf was 0.9482 for RC2, and loading for 6si was 0.9183 for RC3. In the VDS paradigm, 3 different impulsivity domains could be determined. In addition to motor impulsivity and delay intolerance, it is suggested that reflection impulsivity can also be assessed as learning-based impulsivity.Book of abstract: 4th Belgrade Bioinformatics Conference, June 19-23, 202

Reward-related impulsivity as a possible surrogate marker of motivation in aging Sprague-Dawley rats

Introduction: Impulsivity is an umbrella term that encompasses many subdomains, most of which rely on the decision-making processes. It is reported that in the process of healthy aging, the two dimensions of impulse control, cognition and motivation, are preserved or even improved. On the other hand, the attentive efficiency seems to decrease with age. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of healthy aging on impulsivity in rats and the influence of food deprivation on impulsivity in aged rats as a strategy to enhance motivation. Additionally, we wanted to assess the gene expression for the alpha5 GABAA receptor subunit during aging, which plays a role in cognitive processes. Methodology: The variable-delay-to-signal (VDS) paradigm adapted to a touchscreen environment was used to assess impulsivity and attention in Sprague-Dawley rats at 2, 3, 5, 8, and 14 months of age. After one week of training, animals were tested at different ages in 3-stage testing protocol. Additionally, prior to testing, animals were fed a restricted diet (16 g/animal). The first stage included 20 trials with inter-trial interval of 6s (ITI6si) that reflected motor impulsivity. The second stage, with 60 randomly distributed trials of ITI9s or 15s, was related to delay intolerance, while the final stage (ITI6sf), similar to the first, was related to reflection impulsivity. The strict 3-day restriction diet (24h food deprivation followed by 10g/day/animal and 8g/day/animal) was applied to 14-month-old animals before testing. Gabra5 expression in the hippocampus was determined by qPCR. Results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA with or without repeated measures, followed by Sidak post-hoc test for impulsivity and attention parameters and by t-test for PCR parameters. Results: Animals aged 8 and 14 months had reduced motor impulsivity (p<0.01 for both groups) and delay intolerance (p<0.05 for both groups) and higher number of omissions (p<0.05 for both groups) compared to animals aged 2, 3 and 5 months of age. In addition, half of the animals were unable to successfully complete a task after 14 months. After rigorous food restriction in 14-month-old animals, the level of impulsivity (ITI9s and ITI15s) and attention (number of omissions) returned to the control level (2 and 3 months of age) compared to the performance of 14-month-old animals prior to rigorous food restriction (p<0.05). Further, the peak of reflection impulsivity (ITI6sf) was reached at 5 months compared to all other groups (p<0.01). No changes in Gabra5 expression in hippocampus were detected in 14-month-old compared to 3-month-old animals. Conclusion: From 8 months of age onwards, rats showed reduced impulsivity in the VDS stages where motor impulsivity and delay intolerance were tested, followed by attention deficits. After strict food restriction in 14-month-old animals, delay intolerance and attention were restored, suggesting the prominent role of motivation in controlling these processes, independently of Gabra5 expression levels in the hippocampus. Since the VDS paradigm aims to assess reward-related impulsivity based on cognition and motivation, it is suspected that results related to impaired cognition in older animals in other cognitive tests should be interpreted with caution, and with additional observation of motivation

Deciphering ciprofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity: behavioral and molecular profiling of ciprofloxacin treatment in rats

Introduction: Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic commonly used to treat various bacterial infections, with a potential to induce adverse mood effects in patients. Since the molecular mechanism of ciprofloxacin-induced neurotoxicity is poorly understood, we aimed to identify behavioral changes and corresponding neurotransmitter pattern after its prolonged administration in rats. We screened for untoward effects of ciprofloxacin on locomotor activity, despair, anhedonia, object recognition memory, and anxiety, as behavioral domains affected in various psychiatric diseases. Methodology: Three-month old male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally gavaged with ciprofloxacin (20 or 100 mg/kg) or solvent (0.5% methyl cellulose solution) each day for 4 weeks (n=80). One group of animals (n=40) passed the open field (OF), novel object recognition test (NORT), and forced swimming test (FST). Another group (n=40) underwent elevated plus maze (EPM) and sucrose preference test (SPT). After the completion of behavioral battery, the prefrontal cortex and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were collected. The neurotransmitters and metabolites of the kynurenine pathway were determined in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) through HPLC-MS/MS. Additionally, levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in CSF were quantified with Luminex. Behavioral and molecular parameters were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett post hoc test in GraphPad Prism 9. Results: In FST, the treatment with high dose of ciprofloxacin decreased the swim time compared to control, which could be related to induction of despair-like behavior (p<0.05). The ciprofloxacin treatment did not affect object memory in NORT. In OF, the distance travelled and the number of rotations were not changed after treatment with ciprofloxacin compared to the control group. Further, animals treated with ciprofloxacin did not show changes in parameters in EPM and SPT. The acetylcholine levels in PFC were increased after ciprofloxacin treatment (p<0.05) in comparison with controls, which could be associated with depressed mood states. In line with that, high dose of ciprofloxacin treatment showed the tendency to decrease and increase levels of GABA and dopamine, respectively, but without reaching the statistical significance (p=0.07 and p=0.06). No changes in kynurenine pathway were observed after the treatment. The IL-2 concentration in CSF was increased after prolonged administration of low dose of ciprofloxacin treatment compared to the control levels (p<0.05), which could imply immunological stimulation of T lymphocytes and potential neuroinflammation. Conclusion: The despair behavior after treatment with high dose of ciprofloxacin was accompanied by increased levels of acetylcholine in PFC. Furthermore, the high dose of ciprofloxacin treatment showed tendency to decrease GABA levels, and increase dopamine levels in PFC, which could be connected to psychiatric adverse effects. Nonetheless, further studies are essential to confirm these neurotransmitter changes. On the other hand, the low dose of ciprofloxacin treatment elicited the increase of IL-2, which could be a marker of neuroinflammation-related neurotoxicity. In the future, efforts should be made to examine the role of IL-2 in the interaction of the immune system and the central nervous system, as its potential significance as a biomarker

The activity of superoxide dismutase in the aqueous humour of the patients with senile cataract

Cataract is a dysfunction of the lens of the eye caused by clouding. By far the most common type of cataract is the senile cataract. The immediate cause of the occurrence of cataract is unknown, but oxidative stress is considered important in its etiopathogenesis. The aim: to examine the intensity of oxidative stress, depending on the type and maturity of senile cataract, through the activity of the superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD) in the aqueous humor of the patients diagnosed with senile cataract. The average activity of the superoxide dismutase enzyme in the aqueous humor of the patients with early nuclear cataract was 41.16 U/mL, which is a significantly higher value (p<0.01) when compared with that of the patients with other types of early cataract, as well as with that of the patients with total cataract (33.88 U/mL). With aging the activity of the superoxide dismutase enzyme decreases, hence the average activity of the enzyme was significantly lower (p<0.05) in the group of patients over 75 years of age (36.28 U/mL vs. 28.91 U/mL)

The Role of Oxidative Stress in the Onset and Development of Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complex, degenerative and progressive chronic disease that leads to severe visual loss. The prevalence of early AMD accounts for 18% in the population between 65 and 74 years of age and even 30% in subjects older than 74 years. The articles published in the last decade point out to a significant role of oxidative stress in the onset and development of age-related macular degeneration. Generally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced in the eye during light absorption and physiological metabolic processes. The level of oxidative stress is kept under control by the action of antioxidants and reparative enzymes. Excessive synthesis of ROS leads to increased oxidative modification of lipids, proteins and DNA, causing oxidative damage of cytoplasmic and nuclear cell elements and changes of the extracellular matrix. The accumulation of oxidatively modified compounds in drusen deposits will initiate the onset and development of AMD. The objective of this review was to highlight the mechanisms of oxidative stress in order to elucidate their significance and association with the pathogenesis of AMD

Arthritis follows an acute urogenital or intestinal: Reiters disease

Arthritis following dyzentery or urethritis was mentioned before our era and later by many others. In 1818 Benjamin Brodie described 5 patients with typical 'Reiters disease': urethritis, conjunctivitis, arthritis. Many diagnostic criteria for Reiters disease / reactive arthritis have been proposed for practical purpose the most acceeptable is the folowing one: posturethritic or postenterocolitic arthritis is Reiters disease / reactive arthritis. The findings of Chlamydiy from the synovia or in the synovial fluid of itients with RD suggest that arthritis may be of infective but not of reactive origin

Influence of Ta and Nb on the hydrogen absorption kinetics in Zr-based alloys

The kinetics of hydrogen absorption in Zr alloys containing Nb and Ta admixtures (10 wt% Nb, 12 wt%Ta and 10 wt%Nb and 12 wt%Ta) is addressed. Hydrogen absorption is measured in the temperature range 400-700 degrees C at hydrogen pressure 1 bar using the volumetric method, and a kinetic analysis is performed to determine the mechanisms and rates of hydrogen absorption. To get further insight into hydrogen diffusivity in zirconium hydride, H-1 NMR spectroscopy is used to provide the activation energies for proton jumping in the studied samples. The tantalum is found to dominantly influence the surface reactivity, while niobium influences large decrease of the activation energy for hydrogen diffusion in the bulk of zirconium hydride. This behavior is linked to the information on the structure of the alloys obtained by XRD. Copyright.(C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved