Reseda inodora Rchb., a new species of the Croatian flora

A population of Reseda inodora Rchb. was found in Bansko brdo (Baranya, Croatia), in April 2007. This Pontic-Pannonian species was not previously included in the recent Croatian botanical database. The chorology of R. inodora seems to be important, because this finding is on the western border of the species area. Considering the low number of individuals and small extension of occurrence, R. inodora should be treated as a critically endangered species in Croatia. A phytocoenological relevé taken on its habitat, a short morphological description of R. inodora and a new key of Reseda L. species of Croatia are presented

Reducing the Sodium Chloride Content in Chicken Pate by Using Potassium and Ammonium Chloride

AbstractThe aim of this research was to investigate possibility of chicken pate production with reduced sodium chloride content, as well as to establish changes in sensory characteristics. In the study, six experimental groups of chicken pate were produced with the same basic ingredients, but different amounts of added salts. Sensory evaluation was performed in order to determine general taste acceptability, and of the sodium and potassium levels in the chicken pate. The pate from EI and EII groups in which the amount of added sodium chloride was reduced and/or partially substituted with ammonium chloride had a most acceptable taste

The potential of different plant species for nickel accumulation

Contamination of the environment with toxic heavy metals is a mayor environmental problem. Aimed to find effective and economical attractive solutions for environment cleaning, scientists intensively evolve various phytoremediation techniques. Nickel is one of the essential micronutrients for plants, animals, and humans, but toxic at elevated concentrations. Also, it belongs to a group of heavy metals. In respect of the fact that Ni uptake relies upon plant species and that some of them show hyperaccumulation effects, the aim of our study was to analyse Ni concentration in certain plant species affected by Ni contamination of air and surface soil. Ni deposition in the air was below 60 mu g/m(2)/month, while Ni content in the soil was between 42 and 150 mu g/g. Average Ni content in plants ranged from 0. 1 to 5. 0 mu g/g. Regardless the analysed locality, the highest Ni (7.1 mu g/g) was obtained with the hogweed, whereas the lowest (4.5 mu g/g) with the vines. Ambrosia artemis folia and Taraxum officinale accumulated the greatest amounts of Ni (10. 72 and 10. 61 mu g/g, respectively). It may be concluded that the analysed plant species exhibit various phytoremediation potential for Ni under the same ecological conditions

Chemical composition and cholesterol content in M. longissimus dorsi from free-range reared Swallow-belly Mangalitsa: the effect of gender

The objective of this study was to determine chemical composition and cholesterol content in M. longissimus dorsi (MLD) of Swallow-belly Mangalitsa, free-range reared, and to investigate possible effects of gender on these quality parameters of its meat. Average moisture and fat contents were significantly different in male and female pig muscles. The differences in average values of ash, protein and cholesterol contents between the two groups (genders) of meat samples were not significant. In MLD samples of female pigs, total fat had a significant influence on cholesterol content, while this influence was not established in MLD of male pigs. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Živa u različitim vrstama morskih riba na srpskom tržištu

Proučavanje žive (Hg) u marinskim sistemima je od velikog interesa, s obzirom da je reč o toksičnom metalu koji ima sposobnost bioakumulacije i biomagnifikacije u lancu ishrane. Vodeni sistemi, a time i ribe, mogu biti kontaminirani živom kao posledicom zagađenja životne sredine prirodnim procesima (vulkanske erupcije, klimatske promene itd.) i antropogenim izvorima zagađenja (industrija, rudarstvo itd.). Živa (Hg) može postojati kao elementarna, neorganska i organska živa. Najtoksičniji oblik žive je metil živa (MetHg) koja čini od 70-100% ukupne Hg u ribi. Naučna ispitivanja ukazuju da velike količine žive u hrani mogu negativno uticati na razvoj fetusa i izazvati oštećenja mozga i jetre. Cilj ovog rada bio je ispitivanje sadržaja žive u jestivim delovima tri vrste morske ribe na tržištu Srbije: oslić - Merluccius merluccius (n=84), skuša - Scomber scombrus (n=35) i papalina - Sprattus sprattus (n=17)). Prosečna potrošnja ribe u Srbiji iznosi oko 5 kg po glavi stanovnika, što je znatno niže u poređenju sa EU prosekom (21 kg po glavi stanovnika). Svi uzorci uzeti su i analizirani tokom 2014. godine. Analiza sadržaja žive urađena je primenom induktivno-kuplovane plazme sa masenom spektrometrijom (ICP-MS), merenjem izotopa 202Hg. Najviša srednja vrednost sadržaja žive utvrđena je u uzorcima skuše (0,056 mg/kg), zatim kod oslića (0,034 mg/kg), a najniža kod papaline (0,016 mg/kg). Maksimalno dozvoljene količine Hg u ispitanim ribama, koje su definisane zakonskom regulativom Srbije [MDK (oslić, papalina) = 500 ng/g, MDK (skuša) = 1000 ng/g] nisu prekoračene u svim ispitanim uzorcima. Statističkom evaluacijom dobijenih rezultata ustanovljeno je da postoji statistički zanačajna razlika (p<0,005) u sadržaju Hg između oslića i skuše, kao i između skuše i papaline. Za procenu unosa Hg konzumiranjem ribe korišćeni su podaci iz „GEMS/Food Consumption Cluster Diets database“. Prema ovom izvoru, procenjena prosečna nedeljna potrošnja morske ribe u Srbiji iznosi 106,4 g. Koristeći podatke iz ove studije izračunat je nedeljni unos Hg, baziran na srednjoj vrednosti sadržaja Hg u konzumiranoj ribi i prosečnoj telesnoj težini čoveka od 70 kg. Na osnovu izračunatih vrednosti za nedeljni unos Hg (oslić: 0,051-0,208 µg/kg telesne težine; skuša: 0,086-0,289 µg/kg telesne težine; papalina: 0,025-0,050 µg/kg telesne težine) može se zaključiti da je unos žive pri konzumaciji oslića, skuše i papaline znatno niži od preporučenih graničnih vrednosti svetske zdravstvene organizacije (1,6 µg MetHg /kg telesne težine)

Comparison of Essential Metals in Different Pork Meat Cuts from the Serbian Market

AbstractPork consumption in Serbia accounts for a large share of total meat consumption. Pork is valuable sources of nutrients. We analyzed metal content in three different cuts of pork collected from the Serbian market during 2014. Analyses of the following isotopes: zinc (66Zn), copper (63Cu) and iron (57Fe) were performed by ICP-MS. Our data show that Zn, Cu and Fe were present in significantly different levels in hind leg, loin and shoulder, and that shoulder meat was richest in the analyzed metals. The differing mineral status of different pork cuts implies differences in their nutritional benefits for the human diet

Comparison of two Analytical Methods (ELISA and LC-MS/MS) for Determination of Aflatoxin B1 in Corn and Aflatoxin M1 in Milk

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to assess the closeness of agreement between results of ELISA and LC-MS/MS methods for determination of aflatoxin B1 in corn and aflatoxin M1 in milk. Samples of corn (n=100) and milk (n=250) were simultaneously analyzed using ELISA and LC-MS/MS methods, after the severe drought that affected Serbia in summer 2012 resulting in occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in corn and aflatoxin M1 in milk. Regression analysis showed higher level of agreement between aflatoxin B1 samples (R2=0.994), compared to aflatoxin M1 samples (R2=0.920). However, both techniques were satisfactory in meeting the requirements for official control purposes

Procena sadržaja metala i elemenata u tkivima 4 komercijalne vrste riba iz Dunava kod Beograda

Cilj ovog istraživanja je bio da se proceni akumulacija elemenata u četiri komercijalne vrste riba na dva lokaliteta na Dunavu, u Beogradu. U ovom istraživanju, određene su koncentracije 11 elemenata (As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Se, i Zn) u tkivima mišića, jetre i škrga sledećih vrsta: mrena (Barbus barbus), deverika (Abramis brama), štuka (Esox lucius) i smuđ (Sander lucioperca). Rezultati su ukazali da je distribucija metala i elemenata u tragovima u različitim tkivima specifična za vrstu. Koncentracije As, Cd, Fe, Hg, i Zn u mišićima riba su bile ispod maksimalno dozvoljenih koncentracija MDK, utvrđenih od strane EU i Republike Srbije. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata, neophodno je uspostaviti program stalnog monitoringa na Dunavu u Beogradskom regionu

High frequency of the R75Q CFTR variation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AbstractWe performed the complete screening of the CFTR gene in a group of 31 patients with COPD in order to investigate the impact of mutations and polymorphisms in the CFTR gene. The cumulative frequency of CFTR mutations (17.74%) was significantly higher than in our general population (P<0.0001). The R75Q was significantly overrepresented in COPD patients (8.06%; P=0.002). In all patients carrying the R75Q chronic bronchitis was a dominant symptom of COPD, and all were homozygous for the V470 allele. These findings suggest that R75Q mutation could be characteristic CFTR variant for COPD patients

Trefoil Factor 1 in Early Breast Carcinoma: A Potential Indicator of Clinical Outcome during the First 3 Years of Follow-Up

Background. A role of an estrogen-regulated, autocrine motogenic factor was assumed to be a major biological role of trefoil factor 1 (TFF1) in breast cancer. TFF1 is regarded as a predictive factor for positive response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer patients. The aim of our study was to examine TFF1 level distribution in breast carcinomas in order to distinguish estrogen-independent from estrogen-dependent TFF1 expression and to evaluate clinical usefulness of TFF1 status in early breast cancer during the first 3 years of follow-up. Methods. The study included 226 patients with primary operable invasive early breast carcinomas for whom an equal, a 3-year follow-up was conducted. TFF1 levels as well as estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) levels were measured in cytosolic extracts of tumor samples by immunoradiometric assay or by use of classical biochemical method, respectively. Non-parametric statistical tests were applied for data analyses. Results. Statistical analysis revealed that TFF1 levels were significantly higher in premenopausal patients (p=0.02), or in tumors with: lower histological grade (p LT 0.001), positive ER or PR status (p LT 0.001, in both cases). On the basis of TFF1 level distribution between ER-negative and ER-positive postmenopausal patients with tumors of different histological grade, 14 ng/mg was set as the cut-off value to distinguish estrogen-independent from estrogen-dependent TFF1 expression in breast cancer. Depending on menopausal and PR status, positive TFF1 status identified patients at opposite risk for relapse among ER-positive patients with grade II tumors. Among ER-and and PR-positive premenopausal patients with grade II tumors, TFF1 status alone identified patients at opposite risk for relapse. Conclusions. Determination of TFF1 status might identify patients at different risk for relapse and help in making decision on administering adjuvant therapy for early breast cancer patients during the first 3 years of follow-up