Vulnerability assessment of pollution of groundwater in the Stip aquifer with application of GOD method

The creation of vulnerability maps for potential aquifer pollution is widely used in developed countries and is a basic tool for groundwater protection. This paper presents the assessment of the vulnerability from pollution of groundwater in the Štip aquifer, with the help of GOD method, where are used three parameters: Type of aquifer, lithology of the unsaturated zone and depth of groundwater. The data for the three parameters are obtained from the geological-hydrogeological profiles of 22 exploitation wells and exploration boreholes. Analyzing the three parameters a GOD index value was obtained in the range of 0.5, which corresponds to the high vulnerability class. Key words: vulnerability; GOD method; groundwater; Štip aquifer; alluvial sediment

Процена на ранливоста од загадување на подземните води во водоносникот Грдовски орман со примена на методите ‘„GOD“ и „AVI“

Методите за проценка на ранливоста на подземните води се повеќе се применуваат во светот заради потребата за заштита на подземни води од надворешна контаминација, со цел задржување на квалитетот на водата. Изработката на картите на ранливост претставува основа за воспоставување на превентивни мерки за заштита на подземните води. Во овој труд се прикажани резултатите добиени со примена на GOD и AVI-метода, за одредување на степенот на ранливост од загадување на водоносникот Грдовски Орман. AVI-методата користи два параметри за проценка: дебелина на незаситената зона и коефициентот на филтрација на надводоносните седименти, а GOD-методата користи три параметри: тип на водоносник, литологијата на надводоносната, зона и длабочина на подземната вода. Проценката на ранливоста е одредувана врз основа на податоците добиени од 12 издупчени бунари, кои се користат за водоснабдување на градот Кочани. Со методот AVI е одреден индекс на ранливост со екстремно висока (<1), до висока ранливост (1 – 2), додека според GOD-методата индексот на ранливост се движи во интервал од средна до висока ранливост (0,4 - 0,6). Клични зборови: подземни води, ранливост, метод GOD, метод AVI, филтрација, водоносник, интергрануларна порозност, Грдовски орма

Role of lipoprotein (a) in the development of ischemic stroke and other cardiovascular diseases

The paper gives the data available in the literature on the role of a level of elevated lipoprotein (a) (Lp (a)) in the development of ischemic stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. It shows the normal level of Lp (a) and the typical distribution of its concentration for people of European origin and representatives of other races. There is evidence on the genetic determination and variability of the Apo (a) gene. The paper presents the results of the recent large survey of 8000 patients with coronary heart disease and 8000 control persons, which has studied candidate genes for cardiovascular diseases. It indicates the role of Lp (a) as a risk factor for early atherosclerosis and describes main pathomorphological mechanisms. The propositions that it is necessary to screen Lp (a) in different risk groups, its target level, and possible methods for correcting the elevated Lp (a) level are given

Cognitive impairments in epilepsy

Cognitive impairments in epilepsy are a current problem in neurology. The basis of the idea on the pathogenesis of higher nervous system dysfunctions is the interaction of a few factors that include the form and duration of the disease, gender differences, and the impact of antiepileptic therapy. The role of interattack epileptiform changes in the development of cognitive deficit in adults and epileptic encephalopathies in children is discussed. Up-to-date neurophysiological and neuroimaging diagnostic methods allow the detection of new features in the course and progression of higher nervous system dysfunctions in epilepsy

The natural history of secondary muscle-invasive bladder cancer

BACKGROUND: The management of patients with high-grade non muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) brings diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. In the current study, we sought to study the natural history of progression to "secondary" muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC)-cancer that developed during follow up of patients presenting with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). METHODS: Between 1998 and 2008, 760 patients were treated for bladder cancer. Primary MIBC (>=T2) tumors (present upon presentation) were diagnosed in 114 patients. All patients with high-grade NMIBC were treated with intravesical BCG. Mean follow-up was 44 months. RESULTS: Forty patients (6.1%) developed secondary MIBC after a mean period of 21 months from initial diagnosis of bladder cancer. The 2- and 5-year disease-specific survival rates were better for patients with secondary MIBC (90% and 56% compared to 69% and 42% for patients with primary disease, p=0.03). The Kaplan-Meier curves of the two groups were parallel but displaced by approximately 2 years. CONCLUSION: In the current series, MIBC progression occurred among initially presenting patients with NMIBC in 6.1%. In most patients, the initial diagnosis of NMIBC is correct and muscle invasion occurs after a mean period of about 2 years. This supports a non-radical approach in patients with high-grade T1, Ta or Tis. Meticulous follow-up with liberal biopsy of any suspicious lesion may provide early diagnosis of invasive disease

Is radical cystectomy mandatory in every patient with variant histology of bladder cancer

Urothelial carcinomas have an established propensity for divergent differentiation. Most of these variant tumors are muscle invasive but not all. The response of non muscle invasive variant tumors to intravesical immunotherapy with BCG is not established in the literature, and is reported here. Between June 1995 and December 2007, 760 patients (mean age of 67.5 years) underwent transurethral resection of first time bladder tumors in our institution. Histologically variant tumors were found in 79 patients (10.4%). Of these 57 patients (72%) of them had muscle-invasive disease or extensive non-muscle invasive tumors and remaining 22 patients (28%) were treated with BCG immunotherapy. These included 7 patients with squamous differentiation, 4 with glandular, 6 with nested, 4 with micropapillary and 1 patient with sarcomatoid variant. The response of these patients to immunotherapy was compared with that of 144 patients having high-grade conventional urothelial carcinomas. Median follow-up was 46 months. The 2 and 5-year progression (muscle-invasion) free survival rates were 92% and 84.24% for patients with conventional carcinoma compared to 81.06% and 63.16% for patients with variant disease (P=0.02). The 2 and 5-year disease specific survival rates were 97% and 91.43% for patients with conventional carcinoma compared to 94.74 % and 82% for patients with variant disease (P=0.33). 5 patients (22.7%) of variant group and 13 patients (9.03%) of conventional group underwent cystectomy during follow-up (P=0.068)

Oxygenation inhibits the physiological tissue-protecting mechanism and thereby exacerbates acute inflammatory lung injury

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) usually requires symptomatic supportive therapy by intubation and mechanical ventilation with the supplemental use of high oxygen concentrations. Although oxygen therapy represents a life-saving measure, the recent discovery of a critical tissue-protecting mechanism predicts that administration of oxygen to ARDS patients with uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation also may have dangerous side effects. Oxygenation may weaken the local tissue hypoxia-driven and adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanism and thereby further exacerbate lung injury. Here we report experiments with wild-type and adenosine A2AR-deficient mice that confirm the predicted effects of oxygen. These results also suggest the possibility of iatrogenic exacerbation of acute lung injury upon oxygen administration due to the oxygenation-associated elimination of A2AR-mediated lung tissue-protecting pathway. We show that this potential complication of clinically widely used oxygenation procedures could be completely prevented by intratracheal injection of a selective A2AR agonist to compensate for the oxygenation-related loss of the lung tissue-protecting endogenous adenosine. The identification of a major iatrogenic complication of oxygen therapy in conditions of acute lung inflammation attracts attention to the need for clinical and epidemiological studies of ARDS patients who require oxygen therapy. It is proposed that oxygen therapy in patients with ARDS and other causes of lung inflammation should be combined with anti-inflammatory measures, e.g., with inhalative application of A2AR agonists. The reported observations may also answer the long-standing question as to why the lungs are the most susceptible to inflammatory injury and why lung failure usually precedes multiple organ failure

DNA-Free Recombinant SV40 Capsids Protect Mice from Acute Renal Failure by Inducing Stress Response, Survival Pathway and Apoptotic Arrest

Viruses induce signaling and host defense during infection. Employing these natural trigger mechanisms to combat organ or tissue failure is hampered by harmful effects of most viruses. Here we demonstrate that SV40 empty capsids (Virus Like Particles-VLPs), with no DNA, induce host Hsp/c70 and Akt-1 survival pathways, key players in cellular survival mechanisms. We postulated that this signaling might protect against organ damage in vivo. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was chosen as target. AKI is critical, prevalent disorder in humans, caused by nephrotoxic agents, sepsis or ischemia, via apoptosis/necrosis of renal tubular cells, with high morbidity and mortality. Systemic administration of VLPs activated Akt-1 and upregulated Hsp/c70 in vivo. Experiments in mercury-induced AKI mouse model demonstrated that apoptosis, oxidative stress and toxic renal failure were significantly attenuated by pretreatment with capsids prior to the mercury insult. Survival rate increased from 12% to >60%, with wide dose response. This study demonstrates that SV40 VLPs, devoid of DNA, may potentially be used as prophylactic agent for AKI. We anticipate that these finding may be projected to a wide range of organ failure, using empty capsids of SV40 as well as other viruses