EFFECT OF FLOWER THINNING ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF ‘`STANLEY`’ PLUM (PRUNUS DOMESTICA L.)

Plum is the most important fruit crop for cultivation in Serbia. However, a small amount of plum fruit is sold as fresh fruit due to its poor quality. In order to improve fruit quality and obtain regular and high yield chemical blossom thinning agents were applied. The experiment was conducted on seven-year-old plum trees of cultivar `Stanley` which were planted on distance 5x5 m. Ammonium thiosulphate and ethephon were applied in the next treatments: 1) ammonium thiosulphate 1.5% (ATS); 2) ethephon 0.015% (E); 3) ammonium thiosulphate 1.5% + ethephon 0.015% (ATS + E); 4) hand thinning (HT); 5) untreated control treatment (UTC). Chemical thinning treatments were performed once during the phase of full bloom, while hand thinning treatment was performed after the fall of unfertilized fruitlets at the end of May. Parameters analyzed were yield, fruit size, fruit weight, pit weight, fruit firmness, fruit shape index, soluble solids content, total acid content and the amount of harvested fruits per time unit. The obtained results have shown that ATS + E, ATS and HT treatments significantly reduced the number of fruits on the trees compared to the control treatment. However, yield per tree was reduced significantly only in the ATS + E treatment. Other treatments compensated for the smaller number of fruits per tree with a significantly larger fruit size. Since the fruit size was larger on treated trees, the amount of harvested fruits per time unit was significant compared to control treatment. There were no significant differences among the applied treatments in terms of fruit firmness, soluble solids and total acid content

Evaluation of different formulas for LDL-C calculation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Friedewald's formula for the estimation of LDL-C concentration is the most often used formula in clinical practice. A recent formula by Anandaraja and colleagues for LDL-C estimation still needs to be evaluated before it is extensively applied in diagnosis. In the present study we validated existing formulas and derived a more accurate formula to determine LDL-C in a Serbian population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Our study included 2053 patients with TG ≤ 4.52 mmol/L. In an initial group of 1010 patients, Friedewald's and Anandaraja's formulas were compared to a direct homogenous method for LDL-C determination. The obtained results allowed us to modify Friedewald's formula and apply it in a second group of patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean LDL-C concentrations were 3.9 ± 1.09 mmol/L, 3.63 ± 1.06 mmol/L and 3.72 ± 1.04 mmol/L measured by a direct homogenous assay (D-LDL-C), calculated by Friedewald's formula (F-LDL-C) and calculated by Anandaraja's formula (A-LDL-C), respectively in the 1010 patients. The Student's paired t-test showed that D-LDL-C values were significantly higher than F-LDL-C and A-LDL-C values (p < 0.001). The Passing-Bablok regression analysis indicated good correlation between calculated and measured LDL-Cs (r > 0.89). Using lipoprotein values from the initial group we modified Friedewald's formula by replacing the term 2.2 with 3. The new modified formula for LDL-C estimation (S-LDL-C) showed no statistically significant difference compared to D-LDL-C. The absolute bias between these two methods was -0.06 ± 0.37 mmol/L with a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.96).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our modified formula for LDL-C estimation appears to be more accurate than both Friedewald's and Anandaraja's formulas when applied to a Serbian population.</p

Comparison of two RNA isolation methods for determination of SOD1 and SOD2 gene expression in human blood and mononuclear cells

468-474In the current study, two RNA isolation techniques were compared and their abilities to produce high-quality RNA were evaluated. mRNA expression profiles of SOD1 (Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase) and SOD2 (Mn superoxide dismutase) genes were measured by real-time PCR. From a pool of fresh human citrate-whole blood and ten healthy individuals, RNA was isolated with the TRIzol™ extraction method (TRI) and with the ABI PRISMTM 6100 Nucleic AcidPrepStation (ABI). The concentration and purity of RNA extracts were determined spectrophotometrically. RNA integrity was evaluated by electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel. PCR was performed on a 7500 Real-Time PCR System. The student’s t-test was applied to compare normally distributed variables. Both protocols gave similar RNA quantities when adjusted to the initial blood volume. Relative quantification values obtained from the TRI method for SOD1 were significantly higher (p<0.01) and for SOD2 were significantly lower (p<0.05) as compared to those obtained from the ABI method, respectively. Coefficients of variation (CV) for gene expression parameters in SOD1 and SOD2 analyses were lower when the TRI method was used. The TRI method was generally more consistent in yielding pure RNA in comparison to the ABI and better reproducibility in gene expression analyses was apparent. </span

Pulmonary function, oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in severe COPD exacerbation

SummaryBackgroundOxidative stress and inflammation play an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).ObjectivePulmonary function, oxidative stress parameters and inflammatory markers were measured in 74 patients with severe COPD exacerbation and 41 healthy subjects. In patients all parameters were assessed at two time points: Firstly, one day after admission and secondly, after 7 10 days when they were clinically stable enough to be discharged. Patients were divided in two groups according the presence of ischemic heart disease (IHD): IHD positive (IHD+) patients and IHD negative (IHD-) patients.Methods and ResultsDuring hospitalisation 02•−, malondialdehyde (MDA), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and total oxidant status (TOS) increased and were higher at discharge compared with admission and the control group. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was significantly lower in COPD patients at both time points compared with the control group. Total antioxidant status (TAS) was significantly lower and the prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB) was higher at both time points in COPD patients compared with the control group. High sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and also the neutrophil count were significantly higher at admission compared with discharge. Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzymatic activities in COPD patients did not differ compared with the control group. IHD+ COPD patients had significantly lower PON1 activity but higher PAB levels and hsCRP concentrations, compared with IHD COPD patients.ConclusionThe oxidant/antioxidant imbalance was significantly pronounced in patients with COPD exacerbation for at least 24 hours following their admission and when they were clinically stable enough to be discharged. Increased oxidative stress, elevated systemic inflammation and decreased antioxidant defence were common in end-stage disease and particularly COPD patients with ischemic heart disease