The Role of Mothers' Metaemotion in Socioemotional Competence of Preschool Children

Cilj ovog istraţivanja bio je ispitati povezanost metaemocija majki s emocionalnom i socijalnom kompetencijom njihove djece predškolske dobi. Uz to, ţeljeli smo provjeriti postoje li razlike u metaemocijama majki s obzirom na rod njihova djeteta, postoje li rodne razlike u socijalnoj i emocionalnoj kompetenciji djece predškolske dobi, te koja je uloga roda u povezanosti majčinih metaemocija s emocionalnom i socijalnom kompetencijom njihove djece. U istraţivanju je sudjelovalo 106 djece, od čega 49 dječaka i 57 djevojčica, njihove majke i odgajateljice. Za ispitivanje majčinih metaemocija korištena je prilagoĎena verzija Upitnika strukture roditeljskih metaemocija (Brajša-Ţganec, 2002), a kao mjeru dječjeg emocionalnog prepoznavanja i razumijevanja koristili smo Intervju emocionalnog prepoznavanja i razumijevanja (Brajša-Ţganec, 2003). PrilagoĎena verzija upitnika Iowa Scales of Emotional Expressivity (Humrichouse, 2010) bila je mjera dječje emocionalne ekspresivnosti, a Upitnik odnosa s drugima mjera socijalne kompetencije konstruirana u svrhu ovog istraţivanja. Podatke su na posljednja dva instrumenta davale odgajateljice. UtvrĎena je značajna pozitivna povezanost izmeĎu dječje emocionalne ekspresivnosti i socijalne kompetencije, dok majčine metaemocije nisu bile povezane ni s emocionalnom niti sa socijalnom kompetencijom djece. Spomenuta povezanost nije se značajno razlikovala za dječake i djevojčice. Od rezultata na subskalama specifičnih emocija istaknula se povezanost pozitivne emocionalne ekspresivnosti sa socijalnom kompetencijom. Nadalje, utvrĎena je rodna razlika u emocionalnoj ekspresivnosti, pri čemu su dječaci, suprotno pretpostavkama, procijenjeni emocionalno kompetentnijima od djevojčica.The objective of this study was to examine the relationship of mothers' metaemotion with social and emotional competence of their preschool children. Furthermore, we wanted to examine if there are differences in mothers' metaemotion regarding their child's gender, gender differences of preschool boys and girls in social and emotional competence, and the role of gender in the relationship between mothers' metaemotion with social and emotional competence of their children. 106 children participated in the study, from which 49 were boys and 57 were girls, with their mothers and kindergarten teachers. The measure of mothers’ metaemotion was an adjusted version of Parental Metaemotion Philosophy Questionnaire (Brajša-Ţganec, 2002), child’s emotion recognition and understanding was measured with Emotion Recognition and Understanding Interview (Brajša-Ţganec, 2003), child’s emotional expressivity with an adjusted version of Iowa Scales of Emotional Expressivity (Humrichouse, 2010), in which kindergarten teachers assessed the children, while the Questionnaire of Relationship with Others, which was constructed for the purpose of this research, was the measure of social competence (the children were also assessed by their kindergarten teachers).A significant connection was observed between emotional expressivity and social competence, while mothers’ metaemotion were not connected to emotional, nor social competence. The mentioned relationship was not statistically different for boys and girls. From subscales of specific emotions one connection stood out – positive emotional expressivity was positively related to social competence. Furthermore, a gender difference in emotion expressivity was observed – boys, contrary to our expectation, were assessed as emotionally more competent than girls

Influence of exogenous overexpression of p21WAF1/Cip1 gene and various chemotherapeutics on proliferation of colon cancer cells

Protein p21 je primarno definiran kao inhibitor ciklin ovisnih kinaza te faktor koji u slučaju staničnog stresa (oštećenje DNA, oksidativni stres, kemoterapeutici i sl.) uzrokuje kočenje staničnog ciklusa. Noviji literaturni podaci ukazuju na važnu ulogu tog proteina u regulaciji replikacije DNA te vrlo kompleksnu ulogu u indukciji ili inibiciji stanične smrti, koja ovisi o tipu stanica, staničnom kontekstu i vrsti tretmana koji se koristi na tumorskim stanicama. Zbog mnogoznačne i često kontradiktorne uloge proteina p21, izuzetno je važno proučiti mehanizme njegovog djelovanja nakon oštećenja DNA različitim kemoterapeuticima kako bi se odredio njegov utjecaj na kemosenzitivnost tumorskih stanica, što bi moglo dovesti do usmjerenijih oblika liječenja tumora. U ovom smo radu, pratili utjecaj pet poznatih kemoterapeutika te povećane ekspresije gena p21 na rast tumorskih stanica debelog crijeva HCT116, SW480, SW620 i CaCo-2. Povećanu ekspresiju proteina p21WAF1/Cip1 postigli smo zaražavanjem stanica replikacijski nesposobnim adenovirusnim vektorima s ugrađenim genom p21WAF1/Cip1 (Ad5CMV-p21), dok je kao kontrola korišten vektor s ugrađenim genom za β-galaktozidazu. Kako bismo ispitali utjecaj egzogenog proteina p21 na učinak kemoterapeutika, stanice smo nakon infekcije adenovirusnim vektorom tretirali kemoterapeuticima kamptotecinom, doksorubicinom i cisplatinom u različitom rasponu koncentracija. Preživljenje stanica pratili smo MTT testom, a ekspresiju proteina p21 metodom Western blot. Svi su spojevi usporavali rast tumorskih stanica, pri čemu je 5-flurouracil pokazao najslabije, a kamptotecin najjače djelovanje. Pet dana nakon infekcije stanica vektorom Ad5CMV-p21 došlo je do značajnije inhibicije rasta staničnih linija HCT116 i SW620 u koncentracijama virusa višim od 60MOI. Povećana ekspresija gena p21WAF1/Cip1 izrazito je pojačala učinak cisplatine i kamptotecina te vrlo slabo doksorubicina u stanicama HCT116 i SW620, dok je sličan, ali slabije izražen učinak pokazan u stanicama CaCo-2. S druge strane, iako su se stanice SW480 pokazale najosjetljvijima na kemoterapeutike, njihov učinak nije pojačan u kombinaciji s pojačanom ekspresijom proteina p21 u toj staničnoj liniji.p21WAF1/Cip1 protein is primarily defined as a cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor which induces cell cycle arrest under stress conditions (DNA damage, oxidative stress, anticancer agents...). Recent studies point out an important role of p21 protein in regulation of DNA replication as well as very complex part in induction or inhibition of cell death, which depends on tretment type, cell type and genetic context. Since p21Waf1/Cip1 revealed equivocal and somewhat controversial role, it is a major issue to elucidate mechanism of it`s action after DNA damage caused by common chemotherapeutics in order to establish the influence of p21 to cell chemosensitivity , which coluld give rise to more targeted tumor therapy. In our expreiments we investigated the effects of five common chemotherapeutics and overexpression of exogenous p21WAF1/Cip1 on the growth of colon cancer cell lines HCT116, SW480, SW620, CaCo-2. Enhanced expression of protein p21WAF1/Cip1 was accomplished by infection with replication-defective adenoviral recombinant vector Ad5CMVp21, whereas Ad5CMVβ-gal was used as a control vector. In order to evaluate the effect of exogenous protein p21WAF1/Cip1 on the sensitivity to chemotheraputics, we treated cells with chemotherapeutics camptothecin, doxorubcin and cisplatin at different concetration range after infection wtih adenoviral vectors. Cells’ viability was monitored by MTT assay, and the expression of p21 protein by Western blot method. All of the tested chemotherapeutics inhibited growth of the tumor cells whereby 5-fluorouracil revealed least and camptothecin strongest effect. We detected significant growth inhibition of HCT116 and SW620 cells five days after infection with Ad5CMV-p21 at MOI 60. Furthermore, p21WAF1/Cip1 gene overexpression in HCT116 and SW620 cells distinctly enhanced cisplatin and camptotecin influence, whereas it had faint effect on doxorubicin influence. We detected similar but weaker effect of p21 on CaCo-2 cells. On the other hand, even though SW480 appeared to be the most sensitive to chemotherapeutics, their effect wasn`t enhanced when combined with p21WAF1/Cip1 overexpression in this cell line

Influence of exogenous overexpression of p21WAF1/Cip1 gene and various chemotherapeutics on proliferation of colon cancer cells

Protein p21 je primarno definiran kao inhibitor ciklin ovisnih kinaza te faktor koji u slučaju staničnog stresa (oštećenje DNA, oksidativni stres, kemoterapeutici i sl.) uzrokuje kočenje staničnog ciklusa. Noviji literaturni podaci ukazuju na važnu ulogu tog proteina u regulaciji replikacije DNA te vrlo kompleksnu ulogu u indukciji ili inibiciji stanične smrti, koja ovisi o tipu stanica, staničnom kontekstu i vrsti tretmana koji se koristi na tumorskim stanicama. Zbog mnogoznačne i često kontradiktorne uloge proteina p21, izuzetno je važno proučiti mehanizme njegovog djelovanja nakon oštećenja DNA različitim kemoterapeuticima kako bi se odredio njegov utjecaj na kemosenzitivnost tumorskih stanica, što bi moglo dovesti do usmjerenijih oblika liječenja tumora. U ovom smo radu, pratili utjecaj pet poznatih kemoterapeutika te povećane ekspresije gena p21 na rast tumorskih stanica debelog crijeva HCT116, SW480, SW620 i CaCo-2. Povećanu ekspresiju proteina p21WAF1/Cip1 postigli smo zaražavanjem stanica replikacijski nesposobnim adenovirusnim vektorima s ugrađenim genom p21WAF1/Cip1 (Ad5CMV-p21), dok je kao kontrola korišten vektor s ugrađenim genom za β-galaktozidazu. Kako bismo ispitali utjecaj egzogenog proteina p21 na učinak kemoterapeutika, stanice smo nakon infekcije adenovirusnim vektorom tretirali kemoterapeuticima kamptotecinom, doksorubicinom i cisplatinom u različitom rasponu koncentracija. Preživljenje stanica pratili smo MTT testom, a ekspresiju proteina p21 metodom Western blot. Svi su spojevi usporavali rast tumorskih stanica, pri čemu je 5-flurouracil pokazao najslabije, a kamptotecin najjače djelovanje. Pet dana nakon infekcije stanica vektorom Ad5CMV-p21 došlo je do značajnije inhibicije rasta staničnih linija HCT116 i SW620 u koncentracijama virusa višim od 60MOI. Povećana ekspresija gena p21WAF1/Cip1 izrazito je pojačala učinak cisplatine i kamptotecina te vrlo slabo doksorubicina u stanicama HCT116 i SW620, dok je sličan, ali slabije izražen učinak pokazan u stanicama CaCo-2. S druge strane, iako su se stanice SW480 pokazale najosjetljvijima na kemoterapeutike, njihov učinak nije pojačan u kombinaciji s pojačanom ekspresijom proteina p21 u toj staničnoj liniji.p21WAF1/Cip1 protein is primarily defined as a cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor which induces cell cycle arrest under stress conditions (DNA damage, oxidative stress, anticancer agents...). Recent studies point out an important role of p21 protein in regulation of DNA replication as well as very complex part in induction or inhibition of cell death, which depends on tretment type, cell type and genetic context. Since p21Waf1/Cip1 revealed equivocal and somewhat controversial role, it is a major issue to elucidate mechanism of it`s action after DNA damage caused by common chemotherapeutics in order to establish the influence of p21 to cell chemosensitivity , which coluld give rise to more targeted tumor therapy. In our expreiments we investigated the effects of five common chemotherapeutics and overexpression of exogenous p21WAF1/Cip1 on the growth of colon cancer cell lines HCT116, SW480, SW620, CaCo-2. Enhanced expression of protein p21WAF1/Cip1 was accomplished by infection with replication-defective adenoviral recombinant vector Ad5CMVp21, whereas Ad5CMVβ-gal was used as a control vector. In order to evaluate the effect of exogenous protein p21WAF1/Cip1 on the sensitivity to chemotheraputics, we treated cells with chemotherapeutics camptothecin, doxorubcin and cisplatin at different concetration range after infection wtih adenoviral vectors. Cells’ viability was monitored by MTT assay, and the expression of p21 protein by Western blot method. All of the tested chemotherapeutics inhibited growth of the tumor cells whereby 5-fluorouracil revealed least and camptothecin strongest effect. We detected significant growth inhibition of HCT116 and SW620 cells five days after infection with Ad5CMV-p21 at MOI 60. Furthermore, p21WAF1/Cip1 gene overexpression in HCT116 and SW620 cells distinctly enhanced cisplatin and camptotecin influence, whereas it had faint effect on doxorubicin influence. We detected similar but weaker effect of p21 on CaCo-2 cells. On the other hand, even though SW480 appeared to be the most sensitive to chemotherapeutics, their effect wasn`t enhanced when combined with p21WAF1/Cip1 overexpression in this cell line

Practicing yoga and stress

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je utvrditi razlike u percipiranom stresu između sudionica koje se bave jogom, sudionica koje se bave sportskom aktivnošću i sudionica koje se ne bave nikakvim oblikom tjelesne aktivnosti te ispitati mogući medijacijski utjecaj usredotočene svjesnosti na vezu između prakticiranja joge i percipiranog stresa. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 441 sudionica koje su ispunile Upitnik percipiranog stresa (Cohen, Kamarck i Mermelstein, 1983) i Upitnik usredotočene svjesnosti (Brown i Ryan, 2009). Rezultati analize varijance pokazuju kako postoji statistički značajna razlika u percipiranom stresu između sudionica koje se bave jogom i sudionica koje se ne bave nikakvim oblikom tjelesne aktivnosti. Međutim, razlika između sudionica koje se bave jogom i sudionica koje se bave sportskom aktivnošću nije se pokazala statistički značajnom. Utvrđivanje medijacijskog utjecaja usredotočene svjesnosti nije bilo moguće zbog nepostojanja značajne korelacije između prakticiranja joge i usredotočene svjesnosti.The aim of this study was to determine differences in the perceived stress between participants engaged in yoga, participants engaged in sport activities and participants that are not engaged in any kind of physical activity. In addition, we wanted to examine the mediation influence of a mindfulness meditation on the relationship between practicing yoga and perceived stress. A total of 441 female participants fulfilled the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein, 1983) and Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (Brown and Ryan, 2009). The results of the variance analysis showed that there is a statistically significant difference in perceived stress among practitioners of yoga and participants that are not involved in any kind of physical activity. However, the difference between the participants involved in yoga and the participants involved in sport activities wasn't statistically significant. We were not able to determine mediation influence of mindfulness meditation due to the absence of significant correlation between practicing yoga and mindfulness meditation

Impact of heat-assisted HVED plasma treatment on quality of apple juice

High voltage electrical discharge (HVED) plasma processing receives more and more attention due to its potential to assure microbial safety and retain quality of treated products. The influence of combined thermal and high voltage electrical discharge plasma treatment on apple juice quality was investigated. Apple juice samples were treated under defined plasma treatment parameters of time (3, 6 and 9 min), frequency (60, 90 and 120 Hz) and temperature (30, 40 and 50 oC) in hybrid plasma reactor. Prior to treatment, juice samples were inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 204508 to investigate inactivation possibilities of plasma treatment on yeasts as common juice microorganisms. Quality parameters (pH, electrical conductivity, phenolic content and antioxidant activity) of treated and untreated apple juice were investigated and compared. Results have shown effectiveness of HVED plasma treatment in yeast inactivation up to 6.6 log10 in 9 min of treatment at 120 Hz and temperature of 40 oC. In treated samples there were no significant changes in phenolic content

Impresión 3D de alimentos en la producción de la carne

Three-dimensional printing (3D) also known as additive manufacturing (AM) is a developing technology for food manufacturing, which offers novel food products with unique, complex and personalized design geometries, elaborated textures and tailored nutritional content. Today, 3D printing is being applied in military and space food, elderly food and sweets food. This technology offers a potential solution to overcome weaknesses of currently used food techniques, such as lower production efficiency and high manufacturing cost. Main aim of this review is to analyze the potential applications of 3D printing technology for meat processing including 3D printers, meat formulation and several aspects affecting the printability and post processing feasibility of 3D printed meat products.Trodimenzionalan ispis (3D), odnosno aditivna proizvodnja (engl. Additive Manufacturing, AM), je tehnologija u razvoju koja se upotrebljava u proizvodnji hrane, a omogućava razvoj novih prehrambenih proizvoda s jedinstvenim, složenim i personaliziranim geometrijama dizajna, razrađenim teksturama i prilagođenim nutritivnim sadržajem. Danas se 3D ispis primjenjuje u proizvodnji hrane za posebne namjene (za vojnike, astronaute, starije osobe) te u konditorskoj industriji. Ova tehnologija predstavlja potencijalno rješenje za otklanjanje problema postojećih tehnika procesiranja hrane s posebnom namjenom, poput niže učinkovitosti i visokih troškova proizvodnje. Glavni je cilj ovoga rada analizirati potencijalne primjene tehnologije 3D ispisa u preradi mesa, uključujući 3D pisače, mesne formulacije i druge aspekte koji utječu na mogućnost ispisa i naknadne obrade 3D ispisanih proizvoda od mesa.Der dreidimensionale Druck (3D) (engl. Additive Manufacturing, AM) ist eine Technologie in der Entwicklungsphase, die in der Lebensmittelproduktion eingesetzt wird und die die Entwicklung neuer Lebensmittelprodukte mit einheitlichen, komplexen und personalisierten Designgeometrien, erarbeiteten Texturen und einem angepassten Nährwertgehalt ermöglicht. Heute wird der 3D-Druck bei der Produktion von Lebensmitteln für Soldaten und Astronauten, ältere Personen und für Nachtische verwendet. Diese Technologie stellt eine potentielle Lösung für die Beseitigung von Schwierigkeiten auf, die sich aus der Verwendung von modernen Techniken der Lebensmittelprozessierung ergeben, wie zum Beispiel die geringere Effizienz und hohe Produktionskosten. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Arbeit ist es, die potentielle Anwendung der 3D-Drucktechnologie bei der Fleischbearbeitung zu prüfen, einschließlich der 3D-Drucker, Fleischformulationen und sonstigen Aspekte, die sich auf die Möglichkeiten des Drucks und der Nachbearbeitung der 3D gedruckten Fleischerzeugnisse auswirken.La stampa tridimensionale (3D), nota anche con il nome di produzione additiva (in inglese Additive Manufacturing, AM), è una tecnologia in via di sviluppo che si utilizza nell’industria alimentare, consentendo lo sviluppo di nuovi prodotti alimentari con un design dalle geometrie uniche, complesso e personalizzato, con consistenze elaborate e contenuti nutrizionali adatti caso per caso. Oggi la stampa 3D trova applicazione nella produzione di prodotti alimentari in ambiente militare e per gli astronauti, per gli anziani e per la produzione di dessert. Questa tecnologia rappresenta una potenziale soluzione per la rimozione di ogni problema che discende dall’uso di tecniche all’avanguardia del processo alimentare, come la bassa efficienza e gli alti costi di produzione. L’obiettivo principale di questo studio consiste nell’analizzare la potenziale applicazione della tecnologia della stampa 3D nella lavorazione della carne, comprese le stampanti 3D, le formule a base di carne e gli altri aspetti che incidono sulla possibilità di stampa e di ulteriore elaborazione dei prodotti di carne stampati in 3D.La impresión tridimensional (3D), también conocida como manufactura por adición (en. Additive Manufacturing, AM), es tecnología en desarrollo usada en la producción de alimentos que facilita el desarrollo de nuevos productos alimenticios con geometrías del diseño singulares, complejas y personalizadas, texturas elaboradas y el contenido nutritivo individualizado. Hoy en día la impresión 3D de alimentos se usa en la producción de la comida para los soldados y astronautas, personas mayores y para los postres. Esta tecnología representa una solución potencial para eliminar las dificultades que surgen en las técnicas modernas del procesamiento de alimentos, como la baja eficiencia y los costos altos de la producción. El objetivo principal de este trabajo fue analizar las aplicaciones potenciales de la tecnología de la impresión 3D en el procesamiento de la carne, incluyendo las impresoras 3D, formulaciones de carne y otras dimensiones que pueden influir sobre las posibilidades de la imp

Aflatoxins in milk and dairy products: Occurrence and exposure assessment for the serbian population

The main objective of this study was to assess the exposure associated with aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) of the adult population in Serbia from consumption of milk and dairy products. This assessment was performed using concentration values of AFM1 in raw milk (385 samples) and dairy products (556 samples) based on the analyses conducted in the period between 2015 and 2018. In parallel, a dairy products consumption survey was completed during 2018 based on ‘one-day’ and ‘seven-day’ recall methods. In order to estimate the intake of AFM1 from the consumption of dairy products for both recall methods, a Monte Carlo simulation was conducted. The study revealed that pasteurized milk and yogurt are dairy products mostly consumed by the Serbian adult population. Estimated daily intake of AFM1 was in the range of 62-74 × 10-3 ng/kg bw/day, depending on the recall methods and scenarios employed. Although the results show moderate exposure risks compared to similar studies worldwide, climatic conditions and weather extremes that have occurred recently may have negatively influenced the contamination of feed and, consequently, AFM1 contamination of milk. As a result, it is justifiable to promote continuous monitoring in feed and dairy supply chains in Serbia and provide an update of exposure assessment

Advanced oxidation treatments of olive mill wastewater

New and innovative advanced oxidative processes for wastewater treatments are currently in the focus of scientific research and development for possible industrial implantation. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cold plasma treatment, high intensity ultrasound and UV radiation with the addition of additives: H2O2, TiO2, FeCl3 x 6H2O on degradation and removal of complex organic compounds from olive mill wastewater (OMWW). Olive mill wastewater represents a potential ecological problem when it is raw disposed into the environment, because of its high organic load. OMWW samples (with and without additives) were treated by high-voltage plasma discharge at frequencies 60 Hz and 120 Hz in combination with pumped gases (nitrogen, air and oxygen) for 30 minutes, by UV radiation for 30 minutes and 10 minutes by high intensity ultrasound. Physico-chemical parameters of quality, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total dissolved carbon (TOC) were determined. The results have shown the efficacy of plasma treatment in degradation of organic compounds as well as degradation and reduction of polyphenolic compounds. Reduction of colour and total dissolved carbon occurred in all treated samples, mostly with the addition of FeCl3 x 6H2O. Treatment with UV radiation and ultrasound proved to be the most efficient resulting in the 50% reduction of organic compounds after a 10-minute treatment

Role of cystatin C and renal resistive index in assessment of renal function in patients with liver cirrhosis

AIM: To evaluate the clinical significance of cystatin C and renal resistive index for the determination of renal function in patients with liver cirrhosis. METHODS: We conducted a study of 63 patients with liver cirrhosis. A control group comprised of 30 age and gender-matched healthy persons. Serum cystatin C was determined in all study subjects and renal Doppler ultrasonography was made. Estimated glomerular filtration rate from serum creatinine (GFR(Cr)) and cystatin C (GFR(Cys)) was calculated. RESULTS: We confirmed significant differences in values of cystatin C between patients with different stages of liver cirrhosis according to Child-Pugh (P = 0.01), and a significant correlation with model of end stage liver disease (MELD) score (r(s) = 0.527, P lt 0.001). More patients with decreased glomerular filtration rate were identified based on GFR(Cys) than on GFR(Cr) (P lt 0.001). Significantly higher renal resistive index was noted in Child-Pugh C than in A (P lt 0.001) and B stage (P = 0.001). Also, a significant correlation between renal resistive index and MELD score was observed (r(s) = 0.607, P lt 0.001). Renal resistive index correlated significantly with cystatin C (r(s) = 0.283, P = 0.028) and showed a negative correlation with GFR(Cys) (r(s) = -0.31, P = 0.016). CONCLUSION: Cystatin C may be a more reliable marker for assessment of liver insufficiency. Additionally, cystatin C and renal resistive index represent sensitive indicators of renal dysfunction in patients with liver cirrhosis

A Simple Index for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis-HUFA-Based on Routinely Performed Blood Tests

Background and objectives: Data suggests that nearly 30% of the general population have steatosis and up to 5% of this population develops nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Liver biopsy is still considered to be the gold standard for the diagnosis of NASH. Great effort is being made toward the identification of sensitive diagnostic tests that do not involve invasive procedures to address a common concern in patients with the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-whether they have NASH or simple steatosis. We aimed to investigate the independent predictors and develop a non-invasive, easy-to-perform, low-cost set of parameters that may be used in clinical practice to differentiate simple steatosis from NASH. Methods: А cross-sectional study of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients divided into two groups: group I-simple steatosis (SS) and group II-biopsy-proven NASH. Strict inclusion criteria and stepwise analysis allowed the evaluation of a vast number of measured/estimated parameters. Results: One hundred and eleven patients were included-82 with simple steatosis and 29 with biopsy-proven NASH. The probability of NASH was the highest when homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was above 2.5, uric acid above 380 µmol/L, ferritin above 100 µg/L and ALT above 45 U/L. An acronym of using first letters was created and named the HUFA index. This combined model resulted in an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.94, provided sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and a negative predictive value for NASH of 70.3%, 95.1%, 83.1% and 90.0%, respectively. Conclusion: We suggest a simple non-invasive predictive index HUFA that encompasses four easily available parameters (HOMA-IR, uric acid, ferritin and ALT) to identify patients with NASH, which may reduce the need for a liver biopsy on a routine basis in patients with NAFLD