Quality assessment, antimicrobial activity organic sunflower honey and use of Maldi-tof mass spectrometry for the identification bacteria isolated from honey

The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical parameters of quality, microbiological safety and antimicrobial potential of four samples of organic sunflower honey from the Banat area (northeastern Serbia). Humidity, ash, pH, free acidity, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, sugar content and diastase activity were measured. Microbiological analysis revealed the presence of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, coliforms, aerobic endospores, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and a good number of molds and yeasts. The isolate identification was carried out using Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The antimicrobial effect of organic sunflower honey was investigated on five ATCC strains of bacteria: Staphilococcus aureus ATCC 29213; Escherichia coli ATCC 25922; Salmonella enterica ATCC 10708; Yersinia enterocolitica ATCC 23715; and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 23857. The results of the study showed that all honey samples meet international quality standards for all physicochemical parameters. Microbiological analysis of Sunflower honey confirmed the total bacterial counts for all samples ranged from1.80 to 1.85 x10-2cfu/g-1, whereby no presence Clostridium spp., coliform bacteria, as well as molds was detected. Investigation of the antimicrobial activity of honey samples revealed that all bacteria showed clear zones of inhibition in honey concentrations of 40-100%, which is a satisfactory result for flower honey

Advanced photocatalysts: Pinning single atom co-catalysts on titania nanotubes

Single atom (SA) catalysis, over the last 10 years, has become a forefront in heterogeneous catalysis, electrocatalysis, and most recently also in photocatalysis. Most crucial when engineering a SA catalyst/support system is the creation of defined anchoring points on the support surface to stabilize reactive SA sites. Here, a so far unexplored but evidently very effective approach to trap and stabilize SAs on a broadly used photocatalyst platform is introduced. In self-organized anodic TiO2 nanotubes, a high degree of stress is incorporated in the amorphous oxide during nanotube growth. During crystallization (by thermal annealing), this leads to a high density of Ti3+-O-v, surface defects that are hardly present in other common titania nanostructures (as nanoparticles). These defects are highly effective for SA iridium trapping. Thus a SA-Ir photocatalyst with a higher photocatalytic activity than for any classic co-catalyst arrangement on the semiconductive substrate is obtained. Hence, a tool for SA trapping on titania-based back-contacted platforms is provided for wide application in electrochemistry and photoelectrochemistry. Moreover, it is shown that stably trapped SAs provide virtually all photocatalytic reactivity, with turnover frequencies in the order of 4 x 10(6) h(-1) in spite of representing only a small fraction of the initially loaded SAs.Web of Science3130art. no. 210284

Influence of inhaler technique on asthma and COPD control: a multicenter experience

Aleksandra Dudvarski Ilic,1,2 Vladimir Zugic,1,2 Biljana Zvezdin,3,4 Ivan Kopitovic,3,4 Ivan Cekerevac,5,6 Vojislav Cupurdija,5,6 Nela Perhoc,7 Vesna Veljkovic,7 Aleksandra Barac8 1Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 2Clinic for Pulmonology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, 3Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, 4Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica, 5Faculty of Medicine, University of Kragujevac, 6Clinic for Pulmonology, Clinical Centre Kragujevac, Kragujevac, 7Clinic for Pulmonary Diseases Knez Selo, Clinical Centre Nis, Nis, 8Faculty of Stomatology, University Academy of Business Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia Background: The successful management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mostly depends on adherence to inhalation drug therapy, the usage of which is commonly associated with many difficulties in real life. Improvement of patients’ adherence to inhalation technique could lead to a better outcome in the treatment of asthma and COPD.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the utility of inhalation technique in clinical and functional control of asthma and COPD during a 3-month follow-up.Methods: A total of 312 patients with asthma or COPD who used dry powder Turbuhaler were enrolled in this observational study. During three visits (once a month), training in seven-step inhalation technique was given and it was practically demonstrated. Correctness of patients’ usage of inhaler was assessed in three visits by scoring each of the seven steps during administration of inhaler dose. Assessment of disease control was done at each visit and evaluated as: fully controlled, partially controlled, or uncontrolled. Patients’ subjective perception of the simplicity of inhalation technique, disease control, and quality of life were assessed by using specially designed questionnaires.Results: Significant improvement in inhalation technique was achieved after the third visit compared to the first one, as measured by the seven-step inhaler usage score (5.94 and 6.82, respectively; P<0.001). Improvement of disease control significantly increased from visit 1 to visit 2 (53.9% and 74.5%, respectively; P<0.001) and from visit 2 to visit 3 (74.5% and 77%, respectively; P<0.001). Patients’ subjective assessment of symptoms and quality of life significantly improved from visit 1 to visit 3 (P<0.001).Conclusion: Adherence to inhalation therapy is one of the key factors of successful respiratory disease treatment. Therefore, health care professionals should insist on educational programs aimed at improving patients’ inhalation technique with different devices, resulting in better long-term disease control and improved quality of life. Keywords: Turbuhaler, adherence, inhalation technique, asthma, COP

Superior lung capacity in swimmers: Some questions, more answers!

Background: Physical activity has a positive effect on the function of the whole human body system. The influence of physical activity on the development of the respiratory system is still a matter for debate. Swimming is considered the sport with the most profound effect on the lungs. Aim: The first aim was to determine pulmonary function and to correlate it with anthropometric features of sportsmen, represented by land- and the water-based elite athletes comparing with their sedentary counterparts; the second aim was to examine whether the training factors (frequency and amount) influence pulmonary function in swimmers, when controlled for anthropometric features. Methods: Thirty-eight elite male swimmers were matched for age and sex with two hundred and seventy-one elite football players and one hundred controls who were not involved in any routine exercise. Lung volumes were recorded by Pulmonary Function test and analyzed statistically. Results and conclusion: Swimmers had statistically higher values of VC, FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC when compared to both the football players and the controls, as the latter two showed no in-between differences. There was significant positive correlation between age, body weight and body height and each of the above named pulmonary parameters, when presented separately for swimmers, football players and the control group. When controlled for the anthropometric features, larger lung volumes in swimmers were not influenced by training period, age at the beginning of training and weekly extent of personal training. Further comprehensive longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these observations. Keywords: Elite athletes, Intensive training, Football, Spirometry, Swimmin

Comparison of lung diffusing capacity in young elite athletes and their counterparts

Background: The influence of exercise on the pulmonary function is controverse, some studies have reported no sports influence, while the others have found positive correlation. Aim: To evaluate and compare the sports influence on pulmonary function: spirometry (VC, FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC), lung diffusing capacity (DLCO) and coefficient of the CO gas transfer (KCO) in two elite athletes groups and healthy sedentary controls. Method: Equally divided into aerobic and anaerobic group, 60 elite athletes were recruited, as well as 43 age-matched, healthy sedentary controls. All of the participants performed basic anthropometric measurements, spirometry, DLCO and KCO at rest. Kruskal–Wallis one way ANOVA test was used to determine differences between groups; Mann–Whitney U test was used for inter-groups differences and Pearson coefficient for pulmonary variables and anthropometric parameters correlation. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS computer statistic program, version 20. Results: No differences were found in pulmonary characteristics (spirometric function values, DLCO and KCO) in athletes and non-athletes at rest, as well as between aerobics and anaerobics. There were no correlations between the anthropometric parameters and the investigated respiratory function tests. DLCO (%) correlated positively with height in athletes playing anaerobic type of sport (karate and taekwondo) (p = 0.036; r = 0.544), and negatively in sedentary control group (p = 0.030; r = −0.560). Regarding KCO, no differences were found. Conclusion: Spirometry indices and DLCO are not influenced either by aerobic or anaerobic training type, so benefits of sports on pulmonary indices or DLCO was not confirmed. Keywords: Athletes, Diffusing capacity, Transfer coefficien

Exposure model for European seismic risk assessment

Building exposure and vulnerability models for seismic risk assessment have been the focus of a number of European projects in recent years, but there has never been a concerted effort among the research community to produce a uniform European risk model. The European Commission’s Horizon 2020 SERA project has a work package that is dedicated to that objective, through the development of an exposure model, an associated set of fragility/vulnerability models, and a database of socioeconomic indicators in order to calculate probabilistic integrated seismic risk at a European scale. This article provides details of the development of the first versions of the European exposure model that describe the distribution of the main residential, industrial and commercial building classes across all countries in Europe, as well as their occupants and replacement costs. The v0.1 of the European exposure model has been integrated within the Global Earthquake Model’s global exposure and risk maps. Preliminary analyses using the model show that almost 35% of the residential population in Europe is exposed to a 475-year return period peak ground acceleration (PGA) hazard of at least 0.1 g, thus highlighting the importance of European seismic risk modeling and mitigation