El Concepto de Polí­tica Cultural en el Proyecto de Autogestión Yugoslavo

The paper points to the importance of culture in the project of Yugoslav socialist self- management and explores, in the first place, the doctrinal interpretation of culture as a sector, as an integrative factor for the socio-political system, and as a regulator of values and concepts. Different modalities of cultural policy are explored in the context of socialist self-management, and a model for their classification is suggested, which can clarify more clearly the peculiarities of the cultural policy of socialist self-management and grasp their relevance for our time. Given the notion of culture as an integral part of the project of establishing a socialist self-managing society, also seen as its “core,” the failure of the project of Yugoslav socialist self-management could be viewed not as primarily a political or economic one but as a failure in the field of culture.Este artí­culo destaca la importancia de la cultura en el proyecto de autogestión socialista yugoslava. Explora, en primer lugar, la interpretación doctrinal de la cultura como sector, como factor integrador del sistema sociopolí­tico y como regulador de valores y conceptos. Se exploran diferentes modalidades de polí­tica cultural en el contexto de la autogestión socialista, y se sugiere un modelo para su clasificación, que puede aclarar de manera más efectiva las peculiaridades de la polí­tica cultural de autogestión socialista y comprender su relevancia para nuestro tiempo. Dada que la noción de cultura es una parte integral del proyecto de una sociedad socialista de autogestión, también vista como su "núcleo", el fracaso del proyecto de autogestión socialista yugoslava podrí­a verse no solo como una cuestión polí­tica o económica, sino además como un fracaso en el campo de la cultura

Temporal Clustering for Behavior Variation and Anomaly Detection from Data Acquired Through IoT in Smart Cities

In this chapter, we propose a methodology for behavior variation and anomaly detection from acquired sensory data, based on temporal clustering models. Data are collected from five prominent European smart cities, and Singapore, that aim to become fully “elderly-friendly,” with the development and deployment of ubiquitous systems for assessment and prediction of early risks of elderly Mild Cognitive Impairments (MCI) and frailty, and for supporting generation and delivery of optimal personalized preventive interventions that mitigate those risks, utilizing smart city datasets and IoT infrastructure. Low level data collected from IoT devices are preprocessed as sequences of activities, with temporal and causal variations in sequences classified as normal or anomalous behavior. The goals of proposed methodology are to (1) recognize significant behavioral variation patterns and (2) support early identification of pattern changes. Temporal clustering models are applied in detection and prediction of the following variation types: intra-activity (single activity, single citizen) and inter-activity (multiple-activities, single citizen). Identified behavioral variations and anomalies are further mapped to MCI/frailty onset behavior and risk factors, following the developed geriatric expert model

Complications of chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis: review of published case reports

Chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis (CNPA), a form of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), affects immunocompetent or mildly immunocompromised persons with underlying pulmonary disease. These conditions are associated with high morbidity and mortality and often require long-term antifungal treatment. The long-term prognosis for patients with CNPA and the potential complications of CNPA have not been well documented. The aim of this study was to review published papers that report cases of CNPA complications and to highlight risk factors for development of CNPA. The complications in conjunction associated with CNPA are as follows: pseudomembranous necrotizing tracheobronchial aspergillosis, ankylosing spondylarthritis, pulmonary silicosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) disease, superinfection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and and pneumothorax. The diagnosis of CNPA is still a challenge. Culture and histologic examinations of bronchoscopically identified tracheobronchial mucus plugs and necrotic material should be performed in all immunocompromised individuals, even when the radiographic findings are unchanged. Early detection of intraluminal growth of Aspergillus and prompt antifungal therapy may facilitate the management of these patients and prevent development of complications

IDPpi:Protein-protein interaction analyses of human intrinsically disordered proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are characterized by the lack of a fixed tertiary structure and are involved in the regulation of key biological processes via binding to multiple protein partners. IDPs are malleable, adapting to structurally different partners, and this flexibility stems from features encoded in the primary structure. The assumption that universal sequence information will facilitate coverage of the sparse zones of the human interactome motivated us to explore the possibility of predicting protein-protein interactions (PPIs) that involve IDPs based on sequence characteristics. We developed a method that relies on features of the interacting and non-interacting protein pairs and utilizes machine learning to classify and predict IDP PPIs. Consideration of both sequence determinants specific for conformational organizations and the multiplicity of IDP interactions in the training phase ensured a reliable approach that is superior to current state-of-the-art methods. By applying a strict evaluation procedure, we confirm that our method predicts interactions of the IDP of interest even on the proteome-scale. This service is provided as a web tool to expedite the discovery of new interactions and IDP functions with enhanced efficiency. © 2018 The Author(s)

Accuracy of Noninvasive Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Significant and Advanced Fibrosis Stages in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Literature Review of the US Studies

Background: The purpose of this systematic literature review (SLR) was to evaluate the accuracy of noninvasive diagnostic tools in detecting significant or advanced (F2/F3) fibrosis among patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) in the US healthcare context. Methods: The SLR was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science, with an additional hand search of public domains and citations, in line with the PRISMA statement. The study included US-based original research on diagnostic test sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Results: Twenty studies were included in qualitative evidence synthesis. Imaging techniques with the highest diagnostic accuracy in F2/F3 detection and differentiation were magnetic resonance elastography and vibration-controlled transient elastography. The most promising standard blood biomarkers were NAFLD fibrosis score and FIB-4. The novel diagnostic tools showed good overall accuracy, particularly a score composed of body mass index, GGT, 25-OH-vitamin D, and platelet count. The novel approaches in liver fibrosis detection successfully combine imaging techniques and blood biomarkers. Conclusions: While noninvasive techniques could overcome some limitations of liver biopsy, a tool that would provide a sufficiently sensitive and reliable estimate of changes in fibrosis development and regression is still missing

Predicting the survival probability of functional neuroendocrine tumors treated with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy: Serbian experience

IntroductionPeptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) is a treatment option for well-differentiated, somatostatin receptor positive, unresectable or/and metastatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Although high disease control rates seen with PRRT a significant number NET patients have a short progression-free interval, and currently, there is a deficiency of effective biomarkers to pre-identify these patients. This study is aimed at determining the prognostic significance of biomarkers on survival of patients with NETs in initial PRRT treatment.MethodologyWe retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with NETs treated with PRRT at the Department for nuclear medicine, University Clinical Center Kragujevac, Serbia, with a five-year follow-up. Eligible patients with confirmed inoperable NETs, were retrospectively evaluated hematological, blood-based inflammatory markers, biochemical markers and clinical characteristics on disease progression. In accordance with the progression og the disease, the patients were divided into two groups: progression group (n=18) and a non-progression group (n=33). Clinical data were compared between the two groups.ResultsA total of 51 patients (Md=60, age 25-75 years) were treated with PRRT, of whom 29 (56.86%) demonstrated stable disease, 4 (7.84%) demonstrated a partial response, and 14 (27.46%) demonstrated progressive disease and death was recorded in 4 (7.84%) patients. The mean PFS was a 36.22 months (95% CI 30.14-42.29) and the mean OS was 44.68 months (95% CI 37.40-51.97). Univariate logistic regression analysis displayed that age (p<0.05), functional tumors (p<0.05), absolute neutrophil count (p<0.05), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio-NLR (p<0.05), C-reactive protein-CRP (p<0.05), CRP/Albumin (p<0.05), alanine aminotransferase-ALT (p<0.05), were risk factors for disease progression. Multivariate logistic regression analysis exhibited that functional tumors (p<0.001), age (p<0.05), CRP (p<0.05), and ALT (p<0.05), were independent risk factors for the disease progression in patients with NETs. Tumor functionality was the most powerful prognostic factor. The median PFS (11.86 ± 1.41 vs. 43.38 ± 3.16 months; p=0.001) and OS (21.81 ± 2.70 vs 53.86 ± 3.70, p=0.001) were significantly shorter in patients with functional than non-functional NETs respectively.ConclusionThe study’s results suggest that tumor functionality, and certain biomarkers may serve as prognostic survival indicators for patients with NETs undergoing PRRT. The findings can potentially help to identify patients who are at higher risk of disease progression and tailor treatment strategies accordingly

Mechanismen von Apostose Modulation und ihr Beitrag zur genomischen Instabilität

The concept of programmed cell death has been increasingly considered from various aspects since early 1970’s. Primarily, knowledge of apoptosis referred to morphological changes in which chromatin is condensed and increasingly fragmented, revealed as small structure in the nucleus. The membrane shrinks and the cell becomes dense as can be seen by flow cytometry. Interestingly, similar modes of cell deletion were observed in nematodes indicating that apoptosis is a highly conserved machinery. Three Caeonorhabditis elegans gene products are found to have high homology with mammalian apoptotic genes: CED-9 inhibits apoptosis and is related to bcl-2; CED-3 and CED-4 promote apoptosis and are related to caspase 9 and APAF-1. Apoptosis is not accidental death, but a highly controlled and medically important molecular process. More general terms such as ‘physiological’ or ‘regulated’ cell death cover different morphologies and sequences. Programmed suicide of cells that were subjected to toxic exogenous and endogenous stimuli plays a key role in understanding cancer development and its treatment. Apoptosis involves sequences of events that may overlap and play contradictory or antagonistic roles in cell death. Generally, the ability to trigger apoptotic processes in cancer cells would benefit an organism by keeping homeostasis intact. Programmed cell death is a regularly present mechanism, for instance, in lymphocyte recruitment in the thymus where immature lymphocytes may recognize host antigens. Therefore, such lymphocytes become apoptotic and are removed by macrophages. Removal prevents possible autoimmune diseases. Unlike apoptosis, necrosis is a passive process of cell death recognizable by membrane morphological changes and accompanied by leakage of intracellular material into intercellular space that may cause inflammation in the organism. Signals that may initiate apoptosis are generally classified into two groups: signals that launch extrinsic apoptotic pathways starting with aggregation of death receptors and intrinsic apoptotic pathways starting with disruption of intracellular homeostasis such as the release of mitochondrial factors or DNA degradation. Early in the process, apoptotic signals may lead to a broad range of signaling mechanisms such as DNA repair and assessment of DNA damage (check points). Thus, failure in any of these steps can cause a defective apoptotic response that plays a decisive role in both tumorigenesis and drug resistance in tumor treatment. More distinctly, the capability of cancer cells to go into apoptosis prevents further neoplastic changes. Generally, the purpose of this study is to investigate the balance between formation of genomic damage and induction of apoptosis under genotoxic stress. After genotoxic insult there are different possibilities for the fate of a cell (Figure 1). The genomic integrity is analyzed at cellular checkpoints, usually leading to a delay in cell cycle progression if DNA was damaged. Mutations in genes such as p53 and p21 change the cellular response to genotoxic stress and may alter the balance between apoptosis and genomic damage. However, p53 is usually mutated or not expressed in 70% of human tumors. Alterations in p53 states that reflect distinct apoptotic response upon induction of DNA damage were examined. In this study, three cell lines with distinct p53 states were used: TK6 harboring wild-type p53, WTK1 with mutated p53 and NH32 with knocked out p53. In the present work we applied different approaches to investigate the correlation between DNA damage and apoptotic responsiveness in cancer cell lines with different p53 states or in hormone responsive cell lines with over expressed bcl-2 gene. We were focused on effects caused by temporary down regulation of the p53 and Bcl-2 activity in human lymphoblastoid cell lines. In addition, we investigated the impact of estradiol-induced proliferation on apoptosis and DNA damage in stably transfected cells with bcl-2gene.Apoptotische Ereignisse als Reaktion auf exogen induzierten gentoxischen Schaden erhält die Homeostase von Organismen durch die Entfernung betroffener Zellen. Fehler in der apoptotischen Reaktion spielen sowohl für die Tumorentstehung als auch für die Chemotherapie-Resistenz eine wichtige Rolle. Der Zweck dieser Studie war es, die Balance von Genom-Schaden, gemessen durch Mikrokern-Bildung, und der Induktion von Apoptose als Reaktion auf gentoxischen Stress zu untersuchen. Mikrokerne erscheinen als Folge unterschiedlicher Chromosomenaberrationen. Der Mikrokern-Test hat schnell an Akzeptanz gewonnen und wird inzwischen als Routine-Test für Gentoxizitätsprüfung eingesetzt. Die Hypothese war, dass die Mikrokern-Bildung umgekehrt mit dem Auftreten von Apoptose korreliert ist. In drei humanen Zelllinien mit wildtyp p53, mutiertem p53 und knock-out p53 konnten durch Behandlung mit dem gentoxischen Topoisomerase-II-Hemmer Etoposid Apoptosen induziert werden. Die dabei beobachtete Erhöhung der Mikrokern-Häufigkeit war in Zellen mit mutiertem p53 stärker ausgeprägt als in Zellen mit wildtyp p53 oder knock-out p53. Drei Vorgehensweisen wurden angewandt, um die molekularen Mechanismen zu verändern, welche die Wechselbeziehung zwischen apoptotischen Ereignissen und induziertem DNA-Schaden bestimmen. Im ersten Ansatz wurde die Apoptose vorübergehend durch Pifithrin (PFT-α), einen p53-Blocker, verhindert. So wurde der Einfluss verschiedener p53-Zustände (Wildtyp, mutiert und knock-out) auf DNA-Reparatur, den Zellzyklus und Apoptose untersucht. Der zweite Ansatz bestand aus einer vorübergehenden Transfektion mit bcl-2 Antisense Oligonukleotiden zur Reduktion der Bcl-2-Expression. Der dritte Weg war eine stabile Transfektion des bcl-2-Gens in eine estrogenrezeptorhaltigen Zelllinie. Dies ermöglichte den Einfluss von β-Estradiol-induzierter Zellproliferation zu untersuchen

Cultural policy of Yugoslav self-management: Conceptual and value band modalities

The paper points to the importance of culture in the project of Yugoslav socialist self- management and explores, in the first place, the doctrinal interpretation of culture as a sector, as an integrative factor for the socio-political system, and as a regulator of values and concepts. Different modalities of cultural policy are explored in the context of socialist self-management, and a model for their classification is suggested, which can clarify more clearly the peculiarities of the cultural policy of socialist self-management and grasp their relevance for our time. Given the notion of culture as an integral part of the project of establishing a socialist self-managing society, also seen as its “core,” the failure of the project of Yugoslav socialist self-management could be viewed not as primarily a political or economic one but as a failure in the field of culture.Este artí­culo destaca la importancia de la cultura en el proyecto de autogestión socialista yugoslava. Explora, en primer lugar, la interpretación doctrinal de la cultura como sector, como factor integrador del sistema sociopolí­tico y como regulador de valores y conceptos. Se exploran diferentes modalidades de polí­tica cultural en el contexto de la autogestión socialista, y se sugiere un modelo para su clasificación, que puede aclarar de manera más efectiva las peculiaridades de la polí­tica cultural de autogestión socialista y comprender su relevancia para nuestro tiempo. Dada que la noción de cultura es una parte integral del proyecto de una sociedad socialista de autogestión, también vista como su "núcleo", el fracaso del proyecto de autogestión socialista yugoslava podrí­a verse no solo como una cuestión polí­tica o económica, sino además como un fracaso en el campo de la cultura

Variability of morphological characteristics of leaves and fruits of common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) test trees from Sombor area

Two species of the genus Celtis L. are represented in the city of Sombor, of which the most numerous is Celtis occidentalis L., prevalent in parks and alleys, which became a symbol of the city, with its priceless social, economic and environmental value. Their present situation could be described as alarming. The paper presents the results of the analysis of morphological characteristics of leaves and fruits of common hackberry, investigated at the level of 15 test trees, in order to assess the genetic variability of the available gene pool in the tree alleys at Sombor area. Following parameters were analyzed: total leaf length, lamina width, petiole length, and lamina width at the left and right side from midrib, as well as drupe diameter and weight of 1000 fruits. The descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, LSD test and cluster analysis were done. The largest leaves were recorded at trees 1, 5 and 11, and smallest at the trees 7, 9 and 13, wherein genotype 1 was distanced from the other test trees, on multiple characteristics. The highest average of drupes diameter were recorded at trees number 4, 12, and 3. The obtained results indicate a satisfactory degree of variability of the analyzed characteristics at the level of test trees, which provides a good basis for exploring and proper use of the genetic potential of this species, as well as for conservation of the available gene pool. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TP 31041: Forest plantations in order to increase forestation of Serbia