Serum IgA, IgG, IgM and Salivary IgA in Recurrent Aphthous Ulceration

Radial immunodiffusion technique was used to estimate salivary immunoglobulin A, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for estimation of serum IgA, IgG and IgM in 30 patients with acute recurrent aphthous ulceration (RAU) and during remission period compared to 30 healthy controls. Significantly elevated level of salivary IgA (p < 0.05) was found in patients with minor RAU when compared to the control group. Serum IgA level was elevated in patients with minor acute RAU when compared to the controls (p < 0.05). Serum immunoglobulin level of IgG and IgM showed no differences between patients with either minor or major recurrent aphthous ulceration and controls

Influence of the building energy efficiency on indoor air temperature: The case of a typical school classroom in Serbia

Greenhouse gases emission as well as total energy consumption in buildings of public importance, such as schools, municipal buildings, health care centers, can be significantly reduced by increasing buildings’ energy efficiency. Buildings’ energy consumption adds up to 37% of total energy consumption in the EU countries. In the Republic of Serbia this amount is significantly higher, about 50%. School buildings are considered as one of the most diverse structures from the point of energy-efficient design and construction. The main aim of this paper is to determine the most appropriate settings for possible improvements in energy efficiency and temperature comfort inside a typical primary school classroom in Serbia. The energy efficiency analysis was performed during the heating season for the naturally ventilated primary school classroom located in the eastern Serbia region. The analysis was performed using novel CFD model, suggested in this paper. The suggested model was used to solve two hypothetical scenarios. The first scenario simulates the temperature field in classroom with current energy characteristic envelope of the school building. The calculated numerical data from the first scenario were compared with in-situ measurements values of temperature and wall heat fluxes and showed satisfying accuracy. The second scenario was simulated to indicate possible improvements, which would allow energy consumption decrease and thermal quality enhancement. The analyzed results, calculated using the suggested numerical model under the second scenario conditions, showed that using appropriate set of measures, it is possible to obtain desired temperature comfort levels without need for increase in the building energy consumption

Indoor temperatures affected by phase-change materials

Energy costs are rapidly rising around the world and it is important to find a way to reduce energy consumption. Energy consumption in buildings can account for up to 40% of total energy consumption in developed European countries due to an increase in living space per person, an increase in the need for air conditioning, an increase in the number of appliances used in households, and other factors. Due to the increasingly frequent high temperatures during the summer and the increase in electricity consumption, it is very important to find a way to decrease indoor temperatures in urban residential buildings without using more energy, given the severe energy crisis that has engulfed Europe and the high percentage of energy and electricity consumption in the residential sector. Installation of phase changeable materials is one method for improving the thermal envelope of a building by increasing the thermal capacity of the envelope and thus affecting the reduction of indoor temperature oscillations and, consequently, reduction of summer electricity consumption. In this study, the TRNSYS software package was used to simulate and compare the indoor air temperature in typical detached houses built in period 1946 and 1970 in the Belgrade area, for both, the case without and the case with installed phase change (PCM). It was shown that incorporating a PCM with a melting temperature of 25?C into the inter-floor construction of the house could significantly improve comfort conditions by reduce indoor temperature fluctuations during the warm period without consuming additional energy. When the temperature outside is around 30?C, the maximum air temperature in the house drops by about 2?C

Single-cell-resolved dynamics of chromatin architecture delineate cell and regulatory states in zebrafish embryos

DNA accessibility of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) dictates transcriptional activity and drives cell differentiation during development. While many genes regulating embryonic development have been identified, the underlying CRE dynamics controlling their expression remain largely uncharacterized. To address this, we produced a multimodal resource and genomic regulatory map for the zebrafish community, which integrates single-cell combinatorial indexing assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (sci-ATAC-seq) with bulk histone PTMs and Hi-C data to achieve a genome-wide classification of the regulatory architecture determining transcriptional activity in the 24-h post-fertilization (hpf) embryo. We characterized the genome-wide chromatin architecture at bulk and single-cell resolution, applying sci-ATAC-seq on whole 24-hpf stage zebrafish embryos, generating accessibility profiles for ∼23,000 single nuclei. We developed a genome segmentation method, ScregSeg (single-cell regulatory landscape segmentation), for defining regulatory programs, and candidate CREs, specific to one or more cell types. We integrated the ScregSeg output with bulk measurements for histone post-translational modifications and 3D genome organization and identified new regulatory principles between chromatin modalities prevalent during zebrafish development. Sci-ATAC-seq profiling of npas4l/cloche mutant embryos identified novel cellular roles for this hematovascular transcriptional master regulator and suggests an intricate mechanism regulating its expression. Our work defines regulatory architecture and principles in the zebrafish embryo and establishes a resource of cell-type-specific genome-wide regulatory annotations and candidate CREs, providing a valuable open resource for genomics, developmental, molecular, and computational biology

Sagorevanje čvrstih otpadnih materija u fluidizovanom sloju za generisanje održive energije

Exploring alternative options to address the impending global energy crisis while taking environmental concerns and climate change mitigation into account and addressing the skyrocketing energy demand has become urgently essential. This need is further highlighted by the Republic of Serbia's significant reliance on imported energy sources and its energy sector's strategy focus, which implies the rational use of energy resources, use of RES, and waste management with satisfying environmental regulations. The use of low-calorific and waste materials in conjunction with fluidized bed combustion (FBC) technology is the method to achieve all of the above goals synergistically. This paper presents experimental results of the combustion of several solid wastes (Kolubara's coal mining waste, paper sludge and hazelnut shells), conducted in an industrial demonstration and experimental bubbling FB boiler (capacity up to 500 kW). Burning these wastes has a variety of advantages, including recovering substantial energy remaining in them and minimizing overall waste volumes. The furnace temperature distribution, the flue gas composition at the furnace exit, and other combustion parameters of the tested fuels are given. Based on these results, an evaluation of FB combustion of waste fuels and the possibility of utilization of their energy potential is given.Istraživanje alternativnih opcija za rešavanje aktuelne globalne energetske krize uzimajući u obzir zabrinutost za životnu sredinu i klimatske promene, kao i rešavanje naglo rastuće potražnje za energijom postaje suštinska neophodnost. Ova potreba je dodatno naglašena značajnim oslanjanjem Republike Srbije na uvozne energente i strateškim fokusom njenog energetskog sektora, koji podrazumeva racionalno korišćenje energetskih resursa, korišćenje obnovljivih izvora energije i upravljanje otpadom uz zadovoljavanje ekoloških propisa. Upotreba niskokaloričnih i otpadnih materijala u kombinaciji sa tehnologijom sagorevanja u fluidizovanom sloju je metod za sinergijsko postizanje svih gore navedenih ciljeva. U radu su prikazani eksperimentalni rezultati sagorevanja više vrsta čvrstog otpada (kolubarski otpadni ugalj, papirni mulj i ljuske lešnika), sprovedeni u industrijsko-demonstracionom i eksperi-mentalnom kotlu sa fluidizovanim slojem (kapaciteta do 500 kW). Spaljivanje ovog otpada ima niz prednosti, uključujući iskorišćenje značajne preostale energije u otpadu i minimiziranje ukupne količine otpada. U radu su određeni temperaturni profili u fluidizovanom sloju u ložištu, sastav dimnih gasova na izlazu iz ložišta, kao i protoci vazduha za fluidizaciju i goriva, minimalna brzina fluidizacije, stepen fluidizacije, maksimalna snaga ložišta i predata toplota, za ispitivana goriva. Na osnovu ovih rezultata data je procena kvaliteta sagorevanja otpadnih goriva u fluidizovanom sloju i mogućnosti iskorišćenja njihovog energetskog potencijala

Composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from flower and leaf of laserpitium zernyi hayek

The hydrodistilled essential oils of the flowers and leaves of Laserpitium zernyi Hayek were analyzed by GC-FID and GC/MS. Fifty-five compounds were identified in the flower oil (96.8% of total oil) and 58 in the leaf oil (89.4% of total oil). Both oils were characterised by the high amount of monoterpenes (59.1–75.6%), whereas sesquiterpenes were present in smaller quantity (21.2–29.2%). The main compounds in the flower oil were sabinene (18.5%), limonene (12.0%), P-phellandrene (12.0%) and terpinen-4-ol (10.6%), while in the leaf oil the most dominant were P-pinene (20.0%) and terpinen-4-ol (12.0%). The antimicrobial activity of the oils was determined using the agar diffusion and broth microdilution method against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, St. epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and a yeast Candida albicans. The best inhibitory effect (MIC 0.6 mg/mL) was exhibited by the flower oil against St. epidermidis, K. pneumoniae and C. albicans, the leaf oil against M. luteus, and both oils against E. coli. © 2009, Taylor &amp; Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved