A structural magnetic resonance imaging study in therapy-naïve transsexual individuals

Background: Transsexuality is explained and defined as a gender-identity disorder, characterised by very strong conviction of belonging to the opposite sex and has been associated with a distinct neuroanatomical pattern. Materials and methods: We performed a structural analysis in search of possible differences in grey matter structures based on magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brains of 26 individuals between 19 and 38 years of age. The participants were divided into two groups of 15 controls and 11 transgender individuals. The segmentation of subcortical grey matter was performed using FIRST model a model-based segmentation/registration tool, from FSL software package. Results: The results showed that the volume of the brain region called nucleus accumbens on the left side was significantly smaller in the group of transgender individuals compared to the control. It was the most important parameter which was shown to make distinction between two examined groups. Conclusions: The results also showed decreased volumes of the left thalamus, right hippocampus and right caudate nucleus

Роль фактора некроза опухоли-альфа в прогнозировании тяжести и исхода сепсиса у пациентов неотложного отделения с системным воспалением

Aim of the study was to determine whether the TNF-a levels, proximal inflammatory mediator, in septic patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) and admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) are associated with progression to severe sepsis, septic shock or death. Material and methods. A retrospective observational study was performed on a sample of one hundred adult subjects presenting to the ED with systemic inflammatory response syndrome of 2 etiologies: presumed (and later confirmed in the ICU and/or operating room) severe acute pancreatitis or generalized peritonitis. Blood TNF-a samples measurements were taken shortly after ED admission. TNF-a was measured by commercial ELISA test in plasma. Results. Mean values of TNF-a on admission (day zero, in ED) were 191,5-fold lower in group with septic shock compared to severe sepsis group and were 63-fold higher in survivors (p<0.01). The area under the curve (AUC) for the TNF-a plots for severity of clinical status was 0.813 and for outcome 0.834. Patients with TNF-a levels lower than 7.95 pg/mL had a 3.2-fold higher probability of septic shock development than those with higher values, at the cutoff level sensitivity was 83,9% and specificity 72,5%. Patients with TNF-a levels higher than 10.5 pg/mL had a 4.8-fold higher probability to survive than those with lower values, at the cutoff level sensitivity was 83,0% and specificity 77,4%. Conclusion: Decreasing in TNF-a concentration leads to the septic shock development and fatal outcome. TNF-a is very good predictor of sepsis severity and outcome. Key words: sepsis, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, emergency medical services, survival rate, severity of illness index.Цель исследования — определить, связаны ли уровни ФНО-a, ключевого медиатора воспаления, у пациентов с сепсисом, поступающих в отделение неотложной помощи и переводящихся в отделение реанимации, с прогрессированием его до тяжелого сепсиса, септического шока и смерти. Материал и методы. Ретроспективное обсервационное исследование было выполнено на выборке в 100 взрослых человек, поступивших в неотложное отделение с признаками системного воспаления двух возможных этиологий: тяжелый острый панкреатит (предполагаемый, а затем подтвержденный в отделении реанимации и/или операционной) или общий перитонит. Производили измерения ФНО-a в крови сразу после поступления. ФНО-a измеряли коммерчески доступным ELISA-методом в плазме крови. Результаты. Средние уровни ФНО-a при поступлении (день 0, в неотложном отделении) были в 191,5 раз ниже в группе с септическим шоком по сравнению с группой тяжелого сепсиса и в 63 раза выше у выживших (

Testenina od spelte

Spelt wheat is suitable organic raw material for pasta production with modified nutritional characteristics. This paper investigates the rheological quality of wholemeal spelt as raw material for the production of pasta as well as eggs influence on technological quality and texture of pasta. Data point at good indicators of technological quality and textural characteristics of spelt pasta with eggs. Additions of eggs improve the technological quality of pasta. Pasta obtained from wholemeal spelt flour may contribute to variety organic safe products at the market.U proizvodnji organske hrane spelta pšenice je pogodna sirovina za proizvodnju testenine sa izmenjenim nutritivnim karakteristikam. U ovom radu je ispitan reološki kvalitet integralnog brašna od spelte kao sirovine za proizvodnju testenine i uticaj jaja na tehnološki kvalitet i teksturu testenine. Rezultati ispitivanja pokazuju da se može proizvesti testenina od spelte dobrog kvaliteta i teksture pri čemu dodatk jaja utiče na poboljšanje tehnološkog kvaliteta testene. Testenina dobijena od integrlanog brašna spelte može predstavljati nov organski bezbedan proizvod na našem tržištu

Physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex Brown hen eggs from three different housing systems

The aim of this study was to compare physical and mechanical characteristics of Hisex hen eggs collected from three different housing systems: enriched cage housing, aviary housing, and free-range systems. The following physical and mechanical characteristics if eggs were compared: dimensions, surface area, volume, sphericity, shape index, shell thickness, weight, composition, yolk to albumen ratio, rupture force, specific deformation, absorbed energy, and firmness. The largest and heaviest eggs were collected from cage housing, followed by eggs from free-range systems and aviary housing. According to shape index, eggs from aviary housing can be described as round, while eggs from cage housing and free-range systems can be characterised as normal or standard. Eggs from free-range laying hens had the highest yolk percentage and yolk to albumen ratio (26.2% and 0.427). In comparison to eggs from aviary housing and free-range systems, eggs from enriched cage housing had the thickest shells and the highest shell strength, and required the highest force to rupture those eggs. The average force required to rupture Hisex Brown hen eggs from cage housing in all three axes was 44.14 N, which was 12.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from a free-range system (39.37 N) and 17.1% higher than the average force required to rupture eggs from aviary housing (37.68 N). The highest forces required to rupture eggs from all three housing systems were determined on loading along the X-front axis and the lowest forces were determined along the Z-axis. The results obtained in this study can be useful to producers when selecting hen housing systems in order to reduce egg damage during storage and transport.Keywords: egg composition, egg weight, rupture force, shape index, shell thicknes

The influence of population density and duration of breeding on broiler chickens productivity and profitability

Fattening of broiler chickens is a very specific production process characterized by intensive production principles, rapid increase in broilers, small consumption of food/kg of gain (feed conversion ratio) and a large production of broilers’ meat per square meter of surface. In order to increase the profitability of this production, the intention of farmers is to reduce the duration of production as well as to increase population density, with the aim of increasing the production of broiler chickens’ meat,calculated per unit of surface (m2). However, most of the countries in the world, in order to protect and preserve the welfare of poultry, limit the maximum of broilers’ meat production by regulations and standards. These researches aim to determine the optimal density and duration of fattening in a way to achieve the best production results and the profitability of fattening the broiler chickens hybrids Cobb 500 in temperate continental climate, while preserving the welfare of poultry. From six different population densities (16.84, 16.33, 14.29, 12.75, 14.80 and 15.46 birds per m2) and fattening period between 37 and 40 days, the best production and economic performance showed that a group ofchickens that was fattened in a period of 40 days had a population density of about 16 birds per m2. This group of broilers produced the most meat per m2 (about 33 kg), the welfare of poultry is maintained and the standard was not exceeded, so we can say that the best economy and profitability of fattening broiler chickens in the concerned region is achieved. In other groups of chickens, profitability could be more advantageous if the increased population density goes up to 16 birds perm2; or the duration of fattening could be extended up to 40 days and by this way the welfare of poultry would not be violated

Discovery of a molecular cloud possibly associated with the youngest Galactic SNR G1.9+0.3

The youngest known Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3 has high-velocity supernova shock beyond 10000 km s-1, and it is considered to be one of the major candidates of a PeVatron. Despite these outstanding properties, the surrounding interstellar matter of this object is poorly understood. We investigated the interstellar gas toward G1.9+0.3 using the 12CO(J=3-2) data with the angular resolution of 15" obtained by the CHIMPS2 survey by the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and discovered three individual clouds at -1, 7, and 45 km s-1. From its morphological and velocity structures, the -1 km s-1 cloud, having the largest velocity width >20 km s-1 and located at the distance of the Galactic Center, is possibly associated with the SNR. The associated cloud shows a cavity structure both in space and velocity and coincides well with the SNR. We found that the associated cloud has higher column densities toward three bright, radio synchrotron-emitted rims where the radial expansion velocity of the supernova shock is decelerated, and the cloud is faint in the other parts of the SNR. This is the first direct evidence indicating that the highly anisotropic expansion of G1.9+0.3 observed by previous studies results from the deceleration by the interaction between the supernova shock and surrounding dense interstellar medium.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by PAS