Ruševine Susedgrada

Susedgrad je nedaleko Zagreba, a njegova prošlost je povezana i sa seljačkom bunom iz 1573. godine. Stoga su naši naučni radnici češće prikazivali susedgradske gospodare. No, iako je poznata povijest susedgradskih gospodara, o historiji susedskih zidina znamo vrlo malo. Zna se, da je Susedgrad stajao već 1287.godine pa sve do u XVII. stoljeće. Naučni prikaz ruševina Susedgrada (sa 9 slika

Lika prije Hacquetovih putovanja

Najbolji stari opisi Like, iz kojih saznajemo za izgled starih gradova, za prilike i život stanovnika, nisu naučna djela nego su napisani u vojne ili upravne svrhe. To su sve relacije, izvješća raznih zapovednika ili upravnika o obrambenim prilikama ili pak prijedlozi za poboljšanje uprave, a te relacije nisu ni bile pisane za javnost, nisu ni bile poznate sve do najnovijeg vremena, kada su izdane u zbirkama povijesnih izvora

Naše gradine i gradovi

Povodom Mažuranićevih "Prinosa za hrvatski pravno-povjestni rječnik«. (Izdala Jugoslavenska akademija znanasti i umjetnosti u Zagrebu 1908.-1922.,- dodatak, Zagreb, 1923.) Ovo djelo je svojim podacima i svojim komentarom produbljuje naše znanje, daje nam poticaj i sili nas na mišljenje te u punom smislu promiče našu nauku

Metformin treatment for diabetes mellitus correlates with progression and survival in colorectal carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is unfavorably associated with cancer risk. The purpose of this multi-disciplinary project was to evaluate a possible association of diabetes mellitus and other comorbidities and their treatment with progression of colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the correlation between pathological characteristics and clinical course, including comorbidities in 1004 Czech patients diagnosed and surgically treated for colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC) between 1999 and 2016. RESULTS: In our data set, CRC patients treated with metformin due to coexisting diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) developed fewer distant metastases which clinically correlates with slower CRC progression. Survival in metformin subgroup was longer, particularly in men with CRC. Osteoporosis may be a negative factor of survival in CRC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings also indicate that aging, higher tumor grade and TNM stage, coexistence of selected endocrine disorders, and metabolic abnormalities may change the tumor microenvironment and impact survival in colorectal cancer, although mechanism of these observations yet to be explained. Patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 treated with metformin may represent the altered microenvironment with specifically tuned metabolic molecular responses and with various epigenetic characteristics. More awareness and increased understanding of the mechanisms underlying the positive effect of metformin on patients' survival could offer insight into new treatment methods and permit more individualized treatment plans.Web of Science13239238

Do altmetrics correlate with citations? Extensive comparison of altmetric indicators with citations from a multidisciplinary perspective

An extensive analysis of the presence of different altmetric indicators provided by Altmetric.com across scientific fields is presented, particularly focusing on their relationship with citations. Our results confirm that the presence and density of social media altmetric counts are still very low and not very frequent among scientific publications, with 15%-24% of the publications presenting some altmetric activity and concentrating in the most recent publications, although their presence is increasing over time. Publications from the social sciences, humanities and the medical and life sciences show the highest presence of altmetrics, indicating their potential value and interest for these fields. The analysis of the relationships between altmetrics and citations confirms previous claims of positive correlations but relatively weak, thus supporting the idea that altmetrics do not reflect the same concept of impact as citations. Also, altmetric counts do not always present a better filtering of highly cited publications than journal citation scores. Altmetrics scores (particularly mentions in blogs) are able to identify highly cited publications with higher levels of precision than journal citation scores (JCS), but they have a lower level of recall. The value of altmetrics as a complementary tool of citation analysis is highlighted, although more research is suggested to disentangle the potential meaning and value of altmetric indicators for research evaluation

Rearing Thyridanthrax fenestratus (Diptera, Bombyliidae) on Pemphredon fabricii (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) prepupae

Thyridanthrax fenestratus (Fallén, 1814) is a bombyliid with poorly understood biology. It was recently shown to locally but frequently parasitize Pemphredon fabricii (M. Müller, 1911) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), a crabronid wasp that abundantly nests in old Lipara-induced galls on the common reed Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., 1840. The parasitism modes in Bombyliidae and Thyridanthrax spp. are not uniform. Here, we report that Th. fenestratus switches facultatively between killing the host almost immediately (idiobiont strategy) and killing the host at a later developmental stage (koinobiont strategy). We document the koinobiont parasitoid strategy for a series of Th. fenestratus larvae parasitizing P. fabricii. We found that a significant portion of Th. fenestratus larvae spend winter as young larvae and start feeding on fully developed and defecated prepupae of P. fabricii only after the end of cold-induced winter diapause. The time needed for the development of Th. fenestratus larvae exceeds several times the time needed for pupation of P. fabricii prepupae; the parasitized prepupae, therefore, remain paralyzed until the parasitic larva completes feeding. Fungicides, which alter the pupation of the host larva, seem to have negligible effects on Th. fenestratus larvae. The ability to switch between the two parasitism strategies has already been reported for several Anthrax spp., though the ability to block the host in the defecated prepupa stage and prevent its pupation following cold-induced diapause is herein reported for the first time

Migrastatics—anti-Metastatic and Anti-invasion Drugs:Promises and Challenges

In solid cancers, invasion and metastasis account for more than 90% of mortality. However, in the current armory of anticancer therapies, a specific category of anti-invasion and antimetastatic drugs is missing. Here, we coin the term ‘migrastatics’ for drugs interfering with all modes of cancer cell invasion and metastasis, to distinguish this class from conventional cytostatic drugs, which are mainly directed against cell proliferation. We define actin polymerization and contractility as target mechanisms for migrastatics, and review candidate migrastatic drugs. Critical assessment of these antimetastatic agents is warranted, because they may define new options for the treatment of solid cancers

Hantaviruses in Serbia and Montenegro

Hantaviruses are endemic in the Balkan Peninsula. An outbreak of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome occurred in 2002 in Serbia and Montenegro. The epidemiologic characteristics and genetic relatedness of Dobrava/Belgrade virus strains responsible for most cases are described

Cancer prevention and therapy through the modulation of the tumor microenvironment

Cancer arises in the context of an in vivo tumor microenvironment. This microenvironment is both a cause and consequence of tumorigenesis. Tumor and host cells co-evolve dynamically through indirect and direct cellular interactions, eliciting multiscale effects on many biological programs, including cellular proliferation, growth, and metabolism, as well as angiogenesis and hypoxia and innate and adaptive immunity. Here we highlight specific biological processes that could be exploited as targets for the prevention and therapy of cancer. Specifically, we describe how inhibition of targets such as cholesterol synthesis and metabolites, reactive oxygen species and hypoxia, macrophage activation and conversion, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase regulation of dendritic cells, vascular endothelial growth factor regulation of angiogenesis, fibrosis inhibition, endoglin, and Janus kinase signaling emerge as examples of important potential nexuses in the regulation of tumorigenesis and the tumor microenvironment that can be targeted. We have also identified therapeutic agents as approaches, in particular natural products such as berberine, resveratrol, onionin A, epigallocatechin gallate, genistein, curcumin, naringenin, desoxyrhapontigenin, piperine, and zerumbone, that may warrant further investigation to target the tumor microenvironment for the treatment and/or prevention of cancer