A Short Description of the First Serbian UV Index Model

A numerical model called “NEOPLANTA” for estimating solar UV irradiance and UV index under cloud-free conditions is being developed and tested at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia. In this paper, the model features, calculation procedure, and input parameters are described. Effects of the absorption of UV radiation by O3, SO2, and NO2 and absorption and scattering by aerosol as well as the air molecules in the atmosphere are included. The performance of the model has been tested with respect to its capability of UV index, which is a weighted integral between 280 and 400 nm of the solar irradiance reaching the ground. For this test 10-day data measured during the spring and summer in 2003, 2004, and 2005 are used. Data are recorded by the Yankee UVB-1 biometer located at the Novi Sad university campus (45.33°N, 19.85°E; 84 m MSL). Error analyses indicate that the modeled values agree well with the observation

A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; “CESTES”. Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology

SIGNIFICANCE OF THERAPY LENGTH WITH NORFLOXACIN TREATMENT OF LOWER URINARY TRACT INFECTION

The aim of the paper was to examine the significance of the therapy with Norfloxacin as mono therapy in the treatment of the lower urinary tract infection and to examine the effectiveness of this antibiotic nowadays as it has not been used for a long time (it was not available on our market).Eighty patients with the lower urinary tract infection were examined. Patients were divided into two groups according to the length of therapy and the age of patients. Before and after the therapy, some examinations were done: clinical check – up, urinary analysis (general check – up), KSL, SE, urea, creatinin, urinoculture, urinary tract EHO.There was no statistically significant difference in the number of patients with the lower urinary tract infections after 3 and 7 days of therapy with Norfloxacin. Often, the cause of this infection was Escherichia coli. The highest frequency of this infection was reported in the aged and female population. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of the patients with the lower urinary tract infection after the therapy with Norfloxacin in relation to the age.There were no differences in the effects of the medicine between the group whose therapy lasted for 3 days and the group whose therapy lasted for 7 days. There was no difference in the effects of the medicine without regard to the age of the patients, too

Correlation between micronuclei frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes and retention of 131-I in thyroid cancer patients

Differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) derive from thyroid follicular cells and include papillary and follicular cancers. In patients with DTCs, the initial treatment includes thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (131-I) therapy. The objective of this study was to examine whether the intensity of DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) of DTC patients depends on the amount of 131-I retained in the selected regions of interest (thyroid and abdominal region) as well as in the whole-body 72 hours after therapy. In addition, the possible influence of other factors that may affect micronuclei (MN) frequency, such as age, gender, smoking habits, and histological type of tumour was analyzed. The study population consisted of 22 DTC patients and 20 healthy donors. Data on the distribution of 131-I were obtained from the whole-body scans. MN frequency and cytokinesis-block proliferation index (CBPI) were measured using cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay. 131-I therapy significantly increased the MN frequency (19.50 ± 6.90 vs. 27.10 ± 19.50 MN) and significantly decreased the CBPI (1.52 ± 0.20 vs. 1.38 ± 0.17) in patients' lymphocytes. There was a clear correlation between the increased MN frequency and 131-I accumulation in the thyroid region in patients without metastases. The MN values did not differ in relation to the factors that could affect MN, such as age, gender, smoking habits, and histological type of tumour. In conclusion, the MN frequency in PBLs of DTC patients without metastases depends on the accumulation of 131-I in the thyroid region and does not depend on the other factors examined. © 2013 Tohoku University Medical Press

Influence of GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes on differentiated thyroid cancer risk and baseline and radioiodine induced cytogenetic damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients

As it is known that genetic polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferases (GST) have been associated with a variety of human diseases including cancer, we have analyzed the impact of GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes on the risk of development of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and cytogenetic changes in peripheral blood lymphocytes of DTC patients before and after radioiodine therapy. The polymorphism of GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes were genotyped using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cytokinesis - block micronucleus (MN) assay to assess cytogenetic changes. GSTT1 and GSTM1 null were predominantly found in patients, but statistical significance was observed only for GSTT1 null. The null genotypes increased risk of development of DTC; GSTT1 null a 4.5 times (p < 0.05), GSTM1 null about 3 times but on the border of statistical significance (p = 0.057), while combination of dual null genotypes almost 7 times (p < 0.05) increased risk. No significant effects of the null genotypes as well as their interactions with potential modifiers of MN (diagnose, age, gender and smoking habits) were observed on both baseline and radioiodine-induced values of MN and cytokinesis block proliferation index (CBPI) in DTC patients. Results suggest that both GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes increased risk for DTC but to a greater extent GSTT1 null. Null genotypes of GSTT1 and GSTM1 did not have potential to influence baseline and radioiodine-induced values of MN and CBPI, so that absence of T1 and M1 isoenzymes did not cause increased mutagen sensitivity of PBLs of DTC patients

CESTES - A global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space

CESTES is a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space. It compiles 80 datasets from trait-based studies. Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. CESTES presents a harmonized structure and covers a diversity of ecosystem types (marine, terrestrial, freshwater), taxonomic groups (plants, vertebrates, invertebrates...), geographical regions, and spatial scales. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available (https://icestes.github.io/sharedata). A zipped folder called “CESTES.zip” includes two alternative formats for the CESTES database: - a “xCESTES” folder that includes 80 Excel files (one file per dataset), each named according to the following structure: “AuthorPublicationYear.xlsx” - a “rCESTES” folder that includes the CESTES core processed database (comm, traits, envir, coord matrices) as an R list object “CESTES.RData” plus two R scripts, and two metadata tables for data processing and exploration. This “CESTES.zip” folder also includes: - an extended metadata table, “CESTES_metadata.xlsx”, that provides the general metadata information of all the datasets, - a tutorial document, “HOW_TO_SHARE_MY_DATA_FOR_CESTES.pdf”, that explains how to share data for integrating future datasets in the database. A second zipped folder, called "ceste.zip", corresponds to the non-spatial ancillary to CESTES. We provide access to 10 additional datasets that were not completely suitable for the CESTES database, due to the absence of spatial information or insufficient metadata but that were potentially valuable for their three other data matrices (comm, traits, envir). They follow the same structure as CESTES, except that they do not present the “coord” sheet and sometimes include only partial metadata. The “ceste.zip” zipped folder includes the 10 data files + 1 metadata file called "ceste_metadata.xlsx"

Author Correction: A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; "CESTES". Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology

A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; "CESTES". Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology