Genetic predisposition to systemic sclerosis (SSc) has still not been fully revealed. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a mediator of T cell proliferation and fibrotic events in SSc. Polymorphisms in the IL-6 ...are found to be important in susceptibility to development of SSc. We aimed to assess the frequency of -174 C/G of
IL-
6 gene polymorphism in SSc patients and healthy controls, as well as correlation with disease manifestations. In the case-control study, 102 patients with SSc and 93 controls were included. PCR-RFLP method was performed for genotyping promotor variants -174 C/G of
IL-
6 gene
.
The expression level of
IL-6
was determined by qRT-PCR on subset of 50 patients and 13 healthy controls with different IL-6 genotypes. We used UCLA GIT 2.0 questionnaire to assess gastrointestinal involvement in SSc patients. The expression level of
IL
-6 gene was significantly higher in patients with SSc in comparison with healthy controls (
p
< 0.05). Carriers of C-allele
of IL-6
gene compared to those with G allele, showed higher expression of
IL-6
gene (95.8 vs. 41.2,
p
< 0.05), higher GIT total score (0.85 vs. 0.5,
p
< 0.05) and higher distension scale score (1.4 ± 0.9 vs. 0.78 ± 0.8,
p
= 0.05). No significant differences in genotype distribution and allele frequency were observed between patients and controls. The expression of
IL6
gene varies significantly during the course of SSc. The
IL-
6 gene variant -174 C/G (presence of C-allele) is associated with higher IL-6 gene expression and greater GIT impairment in patients with SSc.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The aim of this paper was to determine students’ preferences towards e-learning environment in order to select and design its components that suit the needs of student’s best. The research was ...implemented using conjoint analysis. Three dimensions of interest were considered: e-learning technology, teaching method and knowledge assessment and the results show that knowledge assessment is the most important e-learning attribute for both traditional and online students. Adding into consideration the teaching method as well, further analysis showed that students can be profiled in two segments: oriented on results or process, which can be used at the beginning of studies to adjust e-learning environment. Research findings emphasized student preferences as essential for designing e-learning system, while student satisfaction turned out to be a key factor determining their persistence for studying in e-learning environment. Finally, recommendations for improvement of existing e-learning system were given.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose: In patients with colorectal liver metastases (CLM) a long term survival and a probability of cure might be achieved with the surgical treatment of metastatic sites after prior application of ...systemic treatment. The purpose of this study was to assess the survival of patients with unresectable CLM treated with bevacizumab (bev) and FOLFOX4 (FOLFOX-bev) and to compare survival according to patient, disease and treatment characteristics.
Methods: This research included 110 patients with unresectable CLM treated with FOLFOX-bev. Treatment response and resectability were estimated every 3 months. If resectability was achieved, patients were operated on and followed. Patient, disease and treatment characteristics in patients with and without hepatectomy were compared. Survival was estimated according to Kaplan-Meier method. Comparison of survival according to patient, disease and treatment characteristics was performed using log-rank test.
Results: In patients with hepatectomy, treatment response was significantly more frequent (63, 63% vs 16, 66%, p<0.001). One- and three-year survival rate for the whole group was 87, 3% and 36, 1%, respectively; median overall survival (OS) was 23 months (95%CI 19, 63-28, 26). One- and three-year survival for patients with hepatectomy was 98, 48%, and 54, 76%, respectively; median OS was 35 months (95%CI 28, 83-41, 17). Three-year survival was significantly better in patients with hepatectomy (HR=3.775; 95%CI 2.150-6.627, p<0.001), older than 60 years (p=0.033), those without extrahepatic metastases (p=0.008) and those with treatment response (p=0.05).
Conclusion: Significantly better survival had patients with hepatectomy, treatment response, older than 60 years and without extrahepatic metastases. FOLFOX4-bev is effective treatment for molecularly unselected patients.
We examined morphological differences in cranium size and shape between closely related snake species,
Natrix natrix
and
Natrix tessellata
(Natricinae, Colubroidea), as well as variation within ...species. These two snake species have similar ecology and habitat preferences but differ in feeding strategies. Our hypothesis was that divergence in size and shape of cranial elements between species depends on their functional role and anatomical relationships. To analyse complex, kinetic crania, we applied computed microtomography and 3D geometric morphometrics. We analysed size and shape of six cranial elements separately. We selected two “non-trophic” structures (akinetic braincase and mobile nasals) and four movable “trophic” skeletal elements (maxillae, quadrates, pterygoids and compound bones) which are involved in prey capture and swallowing. Our results showed that
N. natrix
and
N. tessellata
significantly differ in size and shape of all analysed cranial elements. In both species, cranium is significantly larger in females than in males. To account for possible differences in shape due to differences in size, we estimated allometric and non-allometric component of shape variation. For all elements, except nasals, allometry accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in shape. The analysis of non-allometric component of shape variation revealed significant dimorphism in shape of the braincase and maxilla between
N. tessellata
females and males, and marginally significant sexual dimorphism in shape of maxilla in
N. natrix
. These results indicated that sexual dimorphism in skull shape is species specific and not entirely caused by selection for larger size in females.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The objective of this study was to test four-dimensional LC-ESI-MS/ /MS chromatography in analysis of complex mixture such as ethanol extracts of different propolis samples. In total more than 1200 ...picks were identified and only for 185 literature conformation was found. The given data represent the result of tentative identification, and summarized results are given in the text. Comparing the samples, from different altitudes, 96 components were detected as characteristic in high altitude samples and 18 in samples collected at low altitudes. Antimicrobial activity of ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) and propylene glycol extracts of propolis (PGEP) were carried out on S. aureus, B. cereus, M. flavus, L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa, S. typhimurium, E. coli and E. cloacae bacterial strains and compared with broad-spectrum antibiotics, streptomycin and ampicillin. Anti-quorum sensing activity was performed on P. aeruginosa by testing the effect of representative propolis extracts on biofilm formation, twitching and motility activity and production of pyocyanin. We demonstrated that the majority of explored propolis extracts have greater or equal minimal inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values compared to antibiotics, independently of the solvent used for the extraction. The samples collected from the highest altitude emerged as least active antimicrobial agents but with the greatest potential as anti-quorum sensing agents.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Although accompanied with adverse low temperatures, early maize sowing could
be used to avoid drought during flowering and diminish yield losses. Herein,
a small-scale experiment of low temperature ...stress (LTS) on maize lines L1
(tolerant), L2 (medium tolerant) and L3 (susceptible) is presented. Plants
were grown in pots exposed to exterior suboptimal (March) and optimal (late
April) temperatures until three leaf stage. Chlorophyll (CH), flavonoids
(FL), anthocyanins (AN) and nitrogen balance (NBI) indices were measured
using Dualex Scientific optical device. Growth parameters were also
determined. Under LTS, number of plants was unchanged for L1 and halved for
L2 and L3. Compared to L2 and L3, L1 had significantly higher (p<0.05) shoot
fresh weight (0.649 g vs. 0.406 g and 0.303 g), AN (0.17 vs. 0.13) and FL
(1.47 vs. 1.38 and 1.36). For recovery evaluation, plants were transplanted
into the field. Transplanted stressed L1 plants showed the highest grain
yield per plant (55g) in the field. Due to high correlations (p<0.01)
between FL in three leaf stage and grain yield per plant, FL could be used
as an indicator of plant recovery of maize genotypes exposed to LTS during
early sowing.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare, chronic, multisystem autoimmune disease clinically characterized by progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. The basic mechanism appears to involve ...endothelial cell injury, overproduction of extracellular matrix proteins, and aberrant immune activation. So far, there have been a few attempts to find genetic biomarkers for monitoring disease activity or for correlation with certain symptoms. In order to reveal reliable biomarkers, we analyzed the expression of four genes representing three important signaling pathways, TLR7, TLR9, and JAK2-STAT3. Using RT-qPCR technique, we analyzed the expression of
TLR7
,
TLR9
,
JAK2
, and
STAT3
genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 50 SSc patients and 13 healthy individuals. We detected significant upregulation of
TLR7
gene expression in a group of SSc patients compared to non-SSc group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that TLR7 expression efficiently discriminates SSc cases from healthy individuals. High TLR7 expression positively correlated with the late form of disease, active SSc, and the presence of digital ulcers. Decreased levels of TLR9 and JAK2 mRNA were found in the patient’s cohort in comparison to non-SSc individuals, but showed no correlation with specific clinical outcomes. The expression level of the
STAT3
gene did not differ between the analyzed groups. This is the first study on the expression of
TLR7
,
TLR9
, and
STAT3
genes in SSc patients. Our results show that
TLR7
,
TLR9
, and
JAK2
genes are potential biomarkers for SSc. The results obtained in this study could contribute to better classification, monitoring, and outcome prediction of patients with SSc based on genetics.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Sarcoidosis is a rare multisystem granulomatous disease with unknown etiology. The interplay of vitamin D deficiency and genetic polymorphisms in genes coding for the proteins relevant for metabolism ...of vitamin D is an important, but unexplored area. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in
(rs10741657),
(rs10877012),
(rs7041; rs4588), and
(rs2228570
genes and sarcoidosis, as well as the association between these SNPs and 25(OH)D levels in sarcoidosis patients.
For that purpose we genotyped 86 sarcoidosis patients and 50 healthy controls using the PCR-RFLP method.
Subjects carrying the CC genotype of
rs10877012 have 10 times lower odds of suffering from sarcoidosis. Moreover,
rs4588 AA genotype was shown to be a susceptibility factor, where carriers of this genotype had eight times higher odds for developing sarcoidosis. In addition, the A allele of the
gene (rs4588) was associated with lower levels of 25(OH)D in sarcoidosis patients.
These results suggest that patients with vitamin D deficiency should be regularly tested for genetic modifiers that are related to sarcoidosis in order to prevent development of serious forms of sarcoidosis.
The inactivation of p53 and PTEN tumor suppressor genes is a common genetic event in lung cancer. However, data on the effect of the joint inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes in non–small cell ...lung carcinoma (NSCLC) are lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the alterations in PTEN and p53 genes, as well as to evaluate their mutual role in NSCLC pathogenesis and their impact on survival rate. To that end, polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), sequencing, methylation-specific PCR, and fragment analysis were used. The results obtained were correlated with clinicopathologic parameters, the level of genomic instability, and patient survival. Overall, 13% of specimens had aberrant p53 only, 13% had inactive PTEN only, and 50% of samples had both genes altered. Correlation analyses showed that the mutual inactivation of p53 and PTEN was a frequent event that was associated significantly with the increased level of genomic instability and lymph node invasion implying their synergistic effect in promoting metastatic phenotype of this kind of cancer. In addition, our results revealed a significant association of joint alterations of these genes with dramatically shortened survival indicating that aberrant p53 and PTEN could be used as an adverse prognostic factor for NSCLC patients’ outcome. Our findings established the relevance of the combinatorial inactivation of p53 and PTEN in NSCLC progression and identified a subgroup of patients with a particularly aggressive disease.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
In maize (Zea mays L.) breeding programs, it is very important to define a genetic distance of inbred lines and to establish criteria and biometric methods for the satisfactory germplasm ...classification. A total of 29 inbred lines from Maize Research Institute "Zemun Polje" (MRIZP) breeding program, Belgrade, Serbia, were used to compare similarities obtained by morphological (according to UPOV - Union Internationale pour la Protection des Obtentions Vegetales) and molecular (simple sequence repeats, SSR) markers. The aim was to assess discriminative power of applied markers in the separation of related lines, and to determine the possibility of their application in choosing parental lines for breeding programs. Application of different marker types resulted in adequate separation of inbreds into divergent groups, which facilitates the choice of parental lines. However, there were still many inconsistencies between the field and laboratory results. The quality of information from morphological markers was improved by the application of the appropriate descriptor, measurement scale and the biometric method. According to the correspondence analysis, increased number of SSR markers will enable more reliable results. Regression analysis of morphological visual assessment (MVG) and SSR similarity of individual inbreds pointed out that in some cases morphological, and in others molecular markers more accurately reflected known pedigree information of tested maize lines. In the early generations of maize inbred lines testing, we propose utilization of information resulting from morphological markers, according to UPOV descriptor. However, application of adequate number of molecular (SSR) markers has an economic justification on a smaller number of elite lines in the later generations of line testing. Key words: Maize breeding, genetic relationships, SSR, UPOV descriptor, Zea mays.
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