The composition and anticholinesterase activity of the dried MeOH extracts of Hieracium scheppigianum and H. naegelianum underground parts (rhizomes and roots), as well as the anticholinesterase ...activity of the dried, previously chemically characterised MeOH extracts of the flowering aerial parts of these two and 26 other Hieracium species in the strict sense (s. str.), were investigated. Furthermore, the anticholinesterase activity of 12 selected secondary metabolites of these extracts was evaluated. Using semi‐preparative LC‐MS, five caffeoylquinic acids and the sesquiterpene lactone crepiside E were isolated from H. scheppigianum underground parts extract. All these compounds were also identified in the underground parts extract of H. naegelianum. Quantitative LC‐MS analysis showed that the analysed underground parts extracts were rich in both caffeoylquinic acids (139.77 and 156.62 mg/g of extract, respectively) and crepiside E (126.88 and 116.58 mg/g). In the Ellman method, the tested extracts showed an interesting anti‐AChE and/or anti‐BChE activity (IC50=0.56–1.58 mg/mL), which can be explained, at least partially, by the presence of some of their constituents. Among the metabolites tested, the best activity was revealed for the flavonoids apigenin, luteolin and diosmetin, and the sesquiterpene lactone 8‐epiixerisamine A (IC50=68.09–299.37 μM).
Aortic aneurysms occur relatively frequently in the ascending thoracic aorta, but are rarely seen in patients with type 2 diabetes. Our aim was to evaluate inflammatory cell infiltration in the ...ascending aortic aneurysm wall in patients with diabetes without arterial hypertension (DM2 group, N=6) versus hypertensive non-diabetic patients (AH group, N=34). For histologic analysis, the sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Movat pentachrome. The immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze the infiltration of pro-inflammatory (CD68) and anti-inflammatory macrophages (CD163), T helper (CD4) and T killer cells (CD8), and B (CD79a) and plasma cells (CD138) in all three layers of aneurysms of both groups. The statistical significance of the differences between groups was evaluated by ANOVA and the Welch test. In comparison to the AH group, the DM2 group developed less severe infiltration of pro-inflammatory macrophages (P=0.004) and B cells (P=0.025) in the tunica intima, and tunica media (P=0.049, P=0.007, respectively), and fewer plasma cells in the tunica media (P=0.024) and tunica adventitia (P=0.017). We found no significant differences in the number of T helper, T killer cells, and anti-inflammatory macrophages and in the amount of collagen and elastic fibers, ground substance, and smooth muscle cells in all three layers of the vessel wall. Except in tunica adventitia of DM2 group, there were more collagen fibers overall (P=0.025). Thus, we conclude that the histological structure of the aneurysm in diabetics without hypertension is almost the same as in hypertensive patients without diabetes. Diabetics had significantly less inflammatory infiltration in all three layers of the vessel wall, and more collagen fibers in tunica adventitia.
To evaluate the extent to which families of children with developmental disabilities, in relation to parents of typically developing children, feel empowered and the way that their empowerment ...manifests itself.
The comparative research design was used in a quantitative, descriptive analysis of 99 families (57.6% were parents of children with developmental disabilities and 42.4% were parents of typically developing children). With regard to the research instrument, the Family Empowerment Scale was used based on a conceptual framework consisting of two dimensions: the level of empowerment and the way it is expressed.
Results: The highest levels of parental empowerment were observed in the Family domain (M = 3.9; SD = 0.6), while the lowest were in the Community domain (M = 2.9, SD = 0.9). The statistical differences between the comparing groups of parents were most pronounced in the Family domain (Mann-Whitney U = 693.00, p = 0.00). Parents of children with developmental disabilities have demonstrated a lower level of family empowerment associated with attitudes, as well as behaviours and knowledge about specific ways in which they can help their child.
Based on data obtained from this study, it can be concluded that parents of children with developmental disabilities require extra support and empowerment in order to take a more active part in working with their child and making decisions relevant to his/her development in order to utilize all community – based resources available.
•It is necessary to provide parental support so that they can be of use in pediatric nursing practice.
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•Aluminum-pillared clays with different cobalt loadings were synthesized.•Modified carbon paste electrodes were tested in glucose electrooxidation.•Increase in Co loading (up to ...4.13 wt%) enhanced the electrocatalytic performance.•Further increase in Co loading derogated the electrocatalytic performance.•Co3O4 formation probably altered the electrocatalytic performance.
In this paper, the influence of cobalt loading in pillared clay-supported cobalt materials on their electrocatalytic performance toward glucose oxidation was investigated. A series of aluminum-pillared montmorillonite clay (AP) materials with different cobalt loadings (x%CoAP, x = 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt%) was synthesized using the incipient wetness impregnation method. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (FE-SEM/EDX), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) coupled with EDX, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and low temperature N2 physisorption, were employed for characterization of the materials. The incorporation of cobalt in porous structure of pillared montmorillonite was confirmed. The synthesized materials (x%CoAP) were used for modification of carbon paste (CP) electrode and tested in reaction of glucose electrooxidation. The electrochemical measurements were conducted using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in a 1 M NaOH solution, with or without glucose. The results showed that the increase of cobalt loading improved the electrode performance toward glucose. The highest current response and sensitivity were obtained for the CP-5%CoAP electrode. A lower electrode performance of CP-10%CoAP was correlated with the presence of higher quantities of Co3O4 (confirmed by XRPD and XPS) in the electrode material. The mechanism and kinetics of glucose electrooxidation was studied in more details for the best performing electrode (CP-5%CoAP). It was found that the process was diffusion-controlled and the diffusion coefficient was determined. The charge transfer coefficient and catalytic rate constant were calculated. The electrode exhibited satisfactory repeatability, reproducibility, stability, and selectivity. The obtained results showed that appropriate amount of cobalt loading in pillared clay led to the obtainment of non-enzymatic electrode materials suitable for sustainable and green glucose sensors.
Introduction. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that affects all aspects
of life of pediatric patients, especially the psychological aspect, and
hence the health-related quality of life. The aim ...of the study was to
evaluate the effects of sociodemographic and clinical factors of pediatric
patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus on self-assessment of health-related
quality of life. Material and Methods. The research was conducted as a
cross-sectional study. The sample included 37 pediatric patients aged 8 to
18 years, who were diagnosed with the type 1 diabetes mellitus six months or
longer before enrollment into the study. The research instruments used in
the study were the Serbian version of child-friendly EuroQol-5D-Y youth
questionnaire and medical history data (gender, age, time since diagnosis -
in years, glycosylated hemoglobin values, type of insulin therapy). Results.
The total score of general health on the visual analogue scale was 80.54 on
average (standard deviation - 20.87). A negative correlation was found
between the total score on the visual analogue scale and the duration of
diabetes (? = -0.329, p < 0.05). The statistical significance of the
difference in the distribution of respondents? responses in relation to the
type of insulin therapy was confirmed in the domain ?Feeling of concern? (?2
(2) = 7.19, p < 0.05). Conclusion. The key determinants that influenced the
self-assessment of the health-related quality of life in pediatric patients
with type 1 diabetes mellitus are duration of the disease and the use of
insulin analogues.
Nowadays landfilling is still an integral part of any waste management system, regardless of the fact that different technologies are used for the treatment of waste. Even today, most economically ...developed countries, still rely on landfilling as an integral part of solid waste management system, while in developing countries this is very often, the most commonly or solely used waste treatment. Accordingly, a large amount of recyclable materials, as well as materials for energy recovery, are deposed at landfills. In this paper the mathematical model for estimation the quantities of recyclable material and material for energy recovery obtained in landfill mining was presented. Based on the data from the field of quantities and composition of landfilled waste and age of existing landfills, a preliminary estimation of the raw material potential of landfill could be done, and obtained results could be used in order to help the decision makers in Republic of Srpska to choose the sustainable material and energy resource recovery.
Aim
The aim of this study was to identify the most common contributing factors to medication errors in everyday practice of Serbian nurses.
Background
Nurses have the key role in medication, and it ...is very important that they understand why errors occur.
Methods
This research study was a cross‐sectional study in five healthcare institutions. The sample was 965 nurses. A specially designed questionnaire was used as the research instrument.
Results
The most dominant contributing factor of medication errors was insufficient number of nurses. Interestingly other dominant factors given in literature were not recognized in this research study.
Discussion
The study results confirm that the recommendations we find in literature cannot be simply copied and implemented into the existing system, but can be used as a starting point for further research.
Limitation
The obtained data were compared with the studies of the countries with different healthcare systems and different educational structures of nurses.
Conclusion
The results of the study imply that healthcare institutions have to take the initiative and the responsibility for teaching safe medication use during formal education, as well as in clearly planned programmes of continuous education for nurses.
Implications for nursing
To reduce errors to the least possible level, it is important that nurses clearly define what an error is and recognize the causes and the importance of reporting and analysing them.
Implications for health policy
Systemic practices are required in the health system in Serbia and the culture of patients’ safety accepted as the common goal and imperative of everyday practice.
The appearance of artificial intelligence language models (AI LMs) in the form of chatbots has gained a lot of popularity worldwide, potentially interfering with different aspects of education, ...including medical education as well. The present study aims to assess the accuracy and consistency of different AI LMs regarding the histology and embryology knowledge obtained during the 1st year of medical studies.
Five different chatbots (ChatGPT, Bing AI, Bard AI, Perplexity AI, and ChatSonic) were given two sets of multiple-choice questions (MCQs). AI LMs test results were compared to the same test results obtained from 1st year medical students. Chatbots were instructed to use revised Bloom’s taxonomy when classifying questions depending on hierarchical cognitive domains. Simultaneously, two histology teachers independently rated the questions applying the same criteria, followed by the comparison between chatbots’ and teachers’ question classification. The consistency of chatbots’ answers was explored by giving the chatbots the same tests two months apart.
AI LMs successfully and correctly solved MCQs regarding histology and embryology material. All five chatbots showed better results than the 1st year medical students on both histology and embryology tests. Chatbots showed poor results when asked to classify the questions according to revised Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy compared to teachers. There was an inverse correlation between the difficulty of questions and their correct classification by the chatbots. Retesting the chatbots after two months showed a lack of consistency concerning both MCQs answers and question classification according to revised Bloom’s taxonomy learning stage.
Despite the ability of certain chatbots to provide correct answers to the majority of diverse and heterogeneous questions, a lack of consistency in answers over time warrants their careful use as a medical education tool.
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