•A fast and sensitive analytical method was developed to analyse anthelmintics in surface water.•Detection limits in low ngL−1 level was achieved.•Research demonstrates the presence of anthelmintics ...in Llobregat River (Spain) in low ngL−1 level.•Levamisole has been the most frequent and the most abundant anthelmintic.
A method based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QqLIT-MS) has been developed to investigate occurrence of 10 anthelmintic drugs from different structural groups (moxidectin, flubendazole, fenbendazole, levamisol, mebendazole, oxibendazole, albendazole, triclabendazole, febantel and praziquantel) in surface water. Analytes were pre-concentrated by solid phase extraction (SPE) using hydrophilic–lipophilic polymeric based sorbent. Quantification of investigated analytes was done using deuterated compounds as internal standards in order to minimize matrix effect. Analyte recoveries from spiked samples at two concentration levels were above 75% for most of the analytes. The main advantages of developed method are fast separation using UHPLC and therefore short analysis time, combined with good sensitivity which is demonstrated by low ngL−1 detection limits. The developed method was applied for analysis of anthelmintics in the Llobregat River (NE Spain) and its main tributaries (rivers Anoia and Cardener). Eight out of ten anthelmintics were detected in all analyzed samples with the concentrations in low ngL−1 level. The method fills the gap on analytical methodologies for determination of anthelmintic drugs in the environment.
The corresponding author of the manuscript was inadvertently omitted the author name Marija Kaštelan from the author group of the published article. The revised author group is given below.
Summary Current research in pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris suggests that the inflammatory mechanisms are immune based and most likely initiated and maintained by T cells. However, the question of ...lymphocyte being an initiator of psoriatic events remains open so far. Clinical observations such as plaque symmetry, stress-induced onset or exacerbations, pruritus, and possibility of generalization, suggest a role of the nervous system and neurogenic inflammation in pathogenesis. A key to understanding the role of melanocyte in psoriasis is their ability to act as regulatory cell in maintaining epidermal homeostasis. In suggested hypothetic event, melanocyte, acting as a local “stress sensor”, provide communicatory link between CNS and skin. The disease probably begins with so far unknown signal directed through neuronal network to the melanocyte, placed in the center of epidermal unit. That signal governs keratinocyte cellular activities and lead to reactive abnormal epidermal differentiation and hyperproliferation. Increased proliferation of basal keratinocytes and high metabolic demands creates angiogenesis in papillary dermis and elongation of dermal papillae. Stimulated melanocytes and basal keratinocytes become an important source of proinflammatory cytokines that attract lymphocytes in dermis. In conclusion, according to our hypothesis, lymphocyte infiltrate in psoriasis is secondary event rather than vice versa as presented in the literature.
Local government, as administrative units, performs a broad range of services that require to establish relations with outside partners, including those belonging to the private sector. Public ...procurement, due to the size of the involved financial flows, is government activity especially exposed to inefficiencies, corruption and dishonesty. There is an everlasting discussion on the ideal size and the range of services to be kept ‘in-house’ of local government units (LGUs).Transaction Costs Economics (TCE) represents a theoretical paradigm specially designed to interpret the issue of efficiency in inter-institutional relations. However, even though TCE might be envisaged as a tool for building better systems and institutions, practical experience suggests that efficient organization of complex multi-institutional systems is still a goal to be met. Therefore, public procurement procedures at LGU level are suitable to analyze the transaction costs. In an attempt to determine the main organizational features of the existing scope of institutions/entities involved in delivering services to citizens, we provided an overview of the complexity of inter-organizational relations at LGU level.In this paper, we present results of an empirical research of public procurement procedures from the perspective of LGUs in Croatia. Picking up on questionnaire responses from 200 LGUs that reported having held over 350 cases of providing services through contract agreements with ‘independent’ service providers, we formed an opinion of what could be the consequences of developing more structured public procurement procedures.
The aim of this research was to provide a better understanding of factors influencing the performance of (small) agricultural producers. Considering the importance of agricultural producers, not just ...for maintaining a steady supply of products but also for the preservation of the population (and cultural tradition) of rural areas, the development of sustainable agricultural business is a matter of public interest. This paper considers wine producers and their market channels, i.e., the factors influencing the relationship between wine producers and market intermediaries, by applying ideas taken from agency theory. We developed a conceptual model with our defined measure of agency costs as the mediator variable between multiple regressors and the firms’ financial and non-financial performance as regressions. We used the approach of Baron and Kenny to investigate whether agency costs act as a mediator variable. The data needed to test the proposed conceptual model were collected through questionnaires and contextual interviews with the Croatian wine producers (n = 124). We found that more self-reliance in the distribution process, supported by factors related to the bargaining strength, had a positive influence on wine producers’ performance. The results also support the assumption that agency costs act as a full mediator variable between a producer’s attributes and its performance.
Bowel-associated dermatosis-arthritis syndrome (BADAS) is defined by the presence of pustular vasculitic skin lesions usually associated with blind loops of the bowel, either after Billroth II or ...ileojejunal bypass surgery or caused by a chronic inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
A 50-year-old patient is presented with an unusual case of pustulo hemorrhagic vasculitis over the lower arms and legs that appeared ten days before the first symptoms of appendicitis, partially regressed, and reappeared five days after appendectomy. Laboratory tests showed anemia, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein as well as a polyclonal increase in IgG and IgA levels, erythrocyturia and proteinuria. Histopathological examination of a skin biopsy indicated the suspected diagnosis. During hospitalization the patient developed arthropathy with swelling of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints and ankles. The patient was treated with systemic antibiotics and corticosteroids, which caused resolution of the symptoms.
This report speculates that appendicitis was the possible cause of BADAS in this case.
Sample preparation is a very important and essential step in environmental analysis. This article presents an overview of extraction methods for environmental samples, focusing especially on ...pharmaceuticals as there is great concern about them as pollutants.
Psoriasis is a chronic hyperproliferative skin disease characterized by keratinocyte hyperproliferation and inflammation. It is generally considered as an autoimmune disease mediated by T cells. The ...precise mechanism of triggering keratinocyte hyperproliferation is as yet unknown. Apoptosis seems to be important in the maintenance of skin cell homeostasis as well as in the pathogenesis of some skin diseases. We hypothesize how apoptosis mediated by cytolytic mechanisms could be involved in initiating and maintenance of psoriatic plaque. Increased keratinocyte hyperproliferation might develop as a consequence of failure to remove self-reactive T cells by apoptosis that in other way cause significant keratinocyte damage. Apoptotic keratinocytes might trigger an injury response program causing regenerative hyperplasia of epidermal keratinocytes. Another possibility is that the failure to eliminate these abnormal keratinocytes could result in the persistence of chronic inflammatory conditions constantly recruiting specific T cells. Increased epidermal thickness in psoriasis could be also explained by imbalance between the expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins. Epidermal keratinocytes have the ability to produce cytolytic molecules, thus they might also have the potential to protect the epidermis from T cell-mediated damage. In conclusion, hyperproliferation of psoriatic keratinocytes might be partly due to changes in the keratinocyte expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes, partly to the damaged keratinocytes triggering an inappropriate wound repair response and partly by the failure to eliminate these abnormal keratinocytes resulting in the persistence of chronic inflammation. Each of the proposed mechanisms might be a possible therapeutic target mainly by new immunomodulatory agents.
Lichen planus is recognized as a T-cell-mediated disease. Histologically, it is characterized by the formation of colloid bodies representing apoptotic keratinocytes. The apoptotic process mediated ...by CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and NK cells mainly involves two distinct pathways: the perforin/granzyme pathway and the Fas/FasL pathway. So far, little is known regarding the role of perforin-mediated apoptosis in lichen planus. In the present study, the expression and distribution of perforin, T and NK cell subsets in the epidermis and dermis of lesional and nonlesional lichen planus skin were studied. Skin biopsy specimens from lesional and nonlesional skin of ten patients with lichen planus and eight healthy persons were analysed by immunohistochemistry. Significant accumulation of T cells, particularly of CD4(+) and CD8(+) subsets, was found in both epidermis and dermis of lichen planus lesions compared with nonlesional and healthy skin. There were no significant differences in the incidence of NK cells (CD16(+) and CD56(+)) between lesional, nonlesional and healthy skin. Perforin expression was significantly upregulated in the epidermis of lichen planus lesions. In conclusion, accumulation of perforin(+) cells in the epidermis of lichen planus lesions suggest a potential role of perforin in the apoptosis of basal keratinocytes.
Vitamin D i koža Gašparini, Dora; Kaštelan, Marija
Medicina fluminensis,
12/2021, Letnik:
57, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Povezanost vitamina D i kože započinje sintezom vitamina D u koži, a neprestano se istražuju i uočavaju novi mehanizmi kojima najistraživaniji vitamin utječe na najveći organ ljudskoga tijela. Cilj ...je ovoga rada dati pregled dosadašnjih spoznaja o interakciji vitamina D i kože te utjecaju razina vitamina D na kožne bolesti. Po nekim istraživanjima suboptimalne razine vitamina D nalaze se u čak 30 – 90 % stanovništva, a procjenjuje se da postoji manjak vitamina D u oko jedne milijarde ljudi na cijelome svijetu. U 25,6 – 68 % pacijenata sa psorijazom postoji nedostatak vitamina D, a manjak vitamina D nazočan je u čak 97 % pacijenata. Nadalje, niz opservacijskih studija i metaanaliza dokazalo je da su serumske razine kalcidiola niže u djece i odraslih s atopijskim dermatitisom, a pojedina istraživanja dokazala su da u čak 70,5 % pacijenata s vitiligom postoji nedostatak vitamina D. Niske razine vitamina D povezuju se i s progresijom malignog melanoma, no nepoznato je u kojem trenutku izloženosti UV zračenju vitamin D prestaje djelovati protektivno i započinje biti rizični čimbenik za razvoj tumora kože. Unatoč brojnim provedenim istraživanjima, još uvijek nije poznata priroda odnosa vitamina D i pojedinih kožnih bolesti, odnosno je li on uzročnoposljedičan ili slučajan, dok se u drugih dermatoza, poput psorijaze, dokazi o povezanosti s razinom vitamina D primjenjuju u svakodnevnom radu s pacijentima – u dijagnostici i liječenju.
The relationship between vitamin D and the skin starts with the synthesis of vitamin D in the skin. New mechanisms on how the most researched vitamin affects the biggest organ in the human body are constantly investigated and observed. The aim is to review the current knowledge on vitamin D and skin interaction, as well as the effect of vitamin D levels on skin diseases. According to some studies, suboptimal vitamin D levels are found in as many as 30 – 90% of the population, with an estimated vitamin D insufficiency in about one billion people worldwide. In 25.6 – 68% of patients with psoriasis, there is a deficiency of vitamin D and insufficiency of vitamin D in as many as 97% of patients. Furthermore, a series of observational studies and meta-analyses have shown that the serum levels of calcidiol are lower in children and adults with atopic dermatitis, and some studies have shown that up to 70.5% of patients with vitiligo have vitamin D deficiency. Low levels of vitamin D are associated with the progression of malignant melanoma, but it is unknown at which point UV exposure ceases to be protective through vitamin D and begins to be a risk factor for the development of skin tumours. Despite many studies that have been conducted, the nature of the relationship between vitamin D and certain skin diseases is still unknown, whether it is causal or accidental, while in others, such as psoriasis, evidence of the correlation with vitamin D levels is used in daily work with patients – in diagnosis and treatment.
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