The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and chitinase 3-like protein 1 (YKL-40) in blood samples with morpohometric parameters of ...retinal blood vessels in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Blood laboratory examination of 90 patients included the measurement of glycemia, HbA1C, total cholesterol, LDL-C, HDL-C, triglycerides and CRP. Levels of YKL-40 were detected and measured in serum by ELISA (Micro VueYKL-40 EIA Kit, Quidel Corporation, San Diego, USA). YKL-40 correlated positively with diameter and negatively with number of retinal blood vessels. The average number of the blood vessels per retinal zone was significantly higher in the group of patients with mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy than in the group with severe form in the optic disc and all five retinal zones. The average outer diameter of the evaluated retinal zones and optic disc vessels was significantly higher in the group with severe compared to the group with mild diabetic retinopathy. Morphological analysis of the retinal vessels on digital fundus photography and correlation with YKL-40 may be valuable for the follow-up of diabetic retinopathy.
Almost the entire grape production in BiH is realized in Herzegovina region, where for many years the relationship of the area under vineandthe area under a table grapesis approximately 80%:20%. ...Autochtonus wine varieties, Zilavka and Blatina have the greatest significance in the vineyard production in this region. That is the reason why they are the subject of numerous studies and analyzes. This paper presents the most important amphelometriccharacteristics of Žilavka nad Blatina varieties. Part of experimental studies on amphelometric characteristics of bunch, berries and seeds, are implemented in a vineyard of company ,,Aluminijurnski kombinat" located in Mostar region. Bearing in mind that the functional morphology of flowers in vine reproductive biology present an important factor in the effectiveness of the reproductive organs to the realization of high yields of appropriate quality grapes, special attention during the study is dedicated to the characteristics which have a direct impact to level of fertilization: bunch, berries and the seeds. The research was conducted during the period 2009-2011. Average bunch weight of Blatina variety for research period was 228.28 g, ranged from 169.35 to 289.19 g, with an average of 65.80 berries in a cluster. The average weight of berry was 3.49 g, with an average 1.51 seeds in the berries. The average bunch mass of the Zilavka variety, during the research period was 223.16 g and ranged from 170.06 to 325.45 g g, with an average of 114.47 berries in a cluster. The average weight of berry, was 2.14 g, with an average 1.76 seeds in the berries. Greater variation of tested characteristics, were found in Blatina variety which can be addresed to the varietal specificity of this variety to the process of pollination and thus the displacement of berries in a bunch.
‘Žilavka’ has been grown in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the XIVth century and is exploited for wine production. Although not sufficiently studied, this grapevine cultivar has high economic potential ...for the country. Five survey missions resulted in the collection of eighty ‘Žilavka’ accessions that varied in terms of names and characteristics. Because of the unknown origin of the cultivar, these accessions were analyzed with microsatellites markers in order to obtain a standard ‘Žilavka’ genotype. AFLP markers were used to investigate the genetic basis of variability within the cultivar. ‘Žilavka’ grapevines were screened on 14 microsatellite loci, thus revealing 4 different genotypes arising from mutations observed at 10 polymorphic loci. AFLP analysis of 52 ‘Žilavka’ accessions revealed 35 different genotypes, with an average polymorphism of 57 %. Cluster analysis showed no grouping of different Žilavka accessions according to their names, characteristics or collection locations. The standard ‘Žilavka’ genotype was further compared to 211 cultivars from Slovenia (49), Austria/Germany (20), France (13), Portugal (27), Croatia (19), Greece (32), Spain (21) and Italy (30) in order to assess their genetic relationships. In pairwise comparisons, the highest genetic similarity was found with Slovenian cultivars ‘Glera’ and ‘Briška Glera’ (64 %) and the highest genetic dissimilarity (100 %) with two Italian cultivars, ‘Nebbiolo Lampia’ and ‘Vespolina’. Inventory, collection and genetic characterization of ‘Žilavka’ accessions are important steps towards cultivar standardization, identification of parental cultivars and investigation of cultivar origin, required for its sustainable use.
‘Žilavka’ je pomembna vinska sorta z območja Bosne in Hercegovine kjer jo gojijo že od XIV stoletja. V preteklosti ni bila dovolj proučevana vendar ima velik ekonomski potencial za omenjeno območje. Akcesije žilavke (80), ki imajo različna imena in se razlikujejo po nekaterih osnovnih karakteristikah so bile nabrane na različnih področjih Bosne in Hercegovine. Za pridobitev standardnega genotipa žilavke smo uporabili mikrosatelitne markerje in z analizo 14 lokusov odkrili mutacije na 10 lokusih in določili 4 različne genotipe. Vse akcesije (52) katerim smo na osnovi mikrosatelitov določili standardni genotip smo nadalje analizirali z AFLP markerji in tako določili 35 različnih genotipov. Povprečni polimorfizem pri AFLP analizi je bil 57 %. S klastrsko analizo nismo odkrili skupin povezanih z različnimi karakteristikami, poimenovanjem ali izvorom akcesij žilavke. Standardni genotip žilavke smo nadalje primerjali z genotipi 211 kultivarjev iz Slovenije (49), Avstrije/Nemčije (20), Francije (13), Portugalske (27), Hrvaške (19), Grčije (32), Španije (21) in Italije (30), da bi ugotovili kakšna je sorodnost z njimi. V analizi primerjave parov smo ugotovili, da je žilavka najbolj sorodna (64 %) s slovenskima kultivarjema ‘Glera’ in ‘Briška Glera’ ter najbolj genetsko oddaljena od italijanskih kultivarjev ‘Nebbiolo Lampia’ in ‘Vespolina’. Zbiranje, vrednotenje in genetska karakterizacija akcesij žilavke je pomembna za standardizacijo kultivarjev, analizo starševstva in izvora sorte.
Prokupac is an autochthonous grapevine variety primarily cultivated in the south and southeast of Serbia. Its biological characteristics make its cultivation possible even without the use of ...trellises, when in goblet-like form, which significantly facilitates its cultivation. Quality wines are produced from this variety. Given its production importance, Prokupac variety was the research topic of a number of examinations aimed at raising production rates and the selection of the clones with enhanced economic and technological characteristics. This paper illustrates some basic indicators of yield potential and the quality of Prokupac variety, cultivated in Niš vineyard area. Fruit-bearing capacity and grape quality were analyzed during 2009 and 2010 in the collection vineyard of the Center for Viticulture and Winemaking in Niš. Apart from determining the median dates of the most important phenophases of growth and development, fruit-bearing capacity and grape quality of Prokupac variety were determined through the screening of the following indicators: the number and precentage of activated bubs, number and percentage of fruit-bearing shoots, fertility coefficient, grape yield per square unit, number of berries, average cluster mass, sugar content and total acid content in grapes. The main indicators for the quality of Prokupac variety in this research show that this variety belongs to a group of varieties suitable for quality wine production. The average length of vegetation period is 170 days. The average yield of Prokupac variety during the two-year period varied between 8.612 and 12.779 kg/ha. Sugar content remained satisfactory (18-20%). The acquired study results show that Prokupac variety can be successfully cultivated in the conditions of Niš vineyard area.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) receiving haemodialysis (HD) often experience bleeding. However, mechanisms behind this bleeding tendency are incompletely ...understood but may involve platelet dysfunction. We therefore studied platelet-dependent thrombus formation in flowing whole blood inside a microchip coated with collagen, and its association with circulating von Willebrand factor (VWF).
METHOD
Blood samples were obtained in 22 patients before and after HD. The area under the 10 min flow pressure curve in a microchip (AUC10) reflecting total platelet thrombogenicity was measured, using the Total Thrombus-formation Analysis System (T-TAS01). AUC10 < 260 indicates platelet dysfunction. VWF-antigen and measures of VWF-activity, i.e. VWF-RCo, VWF-CBA and latex-particle based VWF activity were also assayed.
RESULTS
VWF levels were moderately elevated and increased further after HD (P < 0.01 or lower). In contrast, AUC10 before and after HD was < 260 in 17/22 patients and < 130 in 15/22 patients, with no statistically significant difference in pre- versus post-HD measurements (median AUC10 in all patients 10.2 versus 20.3, respectively), altogether indicating reduced platelet thrombogenicity, but with some variability (5/22 patients with normal platelet responsiveness). AUC10 before and after HD correlated fairly well (r = 0.77, P < 0.001), and all VWF-related parameters (before versus after HD) were also correlated (r = 0.74 or higher; P < 0.0001). In contrast, no significant correlations were found between absolute values of AUC10 and any VWF-related parameters or between changes in values (i.e delta-values for differences between pre versus post HD).
CONCLUSION
Most ESRD-patients display moderate to severe platelet dysfunction as assessed by shear-induced collagen-dependent platelet thrombus formation with T-TAS01.Platelet thrombus formation under high shear, as measured by the collagen-coated PL-chip, is not importantly influenced by a moderate HD-induced increase in VWF. T-TAS01 should be further evaluated as a tool in the assessment of bleeding risk in patients on HD.
Cardiovascular repair and myocardial contractility may be improved by migration of bone marrow stem cells (BMSC) and their delivery to the site of injury, a process known as BMSC homing. The aim of ...our study was to examine the dietary effect of a newly patented depurinized milk (DP) that is almost free of uric acid and purine and pyrimidine compounds compared with a standard commercial 1.5% fat UHT milk diet or allopurinol therapy in rat experimental hyperuricemia. Bone marrow stem cell potential (BMCD34+, CD34-postive bone marrow cells), plasma oxidative stress parameters advanced oxidation protein products, AOPP) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), myocardial damage markers creatine phosphokinase (CPK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), plasma cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were investigated. The DP milk diet significantly increased the number of BMCD34+ stem cells compared with commercial UHT milk. Allopurinol given alone also increased the number of BMCD34+. Hyperuricemia caused a significant increase in all plasma enzyme markers for myocardial damage (CPK, LDH, and AST). A cardioprotective effect was achieved with allopurinol but almost equally with DP milk and more than with commercial milk. Regarding plasma AOPP, TBARS, and cholesterol levels, the most effective treatment was DP milk. In conclusion, the protective role of a milk diet on cardiovascular function may be enhanced through the new depurinized milk diet, which may improve cardiovascular system function via increased bone marrow stem cell regenerative potential, decreased plasma oxidative stress parameters, and decreased levels of myocardial damage markers and cholesterol. New dairy technology strategies focused on eliminating harmful milk compounds should be completely nontoxic. Novel milk products should be tested for their ability to improve tissue repair and function.
This study is aimed at examining whether essential arterial hypertension (HTN) or ACE inhibitors have any effect on erythrocyte selenium (Se)-dependent and Se-non-dependent glutathione peroxidase ...(GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Eleven patients with HTN (2 men and 9 women) and 9 healthy volunteers were included in this study after clinical examination and laboratory investigation. The activities of all three enzymes were determined and then the patients were assigned to receive ACE inhibitor therapy consisting of captopril, 25 to 50 mg daily, or enalapril, 10 to 40 mg daily. After 1 year, the determination of antioxidant enzymes was repeated. Our results showed that the initial values of Se-dependent GSH-Px in patients treated with ACE inhibitors were significantly lower (19.60 +/- 3.50 microM NADPH/min(-1)/mgHb(-1)) compared with the controls (28.64 +/- 4.93 microM NADPH/min(-1)/mgHb(-1); p < 0.001), whereas the activity of Se-non-dependent GSH-Px was significantly enhanced (13.55 +/- 1.46 microM NADPH/min(-1)/mgHb(-1); p < 0.001) compared with the control group (9.44 +/- 0.81 microM NADPH/min(-1)/mgHb(-1); p < 0.001). ACE inhibitors did not significantly change the activity of Se-dependent GSH-Px or Se-non-dependent GSH-Px. No significant alteration was observed in SOD activity.
•The essential oils of four Pinus species from the Balkans were analyzed.•The total number of identified volatile constituents was 116.•Oils showed distinctive chemical profiles, antimicrobial and ...larvicidal activity.•According to both studied activities, oils can be arranged in the same order.
Comparative analysis of the chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oils from the needles of four Pinus species (P. mugo subsp. mugo, P. nigra subsp. nigra, P. sylvestris and P. peuce) from the central Balkans was performed. Although different chemical profiles of the dominant terpenes for each species were determined, essential oils were, generally, dominated by monoterpenes with α-pinene as one of the first two major volatiles. Tested oils showed inhibitory action against respiratory pathogenic bacterial strains, isolated from human swabs, in the range of 1.25–20.00mg/mL (MICs) and bactericidal effect (MBCs) at concentrations from 2.50 to 40.00mg/mL. Considering cell wall composition, there were no significant differences in sensitivity between Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. In addition, the place of isolation did not provide evidences for higher susceptibility/resistance of the strains obtained from the particular infection site. On the other hand, toxicity of essential oils towards developing Drosophila melanogaster larvae was low, except P. mugo subsp. mugo oil, which did not show any signs of toxicity at concentrations up to 3%. Highest mortality of larvae and adults of D. melanogaster was noted for P. sylvestris essential oil with an estimated LC50 at the end of experiment (14days) of 2.78% with a 95% confidence interval of 2.15–3.42%. Short-term 96h LC50 values due to low mortality at larval stage could not be calculated for any oil and are expected to be much higher than 3%. According to the obtained antimicrobial activity and toxicity towards D. melanogaster, the oils can be arranged in the following order: P. sylvestris>P. peuce>P. nigra subsp. nigra>P. mugo subsp. mugo.
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