Zeolites are a large group of aluminosilicate minerals that appear in non-metamorphic rocks or are synthesized by humans. Interest in the use of zeolites in agricultural production has been growing ...in recent years, primarily because they are environmentally friendly. They are used to protect the plants from insects in open areas, as well as in warehouses. Research is being conducted on the effectiveness of zeolite in controlling the insect eggs, larvae, and adults, the cause of plant diseases, and weeds. The movement of insects on the treated parts of the plant is difficult because the zeolite particles are caught by their hairs, making it difficult for them to feed, so they eventually die. Aluminum-rich zeolites are mostly used as the means for drying the surface parts of plants, considering that water is needed for the infections caused by the fungi and bacteria, or they create a thin layer on a leaf surface that prevents the germination of spores and the development of certain plant diseases. Zeolites have a potential to be slowly released, and therefore they ensure that the active substance of the herbicide has a longer duration of effectiveness, whereby a potential for leaching and environmental pollution is being reduced.
The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the frequency and malignant transformation rate of oral lichen planus and leukoplakia in a large group of oral medicine patients. Study included ...12 508 patients who were referred between 1998 and 2007 to the Department of Oral Medicine. The frequency of OLP was 4.30%, leukoplakia 1.11%, and combined diagnoses 0.14%. In primary biopsies dysplasia was found in 12.96% of patients with leukoplakia and not in one with OLP and combined lesions. The highest frequency of leukoplakia was found in smokers. Women were found as predominant sufferers of both diseases and their combination. During the observed period often years malignant transformation of OLP was not detected, unlike leukoplakia where it was 0.64%. The frequency of OLP and leukoplakia in our study are comparable to other similar studies. The highest frequency of malignant transformation was observed in those patients who did not respond to our invitation to regular check-up. It is therefore neccessary to perform a detailed examination of the oral cavity in these patients and to raise patients awareness of the disease and the importance of regular follow-up.
Virus mumpsa uzročnik je zaušnjaka, bolesti koja se može prevenirati cijepljenjem. Mumps je RNK virus koji se u kliničkim uzorcima i u supernatantima inficiranih staničnih kultura nakon izolacije RNK ...može detektirati RT-PCR testom. Prednosti RT-PCR testa su brzina, specifičnost i mogućnost detekcije malog broja kopija virusa. Genskom karakterizacijom i genotipizacijom virusa omogućeno je epidemiološko praćenje distribucije i cirkuliranja divljih tipova virusa mumpsa koji uzrokuju epidemije i u procijepljenim populacijama. Molekularna detekcija i genska karakterizacija divljih i cjepnih virusa mumpsa provodi se u Republici Hrvatskoj od kraja 90-tih godina.
Restriction enzymes have proven to be among the most valuable tools in molecular biology. In this work, we demonstrate that the cleavage of fluorescently labeled, PCR-amplified DNA can be used as a ...simple and highly sensitive technique for detection of sequences present in a percentage as low as 0.6% in a DNA pool. Due to the fact that fluorescent labeling of DNA fragments enables such sensitive detection and quantification of restriction enzyme cleavage, the method was further exploited in monitoring of the enzymatic digestion completeness and in determination of factors that influence restriction enzyme effectiveness. We analyzed the activity of six restriction endonucleases; the percentage of uncleaved DNA fragments predominantly ranged between 2.0 and 2.5 and the highest value was 8.00%. We conclude that, since the enzymatic digestion completeness may not always be assured, each assay based on restriction enzyme cleavage that is intended to be used in investigations of heterogeneity in a DNA pool should be constructed so that the presence of cleaved sequences is the indication of pool nonuniformity. When the presence of uncleaved sequences indicates pool heterogeneity, the results could be misleading due to possible incompleteness of enzymatic cleavage.
Two cases of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), diagnosed in Croatia in 2002, were investigated. The coding regions of the matrix (M), hemagglutinin (H) and nucleoprotein (N) genes of ...measles virus were sequenced following direct RT-PCR amplification of viral RNA extracted from brain tissue. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of H and N genes, showed that both strains belonged to genotype D6. No vaccine strain was detected although both patients had been previously immunized. The comparison of analyzed sequences of two SSPE causative viruses with corresponding sequences of D6 genotype and with each other revealed a number of mutations in N and H gene sequences. In comparison to the Edmonston reference strain, the M gene of the SSPE viruses showed the characteristic biased hypermutation and a premature termination codon in one of the patients.
