Bioarchaeological research in Croatia--a historical review

The study of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites gives us the opportunity to answer important questions about the lifestyle of past populations. The discipline that studies human skeletal remains is known as bioarchaeology. This paper provides a historical review of bioarchaeological research in Croatia. It is based on the available published material that analyzes human skeletal remains from archaeological sites located on the Croatian territory covering time span from the Neolithic period to the late Middle Ages.     

Nutritional studies of histoplasma capsulatum

Summary A chemically defined medium, composed of inorganic salts, glucose, asparagine, cystine, and a vitamin supplement, has been devised for growth of the yeast phase ofHistoplasma capsulatum. Growth in this medium was abundant and compared favorably with that in media containing complex natural material. Conversion of each of the 20 strains examined was accomplished by one or more passages on agar slants of the medium and incubation of the cultures at 37° C. Yeast phase cultures on this medium have been stored for 6 months or more at approximately 4° C without conversion or loss of viability. Of the 20 strains examined for vitamin requirements of the yeast phase, all were partially deficient for thiamine; nine for inositol; five, either partially or completely deficient for niacin; and one, completely deficient for biotin.No specific amino acid was required for growth of the yeast phase, but an organic source of sulfur and one of nitrogen were essential. Cystine and cysteine were equally effective for growth of the yeast phase when supplied on an equivalent sulfur basis and very little difference in growth occurred in media which contained equal amounts of nitrogen in any one of the following compounds: asparagine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and proline,Of the 20 strains, all but one, which requires biotin, were capable of continued growth in the mycelial phase when subcultured on an agar medium containing only inorganic salts and dextrose, but growth was improved significantly by asparagine or casein hydrolysate.This investigation was supported in part by a PHS research grant (AI-03524) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Public Health Service.     

Genograms of exile and return families in Croatia--a medical anthropological approach

This article presents the most important results of an applied anthropological long-term study of the prolonged exile and return that many families are currently undergoing in Croatia. The results are elaborated with a special reflection upon two important overlapping issues concerning the methodological approach that was applied: firstly, it discusses the crucial questions which motivated the search for a tool that will not distort the experiences, reality and suffering of exile families; and secondly, it critically describes the application of the genogram (a tool borrowed from systemic family therapy) in the exile setting. This tool was not only useful in the clinical sense of psychotherapeutically helping the families, but was also a very flexible part of the methodology orientated towards evoking family history and providing valid knowledge about different family and living circumstances.     

Nutritional studies on nematode-trapping fungi

Utilization of 18 carbon and nitrogen sources and 9 vitamins by three network forming fungiArthrobotrys oligospora, A. conoides andMonacrosporium cystosporum was studied. They were able to utilize almost all the carbon and nitrogen sources except few and showed variation in their efficiency of utilization. For good growth the fungi required thiamin, biotin and partially 4-aminobenzoic acid.     

Nutritional studies on Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz

Summary Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolated from the diseased leaves ofPolyscias balfuriana could grow and sporulate on a wide range of pH (viz. from 3.0 to 9.0). Maximum growth was recorded at pH 5.5. Mannitol was the best carbon source for growth. Good growth as well as good or excellent sporulation was also recorded on glucose, fructose, maltose and starch. Organic acids (malic and tartaric) supported poor growth.Present organism could utilize a number of nitrogen sources. Nitrates in general were comparatively better sources than ammonium compounds. Aspartic acid was found to be the best nitrogen source for growth. Nitrites were toxic at lower pH values though they supported growth at alkaline medium. Best growth of the organism was obtained on MgSO₄, 7H₂O. The urea supported poor growth. ZnSO₄ inhibited the growth completely. The present organism was incapable of growing in media lacking carbon, nitrogen or sulphur.     

Epidemiology of prostate cancer in the mediterranean population of Croatia--a thirty-three year retrospective study

Prostate cancer is a major public health problem of the male population in all the developed countries. This non-skin cancer is the foremost one facing man today. Prostate cancer has become the second leading cause of cancer death2. In this study we investigated changes in the prostate carcinoma incidence and manifestation during a thirty-three years period. The study included 1226 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed from 1972 to 2005 in the Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia. The age-adjusted incidence of prostate cancer increased from 1.69 per 100,000 men annually in 1972 to 137.58 per 100,000 men annually in 2005, which is an 81.4-fold increase. The percentage ofpatients with bone metastases on the first medical examination decreased from 1972 (75%) to 2005 (15%). The most of the patients with bone metastases at the first medical examination were between 30 and 50 years old. Early detection measures, such as prostate specific antigen testing and transrectal ultrasound guided prostate biopsy combined with the raised public awareness of the disease, most probably resulted in an increase of incidence.     

Nutritional studies of Hemiparasitic Orthocarpus (Scrophulariaceae)

Excised shoot tips from Orthocarpus attenautus and O. purpurascenswere cultured in vitro to ascertain whether the stem tips ofthese hemiparasites require complex organic substances for theirdevelopment, and to determine if the capacity for haustoriaformation is retained by the resulting plantlets. Explants consistedof the apical meristem plus the four smallest leaf primordia,having a volume of less than 0.5 mm3. A variety of mineral media,sucrose concentrations, root extract, soil extract, yeast extract,and malt extract were tested for effects on growth. Both speciescompleted development in sterile culture on simple media. Orthocarpusattenuatus grew best on Knop‘s minerals with Ball’smicroelements + 0.1 g ferric citrate 1–1+ 1% (w/v) sucrose,while MurashigeSkoog‘s minerals+ 2% sucrose provided thebest growth of the media tested for O. purpurascens. Haustoriaformed on the roots of all plantlets chemically induced by cottonstring. The mean number of haustoria per plantlet was abouthalf that of control plants raised from seed. Growth of intactO. Purpurascens seedlings was also compared on mineral agar,mineral agar supplemented with yeast extract, and in soil culturessupplemented with yeast extract and a host. While yeast extracthas variable effects on the growth of shoot tip explants andintact plants raised under axenic conditions, it is highly stimulatoryto the autotrophic growth of intact plants in soil culture.     

Nutritional programming in fishes: insights from mammalian studies

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries - Epidemiological evidence and subsequent studies using mammalian models have established a strong correlation between suboptimal nutritional status during...     

Heterochrony in plant evolutionary studies through the twentieth century

The evolution of plant morphology is the result of changes in developmental processes. Heterochrony, the evolutionary change in developmental rate or timing, is a major cause of ontogenetic modification during evolution. It is responsible for both interspecific and intraspecific morphological differences. Other causes include heterotopy, the change of structural position, and homeosis, the replacement of a structure by another. This paper discusses and reviews the role of heterochrony in plant evolution at the organismal, organ, tissue, cellular, and molecular levels, as well as the relationships among heterochrony, heterotopy, and homeosis. An attempt has been made to include all published studies through late 1999. It is likely that most heterochronic change involves more than one of the six classic pure heterochronic processes. Of these processes, we found neoteny (decreased developmental rate in descendant), progenesis (earlier offset), and acceleration (increased rate) to be more commonly reported than hypermorphosis (delayed offset) or predisplacement (earlier onset). We found no reports of postdisplacement (delayed onset). Therefore, although rate changes are common (both neoteny and acceleration), shifts in timing most commonly involve earlier termination in the descendant (progenesis). These relative frequencies may change as more kinds of structures are analyzed. Phenotypic effects of evolutionary changes in onset or offset timing can be exaggerated, suppressed, or reversed by changes in rate. Because not all developmental changes responsible for evolution result from heterochrony, however, we propose that plant evolution be studied from a viewpoint that integrates these different developmental mechanisms.