Involuntary hospitalizations in the psychiatric hospital Jankomir before and following the alterations and amendments made to ZZODS

Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders as well as the delirium caused by abstinence from alcohol and accute state of drunkenness appear at the very top of the list of factors, which are positively correlated with involuntary hospitalization of patients. This is at the same time a confirmation of the data found in literature considering psychosis an essential factor of involuntary hospitalization; the same referring to the male sex was not, however, confirmed by the results obtained in the first and second research period. Regarding the positive correlation between schizophrenia and other psychotic disturbances, dementia, delirium and other cognitive impairments including the delirium caused by abstinence from alcohol and an accute state of drunkenness on the one side and the high rate of involuntary hospitalization on the other, there is no statistically significant difference between the period preceding and the period following the alterations and amendments to the Law on the protection of patients with mental disorders.     

A consensus map of chromosome 6R in rye (Secale cereale L.)

Four F₂ mapping populations derived from crosses between rye inbred lines DS2×RXL10, 541×Ot1-3, S120×S76 and 544×Ot0-20 were used to develop a consensus map of chromosome 6R. Thirteen marker loci that were polymorphic in more than one mapping population constituted the basis for the alignment of the four maps using the JoinMap v. 3.0 software package. The consensus map consists of 104 molecular marker loci including RFLPs, RAPDs, AFLPs, SSRs, ISSRs, SCARs, STSs and isozymes. The average distance between the marker loci is 1.3 cM, and the total map length is 135.5 cM. This consensus map may be used as a source of molecular markers for the rapid development of new maps of chromosome 6R in any mapping population.     

Stimulation of thaumarchaeal ammonia oxidation by ammonia derived from organic nitrogen but not added inorganic nitrogen

Ammonia oxidation, the first step in nitrification, is performed by autotrophic bacteria and thaumarchaea, whose relative contributions vary in different soils. Distinctive environmental niches for the two groups have not been identified, but evidence from previous studies suggests that activity of thaumarchaea, unlike that of bacterial ammonia oxidizers, is unaffected by addition of inorganic N fertilizer and that they preferentially utilize ammonia generated from the mineralization of organic N. This hypothesis was tested by determining the influence of both inorganic and organic N sources on nitrification rate and ammonia oxidizer growth and community structure in microcosms containing acidic, forest soil in which ammonia oxidation was dominated by thaumarchaea. Nitrification rate was unaffected by the incubation of soil with inorganic ammonium but was significantly stimulated by the addition of organic N. Oxidation of ammonia generated from native soil organic matter or added organic N, but not added inorganic N, was accompanied by increases in abundance of the thaumarchaeal amoA gene, a functional gene for ammonia oxidation, but changes in community structure were not observed. Bacterial amoA genes could not be detected. Ammonia oxidation was completely inhibited by 0.01% acetylene in all treatments, indicating ammonia monooxygenase-dependent activity. The findings have implications for current models of soil nitrification and for nitrification control strategies to minimize fertilizer loss and nitrous oxide production.     

Radiation chemistry of a multicomponent aqueous system relevant to chemistry of cometary nuclei

Summary We have examined a water-dominated multicomponent system after irradiation in the multimegarad dose range with gamma rays from a⁶⁰Co source at both 77 and 310 K. The constituents were simple organic compounds in the proportions in which they appear in a dense interstellar cloud: HCN/CH₃OH/CH₃CN/C₂H₅CN/HCOOH=10.60.20.10.05. The total amounts were adjusted to correspond to a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 1.8 and a water content of about 50% in a cometary nucleus where the dust to volatiles ratio is 1; the total amount of CN-bearing compounds was taken to correspond to 0.4% of the cometary mass. In experiments at 310 K about 40 radiolytic products are identified, among them aldehydes and amino and carboxylic acids. Abundant polymeric material (M_w up to 80,000 daltons) is formed. The basic aspects of radiolysis of the liquid system are present also at 77 K, although at radiation-chemical yields that are lower by one to two orders of magnitude. We have considered the relevance of the present findings to the chemistry of a liquid-water core and the icy layers of a cometary nucleus.     

COX-1 and COX-2 polymorphisms in susceptibility to cerebral palsy in very preterm infants

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a nonprogressive motor disorder caused by white matter damage in the developing brain. Recent epidemiological and clinical data suggest intrauterine infection/inflammation as the most common cause of preterm delivery and neonatal complications, including CP. Cyclooxygenases are key enzymes in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins. The COX family consists of two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2. In the brain, COX-2 is constitutively expressed at high levels on pyramidal neurons, while COX-1 is predominantly expressed by microglia and can be upregulated in pathological conditions, such as infection, ischemia and traumatic brain injury. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the COX-1 and COX-2 gene could have profound effects on COX-1 and COX-2 expression and, directly or indirectly, influence the pathogenesis, development and severity of CP. In this study we investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms of the COX-1 and COX-2 gene and susceptibility to cerebral palsy in very preterm infants. The results of our study showed the association between COX-1 high expression genotype (?842 AA) and COX-1 high expression allele ?842A and risk of CP in infants with cystic periventricular leucomalacia (cPVL). Our results support an important role of COX-1 enzyme on microglial activation during neuroinflammation resulting in huge neuroinflammatory response and the proinflammatory mediator overproduction, with the serious white matter damage and CP development as a consequence.     

Continuum simulations of acetylcholine diffusion with reaction-determined boundaries in neuromuscular junction models

The reaction-diffusion system of the neuromuscular junction has been modeled in 3D using the finite element package FEtk. The numerical solution of the dynamics of acetylcholine with the detailed reaction processes of acetylcholinesterases and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors has been discussed with the reaction-determined boundary conditions. The simulation results describe the detailed acetylcholine hydrolysis process, and reveal the time-dependent interconversion of the closed and open states of the acetylcholine receptors as well as the percentages of unliganded/monoliganded/diliganded states during the neuro-transmission. The finite element method has demonstrated its flexibility and robustness in modeling large biological systems.     

Fulminant meningococcal sepsis in a young child--a case report

We are presenting a case of isolated fulminant meningococcal sepsis with two and a half year old child. Initial symptoms were obscure and common to many medical conditions, but also previously described as symptoms of meningococcal sepsis. Unrecognizing the seriousness of the condition child died at home, within few hours after examination and discharge from the hospital. Autopsy and microbiological findings unquestionably proved that the child died from septic shock caused by fulminant meningococcal sepsis.     

Insecticidal potential of natural zeolite and diatomaceous earth formulations against rice weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and red flour beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Insecticidal potential of natural zeolites and diatomaceous earths originating from Serbia against Sitophilus oryzae (L.) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) was evaluated. Two natural zeolite formulations (NZ and NZ Modified) were applied to wheat at rates of 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0 g/kg, while two diatomaceous earth (DE) formulations (DE S-1 and DE S-2) were applied at rates of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.0 g/kg. A bioassay was conducted under laboratory conditions: temperature of 24 +/- 1 degrees C, relative humidity in the range 50-55%, in tests with natural zeolites, and 60-65%, in tests with DEs, and in all combinations for progeny production. Mortality was assessed after 7, 14, and 21 d of insect contact with treated wheat, and the total mortality after an additional 7-d recovery on untreated broken wheat. Progeny production was also assessed after 8 wk for S. oryzae and 12 wk for T. castaneum. The highest mortality for S. oryzae and T. castaneum was found after the longest exposure period and 7 d of recovery, on wheat treated with NZ at the highest rate and DEs at rates of 0.50 -1.0 g/kg. Progeny reduction higher than 90% was achieved after 14 and 21 d of contact of both beetle pests with wheat treated with DE S-1 at 0.50-1.0 g/kg and DE S-2 at 0.75-1.0 g/kg, while the same level of reduction was achieved only for T. castaneum after its contact with the highest rate of NZ formulation. NZ Modified, applied even at the highest rate, revealed much lower insecticidal potential.     

Methylation-specific PCR: four steps in primer design

Methylation-specific PCR (MSP) is still the method of choice for a single gene methylation study. The proper design of the primer pairs is a prerequisite for obtaining reliable PCR results. Despite numerous protocols describing the rules for MSP primer design, none of them provide a comprehensive approach to the problem. Our aim was to depict a workflow for the primer design that is concise and easy to follow. In order to achieve this goal, adequate tools for promoter sequence retrieval, MSP primer design and subsequent in silico analysis are presented and discussed. Furthermore, a few instructive examples regarding a good versus a poor primer design are provided. Finally, primer design is demonstrated according to the proposed workflow. This article aims to provide researchers, interested in a single gene methylation studies, with useful information regarding successful primer design.     

High sequence coverage by in-capillary proteolysis of native proteins and simultaneous analysis of the resulting peptides by nanoelectrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry

Losses of proteolytic peptides during extraction and/or purification procedures succeeding in-gel or in-solution digests of proteins frequently occur in the course of protein identification investigations. In order to overcome this disadvantage, the method of in-capillary digest was developed: native proteins were incubated in the presence of endoproteases in the electrospray capillary and the resulting peptides were analyzed by nanoelectrospray-mass spectrometry during the ongoing proteolysis. In-capillary digest of apomyglobin by use of trypsin in a molar ratio of 25:1 yielded complete degradation already after 15 min. The sequence coverage based on formation of molecular ions was 100% and peptide ions could be fragmented by collision-induced dissociation and sequenced. When myoglobin was incubated in the electrospray capillary with trypsin in a molar ratio of 500:1, a clear shift from molecular ions and miscleaved peptide ions to the expected final tryptic peptide ions was observed over a 2 h period. The peptide spectra obtained from tryptic in-capillary proteolysis of bovine serum albumin and apotransferrin, respectively, gave rise to sequence coverages of more than 40% for both proteins. The data obtained from the peptide maps as well as from collision-induced dissociation (CID) of selected peptides were more than sufficient for protein identification by database searches. An elephant milk protein preparation was used to demonstrate the application of in-capillary proteolysis on protein mixtures. Tryptic digest, simultaneous analysis of the proteolytic peptides by use of CID, and subsequent sequencing allowed the identification of lactoferrin, alphas1-casein, beta-casein, delta-casein, and kappa-casein by homology search.