Xanthone compounds in shoot cultures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gentianella bulgarica</Emphasis>

Shoot cultures of Gentianella bulgarica established from seedling epicotyls were maintained on MS medium supplemented with BA 0.2 mg l⁻¹ + NAA 0.1 mg l⁻¹. Cultures were prone to precocious flowering requiring the use of small shoot buds for multiplication purposes. The contents of three xanthone compounds identified as DGL, BGL, and DMB, in different plant material were determined by HPLC. The analysis revealed that the production of xanthones was affected by different concentrations of BA in medium. Shoot cultures grown at higher BA concentrations contained more DGL than material grown in nature. The concentrations of other two xanthones were lower in shoot cultures than in plants from nature. The radical scavenging activity of plant extracts and xanthones was investigated by DPPH test. Samples from plants grown in nature showed the highest activity (IC₅₀ = 0.26 mg ml⁻¹), while the extracts of shoot cultures grown in media with higher concentrations of BA showed moderate activities (IC₅₀ from 1.6 to 4.4 mg ml⁻¹).     

Influence of psychical trauma through transgenerational transfer on the development of traumatic reactions in women with diagnosed breast cancer

Earlier experience of psychological trauma of a close person can through a transgenerational transfer influence traumatic reactions of a person going through a trauma at present, resulting in a repetition of earlier traumatic experiences and a development of a variety of mental disturbances. Purpose of our study was to evaluate the influence of transgenerational transfer on the development of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women with diagnosed breast cancer that had a family member with diagnosed cancer. The sample mainly consisted of 120 women treated in a Department of Oncology, Osijek University Hospital Center with diagnosis of newly discovered breast cancer, during the conduction of radio therapy having values Hamilton depression scale (HAM-D) from > or = 8 to < or = 24 or values Hamilton anxiety scale (HAM-A) from > or = 17 to < or = 30. Psychotherapeutic interview with a detailed clinical overview and with applying diagnostic criteria according to DSM-IV for mental disorders, specially structured non-standardized questionnaire for etiologic factors evaluation of the beginning of examinees' mental disorder, Los Angeles Symptom Checklist of PTSD symptoms (LASC), Hamilton's scale for anxiety evaluation (HAM-A) and Hamilton's scale for depression evaluation (HAM-D) were used. Results show that 61 (51%) of patients have a family member with diagnosed cancer. The average total value on LASC for examinees that had a family member with diagnosed cancer was slightly higher (22.92) in comparison to those who had no such family member (20.88). No statistically significant connection was found between having a family member with diagnosed cancer and the average total value on LASC. Although no connection was established between having a family member with diagnosed cancer and the average value on LASC in women with diagnosed breast cancer, transgenerational transfer of emotions seems to be important in their traumatic reactions, but it is still insufficiently researched and it is a challenge for future researches leaving many complicated issues open.     

Antiviral activity of a small-molecule inhibitor of arenavirus glycoprotein processing by the cellular site 1 protease

Arenaviruses merit interest as clinically important human pathogens and include several causative agents, chiefly Lassa virus (LASV), of hemorrhagic fever disease in humans. There are no licensed LASV vaccines, and current antiarenavirus therapy is limited to the use of ribavirin, which is only partially effective and is associated with significant side effects. The arenavirus glycoprotein (GP) precursor GPC is processed by the cellular site 1 protease (S1P) to generate the peripheral virion attachment protein GP1 and the fusion-active transmembrane protein GP2, which is critical for production of infectious progeny and virus propagation. Therefore, S1P-mediated processing of arenavirus GPC is a promising target for therapeutic intervention. To this end, we have evaluated the antiarenaviral activity of PF-429242, a recently described small-molecule inhibitor of S1P. PF-429242 efficiently prevented the processing of GPC from the prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) and LASV, which correlated with the compound's potent antiviral activity against LCMV and LASV in cultured cells. In contrast, a recombinant LCMV expressing a GPC whose processing into GP1 and GP2 was mediated by furin, instead of S1P, was highly resistant to PF-429242 treatment. PF-429242 did not affect virus RNA replication or budding but had a modest effect on virus cell entry, indicating that the antiarenaviral activity of PF-429242 was mostly related to its ability to inhibit S1P-mediated processing of arenavirus GPC. Our findings support the feasibility of using small-molecule inhibitors of S1P-mediated processing of arenavirus GPC as a novel antiviral strategy.     

Chemical images: technical approaches and issues.

Chemical mapping techniques using Raman microscopy are introduced, and using an example of a pharmaceutical tablet, the practical aspects of data collection and processing to produce a chemical image of the sample are detailed. Issues related to data processing, instrument standards, chemical image reportable errors, and the interpretation of chemical images are presented to encourage debate, develop solutions, and promote use in other challenging scientific applications. applications.     

Physicians' strike and general mortality: Croatia's experience of 2003

The aim of the study was to establish whether the physicians' strike, which took place in Croatia in 2003, had an impact on the mortality of the population. Mortality data from the National Bureau of Statistics relating to the strike period (15 January - 14 February 2003) were selected and compared with the previous and subsequent periods of the same duration in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Of the 52,575 deaths in 2003, Croatia recorded 4,682 (8.9%, 95% Confidence interval 8.4-9.4) in the strike period from the 15th of January to the 14th of February 2003 or 1.1 deaths per 1000. No deviations of the 15th of January to the 14th of February period's share of the death total in relation to other observation periods were noted. It is impossible to associate the strike based on the figures shown in this paper with either an increase or decrease in population mortality.     

KATP channel knockout worsens myocardial calcium stress load in vivo and impairs recovery in stunned heart

Gene knockout of the KCNJ11-encoded Kir6.2 ATP-sensitive K(+) (K(ATP)) channel implicates this stress-response element in the safeguard of cardiac homeostasis under imposed demand. K(ATP) channels are abundant in ventricular sarcolemma, where subunit expression appears to vary between the sexes. A limitation, however, in establishing the full significance of K(ATP) channels in the intact organism has been the inability to monitor in vivo the contribution of the channel to intracellular calcium handling and the superimposed effect of sex that ultimately defines heart function. Here, in vivo manganese-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed, under dobutamine stress, a significantly greater accumulation of calcium in both male and female K(ATP) channel knockout (Kir6.2-KO) mice compared with sex- and age-matched wild-type (WT) counterparts, with greatest calcium load in Kir6.2-KO females. This translated, poststress, into a sustained contracture manifested by reduced end-diastolic volumes in K(ATP) channel-deficient mice. In response to ischemia-induced stunning, male and female Kir6.2-KO hearts demonstrated accelerated time to contracture and increased peak contracture compared with WT. The outcome on reperfusion, in both male and female Kir6.2-KO hearts, was a transient reduction in systolic performance, measured as rate-pressure product compared with WT, with protracted increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, exaggerated in female knockout hearts, despite comparable leakage of creatine kinase across groups. Kir6.2-KO hearts were rescued from diastolic dysfunction by agents that target alternative pathways of calcium handling. Thus K(ATP) channel deficit confers a greater susceptibility to calcium overload in vivo, accentuated in female hearts, impairing contractile recovery under various conditions of high metabolic demand.     

Effect of maturation on the relationship between physical performance and body size

The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of maturation on the body size-physical performance relationship. Based on our previous study that evaluated only muscle strength, we hypothesized that the physical performance tested on pubescent subjects would be related to body size at a higher rate than predicted by standard scaling theory applied on pre- and postpubescent subjects. Six age groups of highly selected and trained junior soccer players (N = 478; age 12-17 years) presumably including prepubescent, pubescent, and postpubescent subjects were evaluated. They were tested using various standard tests of maximum physical performance including muscle strength of 3 leg muscle groups, 2 jumps, sit-ups, hand and foot tapping, and agility. The results revealed a steeper increase of the tested performance with an increase in body size for the pubescent age than for the pre- and postpubescent age. The observed phenomenon was interpreted by different level of maturation of the subjects tested within the same pubescent age group. We conclude that maturation alters the effect of body size on various physical performances and, therefore, this phenomenon needs to be taken into account when interpreting the data from the physical performance tests applied on pubescent subjects.     

DnaB helicase dynamics in bacterial DNA replication resolved by single-molecule studies

In Escherichia coli, the DnaB helicase forms the basis for the assembly of the DNA replication complex. The stability of DnaB at the replication fork is likely important for successful replication initiation and progression. Single-molecule experiments have significantly changed the classical model of highly stable replication machines by showing that components exchange with free molecules from the environment. However, due to technical limitations, accurate assessments of DnaB stability in the context of replication are lacking. Using in vitro fluorescence single-molecule imaging, we visualise DnaB loaded on forked DNA templates. That these helicases are highly stable at replication forks, indicated by their observed dwell time of ∼30 min. Addition of the remaining replication factors results in a single DnaB helicase integrated as part of an active replisome. In contrast to the dynamic behaviour of other replisome components, DnaB is maintained within the replisome for the entirety of the replication process. Interestingly, we observe a transient interaction of additional helicases with the replication fork. This interaction is dependent on the τ subunit of the clamp-loader complex. Collectively, our single-molecule observations solidify the role of the DnaB helicase as the stable anchor of the replisome, but also reveal its capacity for dynamic interactions.     

Contrasting roles for CD4 vs. CD8 T-cells in a murine model of virally induced "T1 black hole" formation

MRI is sensitive to tissue pathology in multiple sclerosis (MS); however, most lesional MRI findings have limited correlation with disability. Chronic T1 hypointense lesions or "T1 black holes" (T1BH), observed in a subset of MS patients and thought to represent axonal damage, show moderate to strong correlation with disability. The pathogenesis of T1BH remains unclear. We previously reported the first and as of yet only model of T1BH formation in the Theiler's murine encephalitis virus induced model of acute CNS neuroinflammation induced injury, where CD8 T-cells are critical mediators of axonal damage and related T1BH formation. The purpose of this study was to further analyze the role of CD8 and CD4 T-cells through adoptive transfer experiments and to determine if the relevant CD8 T-cells are classic epitope specific lymphocytes or different subsets. C57BL/6 mice were used as donors and RAG-1 deficient mice as hosts in our adoptive transfer experiments. In vivo 3-dimensional MRI images were acquired using a 7 Tesla small animal MRI system. For image analysis, we used semi-automated methods in Analyze 9.1; transfer efficiency was monitored using FACS of brain infiltrating lymphocytes. Using a peptide depletion method, we demonstrated that the majority of CD8 T-cells are classic epitope specific cytotoxic cells. CD8 T-cell transfer successfully restored the immune system's capability to mediate T1BH formation in animals that lack adaptive immune system, whereas CD4 T-cell transfer results in an attenuated phenotype with significantly less T1BH formation. These findings demonstrate contrasting roles for these cell types, with additional evidence for a direct pathogenic role of CD8 T-cells in our model of T1 black hole formation.     

Intercondylar notch width and inner angle of lateral femoral condyle as the risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament injury in female handball players in Herzegovina

The principal purpose of this prospective study was to examine intercondylar notch size and the value of inner angle of lateral femoral condyle as the risk factors for noncontact anterior cruciate ligament ACL injury and than to correlate them to the physical values of the athletes such as body mass index (BMI), hight, wight, etc. There are indentified two type of risk factors, external include shoes-surface interaction, type of playing surface, weather conditions and internal include anatomic, neuromuscular, biomechanical and hormonal factors that may predispose female athlets to noncontact injury of ACL. Among anatomic factors, intercondylar notch stenosis and larger inner angle of lateral condyle of femur as the factors which can cause impigement of ACL, were related to an increased risk of injury of ACL. In this study were included 51 female athlete. In the study group there were 24 female handball players with ACL tear and in control group there were 27 female handball players without any type of injury of the knee, who are practicing handball on a daily basis for at least for two years. In the first step, were gathered clinical data performed by orthopaedic surgeon. In the second step, the femoral notch width and the inner angle of lateral condyle of femur were measured on coronal MR-images. Study has shown that value of inner angle of lateral condyle of femur was significantly higher in athletes with ACL tear compared to those without. Value of width of intercondylar notch was statisticaly smaller in athletes with ACL tear, compared to those without. In the conclusion the inner angle of lateral femoral condyle is better predicting factor for ACL tear in young female handball players compared to intercondylar notch width.