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Synthesis and evaluation of in vitro anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity of N-(9 acridinyl) amino acid derivatives
No full textCyst Recognition in Microscopic Slides: Estimation of Toxoplasma Gondii Brain Cyst Size and Location
No full textTherapeutic Potential of Apocynin: A Promising Antioxidant Strategy for Acute Kidney Injury
No full textAcute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by a sudden rise in serum creatinine levels, a reduction in urine output, or both. Despite its frequent occurrence in clinical settings, AKI remains poorly understood from a pathophysiological standpoint. As a result, management primarily relies on supportive care rather than targeted treatments. Emerging evidence underscores the pivotal role of oxidative stress in both the initiation and progression of AKI, thereby identifying it as a potential therapeutic target. This review aims to comprehensively examine the pharmacological effects and underlying mechanisms of apocynin (APO) in the context of AKI, with a particular focus on ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) and nephrotoxic-induced AKI. Experimental preclinical studies have consistently demonstrated that APO offers protective effects primarily through its inhibition of NADPH oxidase-mediated oxidative stress. In renal IRI and drug-induced nephrotoxicity models, APO has been shown to attenuate oxidative damage, reduce inflammatory responses, and preserve renal structure and function. These results suggest that it may serve as an effective treatment for reducing kidney damage caused by acute ischemia or exposure to nephrotoxic agents. Although the results are encouraging, further investigation is required to establish the optimal dosing strategy and treatment protocol, as well as to confirm the translational relevance of these findings in human clinical settings
The effect of abiotic stress on the flowering and productivity of zucchini
No full textZucchini (Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo L.) is an important vegetable species that is used inhuman nutrition around the world. It is rich in water, fiber, proteins and vitamins, and characterized by significant health benefits. The production of zucchini is carried out from early spring to late autumn; however, in recent years, due to the occurrence of extreme drought, low air humidity, high temperatures, a lack of pollinators, the yield has been halved, or it can be completely absent. This trial was conducted in Smederevska Palanka, during two vegetative seasons (2019, 2020), in an open field and the greenhouse. The experiment was conducted on10 different genotypes of zucchini, during a period from May to September, and six characteristics related to flowering and yield were observed. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of environmental stresses on flowering, fruit setting, and yield. The appearance of the first female flower was 22% earlier on the plants growing in the green house compared to the open field. Additionally, the setting of fruits, during July and August, was 81%higher on the plants grown in the greenhouse. This was more pronounced during the first year of the experiment (total precipitation during the experiment in 2019 was 297.7 mm, in 2020461.7 mm). High temperatures, drought, and reduced air humidity have a negative effect on pollination of flowers, fruit setting, and yield per plant. Finding more resistant genotypes to abiotic stress is one of the ways to overcome the consequences caused by climate change
Regulation of Erythropoietin Activity in Clear Renal Cell Carcinoma
No full textClear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is associated with the mutated von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) gene leading to the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor 1A (HIF1A) and subsequent overexpression of erythropoietin (EPO). We analyzed tumor and healthy tissues from 43 ccRCC patients after radical nephrectomy and cultured 786-O (biallelic VHL inactivation) and Caki-1 (wild-type VHL) cells in normal (21% O2) and low oxygen (3% O2) with 10% and 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS). DNA sequencing, including Sanger sequencing, MLPA and LOH, revealed 27 somatic mutations of VHL in ccRCC. HIF1A protein showed decreased or no expression in tumors compared to healthy tissue, independent of VHL alteration. The 786-O cells showed increased HIF1A protein expression after 48 h under low oxygen and 10% FBS. EPO and erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) were significantly decreased in ccRCC without HIF1A expression. EPO mRNA increased in the 786-O cells at 3% O2 after 48 h, while the Caki-1 cells had low or no EPO expression. Hypoxia increased EPOR mRNA in the Caki-1 cells at 10% FBS, but decreased in the 786-O cells at 2% FBS after 48 h. JAK2/STAT5A activity was increased only in HIF1A-positive tumors. These results suggest that EPO/EPOR activation in ccRCC is mainly driven by low oxygen, not VHL regulation of hypoxia-related responses
Determination of paraoxonase activity and prooxidant-antioxidant balance in the brain tissue of rats following subacute administration of different K-oximes
No full textThis study aimed to determine the paraoxonase activity and prooxidant-antioxidant balance in the brain tissue of Wistar rats following subacute treatment with selected K-oximes. Each K-oxime was administered intramuscularly (0.1 LD50/kg) twice per week for four weeks, and 7 days after the last treatment, the paraoxonase activity (PON1), the prooxidant-antioxidant balance (PAB), the levels of superoxide anion radical (O2•–), the concentration of nitrite (NO2−) and the content of free protein thiol groups in the brain homogenates were evaluated. The PON1 and PAB activity were significantly reduced in almost all oxime-treated groups (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). The concentrations of O2•– were significantly increased in the obidoxime-, K048-, K074- and K075-treated groups (p < 0.001), while the levels of NO2− was significantly decreased in asoxime-, obidoxime-, K074 and K075-treated rats (p < 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively). The content of Thiol groups was significantly elevated in all oxime-treated groups (p < 0.001). Continuing our previously published data, these results confirmed that applied K-oximes improved the oxidative status and further harmful systemic effects of rats after subacute administration
Optics-Based Assessment of Red Blood Cell Adaptations to Ercise: Insights from Ektacytometry and Flow Cytometry
No full textAbstract. Red blood cells (RBC) are highly adaptable, particularly during ercise, when their membranes and cytoskeleton experience various mechanical and biochemical changes. Despite the crucial role of these adaptations, the impact of ercise-induced changes on RBC deformability and their susceptibility to oxidative stress remains poorly understood [1, 2], highlighting the need for further research and implementation of novel methodological approaches. This study investigated the potential of ektacytometry and flow cytometry as label-free optics-based methods to assess the effects of ercise on RBC deformability to dynamically changing flow conditions and erythrocyte response to oxidative stress. Blood samples were collected from five national-level basketball players at three time points: immediately after (IAT), 24 hours (24h), and 48 hours (48h) after training. Five healthy, age-matched sedentary individuals served as controls. Erythrocyte deformability was assessed using ektacytometry, measuring the elongation index (EI) under increasing shear stress based on laser diffraction patterns. To determine the level of oxidative stress, the autofluorescence of RBC was analyzed by using flow cytometry to measure the fluorescence intensities in spectral channels which corresponds to the excitation of 488/10 nm and emission wavelengths: FL1 (530/30 nm) and FL2 (585/40 nm). Both experiments were conducted under the baseline conditions and upon oxidation induced by 0.5 mM tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP). Ektacytometry showed increased RBC deformability in athletes compared to control, evidenced by lower shear stress values at half-maximal EI (IAT= 3.09±7.8, 24h = 2±0.4, 48h = 2.17±0.4, CTRL = 9.36±6.6). Flow cytometry revealed lower autofluorescence in FL1 at IAT (1.92±0.1) and 24h (1.74±0.1) compared to CTRL (2.56±0.2), but highest at 48h (3.04±0.7). In the FL2 channel athletes showed lower autofluorescence than controls (IAT = 2.63±0.1, 24h = 1.81±0.2, 48h = 2.07±0.1 and CTRL = 2.93±0.1). Upon oxidation with TBHP autofluorescence was expectedly higher but followed the same pattern as under the baseline conditions, suggesting the protective effects of ercise against oxidative stress. These findings demonstrated the protective effects of ercise against oxidative stress and enhanced RBC deformability. Overall, the results emphasize the potential of label-free optics-based approaches for fast and useful diagnostics and assessment of ercise adaptations
Genetic Diversity of Canine Circovirus Detected in Wild Carnivores in Serbia
No full textCanine circovirus (CanineCV) is an emerging virus of interest in both domestic and wild carnivores that is scarcely reported in southeastern Europe. This study examined the presence, genetic diversity, and evolutionary characteristics of CanineCV in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackals (Canis aureus) from northwestern Serbia, a region marked by expanding mesopredator populations overlapping with human habitats. Out of 98 sampled animals, circoviral DNA was detected in 31.6%. Jackals were mostly positive for CanineCV genotype 4, while genotype 5, associated with wild carnivores, was dominant in foxes. Mixed genotype 4/genotype 5 infections were only found in jackals. Phylogenetic and haplotype analyses indicated that most jackal-derived CanineCV strains clustered along sequences from Europe, Africa, and the Americas, while genotype 5 sequences grouped separately from other genotype representatives. A recombinant strain was identified as a divergent lineage, and several sequences showed evidence of recombination between Rep and Cap genes. Despite Cap protein amino acid differences, purifying selection dominated, suggesting functional constraints on viral evolution. The results indicate that jackals may act as recombination hotspots and bridging hosts between viral lineages. This study provides insight into the molecular epidemiology of CanineCV in the Balkans, highlighting the importance of ongoing surveillance
Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Techniques for Heart Rate Prediction Employing Wearable Sensor Data
No full textMonitoring heart rate (HR) is vital for health management and athletic performance, and wearable technology enables scientists to obtain real-time cardiovascular insights. This study compares Machine Learning (ML) techniques, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs), and 1D Convolutional Neural Networks (1D CNNs). Then, we develop a hybrid Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA)-Augmented ML technique to predict HR using wearable sensor data. Additionally, we investigate the impact of incorporating auxiliary physiological inputs, such as breathing rate (BR) and RR intervals, on predictive accuracy. The study utilizes the cardiorespiratory data acquired through wearable sensors while practising sports, including 126 recordings from 81 participants (53 males, 28 females) engaged in 10 different sports. Physiological signals were collected at 1 Hz using the BioHarness 3.0 (Zephyr Technology, Mangaluru, India). The dataset includes individuals with varied levels of sports experience (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), allowing for a more comprehensive evaluation of HR variability across different expertise levels. Our results demonstrate that the hybrid SSA-LSTM model reaches the lowest prediction error by effectively capturing HR dynamics. Furthermore, integrating HR, BR, and RR data significantly enhances accuracy over single or dual parameter inputs. These findings support adopting multivariate machine learning models for health monitoring, improving HR prediction accuracy for fitness and preventive healthcare
Macrophages at the Crossroads of Chronic Stress and Cancer
No full textMacrophages are a heterogenous population of cells that adopt specific phenotypes in response to signals from their dynamic microenvironment. Apart from being key players in innate immunity and in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, macrophages are also important drivers of low-grade inflammation, which is associated with different chronic conditions including stress and cancer. The activation of macrophages during chronic stress and cancer results in their multifaceted pathogenic roles. Macrophages residing in the tumor microenvironment are commonly known as tumor-associated macrophages and favor or inhibit tumor growth depending on the microenvironmental cues and their activation state. Activated macrophages display a continuum of properties rather than a distinct proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory dichotomy. Emerging evidence suggests that prolonged tissue residency restricts the plasticity of macrophages, while recruited monocytes are more plastic and their differentiation into tumor-associated macrophages during stress can result in a dual imprinting from both the existing stress-induced inflammation and the tumor microenvironment. In addition, the immunomodulation of the tumor microenvironment and reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages toward the anti-tumor phenotypes have emerged as promising therapeutic approaches. In this review, we will focus on how the persistent inflammatory state underlying chronic stress affects macrophages as well as the macrophages’ contribution to various aspects of tumor growth and progression, highlighting a therapeutic potential of modulation of the macrophage-mediated immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment