Lifestyle management of polycystic ovary syndrome: a single-center study in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrinopathy affecting up to 20% of pre-menopausal women. The most recent international guidelines set lifestyle management as the cornerstone of the PCOS treatment. Still, there is a paucity of data on the implementation of lifestyle management in clinical practice.

Heavy metals in commercial fish and seafood products and risk assessment in adult population in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This work investigates the level of exposure to cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) via fish and seafood products in adult population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Metals content was determined in seven commercial species of fish and seafood products widely available and consumed in BiH. Analysis of Cd and Pb was performed by GFAAS (Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry), and analysis of Hg by FIAS AAS (flow injection cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry) in accredited laboratory for food analysis.

DPP-4 Cleaves α/β-Peptide Bonds: Substrate Specificity and Half-Lives.

The incorporation of β-amino acids into a peptide sequence has gained particular attention as β- and α/β-peptides have shown remarkable proteolytic stability, even after a single homologation at the scissile bond. Several peptidases have been shown to cleave such bonds with high specificity but at a much slower rate compared to α-peptide bonds. In this study, a series of analogs of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) substrate inhibitors were synthesized in order to investigate whether β-amino acid homologation at the scissile bond could be a valid approach to improving peptide stability towards DPP-4 degradation.