Role of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 in children with ventricular septal defect.

Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is the second most common congenital heart anomaly. In most cases, it closes spontaneously in the first year of life, but it sometimes requires surgical closure due to the risk of serious complications. This is why it is important to identify markers that could help predict its course.

Micro-scale vertebral features in postmenopausal women with alcohol-associated and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease: ex vivo bone quality analyses.

Purpose: Although epidemiological studies indicate increased fracture risk in women with alcohol-associated liver disease (AALD) and metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), data about their micro-scale bone features are still limited. We aimed to characterize bone quality changes in the anterior mid-transverse part of the first lumbar vertebral body collected from 32 adult postmenopausal females. Based on pathohistological assessment of the liver tissue, individuals were divided into AALD (n = 13), MAFLD (n = 9), and control group (n = 10).

Design of PEI and Amine Modified Metakaolin-Brushite Hybrid Polymeric Composite Materials for CO Capturing.

In this paper, the properties of organic-inorganic hybrid polymer materials, which were synthesized from an aluminosilicate inorganic matrix with the addition of brushite and aminosilane grafted on one side and PEI covalently bonded composites on the other side, were examined. The synthesized organic-inorganic hybrid polymers were examined in terms of a structural, morphological, thermo-gravimetric, and adsorption-desorption analysis and also as potential CO capturers. The structural and phase properties as well as the percentage contents of the crystalline and amorphous phase were determined by the X-ray diffraction method.

Burn index, burn characteristics and carboxyhemoglobin levels in indoor fire-related deaths: Significance and interpretation of the autopsy findings.

Introduction: The Burn Index (BI) is a significant clinical prognostic parameter for patients with burns. It simultaneously considers major mortality risk factors: age and burns extensivity. Despite the inability to distinguish between ante- and post-mortem burns, their characteristics on autopsy might indicate if a significant thermal injury occurred before the onset of death.

Three-dimensional mapping of cortical porosity and thickness along the superolateral femoral neck in older women.

Although several studies have analyzed inter-individual differences in the femoral neck cortical microstructure, intra-individual variations have not been comprehensively evaluated. By using microCT, we mapped cortical pore volume fraction (Ct.Po) and thickness (Ct.

Increased Cortical Porosity, Reduced Cortical Thickness, and Reduced Trabecular and Cortical Microhardness of the Superolateral Femoral Neck Confer the Increased Hip Fracture Risk in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

Individuals with diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) have approximately 30% increased risk of hip fracture; however, the main cause of the elevated fracture risk in those subjects remains unclear. Moreover, micromechanical and microarchitectural properties of the superolateral femoral neck-the common fracture-initiating site-are still unknown. We collected proximal femora of 16 men (eight with T2DM and eight controls; age: 61 ± 10 years) at autopsy.

Micro-scale assessment of bone quality changes in adult cadaveric men with congestive hepatopathy.

Congestive hepatopathy (CH) is a chronic liver disease (CLD) caused by impaired hepatic venous blood outflow, most frequently resulting from congestive heart failure. Although it is known that heart failure and CLDs contribute to increased risk for age-related fractures, an assessment of CH-induced skeletal alterations has not been made to date. The aim of our study was to characterize changes in bone quality in adult male cadavers with pathohistologically confirmed CH compared with controls without liver disease.

Guillain-Barré syndrome as a fatal complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection - An autopsy case.

We presented a case of a 57-year-old female, who was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and was admitted to a hospital seven days later with signs of early pneumonia. The second day after her admission to the hospital, and nine days after the first positive PCR test, examination showed progressive ascendant weakness of the arms and legs with persisting paresthesia, lab tests showed increased concentration of proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid with albumino-cytological dissociation. She was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).

Comparison between the effects of selenomethionine and S-adenosylmethionine in preventing cholestasis-induced rat liver damage.

We aimed to evaluate whether two methionine-related compounds, S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), and selenomethionine (SM), could lessen liver damage induced by regurgitated bile in a model of rat bile duct ligation (BDL). Hepatoprotective potentials of S-adenosylmethionine and selenomethionine were estimated based on the changes of serum liver damage parameters (aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase and lactate dehydrogenase activity, and bilirubin concentration), tissue oxidative [xanthine oxidase (XO) and catalase activity, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels] and inflammatory [tumor necrosis factor-alfa (TNF-α) concentration] parameters, and morphological liver tissue alterations that follow cholestasis. The treatment regimens proved themselves able to prevent significant liver damage induced by cholestasis.

In vitro antioxidant activity of thiazolidinone derivatives of 1,3-thiazole and 1,3,4-thiadiazole.

The initial steps in preclinical drug developing research concern the synthesis of new compounds for specific therapeutic use which needs to be confirmed by in vitro and then in vivo testing. Nine thiazolidinone derivatives (numerically labeled 1-9) classified as follows: 1,3-thiazole-based compounds (1 and 2); 1,3,4-thiadiazole based compounds (3 and 4); substituted 5-benzylideno-2-adamantylthiazol[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazol-6(5H)ones (5-8); and an ethylaminothiazole-based chalcone (9), were tested for antioxidant activity (AOA) by using three in vitro assays: DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging capacity test); FRAP (ferric reducing antioxidant power test); and TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances test). Compounds 1-4 and 9 in particular are newly synthesized compounds.

The effects of S-adenosyl-L-methionine-vitamin B complex on mild and moderate depressive symptoms.

Background: S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) acts as a methyl donor, with dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin elevating properties, with potential antidepressant effects. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of SAMe-vitamin B complex supplement for improving mild and moderate depressive symptoms.

Subjects And Methods: The study included 60 patients diagnosed with depression, with mild or moderate depressive symptoms, randomly allocated into two groups.

The validation and inter-rater reliability of the Serbian translation of the Richmond agitation and sedation scale in post anesthesia care unit patients.

Background: Targeted light sedation is recommended because it shortens the time of mechanical ventilation and the length of stay in an intensive care unit (ICU). However, there is no validated scale for sedation and agitation in ICU in the Serbian speaking area. The aim of the current study was to validate, verify the reliability and enable the application of the Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS) in the Serbian speaking area.

Oxidative stress, bioelements and androgen status in testes of rats subacutely exposed to cadmium.

The objective of our study was to examine testicular toxicity of cadmium (Cd), focusing on oxidative stress (OS), essential metals and androgenic status and morphological changes. Male Wistar rats [controls and four Cd-subgroups (n = 6) organized according to the exposure (1, 3, 10 and 21 days)] were intraperitoneally (i.p.

Highly conductive molecular junctions based on direct binding of benzene to platinum electrodes.

Highly conductive molecular junctions were formed by direct binding of benzene molecules between two Pt electrodes. Measurements of conductance, isotopic shift in inelastic spectroscopy, and shot noise compared with calculations provide indications for a stable molecular junction where the benzene molecule is preserved intact and bonded to the Pt leads via carbon atoms. The junction has a conductance comparable to that for metallic atomic junctions (around 0.

Evidence for a single hydrogen molecule connected by an atomic chain.

Stable, single-molecule conducting-bridge configurations are typically identified from peak structures in a conductance histogram. In previous work on Pt with H2 at cryogenic temperatures it has been shown that a peak near 1G0 identifies a single-molecule Pt-H2-Pt bridge. The histogram shows an additional structure with lower conductance that has not been identified.

The effect of bonding of a CO molecule on the conductance of atomic metal wires.

We have measured the effect of bonding of a CO molecule on the conductance of Au, Cu, Pt and Ni atomic contacts at 4.2 K. When CO gas is admitted to the metal nanocontacts, a conductance feature appears in the conductance histogram near 0.

Vibrationally induced two-level systems in single-molecule junctions.

Single-molecule junctions are found to show anomalous spikes in dI/dV spectra. The position in energy of the spikes is related to local vibration mode energies. A model of vibrationally induced two-level systems reproduces the data very well.

Shot noise measurements on a single molecule.

We report measurements of shot noise in the current through a single D2 molecule. The molecular junctions were formed by means of the mechanically controllable break junction technique. The configuration of the D2 molecule bridging the gap between two Pt tips is verified by use of point contact spectroscopy.

Integrable wide-free-spectral-range Fabry-Perot optical filters using free-standing LiNbO3 thin films.

We demonstrate the use of free-standing thin films of a complex oxide for chip-scale optical filtering. The films are used as low-order etalons with very large free spectral ranges that exceed 6.78 THz (> 50 nm at 1550 nm) and use a small chip area (< 500 microm2) when they are integrated.

Low-voltage planar-waveguide electrooptic prism scanner in Crystal-Ion-Sliced thin-film LiNbO3.

We report on the use of thin, i.e. 10 microm-thick, single-crystal LiNbO3, in low-voltage electrooptic prism scanners.