Publications by authors named "Japundzic I"

The occurrence of skin lesions in healthcare workers is associated with a negative impact on important skin functions, including protection from mechanical injuries, sunlight, dehydration, and penetration of chemical substances or pathogenic microorganisms. In healthcare professionals, the most common occupational skin disease is contact dermatitis (CD), either irritant (ICD) or allergic (ACD), and typically on the hands. ICD accounts for about 80% of occupational CD, making it the most frequent cause.

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Background: This research looks at the connection between psychological stress and the prevalence of hand eczema (HE) among physicians and dentists (surgeons, non-surgeons).

Methods: This cross-sectional field study involved 185 participants: physicians (surgeons, non-surgeons), dentists (surgeons, non-surgeons) and controls. Hand lesions were examined using the Osnabrueck Hand Eczema Severity Index (OHSI), and participants answered the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire (NOSQ) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

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Contact dermatitis (CD), including its irritant (ICD) and allergic (ACD) types, is a complex, often chronic and therapy-resistant disease that significantly affects patient quality of life and healthcare systems. Objective of this study was to examine the main clinical features of patients with ICD and ACD on the hands through follow-up in correlation with baseline skin CD44 expression. Our prospective study involved 100 patients with hand CD (50 with ACD; 50 with ICD) who initially underwent biopsies of skin lesions with pathohistology, patch tests to contact allergens, and immunohistochemistry for lesional CD44 expression.

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Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) patients commonly experience psychological stress and impaired psychosocial functioning.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare patients' salivary cortisol levels with AD severity and other associated stress-related psychological measures/parameters.

Methods: This prospective study analyzed salivary cortisol levels (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) in 84 AD patients (42 symptomatic patients and 42 asymptomatic patients).

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When working with dermatology patients, the question sometimes arises which diagnostic tests and tools should be used for workup, particularly in cases of chronic urticaria (CU) and discoid nummular eczema, where the treatment of associated systemic diseases and infections may be crucial for patient outcome. The aim was to investigate retrospectively the influence of associated diseases on skin disease outcomes based on medical records of CU and nummular eczema patients in comparison to controls. We included patients admitted to our Dermatology Department over a 6-year period and analyzed their laboratory findings, related factors and outcomes recorded after two years of workup and treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A new classification system proposes three categories of cheilitis based on duration and cause: reversible cheilitis, irreversible cheilitis, and cheilitis related to other diseases, with reversible types being the most common and easier to treat.
  • * Effective diagnosis and treatment require considering multiple factors like symptoms, personal habits, and underlying conditions, and collaboration among various medical specialties is essential for improving patient outcomes.
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Background: Previous research using animal models demonstrated that CD44 expression may contribute to directing inflammatory cells into skin lesions during inflammation development in allergic contact dermatitis (ACD).

Objectives: To examine CD44 expression in patients with ACD and irritant contact dermatitis (ICD), and to compare it to patients with psoriatic lesions and healthy controls' (HCs) skin.

Methods: This study included 200 patients comprising four groups of 50 each: ACD, ICD, psoriasis vulgaris, and HCs.

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- Mycological analysis is considered the gold standard in the diagnosis of very common fungal diseases of nails. The purpose of the article is to present the prevalence of onychomycosis obtained by using direct microscopic examination (DME) and cultivation on Sabouraud media without cycloheximide. The quantitative retrospective research was conducted on 2706 patients of both sexes (mostly middle-aged to elderly) with various toenail lesions, who had undergone mycological analyses in the Mycological Laboratory of our Department of Dermatovenereology in 2013 and 2014.

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- Contact skin lesions may be the consequences of contact with various irritants or allergens, or due to other factors (e.g., UV radiation, microbials), intrinsic factors (e.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to examine potential allergic reactions to different materials in oral and perioral diseases.

Study Design: The study included 230 consenting subjects in total-180 patients with oral and perioral diseases (30 patients each in the following groups: angioedema, oral lichenoid reactions [OLRs], burning mouth syndrome [BMS], gingivostomatitis, cheilitis, and perioral dermatitis) and 50 healthy controls. Comprehensive diagnostic workups were performed prior to patch testing with standard series allergens and with specific dental materials and skin prick testing (SPT) for food, preservatives and additives, and inhalants.

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Objectives: To determine prevalence of undesirable, work-related skin lesions and their localizations in dental professionals and students, and to collect data about diagnostic procedures they undergo and skin care they take when these lesions occur.

Subjects And Methods: Our research included 444 respondents (dentists, dental assistants, dental technicians, dental students) who filled out a questionnaire. They were asked to specify if they had observed any lesions on their skin and where; if they had undergone any treatments and in what way; if they had undergone any allergy tests; and if they had taken any protective measures.

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Background: Dental workers often experience unwanted allergic and nonallergic skin reactions resulting in different contact dermatoses (e.g., contact urticaria, irritant and allergic contact dermatitis) that are often attributed to rubber gloves.

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When taking different drugs, their possible side effects on the skin should be considered, including skin reactions connected to photosensitivity. This photosensitivity caused by drugs can appear as phototoxic reactions (which occur more often) or photoallergic reactions (which occur less often and include allergic mechanisms). The following drugs stand out as medications with a high photosensitivity potential: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cardiovascular drugs (such as amiodarone), phenothiazines (especially chlorpromazine), retinoids, antibiotics (sulfonamides, tetracyclines, especially demeclocycline and quinolones), etc.

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. To determine the prevalence of undesirable skin reactions to latex in dental professionals and students of the School of Dental Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. .

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Using concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity chromatography (Con A) we found that the serum of normal fasted adult rats contains two alkaline phosphatase (APase) glycoforms, one weakly bound (II) and the other strongly (III) bound to the column. Both serum APase glycoforms had an apparent molecular mass of 163 kD on Sepharose CL-6B and 118 kD on SDS-PAGE under nondenaturing conditions. We consider the molecular forms as dimeric, since monomers of 60.

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The membranous and soluble isoenzymes of alkaline phosphatase (AP-ase) were isolated from the duodenal mucosal cells in control and cysteamine-treated rats. Both the cytosolic and membranous isoenzymes of the AP-ase were drastically inhibited by a single subcutaneous injection of cysteamine-HCl, a potent duodenal ulcerogen. However, cysteamine did not change the isoenzyme distribution between the two compartments of the duodenal mucosal cells.

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An experimental study was carried out to evaluate the protective role of an endoluminal prosthesis on high risk colo-colonic anastomoses. One hundred and fifty rats were divided into two groups: Group E with endoluminal latex prosthesis and Group C without. Bursting pressure and collagen concentration in the perianastomotic tissue were tested, respectively, on the 4th, 7th and 12th, and 4th, 7th, 12th, 18th and 38th postoperative days.

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We have found that cysteamine-HCl, a potent duodenal ulcerogen, after a single subcutaneous injection (30 mg/100 g body weight), inhibited villous cell duodenal and jejunal alkaline phosphatase (APase) under in vivo and under in vitro conditions. The duodenal and jejunal crypt-cell APase was not susceptible to cysteamine inhibition. Ileal APase from both the villous and the crypt cells was unaffected by cysteamine.

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Duodenal ulcer could be induced in rats by a single subcutaneous injection of the anti-inflammatory agent mepirizole (M) or by the alkyl chemical propionitrile (P). Contrary to M, P provokes HCl hypersecretion as well. We used these animal models of duodenal ulcer to study the preulcerogenic molecular changes in the mucosal cells and their causal relationship to HCl hypersecretion.

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A phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPPase) is inhibited in rat duodenal mucosal cells very early after a single s. c. injection of the duodenal ulcerogens cysteamine, propionitrile and mepirizole.

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Cysteamine and propionitrile cause severe duodenal ulcers with perforation within 24-48 h after a single injection in rats. These animal models were used to gain insight into the early, preulcerogenic biochemical changes in the duodenal mucosa. The results indicate that a single sc injection of cysteamine and propionitrile induced dose- and time-dependent decreases in the activity of phosphoprotein phosphatase (PPPase) in homogenate and particulate fractions of rat duodenal mucosa.

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Of three casein phosphatases isolated from the cytosol of human cord blood erythrocytes two were cobalt-dependent, E2 and E3. In the presence of CoCl2, E2 activity was the most prominent. In addition to casein, E2 dephosphorylated phosvitin and p-nitrophenyl phosphate (p-NPP) with pH optima at 6.

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We have identified three phosphoprotein phosphatases in the cytosol of human cord blood erythrocytes by sequential anion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The most abundant was E3 protein phosphatase. After rechromatography on a column of Ultrogel AcA-44 the enzyme had a molecular weight of 95,000 daltons.

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A single s.c. injection of cysteamine-HCl, a potent duodenal ulcerogen, drastically decreased duodenal alkaline phosphatase (DAP) activity in mucosal cells.

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Evidence is presented on the existence of an acid phosphoprotein phosphatase (APPase) associated with rat splenic cell nucleoli. The enzyme is purified 1250-fold from 0.3 M NaCl nucleolar extract by means of chromatography on P cellulose and Sephacryl S-200.

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