Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU project.

Most countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population's internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HBM studies can also contribute to improving public health by providing evidence of individuals' internal chemical exposure as well as data to understand the burden of disease and associated costs thereby stimulating the development and implementation of evidence-based policy.

Organohalogens: A persisting burden in Slovenia?

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) represent a concern for the environment and human health due to their persistence and toxicity. Exposure in Slovenia is geographically differentiated because the country, as part of former Yugoslavia, has a history of industry and regional contamination and is - at the same time - known for its clean nature. The PCB pollution of the Krupa River drew the public's attention to the chemical burden of Slovenians, and the demand for studies has been rising since.

Selected elements and fatty acid composition in human milk as indicators of seafood dietary habits.

The maternal diet and living environment can affect levels of chemical elements and fatty acid (FA) composition and their stable isotopes (δC) in human milk. Information obtained from questionnaires is frequently imprecise, thus limiting proper associations between external and internal exposures as well as health effects. In this study, we focused on seafood as a source of potentially toxic and essential elements and nutritional FAs.

Human biomonitoring in health risk assessment in Europe: Current practices and recommendations for the future.

Human biomonitoring (HBM) is an important tool to survey the internal exposure of humans which represents the real life chemical body burden to chemicals and/or their metabolites. It results from total exposure to chemical substances from different sources and via different routes. These substances may be regulated under different legislative frameworks on chemicals (e.

Results of the first national human biomonitoring in Slovenia: Trace elements in men and lactating women, predictors of exposure and reference values.

The first national human biomonitoring in Slovenia surveyed cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in a childbearing population (18-49 years) selected from lactating primiparous women and men (N = 1084). The overall aim was to estimate trace elements' levels and geographical variations in order to identify sources of possible exposures and set the national reference values. The study population was selected evenly from 12 study areas across Slovenia, including rural, urban and known or potentially contaminated environments.

Neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers treated with cerium dioxide nanoparticles: A case report.

Wound healing in diabetes is frequently impaired and its treatment remains a challenge. The ability of topical application of cerium (Ce) dioxide nanoparticles (CNPs) to accelerate wound healing in an animal model provides a rationale to develop this technology for use in humans affected by traumatic injury, diabetes and burns. We first described a case report of successful topical treatment of neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers with novel gel containing CNPs.

Beneficial effects of probiotic combination with omega-3 fatty acids in NAFLD: a randomized clinical study.

Background: The manipulation of gut microbiota via administration of probiotics has been proposed as a potential strategy for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hence, we performed a double-blind single center randomized placebo-controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of coadministration of probiotics with omega-3 vs. placebo in type-2 diabetic patients with NAFLD.

A Multi-strain Probiotic Reduces the Fatty Liver Index, Cytokines and Aminotransferase levels in NAFLD Patients: Evidence from a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Probiotics have a beneficial effect on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in animal models. Randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) in NAFLD are still lacking in humans despite a large number of data from animal research.

Aim: We performed a double-blind single center RCT of live multi-strain probiotic vs.

Low cadmium exposure in males and lactating females-estimation of biomarkers.

Background: Urine cadmium (Cd) and renal function biomarkers, mostly analysed in urine spot samples, are well established biomarkers of occupational exposure. Their use and associations at low environmental level are common, but have recently been questioned, particularly in terms of physiological variability and normalisation bias in the case of urine spot samples.

Aim: To determine the appropriateness of spot urine and/or blood Cd exposure biomarkers and their relationships with renal function biomarkers at low levels of exposure.

[Characteristics of the therapy of patients with type II diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome].

The article focuses on the action of sugar-lowering drugs of different groups (metformin, acarbose, gliquidone, diacamf, food fibre, in patients with type II diabetes mellitus presenting with the metabolic syndrome. All studied medicinal agents compensated the carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, lowered the body mass, delayed the development of atherosclerosis, which facts were found to alleviate the manifestations of the metabolic syndrome.

[Problems and advances in anesthesiology and intensive care in oncologic surgery].

Numerous problems are to be solved by anesthesiology and reanimatology in modern oncosurgery: to protect weak exhausted patients from severe and extremely severe surgical injury, to carry out rational infusion/transfusion therapy and intensive care in massive blood loss, perioperative organ and polyorgan failure, and sepsis. Combined analgesia is used in highly traumatic oncological operations: inhalation narcosis with fluorine drugs with epidural analgesia and anesthesia. Good results were obtained in the treatment of very grave patients.

[The effect of Clexane (low-molecular-weight heparin) on the hemostatic system and on the incidence of postoperative thrombotic complications in gynecological cancer patients].

Clexane in a dose of 40 mg before and after surgery notably decreased the intensity of chronic intravascular blood coagulation during surgical treatment of oncogynecological patients. Only 3% patients developed thrombosis of deep veins of the lower limbs after Clexane, while in the group administered no Clexane, 20% developed this complication. Preventive administration of Clexane did not cause an increase of the operative blood loss.

[Lomefloxacin in treatment of infectious eye diseases].

The data on the use of the difluoroquinolone lomefloxacin in the treatment of ocular infections such as bacterial conjunctivitis and keratitis, ulcer of the cornea, uveitis, gonococcal and chlamydial conjunctivitis are presented.

[Glucobay in the therapy of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus].

The article focuses on the action of a new sugar-lowering drug preparation glucobai (acarbose) in 47 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDM). The drug was prescribed at a dose of 150-300 mg daily with meal. A marked sugar-lowering effect was manifested by reduction of the level of postprandial hyperglycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin, fructosamine, body mass of the patients.

[The diagnosis and correction of hemostatic system disorders during surgical coagulopathic hemorrhages in cancer patients].

The hemostasis system was examined before surgery, during the principal stages of the operative intervention, and in the early postoperative period in 280 patients with various malignant tumors. The volume of intraoperative blood loss varied from 280 to 14,000 ml. The studies revealed that the main factor causing the most profound disorders in the hemostasis system which lead to the development of grave coagulopathic hemorrhages is blood loss due to surgical trauma.

[Biological age, adrenoreception and lipid peroxidation in patients with ischemic heart disease].

The article deals with electro-kinetic potential of cellular nucleus considered as an indicator of unspecific reactivity and presents some data on molecular and cellular mechanisms of adreno- and muscarino-receptive interactions, such as adrenalin, noradrenaline and DOPA blood levels, lipid peroxidation, erythrocyte resistance to peroxidation. The attempt is made to comprehend directions and trends of aforementioned processes in patients with stable and unstable stenocardia as well as in myocardial infarction with regard to sex and influence of central M-cholinoblockader amizyl. The drug provides adaptive effect, corrects affected adreno-reception, protects biomembranes from lesion, promotes their "fluidity" and reduces rigidity.

[Therapeutic approach in degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the hip joint in relation to the immunologic status].

In the process of study of the immunological status peculiarities of 202 patients with some degenerative-dystrophic diseases of hip joint has been revealed that the hyperimmune reactions to tissular antigens of the joint components (bone, cartilage, synovial membrane) are more often observed in case of non-specific arthritis, asephic necrosis of the head of the femur and dysplastic coxarthrosis. These were precisely the states with more frequent postoperative complications, provoking the process development, joint ankylosing or formation of ossificates. Preoperative immunocorrection therapy of 20 patients by means of a course of low-dose injections of plasma substitutes (polyglukine, hemodesis or reopolyglukine), individually selected by RIML and lymphocytotoxic test, allowed to arrest the lryperimmune manifestations.

[The effect of epidermal growth factor on protein phosphorylation in normal and transformed hepatocytes].

Qualitative differences in the content of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in normal and transformed hepatocytes have been found using the method of two-dimensional electrophoresis. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has induced quantitative changes in the spectra of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins in normal cells and qualitative changes in the transformed ones. Results of immunoprecipitation with antibodies against phosphotyrosine permit revealing a protein with Mm 50 kDa which is subjected to EGF-dependent tyrosine-phosphorylation in normal hepatocytes.

[Changes in the contents of epidermal growth factor and EGF-like polypeptides in the liver tissue of rats in N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis].

It has been determined that concentration of EGF-like substances in the liver of rats with N-diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocarcinogenesis increases and reaches its maximum in tumours (50-150 ng/mg protein). In the regenerating liver the amount of these peptides does not exceed 10 ng/mg protein. High pressure gel-filtration of appropriate extracts has revealed EGF-competing substances with m.

[Changes in the epidermal growth factor receptors in the liver cells of rats in N-nitrosodiethylamine-induced hepatic carcinogenesis].

A sharp decrease in the number of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGF-R) in the rat liver plasma membranes had been found at different stages of diethylnitrosamine-induced carcinogenesis. The complete loss of high-affinity binding sites for EGF did not prevent EGF-dependent autophosphorylation of EGF-R. Hepatocytes from the rat liver tumors in the primary culture had two classes of EGF-R: high and low affinity ones, though their number had been twice less than in the normal hepatocytes.

[Cardiac glycosides and calcium antagonists in the treatment of blood circulation insufficiency].

A study is presented of the main microcirculation values in comparison with systemic hemodynamics in patients with chronic circulatory insufficiency under the effect of complex therapy with dilanacin + corinfar and clift + corinfar. It was established that calcium antagonists reduce postloads and, thus, facilitate the cardiac work in overcoming general peripheral resistance of blood vessels supplementing the effect of cardiac glycosides in the direction of improvement of myocardial inotropism and increase of its propulsive force.

[The use of a primary culture of liver cells from rat embryos subjected to transplacental exposure to N-nitrosodiethylamine for the study of hepatocarcinogenesis promoters].

Primary culture of rat embryonic liver cells subjected to transplacental effect of N-nitrosodiethylamine can be used for studying the influence of hepatocarcinogenesis promoters on different types of mixed culture cells.

[Sensitivity of rat hepatocytes to phenobarbital after a single dose of N-nitrosodiethylamine in the embryonal and postnatal period or after partial hepatectomy].

For the hepatocarcinogenesis initiation one-fold N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDENA) action upon the livers of embryos and of the 4-weeks rats, before or after partial hepatectomy was used. Phenobarbital and repeated partial hepatectomies were used as the promotive factors. The promotion effect was evaluated by the quantity and size of hyperplastic liver nodules, where gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity was revealed.