Evaluation of the Potential of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry for the Determination of Chemical Warfare Agents and Their Toxic Degradation Products.

The determination of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and their toxic degradation products (DPs) has become increasingly important for public and military safety in recent years. We focused on assessing the possibility of the HPLC-ICP-MS analytical technique to verify the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention. This technique enables the identification and determination of minimal concentrations (ppt range) of elements in various matrices.

Role of interleukin-17 in cartilage and bone destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

Interleukin 17 is a newly discovered inflammatory cytokine produced by T cells. Although pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown more and more data show that IL-17 has an influence in this process. The concentration of this interleukin is very high locally in the joint fluid and synovium of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

[The influence of sex and age on the osteoprotegerin level in the blood].

The exploration and description of the new cytokine system of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily contributed to different look on the biology of the bone tissue cells. The OPG/RANKL/RANK system constitutes the important element of controlling the number of active osteoclasts by the osteoblasts. It is essential to determine the influence of age and dependence among osteoprotegerin (OPG) and the level of sex hormones, biochemical markers of bone turnover and other factors in the metabolism of bone tissue in the state of physiology and pathophysiology.