Deciphering the Two-Step Hydride Mechanism of Monoamine Oxidase Flavoenzymes.

The complete two-step hydride transfer mechanism of amine oxidation involved in the metabolism of monoamine neurotransmitters was scrutinized by DFT calculations. In living organisms, this process is catalyzed by monoamine oxidase enzymes. Herein, we focus on some intriguing aspects of the reaction that may have been previously noticed but have not been clarified to date.

The effect of short-term treatment with lithium carbonate on the outcome of radioiodine therapy in patients with long-lasting Graves' hyperthyroidism.

Objective: The outcome of radioiodine therapy (RIT) in Graves' hyperthyroidism (GH) mainly depends on radioiodine (I) uptake and the effective half-life of I in the gland. Studies have shown that lithium carbonate (LiCO) enhances the I half-life and increases the applied thyroid radiation dose without affecting the thyroid I uptake. We investigated the effect of short-term treatment with LiCO on the outcome of RIT in patients with long-lasting GH, its influence on the thyroid hormones levels 7 days after RIT, and possible side effects.

Filamentous Phage: Structure and Biology.

Ff filamentous phage (fd, M13 and f1) of Escherichia coli have been the workhorse of phage display technology for the past 30 years. Dominance of Ff over other bacteriophage in display technology stems from the titres that are about 100-fold higher than any other known phage, efficacious transformation ensuring large library size and superior stability of the virion at high temperatures, detergents and pH extremes, allowing broad range of biopanning conditions in screening phage display libraries. Due to the excellent understanding of infection and assembly requirements, Ff phage have also been at the core of phage-assisted continual protein evolution strategies (PACE).

Supercritical Extraction of Scopoletin from Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don Flowers.

Introduction: The increasing popularity of immortelle (Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don) and its products, particularly in the cosmetic industry, is evident nowadays. This plant is a source of coumarins, especially scopoletin, which are highly soluble in supercritical CO2 .

Short term treatment with lithium carbonate as adjunct to radioiodine treatment for long-lasting Graves' hyperthyroidism.

Objective: Lithium carbonate is primarily used for the treatment of patients with bipolar affective disorders. Initial treatment of Graves' hyperthyroidism (GHT) with antithyroid drugs (ATD) has limitations at over 50% of treated patients because of significant side effects and relatively high relapses of the disease after drugs withdrawal. Till now, the influence of LiCO₃on RIT outcome was mainly studied in patients with recent onset of GHT, and results were contradicted.

Starch Modification by Organic Acids and Their Derivatives: A Review.

Starch has been an inexhaustible subject of research for many decades. It is an inexpensive, readily-available material with extensive application in the food and processing industry. Researchers are continually trying to improve its properties by different modification procedures and expand its application.

TIBIAL TUBERCLE AVULSION FRACTURE IN A MALE ADOLESCENT.

Tibial tuberosity fractures are rare in childhood, most frequently due to excessive quadriceps muscle contraction. On performing long jump, a 15-year-old boy sustained tibial tuberosity avulsion fracture type II according to Watson-Jones. The patient was treated operatively with fragment repositioning and screw fixation.

Urinary protein patterns in patients with Balkan endemic nephropathy.

Purpose: Urinary excretion of beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG), albumin, immunoglobulin G (IgG) and protein was examined in patients with Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN), glomerulonephritis (GN) and healthy controls.

Methods: The proteins were measured in morning urine samples from 74 patients with BEN, 50 healthy persons and 22 patients with GN.

Results: In BEN patients, median values for albumin, beta2-MG and protein were above upper normal limits, but median IgG was inside normal range.

Value of β2-microglobulin in the serum of healthy subjects older than 40 years.

The aim of this research was to determine if the age of healthy subjects older than 40 years of age has an influence on the concentration of β(2) -microglobulin in the serum of subjects of different populations. We examined the values of β(2) -microglobulin in the serum of 51 healthy subjects aged 40-86 years using the microparticle enzyme immunoassay AxSYM β(2) -microglobulin test. The reference values of β(2) -microglobulin according to the nonparametric statistical method is 0.

Tubular marker excretion in children from families with Balkan nephropathy.

Balkan nephropathy (BN) has not been described in children; however, some previous studies in children from families with BN have revealed abnormalities of the urinary tract. In this study, urinary excretion of beta2-microglobulin, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) was studied three times a year: spring, autumn, and winter, during a 3-year period, in 703 healthy children, initial age 9-13, from endemic and nonendemic settlements around the South Morava River. Beta-2-microglobulin excretion in urine, in all three seasons, was highest in children from families with BN compared with the excretion in children from the city, nonendemic villages, and those from nonendemic families.

Upper urothelial carcinoma in Balkan endemic nephropathy and non-endemic regions: a comparative study of pathological features.

Upper urothelial carcinoma (UUC), a rare neoplasm, occurs more frequently in some regions of Balkan countries than in other areas in the world. The aim of this study is to compare phenotypic morphological characteristics of UUC in Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) region and control rural and city populations free of BEN, and to determine the characteristic(s) that could discriminate tumors in endemic and non-endemic regions. The authors analyzed biopsies from 88 patients with UUC, 40 patients who live in Balkan endemic (BEN) settlements and 48 control subjects.

Diagnostic value of the aminopeptidase N, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase and dipeptidylpeptidase IV in evaluating tubular dysfunction in patients with glomerulopathies.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the value of the urine cell glycoprotein 1 (PC-1), aminopeptidase N (APN), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGA), and dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP IV) in the evaluation of tubular damage in patients with primary glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and lupus nephritis.

Subjects And Methods: PC-1, APN, NAGA, and DPP IV activities were determined in serum, urine, and lymphocytes of 178 subjects, including 10 patients with membranous nephropathy, 38 with IgA nephropathy, 29 with lupus nephritis, 51 with diabetic nephropathy, and 50 control subjects.

Results: Urinary PC-1 excretion in IgA nephropathy group was significantly higher (p < 0.

Radionuclide staging of renal function in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess renal function in different stages of type 1 diabetes mellitus by radionuclide methods. Additionally, glomerular and tubular functions were correlated with urinary albumin (UAER) and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGA) excretion rates.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-three patients with diabetes mellitus were classified into four groups: normoalbuminuric (NA, 18 patients), microalbuminuric (MiA, 12 patients), macroalbuminuric (MaA, 13 patients), and chronic renal failure group (CRF, 10 patients).

Thyroid blood flow and uptake of technetium-99m pertechnetate in Graves' disease.

The aim of this study was to assess the relation of early thyroid blood flow (EBF) and technetium-99m pertechnetate ((99m)TcO(-)(4)) uptake, as an early diagnostic index in patients with Graves' disease (GD) by dynamic thyroid scintigraphy (40 frames, 3 sec/frame). Thirty patients with GD with mean age 50.0 +/- 9.

[Autoimmune haemopoietic disturbances simultaneous with autoimmune thyroid diseases].

Out of 362 patients with diagnosis of autoimmune haemopathy treated in eight-year period at the Hematology centre, concomitant autoimmune thyreoideopathy was confirmed in 22 (5.52%). The most frequent was simultaneous manifestation of pernicious anemia and autoimmune thyreoiditis-Phenomenon was less frequently observed in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura and Graves disease.

[Subclinical and manifested hypothyroidism as a consequence of thyroid autoimmune disease].

Chronic thyroiditis (Hashimoto's disease) is a slowly developing persistent inflamation of the thyroid gland, which frequently leads to hypothyroidism. Some of the up-to-date knowledge about hypothyroidism, both subclinical and manifested, caused by autoimmune disease, was presented. Autoimmune thyroid gland disease can occur at any age, but predominantly affects women after periods of high emotional and physical stress or accidents, as well as during periods of hormonal changes.

[Prognostic value of early post-infarction angina in elderly patients].

Although numerous studies have shown that early post-infarction angina was a predictor of poor prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction, not a single study has considered this issue in the elderly. The goal of this study, based on a five-year follow-up of elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction, was to determine whether early post-infarction angina in the elderly had any influence on mortality and the incidence of additional coronary events. The study population consisted of 51 patients, aged 60 years or more, with acute myocardial infarction.

Diuresis renal scintigraphy "F-0" in diagnosing of upper urinary tract obstruction in children: the clinical significance.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical relevance of diuresis renal scintigraphy after simultaneously administered radiopharmaceutical and diuretic (DRS "F-0") in diagnosing obstruction of upper urinary tract in children with previously documented hydronephrosis and ureterohydronephrosis, analyzing the value of qualitative and quantitative scintigraphy parameters.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 82 children (30 girls and 52 boys aged between 2 months and 16 years; mean 5.8 +/- 4.

Radionuclide voiding pattern in children with unstable bladder.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate bladder function parameters by means of quantitative radionuclide cystography (QRC) in anxious, irritable children with unstable bladder.

Methods: Quantitative radionuclide cystography was performed in 18 children aged between 8 and 12 years, without evidence of neurologic and nephrologic disorders. Findings were compared with those obtained in 10 healthy children aged between 7 and 10 years.

Alteration of 99mTc-DMSA biodistribution in glomerulonephritis.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the relation between (99m)Tc-DMSA biodistribution and its reliability as a marker of renal function in patients with glomerular kidney diseases.

Material And Methods: Sixty-seven patients involved in this study were classified into two groups according to (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance and serum creatinine values: the 1st group consisted of 42 patients without renal failure while the 2nd group included 25 patients with renal failure. (99m)Tc-DMSA biodistribution was determined by measuring kidney, blood and urine activity at 2 h and 4 h.

Urinary PC-1 activity in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Insulin resistance characterizes type 1 diabetes mellitus with nephropathy. The molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance are not completely understood. Recently some advances have been made in identification of transmembrane glycoprotein PC-1 as a potential factor of insulin resistance.

Radionuclide voiding patterns in children with vesicoureteral reflux.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate bladder function in children with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) by means of indirect radionuclide cystography (IRNC), and to investigate whether IRNC can identify those children with voiding dysfunction. The study enrolled 74 neurologically intact children, 14 boys and 60 girls aged 2-14 years, with VUR documented using contrast micturating cystourethrography as the initial method. In all patients, IRNC was performed using technetium-99m diethylene triamine penta-acetate (DTPA).

Follow-up of participants in the Trois-Rivières Growth and Development Study: Examining their health-related fitness and risk factors as adults.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of daily physical education in primary school on some indices of fitness (PWC170/kg, handgrip strength, sit and reach flexibility, abdominal muscle endurance, and balance), cardiovascular health (lipid profile, waist-to-hip ratio), and anthropometry in the adult years. Four subsamples of participants in the Trois-Rivières Growth and Development Study were examined: experimental men (n = 32), experimental women (n = 36), control men (n = 30), and control women (n = 35), some 20 years after completion of primary school. During 6 years of primary school education, the experimental group received 5 h of physical education each week, whereas the control group received only the typical Provincial program of a single 40-min period per week.