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Experimental results obtained by operating the Bray-Liebhafsky (BL) reaction in the CSTR are discussed. The dynamic behavior of the BL reaction is examined at several operation points in the concentration phase space, by varying the parameters.

Objective: The objective of this study was to characterize the use of cannabis-based products (CBPs) by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who attend the University of British Columbia Hospital (UBCH) MS clinic. Methods: All patients attending the UBCH MS clinic from January to March 2018 were invited to participate in an anonymous survey that included: patient demographics (sex, age and employment status), self-reported MS-specific data (subtype, disease duration, previous and current disease modifying therapies, symptomatic medications) and CBP use (formulation, frequency, perceived benefits/side-effects). A second cohort of retrospective patient data (CBP use, sex, age, disease subtype and Expanded Disability Status Scale) was extracted from the UBCH MS clinic electronic medical record (EMR). Results: Of 600 surveys distributed, 188 were returned with completed CBP usage. CBP use was daily for 19% (n = 37), weekly for 6% (n = 11), monthly for 4% (n = 7), rarely for 21% (n = 39) and 50% (n = 94) never used. Of the CBP users (daily, weekly and monthly), CBP use included: oral (n = 43/55), smoked/vaporized (n = 42/55), topical (n = 14/55) and mucosal (n = 5/55). EMR data was available for 561 MS patients where cannabis use/non-use was documented. CBP users represented 19% (107/561). Conclusions: CBP use is common based on volunteer reporting, with approximately one out of four patients who attend the UBCH MS clinic using CBPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics of air hardening steel are high hardness and low impact toughness. In order to increase the impact toughness while retaining high hardness value, studies were performed. One of the ways to achieve this is the alloying of specified steel with vanadium and application of appropriate heat treatment. Vanadium affects the solidification process of these alloys by narrowing of the temperature interval of crystallization. In addition, vanadium formed V6C5 carbides that block the growth of austenitic dendrites and structure makes fine-grained. Vanadium which forms V6C5 carbides is partly distributed between present phases in the steel; carbide (Cr,Fe)7C3 and austenite. Also, the presence of vanadium can enables the formation of (Cr,Fe)23C6 carbide and its precipitation in austenite during the cooling process. In local areas around fine carbide particles, austenite is transformed into martensite. In other words, vanadium reduces the amount of remained austenite and thus improves hardenbility ot the steel. In this way, better technical characteristics of these steels are obtained.

Fourteen metals and metalloids were determined in Conyza canadensis L. harvested from the fly ash landfill of the thermoelectric power plant “Kolubara” (Serbia). Fly ash samples were collected together with the plant samples and subjected to sequential extraction according to the three-step sequential extraction scheme proposed by the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR; now the Standards, Measurements and Testing Program). The contents of metals and metalloids were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) in plant root and the aboveground part and correlated with their contents in the fly ash samples. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factors (TF) were calculated to access uptake of metals from fly ash and their translocation to the aboveground part. Results regarding As revealed that fly ash samples in the proximity of the active cassette had higher amounts of the element. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that As had no impact on the classification of plant parts. BCF for As ranged from 1.44 to 23.8 and varied, depending on the investigated area; TF for As ranged from 0.43 to 2.61, indicating that the plant translocated As from root to shoot. In addition to As, Conyza canadensis L. exhibited efficient uptake of other metals from fly ash. According to the calculated BCF and TF, the plant retained Al, Fe and Cr in the root and translocated Zn, Cd, Cu and As from root to shoot in the course of the detoxifying process. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172030 i br. 172017]

The study focuses on the mental health and subjective well-being (SWB) of Serbian immigrants of the first generation in Canada. We wanted to examine if perceived discrimination, sense of control, self-esteem and perceived multiple discrepancy affect their mental health and SWB. Our results indicate that self-esteem and sense of control have a positive effect on mental health and all aspects of the SWB, while the perceived discrimination and perceived multiple discrepancy negatively affect SWB and mental health. Self-esteem was the most salient predictor of mental health, while the perceived multiple discrepancy was the most salient predictor of life satisfaction of Serbian immigrants.

Self-organization of cell-surface receptors in structurally distinct domains in the plasma membrane is of vital interest for correct cellular signaling. However, this dynamic process is difficult to study in cells with sufficiently high temporal and spatial resolution. We present here two quantitative high-resolution methods with single-molecule sensitivity, Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) and pair-correlation Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (pcPALM), which enable nondestructive study of receptor diffusion and lateral organization at the nanoscale level. We introduce here the methods and review their application in studies of lateral organization of G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs). Examples from our own work on opioid receptor lateral organization are presented in order to illustrate the most recent advances in the field. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172015 i br. 45001]

Introduction. Despite intensive research, efforts and clinical investigations on pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis (AP) and system morbidity during the illness onset, mortality is still very high in the group of severe forms. A significantly high number of patients show moderate, self-limited forms of illness, with a minimal degree of systemic or local complications, with full recovery. However, some of them have a severe form, followed by a high percent of morbidity and mortality, and system organ failure. The distinction between mild and severe forms of AP within 24-48 hours of hospital admission is very important for the treatment of these patients. The usage of multifactorial scoring systems holds a lot of promise, reaching reliability in the disease severity estimation of approximately 70-80%. Objective. The main purpose of this prospective study was to assess the correlation of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and the Bernard Organ Failure Score (BOFS) scoring systems in estimation of disease severity and outcome prediction. Methods. Sixty patients with AP participated in the study, all of them scored with the APACHE II and BOFS scores. The results were used for integration of laboratory and clinical parameters. Results. In our study, we had a highly significant correlation between the APACHE II and BOFS scores from the disease onset until the end of treatment. There was a highly significant correlation between these two scores and the serum C-reactive protein concentration level. Conclusion. The concept of the BOFS score has more advantages than the APACHE II score in the patients with severe forms of AP with organ dysfunction.

In this study, the deposition of three heavy metals (Mn, Mo, and Ni) in the county of Obrenovac (Serbia) in four moss taxa (Bryum argenteum, Bryum capillare, Brachythecium sp., and Hypnum cupressiforme) is presented. The distribution of average heavy metal content in all mosses in the county of Obrenovac is presented on maps, while the long-term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Bryum argenteum and B. capillare) and short term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) are discussed and given in tabular form. Areas of the highest contaminations are highlighted.

In this study, the deposition of three heavy metals (Cu, Fe and Hg) in four moss taxa (Bryum argenteum, Bryum capillare, Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) in the county of Obrenovac (Serbia) is presented. The distribution of average heavy metal content in all mosses in the county of Obrenovac is presented on maps, while long-term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Bryum argenteum and B. capillare) and short-term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) are discussed and given in a table. Areas of the highest contaminations are highlighted.

In the present study, the deposition of three heavy metals (Cd, Co and Cr) in the county of Obrenovac (Serbia) is determined using four moss taxa (Bryum argenteum, Bryum capillare, Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) as bioindicators. Distribution of average heavy metal content in all mosses in the county of Obrenovac is presented in maps, while long term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Bryum argenteum and B. capillare) and short term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) are discussed and in tables. Areas of the highest contaminations are highlighted.

Asimple, rapid and accurate procedure for the quantitative determination of quercetin in its pure form and in formulations has been developed. The method is based on the spectrophotometric determination of a complex formed between quercetin and potassium titanyloxalate in 50 % ethanolic solutions. To characterize the quercetin titanyloxalato complex, the stability constants of the complex were determinated potentiometrically and spectrophotometrically at different temperatures (T = 26.0oC, 34oC and 39.0oC), as well as at different ionic strengths (I = 5.0x10-4 mol dm-3, 3.0x10-2 mol dm-3 and 6.0x10-2 mol dm-3) and the thermodynamic parameters were calculated. As quercetin is usually conjugated to vitamin C in pharmaceutical formulations, two procedures for the quantitative determination of quercetin by this complexing reaction were tested - both in the absence and presence of ascorbic acid. In both procedures, the Beer law was obeyed over the same concentration range of quercetin, i.e., 0.85 μg mL-1 - 16.9 μg mL-1. In the first procedure in the absence of ascorbic acid the molar absorptivity coefficient of the quercetin-titanyloxalate complex is a=2.49 x 104 mol-1 dm3 cm-1, Sandells sensitivity of the method is S = 1.35 x 10-2 μg cm-2 and the detection limit is d = 0.67 μg mL-1. Whereas, in the presence of ascorbic acid (second procedure) a = 3.04 x 104 mol-1 dm3 cm-1, S = 1.11 x 10-2 μg mL-1. The proposed method was verified for the determination of quercetin in pharmaceutical dosage forms. .

Plants that are able to accumulate and tolerate extraordinarily high concentrations of heavy metals (hyperaccumulators) can be used for phytoremediation (removal of contaminants from soils) or phytomining (growing a crop of plants to harvest the metals). Two moss species, Bryum capillare Hedw. and Ceratodon purpureus Hedw., were tested as potential phytoremedies under in vivo conditions on a coal ash disposal site in the surroundings of Obrenovac (NW Serbia). The content of various heavy metals (iron, manganese zinc, lead, nickel, cadmium, and copper) in the mosses and substrata were investigated over a period of three years. Iron and zinc were found to have the highest concentration in the mosses.

In the present study, the deposition of three heavy metals (Al, As and B) in the county of Obrenovac (Serbia) is determined using four moss taxa (Bryum argenteum, Bryum capillare, Brachythecium sp., and Hypnum cupressiforme) as bioindicators. Distribution of average heavy metal content in all mosses in the county of Obrenovac is presented in maps, while long-term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Bryum argenteum and B. capillare) and short-term atmospheric deposition (in the mosses Brachythecium sp. and Hypnum cupressiforme) are discussed and given in tables. Areas of the highest contaminations are highlighted.

In order to examine the manner of iron uptake from the medium, in vitro culture of moss Bryum argenteum Hedw. (Bryaceae) was established. Under controlled conditions (16h light/8h dark, light intensity 47μmol m-2s-1 25±2°C), the moss was grown on basal MS medium or on MS medium enriched with various concentrations of ferri(III)citrate or potassium hexacyanoferrate(III). It was expected that with the organic chelate complex, Fe(III) ion will be more available for the plant. Sixty days after establishing in vitro culture, the plants grown on MS medium enriched with the ferri(III)citrate complex were developed better than plants grown on media with the potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) complex. To judge from plant production in vitro and in view of the fact that the two compounds were the only source of Fe(III), it would appear that the citrate complex makes Fe(III) ions more available than potassium hexacyanoferrate(III). Further research will examine the concentrations of Fe ion uptake by plants and potential use of these tiny moss plants for the phytomining, phytoremedies and hyperaccumulating purposes.

Purpose: Our previous study suggested that the coiled coil domain-containing 55 gene (CCDC55), also named as NSRP1 (nuclear speckle splicing regulatory protein 1 (NSRP1)), was encompassed in a haplotype block spanning over the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ). However, the neurobiological function of CCDC55 gene remains unknown. This study aims to uncover the potential role of CCDC55 in SCZ-associated molecular pathways. Experimental design : Using molecular cloning, sequencing and immune blotting to identify basic properties, yeast two-hybrid screening and glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down assay to test protein–protein interaction, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CSLM) to show intracellular interaction of proteins. Principal findings : (i) CCDC55 is expressed as a nuclear protein in human neuronal cells; (ii) Protein–protein interaction analyses showed CCDC55 physically interacted with Ran binding protein 9 (RanBP9) and disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1); (iii) CCDC55 and RanBP9 co-localized in the nucleus of human neuronal cells; (iv) CCDC55 also interacted with the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1), and with the brain cannabinoid receptor-interacting protein 1a (CNRIP1a); (v) CNR1 activation in differentiated human neuronal cells resulted in an altered RanBP9 localization. Conclusion : CCDC55 may be involved in a functional bridging between the CNR1 activation and the DISC1/RanBP9-associated pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]