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Background: Bladder cancer (BCa) is the most common cancer of the urinary system. Due to its high incidence and recurrence, as well as limited progress in the effective treatment, BCa is a challenge for today's medicine., Materials and Methods: We used a set of chromogenic substrates to differentiate between the stages of bladder cancer progression (G1 ( n  = 10), G2 ( n  = 10), G3 ( n  = 10)). The proteolytic activity in individual the urine samples was determined by absorbance measurements. Then inhibitors of particular classes of enzymes were used to determine which enzymes dominate at a given stage of the neoplastic disease., Results: The specific activity of enzymes in the urine of patients with confirmed bladder cancer was determined separately for three (G1, G2, G3) stages of the disease development. What is more, no activity was observed in urine of healthy people ( n  = 10)., Discussion: Research shows that specific enzymes are associated with the development of specific stages of cancer. We suspect that the differences in the proteolytic activity of urine samples are due to the presence of a different set of enzymes that are directly related to the particular stage of the disease., Conclusion: We obtained three substrates for monitoring individual stages of bladder cancer development.

Cancer development and progression is often associated with inflammation. Late diagnosis of inflammation that directly leads to the development of neoplasm-cancer is associated with a reduction in the chance of successful treatment or is associated with therapeutic difficulties. A panel of chromogenic substrates was used for the qualitative determination of the specific activity of enzymes in urine of patients with confirmed inflammatory reaction and/or epithelial neoplasms in particular tumours at various stages of development. Urine of people with excluded inflammation was used as a control group. Proteolytic activity was determined in urine samples collected from patients with epithelial neoplasms and/or inflammation. What is more, we determine human neutrophil elastase activity-related inflammation based on the examination of urine samples. We suspect that the proteolytical activity of urine samples is due to neutrophil response to inflammation, which is directly related to cancer. This is the first study to determine elastolytic activity in bladder cancer urine samples. It supports wider use of urine for inflammation screening., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Japanese Biochemical Society. All rights reserved.)

Bladder cancer (BC) is the sixth common cancer in the world, characterized by high recurrent rate and poor prognosis. In most cases is asymptomatic and it can take years until symptoms develop. What is more, diagnosed patients need regular re-examinations which are invasive and expensive. Here, we used chromogenic substrates for the qualitative determination of specific activity of urine enzymes in healthy and bladder cancer patients. The peptide ABZ-Met-Lys-Val-Trp-ANB-NH 2 appears at low absorbance at 410 nm. During the hydrolysis, a free ANB-NH 2 is released which has a maximum absorbance at 410 nm. Using the peptide, we identified proteolytic activity in the majority of urine samples collected from patients with diagnosed bladder cancer, while the proteolytic activity in urine samples from healthy volunteers was not detected., (© 2021 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

Parallels exist in the recent developments of dairy systems in the Northeast United States and New Zealand because of greater use of pasture grazing and feed supplements, respectively. Lessons can be learned from each system. However, major differences exist between the regions in the patterns of pasture production, the costs of supplementary feed, and milk prices. These differences affect the optimum use of feed. In this paper, a linear programming model developed to determine optimum feeding strategies for dairy systems in each country is presented. The model optimizes grazing management (rotation lengths) and the conservation of pasture subject to constraints on their use. Other feed resources include N fertilizer, grain, corn silage, and alfalfa silage. All feeds are represented in energy terms. The substitution of pasture intake by grain and forage supplements is included, and cow performance can be optimized by choosing from 73 seasonal calving herds that vary in calving date, lactation length, and daily milk production. The model predicts that marginal responses to grain feeding are between 1.35 and 1.8 kg of milk/kg of grain dry matter supplement, well within the range of responses reported in the literature. Evaluation of the model against data from nine grazing system treatments in New Zealand and two in Pennsylvania showed that model predictions averaged +3% (New Zealand) and +0.04% (Northeast) of measured milk production. The model could be used with confidence to study systems in both the Northeast United States and New Zealand.

We present our results in the treatment of 13 cases of posttraumatic urethrostenosis with the aid of visual urethrotomy. In six cases very good results were achieved, in three cases, good results and in four cases, adequate results. Patients with only adequate results were submitted to a second urethrotomy.