Periodicum Biologorum最新文献

{"title":"Application of thermal analysis methods in biology and medicine","authors":"Jelena Macan","doi":"10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24858","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24858","url":null,"abstract":"Thermal analysis methods are widely used in the characterization of substances and materials in chemistry and engineering. But they also find their application in life sciences: biology and medicine. This paper exhaustively and critically reviews the application of the most commonly used thermal analysis methods for the characterization of organs and tissues of plants, animals, and humans. The methods are suitable for differentiating between several types of water in a cell, optimizing treatment, storage, or cultivation conditions, following plant or animal development, medical diagnostics and modelling, and more. Expertise developed in the characterization of synthetic materials and molecules can be transferred to that of biological tissues and biomolecules and opens a perspective for interdisciplinary research. Still, researchers should take into consideration the inherent complexity of biological samples, as well as inevitable changes when isolating the tissue from the living organism.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic potential of pollen grains: A case study from continental Croatia (town of Donja Stubica)","authors":"Ivana Horjan Zanki, Dario Hruševar, Božena Mitić","doi":"10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24327","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24327","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Purpose: Pollen grains can come as “ invisible” traces during forensic palynological expertise. As forensic palynology is not carried out in Croatia at all, the main aims of our work were to establish an initial palynological collection for a limited area in Croatia and determine its forensic potential. Materials and Methods: For our case study, we chose a typical town from continental Croatia, Donja Stubica, in which there had been no previous floristic studies. The field survey was conducted during 2005, 2007, and 2021. Floristic and palynological analysis was carried out with an emphasis on the forensic potential of pollen grains. Results: A total of 141 representative plant taxa with pollen samples were collected. The taxonomic analysis showed that the area for the case study was chosen well. Palynological analysis showed that the highest number of taxa had pollen grains that were spheroidal in shape (60%), medium sized (70%), and colporate (41%). The pollen of the majority of taxa had excellent or very important forensic potential, due to their dispersal by insects (60%), a combination of two dispersal methods (23%), and autogamy (1%). In addition, due to the limited distribution of certain rare plants (e.g., Iris sibirica subsp. sibirica in Croatia), their pollen has an even greater forensic potential than the similar pollen of related, more widespread taxa. Conclusion: The generated palynological collection, due to the great forensic potential, could be used in the future as a comparative, and at least partly as a reference forensic collection, applicable in specific cases of legal pollen expertise in Croatia.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactions of variously coated gold and silver nanoparticles with a bis(triarylborane) photodyanmic therapy (PDT)-dye; their cellular uptake, cytotoxicity and photo-activity","authors":"Isabela Drašković, Ivana Fabijanić, Matthias Ferger, Todd B. Marder, Dragomira Majhen, Ivo Piantanida","doi":"10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.23726","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.23726","url":null,"abstract":"Background and purpose: Diethynylarene-linked bis(triarylborane) tetracations can be used as probes for fluorimetric and Raman sensing of biomacromolecules, as well as promising theragnostic agents. Among them, bis(triarylborane) fluorophore (TAB3), when bonded to Ag nanoparticles (NP), stood out with specific properties such as Raman signal enhancemen of the TAB3 dye in a cuvette. However, TAB3 dye - nanoparticle composites have not been studied in biological systems. For this reason, questions arose as to whether different types of metal nanoparticles (Au or Ag-based) with different coatings (negatively charged citrate or neutral PVP) could be efficiently stained with the TAB3 dye in a cuvette. The aim of this research was to examine Au and Ag nanoparticles of similar size (20-25 nm) with different stabilizers for their cellular uptake, cytotoxicity in the dark and under visible light radiation, to characterize the interactions of nanoparticles with the TAB3 fluorophore, and to study NP-TAB3 composites in cells, evaluate their intracellular staining, as well as possible photoinduced release and biological activity. Materials and methods: The binding constants of Au- and Ag- based nanoparticles with TAB3 were determined by fluorimetric titrations. The cytotoxic effect of NPs was determined by the survival of A549 cells (MTT assay). Cellular uptake of both NP and NP-TAB3 composites were performed by live cell imaging experiments. Results: The Au- or Ag-based NPs with different coatings bind to the TAB3 with high affinity. These NPs, as well as TAB3-NP complexes, efficiently enter living human cells, accumulating in cytoplasm with no apparent selectivity for a particular organelle. Even prolonged 3-day treatment with the NPs studied did not show any toxic effect on the cells. Bioimaging studies in cells revealed that the TAB3-NP complex does not intracellularly dissociate; the previously reported photo-bioactivity of TAB3 is completely inhibited by binding to NPs. Conclusion: Au- and Ag NPs were non-covalently stained by TAB3, irrespective of the different coatings, with similar binding affinities. Emission from TAB3 is strongly quenched by the NPs, but not completely. Experiments on living human cells revealed that neither free NPs, nor their composites with TAB3, were toxic. Bioimaging studies by confocal microscopy revealed that all NPs efficiently enter living cells within 90 min. Colocalization experiment with simultaneous collection of data in the reflection and fluorescence modes demonstrated that the TAB3 dye remained bound to NPs inside cells. Strong irradiation of TAB3-NP inside cells with a 457 nm laser did not yield any damage to the cells, at variance with our previously shown very strong photo-bioactivity of the TAB3 dye alone. Thus, binding of a chromophore to a nanoparticle can inhibit the chromophore’s ability to undergo photo-induced singlet oxygen production, consequently blocking its photo-bioactivity.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135219703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beginners guide to sample preparation techniques for transmission electron microscopy","authors":"Ena Dumančić, Lea Vojta, Hrvoje Fulgosi","doi":"10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.25293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.25293","url":null,"abstract":"Background purpose: The revolution in microscopy came in 1930 with the invention of electron microscope. Since then, we can study specimens on ultrastructural and even atomic level. Besides transmission electron microscopy (TEM), for which specimen preparation techniques will be described in this article, there are also other types of electron microscopes that are not discussed in this review. Materials and methods: Here, we have described basic procedures for TEM sample preparation, which include tissue sample preparation, chemical fixation of tissue with fixatives, cryo-fixation performed by quick freezing, dehydration with ethanol, infiltration with transitional solvents, resin embedding and polymerization, processing of embedded specimens, sectioning of samples with ultramicrotome, positive and negative contrasting of samples, immunolabeling, and imaging. Conclusion: Such collection of methods can be useful for novices in transmission electron microscopy.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Croatian Microscopy Society 1983-2022","authors":"Danijela Poljuha","doi":"10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24681","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v125i1-2.24681","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides a brief overview of the history of the Croatian Microscopy Society on the occasion of its 30th anniversary as an independent society and the 40th anniversary of its foundation. The overview chronologically details the period of the Society's work as the Section for Electron Microscopy of the Croatian Natural Science Society (1983-1992), followed by its independent activity first as the Croatian Society for Electron Microscopy (1992-2006) and finally as the Croatian Microscopy Society (2006-present). The review concludes with recent trends and policies in the Society's development. The review is an extended excerpt from the opening speech held by the Chair of the 4th Croatian Microscopy Congress and a member of the Society’s board, on the occasion of the Society's anniversary, May 18th 2022.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution and biology of two Balkan scorpionflies, Panorpa rufostigma and P. lacedaemonia (Mecoptera: Panorpidae)","authors":"L. Dvořák, D. Devetak","doi":"10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.23250","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.23250","url":null,"abstract":"Background and purpose: Two scorpionflies, Panorpa rufostigma Westwood, 1841 and P. lacedaemonia Lauterbach, 1972, are poorly known and understudied from faunistic and ecological aspects. A review of published and new records of two species in the Balkan Peninsula and Crete is presented.\u0000Material and methods: The scorpionflies were caught by various entomologists using a sweeping net, preserved in ethanol, and sent to the article authors.\u0000Results: Altogether five unpublished records of P. rufostigma and 19 unpublished records of P. lacedaemonia are presented. The paper summarizes the data on the identification, phenology, altitude preferences and habitats of both species. Three collecting places of P. lacedaemonia in south Albania are the first records in the country. Color images detailing some morphological characters of P. lacedaemonia are presented for the first time.\u0000Conclusions: Both species have a wider geographical distribution than previously known. The species P. rufostigma is a summer/autumn species preferring shrubby or semi-open stands, often of dry character. The species P. lacedaemonia occurs the whole year with two distributional peaks between and prefers forest or bushy stands, often by water.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41915295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of the ultrastructure and expression of desmoglein 2 in breast cancer: A novel biomarker","authors":"Maryam Mohammadhosseini, Hamidreza Mirzaei, Ahmad Majd, Mona Farhadi, Nasrin Shayanfar","doi":"10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.20972","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.20972","url":null,"abstract":"Background and purpose: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among Iranian women. In recent years, the study of dysfunction in the expression of cell-cell junction genes and the related proteins in the malignant process has been at the center of attention. Materials and methods: In this study, 50 patients were selected who had both cancerous tissue and adjacent healthy tissue. The expression of the desmoglein 2 gene was evaluated. Healthy and cancerous tissue were compared using routine hematoxylin and eosin staining. The total protein was also compared between these two groups. The ultrastructural examination was performed. Results: The real-time polymerase chain reaction results showed a decrease in the expression of the desmoglein 2 gene in all tumor samples compared to the healthy samples (p<0.0001). Besides, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was equal to 0.98. Transmission electron microscopy microscopic studies revealed a change in the status of desmosomal junctions. Conclusions: Overall, the findings showed that the association between desmoglein 2 gene expression and alterations in cellular connections leads to impaired cellular connections, which is an important risk factor for breast cancer. This result proposed the understudy gene as a new biomarker in the development of breast cancer.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136231462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sexual and emotional jealousy in relation to the facial sexual dimorphism of a potential rival","authors":"Irena Pavela Banai, Kati Kezić, B. Banai","doi":"10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.15416","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.15416","url":null,"abstract":"Background and purpose: Previous studies have shown that men are more sensitive to sexual infidelity, while women are more sensitive to emotional infidelity. Studies have also shown that jealousy is evoked by the rival’s desirable characteristics. Therefore, it was assumed that women would be more jealous of a woman with a feminine face, while men would report greater levels of jealousy when presented with a rival with a masculine face. It was also predicted that these expected differences would depend on the infidelity type – sexual and emotional. Based on this, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in jealousy in relation to participants’ sex, the type of infidelity and the rival’s facial sexual dimorphism.\u0000Materials and methods: The study included 401 (164 men and 237 women) participants, aged between 18 and 35. Jealousy was assessed by using hypothetical scenarios of a partner’s emotional and sexual infidelity that involved rivals with a masculine and feminine face. Participants reported the intensity of jealousy on a 7-point scale.\u0000Results and conclusions: As predicted, men reported higher levels of jealousy over sexual, whereas women were more upset over emotional infidelity. Moreover, while there was no difference in jealousy among men in relation to the rival’s facial sexual dimorphism, women reported a higher intensity of jealousy toward a rival with a feminine face, regardless of the infidelity type. These results are interpreted by different adaptive mechanisms in men and women.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43939244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Status of the BOLD reference library of DNA barcodes of caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from the Western Balkans","authors":"Lejla Usanovic, Dalila Destanović, Lejla Lasić, Jasna Hanjalić Kurtović, F. Costa, Belma Kalamujić Stroil","doi":"10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.24754","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.24754","url":null,"abstract":"Background and purpose: Available data in research literature suggest that the Western Balkan countries hold a rich diversity of caddisflies. Assessment and biomonitoring of such rich diversity could be facilitated through DNA-based high-throughput approaches like DNA metabarcoding that depend on the availability of comprehensive reference libraries.\u0000Materials and methods: We assessed the status of the COI barcode sequence data for a total of 112 caddisflies species in the investigated region by determining the gaps in representative sequences in the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD) and examining the accuracy of available records using the Barcode, Audit and Grade System (BAGS).\u0000Results: Results revealed a considerable underrepresentation of surveyed geographic region in BOLD records for the target insect group. Moreover, the large majority of the species records were rated “discordant” (72.80% grade E), and only 15.20% were classified as “consolidated concordance or basal concordance” (3.20% grade A and 12.00% B). Approximately 3.20% of the records pertaining to species occurring in multiple BINs (Barcode Index Number) and 8.80% were poorly represented (i.e., less than three specimens, grade D). A fraction of the species graded discordant were deemed concordant after detailed inspection of individual data, decreasing by 14.07%.\u0000Conclusions: The assessment of the current state of BOLD entries indicated that DNA barcoding is still not widely applied in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia, emphasizing that Croatia has the most barcoded caddisflies species. The finding that available BOLD Trichopteran records for investigated countries were mainly graded as “discordant” indicates the need for better quality control of reference libraries.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45567656","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Common infections acquired in intensive care: Microbiological aspects and risk factors","authors":"Said Oulkheir, K. Ounine, Asma Lamrani Hanchi, Amine Rkhaila, Khalid Arouya, Jaouad Mostafi, S. Chadli","doi":"10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.23316","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18054/pb.v124i3-4.23316","url":null,"abstract":"Nosocomial infections are a serious health problem resulting in an enormous burden of morbidity and mortality rates, and high health care costs. The various microorganisms implicated in nosocomial infections were not known for causing recalcitrant nosocomial infections, they are opportunistic pathogens and hence pose a challenge to patients especially those with immunocompromised conditions. Patients at the intensive care unit are the most at risk of these hospital-acquired infections The infections usually encountered in intensive care unit (ICU) include urinary tract infection, pneumonia, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis. The main risk factors for these infections can be divided into three key groups: those related to patient characteristics and underlying diseases, those related to the acute disease process, and those related to the use of invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Incidence of ICU-acquired infections vary between hospitals and according to the type of population studied, being highest in burn units and surgical and trauma ICUs and lowest in coronary care units.The major preventive effort to reducing the risk of nosocomial infections should be focused on hospitals and other health care facilities. The responsible health authority should develop a national (or regional) programme to support hospitals. Such programmes must assess and promote good health care, appropriate isolation, sterilization, and other practices, staff training, and epidemiological surveillance should be developed.","PeriodicalId":19950,"journal":{"name":"Periodicum Biologorum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42134605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}