Kristijan Bečić

The significance of immunohistochemical expression of merlin, Ki-67, and p53 in meningiomas.

Meningiomas are one of the most common CNS tumors whose appearance is closely linked to NF2 gene product merlin. Tumor markers Ki-67 and p53 play established role in tumor progression which should be analyzed in close association with merlin expression. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of merlin in meningiomas, correlation with Ki-67 and p53, and to determine the association of these results with histologic grade and subtype. The histologic sections of 170 patients with totally resected meningiomas, between January 2000 and December 2010, were classified according to WHO, immunohistochemically stained for Ki-67, p53, and merlin, and analyzed using light microscope. Ki-67 median was 5.6 times higher in group of patients with negative merlin than in those with positive merlin (P=0.05). Statistically significant correlation of merlin with p53 was found (P<0.001). Merlin expression between 2 combined groups (meningothelial/secretory and fibroblastic/transitional) was statistically significant (P=0.002). By comparing merlin expression and p53 levels, statistically significant difference was found (P=0.017). In the group with positive merlin and negative p53 as well as positive merlin and low p53, meningothelial/secretory subtypes of meningiomas were more common. In combination of negative merlin and negative p53 as well as negative merlin and high p53, there were more meningiomas of fibroblastic/transitional subtype. There was no statistically significant correlation between merlin and tumor grade (P=0.420). There is undeniable influence of merlin on the development and the proliferative ability of meningioma subtypes. Significant role of p53 pathway was confirmed.

Croatia is a safe tourist destination - study of foreign citizen mortality in Splitsko-dalmatinska and Primorsko-goranska County during the period 2001-2010.

Aim To investigate the mortality rate of foreign citizens in Croatia. Methods Data were collected from the Departments for Forensic Pathology in Split and Rijeka, which are the autopsy centers of the counties with approximately 35% of total foreign visitors, as well as from the Croatian Central Bureau for Statistics for the period 2001-2010. The mortality rate (number of deaths of members of each nationality per 100 000 entrances ratio) and standardized mortality ratio (ratio between the observed and expected number of deaths) were calculated, and χ2 goodness of fit test was used for statistical analyses. Results There were 447 deaths (325 men, 72.7%) of foreign citizens (mortality rate of 0.0015%). A total of 207 deaths (46.3%) were by natural causes, more often among older people, and 240 deaths (53.7%) were injury deaths, more often among younger people, mostly by drowning or traffic-related (22.2% and 18.6% of all deaths, respectively). Most represented were citizens of German, Austrian, Czech, and Italian nationality, with 115 (25.7%), 59 (13.2%), 58 (13.0%), and 52 deaths (11.6%), respectively. Mortality rate by nationality showed no significant difference (P < 0.05). The standardized mortality ratio was lowest in Hungarian and Czech citizens (0.17) and highest in US citizens (0.35). Conclusions Croatia has low foreign citizens’ mortality rate and could be considered a safe tourist destination.

Anthropological analysis of the Second World War skeletal remains from three karst sinkholes located in southern Croatia

Although in the cases of war crimes the main effort goes to the identification of victims, it is crucial to consider the execution event as a whole. Thus, the goal of the research was to determine the trauma type and probable cause of death on skeletal remains of civilians executed by partisans from WWS found in the three karst sinkholes and to explain the context in which the injuries occurred. We determined biological profiles, pathological conditions, traumas, and assessed their lethality. Nineteen skeletons were found, 68.4% had, at least, one perimortem trauma, classified as lethal/lethal if untreated in 69.2% cases. The type of execution and administered violence showed to be age and health dependent: elderly and diseased were executed with the intention to kill, by the gunshot facing victims, whilst the more violent behavior expressed towards younger and healthy individuals was indicated by the higher frequency of blunt force trauma.

Bone porosity and longevity in early medieval Southern Croatia.

Abstract Porosity of the skull and skeletal remains, especially of the orbital roof, are one of the most frequent pathological findings on ancient human skeletal remains. There are several presumed causes of this condition and anthropologists consider skull porosities as a marker of physical and nutritional stress. A total of 115 graves were discovered at the early-medieval graveyard near Zadar (Croatia) that contained 128 partially preserved skeletons. Average estimated age at death was 37.2 ± 12.6 years for men, 31.9 ± 13.9 for women, and 5.3 ± 3.6 years for subadults. Pathological bone porosity was analysed. Cribra orbitalia was observed on 21 skulls (28.7%), signs of temporal porosity were noticed on six skulls and signs of subperiosteal bleeding on three skulls. Nineteen skulls had bone porosities in other areas. There was a significant difference (p = 0.039) in achieved age of adults with and without cribra orbitalia as those with cribra orbitalia lived on average 8.1 years longer. The bone porosity was probably caused by malnutrition that might have had a beneficial effect on longevity of adults, similar to effects of restricted food intake on extending lifespan through epigenetic signatures influencing gene expression.