Maja Markovic

The Effect of Carvacrol on Inflammatory Pain and Motor Coordination in Rats

Abstract Carvacrol is a monoterpenic phenol and an active ingredient of the plant essential oils of the family Lamiaceae. We have investigated the analgesic effect of carvacrol, the possible dependence of the effect in relation to animal sex, and the impact of carvacrol on motor coordination in rats. Hyperalgesia was induced by formalin (1.5%), which was administered SC in the upper lip of rat. Hyperalgesia and effects of carvacrol and indomethacin were measured by using the orofacial formalin test. The influence on motor coordination in animals treated with carvacrol was investigated by using the rota-rod test. Carvacrol administered PO in pre-treatment (45 min. prior to formalin) at a single dose of 50, 75 and 100 mg /kg BW, in the male, 50 and 100 mg /kg BW, in female rats caused a dose-dependent antinociceptive effect. This effect of carvacrol was significantly higher (P<0.01, P<0.001) in male rats. Compared with indomethacin administered during pre-treatment (2 mg/kg, PO), carvacrol (100 mg/kg) exhibits significantly higher (P <0.05 and P <0.001) antinociceptive effect on formalininduced hyperalgesia in male rats. In the rota-rod test carvacrol did not disturb the motor coordination in male rats, nor the dose of carvacrol with clear antinociceptive properties exhibited depressive effect on the CNS of treated rats. Keeping in mind that the monoterpene carvacrol is of plant origin, with potentially less side effects and without residues, it is realistic to expect the possibility of its therapeutic use in the treatment of inflammatory pain in animals.

The relationship between causative microorganisms and cardiac lesions caused by infective endocarditis: New perspectives from the contemporary cohort of patients

BACKGROUND The etiology of infective endocarditis (IE) is changing. More aggressive forms with multiple IE cardiac lesions have become more frequent. This study sought to explore the relationship between contemporary causative microorganisms and IE cardiac lesions and to analyze the impact of multiple lesions on treatment choice. METHODS In 246 patients hospitalized for IE between 2008 and 2015, cardiac lesions caused by IE were analyzed by echocardiography, classified according to the 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines and correlated with microbiological data. We defined a new parameter, the Echo IE Sum, to summarize all IE cardiac lesions in a single patient, enabling comprehensive comparisons between different etiologies and treatment strategies. RESULTS Staphylococcus aureus was associated with the development of large vegetation (OR 2.442; 95% CI 1.220-4.889; p=0.012), non-HACEK bacteria with large vegetation (OR 13.662; 95% CI 2.801-66.639; p=0.001), perivalvular abscess or perivalvular pseudoaneurysm (OR 5.283; 95% CI 1.069-26.096; p=0.041), and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) with leaflet abscess or aneurysm (OR 3.451; 95% CI 1.285-9.266, p=0.014), and perivalvular abscess or perivalvular pseudoaneurysm (OR 4.290; 95% CI 1.583-11.627; p=0.004). The Echo IE Sum significantly differed between different etiologies (p<0.001), with the highest value in non-HACEK and the lowest in streptococcal endocarditis. Patients operated for IE had a significantly higher Echo IE Sum vs those who were medically treated (p<0.001). CONCLUSION None of the IE cardiac lesions is microorganism-specific. However, more severe lesions were caused by S. aureus, CoNS, and non-HACEK bacteria. The highest propensity to develop multiple lesions was shown by the non-HACEK group. Higher Echo IE Sum in patients sent to surgery emphasized the importance of multiple IE cardiac lesions on treatment choice and potential usage of Echo IE Sum in patient management.

Diplomonad caused infection in aquarium fish in Serbia

Iako komensali u digestivnom sistemu velikog broja vrsta riba, diplomonade predstavljaju veoma značajne oportune uzročnike bolesti. Iz do sada nedovoljno poznatih razloga, mogu da se nekontrolisano razmnožavaju i izazovu promene na koži i unutrašnjim organima kod akvarijumskih riba. Problem predstavlja konfuzija oko nomenklature dvaju najznačajnijih rodova: Spironucleus i Hexamita. Vrste akvarijumskih riba kod kojih su ustanovljene promene na koži prouzrokovane diplomonadama jesu: Microgeophagus ramirezi, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma nijsseni, Symphysodon aequifasciatus, Pterophyllum altum, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus, Pelvicachromis pulcher i Labidochromis caruleus. Ribe su tretirane tabletama od 250 mg metronidazola rastvorenim u vodi, odnosno metronidazolom u koncentraciji 6,6 mg na litar vode. Terapija je bila uspešna samo kod 9 od 45 tretiranih riba. Kod ostalih simptomi su se posle izvesnog vremena ponovo pojavljivali. Neophodno je ustanoviti raširenost infekcije kod akvarijumskih riba u Srbiji, a takođe ispitati uspeh lečenja metronidazolom primenjenim u hrani, ili pak druge mogućnosti tretmana.

Isolation and Molecular Detection of Bovine Parainfluenza Virus Type 3 in Cattle in Serbia

Abstract The presence of bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV3) was examined in 119 nasal swabs collected from cattle with severe respiratory infection. All samples were conducted for virus isolation on the MDBK cell line. The cytopathic effect was observed after 48h to 72h in cells inoculated with eight samples (8/119; 6.7%). The confirmation of isolated strains of BPIV3 was done by the virus-neutralization test. In addition, all samples of bovine nasal swabs were also examined for the presence of BPIV3 virus using RT-PCR with primers specific for the part of HN gene. The presence of BPIV3 was detected in eight samples (8/119; 6.7%) that were also positive upon virus isolation. The molecular characterization based on nucleotide sequencing of the part of the HN gene showed that all BPIV3 isolates belonged to genotype C of BPIV3. They branched in one distinct cluster with three different branches, but these branches were very similar to each other (98.1% to 99.8%). Serbian BPIV3c isolates were most similar to the Chinese BPIV3c isolates SD0805, SD0809 and SD0835 (from 97.92% to 99.7%), and to South Korean (12Q061), Japanese (HS9) and American (TVMDL16 and TVMDL20) BPIV3c strains (from 97.1% to 98.8%), and distinct from American (TVMDL15and TVMDL17) and Australian (Q5592) BPI3V genotype B strains (only 79.9% to 82.3% similarity), as well as from the genotype A BPIV3 strains from different countries published in GenBank.

Posthodiplostomatosis in a fishpond in Serbia

Posthodiplostomatosis (black spot disease) is a disease of young freshwater fish species of families Cyprinidae and Cobitidae, resulting from infection with metacercaria, which is the penultimate developmental stage of Posthodiplostomum cuticola. Metacercaria give rise to black cysts located primarily in the skin, muscles and on the fins. The disease caused by P. cuticola in certain fish species is first detected in a fishpond in Serbia, as presented in the current work, whilst in natural waters it has been existing for many years. Diagnosis of the infection in the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and the bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) was based on the occurrence of dark discolorations and cysts of the parasite on the fins. Cysts measured approximately 1 mm in diameter, were confirmed by histopathological means. Posthodiplostomatosis occurred in fishponds in which preventive measures were not implemented, i.e. where the nurseries were not dried up and mechanically cleaned.

Study of the presence of specific Salmonella Enteritidis antibodies in chicken egg yolks by competitive cELISA method.

One of the most common causes of salmonellosis of man and poultry is Salmonella Enteritidis which is often found in the digestive system of adult birds. The infected birds do not display any evident clinical symptoms and, at the same time, they excrete the bacteria into the surrounding environment. Studies are carried out by standard microbiological procedures which include the isolation of Salmonella spp. in egg yolks and their serologic typization by agglutination on microplates. Along these methods, studies on the possibility to use an enzyme immunoassay, such as cELISA, in order to detect the presence of specific antibodies on Salmonella Enteritidis in egg yolks are carried out intensively. The presence of specific antibodies for Salmonella Enteritidis is detected in egg yolk samples from vaccinated flocks resulted in specific positive for a total of 72.22%. Egg yolk samples originating from hens of an unknown immunologic status were cELISA positive in a total of 1.66%. However, egg yolk samples from non-vaccinated hens were positive on the presence of specific antibodies for Salmonella Enteritidis in 23.07% cases. Bearing in mind that standard bacteriological methods did not confirm the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis in egg yolk samples and that cELISA did establish the presence of specific antibodies in the tested samples it can be concluded that cELISA is a more sensitive test.