11. COVID-19 pandemic consequences on coastal water quality using WST Sentinel-3 Data : case of Tangier, MoroccoEl Khalil Cherif, Martin Vodopivec, Nezha Mejjad, Joaquim C.G Esteves da Silva, Simona Simonovič, Hakim Boulaassal, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The west coast of Tangier, in northern Morocco, has been affected by industrial wastewater discharge that reaches the ocean through the Boukhalef river. Therefore, the Jbila and Sidikacem beaches near to the Boukhalef river mouth have been classified as polluted for many years. With the aim of determining the COVID-19 pandemic consequences on the Tangier coastal environment, a linear model using Sentinel 3 water surface temperature (WST) has been tested in several locations. Data from April 2019 and April 2020, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic related emergency status in Morocco, were compared. The results from April 2019 showed high WST values and consequently, the poorest water quality in the sites closest to the Boukhalef river mouth. On the other hand, the results from April 2020 showed normal WST values and high water quality in the same study area. These results illustrate the usefulness of Sentinel 3 WST for the estimation of bathing water quality on the west coast of Tangier. The study shows the positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences on the coastal environment quality in the study area and indicates the importance of decreasing the industrial discharge on the west coast of Tangier. The same methodology could be used in decision-making processes and to reduce cost, time and human resources for coastal monitoring systems. We demonstrate the potential of using the Sentinel 3 data for coastal waters monitoring, as well as the need for stricter controls of pollutant discharges into the world’s rivers.
Keywords: COVID-19, Sentinel 3, WST, Tangier west coast, coastal waters, bathing waters, industrial activities
Published in DiRROS: 22.07.2024; Views: 213; Downloads: 161
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12. Biogeographical history of golden orbweavers : chronology of a global conquestEva Turk, Klemen Čandek, Simona Kralj-Fišer, Matjaž Kuntner, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Aim
A wholistic biogeographical reconstruction should combine a phylogeny with specifics of organismal biology, plate tectonics and consequent probabilities of historic dispersal events. Here, we demonstrate this approach by reconstructing the geographical origin and sequence of intercontinental colonization of the golden orbweaving spiders, a global clade. We test two alternative hypotheses about their ancestral range. Due to the highest contemporary species diversity in Africa, the ‘Out of Africa’ hypothesis predicts the Afrotropics as their most likely ancestral area. The alternative, ‘Out of West Burma’ hypothesis aims to explain a Burmese amber fossil as stem nephilid. Because the West Burma block probably detached from Australia, then rafted towards Laurasia, either on its own or with India, this hypothesis predicts either Australasia or Indomalaya (or both) as the ancestral area.
Location
Worldwide.
Taxon
Golden orbweaving spiders, family Nephilidae.
Methods
We construct an expanded phylogeny of nephilid spiders and apply RASP (Reconstruct Ancestral State in Phylogenies) to infer their global biogeographical history. We fit the data to six integrated biogeographical models: DEC, DIVALIKE, BAYAREALIKE and their +j variants. We fine-tune the analysis by evaluating varying probabilities of dispersal between geographical areas throughout the clade's evolutionary history. We use the physical distance between the areas as a proxy for dispersal probabilities, thus accounting for plate tectonics.
Results
The best supported model reconstructs both Australasia and Indomalaya as ancestral area. In several parts of the phylogeny, these areas persist for the estimated 130-million-year evolutionary history. However, numerous intercontinental shifts in nephilid biogeographical history are also inferred. Since nephilid origins are clearly Gondwanan, our study supports the interpretations that Burmese amber contains Gondwanan biota.
Main conclusions
These results are consistent with the Out of West Burma hypothesis but reject the Out of Africa hypothesis. That certain clades persist in their ancestral ranges while others may shift continents aligns well with the known nephilid biology. Our methodological approach that assesses organismal specific dispersal probabilities through concrete distances measured though time slices of the Earth's history can be applied to biogeographical reconstruction of any lineage.
Keywords: spiders, golden orbweavers, Nephilidae, reconstruction of lineage, biogeography
Published in DiRROS: 22.07.2024; Views: 225; Downloads: 202
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13. Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy in patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism and contraindications for thrombolytic therapyMatjaž Bunc, Klemen Steblovnik, Simona Kržišnik-Zorman, Peter Popović, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Background. High-risk pulmonary embolism is associated with a high early mortality rate. We report our experience with percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy in patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism and contraindications for thrombolytic therapy.Patients and methods. This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism and contraindications to thrombolytic therapy. They were treated with percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy which included thrombectomy and additional thrombus aspiration when needed. Clinical parameters and survival to discharge were measured. Results. From November 2005 to September 2015 we treated 25 patients with a mean age of 62.6 +- 12.7 years, 64% were men. Mean simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index was 2.9. Mean maximum lactate levels were 7.8 +- 6.6 mmol/L, vasopressors were used in 77%, and 59% needed mechanical ventilation. Mechanical treatment included thrombus fragmentation complemented with aspiration (56%) and aspiration using Aspirex S catheter (44%). Local (5 patients; 20%) and systemic (3 patients; 12%) thrombolytics were used as a salvage therapy. We observed nonsignifi-cant improvements in systemic blood pressure (100 +- 41 mm Hg vs 119 +- 34; p = 0.100) and heart frequency (99 +- 35 min-1vs 87 +- 31 min-1; p = 0.326) before and after treatment, respectively. Peak systolic tricuspid pressure gradient was significantly lower after treatment (57 +- 14 mm Hg vs 31 +- 3 mm Hg; p = 0.018). Overall the procedure was technically successful in 20 patients (80%) and 17 patients (68%) survived to hospital discharge. Conclusions. In patients with high-risk pulmonary embolism who cannot receive thrombolytic therapy, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy is a promising alternative to reduce pulmonary artery pressure.
Keywords: high-risk pulmonary embolism, treatment, percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy
Published in DiRROS: 16.07.2024; Views: 240; Downloads: 139
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14. Sex-specific trait architecture in a spider with sexual size dimorphismSimona Kralj-Fišer, Matjaž Kuntner, Paul Vincent Debes, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Sexual dimorphism, or sex-specific trait expression, may evolve when selection favours different optima for the same trait between sexes, that is, under antagonistic selection. Intra-locus sexual conflict exists when the sexually dimorphic trait under antagonistic selection is based on genes shared between sexes. A common assumption is that the presence of sexual-size dimorphism (SSD) indicates that sexual conflict has been, at least partly, resolved via decoupling of the trait architecture between sexes. However, whether and how decoupling of the trait architecture between sexes has been realized often remains unknown. We tested for differences in architecture of adult body size between sexes in a species with extreme SSD, the African hermit spider (Nephilingis cruentata), where adult female body size greatly exceeds that of males. Specifically, we estimated the sex-specific importance of genetic and maternal effects on adult body size among individuals that we laboratory-reared for up to eight generations. Quantitative genetic model estimates indicated that size variation in females is to a larger extent explained by direct genetic effects than by maternal effects, but in males to a larger extent by maternal than by genetic effects. We conclude that this sex-specific body-size architecture enables body-size evolution to proceed much more independently than under a common architecture to both sexes.
Keywords: maternal effects, quantitative genetics, sexual conflict, sexual-size dimorphism, trait architecture
Published in DiRROS: 12.07.2024; Views: 247; Downloads: 176
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15. Molecular heterogeneity in breast carcinoma cells with increased invasive capacitiesGiulia Negro, Bertram Aschenbrenner, Simona Kranjc Brezar, Maja Čemažar, Andrej Cör, Gorana Gašljević, Maxim Sorokin, Anton A. Buzdin, Maurizio Callari, Irma Kvitsaridze, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Metastatic progression of breast cancer is still a challenge in clinical oncology. Therefore, an elucidation how carcinoma cells belonging to different breast cancer subtypes realize their metastatic capacities is needed. The aim of this study was to elucidate a similarity of activated molecular pathways underlying an enhancement of invasiveness of carcinoma cells belonging to different breast carcinoma subtypes. Materials and methods. In order to reach this aim, parental and invasive (INV) MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative), T47D (hormone receptor-positive), and Au565 (Her2-positive) breast carcinoma cells were used and their molecular phenotypes were compared using a proteomic approach. Results. Independently from breast cancer subtypes, INV cells have demonstrated fibroblast-like morphology accompanied by enhancement of invasive and migratory capacities, increased expression of cancer stem cell markers, and delayed tumor growth in in vivo animal models. However, the global proteomic analysis has highlighted that INV cells were different in protein expressions from the parental cells, and Her2-positive Au565-INV cells showed the most pronounced molecular differences compared to the triple-negative MDA-MB-231-INV and hormone receptor-positive T47D-INV cells. Although Au565-INV breast carcinoma cells possessed the highest number of deregulated proteins, they had the lowest overlapping in proteins commonly expressed in MDA-MB-231-INV and T47D-INV cells. Conclusions. We can conclude that hormone receptor-positive cells with increased invasiveness acquire the molecular characteristics of triple-negative breast cancer cells, whereas Her2-positive INV cells specifically changed their own molecular phenotype with very limited partaking in the involved pathways found in the MDA-MB-231-INV and T47D-INV cells. Since hormone receptor-positive invasive cells share their molecular properties with triple-negative breast cancer cells, we assume that these types of metastatic disease can be treated rather equally with an option to add anti-hormonal agents. In contrast, Her2-positive metastasis should be carefully evaluated for more effective therapeutic approaches which are distinct from the triple-negative and hormone-positive metastatic breast cancers.
Keywords: breast cancer, cancer stem cells, invasiveness, migration, metastasis
Published in DiRROS: 11.07.2024; Views: 314; Downloads: 142
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16. A new perspective on the molecular dating of the stone crayfsh with an extended phylogeographic information on the speciesDavid Stanković, Katarina Zorić, Simona Đuretanović, Gorana Stamenković, Marija Ilić, Vanja Marković, Saša Marić, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: Reconstructing the origin and historical
biogeography of the Austropotamobius torrentium is
hampered by insufcient phylogeographic coverage
of the Balkans and deep contradictions in previous
molecular dating. The present work extends the phylogeographic coverage to Serbia, a country crucial for
understanding the species southward dispersal. Our
analysis revealed that the Southern Balkans lineage
occurs in most of the country, the Central and southeastern Europe lineage is restricted to the southwest
and northeast of the country, while a single population in the north of the country harbors the Lika and
Dalmatia lineage, which was previously thought to be
restricted to the northern-central Dinarides. Dataset
expansion led to revised phylogenetic relationships,
which indicated that the Apuseni lineage is not nested
within Northern-central Dinarides lineages but arose
after the most basal split within Austropotamobius
torrentium. This ‘Apuseni frst’ phylogeny provides
a new perspective for molecular dating, according to
which the split between Austropotamobius pallipes
and A. torrentium took place in the Late Oligocene,
while the formation of the phyletic lineages and the
dispersal from the Dinarides to Serbia occurred in
the late Miocene and is probably associated with the
complex and protracted process of disintegration of
the Neogene freshwater lakes in southeastern Europe.
Keywords: Austropotamobius torrentium, Austropotamobius bihariensis, divergence time estimation conficts, historical biogeography, neogene lakes, Serbia
Published in DiRROS: 09.07.2024; Views: 226; Downloads: 179
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17. Randomised trial of HPV self-sampling among non-attenders in the Slovenian cervical screening programme ZORA : comparing three different screening approachesUrška Ivanuš, Tine Jerman, Alenka Repše-Fokter, Iztok Takač, Veronika Kloboves-Prevodnik, Mateja Marčec, Uršula Salobir Gajšek, Maja Pakiž, Jakob Koren, Simona Hutter-Čelik, Kristina Gornik-Kramberger, Ulrika Klopčič, Rajko Kavalar, Simona Šramek Zatler, Biljana Grčar-Kuzmanov, Mojca Florjančič, Nataša Nolde, Srdjan Novaković, Mario Poljak, Maja Primic-Žakelj, 2018, original scientific article Published in DiRROS: 11.06.2024; Views: 274; Downloads: 214
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18. Early cardiotoxicity after adjuvant concomitant treatment with radiotherapy and trastuzumab in patients with breast cancerTanja Marinko, Simona Borštnar, Rok Blagus, Jure Dolenc, Cvetka Bilban-Jakopin, 2018, original scientific article Keywords: radiotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy, cardiotoxicity, breast cancer
Published in DiRROS: 10.06.2024; Views: 217; Downloads: 72
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19. Spremljanje bolnikov z rakom dojk po zaključenem zdravljenjuAndraž Perhavec, Simona Borštnar, 2024, published professional conference contribution Abstract: Prevalenca raka dojk hitro narašča, s tem pa tudi breme spremljanja bolnic z rakom dojk. Namen spremljanja bolnic z rakom dojk je odkrivanje zgodnje ponovitve bolezni in novega primarnega raka dojk, obvladovanje kratko- in dolgoročnih posledic zdravljenja in čim hitrejša vrnitev v normalen življenjski ritem, spodbujanje k nadaljevanju morebitnega zdravljenja in promocija zdravega življenjskega sloga. Pogostost kontrol je odvisna od ogroženosti za ponovitev bolezni. Bolnice prva tri leta spremljamo na 3-6 mesecev, od 3. do 5. leta na 6-12 mesecev in nato enkrat letno. Anamneza in klinični pregled sta osnova vsake kontrole, enkrat letno pa opravimo tudi mamografijo. Spremljanje z laboratorijskimi preiskavami, slikanjem prsnih organov, scintigrafijo skeleta, UZ trebuha in drugimi preiskavami ne izboljša preživetja pri asimptomatskih bolnicah, zato te preiskave opravimo le, če so navzoči klinični simptomi in znaki, sumljivi za ponovitev bolezni. V prispevku navajamo predloge za dolgoročno rešitev spremljanja bolnic z rakom dojk.
Keywords: bolniki, rak dojk, spremljanje bolnikov
Published in DiRROS: 06.06.2024; Views: 414; Downloads: 127
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20. Nature-inspired substituted 3-(imidazol-2-yl) morpholines targeting human topoisomerase IIα : dynophore-derived discoveryBarbara Herlah, Matej Janežič, Iza Ogris, Simona Golič Grdadolnik, Katja Kološa, Sonja Žabkar, Bojana Žegura, Andrej Perdih, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The molecular nanomachine, human DNA topoisomerase IIα, plays a crucial role in replication, transcription, and recombination by catalyzing topological changes in the DNA, rendering it an optimal target for cancer chemotherapy. Current clinical topoisomerase II poisons often cause secondary tumors as side effects due to the accumulation of double-strand breaks in the DNA, spurring the development of catalytic inhibitors. Here, we used a dynamic pharmacophore approach to develop catalytic inhibitors targeting the ATP binding site of human DNA topoisomerase IIα. Our screening of a library of nature-inspired compounds led to the discovery of a class of 3-(imidazol-2-yl) morpholines as potent catalytic inhibitors that bind to the ATPase domain. Further experimental and computational studies identified hit compound 17, which exhibited selectivity against the human DNA topoisomerase IIα versus human protein kinases, cytotoxicity against several human cancer cells, and did not induce DNA double-strand breaks, making it distinct from clinical topoisomerase II poisons. This study integrates an innovative natural product-inspired chemistry and successful implementation of a molecular design strategy that incorporates a dynamic component of ligand-target molecular recognition, with comprehensive experimental characterization leading to hit compounds with potential impact on the development of more efficient chemotherapies.
Keywords: topoisomerase II, catalytic inhibitors, chemotherapy, DNA damage, cancer
Published in DiRROS: 03.06.2024; Views: 475; Downloads: 285
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