Search the repository

A+ | A- | | SLO | ENG

Abstract: Introduction: The global burden of diabetes mellitus is escalating, and more efficient investigative strategies are needed for a deeper understanding of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. The crucial role of skeletal muscle in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism makes it one of the most susceptible tissues to diabetes-related metabolic disorders. In tissue studies, conventional histochemical methods have several technical limitations and have been shown to inadequately characterise the biomolecular phenotype of skeletal muscle to provide a holistic view of the pathologically altered proportions of macromolecular constituents. Materials and methods: In this pilot study, we examined the composition of five different human skeletal muscles from male donors diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic controls. We analysed the lipid, glycogen, and collagen content in the muscles in a traditional manner with histochemical assays using different staining techniques. This served as a reference for comparison with the unconventional analysis of tissue composition using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy as an alternative methodological approach. Results: A thorough chemometric post-processing of the infrared spectra using a multi-stage spectral decomposition allowed the simultaneous identification of various compositional details from a vibrational spectrum measured in a single experiment. We obtained multifaceted information about the proportions of the different macromolecular constituents of skeletal muscle, which even allowed us to distinguish protein constituents with different structural properties. The most important methodological steps for a comprehensive insight into muscle composition have thus been set and parameters identified that can be used for the comparison between healthy and diabetic muscles. Conclusion: We have established a methodological framework based on vibrational spectroscopy for the detailed macromolecular analysis of human skeletal muscle that can effectively complement or may even serve as an alternative to histochemical assays. As this is a pilot study with relatively small sample sets, we remain cautious at this stage in drawing definitive conclusions about diabetes-related changes in skeletal muscle composition. However, the main focus and contribution of our work has been to provide an alternative, simple and efficient approach for this purpose. We are confident that we have achieved this goal and have brought our methodology to a level from which it can be successfully transferred to a large-scale study that allows the effects of diabetes on skeletal muscle composition and the interrelationships between the macromolecular tissue alterations due to diabetes to be investigated.
Keywords: diabetes mellitus, skeletal muscle, metabolism, macromulecular composition, infrared spectroscopy, multivariate analysis, histochemical assays
Published in DiRROS: 11.01.2024; Views: 260; Downloads: 95
Full text (1,71 MB)
This document has many files! More...

Abstract: Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) has been at the centre of controversy for many decades. Recent evidence of its profound disturbance-induced damage and consequent stock depletions across forest landscapes in Europe has reinforced doubts regarding the sustainability and prospects of this tree species in the future. Like many other European countries, Slovenia has experienced significant Norway spruce mortality and a decrease in growing stock primarily as the result of several disturbance agents (bark beetle outbreaks, an ice storm, windthrows). We investigated a countrywide spruce growing stock decline based on data between 2010 and 2018. Particular focus was placed on identifying the main ecological drivers of this decline, namely geological conditions, climatic parameters, soil attributes, topographic factors and forest stand characteristics. The effects of potential predictors on the relative change (%) in spruce volume (m3 ha-1) during the period 2010-2018 were analysed with Generalized Additive Models. Based on a national dataset including forest compartments (n = 6355) with a spruce growing stock decline > 10%, we found mixed support for ecology-based hypotheses. While spruce decline responded to bedrock type as predicted (i.e., greater relative decline in carbonate compared to silicate compartments), higher forest naturalness (preservation of tree species composition) was not associated with a lower decline. Spruce decline was amplified by higher potential evapotranspiration and soil clay content but showed a strong negative relationship with spruce proportion in the year 2010. General trends along the gradients of other selected predictors (stoniness/rockiness and heat load index) were less pronounced. The results suggest that most of these ecological predictors interact with geology and forest naturalness in affecting Norway spruce decline. Our analysis reveals that bedrock type can play an important role due to its mitigating effects. However, forest naturalness is of secondary significance as intensified large-scale forest disturbances likely override its buffering potential.
Keywords: Norway Spruce, bark beetle outbreaks, ice storm, soil-geology, relationship, tree species composition, Slovenia
Published in DiRROS: 05.04.2023; Views: 744; Downloads: 215
Full text (917,30 KB)
This document has many files! More...

Abstract: Introduction: The number of obese people in the world is increasing, as is the number of sarcopenic people among the older adults. Although both states are concerning, they can be positively influenced by selected behavioral factors such as adequate nutrition and physical activity. We were interested in the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in active older people and the influence of behavioral factors on this phenomenon. Methods: The study included 38 older adults (21 women) with a mean age of 75.3 ± 5.0 years. Sarcopenic parameters were determined with different tests: Handgrip Test, Chair Stand Test, Gait Speed, Timed Up and Go Test, and Short Physical Performance Battery. Body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Physical activity level was measured using accelerometers, and nutritional status was assessed using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment and MEDLIFE Index questionnaire. Results: Of all included active participants (the average number of steps per day was 8,916 ± 3,543), 47.4% of them were obese. Of all included women, 52.4% were obese. Sarcopenic obesity was found in three (7.9%) participants. Nutritional status correlated with strength of lower extremities and physical performance tests (gait speed, Timed Up and Go Test and Short Physical performance battery). Higher number of steps per day positively correlates with physical performance. Discussion: Interestingly, we did not find any correlation between the main obesity parameter such as percent body fat or body mass index (and thus sarcopenic obesity) and any of the selected behavioral factors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, or dietary habits). In conclusion, reaching the recommended levels of physical activity in older adults may not be sufficient to prevent the occurrence of obesity and sarcopenic obesity.
Keywords: aging, physical activity, nutrition, healthy lifestyle, body composition, sarcopenia
Published in DiRROS: 02.03.2023; Views: 413; Downloads: 263
Full text (677,71 KB)
This document has many files! More...

Abstract: This study discusses 1) the national legislative frameworks, terminologies, and criteria for the recognition of natural mineral waters and thermal waters in selected European countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Spain), and 2) it provides a first extensive multi-national overview of hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics of numerous water sources from those regions.
Keywords: hydrogeology, regulatory framework, hydrogeochemical composition, natural mineral water, thermal water, Europe
Published in DiRROS: 26.07.2022; Views: 694; Downloads: 252
Full text (10,31 MB)

Abstract: Species- and trait-environment linkages in forest plant communities continue to be a frequent topic in ecological research. We studied the dependence of floristic and functional trait composition on environmental factors, namely local soil properties, overstory characteristics, climatic parameters and other abiotic and biotic variables. The study area comprised 50 monitoring plots across Slovenia, belonging to the EU ICP Forests monitoring network. Vegetation was surveyed in accordance with harmonized protocols, and environmental variables were either measured or estimated during vegetation sampling. Significant predictors of species composition were identified by canonical correspondence analysis. Correlations between plant traits, i.e. plant growth habit, life form, flowering features and CSR signature, were examined with fourth-corner analysis and linear regressions. Our results show that variation in floristic composition was mainly explained by climatic parameters (mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation), soil properties (pH) and tree layer-dependent light conditions. Trait composition was most closely related with tree layer characteristics, such as shade-casting ability (SCA, a proxy for light availability in the understory layer), tree species richness and tree species composition. Amongst soil properties, total nitrogen content and soil texture (proportion of clay) were most frequently correlated with different species traits or trait states. The CSR signature of herb communities was associated with tree layer SCA, soil pH and mean annual temperature. The floristic composition of the studied herb-layer vegetation depended on temperature and precipitation, which are likely to be influenced by ongoing climate change (warming and drying). Trait composition exhibited significant links to tree layer characteristics and soil conditions, which are in turn directly modified by forest management interventions.
Keywords: vegetation–environment relationship, floristic composition, life-history traits, herbaceous species, Slovenia
Published in DiRROS: 15.04.2022; Views: 651; Downloads: 402
Full text (2,43 MB)
This document has many files! More...