Implementation of IMRT offers possibility to escalate radiation therapy dose without increased acute and late toxicity. The aim of this study is to compare acute and late genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity in patients treated with IMRT and 3DCRT technique. This study included 35 patients in study group a treated with IMRT technique, and 35 patients in study group B treated with 3DCRT technique. Patients were selected and referred to radical radiotherapy treatment prostate cancer. Acute genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity was evaluated during radiotherapy treatment according to recommendation of RTOG group. Late gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicity was evaluated during regular control exams after radical radiotherapy treatment for six months. Based on the results χ2 test there was no statistical significant difference (p>0,05) between study group a i B in terms of acute gastrointestinal and genitourinary despite escalated radiotherapy dose in study group B treated with IMRT technique. Based on the results χ2 test there was no statistical significant difference (p>0, 05) between study group a i B in terms of late gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicity. Intensity modulated radiation therapy is optimal technique in the radical treatment prostate cancer. This technique allows clinical benefit compared with 3D conformal radiotherapy-escalation of radiotherapy dose without increased toxicity in patients treated with IMRT technique.

Introduction. Hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure, suffer from affective dysfunction to a variable extent. The aim of our study was to evaluate the cognitive and affective status in patients before and after hemodialysis. Apart from this, the goal of the study was to examine and compare the cognitive status of patients on dialysis in relation to the control group, but also in relation to laboratory parameters. Material and Methods. This research was a prospective study including 30 hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure treated at the Department of Nephrology of the Health Center in Kosovska Mitrovica. The cognitive status of the subjects was evaluated by determining the simple reaction time to auditory and visual stimuli before and after hemodialysis sessions and using the Mini Mental Status Examination, while the affective status was evaluated by using the Beck Depression Inventory. Results. The analysis of the obtained results showed a statistically significantly lower auditory and visual simple reaction times (p = 0.014) after dialysis (p = 0.023). The results have confirmed a statistically significantly decreased simple reaction time to visual stimuli (p = 0.001), while a statistical significance (p = 0.137) was not obtained for the auditory stimuli when compared to the control group. The Mini Mental Status Examination and the Beck Depression Inventory did not indicate a significant cognitive status damage or presence of depression. Conclusion. The importance of hemodialysis in the improvement of cognitive function is clearly evident, even though the general state of cognitive status in patients on hemodialysis is lower compared to the healthy population. Evaluation of the cognitive and affective status using simple reaction time, Folstein's Mini Mental State Examination and the Beck Depression Inventory, should be used on daily basis in hemodialysis patients.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) play a complex role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We compared (1) the histopathological findings in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and aortoiliac occlusive disease (AOD); (2) the expression of MMP-2/MMP-9 and TIMP-1/TIMP-2 in aortic layers, inflammatory cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs), aiming to identify the common underlying pathogenic mechanisms of the disease development. Samples were obtained from 30 patients with AAA and 30 with AOD. Aortic histology and immunohistochemistry were performed to evaluate inflammatory changes and MMP and TIMP expression. Thrombosis and ulceration were more frequent in AOD than in AAA. The MMP-9 expression was elevated in all aortic layers of AAA patients and in media/adventitia of AOD patients, mainly followed by lower expression of its inhibitor TIMP-1. Higher MMP-9 expression was also found in SMCs and macrophages of both AAA and AOD specimens, while higher TIMP-1/TIMP-2 were Received May 3, 2017. Accepted February 3, 2018. The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Srpska. Corresponding author: Snezana Pejic, “Vinca” Institute of Nuclear Sciences, P.O. Box 522, 11001 Belgrade, Serbia. Phone: (+381) 11 3408 303; Fax: (+381) 11 64 555 61; e-mail: snezana@ vin.bg.ac.rs. Abbreviations: AAA – abdominal aortic aneurysms, AOD – aortoiliac occlusive disease, ECM – extracellular matrix, HE – haematoxylin-eosin, HP – histopathological, MMPs – matrix metalloproteinases, SMCs – smooth muscle cells, TIMPs – tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases. predominantly observed in the lymphocytes and macrophages of the aneurysm. These results showed that both conditions exhibited increased MMP-9 expression; however, the MMP expression pattern differed to some degree between the aneurysms and occlusive disease. The variations in molecular mechanisms underlying dilatative/stenosing disease warrant further investigation.

The pathogenesis of obesity-related vascular disorders has not been fully elucidated. The fundamental role of inflammation in aging process is now widely recognized, particularly for atherosclerotic disease which begins before birth. The number of obese individuals worldwide has reached two billion, leading to an explosion of obesity-related vascular disorders associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Obesity, as a chronic low grade inflammatory process, is important risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular disease. Despite a well-known genetic component, this risk appears to originate from several abnormalities in adipose tissue function associated with a chronic inflammatory state. In particular, obesity as the most common nutritional disorder in industrialized countries, is closely related to impaired endothelial function, a well-known marker of preatherosclerotic disease. These conditions disrupt vascular homeostasis by causing an imbalance between the nitric oxide pathway and the endothelin-1 system, with impaired insulin-stimulated endothelium-dependent vasodilation. Having in mind the growing population of overweight and obese people worldwide, along with an increasingly aging population, understanding the pathophysiology of obesity on cardiovascular system is essential. The mechanisms linking obesity-related vascular disorders and low grade inflammation in aging process are the focus of this paper.

Trivalent chromium is an essential trace element for humans and animals and it is the final product of hexavalent chromium reduction in the cell. It is an integral part of the glucose-tolerance factor, which increases the systemic impact of insulin. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of trivalent and hexavalent chromium on selected biochemical parameters in Japanese quails. Birds were divided into three groups: group I (control group, n=12), group II (treated with trivalent chromium, n=12) and group III (treated with hexavalent chromium, n=12). During 20 days of follow-up, control and experimental groups of quails had identical diet; chromium was added daily into the food (5 mg/kg) and water (5 mg/L) of the experimental groups. Glucose concentrations were the highest in Group III, while lowest glucose concentrations were obtained in Group I. There were higher differencies regarding blood biochemical parameters between control group and quails treated with Cr(VI). Our results showed that hexavalent chromium had negative effects on biochemical parameters in quails, while treatment with Cr(III) showed minor fluctuations in concentrations or activities of blood biochemical parameters.

In this article the summary of measurement and calculation values of low frequency electric field radiation around the high-voltage transmission lines and impact of the increased voltage values on the AC corona onset voltage gradient are presented. The measurements of the low frequency electric field radiation level were performed under the 400 kV transmission lines of horizontal configuration with standard and compact dimensions. In all cases analyzed in this article, the measurements are performed in the middle of the span, because at this point the conductors are closest to the ground. The analysis in this article has been initiated by the increased voltage values of long duration that have been registered in nodes of the 400 kV network in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring countries during the last years. The calculation of the low frequency electric field radiation of the different configuration of the high-voltage transmission lines will be useful for determining the non-ionization radiation exposure levels of the general public in the future as well as to determine their impact on the AC corona onset voltage gradient.

The pa per dis cusses the pos si bil ity of im prov ing the char ac ter of gas surge ar rest ers. Ex am ined were: the mag netic field ef fect, the ef fect of the hol low cath ode, and the ef fect of the al pha ra di a tion source 241Am. Nu mer i cal and real ex per i ments con ducted are pre sented to gether with the o ret i cal in ter pre ta tions of the ob tained re sults. Real ex per i ments were car ried out on a model of a gas surge ar rester spa tially con structed for ex per i ments pre sented in this pa per. The model was de signed in such a way that it was pos si ble to change all the rel e vant pa ram e ters of the gas surge ar rester model. Ex per i ments were con ducted un der well-con trolled lab o ra tory con di tions. The tests were per formed with d. c. and im pulse volt age. The re sults ob tained by ex per i ments were pro cessed by so phis ti cated sta tis ti cal meth ods. The ex pressed mea sure ment un cer tainty of the ex per i men tal pro ce dure showed a high sta tis ti cal re li abil ity of the ob tained re sults. Based on the re sults of the re search, the model of a gas surge ar rester, in which the ef fect of the hol low cath ode and the ra dio ac tive source 241Am were com bined, un am big u ously proved to have the best char ac ter is tics.