New functionally substituted 5-arylidene-2,4-dioxotetrahydro 1,3-thiazole- 3-carboxylic acid cholesteryl esters were synthesized from 2,4-dioxotetrahydro- 1,3-thiazole and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against several human tumor cell lines and one normal lung fibroblast cell line.

The influence of BK-viruria, donor background, and conditioning on the development of hemorrhagic cystitis was examined in 90 allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplant patients, of whom 15 developed hemorrhagic cystitis. Thirty-two patients had related and 58 had unrelated donors, while 44 received full, and 46 received reduced intensity conditioning (RIC). BK-viruria was more common in patients with hemorrhagic cystitis than in those without (p<0.01), and hemorrhagic cystitis was less common in patients with related donors than in those with unrelated donors (p=0.02). Finally, hemorrhagic cystitis and BK-viruria were less common in patients receiving RIC, rather than full conditioning (p<0.01 and p<0.01, respectively).

A well-known argument due to Brandon Carter suggests that intelligent life in the Galaxy is much rarer than a conventional probabilistic reasoning would suggest. A crucial assumption in that application of the anthropic reasoning is that the biological timescales for the development of life and intelligence are entirely independent (”uncorrelated”) of astrophysical timescales for habitability of planetary ecospheres around Main Sequence stars. This assumption may be too naive extrapolation from our state of relative ignorance. We discuss the impact of several plausible mechanisms inducing a correlation between the two timescales, some of them of fairly recent origin, such as the impact of local (”galactic”) gamma-ray bursts. Although the results are still far from conclusive, due mainly to our poor understanding of biogenesis and noogenesis, we hope to set up a long-term research programme aimed at addressing these uncertainties in a quantitative manner. Explosive development of astrobiology (e.g. Darling 2001) coincided with the recent resurgent interest in catastrophism in terrestrial and life sciences (e.g. Clube & Napier 1990; Clube 1995; Raup 1999). Hereby, we discuss an important link between the two: correlation introduced by catastrophes of cosmic origin between the astrophysical and biological timescales. Why is this important for an astrobiologist? There are several relevant reasons, but the one we wish to concentrate here on pertains to the role of such correlations in probabilistic arguments attempting to answer the question about the frequency of (higher forms of) life and intelligence in our Galaxy. The well-known argument due to Carter (1983), and developed by various authors (e.g. Barrow and Tipler 1986), goes as follows. If astrophysical (τ∗) and biological (τl) timescales are truly uncorrelated, life in general and intelligent life in particular forms at random epoch with respect to the characteristic timescale of its astrophysical environment (notably, the main-sequence lifetime of the considered star). In the Solar system, τ∗ ≈ τl, within the factor of two. However, in general, it should be either τl >> τ∗ or τ∗ >> τl. In the latter case, however, it is difficult to understand why the very first inhabited planetary system (that is, the Solar System) exhibits τ∗ ≈ τl behaviour, since we would then expect that life (and intelligence) arose on Earth, and probably at other places in the Solar System, much earlier than they in fact did. This gives us probabilistic reason to believe that τl >> τ∗ (in which case the anthropic

Racunalni programi za 3D modeliranje povrsinskih kopova i/ili podzemnih prostorija te planiranje proizvodnje predstavljaju temelj za upravljanje procesima i alat za projektiranje rudarskih radova. Paketi imaju siroku primjenu u određivanju svih parametara sustava povrsinske i podzemne eksploatacije tako da je moguce ucinkovito i brzo povezivanje geologije ležista, topografije terena, tehnoloskih procesa i ekonomike s pripadajucim vrlo važnim vizualnim informacijama koje prate tabicne podatke. Danas vec postoji preko tisucu profesionalnih programa koji obuhvacaju ekonomsku ocjenu povrsinskog kopa, rezerve, transportne komunikacije i sve druge tehnoloske procese, a u nastavku su navedeni samo oni koji su najistaknutiji i dostupni autoru ovog rada. Ovaj rad koncipiran je tako da se na nekoliko primjera prikažu mogucnosti 3D modeliranja, kako bi se spoznao znacaj racunalne tehnike i primijenjenih programa pri projektiranju povrsinskih kopova i podzemnih prostorija. Kao model istraživanja poslužila su ležista boksita na podrucju eksploatacijskog polja "Bespelj" kod Jajca.

The field of self-assembled monolayers has grown rapidly since the discovery of these structures (1983) and their ability to modify physical and chemical properties of surfaces. The process of self-assembly consists of two distinct steps: (i) a fast adsorption of head group of an organic molecule on a specific substrate, and (ii) a slow organization of alkyl chains by intermolecular van der Waals interactions. These layers enable to tailor and to optimize surface properties for a variety of technological applications (chemical and biochemical sensors, biocompatibilization of metal surfaces, DNA immobilization, corrosion protection) as well as for fundamental studies of surface phenomena. In this study, the adsorption kinetics of 1-dodecanethiol on the gold substrate was studied in-situ using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The reason for the thiol adsorption on gold is based on two considerations: (i) gold is a relatively inert metal and does not form stable oxides on its surface, and (ii) there is a strong specific interaction with sulfur which allows the formation of a stable monolayer. Dependence of the surface coverage on the concentration was described by the Langmuir isotherm at all investigated concentrations of dodecanethiol, ranging from 3×10^(-6) to 1×10^(-3) M, in 0.1 M ethanolic solution of LiClO4. Parameters characterizing the adsorption thermodynamics, the adsorption coefficient, and the free energy of adsorption were determined. The thiol monolayers were characterized using contact angle measurements. The contact angle value (≈ 100°) has shown a high hydrophobicity. The electrochemical properties have been studied in a 0.1 M NaClO4 using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The thiol monolayer behaves as a barrier film, almost an ideal dielectric which effectively prevent electrolyte from contacting the gold substrate.

The aim of this study was to investigate the allelic frequency of 35delG mutation in patients with recessive, nonsyndromic hearing loss (NSHL) compared to normal hearing individuals in the Croatian population. For this purpose, we analyzed 27 unrelated individuals with nonsyndromic hearing loss and 342 healthy individuals. The method we used is based on the principle of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-mediated, site-directed mutagenesis, followed by a BsiYI digestion. Among patients with NSHL, the 35delG mutation was found on 51.85% alleles. Carrier frequency among healthy control individuals was 1 in 68.4 (1.5%). The patients, found to be wild-type, either in heterozygous or homozygous form, were further tested by direct sequencing. Among them, two different mutations were observed, W24X and 313del14. Relatively high prevalence of 35delG mutation among patients with NSHL indicate that it is an important cause of NSHL in Croatia. Early diagnosis by identification of the 35delG mutation would greatly improve genetic counseling, as well as treatment and management of deafness in Croatia.

It is often required to estimate the dose rate at a distance from radionuclides that are sources of X rays and gamma rays. Such calculations may be required for planning radiation protection measures in the vicinity of radioactive sources or patients containing radionuclides, calibrations of radiation instruments or for estimating the absorbed dose rate to patients receiving brachytherapy. The factor relating activity and air kerma rate is called air kerma rate constant--gamma(delta). In this paper, the results of recalculation of this quantity for unfiltered point sources of radionuclides in practice used most often are given. The calculations included corrections for internal conversion of X rays and gamma rays and detailed accounting of the generation of the K and L series X rays from internal conversion and electron capture. Particular air kerma rate constants were calculated for each discrete line in the photon spectrum of radionuclide with a yield per decay event >0.01% and the energy >20 keV. Since the energy structure of the photon spectra and accessible discrete numerical values of the mass energy-transfer coefficient for air are not the same, the cubic spline interpolation was used to obtained the coefficient, where the photon spectrum data are available. In the calculation, the latest gamma ray spectral data for all radionuclides and latest data for the mass energy-transfer coefficient for air are used. Air kerma rate constants for the following 35 radionuclides are calculated: 11C, 13N, 15O, 18F, 24Na, 42K, 43K, 51Cr, 52Fe, 59Fe, 57Co, 58Co, 60Co, 67Ga, 68Ga, 75Se, 99Mo, 99mTc, 111In, 113mIn, 123I, 125I, 131I, 127Xe, 133Xe, 137Cs, 152Eu, 154Eu, 170Tm, 182Ta, 192Ir, 197Hg, 198Au, 201Tl and 241Am.