AIM Malignant tumors of the larynx account for 2.3% of all malignancies, while their frequency among tumors of the head and neck ranges between 12% and 20%. Research on the general immune competence in patients with malignant diseases has provided useful insight in the relationship between immune disorders on one side and the clinical course on the other. Unfortunately, only few complete studies have been published so far with this regard in patients with malignant tumors of the larynx, and therefore our study was essentially aimed at establishing of general immunocompetence, presence and levels of the possible immune disorders and their association with the malignant tumors. MATERIAL AND METHOD The study included forty two patients with primary squamocellular laryngeal cancer. All the patients underwent surgery, out of whom fifteen were treated postoperatively with radiotherapy. We tested the immune competence prior to the operation and in the postoperative period nine months later. In the venous blood we examined T lymphocyte function, monocyte levels and mononuclear phagocyte function. RESULTS Preoperative evaluation of the presence and levels of general immune competence in patients with laryngeal cancer, showed a distinct decrease in the proliferative response to the PHA mitogen in vitro, with a tendency to normalize in patients who do not develop a relapse of the disease or distant metastasis during the follow-up period. During the whole study period, the number of monocytes and mononuclear phagocyte activity was above the normal level. CONCLUSION The patients with operable laryngeal carcinoma had considerable immune disorders at various levels, primarily at the level of T lymphocytes. Of all the disorders, reduced mitotic activity of T lymphocytes in response to mitogens showed the highest dependance on the presence of malignant tissue in the organism.

Controlled-release (CR) pharmaceutical formulations offer several advantages over the conventional, immediate release dosage forms of the same drug, including reduced dosing frequency, decreased incidence and/or intensity of adverse effects, greater selectivity of pharmacological activity, reduced drug plasma fluctuation, and better compliance. After a drug product has been registered, and is already on market, minor changes in formulation might be needed. At the same time, the product has to remain effective and safe for patients that could be confirmed via plasma drug concentrations and pharmacokinetic characteristics. It is challenging to predict human absorption and pharmacokinetic characteristics of a drug based on the in vitro dissolution test and the animal pharmacokinetic data. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish correlation of the pharmacokinetic parameters of carbamazepine (CBZ) CR tablet formulation between the rabbit and the human model, and to establish in vitro in vivo correlation (IVIVC) based on the predicted fractions of absorbed CBZ. Although differences in mean plasma concentration profiles were notified, the data concerning the predicted fraction of drug absorbed were almost superimposable. Accordingly, it can be concluded that rabbits may be representative as an in vivo model for predicting the pharmacokinetics of the CR formulation of CBZ in humans.

Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti mikrobioloske promjene u trajnim kobasicama od konjskog mesa prema fazama zrenja i sezoni proizvodnje, determinirati bakterije mlijecne kiseline i ispitati njihov inhibicijski potencijal prema bakteriji Listeria monocytogenes. Sezona proizvodnje znacajno je utjecala naukupni broj bakterija, broj bakterija mlijecne kiseline, koagulaza negativnih koka, enterokoka i kvasaca u gotovom proizvodu (p<0, 05). Bakterije mlijecne kiseline bile su najbrojnija mikrobna populacija u nadjevu, uz znacajan broj kvasaca i koagulaza negativnih koka. Najcesce izolirana vrsta bakterija mlijecne kiseline bila je Lactobacillus plantarum (56 %), a potom Weisella confusa (26 %), Lactobacillus fermentum (6 %), Lactobacillus pentosus (6 %), Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (2 %), Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii (2 %) i Weisella viridescens (2 %). Najsnažnije inhibicijsko djelovanje prema L. monocytogenes in vitro pokazali su izolati laktobacila. Dobiveni rezultati mogu poslužiti boljem razumijevanju specificnosti fermentacije kobasica od konjskog mesa u odnosu na druge vrste mesa te poslužiti u postupku standardizacije proizvodnje.

The paper deals with the changes of some parameters of dairy cows teat caused by machine milking. Ultrasonographic scanner GE Medical Systems LOGIQ 100 PRO with linear array VE 5 with 5 MHz probe was used for scanning the teats. Scanning was conducted on nineteen cows of Holstein-friesian breed. The cows were housed in a free stall barn and milked in a herringbone milking parlour 2x3 with Alfa-Laval milking system with Duovac milking units. Teat scanning was done just before morning milking and immediately after milking on the right side of the udders for front and rear teats. The following parameters were measured: teat canal length (TCL), teat end width (TEW), teat cistern width (TCW) and teat wall thickness (TWT). Ratio between teat wall thickness and teat cistern width (TWT/TCW) before and after milking was calculated. Length of teat canal for the front right teat increased in average for 12.55% after milking and 23.61% for the rear right teat. Teat end width of the front and rear right teat increased after milking for 1.25% and 4.79%, respectively. Mean teat cistern width of the front right teat decreased after milking for 22.27%, while for the rear right teat mean decrease was 25.63%. Teat wall thickness of the front and rear right teat increased after milking for 5.22% and 17.26% respectively. Ratio between teat wall thickness and teat cistern width (TWT/TCW) changed from 0.635 before milking to 0.860 after milking for the front right teat and from 0.698 to 1.101 for the rear right teat.

Proizvodnja fermentiranih kobasica od konjskog mesa u nasoj zemlji ima dugu tradiciju koja obogacuje nasu gastronomsku ponudu. No, premalo je dostupnih podataka o takvoj tradicionalnoj proizvodnji i kakvoci proizvoda da bi se moglo govoriti o standardizaciji i zastiti izvornosti. Stoga je cilj ovog rada bio istražiti fizikalno- kemijska i senzorska svojstva kobasica od konjskog mesa, a u ovisnosti o sezoni proizvodnje te fazi zrenja. Prosjecne vrijednosti pH u gotovom proizvodu iznosile su 5, 83, udio vode 19, 90 %, aktivitet vode 0, 896, kolicina NaCl-a 3, 44 % te amonijaka 0, 42 mg%. Senzornom ocjenom utvrđena su neznatna odstupanja u senzornim svojstvima kobasica u odnosu na sezonu proizvodnje. Tijekom zrenja utvrđene su prema sezoni proizvodnje statisticki znacajne razlike (p<0, 05) fizikalno- kemijskih pokazatelja koje ipak nisu znacajno utjecale na ujednacenost kakvoce gotovih proizvoda.