AimTo establish allele frequencies and genetic parameters in eastern Croatia population and to compare them with those in other populations. The second aim was to compare the genetic profiles obtained with different forensic kits amplifying the same genetic markers.MethodsBlood samples of 217 unrelated individuals from eastern Croatia were genotyped using AmpFlSTR NGM kit. Allele distribution and other genetic parameters were determined for 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci, including the 5 loci recently added to the European Standard Set (ESS) of STR loci (D10S1248, D22S1045, D2S441, D1S1656, and D12S391). Ninety-six samples underwent duplicate analysis using AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit.ResultsPower of discrimination was highest for the two new ESS loci, D1S1656 (0.97254) and D12S391 (0.97339). Comparison of allele frequencies for 5 new ESS loci in our sample with previously published population data showed a significant difference from Maghreb population on D2S441 and from American Caucasian population on D1S1656. Comparison of allele frequencies for standard 10 STR loci with all the neighboring populations’ data showed a significant difference only from Albanian population (on D2S1338, D18S51, and TH01). Discordant genotypes were observed in 5 (5.2%) samples at a single locus when amplified with both AmpFlSTR NGM and AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit.ConclusionNew ESS STR loci are highly polymorphic and short, and therefore very useful for the analysis of challenging forensic samples. DNA samples purposed for establishing databases should be routinely amplified in duplicate.

Background: The most crucial decision in the physician's career after graduation is undoubtedly the choice of specialization. It is conditioned by many factors such as intellectual challenges, clinical experience, economic and social influences. The aim of this study was to determine whether personality traits affect the choice of medical specialty at the University of Osijek, Croatia. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 407 medical students. To assess the personality traits, the IPIP Big-Five questionnaire was used. Results: There were no differences in four of the five personality traits of the Big-Five questionnaire when comparing the groups based on their specialty preference: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability. A significant difference was found for openness to experience (intellect/imagination) trait, where students who preferred psychiatry specialties achieved the highest score, and those who chose public health specialties scored the lowest. We observed no significant effect between gender and specialty preference based on personality traits. Conclusions: We could not attribute the differences in personality traits to specialty preference. Medical students with higher scores on agreeableness and openness (intellect/imagination) scales were more inclined to psychiatric specialties, and more conscientiousness students preferred the anesthesiology and emergency medicine specialties. Even if variations in personality traits do not exist across different specialties, many other factors influence specialty preference.

Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory dermatosis mediated by aberrantly activated immune cells. The role of the innate-like T cells, particularly gammadelta T (γδT) cells and MR1-restricted T lymphocytes, is incompletely explored, mainly through animal models, or by use of surrogate lineage markers, respectively. Here, we used case-control settings, multiparameter flow cytometry, 5-OP-RU-loaded MR1-tetramers, Luminex technology and targeted qRT-PCR to dissect the cellular and transcriptional landscape of γδ and MR1-restricted blood T cells in untreated PV cases (n=21, 22 matched controls). High interpersonal differences in cell composition were observed, fueling transcriptional variability at healthy baseline. A minor subset of canonical CD4+CD8+MR1-tet+TCRVα7.2+ and CD4+CD8-MR1-tet+TCRVα7.2+ T cells was the most significantly underrepresented community in male PV individuals, whereas Vδ2+ γδ T cells expressing high levels of TCR and Vδ1-δ2- γδ T cells expressing intermediate levels of TCR were selectively enriched in affected males, partly reflecting disease severity. Our findings highlight a formerly unappreciated skewing of human circulating MAIT and γδ cytomes during PV, and reveal their compositional changes in relation to sex, CMV exposure, serum cytokine content, BMI, and inflammatory burden. Complementing numerical alterations, we finally show that flow-sorted, MAIT and γδ populations exhibit divergent transcriptional changes in mild type I psoriasis, consisting of differential bulk expression for signatures of cytotoxicity/type-1 immunity (EOMES, RUNX3, IL18R), type-3 immunity (RORC, CCR6), and T cell innateness (ZBTB16).

Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is an autoinflammatory dermatosis of unknown etiology. Current evidence suggests a pathogenic role of γδT cells, but the growing complexity of this population has made the offending subset difficult to pinpoint. The work on γδTCRint and γδTCRhi subsets, which express intermediate and high levels of γδTCR at their surface, respectively, is particularly scarce, leaving their inner workings in PV essentially unresolved. We have shown here that the γδTCRint/γδTCRhi cell composition and their transcriptom are related to the differential miRNA expression by performing a targeted miRNA and mRNA quantification (RT-qPCR) in multiplexed, flow-sorted γδ blood T cells from healthy controls (n = 14) and patients with PV (n = 13). A significant loss of miR-20a in bulk γδT cells (~fourfold decrease, PV vs. controls) largely mirrored increasing Vδ1-Vδ2- and γδintVδ1-Vδ2- cell densities in the bloodstream, culminating in a relative excess of γδintVδ1-Vδ2- cells for PV. Transcripts encoding DNA-binding factors (ZBTB16), cytokine receptors (IL18R1), and cell adhesion molecules (SELPLG) were depleted in the process, closely tracking miR-20a availability in bulk γδ T-cell RNA. Compared to controls, PV was also associated with enhanced miR-92b expression (~13-fold) in bulk γδT cells that lacked association with the γδT cell composition. The miR-29a and let-7c expressions remained unaltered in case–control comparisons. Overall, our data expand the current landscape of the peripheral γδT cell composition, underlining changes in its mRNA/miRNA transcriptional circuits that may inform PV pathogenesis.

Introduction: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated chronic in ammatory disease, a ecting approximately 1-3% of the population worldwide. Psoriasis patients are more likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases and hyperhomocysteinemia; however, it remains elusive weather serum homocysteine levels correlate to disease activity and duration of disease. e aim of this study was to investigate serum levels of homocysteine in young patients with plaque psoriasis naïve for conventional systemic and biologic therapy. An additional aim was to determine correlation of homocysteine levels with disease severity, in ammation, folic acid and vitamin B12 supplies. Materials and methods: 26 subjects were enrolled to participate in this case-control study, including 13 adult psoriatic patients naïve for systemic therapy, without comorbidities, malignancies and infectious diseases, and 13 healthy unrelated, age and sex-matched volunteers. e disease severity and life quality were assessed using standardized tools -Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), respectively. Venous blood was collected and processed for analysis of di erential blood count (DBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C reactive protein (hsCRP), serum levels of homocysteine, vitamin B12 and folic acid in the routine clinical laboratory. Results Studied cohort consisted of young participants with average age around 35 years. According to the PASI index, disease severity ranged from mild (2.10) to moderate (15.2). ere was no signi cant di erence in hsCRP and DBC levels between the groups. Psoriasis patients had signi cantly higher levels of homocysteine compared to healthy subjects, but there was no evidence of hyperhomocysteinemia related to psoriasis. All subjects had normal serum levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid. A moderate negative correlation was found between plasma homocysteine level and vitamin B12 and folic acid. Furthermore, homocysteine levels did not correlate to hsCRP, total leukocytes, and thrombocytes count, but did signi cantly positively correlate to ESR. Conclusions: e risk of cardiovascular diseases should be considered among all psoriasis patients, regardless of age and disease severity, but larger prospective controlled studies are needed to estimate the role of homocysteine in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in psoriatic patients. psoriasis, homocysteine, folic acid, cardiovascular disease