The CRISPR/Cas9 system, a natural defence system of bacterial organisms, has recently been used to modify genomes of the most important protozoa parasites. Successful genome manipulations with the CRISPR/Cas9 system are changing the present view of genetics in parasitology. The application of this system offers a major chance to overcome the current restriction in culturing, maintaining and analysing protozoan parasites, and allows dynamic analysis of parasite genes functions, leading to a better understanding of pathogenesis. CRISPR/Cas9 system will have a significant influence on the process of developing novel drugs and treatment strategies against protozoa parasites.

In this review the authors discuss that COVID-19 has already had a direct impact on the physical health of many people and that it appears to have put at risk the mental health of large populations. In this review, we also discuss the relationship between mental disorders and the SARS-CoV-2 infection. We convey the disorders’ risk factors and the more serious mental disorder consequences of COVID-19. People with mental health disorders could be more susceptible to the emotional responses brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic. The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely influence the mental health of patients with already diagnosed mental disorders. For the aim of dealing better with the psychological problems of people afflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, new psychological procedures are required.

To date, many studies have proved that COVID-19 increases the incidence of thrombus formation and coagulopathies but the exact mechanism behind such a disease outcome is not well known. In this review we collect the information and discuss the pathophysiology of thrombus formation in patients with pulmonary embolism in the course of COVID-19 disease and the role of zinc and copper in the process. Supplementation of zinc and copper may be beneficial for COVID-19 patients due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties. On the other hand, excess of those microelements in the organism may be harmful, that is why marking the level of those micronutrients should be done at first. We also propose further investigation of diagnostic and therapeutic options of zinc and copper in course of COVID-19 thrombus formation to their potential in patient care, with particular emphasis on the dosage and the duration of their misbalance.

This review is a collection of general information about chromium, aluminum, nickel and iron. We tried to include not only the data about absorption, metabolism, interactions with other elements and the importance of those microelements in the human body but also their toxic and mutagenic effects. Moreover, we examined their effect on human fibroblast and stem cell cultures which may be important due to abuse of supplementation in the population nowadays.

Leucine-enkephalin (Leu-Enk) is an endogenous opioid peptide that binds to opioid receptors. Leu-Enk is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous system. The aim of the present immunofluorescence study was to examine the distribution of Leu-Enk-immunoreactive (IR) neuronal elements in the ovine pancreas. Using double immunohistochemical staining, the co-localization of Leu-Enk with galanin, somatostatin and substance P was also studied. In the intrapancreatic ganglia, immunoreactivity to Leu-Enk was found in 64.9 ± 1.7% of neurons. Small arterioles and the ductal system were innervated by numerous Leu-Enk-IR nerve terminals. Moderate Leu-Enk-IR nerve fibres surrounded the islets of Langerhans but none of them penetrated into spaces between endocrine cells. In 66.7 ± 4.3% of Leu-Enk-immunoreactive intrapancreatic neurons, expression of galanin was found. A statistically smaller subpopulation of Leu-Enk-IR intrapancreatic neurons (37.4 ± 6.2%) exhibited immunoreactivity to SP. The expression of somatostatin was detected in the relatively smallest group (21.2 ± 3.8%) of Leu-Enk-positive intrapancreatic neurons. Co-expression of Leu-Enk and SP was detected in nerve terminals encircling the pancreatic small arterioles, connective tissue and ducts. LeuEnk-positive nerve fibres around the islets of Langerhans were not immunoreactive for SP. None of the Leu-ENK-positive nerve fibres around the islets of Langerhans co-stored somatostatin. In general, there was also no co-localization between Leu-Enk and somatostatin in nerve terminals supplying small arterioles and veins. Coexpression of GAL and Leu-Enk was observed well in nerve fibres encircling the blood vessels, but not in nerve fibres of the connective tissue. We conclude that abundant immunoreactivity to Leu-Enk in the ovine pancreas and the co-localization of Leu-Enk with other regulatory neuropeptides may reflect the possible involvement of Leu-Enk as a regulator of the exocrine and endocrine pancreatic functions, as well as in regulation of pancreatic blood flow.