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The article presents the results of monitored operation of combines during the first season of their joint use for silage preparation in the northern part of Montenegro in machinery rings in the municipalities of Bijelo Polje, Berane and Pljevlja. The seasonal performance was determined for a total of 6 combines, of which only one was used for the preparation of silage from whole corn plants, one combine was used for preparing silage from cuts, and four combines were intended for direct mowing and ensiling of grass. The research included 7 machinery rings and 45 farmers, of which 11 (24.44%) shared harvesters for the preparation of silage from grass, alfalfa, a mixture of legumes, and grain. During the season, the shared harvesters worked 45 days and achieved an output of 23.95 ha and 687.75 t of silage. For the preparation of silage from whole corn plants in 2 machinery rings, a joint combine was used by 9 farmers. The total seasonal performance of the combine was 14.9 ha of harvested land, and 468.45 t of corn silage for 19 days of work. The extent of use of shared silage combine harvesters depends on plot size, area under fodder plants, organization of work, output of the combine, optimal dates for cultural operations, and weather conditions i.e. the number of days suitable for work, etc.

Background: Risk factors for the development of anti-HLA antibodies include blood transfusion, organ transplantation, and pregnancy. Humoral rejection, mediated by donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSA), has been studied in all kind of solid organ transplantations, and several studies have suggested that post-liver transplantation (LT) DSA may play a role in acute and chronic rejection., Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of pregnancy on the occurrence of DSA and the impact of DSA in a large population of young female LT recipients., Methods: This single center retrospective study included all female patients who underwent a first LT between January 1990 and December 2010 and who were of childbearing age during post-LT follow-up (i.e. 18 to 40 years old)., Results: The study population consisted in 73 patients, and the mean age at LT was 20.9 years (0.6-39.9); 32 patients were transplanted during childhood. The global incidence of de novo DSA was 42.5% (31/73), after a median delay of 15.5 years (1-25) of follow-up after LT. Most de novo DSA were anti-class II alone (90.3%), and included anti-DQ for 80.6%. From the 73 patients, 33 presented at least one pregnancy after LT (45.2%) and before DSA screening. Multivariate analysis disclosed that history of pregnancy (OR = 6.37; 95%CI, 2.17-18.63, p = 0.001) and younger age at LT (OR = 0.96; 95%CI:0.92-0.99, p = 0.033) were significantly associated with de novo DSA. Among the 31 patients who had de novo DSA, the diagnosis of antibody-mediated rejection was made in 8 patients (25.8%), after a median delay of 74 months after LT; 6/8 (75.0%) had history of pregnancy. During follow-up, 3 of these 8 patients lost their liver graft and died., Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that close monitoring of DSA in young women with history of pregnancy should be recommended regarding the risk of DSA-mediated rejection., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The 17q12 chromosomal region carries the HNF1B gene, mutations of which cause various conditions. When searching for HNF1B/17q12 rearrangements among children with biliary atresia and/or choledochal cysts, we identified a male proband carrying a 17q12 duplication spanning 1698 kb that included 24 genes from TBC1D3C to HNF1B. The boy presented with cholestatic jaundice at the age of 2 weeks due to a choledochal cyst sized 15 ×12 mm (type Ia according to the Todani classification). He underwent a shunt surgery consisting of a hepaticojejunostomy using Roux-en-Y loop at the age of 2 months, which led to a permanent relief of cholestasis. Perioperative liver histology revealed significant hepatic fibrosis and bile ductular proliferation. At 17 years, he has a mildly enlarged liver with decreased elasticity, an upper-normal-sized spleen, normal biochemistry values, and no renal or hepatic cysts. We report the first hepatobiliary phenotype in a patient with an HNF1B overdosage., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.)

Aim: Organic anion-transporting polypeptides OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 are sinusoidal membrane transporters mediating liver uptake of a wide range of substrates including conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin, xenobiotics and drugs. Absence of OATP1Bs in the liver causes Rotor syndrome. Our aim was to correlate OATP1B expression with hyperbilirubinemia in common liver diseases., Methods: Immunoreactivity of five antibodies against human OATP1Bs was tested on frozen and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded liver tissue of mouse strains transgenic for SLCO1B1 or SLCO1B3 and on human specimens. The proportion of hepatocytes expressing OATP1Bs was then assessed immunohistologically in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded liver samples obtained from patients with hepatocellular and primary biliary liver diseases. UGT1A1 promoter TATA-box and SLCO1B1 rs4149056 genotyping was performed to rule out individuals predisposed to hyperbilirubinemia., Results: The most specific detection of OATP1B3 was achieved with the H-52 (sc-98981) antibody. OATP1B1 was specifically recognized with the ESL (ab15441) anti-OATP1B1 antibody, but only in frozen sections. The MDQ (ab15442) anti-OATP1B1 antibody cross-reacted with both OATP1B proteins in liver tissue of the transgenic mouse strains. Expression of the OATP1B proteins was decreased in advanced liver diseases and inversely correlated with serum bilirubin levels. The reduction was more pronounced in advanced primary biliary diseases (1.9±1.1 vs. 2.7±0.6; P=0.009)., Conclusions: Down-regulation of OATP1B proteins may contribute to pathogenesis of jaundice accompanying advanced cholestatic liver diseases.

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1-β (HNF1B) defects cause renal cysts and diabetes syndrome (RCAD), or HNF1B-maturity-onset diabetes of the young. However, the hepatic phenotype of HNF1B variants is not well studied. We present a female neonate born small for her gestational age [birth weight 2360 g; -2.02 standard deviations (SD) and birth length 45 cm; -2.40 SD at the 38(th) gestational week]. She developed neonatal cholestasis due to biliary atresia and required surgical intervention (portoenterostomy) when 32-d old. Following the operation, icterus resolved, but laboratory signs of liver dysfunction persisted. She had hyperechogenic kidneys prenatally with bilateral renal cysts and pancreatic hypoplasia postnatally that led to the diagnosis of an HNF1B deletion. This represents the most severe hepatic phenotype of an HNF1B variant recognized thus far. A review of 12 published cases with hepatic phenotypes of HNF1B defects allowed us to distinguish three severity levels, ranging from neonatal cholestasis through adult-onset cholestasis to non-cholestatic liver impairment, all of these are associated with congenital renal cysts and mostly with diabetes later in life. We conclude that to detect HNF1B variants, neonates with cholestasis should be checked for the presence of renal cysts, with special focus on those who are born small for their gestational age. Additionally, patients with diabetes and renal cysts at any age who develop cholestasis and/or exocrine pancreatic insufficiency should be tested for HNF1B variants as the true etiological factor of all disease components. Further observations are needed to confirm the potential reversibility of cholestasis in infancy in HNF1B mutation/deletion carriers.