Knowledge about Fertility in Croatia, Measured with the Croatian Version of the Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale (CFKS-Hr), in Relation to Attitudes toward Having a Child and Associated Factors in a Cross-Sectional Survey.

BACKGROUND: Fertility is a crucial component of population maintenance and growth. A declining fertility trend has been observed over the past two decades, and it continues. The birth rate in the Republic of Croatia is continuously decreasing, which is insufficient to maintain its population. OBJECTIVE: This research aimed to examine the level of fertility knowledge, factors influencing fertility knowledge, and the relationship between fertility knowledge and the decision to have a child. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of mothers in five hospitals on the Adriatic coast of the Republic of Croatia, involving 1541 mothers, 18 years and older, from September 2021 to December 2023. The Cardiff Fertility Knowledge Scale (CFKS) was used for the research. The participants were divided into four groups according to age. The analysis was conducted using SPSS software (version 22.0). Descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, t-tests, and Pearson's correlations were used for the data analysis. RESULTS: The average percent correct score on the CFKS was 51.8% (SD 22.6), with greater knowledge being significantly related to married status and higher education status (both p < 0.05). A total of 83% of mothers who have one child want to have more children. Fewer mothers who have two children want to have more children (42%), while only 11% of mothers who have three or more children want to have more children. There is no significant relationship between the CFKS and the importance of childbearing in the future (p = 0.12). Respondents indicated that they gained most of their knowledge from the internet (31%) and from the healthcare system (33%). CONCLUSIONS: The research results reveal a lack of fertility knowledge among participants, as well as an intention to have a child in the later stages of life. The lack of formal education on this topic leads to information gathering from friends, newspapers, television, and the internet. This study was not registered.

Immunohistochemical Expression of Placental Vitamin D Receptors in Pregnancies Complicated by Early and Late-Onset Preeclampsia.

The aim of our study was to determine whether the immunohistochemical expression of placental vitamin D receptors is altered in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia. Vitamin D receptor expression was immunohistochemically analysed in the placentas of three groups: a control group, and early- and late-onset preeclampsia groups. Total immunohistochemical intensity staining of placentas showed that the control group had a median vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression significantly higher than the placentas of mothers with early- and late-onset preeclampsia. There was no difference among the three groups in a semiquantitative analysis of VDR staining of the stroma only. Vitamin D receptors showed lower median expression in preeclampsia-affected pregnancies, especially early-onset preeclampsia. Therefore, Vitamin D receptor expression may be an important marker for normal placentation and preeclampsia onset.

The influence of the extraction temperature on polyphenolic profiles and bioactivity of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) subcritical water extracts.

The main goal of this research was to determine the relationship among chemical structure, bioactivity and temperature of chamomile during subcritical water extraction in isobaric conditions (45 bar) at seven different temperatures (65-210 °C). The influence of temperature on phenolic profiles was defined by UHPLC-HESI-MS/MS. The overall results indicate that the presence of conjugated double bonds, side chains, glucose moiety or ether moiety in molecules influence the efficiency of polyphenols' extraction in subcritical water. In terms of antioxidant activity, the extracts were the most active towards ABTS radicals (IC50 = 7.3-16.8 µg/mL), whereby temperature of 150 °C was optimal. On the other hand, the extracts obtained at 115 °C showed highest cytotoxicity. Inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase was the highest at 65 and 85 °C, i.e. 0.51 and 4.13 mmolAE/g, respectively. Activity against tyrosinase was the highest at 210 °C (17.92 mgKAE/g). The data showed that different non-phenolic compounds may also participate in bio-activities of the extracts.