Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Creation and study of Russian plum varieties in the Middle Volga

Eight elites of Russian plum were created and transferred to the state test as a result of many years of breeding work on interstitial hybridization in the Samara region. According to the results of many years of observations and field surveys, the most frost-resistant varieties of Russian plum were identified; the nature of damage to plum plants in severe winters was studied. Experimental data proved the promise of growing Russian plum varieties in the Middle Volga region. The varieties Kompotnaya (23.6 kg per tree), Mara (19.4 kg), Smart (13.8 kg) and Poselkovskaya (10.4 kg) have high productivity. Ripening dates, weight and taste of fruits in Russian plum depend on the variety, air temperature and the amount of precipitation. The varieties possess large fruits (weighing 35-50 g) Kuban Comet, Found, elite Giantess, Canning, Dressy, 1/17. The best tastes were the varieties Kuban Comet (4.5 points), July Rose (4.4 points), Found (4.5 points), Pramen (4.5 points), the elite Long-awaited and Canned (4.4 points)

Improving the adaptability of apricot to abiotic environmental factors

As a result of many years of breeding work on interspecific and intersortial hybridization in the Samara region, 9 apricot varieties were created and submitted for state testing, of which 4 varieties were entered into the state register of the Russian Federation. In the organic dormancy phase, apricot trees of these hybrids have high frost resistance of wood and flowering buds. Favorable microzones for apricot cultivation were determined, the productivity of varieties was studied, and the fruit quality was assessed. Of the 8 years of observing apricot, six years were fruitful. Two years of harvest was absent due to freezing of flower buds from the onset of frost after prolonged thaws. Samarskij (32.2 kg from a tree), Vnuchok (43.4 kg) and Elita No. 1 (24.9 kg) sorts have high productivity. Ripening dates, weight and taste of apricot fruits depend on the variety, air temperature and the amount of precipitation. Large fruits are possessed by new varieties Avdeevskij, Andryushka, Andryushka, Bojcovyj, Seyanec Voenkomovskij. The best tastes were of the varieties Andryushka, Bojcovyj, Seyanec Voenkomovskij, Trofej (tasting score 4.5 points)

The effect of medical rehabilitation in respiratory syndrome patients with connective tissue dysplasia

Background. The relevance of work is warranted by the necessity of a personalized approach to the rehabilitation of bronchopulmonary syndrome patients with connective tissue dysplasia (CTD). Aim. To assess the effectiveness of medical rehabilitation in patients with different clinical phenotypes of bronchopulmonary syndrome and CTD on the basis of the analysis of quality of life indicators.Materials and methods. 174 patients aged 18–40 years were divided into subgroups depending on the predominant clinical respiratory option syndrome. The results of a survey of 75 patients, matched by sex and age, with no signs of CTD were used as controls. Rehabilitation activities were carried out under outpatient conditions three times a week for 12 weeks, 2 times a year. The effectiveness of individual rehabilitation programs for each patient was evaluated after two courses of medical rehabilitation. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life.Results. Before the start of rehabilitation programs integral indicators in persons with CTD were significantly lower than in persons without CTD. After carrying out of rehabilitation programs, the most significant increase of mean values was observed for the parameters of the psychological health component: mental health (+40 points), vitality (+23 points), role of emotional functioning (+25 points) and social functioning (+21 points). The parameters of the physical health component increased to a lesser extent, their gains ranged from +7 points for the parameters of the overall perception of health to +19 points for the intensity of pain parameters. The effect on the physical health components was limited by the variety of irreversible structural changes of various organs and systems, suggesting a longer monitoring period. However, during rehabilitation significant positive effects were reported for physical health as well. Different parameters of values of quality of life were identified in patients with different clinical variants of bronchopulmonary syndrome.Conclusion. A personalized approach that takes into account the clinical variant of the syndrome can significantly increase the reserve for improving the functional capacity and also for psychological and social adaptation of the patient

Heterologous <i>codA</i> Gene Expression Leads to Mitigation of Salt Stress Effects and Modulates Developmental Processes

Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the choline oxidase gene from A. globiformis showed an increase in resistance at the level of primary and secondary biosynthesis of metabolites, removing the damage characteristic of salinity and stabilizing the condition of plants. We used 200 mM NaCl, which inhibits the growth of tobacco plants at all stages of development. Leaves of transgenic and wild-type (WT) plants Nicotiána tabácum were used for biochemical, cytological and molecular biological analysis. However, for transgenic lines cultivated under normal conditions (without salinity), we noted juvenile characteristics, delay in flowering, and slowing down of development, including the photosynthetic apparatus. This caused changes in the amount of chlorophyll, a delay in the plastid grana development with the preservation of prolamellar bodies. It also caused changes in the amount of sugars and indirectly downstream processes. A significant change in the activity of antioxidant enzymes and a change in metabolism is probably compensated by the regulation of a number of genes, the expression level of which was also changed. Thus, the tolerance of transgenic tobacco plants to salinity, which manifested itself as a result of the constitutive expression of codA, demonstrates an advantage over WT plants, but in the absence of salinity, transgenic plants did not have such advantages due to juvenilization