Study of Deep-Ocean Ferromanganese Crusts Ore Components

A complex layer-by-layer morphology and phase analysis of a ferromanganese crust aged about 70 million years, extracted from the rise of the Magellan Mountains of the Pacific Ocean, was carried out using several physics methods: digital optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with high resolution, X-ray fluorescence and diffraction analysis and Mossbauer spectroscopy. This analysis showed that the crust is an association of several minerals with various dispersion and crystallization degree, between which fossilized bacterial mats with Fe- and Mn- oxides are located. These phenomena indicate the biogenic nature of the crust. Changes in the crusts phase composition from the lower layer to the upper layer indicate changes in the external environmental conditions during their formation

The role of chemokine genes in the formation of terminal stage of chronic renal failure

The data on the role of chemokine genes (+1931A/T CCL4, A/G CXCL11 (rs4512021), -403A/G CCL5, C/G CCL2 (rs2857657), -801G/A CXCL12) in the formation of terminal stage of chronic renal failure, in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis, is presented in the work. It was established, that the allele A CXCL11 (rs4512021) (OR = 1.65) was the marker for the development of terminal stage of chronic renal insufficiency, and the genotype GG CXCL11was a protective factor for the development of terminal stage of chronic renal failure (OR = 0.22

Early Seizure Detection Based on Cardiac Autonomic Regulation Dynamics

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that causes changes in the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects the regulation of cardiac activity and autonomic nervous system tone. The early detection of epileptic seizures could foster the use of new treatment approaches. This study presents a new methodology for the prediction of epileptic seizures using HRV signals. Eigendecomposition of HRV parameter covariance matrices was used to create an input for a support vector machine (SVM)-based classifier. We analyzed clinical data from 12 patients (9 female; 3 male; age 34.5 ± 7.5 years), involving 34 seizures and a total of 55.2 h of interictal electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. Data from 123.6 h of ECG recordings from healthy subjects were used to test false positive rate per hour (FP/h) in a completely independent data set. Our methodological approach allowed the detection of impending seizures from 5 min to just before the onset of a clinical/electrical seizure with a sensitivity of 94.1%. The FP rate was 0.49 h−1 in the recordings from patients with epilepsy and 0.19 h−1 in the recordings from healthy subjects. Our results suggest that it is feasible to use the dynamics of HRV parameters for the early detection and, potentially, the prediction of epileptic seizures

Clinical and genetic research of chronic glomerulonephritis

The paper presents data on interaction of candidate genes (S311C PON2, (-6)A/G AGT, (-1166)A/CAGTR1, (-592)C/A IL-10, VNTR IL-1Ra, T113M IL-9, K198N EDN1, (+46)G/A ADRB2, G/A GNB3 (rs.2301339)) with oligogenic and continuous characters of chronic glomerulonephriti

The effectiveness of glucocorticoid therapy in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis, depending on the polymorphic markers of cytokine genes

The paper presents the results of a study of interrelationships of polymorphic cytokine loci (rs1800629 TNFα, rs909253 Ltα, rs767455 TNFR1 and rs1800469 TGFβ-1) with the features of glucocorticoid therapy in patients with chronic glomerulonephriti

Genetic factors of decreased kidney function in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis

The article presents the results of studying the interaction of polymorphic variants of vascular homeostasis genes (I/D ACE, 4а/4b eNOS, S311C PON2, (-6) A/G AGT, (-1166) A/С AGTR1, G/A GNB3 (rs.2301339), G460W ADD1, (+46) G/A ADRB2, K198N EDN1, (+6986) G/A CYP3A5) with the state of renal function at the onset of chronic glomerulonephriti

Somatostatin subtype-2 receptor-targeted metal-based anticancer complexes

Conjugates of a dicarba analogue of octreotide, a potent somatostatin agonist whose receptors are overexpressed on tumor cells, with [PtCl 2(dap)] (dap = 1-(carboxylic acid)-1,2-diaminoethane) (3), [(η 6-bip)Os(4-CO 2-pico)Cl] (bip = biphenyl, pico = picolinate) (4), [(η 6-p-cym)RuCl(dap)] + (p-cym = p-cymene) (5), and [(η 6-p-cym)RuCl(imidazole-CO 2H)(PPh 3)] + (6), were synthesized by using a solid-phase approach. Conjugates 3-5 readily underwent hydrolysis and DNA binding, whereas conjugate 6 was inert to ligand substitution. NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations showed that conjugate formation does not perturb the overall peptide structure. Only 6 exhibited antiproliferative activity in human tumor cells (IC 50 = 63 ± 2 μ in MCF-7 cells and IC 50 = 26 ± 3 μ in DU-145 cells) with active participation of somatostatin receptors in cellular uptake. Similar cytotoxic activity was found in a normal cell line (IC 50 = 45 ± 2.6 μ in CHO cells), which can be attributed to a similar level of expression of somatostatin subtype-2 receptor. These studies provide new insights into the effect of receptor-binding peptide conjugation on the activity of metal-based anticancer drugs, and demonstrate the potential of such hybrid compounds to target tumor cells specifically. © 2012 American Chemical Society

Soluble TREM-2 in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab or mitoxantrone

BACKGROUND: Microglia-mediated proteolysis of the triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM-2) produces soluble TREM-2 (sTREM-2) that can be measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. Loss-of-function mutations in TREM2 or in the gene encoding its adaptor protein cause the rare Nasu–Hakola disease (NHD). Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that in common with NHD is characterized by demyelination and microglial activation. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential utility of sTREM-2 as a biomarker for MS and to follow treatment effects. METHODS: sTREM-2 was analyzed in CSF samples from subjects with MS (N = 59); relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) (N = 36), secondary progressive MS (SPMS) (N = 20) and primary progressive MS (PPMS) (N = 3), and controls (N = 27). CSF levels of sTREM-2 were also assessed before and after treatment of patients with natalizumab or mitoxantrone. RESULTS: CSF levels of sTREM-2 were significantly increased in patients with RRMS, SPMS, and PPMS compared with controls. After natalizumab treatment, the levels of sTREM-2 were normalized to control levels. The levels of sTREM-2 were also reduced after mitoxantrone treatment. CONCLUSION: Increased CSF levels of sTREM-2, a new marker of microglial activation, in MS and normalization upon treatment with either natalizumab or mitoxantrone support a role for microglial activation in active MS

ПЕРЕБУДОВА ХІМІЧНОГО СКЛАДУ КІСТКОВОЇ ТКАНИНИ У ВІКОВОМУ АСПЕКТІ ЗА РІЗНИХ РЕЖИМІВ РУХОВОЇ АКТИВНОСТІ

A deep study of the adjustment processes of bone, its structure, chemical composition, adaptive capacity is a necessary condition for clarifi cation of the infl uence of labor, sports and a number of trades that occur in connection with the scientifi c and technical progress on the body. Simulation of the diff erent modes of motor activity does not fully meet the training process rights in physical education and sport. However, the results obtained in this pilot study are related to the disclosure of general biological laws based on individual and genetically determined characteristics of individuals, knowledge of which will serve as a morphological substantiation of the training process and prediction of structural changes in the skeleton at various modes of physical activity, injury prevention, and the development of osteoporosis.Глубокое изучение процессов перестройки костной ткани, ее строения, химического состава, адаптационных возможностей является необходимым условием выявления закономерностей влияния труда, спорта и ряда профессий, возникающих в связи с научно-техническим прогрессом на организм. Моделирование различных режимов двигательной активности в полной мере соответствует тренировочным процессам человека в физической культуре и спорте. Однако результаты, полученные при данном экспериментальном исследовании, имеют отношение к раскрытию общебиологических закономерностей, основанных на индивидуальных и генетически обусловленных особенностях индивидуумов, знание которых послужит морфологическим обоснованием тренировочного процесса и прогнозированию структурных преобразований в скелете при различных режимах двигательной активности, предотвращению травм и развития остеопороза.Глибоке вивчення процесів перебудови кісткової тканини, її будови, хімічного складу, адаптаційних можливостей є необхідною умовою виявлення закономірностей впливу праці, спорту та ряду професій, що виникають у зв’язку з науково-технічним прогресом, на організм. Моделювання різних режимів рухової активності не в повній мірі відповідає тренувальним процесам людини у фізичній культурі та спорті. Однак результати, отримані при даному експериментальному дослідженні, мають відношення до розкриття загальнобіологічних закономірностей, що ґрунтуються на індивідуальних і генетично обумовлених особливостях індивідуумів, знання котрих послужить морфологічним обґрунтуванням тренувального процесу і прогнозуванню структурних перетворень в скелеті при різних режимах рухової активності, запобіганню травм та розвитку остеопорозу

Genetic factors of renal survival in patents with chronic kidney disease

This paper presents the results of the study of associations of polymorphic loci of chemokines (+1931А/Т ССL4 (rs1719153), A/G CXCL11 (rs4512021), -403A/G CCL5 (rs2107538), C/G CCL2 (rs2857657), -801G/A CXCL12 (rs1801157)) with renal survival in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis. It was established that AA and CXCL11 AG genotypes (rs4512021) (p=0.05) are the marker of high creatinine level in patients with chronic glomerulonephriti