To the Question of the Assessment of Ecological Comfort of the Climate

The article is devoted to the discussion of the advantages of assessing the environmental comfort of the climate, based on the natural features of the climate and the bioclimatic conditions of the territory. The study assessed the ecological comfort of the climate in the city of Taganrog on the basis of the developed original sequence of performing three stages of assessing the totality of bioclimatic indicators with the final calculation of the values of the integral indicator of the bioclimatic comfort of the climate. The results of the assessment showed, according to the average long-term climatic data, the presence of sub-comfortable climates with a tendency to transition to comfortable climate conditions in the warm period of the year. The cold season was distinguished by uncomfortable conditions according to long-term average climatic data. Modeling calculations of the possible risk to the health of city residents in the presence of concentrations of suspended solids in the surface air layer, together with carbon monoxide, exceeding the maximum one-time values by more than 7 times, showed that the development of possible resorptive or carcinogenic effects in these circumstances will occur in 1/3 the population of the city. The prospects for the assessment of the ecological comfort of the climate, which allow in the future to adequately calculate the magnitude of environmental risks to public health caused by pollution of the surface air layer, are shown

Obesity – threat to the reproductive potential of Russia

Obesity is a recurring polyetiological disease. Overweight are 30–60% of women of reproductive age, and 25–27% are obese. By 2025, it is expected that 50% of women on our planet will be obese. Obesity in women of reproductive age is accompanied by a high frequency of anovulation, hyperandrogenism, menstrual irregularities, endometrial pathology, infertility. During pregnancy, this group of women has a higher risk of short term loss, including pregnancy in the outcome of assisted reproductive technologies. Weight gain and obesity can lead to decreased fertility in women. The body mass index of a woman of reproductive age negatively affects the course of pregnancy, namely: the risk of gestational diabetes, increased blood pressure, eclampsia, the pathological course of the birth act and the pathology of the newborn increase. Obesity in women of reproductive age is an independent risk factor for cancer: breast cancer and endometrial cancer, and also leads to a decrease in the survival rate for ovarian cancer. Obesity often accompanies polycystic ovary syndrome, which occurs in every 10th patient of reproductive age. The combination of these diseases increases the risk of cardiometabolic conditions such as impaired glucose tolerance, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. Weight loss in these patients is a necessary component of complex therapy aimed at improving reproductive potential

Toxic properties and allelopathic activity of Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall.

Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pall., known as yellow sweetclover (Fabaceae), is widely used in medicine and agriculture. At the same time, yellow sweetclover is a weed and invasive plant in Siberia. In Russia, M. officinalis is cultivated as a valuable medicinal, fodder and honey plant. Its widespread use is due to its high ecological plasticity. In recent years, an interest in cultivation of M. officinalis as a low maintenance multipurpose crop has increased in biological agriculture. The herb M. officinalis contains a rich complex of biologically active compounds. However, along with positive properties, this species, though with a rich chemical composition and high physiological activity, is toxic towards different groups of living organisms. The toxic effect of M. officinalis extracts is primarily due to the presence of coumarin. A high allelopathic activity of M. officinalis was revealed. The phytotoxic effect of herb extracts on germination of crop and weed seeds was studied in detail. Data on the fungicidal and insecticidal activity of M. officinalis were obtained. Laboratory and in situ studies showed that the aboveground part of M. officinalis is a potential source of biopesticides with a broad-spectrum effect (bioherbicidal, insecticidal and fungicidal)

Obesity and reproductive function of women: epigenetic and somato-psychological features

The review article presents data on the effects of obesity on the female reproductive system and offspring of mothers with overweight or obesity, such as infertility, miscarriages, premature birth, stillbirth, congenital anomalies and prematurity, as well as a high risk of cesarean section. Obesity accompanies polycystic ovary syndrome, worsening the metabolic profile and increasing the risk of developing depression and eating disorders. Maternal obesity and hyperglycemia are able to influence the formation of the fetus by epigenetic mechanisms without affecting the nucleotide sequences. Subsequently, the metabolic and cardiovascular risks increase in the descendants of obese or overweight mothers and gestational diabetes. Patients with obesity are characterized by a folic acid deficiency and a deficiency of the luteal phase. Exogenous administration of these substances improves pregnancy outcomes and prevents congenital malformations

International perception of lung sounds : a comparison of classification across some European borders

Peer reviewe

Stratigraphy of Late Cenozoic sediments of the western Chukchi Sea: New results from shallow drilling and seismic-reflection profiling

The Quaternary history of Beringia and of the Arctic–Pacific marine connection via the Bering Strait is poorly understood because of the fragmentary stratigraphic record from this region. We report new borehole and seismic-reflection data collected in 2006 in the southwestern Chukchi Sea. Sediment samples were analyzed for magnetic properties, grain size, heavy minerals, and biostratigraphic proxies (spores and pollen, foraminifers, ostracodes, diatoms, and aquatic palynomorphs). Two shallow boreholes drilled between the Chukotka Peninsula and the Wrangel Island recovered sediments of two principal stratigraphic units with a distinct unconformity between them. Based on predominantly reverse paleomagnetic polarity of the lower unit and pollen spectra indicative of forested coasts and climate warmer than present, the age of this unit is estimated as Pliocene to early Pleistocene (broadly between ca. 5 and 2 Ma). Attendant sedimentary environments were likely alluvial to nearshore marine. These deposits can be correlated to the seismic unit infilling valleys incised into sedimentary bedrock across much of the study area, and possibly deposited during a transgression following the opening of the Bering Strait. The upper unit from both boreholes contains Holocene 14C ages and is clearly related to the last, postglacial transgression. Holocene sediments in Borehole 2 indicate fast deposition at the early stages of flooding (between ca. 11 and 9 ka) to very low deposition, possibly related to expansive sea ice. Closer to shore, deposition at Borehole 1 resumed much later (ca. 2 ka), likely due to a change in the pattern of coastal erosional processes and/or the demise of a landbridge between the Chukotka Peninsula and the Wrangel Island inferred from studies on mammoth distribution

Chromatin profiling of cortical neurons identifies individual epigenetic signatures in schizophrenia

Both heritability and environment contribute to risk for schizophrenia. However, the molecular mechanisms of interactions between genetic and non-genetic factors remain unclear. Epigenetic regulation of neuronal genome may be a presumable mechanism in pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Here, we performed analysis of open chromatin landscape of gene promoters in prefrontal cortical (PFC) neurons from schizophrenic patients. We cataloged cell-type-based epigenetic signals of transcriptional start sites (TSS) marked by histone H3-K4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) across the genome in PFC from multiple schizophrenia subjects and age-matched control individuals. One of the top-ranked chromatin alterations was found in the major histocompatibility (MHC) locus on chromosome 6 highlighting the overlap between genetic and epigenetic risk factors in schizophrenia. The chromosome conformation capture (3C) analysis in human brain cells revealed the architecture of multipoint chromatin interactions between the schizophrenia-associated genetic and epigenetic polymorphic sites and distantly located HLA-DRB5 and BTNL2 genes. In addition, schizophrenia-specific chromatin modifications in neurons were particularly prominent for non-coding RNA genes, including an uncharacterized LINC01115 gene and recently identified BNRNA_052780. Notably, protein-coding genes with altered epigenetic state in schizophrenia are enriched for oxidative stress and cell motility pathways. Our results imply the rare individual epigenetic alterations in brain neurons are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia