Storm Surges and Extreme Wind Waves in the Caspian Sea in the Present and Future Climate

The Caspian Sea is of particular interest. Against the background of long-term sea level changes, low-lying coastal areas in the northern part are subject to constant flooding as a result of storm surges. The elongation of the sea in the meridional direction allows the development of strong waves in the middle and southern parts. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of storm surges and storm waves is especially important in the context of ongoing climate change. This study is devoted to the analysis of storm surges for the time period from 1979 up to 2017 and wind waves from 1979 to 2020 in the Caspian Sea region. The circulation model ADCIRC and the wave model WAVEWATCH III with wind and pressure forcing from the NCEP/CFSR reanalysis were used. The modeling is performed on different unstructured grids with spacings of 500–900 m in the coastal zone. Mean and extreme values of surges, wave parameters and storm activity are provided in the research. The maximum significant wave height for the whole period was 8.2 m. The average long-term SWH did not exceed 1.1 m. No significant trends in the storm activity were found. The maximum surge height was 2.7 m. The analysis of the interannual variability of the surges' occurrence showed that 7–10 surges with a height of more than 1 meter were detected every year. The total duration of these surges was 20–30 days per year. Assessment of the risks of coastal flooding was carried out by calculating the extreme values of the sea for different return periods: 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. The extreme sea level values in the northern part of the Caspian Sea for the 100-year return period are close to 3 m, and the areas with big surges are located along the eastern and western coasts. A forecast is made for the recurrence of storm wind waves in the 21st century based on climatic scenarios in CMIP5. A statistically significant increase in the recurrence of storm waves is to be expected in the near future, but that increase is not severe. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-11-01 Full Text: PD

Screening of proteases produced by Aspergillus micromycetes active against proteins of the hemostasis system

Background and Purpose: The primary cause of death is cardiovascular disease, hence accurate diagnosis and treatment are urgently required. For these intents, proteases are regarded as perspective agents. High substrate specificity is a need for an effective enzyme, which makes Aspergillus micromycetes—known for producing proteases with precise action—biotechnologically promising. This study's major goal was to look at the possibilities of Aspergillus species, which had never been mentioned in terms of general proteolytics. Materials and Methods: Every species was cultivated in two-stages submerged conditions with two different nitrogen sources, whereupon, proteolytic activity in culture fluid was determined. Using chromogenic peptide substrates and fibrin plates, these species' thrombin, plasmin, factor Xa, urokinase, protein C-like, and activating activities towards hemostasis proteins, as well as fibrinolytic and plasminogen-activating activities, were evaluated. Results: It was shown that A. aureolatus and A. tennesseensis are active proteolytics exhibiting plasmin-like activity (116.17 and 87.09 U×10-3, respectively), factor Xa-like activity (76.27 and 77.92 U×10-3, respectively) and urokinase activity (85.99 and 59.91 U×10-3, respectively). The thrombin-like activity was found for A. tabacinus (50.37 U×10-3), and protein C-like activity was noticeable for A. creber, A. jensenii, A. protuberus, and A. ruber (62.90, 65.51, 73.37, and 111.85 U×10-3, respectively). Additionally, more than half of species have the ability to directly activate plasminogen or operate as fibrinolytics.Conclusion: New proteolytic strains were discovered, offering hope for the therapy of cardiovascular disorders. Fungal enzymes' high specificity and activity make them useful in a variety of fields, including medicine and diagnostics

The legal status and guarantees of civilians being used as shields in an armed conflict

This study is aimed to present an analysis concerning the status of civilians used as human shields in modern armed conflicts under international humanitarian law. The main objectives of this study consist of identifying which legal status human shields have in modern armed conflicts under international humanitarian law. This paper is recommended for each who is interested to understand the legal framework of legal status and protection guarantees of voluntary and involuntary civilians used as human shields in armed conflict under international humanitarian law, as also to those who are interesting in a legal analysis of modern armed conflicts case-law in a question of the civilian human shields

Modeling business processes of complex organizational systems

The complex systems of the construction and industrial complex in the study of their properties and the general laws of functioning by methods of mathematical modeling require a systematic approach. Modeling is a complex multi-stage process of researching systems aimed at identifying the properties and patterns inherent in the studied systems in order to improve these systems. This article discusses the mathematical model of a complex socio-economic system, taking into account the quality indicators presented to the processes of this system. The analysis and design of the innovation system in the framework of technical regulation of activities. The result is a fundamentally new model of technical regulation taking into account the time factor in axonometric form

First Insight into the Degradome of <i>Aspergillus ochraceus</i>: Novel Secreted Peptidases and Their Inhibitors

Aspergillus fungi constitute a pivotal element within ecosystems, serving as both contributors of biologically active compounds and harboring the potential to cause various diseases across living organisms. The organism’s proteolytic enzyme complex, termed the degradome, acts as an intermediary in its dynamic interaction with the surrounding environment. Using techniques such as genome and transcriptome sequencing, alongside protein prediction methodologies, we identified putative extracellular peptidases within Aspergillus ochraceus VKM-F4104D. Following manual annotation procedures, a total of 11 aspartic, 2 cysteine, 2 glutamic, 21 serine, 1 threonine, and 21 metallopeptidases were attributed to the extracellular degradome of A. ochraceus VKM-F4104D. Among them are enzymes with promising applications in biotechnology, potential targets and agents for antifungal therapy, and microbial antagonism factors. Thus, additional functionalities of the extracellular degradome, extending beyond mere protein substrate digestion for nutritional purposes, were demonstrated

Estimation of cardiorespiratory fitness using heart rate and step count data

Abstract Predicting cardiorespiratory fitness levels can be useful for measuring progress in an exercise program as well as for stratifying cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic adults. This study proposes a model to predict fitness level in terms of maximal oxygen uptake using anthropometric, heart rate, and step count data. The model was trained on a diverse cohort of 3115 healthy subjects (1035 women and 2080 men) aged 42 ± 10.6 years and tested on a cohort of 779 healthy subjects (260 women and 519 men) aged 42 ± 10.18 years. The developed model is capable of making accurate and reliable predictions with the average test set error of 3.946 ml/kg/min. The maximal oxygen uptake labels were obtained using wearable devices (Apple Watch and Garmin) during recorded workout sessions. Additionally, the model was validated on a sample of 10 subjects with maximal oxygen uptake determined directly using a treadmill protocol in a laboratory setting and showed an error of 4.982 ml/kg/min. Unlike most other models, which use accelerometer readings as additional input data, the proposed model relies solely on heart rate and step counts—data readily available on the majority of fitness trackers. The proposed model provides a point estimation and a probabilistic prediction of cardiorespiratory fitness level, thus it can estimate the prediction’s uncertainty and construct confidence intervals

RESUSCITATION REFORMS IN UKRAINE: LOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM ON REDUCTION OF THREATS TO THE NATION’S HEALTH

The article describes an innovative tool for reducing the threat to the nation’s health, which the authors propose to apply working with youth in formal and non-formal education. The purpose of the article is to study and determine the logical structure of the program on reduction of threats to the health of the Ukrainian nation in the period of active resuscitation reforms in Ukraine aiming to help teachers of higher education institutions of different levels of accreditation to prepare detailed work plans for the implementation of state policy on public health. Based on the Morra Imas L.G. and Rist R.С. understanding of the Theory of Change, the internal logic of the program on reduction of threats to the nation’s health is described as a plan of structural elements, which is needed to achieve the long-term goals of the social changes initiative for the health-consciousness of the Ukrainian nation. At the pilot stage, respondents were students of higher education institutions of 2nd and 4th level of accreditation, namely: students of the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, the University of Customs and Finance and the Public High Education Institution ‘Dnipro Pedagogical College’ of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council. As a result of the study, the authors found and substantiated that the logical structure of the program on reduction of threats to the health of the Ukrainian nation must consist of the following components: program components (purpose, tasks, short-term results / products, activities / processes); performance indicators in aspects: resources, budget, technology, personnel; revision (monitoring and evaluation measures); assumption

Novel mutation in the gene causes early-onset but slow-progressive Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease in a Russian family: a case report

Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is a genetically heterogeneous group of peripheral neuropathies most of which are associated with mutations in four genes including peripheral myelin protein-22 ( PMP22) , myelin protein zero ( MPZ ), gap junction protein beta1 ( GJB1 ) and mitofusin2 ( MFN2 ). This current case report describes the clinical and genetic characteristics of a 6-year-old male proband. A physical examination revealed muscular hypotonia. He started walking on his own at 18 months. A nerve conduction study with needle electromyography revealed conduction block. A novel MPZ mutation (c.398C > T, p.Pro133Leu) was revealed in the proband. This mutation was also found in the 32-year-old father of the proband. The father had had deformity of the feet and distal muscle weakness since childhood. The novel p.Pro133Leu pathogenic mutation was responsible for early onset but slowly progressive CMT1B. We assume that this site is an intolerant to change region in the MPZ gene. This variant in the MPZ gene is an important contributor to hereditary neuropathy with reduced nerve conduction velocity in the Russian population. This case highlights the importance of whole exome sequencing for a proper clinical diagnosis of CMT associated with a mutation in the MPZ gene

High Serum Level of IL-17 in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin PiZ Allele

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is multifactorial disease, which is characterized by airflow limitation and can be provoked by genetic factors, including carriage of the PiZ allele of the protease inhibitor (Pi) gene, encoding alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT). Both homozygous and heterozygous PiZ allele carriers can develop COPD. It was found recently that normal A1AT regulates cytokine levels, including IL-17, which is involved in COPD progression. The aim of this study was to determine whether homozygous or heterozygous PiZ allele carriage leads to elevated level of IL-17 and other proinflammatory cytokines in COPD patients. Materials and Methods. Serum samples and clinical data were obtained from 44 COPD patients, who included 6 PiZZ, 8 PiMZ, and 30 PiMM A1AT phenotype carriers. Serum concentrations of IL-17, IL-6, IL-8, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All A1AT phenotypes were verified by narrow pH range isoelectrofocusing with selective A1AT staining. A turbidimetric method was used for quantitative A1AT measurements. Results. COPD patients with both PiZZ and PiMZ phenotypes demonstrated elevated IL-17 and decreased IFN-γ levels in comparison to patients with the PiMM phenotype of A1AT. Thereafter, the ratio IL-17/IFN-γ in PiZZ and PiMZ groups greatly exceeded the values of the PiMM group. Homozygous PiZ allele carriers also had significantly higher levels of IL-6 and lower levels of IL-8, and IL-6 values correlated negatively with A1AT concentrations. Conclusions. The presence of the PiZ allele in both homozygous and heterozygous states is associated with altered serum cytokine levels, including elevated IL-17, IL-17/IFN-γ ratio, and IL-6 (only PiZZ), but lower IFN-γ and IL-8

Compound heterozygous POMGNT1 mutations leading to muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type A3: a case report

Abstract Background Dystroglycanopathies, which are caused by reduced glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan, are a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by variable brain and skeletal muscle involvement. Muscle-eye-brain disease (or muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type 3 A) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by congenital muscular dystrophy, ocular abnormalities, and lissencephaly. Case presentation We report clinical and genetic characteristics of a 6-year-old boy affected by muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy. He has severe a delay in psychomotor and speech development, muscle hypotony, congenital myopia, partial atrophy of the optic nerve disc, increased level of creatine kinase, primary-muscle lesion, polymicrogyria, ventriculomegaly, hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, cysts of the cerebellum. Exome sequencing revealed compound heterozygous mutations in POMGNT1 gene (transcript NM_001243766.1): c.1539 + 1G > A and c.385C > T. Conclusions The present case report shows diagnostic algorithm step by step and helps better understand the clinical and genetic features of congenital muscular dystrophy