Selection for novel, acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio spp. from a closed Transbaikal mine site in a temporal pH- gradient bioreactor

Almost all the known isolates of acidophilic or acid-tolerant sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) belong to the spore-forming genus Desulfosporosinus in the Firmicutes. The objective of this study was to isolate acidophilic/acid-tolerant members of the genus Desulfovibrio belonging to deltaproteobacterial SRB. The sample material originated from microbial mat biomass submerged in mine water and was enriched for sulphate reducers by cultivation in anaerobic medium with lactate as an electron donor. A stirred tank bioreactor with the same medium composition was inoculated with the sulphidogenic enrichment. The bioreactor was operated with a temporal pH gradient, changing daily, from an initial pH of 7.3 to a final pH of 3.7. Among the bacteria in the bioreactor culture, Desulfovibrio was the only SRB group retrieved from the bioreactor consortium as observed by 16S rRNA-targeted denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Moderately acidophilic/acid-tolerant isolates belonged to Desulfovibrio aerotolerans - Desulfovibrio carbinophilus - Desulfovibrio magneticus and Desulfovibrio idahonensis - Desulfovibrio mexicanus clades within the genus Desulfovibrio. A moderately acidophilic strain, Desulfovibrio sp. VK (pH optimum 5.7) and acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio sp. ED (pH optimum 6.6) dominated in the bioreactor consortium at different time points and were isolated in pure cultur

Судебные экспертизы по установлению причин падения деревьев

The article presents the practice of conducting forensic examinations to determine the causes of falling trees by the Centre of wood expertise “ZDOROVY LES”, the most common questions put before experts, the sequence of an expert’s actions as well as it enumerates the causes of falling for damaged trees. The author reviews the list of modern devices needed for the diagnostic of the internal state of trees to detect the dilapidated ones, describes how to use the equipment.Представлена практика производства судебных экспертиз по установлению причин падения деревьев Центром древесных экспертиз «ЗДОРОВЫЙ ЛЕС», основные вопросы, ставящиеся на разрешение экспертов, последовательность действий экспертов, перечислены основные причины падения аварийных деревьев. Указан перечень современных инструментальных приборов, необходимых для диагностики внутреннего состояния деревьев с целью выявления аварийных экземпляров, описана методика их использования

Results of a clinical trial of the efficacy and safety of vildagliptin and metformin fixed combination in real clinical practice in Russia (MASTER study)

BACKGRAUND: The widespread prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), high mortality and disability of such patients are the reason for the constant active search for effective approaches to hypoglycemic therapy. Recent years have been marked by a change in the strategy for treatment initiation of T2DM. In clinical studies, evidence has been obtained about the benefits of prescribing combination therapy from the time of diagnosis. It seems important to study this treatment option also in real clinical practice.AIMS: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the initiation with Galvus Met® as compared with any other combination therapy approaches used in everyday clinical practice.MATERIALS AND METHODS: multicenter prospective observational study in 15 regions of Russia lasting 6 months. Patients were included in the study after the endocrinologist made a decision on the appointment of therapy. Of the men and women over 18 years of age with first diagnosed or previously untreated type 2 diabetes and a level of glycated hemoglobin >7.5%, two groups were formed. The first group included patients who received vildagliptin + metformin (Galvus Met®) in a fixed dose of 50/1000 mg, n=729, the second — another double combination (with the exception of insulin and GLP-1), n=669. The primary endpoint was defined as the proportion of patients (%) who achieved the level of HbA1c <7.0% without proven hypoglycemia at the end of the observation. The NHPQ questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of hypoglycemia.RESULTS: 1385 patients completed the study. For the other combination therapy group, metformin and sulfonylurea derivatives were most often selected (66.5%). In the Galvus Met® group, 68.7% of patients achieved an HbA1c level of <7.0% without proven hypoglycemia, which is significantly better compared to the group of other combinations (40.7%, p <0.001). Galvus Met® therapy contributed to a significantly greater decrease in HbA1c levels by the end of the study compared to other combinations (delta HbA1c -1.6 ± 0.8% versus -1.4 ± 0.9%, p <0.001). In the same group, the average level of HbA1c reached 6.7 ± 0.6% by the end of the study versus 7.1 ± 0.8% in the comparison group, p <0.001. In the Galvus Met® group, body weight decreased by 3.2 ± 3.9 kg, and in the comparison group by 1.3 ± 4.8 kg, p <0.001. The frequency of hypoglycemia episodes in the Galvus Met® group by the end of the study was significantly lower than in the comparison group: 0.8 ± 0.7 episodes per person, versus 1.4 ± 0.8, p = 0.037. In the Galvus Met® group, there were significantly fewer adverse events (4.9% versus 17.7%, p <0.001).CONCLUSIONS: In real clinical practice, Galvus Met® starting therapy has shown better efficacy and safety in terms of achieving glycemic control, HbA1c dynamics, effects on body weight, the frequency of hypoglycemic conditions compared with other combined oral hypoglycemic therapy

Lignite coal burning seam in the remote Altai Mountains harbors a hydrogen-driven thermophilic microbial community

Thermal ecosystems associated with underground coal combustion sites are rare and less studied than geothermal features. Here we analysed microbial communities of near-surface ground layer and bituminous substance in an open quarry heated by subsurface coal fire by metagenomic DNA sequencing. Taxonomic classification revealed dominance of only a few groups of Firmicutes. Near-complete genomes of three most abundant species, ‘Candidatus Carbobacillus altaicus’ AL32, Brockia lithotrophica AL31, and Hydrogenibacillus schlegelii AL33, were assembled. According to the genomic data, Ca. Carbobacillus altaicus AL32 is an aerobic heterotroph, while B. lithotrophica AL31 is a chemolithotrophic anaerobe assimilating CO2 via the Calvin cycle. H. schlegelii AL33 is an aerobe capable of both growth on organic compounds and carrying out CO2 fixation via the Calvin cycle. Phylogenetic analysis of the large subunit of RuBisCO of B. lithotrophica AL31 and H. schlegelii AL33 showed that it belongs to the type 1-E. All three Firmicutes species can gain energy from aerobic or anaerobic oxidation of molecular hydrogen, produced as a result of underground coal combustion along with other coal gases. We propose that thermophilic Firmicutes, whose spores can spread from their original geothermal habitats over long distances, are the first colonizers of this recently formed thermal ecosystem

Preliminary screening for microplastic concentrations in the surface water of the Ob and Tom Rivers in Siberia, Russia

This study characterizes the abundance and morphology of microplastics in surface water of the Ob River and its large tributary, the Tom River, in western Siberia. The average number of particles for two rivers ranged from 44.2 to 51.2 items per m3 or from 79.4 to 87.5 μg per m3 in the Tom River and in the Ob River, correspondingly. 93.5% of recovered microplastics were less than 1 mm in their largest dimension, the largest group (45.5% of total counts) consisted of particles with sizes range 0.30-1.00 mm

Estimate of rock mass stability in surface-borehole mining of high-grade iron ore

Under consideration is the estimate of rock mass stability around underground openings generated as a result of hydraulic borehole mining of iron ore. The authors use analytical solutions of two plane elasticity problems on stress state of infinite media with the zone of weakening in the form of one or two circular holes, given initial stresses are set in the study domain

Real World Effectiveness of fixed combination of glargine 100 U/ml and lixisenatide therapy in outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Retrospective Cohort Study SOLO

Background: The effectiveness and safety of a fixed combination of insulin glargine 100 ME/ml and lixisenatide for treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been demonstrated in randomized clinical trials, but there are still not enough data of it`s usage of it real clinical practice.Aim: To describe the baseline characteristics of patients with T2DM who started treatment with a fixed ratio combination of insulin glargine 100 ME/ml and lixisenatide in the period from November 2018 to July 2020, and to evaluate the effectiveness of using fixed combination of insulin glargine 100 ME/ml and lixisenatide in for 6–12 months of therapy in a real outpatient practice.Materials and methods: SOLO was a retrospective cohort multicentre study conducted in Russia, Moscow. Adults (≥18 years) with T2DM and HbA1c≥7% in case of availability of medical records during ≥180 days before and ≥1 HbA1c level during 150–210 days after start of treatment with Soliqua SoloStar® were eligible.Results: A total of 383 people with T2DM were included. Baseline characteristics were the following (mean±SD): age 59.9±8.3 years; BMI 36.4±6.3 kg/m2; proportion of patients with BMI≥35 kg/m2 — 52.2%; HbA1c 9.14±1.08%. 65% of patients received oral antidiabetic drugs (OAD) before start of treatment with fixed combination of insulin glargine 100 ME/ml and lixisenatide ; 31.3% of patients were switched from combination of OAD with basal insulin, 1.04% of patients received other therapy (GLP-1 RA, basal-bolus insulin treatment, basal insulin monotherapy), and 2.61% of patients did not receive any hypoglycemic therapy. HbA1c level was 7.78±0.8% after 6 months of treatment and 7.4±0.61% after 12 months. There was a significant decrease of body weight from the baseline value 101.62±20.64 kg by 1.96±4.03 kg at month 6 and by 3.13±4.71 kg at month 12 (p<0.001) Overall, 4 patients (1.04%) reported symptomatic hypoglycemia (glycemia ≤3.9 mmol/L); no episodes of severe hypoglycemia were registered.Conclusion: In a real-life setting in Russia, initiation of a fixed combination of insulin glargine 100 ME/ ml and lixisenatide in people with T2DM uncontrolled on OADs or combination of OADs with basal insulin resulted resulted in an improved glycemic control and body weight change with low risk of hypoglycemia compared to baselin

Influence of type 2 sodium-glucose co-transporter inhibitors (dapagliflozin) on the indicators of total mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes (CARDIA-MOS study, Moscow)

BACKGROUND: The widespread use in clinical practice of drugs with cardio- and nephroprotective properties, in particular, sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), is based on the results of large-scale international randomized trials. Meanwhile, there are no data demonstrating the possibility of the influence of these drugs on mortality rates in real clinical practice in Russian patients. To study this issue, a CARDIA-MOS study was conducted on a population of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Moscow.AIM: To study the effect of SGLT2i on the total mortality of patients with T2DM in Moscow.MATERIALS AND METHODS: To assess the frequency of different outcomes, two samples of patients were formed according to predetermined criteria: 1) patients who started therapy with SGLT2i (dapagliflozin) in 2017; 2) a control group of patients corresponding to the main group in terms of key indicators: age, duration of T2DM, presence of cardiovascular diseases, use of insulin therapy, HbA1c level.RESULTS: Firstly, an analysis of the data of 499 patients who started treatment with dapagliflozin in 2017, as well as 499 patients in the control group (n = 998) was made. The baseline characteristics of the patients were generally comparable. Pre-study SBP and HbA1c were worse in the dapagliflozin group. The use of dapagliflozin was associated with a 39% reduction in the relative risk of death from all causes (RR 0.614, 95% CI 0.417–0.903, p = 0.013), led to a decrease in HbA1c levels by 0.8% (from 8.5 to 7.7%, p<0.001) for 48 months. observations. The safety profile of dapagliflozin was comparable to that of the control groupCONCLUSION: The use of dapagliflozin in the treatment of patients with T2DM can reduce overall mortality and improve glycemic control

Possibilities of application a fixed combination of alogliptin and pioglitazone for type 2 diabetes mellitus treatment

Hyperglycemia in T2DM is based on three main mechanisms: insulin resistance, progressive β-cell dysfunction, and excess glucose production by the liver.The onset of T2DM is usually preceded by a long period of insulin resistance. Prescribing sugar drugs that affect different links of pathogenesis, reducing a steady decrease in glycemia. To date, in clinical practice, various combinations of hypoglycemic drugs are used, the choice of which is determined by the characteristics of the course of diabetes in the patient, the presence of concomitant diseases and complications of diabetes, as well as the dominant clinical problem. This resolution provides an expert council opinion on the feasibility of using a combination of alogliptin and pioglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes