The System of Neutrophil Elastase and the Plasma Level of MMP-7 in Children with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Chronic Cor Pulmonale

A significant increase in the activity of neutrophil elastase (NE) and anti-NE-protection in the plasma were detected in children having bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) complicated by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic cor pulmonale (CCP). The changes revealed were more pronounced in patients with CCP. The plasma concentration of the NE was slightly reduced, which was probably associated with the activation of anti-NE and an increase in the α1-antitrypsin level. A gradual increase was noted in the plasma level of the matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) in patients with an increase in the severity of the condition. In patients with cystic fibrosis (with and without CCP), the pronounced increase in the MMP-7 level was observed. In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), even without the additional complication with PAH and CCP, the MMP-7 level was significantly higher than in those with congenital broncho-pulmonary malformations (CBPM). The difference was increased in those patients with PAH and reached a maximum in those with CCP

Correlation between Antioxidant Enzymes Activity and Intraerythrocyte Concentration of Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Cor Pulmonale in Children with Congenital Lung Disease and Cystic Fibrosis

Significant changes in the levels of the potential prooxidant Cu (increase) and the antioxidant Zn (decrease) in plasma were revealed in children having bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) complicated by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and chronic cor pulmonale (CCP) when compared with the control. The Zn / Cu ratio in the blood plasma of patients with BPD, especially in CCP, was found to be lower than in the control group (p<0.001). This could indicate the activation of the prooxidant processes; simultaneously, the total antioxidant status (AOS) decreased. No significant increase in the intracellular free (“ionized” (i)) form of magnesium (iMg) was found; in fact, the concentration of iFe in all the patient groups was higher than in the control. An increase in the iCu and iZn levels (nonprotein-bound) was observed in the blood cells of the affected children. A significant increase in the glutathione peroxidase activity in the CCP patients may indicate an accumulation of organic peroxides, and partially compensate for the lesser activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and other antioxidants. The Zn / Cu and iZn/ iCu ratios were reduced in patients with CCP when compared with patients with PD without CCP

The Astropy Project: Building an Open-science Project and Status of the v2.0 Core Package

The Astropy Project supports and fosters the development of open-source and openly developed Python packages that provide commonly needed functionality to the astronomical community. A key element of the Astropy Project is the core package astropy, which serves as the foundation for more specialized projects and packages. In this article, we provide an overview of the organization of the Astropy project and summarize key features in the core package, as of the recent major release, version 2.0. We then describe the project infrastructure designed to facilitate and support development for a broader ecosystem of interoperable packages. We conclude with a future outlook of planned new features and directions for the broader Astropy Project

The Astropy Project: Building an inclusive, open-science project and status of the v2.0 core package

The Astropy project supports and fosters the development of open-source and openly-developed Python packages that provide commonly-needed functionality to the astronomical community. A key element of the Astropy project is the core package Astropy, which serves as the foundation for more specialized projects and packages. In this article, we provide an overview of the organization of the Astropy project and summarize key features in the core package as of the recent major release, version 2.0. We then describe the project infrastructure designed to facilitate and support development for a broader ecosystem of inter-operable packages. We conclude with a future outlook of planned new features and directions for the broader Astropy project