Mortality from cerebrovascular diseases in the context of municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region

The results of the study indicate that there are significant differences in the municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region in the level of mortality from cerebrovascular diseases in 2017-2018 and the insufficient proportion of patients with acute conditions hospitalized in specialized vascular departmentsРезультаты исследования свидетельствуют о наличии значительных различий муниципальным образованиям Свердловской области по уровню смертности от цереброваскулярных болезней в 2017-2018 годы и недостаточной доле госпитализированных в специализированные сосудистые отделения пациентов с острыми состояниями

ДЕВИТАЛИЗИРОВАННЫЕ СОСУДИСТЫЕ ПРОТЕЗЫ: ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ IN VIVO

Porcine intrathoracic arteries were devitalized by application of low temperatures and electron beam irradiati- on. The resulted connective tissues vascular scaffolds could be used as the prosthesis of small diameter arteries (≤6 mm). Biocompatibility, immunogenicity degree and thrombogenicity were estimated in the study. Results of electron microscopy are presented. Described treatment reduces an immunogenicity of xenoarteries, their ade- quate functioning during 6 months was shown by means of experimental surgeries. Для девитализации внутренних грудных артерий свиней использовали низкие температуры и облучение потоком электронов. Полученные соединительнотканные сосудистые скаффолды в данном исследовании были использованы в качестве протезов артерий малого диаметра (≤6 мм). В работе изучали биосовме- стимость, степень иммуногенности, тромбогенность девитализированных артерий. Приведены результа- ты электронной микроскопии. Показано снижение иммуногенности девитализированных ксеноартерий. Экспериментальные операции продемонстрировали их адекватное функционирование в течение 6 мес.

A Positive Feedback Synapse from Retinal Horizontal Cells to Cone Photoreceptors

Cone photoreceptors and horizontal cells (HCs) have a reciprocal synapse that underlies lateral inhibition and establishes the antagonistic center-surround organization of the visual system. Cones transmit to HCs through an excitatory synapse and HCs feed back to cones through an inhibitory synapse. Here we report that HCs also transmit to cone terminals a positive feedback signal that elevates intracellular Ca2+ and accelerates neurotransmitter release. Positive and negative feedback are both initiated by AMPA receptors on HCs, but positive feedback appears to be mediated by a change in HC Ca2+, whereas negative feedback is mediated by a change in HC membrane potential. Local uncaging of AMPA receptor agonists suggests that positive feedback is spatially constrained to active HC-cone synapses, whereas the negative feedback signal spreads through HCs to affect release from surrounding cones. By locally offsetting the effects of negative feedback, positive feedback may amplify photoreceptor synaptic release without sacrificing HC-mediated contrast enhancement

Synaptic Transmission from Horizontal Cells to Cones Is Impaired by Loss of Connexin Hemichannels

In the vertebrate retina, horizontal cells generate the inhibitory surround of bipolar cells, an essential step in contrast enhancement. For the last decades, the mechanism involved in this inhibitory synaptic pathway has been a major controversy in retinal research. One hypothesis suggests that connexin hemichannels mediate this negative feedback signal; another suggests that feedback is mediated by protons. Mutant zebrafish were generated that lack connexin 55.5 hemichannels in horizontal cells. Whole cell voltage clamp recordings were made from isolated horizontal cells and cones in flat mount retinas. Light-induced feedback from horizontal cells to cones was reduced in mutants. A reduction of feedback was also found when horizontal cells were pharmacologically hyperpolarized but was absent when they were pharmacologically depolarized. Hemichannel currents in isolated horizontal cells showed a similar behavior. The hyperpolarization-induced hemichannel current was strongly reduced in the mutants while the depolarization-induced hemichannel current was not. Intracellular recordings were made from horizontal cells. Consistent with impaired feedback in the mutant, spectral opponent responses in horizontal cells were diminished in these animals. A behavioral assay revealed a lower contrast-sensitivity, illustrating the role of the horizontal cell to cone feedback pathway in contrast enhancement. Model simulations showed that the observed modifications of feedback can be accounted for by an ephaptic mechanism. A model for feedback, in which the number of connexin hemichannels is reduced to about 40%, fully predicts the specific asymmetric modification of feedback. To our knowledge, this is the first successful genetic interference in the feedback pathway from horizontal cells to cones. It provides direct evidence for an unconventional role of connexin hemichannels in the inhibitory synapse between horizontal cells and cones. This is an important step in resolving a long-standing debate about the unusual form of (ephaptic) synaptic transmission between horizontal cells and cones in the vertebrate retina

Gravity Data Inversion with Method of Local Corrections for Finite Elements Models

We present a new method for gravity data inversion for the linear problem (reconstruction of density distribution by given gravity field). This is an iteration algorithm based on the ideas of local minimization (also known as local corrections method). Unlike the gradient methods, it does not require a nonlinear minimization, is easier to implement and has better stability. The algorithm is based on the finite element method. The finite element approach in our study means that the medium (part of a lithosphere) is represented as a set of equal rectangular prisms, each with constant density. We also suggest a time-efficient optimization, which speeds up the inversion process. This optimization is applied on the gravity field calculation stage, which is a part of every inversion iteration. Its idea is to replace multiple calculations of the gravity field for all finite elements in all observation points with a pre-calculated set of uniform fields for all distances between finite element and observation point, which is possible for the current data set. Method is demonstrated on synthetic data and real-world cases. The case study area is located on the Timan-Pechora plate. This region is one of the promising oil- and gas-producing areas in Russia. Note that in this case we create a 3D density model using joint interpretation of seismic and gravity data

A Method for Quantitative Interpretation of Stationary Thermal Fields for Layered Media

A new method to solve thermal conjugacy problems is presented for layered models with a thermal conductivity jump at their boundaries. The purpose of this method is to approximate the inverse thermal conductivity coefficient, which has breaks, by using a combination of step functions. A generalized continuous operator is constructed in a continuous space of piecewise–homogeneous media. We obtained an analytical solution for the stationary problem of heat conjugacy in the layered model with finite thickness and with Dirichlet–Neumann conditions at the external boundaries. An algorithm was constructed for downward continuation of the heat flux to depths that correspond to the top of the mantle layer. The advantages of this method are illustrated by testing the crustal seismic, gravity and geothermal data of a study area in the Urals and neighboring regions of Russia. We examined statistical relations between density and thermal parameters and determined heat flux components for the crust and the mantle. The method enables a downward continuation of the heat flux to the base of the upper mantle and allows us to determine the thermal effects of the lateral and vertical features of deep tectonic structures

DEVITALIZED VASCULAR PROSTHESES: IN VIVO STUDY

Porcine intrathoracic arteries were devitalized by application of low temperatures and electron beam irradiati- on. The resulted connective tissues vascular scaffolds could be used as the prosthesis of small diameter arteries (≤6 mm). Biocompatibility, immunogenicity degree and thrombogenicity were estimated in the study. Results of electron microscopy are presented. Described treatment reduces an immunogenicity of xenoarteries, their ade- quate functioning during 6 months was shown by means of experimental surgeries

[Reaction of microorganisms to the digestive fluid of the earthworms]

The reaction of soil bacteria and fungi to the digestive fluid of the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa was studied. The fluid was obtained by centrifugation of the native enzymes of the digestive tract. The inhibition of growth of certain bacteria, spores, and fungal hyphae under the effect of extracts from the anterior and middle sections of the digestive tract of A. caliginosa was discovered for the first time. In bacteria, microcolony formation was inhibited as early as 20-30 s after the application of the gut extracts, which may indicate the nonenzymatic nature of the effect. The digestive fluid exhibited the same microbicidal activity whether the earthworms were feeding on soil or sterile sand. This indicates that the microbicidal agents are formed within the earthworm's body, rather than by soil microorganisms. The effect of the digestive fluid from the anterior and middle divisions is selective in relation to different microorganisms. Of 42 strains of soil bacteria, seven were susceptible to the microbicidal action of the fluid (Alcaligenes.faecalis 345-1, Microbacterium sp. 423-1, Arthrobacter sp. 430-1, Bacillus megaterium 401-1, B. megaterium 413-1, Kluyvera ascorbata 301-1, Pseudomonas reactans 387-2). The remaining bacteria did not die in the digestive fluid. Of 13 micromycetes, the digestive fluid inhibited spore germination in Aspergillus terreus and Paecilomyces lilacinus and the growth of hyphae in Trichoderma harzianum and Penicillium decumbens. The digestive fluid stimulated spore germination in Alternaria alternata and the growth of hyphae in Penicillium chrysogenum. The reaction of the remaining micromycetes was neutral. The gut fluid from the posterior division of the abdominal tract did not possess microbicidal activity. No relation was found between the reaction of microorganisms to the effects of the digestive fluid and the taxonomic position of the microorganisms. The effects revealed are similar to those shown earlier for millipedes and wood lice in the following parameters: quick action of the digestive fluid on microorganisms, and the selectivity of the action on microorganisms revealed at the strain level. The selective effect of the digestive gut fluid of the earthworms on soil microorganisms is important for animal feeding, maintaining the homeostasis of the gut microbial community, and the formation of microbial communities in soils