Ancient evolutionary origin of vertebrate enteric neurons from trunk-derived neural crest

The enteric nervous system of jawed vertebrates arises primarily from vagal neural crest cells that migrate to the foregut and subsequently colonize and innervate the entire gastrointestinal tract. Here we examine development of the enteric nervous system in the basal jawless vertebrate the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) to gain insight into its evolutionary origin. Surprisingly, we find no evidence for the existence of a vagally derived enteric neural crest population in the lamprey. Rather, labelling with the lipophilic dye DiI shows that late-migrating cells, originating from the trunk neural tube and associated with nerve fibres, differentiate into neurons within the gut wall and typhlosole. We propose that these trunk-derived neural crest cells may be homologous to Schwann cell precursors, recently shown in mammalian embryos to populate post-embryonic parasympathetic ganglia, including enteric ganglia. Our results suggest that neural-crest-derived Schwann cell precursors made an important contribution to the ancient enteric nervous system of early jawless vertebrates, a role that was largely subsumed by vagal neural crest cells in early gnathostomes

Assessing the influence of cardiovascular risk factors on the severity of erectile dysfunction: a multivariate statistical analysis

Introduction. The American Heart Association identifies 7 major factors that affect the condition of the vascular wall: smoking, blood pressure, total cholesterol, glucose, body mass index, physical activity, and diet. The vascular wall lesions most often manifest clinically as vasculogenic erectile dysfunction (ED). Consequently, evaluating patients for the presence of the above risk factors can not only help in the treatment of ED, but can also significantly increase the chances of early detection of cardiac pathology.Purpose of the study. To assess cardiovascular disorder markers’ role in prognosing of the presence or absence of ED and its severity.Materials and methods. The study included 40 patients aged 33 – 60 years. Erectile function was assessed using the device «Androscan – MIT» ("Minimally invasive technologies" LLC, Moscow, Russian Federation) and the IIEF-15 questionnaire. Statistical data processing was carried out using Statistica 12 («StatSoft Inc.», Tusla, CA, USA) и IBMÒ SPSS Statistics 26 («SPSS: An IBM Company», IBM SPSS Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).Results. For patients with more severe ED, a greater deviation of the parameters studied from normal is typical. The most significant impact on the detection of different ED degrees using the device «Androscan – MIT» had TC, HDL, LDL, RP, BMI, triglycerides и HbA1c levels. Based on the androscanning data, a classification tree with two branches (branching conditions — the level of TC and LDL) and four terminal vertices (depending on the degree of ED) was obtained. There were no classification errors predicting ED degrees, which in this case indicates the good significance of the mathematical prediction. Only IIEF-15 scores had the greatest impact on ED detection using IIEF-15. The only condition for branching when constructing classification trees was the number of IIEF-15 points (two branches with three terminal vertices were obtained).Conclusion. Cardiovascular risk factors are predictors of vascular ED, detected by androscanning, while the widespread IIEF-15 questionnaire remains completely dependent on subjective feelings of patients without relying on laboratory and instrumental research methods

ПОТРЕБИТЕЛЬСКИЕ И ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ СВОЙСТВА МЯСА ПОРОД И ТИПОВ СВИНЕЙ, РАЗВОДИМЫХ В ЗАПАДНОЙ СИБИРИ

The paper provides the data of comparative examinations in morphological properties of carcass and physicochemical indices of the pork of the pigs fattened in control up to 100 kg, Precocious Meat pigs (SM-1) raised in Novosibirsk region and those of Kemerovo universal breed type (UKM) grown in Kemerovo region. Seen for the portion of lean pork separated from fat and bones, SM-1carcasses were revealed superior over UKM ones in control slaughtering. No statistical differences were identified between the animals of the breeds examined in the following parameters: market value and the weight valued by processing industry, such as semi-carcass of the back third. Resting on the examined protein quality index and intensive meat color, higher biological value and more delicate consistency proved to belong to the UKM pork. At the same time, SM-1 meat possessed higher moisture binding capacity versus UKM one, which makes it more preferable for marketing and processing. The paper gives recommendations for pork storage and utilization in merchandizing and processing on the basis of morphological and physicochemical differences. The SM-1 and UKM pork indices examined were compared to other meat types and breeds, both domestic and international. Herewith, it was marked that when breeding farm animals to improve some traits, the decline in other ones takes place, the latter being not of less importance for meat, both as produce and raw stockПредставлены данные сравнительных исследований морфологических свойств туши и физико-химических показателей мяса свиней, выращенных на контрольном откорме до 100 кг, скороспелой мясной породы (СМ-1), разводимой в Новосибирской области, и универсального заводского типа кемеровской породы (УКМ), разводимого в Кемеровской области. Выявлено превосходство туш, полученных при контрольном забое свиней СМ-1 над УКМ по доле постного мяса, отделенного от жира и костей. Установлено отсутствие статистически достоверных различий между животными исследуемых пород по массе такой ценной для торговли и перерабатывающей отрасли части полутуши, как задняя треть. На основе исследований белково-качественного показателя и интенсивности окраски доказано, что более высокая биологическая ценность и более нежная консистенция были присущи мясу свиней УКМ. В то же время мясо СМ-1 обладало большей влагосвязывающей способностью по сравнению с УКМ, что делает его более предпочтительным для торговли и переработки. На основе исследованных морфологических и физико-химических различий даны рекомендации по хранению и использованию в товароведении и переработке. Произведено сравнение показателей мяса исследованных СМ-1 и УКМ с другими мясными типами и породами как отечественной, так и зарубежной селекции. При этом отмечено, что при селекции животных на улучшение одних показателей происходит снижение других, которые являются не менее важными для мяса и как товара, и как сырья

Сосудистые кальцинаты молочной железы как проявление системного атеросклероза

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are socially significant diseases and one of the main causes of death among women. There are no effective and uniform screening methods to prevent the prevalence and mortality of CVD. Breast artery calcifications may be one of the available tools for CVD risk stratification. The pathogenesis of calcification of the middle vessel wall, known as Mönckeberg's arteriosclerosis, is different from the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis that coronary arteries. However, research data supports a correlation between breast artery calcifications and risk factors for CVD. These factors include coronary atherosclerosis, detected by CT-coronarography.Purpose. To assess the prevalence of breast arterial calcification and to determine the association with cardiovascular risk factors, coronary artery calcification, atherosclerosis of brachiocephalic arteries and visceral branches of the abdominal aorta.Material and methods. 21 patients were hospitalized in the cardiology department. The patients underwent digital mammography to detect breast arterial calcifications. All patients also underwent CT coronary angiography with angiography of the abdominal aorta.Results. The use of the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney W-test with an abnormal distribution showed a correlation between the breast arterial calcifications and the calcium index (p = 0.0028), coronary artery stenosis (p = 0.040), calcification of the thoracic aorta wall (p = 0.035) and stenosis of the visceral branches of the abdominal aorta (p = 0.037).Conclusions. The breast arterial calcifications correlates with a more frequent detection of calcifications in the walls of the coronary arteries and a higher calcium index.Сердечно-сосудистые заболевания (ССЗ) относятся к социально значимым заболеваниям и являются одной из основных причин смертности среди женщин. Отсутствие эффективных и унифицированных методов скрининга препятствует уменьшению заболеваемости и распространенности ССЗ и смертности от них. Сосудистые кальцинаты в молочной железе могут стать одним из доступных инструментов страти фикации риска ССЗ. Патогенез кальциноза средней оболочки артерий, известный как артериокальциноз Менкеберга, отличается от патогенеза атеросклероза интимы, возникающего в коронарных артериях. Тем не менее исследования подтверждают корреляцию между сосудистыми кальцинатами в молочной железе и факторами риска ССЗ. К таким факторам относится атеросклероз коронарных артерий, выявляемый с помощью КТ-коронарографии.Цель работы: изучение связи сосудистых кальцинатов в молочной железе с факторами риска сердечно-сосудистых заболеваний, атеросклерозом коронарных артерий, брахиоцефальных артерий и висцеральных ветвей брюшной аорты.Материал и методы. 21 пациентка, находящаяся на стационарном лечении в отделении кардиологии, была обследована на наличие сосудистых кальцинатов в молочных железах с помощью цифровой маммографии. Также всем пациенткам была выполнена КТ-коронарография с ангиографией брюшной аорты.Результаты. Применение W-критерия Уилкоксона–Манна–Уитни при ненормальном распределении показало взаимосвязь между наличием сосудистых кальцинатов в молочной железе и кальциевым индексом (р = 0,0028), стенозами коронарных артерий (р = 0,040), кальцинозом стенки грудной аорты (р = 0,035) и стенозами висцеральных ветвей брюшной аорты (р = 0,037).Заключение. Наличие кальцинатов в стенках сосудов молочных желез коррелирует с более частым выявлением кальцинатов в стенках коронарных артерий и более высоким кальциевым индексом

Polymer Matrix Incorporated with ZIF-8 for Application in Nonlinear Optics

Polymers with embedded metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been of interest in research for advanced applications in gas separation, catalysis and sensing due to their high porosity and chemical selectivity. In this study, we utilize specific MOFs with high thermal stability and non-centrosymmetric crystal structures (zeolitic imidazolate framework, ZIF-8) in order to give an example of MOF–polymer composite applications in nonlinear optics. The synthesized MOF-based polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) composite (ZIF-8–PMMA) demonstrates the possibility of the visualization of near-infrared laser beams in the research lab. The resulting ZIF-8–PMMA composite is exposed to a laser under extreme conditions and exhibits enhanced operating limits, much higher than that of the widely used inorganic materials in optics. Overall, our findings support the utilization of MOFs for synthesis of functional composites for optical application

Parasympathetic neurons originate from nerve-associated peripheral glial progenitors

The peripheral autonomic nervous system reaches far throughout the body and includes neurons of diverse functions, such as sympathetic and parasympathetic. We show that the parasympathetic system in mice--including trunk ganglia and the cranial ciliary, pterygopalatine, lingual, submandibular, and otic ganglia--arise from glial cells in nerves, not neural crest cells. The parasympathetic fate is induced in nerve-associated Schwann cell precursors at distal peripheral sites. We used multicolor Cre-reporter lineage tracing to show that most of these neurons arise from bi-potent progenitors that generate both glia and neurons. This nerve origin places cellular elements for generating parasympathetic neurons in diverse tissues and organs, which may enable wiring of the developing parasympathetic nervous system