Marker-assisted breeding of hybrid lines of <i>Triticum dicoccon</i> (Schrank) Schuebl. × <i>Triticum aethiopicum</i> Jakubz. with purple grain

Background. Cereals whose grain contains antioxidants salutary for human health are promising for functional nutrition. Anthocyanins inducing purple grain color are antioxidants, and it is crucial to make efforts towards increasing their content in grain.  The objective of this work was to assess the content of anthocyanins in emmer grain and the productivity of breeding lines with purple grain.   Materials and methods. The study included the F9 lines developed by two-step hybridization between purple-colored Ethiopian wheat (Triticum aethiopicum Jakubz. var. arraseita) and emmer (Triticum dicoccon (Schrank) Schuebl.), and those isolated in F2 using marker-based selection for homozygous dominant alleles of two genes. The parent forms of the hybrids were a naked-grain emmer cultivar ‘Gremme’, an awnless emmer accession (k-25516) from the VIR collection, and an accession from the collection of IPK Gatersleben (Ethiopian wheat line TRI 15744), the donor of the purple color. The content of anthocyanins in whole-grain flour was measured in 12 lines, a structural analysis of plants was carried out, and their quantitative characteristics were assessed.   Results. The highest anthocyanin content (82.5 µg per 1 g) was observed in line No. 10 of the 27-3 hybrid. The largest share of threshed naked grains (86.9 ± 7.3 %) was recorded for line No. 6 of the 31-19 hybrid. Line No. 11 of the 27-12 hybrid had the highest test weight (802 ± 13 g/L). Line No. 9 of the 27-1 hybrid showed the best index of grain productivity (389 ± 25 g/m2).   Conclusion. Marker-assisted selection made it possible to identify homozygous dominant alleles of the two complementary interacting genes, Pp3 and Pp-B1, which cause the purple color of the grain pericarp. Breeding lines with purple-colored grain demonstrated different levels of the total anthocyanin content, test weight, and grain yield. The lines with high indices of these traits are valuable for breeding practice

Anthocyanins as functional food components

Among the natural pigments, anthocyanins are assumed to represent one of the most studied groups. Starting with the first studies on the physicochemical properties of anthocyanins carried out in the 17th century by British naturalist Robert Boyle, the science about these unique compounds has progressed substantially. To date, the structure and functions of anthocyanins in plant cells have been well studied, and the pathway of their biosynthesis is one of the most fully characterized pathways of secondary metabolite biosynthesis at both the biochemical and genetic levels. Along with these fundamental achievements, we are beginning to realize the potential of anthocyanins as compounds of industrial importance, as pigments themselves, as well as components of functional food that contribute to the prevention and reduction of risk of chronic diseases. For a long time, the biological activity of anthocyanins has been underestimated, in particular, due to the data on their low bioavailability. However, studies showed that in humans and animals, these compounds are actively metabolized and the bioavailability, estimated taking into account their metabolites, exceeded 12 %. It has been experimentally shown that anthocyanins have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, antimutagenic, antidiabetic, anti-cancer, neuroprotective properties, and they are beneficial for eye health. However, the studies conducted cannot always explain the molecular mechanism of action of anthocyanins in the human body. According to some reports, the observed effects are not due to the action of anthocyanins themselves, but to their metabolites, which can be more biologically active because of their increased bioavailability. Other data ascribe the positive effect on human health not to individual anthocyanins, but to the whole complex of polyphenolic compounds consumed. The review summarizes the results of the studies of anthocyanins as components of functional food. Special attention is paid to genetic control of the pigment synthesis. These data are of particular importance in respect to the initiated breeding programs aimed at increasing the content of anthocyanins in cultural plants

Foeto-foetal transfusion syndrome in dichorionic diamniotic twins: a clinical case

Background. Management of multiple gestation complicated by the foeto-foetal transfusion syndrome is among most intricate modern obstetric issues. The syndrome develops in 10–20% of monochorionic diamniotic twins leading to 80–100% mortality in one or both twins if left uncorrected, especially in early syndrome cases. Although foeto-foetal transfusion usually develops with monochorionic placentae, there are notable exceptions of vascular placental anastomoses reported with dichorionic monozygotic twins. The disease supposedly entails from an imbalanced blood interflow between dichorionic twins due to placental vascular anastomoses.Clinical Case Description. Patient S., 32 yo, visited perinatal diagnostics at the Territorial Perinatal Centre of the Children’s Territorial Clinical Hospital with a preliminary diagnosis: 22 weeks and 5 days’ pregnancy. Dichorionic diamniotic twins. Threat of extremely preterm birth. Two caesarean uterine scars. Gestational diabetes mellitus.Medical files: patient history, pregnancy calendar. Pregnancy was regularly monitored with main ultrasound foetometry, foeto-foetal transfusion dynamics control and Doppler velocimetry.Ultrasonographic signs of abnormal haemodynamics underlying the foeto-foetal transfusion syndrome were detected at the first scan at 11–13 weeks 6 days’ term as collar space thickening in one foetus. Hydramnios in one foetus and oligohydramnios in the other were diagnosed at 28 weeks’ gestation conclusively indicating the foeto-foetal transfusion syndrome. This evidence suggested the formation of placental anastomoses, which was confirmed morphologically in placenta examination.Conclusion. A timely diagnosis and correction of emerging complications allowed prolongation of pregnancy in hospital conditions to 33–34 weeks. Both boys were live-born with Apgar score 7–8

Evaluation of wheat products with high flavonoid content: justification of importance of marker-assisted development and production of flavonoid-rich wheat cultivars

In the structure of the global commodity supply in the food market in modern conditions it is necessary to note the emergence of a broad group of new high-tech products, and specialized functional food with high value added. The creation of varieties with a high content of flavonoids (plant compounds that can have a positive effect on human health) is one of the important directions of plant breeding oriented on the functional foods development. Currently, however, there is a significant gap between the well-studied role of flavonoids and the genetic control of their synthesis, on the one hand, and development of the actual product of wheat with new properties, evaluation of the nutritional value of the end-use bakery products for consumption, on the other hand. In the present study we produced and investigated bakery products from wheat synthesizing bioflavonoid pigments anthocyanins in the grain pericarp. The grains of this wheat have dark purple color. Red-grained bread wheat was a control. These two wheat lines have almost similar genomes with the exception of a small part of chromosome 2A, which contains the Pp3/TaMyc1 gene regulating anthocyanin biosynthesis. The use of such an accurate model has allowed relating the observed differences precisely with anthocyanin biosynthesis. The important task was to evaluate the resistance of anthocyanins to the backing process. Therefore anthocyanin content was evaluated not only in the end-use product, but also in mixtures of flour and bran used for baking and separately in the bran. As a result, significant differences were detected in samples obtained from purple grains, compared with the control including the products that had passed a full processing cycle, including baking at elevated temperature. For the extraction of anthocyanins conditions were simulated most similar to those in the process of digestion in the stomach, in order to assess the amount of assimilable anthocyanins. By our estimates one can get up to 1.03 mg of assimilable anthocyanins with 100 g of whole-grained bread produced from anthocyanincolored grains. With 100 g of bran, the body will get up to 3.32 g of anthocyanins. In parallel with the evaluation of the anthocyanins content in all samples, the mass fraction of antioxidants was measured by using the amperometric method. The highest antioxidant capacity was shown for bran, while the least one was demonstrated for flour. Adding bran to the flour as well as the backing process increased the antioxidant capacity of wheat products. The contribution of anthocyanins to increased antioxidant capacity is not significant. It was shown that bread-making quality and organoleptic properties of bakery products made from anthocyanin-colored grains did not concede, or in some cases were higher than the corresponding properties of products obtained from control NIL grains. It was found that the presence of anthocyanin increases the shelf life of bakery products and their resistance to molding in provocative conditions. These results, combined with the known data about the beneficial health effects of anthocyanins, suggest that wheat bakery products made from anthocyanin-rich grains can be included to the list for dietary food. Marker-assisted selection accelerating the creation of new forms of crops with a high level of flavonoids can be proposed as a new direction for the expansion of domestic and export grain market potential due to the new possibilities of obtaining products of increased nutritional value and making a good profit

Gender differences in the structure of the cerebrospinal fluid system of pre-school children

Relevance Investigation of the cerebrospinal fluid system of children of different ages, especially pre-school and school periods of childhood, becomes essential, since the further development of the brain and its proper functioning depends on the way it functions. Considering the MRI indications of the elements of the cerebrospinal fluid system of children is important for the development of neurology and neurosurgery, it is necessary to consider gender differences in the brain size and structure.Objective To study the sex differences in the structure of the cerebrospinal fluid system in seven-year-old children.Material and Methods For the study, archival data on the sizes of the lateral ventricles of the brain of 120 children aged 7 (60 boys and 60 girls) were involved, in particular: 1) the length of the anterior horn; 2) the width of the anterior horn; 3) the length of the central part; 4) the width of the central part; 5) the length of the posterior horn; 6) the width of the posterior horn; 7) the length of the lower horn; 8) the anteroposterior size; 9) the distance between the anterior horns; 10) the distance between the posterior horns; 11) the length of the third ventricle; 12) the height of the third ventricle; 13) the length of the aqueduct; 14) the length of the fourth ventricle; 15) the height of the fourth ventricle. The studies were carried out using the method of magnetic resonance imaging. Quantitative indicators were assessed for compliance with the normal distribution using the KolmogorovSmirnov test. The accumulation, correction, systematization of the initial information were carried out in Microsoft Excel 2016. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Statistica 10.0 software (StatSoft Inc., USA). The results were considered statistically significant at p &lt; 0.05.Results The data obtained in the study of the cerebrospinal fluid system in children during their pre-school period of childhood are indicators of the norm and can be used for diagnostic studies in the departments of radiation diagnostics. The bilateral asymmetry of the lateral ventricles of the brain in pre-school children, discovered during the work, is of crucial clinical significance. The morphometric indicators of the elements of the cerebrospinal fluid system should be considered by specialists in the study of brain neuroplasticity.Conclusion Analysis of the obtained in vivo encephalometric data indicates the presence of sexual variability of the brain and parameters of the structures of the cerebrospinal fluid

Hemispheric Asymmetry Gender Differences in Preadolescent Children

Background: Investigating various postnatal parameters of cerebral hemispheres is of great practical value.Objective: To study gender differences in hemispheric parameters and interhemispheric interactions in preadolescent children.Materials and methods: The retrospective study assessed archived brain magnetic resonance images of 60 eight-year-old boys and 60 eight-year-old girls. The analyzed parameters were as follows: 1) hemispheric length; 2) hemispheric width; 3) hemispheric height; 4) width-longitudinal index of a hemisphere; 5) altitude-longitudinal index of a hemisphere; 6) length of frontal lobes; 7) length of parietal lobes; 8) length of occipital lobes; 9) length of temporal lobes. Quantitative indicators were assessed for normal distribution using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test. Source data were accumulated and arranged in Microsoft Excel 2016 spreadsheets. Statistica 10.0 was used for the statistical analysis. The results were considered statistically significant with P &lt; 0.05.Results: The analysis of cephalometric indicators suggests sex-related variation in the cerebral hemispheres. Based on the obtained data we can identify morphometric parameters of interhemispheric variability that may act as one of the morphometric criteria for the brain asymmetry. The study results can be widely used for neuroimaging.Conclusions: We determined cephalometric reference values for various cerebral hemispheres parts in preadolescent children

Features of the brainstem and its cavities in three-year-old children

Background: Little is known about the brainstem in healthy three-year-old children; yet there is a need for further studies because children at this age are growing and developing rapidly.Objective: To study differences in the brainstem and its cavities in healthy three-year-old children, considering the sex and bilateral asymmetry.Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 120 MRI scans of healthy three-year-old children (60 boys and 60 girls) to study the brainstem features. The following parameters of the brain stem structures were assessed: 1) the length of the pons (mm), 2) the height of the pons (mm), 3) the length of the medulla oblongata (mm), 4) the height of the medulla oblongata at the upper and lower borders (mm), 5) the length and height of the vermis (mm), 6) the width of the cerebellum (mm), 7) the length, width, height of the cerebellar hemispheres (mm), 8) the length and height of the third ventricle, 9) the length of the cerebral aqueduct (mm), 10) the length and height of the fourth ventricle (mm). We assessed the compliance of quantitative parameters with the normal distribution according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion. We used Microsoft Excel 2016 tables to accumulate, correct and systemize the raw data. Statistica 10.0 software (StatSoft. Inc., USA) along with the corresponding statistical method provided the digital data. The differences were considered significant at P &lt; .05.Results: We aimed to study sex-related differences in the basic sizes of the brainstem. The length and height of the pons, the length of the third and the fourth ventricles, and the size of the cerebellar hemispheres were greater in boys. We found a bilateral asymmetry in cerebellar hemispheres (length, width, and height).Conclusions: The changes in the complex brainstem of three-year-old children are sex-dependent and consist in active transformations of its structures

Hypersensitive pneumonitis:clinical case

The article discusses the clinical case of suddenly developed hypersensitive pneumonitis in a patient who underwent primary tuberculosis complex of the right lung in the decay phase at the age of 6 years.В статье рассматривается клинический случай внезапно развившегося гиперсенситивного пневмонита у пациента, который перенес первичный туберкулезный комплекс правого легкого в фазе распада в возрасте 6 ле

Оценка своевременности выявления туберкулеза среди иностранных граждан Новосибирской области

The objective: assessment of timeliness and efficiency of organization of TB diagnostics among foreign citizens in Novosibirsk Oblast during the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictive measures.Subjects and Methods. A retrospective descriptive cohort study was conducted, it included foreign citizens above 18 years old diagnosed with tuberculosis and detected in 2018-2021. Totally 348 patients were enrolled in the study: 192 patients detected in 2018-2019 and 156 patients detected in 2020-2021.Results. In the short-term assessment, the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on the organization of detection of tuberculosis in foreign citizens in Novosibirsk Oblast, although there is a significant increase in the number of untimely detected patients with destruction. Nevertheless, the currently existing procedure for diagnostics of tuberculosis among foreign citizens requires significant improvement. Thus, coverage with preventive examinations concerns mainly legal labor migrants, while illegally working foreign citizens remain uncovered by screening for tuberculosis. When diagnosing tuberculosis, the minimum required laboratory tests are used which do not allow verifying the diagnosis bacteriologically and assessing drug susceptibility.Цель исследования: оценка своевременности и эффективности организации диагностики туберкулеза среди иностранных граждан на территории Новосибирской области в условиях пандемии COVID-19 и связанных с ней ограничительных мер.Материалы и методы. Проведено ретроспективное описательное когортное исследование, в которое включены иностранные граждане старше 18 лет с установленным диагнозом «туберкулез», выявленные в 2018-2021 гг. Всего в исследование включено 348 человек: 192 пациента, выявленные в 2018-2019 гг., и 156 пациентов – в 2020-2021 гг.Результаты. Пандемия COVID-19 в краткосрочной перспективе не оказала существенного влияния на организацию выявления туберкулеза у иностранных граждан в Новосибирской области, хотя отмечается значимое увеличение числа несвоевременно выявленных больных с деструкцией. Тем не менее существующий в настоящее время алгоритм диагностики туберкулеза среди иностранных граждан нуждается в значительном совершенствовании. Так, охват периодическими осмотрами касается преимущественно легальных трудовых мигрантов, в то время как нелегально работающие иностранные граждане остаются не охваченными скринингом на туберкулез. При диагностике туберкулеза используется минимальный необходимый набор лабораторных исследований, что не позволяет бактериологически верифицировать диагноз и уточнить спектр чувствительности возбудителя