CLINICAL EFFECTS OF MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS IN LYMPHOMA PATIENTS WITH AUTOLOGOUS HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

The clinical and laboratory effects of bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in patients with malignant lymphomas following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) have been investigated. Co-transplantation of MSC in average dose of 0,178 106/kg was conducted in 74 patients with auto-HSCT. The control group included 83 patients eligible for standard HSCT. We revealed the decreasing of the period of neutropenia and thrombocytopenia when hematopoietic stem cells were co-transplanted with low doses ex vivo expanded autologous MSC. Patients with MSC co-transplantation were differed by more effective early lymphocyte recovery. At the same time MSC co-transplantation did not increase the incidence of infectious complications and cases of renal and. hepatic toxicity. Patients with MSC co-transplantation did not differ from opposite group by 5-year overall survival, but were characterized by significantly better progression-free survival

Clinic pathogenetic characteristics of computer addiction

Objective: sto study the clinical picture, psychopathological dynamics and significant pathogenetic factors of computer addiction development (CA).Materials and methods: the study included 93 patients with CA. The control group (CG) was represented by 50 healthy volunteers. Methods: clinical, psychological, paraclinical (brain MRI; EEG; daily excretion level of adrenaline, norepinephrine, dopamine; blood serotonin level; molecular genetic studies), statistical.Results: It is established, that the clinical picture of CA is represented by episodes of computer activity (CAct) and non-episode periods. Their features form a single syndrome of addiction to CAct. Increase of symptoms’ severity and their complication occur due to addition of the altered reactivity syndrome. The clinical-dynamic model of CA development is characterized by phasing with the presence of the initial stage and the stage of the expanded clinical picture. The disorder has a predisposition. The personality component of the predisposition includes the predominance of accentuations of unstable and schizoid types, low rates of internality in both groups. The morphofunctional component includes Val158Met polymorphism features of the COMT gene as predominance (59.1 %) of homozygotes for the Val allele and a high frequency of CNS structural anomalies (55 patients; 62.5 %). The gender component characterizes the predominance of males in CA. Some pathogenetic mechanisms of CA are established: impaired catecholamine and serotonin neuromediation, impaired bioelectrical brain activity with a high prevalence (47.0 %) of paroxysmal activity.Conclusions: Based on the identified pathogenetic mechanisms, the following approaches to the CA treatment are recommended: psychotherapy, psychopharmacotherapy, and their combination

The Genome of the Toluene-Degrading Pseudomonas veronii Strain 1YdBTEX2 and Its Differential Gene Expression in Contaminated Sand.

The natural restoration of soils polluted by aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and m- and p-xylene (BTEX) may be accelerated by inoculation of specific biodegraders (bioaugmentation). Bioaugmentation mainly involves introducing bacteria that deploy their metabolic properties and adaptation potential to survive and propagate in the contaminated environment by degrading the pollutant. In order to better understand the adaptive response of cells during a transition to contaminated material, we analyzed here the genome and short-term (1 h) changes in genome-wide gene expression of the BTEX-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas veronii 1YdBTEX2 in non-sterile soil and liquid medium, both in presence or absence of toluene. We obtained a gapless genome sequence of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 covering three individual replicons with a total size of 8 Mb, two of which are largely unrelated to current known bacterial replicons. One-hour exposure to toluene, both in soil and liquid, triggered massive transcription (up to 208-fold induction) of multiple gene clusters, such as toluene degradation pathway(s), chemotaxis and toluene efflux pumps. This clearly underlines their key role in the adaptive response to toluene. In comparison to liquid medium, cells in soil drastically changed expression of genes involved in membrane functioning (e.g., lipid composition, lipid metabolism, cell fatty acid synthesis), osmotic stress response (e.g., polyamine or trehalose synthesis, uptake of potassium) and putrescine metabolism, highlighting the immediate response mechanisms of P. veronii 1YdBTEX2 for successful establishment in polluted soil

Exobiology of the Venusian Clouds: New Insights into Habitability through Terrestrial Models and Methods of Detection

The search for life beyond Earth has focused on Mars and the icy moons Europa and Enceladus, all of which are considered a safe haven for life due to evidence of current or past water. The surface of Venus, on the other hand, has extreme conditions that make it a nonhabitable environment to life as we know it. This is in contrast, however, to its cloud layer, which, while still an extreme environment, may prove to be a safe haven for some extreme forms of life similar to extremophiles on Earth. We consider the venusian clouds a habitable environment based on the presence of (1) a solvent for biochemical reactions, (2) appropriate physicochemical conditions, (3) available energy, and (4) biologically relevant elements. The diversity of extreme microbial ecosystems on Earth has allowed us to identify terrestrial chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms that may be analogs to putative venusian organisms. Here, we hypothesize and describe biological processes that may be performed by such organisms in the venusian clouds. To detect putative venusian organisms, we describe potential biosignature detection methods, which include metal-microbial interactions and optical methods. Finally, we describe currently available technology that can potentially be used for modeling and simulation experiments. © Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2021.NASA HQ Planetary ScienceSpace Research Institute of the Russian Academy of SciencesUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison, UWAustrian Science Fund, FWF, (V333)The work presented here was motivated by fruitful dialogue at the 2019 Venus Cloud Layer Habitability and Landing Site Selection workshop organized by the Roscosmos-IKI/NASA Venera-D Joint Science Definition Team and supported by NASA HQ Planetary Science (A. Ocampo, Lead Venus Scientist) and Astrobiology programs (M. Voytek, Senior Scientist for Astrobiology) and the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI RAN). JAC acknowledges the support of the Genome Sciences Training Program at University of Wisconsin–Madison. TM is grateful to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) for providing support through the Elise-Richter Research fellowship (V333). We thank Sanjay Limaye for his support, including of this publication, and for resparking the conversation on Venus astrobiology

Колебания ледников Северного и Южного ледниковых полей Патагонии по данным мониторинга с Международной космической станции

Quantitative indicators of changes in 37 glaciers of the Patagonian Northern and Southern glacial fields were determined by means of decoding and analysis of photographs obtained by astronauts from the Russian segment of the International Space Station. On the basis of this information it was concluded that in 2002–2016 the glaciers of both fields of Patagonia continued to retreat. The frontal parts of the nine glaciers retained their positions, while others reduced at an average rate of several dozen up to 430 m/year. Repeated monitoring of 16 glaciers from this selection and analysis of the data obtained in 2016–2019 confirm this conclusion. The only exception was the O’Higgins Glacier, which did not change position of its frontal part for 12 years and then retreated in 2018–2019 to 1,250 m. In some cases, a gradual decrease in area of the frontal part of the glacier was accompanied by a sharp collapse of the lower zone with the formation of extensive fields of icebergs. The dynamics of the Bruggen Glacier (Pius XI) are not typical for the region under consideration: for many years this glacier has been advancing. This development cannot be explained without detailed field investigation in the area of snow and ice accumulation of the glacier. Perhaps that was due to a snow-drift transport in an extensive area of accumulation that supported the preservation of the size of the glacier tongue, and even its advance. According to our observations, the average rate of retreat of the glaciers of the Western and Eastern slopes of the Southern Ice Field significantly decreased since 2010, i.e. their degradation slowed down. At the same time, glaciers of the Northern Ice Field continued to decrease intensively.В результате анализа фотоснимков с Международной космической станции определены изменения 37 ледников Северного и Южного ледниковых полей Патагонии. В 2002–2016 гг. ледники обоих полей продолжали отступать, но их отступание с 2010 г. замедлилось, хотя некоторые ледники Северного ледникового поля продолжают интенсивно сокращаться. Лишь ледник Брюгген (Пия XI) на Южном ледниковом поле в течение многих лет наступает

УГНЕТЕНИЕ ПРОТИВООПУХОЛЕВОЙ ЦИТОТОКСИЧЕСКОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ ДЕНДРИТНЫХ КЛЕТОК У БОЛЬНЫХ ЗЛОКАЧЕСТВЕННЫМИ ЛИМФОМАМИ, ОБУСЛОВЛЕННОЕ ИЗМЕНЕННОЙ ЭКСПРЕССИЕЙ ФАКТОРА НЕКРОЗА ОПУХОЛИ АЛЬФА

Recent research revealed dendritic cells (DCs) to have direct antitumor cytotoxic activity and to inhibit the growth and proliferation of tumor cells in vitro. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the cytotoxic activity of dendritic cells generated in the presence of interferon alpha (IFN-DCs) and TNFα expression by IFN-DCs in patients with malignant lymphomas. It was shown that IFN-DCs of malignant lymphoma patients possessed low cytotoxic activity against tumor cell line HEp-2 associated with low expression of transmembrane TNFα (tmTNFα) and high level of soluble TNFα (sTNFα) secretion. Reduced DC cytotoxic activity and low tmTNFα expression on DC surface were observed mainly in Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients. In contrast, IFN-DCs of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma were endowed with the ability to lysis of HEp-2 cells and tmTNFα molecule expression was similar to that in IFN-DCs from healthy donors. It was determined that the increase of expression of tmTNFα molecule on lymphoma patient IFN-DCs induced by the addition of TNFα-converting enzyme inhibitor into IFN-DC cultures was associated with the enhancement of IFN-DC cytotoxic activity against HEp-2 cells. Исследования последних лет демонстрируют, что дендритные клетки (ДК) обладают прямой противоопухолевой цитотоксической активностью и способны подавлять рост и пролиферацию опухолевых клеток. Целью настоящей работы явилось исследование взаимосвязи между цитотоксической активностью генерируемых в присутствии IFNα дендритных клеток (ИФН-ДК) и экспрессией дендритными клетками TNFα у больных злокачественными лимфомами. Показано, что ИФН-ДК больных злокачественными лимфомами обладают слабой цитотоксической активностью против опухолевых клеток НЕр-2, что ассоциируется с низкой экспрессией траснмембранной формы tmTNFα (tmTNFα) и высоким уровнем продукции растворимой формы TNFα (sTNFα). Установлено, что угнетение цитотоксической активности ДК и низкая экспрессия tmTNFα в культурах ИФН-ДК характерны в большей степени для лимфом Ходжкина. При этом ИФН-ДК больных неходжкинскими лимофомами обладают сохранной цитотоксичностью против клеток НЕр-2, а экспрессия tmTNFα на ДК сопоставима с аналогичным показателем в культурах ИФН-ДК здоровых доноров. Установлено, что увеличение экспрессии tmTNFα в культурах IFN-ДК исследуемых больных, индуцированное добавлением на этапе конечного созревания ДК ингибитора TNFα-конвертирующего фермента, ассоциируется с усилением цитотоксической активности ИФН-ДК против клеток НЕр-2

Biological function in the twilight zone of sequence conservation

Abstract Strong DNA conservation among divergent species is an indicator of enduring functionality. With weaker sequence conservation we enter a vast ‘twilight zone’ in which sequence subject to transient or lower constraint cannot be distinguished easily from neutrally evolving, non-functional sequence. Twilight zone functional sequence is illuminated instead by principles of selective constraint and positive selection using genomic data acquired from within a species’ population. Application of these principles reveals that despite being biochemically active, most twilight zone sequence is not functional

Pharmaceuticals removal by adsorption with montmorillonite nanoclay

The problem of purifying domestic and hospital wastewater from pharmaceutical compounds is becoming more and more urgent every year, because of the continuous accumulation of chemical pollutants in the environment and the limited availability of freshwater resources. Clay adsorbents have been repeatedly proposed as adsorbents for treatment purposes, but natural clays are hydrophilic and can be inefficient for catching hydrophobic pharmaceuticals. In this paper, a comparison of adsorption properties of pristine montmorillonite (MMT) and montmorillonite modified with stearyl trimethyl ammonium (hydrophobic MMT-STA) towards carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and paracetamol pharmaceuticals was performed. The efficiency of adsorption was investigated under varying solution pH, temperature, contact time, initial concentration of pharmaceuticals, and adsorbate/adsorbent mass ratio. MMT-STA was better than pristine MMT at removing all the pharmaceuticals studied. The adsorption capacity of hydrophobic montmorillonite to pharmaceuticals decreased in the following order: carbamazepine (97%) >ibuprofen (95%) > paracetamol (63–67%). Adsorption isotherms were best described by Freundlich model. Within the pharmaceutical concentration range of 10–50 µg/mL, the most optimal mass ratio of adsorbates to adsorbents was 1:300, pH 6, and a temperature of 25◦ C. Thus, MMT-STA could be used as an efficient adsorbent for deconta×ating water of carbamazepine, ibuprofen, and paracetamol