Insectophones in the English phonosemantic system

The article is devoted the types of iconic lexis, the term insectophone is introduced and its place in the English phonosemantic system is defined. Insectophones differ from onomatopoeic words, vocatives, interjections, sound imitation words and ideophones. Insectophones take a specific niche in the phonosemantic system and can be regarded as a separate group of iconic lexis with its properties and functions

AN INTEGRATED INFORMATION SYSTEM ON BIORESOURCE COLLECTIONS OF THE FASO OF RUSSIA

Biological collections play a huge role in studying biological diversity as systematic storages of biological materials in all combinations and forms. Collection materials have generally been formed over hundreds of years and may describe a vast number of samples counted by billions. Great efforts are made to preserve these materials, as well as to obtain more and more samples. The Russian Federation occupies a huge land area, has a long coastline and huge natural resources, a variety of natural and ecological zones. In this regard, its territory is unique from the viewpoint of biodiversity and development of biological collections. Currently, a large number of collections are being developed in Russia, but there are a number of problems associated, first of all, with the lack of an integrated information resource on bioresource collections (BRC). In order to support the development of scientific infrastructure, the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (FASO of Russia) has been working on the development of unified approaches to the use of existing bioresource collections and the establishment of the integrated information system. The paper presents an information portal designed to provide uniform methods of work for all BRC organizations of the FASO of Russia: input, storage, updating and differentiated access to specific information about storage units and their characteristics. The information system “Bioresource Collections of Scientific Organizations” (IS BRC) has been developed as a Web­portal (www.biores.cytogen.ru) integrating databases on bioresource collections of the FASO of Russia and graphical user interface. Access control to the databases integrated into the IS BRC is performed through authorized program access for viewing records, their creation and editing on the basis of REST technology. The graphical user interface (GUI) provides the following features in accordance with the access rights: authorized access to the BRC database; viewing BRC database records; editing BRC database records; creating and deleting BRC database records; statistical data analysis in the BRC database; generation of summary reports on the BRC database; export of records content in PDF/RTF/JSON format. The graphical user interface was implemented using the DRUPAL 7.0 toolkit. Architecturally, the portal is concerned as a central node with a series of modules communicating through the unified interfaces. In this way, we solve the problem of connecting new data sources (collection databases) implemented in different DBMS. Given the fact that currently many organizations support access to the catalogues of their collections independently, the portal also provides external links to these Web resources. At the same time, some information on collections is stored within the BRC databases of the FASO of Russia’s portal in unified formats. The portal contains the following functional sections: the home page containing general information on bioresource collections, the catalog of collections, individual pages for each particular collection with a short description (information about curators, statistical information about the number of storage units in the collection and the number of publications, as well as a link to the catalog of storage units of this BRC). Currently the portal contains more than 13 thousand entities of 65 bioresource collections organizations of the FASO of Russia. It is still being extended

Unsolved Issues of Atherosclerosis Prevention and of Adequate Lipid-lowering Therapy in Patients with Acute Ischemic Cerebrovascular Accident

The existing system of medical care for patients with acute cerebrovascular accident of atherothrombotic genesis, namely lipid metabolism disorders, the modern evidence base for lipid-lowering therapy in this category of patients and the feasibility of interdisciplinary interaction of cardiologists and neurologists were discussed at a meeting of the expert council of cardiologists and neurologists in Moscow on 2021 July 7

EFFECT OF ANGIOTENSIN-II RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST LOSARTAN AND ITS COMBINATION WITH DIURETICS ON MYOCARDIAL MORPHO-FUNCTIONAL CONDITIONS IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS WITH LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY

Aim. To compare the effects of long-term therapy with angiotensin-II receptor antagonist losartan, alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide, and amlodipine treatment on left ventricular morpho-functional variables and blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients.Material and methods. 25 women and 27 men (average age 52,7±1,2 y.o.) with essential hypertension (1-2 grade) and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) were included into the study. After 3 week washout period the patients were randomized in 2:1 fashion to receive either losartan (n=34) or amlodipine (n=17). In 17 patients with insufficient response to losartan monotherapy (50-100mg/day) hydrochlorothiazide (12,5mg) was added to losartan (50mg) 4 weeks later. The daily dose of amlodipine was increased from 5 to 10 mg in 10 patients. At baseline and after 24 weeks of treatment 24-h BP monitoring and echocardiography (with evaluation of cardiac chamber dimensions, inter-ventricular septal and posterior wall thickness, left ventricular mass index -LVMI) were performed.Results. 4-week losartan treatment significantly decreased clinic BP (-14,1±2,2/8,2±1,4 mm Hg, p<0,01), mean daily systolic and diastolic BP (-15,1±2,4 mm Hg and -8,9±1,7 mm Hg , p<0,001), mean day-time and night-time BP and systolic and diastolic BP load in 34 patients. Addition of hydrochlorothiazide induced a further decrease of mean night-time BP, pulse BP, improved circadian rhythm and normalized BP in 75% of patients compared with 50% in losartan alone. Significant decrease of clinic BP (-24,1±3,6/15,2±2,3, p<0,01), mean daily systolic and diastolic BP and BP load were noticed at 24 week of amlodipine treatment. Circadian BP rhythm didn’t change; night-time decrease of BP was insufficient. Antihypertensive efficacy was similar in both groups. Losartan, alone or combined with hydrochlorothiazide, caused regression of LVH in all patients, normalized geometry of left ventricle in 33% of patients and improved left ventricular diastolic function in 88,2% of patients. LVMI decreased due to reduction of wall thickness. Changes in LVMI, relative wall thickness and diastolic function in losartan group were greater than those obtained in amlodipine group.Conclusion. Losartan, administered alone or combined with hydrochlorothiazide, has the greater effect on LVH, geometry and diastolic function of left ventricle compared with amlodipine. These results give evidence that losartan has cardioprotective and possibly other pleiotropic effects

PHARMACOTHERAPY QUALITY IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION OBSERVED IN PRIMARY CARE PRACTICE. HYPERTENSION REGISTER DATA

Aim. To assess (on the basis of Russian national guidelines on arterial hypertension (HT), 2004) quality of pharmacotherapy measures among hypertensive patients observed in primary care practice. Material and methods. Data on 12 604 patients with HT (7 819 women, 4 785 men, aged 59.5±12.0 years) from 13 regions of Russia observed in primary care units during 2007 were enrolled in the study. Compliance with recommendations on decision making about pharmacotherapy need (risk category assessment) and adequacy were evaluated. Results. 64% of patients with HT had no drug prescriptions in their outpatient card in 2007. 4 880 patients from 12 604 enrolled HT patients (38.7%) had all data necessary for risk assessment. 3920 patients (31% of the whole studied group) had pharmacotherapy indications (high or very high risk). Only 819 HT patients (6.5% of the whole number of enrolled patients) had antihypertensive pharmacotherapy completely corresponding to their clinical status. Conclusion. The quality of pharmacotherapy measures carried out in primary care practice during 2007 did not conform to HT guidelines

Pluripotency gene network dynamics: System views from parametric analysis.

Multiple experimental data demonstrated that the core gene network orchestrating self-renewal and differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells involves activity of Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog genes by means of a number of positive feedback loops among them. However, recent studies indicated that the architecture of the core gene network should also incorporate negative Nanog autoregulation and might not include positive feedbacks from Nanog to Oct4 and Sox2. Thorough parametric analysis of the mathematical model based on this revisited core regulatory circuit identified that there are substantial changes in model dynamics occurred depending on the strength of Oct4 and Sox2 activation and molecular complexity of Nanog autorepression. The analysis showed the existence of four dynamical domains with different numbers of stable and unstable steady states. We hypothesize that these domains can constitute the checkpoints in a developmental progression from naïve to primed pluripotency and vice versa. During this transition, parametric conditions exist, which generate an oscillatory behavior of the system explaining heterogeneity in expression of pluripotent and differentiation factors in serum ESC cultures. Eventually, simulations showed that addition of positive feedbacks from Nanog to Oct4 and Sox2 leads mainly to increase of the parametric space for the naïve ESC state, in which pluripotency factors are strongly expressed while differentiation ones are repressed

Pluripotency gene network dynamics: System views from parametric analysis - Fig 5

<p><b>a-b:</b> Time series of mRNA and protein expressions for <i>Nanog</i> at <i>h = 10</i>: <i>v</i>_<i>1</i>—<i>Nanog</i> mRNA concentration, <i>v</i>_<i>2</i> –Nanog protein concentration in the nucleus, <i>v</i>_<i>3</i>—Nanog protein concentration in the cytoplasm; The insets in Fig 5A and 5B represent the same curves as on the main part, but with a zoomed scale of the y-axis. <b>c-d:</b> Time series for concentrations of pluripotent (<i>w</i>_<i>1</i>) and differentiation (<i>w</i>_<i>2</i>) factors. Concentration oscillations of Nanog and pluripotent/differentiation factors occurred at <i>A = 0</i>.<i>2</i> (a, c) and <i>A = 0</i>.<i>3</i> (b, d). The other parameters were fixed. c: The pluripotent factors <i>w</i>_<i>1</i> were suppressed and the differentiation factors <i>w</i>_<i>2</i> were expressed. This state corresponds to differentiation. d: Pluripotent factors were highly expressed, and differentiation factors were suppressed. This state corresponds to pluripotency.</p

The bistable switch in the core network depending on (<i>a</i>_<i>3</i>, <i>a</i>_<i>7</i>) parameters and at <i>h = 6</i>. Highlighted region is the parameters range, for which the switch-like behavior has existed.

<p>Furthermore, the analysis indicated that a straight line <i>a</i>_<i>3</i> = <i>a</i>_<i>7</i> in the plane (<i>a</i>_<i>3</i>, <i>a</i>_<i>7</i>) divides it into two areas. When <i>a</i>_<i>3</i> < <i>a</i>_<i>7</i>, there will be some <i>A</i>_<i>0</i>, that upon <i>A > A</i>_<i>0</i> the cell is pluripotent, while at <i>A < A</i>_<i>0</i> the cell will differentiate. When <i>a</i>_<i>3</i> > <i>a</i>_<i>7</i>, the cell has pluripotent state at all values <i>A</i> ≥ <i>0</i>.</p

Multiplicity of stationary solutions representing as <i>w</i>_<i>1</i> and <i>w</i>_<i>2</i> dependence on the parameter <i>A</i>, <i>0</i> ≤ <i>A</i> ≤ <i>0</i>.<i>4</i> at <i>h = 6</i> (2a and 2b) and <i>h = 2</i> (2c and 2d).

<p>a. Initial steady state values <i>w</i>_<i>2</i>><i>w</i>_<i>1</i> and <i>A = 0</i> simulate differentiation state. The <i>w</i>_<i>1</i><i>/w</i>_<i>2</i> ratio while A is growing upon <i>A</i> = <i>A</i>_<i>*</i> = <i>0</i>.<i>277</i> (the turning point), corresponds to the differentiation steady state. Asterisks indicate arcs of the graphs with unstable solutions. b. Initial steady state values <i>w</i>_<i>1</i>> <i>w</i>_<i>2</i> and <i>A</i> ˃ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i> simulate the pluripotent state. The graph of the steady state while decreasing A upon <i>A ≥ 0</i> (including the range <i>0</i> ≤ <i>A</i> ˂ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i>) is depicted. Both Fig 2A and 2B show that three states (two stable and one unstable) exist in the range 0 ≤ <i>A</i> ˂ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i> <i>= 0</i>.<i>277</i>, while there is one steady state, when <i>A</i> ˃ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i>. c. Stationary solution with initial steady state values <i>w</i>_<i>2</i>><i>w</i>_<i>1</i> and A = 0 corresponding to the differentiated cell. <i>w</i>_<i>1</i> and <i>w</i>_<i>2</i> variables have turning points at <i>A</i> = <i>A</i>_<i>*</i>. Asterisks indicate unstable solutions. d. Stationary solution with initial steady state values corresponding to the pluripotent cell. The Fig 2C and 2D shows that three states (two are stables and one is unstable) exist in the range <i>0</i> ≤ <i>A</i> ˂ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i> <i>= 0</i>.<i>277</i>, while there is one steady state, when <i>A</i> ˃ <i>A</i>_<i>*</i> and this is the pluripotent state only.</p

Biological relevance and values of the model parameters.

<p>Biological relevance and values of the model parameters.</p