Fragmented QRS complex as a marker of myocardial fibrosis in patients with coronary artery disease

Aim– to analyze the relationship between fQRS and myocardial fibrosis in CAD patients using SPECT. Material and methods.Retrospectively, we have analyzed the anamnesis and examinations of 116 patients with suspected coronary heart disease. The fQRS was assessed according to the criteria of Das M. et al., 2006, along with the presence of a pathological Q wave and a slow increase in the amplitude of the R wave. We analysed the transient myocardial ischemia and/or myocardial scarring using stress/rest SPECT with technetium-99m. Results.fQRS was significantly more frequently detected in patients with stable and partially reversible perfusion defects – 44.1% and 52.2%, respectively, versus 13.0% and 5.5% in patients without perfusion defects or with reversible perfusion defects, p 0.05. Among 28 patients with QRS fragmentation and myocardial fibrosis, 19 (67.8%) had classical signs of fibrosis on the ECG, 9 (32.1%) had no ECG-registered fibrosis but fQRS was detected. The sensitivity of fQRS marker in detecting myocardial fibrosis reached 84.4%, the specificity was 63.3%. Conclusion.fQRS complex is an informative marker for detecting myocardial scarring in patients with coronary artery disease. Analysis of fQRS in daily clinical practice may increase the diagnostic value of electrocardiography in the detection of fibrosis

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Clinical Risk Factors of Thrombosis in Children after Congenial Heart Diseases Management

Background. Development of thrombotic complications in the postoperative period worsens the course of the disease and increases mortality of children operated for congenital heart diseases (CDC). There is limited data on clinical risk factors of thrombosis after CDCs surgical correction in modern literature. In our opinion, there are several promising factors that have not been studied as predictors of thrombosis in children with CDCs. Aim of the study is to analyze possible effect of patient clinical characteristics on development of thrombotic complications in infants after surgical treatment of CDC. Methods. We have studied data of 156 children aged from birth to 11 months 29 days (median age — 5 months) with CDCs operated under artificial circulation. Following indexes were studied in all patients: age, surgical risk according to RACHS-1 (Risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery), anesthesia duration, surgery duration, aortic cross-clamping time, artificial circulation duration, gestation period, body weight and height at the time of surgery. Results. Thrombosis was diagnosed in 44 patients (28.2%) in the postoperative period. Thromboses of various localizations were found during the patients’ examination: cerebral, intracardiac, limbs vessels, etc. It was revealed that thrombosis detection in patients with RACHS-1 >3 has increased in 2.84 times (95% CI: 1.36-5.92), at anesthesia duration >220 minutes — in 2.64 times (95% CI: 1.15-6.05), at surgery duration >150 minutes — in 3.36 times (95% MD: 1.51-7.5), at aortic cross-clamping time >32 minutes – in 3.23 times (95% CI: 1.45-7.32), at artificial circulation duration >70 minutes — in 3.43 times (95% MD: 1.6-7.34), with gestation period less than 39 weeks — in 2.44 times (95% CI: 1.18-5.03), with child’s weight less than 5.000 grams – in 4.3 times (95% CI: 2.02-9.15), with child’s height less than 60 centimeters — in 4.57 times (95% CI: 2.15-9.73), and at the age less than 3 months old — in 2.31 times (95% CI: 1.08-4.92). Conclusion. RACHS-1 >3, anesthesia duration >220 minutes, surgery duration >150 minutes, aortic cross-clamping time >32 minutes, artificial circulation duration >70 minutes, gestation period less than 39 weeks, weight at the time of surgery less than 5000 grams, height at the time of surgery less than 60 centimeters, and age under 3 months increases the risk of thrombotic complications in postoperative period

GASTROINTESTINAL FOOD ALLERGY IN CHILDREN

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence  of food allergies. Pathological conditions associated  with a food intolerance are becoming an increasingly urgent problem of pediatrics. According to different researchers, allergic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract occurs in 25–50% of patients with such common pathology as an allergy to cow's milk proteins. The severity of diseases  associated  with food allergies and their prognosis  depend largely on early diagnosis and adequate treatment. Difficulties and errors  in the diagnosis  of gastrointestinal  food allergies  are associated  with both subjective  and objective  reasons,  primarily due to the fact that gastrointestinal  reactions to food are often delayed and non-IgE-mediated. The article describes clinical forms of gastrointestinal food allergy according to the existing classification. Diagnostic algorithms and modern approaches  to differential diagnosis of disease based on evidence-based  medicine and corresponding to international consensus papers are given

Implementation of differential scanning calorimetry when studying polymerization of compounds based on glycolic acid ether

Using differential scanning calorimetry and synchronous thermal analysis under dynamic conditions, kinetic regularities of copolymerization of α- glycolide and a mixture of α-β-glycolide with D,L-lactide in the presence of stannous octoate as a catalyst have been investigated. Some thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of cationic copolymerization of monomers have been determined

Implementation of differential scanning calorimetry when studying polymerization of compounds based on glycolic acid ether

Using differential scanning calorimetry and synchronous thermal analysis under dynamic conditions, kinetic regularities of copolymerization of α- glycolide and a mixture of α-β-glycolide with D,L-lactide in the presence of stannous octoate as a catalyst have been investigated. Some thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of cationic copolymerization of monomers have been determined

Identification of nuclear genes controlling chlorophyll synthesis in barley by RNA-seq

Abstract Background Albinism in plants is characterized by lack of chlorophyll and results in photosynthesis impairment, abnormal plant development and premature death. These abnormalities are frequently encountered in interspecific crosses and tissue culture experiments. Analysis of albino mutant phenotypes with full or partial chlorophyll deficiency can shed light on genetic determinants and molecular mechanisms of albinism. Here we report analysis of RNA-seq transcription profiling of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) near-isogenic lines, one of which is a carrier of mutant allele of the Alm gene for albino lemma and pericarp phenotype (line i:BwAlm). Results 1221 genome fragments have statistically significant changes in expression levels between lines i:BwAlm and Bowman, with 148 fragments having increased expression levels in line i:BwAlm, and 1073 genome fragments, including 42 plastid operons, having decreased levels of expression in line i:BwAlm. We detected functional dissimilarity between genes with higher and lower levels of expression in i:BwAlm line. Genes with lower level of expression in the i:BwAlm line are mostly associated with photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis, while genes with higher expression level are functionally associated with vesicle transport. Differentially expressed genes are shown to be involved in several metabolic pathways; the largest fraction of such genes was observed for the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Finally, de novo assembly of transcriptome contains several transcripts, not annotated in current H. vulgare genome version. Conclusions Our results provide the new information about genes which could be involved in formation of albino lemma and pericarp phenotype. They demonstrate the interplay between nuclear and chloroplast genomes in this physiological process

Phytochemical Analysis of Phenolics, Sterols, and Terpenes in Colored Wheat Grains by Liquid Chromatography with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

The colored grain of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) contains a large number of polyphenolic compounds that are biologically active ingredients. The purpose of this work was a comparative metabolomic study of extracts from anthocyaninless (control), blue, and deep purple (referred to here as black) grains of seven genetically related wheat lines developed for the grain anthocyanin pigmentation trait. To identify target analytes in ethanol extracts, high-performance liquid chromatography was used in combination with Bruker Daltonics ion trap mass spectrometry. The results showed the presence of 125 biologically active compounds of a phenolic (85) and nonphenolic (40) nature in the grains of T. aestivum (seven lines). Among them, a number of phenolic compounds affiliated with anthocyanins, coumarins, dihydrochalcones, flavan-3-ols, flavanone, flavones, flavonols, hydroxybenzoic acids, hydroxycinnamic acids, isoflavone, lignans, other phenolic acids, stilbenes, and nonphenolic compounds affiliated with alkaloids, carboxylic acids, carotenoids, diterpenoids, essential amino acids, triterpenoids, sterols, nonessential amino acids, phytohormones, purines, and thromboxane receptor antagonists were found in T. aestivum grains for the first time. A comparative analysis of the diversity of the compounds revealed that the lines do not differ from each other in the proportion of phenolic (53.3% to 70.3% of the total number of identified compounds) and nonphenolic compounds (46.7% to 29.7%), but diversity of the compounds was significantly lower in grains of the control line. Even though the lines are genetically closely related and possess similar chemical profiles, some line-specific individual compounds were identified that constitute unique chemical fingerprints and allow to distinguish each line from the six others. Finally, the influence of the genotype on the chemical profiles of the wheat grains is discussed