Surgical treatment of secondary postuveal glaucoma by microinvasive non-penetrating deep sclerectomy with Healaflow implant injection: clinical case

The study aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment of postveal uncompensated glaucoma in a patient with chronic infectious uveitis by microinvasive non-penetrating deep sclerectomy using drainage implant Healaflow. Material and methods. In a patient with the history of chronic uveitis, for the purpose of surgical treatment of secondary uncompensated post-uveal glaucoma, a microinvasive non-penetrating deep sclerectomy with the introduction of Healaflow has been performed in order to stabilize intraocular pressure, visual acuity and visual field. Healaflow was used to prevent proliferation and scarring in the early postoperative period. Results. At the follow-up period of 6 months after the operation, the drainage outflow tracts were preserved; intraocular pressure was stabilized. Conclusions. Microinvasive non-penetrating sclerectomy with Healaflow injection is the safe and effective method of surgical treatment of patients with postveal uncompensated glaucoma. The use of Healaflow is an effective method for preventing scarring of formed drainage outflow tracts

Нелинейные локальные деформации мембран эритроцитов: действие токсинов и фармпрепаратов (Часть 2)

Modifiers of membranes cause local defects on the cell surface. Measurement of the rigidity at the sites of local defects can provide further information about the structure of defects and mechanical properties of altered membranes.The purpose of the study: a step-by-step study of the process of a nonlinear deformation of red blood cells membranes under the effect of modifiers of different physico-chemical nature.Materials and methods. The membrane deformation of a viscoelastic composite erythrocyte construction inside a cell was studied by the atomic force spectroscopy. Nonlinear deformations formed under the effect of hemin, Zn2+ ions, and verapamil were studied.Results. The process of elastic deformation of the membrane with the indentation of a probe at the sites of local defects caused by modifiers was demonstrated. The probe was inserted during the same step of the piezo scanner z displacement; the probe indentation occured at the different discrete values of h, which are the functions of the membrane structure. At the sites of domains, under the effect of the hemin, tension areas and plasticity areas appeared. A mathematical model of probe indentation at the site of membrane defects is presented.Conclusion. The molecular mechanisms of various types of nonlinear deformations occurring under the effect of toxins are discussed. The results of the study may be of interest both for fundamental researchers of the blood cell properties and for practical reanimatology and rehabilitology. Модификаторы мембран порождают локальные дефекты на поверхности клеток. Измерение жесткости в зонах локальных дефектов может дать дополнительную информацию о структуре дефектов и механических свойствах мембран в целом.Цель работы: пошаговое исследование процесса нелинейной деформации мембран эритроцитов при действии на них модификаторов различной физико-химической природы.Материалы и методы. Методом атомно-силовой спектроскопии провели исследование деформации мембран внутрь клетки вязко-упругой композитной конструкции эритроцита. Исследовали нелинейные деформации при действии гемина, ионов Zn2+, фармпрепарата верапамила.Результаты. Показали процесс упруго-эластичной деформации мембраны по мере индентации зонда в областях локальных дефектов, вызванных модификаторами. На один и тот же шаг смещения z пьезосканера зонд погружался на разные дискретные величины h, которые являются функциями структуры мембраны. В областях доменов при действии гемина возникали зоны натяжения и зоны пластичности. Привели математическая модель индентации зонда в области дефектов мембран.Заключение. Обсудили молекулярные механизмы различных видов нелинейных деформаций, возникающих при действии токсинов. Результаты работы могут представлять интерес как для фундаментальных исследований свойств клеток крови, так и для практической реаниматологии и реабилитологии

Microbial interactions in the mosquito gut determineSerratiacolonization and blood-feeding propensity

How microbe–microbe interactions dictate microbial complexity in the mosquito gut is unclear. Previously we found that, Serratia, a gut symbiont that alters vector competence and is being considered for vector control, poorly colonized Aedes aegypti yet was abundant in Culex quinquefasciatus reared under identical conditions. To investigate the incompatibility between Serratia and Ae. aegypti, we characterized two distinct strains of Serratia marcescens from Cx. quinquefasciatus and examined their ability to infect Ae. aegypti. Both Serratia strains poorly infected Ae. aegypti, but when microbiome homeostasis was disrupted, the prevalence and titers of Serratia were similar to the infection in its native host. Examination of multiple genetically diverse Ae. aegypti lines found microbial interference to S. marcescens was commonplace, however, one line of Ae. aegypti was susceptible to infection. Microbiome analysis of resistant and susceptible lines indicated an inverse correlation between Enterobacteriaceae bacteria and Serratia, and experimental co-infections in a gnotobiotic system recapitulated the interference phenotype. Furthermore, we observed an effect on host behavior; Serratia exposure to Ae. aegypti disrupted their feeding behavior, and this phenotype was also reliant on interactions with their native microbiota. Our work highlights the complexity of host–microbe interactions and provides evidence that microbial interactions influence mosquito behavior

Methane budget estimates in Finland from the CarbonTracker Europe-CH4 data assimilation system

We estimated the CH4 budget in Finland for 2004?2014 using the CTE-CH4 data assimilation system with an extended atmospheric CH4 observation network of seven sites from Finland to surrounding regions (Hyytiälä, Kj?lnes, Kumpula, Pallas, Puijo, Sodankylä, and Utö). The estimated average annual total emission for Finland is 0.6?±?0.5 Tg CH4 yr?1. Sensitivity experiments show that the posterior biospheric emission estimates for Finland are between 0.3 and 0.9 Tg CH4 yr?1, which lies between the LPX-Bern-DYPTOP (0.2 Tg CH4 yr?1) and LPJG-WHyMe (2.2 Tg CH4 yr?1) process-based model estimates. For anthropogenic emissions, we found that the EDGAR v4.2 FT2010 inventory (0.4 Tg CH4 yr?1) is likely to overestimate emissions in southernmost Finland, but the extent of overestimation and possible relocation of emissions are difficult to derive from the current observation network. The posterior emission estimates were especially reliant on prior information in central Finland. However, based on analysis of posterior atmospheric CH4, we found that the anthropogenic emission distribution based on a national inventory is more reliable than the one based on EDGAR v4.2 FT2010. The contribution of total emissions in Finland to global total emissions is only about 0.13%, and the derived total emissions in Finland showed no trend during 2004?2014. The model using optimized emissions was able to reproduce observed atmospheric CH4 at the sites in Finland and surrounding regions fairly well (correlation > 0.75, biasPeer reviewe

Effect of Abscisic Acid on Growth, Fatty Acid Profile, and Pigment Composition of the Chlorophyte <i>Chlorella (Chromochloris) zofingiensis</i> and Its Co-Culture Microbiome

Microalga Chlorella (Chromochloris) zofingiensis has been gaining increasing attention of investigators as a potential competitor to Haematococcus pluvialis for astaxanthin and other xanthophylls production. Phytohormones, including abscisic acid (ABA), at concentrations relevant to that in hydroponic wastewater, have proven themselves as strong inductors of microalgae biomass productivity and biosynthesis of valuable molecules. The main goal of this research was to evaluate the influence of phytohormone ABA on the physiology of C. zofingiensis in a non-aseptic batch experiment. Exogenous ABA stimulated C. zofingiensis cell division, biomass production, as well as chlorophyll, carotenoid, and lipid biosynthesis. The relationship between exogenous ABA concentration and the magnitude of the observed effects was non-linear, with the exception of cell growth and biomass production. Fatty acid accumulation and composition depended on the concentration of ABA tested. Exogenous ABA induced spectacular changes in the major components of the culture microbiome of C. zofingiensis. Thus, the abundance of the representatives of the genus Rhodococcus increased drastically with an increase in ABA concentration, whereas the abundance of the representatives of Reyranella and Bradyrhizobium genera declined. The possibilities of exogenous ABA applications for the enhancing of the biomass, carotenoid, and fatty acid productivity of the C. zofingiensis cultures are discussed

Mutations within the Catalytic Motif of DNA Adenine Methyltransferase (Dam) of Aeromonas hydrophila Cause the Virulence of the Dam-Overproducing Strain To Revert to That of the Wild-Type Phenotype

In this study, we demonstrated that the methyltransferase activity associated with Dam was essential for attenuation of Aeromonas hydrophila virulence. We mutated aspartic acid and tyrosine residues to alanine within the conserved DPPY catalytic motif of Dam and transformed the pBAD/dam(D/A), pBAD/dam(Y/A), and pBAD/dam(AhSSU) (with the native dam gene) recombinant plasmids into the Escherichia coli GM33 (dam-deficient) strain. Genomic DNA (gDNA) isolated from either of the E. coli GM33 strains harboring the pBAD vector with the mutated dam gene was resistant to DpnI digestion and sensitive to DpnII restriction endonuclease cutting. These findings were contrary to those with the gDNA of E. coli GM33 strain containing the pBAD/dam(AhSSU) plasmid, indicating nonmethylation of E. coli gDNA with mutated Dam. Overproduction of mutated Dam in A. hydrophila resulted in bacterial motility, hemolytic and cytotoxic activities associated with the cytotoxic enterotoxin (Act), and protease activity similar to that of the wild-type (WT) bacterium, which harbored the pBAD vector and served as a control strain. On the contrary, overproduction of native Dam resulted in decreased bacterial motility, increased Act-associated biological effects, and increased protease activity. Lactone production, an indicator of quorum sensing, was increased when the native dam gene was overexpressed, with its levels returning to that of the control strain when the dam gene was mutated. These effects of Dam appeared to be mediated through a regulatory glucose-inhibited division A protein. Infection of mice with the mutated Dam-overproducing strains resulted in mortality rates similar to those for the control strain, with 100% of the animals dying within 2 to 3 days with two 50% lethal doses (LD(50)s) of the WT bacterium. Importantly, immunization of mice with a native-Dam-overproducing strain at the same LD(50) did not result in any lethality and provided protection to animals after subsequent challenge with a lethal dose of the control strain

Features of the Development of Linguistic and Communication Competences of Future Foreign Language Teachers

The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the professional competence of a teacher constitutes a dynamic combination of knowledge, abilities and practical skills, ways of thinking, professional, ideological and civic qualities, moral and ethical values. The linguistic competence of the teacher depends entirely on the possibilities of professional growth and the dynamics of the development of professional and communicative competences. The novelty of the study is determined by the fact that in professional activity the teacher acts as an active subject of communication: transmits and accepts information from students, colleagues and parents, strives for the maximum realisation of the abilities of each student and ensuring their emotional comfort. The authors of this study have determined that one of the primary tasks of higher pedagogical education lies in the development of professional and pedagogical communicative competence of a teacher. The practical significance of the study is determined by the fact that professional and pedagogical communicative competence acts as a spiritual and moral factor and the scientific content of the educational process, where a major role is played by the teacher's knowledge, humanity, spiritual generosity, as well as the desire to understand and help the student

A Temperate <i>Sinorhizobium</i> Phage, AP-16-3, Closely Related to Phage 16-3: Mosaic Genome and Prophage Analysis

Soil Sinorhizobium phage AP-16-3, a strain phylogenetically close to Rhizobium phage 16-3, was isolated in a mountainous region of Dagestan, belonging to the origin of cultivated plants in the Caucasus, according to Vavilov N.I. The genome of phage AP-16-3 is 61 kbp in size and contains 62 ORFs, of which 42 ORFs have homologues in the genome of Rhizobium phage 16-3, which was studied in the 1960s–1980s. A search for Rhizobium phage 16-3-related sequences was performed in the genomes of modern strains of root nodule bacteria belonging to different species, genera, and families. A total of 43 prophages of interest were identified out of 437 prophages found in the genomes of 42 strains, of which 31 belonged to Sinorhizobium meliloti species. However, almost all of the mentioned prophages contained single ORFs, and only two prophages contained 51 and 39 ORFs homologous to phages related to 16-3. These prophages were detected in S. meliloti NV1.1.1 and Rh. leguminosarum OyaliB strains belonging to different genera; however, the similarity level of these two prophages did not exceed 14.7%. Analysis of the orphan genes in these prophages showed that they encoded predominantly virion structural elements, but also enzymes and an extensive group of hypothetical proteins belonging to the L, S, and E regions of viral genes of phage 16-3. The data obtained indicate that temperate phages related to 16-3 had high infectivity against nodule bacteria and participated in intragenomic recombination events involving other phages, and in horizontal gene transfer between rhizobia of different genera. According to the data obtained, it is assumed that the repetitive lysogenic cycle of temperate bacteriophages promotes the dissolution of the phage genetic material in the host bacterial genome, and radical updating of phage and host bacterial genomes takes place

Nonlinear Local Deformations of Red Blood Cell Membranes: Effects of Toxins and Pharmaceuticals (Part 2)

Modifiers of membranes cause local defects on the cell surface. Measurement of the rigidity at the sites of local defects can provide further information about the structure of defects and mechanical properties of altered membranes.The purpose of the study: a step-by-step study of the process of a nonlinear deformation of red blood cells membranes under the effect of modifiers of different physico-chemical nature.Materials and methods. The membrane deformation of a viscoelastic composite erythrocyte construction inside a cell was studied by the atomic force spectroscopy. Nonlinear deformations formed under the effect of hemin, Zn2+ ions, and verapamil were studied.Results. The process of elastic deformation of the membrane with the indentation of a probe at the sites of local defects caused by modifiers was demonstrated. The probe was inserted during the same step of the piezo scanner z displacement; the probe indentation occured at the different discrete values of h, which are the functions of the membrane structure. At the sites of domains, under the effect of the hemin, tension areas and plasticity areas appeared. A mathematical model of probe indentation at the site of membrane defects is presented.Conclusion. The molecular mechanisms of various types of nonlinear deformations occurring under the effect of toxins are discussed. The results of the study may be of interest both for fundamental researchers of the blood cell properties and for practical reanimatology and rehabilitology