Features of Chronic Bronchitis in Different Age Groups

Background: Lung diseases are assuming greater relevance and importance today. Chronic bronchitis is a self-nosology, which may precede the development of COPD, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated. The main problem in this disease is caused by late diagnosis and treatment due to the delay by patients in seeking medical help. The aim of the work was to study the distribution and exposure to tobacco smoke, especially chronic bronchitis, depending on various factors, including age. Methods: We examined 1779 persons, including 855 men and 924 women. The mean age of the population was 35.83±8.3 years. We conducted surveys and spirometry. The outcome was assessed after a bronchodilation test was performed with salbutamol 400 mcg. We performed all statistical analysis using software package Statistica 10. Results: We identified chronic bronchitis in 9.2% of the cases in the group of younger individuals and in 14.9% of the cases in the group of older individuals, during the active detection of chronic bronchitis using questionnaires. The prevalence of cigarette smoking was slightly higher among the younger (39.5%) than the older persons (33.6%); the frequency of smoking in a group of chronic bronchitis was reliably higher. Also, in this group, the performance spirometry reliably decreased. Conclusions: Outpatient survey is an effective method of identifying chronic bronchitis. Smoking is a major risk factor in the group of young respondents and the prevalence of smoking is inversely related to the education level of the respondents, regardless of age. As the decline in the Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1 and FEV1/FVC) is the main criterion diagnosis of COPD, it revealed significant declines in the FEV1 of the younger smoking individuals, which may help to predict the development of COPD in the older age group

Long-Term Analysis of the Variability of Agronomic Characters in the VIR Oat Germplasm Collection in Central Black Soil Region of Russia

Climate change has become a significant factor in crop production in the 21st century for many countries. To turn losses into profit, adaptation measures are needed, which are based on the analysis and forecast of economically valuable characteristics of crops. The field trial data were analyzed for 764 oat accessions from the global germplasm collection by the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) in 2001–2019 and the cultivar ‘Gorizont’ in 1990–2019 in Yekaterinino Experiment Station of VIR (Tambov Province, Russia, 52°59′ N, 40°50′ E). A progressive shortening of the growing season and a yield increase were observed during the study both in the mean values for the tested accessions and in the cv. ‘Gorizont’. Grain yield variability of cv. ‘Gorizont’ across the years was also associated with 1000 grain weight variations. The models predict a further reduction in the growing season by 2.4 days/10 years, mainly caused by an increase in temperatures above 15 °C, and an increase in yield by 47.6 g/m2/10 years, mainly caused by an increase in the temperature in May. ANOVA demonstrated that the highest yields in Tambov Province were produced by accessions from Ulyanovsk Province, Ukraine, Moscow Province, Norway, Germany, and Poland

Origin of Wild Polyploid <i>Avena</i> Species Inferred from Polymorphism of the ITS1 rDNA in Their Genomes

In this article, we analyzed the origin of wild polyploid oats (Avena L., Poaceae) using the region 18S rDNA (partially)–ITS1–5.8S rDNA obtained via NGS. There are six tetraploid (2n = 28) and four hexaploid (2n = 42) wild species differing by specific genome combinations: A. barbata, A. vaviloviana (AB), A. agadiriana (AB or BB), A. magna, A. murphyi, A. insularis (AC or CD), A. ludoviciana, A. sterilis, A. fatua, and A. occidentalis (ACD). We compared the pool of marker sequences of polyploid oats with those of their putative diploid ancestors: A. atlantica (As-genome), A. hirtula (As), A. canariensis (Ac), A. ventricosa (Cv), and A. clauda (paleopolyploid with Cp and A-related rDNA). We found 15 major ribotypes (more than 1000 reads per rDNA pool) in polyploid oats. Comparing them, we found that the AB-tetraploid oats possibly inherited their A-genome ribotypes from A. atlantica (As1-ribotype), whereas their B-genome ribotype is specific and can be a derivative of the A-genome family. Our data do not support the hypothesis of the CD-genome set in A. magna, A. murphyi, and A. insularis: they have an AC-genome ribotype constitution instead. The C-genome-related sequences could have been obtained from A. ventricosa. Hexaploids show a different ribotype pattern than tetraploids; the main ribotypes of A. fatua, A. ludoviciana, and A. sterilis probably belong to the D-group and are also shared with one of the major ribotypes of A. clauda

Evaluating Germplasm of Cultivated Oat Species from the VIR Collection under the Russian Northwest Conditions

Oat is one of the most widespread and important cereal crops in the global agricultural production. Searching for new high-yielding and nutritious forms continues to be relevant, especially under the global trend of climate change, when most local oat cultivars may become economically inefficient. Spring oat accessions from VIR collection served as the material for this study; their origin is diverse, as they came from 11 countries. The basic nutritional value (the content of protein, oil, starch, and β-glucans) and characters important for breeding (plant height, panicle length, number of spikelets, number of grains per panicle, 1000 grain weight, and grain yield) were analyzed in 49 accessions of the cultivated covered oat species: Avena sativa L., A. strigosa Schreb., A. abyssinica Hochst., and A. byzantina Coch., grown under the conditions of the Russian Northwest (Leningrad Province) for two years. Variability parameters, interspecific and intervarietal differences, and the effect of weather conditions were assessed. Sources of useful agronomic traits were identified; they can be used to expand the range of the source material for the development of new high-yielding and highly nutritious oat cultivars adapted to local cultivation conditions. It is demonstrated that the VIR collection has a great potential for contemporary food and feed production and for the breeding of new oat cultivars for various purposes. Thus, the contribution of Nikolai Vavilov to the plant genetic resources investigation for the benefit of humanity is invaluable

THE CONTENT OF CD4+ AND CD8+ EFFECTOR MEMORY CELLS AND THE PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF T LYMPHOCYTES IN BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the respiratory tract. T-lymphocytes play a key role in the pathogenesis of this allergic disease. The reduction in number of naive T cells and the accumulation of memory T cells in bronchial asthma are accompanied by dysregulation of T lymphocytes function. In present study, it was investigated the content of different subpopulations of T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, in unstimulated and PHA-stimulated cultures, as well as their proliferative capacity in patients with bronchial asthma and healthy donors. The study included 10 patients with bronchial asthma (age 45.4 ± 11.8 years). One half of patients was in remission and the other half - in the stage of exacerbation of the underlying disease. The group of donors was formed by healthy individuals matched by gender and age to patients. Based on the expression of cell surface markers CD45R0, CD62L and CD197 (CCR7) CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were divided into central (Tcm) and effector memory cells (Tem), naive T-lymphocytes (Tnaive) and terminal-differentiated effectors (Temra) using flow cytometric technique. The proliferative activity of Tcm, Tem and Tnaive was evaluated in response to PHA as a functional marker of T cells. It was found that the percentage of CD4+TemCD62L+ and CD8+TemCD62L+ in the peripheral blood of patients in the exacerbation of asthma was significantly reduced compared to donors. After stimulation with PHA, these differences in T cell subsets between the groups of patients and donors were disappeared. We performed a correlation analysis between memory T cells and age . It was determined that the relative amount of CD4+ and CD8+ memory cells increased with age in asthmatics, but not in healthy donors. The analysis of mitogen-induced proliferation showed that Tcm and Tnaive cells divided more actively compared to other subpopulations in both groups. At the same time, the proliferative activity of CD4+ T lymphocytes and subsets of CD8+Tcm, CD4+Tcm and CD4+Tem62L- was higher in the group of patients in remission of asthma, than in groups of patients in exacerbation of the disease, and healthy donors. The revealed increase in the relative number of memory T cells with age suggests that these cells participate in the development of bronchial asthma. The proliferative response of the studied subpopulations, which was comparable with the donor values, indicates the retention of the functional characteristics of memory T cells and naive T lymphocytes in bronchial asthma. The increased proliferation of some T-cell subpopulations in asthmatics in remission points to the activated state of memory T cells. The observed decrease in the number of CD4+TemCD62L+ and CD8+TemCD62L+ in patients in exacerbation of asthma, by our opinion, may be associated with an active inflammatory process in the airways

Damages of Cardiovascular System at Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I: Clinical Cases

Background. Cardiac involvement in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) type I, or Hurler syndrome, has various phenotypes.Clinical Case Description. In the first case symptoms were indicative of acute severe heart failure which was confirmed by laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods. Left heart chambers dilatation and left ventricular hypocontractility were revealed on echocardiography. Atypical disease course with no improvement on multicomponent therapy of heart failure let us to think about metabolic disease, so we confirmed it with tandem mass spectrometry and molecular genetic testing. Therefore this led to timely enzyme replacement therapy onset and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation that positively affect the disease outcome. The second case showed classic course of MPS I. Its clinical signs such as musculoskeletal and ENT-organ manifestations allowed us to diagnosis and later confirm it by tandem mass spectrometry and molecular genetic testing at the age of 3. The cardiac pathology presented by mitral valve leaflets thickening and 2nd degree regurgitation has been diagnosed later. In our view, early treatment onset should slow down the progression of heart damage.Conclusion. Several clinical variants of cardiac pathology at MPS I are presented. The need of constant cardiovascular system monitoring in children with MPS I is shown. It is also mentioned that cardiac pathology can be the first manifestation of the disease

Novel aminochromone derivative inhibits tumor growth on xenograft model of lung cancer in mice

2-Amino-4H-chromene derivatives possess anticancer property proved on different in vivo and in vitro models of malignancies such breast, nasopharyngeal, bladder, ovary carcinomas, astrocytoma, and osteosarcoma. We assumed it might be effective to apply one of the derivatives as promising approach to lung carcinoma treatment. to evaluate how novel 4-aryl substituted 2-amino-4H-chromene derivative AX-554 impacts tumor growth and progression, as well as possible mechanisms for anticancer effect development on in vivo patient-derived heterotopic xenograft model of lung carcinoma in mice. This was an experimental in vivo study. 40 nu/nu BALB/c female mice were randomly allocated into four equal groups: Intact, control, reference, and main group. Animals of three latter groups were ingrafted with human-derived lung adenocarcinoma. Antitumor and antimetastatic action of AX-554 novel aminochromone derivative as a substance were studied. Mice survival was registered. Kinase of anaplastic lymphoma (ALK), tubulin Beta-3 (TUBB3), and c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) concentrations in the prime tumor nodes homogenates were determined by quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Dannet's parametric criterion and the nonparametric exact Fisher test were used. The normality of the distribution was determined using ANOVA. The survival curve was analyzed using Gehan's criterion with the Yates's correction. Aminochromone derivative possesses an inhibitory effect on human lung adenocarcinoma transplanted into nu/nu BALB/c female mice, as well as significant antimetastatic activity. About 50 mg/kg/day AX-554 intragastric course increases animals' life expectancy of more than 3.3 times when compared with the control and induces remission in 60% of cases. The anticancer effect of the derivative is due to anti-ALK-mediated activation of tumor cells apoptosis and suppression TUBB3-dependent cell proliferation

ON THE QUESTION OF THE SAFETY OF A 4-ALKYL-SUBSTITUTED COMPOUND WITH ANTI-TUMOUR ACTION

The aim was to investigate the acute toxicity of the AX-554 compound following its intragastric administration, as well as to determine the effective cytotoxic concentration and dose of this preparation.Materials and methods. The study was performed using 76 nonlinear white laboratory mice of both sexes weighing 18–22 g, 150 male mice of C57BL/6 line and LCC tumour cell culture. The acute toxicity of the AX-554 4-alkyl-substituted compound in the form of granulated pellet mass was studied following its intragastric administration, with the results being analysed according to Litchfield and Wilcoxon. The effective dose of the substance was determined using a syngeneic tumour model in C57Bl/6 male mice with inoculated Lewis lung carcinoma. The effective concentration of the compound was determined in a tumour cell culture.Results. Our study of the acute toxicity of AH-554 after its intragastric administration in the form of granulate tablet mass have confirmed AH-554 to be a non-toxic substance. In doses ranging from 21.2 to 384 mg/kg, AH-554 is observed to suppress tumour growth in mice with syngeneic lung carcinoma at a level from 20 to 90%, with the highest therapeutic dose exceeding the minimum effective one by more than 18 times. This pattern is also observed when AH554 is applied in the culture of tumour cells. The results of this study can be used for developing a pharmaceutical based on the AH-554 compound.Conclusion. The AH-554 compound, 2-amino-4H-chromene derivative, is characterized by an optimal safety profile due its low toxicity and a wide range of anti-tumour action

New Insights into the Genomic Structure of Avena L.: Comparison of the Divergence of A-Genome and One C-Genome Oat Species

We used next-generation sequencing analysis of the 3&prime;-part of 18S rDNA, ITS1, and a 5&prime;-part of the 5.8S rDNA region to understand genetic variation among seven diploid A-genome Avena species. We used 4&ndash;49 accessions per species that represented the As genome (A. atlantica, A. hirtula, and wiestii), Ac genome (A.&nbsp;canariensis), Ad genome (A. damascena), Al genome (A. longiglumis), and Ap genome (A. prostrata). We also took into our analysis one C-genome species, A. clauda, which previously was found to be related to A-genome species. The sequences of 169 accessions revealed 156 haplotypes of which seven haplotypes were shared by two to five species. We found 16 ribotypes that consisted of a unique sequence with a characteristic pattern of single nucleotide polymorphisms and deletions. The number of ribotypes per species varied from one in A. longiglumis to four in A. wiestii. Although most ribotypes were species-specific, we found two ribotypes shared by three species (one for A. damascena, A. hirtula, and A. wiestii, and the second for A. longiglumis, A. atlantica, and A. wiestii), and a third ribotype shared between A. atlantica and A. wiestii. A characteristic feature of the A. clauda ribotype, a diploid C-genome species, is that two different families of ribotypes have been found in this species. Some of these ribotypes are characteristic of Cc-genome species, whereas others are closely related to As-genome ribotypes. This means that A. clauda can be a hybrid between As- and C-genome oats