Vascular Smooth Muscle as an Oxygen Sensor: Role of Elevation of the [Na+]i/[K+]i

The article presents a review of data from our own research and data obtained by other authors about the role of intracellular sodium (Nai+) and potassium (Ki+) in transcriptomic changes in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) during hypoxia. It was found that acute hypoxia suppressed [K+]o and phenylephrine-induced contractions of aortic rings through voltage-gated as well as by Cai2+- and ATP-sensitive K+ channels; 24-h incubation of VSMC in ischemic conditions resulted in attenuation of ATP content, elevation of [Na+]i and loss of [K+]i. Dissipation of Na+ and K+ gradients in low-Na+, high-K+ medium completely eliminated increment in Fos, Atf3, Ptgs2 and Per2 mRNAs and sharply diminished augmentation of Klf10, Edn1, Nr4a1 and Hes1 expression evoked by hypoxia. All these data suggest that Nai+/Ki+-mediated signaling contribute to transcriptomic changes in VSMC subjected to sustained hypoxia

Issues of financial assurance of economy greening in the regions

The relevance of the analyzed issue is caused by the need to internalize environmental externalities in the modern world. The purpose of the article is to examine the issue of financial support of the green economy using the example of the regions included in the Volga Federal District (VFD). The leading methods to the study of this issue is a comparative analysis of environmental taxes and charges in Russia and countries of the European Union (EU) and the analysis of environmental problems in the regions of the Volga Federal District, which allow identifying the shortcomings of the existing environmental payment system and proposing measures to modernize the system of financial support of the green economy. The key shortcomings of the existing environmental payment system: low rates of environmental payments; the inappropriate use of funds received from environmental payments; concentration of 97% of revenues from environmental payments in the federal budget. The contents of the article may be helpful for public authorities of general and special competence to develop the principal directions of environmental policy and plan activities aimed at improving the green economy. © 2016 Shekhova et al

Spin-flip scattering and non-ideal interfaces in dirty ferromagnet/superconductor junctions

We study the proximity-induced superconducting correlations as well as the local density of states of a ferromagnet, in a ferromagnet/s-wave superconductor heterostructure. We include the effects of spin-flip scattering, non-ideal interfaces, and the presence of impurities in the sample. We employ the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity, solving the Usadel equation with emphasis on obtaining transparent analytical results. As our main result, we report that in a certain parameter regime the spatial oscillations of the anomalous (superconducting) part of the Green's function induced in the ferromagnet by the proximity effect from the s-wave superconductor, are damped out due to the presence of spin-flip processes. As a consequence, spin-flip scattering may under certain conditions actually enhance the local density of states due to the oscillatory behaviour of the latter in ferromagnet/superconductor structures. We also conjecture that the damping could be manifested in the behaviour of the critical temperature ($T_c$) of the s-wave superconductor in contact with the ferromagnet. More specifically, we argue that the non-monotonic decrease of $T_c$ in ferromagnet/s-wave superconductor junctions without magnetic impurities is altered to a monotonic, non-oscillatory decrease when the condition $1>16\tau_\text{sf}^2h^2$ is fulfilled, where $\tau_\text{sf}$ is the spin-flip relaxation time and $h$ is the exchange field.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B. High-resolution figures to be available in published versio

DYNAMIC CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK BIOMARKERS AND CYTOKINES OF MYOCARDITIS-FREE PATIENTS WITH DECOMPENSATED HEART FAILURE AND ISCHEMIC SYSTOLIC DYSFUNCTION

The development and progression of heart failure is associated with a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms, of particular interest is the study of the inflammatory response as a fundamental link in the pathogenesis of CHF and its main component – decompensation. An open, non-randomized, prospective study was carried out to evaluate the clinical and morphological features of subclinical inflammation in patients with acute decompensation of ischemic chronic heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction. The study included 25 patients with decompensated ischemic CHF with left ventricular ejection fraction < 40% aged 35 to 75 years (60.12±9.3 y. o.). In this study the dynamics of the serum content of C-reactive protein (CRP), N-terminal fragment of the brain natriuretic peptide precursor protein (NT-proBNP), soluble ST2(sST2), insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) was performed by multiplex immunoassay using the FLEXMAP 3D. All studied patients were divided into two groups depending on the diagnosed myocarditis: patients with no signs of myocarditis and patients with myocarditis. It was found that in the group of patients with diagnosed myocarditis there was an increased content of CRP, IGF-1R, IL-6 and IL-10, TNFα compared to the group of patients without myocarditis. The median concentrations of the NT-proBNP and sST2 in both groups did not differ. At the follow-up visit a year later, there was a decrease in the content of CRP, NT-proBNP, IL-6 in both groups. In the group of patients with myocarditis, an increase in the content of sST2, IGF-1R, IL-10 was observed. Thus, the study carried out in dynamics revealed significant differences in the degree of changes in the serum activity of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers of cardiovascular risk in patients with decompensated heart failure with systolic dysfunction with diagnosed myocarditis and in its absence

Superconducting decay length in a ferromagnetic metal

The complex decay length xi characterizing penetration of superconducting correlations into a ferromagnet due to the proximity effect is studied theoretically in the frame of the linearized Eilenberger equations. The real part xi_1 and imaginary part xi_2 of the decay length are calculated as functions of exchange energy and the rates of ordinary, spin flip and spin orbit electronic scattering in a ferromagnet. The lengths xi_1,2 determine the spatial scales of, respectively, decay and oscillation of a critical current in SFS Josephson junctions in the limit of large distance between superconducting electrodes. The developed theory provides the criteria of applicability of the expressions for xi_1 and xi_2 in the dirty and the clean limits which are commonly used in the analysis of SF hybrid structures.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Energy transfer in Tm,Ho:KYW crystal and diode-pumped microchip laser operation

© 2016 Optical Society of America.An investigation of Tm-Ho energy transfer in Tm(5at.%),Ho(0.4at.%):KYW single crystal by two independent techiques was performed. Based on fluorescence dynamics measurements, energy transfer parameters P71 and P28 for direct (Tm→Ho) and back (Ho→Tm) transfers, respectively, as well as equilibrium constant Θ were evaluated. The obtained results were supported by calculation of microscopic interaction parameters according to the Förster-Dexter theory for a dipoledipole interaction. Diode-pumped continuous-wave operation of Tm,Ho:KYW microchip laser was demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge. Maximum output power of 77 mW at 2070 nm was achieved at the fundamental TEM00 mode

Energy transfer in Tm,Ho:KYW crystal and diode-pumped microchip laser operation

© 2016 Optical Society of America.An investigation of Tm-Ho energy transfer in Tm(5at.%),Ho(0.4at.%):KYW single crystal by two independent techiques was performed. Based on fluorescence dynamics measurements, energy transfer parameters P71 and P28 for direct (Tm→Ho) and back (Ho→Tm) transfers, respectively, as well as equilibrium constant Θ were evaluated. The obtained results were supported by calculation of microscopic interaction parameters according to the Förster-Dexter theory for a dipoledipole interaction. Diode-pumped continuous-wave operation of Tm,Ho:KYW microchip laser was demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge. Maximum output power of 77 mW at 2070 nm was achieved at the fundamental TEM00 mode