589 research outputs found

    Геоэкологическая характеристика и проект мониторинга на территории ОАО "Фармстандарт-Томскхимфарм" (г. Томск)

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    Работа включает в себя геоэкологическую характеристику объекта исследования - "ОАО Фармстандарт Томскхимфарм". Описание воздействия деятельности предприятия на окружающую среду. Составление программы производственного экологического контроля для данного предприятия. Также раздел производственной безопасности и финансового менеджмента.The work includes the geoecological characteristics of the research object - OJSC "Pharmstandard Tomskkhimpharm". Description of the impact of the enterprise on the environment. Drawing up a program of industrial environmental control for this enterprise. Also the section of industrial safety and financial management

    Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray production in the polar cap regions of black hole magnetospheres

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    We develop a model of ultra-high energy cosmic ray (UHECR) production via acceleration in a rotation-induced electric field in vacuum gaps in the magnetospheres of supermassive black holes (BH). We show that if the poloidal magnetic field near the BH horizon is misaligned with the BH rotation axis, charged particles, which initially spiral into the BH hole along the equatorial plane, penetrate into the regions above the BH "polar caps" and are ejected with high energies to infinity. We show that in such a model acceleration of protons near a BH of typical mass 3e8 solar masses is possible only if the magnetic field is almost aligned with the BH rotation axis. We find that the power of anisotropic electromagnetic emission from an UHECR source near a supermassive BH should be at least 10-100 times larger then UHECR power of the source. This implies that if the number of UHECR sources within the 100 Mpc sphere is ~100, the power of electromagnetic emission which accompanies proton acceleration in each source, 10424310^{42-43} erg/s, is comparable to the typical luminosities of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the local Universe. We also explore the acceleration of heavy nuclei, for which the constraints on the electromagnetic luminosity and on the alignment of magnetic field in the gap are relaxed

    Functional diversity of chemokines and chemokine receptors in response to viral infection of the central nervous system.

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    Encounters with neurotropic viruses result in varied outcomes ranging from encephalitis, paralytic poliomyelitis or other serious consequences to relatively benign infection. One of the principal factors that control the outcome of infection is the localized tissue response and subsequent immune response directed against the invading toxic agent. It is the role of the immune system to contain and control the spread of virus infection in the central nervous system (CNS), and paradoxically, this response may also be pathologic. Chemokines are potent proinflammatory molecules whose expression within virally infected tissues is often associated with protection and/or pathology which correlates with migration and accumulation of immune cells. Indeed, studies with a neurotropic murine coronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), have provided important insight into the functional roles of chemokines and chemokine receptors in participating in various aspects of host defense as well as disease development within the CNS. This chapter will highlight recent discoveries that have provided insight into the diverse biologic roles of chemokines and their receptors in coordinating immune responses following viral infection of the CNS

    Development of a set of patient reported outcome measures for patients with benign liver tumours and cysts:patient focus groups and systematic review

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    BACKGROUND: Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) may be useful for patients with benign liver tumours and cysts (BLTC) to evaluate the impact of treatment and/or guide shared decision making. Yet, a set of PROMs relevant to patients with BLTC is currently unavailable. In this study, we selected a PROMs set for patients with BLTC. METHODS: Potentially relevant patient reported outcomes (PROs) were selected by psychologist-researchers based on keywords used or suggested by participants of two virtual focus groups meetings consisting of thirteen female BLTC patients with a median age of 50 years. Subsequently, patients were asked to report their most relevant PROs. PROMs identified by systematic literature review and computerized adaptive tests (CATs) in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) were considered in selecting the final PROMs set to assess relevant outcomes. RESULTS: The most important PROs were: insecurity/anxiety (11/12 patients), pain (9/12 patients), fatigue (8/12 patients), and limitations in daily life (5/12 patients). The literature review included 23 studies, which used various generic and disease-specific PROMs, often not measuring (all) relevant PROs. The final selected PROMs set included numerical rating scales for pain, two questions on overall health and quality of life and four PROMIS CATs. CONCLUSIONS: A PROMs set generically and efficiently measuring outcomes relevant for patients with BLTC was developed and may be used in future research and clinical practice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41687-022-00531-1

    Increased RPA1 gene dosage affects genomic stability potentially contributing to 17p13.3 duplication syndrome

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    A novel microduplication syndrome involving various-sized contiguous duplications in 17p13.3 has recently been described, suggesting that increased copy number of genes in 17p13.3, particularly PAFAH1B1, is associated with clinical features including facial dysmorphism, developmental delay, and autism spectrum disorder. We have previously shown that patient-derived cell lines from individuals with haploinsufficiency of RPA1, a gene within 17p13.3, exhibit an impaired ATR-dependent DNA damage response (DDR). Here, we show that cell lines from patients with duplications specifically incorporating RPA1 exhibit a different although characteristic spectrum of DDR defects including abnormal S phase distribution, attenuated DNA double strand break (DSB)-induced RAD51 chromatin retention, elevated genomic instability, and increased sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. Using controlled conditional over-expression of RPA1 in a human model cell system, we also see attenuated DSB-induced RAD51 chromatin retention. Furthermore, we find that transient over-expression of RPA1 can impact on homologous recombination (HR) pathways following DSB formation, favouring engagement in aberrant forms of recombination and repair. Our data identifies unanticipated defects in the DDR associated with duplications in 17p13.3 in humans involving modest RPA1 over-expression

    Genetic factors and insulin secretion: gene variants in the IGF genes

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    IGFs are important regulators of pancreatic beta-cell development, growth, and maintenance. Mutations in the IGF genes have been found to be associated with type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, birth weight, and obesity. These associations could result from changes in insulin secretion. We have analyzed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion using hyperglycemic clamps in carriers of a CA repeat in the IGF-I promoter and an ApaI polymorphism in the IGF-II gene. Normal and impaired glucose-tolerant subjects (n = 237) were independently recruited from three different populations in the Netherlands and Germany to allow independent replication of associations. Both first- and second-phase insulin secretion were not significantly different between the various IGF-I or IGF-II genotypes. Remarkably, noncarriers of the IGF-I CA repeat allele had both a reduced insulin sensitivity index (ISI) and disposition index (DI), suggesting an altered balance between insulin secretion and insulin action. Other diabetes-related parameters were not significantly different for both the IGF-I and IGF-II gene variant. We conclude that gene variants in the IGF-I and IGF-II genes are not associated with detectable variations in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in these three independent populations. Further studies are needed to examine the exact contributions of the IGF-I CA repeat alleles to variations in ISI and DI

    Vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers and quantum dot lasers

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    The use of cavity to manipulate photon emission of quantum dots (QDs) has been opening unprecedented opportunities for realizing quantum functional nanophotonic devices and also quantum information devices. In particular, in the field of semiconductor lasers, QDs were introduced as a superior alternative to quantum wells to suppress the temperature dependence of the threshold current in vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VECSELs). In this work, a review of properties and development of semiconductor VECSEL devices and QD laser devices is given. Based on the features of VECSEL devices, the main emphasis is put on the recent development of technological approach on semiconductor QD VECSELs. Then, from the viewpoint of both single QD nanolaser and cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), a single-QD-cavity system resulting from the strong coupling of QD cavity is presented. A difference of this review from the other existing works on semiconductor VECSEL devices is that we will cover both the fundamental aspects and technological approaches of QD VECSEL devices. And lastly, the presented review here has provided a deep insight into useful guideline for the development of QD VECSEL technology and future quantum functional nanophotonic devices and monolithic photonic integrated circuits (MPhICs).Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0904.369

    Genetic Determinants of Serum Testosterone Concentrations in Men

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    Testosterone concentrations in men are associated with cardiovascular morbidity, osteoporosis, and mortality and are affected by age, smoking, and obesity. Because of serum testosterone's high heritability, we performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 8,938 men from seven cohorts and followed up the genome-wide significant findings in one in silico (n = 871) and two de novo replication cohorts (n = 4,620) to identify genetic loci significantly associated with serum testosterone concentration in men. All these loci were also associated with low serum testosterone concentration defined as <300 ng/dl. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms at the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) locus (17p13-p12) were identified as independently associated with serum testosterone concentration (rs12150660, p = 1.2×10−41 and rs6258, p = 2.3×10−22). Subjects with ≥3 risk alleles of these variants had 6.5-fold higher risk of having low serum testosterone than subjects with no risk allele. The rs5934505 polymorphism near FAM9B on the X chromosome was also associated with testosterone concentrations (p = 5.6×10−16). The rs6258 polymorphism in exon 4 of SHBG affected SHBG's affinity for binding testosterone and the measured free testosterone fraction (p<0.01). Genetic variants in the SHBG locus and on the X chromosome are associated with a substantial variation in testosterone concentrations and increased risk of low testosterone. rs6258 is the first reported SHBG polymorphism, which affects testosterone binding to SHBG and the free testosterone fraction and could therefore influence the calculation of free testosterone using law-of-mass-action equation
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