Self-regulation and experience of loneliness of elderly people who live in social care residences

© Author(s).The research addresses the peculiarities of self-regulation of loneliness experience of elderly people living in care homes. The population of the study consisted of 60 elderly people (65 – 80 years old). 30 of them live in families with spouses and children and 30 persons live in the State residential social service institution. It was found that elderly people who live in the social care residence show a higher level of sense of loneliness and lower level of involvement than those living with families. Reduction of the sense of loneliness of the care home residents correlates with high level of mindfulness and using such defense mechanisms as denial and intellectualization, projection and displacement. Reduction of the sense of loneliness of the elderly people who live in families directly correlates with high mindfulness, high hardiness and usage of the following defense mechanisms: regression, projection and displacement. In the senior care residents’ sample group strong sense of loneliness directly correlates with high hardiness and risk taking

A new regional climate model for POLAR-CORDEX : evaluation of a 30-year hindcast with COSMO-CLM2 over Antarctica

Continent-wide climate information over the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) is important to obtain accurate information of present climate and reduce uncertainties of the ice sheet mass balance response and resulting global sea level rise to future climate change. In this study, the COSMO-CLM2 Regional Climate Model is applied over the AIS and adapted for the specific meteorological and climatological conditions of the region. A 30-year hindcast was performed and evaluated against observational records consisting of long-term ground-based meteorological observations, automatic weather stations, radiosoundings, satellite records, stake measurements and ice cores. Reasonable agreement regarding the surface and upper-air climate is achieved by the COSMO-CLM2 model, comparable to the performance of other state-of-the-art climate models over the AIS. Meteorological variability of the surface climate is adequately simulated, and biases in the radiation and surface mass balance are small. The presented model therefore contributes as a new member to the COordinated Regional Downscaling EXperiment project over the AIS (POLAR-CORDEX) and the CORDEX-CORE initiative

Investigating the Differences Between Prepared and Spontaneous Speech Characteristics: Descriptive Approach

In the modern EFL paradigm, pre-task planning time is viewed as a norm. Pre-task planning time is one of the central concerns of teachers, test-developers, as well as researchers. Pre-task planning is planning a speech before performing a task, and it also involves rehearsal and strategic planning. The paper addresses the problem of pre-task planning advisability for A2 Russian EFL speakers. The research presented in this paper examines the structure, breakdown, repair, syntactic complexity, lexical diversity as well as the accuracy of the discourse produced by 145 Russian participants of the English language competition held in Kazan, Russia, in January 2020. The discourse analysis revealed that the pre-task time is used by A2 EFL speakers not only to focus on a dialog but also to elicit a topic text from memory, thus focusing on form rather than meaning. Hence, in A2 tests prioritizing meaning over form and measuring the ability for spontaneous speech, the one-minute pre-task planning time is viewed as questionable

Superstitiousness and paranormal beliefs of the Russian and tatar students

© 2017 Serials Publications. The sociological studies carried out during the recent decade show that the large part the population in Russia (various demographical groups) believe in the paranormal, observe different rituals, turn to wizards, fortune-tellers, healers and psychic mediums for help. This phenomenon is also spread enough among university students. Superstitiousness and beliefs in the paranormal among young people is a point of special research interest. Besides in the multi-cultural contexts it is reasonably important to see the ethnic specifics of superstitions and beliefs. The research methodology if the study consists of the "Paranormal Belief Scale", the "Superstitiousness Inventory", the "World Assumptions Scale", and the "Ways of Coping Questionnaire". The findings show that the students from the Tatar ethnic group trend to be more subject to the traditional religious formulas (Islam) about the existence of God, Paradise and Hell, devil and others than the Russian ethnic group. Tatar students demonstrate direct correlation between traditional religious beliefs as well as beliefs in communication with spirits, magic and fortune-telling and positive reappraisal as a way of stress coping. The more the belief in magic, transmigration of souls and fortune telling is in the Tatar sample, the more convinced they are in their personal good luck. In the Russian sample the faith in justice of the world is directly related to the traditional religion (Orthodox Christianity), as well as with the beliefs in magic and fortune telling. The students from the Russian ethnic sample with the expressed faith in the paranormal phenomena show escape-avoidance coping strategy

An improved algorithm for polar cloud-base detection by ceilometer over the ice sheets

Optically thin ice and mixed-phase clouds play an important role in polar regions due to their effect on cloud radiative impact and precipitation. Cloud-base heights can be detected by ceilometers, low-power backscatter lidars that run continuously and therefore have the potential to provide basic cloud statistics including cloud frequency, base height and vertical structure. The standard cloud-base detection algorithms of ceilometers are designed to detect optically thick liquid-containing clouds, while the detection of thin ice clouds requires an alternative approach. This paper presents the polar threshold (PT) algorithm that was developed to be sensitive to optically thin hydrometeor layers (minimum optical depth τ ≥ 0.01). The PT algorithm detects the first hydrometeor layer in a vertical attenuated backscatter profile exceeding a predefined threshold in combination with noise reduction and averaging procedures. The optimal backscatter threshold of 3 × 10^−4 km⁻¹ sr⁻¹ for cloud-base detection near the surface was derived based on a sensitivity analysis using data from Princess Elisabeth, Antarctica and Summit, Greenland. At higher altitudes where the average noise level is higher than the backscatter threshold, the PT algorithm becomes signal-to-noise ratio driven. The algorithm defines cloudy conditions as any atmospheric profile containing a hydrometeor layer at least 90 m thick. A comparison with relative humidity measurements from radiosondes at Summit illustrates the algorithm's ability to significantly discriminate between clear-sky and cloudy conditions. Analysis of the cloud statistics derived from the PT algorithm indicates a year-round monthly mean cloud cover fraction of 72% (±10%) at Summit without a seasonal cycle. The occurrence of optically thick layers, indicating the presence of supercooled liquid water droplets, shows a seasonal cycle at Summit with a monthly mean summer peak of 40 % (±4%). The monthly mean cloud occurrence frequency in summer at Princess Elisabeth is 46% (±5%), which reduces to 12% (±2.5%) for supercooled liquid cloud layers. Our analyses furthermore illustrate the importance of optically thin hydrometeor layers located near the surface for both sites, with 87% of all detections below 500 m for Summit and 80% below 2 km for Princess Elisabeth. These results have implications for using satellite-based remotely sensed cloud observations, like CloudSat that may be insensitive for hydrometeors near the surface. The decrease of sensitivity with height, which is an inherent limitation of the ceilometer, does not have a significant impact on our results. This study highlights the potential of the PT algorithm to extract information in polar regions from various hydrometeor layers using measurements by the robust and relatively low-cost ceilometer instrument

CCN measurements at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station during three austral summers

For three austral summer seasons (2013–2016, each from December to February) aerosol particles arriving at the Belgian Antarctic research station Princess Elisabeth (PE) in Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica were characterized. This included number concentrations of total aerosol particles (NCN) and cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN), the particle number size distribution (PNSD), the aerosol particle hygroscopicity, and the influence of the air mass origin on NCN and NCCN. In general NCN was found to range from 40 to 6700&thinsp;cm−3, with a median of 333&thinsp;cm−3, while NCCN was found to cover a range between less than 10 and 1300&thinsp;cm−3 for supersaturations (SSs) between 0.1&thinsp;% and 0.7&thinsp;%. It is shown that the aerosol is dominated by the Aitken mode, being characterized by a significant amount of small, and therefore likely secondarily formed, aerosol particles, with 94&thinsp;% and 36&thinsp;% of the aerosol particles smaller than 90 and ≈35&thinsp;nm, respectively. Measurements of the basic meteorological parameters as well as the history of the air masses arriving at the measurement station indicate that the station is influenced by both marine air masses originating from the Southern Ocean and coastal areas around Antarctica (marine events – MEs) and continental air masses (continental events – CEs). CEs, which were defined as instances when the air masses spent at least 90&thinsp;% of the time over the Antarctic continent during the last 10 days prior to arrival at the measurements station, occurred during 61&thinsp;% of the time during which measurements were done. CEs came along with rather constant NCN and NCCN values, which we denote as Antarctic continental background concentrations. MEs, however, cause large fluctuations in NCN and NCCN, with low concentrations likely caused by scavenging due to precipitation and high concentrations likely originating from new particle formation (NPF) based on marine precursors. The application of HYSPLIT back trajectories in form of the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis indicate that the region of the Southern Ocean is a potential source of Aitken mode particles. On the basis of PNSDs, together with NCCN measured at an SS of 0.1&thinsp;%, median values for the critical diameter for cloud droplet activation and the aerosol particle hygroscopicity parameter κ were determined to be 110&thinsp;nm and 1, respectively. For particles larger than ≈110&thinsp;nm the Southern Ocean together with parts of the Antarctic ice shelf regions were found to be potential source regions. While the former may contribute sea spray particles directly, the contribution of the latter may be due to the emission of sea salt aerosol particles, released from snow particles from surface snow layers, e.g., during periods of high wind speed, leading to drifting or blowing snow. The region of the Antarctic inland plateau, however, was not found to feature a significant source region for aerosol particles in general or for cloud condensation nuclei measured at the PE station in the austral summer.</p

The use of apolipoprotein A-I as a component of serum-free nutrient medium for bone marrow cell culture

An important step in preparation of cells for cell therapy and tissue engineering is the cultivation of cells in vitro. The aim of this work is to study the effect of human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) on the functional activity of cultured bone marrow cells and to show the possibility of using this protein instead of animal fetal serum. Material and methods. Bone marrow cells were cultured in 24-well plates in RPMI-1640 medium in a CO2 incubator at a temperature of 37 °C. The rate of incorporation of [14C]-leucine into the total cell protein and [3H]-thymidine into the DNA was used as an integral indicator of cell viability during cultivation. Results and discussion. It was found that the rate of DNA synthesis in bone marrow cells in the presence of apo A-I increased compared with the control group (without apo A-I) by 55 % after 8 hours, by 523 % after 24 hours and by 219 % after 48 hours. Under these conditions the rate of protein synthesis was also increased. The results indicate that the presence of apo A-I in serum-free culture medium preserves the functional activity of cultured bone marrow cells. Considering that the regulatory effect of apo A-I is achieved at a low protein concentration in the medium (15 μg/ml), isolation of apo A-I from the patient’s own blood serum will provide a practically safe nutrient medium for culturing autologous bone marrow cells with applications in personalized cell therapy and tissue engineering

Spontaneous and induced secretion of the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic foot syndrome

AIMS:&nbsp;Investigation of spontaneous and induced secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-&alpha; (TNF-&alpha;) and the anti-inflammatory chemokine C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 18 (CCL18) by monocytes isolated from blood of patients with long-term type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), both with or without foot ulcers and the effect of the course use of the combined metabolic drug Kokarnit as part of complex therapy on the dynamics of the severity of symptoms of DSPN and the cytokine phenotype in patients with long-term non-healing ulcers of the lower extremities MATERIALS AND METHODS:&nbsp;121 patients with T2DM, 79 without diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) and 42 patients with DFS were included. CD14+ monocytes were isolated from patients&rsquo; blood and stimulated by interferon-&gamma; (IFN-&gamma;) and interleukine-4 (IL-4) for induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory monocyte activation, respectively. The concentrations of TNF-&alpha; and CCL18 in the culture medium were measured using ELISA on day 1 and day 6 after cell stimulation in all patients before taking the combined metabolic drug Kokarnit. Then they were randomly allocated either to the control group (57 people), to whom Kokarnit was added to standard treatment, or to the comparison group. After a 9-day course of application of Kokarnit, the dynamics of indicators was evaluated on a TSS scale. Assessment of cytokine status was carried out in 18 people with long-term non-healing ulcerative defects of the lower extremities, on the first and ninth day of treatment. RESULTS:&nbsp;A correlation was found between HbA1c&nbsp;and levels of stimulated secretion of TNF&alpha; (r=0.726, p=0.027), CCL18 (r=-0.949, p=0.051) in patients with DSPN. In all patients with different duration of VDS, an increase in secretion of TNF-&alpha; and CCL18 was observed (p&lt;0.05). However, stimulation of anti-inflammatory activation was not observed in patients with ulcerative defects lasting more than 6 months (p=0.033). The use of cocarnit in these patients had a decrease in stimulated secretion of TNF&alpha; and an increase in CCL18. Throughout the entire observation period with the therapy, the score for the symptoms of polyneuropathy on the TSS scale in patients of the control group was statistically significantly higher. CONCLUSION:&nbsp;Against the background of therapy in patients of the main group, a statistically significant dynamics of indicators on the TSS scale was established. The cytokine modulating ability of Kokarnit to switch the cytokine status into the category of anti-inflammatory

Substantiation of approaches to the correction of lipid metabolism disorders and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children with exogenous obesity

BACKGROUND: According to the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of obesity, the plasma level of coenzyme q10 in the correlation relationship with lipid metabolism disorders and functional liver state is of interest to study.AIM: Substantiation of approaches to the correction of lipid metabolism disorders and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in children with exogenous obesity based on the content of coenzyme Q10 and its relationship with lipid profile and liver enzymes.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The single-center cross-sectional study enlisted the control (n=32, -1.0≤BMI SD score ≤+2.0) and obese (n=40, BMI SD score&gt;+2.0) groups of children with the mean age of 12 yr. In all children BMI, lipidogram, liver enzymes (ALT and AST), plasma coenzyme Q10 and liver ultrasound examination were assessed.RESULTS: Patients of both groups were comparable (p&gt; 0.05) in age and gender. The level of coenzyme Q10 in the compared groups was comparable (p&gt; 0.05) and did not differ in patients with different degrees of obesity. According to the results of the study of the lipid profile in the obese children, the level of HDL was lower, and the level of LDL was higher than that in control group. The highest value of HDL was obtained in the patients with the 1st degree of obesity and the highest level of triglycerides — in the patients with the 4th degree of obesity. The control group demonstrated moderate correlations between endogenous coenzyme Q10 and total cholesterol (r=0.474, p=0.009) which persists in patients with the first degree of obesity (r = 0.548, p = 0.035). There was no difference in AST in the study groups, however, the main group demonstrated elevated ALT and ALT/AST ratio (p &lt;0.001). The highest ALT and ALT / AST ratio were observed in patients with greatest degree of obesity. Eighteen obese children (45%) had ALT / AST ratio ≥1 (in the control group –one patient (3%) (p &lt;0.001), while fourteen patients showed liver enlargement and structure change according to ultrasound (80%). The control group demonstrated moderate correlations between endogenous coenzyme Q10 and total cholesterol (r=0.474, p=0.009) and between coenzyme Q10 and ALT / AST ratio (r=0.412, p=0.023) . In the obese group there was correlation between AI and ALT / AST (r = 0.436, p = 0.006) and in patients with the 1st degree of obesity — between also coenzyme Q10 and ALT (r = 0.875, p &lt;0.001).CONCLUSION: The disturbances in adequate control of cholesterol by coenzyme Q10 in obese children possibly confirming the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease can serve as indication to use coenzyme Q10 in order to correct these complications

Analysis of Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Acetylsalicylic Acid for Prediction of Potential Nephrotoxic Effects

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including acetylsalicylic acid, can have a dose-dependent nephrotoxic effect. The study of the pharmacokinetics of acetylsalicylic acid products will contribute to timely detection and correction of side effects caused by this medicinal product.The aim of the study was to evaluate potential nephrotoxic effects following a single oral administration of 75 mg of acetylsalicylic acid, based on the analysis of the pharmacokinetic parameters.Materials and methods: the study involved 24 healthy volunteers who received 75 mg of acetylsalicylic acid (tablets) once orally. The measurement of the active metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid—salicylic acid—in blood plasma was performed by HPLC/MS using an Agilent 1200 liquid chromatography system coupled to an Agilent 6140 tandem mass spectrometer. Agilent Eclipse XDB-C18 column (4.6 mm×150 mm; 5.0 μm) was used for chromatographic separation. The test procedure used in the study was validated. The results obtained were used to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters: Cmax (maximum concentration), Tmax (time to maximum concentration), T1/2 (half-life of the drug), AUC0-t (area under the pharmacokinetic curve from 0 to the last time point of the curve), AUC0-∞ (total area under the pharmacokinetic curve from 0 to ∞), MRT (mean residence time of the drug in the blood), Kel (elimination rate constant), Cl/F (total clearance), Vd/F (apparent volume of distribution). The Statistics (22.0.0.0) software was used for statistical processing of the results.Results: T1/2 of salicylic acid in blood plasma was determined to be 1.6 ± 0.5 h, Cmax was 4523.0 ± 725.0 ng/mL, and Tmax was 0.98 ± 0.4 h. AUC0–t was equal to 16183.0 ± 3823.0 ng×h/m, Vd/F was 12.0 ± 3.1 L/kg, and MRT was 2.9 ± 0.6 h.Conclusions: the analysis of the pharmacokinetic parameters demonstrated a high absorption rate, intensive distribution, and moderate elimination rate of salicylic acid (the main metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid), indicating a low risk of nephrotoxic effects associated with the studied dose of the drug