Elevated systemic antibodies towards commensal gut microbiota in autoinflammatory condition

Article No. e3172Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

The assessment of winter wheat agrocenoses adaptivity in the conditions of the submontane zone of the Central Caucasus

The article presents the results of 3 years study on the adaptation of the properties of various winter wheat varieties to the conditions of the submontane zone of the Central Caucasus. The indicator of the ontogenetic adaptability was the homeostaticity of the plants. We have studied thirty winter wheat varieties according to the parameters of ecological plasticity, productivity and resistance to the destructive complex of diseases and pests like Fusarium head blight, brown and yellow rust, Septoria blight, tan spot etc. The yield of the mixed variety crops was 4.5 t/ha; the increase was 9%. In the crops of the triple mixture of the strong Veda and Delta varieties (25%) with the valuable Batko variety (50%), which differed in resistance to various diseases, the average yield of 52 cwt/ha was obtained with the protein content of 12%, the gluten content of 28% and the flour strength of 320 a.u. The authors used the resistance of the precocious Kuma variety to the damage by the cereal leaf beetle as a protective screening crop along with the field perimeter. Such a screening crop of the stable variety prevents the colonization of the crops of the other less resistant varieties with pests. The genetic diversity of the variety creates the conditions for regulating and stabilizing the phytosanitary state of the crops and increasing their productivity. With this agrotechnical method, it becomes possible to regulate and stabilize the phytosanitary situation in the fields and to increase grain productivity and quality

Optofluidic lens with tunable focal length and asphericity

Adaptive micro-lenses enable the design of very compact optical systems with tunable imaging properties. Conventional adaptive micro-lenses suffer from substantial spherical aberration that compromises the optical performance of the system. Here, we introduce a novel concept of liquid micro-lenses with superior imaging performance that allows for simultaneous and independent tuning of both focal length and asphericity. This is achieved by varying both hydrostatic pressures and electric fields to control the shape of the refracting interface between an electrically conductive lens fluid and a non-conductive ambient fluid. Continuous variation from spherical interfaces at zero electric field to hyperbolic ones with variable ellipticity for finite fields gives access to lenses with positive, zero, and negative spherical aberration (while the focal length can be tuned via the hydrostatic pressure)

Culture-bound terms en los diccionarios bilingües (español-ruso y español-armenio)

Las variaciones culturales se reflejan en la lengua y se notan sobre todo a la hora de la comunicación. Para poder relacionarnos dentro de la sociedad necesitamos recibir y transmitir la información a través de la lengua. Tal como vemos a lo largo de nuestro trabajo, lengua y cultura son dos conceptos (realidades) inseparables. La lengua nos permite transmitir el espíritu cultural de una nación en concreto; es decir, es un medio de comunicación que permite transmitir la realidad. Todos los acontecimientos culturales encuentran su reflejo en la lengua, especialmente en su léxico. Para la interpretación y el uso de este tipo de léxico es imprescindible el conocimiento adicional típico de un determinado grupo sociopolítico. El léxico de cualquier idioma refleja el pensamiento nacional. Por esta razón necesitamos información adicional sobre el pensamiento de un pueblo a la hora de aprender los elementos culturalmente marcados. Una revisión de los trabajos dedicados a los culture-bound terms nos mostró la evidencia de que los estudios del tratamiento de estas unidades culturalmente marcadas en los diccionario bilingües no eran numerosas, por no hablar de su falta en la lexicografía bilingüe: español - armenio y español - ruso. El objetivo final de nuestro trabajo es realizar un análisis profundo de tratamiento de los culture-bound terms de las lenguas armenia, española y rusa. Una vez aceptado que lo cultural está interrelacionado con la lingüística se hace necesario delimitar qué son los culture-bound terms. Por consiguiente, en nuestra investigación nos ocupamos de exponer los estudios que consideramos más convenientes sobre el tratamiento de las unidades culturalmente marcadas. En la formación de los culture-bound terms intervienen determinados elementos que hacen referencia a aspectos culturales muy específicos, lo que dificulta el establecimiento de equivalentes y exige la inclusión de algún tipo de información enciclopédica (una descripción adicional) que permita completar su definición y facilite su uso. El tema de tratamiento lexicográfico de los culture-bound terms, en el marco de la lexicografía bilingüe, es muy amplio y abarca, como veremos durante nuestro trabajo, desde el proceso de selección de las unidades, hasta su tratamiento y presentación. El diccionario bilingüe, cuya finalidad esencial es y debe ser, la de ayudar a quien lo consulte a comprender el significado de las palabras y poder usarlas adecuadamente en la comunicación, debe atender a las exigencias descriptivas de los culture-bound terms facilitando la información adicional. Después de la identificación y clasificación de los ámbitos culturales a base de la revisión de las propuestas teóricas acerca del tratamiento de los culture-bound terms, pasamos a la siguiente fase que consiste en el análisis del corpus complementario. Esta fase se inició con el vaciado por separado del corpus principal de dos diccionarios español-ruso y español-armenio (Anexo 1) después le hemos añadido los ejemplos recopilados durante el trabajo de campo. Después de crear el corpus nos centramos en el análisis de las unidades: realizando una valoración de sus cargas culturales y analizando las soluciones propuestas por los diccionarios bilingües. Una vez acabado el análisis del corpus léxico procedemos con el análisis de otro corpus creado especialmente para nuestra investigación que incluye los pragmatemas como culture-bound terms. Consideramos que son elementos culturalmente marcados vinculados a una situación comunicativa en concreto y su interpretación incorrecta puede llevar al choque cultural. Finalmente, en el último capítulo presentamos los resultados a los que hemos llegado realizando este trabajo. Resumiendo, el trabajo está estructurado en 6 partes: 1.El trío: cultura, lengua y los culture-bound terms. 2.Los culture-bound terms. 3.Traducción de los culture-bound terms y lexicografía bilingüe. 4.Análisis del corpus constituido. 5.Pragmatemas como culture-bound terms. 6.ConclusionesCultural variations are reflected in the language and become most apparent in interpersonal communication. In order to communicate within our society, we need to be able to receive and transmit information through the use of language. In fact, we see it in our daily work, language and culture are two inseparable concepts (realities). Language allows us to transmit the cultural spirit of a particular nation; in other words, it is a way of communicating to the outside world. All cultural events are reflected in the language, especially in its lexicon. In order to interpret and use such vocabulary, it is essential that we also have traditional knowledge about a particular socio-political group. A language's lexical repertoire reflects the national thought. For this reason we need more knowledge about people's way of thinking when it comes to learning about culturally-marked items. A review of the work undertaken on culture-bound terms confirmed to us that there are not many studies assessing the treatment of these culturally-marked units in the bilingual dictionary, not to mention their lack in the Spanish - Armenian Spanish - Russian bilingual lexicography. The final goal of our work is to conduct a thorough analysis of the treatment of culture-bound terms in the Armenian, Russian and Spanish languages. Once the relationship between culture and linguistics has been accepted, it becomes necessary to define what culture-bound terms are. Therefore, in our research, we address those studies that we consider most appropriate for assessing the treatment of culturally-marked units. The creation of culture-bound terms involves the participation of certain elements that make reference to very specific cultural aspects; this hinders the establishment of equivalents and requires the inclusion of some encyclopedic information (some sort of additional description) to completely define them and to facilitate their usage. The lexicographical treatment of culture-bound terms, in the context of bilingual lexicography is a very broad theme that covers all aspects, as discussed throughout our work; from the selection of the units to their treatment and presentation. The bilingual dictionary − whose primary purpose is and should be to help those who consult it to understand the meaning of words and to use them properly in communication − must meet the requirements of descriptive culture-bound terms and thus provide additional information. After the identification and classification of cultural areas based on the review of theoretical proposals for the treatment of culture-bound terms, we proceed to the next step, which consisted of the analysis of the complementary corpus. This phase was initiated by emptying the main body of two dictionaries separately − the Russian-Spanish and Spanish-Armenian dictionaries (Annex 1) − and then we added the examples that were collected during the fieldwork. After creating the corpus, we focused on the analysis of the units: making an assessment of their cultural baggage and analyzing the solutions proposed by the bilingual dictionaries. After the completion of the analysis of the lexical corpus, we proceeded with the analysis of another corpus especially created for our research purposes that includes pragmatemes as culture-bound terms; we consider these as culturally-marked elements linked to a particular communicative situation and their misinterpretation could lead to culture shock. Finally, in the last chapter we present the results that we have achieved from this work. In short, the work is divided into 6 parts: 1. The trio: culture, language and culture-bound terms. 2. The culture-bound terms. 3. Translation of culture-bound terms and bilingual lexicography. 4. Analysis of the created corpus. 5. Pragmatemes as culture-bound terms. 6. Conclusions

Химиотерапия распространенного рака поджелудочной железы у пациентов старшей возрастной группы (обзор литературы)

Elderly patients with malignant neoplasms of the pancreas are poorly represented in large clinical trials. Thus, in the MPACT and ACCORD study, the median age of patients with malignant neoplasms of the pancreas was 61 years, and it remains unclear whether the results obtained can be extrapolated to older patients, whom we most often encounter in real clinical practice. The vast majority of studies that analyzed the efficacy and tolerability of systemic chemotherapy in elderly and senile patients showed good tolerability of gemcitabine monotherapy, the tolerability of combined chemotherapy regimens among older patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma varied between studies, but was expectedly higher than with monotherapy. with regard to survival rates, the effectiveness of systemic chemotherapy has also been shown here, especially combined regimens among elderly patients. But almost all studies were retrospective or included a small number of patients, which does not allow assessing the reliability of the results. The question of the advisability of intensifying chemotherapy in elderly and senile patients remains open.Пациенты пожилого и старческого возраста со злокачественными новообразованиями поджелудочной железы в крупных клинических исследованиях представлены скупо. Так, в исследованиях MPACT и ACCORD медиана возраста пациентов со злокачественными новообразованиями поджелудочной железы составила 61 год, и остается неясным, можно ли экстраполировать полученные результаты на пациентов старшего возраста, которых мы чаще всего и встречаем в реальной клинической практике. Подавляющее большинство работ, где проводился анализ эффективности и переносимости системной химиотерапии у пациентов пожилого и старческого возраста, показали хорошую переносимость монотерапии гемцитабином; переносимость комбинированных режимов химиотерапии среди пациентов старшей возрастной группы с аденокарциномой поджелудочной железы различалась между исследованиями, но была ожидаемо выше, чем при монотерапии. Что касается показателей выживаемости у пожилых пациентов, здесь также была показана эффективность системной химиотерапии, особенно комбинированных режимов. Но практически все исследования были ретроспективными или включали малое число больных, что не позволяет оценить достоверность результатов. Таким образом, вопрос о целесообразности интенсификации химиотерапии у пациентов пожилого и старческого возраста остается открытым

Investigation of pulse shape neutron-gamma discrimination

The role of neutron beam investigation is significant not only for fundamental science but also for various fields of applied science. This work is dedicated to the formation of neutron beams using the external 18-MeV proton beam of IBA cyclotron C18/18 with a beam current of up to 100 µA. The facility is located at the A. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute). The possibility to obtain thermal or epithermal neutron beams using the external proton beam of the cyclotron is studied using Geant4 simulations. In this case, a quasimonoenergetic neutron source 9Be (p, n)9B reaction is chosen. As a result of the simulations, the optimal thickness of the 9Be beryllium isotope target is determined. The induced neutron beam is accompanied by a gamma ray background. To decrease the number of accompanying gamma rays, the lead absorber is considered. As a method of separating neutrons from gamma rays, the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) technique is developed. This study shows the possibility of neutron-gamma PSD and its applicability using the EJ-299-33A plastic scintillator

Features of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in diabetic patients with resistant hypertension

BACKGROUND: It is expected that a steady increase in the incidence of diabetes and resistant hypertension (RHTN), along with an increase in life expectancy, will lead to a noticeable increase in the proportion of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). At the same time, data on the frequency of HFpEF in a selective group of patients with RHTN in combination with diabetes are still lacking, and the pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms of its formation have not been yet studied sufficiently.AIM: To assess the features of the development HFpEF in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with RHTN, as well as to determine the factors associated with HFpEF.MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the study were included 36 patients with RHTN and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) (mean age 61.4 ± 6.4 years, 14 men) and 33 patients with RHTN without diabetes, matched by sex, age and level of systolic blood pressure (BP). All patients underwent baseline office and 24-hour BP measurement, echocardiography with assess diastolic function, lab tests (basal glycemia, HbA1c, creatinine, aldosterone, TNF-alpha, hsCRP, brain naturetic peptide, metalloproteinases of types 2, 9 (MMP-2, MMP-9) and tissue inhibitor of MMP type 1 (TIMP-1)). HFpEF was diagnosed according to the 2019 AHA/ESC guidelines.RESULTS: The frequency of HFpEF was significantly higher in patients with RHTN with DM than those without DM (89% and 70%, respectively, p=0.045). This difference was due to a higher frequency of such major functional criterion of HFpEF as E/e’≥15 (p=0.042), as well as a tendency towards a higher frequency of an increase in left atrial volumes (p=0.081) and an increase in BNP (p=0.110). Despite the comparable frequency of diastolic dysfunction in patients with and without diabetes (100% and 97%, respectively), disturbance of the transmitral blood flow in patients with DM were more pronounced than in those without diabetes. Deterioration of transmitral blood flow and pseudo-normalization of diastolic function in diabetic patients with RHTN have relationship not only with signs of carbohydrate metabolism disturbance, but also with level of pulse blood pressure, TNF-alfa, TIMP-1 and TIMP-1 / MMP-2 ratio, which, along with the incidence of atherosclerosis, were higher in patients with DM than in those without diabetes.CONCLUSIONS: Thus, HFpEF occurs in the majority of diabetic patients with RHTN. The frequency of HFpEF in patients with DN is significantly higher than in patients without it, which is associated with more pronounced impairments of diastolic function. The progressive development of diastolic dysfunction in patients with diabetes mellitus is associated not only with metabolic disorders, but also with increased activity of chronic subclinical inflammation, profibrotic state and high severity of vascular changes