The Comparative Analysis of the Identification of Parasitic Fungi Races Affecting the Soil and Cultivated Vegetable and Cucurbits Crops in the Astrakhan Region

The habitat of plant pathogens does not remain constant and undergoes significant changes. Therefore, the reasons have to be revealed: the emergence of fungal infectious matter in the soil; the infection source and rate, which may have epiphytotic character under environmental factors of the disease development and consequently lead to the reduction in the yield of vegetable and cucurbits crops. As a result, it is necessary to conduct monitoring and objective diagnosis of the phytosanitary condition of the planting of vegetables and melons. In this case, the identification of parasitic fungi races of the Astrakhan region remains relevant and timely

TAVISCORE: a computer program for risk stratification of complications after aortic valve interventions in patients with reduced ejection fraction

Aim. To demonstrate the TAVISCORE program designed to stratify the risk of complications after aortic valve (AV) interventions in patients with reduced ejection fraction.Material and methods. For the period from 2015-2022 at the Almazov Federal North-West Medical Research Center, 128 interventions on AV were performed for aortic stenosis in patients with reduced ejection fraction as follows: 61 — surgical AV replacement (SAVR), 67 — transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). To create an interactive calculator TAVISCORE (link for free download: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a3s2MK6Tpk0cIQ_aMB7xe63upEwJsJOh/view?usp=sharing) all patients were combined into one group. For each factor present in the patient, the prognostic coefficient, its contribution to the likelihood of an event in the long-term follow-up period (death, myocardial infarction, stroke), was calculated. The next step, based on the calculations obtained and using the Python 3.10.6 language, was the creation of the TAVISCORE program.Results. The TAVISCORE was created for the personalized choice of tactics for the treatment of patients with aortic stenosis. It contains 54 risk factors and makes it possible to determine probability of cardiac or non-cardiac events in the long-term follow-up period after SAVR and TAVI. Thus, a tactic with lower probability of a complication can be chosen as optimal in this particular case. Retrospective use of the TAVISCORE after surgery can identify patients at high risk of complications, which will allow them to be selected for more thorough management and more frequent screening.Conclusion. The TAVISCORE can be used by a multidisciplinary consensus to select the treatment tactics and stratify the risk of complications after different AV replacement variants in patients with a reduced ejection fraction. Further prospective testing of this program is required

Role of Interaction and Nucleoside Diphosphate Kinase B in Regulation of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Function by cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase A

Cystic fibrosis results from mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) and ATP-regulated chloride channel. Here, we demonstrate that nucleoside diphosphate kinase B (NDPK-B, NM23-H2) forms a functional complex with CFTR. In airway epithelia forskolin/IBMX significantly increases NDPK-B co-localisation with CFTR whereas PKA inhibitors attenuate complex formation. Furthermore, an NDPK-B derived peptide (but not its NDPK-A equivalent) disrupts the NDPK-B/CFTR complex in vitro (19-mers comprising amino acids 36-54 from NDPK-B or NDPK-A). Overlay (Far-Western) and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) analysis both demonstrate that NDPK-B binds CFTR within its first nucleotide binding domain (NBD1, CFTR amino acids 351-727). Analysis of chloride currents reflective of CFTR or outwardly rectifying chloride channels (ORCC, DIDS-sensitive) showed that the 19-mer NDPK-B peptide (but not its NDPK-A equivalent) reduced both chloride conductances. Additionally, the NDPK-B (but not NDPK-A) peptide also attenuated acetylcholine-induced intestinal short circuit currents. In silico analysis of the NBD1/NDPK-B complex reveals an extended interaction surface between the two proteins. This binding zone is also target of the 19-mer NDPK-B peptide, thus confirming its capability to disrupt NDPK-B/CFTR complex. We propose that NDPK-B forms part of the complex that controls chloride currents in epithelia

“Hot standards” for the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

Within the archaea, the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeote Sulfolobus solfataricus has become an important model organism for physiology and biochemistry, comparative and functional genomics, as well as, more recently also for systems biology approaches. Within the Sulfolobus Systems Biology (“SulfoSYS”)-project the effect of changing growth temperatures on a metabolic network is investigated at the systems level by integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic and enzymatic information for production of a silicon cell-model. The network under investigation is the central carbohydrate metabolism. The generation of high-quality quantitative data, which is critical for the investigation of biological systems and the successful integration of the different datasets, derived for example from high-throughput approaches (e.g., transcriptome or proteome analyses), requires the application and compliance of uniform standard protocols, e.g., for growth and handling of the organism as well as the “–omics” approaches. Here, we report on the establishment and implementation of standard operating procedures for the different wet-lab and in silico techniques that are applied within the SulfoSYS-project and that we believe can be useful for future projects on Sulfolobus or (hyper)thermophiles in general. Beside established techniques, it includes new methodologies like strain surveillance, the improved identification of membrane proteins and the application of crenarchaeal metabolomics

Quantitative metabolomics based on gas chromatography mass spectrometry: status and perspectives

Metabolomics involves the unbiased quantitative and qualitative analysis of the complete set of metabolites present in cells, body fluids and tissues (the metabolome). By analyzing differences between metabolomes using biostatistics (multivariate data analysis; pattern recognition), metabolites relevant to a specific phenotypic characteristic can be identified. However, the reliability of the analytical data is a prerequisite for correct biological interpretation in metabolomics analysis. In this review the challenges in quantitative metabolomics analysis with regards to analytical as well as data preprocessing steps are discussed. Recommendations are given on how to optimize and validate comprehensive silylation-based methods from sample extraction and derivatization up to data preprocessing and how to perform quality control during metabolomics studies. The current state of method validation and data preprocessing methods used in published literature are discussed and a perspective on the future research necessary to obtain accurate quantitative data from comprehensive GC-MS data is provided

A Review of the Occurrence of Bats (Chiroptera) on Islands in the North East Atlantic and on North Sea Installations

The bats recorded from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, and North Sea installations are reviewed to the end of 2012. In total 12 species have been positively identified, while a considerable proportion of all records are sightings of unidentified bats. Eight of the species are European in origin and four originate from the New World. The largest number of species (8) has been recorded in Iceland, but the greatest number of individuals (180) has been found in Orkney. The bat invasion on the Faroe Islands in 2010 is without precedence, when 70 observations of a minimum of 45 individuals were noted. Most bat observations in the study area occurred in the autumn, with fewer in the spring. Most observations were of single animals, but there were also sightings of up to 12 individuals. There has been a marked increase in bat records in the past three decades. We discuss whether this is a real increase, or due to improved communications, increased public awareness, increased shipping, changes in weather patterns and/or the effects of climate change. All factors appear to be involved.© Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS. The attached document is the author(’s’) final accepted/submitted version of the journal article. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it

From lamins to lamina: a structural perspective

Lamin proteins are the major constituents of the nuclear lamina, a proteinaceous network that lines the inner nuclear membrane. Primarily, the nuclear lamina provides structural support for the nucleus and the nuclear envelope; however, lamins and their associated proteins are also involved in most of the nuclear processes, including DNA replication and repair, regulation of gene expression, and signaling. Mutations in human lamin A and associated proteins were found to cause a large number of diseases, termed 'laminopathies.' These diseases include muscular dystrophies, lipodystrophies, neuropathies, and premature aging syndromes. Despite the growing number of studies on lamins and their associated proteins, the molecular organization of lamins in health and disease is still elusive. Likewise, there is no comprehensive view how mutations in lamins result in a plethora of diseases, selectively affecting different tissues. Here, we discuss some of the structural aspects of lamins and the nuclear lamina organization, in light of recent results