Magnet-facilitated selection of electrogenic bacteria from marine sediment

Some bacteria can carry out anaerobic respiration by depositing electrons on external materials, such as electrodes, thereby creating an electrical current. Into the anode chamber of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) having abiotic air-cathodes we inoculated microorganisms cultured from a magnetic particle-enriched portion of a marine tidal sediment, reasoning that since some external electron acceptors are ferromagnetic, electrogenic bacteria should be found in their vicinity. Two MFCs, one inoculated with a mixed bacterial culture and the other with an axenic culture of a helical bacterium isolated from the magnetic particle enrichment, termed strain HJ, were operated for 65 d. Both MFCs produced power, with production from the mixed culture MFC exceeding that of strain HJ. Strain HJ was identified as a Thalassospira sp. by transmission electron microscopic analysis and 16S rRNA gene comparisons. An MFC inoculated with strain HJ and operated in open circuit produced 47% and 57% of the maximal power produced from MFCs inoculated with the known electrogen Geobacter daltonii and the magnetotactic bacterium Desulfamplus magnetomortis, respectively. Further investigation will be needed to determine whether bacterial populations associated with magnetic particles within marine sediments are enriched for electrogens

РЫНОК ТУРИСТИЧЕСКИХ УСЛУГ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ ЦЕНООБРАЗОВАНИЯ

Article retractedThe article is devoted to the actual topic of our time - the development of tourism services. The development of tourism is the leading technology trend dynamics maroon economic caused social restructuring of modern society. Macroeconomic Financial Statistics conrms the minimum amplitude of cyclical uctuations in the service sector, which turns it into countercyclical tool. In the Russian Federation the economic problem of a state policy in the sphere of tourist services is defined - to having turned tourism in competitive, innovative, countercyclical, and highly protable sector of national business. In article pricing factors are dened and are dened key of them, responsible for the cost of a tourist product. This work answers such questions of travel company as: denition of optimum group, formation of a transport tariff, structure of a tourist product on the main and accompanying services and their range, ways of sale. A practical advice by calculation of expenses is given. Correlation and regression and cluster analyses acted as research tools when performing work. In article the conclusion is drawn that the main methods of marketing management of pricing in the market of tourist services are: transition to the unified technology of granting a service on the basis of ISO; intensication and integration of the sphere of production and servicesСтатья отозванаСтатья посвящена актуальной теме сов-ременности - развитию туристической сферы услуг. Развитие технологий туриз-ма является ведущей тенденцией дина-мики мировой экономики, обусловленной социальной реструктуризацией совре-менного общества. Макроэкономическая финансовая статистика подтверждает минимальную амплитуду циклического колебания сферы обслуживания, что превращает ее в антициклический инс-трумент. В РФ определена экономичес-кая задача государственной политики в сфере туристических услуг - превратить туризм в конкурентоспособный, иннова-ционный, устойчивый и высокодоходный сектор национального бизнеса. В статье определяются ценообразующие фак-торы и определяются ключевые из них, ответственные за стоимость туристичес-кого продукта. Данная работа отвечает на такие вопросы туристической фирмы как: определение оптимальной группы, формирование транспортного тарифа, структура туристического продукта по основным и сопутствующим услугам и их ассортимент, способы продажи. Даны практические советы по расчёту издержек. В качестве исследовательского инструментария при выполнении работы выступали корреляционно-регрессионный и кластерный анализы. В статье сделан вывод, что основными методами марке-тингового управления ценообразованием на рынке туристических услуг являются: переход к унифицированной технологии предоставления обслуживания на базе ИСО; интенсификация и интеграции сфе-ры производства и услуг

Macrophage population state and proliferative activity of spleen cells under liver regeneration conditions

Relevance. Currently, the participation of immune system cells in the regulation of reparative processes is attracting more and more attention of researchers. There is an anatomical connection between the liver and spleen by means of portal vein. Thus, cytokines and other biologically active substances can enter the liver from the spleen through the portal vein, as well as cells can migrate to the liver. However, the specific mechanisms of mutual influence of the mentioned organs, including in reparative processes, remain poorly studied. The aim of our work was to study the state of spleen monocyte-macrophage population after liver resection, as well as the proliferative activity of spleen cells during liver regeneration . Materials and Methods . The model of liver regeneration after 70 % resection in mouse was reproduced in this work. The animals were taken out of the experiment after 1, 3 and 7 days. The marker of cell proliferation Ki67 was immunohistochemically detected, the state of spleen monocyte-macrophage population was evaluated by markers CD68, CD115, CD206, F4/80 by methods of immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Results and Discussion . The liver regeneration had a pronounced effect on the cytoarchitectonics of the spleen. In 1 day after liver resection in the spleen there was observed a decrease in the share of Ki67+cells, according to the flow cytometry data there was a decrease in the number of CD115+cells, in 3 and 7 days there was a decrease in the number of F4/80+ macrophages. Conclusion . Liver resection causes changes in the state of cell populations of the spleen as well. First of all, to the decrease in the activity of proliferative processes in it, as well as to the changes in the state of the monocyte-macrophage system. A decrease in the content of CD115+ and F4/80+ cells in the spleen was found, which indirectly indicates the migration of monocytes/macrophages after liver resection, which can also influence the course of reparative processes in the liver

Comparative metagenomic analysis of electrogenic microbial communities in differentially inoculated swine wastewater-fed microbial fuel cells

Bioelectrochemical systems such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising new technologies for efficient removal of organic compounds from industrial wastewaters, including that generated from swine farming. We inoculated two pairs of laboratory-scale MFCs with sludge granules from a beer wastewater-treating anaerobic digester (IGBS) or from sludge taken from the bottom of a tank receiving swine wastewater (SS). The SS-inoculated MFC outperformed the IGBS-inoculated MFC with regard to COD and VFA removal and electricity production. Using a metagenomic approach, we describe the microbial diversity of the MFC planktonic and anodic communities derived from the different inocula. Proteobacteria (mostly Deltaproteobacteria) became the predominant phylum in both MFC anodic communities with amplification of the electrogenic genus Geobacter being the most pronounced. Eight dominant and three minor species of Geobacter were found in both MFC anodic communities. The anodic communities of the SS-inoculated MFCs had a higher proportion of Clostridium and Bacteroides relative to those of the IGBS-inoculated MFCs, which were enriched with Pelobacter. The archaeal populations of the SS- and IGBS-inoculated MFCs were dominated by Methanosarcina barkeri and Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus, respectively. Our results show a long-term influence of inoculum type on the performance and microbial community composition of swine wastewater-treating MFCs

Monitoring of breast cancer progression via aptamer-based detection of circulating tumor cells in clinical blood samples

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) diagnostics lack noninvasive methods and procedures for screening and monitoring disease dynamics. Admitted CellSearch® is used for fluid biopsy and capture of circulating tumor cells of only epithelial origin. Here we describe an RNA aptamer (MDA231) for detecting BC cells in clinical samples, including blood. The MDA231 aptamer was originally selected against triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 using cell-SELEX.Methods: The aptamer structure in solution was predicted using mFold program and molecular dynamic simulations. The affinity and specificity of the evolved aptamers were evaluated by flow cytometry and laser scanning microscopy on clinical tissues from breast cancer patients. CTCs were isolated form the patients’ blood using the developed method of aptamer-based magnetic separation. Breast cancer origin of CTCs was confirmed by cytological, RT-qPCR and Immunocytochemical analyses.Results: MDA231 can specifically recognize breast cancer cells in surgically resected tissues from patients with different molecular subtypes: triple-negative, Luminal A, and Luminal B, but not in benign tumors, lung cancer, glial tumor and healthy epithelial from lungs and breast. This RNA aptamer can identify cancer cells in complex cellular environments, including tumor biopsies (e.g., tumor tissues vs. margins) and clinical blood samples (e.g., circulating tumor cells). Breast cancer origin of the aptamer-based magnetically separated CTCs has been proved by immunocytochemistry and mammaglobin mRNA expression.Discussion: We suggest a simple, minimally-invasive breast cancer diagnostic method based on non-epithelial MDA231 aptamer-specific magnetic isolation of circulating tumor cells. Isolated cells are intact and can be utilized for molecular diagnostics purposes

Genetic landscape in Russian patients with familial left ventricular noncompaction

BackgroundLeft ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) cardiomyopathy is a disorder that can be complicated by heart failure, arrhythmias, thromboembolism, and sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study is to clarify the genetic landscape of LVNC in a large cohort of well-phenotyped Russian patients with LVNC, including 48 families (n=214).MethodsAll index patients underwent clinical examination and genetic analysis, as well as family members who agreed to participate in the clinical study and/or in the genetic testing. The genetic testing included next generation sequencing and genetic classification according to ACMG guidelines.ResultsA total of 55 alleles of 54 pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in 24 genes were identified, with the largest number in the MYH7 and TTN genes. A significant proportion of variants −8 of 54 (14.8%) −have not been described earlier in other populations and may be specific to LVNC patients in Russia. In LVNC patients, the presence of each subsequent variant is associated with increased odds of having more severe LVNC subtypes than isolated LVNC with preserved ejection fraction. The corresponding odds ratio is 2.77 (1.37 −7.37; p <0.001) per variant after adjustment for sex, age, and family.ConclusionOverall, the genetic analysis of LVNC patients, accompanied by cardiomyopathy-related family history analysis, resulted in a high diagnostic yield of 89.6%. These results suggest that genetic screening should be applied to the diagnosis and prognosis of LVNC patients

Artificial Intelligence in Computer Games

This article presents the development and study of a model for formalizing the decision-making process in a computer game using artificial intelligence methods. Game artificial intelligence is implemented using a rather limited set of tools: artificial neural networks, evolutionary algorithms, specialized architectures for building artificial intelligence systems. But neural networks also have a number of disadvantages. Perhaps the most significant of them is the complexity and long network training time. The problem is raised of developing new mathematical algorithms that have a probability of making the right decision, comparable to neural networks, but with less training time. At the moment, there is no single model of the artificial immune system for the development of artificial intelligence in computer and mobile games. Thus, the problem is raised of developing new algorithms that allow realizing interaction with the player in a computer game, having speed and realism comparable to artificial neural networks and expert systems, and at the same time having less training time. One of the ways to solve this problem is to develop a game artificial intelligence model based on an artificial immune system. The dot game is a modification of the Japanese game go. In this game, positional strategic planning is combined with tactical enumeration of options. The implementation of artificial intelligence in this game in the form of a decision tree is not rational for solving this problem. To simplify the search for the optimal solution, heuristic rules were used. To reduce the solution search time, game artificial intelligence was created using methods based on the principles of the immune system. The artificial immune system is an idealized version of the natural analogue and reproduces the key components of the natural process: selection of the best antibodies in the population depending on the degree of their affinity (proximity) to the antigen, antibody cloning, antibody mutation