Metabolic Syndrome as the First Stage of Eldership; the Beginning of Real Aging

The history of active worldwide scientific research on mechanisms of aging and the age-associated diseases counts more than five decades. Of these, among the numerous theories of aging, at least 50 years dominated the free radical theory of aging. Since mitochondria were found to be the major producers of free radicals, the research on aging became largely centered on mitochondria. At the end of 80s of the 20th century, physicians have established a new nosological entity named “Metabolic syndrome” comprising several simultaneously existing symptoms and risk factors, which increase with age to 47% in men and 64% for women. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome (MetS) requires simultaneous presence of at least three out of five medical conditions: visceral obesity, hypertension, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, low serum high-density lipoprotein accompanied with high serum triglycerides. However, from the beginning of the definition of MetS there was, and still is, a rather lovely debate, which of the symptoms must be considered as the main one. In spite of the enormous number of publications on both mechanisms of aging and MetS, there was relatively small progress in understanding the fundamental processes in these closely related problems. On the contrary, the mitochondrial free radical theory was found to be wrong in its current paradigms. In this Chapter we will discuss recent discoveries and hypotheses which open new perspectives in both theoretical and practical approaches to the problems of aging and MetS. We will show how aging and development of MetS are closely related to each other and the normal ontogenesis of human beings. Why men and women have different rates of aging and mechanisms of transition to MetS. We state that MetS is not just a cluster of symptoms, but one of the last steps of individual ontogenesis, namely the first step of eldership when the aging rate may increase manifold

Development of Regional Maximum Permissible Concentrations of Oil, Lead, Chromium, Nickel, and Copper in the Ordinary Black Soils of Central Ciscaucasia

Contamination of ordinary chernozems of the Central Ciscaucasia with oil, lead, chromium, nickel and copper leads to a deterioration in their biological indicators. A significant decrease in the number of microflora, enzymatic activity and inhibition of the state of plants was established. The ecotoxicity sequence of heavy metals for ordinary black soils of Central Ciscaucasia is the following: Cr > Pb ≥Cu ≥ Ni. Ordinary black soils of Central Ciscaucasia, compared to similar black soils of Western Ciscaucasia, are somewhat less resistant to pollution with chromium, but are more resistant to pollution with copper and nickel. Resistance to pollution with lead and oil is the same. Regional maximum permissible concentrations of oil, lead, chromium, nickel and copper have been set for ordinary black soils of Central Ciscaucasia, based on disruptions of the environmental and the agricultural functions of the soil

Oxidative Stress in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: Ethnic Aspects

Numerous researches show that data on an ethnic origin can give additional information for the personified approach in treatment of different diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of some lipid peroxidation components and antioxidant defense system in Mongoloid and Caucasian patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Conjugated dienes, ketodienes and conjugated trienes, thiobarbituric acid reactants, total antioxidant activity, α-tocopherol, retinol, superoxide dismutase activity, reduced and oxidized glutathione, and oxidative stress coefficient levels were evaluated in 65 patients with type 1 diabetes (38 Mongoloids and 27 Caucasians) and in 82 healthy people (42 Mongoloids and 40 Caucasians). Spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods were used. The intensity of LPO in Mongoloid patients was lower than in Caucasians: the level of primary and intermediate products was by lower 1.53 and 1.83 times, while total antioxidant activity was elevated by 1.44 times, and decreased α-tocopherol level by 1.32 times, which was also supported by oxidative stress coefficient (1.35 in Mongoloids and 2.32 in Caucasians). Activity of the POL-AOD system in Mongoloids is low, which is probably due to the increase of antioxidant defense system work. These results are consistent with clinical characteristics of type 1 diabetes mellitus with infrequent development of complications in Mongoloids living in Eastern Siberia

Faunistic and taxonomic additions to the oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) of Cuba

The present study is based on oribatid mite materials collected from leaf litter in two forest locations in Cuba. A list of 64 species, belonging to 47 genera and 31 families, is presented. Of these, one genus and two species are recorded for the first time from the Neotropical region; 17 species, one subgenus, six genera, and two families are recorded for the first time from Cuba. Two new species of the superfamily Oripodoidea—Lagenobates fossatus Ermilov and Kontschán n. sp. (Haplozetidae) and Muliercula curvilineata Ermilov and Kontschán n. sp. (Scheloribatidae)—are described

Valiant\u27s Universal Circuits Revisited: an Overall Improvement and a Lower Bound

A universal circuit (UC) is a general-purpose circuit that can simulate arbitrary circuits (up to a certain size $n$). At STOC 1976 Valiant presented a graph theoretic approach to the construction of UCs, where a UC is represented by an edge universal graph (EUG) and is recursively constructed using a dedicated graph object (referred to as supernode). As a main end result, Valiant constructed a 4-way supernode of size 19 and an EUG of size $4.75n\log n$ (omitting smaller terms), which remained the most size-efficient even to this day (after more than 4 decades). Motivated by the emerging applications of UCs in various privacy preserving computation scenarios, we revisit Valiant\u27s universal circuits, and propose a size-optimal 4-way supernode of size 18, and an EUG of size $4.5n\log n$. As confirmed by our implementations, we reduce the size of universal circuits (and the number of AND gates) by more than 5\% in general (rather than just for small-size circuits in particular), and thus improve upon the efficiency of UC-based cryptographic applications accordingly. Our approach to the design of optimal supernodes is computer aided (rather than by hand as in previous works), which might be of independent interests. As a complement, we give lower bounds on the size of EUGs and UCs in Valiant\u27s framework, which significantly improves upon the generic lower bound on UC size and therefore reduces the gap between theory and practice of universal circuits

Visual Cycle: Dependence of Retinol Production and Removal on Photoproduct Decay and Cell Morphology

The visual cycle is a chain of biochemical reactions that regenerate visual pigment following exposure to light. Initial steps, the liberation of all-trans retinal and its reduction to all-trans retinol by retinol dehydrogenase (RDH), take place in photoreceptors. We performed comparative microspectrophotometric and microfluorometric measurements on a variety of rod and cone photoreceptors isolated from salamander retinae to correlate the rates of photoproduct decay and retinol production. Metapigment decay rate was spatially uniform within outer segments and 50–70 times faster in the cells that contained cone-type pigment (SWS2 and M/LWS) compared to cells with rod-type pigment (RH1). Retinol production rate was strongly position dependent, fastest at the base of outer segments. Retinol production rate was 10–40 times faster in cones with cone pigments (SWS2 and M/LWS) than in the basal OS of rods containing rod pigment (RH1). Production rate was approximately five times faster in rods containing cone pigment (SWS2) than the rate in basal OS of rods containing the rod pigment (RH1). We show that retinol production is defined either by metapigment decay rate or RDH reaction rate, depending on cell type or outer segment region, whereas retinol removal is defined by the surface-to-volume ratio of the outer segment and the availability of retinoid binding protein (IRBP). The more rapid rates of retinol production in cones compared to rods are consistent with the more rapid operation of the visual cycle in these cells

Characteristics of Lipid Peroxidation Processes and Antioxidant Status in Teenagers-Boys of Different Ethnic Groups with Exogenous Constitutional Obesity and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The aim of this research was to study changes in the LPO-AOD processes in Mongoloid and Caucasian teenagers with exogenous constitutional obesity (ECO), including those complicated by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials and Methods: A total of 18 Mongoloid teenage boys and 17 Caucasian teenage boys with NAFLD (Clinical group 1 and Clinical group 2, respectively) on the background of ECO of the first degree were examined. For comparison, data of 37 apparently healthy Mongoloid teenage boys (Control group 1) and 23 Caucasian teenage boys (Control group 2) was used. The plasma level of antioxidant parameters (total antioxidant activity [TTA], SOD activity, α-tocopherol and retinol) and primary/secondary products of LPO (conjugated dienes [CD], ketodienes and conjugated trienes [KD-CT], and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances [TBARS]) were determined using spectrophotometric and fluorometric methods. Results: Evaluation of the activity of LPO reactions in Clinical group 1 indicated an increase in the content of compounds with DB relative to Control group 1. A similar trend was found in the concentration of CD and KD-CT. In Clinical group 2, we found a statistically significant increase only in the values of KD-CT. In the parameters of the AOD system, multidirectional changes of patients parameters compared with the control group were observed in Clinical group 1: the increased values of TAA, SOD activity, and reduced levels of α-tocopherol, retinol, and GSSG. In Clinical group 2, lower values of α-tocopherol, GSSG, and SOD activity were observed relative to Control group 2. Differences between the two ethnic groups were present in the control groups—the reduced level of TAA, GSH and the increased level of GSSG in the group of Mongoloids; just as in clinical groups with NAFLD, a high level of SOD activity was observed in Mongoloids compared to Caucasians. Conclusion: The changes revealed in the redox state in Mongoloid and Caucasian teenagers with ECO and NAFLD indicate high activity of LPO processes and severe deficiency of antioxidant vitamins in patients of both ethnic groups. The obtained results allow us to recommend administration of antioxidant drugs in addition to courses of metabolic therapy in comprehensive treatment of patients with ECO and NAFLD

Site types revisited : comparison of traditional Russian and Finnish classification systems for European Boreal forests

doi: 10.1111/avsc.12525Questions Forest classifications are tools used in research, monitoring, and management. In Finland, the Cajanderian forest site type classification is based on the composition of understorey vegetation with the assumption that it reflects in a predictable way the site's productive value. In Russia, the Sukachevian forest classification is similarly based on understorey vegetation but also accounts for tree species, soil wetness, and paludification. Here we ask whether Cajander's and Sukachev's forest types are effectively the same in terms of species composition, site productivity, and biodiversity. Location Boreal forests on mineral soils in Finland and the Russian part of Fennoscandia. Methods We use vegetation and soil survey data to compare the Cajanderian and the Sukachevian systems in terms of the understorey community composition (that is supposed to define them), soil fertility and tree productivity (that they are expected to indicate), and biodiversity (that is of interest for conservation purposes). We create and employ class prediction models to divide Russian and Finnish sites into Cajander's and Sukachev's types, respectively, based on vegetation composition. We perform cross-comparisons between the two systems by non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination and statistical tests. Results Within both systems, the site types formed similar, meaningful gradients in terms of the studied variables. Certain site types from the two systems were largely overlapping in community composition and arranged similarly along the fertility gradient and may thus be considered comparable. Conclusions The Cajanderian and the Sukachevian systems were both developed in the European boreal zone but differ in terms of the exact rules by which site types are determined. Our results show that analogous types between the systems can be identified. These findings aid in endeavours of technology and information transfer between Finnish and Russian forests for the purposes of basic or applied ecological research and forest management.Peer reviewe

Two-particle correlations in azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity in inelastic p + p interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Results on two-particle ΔηΔϕ correlations in inelastic p + p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80, and 158 GeV/c are presented. The measurements were performed using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The data show structures which can be attributed mainly to effects of resonance decays, momentum conservation, and quantum statistics. The results are compared with the Epos and UrQMD models.ISSN:1434-6044ISSN:1434-605