Vitamin and mineral status in highly skilled ice hockey players during the competition period

Objective: the evaluation of the micronutrient content in highly skilled hockey players during the competition period to reveal the influence of physical loads on the vitamin-mineral saturation of human organism. Materials and methods: contents of some micronutrients, cortisol and testosterone were analyzed in the blood samples of 33 sportsmen of continental league hockey team (average 26,4±0,8 years) during the competition period. Results: a high level of cortisol and a high anabolism index was revealed during the entire competitive period. The content of macroelements in the blood of the hockey players corresponded to the reference values, but the concentration of cuprum and chromium was reduced. Low values of the vitamins B2 and E were also detected in the blood of the athletes. Conclusion: the sportsmen became overtrained during the competition period. The high saturation of micronutrients corresponding to the physical loads was not observed; instead, a pronounced deficiency of some micronutrients was revealed. The physical loads in overtrained sportsmen caused a decrease of the micronutrient content in the sportsmen’s organisms. Therefore, sportsmen need the optimization of nutrition by the use of natural food products rich in micronutrients. The intake of biologically active supplements (chosen individually) should be a secondary measure only

Enhanced reaction kinetics in biological cells

The cell cytoskeleton is a striking example of "active" medium driven out-of-equilibrium by ATP hydrolysis. Such activity has been shown recently to have a spectacular impact on the mechanical and rheological properties of the cellular medium, as well as on its transport properties : a generic tracer particle freely diffuses as in a standard equilibrium medium, but also intermittently binds with random interaction times to motor proteins, which perform active ballistic excursions along cytoskeletal filaments. Here, we propose for the first time an analytical model of transport limited reactions in active media, and show quantitatively how active transport can enhance reactivity for large enough tracers like vesicles. We derive analytically the average interaction time with motor proteins which optimizes the reaction rate, and reveal remarkable universal features of the optimal configuration. We discuss why active transport may be beneficial in various biological examples: cell cytoskeleton, membranes and lamellipodia, and tubular structures like axons.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Мониторинг эффективности интенсивной терапии и реабилитации по функциональной активности автономной нервной системы у пациентов с повреждениями головного мозга

Purpose: evaluation of the clinical significance of parametric monitoring of the effectiveness of intensive care and rehabilitation based on the analysis of the functional state of the autonomous nervous system in patients with brain damage of different genesis.Materials and methods. The study included 66 patients on day 20—50 after the traumatic brain injury; anoxic damage; and stroke consequences. The isolation of clinical groups and subsequent analysis of clinical status is based on the analysis of the functional state of the autonomic nervous system based on the dynamics of the heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Findings obtained in studies of 500 patients in the postoperative period with a 5-minute HRV were tested as normal and abnormal ANS parameters [1]. Parasympathetic hyperactivity was measured within the limits for SDNN (standard deviation of all normal-to-normal R-R intervals) > 41.5 ms; for rMSSD (root-meansquare of the successive normal sinus R-R interval difference) > 42.4 ms; for pNN50% (the percentage of interval differences in successive NN intervals greater than 50 ms (NN50) / total number of NN intervals) > 8.1%; for SI (Baevsky stress index, in normalized units) < 80 n. u.; for TP (total power of variance of all NN intervals) > 2000 ms2. Sympathetic hyperactivity was determined within the limits for following parameters: SDNN, < 4.54 ms; rMSSD, < 2.25 ms; pNN50%, < 0.109%; SI, > 900 n. u.; TP < 200 ms2. Normal HRV parameters were selected within the limits of the values for: SDNN [13.31-41.4ms]; rMSSD [5.78—42.3 ms]; pNN50% [0.110—8.1%]; SI [80—900 nu]; for TP [200—2000 ms2]. To verify the parasympathetic or sympathetic hyperactivity within these limits, 3 of 5 parameters were chosen [1].Results. Based on the dynamics of the HRV parameters before the intensive care and on days 30—60 of the intensive therapy and rehabilitation of patients with traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries, 5 main clinical groups of patients were identified. Group 1 (n=27) consisted of patients with normal parameters of the ANS functional activity (both at the time of admission to the hospital and on the 30—60th day of the intensive therapy and rehabilitation). Group 2 (n=9) included patients with the baseline sympathetic hyperactivity of the ANS at admission to the intensive care unit and normal functional activity of the ANS on the 30—60th day of the intensive care and rehabilitation. Group 3 (n=8) included patients with baseline normal functional state of the ANS and the signs of sympathetic hyperactivity of the ANS on the 30—60th day of the intensive care and rehabilitation. Group 4 (n=15) consisted of patients with signs of sympathetic hyperactivity of the ANS both initially and on the 30—60th day of the intensive care and rehabilitation. Group 5 (n=7) included patients with signs of parasympathetic hyperactivity of the ANS (according to the parameters of HRV) both at baseline, at admission to the intensive care unit, and on the 30—60th day of the intensive care and rehabilitation.Conclusion: The normalization of HRV parameters is accompanied by patients’ recovery from the vegetative state and coma to minimal consciousness or normal consciousness; the index of disability rate decreases, the social reintegration grows, according to the DRS scale (M. Rappaport, 1982); dependence on mechanical ventilation reduces, and the muscle tone normalizes.Цель: оценка клинической значимости параметрического мониторинга эффективности интенсивной терапии и реабилитации на основании анализа функционального состояния автономной нервной системы у пациентов с повреждениями головного мозга различного генеза.Материал и методы. В исследование включили 66 пациентов на 20—50-е сутки после черепно-мозговой травмы, аноксического повреждения головного мозга; острого нарушения мозгового кровообращения. Выделение клинических групп и последующий анализ клинического статуса основали на оценке функционального состояния автономной нервной системы (АНС) исходя из динамики параметров вариабельности ритма сердца (ВРС). В качестве параметров нормы и патологии функционального состояния АНС апробировали цифровые значения, полученные у 500-а пациентов в периоперационном периоде при 5-и минутной длительности записи ВРС [1]. Парасимпатическую гиперактивность принимали в пределах значений для SDNN (стандартное отклонение от средней длительности всех синусовых R-R интервалов) > 41,5 мс; для rMSSD (среднеквадратичное отклонение разности двух смежных отсчетов R-R кардиоинтервалов) > 42,4 мс; для pNN50% (доля соседних синусовых R-R интервалов, которые различаются более чем на 50 мсек) > 8,1%; для SI (стресс-индекс напряжения Баевского, нормализованные единицы) < 80 н. е.; для TP (общая мощность спектра частот) > 2000 мс2. Симпатическая гиперактивность принималась в пределах значений для SDNN < 4,54 мс; для rMSSD < 2,25 мс; для pNN50% < 0,109%; для SI >900 н.е.; для TP < 200 мс2. Норма параметров ВРС принималась в пределах значений для SDNN [13,31—41,4 мс]; для rMSSD [5,78—42,3мс]; для pNN50% [0,110—8,1%]; для SI [80—900 н.е.]; для TP [200—2000 мс2]. Для верификации парасимпатической или симпатической гиперактивности в указанных пределах принимали 3 из 5 параметров [1].Результаты. По динамике параметров ВРС до и на 30—60-е сутки интенсивной терапии и реабилитации пациентов с травматическими и нетравматическими повреждениями головного мозга выявили 5 клинических групп пациентов. 1-я группа (n=27) — пациенты с нормальными показателями функциональной активности АНС, как в момент поступления в стационар, так и на 30—60-е сутки интенсивной терапии и реабилитации. 2-я группа (n=9) — пациенты с показателями симпатической гиперактивности АНС исходно при поступлении в отделение интенсивной терапии и нормой функциональной активности АНС на 30—60-е сутки проведения курса интенсивной терапии и реабилитации. 3-я группа (n=8) — пациенты с исходными показателями нормы функционального состояния АНС и показателями симпатической гиперактивности АНС на 30—60-е сутки проведения курса интенсивной терапии и реабилитации. 4-я группа (n=15) — пациенты с показателями симпатической гиперактивности АНС как исходно, так и на 30—60-е сутки проведения курса интенсивной терапии и реабилитации. 5-я группа (n=7) — пациенты с показателями парасимпатической гиперактивности АНС (по параметрам ВРС) как исходно при поступлении в отделение интенсивной терапии, так и на 30—60-е сутки проведения интенсивной терапии и реабилитации.Заключение. Нормализация параметров ВРС сопровождается выходом пациентов из вегетативного состояния и комы на минимальное сознание или норму сознания, происходит снижение индекса инвалидности и рост социальной реинтеграции по шкале DRS (M. Rappaport, 1982), снижение зависимости от искусственной вентиляции легких, нормализация мышечного тонуса

Micro Raman investigation of graphene synthesized by atmospheric pressure CVD on copper foil from decane

In this article we present the results of micro-Raman studies of graphene grown on copper foil surface by atmospheric pressure CVD using decane as precursor, nitrogen as carrier gas with zero flow of hydrogen. Analysis of Raman spectroscopy data showed that film contains spots with single layer thick graphene. We observed significant blue shift of 2D and G bands positions for mono-atomically thick graphene on copper foil. Following literature we relate this shift to the strain induced by the presence of copper substrate. Moreover, we observed changes in the defectiveness of graphene layers after the transfer, which was related to the appearance of chemically-induced defects and defects induced by changes in the mechanical strain

Low-Temperature Polymorphic Phase Transition in a Crystalline Tripeptide L-Ala-L-Pro-Gly·H2O Revealed by Adiabatic Calorimetry

We demonstrate application of precise adiabatic vacuum calorimetry to observation of phase transition in the tripeptide l-alanyl-l-prolyl-glycine monohydrate (APG) from 6 to 320 K and report the standard thermodynamic properties of the tripeptide in the entire range. Thus, the heat capacity of APG was measured by adiabatic vacuum calorimetry in the above temperature range. The tripeptide exhibits a reversible first-order solid-to-solid phase transition characterized by strong thermal hysteresis. We report the standard thermodynamic characteristics of this transition and show that differential scanning calorimetry can reliably characterize the observed phase transition with <5 mg of the sample. Additionally, the standard entropy of formation from the elemental substances and the standard entropy of hypothetical reaction of synthesis from the amino acids at 298.15 K were calculated for the studied tripeptide.National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-003151)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-001960)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-002026

Predicting protein linkages in bacteria: Which method is best depends on task

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Applications of computational methods for predicting protein functional linkages are increasing. In recent years, several bacteria-specific methods for predicting linkages have been developed. The four major genomic context methods are: Gene cluster, Gene neighbor, Rosetta Stone, and Phylogenetic profiles. These methods have been shown to be powerful tools and this paper provides guidelines for when each method is appropriate by exploring different features of each method and potential improvements offered by their combination. We also review many previous treatments of these prediction methods, use the latest available annotations, and offer a number of new observations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using <it>Escherichia coli </it>K12 and <it>Bacillus subtilis</it>, linkage predictions made by each of these methods were evaluated against three benchmarks: functional categories defined by COG and KEGG, known pathways listed in EcoCyc, and known operons listed in RegulonDB. Each evaluated method had strengths and weaknesses, with no one method dominating all aspects of predictive ability studied. For functional categories, as previous studies have shown, the Rosetta Stone method was individually best at detecting linkages and predicting functions among proteins with shared KEGG categories while the Phylogenetic profile method was best for linkage detection and function prediction among proteins with common COG functions. Differences in performance under COG versus KEGG may be attributable to the presence of paralogs. Better function prediction was observed when using a weighted combination of linkages based on reliability versus using a simple unweighted union of the linkage sets. For pathway reconstruction, 99 complete metabolic pathways in <it>E. coli </it>K12 (out of the 209 known, non-trivial pathways) and 193 pathways with 50% of their proteins were covered by linkages from at least one method. Gene neighbor was most effective individually on pathway reconstruction, with 48 complete pathways reconstructed. For operon prediction, Gene cluster predicted completely 59% of the known operons in <it>E. coli </it>K12 and 88% (333/418)in <it>B. subtilis</it>. Comparing two versions of the <it>E. coli </it>K12 operon database, many of the unannotated predictions in the earlier version were updated to true predictions in the later version. Using only linkages found by both Gene Cluster and Gene Neighbor improved the precision of operon predictions. Additionally, as previous studies have shown, combining features based on intergenic region and protein function improved the specificity of operon prediction.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A common problem for computational methods is the generation of a large number of false positives that might be caused by an incomplete source of validation. By comparing two versions of a database, we demonstrated the dramatic differences on reported results. We used several benchmarks on which we have shown the comparative effectiveness of each prediction method, as well as provided guidelines as to which method is most appropriate for a given prediction task.</p

Nucleosomes in gene regulation: theoretical approaches

This work reviews current theoretical approaches of biophysics and bioinformatics for the description of nucleosome arrangements in chromatin and transcription factor binding to nucleosomal organized DNA. The role of nucleosomes in gene regulation is discussed from molecular-mechanistic and biological point of view. In addition to classical problems of this field, actual questions of epigenetic regulation are discussed. The authors selected for discussion what seem to be the most interesting concepts and hypotheses. Mathematical approaches are described in a simplified language to attract attention to the most important directions of this field

Ultrafast modification of the electronic structure of a correlated insulator

A nontrivial balance between Coulomb repulsion and kinematic effects determines the electronic structure of correlated electron materials. The use of electromagnetic fields strong enough to rival these native microscopic interactions allows us to study the electronic response as well as the time scales and energies involved in using quantum effects for possible applications. We use element specific transient x ray absorption spectroscopy and high harmonic generation to measure the response to ultrashort off resonant optical fields in the prototypical correlated electron insulator NiO. Surprisingly, fields of up to 0.22 V lead to no detectable changes in the correlated Ni 3d orbitals contrary to previous predictions. A transient directional charge transfer is uncovered, a behavior that is captured by first principles theory. Our results highlight the importance of retardation effects in electronic screening and pinpoints a key challenge in functionalizing correlated materials for ultrafast device operatio