Comparison of Two Methods for Assaying Reducing Sugars in the Determination of Carbohydrase Activities

The Nelson-Somogyi (NS) and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) assays for reducing sugars are widely used in measurements of carbohydrase activities against different polysaccharides. Using twelve commercial enzyme preparations, the comparison of the NS and DNS assays in determination of cellulase, β-glucanase, xylanase, and β-mannanase activities was carried out. When cellulase activities against CMC were measured, the DNS assay gave activity values, which were typically 40–50% higher than those obtained with the NS assay. In the analysis of the xylanase, β-mannanase, and β-glucanase activities, the overestimations by the DNS assay were much more pronounced (the observed differences in the activities were 3- to 13-fold). Reasons for preferential use of the NS assay for measuring activities of carbohydrases other than cellulases are discussed

Diabetes mellitus type 2 and acute myocardial infarction: prognostic options for interaction in patients of different age groups

Background. Problems surrounding comorbidities of type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease are some of the most important in medical science and practice, given their mutually negative impact on patients prognoses and quality of life. Aims. To study the impact of type 2 diabetes on the long-term prognoses of patients of different age categories, status-post acute myocardial infarction. (Data obtained from the Register of Acute Myocardial Infarction.) Materials and methods. The main data source was the Register of Acute Myocardial Infarction, maintained in Tomsk for more than 30 years. The study included 862 patients with acute myocardial infarction. The patients were monitored for 5 years. The primary endpoint was death from any cause during the observation period. Results. We separated the study cohort into 2 groups depending on patients ages: Group 1 (n = 358) included patients older than working age, Group 2 (n = 504) consisted of younger, employable patients. The combination of ischaemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus were diagnosed in 208 patients. The combination of ischaemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes was the cause of adverse prognosis among elderly patients and led to increased mortality rate during the 5-year post-infarction period (p = 0.0003). However, among younger, working patients who suffered myocardial infarction, the presence of type 2 diabetes did not have an independent negative effect on long-term disease prognosis. While in employable patients, a long history of diabetes mellitus significantly aggravated the course of the post-infarction period (p = 0.004). Conclusions. These data suggest an ambiguous prognostic effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus among working age and elderly patients status post myocardial infarction, in agreement with experimental studies conducted on laboratory animals. Further comprehensive analyses of the clinical and experimental data are needed to optimise therapies for patients who suffer from type 2 diabetes and comorbid ischaemic heart disease

Vitamin D Status Among Children With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Multicenter Prospective, Non-randomized, Comparative Study

BackgroundJuvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by destructive and inflammatory damage to the joints. The aim in this study was to compare vitamin D levels between children and adolescents, 1–18 years of age, with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and a health control group of peers. We considered effects of endogenous, exogenous, and genetic factors on measured differences in vitamin D levels among children with JIA.MethodsOur findings are based on a study sample of 150 patients with various variants of JIA and 277 healthy children. The blood level of vitamin D was assessed by calcidiol level. The following factors were included in our analysis: age and sex; level of insolation in three regions of country (center, south, north); assessment of dietary intake of vitamin D; effect of prophylactic doses of cholecalciferol; a relationship between the TaqI, FokI, and BsmI polymorphisms of the VDR gene and serum 25(OH)D concentration.ResultsWe identified a high frequency of low vitamin D among children with JIA, prevalence of 66%, with the medial level of vitamin D being within the range of “insufficient” vitamin D. We also show that the dietary intake of vitamin D by children with JIA is well below expected norms, and that prophylactic doses of vitamin D supplementation (cholecalciferol) at a dose of 500–1,000 IU/day and 1,500–2,000 IU/day do not meet the vitamin D needs of children with JIA. Of importance, we show that vitamin D levels among children with JIA are not affected by clinical therapies to manage the disease nor by the present of VDR genetic variants.ConclusionProphylactic administration of cholecalciferol and season of year play a determining role in the development of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency

Incidence of SARS-CoV-2 in people with cystic fibrosis in Europe between February and June 2020

Background Viral infections can cause significant morbidity in cystic fibrosis (CF). The current Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic could therefore have a serious impact on the health of people with CF (pwCF). Methods We used the 38-country European Cystic Fibrosis Society Patient Registry (ECFSPR) to collect case data about pwCF and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Up to 30 June 2020, 16 countries reported 130 SARS-CoV-2 cases in people with CF, yielding an incidence of 2.70/1000 pwCF. Incidence was higher in lung-transplanted patients (n=23) versus non-transplanted patients (n=107) (8.43 versus 2.36 cases/1000). Incidence was higher in pwCF versus the age-matched general population in the age groups <15, 15-24, and 25-49 years (p<0.001), with similar trends for pwCF with and without lung transplant. Compared to the general population, pwCF (regardless of transplantation status) had significantly higher rates of admission to hospital for all age groups with available data, and higher rates of intensive care, although not statistically significant. Most pwCF recovered (96.2%), however 5 died, of whom 3 were lung transplant recipients. The case fatality rate for pwCF (3.85%, 95% CI: 1.26-8.75) was non-significantly lower than that of the general population (7.46%; p=0.133). Conclusions SARS-CoV-2 infection can result in severe illness and death for pwCF, even for younger patients and especially for lung transplant recipients. PwCF should continue to shield from infection and should be prioritized for vaccination

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe

Event-shape engineering for inclusive spectra and elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV

Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Performance of the ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC

ALICE is the heavy-ion experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The experiment continuously took data during the first physics campaign of the machine from fall 2009 until early 2013, using proton and lead-ion beams. In this paper we describe the running environment and the data handling procedures, and discuss the performance of the ALICE detectors and analysis methods for various physics observables