Combination of fluorescent and spin labels: a powerful method for the optimization of hydrophilic membranes for the separation of oil-in-water emulsions

A new method for assessing the quality of fibre coating based on a combination of fluorescence microscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance is presented in this work. An influence of the carboxymethylcellulose/polyvinylamine gel preparation method on the mobility of the spin label was established. The mobility of the spin label changes from 3.5 ns in the case of a polyvinylamine solution to 12.8 ns in the case of a cross-linked gel on the surface of the glass fibre. A qualitative relationship was found between the mobility of the spin label in the gel applied to the glass fibre and the rate of spreading of crude oil over its surface. This method can be used to make membranes for the separation of water-in-oil emulsions

ABOUT SELF-STUDY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE DURING THE EXAMINATIONS AS A CRITERION OF STUDENTS’ READINESS TO PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Purpose of the study: The relevance of the research is conditioned by the contradiction between the social and state need to form the positive attitude to healthy lifestyle (including extracurricular time) in student youth and the underestimation of the potential of students' self-study activities aimed at increasing of physical activity and development of readiness for physical culture in specified group of youth. The article is aimed at the study of the student’s readiness for independent physical education during the examinations as a manifestation of independence in general, as well as at the study of the significance of independent physical education of students during the examinations in the process of future specialist formation. Methodology: The leading approach to the study of this problem was the theory of the activity approach in the development of personality and independent activities of students which allowed to substantiate the place of readiness of university students for independent physical training during the examinations in the process of future specialist training. Results: Of all the types of special readiness, the readiness of university students for independent physical training during examinations is of particular importance, the specificity of which is that this type of readiness contains features of types of readiness for professional activity, as well as readiness to act in problem situations, in which connection the readiness for independent physical training during the examinations is an indicator of the future specialist's readiness to problem professional situation. Applications of this study: The results of the study allow specialists who study the quality of university graduates to use the assessment of the development of student’s readiness for independent physical training during the examinations as an indicator of the future specialist’s readiness to act in a problem situation. Novelty/Originality of this study: The authors note that this problem cannot be solved by simply increasing the hours envisaged by the curriculum for independent work in the framework of the subject “Physical Education”, i.e. increase in quantity. A qualitative change in the approach to independent work of students, an appropriate system of actions in her organization and planning are necessary to achieve the desired effect

Relationships between the seasonal dynamics of soil fungi biomass and environmental factors in predominating forest types in the Bryansk woodlands (European Russia)

Being the crucial part of the forest soil's microbial pool, soil fungi in general and mycorrhizal fungi in particular are an important study object when it comes to forest ecosystems sustainability and preservation. Thus, the study of ectomycorrhizal fungi has been carried out in the Bryanskiy Les State Nature Biosphere Reserve, located in the south-eastern part of the Bryansk woodlands (European Russia). Forest types featured in the study are the local predominating types, namely green-moss-fructiculose pine forests and polydominant deciduous broadleaved nemoral-herbaceous forests with spruce. This study was aimed to assess seasonal dynamics of soil fungi' biomass overall and ectomycorrhizal fungi in particular over the course of the 2017 vegetation period (May – November) and its dependence on biotic and abiotic environmental factors, such as soil water content, temperature and vegetation. The vegetation period was divided into three periods of observation, namely an early (May – July), middle (July – September) and late (September – November) one. The method used to assess the fungal biomass was direct microscopic observation using the fluorescein diacetate staining. In order to estimate the ectomycorrhizal fungi biomass separately, trenching and in-growth mesh bags were employed. The obtained results suggest that the soil fungi biomass steadily increases over the vegetation period in both studied forest types. This is mostly affected by the forest type, available water amount and seasonal changes, while the temperature's impact is less pronounced. On average, the soil fungi biomass was higher in broadleaved forests than in pine forests (2.288 mg C × g-1 soil vs. 1.672 mg C × g-1 soil, respectively), with non-ectomycorrhizal component having comparable biomass. The dynamics of biomass differed in the two forest types. However, noticeable differences (p < 0.1) between the two forest types have only been recorded during the July – September period. The biomass of ectomycorrhizal fungi is smaller than the biomass of non-mycorrhizal fungi, but at the same time it is less affected by changes in moisture. Besides that, the study has shown that the forest litter characteristics can greatly affect the dynamics of the fungal biomass

Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10−8) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10−8). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10−6) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10−6) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexit

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (≥140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or  ≥90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention

A Meta-analysis of Gene Expression Signatures of Blood Pressure and Hypertension

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered numerous genetic variants (SNPs) that are associated with blood pressure (BP). Genetic variants may lead to BP changes by acting on intermediate molecular phenotypes such as coded protein sequence or gene expression, which in turn affect BP variability. Therefore, characterizing genes whose expression is associated with BP may reveal cellular processes involved in BP regulation and uncover how transcripts mediate genetic and environmental effects on BP variability. A meta-analysis of results from six studies of global gene expression profiles of BP and hypertension in whole blood was performed in 7017 individuals who were not receiving antihypertensive drug treatment. We identified 34 genes that were differentially expressed in relation to BP (Bonferroni-corrected p&lt;0.05). Among these genes, FOS and PTGS2 have been previously reported to be involved in BP-related processes; the others are novel. The top BP signature genes in aggregate explain 5%–9% of inter-individual variance in BP. Of note, rs3184504 in SH2B3, which was also reported in GWAS to be associated with BP, was found to be a trans regulator of the expression of 6 of the transcripts we found to be associated with BP (FOS, MYADM, PP1R15A, TAGAP, S100A10, and FGBP2). Gene set enrichment analysis suggested that the BP-related global gene expression changes include genes involved in inflammatory response and apoptosis pathways. Our study provides new insights into molecular mechanisms underlying BP regulation, and suggests novel transcriptomic markers for the treatment and prevention of hypertension

Association of genetic variation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure among African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource study.

The prevalence of hypertension in African Americans (AAs) is higher than in other US groups; yet, few have performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in AA. Among people of European descent, GWASs have identified genetic variants at 13 loci that are associated with blood pressure. It is unknown if these variants confer susceptibility in people of African ancestry. Here, we examined genome-wide and candidate gene associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) using the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium consisting of 8591 AAs. Genotypes included genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data utilizing the Affymetrix 6.0 array with imputation to 2.5 million HapMap SNPs and candidate gene SNP data utilizing a 50K cardiovascular gene-centric array (ITMAT-Broad-CARe [IBC] array). For Affymetrix data, the strongest signal for DBP was rs10474346 (P= 3.6 × 10(-8)) located near GPR98 and ARRDC3. For SBP, the strongest signal was rs2258119 in C21orf91 (P= 4.7 × 10(-8)). The top IBC association for SBP was rs2012318 (P= 6.4 × 10(-6)) near SLC25A42 and for DBP was rs2523586 (P= 1.3 × 10(-6)) near HLA-B. None of the top variants replicated in additional AA (n = 11 882) or European-American (n = 69 899) cohorts. We replicated previously reported European-American blood pressure SNPs in our AA samples (SH2B3, P= 0.009; TBX3-TBX5, P= 0.03; and CSK-ULK3, P= 0.0004). These genetic loci represent the best evidence of genetic influences on SBP and DBP in AAs to date. More broadly, this work supports that notion that blood pressure among AAs is a trait with genetic underpinnings but also with significant complexity

Causal effect of plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 on coronary heart disease

Background--Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) plays an essential role in the fibrinolysis system and thrombosis. Population studies have reported that blood PAI-1 levels are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear whether the association reflects a causal influence of PAI-1 on CHD risk. Methods and Results--To evaluate the association between PAI-1 and CHD, we applied a 3-step strategy. First, we investigated the observational association between PAI-1 and CHD incidence using a systematic review based on a literature search for PAI-1 and CHD studies. Second, we explored the causal association between PAI-1 and CHD using a Mendelian randomization approach using summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies. Finally, we explored the causal effect of PAI-1 on cardiovascular risk factors including metabolic and subclinical atherosclerosis measures. In the systematic meta-analysis, the highest quantile of blood PAI-1 level was associated with higher CHD risk comparing with the lowest quantile (odds ratio=2.17; 95% CI: 1.53, 3.07) in an age- and sex-adjusted model. The effect size was reduced in studies using a multivariable-adjusted model (odds ratio=1.46; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.88). The Mendelian randomization analyses suggested a causal effect of increased PAI-1 level on CHD risk (odds ratio=1.22 per unit increase of log-transformed PAI-1; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.47). In addition, we also detected a causal effect of PAI-1 on elevating blood glucose and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions--Our study indicates a causal effect of elevated PAI-1 level on CHD risk, which may be mediated by glucose dysfunction

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms