A Study of Embryotoxic, Foetotoxic, and Teratogenic Effects of the Original Antituberculosis Agent Thiozonide in Pregnant Rabbits

Several treatment regimens with antituberculosis medicinal products are available for tuberculosis. Thiozonide is a newly developed original antimicrobial agent that exhibits bacteriostatic activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains H37Rv, CN-37, CN-40, and MS-115.The aim of the study was to investigate the embryotoxic, foetotoxic, and teratogenic effects of thiozonide in pregnant rabbits.Materials and methods. The study involved 66 pregnant rabbits (4 groups of 16–17 animals each). The rabbits received oral thiozonide from day 6 to day 19 of gestation at doses of 20.6 mg/kg (1 TD (therapeutic dose)), 103 mg/kg (5 TDs), and 206 mg/kg (10 TDs). The control group received a 1% starch solution. The authors conducted a macroscopic examination of the reproductive organs and a histological evaluation of the placenta in eutha nised pregnant rabbits. Live foetuses underwent a check for developmental abnormalities, a skeletal development evaluation with a modified Dawson’s method, and a histologic examination of the internal organs.Results. The study showed no clinical signs of toxicity and no mortality associated with thiozonide in pregnant rabbits across all dose groups. Macroscopic and histological examinations revealed no pathological changes in the reproductive organs of pregnant rabbits. The evaluation of embryotoxic and foetotoxic effects did not identify any differences between the foetuses of the animals assigned to different doses of thiozonide and the control group. The authors found no developmental abnormalities in the foetuses. Examinations of foetal skeleton development and internal organ condition identified no differences between the groups and no abnormalities. The authors registered the death of all foetuses (late resorption) in one rabbit from the 206 mg/kg group. Therefore, the 103 mg/kg dose (5 TDs) was selected as a reasonable No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL).Conclusions. Thiozonide has no embryotoxic, foetotoxic, or teratogenic effects

Unmanned aerial vehicles: potential for use in the storage systems of industrial companies

In the article, the authors investigate the problem of using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in company warehouses and consider their use as one of the ways to optimize the logistics business processes of companies. Technologies are considered, on the basis of which modern unmanned aerial vehicles, drone models of various companies, the main functionality of drone’s work. The authors high-light the strengths and weaknesses of unmanned aerial vehicles, key factors determining the success of the use of drones, and favorable conditions for their use in warehouses. The authors are considering the possibility of sharing drones and RFID technology. Barriers to the active introduction of drones into the logistics business processes of warehousing systems and requirements for warehouse complexes planning the use of unmanned aerial objects have been identified. Promising areas of application of technology in warehouse logistics are also considered: creation of anti-theft and fire protection systems, using drones to read CIS marks. The authors used data from analytical reports and data collected by the authors themselves, as well as empirical research methods

МЕЧЕТЬ КАК ЦЕНТР ОБЩЕСТВЕННОЙ ЖИЗНИ УММЫ ПРИВОЛЖСКОГО ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОГО ОКРУГА

The article is devoted to the study of the sociocultural phenomenon of the mosque by considering it as a place of prayer and also as a center of social life of the Muslim Ummah. The article describes the historical development of mosques as a sort of political centre for the Islamic community, as well as the transformation of the role of mosques in the life of nowadays Muslims. The authors give a brief description of the largest mosques that are located within the Middle East, the European Union and the Russian Federation, who claim the role of the center of social life of Muslims. On the example of the Volga Federal district and its capital city of Nizhny Novgorod, the authors analyzed the contribution of mosques in social and political life of the Muslim Ummah, and also gave some recommendations to solve the existing problems of mosques that interfere with the normal development and functioning of the Muslim Ummah in the region.Статья посвящена исследованию социокультурного феномена мечети посредством рассмотрения ее не только как места совершения молитвы, но и как центра общественной жизни уммы. В статье изложено историческое становление мечетей как своего рода политического центра для исламской общины, а также показана трансформация роли мечетей в жизни современного мусульманина. Дана краткая характеристика крупнейших мечетей, располагающихся на территории Ближнего Востока, Евросоюза, а также Российской Федерации, которые претендуют на роль центров общественной жизни мусульман. На примере Приволжского федерального округа и его столицы — Нижнего Новгорода — авторы проанализировали вклад мечетей в общественно-политическую жизнь уммы, а также дали некоторые рекомендации для решения существующих проблем мечетей, которые препятствуют нормальному развитию и функционированию мусульманской общины региона

Soft modes of collective domain-wall vibrations in epitaxial ferroelectric thin films

Mechanical restoring forces acting on ferroelastic domain walls displaced from the equilibrium positions in epitaxial films are calculated for various modes of their cooperative translational oscillations. For vibrations of the domain-wall superlattice with the wave vectors corresponding to the center and boundaries of the first Brillouin zone, the soft modes are singled out that are distinguished by a minimum magnitude of the restoring force. It is shown that, in polydomain ferroelectric thin films, the soft modes of wall vibrations may create enormously large contribution to the film permittivity.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

ЦИРКОНЫ ИЗ ПОРОД МУРЗИНСКО-АДУЙСКОГО МЕТАМОРФИЧЕСКОГО КОМПЛЕКСА (СРЕДНИЙ УРАЛ): ГЕОХИМИЯ, ТЕРМОМЕТРИЯ, ПОЛИХРОННОСТЬ, ГЕНЕТИЧЕСКИЕ СЛЕДСТВИЯ

Transformation of the oceanic crust into the continental one in orogenic belts is an important problem in petrological studies. In the paleocontinental sector of the Urals, a key object for tracing the stages of metamorphism and investigating the origin of anatectic granites is the Murzinka-Adui metamorphic complex. We have analyzed trace elements in zircons and established their genesis, sources, crystallization conditions, and stages of metamorphic events and granite generation in this complex. Zircons compositions were determined by the LA-ICP-MS method. Temperatures were calculated from Ti contents in the zircons. We distinguish three geochemical types of zircons, which differ in the ratios of light and heavy REE, U, Th, Ti, Y and show different values of Ce- and Eu-anomalies and Zr/Hf ratios, which are indicative of different crystallization conditions, as follows. Type I: minimal total LREE content; clear negative Eu- and Ce- anomalies; features of magmatic genesis; crystallization temperatures from 629 to 782 °C. Type II: higher contents of Ti, La, and LREE; low Ce-anomaly; assumed crystallization from highly fluidized melts or solutions. Type III: low positive Eu-anomaly; high REE content; low Th/U-ratio; zircons are assumed to originate from a specific fluidized melt with a high Eu-concentration. Ancient relict zircons (2300–330 Ma) in gneisses and granites show features of magma genesis and belong to types I and II. Such grains were possibly inherited from granitoid sources with different SiO2 contents and different degrees of metamorphism. Based on the geological and petrogeochemical features and zircon geochemistry of the Murzinka-Adui complex, there are grounds to conclude that the material composing this complex was generated from the sialic crust. The main stages of metamorphism and/or granite generation, which are traceable from the changes in types and compositions of the zircons, are dated at 1639, 380–370, 330, and 276–246 Ma. Thus, transformation of the oceanic crust into the continental one was a long-term and complicated process, and, as a result, the thickness of the sialic crust is increased in the study area.Изучение процесса преобразования океанической коры в континентальную, идущего в орогенных поясах, – важный вопрос петрологии. Мурзинско-адуйский метаморфический комплекс, расположенный в палеоконтинентальном секторе Урала, является одним из ключевых объектов, где можно проследить этапы метаморфизма и сопряженного с ним анатектического гранитообразования. Цель работы – на основе анализа микроэлементного состава цирконов из гнейсов и жильных гранитов данного комплекса установить их генезис, источники, условия кристаллизации, уточнить этапность гранитообразования. Состав цирконов изучался методом LA-ICP-MS, температуры рассчитаны по содержанию титана в цирконе. Выделены три геохимических типа цирконов, различающихся соотношением легких и тяжелых РЗЭ, U, Th, Ti, Y, величинами Zr/Hf-отношения и аномалий Се и Eu, что предполагает разницу в условиях кристаллизации. Цирконы I типа содержат минимальное количество LREE, имеют ясные негативные аномалии Cе и Eu, обладают признаками магматического генезиса. Температура их кристаллизации составляет 629–782 °С. Цирконы II типа имеют более высокие содержания Ti, La, LREE, слабую аномалию Ce. Предполагается их кристаллизация из высокофлюидизированных расплавов или растворов. Цирконы III типа обладают слабой позитивной аномалией Eu, высокой суммой РЗЭ, низким Th/U-отношением и могли образоваться из особого флюидонасыщенного расплава с высокой концентрацией Eu. Древние реликтовые цирконы с широким разбросом возрастов (от 2300 до 330 млн лет) фиксируются в гнейсах и гранитах, имеют признаки магматического генезиса, соответствуя I и II типу. Они могли быть заимствованы из источников гранитоидного состава, имеющих разную основность или в разной степени преобразованных. Особенности строения мурзинско-адуйского комплекса, петрогеохимические параметры пород, геохимия цирконов указывают на сиалическую природу вещества, слагающего данный сегмент земной коры. Главные этапы метаморфизма и/или гранитообразования, которые нашли выражение в смене морфотипов и составов цирконов, отвечают 1639, 380–370, 330 и 276–246 млн лет, т.е. процесс континентализации был длительным, сложным и привел к повышенной мощности сиалической коры

Novel Quantitative Real-Time LCR for the Sensitive Detection of SNP Frequencies in Pooled DNA: Method Development, Evaluation and Application

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) have proven to be powerful genetic markers for genetic applications in medicine, life science and agriculture. A variety of methods exist for SNP detection but few can quantify SNP frequencies when the mutated DNA molecules correspond to a small fraction of the wild-type DNA. Furthermore, there is no generally accepted gold standard for SNP quantification, and, in general, currently applied methods give inconsistent results in selected cohorts. In the present study we sought to develop a novel method for accurate detection and quantification of SNP in DNA pooled samples. METHODS: The development and evaluation of a novel Ligase Chain Reaction (LCR) protocol that uses a DNA-specific fluorescent dye to allow quantitative real-time analysis is described. Different reaction components and thermocycling parameters affecting the efficiency and specificity of LCR were examined. Several protocols, including gap-LCR modifications, were evaluated using plasmid standard and genomic DNA pools. A protocol of choice was identified and applied for the quantification of a polymorphism at codon 136 of the ovine PRNP gene that is associated with susceptibility to a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in sheep. CONCLUSIONS: The real-time LCR protocol developed in the present study showed high sensitivity, accuracy, reproducibility and a wide dynamic range of SNP quantification in different DNA pools. The limits of detection and quantification of SNP frequencies were 0.085% and 0.35%, respectively. SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed real-time LCR protocol is applicable when sensitive detection and accurate quantification of low copy number mutations in DNA pools is needed. Examples include oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, infectious diseases, pathogenic bacteria, fungal species, viral mutants, drug resistance resulting from point mutations, and genetically modified organisms in food

Применение принципов damage control и использование системы локального отрицательного давления для профилактики инфекционных осложнений у пациента с травматическим отрывом верхней конечности и массивным повреждением мягких тканей

The article presents a clinical case of the successful treatment of a patient with traumatic separation of the upper limb and massive damage to the soft tissues of the upper shoulder and chest. The effectiveness of applying the damage control principles and the method of local negative pressure for the prevention of local and systemic infectious complications is emphasized.В статье приведено клиническое наблюдение успешного лечения пациента с травматическим отрывом верхней конечности и массивным повреждением мягких тканей верхнего плечевого пояса и грудной клетки. Подчеркнута эффективность применения принципов damage control и метода локального отрицательного давления для профилактики местных и системных инфекционных осложнений

Integrating sequence and array data to create an improved 1000 Genomes Project haplotype reference panel

A major use of the 1000 Genomes Project (1000GP) data is genotype imputation in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here we develop a method to estimate haplotypes from low-coverage sequencing data that can take advantage of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotypes on the same samples. First the SNP array data are phased to build a backbone (or 'scaffold') of haplotypes across each chromosome. We then phase the sequence data 'onto' this haplotype scaffold. This approach can take advantage of relatedness between sequenced and non-sequenced samples to improve accuracy. We use this method to create a new 1000GP haplotype reference set for use by the human genetic community. Using a set of validation genotypes at SNP and bi-allelic indels we show that these haplotypes have lower genotype discordance and improved imputation performance into downstream GWAS samples, especially at low-frequency variants. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Состояние больных саркоидозом исходно и 10 лет спустя при различной тактике их ведения (мультицентровый анализ)

Summary. A multicenter (12 centers) retrospective analysis of health status of 83 sarcoidosis patients in time of diagnosis and after 10 years of treatment has been performed. In 10 years after diagnosis, 47 % of the patients had complete remission of pulmonary manifestations; mean forced spirometric values have not reduced in 10 years (excluding patients initially treated with anti-TB drugs). Patients treated with systemic steroids initially or during 10 yrs were less likely to have the complete remission (36.5 %) and more likely to have recurrent sarcoidosis course (57.1 %) compared to those not treated with systemic steroids. Pentoxifylline administration positively influenced the remission rate (71.4 %) and relapse rate in patients who had not received immunosuppressive therapy (28.6 %). A tendency has been found to positive effects of essential phospholipids on relapse rate and remission rate in sarcoidosis. Anti-TB therapy or treatment of sarcoidosis patients in TB centers negatively influenced the outcome of sarcoidosis. The results disclose an urgent need to imply new approaches to treatment of sarcoidosis, eg. anti-TNF-α drugs