Antitoxic Effects of Chicory Herb Extract Fractions in Rats with Toxic Hepatitis

Aim. To evaluate the antitoxic activity of chicory herb extract fractions in rats with toxic hepatitis.Materials and methods. There were 64 male rats were divided into groups of 6 animals that received the whole chicory herb extract, its fractions, or the reference drug (RD) and 2 groups did not receive any drug. The Silimar substance (a dry purified extract obtained from the fruits of milk thistle [Silybum marianum]) was chosen as RD. Animals from one of the groups that did not receive the drug (control group) and the groups that received drugs were injected with CCl4 to simulate toxic liver damage. The last group of animals received neither drugs nor CCl4 (intact animals). The changes in the activity of biotransformation enzymes (cytochrome P450 [cytР450] and glutathione transferase [GT]) in hepatocytes and serum liver enzymes (AST, ALT and AP) were assessed.Results. There was a decrease in cytР450 and GT activity in the liver microsomes of control rats (having CCl4 hepatitis without treatment) compared with intact animals. These parameters were more in the animals that were administrated with chicory herb extract, its fractions, and RD than in control animals. The administration of the whole extract, aqueous fraction, and RD led to an increase in the activity of cytP450 and GT enzymes almost to the level of the same indicators in intact animals. Pronounced grown in the activity of serum liver enzymes (ALT, AST and AP) were found after CCl4 injection. Administration of common chicory herb fractions before toxic liver damage caused a decrease in the grown of the activity of these enzymes. The greatest inhibitory effect on the grown of the activity of these liver enzymes had RD, aqueous and butanolic fractions of chicory herb. Despite a significant decrease in hyperfermentemia found in groups of animals treated with fractions of chicory herb, AST, ALT and AP activities did not reach the level that was in the intact animal group.Conclusion. The aqueous and butanolic fractions of the chicory herb extract had the highest antitoxic activity in experimental animal toxic liver injury

The influence of GSTP1 A313G polymorphism on susceptibility, chemotherapy-related toxicity and prognosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Ukrainian patients

The aim of this research was to study the influence of GSTP1 A313G polymorphism on susceptibility, chemotherapy-related toxicity and prognosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in Ukrainian patients. Methods. The polymorphic variants of GSTP1 gene were analyzed using Allelic Discrimination Real-Time PCR. Results. The GSTP1 polymorphism is not directly involved in the development of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chemotherapy-related toxicity, but homozygous wild genotype of this gene is associated with a worse clinical response to the therapy and a higher risk of relapse. Conclusions. The investigation of GSTP1 polymorphism is very promising, since it might provide a possible application of this genetic marker as an independent prognostic factor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.Мета. Дослідити поліморфізм гена GSTP1 A313G і визначити його вплив на виникнення лімфоми Ходжкіна, токсичність хіміотерапії, а також на перебіг захворювання. Методи. Поліморфні варіанти гена GSTP1 аналізували методом алель-специфічної ПЛР з детекцією результатів у режимі реального часу. Результати. Встановлено, що гомозиготний тип успадкування алеля дикого типу – генотип A/A – пов’язаний з несприятливим прогнозом перебігу лімфоми Ходжкіна: гіршою відповіддю на терапію і вірогідністю появи рецидивів. Висновки. Перспективним напрямком пошуку чинників впливу на перебіг хвороби є вивчення поліморфізму гена GSTP1, який у майбутньому може бути використаний як «фактор ризику» при формуванні прогностичних груп хворих та виборі тактики лікування.Цель. Исследовать полиморфизм гена GSTP1 A313G и определить его влияние на возникновение лимфомы Ходжкина, токсичность химиотерапии, а также на течение заболевания. Методы. Полиморфные варианты гена GSTP1 анализировали методом аллель-специфической ПЦР с детекцией результатов в режиме реального времени. Результаты. Установлено, что гомозиготный тип наследования аллеля дикого типа – генотип A/A – ассоциирован с неблагоприятным прогнозом течения лимфомы Ходжкина: худшим ответом на лечение и вероятностью появления рецидивов. Выводы. Перспективным направлением поиска причин, обусловливающих течение болезни, является изучение полиморфизма гена GSTP1, который в будущем, возможно, будет использован как «фактор риcка» при формировании прогностических групп больных и выборе тактики лечения

O-Convexity: Computing Hulls, Approximations, and Orientation Sets

We continue the investigation of computational aspects of restricted-orientation convexity (O-convexity) in two dimensions. We introduce one notion of an O-halfplane, for a set O of orientations, and we investigate O-connected convexity. The O-connected convex hull of a finite set X can be computed in time O(jX j log jX j + jOj). The O-connected hull is a basis for determining the O-convex hull of a finite set X and a finite set O of orientations in time O(jXjjOj log jXj). We also consider two new problems. First, we give an algorithm to determine a minimum-area O-connected convex outer approximation of an O-polygon with n vertices when the number r of O-halfplanes forming the approximation is given. The approximation can be determined in time O(n 2 r+ j O j). Second, we give an algorithm to find the largest orientation set for a simple polygon. This problem can be solved in time O(n log n), where n is the number of vertices of the polygon. For each of these complexity bounds we a..

GASTROPROTECTIVE AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF BUPLEURUM AUREUM DRY EXTRACT

The article presents results of study of Bupleurum aureum grass dry extract using experimental models of acute gastric ulcer in rats and formalin-induced limb swelling in mice. A significant stomach-protective effect and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect of the extract were found. The results show that Bupleurum aureum grass dry extract is a promisinig candidate for development of therapeutic agents for prevention and treatment of a wide range of diseases

APPROACHES TO ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS AND WAYS TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLICATION ACTIVITY IN THE LARGE MEDICAL SCHOOL

The article deals with the topical problem associated with the evaluation methodology of publication activity and ways to stimulate the publication activity in a large medical school. There is investigated the development of theregulatory framework in relation to the structural modernization of the public sector science. We apply anintegrated approach to performance evaluation based on expert evaluation of the importance of research and bibliometric analysis in the citation index. The article presents the structure and functionality of the publication activity indicators. A list of criteria for effectiveness of the medical school as a part of the «road map» is given. Methods of improving the publication activity and ways for its promotion at author’ and organization level are presented. The key factors forsuccessfulness of organizational and administrative measures to improve the publication activity and university rankings are computer support of R&D and scientific communication, acquisition of new above professional and inter-professional skills and competences by researchers, implementation of effective analytical online resources, monitoring of research activities, special seminars for training researchers to operate online resources

THE PREVALENCE OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND THE SPECIFIC FEATURES OF DEVELOPMENT OF LEFT VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY IN RADIATION-EXPOSED PERSONS

Moscow Aim – to study the prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and left ventricular hypertrophy among male liquidators (ML) of Chernobyl accident consequences and a group of unorganized males (UM) from one of the Moscow regions. Materials and methods. The results of examining a random representative sample of three hundred and ninety-five 35–64-year-old Mos-cow Registry MLs of Chernobyl accident consequences (n = 395; 79 % response rate) were analyzed. A random sample of males from one of the Moscow regions (n = 382; 70 % response rate) was used to make up an age-matched comparison group.Results. The age-adjusted prevalence rate (AAPR) of AH according to the expanded WHO criteria (> 140/90 Hg mm) was substantially higher among MLs than among UMs (64.9 and 54.7 %, respectively; p < 0.01). The prevalence of AH was associated with the men’s age in both populations. Thus, this among MLs and UMs in the 35–44 year age group was 54.6 and 47.2 %, respectively and in the 55–64 year age group 80 and 62.2 % (i.e. the incidence of AH increased by 1.3 (р < 0.01) and 1.2 (р < 0.05) times, respectively). Conclusion. AAPR of AH among the liquidators was significantly higher than that in the control group (64.9 % versus 54.7 %, respectively). In the compared groups, that of left ventricular hypertrophy did not differ and was 25 and 25.6 %, respectively; significant differences were found in the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy: certain (concentric) left ventricular hypertrophy was more common in the liquidators than in the comparison group (12.9 % versus 7.4 %, respectively). In the ML group compared to the control group, there was much higher awareness of having AH (59.1 % versus 46 %, respectively), drug treatment was performed in 38.7 % versus 7.9 %; effective BP control in the patients was 13.1 % versus 4.7 %, respectively