Assessment of Trees Vitality in Urban Landscape of Steppe Zone

During planning of green planting in cities, vital status of plants which make up thegroups is taken into account first. The methods of assessment of morphological and physiologicalparameters of the vital status are the most widely used ones. In the process of work, the vitality ofwoody plants was evaluated under the impact of anthropogenic pressure in the framework of thephysiological state, which is determined to a great extent by the content of chlorophylls in theleaves of trees. The content of green and yellow pigments was studied in the drought conditions ofvegetative period for 8 species of trees which are common in green planting of cities in the South-East of Ukraine. Stable species (Populus simonii Carrier, Populus × canadensis Moench) respond byincrease in the content of chlorophylls at maximum air temperatures during the growing season.Nonsufficient-stable species show significant effect of the amount of rainfall on the changes inchlorophyll content in leaves, which is the evidence of their adaptive capacity. Deterioration of thefunctional state of trees in street and park planting compared to suburban territories was revealed,confirmed by reduced chlorophyll content and increase in carotenoids. For the further introductionin the urban greening of industrial cities of steppe zone, the models of influence of themeteorological factors on the content of green pigments in the leaves of Polulus simonii and Acerpseudoplatanus L. are proposed

Surface properties of lead (IV) oxide

Проведено дослідження закономірностей адсорбції та окиснення ряду ароматичних і гетероциклічних нітроген- і оксигеновмісних вуглеводнів з їх водних розчинів на плюмбум (ІV) оксиді. Для оцінки були використані методи хімічної і молекулярної механіки, а також кореляційний підхід, що базується на співставленні адсорбційної рівноваги з електронними властивостями адсорбата. У якості параметрів кореляції між електронними та адсорбційними властивостями органічних молекул були використані енергії зайнятих орбіталей. Гранично-контрольований адсорбційний механізм постулюється для інтерпретації спостережуваних кореляцій для специфічної адсорбції органічних сполук на низькозонному PbO2. У результаті дослідження було встановлено, що органічні сполуки адсорбуються або окиснюються на плюмбум (ІV) оксиді досить вибірково. Ефекти, що спостерігались, не можна пояснити відмінностями в хімічному складі або, наприклад, у ступені гідрофільності досліджуваної сполуки. Встановлено, що закономірності адсорбції, окиснення і структурних перетворень органічних поверхнево-активних речовин на плюмбум (ІV) оксиді можна пояснити з однієї точки зору, яка базується на орбітальних взаємодіях їх граничних орбіталей. Вивчено можливість виграшу сумарної енергії системи з повною передачею електронів від органічної молекули на модельний кластер PbO2. The regularities of adsorption and oxidation of several aromatic and heterocyclic nitrogen- and oxygen-containing hydrocarbons from their aqueous solutions on lead (IV) oxide have been studied. Methods of chemical and molecular mechanics, as well as a correlation approach based on the comparison of adsorption equilibrium with the electronic properties of the adsorbate were used for evaluation. The energies of the occupied orbitals were used as parameters of the correlation between the electronic and adsorption properties of organic molecules. The marginally controlled adsorption mechanism is postulated to interpret the observed correlations for the specific adsorption of organic compounds on low-band PbO2. As a result of the study, it was found that organic compounds adsorbed or oxidized to lead (IV) oxide are quite selective. The observed effects cannot be explained by differences in chemical composition or, for example, in the degree of hydrophilicity of the test compound. It is established that the regularities of adsorption, oxidation and structural transformations of organic surfactants of compounds on lead oxide can be explained from the same point of view on the basis of orbital interactions of their boundary orbitals. The possibility of gaining the total energy of a system with complete electron transfer from an organic molecule to a PbO2 cluster model has been studied

Hepatoselective Nitric Oxide (NO) Donors, V-PYRRO/NO and V-PROLI/NO, in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Comparison of Antisteatotic Effects with the Biotransformation and Pharmacokinetics

ABSTRACT V-PYRRO/NO [O(2)-vinyl-1-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate] and V-PROLI/NO (O2-vinyl-[2-(carboxylato)pyrrolidin-1-yl]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate), two structurally similar diazeniumdiolate derivatives, were designed as liver-selective prodrugs that are metabolized by cytochrome P450 isoenzymes, with subsequent release of nitric oxide (NO). Yet, their efficacy in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and their comparative pharmacokinetic and metabolic profiles have not been characterized. The aim of the present work was to compare the effects of V-PYRRO/NO and V-PROLI/NO on liver steatosis, glucose tolerance, and liver fatty acid composition in C57BL/6J mice fed a high-fat diet, as well as to comprehensively characterize the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) profiles of both NO donors. Despite their similar structure, V-PYRRO/NO and V-PROLI/NO showed differences in pharmacological efficacy in the murine model of NAFLD. V-PYRRO/NO, but not V-PROLI/NO, attenuated liver steatosis, improved glucose tolerance, and favorably modified fatty acid composition in the liver. Both compounds were characterized by rapid absorption following i.p. administration, rapid elimination from the body, and incomplete bioavailability. However, V-PYRRO/NO was eliminated mainly by the liver, whereas V-PROLI/NO was excreted mostly in unchanged form by the kidney. V-PYRRO/NO was metabolized by CYP2E1, CYP2C9, CYP1A2, and CYP3A4, whereas V-PROLI/NO was metabolized mainly by CYP1A2. Importantly, V-PYRRO/NO was a better NO releaser in vivo and in the isolated, perfused liver than V-PROLI/NO, an effect compatible with the superior antisteatotic activity of V-PYRRO/NO. In conclusion, V-PYRRO/NO displayed a pronounced antisteatotic effect associated with liver-targeted NO release, whereas V-PROLI/NO showed low effectiveness, was not taken up by the liver, and was eliminated mostly in unchanged form by the kidney

The Use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Complex Treatment of Kidney Tuberculosis (Experimental Study)

In recent years, the application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been recognized as a promising method for treatment of different diseases associated with inflammation and sclerosis, which include nephrotuberculosis. The aim of our study is to investigate the effectiveness of MSCs in the complex therapy of experimental rabbit kidney tuberculosis and to evaluate the effect of cell therapy on the reparative processes. Methods: To simulate kidney tuberculosis, a suspension of the standard strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (106 CFU) was used, which was injected into the cortical layer of the lower pole parenchyma of the left kidney under ultrasound control in rabbits. Anti-tuberculosis therapy (aTBT) was started on the 18th day after infection. MSCs (5 × 107 cells) were transplanted intravenously after the start of aTBT. Results: 2.5 months after infection, all animals showed renal failure. Conducted aTBT significantly reduced the level of albumin, ceruloplasmin, elastase and the severity of disorders in the proteinase/inhibitor system and increased the productive nature of inflammation. A month after MSC transplantation, the level of inflammatory reaction activity proteins decreased, the area of specific and destructive inflammation in kidneys decreased and the formation of mature connective tissue was noted, which indicates the reparative reaction activation

Peptide vaccines for hematological malignancies: a missed promise?

Despite the crucial aid that newly developed target therapies are providing to chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, the cure for many hematological malignancies is still an unmet need. Although available therapies are able to induce an effective debulking of the tumor, most of the time, an insidious minimal residual disease survives current treatments and it is responsible for an immediate or delayed relapse. Peptide-derived antitumor vaccines have been developed with the idea that an artificially "educated" immune system may exert an active specific antitumor response able to control and ultimately eradicate underlying post-treatment residual disease. This review will summarize current knowledge of peptide vaccines for hematological malignancies, trying to analyze promises and pitfalls of a safe and intelligent tool that after many years from its first appearance has not yet established its potential role as alternative immune mediated therapeutic approach for hematopoietic tumors