Hyperuricemia and kidney damage in patients with cardiovascular disease: A review

Many studies have been conducted confirming the effect of uric acid (UA) on kidney function. It is obvious that there is a relationship between the effect of UA not only on kidney function, but also on the cardiovascular system, increasing cardiovascular risk. The review article provides basic information about the pathogenesis, principles and features of prescribing therapy to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease. A lot of data currently indicates that hyperuricemia, both with and without crystal deposition, is associated with high cardiovascular risk and decreased kidney function. A number of studies and meta-analyses indicate that urate-reducing therapy prevents and slows down the decline in kidney function in patients with CKD, many of whom suffer from cardiovascular diseases or at least have several risk factors. Despite the fact that currently the guidelines for the treatment of CKD do not include a recommendation for the start of urate-lowering therapy, a large amount of data has been accumulated on the potential benefits of such treatment even in the absence of a diagnosis of gout. The preferred group of drugs for this group of patients are xanthine oxidase inhibitors, and for patients with eGFR below 30 ml/min/1.73 m2, it seems that allopurinol currently has larger evidence base for the efficacy and safety of prescribing

Structural Organization of the Liver in the Presence of Pig Hepatosis

The structural organization of the liver in hepatosis and its clinical and morphological manifestation in pigs were studied. In animals with reduced vitality, the liver underwent deep microscopic and ultrastructural changes. At hepatic steatosis, the liver had a cellular structure, many lipid vacuoles and the damage of mitochondrial membranes of a granular endoplasmic reticulum appeared in hepatocytes. Proteinosis was characterized by impaired of lobular structure, with protein swelling of the cytoplasm of hepatocytes and Disse’s spaces expansion, significant decrease of glycogen; mitochondrial swelling and the appearance of lysosomal vacuoles in the hepatocyte. In massive hepatic necrosis, hepatocyte dystrophy was noted, significant histochemical decrease of glycogen, lysis of the hepatocyte granule endoplasmic reticulum, pycnosis of the hepatocyte nucleus, and in general necrobiotic changes in the liver cells

Diminutivization supports gender acquisition in Russian children

Gender agreement elicitation was used with Russian children to examine how diminutives common in Russian child-directed speech affect gender learning. Forty-six children (2;9–4;8) were shown pictures of familiar and of novel animals and asked to describe them after hearing their names, which all contained regular morphophonological cues to masculine or feminine gender. Half were presented as simplex (e.g. josh ‘porcupine’) and half as diminutive forms (e.g. jozhik ‘porcupine-DIM’). Children produced fewer agreement errors for diminutive than for simplex nouns, indicating that the regularizing features of diminutives enhance gender categorization. The study demonstrates how features of child-directed speech can facilitate language learning

Physiological Features of the Reproductive System of Female Nutria

This article provides information about a promising alternative field of animal husbandry – nutria breeding. This involves the production of fur and high-quality meat products, which contain a large amount of nitrogenous extractives and muscle hemoglobin. This study examined the sexual system of female nutria, and the dynamics, duration and features of each stage of the female nutria’s sexual cycle, including estrus, sexual arousal, hunting, braking and phase balancing. The methods of observation, clinical examination, research of smears and fingerprints, and analysis of the cytogram of the vaginal epithelium at different stages of sexual and physiological maturity of female nutria were used. When analyzing the cytogram of the vaginal epithelium, the structure, color, and percentage of basal, parabasal, superficial, and keratinized cells were indicated. Information about the timing of sexual and physiological maturity, their features, processes and signs of manifestation, and different timing of sexual and physiological maturity in summer and winter is provided. Keywords: nutria, female, puberty, physiological maturit

Anemia of chronic diseases: current state of the problem and perspectives

Anemia of chronic diseases is a condition, that accompanies several chronic conditions, that have inflammation as an underlying cause. The article covers current concepts of pathogenesis, evaluation and treatment of this type of anemia. The new perspectives in the development of investigational methods and treatment are discussed. The new methods of iron deficiency assessment in patients with systemic inflammation are discussed separately

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

Flexibility of the Cytoplasmic Domain of the Phototaxis Transducer II from Natronomonas pharaonis

Chemo- and phototaxis systems in bacteria and archaea serve as models for more complex signal transduction mechanisms in higher eukaryotes. Previous studies of the cytoplasmic fragment of the phototaxis transducer (pHtrII-cyt) from the halophilic archaeon Natronomonas pharaonis showed that it takes the shape of a monomeric or dimeric rod under low or high salt conditions, respectively. CD spectra revealed only approximately 24% helical structure, even in 4 M KCl, leaving it an open question how the rod-like shape is achieved. Here, we conducted CD, FTIR, and NMR spectroscopic studies under different conditions to address this question. We provide evidence that pHtrII-cyt is highly dynamic with strong helical propensity, which allows it to change from monomeric to dimeric helical coiled-coil states without undergoing dramatic shape changes. A statistical analysis of predicted disorder for homologous sequences suggests that structural flexibility is evolutionarily conserved within the methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein family

The systemic tumor response to RNase A treatment affects the expression of genes involved in maintaining cell malignancy

Recently, pancreatic RNase A was shown to inhibit tumor and metastasis growth that accompanied by global alteration of miRNA profiles in the blood and tumor tissue (Mironova et al., 2013). Here, we performed a whole transcriptome analysis of murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) after treatment of tumor-bearing mice with RNase A. We identified 966 differentially expressed transcripts in LLC tumors, of which 322 were upregulated and 644 were downregulated after RNase A treatment. Many of these genes are involved in signaling pathways that regulate energy metabolism, cell-growth promoting and transforming activity, modulation of the cancer microenvironment and extracellular matrix components, and cellular proliferation and differentiation. Following RNase A treatment, we detected an upregulation of carbohydrate metabolism, inositol phosphate cascade and oxidative phosphorylation, re-arrangement of cell adhesion, cell cycle control, apoptosis, and transcription. Whereas cancer-related signaling pathways (e.g., TGF-beta, JAK/STAT, and Wnt) were downregulated following RNase A treatment, as in the case of the PI3K/AKT pathway, which is involved in the progression of non-small lung cancer. RNase A therapy resulted in the downregulation of genes that inhibit the biogenesis of some miRNAs, particularly the let-7 miRNA family. Taken together, our data suggest that the antitumor activity and decreased invasion potential of tumor cells caused by RNase A are associated with enhanced energy cascade functioning, rearrangement of cancer-related events regulating cell growth and dissemination, and attenuation of signaling pathways having tumor-promoting activity. Thus, RNase A can be proposed as a potential component of anticancer therapy with multiple modes of action

"Green Technology" and Renewable Energy in the System of the Steel Industry in Europe

The purpose of this article is to review the potential applicability of the environmentally friendly metallurgical production technologies and potential replacement of traditional energy sources with renewable energy sources in this sector. The materials presented in this article lead to the following conclusions: i) the metallurgical production in Europe can be considered as one of the most important sectors forming a high added value. Simultaneously, the metallurgical production is characterized by relatively high energy consumption and generates a significant contribution to carbon dioxide emissions; ii) the metallurgical enterprises have to compete not only among themselves but also with other companies engaged in production of the substitute products (e.g. plastic pipes); therefore, the production and technological modernization and environmental optimization of the activity of the metallurgical enterprises in Europe is one of the ways to increase the competitiveness and to reduce the expense content; iii) the use of technologies that virtually eliminate the generation of carbon dioxide in the processing of iron ore allows to reduce the average level of greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 20-25%; iv) the integration of production technology characterized by very low CO2 emissions with the use of solar thermal energy technologies to provide the energy needs of the metallurgical production can significantly reduce the level of energy consumption of the metallurgical plants by an average of 18-31%. Keywords: metallurgy, renewable energy, green technology, the greening of production, Europe. JEL Classifications: O10, Q40, Q42, Q4