Basal Respiration as a Proxy to Understand Spatial Trends in CO2 Emissions in the Moscow Region

Soil respiration (Rs) is an important terrestrial CO2 efflux and receives significant attention at different scale levels. However, the sampling density is limited and global Rs databases are biased towards natural ecosystems. Urbanization is among the most important current land-use trends and its role will likely grow in the future. Urban soils store considerable amount of carbon and are very heterogeneous and dynamic, which affects Rs. Our understanding of the Rs spatial variability is limited, especially for the regions with heterogeneous bioclimatic conditions and high urbanization level. The methodological constraints of direct Rs measurements in the field limit the number of observations. As an alternative approach to approximate the spatial variability of Rs, we used basal respiration (BR) as an indirect measurement. We implemented digital soil mapping technique to map BR as a proxy of Rs in a heterogeneous and urbanized Moscow Region. Topsoil and subsoils BR maps were developed for the region and spatial variability per land-use and soil type was analyzed. BR averaged for the urban areas was lower than in forests and meadows, however, urban areas became the hotspots of BR’s spatial variability in the region. Considerable contribution of subsoil layers to the total BR was also found with the maximal 30% contribution in urban soils. Although the absolute levels of respiration remained uncertain, the spatial patterns of BR are likely to correspond well with Rs patterns, determined by soil type, land use and allocation of urban areas

Практика применения и особенности контроля олигосахаридов в производстве продуктов специализированного питания. Обзор

Functional oligosaccharides include various  groups  of carbohydrates with  the  biological activity — an  ability  to modulate gut microbiota due to the  prebiotic, anti-adhesive and anti-inflammatory activities. The unique properties of oligosaccharides explain a wide spectrum of their use in the dairy industry: from food ingredients for imitation  of the  prebiotic activity of human milk oligosaccharides in infant dry milk mixtures to structuring additives, replacers of sugar and fat. When choosing oligosaccharides for inclusion into dairy products, their biological activity and technological properties that depend on a source  and method for extraction of these compounds are assessed. Fructooligosaccharides, galactooligosaccharides, xylooligosaccharides and pectic  oligosaccharides have been  most widely used. When developing recipes of products with stated biological effectiveness, it is necessary to remember that consumption of large  amounts of substances with prebiotic properties can lead to the  gastrointestinal disorder, which requires introducing into  practice the control of the oligosaccharide quantitative content in the product composition. The aim of this  review is analysis of possibilities of using  oligosaccharides in production of specialized  milk-based food products and  methods for controlling quality, safety  and  effectiveness of inclusion of such products into  a diet. The review considers the  existing methods for quantitative identification of oligosaccharides included in the composition of dairy products as functional ingredients. The emphasis is made on the limitations of the introduction of the developed analytical methods into  routine practice of the oligosaccharide control, which is linked with the complexity and multicomponent nature of the food matrix under study. The necessity of the further improvement of methods for quantitative identification of functional oligosaccharides in foods is shown.К функциональным олигосахаридам относятся различные группы углеводов, обладающих биологической активностью — способностью модулировать кишечную микробиоту за  счет  пребиотического, антиадгезивного и  противовоспалительного  действий.  Уникальными  свойствами  олигосахаридов  объясняется широкий спектр их применения в молочной промышленности: от пищевых ингредиентов для имитации пребиотической активности олигосахаридов грудного молока в детских сухих молочных смесях  до структурирующих добавок, заменителей сахара  и жира.  При выборе олигосахаридов для  включения в молочные  продукты оценивают их биологическую активность и технологические свойства, которые зависят от источника и способа выделения этих  соединений. Наибольшее распространение получили фруктоолигосахариды, галактоолигосахариды, ксилоолигосахариды и олигосахариды пектинового ряда. Разрабатывая рецептуры продуктов с заявленной биологической эффективностью, нельзя забывать, что  потребление больших количеств веществ, обладающих пребиотическими  свойствами, может  привести к нарушениям работы желудочно-кишечного тракта, что требует внедрения в практику контроля количественного содержания  олигосахаридов в составе продуктов. Целью  данного обзора является анализ возможностей применения олигосахаридов в производстве специализированных продуктов питания на  молочной основе и методов контроля качества, безопасности, эффективности включения в рацион питания такой  продукции.  В обзоре рассматриваются существующие методы количественной идентификации олигосахаридов, включаемых в состав  молочных продуктов в качестве функциональных ингредиентов. Внимание акцентируется на  ограничениях внедрения разработанных аналитических методов анализа в повседневную практику контроля олигосахаридов, что  связано со сложностью и многокомпонентностью исследуемых пищевых матриц. Показана необходимость дальнейшего совершенствования методов количественной идентификации функциональных олигосахаридов в пищевых продуктах

SCLERODERMA SYSTEMATICA WITH INTERSTITIAL LUNG LESION: COMPARATIVE CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICSWITH PATIENTS WITHOUT LUNG LESION

Objective. To compare disease history data and clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with scleroderma systematica (SDS) with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT)-verified interstitial lung lesion (ILL) versus those without lung involvement. Subjects and methods. An examination was made in 138 patients with SDS who had been consecutively admitted in 2006-2008, female/male ratio, 124 : 14; limited : diffuse : mixed forms, 78 : 40 : 20; mean age, 47±13 years; median disease duration, 6 (2.5 11) years. The history data (occupational hazards, smoking, respiratory diseases) and clinical manifestations of SDS and laboratory data were studied. The diagnosis of ILL was established on the basis of chest HRCT. Results. According to HRCT data, the signs of varying ILL were found in 82% of the patients with SDS. The duration of SDS was similar in the patients with and without lung involvement; but the latter were younger at the time of disease onset. There were no significant differences between the groups compared in history data, clinical forms of SDS, the frequency of involvement of visceral organs and systems. Crepitation was heard only in the patients with ILL. The frequency of respiratory manifestations increased with a larger number of the involved lung segments. The prevalence of ILL was found to be positively correlated with age at the onset of SDS (r=0.29;

Кистозная трансформация шишковидной железы (лучевая анатомия и варианты строения эпифиза): проспективное исследование

INTRODUCTION: Pineal cysts are a common finding on brain MRI, but their which remains unclear. A theory has been put forward that non-occlusive cysts can compress the deep cerebral veins, leading to intracranial hypertension.OBJECTIVE: Тo study the variant MRI appearance of the pineal gland.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 48 volunteers underwent an MRI examination using a 1.5 T Toshiba Exelart Vantage device to assess the presence of MRI signs of central venous hypertension, taking into account the morphological variants of the pineal gland structure, and a category was assigned based on the calculated tectum-splenium-cyst ratio and thalamic coefficient. The mean age of men was 41.27±4.63, of women — 31.5±2.58 years. The study participants were divided into three groups: the 1st group — no pineal cyst, the 2nd group — pineal cyst less than 10 mm, the 3rd group —a cyst larger than 10 mm.RESULTS: Based on the obtained tectum-splenium-cyst ratios and the ADC coefficient, it was found that in the volunteer group with cysts larger than 10 mm, 8 out of 15 people were at increased risk of developing central venous hypertension (categories 3 and 4). Category 4 patients had the narrowest aqueduct (1.1–1.2 mm). In the 2nd group, in persons with a pineal cyst less than 10 mm, there were no signs of aqueductal stenosis or tectal plate compression. In the 3rd group, in persons without a pineal cyst, there were also no signs of aqueductal stenosis or tectal plate compression, however, category 3 was assigned to 8 volunteers, which may be due to other causes of venous outflow impairment.CONCLUSION: A large pineal cysts occur in younger patients, and in the presence of aqueductal narrowing and an increased risk of venous hypertension may cause clinical manifestations such as headaches, dizziness, and sleep disturbances. When patients present with relevant complaints, categorization based on DWI and SSFP is an additional criterion that reflects the degree of impact of the pineal cyst on adjacent structures. ВВЕДЕНИЕ: Кисты эпифиза являются частой находкой при проведении МР-исследований, и их генез до сих пор четко не описан в научной литературе. Выдвинута теория, согласно которой неокклюзирующие кисты могут сдавливать глубинные вены головного мозга, что может приводить к внутричерепной гипертензии.ЦЕЛЬ: Изучение МР-семиотики вариантов строения эпифиза.МАТЕРИАЛЫ И МЕТОДЫ: 48 добровольцам было выполнено МР-исследование на магнитном томографе Toshiba Exelart Vantage с силой магнитного поля 1,5 Т для оценки наличия МР-маркеров центральной венозной гипертензии с учетом морфологического варианта строения эпифиза и выставлена категория на основе посчитанных пластинчато-валико-кистозного и таламического коэффициентов. Участники исследования были разделены на три группы: 1-я группа — без кисты эпифиза, 2-я группа — с кистой менее 10 мм, 3-я группа — с крупной кистой более 10 мм.РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ: На основании полученных коэффициентов tectum-splenium-cyst и коэффициента ADC было выявлено, что в группе добровольцев с кистами более 10 мм в группы повышенного риска развития центральной венозной гипертензии (категория 3 и 4) попали 8 из 15 человек. Пациенты с 4 категорией имели самый узкий просвет водопровода (1,1–1,2 мм). Во 2-й группе, у лиц с кистой эпифиза менее 10 мм, признаков стеноза водопровода и компрессии тектальной пластинки выявлено не было. В 3-й группе, у лиц без кисты эпифиза, также не было выявлено признаков стеноза водопровода и компрессии тектальной пластинки, однако 3 категория была выставлена 8 добровольцам, что может быть связано с иными причинами нарушения венозного оттока.ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ: Крупная киста эпифиза встречается у пациентов более молодого возраста, а наличие у них сужения водопровода и повышенного риска венозной гипертензии может обусловливать клинические проявления в виде головных болей, головокружений и нарушений сна. При предъявлении пациентами соответствующих жалоб выставление категории на основании DWI и SSFP является дополнительным критерием, отражающим степень воздействия кисты эпифиза на прилежащие структуры

STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY OF MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL THERAPY IN PATIENTSWITH SYSTEMIC SCLERODERMA

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the major causes of death in systemic scleroderma (SSD). Treatment of these patients remains difficult and controversial. Mycophenolate mofetil (MPM) has been in vitro shown to inhibit overproduction of type I collagen and hence may be effective against SSD. Objective: to study the efficiency and safety of MPM therapy in patients with SSD and clinically relevant ILD in an open-label prospective study. Subjects and methods. Ten patients with SSD (7 and 3 with its diffuse and limited forms, respectively) and ILD were given MPM in combination with glucocorticoids (mean daily dose was 10+4 mg). The mean MPM therapy duration was 11.4+1.3 months. The Rodnan total skin thickness score, flexion index, forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and European Scleroderma Study Group (EScSG) activity index were estimated and a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) was carried out before and after MPM therapy. Results. After therapy, the whole group showed a significant reduction in skin scores from 12.9+9.8 to 5.6+3.2 (p=0.036) and EScSG from 3.9+1.4 to 2.25+1.03 (p=0.015) and an increase in exercise tolerance from 446+155 to 535+78 m (p=0.03) as evidenced by 6MWT. The degree of flexion contractures decreased from 15+21 to 3.7+11.3 mm (p>0.05). FVC (77.8+18.7% versus 73.8+11.3%) and DLCO (45+14.4% versus 42+16.4%) were significantly unchanged. A 10% or more clinically significant fall was noted in FVC and DLCO in 3 and 1 patients, respectively. In the remaining patients, the lung functional test results remained stable. MPM tolerability was satisfactory. All the patients completed their course of treatment. Conclusion. Stabilization of lung function with higher exercise tolerance and significantly reduced skin density allow therapy with MPM in combination with low-dose glucocorticoids to be regarded as an effective and well-tolerated treatment in patients with ILD in the presence of SS

Функциональная связанность структур головного мозга у больных нервной анорексией по данным фМРТ состояния покоя: проспективное исследование

INTRODUCTION: This paper analyzes local and foreign literature on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with anorexia nervosa. Resting state fMRI results of the brain of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) are presented.OBJECTIVE: To study functional connectivity in the networks in resting state in patients with AN.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 43 patients with anorexia nervosa aged 14 to 19 years were examined. The control group consisted of 31 healthy volunteers. The connectivity of the structures involved in the formation of the default mode brain network, frontoparietal and visual networks was analyzed. Statistics: Mathematical and statistical processing was applied in the programming environment of the Python programming language, using the Jupyter-notebook development environment and application modules for statistical analysis Pandas and Numpi. The main tools for statistical analysis of functional MRI were the specialized software package CONN-TOOLBOX.RESULTS: In the default mode network, a decrease in connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and the cluster including the angular gyrus and the supramarginal gyrus, and an increase in connectivity between the right lateral parietal cortex and the cluster including the left precentral and postcentral gyrus, were revealed. In the frontoparietal network, significant indicators of a decrease in connectivity between the right lateral prefrontal cortex and three clusters were obtained, including the poles of the frontal lobes, the left superior and middle frontal gyri, and the left lateral occipital cortex. In the visual network, there was a decrease in connectivity between the left lateral visual network and the cluster which includes mainly the lateral parts of the cerebellar hemispheres and its vermis, the right lateral visual network and the cluster which includes mainly the right and left lingual gyrus, cerebellar hemispheres and vermis.CONCLUSION: Our study showed a disruption of the functional connectivity in patients with AN, leading to visuospatial disorders and, as a result, a change in the complex process of setting goals, planning appropriate steps to these goals, and impaired cognitive control.ВВЕДЕНИЕ: В работе проведен анализ отечественной и зарубежной литературы, посвященной функциональной магнитно-резонансной томографии (фМРТ) у пациентов с нервной анорексией. Представлены результаты обследования головного мозга пациентов с нервной анорексией (НА) с помощью фМРТ состояния покоя.ЦЕЛЬ: Изучить функциональную связанность в сетях состояния покоя у пациентов с НА.МАТЕРИАЛЫ И МЕТОДЫ: Обследовано 43 пациента с нервной анорексией в возрасте от 14 до 19 лет. Группу контроля составил 31 здоровый доброволец. Проанализирована связанность структур, участвующих в формировании сети пассивного режима работы мозга, фронтопариетальной и зрительной сети. Статистика: Применялась математико-статистическая обработка в  программной среде языка программирования Python с использованием среды разработки Jupyter-notebook и прикладных модулей для статистического анализа Pandas и Numpi). Основным инструментом статистического анализа функциональной МРТ был пакет специализированного программного обеспечения CONN-TOOLBOX.РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ: В сети пассивного режима работы мозга выявлено снижение коннективности между медиальной префронтальной корой и кластером, включающим левую угловую извилину и левую надкраевую извилину, и повышение коннективности между правой латеральной теменной корой и кластером, включающим левые прецентральную и постцентральную извилины. В фронтопариетальной сети были получены достоверные показатели снижения коннективности между правой латеральной префронтальной корой и тремя кластерами, включающими полюса лобных долей, левые верхнюю и среднюю лобные извилины, левую латеральную затылочную кору. В визуальной сети было выявлено снижение коннективности между левой латеральной визуальной сетью и кластером, включающим преимущественно латеральные отделы полушарий мозжечка и его червь, правой латеральной визуальной сетью и кластером, включающим преимущественно правую и левую язычную извилину, полушария и червь мозжечка.ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ: Наше исследование показало нарушение функциональной связанности структур больных НА, приводящее к  зрительно-пространственным нарушениям и, вследствие этого, изменению сложного процесса постановки целей, планирования соответствующих путей к этим целям и нарушению когнитивного контроля

Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO’s and Advanced Virgo’s Third Observing Run

We report on a search for compact binary coalescences where at least one binary component has a mass between 0.2 M⊙ and 1.0 M⊙ in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data collected between 1 April 2019 1500 UTC and 1 October 2019 1500 UTC. We extend our previous analyses in two main ways: we include data from the Virgo detector and we allow for more unequal mass systems, with mass ratio q ≥ 0.1. We do not report any gravitational-wave candidates. The most significant trigger has a false alarm rate of 0.14 yr−1. This implies an upper limit on the merger rate of subsolar binaries in the range ½220 − 24200� Gpc−3 yr−1, depending on the chirp mass of the binary. We use this upper limit to derive astrophysical constraints on two phenomenological models that could produce subsolar-mass compact objects. One is an isotropic distribution of equal-mass primordial black holes. Using this model, we find that the fraction of dark matter in primordial black holes in the mass range 0.2 M⊙ < mPBH < 1.0 M⊙ is fPBH ≡ ΩPBH=ΩDM ≲ 6%. This improves existing constraints on primordial black hole abundance by a factor of ∼3. The other is a dissipative dark matter model, in which fermionic dark matter can collapse and form black holes. The upper limit on the fraction of dark matter black holes depends on the minimum mass of the black holes that can be formed: the most constraining result is obtained at Mmin ¼ 1 M⊙, where fDBH ≡ ΩDBH=ΩDM ≲ 0.003%. These are the first constraints placed on dissipative dark models by subsolar-mass analyses

All-sky, all-frequency directional search for persistent gravitational waves from Advanced LIGO’s and Advanced Virgo’s first three observing runs

We present the first results from an all-sky all-frequency (ASAF) search for an anisotropic stochastic gravitational-wave background using the data from the first three observing runs of the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. Upper limit maps on broadband anisotropies of a persistent stochastic background were published for all observing runs of the LIGO-Virgo detectors. However, a broadband analysis is likely to miss narrowband signals as the signal-to-noise ratio of a narrowband signal can be significantly reduced when combined with detector output from other frequencies. Data folding and the computationally efficient analysis pipeline, PyStoch, enable us to perform the radiometer map-making at every frequency bin. We perform the search at 3072 HEALPix equal area pixels uniformly tiling the sky and in every frequency bin of width 1/32  Hz in the range 20–1726 Hz, except for bins that are likely to contain instrumental artefacts and hence are notched. We do not find any statistically significant evidence for the existence of narrowband gravitational-wave signals in the analyzed frequency bins. Therefore, we place 95% confidence upper limits on the gravitational-wave strain for each pixel-frequency pair, the limits are in the range (0.030−9.6)×10−24. In addition, we outline a method to identify candidate pixel-frequency pairs that could be followed up by a more sensitive (and potentially computationally expensive) search, e.g., a matched-filtering-based analysis, to look for fainter nearly monochromatic coherent signals. The ASAF analysis is inherently independent of models describing any spectral or spatial distribution of power. We demonstrate that the ASAF results can be appropriately combined over frequencies and sky directions to successfully recover the broadband directional and isotropic results

Quantum correlations between light and the kilogram-mass mirrors of LIGO

The measurement of minuscule forces and displacements with ever greater precision is inhibited by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which imposes a limit to the precision with which the position of an object can be measured continuously, known as the standard quantum limit1–4. When light is used as the probe, the standard quantum limit arises from the balance between the uncertainties of the photon radiation pressure applied to the object and of the photon number in the photoelectric detection. The only way to surpass the standard quantum limit is by introducing correlations between the position/momentum uncertainty of the object and the photon number/phase uncertainty of the light that it reflects5. Here we confirm experimentally the theoretical prediction5 that this type of quantum correlation is naturally produced in the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). We characterize and compare noise spectra taken without squeezing and with squeezed vacuum states injected at varying quadrature angles. After subtracting classical noise, our measurements show that the quantum mechanical uncertainties in the phases of the 200-kilowatt laser beams and in the positions of the 40-kilogram mirrors of the Advanced LIGO detectors yield a joint quantum uncertainty that is a factor of 1.4 (3 decibels) below the standard quantum limit. We anticipate that the use of quantum correlations will improve not only the observation of gravitational waves, but also more broadly future quantum noise-limited measurements

Narrowband Searches for Continuous and Long-duration Transient Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars in the LIGO-Virgo Third Observing Run

Isolated neutron stars that are asymmetric with respect to their spin axis are possible sources of detectable continuous gravitational waves. This paper presents a fully coherent search for such signals from eighteen pulsars in data from LIGO and Virgo’s third observing run (O3). For known pulsars, efficient and sensitive matched-filter searches can be carried out if one assumes the gravitational radiation is phase-locked to the electromagnetic emission. In the search presented here, we relax this assumption and allow both the frequency and the time derivative of the frequency of the gravitational waves to vary in a small range around those inferred from electromagnetic observations. We find no evidence for continuous gravitational waves, and set upper limits on the strain amplitude for each target. These limits are more constraining for seven of the targets than the spin-down limit defined by ascribing all rotational energy loss to gravitational radiation. In an additional search, we look in O3 data for long-duration (hours–months) transient gravitational waves in the aftermath of pulsar glitches for six targets with a total of nine glitches. We report two marginal outliers from this search, but find no clear evidence for such emission either. The resulting duration-dependent strain upper limits do not surpass indirect energy constraints for any of these targets