Indexed left atrial volume, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate as predictors of recurrence of non-valvular atrial fibrillation after successful cardioversion

Indexed left atrial volume, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate as predictors of recurrence of non-valvular atrial fibrillation after successful cardioversio

Effects of long-term exposure of gelatinated and non-gelatinated cadmium telluride quantum dots on differentiated PC12 cells

Background: The inherent toxicity of unmodified Quantum Dots (QDs) is a major hindrance to their use in biological applications. To make them more potent as neuroprosthetic and neurotherapeutic agents, thioglycolic acid (TGA) capped CdTe QDs, were coated with a gelatine layer and investigated in this study with differentiated pheochromocytoma 12 (PC12) cells. The QD - cell interactions were investigated after incubation periods of up to 17 days by MTT and APOTOX-Glo Triplex assays along with using confocal microscopy. Results: Long term exposure (up to 17 days) to gelatinated TGA-capped CdTe QDs of PC12 cells in the course of differentiation and after neurites were grown resulted in dramatically reduced cytotoxicity compared to nongelatinated TGA-capped CdTe QDs. Conclusion: The toxicity mechanism of QDs was identified as caspase-mediated apoptosis as a result of cadmium leaking from the core of QDs. It was therefore concluded that the gelatine capping on the surface of QDs acts as a barrier towards the leaking of toxic ions from the core QDs in the long term (up to 17 days)

Нейродинамические нарушения речи в постинсультном периоде: патогенез, клиника, диагностика

The results of study, which devoted by diagnostics of neurodynamic speech disorders on the basis of clinical and computed speech transforming finding were shown. 186 patients in the poststroke period were examined. The possibility of using the method of computed transformation of time parameters of speech for objective registration of speech defeat and establishment of diagnosis of aphasia were revealed.Представлены результаты исследования, посвященного диагностике нейродинамических нарушений речи на основании клинических и аналогово-цифровых данных обработки речи. Обследовано 186 больных в различные сроки после перенесенного инсульта. Выявлена возможность использования метода компьютерного преобразования временных параметров речи для объективной оценки выраженности моторного речевого дефекта и установления диагноза субкортикальной афазии

Внутрибрюшинное введение клеточно-инженерной конструкции поджелудочной железы крысам с экспериментальным сахарным диабетом (предварительные результаты)

Creation of a bioartificial pancreas, including a cell-engineered construct (CEC) formed from pancreatic islets (islets of Langerhans) and a biocompatible matrix mimicking the native microenvironment of pancreatic tissue, is one of the approaches to the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D).Objective: to conduct preliminary in vivo studies of the functional efficacy of intraperitoneal injection of a cell-engineered pancreatic endocrine construct and a suspension of rat pancreatic islets in an experimental T1D model.Materials and methods. Tissue-specific scaffold was obtained by decellularization of human pancreatic fragments. The viability and functional activity of rat islets isolated with collagenase were determined. Experimental T1D was modeled by intraperitoneal injection of low-dose streptozotocin and incomplete Freund’s adjuvant into rats. The rats were intraperitoneally injected twice with pancreatic CEC (n = 2) or islet suspension (n = 1). Glucose levels in the blood and urine of the rats were assessed. Histological examination of organs (pancreas and kidneys) of the experimental animals was carried out.Results. After the first injection, blood glucose levels gradually decreased in all animals by more than 47% of the initial values; by follow-up day 24, the glucose level rose to the initial hyperglycemic values. After repeated administration, a 63.4% decrease in glycemic level was observed in the rats with pancreatic CEC and a 47.5% decrease in the one with islet suspension. At week 5 of the experiment, blood glucose levels gradually increased in all animals. At the same time, the glycemic index of the rat with injected pancreatic CEC was 62% lower than the glycemic index of the rat with injected islets.Conclusion. Allogeneic pancreatic islets in pancreatic CEC increase the duration of stable glycemic level in T1D rats.Создание биоискусственной поджелудочной железы (ПЖ), в том числе клеточно-инженерной конструкции (КИК), сформированной на основе островков Лангерганса и биосовместимого матрикса, имитирующего нативное микроокружение панкреатической ткани, является одним из подходов к лечению сахарного диабета I типа (СД I).Целью работы было проведение предварительных исследований in vivo функциональной эффективности внутрибрюшинного введения клеточно-инженерной конструкции эндокринного отдела поджелудочной железы и суспензии панкреатических островков крысы в экспериментальной модели СД I.Материалы и методы. Тканеспецифический матрикс получали в результате децеллюляризации фрагментов ПЖ человека. Определяли жизнеспособность и функциональную активность островков крысы, выделенных с помощью коллагеназы. Экспериментальный СД I моделировали путем внутрибрюшинного введения малых доз стрептозотоцина и неполного адъюванта Фрейнда крысам. Крысам дважды вводили внутрибрюшинно КИК ПЖ (n = 2) или суспензию островков (n = 1). Оценивали уровень глюкозы в крови и моче крыс, а также проводили гистологическое исследование органов (поджелудочная железа и почки) экспериментальных животных.Результаты. После первого введения отмечали постепенное снижение уровня глюкозы в крови всех животных более чем на 47% от исходных значений, у которых к 24 суткам наблюдения происходил подъем уровня глюкозы до исходных гипергликемических показателей. После повторного введения наблюдали снижение уровня гликемии у животных с КИК ПЖ на 63,4% и на 47,5% – у крысы с суспензией островков. Через 5 недель эксперимента происходило постепенное повышение уровня глюкозы в крови у всех животных. При этом гликемический показатель крысы с введенной КИК ПЖ был на 62% ниже показателя гликемии у крысы с введенными островками.Заключение. В предварительных экспериментах показано, что аллогенные панкреатические островки в составе КИК ПЖ увеличивают длительность стабильного уровня гликемии у крыс с СД I

MicrobesOnline: an integrated portal for comparative and functional genomics

Since 2003, MicrobesOnline (http://www.microbesonline.org) has been providing a community resource for comparative and functional genome analysis. The portal includes over 1000 complete genomes of bacteria, archaea and fungi and thousands of expression microarrays from diverse organisms ranging from model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae to environmental microbes such as Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Shewanella oneidensis. To assist in annotating genes and in reconstructing their evolutionary history, MicrobesOnline includes a comparative genome browser based on phylogenetic trees for every gene family as well as a species tree. To identify co-regulated genes, MicrobesOnline can search for genes based on their expression profile, and provides tools for identifying regulatory motifs and seeing if they are conserved. MicrobesOnline also includes fast phylogenetic profile searches, comparative views of metabolic pathways, operon predictions, a workbench for sequence analysis and integration with RegTransBase and other microbial genome resources. The next update of MicrobesOnline will contain significant new functionality, including comparative analysis of metagenomic sequence data. Programmatic access to the database, along with source code and documentation, is available at http://microbesonline.org/programmers.html.United States. Dept. of Energy (Genomics: GTL program (grant DE-AC02-05CH11231)

Коррекция хронической печеночной недостаточности в эксперименте путем имплантации клеточно-инженерных конструкций: морфофункциональные характеристики

Objective: to study the effectiveness of correcting the morphofunctional characteristics of the liver in an experimental model of chronic liver disease (CLD), using implanted cell-engineered constructs (CECs).Materials and methods. Experiments were carried out on male Wistar rats (n = 80) aged 6–8 months with an initial weight of 230–250 g. CLD was modeled by inoculating the rats with 60% CCl4 oil solution for 42 days based on a modified scheme. Microgel based on recombinant spidroin rS1/9 was used as a matrix for CECs fabrication. Allogeneic liver cells (LCs) and multipotent bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) from a healthy donor were used as the cellular component of the CECs. The effectiveness of the corrective effect of the implanted CECs was assessed in an experimental CLD model (n = 60) in two groups of rats: Group 1 (control, n = 20, 1 mL of saline solution was injected into the damaged liver parenchyma) and Group 2 (experimental, n = 40, CECs containing allogenic LCs and BM-MSCs in a 5 : 1 ratio in a volume of 1 mL were implanted into the damaged liver parenchyma). For long-term monitoring of the CEC state, the CECs were labeled by additional inclusion in Cytodex-3. The effectiveness of the regulatory effect of CECs on regenerative processes in the liver was evaluated using biochemical, morphological and morphometric techniques, as well as by flow cytometry at 90 days after implantation.Results. In the control group, the mortality rate in CLD was 25%. There was no death in the experimental group with CLD after CEC implantation. The CECs were found to have a corrective effect on the biochemical and morphological parameters of the liver in CLD during 90 days of follow-up, with concomitant preservation of structural cellular homeostasis in the implanted CECs. Conclusion. Implantation of CECs in the liver facilitates effective correction of CLD by activating regenerative processes in the damaged liver, which is due to long-term preservation of structural cellular homeostasis in the CECs.Цель: на экспериментальной модели хронической печеночной недостаточности (ХПН) изучить эффективность коррекции морфофункциональных характеристик состояния печени с помощью имплантируемых в нее клеточно-инженерных конструкций (КИК).Материалы и методы. Опыты проведены на крысахсамцах породы Вистар (n = 80) в возрасте 6–8 месяцев с исходной массой 230–250 г. Моделирование ХПН осуществляли путем затравки крыс 60% масляным раствором CCl4 по модифицированной схеме в течение 42 суток. В качестве матрикса для изготовления КИК использовали микрогель на основе рекомбинантного спидроина rS1/9. Клеточным компонентом КИК служили аллогенные клетки печени (КП) и мультипотентные мезенхимальные стволовые клетки костного мозга (ММСК КМ) здорового донора. Эффективность корригирующего воздействия имплантируемых КИК оценивали на экспериментальной модели ХПН (n = 60) в двух группах крыс: 1-я группа – контроль (n = 20), в паренхиму поврежденной печени вводили 1 мл физиологического раствора; 2-я группа – экспериментальная (n = 40), в паренхиму поврежденной печени имплантировали КИК, содержащие аллогенные КП и ММСК КМ в соотношении 5 : 1 в объеме 1 мл. Для осуществления длительного наблюдения за состоянием КИК их маркировали путем дополнительного включения в состав Цитодекса-3. Эффективность регуляторного воздействия КИК на восстановительные процессы в печени оценивали с помощью биохимических, морфологических и морфометрических методов, а также метода проточной цитофлуометрии на сроке 90 суток после имплантации.Результаты. В контрольной группе летальность при моделировании ХПН составила 25%. Летальность в экспериментальной группе с ХПН при имплантации КИК отсутствовала. Установлено корригирующее воздействие КИК на используемые биохимические и морфологические показатели состояния печени при ХПН в течение 90 суток наблюдения при сопутствующем сохранении структурного гомеостаза клеток в имплантируемых КИК.Заключение. Использование КИК, имплантируемых в печень, позволяет осуществлять эффективную коррекцию ХПН путем активации восстановительных процессов в поврежденной печени, которая обусловлена длительным сохранением структурного гомеостаза клеток, включенных в состав КИК

All-particle primary energy spectrum in the 3-200 PeV energy range

We present all-particle primary cosmic-ray energy spectrum in the 3-200 PeV energy range obtained by a multi-parametric event-by-event evaluation of the primary energy. The results are obtained on the basis of an expanded EAS data set detected at mountain level (700 g/cm^2) by the GAMMA experiment. The energy evaluation method has been developed using the EAS simulation with the SIBYLL interaction model taking into account the response of GAMMA detectors and reconstruction uncertainties of EAS parameters. Nearly unbiased (<5%) energy estimations regardless of a primary nuclear mass with an accuracy of about 15-10% in the 3-200 PeV energy range respectively are attained. An irregularity ('bump') in the spectrum is observed at primary energies of ~74 PeV. This bump exceeds a smooth power-law fit to the data by about 4 standard deviations. Not rejecting stochastic nature of the bump completely, we examined the systematic uncertainties of our methods and conclude that they cannot be responsible for the observed feature.Comment: Accepted by J.Phys.G: Nucl.Part.Phy

Exocyclic Carbons Adjacent to the N6 of Adenine are Targets for Oxidation by the Escherichia coli Adaptive Response Protein AlkB

The DNA and RNA repair protein AlkB removes alkyl groups from nucleic acids by a unique iron- and α-ketoglutarate-dependent oxidation strategy. When alkylated adenines are used as AlkB targets, earlier work suggests that the initial target of oxidation can be the alkyl carbon adjacent to N1. Such may be the case with ethano-adenine (EA), a DNA adduct formed by an important anticancer drug, BCNU, whereby an initial oxidation would occur at the carbon adjacent to N1. In a previous study, several intermediates were observed suggesting a pathway involving adduct restructuring to a form that would not hinder replication, which would match biological data showing that AlkB almost completely reverses EA toxicity in vivo. The present study uses more sensitive spectroscopic methodology to reveal the complete conversion of EA to adenine; the nature of observed additional putative intermediates indicates that AlkB conducts a second oxidation event in order to release the two-carbon unit completely. The second oxidation event occurs at the exocyclic carbon adjacent to the N[superscript 6] atom of adenine. The observation of oxidation of a carbon at N[superscript 6] in EA prompted us to evaluate N[superscript 6]-methyladenine (m6A), an important epigenetic signal for DNA replication and many other cellular processes, as an AlkB substrate in DNA. Here we show that m6A is indeed a substrate for AlkB and that it is converted to adenine via its 6-hydroxymethyl derivative. The observation that AlkB can demethylate m6A in vitro suggests a role for AlkB in regulation of important cellular functions in vivo.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number CA080024)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number CA26731)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number ES02109

Collaborative annotation of genes and proteins between UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot and dictyBase

UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, a curated protein database, and dictyBase, the Model Organism Database for Dictyostelium discoideum, have established a collaboration to improve data sharing. One of the major steps in this effort was the ‘Dicty annotation marathon’, a week-long exercise with 30 annotators aimed at achieving a major increase in the number of D. discoideum proteins represented in UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot. The marathon led to the annotation of over 1000 D. discoideum proteins in UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot. Concomitantly, there were a large number of updates in dictyBase concerning gene symbols, protein names and gene models. This exercise demonstrates how UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot can work in very close cooperation with model organism databases and how the annotation of proteins can be accelerated through those collaborations