Babesiosis in Southeastern, Central and Northeastern Europe: An Emerging and Re-Emerging Tick-Borne Disease of Humans and Animals

There is now considerable evidence that in Europe, babesiosis is an emerging infectious disease, with some of the causative species spreading as a consequence of the increasing range of their tick vector hosts. In this review, we summarize both the historic records and recent findings on the occurrence and incidence of babesiosis in 20 European countries located in southeastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia), central Europe (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland), and northern and northeastern Europe (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway), identified in humans and selected species of domesticated animals (cats, dogs, horses, and cattle). Recorded cases of human babesiosis are still rare, but their number is expected to rise in the coming years. This is because of the widespread and longer seasonal activity of Ixodes ricinus as a result of climate change and because of the more extensive use of better molecular diagnostic methods. Bovine babesiosis has a re-emerging potential because of the likely loss of herd immunity, while canine babesiosis is rapidly expanding in central and northeastern Europe, its occurrence correlating with the rapid, successful expansion of the ornate dog tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) populations in Europe. Taken together, our analysis of the available reports shows clear evidence of an increasing annual incidence of babesiosis across Europe in both humans and animals that is changing in line with similar increases in the incidence of other tick-borne diseases. This situation is of major concern, and we recommend more extensive and frequent, standardized monitoring using a “One Health” approach

Study of the Effect of a Biologically Active Compound Tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium 4-Chlorophenylsulfanylacetate on the Growth of Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus

Background. Development of nutrient media ensuring the maximum growth rate of pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases while preserving their biological properties is extremely important. A promising direction in this area seems to be the use of synthetic microbial growth biostimulants.The aim of the work is to study the possibility of improving nutrient media for the cultivation of Listeria and Staphylococcus using a biologically active compound tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium 4-chlorophenylsulfanylacetate.Materials and methods. The object of the study was experimental nutrient medium for the cultivation of Listeria used for the culturing of the test strain Listeria monocytogenes 766. As a comparison medium, commercial medium Fraser broth to which agar was added at a concentration of 1.5 %, was used. The test strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538-P (FDA 209-P) was cultivated on meat-peptone agar with 1% glucose. The compound tris(2-hydroxyethyl) ammonium (4-chlorophenyl)sulfanylacetate at a concentration of 10–4 wt. % was studied as a growth stimulator. A nutrient medium without a stimulant served as a control. The specific activity of nutrient media (germination rate, medium sensitivity, growth rate and stability of the main biological properties of microorganisms) was evaluated by the microbiological method.Results. Studies have shown that the addition of a growth stimulator to nutrient media contributes to the growth of colonies (by 10–50 %) and a decrease in the time of their development. When growth stimulator was added to the nutrient medium for the cultivation of Listeria, the initial growth of colonies of the L. monocytogenes 766 test strain after 12 hours of cultivation and growth of colonies of the test strain S. aureus ATCC 6538-P after 6 hours of cultivation on the meat-peptone agar with 1% glucose was observed.Conclusion. Thus, the addition of a growth biostimulator tris(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium 4-chlorophenylsulfanyl acetate at a concentration of 10–4 wt. % in the nutrient medium accelerates the growth of Listeria and Staphylococcus, allows to reduce the time of issuance of the analysis result in half

Kinetics of Аdsorption of nickel(II) Ions by Zeolite with Immobilized Thiosemicarbazide

Исследовано влияние температуры на кинетику адсорбции ионов никеля(II) цеолитом с иммобилизованным тиосемикарбазидом. В рамках диффузионных моделей Бойда и Морриса-Вебера использован количественный подход для первичного разграничения внешне и внутри диффузионного лимитирования адсорбции. Показано, что диффузия ионов через пленку раствора и диффузия в зерне цеолита вносят свой вклад в общую скорость процесса, и адсорбция протекает в смешанно-диффузионном режиме. Вклад химической стадии в кинетику гетерогенного процесса адсорбции был охарактеризован в рамках кинетических моделей Лагергрена, Хо и Маккея и Еловича. Наиболее применимой для описания исследуемых процессов является модель псевдо-второго порядка. Модель предполагает, что скорость процесса адсорбции ионов никеля(II) лимитирует химическая реакция, которая в случае рассматриваемых цеолитов сопровождается образованием хелатных комплексов (состава 1:1) за счет донорно-акцепторного взаимодействия ионов металла с атомами азота и серы тиосемикарбазидного фрагмента. Такой тип взаимодействия характерен как для материалов функционализированных тиосемикарбазидом, так и в целом для органических адсорбентов, содержащих N- и S‑активные группировкиThe effect of temperature on the adsorption kinetics of nickel(II) ions by zeolite with immobilized thiosemicarbazide has been studied. Within the framework of the diffusion models of Boyd and Morris-Weber, a quantitative approach was used for the primary distinction between external and internal diffusion limitation of adsorption. It is shown that the diffusion of ions through the solution membrane and diffusion in the zeolite grain contribute to the overall rate of the process, and adsorption proceeds in a mixed diffusion mode. The contribution of the chemical stage to the kinetics of the heterogeneous adsorption process was characterized in terms of the kinetic models of Lagergren, Ho, and McKay and Elovich. The most applicable for describing explored the processes is the pseudo-second order model. The model assumes that the rate of adsorption of nickel(II) ions is limited by a chemical reaction, which, in the case of the zeolites under consideration, is accompanied by the formation of chelate complexes (composition 1:1) due to the donor-acceptor interaction of metal ions with nitrogen and sulfur atoms of the thiosemicarbazide fragment. This type of interaction is typical both for materials functionalized with thiosemicarbazide and, in general, for organic adsorbents containing N- and S‑active group

Cerebrospinal fluid sodium rhythms

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sodium levels have been reported to rise during episodic migraine. Since migraine frequently starts in early morning or late afternoon, we hypothesized that natural sodium chronobiology may predispose susceptible persons when extracellular CSF sodium increases. Since no mammalian brain sodium rhythms are known, we designed a study of healthy humans to test if cation rhythms exist in CSF. Methods: Lumbar CSF was collected every ten minutes at 0.1 mL/min for 24 h from six healthy participants. CSF sodium and potassium concentrations were measured by ion chromatography, total protein by fluorescent spectrometry, and osmolarity by freezing point depression. We analyzed cation and protein distributions over the 24 h period and spectral and permutation tests to identify significant rhythms. We applied the False Discovery Rate method to adjust significance levels for multiple tests and Spearman correlations to compare sodium fluctuations with potassium, protein, and osmolarity. Results: The distribution of sodium varied much more than potassium, and there were statistically significant rhythms at 12 and 1.65 h periods. Curve fitting to the average time course of the mean sodium of all six subjects revealed the lowest sodium levels at 03.20 h and highest at 08.00 h, a second nadir at 09.50 h and a second peak at 18.10 h. Sodium levels were not correlated with potassium or protein concentration, or with osmolarity. Conclusion: These CSF rhythms are the first reports of sodium chronobiology in the human nervous system. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that rising levels of extracellular sodium may contribute to the timing of migraine onset. The physiological importance of sodium in the nervous system suggests that these rhythms may have additional repercussions on ultradian functions

The morphology and biochemistry of nanostructures provide evidence for synthesis and signaling functions in human cerebrospinal fluid

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) contacts many brain regions and may mediate humoral signaling distinct from synaptic neurotransmission. However, synthesis and transport mechanisms for such signaling are not defined. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether human CSF contains discrete structures that may enable the regulation of humoral transmission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Lumbar CSF was collected prospectively from 17 participants: with no neurological or psychiatric disease, with Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, or migraine; and ventricular CSF from two cognitively healthy participants with long-standing shunts for congenital hydrocephalus. Cell-free CSF was subjected to ultracentrifugation to yield supernatants and pellets that were examined by transmission electron microscopy, shotgun protein sequencing, electrophoresis, western blotting, lipid analysis, enzymatic activity assay, and immuno-electron microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over 3,600 CSF proteins were identified from repeated shotgun sequencing of cell-free CSF from two individuals with Alzheimer's disease: 25% of these proteins are normally present in membranes. Abundant nanometer-scaled structures were observed in ultracentrifuged pellets of CSF from all 16 participants examined. The most common structures included synaptic vesicle and exosome components in 30-200 nm spheres and irregular blobs. Much less abundant nanostructures were present that derived from cellular debris. Nanostructure fractions had a unique composition compared to CSF supernatant, richer in omega-3 and phosphoinositide lipids, active prostanoid enzymes, and fibronectin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Unique morphology and biochemistry features of abundant and discrete membrane-bound CSF nanostructures are described. Prostaglandin H synthase activity, essential for prostanoid production and previously unknown in CSF, is localized to nanospheres. Considering CSF bulk flow and its circulatory dynamics, we propose that these nanostructures provide signaling mechanisms <it>via </it>volume transmission within the nervous system that are for slower, more diffuse, and of longer duration than synaptic transmission.</p

A comparison of five lipid extraction solvent systems for lipidomic studies of human LDL

Lipidome profile of fluids and tissues is a growing field as the role of lipids as signaling molecules is increasingly understood, relying on an effective and representative extraction of the lipids present. A number of solvent systems suitable for lipid extraction are commonly in use, though no comprehensive investigation of their effectiveness across multiple lipid classes has been carried out. To address this, human LDL from normolipidemic volunteers was used to evaluate five different solvent extraction protocols [Folch, Bligh and Dyer, acidified Bligh and Dyer, methanol (MeOH)-tert-butyl methyl ether (TBME), and hexane-isopropanol] and the extracted lipids were analyzed by LC-MS in a high-resolution instrument equipped with polarity switching. Overall, more than 350 different lipid species from 19 lipid subclasses were identified. Solvent composition had a small effect on the extraction of predominant lipid classes (triacylglycerides, cholesterol esters, and phosphatidylcholines). In contrast, extraction of less abundant lipids (phosphatidylinositols, lyso-lipids, ceramides, and cholesterol sulfates) was greatly influenced by the solvent system used. Overall, the Folch method was most effective for the extraction of a broad range of lipid classes in LDL, although the hexane-isopropanol method was best for apolar lipids and the MeOH-TBME method was suitable for lactosyl ceramides

Mobiilin langattoman MIMO-OFDM järjestelmän suorituskyvyn analyysia: Työkaluja ja tuloksia

Multi-antenna and multi-carrier wireless transmission techniques are expected to provide high peak data rates and spectral efficiency, good coverage and reliable transmission required by emerging wireless standards such as 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 3GPP LTE-Advanced. The multi-stream transmission via Multiple-Output Multiple-Input (MIMO) systems achieves different gains using beamforming, spatial diversity and spatial multiplexing techniques. The multi-carrier modulation via Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) enhances spectral efficiency and facilitates using simple transceiver structures for broadband communications. MIMO-OFDM transmission impacts the design of many physical-level, system-level and radio resource management (RRM) functions as well as interaction between link and system level called Link-to-System (L2S) interface. In this thesis methods for optimizing L2S interface and RRM for MIMO-OFDM wireless systems and performance measures suitable for the system level performance evaluation are developed. The derived techniques are needed in network planning and optimization in order to analyze coverage, interference, frequency utilization, traffic loading. Moreover, they are used in dynamic system level simulations. In this thesis a computational efficient method for calculating the effective Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise-Ratio (SINR) mapping as advanced L2S interface for MIMO-OFDM transmission at the system-level is introduced. Asymptotic distribution of the effective SINR is established. In case of fast link adaptation with adaptive modulation and coding a mixture distribution model is used. The established distribution allows to utilize system capacity measure with a confidence and to evaluate the overall system performance. A measure for ergodic system capacity is established analytically through the mean value of the effective SINR. The proposed performance measure is attractive for the system level since it incorporates the L2S model used as a quality measure of a radio link. The simulation results carried out in specific mobility scenarios in 3GPP LTE downlink network verify the analytical results and show clear impact of mobility on the system capacity. In addition, fast and accurate rank adaptation method based on system level capacity is developed. It provides efficient and computationally simple procedure for adaptation to the varying channel conditions.Monen antennin ja usean kantoaallon hyödyntämiseen perustuvien langattomien lähetystekniikoiden odotetaan saavuttavan korkeita tiedonsiirtonopeuksia, spektritehokkuutta, hyvän kantaman, sekä parantavan radioyhteyden luotettavuutta. Nämä ovat vaatimuksia uusissa langattomissa standardeissa, kuten 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) sekä 3GPP LTE-Advanced järjestelmissä. Monikanavaisissa moniantenni (MIMO, Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) järjestelmissä voidaan hyödyntää keilanmuodostusta (beamforming), tilan monimuotoisuutta (spatial diversity) sekä tilakanavointia (spatial multiplexing). Usean kantoaallon moduloiminen OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) tekniikan avulla lisää spektritehokkuutta ja mahdollistaa yksinkertaistettujen lähetin-vastaanotin -rakenteiden hyödyntämisen laajakaistaisessa tietoliikenteessä. MIMO-OFDM lähetystekniikka vaikuttaa niin fyysisen rajapinnan, järjestelmätason kuin radioresurssien hallinnankin (RRM, Radio Resource Management) suunnitteluun, sekä myös siirtolinkin ja järjestelmän väliseen L2S (Link-to-System) rajapintaan. Tässä väitöskirjassa kehitetään langattomien MIMO-OFDM järjestelmien L2S rajapinnan sekä RRM optimoimiseen soveltuvia menetelmiä, sekä järjestelmän suorituskyvyn arvioimiseen sopivia suorituskyvyn mittareita. Kehitetyillä menetelmillä voidaan analysoida langattomien verkkojen peittoaluetta, keskinäistä häiriötä, taajuuksien käyttöä sekä liikenteen tasapainotusta, joita tarvitaan verkon suunnitteluun ja optimoimiseen. Näitä menetelmiä käytetään lisäksi dynaamisissa järjestelmätason simulaatioissa. Tässä työssä esitetään laskennallisesti tehokas menetelmä tehollisen signaali-häiriö-kohina suhteen (SINR, Signal-to-Interference-and-Noise-Ratio) laskentaan ja muuntamiseen MIMO-OFDM järjestelmän kehittyneelle L2S rajapinnalle. Lisäksi johdetaan tehollisen SINR arvon asymptoottinen jakauma. Nopean linkkien mukauttamisen ja adaptiivisen modulaation ja koodauksen tapauksessa mallinnukseen käytetään sekajakaumaa. Johdettu jakauma mahdollistaa järjestelmän kapasiteetin luotettavan arvioimisen ja käytön koko järjestelmän suorituskyvyn mittaamiseen. Tehollisen SINR keskiarvon avulla voidaan analyyttisesti laskea järjestelmän ergodinen kapasiteetti. Kehitetty suorituskyvyn mittari soveltuu erityisen hyvin järjestelmätasolle, sillä sitä voidaan käyttää L2S mallin hyödyntämiseen radioyhteyden laadun analysoimiseen. Suoritetut simuloinnit tietyissä 3GPP LTE mobiiliverko

Перевод как множество и множество переводов

Oborina Marina. Перевод как множество и множество переводов. In: Modernités Russes, n°17, 2018. Traduire la poésie. pp. 11-29

Набросок об античности как контексте прочтения (на примере Феодосии Мандельштама)

Статья предлагает некоторые размышления по поводу античности как одного из герменевтических приёмов преодоления семантической неопределённости модернистских текстов. Цикл Феодосия взят для примера в силу нескольких причин : через таврический локус он наследует античности, затем он является продуктом модернистской поэтики, рождённой в эпоху Серебряного века, наконец, он включён в общую парадигму творчества Мандельштама. В качестве средства восстановления контекста дискурса, античность дополняет наше понимание произведения (характера рассказчика, «вещный мир» Феодосии, трактовка событий в Крыму в 1920 году и т. д.).The paper offers some reflections on the role of antiquity as one of the hermeneutical techniques for negotiating the semantic ambiguity inherent in modernist texts. The Theodosia cycle was chosen to exemplify this idea for several reasons. First of all, its Tauride locus directly refers to the heritage of Antiquity ; moreover, it is rooted in the modernist poetics brought about by Silver Age culture, and finally, it is part and parcel of Mandel’stam’s creative heritage. By reconstructing the context, antiquity adds to our understanding of the works (of the narrator’s personality, of the “material world” of Theodosia, the interpretation of Crimean events of the 1920s, etc.).L’article se propose de réfléchir sur l’Antiquité en tant que procédé herméneutique permettant de dépasser l’indéfinition sémantique des textes modernistes. Le cycle de récits Théodosie (1925) est pris pour plusieurs raisons : il a un lien de continuité avec l’Antiquité, essentiellement, à travers le lieu, ensuite, il représente un des résultats de la poétique moderniste engendrée à l’époque de l’Âge d’argent, enfin, il fait partie du paradigme général de l’oeuvre de Mandel’štam. En tant que moyen de reconstituer la situation qui a déterminé la naissance du texte, l’Antiquité enrichit notre compréhension de l’oeuvre (le caractère du narrateur, le «monde des objets», lе traitement des événements en Crimée en 1920 etc.).Oborina Marina. Набросок об античности как контексте прочтения (на примере Феодосии Мандельштама). In: Modernités Russes, n°15, 2015. L’émigration russe et l’héritage classique. pp. 203-212

Development of power criteria of material destruction based on modelling of crystalline lattice defects

The paper is concerned with metal solids with face-centered cubic lattice. The purpose of the work is to develop rower criteria of the destruction of solids. New power criteria of distruction of materials with a face-centered cubic lattice have been metal obtained, and on the basis of them a number of relationships of plastic shape formation and distruction of commercial metals and alloys at static and cyclic loads has been determined. Recommendations have been given for estimation of reliability and static viscosity of the distruction of structional materials; a fractographic method for determining of threshold coefficient of stress intensity and a method of an accelerated evaluation of the durability and carrying capability resource of products at fatigue have been offered. The algorithm developed and soft-ware package developed on its basis for modelling of defects in crystals has been used in the educational process on the speciality 'Dynamics and Strength of Machines'Available from VNTIC / VNTIC - Scientific & Technical Information Centre of RussiaSIGLERURussian Federatio