Diagnostic Value Parameters Of Acute Phase Reactances Of Infectious-inflammatory Process In Diagnostics Of Early Neonatal Sepsis

An advanced progress of clinical neonatology in recent years has enabled to achieve considerable success in newborn management with due respect to both medical treatment and general care, especially in the group of neonates with low body weight at birth. At the same time, neonatal sepsis in the early period still predetermine sickness and mortality of newborns.Material and methods. Clinical-paraclinical indices with detection of diagnostic value of C-reactive protein and interleukins-6 and 8 were evaluated in 100 neonates with available susceptibility factors to early neonatal infection from mother\u27s side and clinical signs of organ dysfunction in neonates with precautions of generalized infectious-inflammatory process at the end of their first day of life.Results. The data obtained substantiate that low concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 prevail, and therefore the mentioned mediators hardly can be used to verify early neonatal infection. In the majority of children C-reactive protein elevated the concentration of 10.0 mg/L which is traditionally considered to be a discriminant as to the verification of an infectious process in newborns.Conclusions. None of the clinical signs associated with infectious-inflammatory process in newborns in the first two days of their life enabled to verify reliably availability of systemic bacterial infection

Waste recovery into activated carbon for water purification from heavy metals

Dissertação apresentada para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Química Pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Faculdade de Ciências e TecnThe main objective of this research was the recovery of natural carbon- containing wastes into environmentally friendly secondary products, and their re-use as selective adsorbents for heavy metals removal from wastewater streams. The natural carbon containing wastes were: Sunflower husks, D-grade coal, AKKhZ sludge and Spent petroleum product waste. To achieve this purpose, the research was focused on three different types of studies: 1. Study the thermolysis process of the single carbon-containing wastes components and their blends aimed at: (i) determination of the reference onset of the thermal stages, assigning the reference structural fragments of the parent Sunflower husks, D-grade coal, AKKhZ sludge and Spent petroleum product waste; and (ii) evaluation of the synergetic effects observed during their co-thermolysis. 2. Development of a recovery concept to the waste recycling via co-activation of the co-mingled carbon-containing waste materials, in order to obtain a porous activated carbon. 3. Optimization of the experimental conditions for the adsorption of heavy metals from contaminated waste waters. In order to gain some insight into the reactions which may occur between the components of the co-mingled wastes during the activation process, in the first part of the work the pyrolysis behavior of the single components and their blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. On this stage, the data obtained suggested a new approach to the problem of assessing the selectivity of the co-processing concept. Based on the direct monitoring of the reference structural fragments during co-thermolysis, the synergetic effects were evaluated for the co-mingled systems. The data obtained were used in the second part of the work, for the development of the co-activation concept to the co-mingled solid and liquid recovery into secondary solid porous products. The development of the design parameters for the activated carbons syntheses was done considering the re-polymerization, re- association and the polycondensation reactions between the reference structural fragments of the components in the ternary composite systems «Spent Petroleum Product Waste – Biomass – D-grade D» and «AKKhZ sludge – Biomass – D-grade coal». The factors influencing the char formation and the properties of the resulting activated carbons were evaluated at laboratory scale. The co- activation approach developed to the solid and liquid co-mingled waste recycling, was implemented at pilot scale. Novel powder and granular activated carbons have been obtained with surface area of 400-1050 m2/g, total pore volume of 0.32-0.47 m3/g and yield of 21-27%.A comprehensive adsorption study using the novel activated carbons, was performed in the third part of the work. The influence of various textural and surface characteristics of carbon materials (porosity, surface area, oxygen functional groups) and the conditions of the adsorption process (initial solution acidity, contact time, components ratio) were investigated in batch mode for single- and multi-component model solutions containing Fe (II), Co (II), Cu (II), Cr (III), Ni (II), Mn (II). Under optimized conditions, a total chromium uptake of 1.09 mmol/g was achieved using as adsorbent the novel activated carbon from co-mingled wastes. The uptake is slightly higher than the one obtained for the commercial GAC Norit 1240 Plus (A– 10128) activated carbon oxidised by HNO3. Moreover, in the course of this work, it became clear, that the usage of the activated carbon from co-mingled waste for the 3d transitional metals adsorption offered an attractive approach to simultaneous metal removal from multi-component solutions. The total metal removal combined the process of metal hydroxide precipitation (up to 50–55 % by total removal) with the metal cation adsorption on negatively charged carbon surface (up to 15–20 % by total removal) in a single operation unit. Finally, the mechanism of the 3d transition metals adsorption on the activated carbon from co-mingled waste was considered. Within this context, the natural organic waste recovery into porous solid environmentally friendly products offered a technological alternativ

Charmed signatures for phase transitions in heavy-ion collisions

The interplay of charmonium production and suppression in In+In and Pb+Pb reactions at 158 AGeV and in Au+Au reactions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is investigated with the HSD transport approach within the hadronic comover model' and the QGP melting scenario'. The results for the J/Psi suppression and the Psi' to J/Psi ratio are compared to the recent data of the NA50, NA60, and PHENIX Collaborations. We find that, at 158 AGeV, the comover absorption model performs better than the scenario of abrupt threshold melting. However, neither interaction with hadrons alone nor simple color screening satisfactory describes the data at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. A deconfined phase is clearly reached at RHIC, but a theory having the relevant degrees of freedom in this regime (strongly interacting quarks/gluons) is needed to study its transport properties

Expression of Tumor Assosiated and Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition Markers in 2d and 3d Cell Cultures of Mcf-7

The target effects on the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulation molecules are promising for cancer therapy, including breast cancer. 3D cell culture is a model for studying epithelial-mesenchymal transition in vitro and may become a test system for anticancer therapy.Aim of research. The aim of this research was to evaluate and compare the expression of tumor associated and epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in tumor cells of breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7 cell line) in 2D and 3D cell culture.Methods. For realization of the aim MCF-7 cell line (breast adenocarcinoma) was chosen as an experimental model in vitro. The monolayer cell culture was cultured in standard conditions (37 0C, 5 % CO2, humidity 95 %). The initial density of inoculated cells was 2 x 104 cells/cm2. The cells were incubated for two days before their use in the experiment. For the initial generation of spheroids the monolayer cell culture was removed off the substrate after the four days of incubation, using 0,25 % Trypsin-EDTA, and placed in nutrient medium with 5 % carboxymethyl cellulose (Bio-Rad, USA) at concentration of 5 x 105 cells/ml. Then the plates were incubated on an orbital shaker (Orbital shaker, PSU-10i, Biosan, Latvia) at 50 rpm for 3–5 hours. Half of culture medium was replenished every 3 days. A spheroid culture was maintained for 14 days. Detection of markers (ER, p53, EpCAM, vim, AE1/AE3, panCK, EGFR) in 2D and 3D cell culture was performed using immunohistochemistry method with primary monoclonal antibodies. Histological samples of cells were photographed to compare the morphological characteristics and the expression of proteins in monolayer and spheroid cultureResults. The results demonstrated that the percentage of tumor marker positive cells (ER+, EGFR+, EpCAM+, panCK+, AE1/AE3+) in monolayer culture is 1.25–2 times than more in spheroid culture. In contrast, tumor spheroids consist of fewer cells with the expression of epithelial markers such as EpCAM and AE1/AE3, but they contain a large number of cells that expressed mesenchymal marker vimentin by 5 % and p53 by 10 %. This may indicate that the cells acquire a mesenchymal phenotype. However, tumor cells of monolayer cell culture were not expressed vimentin.Conclusions. Our results demonstrated the differences of expression of tumor associated and epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in 2D and 3D breast cancer cell cultures. Thus, the percentage of epithelial markers (Cytokeratines and epithelial cell adhesion molecule) in tumor spheroids is less than in cells of monolayer however spheroids cells begin expressing a mesenchymal marker – vimentin. In 3D cell culture only the outer cell layers expressed tumor associated proteins unlike 2D cell culture in which all of cells showed equally expression. Reduced of manifestation of tumor associated markers in 3D cell culture may indicate an increase of stem properties. These data showed that 3D cell culture more than 2D cell culture characterized processes of epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Teacher's Use of a Drawing Workshop as a Method of Art Therapy

Objective: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a workshop in watercolour drawing by a future teacher of art as part of art therapy to improve mental state. Background: In modern conditions of development of the innovation and educational process in higher education in the specialties "Fine Arts" and "Design" special attention is paid to the acquisition of professional skills and abilities of students to work in the art space of the Planer. In this regard, master classes are widely used in classes in higher education institutions, but most training is aimed at acquiring professional writing with watercolour. Method: Workshop, as a quick and illustrative example in the performance of a watercolour etude by a teacher, is the strongest means of aesthetic impact, which is to show the secrets of drawing mastery, aesthetic techniques of working with watercolour, brush movements, the appearance of colour fillings, emphasizing a pictorial composition. Results: In the course of the study, it was determined that using a drawing workshop as art therapy is an effective way to improve the mental state. Art-therapeutic work evokes positive emotions, helps form a more active life position, emotionally valuable acceptance of partners, and cohesion. Conclusion: Fine art products constitute objective evidence of a person's mood and thoughts, which allows them to be used to assessing the mental state

Chemical composition of bee pollen

Bee pollen, usually used as an important source of nutrients and micronutrients for the young bees in the hive, is also an important food for humans. This product is very rich in proteins, lipids, free sugars, carbohydrates, and it contains trace amounts of minerals, phenolic acids, flavonoids and a good range of vitamins. A brief look at bee pollen composition, it is easily recognised that it is a balanced food that can be used as a stand-alone food or as a nutritional supplement or even as a medicinal product. Several bioactivities, due to some of these compounds, were studied in bee pollen samples from different floral sources and the results conduce to important properties. The amount and diversity of micronutrients could induce vast benefits if used for health purposes following a complete risk assessment. Nevertheless, the results pointing towards the encouraged use of bee pollen, the risk assessment of some floral species containing toxic compounds has not been fully studied to insure the safety of consumption for all the gathered flowers, so this will also be discussed in this chapter. Admiration for its goodness and medicinal properties, bee pollen has been consumed for centuries, however, currently the efficacy and safety for all consumed products, foods, supplements or medicines is an important tool to guarantee correct quality control and essential to add value to the product. To summarise, in this chapter we will put the situation of gaps in bee pollen research into some kind of perspective, outlining some important points and discussing in more depth the implications of collecting samples, chemical composition and risk assessment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmental Protection on the Example of Agricultural Lands

Agricultural land is the most valuable resource of today because the issue of food security in the world community now comes first. Unfortunately, the ecological condition of lands suitable for agricultural use in Ukraine and the situation in the field of their use is constantly deteriorating. The quality of land resources is declining and approaching catastrophic levels. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to explore the main aspects of legal and environmental regulation of fertile land protection and to suggest ways to improve the protection and preservation of agricultural land. The main research method is the method of analysis, thanks to which the world experience in the field of environmental protection in general and the protection of agricultural lands was comprehensively analysed. The normative-legal acts of Ukraine, which regulate the issues of land use, as well as protection and preservation of agricultural lands, were analysed. The proposed mechanisms of environmental protection on the example of agricultural lands can be used to form targeted government programs

ЛІНІЙНИЙ ТА ОБ’ЄМНИЙ СПОСОБИ ПОДАННЯ НАВЧАЛЬНОЇ ІНФОРМАЦІЇ

The article acquaints with features of linear and volumetric (visual, graphic) methods of information representation. It is shown advantages and shortcomings of each of the presented ways of a statement of information. The author shows an urgent need of more active use of visual forms of information representation by a teacher that is caused by sharp expansion of modern information space of knowledge. The use by teachers of modern methods of work with information massifs accompanies their general development of information literacy. Possibilities of use of a volumetric way of information representation in everyday teaching practice are offered. Visualization of information massifs of knowledge will promote for growth of information literacy of the teacher that is the perspective direction of further researches.Статья знакомит с особенностями линейного и объемного (визуального, графического) способов информационной репрезентации. Показано преимущества и недостатки каждого из обозначенных способов информационного представления Автор демонстрирует насущную потребность более активного использования учителем визуальных форм информационной репрезентации, что обусловлено резким расширением современного информационного пространства знаний. Освоение учителем современных методов работы с информационными массивами сопутствуют общему развитию его информационной грамотности. Очерчены возможности использования объемного способа информационной репрезентации в каждодневной педагогической практике. Визуализация информационных массивов знаний будет содействовать росту информационной грамотности учителя, что является перспективным направлением дальнейших исследований.Стаття знайомить з особливостями лінійного та об’ємного(візуального, графічного) способів інформаційної репрезентації. Показано переваги та недоліки кожного з означених способів викладення інформації. Автор демонструє нагальну потребу більш активного використання вчителем візуальних форм інформаційної репрезентації, що пов’язане з різким розширенням сучасного  інформаційного простору  знань. Оволодіння вчителем сучасними засобами роботи з інформаційними масивами сприяють загальному розвиткові його інформаційної грамотності. Окреслено можливості використання об’ємного способу інформаційної репрезентації в повсякденній педагогічній практиці. Візуалізація інформаційних масивів знань  сприятиме зростанню інформаційної грамотності вчителя, що є перспективним напрямом подальших розвідок

A novel electroanalytical approach to the measurement of B vitamins in food supplements based on screen-printed carbon sensors

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. This paper describes the development of a novel electrochemical assay for the measurement of water-soluble vitamins in food and pharmaceutical products. The optimum conditions for the determination of vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin) and B6 (pyridoxine) in phosphate buffer were established using cyclic voltammetry in conjunction with screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). The optimum current response for all three vitamins was achieved in 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 11 using an initial potential of −1.0 V. Using square wave voltammetry, the linear ranges for thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine were found to be: 15–110 µg/ml, 0.1–20 µg/ml, and 2–80 µg/ml respectively. The application of the method to a commercial food product yielded a recovery of 95.78% for riboflavin, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 3.38% (n = 5). The method was also applied to a multi-vitamin supplement for the simultaneous determination of thiamine, riboflavin and pyridoxine. In both cases only simple dilution with buffer followed by centrifugation was required prior to analysis. The resulting square wave voltammetric signals were completely resolved with Ep values of −0.7 V, +0.2 V, and +0.6 V respectively. The recoveries determined for the vitamin B complex in a commercial supplement product were found to be 110%, 114%, and 112% respectively (CV = 7.14%, 6.28%. 5.66% respectively, n = 5)

Structure–function–property–design interplay in biopolymers: Spider silk

Spider silks have been a focus of research for almost two decades due to their outstanding mechanical and biophysical properties. Recent advances in genetic engineering have led to the synthesis of recombinant spider silks, thus helping to unravel a fundamental understanding of structure–function–property relationships. The relationships between molecular composition, secondary structures and mechanical properties found in different types of spider silks are described, along with a discussion of artificial spinning of these proteins and their bioapplications, including the role of silks in biomineralization and fabrication of biomaterials with controlled properties. Keywords: Spider silk; Proteins; Secondary structure; Self-assembly; Genetic engineeringNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB014976)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB002520)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EY020856)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant DE017207)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant EB014283