Effect of <i>Meloidogyne incognita</i> infection on the accumulation of phenolic compounds in plants of the genus Mint (Mentha L.)

The purpose of the research is to compare the accumulation of phenolic compounds of different species and varieties of mint, zoned in Central Russia against the background of plant infection by Meloidogyne incognita.Materials and methods. Plants were grown from cuttings in a growing experiment in open ground. Mentha × piperita L. (varieties: Tik-Tak, Orange, Minneola, Mojito, Mitchum, Chocolate), M. spicata L. (varieties Morocco, Crispa) and M. longifolia L. (Longifolia) were taken for the study. A month later, the rooted plants were infected at the rate of 1000 sp. infective larvae of M. incognita per plant. After 8 weeks leaves were fixed in ethanol. The total content of phenolic compounds (PC), phenylpropanoids, flavonoids and catechins was studied using a spectrophotometer. The determination of the total content of PС was carried out using the Folin-Cecolte reagent with measurement at 725 nm, phenylpropanoids – by direct measurement of optical density at 330 nm, flavonoids – by reaction with aluminum chloride at 415 nm, the total content of flavans (catechins - flavan-3-ols), their oligomeric forms – proanthocyanidins, as well as leukoanthocyanidins were assessed by reaction with vanillin at 500 nm.Results and discussion. It has been shown that the accumulation of phenols is related to the species of plants. The varieties Mentha × piperita L. in most cases contained more phenols than M. spicata L. and M. longifolia L. A significant number of PC was noted in the violet-colored varieties Mitchum, Chocolate and Orange. The total content of PC almost completely correlates with the content of their precursors – phenylpropanoids. In terms of the content of flavonoids, the Mitchum variety stands out noticeably, and in terms of the content of catechins, the Orange variety stands out. Nematode infection in most varieties causes a noticeable increase in the total accumulation of soluble PC, phenylpropanoids and flavans, but leads to a decrease in the content of flavonoids

The impact of genetic polymorphisms of IL28B gene on the efficacy of antiviral therapy of the chronic hepatitis C by using the standard Interferon-<i>α</i>

Aim of the Study. To analyze the predictive value of the genetic polymorphisms in rs8099917 and rs12979860 loci of the IL28В gene for the assessment of the efficacy prognosis of the combined antiviral therapy on the basis of the standard Interferon of the patients with Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC).Materials and Methods. The study of IL28B genetic polymorphisms was conducted in 66 patients with HCV who did not receive the treatment earlier. The 24- week or 48-week antiviral therapy by standard Interferon-α2b and Ribavirin was prescribed to all patients, taking into consideration the genotype of the HCV-infection. The analysis of the efficacy of the treatment was conducted on the basis of the assessment of the normalization of the biochemical cytolysis markers during and after the treatment as well as the availability of the rapid, early and stable virology response.Results. Among the patients with 1-st HCV genotype, the favorable genotype IL28В of alleles rs12979860 and rs8099917 (СС/ТТ) were associated with consider- ably higher frequency of the stable virology response than different versions of unfavorable genotype IL28В. Among the patients who did not have 1-st genotype the polymorphisms of IL28B gene did not affect the efficacy of antiviral therapy .Conclusion. The studies of genetic polymorphisms of the regions of human genome demonstrates that the positive predictive value of IL28B polymorphisms among the patients with 1-st HCV genotype is higher than among the patients with 2nd and 3d genotypes. This kind of approach enables to take into account the pharmaco-economic aspect of the treatment of chronic HCV-infection

Surface Tension of Seawater

New measurements and a reference correlation for the surface tension of seawater at atmospheric pressure are presented in this paper. Surface tension of seawater was measured across a salinity range of 20 ⩽ S ⩽ 131 g/kg and a temperature range of 1 ⩽ t ⩽ 92 °C at atmospheric pressure using the Wilhelmy plate method. The uncertainty within measurements varied from 0.18 to 0.37 mN/m with the average uncertainty being 0.22 mN/m. The experimental procedures were validated with tests conducted on ACS reagent grade water and aqueous sodium chloride solutions. Literature data and present measurements were evaluated and a reference correlation was developed expressing surface tension of seawater as a function of temperature and salinity. The average absolute percentage deviation between measurements and the correlation was 0.19% while the maximum deviation was 0.60%.Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUPM (Project R13-CW-10

Influence of sodium desoxyribonucleate on anti-infectious protection and hematopoiesis in patients with polytrauma (randomized prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled study)

The  aim of the study was to evaluate  the effect of sodium  deoxyribonucleate on anti-infectious resistance and hematopoiesis in patients with polytraumas. A single-center study of sodium  deoxyribonucleate effectiveness approved by the local Ethics Committee (protocol No. 4 05/18/2016), was conducted in 54 patients with polytrauma. The  main  group  included 27 people, at the mean  age of 39 (29-51)  years old; ISS severity score,  26 (22-34). The  comparison group  comprised 27 people, mean  age,  40 years old (26-53), mean  ISS severity score was 25 points (20 to 29). The patients with randomly attributed even numbers were injected with 5 ml preparation from vials of even-numbered series, the patients with odd numbers were treated with preparation from the odd-numbered series. They were injected intramuscularly daily from day 1 to day 10 after the injury. Before treatment, as well as on days 8, 15 after injury, peripheral blood was examined for leukocyte, erythrocyte counts, hemoglobin, total  protein, blood  IL-6, CRP; proportion of CD117+  and  CD34+  mononuclear cells, CD14+ monocytes, CD14+ granulocytes, HLA-DR+  mononuclear cells, defensin + granulocytes.On  the  day  +8,   patients from  the  main  group,  against  the  comparison group  showed  an  increase   in lymphocytes, monocytes, CD117+ and CD34+ cell counts. Serum IL-6 and CRP were decreased in both groups of the patients to a similar  degree. Terms  of hospitalization in the main  group were 32.8 days, against  39.6 in comparison group. The number of complications per 1 case was, respectively, 21 versus 39, thus being 1.8 times less than  in comparison group.  When developing complications, anemia (Hb  &lt; 90 g/l),  or hypoproteinaemia (&lt; 60 g/l) in the main group was, respectively, 2.5and 3.5-fold  less than  in the comparison group.Treatment with sodium  deoxyribonucleate in polytrauma may promote migration of blood precursors to the bloodstream, increase anti-infectious properties of leukocytes, reduce duration of anemia and hypoproteinemia, number of complications and decrease the terms of hospitalization

Determination of ππ\pi\pi scattering lengths from measurement of π+π−\pi^+\pi^- atom lifetime

The DIRAC experiment at CERN has achieved a sizeable production of $\pi^+\pi^-$ atoms and has significantly improved the precision on its lifetime determination. From a sample of 21227 atomic pairs, a 4% measurement of the S-wave $\pi\pi$ scattering length difference $|a_0-a_2| = (.0.2533^{+0.0080}_{-0.0078}|_\mathrm{stat}.{}^{+0.0078}_{-0.0073}|_\mathrm{syst})M_{\pi^+}^{-1}$ has been attained, providing an important test of Chiral Perturbation Theory.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hippocampal and striatal neurometabolites in experimental PTSD rat modeling

The spectrum of the metabolites in the dorsal region of the hippocampus and striatum was studied using the method of 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy at experimental modeling of the posttraumatic stress disorder syndrome (PTSD) in rats. PTSD was reproduced by exposure of the cat cue to rats daily along 10 day by 10 minutes at once. The anxiety level of animals was estimated 12 days later after the end of the experimental series of stress. Based on the anxiety index, the rats were divided into 3 phenotypes. The animals with an anxiety index &gt; 0.8 (group 1) had lower plasma corticosterone compared with rats form the control group. In animals with an anxiety index in the range 0.7–0.8 (group 2), an elevated corticosterone level was noted. The rats with an anxiety index &lt; 0.7 (group 3) had a lower plasma corticosterone level compared with animals from the control group. Rats of group 2 were characterized by an increased level of GABA in the hippocampus compared with controls. In the remaining groups, the percentages of GABA in the hippocampus and striatum did not differ significantly from the control. The distribution of NAA differed form that of GABA. The highest level of NAA was found in the striatum for rats from group 1, whereas NAA in animals form groups 1 or 3 did not differ from the control. The NAA level in the hippocampus was similar between all groups, including the control. The results obtained indicate that multiple exposures to psychological stress associated with the sense of proximity of a natural enemy in some animals cause an anxiolytic reaction. These animals are characterized by a stable corticosterone level and a stable level of neurometabolites in the studied structures of the brain. For rats with the highest level of anxiety, a lowered level of corticosterone with a constant level of neurometabolites in the hippocampus and striatum is characteristic. And only in rats with an intermediate level of anxiety, synchronization was observed between the increase in plasma corticosterone and the increase in hippocampal GABA content. The results obtained are in good agreement with the ideas of the protective action of glucocorticoids under PTSD manifested in  restraining violations of the psycho-physiological status. The mate rials allow the neurobiological mechanisms of the protective action of glucocorticoids to be detailed

Anxiety and neurometabolite levels in the hippocampus and amygdala after prolonged exposure to predator-scent stress

Here, to study the relationship between anxiety levels with changes in the neurometabolic profile in the hippocampus and amygdala, an experimental predator stress model was reproduced in which Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to cat urine for 10 minutes on a daily basis for 10 days. At the time of presentation of the stimulus, an online survey of behavioral reactions was conducted. Fear, aggressiveness, avoidance of stimulus and grooming were recorded. Fourteen days after the completion of the last stress exposure, the total level of anxiety was determined in the test of the“cross maze”. Using the method of in vivo NMR spectroscopy, the content of neurometabolites was determined in the hippocampus and in the amygdala. According to the peculiarities of behavioral reactions to a stressor, animals were retrospectively divided into two phenotypes. The first phenotype used a passive behavioral strategy, and the second phenotype was active. In animals of the first phenotype, the indicators of anxiety behavior remained at the control level. In animals of the second phenotype, a decrease in anxiety was observed. Animals of the second phenotype showed elevated levels of lactate in the hippocampus compared to animals of the first phenotype, and the lowest N-acetylaspartate levels significantly differed from those in the control and the first phenotype animals. In the amygdala, in animals of the second phenotype, the content of taurine is sharply reduced in comparison with those in the control and the animals of the first phenotype. Thus, the results obtained indicate a relationship of post-stress changes in anxiety, with the peculiarities of the behavioral reactions presented at the moment of the immediate action of the stressor. Among the hippocampal and amygdala neurometabolites, the most informative for the characterization of the anxiolytic action of the predator stress are identified

DIRAC Experiment and Test of Low-Energy QCD

The low-energy QCD predictions to be tested by the DIRAC experiment are revised. The experimental method, the setup characteristics and capabilities, along with first experimental results are reported. Preliminary analysis shows good detector performance: alignment error via $\Lambda$ mass measurement $m_\Lambda = 1115.6 MeV/c^2$ with $\sigma = 0.92 MeV/c^2$, $p \pi^-$ relative momentum resolution $\sigma_Q \approx 2.7 MeV/c$, and evidence for $\pi^