Prevalence of chronic infection foci in patients with dermatoses

This paper presents the results of a retrospective epidemiological study carried out to detect chronic infection foci (CIF) in patients affected by T-cell mediated dermatoses. The values obtained for the CIF prevalence are compared with those in the general population, as well as in the control group. The latter comprised generally healthy people according to the results of in-depth medical examination. It is found that patients with psoriasis demonstrate a higher prevalence of chronic tonsillitis compared to the values both in the general population and in the control group (p = 0.001). Patients with eczema are characterized by an increased prevalence of chronic granulomatous periodontitis, but only in comparison with generally healthy individuals (p = 0.046). The results obtained for patients with atopic dermatitis, lichen planus and alopecia areata are found to be statistically significant for chronic tonsillitis, which occurs therein more frequently than in the general population and in the group of generally healthy people (p = 0.001)

Prediction of Indicators of Competitiveness of Large-Scale Industrial Complexes

This article paper proposes the authors’ methodological toolkit for performing the assessment of corporate competitiveness and forecasting values of competitiveness indicators in industrial complexes. The article is based on the analysis of existing approaches to the problem. The competitiveness assessment of industrial complexes is based on a method that comprehensively considers various aspects of activity of the industrial complex being studied on the basis of comparative analysis of leading competitors in terms of their current competitiveness and competitive potential of an industrial complex. A block structure of indicators of the competitiveness of an industrial complex is formed within the limits of the indicated fields and includes the following blocks of indicators: measures of current competitiveness – operational efficiency and the market position; competitiveness of the main product types; the state and efficiency of the functioning of production facilities; the efficiency of staff and personnel policy; qualities of organization and management; investment and innovative activity, risks connected with the operation of an industrial complex; for the assessment of competitive potential - potential of industrial capacity utilization; market potential; a match between personnel qualifications and the requirements of scientific and technical progress. The structure of the indices of competitiveness, their benchmark (reference) values, approaches to and algorithms of the definition (calculation) of the indicators are developed for each block. The scenario approach serves as the basis for forecasting the indicators of the competitiveness of industrial complexes. The approach draws upon the scenario conditions of the development of the national economy and key markets for products of the industrial complexes under consideration. A step-by-step algorithm for obtaining forecast values of the business indices underlying the definition of competitiveness indicators of an industrial complex is generated. The practical implementation of the proposed methodological tools has been carried out for the purposes of solving the problem of estimating and predicting the values of the competitiveness indicators of the largest Russian power machine building complex formed by the Uralelektrotyazhmash group of enterprises of. The obtained results showed the practical feasibility of the developed methodological tools and the possibility of its use for solving the problems of strategic development of the industrial complex in question.В статье на основе анализа существующих подходов к оценке и прогнозированию конкурентоспособности предприятий и производственных комплексов предложен оригинальный авторский методический инструментарий к проведению такой оценки и прогнозированию показателей конкурентоспособности производственных комплексов. В основу оценки конкурентоспособности производственных комплексов положена методика, комплексно учитывающая различные стороны деятельности исследуемого ПК на основе сравнительного анализа с ведущими конкурентами в разрезе двух крупных направлений: текущей конкурентоспособности и конкурентного потенциала производственного комплекса. В рамках указанных направлений сформирована блочная структура показателей конкурентоспособности производственного комплекса, включающая следующие блоки показателей: для оценки текущей конкурентоспособности – операционной эффективности и положения на рынке, конкурентоспособности основных видов продукции, состояния и эффективности функционирования производственно-технологической базы, эффективность функционирования кадров и кадровой политики, качества организации и управления деятельностью, инвестиционной и инновационной активности, рисков, связанных с деятельностью производственного комплекса; для оценки конкурентного потенциала – потенциала использования производственной мощности, рыночного потенциала, соответствия кадровой квалификации персонала требованиям научно-технического прогресса. По каждому блоку разработаны состав отдельных показателей конкурентоспособности, их базовые (эталонные) значения, подходы и алгоритмы к определению (расчету) показателей. В основу прогнозирования показателей конкурентоспособности производственных комплексов положен сценарный подход, опирающийся на сценарные условия развития экономики страны и ключевых рынков сбыта продукции рассматриваемых производственных комплексов. Сформирован пошаговый алгоритм построения прогноза значений бизнес-показателей, лежащих в основе определения показателей конкурентоспособности производственного комплекса. Выполнена практическая реализация предложенного методического инструментария применительно к решению задачи оценки и прогнозирования показателей конкурентоспособности крупнейшего российского энергомашиностроительного комплекса, образованного группой предприятий «Уралэлектротяжмаш». Полученные результаты показали практическую реализуемость разработанного методического инструментария и возможность его использования для решения задач стратегического развития рассматриваемого производственного комплекса

Metagenomic profiling of viral and microbial communities from the pox lesions of lumpy skin disease virus and sheeppox virus-infected hosts

IntroductionIt has been recognized that capripoxvirus infections have a strong cutaneous tropism with the manifestation of skin lesions in the form of nodules and scabs in the respective hosts, followed by necrosis and sloughing off. Considering that the skin microbiota is a complex community of commensal bacteria, fungi and viruses that are influenced by infections leading to pathological states, there is no evidence on how the skin microbiome is affected during capripoxvirus pathogenesis.MethodsIn this study, shotgun metagenomic sequencing was used to investigate the microbiome in pox lesions from hosts infected with lumpy skin disease virus and sheep pox virus.ResultsThe analysis revealed a high degree of variability in bacterial community structures across affected skin samples, indicating the importance of specific commensal microorganisms colonizing individual hosts. The most common and abundant bacteria found in scab samples were Fusobacterium necrophorum, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Helcococcus ovis and Trueperella pyogenes, irrespective of host. Bacterial reads belonging to the genera Moraxella, Mannheimia, Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus and Micrococcus were identified.DiscussionThis study is the first to investigate capripox virus-associated changes in the skin microbiome using whole-genome metagenomic profiling. The findings will provide a basis for further investigation into capripoxvirus pathogenesis. In addition, this study highlights the challenge of selecting an optimal bioinformatics approach for the analysis of metagenomic data in clinical and veterinary practice. For example, direct classification of reads using a kmer-based algorithm resulted in a significant number of systematic false positives, which may be attributed to the peculiarities of the algorithm and database selection. On the contrary, the process of de novo assembly requires a large number of target reads from the symbiotic microbial community. In this work, the obtained sequencing data were processed by three different approaches, including direct classification of reads based on k-mers, mapping of reads to a marker gene database, and de novo assembly and binning of metagenomic contigs. The advantages and disadvantages of these techniques and their practicality in veterinary settings are discussed in relation to the results obtained

Changes of activity of the protein-synthesizing system of brain neurons of the ground squirrel <i>Citellus undulatus</i> during hibernation and hypothermia

Using fluorescent and electron microscopy a comparative analysis was performed of components of the protein-synthesizing system of hippocampal neurons both in ground squirrels in various phases of the torpor-activity cycle and in rats cooled under the hypoxia-hypercapnia conditions. Results of the study have shown that in hippocampal neurons of the ground squirrels entering the natural torpor state and of rats under conditions of artificial hypothermia to 17°C, similar mechanisms might be possible to function, one of their obligatory components being a generalized decrease of activity of the protein-synthesizing system with its subsequent restoration at the exit from hypothermia. Cessation of hypoxia-hypercapnia even under conditions of a further temperature decrease restored the rat neuronal protein-synthesizing activity, which seems to indicate the presence of a potential possibility of adaptation of brain neurons in vivo to low temperatures, at which the integral organism of non-hibernating homoeothermic animals does not survive. © 2006 Nauka/Interperiodica

Ensuring vibration characteristics of reactor plant centrifugal pumping equipment

Requirements of low vibration and low noise level are imposed on reactor plant centrifugal pumping equipment. Computational research of vibration characteristics of centrifugal pumping is required in order to choose the optimal design alternate. Representativeness and adequacy of computational research are ensured by using verified methods of mathematical modeling. The paper presents the results of comparative analysis of various options of centrifugal pump wet end with the hydraulics master data. Hydrodynamic flow analysis was made and pump impeller loads were determined to calculate the pump rotor rotational dynamics. The computational analysis considers the rotor residual unbalance. According to the calculations carried out the pump vibration characteristics were analyzed and compared to those of the prototype pump with low vibration characteristics

LSSmScarlet2 and LSSmScarlet3, Chemically Stable Genetically Encoded Red Fluorescent Proteins with a Large Stokes&rsquo; Shift

Red fluorescent proteins with a large Stokes&rsquo; shift (LSSRFPs) are genetically encoded and efficiently excited by 488 nm light, allowing simultaneous dual-color one- and two-photon fluorescence imaging and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in combination with green fluorescent proteins FPs. Recently, based on the conventional bright mScarlet RFP, we developed the LSSRFP LSSmScarlet. LSSmScarlet is characterized by two pKa values at pH values of 1.9 and 5.8. In this study, we developed improved versions of LSSmScarlet, named LSSmScarlet2 and LSSmScarlet3, which are characterized by a Stokes&rsquo; shift of 128 nm and extreme pH stability with a single pKa value of 2.2. LSSmScarlet2 and LSSmScarlet3 had 1.8-fold faster and 3-fold slower maturation than LSSmScarlet, respectively. In addition, both LSSRFPs were 1.5- to 1.6-fold more photostable and more chemically resistant to denaturation by guanidinium chloride and guanidinium thiocyanate. We also compared the susceptibility of the LSSmScarlet2, LSSmScarlet3, and other LSSRFPs to the reagents used for whole-mount imaging, expansion microscopy, and immunostaining techniques. Due to higher pH stability and faster maturation, the LSSmScarlet3-LAMP3 fusion was 2.2-fold brighter than LSSmScarlet-LAMP3 in lysosomes of mammalian cells. The LSSmScarlet3-hLAMP2A fusion was similar in brightness to LSSmScarlet-hLAMP2A in lysosomes. We successfully applied the monomeric LSSmScarlet2 and LSSmScarlet3 proteins for confocal imaging of structural proteins in live mammalian cells. We also solved the X-ray structure of the LSSmScarlet2 protein at a resolution of 1.41 &Aring;. Site-directed mutagenesis of the LSSmScarlet2 protein demonstrated the key role of the T74 residue in improving the pH and chemical stability of the LSSmScarlet2 protein

Blue-to-Red TagFT, mTagFT, mTsFT, and Green-to-FarRed mNeptusFT2 Proteins, Genetically Encoded True and Tandem Fluorescent Timers

True genetically encoded monomeric fluorescent timers (tFTs) change their fluorescent color as a result of the complete transition of the blue form into the red form over time. Tandem FTs (tdFTs) change their color as a consequence of the fast and slow independent maturation of two forms with different colors. However, tFTs are limited to derivatives of the mCherry and mRuby red fluorescent proteins and have low brightness and photostability. The number of tdFTs is also limited, and there are no blue-to-red or green-to-far-red tdFTs. tFTs and tdFTs have not previously been directly compared. Here, we engineered novel blue-to-red tFTs, called TagFT and mTagFT, which were derived from the TagRFP protein. The main spectral and timing characteristics of the TagFT and mTagFT timers were determined in vitro. The brightnesses and photoconversions of the TagFT and mTagFT tFTs were characterized in live mammalian cells. The engineered split version of the TagFT timer matured in mammalian cells at 37 °C and allowed the detection of interactions between two proteins. The TagFT timer under the control of the minimal arc promoter, successfully visualized immediate-early gene induction in neuronal cultures. We also developed and optimized green-to-far-red and blue-to-red tdFTs, named mNeptusFT and mTsFT, which were based on mNeptune-sfGFP and mTagBFP2-mScarlet fusion proteins, respectively. We developed the FucciFT2 system based on the TagFT-hCdt1-100/mNeptusFT2-hGeminin combination, which could visualize the transitions between the G1 and S/G2/M phases of the cell cycle with better resolution than the conventional Fucci system because of the fluorescent color changes of the timers over time in different phases of the cell cycle. Finally, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of the mTagFT timer and analyzed it using directed mutagenesis

Blue-to-Red TagFT, mTagFT, mTsFT, and Green-to-FarRed mNeptusFT2 Proteins, Genetically Encoded True and Tandem Fluorescent Timers

True genetically encoded monomeric fluorescent timers (tFTs) change their fluorescent color as a result of the complete transition of the blue form into the red form over time. Tandem FTs (tdFTs) change their color as a consequence of the fast and slow independent maturation of two forms with different colors. However, tFTs are limited to derivatives of the mCherry and mRuby red fluorescent proteins and have low brightness and photostability. The number of tdFTs is also limited, and there are no blue-to-red or green-to-far-red tdFTs. tFTs and tdFTs have not previously been directly compared. Here, we engineered novel blue-to-red tFTs, called TagFT and mTagFT, which were derived from the TagRFP protein. The main spectral and timing characteristics of the TagFT and mTagFT timers were determined in vitro. The brightnesses and photoconversions of the TagFT and mTagFT tFTs were characterized in live mammalian cells. The engineered split version of the TagFT timer matured in mammalian cells at 37 &deg;C and allowed the detection of interactions between two proteins. The TagFT timer under the control of the minimal arc promoter, successfully visualized immediate-early gene induction in neuronal cultures. We also developed and optimized green-to-far-red and blue-to-red tdFTs, named mNeptusFT and mTsFT, which were based on mNeptune-sfGFP and mTagBFP2-mScarlet fusion proteins, respectively. We developed the FucciFT2 system based on the TagFT-hCdt1-100/mNeptusFT2-hGeminin combination, which could visualize the transitions between the G1 and S/G2/M phases of the cell cycle with better resolution than the conventional Fucci system because of the fluorescent color changes of the timers over time in different phases of the cell cycle. Finally, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of the mTagFT timer and analyzed it using directed mutagenesis