The relationship between fetuin-A level and the clinical features of patients with coronary artery disease associated with iron deficiency

The aim of the study: to assess the relationship between the level of fetuin-A and features of clinical hemogram, ferrokinetic parameters, vegetative and structural-functional changes of the myocardium in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) associated with different stages of iron deficiency (ID). Materials and methods. The study involved 90 patients with CAD: stable angina pectoris II–III FC (35 men and 55 women, age – 69 (61; 72)). All patients were divided into 4 clinical groups depending on the parameters of iron metabolism and hemogram: I (n = 16) – patients with absolute ID, II (n = 15) – with latent ID, III (n = 14) – with functional ID; IV (n = 45) – patients CAD without iron metabolism disorders. The physiological concentration of fetuin-A was determined in 15 conditionally healthy people. The results of echocardioscopy, Holter ECG monitoring and their relationship with the level of fetuin-A were analyzed. Results. In patients with CAD associated with various stages of ID, there is a decrease in the concentration of fetuin-A in direct proportion to the degree of progression of sideropenia was established. It was established that there is a relationship between the level of fetuin-A and the concentration of ferritin and transferrin saturation for patients with absolute ID as well as the number of erythrocytes in patients with functional ID. It was established that there is a relationship between the level of fetuin-A and PWd (rs = -0.60, p < 0.05) for patients with absolute ID; for patients with latent ID – with the E/A ratio (rs = +0.66, p < 0.05). In patients with absolute ID and latent ID a number of correlations between fetuin-A level and heart rate variability indicators in active and passive periods was established. The presence of a low level of fetuin-A in patients with CAD and ID increased the risk of left ventricular hypertrophy by 1.5 times, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction by 1.6 times, autonomic dysfunction by 2.14 times in the active period and 1.95 times in the passive period. Conclusions. In patients with CAD, there is a progressive decrease in the fetuin-A level depending on the degree of ID, which contributes to the deepening of disorders of iron metabolism and clinical hemogram, negatively affects the structural and functional state of the myocardium and heart rate variability, increases the risk of developing myocardial hypertrophy, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and vegetative imbalance

Genetic control of scald resistance in barley landraces

Scald (Rhynchosporium secalis (Oudem.) J.J. Davis pathogenic agent) is one of the most harmful barley diseases. A high variability of this fungi explains the occurrence of new aggressive pathotypes and, accordingly, loss of cultivar resistance. It was found that many recently selected varieties of barley and previously identified sources of resistance to R. secalis are now susceptible to the pathogen. There is only one gene, Rrs9, that maintains efficiency against pathogen populations in Russia. The aim of this study is to find donors of genes for effective resistance to scald with the ability to easily transfer this trait for hybridization. The inheritance of scald resistance in 33 barley landraces was studied. Analysis of the interaction between the pathogen test clones and the host plant revealed a difference between the alleles determining fungal resistance in 32 barley forms, the previously effective genes Rrs4, rrs6, rrs7, and currently effective Rrs9. It was found that 30 accessions are protected by new unidentified genes for scald resistance. Accessions k-18398 and k-16231 from China are likely to possess allelic genes for scald resistance, while the gene (or genes) of accession k-31075 from Nepal is allelic to the Rrs9 gene. It was demonstrated by hybridological analysis that accessions k-3307, k-15868, k-18989 and k-3481 are protected by effective genes for scald resistance, which differ from each other and which are not allelic to the Rrs4, rrs6, rrs7 or Rrs9 genes. Accessions k-15868 and k-3481 possess two complementary recessive genes for scald resistance, k-18989 has two recessive genes, and k-3307 carries one recessive gene for pathogen resistance. The resistance genes of these forms are manifested during all the stages of plant ontogenesis

The influenza epidemic in Russia during the 2014–2015 season

The goal of this study was to compare the data on the intensity of the influenza A(H3N2) and B epidemic (especially the death toll) in the 2014–2015 season with the previous epidemic of the 2013-2014 season. The data on weekly morbidity, hospitalization, deaths from influenza, and acute respiratory diseases in different age groups of inhabitants of 59 cities located in 7 Federal districts of the Russian Federation were collected using the database of the Research Institute of Influenza.Analysis of this data showed that the influenza epidemic in 2014-2015 began earlier (in December) compared to the epidemic of 2013-2014, and spread mainly from Europe through Russia to the East. The intensity of the epidemic of 2014-2015 was higher compared to the previous one. The epidemic was more prevalent by regions and cities and a wider engagement of different age groups (except children up to 2 years of age) was observed. At the peak of the epidemic, the morbidity level was higher, the average duration of the epidemic was longer, and the number of patients among cities’ inhabitants (especially among children 7-14 years of age and adults) was higher than in the previous season. The rates of hospitalization with influenza and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) among patients older than 65 years were also higher (1.4 times) as well as the frequency of hospitalization with a diagnosis of “influenza” (2.7 times) and the number of deaths from laboratory confirmed influenza (1.8 times).Although the influenza pandemic virus strain A(H1N1)pdm09 was not the main causative agent of the 2015 epidemic and was distributed sporadically it still remained the leading cause of deaths from influenza in the course of this epidemic (45.5% of all cases). The deaths associated with this strain were recorded only in the European part of Russian Federation.The goal of this study was to compare the data on the intensity of the influenza A(H3N2) and B epidemic (especially the death toll) in the 2014–2015 season with the previous epidemic of the 2013-2014 season. The data on weekly morbidity, hospitalization, deaths from influenza, and acute respiratory diseases in different age groups of inhabitants of 59 cities located in 7 Federal districts of the Russian Federation were collected using the database of the Research Institute of Influenza. Analysis of this data showed that the influenza epidemic in 2014-2015 began earlier (in December) compared to the epidemic of 2013-2014, and spread mainly from Europe through Russia to the East. The intensity of the epidemic of 2014-2015 was higher compared to the previous one. The epidemic was more prevalent by regions and cities and a wider engagement of different age groups (except children up to 2 years of age) was observed. At the peak of the epidemic, the morbidity level was higher, the average duration of the epidemic was longer, and the number of patients among cities’ inhabitants (especially among children 7-14 years of age and adults) was higher than in the previous season. The rates of hospitalization with influenza and acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) among patients older than 65 years were also higher (1.4 times) as well as the frequency of hospitalization with a diagnosis of “influenza” (2.7 times) and the number of deaths from laboratory confirmed influenza (1.8 times). Although the influenza pandemic virus strain A(H1N1)pdm09 was not the main causative agent of the 2015 epidemic and was distributed sporadically it still remained the leading cause of deaths from influenza in the course of this epidemic (45.5% of all cases). The deaths associated with this strain were recorded only in the European part of Russian Federation

The energy gap of intermediate-valent SmB6 studied by point-contact spectroscopy

We have investigated the intermediate valence narrow-gap semiconductor SmB6 at low temperatures using both conventional spear-anvil type point contacts as well as mechanically controllable break junctions. The zero-bias conductance varied between less than 0.01 mikrosiemens and up to 1 mS. The position of the spectral anomalies, which are related to the different activation energies and band gaps of SmB6, did not depend on the the contact size. Two different regimes of charge transport could be distinguished: Contacts with large zero - bias conductance are in the diffusive Maxwell regime. They had spectra with only small non-linearities. Contacts with small zero - bias conductance are in the tunnelling regime. They had larger anomalies, but still indicating a finite 45 % residual quasiparticle density of states at the Fermi level at low temperatures of T = 0.1 K. The density of states derived from the tunelling spectra can be decomposed into two energy-dependent parts with Eg = 21 meV and Ed = 4.5 meV wide gaps, respectively.Comment: 9 pages incl. 13 figure

Molecular-genetic mechanisms of the interaction between processes of cell response to mechanical stress and neuronal apoptosis in primary open-angle glaucoma

Glaucoma is a chronic and progressive disease, which affects more than 60 million people worldwide. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is one of the most common forms of glaucoma. For example, about 2.71 million people in the USA had primary open-angle glaucoma in 2011. Currently POAG is a major cause of irreversible vision loss. In patients with treated open-angle glaucoma the risk of blindness reached to be about 27 %. It is known that the death of optic nerve cells can be triggered by mechanical stress caused by increased intraocular pressure, which induces neuronal apoptosis and is observed in patients with POAG. Currently, there is a large number of scientific publications describing proteins and genes involved in the pathogenesis of POAG, including neuronal apoptosis and the cell response to mechanical stress. However, the molecular- genetic mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of POAG are still poorly understood. Reconstruction of associative networks describing the functional interactions between these genes/proteins, including biochemical reactions, regulatory interactions, transport, etc., requires the use of methods of automated knowledge extraction from texts of scientific publications. The aim of the work was the analysis of associative networks, describing the molecular-genetic interactions between proteins and genes involved in cell response to mechanical stress (CRMS), neuronal apoptosis and pathogenesis of POAG using ANDSystem, our previous development for automated text analysis. It was shown that genes associated with POAG are statistically significantly more often represented among the genes involved in the interactions between CRMS and neuronal apoptosis than it was expected by random reasons, which can be an explanation for the effect of POAG leading to the retinal ganglion cell death

1-(8-Bromo-2-methyl-4-thioxo-3,4,5,6-tetra­hydro-2H-2,6-methano-1,3-benzoxazocin-11-yl)ethanone

In the title compound, C14H14BrNO2S, there are two similar non-equivalent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, displaying three chiral centres each. In the crystal structure, they are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds to form infinite chains, which are in turn connected by weak Br⋯H and S⋯H inter­actions

Novel highly charged silica-coated Tb(III) nanoparticles with fluorescent properties sensitive to ion exchange and energy transfer processes in aqueous dispersions

Novel silica-coated Tb(III) nanoparticles with high luminecsence were synthesized using the reverse microemulsion procedure. The quenching of luminescent properties of these nanoparticles can be achieved by ion exchange and energy transfer mechanisms. The quenching through the ion exchange of Tb(III) by H+ or La(III) is time dependent, indicating that the ion exchange is probably diffusion controlled. The quenching by Co(III) complex cations is achieved by the energy transfer mechanism and thus is not time dependent. The analysis of quenching data in Stern-Volmer cooordinates reveal the negative charge of the silica-coated Tb(III)-TCAS nanoparticles and several types of luminophoric species, located within the core and close to the surface of silica nanoparticles. © Copyright 2009 American Chemical Society

Designing a Nutrient Medium for the Accumulation of Microbial Mass of Listeria

Background. To obtain reliable results of laboratory studies on the identification of Listeria, the presence of certified diagnostic agglutinating Listeria sera is required. An important step in the manufacturing process of such medical devices for in vitro diagnostics requires effective nutrient media for the accumulation of listeriosis microbe. Aim of the research. To develop an effective nutrient medium for the accumulation of bacterial mass of Listeria. Materials and methods. The object of the study was an experimental culture medium for Listeria cultivation. As a control, we used nutrient agar for the cultivation of microorganisms (fish meal hydrolysate, FMH-agar) and meat-peptone agar with 1 % glucose (MPA with 1 % glucose). The specific activity of nutrient media during cultivation of the test strain Listeria monocytogenes 766 was evaluated using a complex of microbiological methods. Results. The optimal base of the nutrient medium for Listeria cultivation has been selected: pancreatic hydrolysate of river magpie fish (Rutilus rutilus lacustris) and hydrolysate of meat water production waste. The qualitative and quantitative composition of the nutrient medium has been developed, its physical, chemical and biological properties have been studied. It was found that after 24 hours of incubation at 37 °C, the nutrient medium provided the growth of typical Listeria colonies. The germination rate was 85 %, which is higher compared to the growth of the culture on MPA with 1 % glucose and GRM agar by an average of 21 % (p &lt; 0,05). Conclusion. The experimental culture medium for Listeria cultivation provided growth of colonies of the test strain L. monocytogenes 766 with the preservation of characteristic cultural, morphological and biochemical properties, and, in terms of germination and growth rate, exceeded the control media. The developed nutrient medium provides effective growth of Listeria and can be used as a medium for the accumulation of microbial mass