Sequence comparison of prefrontal cortical brain transcriptome from a tame and an aggressive silver fox (Vulpes vulpes)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Two strains of the silver fox (<it>Vulpes vulpes</it>), with markedly different behavioral phenotypes, have been developed by long-term selection for behavior. Foxes from the tame strain exhibit friendly behavior towards humans, paralleling the sociability of canine puppies, whereas foxes from the aggressive strain are defensive and exhibit aggression to humans. To understand the genetic differences underlying these behavioral phenotypes fox-specific genomic resources are needed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>cDNA from mRNA from pre-frontal cortex of a tame and an aggressive fox was sequenced using the Roche 454 FLX Titanium platform (> 2.5 million reads & 0.9 Gbase of tame fox sequence; >3.3 million reads & 1.2 Gbase of aggressive fox sequence). Over 80% of the fox reads were assembled into contigs. Mapping fox reads against the fox transcriptome assembly and the dog genome identified over 30,000 high confidence fox-specific SNPs. Fox transcripts for approximately 14,000 genes were identified using SwissProt and the dog RefSeq databases. An at least 2-fold expression difference between the two samples (p < 0.05) was observed for 335 genes, fewer than 3% of the total number of genes identified in the fox transcriptome.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Transcriptome sequencing significantly expanded genomic resources available for the fox, a species without a sequenced genome. In a very cost efficient manner this yielded a large number of fox-specific SNP markers for genetic studies and provided significant insights into the gene expression profile of the fox pre-frontal cortex; expression differences between the two fox samples; and a catalogue of potentially important gene-specific sequence variants. This result demonstrates the utility of this approach for developing genomic resources in species with limited genomic information.</p

Pathogenetic mechanisms of atherosclerosis development in athletes

Aim of the study was to reveal the relationship between the performance of high-intensity physical activity and the development of endothelial dysfunction in people involved in professional sports. The development of endothelial dysfunction as one of the main markers of atherosclerotic damage to the vascular wall in athletes is an urgent problem in modern medicine in connection with the asymptomatic course and unpredictability of the development of cardiovascular complications. Material and methods. The publications on the topic of the scientific review from 2010 to 2020 were analyzed. The electronic databases of the Google Academy (https://scholar.google.ru/), UpToDate (www.uptodate.com), Oxford Medicine Online (https://oxfordmedicine.com/), PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/), scientific electronic library «Cyberleninka» and foreign journals Springer (https://www.springer.com/gp), Journal of the American College of Cardiology (https://imaging.onlinejacc.org/). Results. Recent foreign and domestic studies show a relatively high relationship between the level of physical activity and the development of coronary atherosclerosis in professional athletes. Conclusion. When performing prolonged and excessive physical exertion, trained athletes often experience oxidative stress, the presence of which causes the development of endothelial dysfunction, which from modern positions is a key link in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Further study of the mechanism of atherogenesis will contribute to the use of new diagnostic methods in predicting the disease at an early stage and treating it, thus preserving the health of an athlete

Cartographic methods in dynamic analysis of lake ecosystems in the wetlands of Tobol-Ishim forest-stepp

В данной статье рассмотрена динамика некоторых гидрохимических показателей озер, расположенных на территории водно-болотных угодий Тоболо-Ишимской лесостепи. Водно-болотные угодья Тоболо-Ишимский лесостепи внесены в список водно-болотных угодий, имеющих международное значение. Характерной чертой рассматриваемой территории является значительная заозеренность. Площадь большинства озер менее 1 км2. Для анализа использованы данные, полученные в результате обследований озер, проведенных в 1961 г. и 2004–2005 годах. Основное содержание исследования составляет анализ гидрохимического состава воды озер по трем обобщенным показателям качества: перманганатной окисляемости, водородному показателю и минерализации. Для большинства изученных озер отмечено значительное увеличение минерализации и величины водородного показателя. Наблюдается снижение величины перманганатной окисляемости в воде обследованных озер. Отмечается, что за рассматриваемый период произошла смена минерального состава некоторых озер. Делается попытка применить картографический метод для оценки изменений и выявления пространственных закономерностей распределения гидрохимических показателей в водах озер изучаемой территории. В результате исследования пространственного распределения обследованных озер установлено, что рядом расположенные озера могут значительно различаться по минерализации, поэтому при анализе необходимо учитывать генезис озер.The dynam ics of some hydrochemical indexes of the lakes on territory of the wetlands of Tobol-Ishim forest-steppe is considered in this article. The wetlands of Tobol-Ishim forest-steppe are entered in the list of wetlands having an international value. The characteristic feature of the territory is plenty of lakes. The area of the majority of lakes is less than 1 square kilometer. The analized data cover the inspections conducted in 1961 and 2004–2005. The basic research presents the analysis of hydrochemical composition of lake water due to three generalized indexes of quality: permanganate value, pH-value, and mineralization. The most lakes under study proved the considerable increase of mineralization and pH-value. There is a decline in the permanganate value. For the considered period there was a change in the mineral structure of some lakes. The authors try to apply a cartographic method to estimate the changes and to deduce spatial conformities in hydrochemical indexes of the lakes. As a result of the research of spatial distribution of the lakes, it has been found that the closely located lakes can considerably differentiate in mineralization. Consequently it is necessary to consider the genesis of lakes under the analysis

EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF SOME ETIOTROPIC THERAPEUTIC SCHEMES FOR TREATING PATIENTS WITH NOVEL CORONAVIRUS INFECTION (COVID-19)

The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy and safety of the Favipiravir (Areplivir) drug, compared to the standard etiotropic therapy in the patients hospitalized with COVID-19.Material and methods. The research was conducted as a part of an open, randomized, multicenter comparative study of the efficacy and safety of Areplivir, 200 mg film-coated tablets (“PROMOMED RUS” LLC, Russia), in the patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The dosing regimen of Favipiravir was 1600 mg twice a day on the 1st day and 600 mg twice a day on days 2–14. Thirty nine patients were enrolled into the study with a laboratory-established diagnosis of a new type of Coronavirus infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 (confirmed) of moderate severity, with pneumonia. The group of comparison (22 patients) received standard etiotropic therapy, prescribed in accordance with the current version of the temporary guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, represented mainly by Hydroxychloroquine with the dosage regimen of 800 mg on the 1st day, then 400 mg on days 2–7, and Azithromycin 500 mg once a day for 5 days. The main group (17 patients) received Favipiravir (Areplivir) as etiotropiс therapy.Results. In the main group, the time period until fever disappeared was found to be 1.36 days shorter than in the group of comparison (p&lt;0.05); there was a higher rate of the reduction of inflammatory changes in the lungs according to the computer tomography data (38.4% vs 14.9%, p&lt;0.05). By the end of the treatment, there was also a lower lactate level in the blood (27.1%, p&lt;0.05) than in the patients of the group of comparison. The evaluation of the drug efficacy ассording to the Categorical Ordinal Scale of Clinical Improvement and measurements of oxygen saturation in the blood, manifested similar positive dynamics in the patients treated ассording to various etiotropic therapy regimens. By the end of the treatment, the RNA SARS-CoV-2 tests were also negative in all the patients. As for the overall frequency of adverse events (AEs), no relevant distinctions were found between the groups. A greater part of AEs was related to hepatotoxicity, with a predominantly clinically relevant increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT). A clinically relevant prolongation of the corrected QT interval on the standard ECG was found to occur in the standard-therapy group on day 5, while no serious AEs were registered in the main group. No serious adverse reactions were registered in patients of the main group.Conclusion. The efficacy of the Favipiravir (Areplivir) therapy for the novel coronavirus infection has proved to be superior to the efficacy of the standard etiotropic therapy in a number of aspects. Basing on the obtained findings, Favipiravir (Areplivir) drug can be recommended for treating patients with the novel coronavirus infection of moderate severity