The concept of time in “Finnegan’s Wake” by James Joyce

The article discusses the concept of time in "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce. The narrative time and the time in the narrative are most topical and controversial problems in both linguistics and literary criticism. The author applies the theory of functional grammar to the analysis of the text and reveals the functions, the corresponding clause structures, interprets the metaphors of time, speculates on the use of tenses. The author works out the peculiarities of the .studied concept in Joyce's novel in comparison to that of the traditional narrative

RECULTIVATION OF DEGRADED PASTURABLE LANDS IN DRY STEPPE ENVIRONMENTS

The article deals with the first results of reclamation of degraded pasture lands in dry steppe environments. Field experiments have been developed and carried out to improve degraded pastures using an assortment of forage grasses of the legume family in Mikhailovsky District of the Altai Territory. Optimal sowing time for legumes has been determined. Species most adapted to drought have been identified

ASSESSMENT OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM IN THYROID REPARATIVE REGENERATION

Based on the data, we can conclude that the partial resection of the thyroid observed structural changes at the cellular level in the spleen, thy­mus and bone marrow, to the activation of regenerative processes in the thyroid gland

Features of the course of chronic autoimmune gastritis and in combination with H. pylori infection

The article discusses the features of the course of chronic autoimmune and combined (autoimmune with H. pylori-associated) gastritis.В статье рассматриваются особенности течения хронического аутоиммунного и сочетанного (аутоиммунного с H. pylori-ассоциированным) гастритов

Vulvovaginal atrophy in the peri- and post-menopause: relevance and impact on quality of life

Vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) is detected in more than 50% of postmenopausal women, and at 4049 years of age, 15-19% of women have relevant signs. Atrophic changes in the female urogenital system are associated with hypoestrogenism, which results in the defective synthesis of collagen and elastin due to reduced functional activity of fibroblasts. Although the symptoms of genitourinary syndrome of menopause significantly impair the quality of life, women rarely seek medical help for urogenital symptoms, considering them a normal condition for the period of aging. We searched Cochrane Library, PubMed, Science Direct, and ELibrary databases for the keywords vulvovaginal atrophy, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, quality of life, epidemiology, and postmenopausal age for 20122022. The literature review suggests that the prevalence of VVA is extremely high but underestimated due to the infrequent seeking of medical care by female patients with relevant symptoms. The genitourinary syndrome of menopause dramatically impacts patients' quality of life, but not all women eligible for treatment receive it. One of the reasons for refusing hormonal treatment is patients' fear of the systemic effects of hormonal drugs. There is an unmet need for alternative non-hormonal therapies. The objective is to analyze and systematize the scientific data accumulated over the past ten years on the epidemiology of VVA, its impact on patients' quality of life, and the challenges in diagnosing and treating the disease

Influence of Moisture and Temperature Regimes on the Phytolith Assemblage Composition of Mountain Ecosystems of the Mid Latitudes: A Case Study From the Altay Mountains

Background and Aims: Reconstruction of past ecosystems requires a robust understanding of modern deposition patterns and taphonomy for the proxies utilized. Recent advances in phytolith analysis have contributed to improved understanding of these processes, but many gaps remain. This study aims to test a few specific hypotheses that have been proposed by research outside the tropics in the Northern Hemisphere. Our study area focuses on the Northern Altay, a culturally important region, entirely within Russia, north of China, and Mongolia. We collected 60 phytolith assemblages from modern soils at 300 to 2,300 m a.s.l. elevations, sampled from 20 plots in triple replicates within 13 different plant communities. Detailed releves of these plant communities, including forests, meadows, steppe, and alpine tundra, were obtained during the summer of 2017. We used a locally derived scheme of V. P. Sedelnikov to assign studied communities to ecological categories based on moisture and temperature availability.Methods: Standard oxidation and heavy liquid flotation methods of extraction were used. Morphotypes were counted under 400–1,000x magnification on an optical microscope. We used a two-tier approach to phytolith morphotypes classification: a detailed one with over 40 morphotypes included and a shorter one with only sums of selected morphotypes. The former approach can produce some interesting results, such as using various types of rondels (e.g., pyramidal vs. keeled) or large vs. small lanceolate (trichomes). Using sums may be more widely applicable, because the researchers can replicate these results better and less training is needed. However, there are fewer diagnostic options with the sums approach.Key Results: Our results, using discriminant analysis, canonical correspondence analysis and other multivariate statistical methods, confirm earlier studies, both in the region and elsewhere that despite redundancy in phytolith distributions in soils, there are some selected morphotypes that can reliably distinguish communities at various positions along elevational, moisture, and temperature gradients. We developed a regionally diagnostic key that allows researchers to quickly identify various plant communities based on their phytolith assemblages in soils.Conclusions: Seven of 13 regionally important communities at medium elevations in the Altay Mountains can be distinguished by using aggregated and more detailed phytolith morphotypes

Responses of withdrawal interneurons to serotonin applications in naïve and learned snails are different

© 2017 Bogodvid, Andrianov, Deryabina, Muranova, Silantyeva, Vinarskaya, Balaban and Gainutdinov. Long-term changes in membrane potential after associative training were described previously in identified premotor interneurons for withdrawal of the terrestrial snail Helix. Serotonin was shown to be a major transmitter involved in triggering the long-term changes in mollusks. In the present study we compared the changes in electrophysiological characteristics of identifiable premotor interneurons for withdrawal in response to bath applications of serotonin (5-HT) or serotonin precursor 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) in preparations from naïve, neurotoxin-injected or associatively trained snails. It was found that 5-HT or 5-HTP applications caused a significant decrease of membrane potential in premotor interneurons of naïve snails, associatively trained snails and snails with impaired serotonergic system by injection of a selective neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT) 1 week before the experiments. Applications of 5-HT or 5-HTP did not cause significant changes in the action potential (AP) threshold potential of these neurons in naïve snails. Conversely, applications of 5-HT or 5-HTP to the premotor interneurons of previously trained or 5,7-DHT-injected snails caused a significant increase in the firing threshold potential in spite of a depolarizing shift of the resting membrane potential. Results demonstrate that responsiveness of premotor interneurons to extracellularly applied 5-HT or 5-HTP changes for days after the associative training or serotonin depletion. Similarity of the effects in trained and 5,7-DHT-injected animals may be due to massive release of serotonin elicited by 5,7-DHT injection. Our results suggest that serotonin release due to aversive conditionining or elicited by the neurotoxin administration triggers similar changes in resting membrane potential and AP threshold in response to bath applications of 5-HT or its precursor 5-HTP

Efficacy of laser remodeling in the genitourinary syndrome of menopause: A review

The real-world treatment of genitourinary syndrome of menopause has several limitations: contraindications to topical estrogen therapy, which is currently recognized as the "gold standard" treatment for vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA), fear of the systemic effects of topical estrogens or/and carcinophobia, and poor compliance of patients to intravaginal agents. Therefore, there is an unmet need for alternative noninvasive or minimally invasive therapies, mostly non-hormonal. A PubMed, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, and ELibrary databases were searched for the keywords CO2-laser, Er:YAG-laser, vulvovaginal atrophy, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, treatment, postmenopausal age for 20122022. Remodeling microablative laser therapy using carbon dioxide (CO2) is a promising method for treating VVA, acting pathogenetically and symptomatically. CO2 laser relieves VVA symptoms and improves the condition of the vaginal mucosa by enhancing regeneration and restoring vaginal pH. However, evidence of the efficacy and long-term safety of the method, obtained in high-quality studies, is needed before the method can be introduced into widespread clinical practice. Aim. To analyze and summarize the evidence-based and experimental data on the efficacy and safety of laser therapy for VVA and genitourinary syndrome of menopause