The psychological aspects of left-handedness and sinistrality among schoolchildren

Nowadays, there are many schoolchildren who demonstrate a large number of left-sided motor and sensory preferences. It can be considered as external markers of functional hemispheric asymmetry of the brain. The main purpose of the study is to investigate psychological peculiarities and specificity of age-related dynamics of laterality pattern’s formation in junior schoolchildrenyesBelgorod State Universit

Polymer acrylic hydrogels with protein filler: Synthesis and characterization

ArticleThe water-retention hydrogel composites were synthesized by the free-radical polymerization depending on the order of addition filler of the protein hydrolysate. As the filler was used protein hydrolysate, ‘Biostim’, obtained by processing cattle hides. The influence of gelation time on the synthesis parameters of hydrogel compositions was investigated. It is found that the gelation time of the sample without filler is 2–2.5 times longer than filled of hydrogel compositions. The structural characteristics of polymer composition by TGA, DSC and atomic force microscopy were determined. FTIR spectra found decrease in the intensity of vibrations of (-COO-) groups, indicating about additional ionic interactions. Decrease the beginning evaporation temperature of polymer composites with increase concentration of protein filler, indicating the destruction of the ordered structure of the polymer material revealed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The influence of various media, such as distilled water, saline solution, and buffer solutions at differents pH on the swelling behavior of hydrogels was also assessed. Maximum swelling capacity showed sample prepared with order of addition filler at the end of synthesis (Scheme I). The kinetics of the release protein hydrolysate from the polymer matrix was measurement by spectrophotometric method. The synthesized hydrogel composites with protein hydrolysate and improved physicochemical properties are of practical interest as water-retaining materials for increasing of crop the yield in agricultural

On-Off Intermittency in Time Series of Spontaneous Paroxysmal Activity in Rats with Genetic Absence Epilepsy

Dynamic behavior of complex neuronal ensembles is a topic comprising a streamline of current researches worldwide. In this article we study the behavior manifested by epileptic brain, in the case of spontaneous non-convulsive paroxysmal activity. For this purpose we analyzed archived long-term recording of paroxysmal activity in animals genetically susceptible to absence epilepsy, namely WAG/Rij rats. We first report that the brain activity alternated between normal states and epilepsy paroxysms is the on-off intermittency phenomenon which has been observed and studied earlier in the different nonlinear systems.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Impact of inter-ventricular lead distance on cardiac resynchronization therapy outcomes

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown as an essential treatment of patients with heart failure, leading to improvements in symptoms, left ventricular (LV) function, and survival. However, up to 30% of appropriately selected patients remain non-responders to CRT. The aim of our study was to test a hypothesis on the impact of lead positioning in the ventricular walls on CRT response in patients with advanced chronic heart failure with and without pre-operative inter and intra-ventricular myocardial dyssynchrony. We examined 53 guideline-selected CRT candidates. Response to CRT was defined in 6 months after implantation of CRT devices. All patients underwent standard and Doppler echocardiography for assessment of LV function and mechanical dyssynchrony. Individual right ventricular (RV) and LV lead tip position, inter-lead distance, and the horizontal and vertical components were measured on the radiograph images with using an automated custom made software Our results showed that the RLV inter-lead distance is an essential parameter correlated with the CRT outcomes. A logistic model comprising the RLV inter-lead distance with parameters of dyssynchrony demonstrated a high predictive power for odds of CRT success. © 2017 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.Research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, agreement № 02.A03.21.0006 and Program of the RAS Presidium #I.33П

Applications of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in studying cognitive development: the case of mathematics and language

We discuss how technical limitations of common neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have resulted in our limited understanding of neural changes during development, while fNIRS would be a suitable and child-friendly method to examine cognitive development. We suggest fNIRS as an additional technique to track brain activation changes in the field of educational neuroscienc

Role of ergoreflex activity in the pathogenesis of heart failure. The effectiveness of physical rehabilitation

Aim. To assess the change in ergoreflex activity in heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular systolic function in the study of the effectiveness of physical training (PT) with original regimen, compared with PT with conventionally estimated regimen.Material and methods. Single-center open-label study of 297 patients with class III HF. The patients were divided into two groups: main group (MG) — patients, in whom the PT intensity was estimated based on lactate threshold (LT); comparison group (CG), in whom the PT intensity was estimated based on 60% VO2peak. We analyzed ergoreflex activity, the relationship of ergoreflex with exercise tolerance (ET), routine systemic inflammation markers, clinical manifestations of HF, and ET based on VO2peak.Results. An increase in gait velocity at the LT level after 3 months of PT was registered in 94% (n=210) of the MG patients. After 3 months, the PT regimen was recalculated according to 60% VO2реак; an increase in gait velocity at this level after 3 months of PT was registered in 70% of CG patients (n=35). The severity of HF decreased in both groups, but the dynamics was more pronounced in the MG, where class II was achieved by 75% of patients (in CG — 44%, p=0,003). In the MG, to a greater extent than in the CG, the ET increased. Ergoreflex activity (according to ΔVE) decreased by ≥15% in 230 (97%) MG patients and in 31 (63%) patients with CG. After the completion of the PT period, when in some patients the HF severity decreased to class II, we revealed a direct association of the ergoreflex value (according to ΔVE) with a greater severity of HF (r=-0,57, p=0,01) and the relationship between the decrease in ergoreflex activity (according to ΔVE), an increase in VO2LT (r=-0,55, p=0,001), VO2peak (r=0,49, p=0,001), a decrease in monocyte count (r=0,63, p=0,01).Conclusion. In stable patients with class III HF receiving the proper disease-modifying therapy, ergoreflex activity is increased and is associated with functional class, ET, and systemic inflammation activity. In the course of physical rehabilitation, a decrease in ergoreflex activity is accompanied by a decrease in functional class, an increase in EF, which is more pronounced with personalized aerobic exercise using LT regimen assessment

Functional lateralization of arithmetic processing in the intraparietal sulcus is associated with handedness

We conducted a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study, in which IPS activation of left-handed adults was compared to right-handed adults in a symbolic approximate calculation task. The results showed that left-handers had a stronger functional right-lateralization in the IPS than right-handers. This fnding has important consequences, as the bilateral IPS activation pattern for arithmetic processing seems to be shaped by functional lateralization and thus difers between left- and right-hander

Влияние технологических добавок на свойства резин на основе растворного бутадиен-стирольного каучука

Short review devoted to prediction of phase morphologies of heterogeneous polymer blends with the aim of the development of novel composite polymeric materials. The works discussed are performed mainly at the department of chemistry and physics of polymers and polymeric materials.Целью настоящей работы было изучение влияния различных технологических добавок на свойства резиновых смесей на основе растворного бутадиен-стирольного каучука в системах с разными типами наполнителей, выбор наиболее эффективных добавок, обеспечивающих сочетание хороших технологических и физико-механических свойств эластомерных материалов

CHRONIC HEART FAILURE OF ISCHEMIC GENESIS AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE: POSSIBILITIES OF COMBINATION THERAPY INCLUDING NEBIVOLOL

Objective: to reveal the features of chronic heart failure (CHF) of ischemic genesis concurrent with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to investigate the effect of the cardioselective β1-adrenoblocker (β1-AB) nebivolol on the course of COPD and the parameters of the bronchopulmonary system in patients with CHF of ischemic genesis during treatment.Subjects and methods.The investigation enrolled 63 patients aged 40–70 years, including 43 patients with functional class (FC) II–IV CHF with a Simpson left ventricular ejection fraction of 45 % concurrent with COPD (a study group) and 20 patients with CHF and no bronchopulmonary pathology (a control group). The study group patients were randomly divided into 2 subgroups: 1) 23 patients who received nebivolol in addition to background therapy; 2) 20 patients in whom the therapy ruled out the use of β1-AB. The control patients were switched to nebivolol therapy. During 6-month follow-up, the authors made clinical examination, recorded the rate, duration, and severity of COPD exacerbations, performed a 6-minute walking test (6MWT), and used a clinical status scale modified by R. Cody, a dyspnea 0–10 category ratio (Borg scale), and a Medical Research Council Dyspnoea Scale (MRS scale). Besides, quality of life in patients was assessed using the specific Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. All the patients underwent echocardiography, bronchodilatation-induced external respiratory function test, peak flowmetry, and blood brain natriuretic peptide quantification. These studies were conducted at baseline and at 1 and 6 months of therapy.Results. During the investigation, the patients with CHF concurrent with COPD were found to have a high rate of hypertensive disease, prior myocardial infarctions, atrial fibrillations, and higher FC exertional angina. These patients also showed a delayed optimal result achievement during the combination therapy involving the use of β1-AB. The group of patients without concomitant COPD was observedto have lower FV CHF and significantly reduced dyspnea during exercise (Borg scale) immediately following 1-month therapy whereas these were seen only after 6 months. Nebivolol (mean dose 5 mg) included in the treatment regimen for patients with CHF concurrent with COPD failed to have a significant effect on spirometric and peak flowmetric readings, but had a clear-cut positive effect on the health indicators of CHF patients, such as FC of the disease, heart rate, 6MWT distance, degree of dyspnea degree, and quality of life.Conclusion. Combination cardiopulmonary therapy including β1-AB leads to more effective control of comorbidity symptoms and to improvementof patient functional status.</p

Using Goal- and Grip-Related Information for Understanding the Correctness of Other’s Actions: An ERP Study

Detecting errors in other’s actions is of pivotal importance for joint action, competitive behavior and observational learning. Although many studies have focused on the neural mechanisms involved in detecting low-level errors, relatively little is known about error-detection in everyday situations. The present study aimed to identify the functional and neural mechanisms whereby we understand the correctness of other’s actions involving well-known objects (e.g. pouring coffee in a cup). Participants observed action sequences in which the correctness of the object grasped and the grip applied to a pair of objects were independently manipulated. Observation of object violations (e.g. grasping the empty cup instead of the coffee pot) resulted in a stronger P3-effect than observation of grip errors (e.g. grasping the coffee pot at the upper part instead of the handle), likely reflecting a reorienting response, directing attention to the relevant location. Following the P3-effect, a parietal slow wave positivity was observed that persisted for grip-errors, likely reflecting the detection of an incorrect hand-object interaction. These findings provide new insight in the functional significance of the neurophysiological markers associated with the observation of incorrect actions and suggest that the P3-effect and the subsequent parietal slow wave positivity may reflect the detection of errors at different levels in the action hierarchy. Thereby this study elucidates the cognitive processes that support the detection of action violations in the selection of objects and grips