РОЛЬ ВИРУСНЫХ ИНФЕКЦИЙ В РАЗВИТИИ ХРОНИЧЕСКИХ ЭЗОФАГИТОВ У ДЕТЕЙ

The aim of this study was to reveal features of chronic viral esophagitis in children. 102 patients from 3 till 17 years with histologically confirmed chronic esophagitis (CE) are surveyed. Immunohistochemically viruses have been found in esophageal mucosa in 65 (64 %) children (1 group). 37 children (2 group) have CE of other causes. In 50 (77 %) children of 1 group HV have been revealed, in 22 (34 %) - CMV, in 19 (29 %) - VEB, in 22 (34 %) a combination of 2 or 3 viruses. Clinical manifestation of viral esophagitis was similar to reflux-esophagitis. Endoscopical signs of CE have been found in 55 % of children of 1 group and in 40,5% of 2 group, erosions were only in 1 group (15 %). The inflammatory index in 1 group was significantly higher, diskeratosis (14 %), parakeratosis (6 %) and balloon dystrophy (32 %) of esophageal epithelium were also revealed in it, but columnar metaplasia was not found. Thus, we have revealed high frequency of chronic virus infection as the cause of CE in immunocompetent patients. Erosions, higher degree of inflammatory changes morphologically and more manifest clinical symptoms are typical for a chronic virus esophagitis.Целью работы было выявить особенности вирусных эзофагитов у детей. Обследованы 102 пациента от 3 до 17 лет с гистологически установленным хроническим эзофагитом (ХЭ). Иммуногистохимически вирусы в слизистой оболочке пищевода (СОП) выявлены у 65 (64%) детей (1-я группа). 2-ю группу составили дети с ХЭ другой этиологии. У 50 (77%) детей 1-й группы выявлен ВПГ, у 22 (34%) – ЦМВ, у 19 (29%) – ВЭБ, из них у 22 (34%) пациентов было сочетание 2 или 3 вирусов. Балльная оценка жалоб показала, что клиническая симптоматика при вирусных эзофагитах неспецифична и сходна с таковой при ГЭРБ. Эндоскопически ХЭ выявлен у 55% детей в 1-й группе и у 40,5% – во 2-й, эрозивный ХЭ – только в 1-й группе (15%). Воспалительный индекс (ВИ) в 1-й группе был достоверно выше, выявлены дискератоз (14%), паракератоз (6%), баллонная дистрофия (32%) плоского эпителия, желудочная метаплазия не обнаружена. Таким образом, мы выявили высокую частоту хронической вирусной инфекции как причины развития ХЭ у иммунокомпетентных пациентов. Для хронической вирусной инфекции характерны эрозивные формы эзофагита, более высокая степень воспалительных изменений при морфологическом исследовании и более яркие клинические проявления

Metallic ions as therapeutic agents in tissue engineering scaffolds: an overview of their biological applications and strategies for new developments

This article provides an overview on the application of metallic ions in the fields of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, focusing on their therapeutic applications and the need to design strategies for controlling the release of loaded ions from biomaterial scaffolds. A detailed summary of relevant metallic ions with potential use in tissue engineering approaches is presented. Remaining challenges in the field and directions for future research efforts with focus on the key variables needed to be taken into account when considering the controlled release of metallic ions in tissue engineering therapeutics are also highlighted

Molecular Insights into the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease and Its Relationship to Normal Aging

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder that diverges from the process of normal brain aging by unknown mechanisms. We analyzed the global structure of age- and disease-dependent gene expression patterns in three regions from more than 600 brains. Gene expression variation could be almost completely explained by four transcriptional biomarkers that we named BioAge (biological age), Alz (Alzheimer), Inflame (inflammation), and NdStress (neurodegenerative stress). BioAge captures the first principal component of variation and includes genes statistically associated with neuronal loss, glial activation, and lipid metabolism. Normally BioAge increases with chronological age, but in AD it is prematurely expressed as if some of the subjects were 140 years old. A component of BioAge, Lipa, contains the AD risk factor APOE and reflects an apparent early disturbance in lipid metabolism. The rate of biological aging in AD patients, which cannot be explained by BioAge, is associated instead with NdStress, which includes genes related to protein folding and metabolism. Inflame, comprised of inflammatory cytokines and microglial genes, is broadly activated and appears early in the disease process. In contrast, the disease-specific biomarker Alz was selectively present only in the affected areas of the AD brain, appears later in pathogenesis, and is enriched in genes associated with the signaling and cell adhesion changes during the epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) transition. Together these biomarkers provide detailed description of the aging process and its contribution to Alzheimer's disease progression

Psychological self-regulation in patients after abdominal surgery

The article considers the features of psychological self-regulation in patients who have undergone abdominal surgery as planned. A total of 25 patients were examined (average age 48.7 to 11.6 years), 13 men and 12 women with surgical diseases. Self-regulation is represented on three levels - semantic, emotional and somatic.В статье рассмотрены особенности психологической саморегуляции у пациентов, перенесших абдоминальное оперативное вмешательство в плановом порядке. Всего обследовано 25 пациентов (средний возраст 48,7±11,9 лет), 13 мужчин и 12 женщин, с хирургическими заболеваниями. Представлена саморегуляция на трех уровнях – смысловом, эмоциональном и соматическо

Differential Impact of EGFR-Targeted Therapies on Hypoxia Responses: Implications for Treatment Sensitivity in Triple-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

In solid tumors, such as breast cancer, cells are exposed to hypoxia. Cancer cells adapt their metabolism by activating hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) that promote the transcription of genes involved in processes such as cell survival, drug resistance and metastasis. HIF-1 is also induced in an oxygen-independent manner through the activation of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase (EGFR-TK). Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of invasive breast cancer characterized by negative expression of hormonal and HER2 receptors, and this subtype generally overexpresses EGFR. Sensitivity to three EGFR inhibitors (cetuximab, gefitinib and lapatinib, an HER2/EGFR-TK inhibitor) was evaluated in a metastatic TNBC cell model (MDA-MB-231), and the impact of these drugs on the activity and stability of HIF was assessed.MDA-MB-231 cells were genetically modified to stably express an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) induced by hypoxia; the Ca9-GFP cell model reports HIF activity, whereas GFP-P564 reports HIF stability. The reporter signal was monitored by flow cytometry. HIF-1 DNA-binding activity, cell migration and viability were also evaluated in response to EGFR inhibitors. Cell fluorescence signals strongly increased under hypoxic conditions (> 30-fold). Cetuximab and lapatinib did not affect the signal induced by hypoxia, whereas gefitinib sharply reduced its intensity in both cell models and also diminished HIF-1 alpha levels and HIF-1 DNA-binding activity in MDA-MB-231 cells. This gefitinib feature was associated with its ability to inhibit MDA-MB-231 cell migration and to induce cell mortality in a dose-dependent manner. Cetuximab and lapatinib had no effect on cell migration or cell viability.Resistance to cetuximab and lapatinib and sensitivity to gefitinib were associated with their ability to modulate HIF activity and stability. In conclusion, downregulation of HIF-1 through EGFR signaling seems to be required for the induction of a positive response to EGFR-targeted therapies in TNBC

Awareness Is Not Enough: Pitfalls of Learning Analytics Dashboards in the Educational Practice

Presentation at 12th European Conference on Technology enhanced learning (EC-TEL 2017

Long-range corrected DFT calculations of charge-transfer integrals in model metal-free phthalocyanine complexes

An assessment of several widely used exchange--correlation potentials in computing charge-transfer integrals is performed. In particular, we employ the recently proposed Coulomb-attenuated model which was proven by other authors to improve upon conventional functionals in the case of charge-transfer excitations. For further validation, two distinct approaches to compute the property in question are compared for a phthalocyanine dimer