EXPRESSION OF рSTAT3 TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS AND ITS LEPTIN-INDUCED MODULATION IN BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

The aim of this study was to evaluate expression rates of phosphorylated STAT3 (рSTAT3) transcription factor in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and some features of its modulation by leptin in various clinical forma of bronchial asthma (BA). Materials and methods. We evaluated 25 healthy persons and 62 BA patients. pSTAT3 expression in PBMC was measured by means of flow cytometry.Results. A phenomenon of increased pSTAT3 expression was registered in PBMC from BA patients. A most sufficient elevation of pSTAT3 levels was revealed in allergic clinical variant of the disorder. Leptin was shown to increase pSTAT3 expression in PBMCs from healthy persons only. In allergic BA, such effect of leptin was not observed, whereas a trend for pSTAT increase was shown in non-allergic BA. In allergic BA, we have revealed a direct correlation between the STAT3-mediated leptin signaling index and bronchial patency parameters. Appropriate inverse correlation was registered in non-allergic BA.Conclusion. We have revealed some characteristics of рSTAT3 expression in PBMCs and its modulation by leptin in various clinical forms of BA, thus providing a potential basis for development of targeted therapy aimed for transduction of different cytokine signals mediated by STAT3 transcription factor

Partial level density of the n-quasiparticle excitations in the nuclei of the 39< A <201 region

Level density and radiative strength functions are obtained from the analysis of two-step cascades intensities following the thermal neutrons capture. The data on level density are approximated by the sum of the partial level densities corresponding to n quasiparticles excitation. The most probable values of the collective enhancement factor of the level density are found together with the thresholds of the next Cooper nucleons pair breaking. These data allow one to calculate the level density of practically any nucleus in given spin window in the framework of model concepts, taking into account all known nuclear excitation types. The presence of an approximation results discrepancy with theoretical statements specifies the necessity of rather essentially developing the level density models. It also indicates the possibilities to obtain the essentially new information on nucleon correlation functions of the excited nucleus from the experiment.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Sarilumab is not Inferior to Tocilizumab in the Treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome in COVID-19

Objective. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) is a dangerous complication of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The study aimed to compare sarilumab (SAR group) with tocilizumab (TOC group) and patients without anticytokine treatment (CON group) in treatment of CRS in COVID-19.Methods. The retrospective real life study included COVID-19 patients with C-reactive protein(CRP)  level &gt;60 mg/l.Results. We enrolled 24 patients in SAR group, 27 patients in TOC group and 47 patients in CON group. Mortality was lower in SAR and TOC groups than in CON group (12.5% and 14.8% vs. 31.9%; p=0.021 and p=0.031) with no difference between SAR and TOC groups (p=0.389).  SAR patients unlike TOC patients required intensive care unit admission less frequently then CON patients (16.7% and 25.9% vs. 46.3%; p=0.013 and p=0.077). An increase in oxygen saturation was observed in SAR and TOC groups (p=0.001 and p=0.004; greater in SAR group [p=0.022]), but not in CON group (p=0.764) in 7-10 days after administration of these drugs. The decrease in CRP level was greater in  SAR and TOC groups than in CON group (p=0.016 and p&lt;0.011), with no difference between SAR and TOC groups (p=0.236).Conclusion. Sarilumab is not inferior to tocilizumab in COVID-1

Complete Genome Sequence of the N2-Fixing Broad Host Range Endophyte Klebsiella pneumoniae 342 and Virulence Predictions Verified in Mice

We report here the sequencing and analysis of the genome of the nitrogen-fixing endophyte, Klebsiella pneumoniae 342. Although K. pneumoniae 342 is a member of the enteric bacteria, it serves as a model for studies of endophytic, plant-bacterial associations due to its efficient colonization of plant tissues (including maize and wheat, two of the most important crops in the world), while maintaining a mutualistic relationship that encompasses supplying organic nitrogen to the host plant. Genomic analysis examined K. pneumoniae 342 for the presence of previously identified genes from other bacteria involved in colonization of, or growth in, plants. From this set, approximately one-third were identified in K. pneumoniae 342, suggesting additional factors most likely contribute to its endophytic lifestyle. Comparative genome analyses were used to provide new insights into this question. Results included the identification of metabolic pathways and other features devoted to processing plant-derived cellulosic and aromatic compounds, and a robust complement of transport genes (15.4%), one of the highest percentages in bacterial genomes sequenced. Although virulence and antibiotic resistance genes were predicted, experiments conducted using mouse models showed pathogenicity to be attenuated in this strain. Comparative genomic analyses with the presumed human pathogen K. pneumoniae MGH78578 revealed that MGH78578 apparently cannot fix nitrogen, and the distribution of genes essential to surface attachment, secretion, transport, and regulation and signaling varied between each genome, which may indicate critical divergences between the strains that influence their preferred host ranges and lifestyles (endophytic plant associations for K. pneumoniae 342 and presumably human pathogenesis for MGH78578). Little genome information is available concerning endophytic bacteria. The K. pneumoniae 342 genome will drive new research into this less-understood, but important category of bacterial-plant host relationships, which could ultimately enhance growth and nutrition of important agricultural crops and development of plant-derived products and biofuels

The potential to encode sex, age, and individual identity in the alarm calls of three species of Marmotinae

In addition to encoding referential information and information about the sender’s motivation, mammalian alarm calls may encode information about other attributes of the sender, providing the potential for recognition among kin, mates, and neighbors. Here, we examined 96 speckled ground squirrels (Spermophilus suslicus), 100 yellow ground squirrels (Spermophilus fulvus) and 85 yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to determine whether their alarm calls differed between species in their ability to encode information about the caller’s sex, age, and identity. Alarm calls were elicited by approaching individually identified animals in live-traps. We assume this experimental design modeled a naturally occurring predatory event, when receivers should acquire information about attributes of a caller from a single bout of alarm calls. In each species, variation that allows identification of the caller’s identity was greater than variation allowing identification of age or sex. We discuss these results in relation to each species’ biology and sociality

Антигенное разнообразие вирусов гриппа А и В, выделенных от детей в г. Санкт-Петербурге в период с 2013 по 2015 г.

Purpose of the study: study of the circulation, isolation and antigenic analysis of influenza viruses A and B in St.-Petersburg in the children aged 0–18 in the seasons 2013–2015.Materials: nasal swabs from children-inpatients from Saint-Petersburg.Methods: virus isolation in MDCK cell culture and chicken embryos, antigenic analysis with the hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test with the set of hyper-immune rat antisera to the epidemic and reference strains, antigenic cartography.Results: The epidemic seasons 2013–2015 were characterized by the co-circulation in children in St.-Petersburg of influenza sub-types А(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), and B of Yamagata lineage (B yam). In the season 2014–2015 the low activity of epidemic process was observed with the predominant sub-type A(H3N2) and in the next season – 2014–2015 with the more pronounced epidemic activity – the pre-dominance of B yam viruses. Antigenic analysis of influenza viruses А(H1N1)pdm09 which circulated in children revealed their antigenic homogeneity and full correspondence with vaccine strain A/California/07/09. As for А(H3N2) viruses, two antigenic groups were established: strains similar to A/St.-Petersburg/80/14 (sub-clade 3C.2a) and strains similar to A/Switzerland/9715293/13 (sub-clade 3C.3a). А(Н3N2) strains of the season 2013-2014 were similar to the vaccine strain. However isolates of the season 2014-2015 did not fit to the vaccine strain because in the children were predominant strains similar to the evolution branch A/St.-Petersburg/80/14 while according the WHO recommendations the influenza vaccine contained the strain A/Texas/50/12. Antigenic analysis of influenza viruses B showed their homogeneity and all they were B/Phuket/3073/13-like. Influenza strains B also incompletely corresponded to the vaccine strain – B/Massachusetts/2/12 belonging to the different genetic sub-clade. That might be the reason of enhanced morbidity of children with influenza B in the last season.Conclusion: The obtained results stress the urgency for the wide coverage of human population with the epidemic studies, virus isolation in different time periods and geographic regions and their etiological studies with the modern techniques. Only in these conditions we can assure high efficiency of flu seasonal vaccines.Цель исследования: особенности циркуляции, выделение и антигенный анализ вирусов гриппа А и В в Санкт-Петербурге в 2013–2015 гг. от детей от 0 до 18 лет.Материалы исследования: назальные мазки от детей из стационаров и закрытых детских учреждений Санкт-Петербурга.Методы: выделение вирусов на культуре клеток MDCK и куриных эмбрионах, антигенный анализ методом реакции торможения гемагглютинации (РТГА) с набором гипериммунных крысиных антисывороток к эталонным и эпидемическим штаммам гриппа, антигенная картография.Результаты: в эпидемические сезоны 2013–2015 гг. в г. Санкт-Петербурге среди детей была выявлена совместная циркуляция вирусов гриппа А(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2), B Ямагатской линии (B yam), причем в сезоне 2013–2014 гг. при общей невысокой активности эпидемического процесса преобладали вирусы A(H3N2), а в следующем эпидемическом сезоне – 2014–2015 гг. – при более высокой интенсивности эпидемии – вирусы В yam. Антигенный анализ вирусов А(H1N1)pdm09, циркулировавших среди детей, выявил их антигенную однородность и полное соответствие вакцинному штамму А/Калифорния/07/09. Зафиксирован антигенный дрейф вирусов А(H3N2), выявлены 2 антигенные группы: вирусы, подобные А/Санкт-Петербург/80/14 (генетическая подгруппа 3С.2а) и вирусы, подобные А/Швейцария/9715293/13 (подгруппа 3С.3а). Вирусы А(Н3N2) сезона 2013–2014 гг. были подобны вакцинному штамму. В то же время изоляты сезона 2014–2015 гг. не соответствовали вакцинному штамму, поскольку среди детей в основном выявлены штаммы, подобные эволюционной ветви А/Санкт-Петербург/80/14, а в вакцину по рекомендации ВОЗ был включен штамм А/Техас/50/12. Антигенный анализ вирусов гриппа В yam показал их однородность, они были подобны эталонному вирусу В/Пхукет/3073/13. Вирусы В также антигенно не полностью соответствовали вакцинному компоненту, поскольку данные вирусы были подобны штамму В/Пхукет/3073/13, а в состав вакцины входил штамм В/Массачусетс/2/12, принадлежащий к другой генетической подгруппе, что могло привести к повышению заболеваемости детей гриппом типа В в данном сезоне. Заключение: для своевременного правильного выбора штаммов, входящих в состав сезонных противогриппозных вакцин, по-прежнему актуальной остается задача как можно более широкого охвата населения эпидемиологическими исследованиями, выделения вирусов в разные периоды эпидемического сезона и в разных географических регионах, их антигенный и генетический анализ современными методами

Профилактика и лечение железодефицитной анемии у детей первого года жизни

The article presents features of physiological processes and pathological conditions in under one-year children that predispose the development of iron-deficiency anemia. Basic methods of iron deficiency prophylaxis and principles of iron drug selection and dose selection for iron-deficiency anemia treatment for children in the stated age category are described in the article. Particular attention is paid to the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia in preterm infants; foreign and domestic recommendations on this issue are presented. A practicing pediatrician needs to know the features of the disease’s development and treatment caused by differences in physical conditions accompanied by a high activity of metabolic processes and the immaturity of the young patients’ anatomic structures in order to identifiy and select the right iron-deficiency anemia treatment strategy.В статье представлены особенности физиологических процессов и патологических состояний у детей первого года жизни, предрасполагающих к развитию железодефицитной анемии (ЖДА). Описаны основные способы профилактики железодефицитных состояний, а также принципы выбора препарата железа и его дозы для лечения ЖДА у детей указанной возрастной категории. Особое внимание уделено профилактике и лечению ЖДА у недоношенных детей, представлены зарубежные и отечественные рекомендации по данному вопросу. Практикующему педиатру для своевременного выявления и выбора правильной тактики лечения ЖДА у детей первых 12 мес жизни необходимы знания об особенностях развития и лечения патологии, обусловленных отличиями физиологического состояния на фоне высокой интенсивности обменных процессов и незрелости анатомических структур у маленьких пациентов

Synthesis and properties of the heterospin (S1 = S2 = 1/2) radical-ion salt bis(mesitylene)molybdenum(I) [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazolidyl

The authors are grateful to the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Project 8.14), the Royal Society (RS International Joint Project 2010/R3), the Leverhulme Trust (Project IN-2012-094), the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Project 13), the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Project of Joint Laboratories of Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and National Research Universities), and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Projects 13-03-00072 and 15-03-03242) for financial support of various parts of this work. N.A.S. thanks the Council for Grants of the President of Russian Federation for postdoctoral scholarship (grant MK-4411.2015.3). B.E.B. is grateful for an EaStCHEM Hirst Academic Fellowship. A.V.Z. thanks the Foundation named after D. I. Mendeleev, Tomsk State University, for support of his work.Low-temperature interaction of [1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (1) with MoMes2 (Mes = mesitylene / 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) in tetrahydrofuran gave the heterospin (S1 = S2 = 1/2) radical-ion salt [MoMes2]+[1]– (2) whose structure was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD). The structure revealed alternating layers of the cations and anions with the Mes ligands perpendicular, and the anions tilted by 45°, to the layer plane. At 300 K the effective magnetic moment of 2 is equal to 2.40 μB (theoretically expected 2.45 μB) and monotonically decreases with lowering of the temperature. In the temperature range 2−300 K, the molar magnetic susceptibility of 2 is well-described by the Curie-Weiss law with parameters C and θ equal to 0.78 cm3⋅K⋅mol–1 and −31.2 K, respectively. Overall, the magnetic behavior of 2 is similar to that of [CrTol2]+[1]– and [CrCp*2]+[1]–, i.e. changing the cation [MAr2]+ 3d atom M = Cr (Z = 24) with weak spin-orbit coupling (SOC) to a 4d atom M = Mo (Z = 42) with stronger SOC does not affect macroscopic magnetic properties of the salts. For the XRD structure of salt 2, parameters of the Heisenberg spin-Hamiltonian were calculated using the broken-symmetry DFT and CASSCF approaches, and the complex 3D magnetic structure with both the ferromagnetic (FM) and antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange interactions was revealed with the latter as dominating. Salt 2 is thermally unstable and slowly loses the Mes ligands upon storage at ambient temperature. Under the same reaction conditions, interaction of 1 with MoTol2 (Tol = toluene) proceeded with partial loss of the Tol ligands to afford diamagnetic product.PostprintPostprintPeer reviewe

Plasmachemical technologies in biology and medicine: state of the art

Low-temperature non-equilibrium plasmas have been extensively investigated due to their low-temperature properties and controllability of various agents such as radicals, ions, UV and electric fields, making them suitable for a wide range of biomedical applications. This paper presents an overview of the current status and potential of plasmachemical technologies for production of novel bioactive materials, fictionalization of organic polymers, deposition of organic and inorganic coatings, and plasma processing of biomaterials, sterilization, treatment of mammalian and cancerous cells, blood coagulation, wound healing and dental treatments. The brief summary and characterization of various low-temperature nonequilibrium plasmas used in biology and medicine (corona discharge, radio-frequency and microwave gas discharges, electron-beam plasma) are given. The physical-chemical processes of plasmachemical polymers modification and coatings synthesis, as well as mechanisms responsible for the biological effects are described