Dissemination of helminth eggs in the environmental objects (soil and water) in the territory of the Siversky Donets terraces

The purpose of the work is to determine the species composition and distribution of helminth eggs in the environment of the Siversky Donets terraces territory. Materials and methods. The soil samples of the terraces (I – up to3 meters above the floodplain level, II – up to100 meters above the floodplain level, III –150 meters above the floodplain level) and the Siversky Donets floodplains, farmlands and children's playgrounds were examined. Helminth eggs were identified by the method of Romanenko, Padchenko. Helminth larvae in soil were defined according to the Berman method. The presence of helminth eggs in water was detected according to the Vasil’kov method. Helminth eggs and larvae were identified by microscopical method. Results. 11 species of parasitic helminths have been identified. The eggs of Toxocara canis, Toxocara mystax and Ascaris lumbricoides were most frequently identified and found both in water and soil. The water environment was also contaminated with eggs of Diphyllobothrium latum. The eggs of Trichocephalus trichiurus and Enterobius vermicularis were detected frequently enough, mainly in the water environment, though in insignificant amounts. The parasite diversity and their number decreased with the height increase from the riverbed to the third terrace. On the third terrace only Toxocara eggs were identified, but more than their number on the first terrace. Conclusions. The types of biohelminths (6 from 11) predominate among the detected helminths, but the quantitative prevalence of geohelminths could be linked to their simpler life cycle and greater speed of transmission. The Sіversky Donets water is the most contaminated, that could be explained by washing the eggs away from the terraces. The soil samples of children’s playgrounds are the cleanest (there are only Toksokara eggs, which are spread by animals)

DYNAMICS OF ORGANIC MATTER UNDER THE AFFORESTATION OF THE FORMER AGRICULTURAL SOD-PODZOLIC SOILS

The dynamics of the organic matter of the chronosequence of sod-podzolic soils in the process of reforestation has been investigated using the granulo-densitometric fractionation.The objects of research were sod-podzolic soils of the chronosequence of abandoned areas, including the main stages of the development of secondary succession: from overgrowing by grass vegetation to zonal spruce forests of the specially protected natural territory of the Central Forest State Natural Biosphere Reserve. In the first 20–25 years after the reduction of agrocenosis, degradation changes of the humus state of sod-podzolic soils were observed, due to the lack of agrotechnological treatments and the lack of fresh organic matter (OM) of cultivated plants. It is shown that only after 50 years functioning in the reservoir regime, the qualitative and quantitative indicators of organic matter of sod-podzolic soils begin to approach those of spruce forests of different species composition over 100 years old. This is manifested in an increase in the amount of discrete OM, the level of carbon accumulation of this fraction of OM in the soil and the value of its share in the total carbon accumulation in the soil

Cementomimetics—constructing a cementum-like biomineralized microlayer via amelogenin-derived peptides

This is the published version. Copyright 2012 Nature Publishing GroupCementum is the outer-, mineralized-tissue covering the tooth root and an essential part of the system of periodontal tissue that anchors the tooth to the bone. Periodontal disease results from the destructive behavior of the host elicited by an infectious biofilm adhering to the tooth root and left untreated, may lead to tooth loss. We describe a novel protocol for identifying peptide sequences from native proteins with the potential to repair damaged dental tissues by controlling hydroxyapatite biomineralization. Using amelogenin as a case study and a bioinformatics scoring matrix, we identified regions within amelogenin that are shared with a set of hydroxyapatite-binding peptides (HABPs) previously selected by phage display. One 22-amino acid long peptide regions referred to as amelogenin-derived peptide 5 (ADP5) was shown to facilitate cell-free formation of a cementum-like hydroxyapatite mineral layer on demineralized human root dentin that, in turn, supported attachment of periodontal ligament cells in vitro. Our findings have several implications in peptide-assisted mineral formation that mimic biomineralization. By further elaborating the mechanism for protein control over the biomineral formed, we afford new insights into the evolution of protein–mineral interactions. By exploiting small peptide domains of native proteins, our understanding of structure–function relationships of biomineralizing proteins can be extended and these peptides can be utilized to engineer mineral formation. Finally, the cementomimetic layer formed by ADP5 has the potential clinical application to repair diseased root surfaces so as to promote the regeneration of periodontal tissues and thereby reduce the morbidity associated with tooth loss

Effect of sitagliptin on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Data are lacking on the long-term effect on cardiovascular events of adding sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind study, we assigned 14,671 patients to add either sitagliptin or placebo to their existing therapy. Open-label use of antihyperglycemic therapy was encouraged as required, aimed at reaching individually appropriate glycemic targets in all patients. To determine whether sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo, we used a relative risk of 1.3 as the marginal upper boundary. The primary cardiovascular outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, there was a small difference in glycated hemoglobin levels (least-squares mean difference for sitagliptin vs. placebo, -0.29 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.32 to -0.27). Overall, the primary outcome occurred in 839 patients in the sitagliptin group (11.4%; 4.06 per 100 person-years) and 851 patients in the placebo group (11.6%; 4.17 per 100 person-years). Sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo for the primary composite cardiovascular outcome (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.09; P<0.001). Rates of hospitalization for heart failure did not differ between the two groups (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.20; P = 0.98). There were no significant between-group differences in rates of acute pancreatitis (P = 0.07) or pancreatic cancer (P = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, adding sitagliptin to usual care did not appear to increase the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, hospitalization for heart failure, or other adverse events

Effects of Once-Weekly Exenatide on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The cardiovascular effects of adding once-weekly treatment with exenatide to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes are unknown. METHODS: We randomly assigned patients with type 2 diabetes, with or without previous cardiovascular disease, to receive subcutaneous injections of extended-release exenatide at a dose of 2 mg or matching placebo once weekly. The primary composite outcome was the first occurrence of death from cardiovascular causes, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or nonfatal stroke. The coprimary hypotheses were that exenatide, administered once weekly, would be noninferior to placebo with respect to safety and superior to placebo with respect to efficacy. RESULTS: In all, 14,752 patients (of whom 10,782 [73.1%] had previous cardiovascular disease) were followed for a median of 3.2 years (interquartile range, 2.2 to 4.4). A primary composite outcome event occurred in 839 of 7356 patients (11.4%; 3.7 events per 100 person-years) in the exenatide group and in 905 of 7396 patients (12.2%; 4.0 events per 100 person-years) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 1.00), with the intention-to-treat analysis indicating that exenatide, administered once weekly, was noninferior to placebo with respect to safety (P<0.001 for noninferiority) but was not superior to placebo with respect to efficacy (P=0.06 for superiority). The rates of death from cardiovascular causes, fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction, fatal or nonfatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure, and hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, and the incidence of acute pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, medullary thyroid carcinoma, and serious adverse events did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes with or without previous cardiovascular disease, the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events did not differ significantly between patients who received exenatide and those who received placebo. (Funded by Amylin Pharmaceuticals; EXSCEL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01144338 .)