Elementary immunology: Na(+) as a regulator of immunity

The skin can serve as an interstitial Na(+) reservoir. Local tissue Na(+) accumulation increases with age, inflammation and infection. This increased local Na(+) availability favors pro-inflammatory immune cell function and dampens their anti-inflammatory capacity. In this review, we summarize available data on how NaCl affects various immune cells. We particularly focus on how salt promotes pro-inflammatory macrophage and T cell function and simultaneously curtails their regulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. Overall, these findings demonstrate that local Na(+) availability is a promising novel regulator of immunity. Hence, the modulation of tissue Na(+) levels bears broad therapeutic potential: increasing local Na(+) availability may help in treating infections, while lowering tissue Na(+) levels may be used to treat, for example, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases

Стандартные полимерные питательные смеси: сравнительная характеристика и возможности дифференцированного применения

Trophic homeostasis together with oxygen provision is known to form the basis for the body’s vital activity and a prerequisite to the elimination of many abnormalities [1]. Support of trophic homeostasis along with its intrinsic factor is determined not only by the capabilities and reality of providing an organism with essential nutrients, but also by the relevant conditions for their effective assimilation, particularly in the presence of a severely progressive pathological process [1, 2]. The last decades of the 20th century were marked by the rapid development of clinical nutrition science, giving rise to the whole industry of manufacturing various formulas for both the parenteral and enteral feedings of patients (the injured). Due to the fact that there is a great variety of feeding formulas (FFs), we have now a right to tell not only about the adequate substrate provision of patients in all directions, but also about the fact that we can perform differential nutritive metabolic therapy for an existing pathological condition. At present we have a good chance of implementing the qualitative nutritive support (NS) for any category of patients. At the same time, it should be noted that recently physicians of different specialties in our country are much better aware of the importance and necessity of timely using active NS in seriously ill patients (victims) [1—3]. This paper presents the comparative characteristics of the most popular and Russia’s registered balanced polymer FFs. All information on the properties of the products has been taken from either their original package, or the advertising matters distributed by this or that manufacturer. The key properties of FFs, such as chemical composition, osmolarity, formulations, and package, have been compared.hypermetabolism; feeding formulas; composition; osmolarity; choiceИзвестно, что трофический гомеостаз вместе с кислородным обеспечением составляет основу жизнедеятельности организма и кардинальное условие преодоления многих патологических состояний [1]. Поддержка трофического гомеостаза, наряду с его внутренними факторами, определяется не только возможностью и реальностью обеспечения организма необходимыми питательными веществами, но и созданием соответствующих условий для их эффективной ассимиляции, особенно в условиях тяжело протекающего патологического процесса [1, 2]. Последние десятилетия XX столетия характеризовались бурным развитием клинической нутрициологии, что сопровождалось созданием целой индустрии по производству различных питательных смесей (ПС) как для парентерального, так и энтерального питания больных (пострадавших) пациентов. Благодаря достаточно широкому выбору ПС, сегодня мы вправе говорить не только об адекватном субстратном обеспечении больных по всем направлениям, но и о появившейся возможности дифференцированной нутритивно-метаболической терапии имеющегося патологического состояния. В настоящее время мы имеем все возможности для практической реализации качественной нутриционной поддержки (НП) любой категории пациентов. При этом следует отметить, что в последние годы в нашей стране среди врачей различных специальностей значительно возросло понимание важности и необходимости своевременного назначения тяжело больным (пострадавшим) пациентам активной НП [1—3]. В данной статье представлена сравнительная характеристика наиболее распространенных и зарегистрированных в России сбалансированных полимерных ПС. Вся информация по свойствам продукции взята либо с оригинальной упаковки, либо из рекламных материалов, распространяемых тем или иным производителем. Сравнение проведено по таким ключевым свойствам ПС как химический состав, осмолярность, форма выпуска и упаковка.

Monitoring and Pay: An Experiment on Employee Performance under Endogenous Supervision

We present an experimental test of a shirking model where monitoring intensity is endogenous and effort a continuous variable. Wage level, monitoring intensity and consequently the desired enforceable effort level are jointly determined by the maximization problem of the firm. As a result, monitoring and pay should be complements. In our experiment, between and within treatment variation is qualitatively in line with the normative predictions of the model under standard assumptions. Yet, we also find evidence for reciprocal behavior. Our data analysis shows, however, that it does not pay for the employer to solely rely on the reciprocity of employees

Закономерности изменения физико-механических свойств сплава Zr-1%Nb при комплексном ионно-плазменном модифицировании поверхности и наводороживании

В работе были изучены особенности изменения морфологии, структуры и физико-механических свойств циркониевого сплава Zr-1%Nb, подвергнутого комплексному ионно-плазменному модифицированию поверхности методами плазменно-иммерсионной ионной имплантации титана и осаждения покрытий нитрида титана. Показана высокая эффективность защиты сформированных структур от проникновения водорода в циркониевый сплав. Изучены механизмы сорбции и захвата водорода в титансодержащем модифицированном слое.In the present work, the features of the change in the morphology, structure, and physico-mechanical properties of zirconium alloy Zr-1%Nb subjected to complex ion-plasma surface modification by the methods of plasma-immersion titanium ion implantation and deposition of titanium nitride coatings were studied. The high protective properties of the formed structures against hydrogen permeation into the zirconium alloy is shown. Mechanisms of sorption and capture of hydrogen in a titanium-doped modified layer are studied

Wanting to become PE teachers in Spain: connections between previous experiences and particular beliefs about school Physical Education and the development of professional teacher identities

Physical Education (PE) teachers have previous experiences that both shape their particular beliefs about the role and purpose of this school subject as well as their pedagogical practice. The present study aims to examine and deepen our knowledge of future Spanish PE teachers’ previous experiences of and beliefs about PE that condition their pedagogical practice and intentionality within this school subject. The data reported on in this paper were generated through questionnaires, life-history stories and semi-structured interviews with 24 initial teacher education students in the second year of a degree specialising in PE at a Spanish university. The data was analysed using content and narrative (thematic) analysis. The students, far from being tabula rasa, in their responses show how their previous socialisation period, their subjectivities and identities constitute particular beliefs about PE teaching. More specifically, the results reveal four key themes in the student teachers’ experiences and beliefs that represent four different factors influencing future PE teacher identities: (1) ‘Sport’; (2) ‘PE for health’; (3) ‘A focus on pedagogy’; and (4) ‘A critical orientation’. In conclusion, the study reaffirms the need for further reflection on how previous experiences and beliefs influence the development of professional teacher identities as part of initial teacher education in PE

Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV and Incident Diabetes: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is not only important in β-cell function but also has proinflammatory actions. We aimed to investigate whether it could act as a link between low-grade chronic inflammation and diabetes

Epigenome-wide association of PTSD from heterogeneous cohorts with a common multi-site analysis pipeline

Compelling evidence suggests that epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation play a role in stress regulation and in the etiologic basis of stress related disorders such as Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Here we describe the purpose and methods of an international consortium that was developed to study the role of epigenetics in PTSD. Inspired by the approach used in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we brought together investigators representing seven cohorts with a collective sample size of N = 1147 that included detailed information on trauma exposure, PTSD symptoms, and genome-wide DNA methylation data. The objective of this consortium is to increase the analytical sample size by pooling data and combining expertise so that DNA methylation patterns associated with PTSD can be identified. Several quality control and analytical pipelines were evaluated for their control of genomic inflation and technical artifacts with a joint analysis procedure established to derive comparable data over the cohorts for meta-analysis. We propose methods to deal with ancestry population stratification and type I error inflation and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of applying robust error estimates. To evaluate our pipeline, we report results from an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of age, which is a well-characterized phenotype with known epigenetic associations. Overall, while EWAS are highly complex and subject to similar challenges as genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we demonstrate that an epigenetic meta-analysis with a relatively modest sample size can be well-powered to identify epigenetic associations. Our pipeline can be used as a framework for consortium efforts for EWAS

Mapping gene associations in human mitochondria using clinical disease phenotypes

Nuclear genes encode most mitochondrial proteins, and their mutations cause diverse and debilitating clinical disorders. To date, 1,200 of these mitochondrial genes have been recorded, while no standardized catalog exists of the associated clinical phenotypes. Such a catalog would be useful to develop methods to analyze human phenotypic data, to determine genotype-phenotype relations among many genes and diseases, and to support the clinical diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders. Here we establish a clinical phenotype catalog of 174 mitochondrial disease genes and study associations of diseases and genes. Phenotypic features such as clinical signs and symptoms were manually annotated from full-text medical articles and classified based on the hierarchical MeSH ontology. This classification of phenotypic features of each gene allowed for the comparison of diseases between different genes. In turn, we were then able to measure the phenotypic associations of disease genes for which we calculated a quantitative value that is based on their shared phenotypic features. The results showed that genes sharing more similar phenotypes have a stronger tendency for functional interactions, proving the usefulness of phenotype similarity values in disease gene network analysis. We then constructed a functional network of mitochondrial genes and discovered a higher connectivity for non-disease than for disease genes, and a tendency of disease genes to interact with each other. Utilizing these differences, we propose 168 candidate genes that resemble the characteristic interaction patterns of mitochondrial disease genes. Through their network associations, the candidates are further prioritized for the study of specific disorders such as optic neuropathies and Parkinson disease. Most mitochondrial disease phenotypes involve several clinical categories including neurologic, metabolic, and gastrointestinal disorders, which might indicate the effects of gene defects within the mitochondrial system. The accompanying knowledgebase (http://www.mitophenome.org/) supports the study of clinical diseases and associated genes

Clinical Recommendations of the Northwest Society for Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, Interregional Association for Emergency Surgery, Russian Gastroenterological Association, Union of Rehabilitation Therapists of Russia and Russian Transplantation Society on Diagnosis and Treatment of Short Bowel Syndrome-Associated Intestinal Failure in Adults

Aim. Current clinical recommendations address the epidemiology, causes, clinical manifestations and pathogenesis of possible immediate and long-term complications, as well as the problematic issues related to treatment and rehabilitation of adult short bowel syndrome patients.Key points. Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a symptom complex of impaired digestion caused by the reduction of small intestine absorptive surface and manifested by intestinal failure (IF) of various severity (maldigestion and malabsorption) developing into malnutrition and systemic somatogenic disorders. The vital strategic aspects of its treatment are the personalisation of liquid, macro- and micronutrients consumption as well as avoidance of intestinal failure- and parenteral nutrition-associated complications. Various nutritional support regimes and the indications for infusion therapy and maintenance parenteral nutrition are considered in this patient category, also in outpatient settings. To mitigate the dependence on intravenous fluid- and nutrient administration and attain enteral autonomy in SBS-IF patients, the use of recombinant glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is justified as exerting a pronounced trophic effect on the epithelial regenerative potential as well as structural and functional adaptation of intestinal mucosa. The SBS-IF patients prescribed with home parenteral nutrition and/or their caregivers should be trained in a special programme that covers the catheter care, preparation of infusion solutions and nutrient mixture container, infusion pump operation as well as the prevention, recognition and management of complications. The main referral indications for small bowel transplantation (SBT) are: fast-progressing cholestatic liver disease-complicated irreversible intestinal failure; thrombosis of two or more central venous conduits used for parenteral nutrition; recurrent catheter-associated bloodstream infection.Conclusion. Current recommendations on diagnosis and treatment as well as the developed criteria of medical aid quality assessment are applicable at different levels of healthcare