Galactic Cosmic Rays - Clouds Effect and Bifurcation Model of the Earth Global Climate. Part 2. Comparison of Theory with Experiment

The solution of energy-balance model of the Earth global climate and the EPICA Dome C and Vostok experimental data of the Earth surface palaeotemperature evolution over past 420 and 740 kyr are compared. In the framework of proposed bifurcation model (i) the possible sharp warmings of the Dansgaard-Oeschger type during the last glacial period due to stochastic resonance is theoretically argued; (ii) the concept of climatic sensitivity of water in the atmosphere, whose temperature instability has the form of so-called hysteresis loop, is proposed, and based of this concept the time series of global ice volume over the past 1000 kyr, which is in good agreement with the time series of delta O-18 concentration in the sea sediments, is obtained; (iii) the so-called "CO2 doubling" problem is discussedComment: 19 pages, 4 figure

Profiling of Circulating Serum MicroRNAs in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder using Stem-loop qRT-PCR Assay

Background: Development of biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has still remained a challenge to date. Recently, alterations of the expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in peripheral blood, serum and post-mortem brain tissue have been linked to ASD. miRNAs are known to be secreted by various cell types and can mediate transmission of information into recipient cells and to modulate their physiological functions. On this basis it is assumed that circulating miRNAs could be useful biomarkers for the diagnosis or prognosis of pathological conditions

Surgical removal of atrial septal defect occlusion device and mitral valve replacement in a 39-year-old female patient with infective endocarditis

Atrial septal defects represent the second most frequent congenital heart disease after ventricular septal defects. Transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect is usually performed following strict indications on patients with significant left-to-right shunt. Infective endocarditis after transcatheter implantation of atrial septal defect occluder is an extremely rare complication. We report a case of infective endocarditis of the mitral valve (with severe mitral valve insufficiency) in a 39-year-old female patient 13 years after transcatheter closure of an atrial septal defect. Complex prophylactic antibiotic coverage was performed prior to surgical intervention. Surgical removal of atrial septal defect occluder, mitral valve replacement, atrial septal defect closure and left atrial appendage resection were performed. Postoperative course was uneventful

Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Complex Genetic Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is an entity that reflects a scientific consensus that several previously separated disorders are actually a single spectrum disorder with different levels of symptom severity in two core domains - deficits in social communication and interaction, and restricted repetitive behaviors. Autism spectrum disorder is diagnosed in all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups and because of its increased prevalence, reported worldwide through the last years, made it one of the most discussed child psychiatric disorders. In term of aetiology as several other complex diseases, Autism spectrum disorder is considered to have a strong genetic component

Blood-Based Gene Expression in children with Autism spectrum disorder

Comparative gene expression profiling analysis is useful in discovering differentially expressed genes associated with various diseases, including mental disorders. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder which has complex pathobiology with profound influences of genetic factors in its development. Although numerous autism susceptible genes were identified, the etiology of autism is not fully explained. The study aimed to examine gene expression profiling in peripheral blood from 60 individuals divided into two groups: children with ASD and age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (ASD control). A genome-wide sequencing of copy DNA molecules was conducted to obtain information for quantitative expression of all genes subject to this study and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway-based analysis was used to further understand genes’ biological functions. Based on the conducted expression analysis 23 differentially expressed genes and 21 KEGG signaling pathways with statistical significant change were identified. Blood-based comparative gene expression profiling analysis is useful in discovering genetic markers associated with ASD. Our data will provide a valuable resource for discovery purposes and for comparison to other gene expression-based, genome-wide studies and other functional data