Биохимические, молекулярно-генетические и клинические аспекты COVID-2019

 The 2020 coronavirus infection pandemic has potentiated a large number of studies in the world on the etiopathogenesis, clinical and morphological manifestations of COVID-2019 infection. This review presents biochemical, molecular genetic and clinical aspects of COVID-2019.  Пандемия коронавирусной инфекции в 2020 г. потенцировала проведение большого числа исследований в мире в области этиопатогенеза и клинико-морфологических проявлений  COVID-2019. Представлены биохимические, молекулярно-генетические и клинические аспекты COVID-2019.

Automatic morphology phenotyping of tetra- and hexaploid wheat spike using computer vision methods

Intraspecific classification of cultivated plants is necessary for the conservation of biological diversity, study of their origin and their phylogeny. The modern cultivated wheat species originated from three wild diploid ancestors as a result of several rounds of genome doubling and are represented by di-, tetra- and hexaploid species. The identification of wheat ploidy level is one of the main stages of their taxonomy. Such classification is possible based on visual analysis of the wheat spike traits. The aim of this study is to investigate the morphological characteristics of spikes for hexa- and tetraploid wheat species based on the method of high-performance phenotyping. Phenotyping of the quantitative characteristics of the spike of 17 wheat species (595 plants, 3348 images), including eight tetraploids (Triticum aethiopicum, T. dicoccoides, T. dicoccum, T. durum, T. militinae, T. polonicum, T. timopheevii, and T. turgidum) and nine hexaploids (T. compactum, T. aestivum, i:ANK-23 (near-isogenic line of T. aestivum cv. Novosibirskaya 67), T. antiquorum, T. spelta (including cv. Rother Sommer Kolben), T. petropavlovskyi, T. yunnanense, T. macha, T. sphaerococcum, and T. vavilovii), was performed. Wheat spike morphology was described on the basis of nine quantitative traits including shape, size and awns area of the spike. The traits were obtained as a result of image analysis using the WERecognizer program. A cluster analysis of plants according to the characteristics of the spike shape and comparison of their distributions in tetraploid and hexaploid species showed a higher variability of traits in hexaploid species compared to tetraploid ones. At the same time, the species themselves form two clusters in the visual characteristics of the spike. One type is predominantly hexaploid species (with the exception of one tetraploid, T. dicoccoides). The other group includes tetraploid ones (with the exception of three hexaploid ones, T. compactum, T. antiquorum, T. sphaerococcum, and i:ANK-23). Thus, it has been shown that the morphological characteristics of spikes for hexaploid and tetraploid wheat species, obtained on the basis of computer analysis of images, include differences, which are further used to develop methods for plant classifications by ploidy level and their species in an automatic mode

NEW ASPECTS OF THE USE OF PROTEIN TISSUE-SPECIFIC MARKERS IN THE ESTIMATION OF SEVERITY OF COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA

The purpose of the study was to assess the associations of proteins of pulmonary surfactants A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) with the severity of community-acquired pneumonia. Material and methods. A survey of 188 patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The average age of the examined patients was 54.3 ± 16.5 years (M ± SD). In 102 patients (54.3 %) severe CAP was verified. All patients underwent clinical, functional, diagnostic and laboratory studies. Results and discussion. It was determined that SP-A and SP-D content was significantly higher in patients with severe CAP compared to patients with a mild course of this disease. The direct association of severe CAP with an elevated SP-AP level, directly associated with an increase in the concentration of C-reactive protein in the blood and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, have been confirmed in early studies. Using partial correlation analysis, it was established that the severe course of CAP is directly related to SP-A (r = 0.221; p = 0.003) and SP-D content (r = 0.262; p < 0.001) regardless of age, smoking, and body weight. Thus, direct associations of SP-A and SP-D with a severe course of CAP reflect the high pathogenetic significance of these protective factors in infectious lung damage

A Comparison of the Postural Balance in Professional Hockey Players and Novices

The dynamics of a hockey player’s stance is considered. For its analysis, the authors propose to use changes in the angles in the knee and hip joints as marker indicators. Using the positional tracking systems DTrack2 and SteamVR Tracking 2.0, a pilot study of the static characteristics of the stance in hockey players compared with beginners was carried out. It was revealed that professional hockey players, while maintaining the stance, are characterized by a greater amplitude of fluctuations than beginners who had no experience in playing hockey. Experienced hockey players had characteristic changes in the angles in the joints. There was no difference in the selected marker values.Рассмотрена динамика стойки хоккеиста. Для ее анализа авторы предлагают использовать в качестве маркерных показателей изменения углов в коленных и тазобедренных суставах. Выявлено, что профессиональные хоккеисты при сохранении стойки характеризуются большей амплитудой колебаний, чем новички, которые не имели опыта игры в хоккей. Опытные хоккеисты имели характерные изменения углов в суставах. Разницы в выбранных маркерных величинах не наблюдалось.Исследование проведено при финансовой поддержке РНФ, проект № 19-78-10134

Apoptosis and apoptotic extracellular vesicular particles in atherogenesis

The review summarizes current notions on the role of apoptosis and apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles in atherogenesis. The mechanisms of efferocytosis impairment and its significance in atherosclerotic vulnerable plaque formation are discussed. The data on the pro- and anti-inflammatory effects of apoptotic extracellular vesicular particles are presented

Effect of Synthetic Approaches and Sintering Additives upon Physicochemical and Electrophysical Properties of Solid Solutions in the System (CeO₂)_1−x(Nd₂O₃)_x for Fuel Cell Electrolytes

Finely dispersed (CeO2)1−x(Nd2O3)x (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25) powders are synthesized via liquid-phase techniques based on the co-precipitation of hydroxides and co-crystallization of nitrates. The prepared powders are used to obtain ceramic materials comprising fluorite-like solid solutions with the coherent scattering region (CSR) of about 88 nm (upon annealing at 1300 °C) and open porosity in the range of 1–15%. The effect of the synthesis procedure and sintering additives (SiO2, ZnO) on physicochemical and electrophysical properties of the resulting ceramics is studied. The prepared materials are found to possess a predominantly ionic type of electric conductivity with ion transfer numbers ti = 0.96–0.71 in the temperature range of 300–700 °C. The conductivity in solid solutions follows a vacancy mechanism with σ700 °C = 0.48 × 10−2 S/cm. Physicochemical properties (density, open porosity, type and mechanism of electrical conductivity) of the obtained ceramic materials make them promising as solid oxide electrolytes for medium temperature fuel cells

Comparative Study of Physicochemical Properties of Finely Dispersed Powders and Ceramics in the Systems CeO₂–Sm₂O₃ and CeO₂–Nd₂O₃ as Electrolyte Materials for Medium Temperature Fuel Cells

Finely dispersed (CeO2)1−x(Sm2O3)x (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.20) and (CeO2)1−x(Nd2O3)x (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25) powders were synthesized via liquid-phase techniques based on the co-precipitation of hydroxides and were used to obtain ceramic materials comprising fluorite-like solid solutions with CSR in the range 69–88 nm (upon annealing at 1300 °C) and open porosity in the range 0.6–6.2%. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized materials were comparatively characterized. In general, the prepared materials were found to possess a mixed type of electrical conductivity, but in the medium-temperature range, the ionic component was predominant (ion transfer numbers ti = 0.93–0.73 at 300–700 °C). The highest ionic conductivity was observed for CeO2-based samples containing 20 mol.% Sm2O3 (σ700°C = 3.3 × 10−2 S/cm) and 15 mol.% Nd2O3 (σ700°C = 0.48 × 10−2 S/cm) was in the temperature range 500–700 °C. The physicochemical properties (density, open porosity, type and mechanism of electrical conductivity) of the obtained ceramic materials make them promising as solid oxide electrolytes for medium temperature fuel cells

OSTEOPENIChESKIY SINDROM U PATsIENTOK S OVARIOEKTOMIEY

Цель. Оценка состояния минеральной плотности костной ткани (МПКТ) у больных с овариоэктомией, проживающих в Московской области. Материал и методы. Оценка состояния МПКТ проведена в поясничном отделе L1-L4 и в шейке бедра на аппарате ДЭРА серии QDR APEX 20 модель Discoveri A, производства фирмы «Hologic» (США) у 70 пациенток (48±1,2 лет). Проведено исследование витамина Д. Результаты. На основании данных ДЭРА на этапе скрининга все пациенты разделены на две группы: 1 группа - 24 (34%) пациентки (с остеопенией 22 (92%) женщин и остеопорозом 2 (8%)); 2 группа - 46 (66%) женщин с нормальными показателями МПКТ. По результатам ДЭРА в 1 группе МПКТ в поясничном отделе позвоночника исходно была ниже, чем в шейке бедра: Т-критерий L1-L4 = -1,5±0,2 и Т-критерий в шейке бедра = -1,1±0,3. У 3 пациенток 1 группы остеопенический синдром был ассоциирован с переломами: в 2 случаях - лучевой кости, в 1 - малоберцовой кости. Во 2 группе значения Т-критерия L1-L4 колебались от 0,3 до 2,2, а Т-критерия в шейке бедра от 0,4 до 2,0. Пациентки 1 группы получали непрерывный комбинированный режим или монотерапию МГТ (17Р-эстрадиол 1мг+дидрогестерон 5мг или эстрадиол гемигидрат-гель 1г) и дотацию препаратами кальция (кальций Д3Никомед 1000мг/сут). Из них 5 пациенток (24%) получали МГТ, 13 (62%) пациенток МГТ в комбинации с препаратами кальция и 3 (14%) пациентки получали препараты кальция. Во 2 группе 28 (56%) сравнения МГТ пациентки получали с целью лечения синдрома постовариэктомии средней степени тяжести и профилактики остеопенического синдрома: 18 (39%) пациенток получали МГТ в сочетании с препаратами кальция, 10 пациенток (22%) - МГТ и 18 (39%) больных, отказавшиеся от МГТ, получали фитоэстрогены в сочетании с препаратами кальция. При динамическом контроле через год прирост МПКТ по данным ДЭРА на фоне проводимой терапии в 1А и 1В группах составил 1,8% от исходного уровня, и лишь у 1 пациентки с остеопенией отмечено снижение МПКТ на 3,7%, что потребовало применение бисфосфонатов. Показатели МПКТ у больных 2 группы оставались в пределах нормы. В данной работе среди 70 обследуемых у 28 (40%) пациенток обеих групп: 13 (46%) женщин 1-ой группы и 15 (54%) женщин 2-ой группы определялся уровень 25ОHvitD в крови. В 1 группе среди пациенток у 1 выявлен нормальный уровень показателя, у 6 больных - недостаток 25OH vitD, в среднем 24,8 нг/мл (норма 30-80 нг/мл), у 6 пациенток - дефицит витамина Д (менее 20 нг/мл). Во 2 группе - у 8 из15 женщин выявлен недостаток 25OHvitD (от 12 до 30 нг/мл), у 4 пациенток нормальные показатели и 3 - дефицит 25OHvitD (менее 12 нг/мл). Всем пациенткам с дефицитом 25OHvitD назначена дотация препаратами витамина группы Д. Выводы. Исследования позволили пациенток с оварио-эктомией, проживающих в Московской области, отнести к группе риска по возникновению остеопенического синдрома. У пациенток с овариоэктомией и остеопеническим синдромом МГТ в комбинации с препаратами кальция или без способствует приросту МПКТ