An evaluation of methodological issues in workflow management

Ankara : Department of Computer Engineering and Information Science and the Institute of Engineering and Science of Bilkent University, 1998.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1998.Includes bibliographical references leaves 75-79.Sotnikova, AnastasiaM.S

Research of the dominant psycho-emotional states of university lecturers during the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic

The aim of the article was empirical research of the dominant psycho-emotional states of university lecturers during the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article is devoted to an empirical study of the factor structure and the prevailing correlations between the psycho-emotional states of the respondents. Valid empirical methods with standardized questionnaires were used: the dominant coping strategy research method, the test of differentiation of emotional states, and the anxiety research method. The study’s empirical picture constructed. Psycho-emotional states were qualitatively interpreted, states were distinguished, and semantic psychological parameters were defined. The factor structure of the dominant psycho-emotional states of university lecturers was determined. The psycho-emotional state of F1 “Isolated activity”, which had the most intercorrelations and had the most significant (p≤.01) correlation with F4 “Pragmatic avoidance” (.344), was found to have the greatest factor load. It was empirically established and theoretically substantiated that the structure, variables, and interdependence of the factors of dominant psycho-emotional states were important components in solving issues of lecturers’ professional activity. It was noted that the findings may be useful for university administrations and pedagogical psychology researchers

Analysis of market forces as the basis for conducting the public procurement procedure to evaluate the effectiveness

The article considers the change in the methodology for conducting public procurement and, as a consequence, a change in the methods for assessing efficiency. The main methodological problems at the moment, development prospects and elimination of current issues are considered. An approach that has found wide application in assessing the investment attractiveness of projects is presented, namely, the analysis of the driving forces of the market and the analysis of competition according to Porter. The chosen topic is one of the most relevant, since the definition of the driving forces of the market and the forces of competition allows more efficient use of the mechanisms for managing the state of its purchases

Genetic landscape in Russian patients with familial left ventricular noncompaction

BackgroundLeft ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) cardiomyopathy is a disorder that can be complicated by heart failure, arrhythmias, thromboembolism, and sudden cardiac death. The aim of this study is to clarify the genetic landscape of LVNC in a large cohort of well-phenotyped Russian patients with LVNC, including 48 families (n=214).MethodsAll index patients underwent clinical examination and genetic analysis, as well as family members who agreed to participate in the clinical study and/or in the genetic testing. The genetic testing included next generation sequencing and genetic classification according to ACMG guidelines.ResultsA total of 55 alleles of 54 pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants in 24 genes were identified, with the largest number in the MYH7 and TTN genes. A significant proportion of variants −8 of 54 (14.8%) −have not been described earlier in other populations and may be specific to LVNC patients in Russia. In LVNC patients, the presence of each subsequent variant is associated with increased odds of having more severe LVNC subtypes than isolated LVNC with preserved ejection fraction. The corresponding odds ratio is 2.77 (1.37 −7.37; p <0.001) per variant after adjustment for sex, age, and family.ConclusionOverall, the genetic analysis of LVNC patients, accompanied by cardiomyopathy-related family history analysis, resulted in a high diagnostic yield of 89.6%. These results suggest that genetic screening should be applied to the diagnosis and prognosis of LVNC patients

Safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma for COVID-19: the preliminary results of a clinical trial

Background. The lack of effective etiotropic therapy for COVID-19 has prompted researchers around the globe to seekr various methods of SARS-CoV-2 elimination, including the use of convalescent plasma. Aim. The aim of this work was to study the safety and efficacy of the convalescence plasma treatment of severe COVID-19 using the plasma containing specific antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 S protein in a titer of at least 1:1000. Methods. A single-center, randomized, prospective clinical study was performed at the FRCC FMBA of Russia with the participation of 86 patients who were stratified in two groups. The first group included 20 critically ill patients who were on mechanical ventilation the second group included 66 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 and with spontaneous respiration. The patients in the second group were randomized into two cohorts in a ratio of 2:1. In the first cohort (46 patients), pathogen-reduced convalescent plasma was transfused (twice, 320 ml each), in the second cohort (20 patients) a similar amount of non-immune freshly frozen plasma was transfused to the patients. Results. The use of plasma of convalescents in patients with severe COVID-19 being on mechanical ventilation does not affect the disease outcome in these patients. The mortality rate in this group was 60%, which corresponds to the average mortality of COVID patients on mechanical ventilation in our hospital. In the second group, clinical improvement was detected in 75% and 51%, for convalescent and non-immune plasma, respectively. Of the 46 people who received convalescent plasma, three patients (6.5%) were transferred to mechanical ventilation, two of them died. In the group receiving non-immune plasma, the need for mechanical ventilation also arose in three patients (15%), of which two died. The hospital mortality in the group of convalescent plasma was 4.3%, which is significantly lower than the average COVID-19 hospital mortality at our Center (6.73%) and more than two times lower than the hospital mortality in the control group (n=150), matched by age and by the disease severity. Conclusions. Thus, we demonstrated a relative safety of convalescent plasma transfusion and the effectiveness of such therapy for COVID-19 at least in terms of the survival of hospitalized patients with severe respiratory failure without mechanical ventilation. In the absence of bioengineered neutralizing antibodies and effective etiotropic therapy, the use of hyperimmune convalescent plasma is the simplest and most effective method of specific etiopathogenetic therapy of severe forms of COVID-19

Urbanization affects soil microbiome profile distribution in the russian arctic region

Urbanization in the Arctic results in considerable and still poorly known environmental consequences. The effect of urbanization on soil microbiome—an ecosystem component highly sensi-tive to anthropogenic disturbance—remains overlooked for the Arctic region. The research compared chemical and microbial properties of the natural Podzol soils and urban soils of Murmansk—the largest Arctic city. Particular attention was given to the profile distribution, which is almost com-pletely ignored by most microbial studies. Soil microbiome was investigated by the quantitative indicators based on fluorescence microscopy (microbial biomass) and PCR real-time methods (amount of rRNA genes copies of archaea, bacteria, and fungi). The principal changes in urban soils’ properties compared to the natural references included a shift in pH and an increase in C and nutrients’ contents, especially remarkable for the subsoil. The numbers of rRNA genes copies of archaea, bacteria, and fungi in urban topsoils (106 –1010, 109 –1010, and 107 –109, respectively) were lower than in Podzol; however, the opposite pattern was shown for the subsoil. Similarly, the total microbial biomass in urban topsoils (0.55–0.75 mg g−1 ) was lower compared to the 1.02 mg g−1 in Podzols, while urban subsoil microbial biomass was 2–2.5 times higher than in the natural conditions. Both for urban and natural soils and throughout the profiles, fungi were dominated by mycelium forms; however, the ratios of mycelium–spores were lower, and the amount of thin mycelium was higher in urban soils than in natural Podzols. Urbanization in the Arctic altered soil morphological and chemical properties and created a new niche for microbial development in urban subsoils; its contribution to biodiversity and nutrient cycling promises to become increasingly important under projected climate change

Plastome Data of Red Currant and Gooseberry Reveal Potential Taxonomical Issues within the <i>Ribes</i> Genus (Grossulariaceae)

The complete chloroplast genomes of red currant cultivar ‘Belaya Potapenko’ and gooseberry cultivar ‘Nekrasovskij’ were sequenced and assembled for the first time. The plastomes are 157,802 bp and 157,559 bp in length for Ribes rubrum and R. uva-crispa, respectively. The R. rubrum cp genome is 243 b.p. longer. It has one more protein-coding gene ycf1, which is pseudogenized in the R. uva-crispa cp genome. In total, 56 and 54 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified within the assembled plastid genomes. The SSR content of plastid genomes was assessed for the 18 Saxifragales species. Phylogeny inference based on plastome data of 18 Saxifragales revealed that all Ribes species are clustered together on the phylogenetic tree, though R. fasciculatum seems to be the most distant from the other analyzed Ribes species. The position of taxa inside the Ribes genus clade does not support the concept of its division into five subgenera. All Ribes species share approximately the same set of protein-coding genes in their plastome sequences. There was multiple independent pseudogenization of the ycf1 gene within the Ribes genus as well as other Saxifragales taxa. Negative selection was observed for most of the genes in both the Ribes group and Saxifragales. A positive selection ratio was observed only inside the Ribes group for the ycf4 and clpP genes. Together with positive selection signatures, pseudogenization events of ycfs genes perhaps reflect that these genes’ evolution was important for Ribes’ adaptation. Thus, our study provides genomic resources and valuable reference for marker development, and makes some clarifications of the phylogenomics of the Ribes genus

Phylloplane Biodiversity and Activity in the City at Different Distances from the Traffic Pollution Source

The phylloplane is an integrated part of green infrastructure which interacts with plant health. Taxonomic characterization of the phylloplane with the aim to link it to ecosystem functioning under anthropogenic pressure is not sufficient because only active microorganisms drive biochemical processes. Activity of the phylloplane remains largely overlooked. We aimed to study the interactions among the biological characteristics of the phylloplane: taxonomic diversity, functional diversity and activity, and the pollution grade. Leaves of Betula pendula were sampled in Moscow at increasing distances from the road. For determination of phylloplane activity and functional diversity, a MicroResp tool was utilized. Taxonomic diversity of the phylloplane was assessed with a combination of microorganism cultivation and molecular techniques. Increase of anthropogenic load resulted in higher microbial respiration and lower DNA amount, which could be viewed as relative inefficiency of phylloplane functioning in comparison to less contaminated areas. Taxonomic diversity declined with road vicinity, similar to the functional diversity pattern. The content of Zn in leaf dust better explained the variation in phylloplane activity and the amount of DNA. Functional diversity was linked to variation in nutrient content. The fraction of pathogenic fungi of the phylloplane was not correlated with any of the studied elements, while it was significantly high at the roadsides. The bacterial classes Gammaproteobacteria and Cytophagia, as well as the Dothideomycetes class of fungi, are exposed to the maximal effect of distance from the highway. This study demonstrated the sensitivity of the phylloplane to road vicinity, which combines the effects of contaminants (mainly Zn according to this study) and potential stressful air microclimatic conditions (e.g., low relative air humidity, high temperature, and UV level). Microbial activity and taxonomic diversity of the phylloplane could be considered as an additional tool for bioindication

Comparative Study of Plastomes in <i>Solanum tuberosum</i> with Different Cytoplasm Types

The potato is one of the most important food crops in the world. Improving the efficiency of potato breeding is of great importance for solving the global food problem. Today, researchers distinguish between six potato cytoplasm types: A, M, P, T, W, D. In the current study, the complete chloroplast genomes of Solanum tuberosum accessions with five out of the six major cytoplasmic genome types were sequenced (T-, W-, D-, A-, and P-genomes). A comparative analysis of the plastomes in potato accessions with different cytoplasm types was carried out for the first time. The time of origin of the different cytoplasm types was estimated. The presence of two main groups of chloroplast genomes among cultivated potato was confirmed. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the complete plastome sequences, five main evolutionary branches of chloroplast genomes can be distinguished within the Petota section. Samples with A- and P- cytoplasm formed isolated and distant groups within a large and polymorphic group of samples with M-type cytoplasm, suggesting that A and P genomes arose independently. The findings suggest that the diversity of the T-genome in S. tuberosum Group Tuberosum could be initially low due to a bottle neck already existing at the origin of the Chilean clade. Differences in the rbcL gene sequence may be one of the factors causing differences in economically important traits in species with A and T-type cytoplasm. The data obtained will contribute to the development of methods for molecular marking of cytoplasm types and increase knowledge about the evolution and diversity of potato

A Data-Driven Approach to Carrier Screening for Common Recessive Diseases

Genetic screening is an advanced tool for reducing recessive disease burden. Nowadays, it is still unclear as to the number of genes or their variants that are necessary for effective screening. This paper describes the development of a carrier screening custom panel for cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and sensorineural hearing loss consisting of 116 variants in the CFTR, PAH, SERPINA1, and GJB2 genes. The approach is based on the cheapest and fastest method, on using a small number of genes, and on the estimation of the effectiveness of carriers&rsquo; detection. The custom panel was tested on a population-based cohort that included 1244 participants. Genotypes were determined by the TaqMan OpenArray Genotyping platform on the QuantStudio 12K Flex Real-Time PCR System. The frequency of heterozygotes in the Russian population was 16.87% or 1:6 (CI95%: 14.76&ndash;19.00% by Clopper-Pearson exact method): in CFTR&mdash;2.81% (1:36), PAH&mdash;2.33% (1:43), SERPINA1&mdash;4.90% (1:20), and GJB2&mdash;6.83% (1:15). The data on allele frequencies were obtained for the first time on a Russian population. The panel allows us to identify the vast majority of carriers of recessive diseases in the population. It is an effective approach to carrier screening for common recessive diseases