Total Antioxidant Capacity and Polyphenol Content Correlation in Aqueous-Alcoholic Plant Extracts Used in Phytotherapy

The present investigation analyzes the antioxidant properties of aqueous-alcoholic extracts of Bulgarian plants used in phytotherapy in relation with their polyphenol content.  The total phenolic (TP) content and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) values of aqueous-alcoholic extract from Hypericum perforatum, Cydonia vulgaris, Arcostaphylos uva-ursi and Cotinus coggygria significantly exceeded the TP and TAC values of Ilex paraguariensis (mate), Aspalathus linearis (rooibos), Cyclopia intermedia (honeybush), and Camellia sinensis (black tea), famous for their antioxidants' content. The high degree of positive correlation (r=0,91) between TAC and TP values indicates the role of polyphenols for the plant antioxidant potential. Bulgarian medicinal plants are excellent sources of antioxidants established by their high TAC values as compared to the famous foreign plants honeybush, rooibos, mate and black tea and they prove to be a potential for the development of new pharmaceutical

Mitochondrial DNA Suggests a Western Eurasian origin for Ancient (Proto-) Bulgarians

Ancient (proto-) Bulgarians have long been thought to as a Turkic population. However, evidence found in the past three decades show that this is not the case. Until now, this evidence does not include ancient mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. In order to fill this void, we have collected human remains from the VIII-X century AD located in three necropolises in Bulgaria: Nojarevo (Silistra region) and Monastery of Mostich (Shumen region), both in Northeast Bulgaria and Tuhovishte (Satovcha region) in Southwest Bulgaria. The phylogenetic analysis of 13 ancient DNA samples (extracted from teeth) identified 12 independent haplotypes, which we further classified into mtDNA haplogroups found in present-day European and Western Eurasian populations. Our results suggest a Western Eurasian matrilineal origin for proto-Bulgarians as well as a genetic similarity between proto- and modern Bulgarians. Our future work will provide additional data which will further clarify proto-Bulgarian origins; thereby adding new clues to current understanding of European genetic evolution

Predictive factors for the development of post-operative fibrinous exudation

Всяка хирургична процедура в офталмологията е предмет на дебат, относно своите приложения, ефикасност, рискови фактори, противипоказания и др. Налице е обаче недискутируем и непреходен консенсус за това, че постоперативното възпаление след всяка хирургична интервенция трябва да бъде минимално1. Честотата на възпалителната реакция в предната камера след катарактна хирургия може да достигне до 30%, варирайки по тежест2. Преднокамерната възпалителна реакция е сигнификанша поради факта, че може да доведе до повишаване на вътреочното налягане (ВОН), корнеален едем, ендотелна увреда, фибринова ексудация и мембрана в предната очна камера, задни синехии, кистоиден макулеи оток, хроничен преден увеит и др. Изследване и анализ на различни фактори, които оказват влияние върху фибриновата преднокамерна ексудация, биха поставили нови въпроси за дискусия, относно пред- , интра- и постоперативния терапевтичен алгоритъм.ЦелДа изследваме и анализираме различни фактори, които биха могли да бъдат в корелационни взаимоотношения с развитието на фибринова реакция в предната очна камера след факоемулсификационна хирургия. Да представим, също така, нашия клиничен опит в терапията на остро настъпилата фибринова ексудация.Материал и методиДизайнът на настоящето клинично проучване е ретроспективен и обсервационен, с период на проследяване 04.01 - 15.12.2017r. Критериите за включване в изследването са стандартно протекла факоемулсификация на леща, без интраоперативни компликации и имплантация на ВОЛ в капсулния сак.Изключващите критерии, които се взеха предвид, с цел обособяване на рисковите фактори само за факоемулсификацията като хирургичен метод, са извършване на едноетапна, комбинирана хирургична процедура (факоемулсификация с трабекулектомия, факоемулсификация с парс плана витректомия).Извършеният предоперативен набор изследвания включва обстойно офталмологично изследване, индиректна офталмоскопия, Goldmann тонометрия, кератометрия и биометрична, ултразвукова А ехография.На всички 191 участници в изследването, от които 67 мъже (35,1 %) и 124 жени (64,9%), на средна възраст ~ 68г., в планов порядък, е извършена факоемулсификация на леща с имплантация на вътреочна изкуствена леща (ВОЛ). Всички операции са извършени в 3то отделение на Клиниката по очни болести, УМБАЛ "Александровска", от един хирург, по една и съща, утвърдена в клиниката, методика.РезултатиНа всички 191 пациента (191 очи) е извършена факоемулсификация на леща с имплантация на ВОЛ, по утвърдена в отделението методика, без компликации. 78 (40,8%) от участниците са с хидрофобен, акрилен, асферичен имплант, докато останалата група от 113 души (59,2%) са с хидрофилен, акрилен, асферичен вариант на ВОЛ. Пациентите с конвенционална монофокална ( хидрофилна и хидрофобна) ВОЛ са 162 (84,8%), a при 29 (15,2%) е имплантирана хидрофилна ВОЛ с разширена дълбочина на фокуса (EDOF). Фибринова ексудация в предната очна камера (ПК), през ранния постоперативен период, е установена при пет пациента (2,4%) от изследваната кохорта. След проведена локална терапия с противовъзпалителни средства (кортикостероиди) фибриновата мембрана при всеки от петте пациента се резорбира напълно. Отчетено бе, че наличието на захарен диабет (80% от пациентите с ексудация), като придружаващо заболяване, и имплантацията на монофокална хидрофилна ВОЛ (1 ОО% от пациентите с ексудация) са факторите с най-висока предиктивна стойност за развитие на патологична фибринова реакция.ЗаключениеСтарческата катаракта е сред основните възрастово-свързани очни заболявания. Нейната честота нараства с напредване на възрастта 3. В национален и световен мащаб факоемулсификацията е най-често извършваната хирургична интервенция в офталмологията 4. Разнообразието на видовете вътреочни изкуствени лещи в днешно време е огромно, опитвайки се да задоволи постоянно повишаващите се изисквания и стандарти в офталмохирургията. Покачващата се честотата на захарния диабет поставя нови и важни въпроси относно кой тип ВОЛ са най-подходящи и препоръчителни при пациентите със системни придружаващи заболявания.IntroductionEach surgical procedure in ophthalmology is a subject of debate about its applications, efficiency, risk factors, contraindications, etc. There is, however, an indiscriminate and persistent consensus that post-operative inflammation after each surgical intervention should be minimal. The incidence of inflammation in the anterior chamber after cataract surgery may reach 30%, varying in severity. The anterior chamber inflammatory response is significant due to the fact that it can lead to elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), corneal edema, endothelial damage, fibrinous exudation and membrane in the anterior chamber, posterior synechiae, cystoid macular edema, chronic anterior uveitis and others. Investigation and analysis of various factors influencing fibrinous pre-chamber exudation would pose new questions for discussion about the pre-, intra- and postoperative therapeutic algorithm.AimTo investigate and analyze various factors that might be in correlation relationship with the development of fibrinous reaction in the anterior chamber after phacoemulsification surgery. Let`s also present our clinical experience in the treatment of acute fibrinous exudation.Material and methodsThe design of the present clinical study is retrospective and observational, with tracked period 04.01- 15.12.2017. Criteria for inclusion in the study were standard phacoemulsification of the lens without intraoperative complications and implantation of IOL into the capsuler bag. The exclusion criteria taken into account for the purpose of differentiating the risk factors only for the phacoemulsification as a surgical method are executing the one-step combined surgical procedure (phacoemulsification with trabeculectomy, phacoemulsification with pars plan vitrectomy). The preoperative set of studies performed includes a thorough ophthalmologic exam, indirect ophthalmoscopy, Goldmann tonometry, keratometry and biometric ultrasonic A echography. To all 191 participants in the study, of which 67 men (35.1%) and 124 women (64.9%), with average age ô€‚§ 68 years, by planned order was assigned a phacoemulsification of the lens with implanted intraocular artificial lens (IOL). All operations were performed in the 3rd ward of the Ophthalmology Clinic, University Hospital `Aleksandrovska`, by one surgeon, according to the same methodology approved in the clinic.ResultsTo all 191 patients (191 eyes) was accomplished phacoemulsification of the lens and implanted an IOL, according to a methodology approved in the ward without any complications. 78 (40.8%) of the participants had a hydrophobic, acrylic, aspheric implant, while the other group of 113 (59.2%) participants had a hydrophilic, acrylic, aspheric IOL. The patients with conventional monofocal (hydrophilic and hydrophobic) IOL were 162 (84.8%) and 29 (15.2%) were with implanted hydrophilic IOL with extended depth of focus. Fibrinous exudation in the anterior chamber during the early postoperative period was found in five patients (2.4%) of the studied cohort. After local therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs (corticosteroids), the fibrinous membrane in each of the five patients is completely absorbed. It was reported that the presence of diabetes mellitus (80% of the patients with exudation) as an accompanying disease and the implantation of monofocal hydrophilic IOL (for 100% of patients with exudation) were the factors with the highest predictive value for developing a pathological fibrinous reaction.ConclusionSenile cataract is among the main age-related eye diseases. Its frequency increases as the age advances. In the national and world scale, phacoemulsification is the most commonly performed surgical intervention in ophthalmology. The variety of intraocular artificial lenses nowadays is enormous, aiming to satisfy the ever-increasing demands and standards in ocular surgery. The rising incidence of diabetes mellitus poses new and important questions about which type of IOL are the most appropriate and recommended in patients with systemic accompanying diseases

hArtes: Hardware-Software Codesign for Heterogeneous Multicore Platforms

Developing heterogeneous multicore platforms requires choosing the best hardware configuration for mapping the application, and modifying that application so that different parts execute on the most appropriate hardware component. The hArtes toolchain provides the option of automatic or semi-automatic support for this mapping. During test and validation on several computation-intensive applications, hArtes achieved substantial speedups and drastically reduced development times

The formation of oxidative disorders in the population of Vladivostok under the influence of atmospheric microparticles

We studied the response of trigger systems in healthy volunteers living in areas with different levels of air pollution. We determined that particles with the size of 800 microns and higher of relatively favorable region, particles with the size of less than 50 microns dominated in the air of the unfavorable area, among which there were the most hazardous to health amounts of microparticles - from 200 to 300 nm. Microparticles of unfavorable area causes the development of oxidative modifications of proteins and DNA contributing to the change of leukocyte potential energy. The increase in total antioxidant activity and response of thiol-disulfide system (the increase in thioredoxin, glutathione with a stable reductase level] maintains a balance of oxidation and antioxidant processes contributing to protection of the cellular and subcellular structures against considerable oxidative damage

Efficient Synthesis of Fluorescent Coumarins and Phosphorous-Containing Coumarin-Type Heterocycles via Palladium Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

Quantum-chemical calculations on the spectral properties of some aryl substituted 3- phosphonocoumarins were performed, and the effect of the substituents in the aryl moiety was evaluated. The structures possessing promising fluorescent properties were successfully synthesized via Suzuki and Sonogashira cross-coupling. The synthetic protocol was also applied for the phosphorous chemoisomer of 3-phosphonocoumarin, 1,2-benzoxaphosphorin, and their carboxylate analogues. The optical properties of the arylated and alkynylated products were experimentally determined. The obtained quantum-chemical and experimental results give the possibility for a fine tuning of the optical properties of phosphorous-containing coumarin systems by altering the substituent at its C-6 position

A new TAO kinase inhibitor reduces tau phosphorylation at sites associated with neurodegeneration in human tauopathies

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies, the microtubule-associated protein tau is highly phosphorylated and aggregates to form neurofibrillary tangles that are characteristic of these neurodegenerative diseases. Our previous work has demonstrated that the thousand-and-one amino acid kinases (TAOKs) 1 and 2 phosphorylate tau on more than 40 residues in vitro. Here we show that TAOKs are phosphorylated and active in AD brain sections displaying mild (Braak stage II), intermediate (Braak stage IV) and advanced (Braak stage VI) tau pathology and that active TAOKs co-localise with both pre-tangle and tangle structures. TAOK activity is also enriched in pathological tau containing sarkosyl-insoluble extracts prepared from AD brain. Two new phosphorylated tau residues (T123 and T427) were identified in AD brain, which appear to be targeted specifically by TAOKs. A new small molecule TAOK inhibitor (Compound 43) reduced tau phosphorylation on T123 and T427 and also on additional pathological sites (S262/S356 and S202/T205/S208) in vitro and in cell models. The TAOK inhibitor also decreased tau phosphorylation in differentiated primary cortical neurons without affecting markers of synapse and neuron health. Notably, TAOK activity also co-localised with tangles in post-mortem frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) brain tissue. Furthermore, the TAOK inhibitor decreased tau phosphorylation in induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons from FTLD patients, as well as cortical neurons from a transgenic mouse model of tauopathy (Tau35 mice). Our results demonstrate that abnormal TAOK activity is present at pre-tangles and tangles in tauopathies and that TAOK inhibition effectively decreases tau phosphorylation on pathological sites. Thus, TAOKs may represent a novel target to reduce or prevent tau-associated neurodegeneration in tauopathies

The hArtes Tool Chain

This chapter describes the different design steps needed to go from legacy code to a transformed application that can be efficiently mapped on the hArtes platform

Three-dimensional reconstruction of synapses and dendritic spines in the rat and ground squirrel hippocampus: New structural-functional paradigms for synaptic function

Published data are reviewed along with our own data on synaptic plasticity and rearrangements of synaptic organelles in the central nervous system. Contemporary laser scanning and confocal microscopy techniques are discussed, along with the use of serial ultrathin sections for in vivo and in vitro studies of dendritic spines, including those addressing relationships between morphological changes and the efficiency of synaptic transmission, especially in conditions of the long-term potentiation model. Different categories of dendritic spines and postsynaptic densities are analyzed, as are the roles of filopodia in originating spines. The role of serial ultrathin sections for unbiased quantitative stereological analysis and three-dimensional reconstruction is assessed. The authors data on the formation of more than two synapses on single mushroom spines on neurons in hippocampal field CA1 are discussed. Analysis of these data provides evidence for new paradigms in both the organization and functioning of synapses