New Medical Technology – Functional Microwave Thermography: Experimental Study

A diagnosis technique based on the functional microwave thermography (FMT) is examined in vivo. Theoretical analysis of this method is presented and the methodology of the analysis of primary experimental data on the basis of application of mathematical approach of nonlinear dynamics is discussed. Possibilities of the FMT method in translational research of different therapeutic agents against malignant tumors are revealed and several examples of the corresponding thermograms are presented and discussed. Keywords: microwave thermography, malignant tumors, nonlinear dynamic

On the promoting effect by quaternary ammonium salts in the multiphase hydrodechlorination with hydrogen gas on Raney nickel catalyst

Hydrodechlorination of 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene with hydrogen gas on Raney nickel catalyst in the biphasic system composed of isooctane, aqueous KOH, and a quaternary ammonium compound as a promoter at 70 °C and atmospheric pressure was studied. The promoter increased the rate of reaction above two orders of magnitude. Several quaternary chloride salts were studied, such as Aliquat 336, trioctylmethylammonium, tridodecylmethylammonium, cetyltrimethylammonium, tetrabutylammonium and tetraethylammonium. The relationship of the reaction rate with adsorption, micelle formation, and the structural properties of the promoter are discussed

Liquid-phase and multiphase hydrodehalogenation of halobenzenes over Pd/C: Reaction selectivity and inhibition/promotion effects by the quaternary sa

Hydrodehalogenation of iodo-, bromo-, and chlorobenzene on 5% Pd/C is studied in an ethanolic base solution and in the aqueous base–isooctane system at 50 ◦C and atmospheric pressure of hydrogen. Rates and selectivity of competitive and separate reactions of different halides and the effects due to the quaternary ammonium salt, Aliquat 336, are discussed. The reactivity of halides follows the order PhCl ≈ PhBr > PhI in the biphasic system. Aliquat 336 promotes hydrodechlorination, but inhibits hydrodebromination and hydrodeiodination. The rate inhibition in the reaction of PhI is connected to formation of the iodide-substituted ammonium salt, which holds inside Pd/C and reinforces poisoning by I−, while the presence of the excess of Aliquat 336 prevents inhibition. In competitive experiments, the phenyl halides react selectively one after another according to the order of their adsorption on Pd: PhI, PhBr, PhCl, where hydrodechlorination and hydrodebromination are slowed down by the iodide anion formed in hydrodeiodination

Spatial and temporal population genetics of Swiss red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) following a rabies epizootic

Infectious disease can affect the demography of natural populations and, as a consequence, can alter the genetic variation within and between those populations. This study investigated long-term effects of rabies-induced mortality on the demography and genetic variation in two Swiss red fox populations over ten to fourteen generations. In Switzerland, the last rabies epizootic persisted from 1967 to 1999 and was continuously monitored by collecting fox carcasses throughout the country. Alongside records of rabies tests and post-mortem data, tooth samples were systematically archived for ageing. In this study, DNA from 666 individual teeth was extracted. For 279 extracts, the concentration of nuclear DNA was estimated in a quantitative PCR and found to be negatively correlated with storage time. After excluding samples with insufficient DNA concentration for reliable genotyping, 382 samples were screened using between nine and seventeen canine and red fox specific microsatellites. Tooth samples were combined with 189 modern tissue samples. By assessing the age structure continuously throughout and after the rabies epizootic for the first population, population census size and age structure were found to be altered by the high rabies-induced mortality. In contrast, no long-term trends in genetic diversity were identified although a high variation of Ho, He, F s was discovered both in short-term and longer-term. A strong isolation-by-distance pattern was revealed for the second population by comparing individual pairwise genetic with spatial distances using modern samples. Furthermore, genetic data demonstrated that dispersal was sex-biased and diverted by the topography of the landscape. When investigating isolation-by-distance patterns within the same population in 1971-73 and 1982-84 at lower population densities, density-dependant dispersal was observed. In conclusion, this study revealed no loss of genetic diversity in red foxes following a rabies epizootic despite a population bottleneck, yet highlights population density as an important factor to determine local spatial genetic structure.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Revisiting the Training of Logic Models of Protein Signaling Networks with a Formal Approach based on Answer Set Programming

A fundamental question in systems biology is the construction and training to data of mathematical models. Logic formalisms have become very popular to model signaling networks because their simplicity allows us to model large systems encompassing hundreds of proteins. An approach to train (Boolean) logic models to high-throughput phospho-proteomics data was recently introduced and solved using optimization heuristics based on stochastic methods. Here we demonstrate how this problem can be solved using Answer Set Programming (ASP), a declarative problem solving paradigm, in which a problem is encoded as a logical program such that its answer sets represent solutions to the problem. ASP has significant improvements over heuristic methods in terms of efficiency and scalability, it guarantees global optimality of solutions as well as provides a complete set of solutions. We illustrate the application of ASP with in silico cases based on realistic networks and data

The Role of International University Associations in the Development of Inter-Institutional Relations

The paper deals with the information on current inter-university associations, the principles of their organization and functioning. The typology of university associations according to the purposes of creation was designed. The types included associations to enhance regional integration in the field of education; associations to improve the quality of education in a particular subject area; association for joint lobbying before the challenges of today’s globalized world; association for the development of educational and research activities in a particular subject area; association for the establishment and promotion of joint educational programs on the network principle; association for the development of inter-university mobility of students and teachers. In conclusion, the role of such structures in the development of inter-university relations was formulated

Phase-Transfer Promotion of Hydrodechlorination of Chlorophenoxy-Pesticides over Pd/C and Raney-Ni

Hydrodechlorination of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), pentachlorophenol (PCP), and p-chlorobenzoic acid with hydrogen gas over 5% Pd/C or Raney-Ni was studied in different liquid phase systems: (1) ethanol or ethanol–aqueous KOH; (2) in the multiphase system, composed by an organic phase and aqueous KOH and containing a quaternary ammonium salt (Aliquat 336). Under mild conditions (50 8C and atmospheric pressure of hydrogen) quantitative hydrodechlorination of 2,4,5-T is achieved in 1–4 h over Raney-Ni or Pd/C in the multiphase system or in the ethanol–aqueous KOH solution. PCP reacts selectively giving the dechlorinated phenolate in several hours in the system made of aqueous KOH (with Raney-Ni or Pd/C) or in several minutes in the presence of a small amount of Aliquat 336 solution in isooctane (1–4 molar% of Aliquat 336), where Aliquat 336 promotes the phase-transfer of polychlorinated anion. The reaction rates versus conditions, process localization, and the role of the ionic liquid environment are discussed

Комплексы жесткокрылых из четвертичных отложений р. Кизиха - самые южные позднеплейстоценовые насекомые Западно-Сибирской равнины

Two sites with insect remains were found in an exposure on the bank of Kizikha river, in the Rubtsovskii District of the Altaiskii Krai of Russia, Kizikha-1 with radiocarbon age 13455±150 14C BP (SPb-1347), and Kizikha-2 with the age 26094±400 14C BP (SPb-1418). This period is coincides with Sartan stadial and Kargin interstadial (MIS 2 and MIS 3). This is the southernmost late Pleistocene insect bearing deposit found in West Siberia. The fragments in both sites are represented mainly by Coleoptera. Beetle fauna from the site Kizikha-1 is represented by 34 species from 9 families. The majority of fragments belong to weevils and ground beetles. 28 species from 8 families are found in Kizikha-2 site, the majority of fragments belong to Carabidae. 7 species found in the sites, Dyschiriodes rufimanus, Cymindis cf. rostowtzowi (Carabidae), Cidnopus cf. parallelus, Pristilophus punctatissimus (Elateridae), Hemitrichapion alexsandri (Brentidae), Paophilus albilaterus and Otiorhynchus sushkini (Curculionidae), are recorded in Pleistocene deposits for the first time. Sub-fossil insect assemblages of the two sites coincides with the late Pleistocene “Otiorhynchus-type” sub-fossil insect fauna from southeastern part of West-Siberian Plain (Zinovyev, 2011; Legalov et al., 2016) with characteristics as follows: dominance of steppe species, presence of halophile species, lack of forest species. Most of these species are absent in the contemporary regional fauna. The complex of eastern species and presence of endemics of Altai-Sayan Mountain system is also characteristic to the both studied sites. Specifics of the deposit assemblages in comparison with the other late Pleistocene fauna of West Siberian Plain is in high share of meadow species that could be explained by taphonomic condition of sedimentation or microclimatic conditions caused by close location to Altai mountains. Analysis of sub-fossil insect fragments showed that open landscapes with zonal steppe and sparse meadow vegetation near rivers and in depressions were typical for this area. In comparison to contemporary conditions climate was dry and cold, but Kizikha-2 (end of MIS 3) was formed in more mild climate conditions than Kizikha-1 (end of MIS 2). Results gained from Kizikha-1 and Kizikha-2 sites are complementing data on latitudinal-zonal distribution of beetles found in late Pleistocene deposits in West Siberian Plain