Processing counterfactual and hypothetical conditionals: An fMRI investigation

Counterfactual thinking is ubiquitous in everyday life and an important aspect of cognition and emotion. Although counterfactual thought has been argued to differ from processing factual or hypothetical information, imaging data which elucidate these differences on a neural level are still scarce. We investigated the neural correlates of processing counterfactual sentences under visual and aural presentation. We compared conditionals in subjunctive mood which explicitly contradicted previously presented facts (i.e. counterfactuals) to conditionals framed in indicative mood which did not contradict factual world knowledge and thus conveyed a hypothetical supposition. Our results show activation in right occipital cortex (cuneus) and right basal ganglia (caudate nucleus) during counterfactual sentence processing. Importantly the occipital activation is not only present under visual presentation but also with purely auditory stimulus presentation, precluding a visual processing artifact. Thus our results can be interpreted as reflecting the fact that counterfactual conditionals pragmatically imply the relevance of keeping in mind both factual and supposed information whereas the hypothetical conditionals imply that real world information is irrelevant for processing the conditional and can be omitted. The need to sustain representations of factual and suppositional events during counterfactual sentence processing requires increased mental imagery and integration efforts. Our findings are compatible with predictions based on mental model theory

Creating a Prototype of the Information-Analytical System of Rating Countries in the Field of AML/CFT for Compliance with 40 FATF Recommendations

The article provides an example of implementing the cluster analysis algorithm for an information and analytical system in order to identify various patterns in the participating countries, basing on the process of assessing the effectiveness and technical compliance of the FATF member countries and FATF-style regional groups.Keywords: FATF, information and analytical system, FATF recommendations, efficiency evaluation, technical conformity assessment, cluster analysis, data mining

Amaranth oil application for coronary heart disease and hypertension

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the Nation's leading killer for both men and women among all racial and ethnic groups. Development and progression of CVD is linked to the presence of risk factors such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes mellitus. It is known that cholesterol is an indicator of increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Low-density cholesterol (LDL) above 130 mg/dl high-density cholesterol (HDL) cholesterol below 35 mg/dl and total blood cholesterol above 200 mg/dl are indicators of problematic cholesterol. Proper ranges of cholesterol are important in the prevention of CVD. It has been suggested that a reduction in the consumption of saturated and an increase in unsaturated fatty acids is beneficial and prevents CVD. Amaranth grain contains tocotrienols and squalene compounds, which are known to affect cholesterol biosynthesis. The cholesterol precursors squalene, lanosterol and other methyl sterols, reflect cholesterol synthesis [1-3], whereas plant sterols and cholestanol, a metabolite of cholesterol, reflect the efficiency of cholesterol absorption in normal and hyperlipidemic populations [4-6]. Qureshi with co-authors [7] showed that feeding of chickens with amaranth oil decreases blood cholesterol levels, which are supported by the work of others [8]. Previously, we have shown that Amaranth oil modulates the cell membrane fluidity [9] and stabilized membranes that could be one reason as to why it is beneficial to those who consume it. It is known that in hypertension, the cell membrane is defective and hence, the movement of the Na and K ions across the cell membranes could defective that could contribute to the development of increase in blood pressure. Based on these properties of amaranth oil we hypothesize that it could be of significant benefit for patients with CVD

RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE FETUS AND NEWBORN ON THE BASIS OF INDICATORS OF FETAL HEMODYNAMICS AND TRANSCRANIAL CEREBRAL OXIMETRY

Purpose: identify the correlation between antenatal evaluation of fetus and newborn according to cerebral fetal hemodynamic and transcranial cerebral oximetryMaterials and methods. Clinical examination of 90 women before and in 1 termoflabor and 90 newborns. Ultrasound study of fetoplacental complex with Doppler were done to all pregnant women. Study of blood flow were done during functional test wit hapnoe. Cerebral hemodynamic of newborns evaluated by transcranial cerebral oximetry immediately after birth, on the 3rd and 5th days.Results: There are strict correlation between the Dopplerindices, indices of functional test and indicators of trans cranial cerebral oximetry of newborn.Summary: Doppler study with functional tests before and in 1 termoflabor allows to assess the state of blood circulation in the vessels of the placenta and fetus objectively, noninvasively and economically available

ROLE OF GSK-3 IN Wnt/β-CATENIN SIGNALING PATHWAY IN OBESITY

The complexity of the adipogenesis mechanism results from the impact of multiple cues, among which an important place is held by the components of the Wnt signaling pathway. The search for potential markers of the development of diseases related to obesity aroused an interest in the study of GSK-3 (glycogen synthase kinase), β-catenin. GSK-3β is an intracellular serine / threonine kinase found in the cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, synthesized in all body tissues and involved in regulating metabolic processes, cell proliferation, apoptosis etc. The first of the discovered functions of GSK-3β was the regulation of glycogen synthesis. Active GSK-3β phosphorylates and thereby inhibits glycogen synthase. As a result of the insulin binding to the cell receptor via inositol-3-phosphate, protein kinase B (Akt1) is activated, which, in turn, phosphorylates and inhibits GSK-3β. In addition, GSK-3β is involved in the regulating glucose metabolism. The most important function of GSK-3β is the inhibition of the β-catenin protein. In a resting cell, GSK-3β in complex with the APC and Axin proteins binds and phosphorylates the β-catenin transcription factor, which leads to its ubiquitination and degradation. When Wnt proteins act on the cell, the Dvl protein is activated, which, by binding to GSK-3β, releases β-catenin, preventing its degradation, however, the role of GSK3α/β in the adipocyte inflammatory response has not yet been fully investigated, therefore it seems promising to study the role of GSK-3 in the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in obesityThe aim of the study was to assess the activity of the components of the Wnt signaling pathway in obese patients by measuring the serum level of GSK-3 and β-catenin. There were enrolled 32 patients with progressive forms of I-III degree obesity in the absence of diabetes mellitus. The concentration of serum GSK-3α, GSK-3β, and β-catenin was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Data are presented as absolute and relative (%) number of patients; arithmetic mean; medians, 1 and 3 quartiles – Ме (Q0.25-Q0.75). Obese patients contained a 7.5-fold increased serum level of GSK-3α (785 (371-1317.5) pg/ml) compared to healthy individuals 105 (102.5-110) pg/ml, (p < 0.001), paralleled with increased amount of GSK-3β, which level in obese patients was 295 (190-695) pg/ml, which is by 18.3% higher than those in healthy individuals 241 (218.75-287.5) pg/ml, p = 0.111. Amount of GSK-3 depending on the degree of obesity tended to increase, most often coupled to decreased β-catenin level which is consistent with the literature data and can be considered as a prognostic criterion for the course of pathological processes in obesity

Bacterial formate dehydrogenase. Increasing the enzyme thermal stability by hydrophobization of alpha-helices

AbstractNAD+-dependent formate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.1.2, FDH) from methylotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas sp.101 exhibits the highest stability among the similar type enzymes studied. To obtain further increase in the thermal stability of FDH we used one of general approaches based on hydrophobization of protein α-helices. Five serine residues in positions 131, 160, 168, 184 and 228 were selected for mutagenesis on the basis of (i) comparative studies of nine FDH amino acid sequences from different sources and (ii) with the analysis of the ternary structure of the enzyme from Pseudomonas sp.101. Residues Ser-131 and Ser-160 were replaced by Ala, Val and Leu. Residues Ser-168, Ser-184 and Ser-228 were changed into Ala. Only Ser/Ala mutations in positions 131, 160, 184 and 228 resulted in an increase of the FDH stability. Mutant S168A was 1.7 times less stable than the wild-type FDH. Double mutants S(131,160)A and S(184,228)A and the four-point mutant S(131,160,184,228)A were also prepared and studied. All FDH mutants with a positive stabilization effect had the same kinetic parameters as wild-type enzyme. Depending on the position of the replaced residue, the single point mutation Ser/Ala increased the FDH stability by 5–24%. Combination of mutations shows near additive effect of each mutation to the total FDH stabilization. Four-point mutant S(131,160,184,228)A FDH had 1.5 times higher thermal stability compared to the wild-type enzyme

GENETIC IDENTIFICATION AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF DERMACENTOR SP. TICKS IN IRKUTSK REGION

Here we present the results of the analysis of mt16S ribosomal RNA gene of two species of ticks from Irkutsk region - Dermacentor nuttalli and D. silvarum.. The ticks from are closely related to each other with 99-100 % identity of nucleotide sequence of mt16S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic analysis has shown that both species are closely related and. formed the separate clade together with specimens of D. nuttalli and. D. silvarum. from China

THE FACTORS OF CELLULAR REGULATION OF THE UTERUS CONTRACTIVE ACTIVITY BY PHYSIOLOGICAL ACT OF DELIVERY AND BY UTERINE INERTIA

Purpose. To develop a method of prediction of primary uterine inertia on the basis of study of cytokine and vasoactive bioregulator content dynamics.Materials and methods. The material for the research was blood of women taken in the end of gestation (38-40 weeks) and also in the I period of delivery over time from 23 women with physiological act of delivery and from 19 – with uterine inertia.Results. By primary uterine inertia there is an increase of relaxin production by 2 times and a decrease of TNF-α production: before delivery – by 1.5 times, during delivery – by 2 times, relative to the data by physiological delivery. Differently directed changes of TGF-β1 and IL-1β content – increase of the first one and decrease of the second one – are one of the reasons of low generation of nitric oxide as a result of reduction of NO-synthase activity under the action of these cytokines. High level of relaxin neutralizes the endogenous oxytocin action and the decrease of TNF-α and nitric oxide production causes changes in the content of intracellular calcium in myometrium cells.Summary: The detected character of the intracellular regulation disturbance of the uterus contractive activity is a basis for the development of uterine inertia