AGTR2 and sprint/power performance: a case-control replication study for rs11091046 polymorphism in two ethnicities

We aimed to replicate, in a specific athletic event cohort (only track and field) and in two different ethnicities (Japanese and East European, i.e. Russian and Polish), original findings showing the association of the angiotensin-II receptor type-2 gene (AGTR2) rs11091046 A>C polymorphism with athlete status. We compared genotypic frequencies of the AGTR2 rs11091046 polymorphism among 282 track and field sprint/ power athletes (200 men and 82 women), including several national record holders and Olympic medallists (214 Japanese, 68 Russian and Polish), and 2024 control subjects (842 men and 1182 women) (804 Japanese, 1220 Russian and Polish). In men, a meta-analysis from the two combined cohorts showed a significantly higher frequency of the C allele in athletes than in controls (odds ratio: 1.62, P=0.008, heterogeneity index I 2 =0%). With regard to respective cohorts, C allele frequency was higher in Japanese male athletes than in controls (67.7% vs. 55.9%, P=0.022), but not in Russian/Polish male athletes (61.9% vs. 51.0%, P=0.172). In women, no significant results were obtained by meta-analysis for the two cohorts combination (P=0.850). The AC genotype frequency was significantly higher in Russian/Polish women athletes than in controls (69.2% vs. 42.1%, P=0.022), but not in Japanese women athletes (P=0.226). Our results, in contrast to previous findings, suggested by meta-analysis that the C allele of the AGTR2 rs11091046 polymorphism is associated with sprint/ power track and field athlete status in men, but not in women

Predictive modelling of burnout among Kazakhstani English teacher candidates

Introduction. In Kazakhstan, 55% of English pre-service teacher candidates do not plan to work in public schools after graduation. The current quantitative study, using statistical analysis, sought to determine the causes of this phenomenon.The aim of the present research was to determine the probability of early career burnout among future English teachers using predictive modeling.Methodology and research methods. To create a predictive model, the authors used the following statistical data analysis tools: factor analysis, ordinal regression, and the Сhi-square test. The selection of the above tools provides to predict the probability of work intention in a Kazakhstani public school for more than five years. This period acts as a proxy variable for predicting future teachers’ burnout rates. The study involved 160 pre-service teachers, who received State scholarships for free tuition, with an obligation to work in public schools after graduation.Results and scientific novelty. The data indicated that some respondents would only work for a period of less than five years, due to a sense of despair about their profession. The results demonstrate that pre-service teachers require better training. Furthermore, the authors found a correlation in teaching career expectations and the gender gap, where mature female participants were more likely to carry an intention to work for more than five years.Practical significance. The present study makes a contribution to further research aimed at preventing the shortage and turnover of teaching staff in the workplace by detecting early warning signs of burnout among prospective teachers. The authors identified the indicators of the risk group of novice teachers, who are more prone to burnout due to emotional exhaustion, low self-efficacy, low expectations, and prospects from a teaching career. The authors believe that effective career guidance provides an adequate selection of the most motivated applicants with high occupational expectations.Введение. В Казахстане 55% будущих учителей английского языка не планируют работать в государственных школах после окончания высшего учебного заведения. В настоящем количественном исследовании, используя статистический анализ, авторы попытались определить причины этого явления. Цель исследования – определить вероятность раннего выгорания у будущих учителей английского языка с помощью прогностического моделирования.Методология и методы исследования. Для создания прогностической модели авторы использовали следующие инструменты статистического анализа данных: факторный анализ, порядковую регрессию и тест хи-квадрат. Совокупность вышеуказанных инструментов позволяет прогнозировать намерения работать в казахстанской государственной школе более пяти лет. Этот период выступает в качестве косвенной переменной для прогнозирования уровня выгорания будущих учителей. В исследовании приняли участие 160 будущих преподавателей, получивших государственные стипендии на бесплатное обучение с обязательством работать в государственных школах после окончания учебы. Результаты и научная новизна. Данные показали, что некоторые респонденты будут работать менее пяти лет из-за чувства отчаяния по поводу своей профессии. Результаты показывают, что будущие учителя нуждаются в лучшей подготовке. Кроме того, авторы обнаружили корреляцию между ожиданиями от преподавательской карьеры и гендерным разрывом, когда участники старшего возраста с большей вероятностью намеревались проработать более пяти лет в учебной среде. Практическая значимость. Настоящая работа вносит вклад в дальнейшие исследования, направленные на предотвращение нехватки и текучести преподавательского состава на рабочем месте путем выявления ранних предупреждающих признаков выгорания среди будущих учителей. Определены показатели группы риска начинающих учителей, которые более склонны к выгоранию из-за эмоционального истощения, низких самоэффективности, ожиданий и перспектив педагогической карьеры. По мнению авторов, эффективная профориентация обеспечивает адекватный отбор наиболее мотивированных соискателей с высокими профессиональными ожиданиями

Human gut microbiota community structures in urban and rural populations in Russia

The microbial community of the human gut has a crucial role in sustaining host homeostasis. High-throughput DNA sequencing has delineated the structural and functional configurations of gut metagenomes in world populations. The microbiota of the Russian population is of particular interest to researchers, because Russia encompasses a uniquely wide range of environmental conditions and ethnogeographical cohorts. Here we conduct a shotgun metagenomic analysis of gut microbiota samples from 96 healthy Russian adult subjects, which reveals novel microbial community structures. The communities from several rural regions display similarities within each region and are dominated by the bacterial taxa associated with the healthy gut. Functional analysis shows that the metabolic pathways exhibiting differential abundance in the novel types are primarily associated with the trade-off between the Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla. The specific signatures of the Russian gut microbiota are likely linked to the host diet, cultural habits and socioeconomic status. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Athlome Project Consortium: a concerted effort to discover genomic and other "omic" markers of athletic performance.

Despite numerous attempts to discover genetic variants associated with elite athletic performance, injury predisposition, and elite/world-class athletic status, there has been limited progress to date. Past reliance on candidate gene studies predominantly focusing on genotyping a limited number of single nucleotide polymorphisms or the insertion/deletion variants in small, often heterogeneous cohorts (i.e., made up of athletes of quite different sport specialties) have not generated the kind of results that could offer solid opportunities to bridge the gap between basic research in exercise sciences and deliverables in biomedicine. A retrospective view of genetic association studies with complex disease traits indicates that transition to hypothesis-free genome-wide approaches will be more fruitful. In studies of complex disease, it is well recognized that the magnitude of genetic association is often smaller than initially anticipated, and, as such, large sample sizes are required to identify the gene effects robustly. A symposium was held in Athens and on the Greek island of Santorini from 14-17 May 2015 to review the main findings in exercise genetics and genomics and to explore promising trends and possibilities. The symposium also offered a forum for the development of a position stand (the Santorini Declaration). Among the participants, many were involved in ongoing collaborative studies (e.g., ELITE, GAMES, Gene SMART, GENESIS, and POWERGENE). A consensus emerged among participants that it would be advantageous to bring together all current studies and those recently launched into one new large collaborative initiative, which was subsequently named the Athlome Project Consortium

Clinical features of post-COVID-19 period. Results of the international register “Dynamic analysis of comorbidities in SARS-CoV-2 survivors (AKTIV SARS-CoV-2)”. Data from 6-month follow-up

Aim. To study the clinical course specifics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and comorbid conditions in COVID-19 survivors 3, 6, 12 months after recovery in the Eurasian region according to the AKTIV register. Material and methods.The AKTIV register was created at the initiative of the Eurasian Association of Therapists. The AKTIV register is divided into 2 parts: AKTIV 1 and AKTIV 2. The AKTIV 1 register currently includes 6300 patients, while in AKTIV 2 — 2770. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 receiving in- and outpatient treatment have been anonymously included on the registry. The following 7 countries participated in the register: Russian Federation, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Uzbekistan. This closed multicenter register with two nonoverlapping branches (in- and outpatient branch) provides 6 visits: 3 in-person visits during the acute period and 3 telephone calls after 3, 6, 12 months. Subject recruitment lasted from June 29, 2020 to October 29, 2020. Register will end on October 29, 2022. A total of 9 fragmentary analyzes of the registry data are planned. This fragment of the study presents the results of the post-hospitalization period in COVID-19 survivors after 3 and 6 months. Results. According to the AKTIV register, patients after COVID-19 are characterized by long-term persistent symptoms and frequent seeking for unscheduled medical care, including rehospitalizations. The most common causes of unplanned medical care are uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) and chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or decompensated type 2 diabetes (T2D). During 3- and 6-month follow-up after hospitalization, 5,6% and 6,4% of patients were diagnosed with other diseases, which were more often presented by HTN, T2D, and CAD. The mortality rate of patients in the post-hospitalization period was 1,9% in the first 3 months and 0,2% for 4-6 months. The highest mortality rate was observed in the first 3 months in the group of patients with class II-IV heart failure, as well as in patients with cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In the pattern of death causes in the post-hospitalization period, following cardiovascular causes prevailed (31,8%): acute coronary syndrome, stroke, acute heart failure. Conclusion. According to the AKTIV register, the health status of patients after COVID-19 in a serious challenge for healthcare system, which requires planning adequate health system capacity to provide care to patients with COVID-19 in both acute and post-hospitalization period

Some violations of kidney function in patients chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The paper describes the development of pathological processes in the kidney in COPD patients. So, we have investigated indicators MAU, pulmonary function tests, lipid spectrum in patients with COPD, depending on the severity of disease. Highlighted the main pathogenetic factors of the development and progression of renal pathology in COPD

Mildew of oleaster (Elaeagnus oxycarpa Schlecht.) registered in large industrial cities (Pavlodar, Aksu, Ekibastuz) of the Pavlodar region

Purpose: Vegetation plays a very important role in industrial regions in terms of not only air purification, but also oxygen enrichment, air humidity, and city aesthetics. The paper presents the authors’ study of oleaster mildew during 2012–2013 in the cities of Pavlodar, Ekibastuz, and Aksu. Method: The species composition of mildew, patterns of its growth and reproduction, seasonal dynamics, and the level of trees infection according to a six-score scale were determined. Result: Three cultivars of mildew from three genera were registered. The species composition of mildew of oleaster is studied for the first time in large industrial cities of the Pavlodar region. The comparative analysis of the systematic structure of phytopathogenic fungi was followed by the study of the micro flora of green planting in megalopolises. The seasonal dynamics of growth, development, and reproduction was determined. The impact of pests on host-plants was studied. Conclusion: Timely diagnosis and localization of disease outbreak increases the likelihood of successful treatment and saving of plants. Keywords: Mildew, Mycelium, Conidium, Pouches, Spores, Phytopathogen

The A-allele of the FTO gene rs9939609 polymorphism is associated with decreased proportion of slow oxidative muscle fibers and over-represented in heavier athletes

© 2019 National Strength and Conditioning Association. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency of the FTO T > A (rs9939609) polymorphism in elite athletes from 2 cohorts (Brazil and Russia), as well as to find a relationship between FTO genotypes and muscle fiber composition. A total of 677 athletes and 652 nonathletes were evaluated in the Brazilian cohort, whereas a total of 920 athletes and 754 nonathletes were evaluated in the Russian cohort. It was found a trend for a lower frequency of A/A genotype in long-distance athletes compared with nonathletes (odds ratio [OR]: 0.65; p = 0.054). By contrast, it was found an increased frequency of the A-allele in Russian power athletes. The presence of the T/A + A/A genotypes rather than T/T increased the OR of being a Russian power athlete compared with matched nonathletes (OR: 1.45; p = 0.002). Different from that observed in combat sports athletes of lighter weight categories, the A-allele was also over-represented in combat sports athletes of heavier weight categories. The presence of the T/A + A/A genotypes rather than T/T increased the OR of being a combat sports athlete of heavier weight categories compared with nonathletes (OR: 1.79; p = 0.018). Regarding the muscle fibers, we found that carriers of the A/A genotype had less slow-twitch muscle fibers than T-allele carriers (p = 0.029). In conclusion, the A/A genotype of the FTO T > A polymorphism is underrepresented in athletes more reliant on a lean phenotype and associated with decreased proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, while is over-represented in strength and heavier athletes

The A-allele of the FTO gene rs9939609 polymorphism is associated with decreased proportion of slow oxidative muscle fibers and over-represented in heavier athletes

© 2019 National Strength and Conditioning Association. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency of the FTO T > A (rs9939609) polymorphism in elite athletes from 2 cohorts (Brazil and Russia), as well as to find a relationship between FTO genotypes and muscle fiber composition. A total of 677 athletes and 652 nonathletes were evaluated in the Brazilian cohort, whereas a total of 920 athletes and 754 nonathletes were evaluated in the Russian cohort. It was found a trend for a lower frequency of A/A genotype in long-distance athletes compared with nonathletes (odds ratio [OR]: 0.65; p = 0.054). By contrast, it was found an increased frequency of the A-allele in Russian power athletes. The presence of the T/A + A/A genotypes rather than T/T increased the OR of being a Russian power athlete compared with matched nonathletes (OR: 1.45; p = 0.002). Different from that observed in combat sports athletes of lighter weight categories, the A-allele was also over-represented in combat sports athletes of heavier weight categories. The presence of the T/A + A/A genotypes rather than T/T increased the OR of being a combat sports athlete of heavier weight categories compared with nonathletes (OR: 1.79; p = 0.018). Regarding the muscle fibers, we found that carriers of the A/A genotype had less slow-twitch muscle fibers than T-allele carriers (p = 0.029). In conclusion, the A/A genotype of the FTO T > A polymorphism is underrepresented in athletes more reliant on a lean phenotype and associated with decreased proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibers, while is over-represented in strength and heavier athletes