Role of βPix in the Kidney

Small GTPases function as molecular switches in cell signaling, alternating between an inactive, GDP-bound state, and active GTP-bound state. βPix is one of guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that catalyze the exchange of bound GDP for ambient GTP. The central goal of this review article is to summarize recent findings on βPix and the role it plays in kidney pathology and physiology. Recent studies shed new light on several key questions concerning the signaling mechanisms mediated by βPix. This manuscript provides a review of the various mechanisms whereby βPix has been shown to function within the kidney through a wide range of actions. Both canonical GEF activity and non-canonical signaling pathways mediated by βPix are discussed. Distribution patterns of βPix in the kidney will be also covered. Much has yet to be discerned, but it is clear that βPix plays a significant role in the kidney

Fast Prototyping of the Internet of Things solutions with IBM Bluemix

Fast prototyping for IoT projects has gained attraction in many industries. Today\u27s IT market requires new faster techniques to get business advantages in different industries starting from the energy consumption and retail to the manufacturing, services, and agriculture. Combining sensors and actuators, embedded systems and networks with cloud computing platforms and cognitive services in one project is a very promising approach to address industry needs. Thus, system developers have to be familiar with many design technologies and best practices. At the same time, this approach requires a profound change in the way of interaction between major IoT market actors: suppliers and consumers of cloud platfоrm and services, teams of developers and universities. In this paper, we analyze how to build effectively interaction of major IoT market actors and discuss a platform for such collaboration. We present a collaborative framework for fast prototyping of IoT solutions with different stakeholders participating. The paper demonstrates the results of this approach in the case of interaction between vendor, university, and industry. We consider a number of technological and practical aspects of this collaborative framework using IBM Bluemix cloud platform and IoT templates. We tested this approach in IoT hackathon with a participation of a vendor, local business partners, and industry representatives. Projects developed during this hackathon will be used to illustrate results achieved by applying introduced concept for IoT solutions prototyping

Development of Model of Risk-Based Approach to the Formation of Industry Standard in the Field of Occupational Safety and Health at Liquefied Natural Gas Bunkering Facilities

The aim of the study is to increase the level of industrial safety of enterprises engaged in bunkering of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for shipment by sea. The objectives of the study are to conduct a comprehensive and structural analysis of the production and transportation of LNG, identify promising and economically significant projects for the sale of LNG for export and Russian market, prepare a matrix of regulatory legal regulation in the field of requirements for industrial facilities implementing LNG supplies. The main criteria are requirements, presented to the transport and unloading hub, ports, factories, education and training of staff, ensuring the performance of technological operations. The hypothesis of the study is to identify gaps in the existing legislation, which are proposed to be filled by developing a risk management concept that will not only ensure the identification of risks at individual production sites, but also allow to determine the structure of the occupational health and safety management system, requirements for personal protective equipment, development and the introduction of barriers to potential danger, as well as prevention of emergencies and emergency situations. The result of the research is a concept based on a risk-based approach to managing an organization

Protein-tyrosine Kinase Pyk2 Mediates Endothelin-induced p38 MAPK Activation in Glomerular Mesangial Cells

Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a member of a family of 21 amino acid peptides possessing vasoconstrictor properties, is known to stimulate mesangial cell proliferation. In this study, ET-1 (100 nm) induced a rapid activation of p21(ras) in human glomerular mesangial cells (HMC). Inhibition of Src family tyrosine kinase activation with [4-Amino-5-(4-methylphenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine] or chelation of intracellular free calcium with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid acetoxymethyl ester significantly decreased ET-1dependent p21(ras) activation and suggested the involvement of the cytoplasmic proline-rich tyrosine kinase Pyk2. We have observed that Pyk2 was expressed in HMC and was tyrosine-phosphorylated within 5 min of ET-1 treatment. ET-1-induced activation of Pyk2 was further confirmed using phospho-specific anti-Pyk2 antibodies. Surprisingly, Src kinase activity was required upstream of ET-1-induced autophosphorylation of Pyk2. To determine whether Pyk2 autophosphorylation mediated ET-1-dependent p21(ras) activation, adenovirus-mediated transfer was employed to express a dominant-negative form of Pyk2 (CRNK). CRNK expression inhibited ET-1-induced endogenous Pyk2 autophosphorylation, but did not abolish ET-1-mediated increases in GTP-bound p21(ras) levels. ET-1-induced activation of the p38 MAPK (but not ERK) pathway was inhibited in HMC and in rat glomerular mesangial cells expressing the dominant-negative form of Pyk2. These findings suggest that the engagement of Pyk2 is important for ET-1-mediated p38 MAPK activation and hence the biological effect of this peptide in mesangial cells

Аэрокосмический мониторинг в решении задач современного точного земледелия

The article is devoted to the problems of modern agricultural management development. The authors pay special attention to the use of aerospace monitoring systems in solving the problems of precision agriculture.A logistic analysis was carried out to identify the most effective means of aerospace monitoring for the precision agriculture development.The innovative trends in the development of the Earth’s modern space sensing are investigated, and recommendations on the use of mini-, micro - and nanosatellites in modern agricultural management are formulated.El presente artículo está dedicado a los problemas del desarrollo de la gestión agrícola moderna. Los autores han prestado especial atención a la utilización de sistemas de vigilancia aeroespacial para resolver diversos problemas de la agricultura de precisión.Con dicho fin se llevó a cabo un análisis logístico para identificar los medios más eficaces de vigilancia aeroespacial para el desarrollo de la agricultura de precisión. Asimismo, se han investigado las tendencias innovadoras en el desarrollo de la teleobservación espacial de la Tierra y se han formulado recomendaciones sobre la utilización de mini, micro y nanosatélites en la gestión agrícola moderna.Este artigo é dedicado aos problemas do desenvolvimento da gestão agrícola moderna. Os autores prestaram especial atenção ao uso de sistemas de vigilância aeroespacial para resolver vários problemas de agricultura de precisão. Para este propósito, uma análise logística foi realizada para identificar os meios mais eficazes de vigilância aeroespacial para o desenvolvimento da agricultura de precisão. Além disso, tendências inovadoras no desenvolvimento do sensoriamento remoto da Terra foram investigadas e recomendações foram feitas sobreo uso de mini, micro e nanossatélites no gerenciamento agrícola moderno.Статья посвящена проблемам развития современного агроменеджмента. Основное внимание авторы уделяют применению систем аэрокосмического мониторинга в решении задач точного земледелия.Проведен логистический анализ по выявлению наиболее эффективных средств аэрокосмического мониторинга для целей развития точного земледелия.Исследованы инновационные тенденции развития современного космического зондирования Земли и сформулированы рекомендации по применению мини -, микро - и наноспутников в современном агроменеджменте

Система экологического менеджмента как средство снижения вероятности техногенных аварий и загрязнения окружающей природной среды на предприятиях авиакосмического комплекса

Due to the costs caused by environmental pollution, Russia loses about 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) annually. The negative impact on the environment is exacerbated by industrial accidents. Enterprises from the category of hazardous industrial facilities must carry out preparations for emergency situations and industrial accidents. Accidents occurring at machine-building enterprises can also cause significant damage to the environment. Creation of environmental management systems at the enterprises will allow providing effective response to accidents at all types of enterprises, because one of the stages of the system implementation is preparation for emergency situations. At this stage, we consider the features of production and technological processes, the properties of hazardous substances used in production, we carry out the identification of possible emergency situations and environmental pollution arising from this, we select the most probable and large-scale emergency situations, and we develop a system of measures that impede their occurrence and contribute to reducing their negative consequences.Los costos causados por la contaminación ambiental generan a Rusia unas pérdidas anuales de alrededor del 10% de su producto interno bruto. El impacto negativo sobre el medio ambiente se ve agravado por los accidentes industriales. Las empresas que pertenecen a la categoría de instalaciones industriales peligrosas deben estar debidamente preparadas para situaciones de emergencia y accidentes industriales. Aquellos accidentes que ocurren en empresas de construcción de maquinaria también pueden causar daños significativos al medio ambiente. La creación de sistemas de gestión ambiental permite proporcionar una respuesta efectiva a las emergencias en todo tipo de empresas, ya que una de las etapas de la implementación del sistema es la preparación para situaciones de accidente. En esta etapa, se toman en consideración las características de los procesos tecnológicos y de producción, las propiedades de las sustancias peligrosas utilizadas, la identificación de posibles situaciones de emergencia y la contaminación ambiental derivada de la actividad industrial. Tras ello, se desarrolla un sistema de medidas que reducen significativamente tanto el riesgo de que dichos accidentes se produzcan como las consecuencias negativas de los mismos en caso de que sucedan.Из-за расходов, вызванных загрязнением окружающей среды, Россия ежегодно теряет около 10% валового внутреннего продукта. Негативное воздействие на окружающую среду усугубляется при возникновении промышленных аварий. Предприятия, относящиеся к категории опасных промышленных объектов, должны в обязательном порядке проводить работы по подготовке к чрезвычайным ситуациям и авариям на производстве. Аварии, возникающие на машиностроительных предприятиях, также могут наносить значительный ущерб окружающей природной среде. Создание на предприятиях систем экологического менеджмента позволит обеспечить эффективное противодействие авариям на всех типах предприятий, так как одним из этапов внедрения системы является подготовка к чрезвычайным ситуациям. На этом этапе рассматриваются особенности производства и технологических процессов, свойства используемых в производстве и производимых опасных веществ, проводится идентификация возможных аварийных ситуаций и возникающих при этом загрязнений окружающей среды, выбираются наиболее вероятные и масштабные аварийные ситуации, разрабатывается система мероприятий, препятствующих их возникновению и способствующих уменьшению их негативных последствий