Monitoring of the diamondback moth (<i>Plutella xylostella</i> L.) on the <i>Brassica oleracea</i> L. collection in the vicinity of St. Petersburg

Background. Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) has now acquired the status of the most dangerous pest of plants from the Brassicaceae family in the world, including Russia. In order to identify genotypes resistant to the pest, cabbage accessions from the VIR global collection were assessed in the field according to plant infestation and damage by diamondback moth in the vicinity of St. Petersburg.Materials and methods. The infestation of plants by diamondback moth was assessed on model accessions when examining all plants in the plot by (1) the number of larvae and pupae, and (2) leaf damage, assessed using a standard scoring scale. The number of adults was monitored using sticky Delta traps of two designs: (1) cardboard traps equipped with commercial dispensers with synthetic sex pheromone, and (2) plastic LED traps designed at VIZR.Results. The results of field surveys attested to very high variation among cabbage accessions in the rates of infestation and damage to plants caused by diamondback moth. The data on the abundance of adults caught by pheromone traps correlated well with the estimates of larval and pupal density of the pest on plants. The capture rate of diamondback moths with LED traps varied greatly during the season. In June/early July, i.e., during the period of the so called “white” nights, LED traps caught diamondback moths much worse than pheromone ones, but during the second half of July and August their capture rate significantly exceeded that of pheromone traps. As a result, the relationship between numbers of diamondback moth larvae on plants and adults in LED traps turned out to be negative. Conclusion. The resulting materials indicate obvious prospects of studying the VIR global collection in order to identify sources of host plant resistance to diamondback moth. The abundance of this pest in northern regions of its spreading is recommended to be controlled with pheromone traps

Changes in the plasma levels of myokines after different physical exercises in athletes and untrained individuals

The influence of dynamic and static load on the plasma level of myokines in strength-and endurance-trained athletes and untrained subjects has been studied. The range of myokines has been found to depend on the type of loads and the level of fitness. Dynamic and static exercises have different effects on the level of myokines in athletes and untrained subjects. The dynamic load increases the level of IL-6 and IL-8 in the plasma of athletes, while the static load increases the concentration of IL-15 and LIF. At the same time, no increase in the level of IL-8 after cyclic loading or in IL-15 after a static load has been observed in the control group. These differences may be based on a number of mechanisms. The cellular composition of skeletal muscles and the phenotypic features of muscle fibers, changing as a result of regular exercise, can modify the processes of myokine production. However, the processes of transcription in muscle fibers are much more important; the most important ones are HIF-1α, [Ca2+]i and [Na+]i/[K+]i-dependent intracellular signaling pathways. The modification of these mechanisms caused by different physical loads and intensity is of great interest since it is a promising way to influence the metabolic processes at the cellular and systemic levels, which is very helpful in both improving athletic performance and correcting metabolic disorders in a number of socially significant diseases

Surgical treatment of the ischemic heart disease with lowered contractility of left ventricle and mitral valve insufficiency

Objective. To determine the impact of the mitral valve insufficiency in patients, suffering ischemic heart disease with lowered contractility of left ventricle and methods of its treatment. Materials and methods. During 01.01.2015-31.12.2018 yrs period in the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery there were conducted 2267 consecutive operations of coronary shunting, of them 190 (8.4%) - in patients, suffering the ischemic heart disease with lowered contractility of left ventricle. Reduction of the output fraction of left ventricle down to 35% and lower have served as criterion of inclusion of the patients into the Group. There were 170 (89.5%) men and 20 (10.5%) women. The patients’ age have constituted 29 - 83 yrs old, (61.1 ± 8.9) yrs old at average. Results. In 47.9% of the patients the lowering of the left ventricle contractility after myocardial infarction was followed by occurrence of regurgitation on a mitral valve. At the same time it was noted, that the regurgitation value have had correlated with degree of the left ventricle contractility lowered: in reduction of values of the left ventricle output fracture down to 25% and lower a moderate regurgitation on a mitral valve was registered up to 2 times, a significant one - in 2.5 times, and the pronounced one - in 1.5 times more frequently, than in values of the left ventricle output fracture, exceeding 25%. Occurrence of a mitral insufficiency in 18.7% patients was caused by direct damage of valvular apparatus, while in 81.3% patients the consequences of the heart cavities were present in disorder of contractile function of myocardium. Presence of postinfarction mitral insufficiency enhances the risk of an acute cardiac insufficiency in 1.7 times and necessitates intraoperative correction in values of the regurgitation fraction over 30%. Conclusion. The own data obtained witness, that noncorrected mitral insufficiency in the ischemic heart disease worsens significantly the postoperative period course after performance of coronary shunting, enhancing rate of an acute cardiac, respiratory and renal insufficiency. Thus, taking into account a negative impact of concomitant mitral valve insufficiency on efficacy of surgical interventions in the lowered contractility of left ventricle the need emerges to perform complex reconstructive intervention in patients, suffering ischemic heart disease with lowered contractility of left ventricle

Assessment of Nutritive Status in Patients with Symptoms of Heart Failure

Aim of the research. To study the parameters of nutritional status of patients with acute and chronic coronary syndromes and symptoms of heart failure in conjunction with clinical, anthropometric, laboratory parameters, structural and functional characteristics of the heart. Materials and methods. A cross-sectional study of 106 patients with acute and chronic coronary syndromes and symptoms of heart failure. All subjects underwent an integrated assessment of the nutritional status (anthropometric, caliperometric (caliper metric) indicators, CONUT scale (lymphocytes, total cholesterol, albumin), hormonal indicators (N-terminal brain natriuretic propeptide), structural changes in the myocardium using echocardiography, exercise tolerance by 6-minute walk test. Results. Nutritional deficiency, according to CONUT scale, was found in 81.1 % of cases (86 patients). In the group of patients with the presence of malnutrition, there were significantly high level of fibrinogen and N-terminal brain natriuretic propeptide. The interpretation of changes in body composition showed a significant upward trend in the prognostic index of hypotrophy and a decrease in lean body mass as heart failure progresses. The dependence of nutritive insufficiency on the CONUT scale with laboratory parameters (creatinine, fibrinogen, brain natriuretic propeptide), structural and functional characteristics of the heart (diastolic and systolic dimensions of the left ventricle, ejection fraction, left ventricular myocardial mass index), a functional indicator of tolerance to the physical load (6-minute walk test) was determined. Conclusion. An integrated analysis of nutritional status indicators of patients with heart failure revealed an increase of malnutrition signs with an increase of the severity of HF. Pathological effects of nutritional deficiency are associated with impaired left ventricular systolic function, reduced exercise tolerance

Comorbidity of tics and epilepsy in children and adolescents

Tics are the most common forms of hyperkinesis among children and adolescents, the etiology of which is not fully clear. A study has shown a high comorbidity of tic disorders and epilepsy, as evidenced by video-EEG monitoring. In patients with tics even in the absence of epileptic seizures, epileptiform activity is an adverse predictor and a determinant of the potential risk of comorbid epilepsy especially during neuroleptic therapy. Antiepileptic drugs are the drugs of choice to treat this category of patients

Characterisation of new animal cell cultures’ sensitivity to <i>Coxsackievirus B5</i> and <i>Herpes simplex virus‑1</i>

The increase in the number of cell cultures for virology and biotechnology enhances the chances of a successful response to threats related to outbreaks of well-known and new human infectious diseases. It is a vital task to search for cell cultures sensitive to a wide spectrum of viruses.The aim of the study was to investigate the sensitivity of new diploid animal cell cultures (fibroblasts of a foetal pig’s kidneys and larynx) to Coxsackievirus B5 (CVB5) and Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1).Materials and methods. The cultures of porcine foetal kidney fibroblasts (PFKF) and porcine foetal larynx fibroblasts (PFLF) were derived from a foetus of a healthy pig by mild trypsinisation. The study determined the sensitivity of these new PFKF and PFLF cultures to the above-mentioned viruses by the cytopathic effect (CPE) expressed as a percentage. The infectious activity of CVB5 was studied using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the determination of amplification cycle threshold values (Ct); that of HSV-1 was studied using quantitative titration of the virus-containing liquid (VCL). Infectious activity values were expressed as tissue culture 50% infective doses (TCID50).Results. The authors developed diploid PFKF and PFLF cell cultures. PFKF cells demonstrated high sensitivity to CVB5, with a CPE of 87.5±3.3% after passage 3 and a satisfactory concentration of enterovirus RNA in the VCL of 22–24 Ct . The sensitivity of PFKF cells to HSV-1 corresponded to a CPE of 92.1±5.5%. In these cells, the infectious activity of HSV-1 corresponded to 104.25 TCID50/0.2 mL. The experiments with PFLF cells showed low CPE and infectious activity values for both viruses.Conclusions. The study demonstrated high CPE values with the CVB5 (CB5-8100) and HSV-1 (HSV-1/L-2) strains as examples and confirmed the sensitivity of the new diploid PFKF cell culture to these test viruses. Thus, the PFKF cell culture offers potential applications in virology and biotechnology and may be a candidate for testing other strains of CVB5 and HSV-1

Current status of healthcare-associated enteroviral (non-polio) infections

Here we present the data on foreign research publications describing healthcare-associated enteroviral (nonpolio) infections (HAI) sought in the Worldwide Database for Nosocomial Outbreaks (Institut für Hygiene und Umweltmedizin, Universitȁtmedizincomplex “Charite”, Germany) as well as PubMed search engine (The United States National Library), covering 1936–2017 timeframe. The publications retrieved contained the data on 28 nosocomial outbreaks caused by Enterovirus A (EV-A71), В (Echoviruses 11, 17, 18, 30, 31, 33, Coxsackie viruses А9, В2, В5) and D (EV-D68). It was discovered that the majority of the nosocomial enteroviral (non-polio) outbreaks occurred in obstetric hospitals and neonatal units so that children were mainly maternally infected. In addition, a case associated with intrauterine infection was described. It was shown that outbreaks might be started by an infected child at the incubation period. Single publications reported nosocomial outbreaks in geriatric hospitals. Generally, nosocomial enteroviral (non-polio) outbreaks were characterized by polymorphic clinical picture caused by any certain pathogen serotype and within a single site of the infection. Few lethal outcomes were recorded. Enterovirus B species dominated among identified etiological agents. Violated hospital hygiene and infection control contributing to spread of infection were among those found in neonatal units: putting used diapers out on baby bed prior disposal, sharing bathtub, toys and household objects as well as poor hand hygiene in medical workers. One of the measures recommended to improve diagnostics of enteroviral (non-polio) infections was virology screening of children with suspected sepsis in case of unidentified etiology. It was established that etiological decoding of nosocomial outbreaks was impossible without applying pathogen-specific diagnostic tools, mainly nested RT-PCR and direct sequencing of followed by subsequent phylogenetic analysis

Treadmill training effect on the myokines content in skeletal muscles of mice with a metabolic disorder model

The effect of treadmill training loads on the content of cytokines in mice skeletal muscles with metabolic disorders induced by a 16 week high fat diet (HFD) was studied. The study included accounting the age and biorhythmological aspects. In the experiment, mice were used at the age of 4 and 32 weeks, by the end of the experiment—respectively 20 and 48 weeks. HFD feeding lasted 16 weeks. Treadmill training were carried out for last 4 weeks six times a week, the duration 60 min and the speed from 15 to 18 m/min. Three modes of loading were applied. The first subgroup was subjected to stress in the morning hours (light phase); the second subgroup was subjected to stress in the evening hours (dark phase); the third subgroup was subjected to loads in the shift mode (the first- and third-weeks treadmill training was used in the morning hours, the second and fourth treadmill training was used in the evening hours). In 20-weekold animals, the exercise effect does not depend on the training regime, however, in 48-week-old animals, the decrease in body weight in mice with the shift training regime was more profound. HFD affected muscle myokine levels. The content of all myokines, except for LIF, decreased, while the concentration of CLCX1 decreased only in young animals in response to HFD. The treadmill training caused multidirectional changes in the concentration of myokines in muscle tissue. The IL-6 content changed most profoundly. These changes were observed in all groups of animals. The changes depended to the greatest extent on the training time scheme. The effect of physical activity on the content of IL-15 in the skeletal muscle tissue was observed mostly in 48-week-old mice. In 20-week-old animals, physical activity led to an increase in the concentration of LIF in muscle tissue when applied under the training during the dark phase or shift training scheme. In the HFD group, this effect was significantly more pronounced. The content of CXCL1 did not change with the use of treadmill training in almost all groups of animals. Physical activity, introduced considering circadian rhythms, is a promising way of influencing metabolic processes both at the cellular and systemic levels, which is important for the search for new ways of correcting metabolic disorders