Репозиторий Университета

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges for the 21st century. Rising average temperatures and ocean levels, altered precipitation patterns and increased occurrence of extreme weather events affect not only the global landscape and ecosystem, but also human health. Multiple environmental factors influence the onset and severity of human diseases and changing climate may have a great impact on these factors. Climate shifts disrupt the quantity and quality of water, increase environmental pollution, change the distribution of pathogens and severely impacts food production – all of which are important regarding public health. This paper focuses on brain health and provides an overview of climate change impacts on risk factors specific to brain diseases and disorders. We also discuss emerging hazards in brain health due to mitigation and adaptation strategies in response to climate changes.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Aim: To evaluate the association between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in prostate cancer (CaP) patients who underwent definitive local therapy with curative intent with biochemical recurrence (BCR). Materials and methods: A literature search using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library was conducted on November 2018 to identify relevant studies according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analysis guidelines. The pooled BCR rate in CaP men treated with TRT after definitive local therapy with curative intent was calculated using a random effects model. Results: Twenty-one studies were eligible. The overall pooled BCR rate was 0.01 (95%CI 0.00–0.02) suggesting a lack of association between TRT and BCR; there was no heterogeneity among included studies (I2 = 24.34%, P = 0.15). In subgroup analyses, pooled BCR rates were 0.00 (95%CI 0.00–0.02) in patients treated with radical prostatectomy and 0.02 (95%CI 0.00–0.04) in patients treated with external beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, cryotherapy, or high intensity focused ultrasound; there was no heterogeneity in the subgroup analyses (I2 = 19.88%, P = 0.18). Conclusions: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we did not observe higher rate of BCR after TRT for nonmetastatic CaP patients after definitive local therapy. Based on these data, others and we have outlined a phase I/II trial assessing the safety and benefits of TRT in select men with secondary symptomatic hypogonadism who have no active disease after definitive local CaP therapy with curative intent.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Objectives: To assess the role of the urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) system as a prognostic biomarker in patients with nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) treated with transurethral resection of the bladder (TURB) with or without adjuvant intravesical therapy. Material and methods: We stained TURB tissue from 827 NMIBC patients with uPA, its receptor (uPAR) and its inhibitor (PAI-1). The status of these markers was categorized as normal vs. overexpressed using the cutoffs of 30% for uPA, 50% for uPAR, and 30% for PAI-1. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic value of these markers. Results: uPA was overexpressed in 37.7% of patients, uPAR in 44.7% and PAI-1 in 44.6%. Overexpression of these markers was associated with high tumor grade. Within a median follow-up was 60 months (interquartile range: 22–109), uPA (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.40; P = 0.006), uPAR (HR: 1.70; P < 0.001), PAI-1 (HR: 1.35; P = 0.014), and the combination of all 3 markers (HR: 3.38; P < 0.001) were associated with recurrence-free survival (RFS); uPA (HR: 1.68; P = 0.035) and the combination of all 3 markers (HR: 8.79; P = 0.005) were associated with progression-free survival (PFS). The addition of the uPA system to a base model improved the discrimination by 1.3% for RFS and 2.1% for PFS. In subgroup analyses, uPA (HR: 2.19; P = 0.018) was associated with PFS in T1G3 patients and its addition to a base model improved the discrimination by 2.5%. uPA (HR: 1.44; P = 0.019), uPAR (HR: 1.54; P = 0.006), PAI-1 (HR: 1.46; P = 0.013) and the combination of all 3 markers (HR: 3.48; P < 0.001) were associated with RFS in TaG1-2 patients and their addition to a base model improved the discrimination by 2.1%. Conclusion: uPA, uPAR, and PAI-1 are overexpressed in one-third to half of patients with NMIBC. Their overexpression is an independent prognosticator of RFS and PFS which improved the predictive accuracy of current clinicopathological characteristics. Biomarkers that capture the biological and clinical behavior of individual tumors may help personalize clinical decision-making in patients with NMIBC.

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. A growing number of studies are focusing on the associations between human milk (HM) immunological composition and allergic diseases. This scoping review aims to identify statistical methods applied in the field and highlight pitfalls and unmet needs. A comprehensive literature search in MEDLINE and Embase retrieved 13,607 unique records. Following title/abstract screening, 29 studies met the selection criteria and were included in this review. We found that definitions of colostrum and mature milk varied across the studies. A total of 17 out of 29 (59%) studies collected samples longitudinally, but only 12% of these used serial (longitudinal) analyses. Multivariable analysis was used in 45% of the studies, but statistical approaches to modelling varied largely across the studies. Types of variables included as potential confounding factors differed considerably between models. Discrimination analysis was absent from all studies and only a single study reported classification measures. Outcomes of this scoping review highlight lack of standardization, both in data collection and handling, which remains one of the main challenges in the field. Improved standardization could be obtained by a consensus group of researchers and clinicians that could recommend appropriate methods to be applied in future prospective studies, as well as already existing datasets.

© 2019, The Author(s). Humans are exposed to multiple chemicals on a daily basis instead of to just a single chemical, yet the majority of existing toxicity data comes from single-chemical exposure. Multiple factors must be considered such as the route, concentration, duration, and the timing of exposure when determining toxicity to the organism. The need for adequate model systems (in vivo, in vitro, in silico and mathematical) is paramount for better understanding of chemical mixture toxicity. Currently, shortcomings plague each model system as investigators struggle to find the appropriate balance of rigor, reproducibility and appropriateness in mixture toxicity studies. Significant questions exist when comparing single-to mixture-chemical toxicity concerning additivity, synergism, potentiation, or antagonism. Dose/concentration relevance is a major consideration and should be subthreshold for better accuracy in toxicity assessment. Previous work was limited by the technology and methodology of the time, but recent advances have resulted in significant progress in the study of mixture toxicology. Novel technologies have added insight to data obtained from in vivo studies for predictive toxicity testing. These include new in vitro models: omics-related tools, organs-on-a-chip and 3D cell culture, and in silico methods. Taken together, all these modern methodologies improve the understanding of the multiple toxicity pathways associated with adverse outcomes (e.g., adverse outcome pathways), thus allowing investigators to better predict risks linked to exposure to chemical mixtures. As technology and knowledge advance, our ability to harness and integrate separate streams of evidence regarding outcomes associated with chemical mixture exposure improves. As many national and international organizations are currently stressing, studies on chemical mixture toxicity are of primary importance.

© 2019 John Wiley  &  Sons, Ltd. Management guidelines continue to identify metformin as initial pharmacologic antidiabetic therapy of choice for people with type 2 diabetes without contraindications, despite recent randomized trials that have demonstrated significant improvements in cardiovascular outcomes with newer classes of antidiabetic therapies. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge of metformin's therapeutic actions on blood glucose and cardiovascular clinical evidence and to consider the mechanisms that underlie them. The effects of metformin on glycaemia occur mainly in the liver, but metformin-stimulated glucose disposal by the gut has emerged as an increasingly import site of action of metformin. Additionally, metformin induces increased secretion of GLP-1 from intestinal L-cells. Clinical cardiovascular protection with metformin is supported by three randomized outcomes trials (in newly diagnosed and late stage insulin-treated type 2 diabetes patients) and a wealth of observational data. Initial evidence suggests that cotreatment with metformin may enhance the impact of newer incretin-based therapies on cardiovascular outcomes, an important observation as metformin can be combined with any other antidiabetic agent. Multiple potential mechanisms support the concept of cardiovascular protection with metformin beyond those provided by reduced blood glucose, including weight loss, improvements in haemostatic function, reduced inflammation, and oxidative stress, and inhibition of key steps in the process of atherosclerosis. Accordingly, metformin remains well placed to support improvements in cardiovascular outcomes, from diagnosis and throughout the course of type 2 diabetes, even in this new age of improved outcomes in type 2 diabetes.

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Schizophrenia is a severely debilitating, lifelong psychiatric disorder affecting approximately 1% of global population. The pathobiology of schizophrenia remains poorly understood, necessitating further translational research in this field. Experimental (animal) models are becoming indispensable for studying schizophrenia-related phenotypes and pro/antipsychotic drugs. Mounting evidence suggests the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a useful tool to model various phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia. In addition to their complex robust behaviors, zebrafish possess high genetic and physiological homology to humans, and are also sensitive to drugs known to reduce or promote schizophrenia clinically. Here, we summarize findings on zebrafish application to modeling schizophrenia, as well as discuss recent progress and remaining challenges in this field. We also emphasize the need in further development and wider use of zebrafish models for schizophrenia to better understand its pathogenesis and enhance the search for new effective antipsychotics.

© 2019 IAP and EPC Background: Pancreatic calcifications is a common finding in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), but the underlying pathophysiology is incompletely understood. Past studies for risk factors of calcifications have generally been focused on single parameters or limited by small sample sizes. The aim of this study was to explore several patient and disease characteristics and their associations with pancreatic calcifications in a large cohort of CP patients with diverse aetiological risk factors. Methods: This was a multicentre, cross-sectional study including 1509 patients with CP. Patient and disease characteristics were compared for patients with calcifications (n = 912) vs. without calcifications (n = 597). Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the parameters independently associated with calcifications. Results: The mean age of patients was 53.9 ± 14.5 years and 1006 (67%) were men. The prevalence of calcifications was 60.4% in the overall patient cohort, but highly variable between patients with different aetiological risk factors (range: 2–69%). On multivariate analysis, alcoholic aetiology (OR 1.76 [95% CI, 1.39–2.24]; p < 0.001) and smoking aetiology (OR 1.77 [95% CI, 1.39–2.26], p < 0.001) were positively associated with the presence of calcifications, while an autoimmune aetiology was negatively associated with calcifications (OR 0.15 [95% CI, 0.08–0.27], p < 0.001). Patients with pancreatic calcifications were more likely to have undergone pancreatic duct stenting (OR 1.59 [95%CI, 1.16–2.19], p = 0.004). Conclusion: The presence of pancreatic calcifications is associated with diverse aetiological risk factors in patients with CP. This observation attest to the understanding of CP as a complex disease and may have implications for disease classification.

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Objective: Reducing mortality is a key target in critical care and perioperative medicine. The authors aimed to identify all nonsurgical interventions (drugs, techniques, strategies) shown by randomized trials to increase mortality in these clinical settings. Design: A systematic review of the literature followed by a consensus-based voting process. Setting: A web-based international consensus conference. Participants: Two hundred fifty-one physicians from 46 countries. Interventions: The authors performed a systematic literature search and identified all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showing a significant increase in unadjusted landmark mortality among surgical or critically ill patients. The authors reviewed such studies during a meeting by a core group of experts. Studies selected after such review advanced to web-based voting by clinicians in relation to agreement, clinical practice, and willingness to include each intervention in international guidelines. Measurements and Main Results: The authors selected 12 RCTs dealing with 12 interventions increasing mortality: diaspirin-crosslinked hemoglobin (92% of agreement among web voters), overfeeding, nitric oxide synthase inhibitor in septic shock, human growth hormone, thyroxin in acute kidney injury, intravenous salbutamol in acute respiratory distress syndrome, plasma-derived protein C concentrate, aprotinin in high-risk cardiac surgery, cysteine prodrug, hypothermia in meningitis, methylprednisolone in traumatic brain injury, and albumin in traumatic brain injury (72% of agreement). Overall, a high consistency (ranging from 80% to 90%) between agreement and clinical practice was observed. Conclusion: The authors identified 12 clinical interventions showing increased mortality supported by randomized controlled trials with nonconflicting evidence, and wide agreement upon clinicians on a global scale.

© 2019 European Association for the Study of the Liver Background & Aims: An optimal allocation system for scarce resources should simultaneously ensure maximal utility, but also equity. The most frequent principles for allocation policies in liver transplantation are therefore criteria that rely on pre-transplant survival (sickest first policy), post-transplant survival (utility), or on their combination (benefit). However, large differences exist between centers and countries for ethical and legislative reasons. The aim of this study was to report the current worldwide practice of liver graft allocation and discuss respective advantages and disadvantages. Methods: Countries around the world that perform 95 or more deceased donor liver transplantations per year were analyzed for donation and allocation policies, as well as recipient characteristics. Results: Most countries use the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, or variations of it, for organ allocation, while some countries opt for center-based allocation systems based on their specific requirements, and some countries combine both a MELD and center-based approach. Both the MELD and center-specific allocation systems have inherent limitations. For example, most countries or allocation systems address the limitations of the MELD system by adding extra points to recipient's laboratory scores based on clinical information. It is also clear from this study that cancer, as an indication for liver transplantation, requires special attention. Conclusion: The sickest first policy is the most reasonable basis for the allocation of liver grafts. While MELD is currently the standard for this model, many adjustments were implemented in most countries. A future globally applicable strategy should combine donor and recipient factors, predicting probability of death on the waiting list, post-transplant survival and morbidity, and perhaps costs. Lay summary: An optimal allocation system for scarce resources should simultaneously ensure maximal utility, but also equity. While the model for end-stage liver disease is currently the standard for this model, many adjustments were implemented in most countries. A future globally applicable strategy should combine donor and recipient factors predicting probability of death on the waiting list, post-transplant survival and morbidity, and perhaps costs.

© 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. Common risk factors for psychiatric and other brain disorders are likely to converge on biological pathways influencing the development and maintenance of brain structure and function across life. Using structural MRI data from 45,615 individuals aged 3–96 years, we demonstrate distinct patterns of apparent brain aging in several brain disorders and reveal genetic pleiotropy between apparent brain aging in healthy individuals and common brain disorders.

© 2019 by author(s). The purpose of the study was to analyze the medical representatives' activities aimed on information support for promoted medications. The assessment of the medical representatives' activity by doctors, pharmacists, and chemists was used to do so. The following methods of the study were used: Comparative, structural and system analysis, as well as sociological methods of research (survey and interview). As a result of the study, it has been found that the activity of medical representatives is one of the main ways to obtain information about medications by medical or pharmaceutical workers, but the objectivity and completeness of the information received largely depends on the contact frequency and trust in the information materials provided. Following the results of the study, recommendations have been developed for improving the activities of medical representatives and their interaction with pharmaceutical organizations and doctors.

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. SERS substrate containing SERS-active array of Ag, Au and Ag50Au50 nanoparticles with normal size distribution, a mirror layer and a separating SiO2 layer was optimized. A layer of amorphous carbon was used as the object of study. It is shown that such a structure enhances the Raman signal both due to the localized surface plasmon resonance and due to interference. The average size of nanoparticles, the reflection coefficient of mirror layer, and the thickness of SiO2 layer influence the amplification of the Raman signal. To provide amplification the thickness of SiO2 layer should be calculated for the appropriate wavelength in order to get constructive interference. It is revealed that additional amplification of the Raman signal occurs if the mirror layer as well as the array of particles is made of plasmon metal and thickness of separating SiO2 layer is quite small (up to 30 nm).

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Crystal structure of the Bi1-xBaxFe1-xTixO3 ceramics across the phase boundary region between the polar rhombohedral and pseudo-cubic phases has been investigated by means of X-ray and neutron diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The structural measurements have revealed a decrease in the rhombohedral distortions upon increase in the dopant content followed by the stabilization of the pseudo-cubic phase at x ≥ 0.20. While temperature increase gives rise to the similar pattern of structural changes for the lightly-doped samples, an unpredictable temperature-driven strengthening of the rhombohedral distortions has been found for the compounds belonging to the phase boundary region. The study specifies the peculiarities of the temperature-driven evolution of the crystal structure depending on the structural state of the compounds at room temperature.

© 2019 The Author(s) Antiviral interferons (IFN-alpha/beta) are possibly responsible for the high tolerance of bats to zoonotic viruses. Previous studies focused on the IFN system of megabats (suborder Yinpterochiroptera). We present statistically robust RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data on transcriptomes of cells from the “microbat” Myotis daubentonii (suborder Yangochiroptera) responding at 6 and 24 h to either an IFN-inducing virus or treatment with IFN. Our data reveal genes triggered only by virus, either in both humans and Myotis (CCL4, IFNL3, CH25H), or exclusively in Myotis (STEAP4). Myotis cells also express a series of conserved IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) and an unusually high paralog number of the antiviral ISG BST2 (tetherin) but lack several ISGs that were described for megabats (EMC2, FILIP1, IL17RC, OTOGL, SLC24A1). Also, in contrast to megabats, we detected neither different IFN-alpha subtypes nor an unusually high baseline expression of IFNs. Thus, Yangochiroptera microbats, represented by Myotis, may possess an IFN system with distinctive features. Biological Sciences; Immunity; Omics; Transcriptomics

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Neurovirulent enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) caused a massive epidemic in China in 2008-2011. While subgenotype C4 was the major causative agent, a few isolates were almost identical to the prototype EV-A71 strain and belonged to genotype A. This variant was allegedly extinct since 1970, and its identification in this epidemic suggests reintroduction of the archive virus. Regression analysis of genetic distances (TempEst software) was of moderate utility due to the low resolution of classical phylogenetic methods. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis (BEAST software) suggested artificial introduction event based on highly aberrant phylogenetic tree branch rates that differed by over three standard deviations from the mean substitution rate for EV71. Manual nucleotide-level analysis was used to further explore the virus spread pattern after introduction into circulation. Upon reintroduction, the virus accumulated up to seven substitutions in VP1, most of them non-synonymous and located within the capsid's canyon or at its rims, compatible with readaptation of a lab strain to natural circulation.

© Copyright © 2019 Krasil’nikova, Surin, Sorokina, Fisenko, Boyarkin, Balyasin, Demchenko, Pomytkin and Pinelis. Glutamate excitotoxicity is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer’s disease, for which insulin resistance is a concomitant condition, and intranasal insulin treatment is believed to be a promising therapy. Excitotoxicity is initiated primarily by the sustained stimulation of ionotropic glutamate receptors and leads to a rise in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i), followed by a cascade of intracellular events, such as delayed calcium deregulation (DCD), mitochondrial depolarization, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion that collectively end in cell death. Therefore, cross-talk between insulin and glutamate signaling in excitotoxicity is of particular interest for research. In the present study, we investigated the effects of short-term insulin exposure on the dynamics of [Ca2+]i and mitochondrial potential in cultured rat cortical neurons during glutamate excitotoxicity. We found that insulin ameliorated the glutamate-evoked rise of [Ca2+]i and prevented the onset of DCD, the postulated point-of-no-return in excitotoxicity. Additionally, insulin significantly improved the glutamate-induced drop in mitochondrial potential, ATP depletion, and depletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a critical neuroprotector in excitotoxicity. Also, insulin improved oxygen consumption rates, maximal respiration, and spare respiratory capacity in neurons exposed to glutamate, as well as the viability of cells in the MTT assay. In conclusion, the short-term insulin exposure in our experiments was evidently a protective treatment against excitotoxicity, in a sharp contrast to chronic insulin exposure causal to neuronal insulin resistance, the adverse factor in excitotoxicity.

© 2019 American Physical Society. Recently the evidence of the helical magnetic structure modulated along the c axis with the period of four lattice parameters was obtained in easy ab plane ferromagnetic superconductor EuRbFe4As4 [K. Iida, Phys. Rev. B 100, 014506 (2019)2469-995010.1103/PhysRevB.100.014506]. We argue that such structure may appear due to the presence of superconductivity. In spite of the very small value of the exchange field acting on the superconducting electrons in EuRbFe4As4, the exchange mechanism of interaction between superconductivity and ferromagnetism could dominate over the electromagnetic one and this circumstance could favor the emergence of the short-period magnetic structure (with the period less than the superconducting coherence length). Such a situation differs from one in the similar compound P-doped EuFe2As2, where the electromagnetic mechanism dominates and results in the magnetic structure with significantly larger period (of the order of London penetration depth). We also analyze the effect of the external magnetic field on the onset temperature of the modulated magnetic structure.

© 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor  &  Francis Group. Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs, neutrophils) play a major role in the immune response to bacterial and fungal infections and eliminate pathogens through phagocytosis. During phagocytosis of microorganisms, the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) pathway is activated resulting in generation of leukotrienes, which mediate host defense. In this study, a library of oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) with varying numbers of human telomeric repeats (d(TTAGGG)n) and their analogues with phosphorothioate internucleotide linkages and single-nucleotide substitutions was designed. These ODNs with the potential to fold into G-quadruplex structures were studied from structural and functional perspectives. We showed that exogenous G-quadruplex-forming ODNs significantly enhanced 5-LOX metabolite formation in human neutrophils exposed to Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria. However, the activation of leukotriene synthesis was completely lost when G-quadruplex formation was prevented by substitution of guanosine with 7-deazaguanosine or adenosine residues at several positions. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate that G-quadruplex structures are potent regulators of 5-LOX product synthesis in human neutrophils in the presence of targets of phagocytosis. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.