Репозиторий Университета

© 2018, Pleiades Publishing, Inc. DNA isolation is a routine procedure when performed in laboratory environment, yet in the field it may still remain problematic. This is especially true of some crop species bred for useful metabolites that may also hinder DNA extraction. Here we compare the efficiency of DNA extraction protocols and commercial DNA isolation kits when used on samples from Helianthus and Allium. Since extraction of DNA is known to be compromised by co-extraction of PCR-inhibiting metabolites, the isolation of DNA was followed by PCR as a testing procedure for the isolation step. The MagnoPrime Fact and MagnoPrime Uni DNA isolation kits were better suited for field work due to faster processing times and smaller required amount of starting material (20 mg fresh/0.5 mg dry). In all cases the subsequent PCR managed to amplify the DNA fragments of interest well enough to be useful in further research.

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. A polyextract consisting of the extracts of the five title plants shows a marked prostate-protective effect in experimental chronic prostatitis. The pharmacotherapeutic efficacy of the phytoextract gives a basis to recommend its use in complex treatment and prophylaxis of prostatitis.

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Sport-related injury patterns among Para athletes have been described with increasing frequency. This review summarizes musculoskeletal injuries in Para athletes. Seated Para athletes sustain upper extremity injuries more commonly; ambulant Para athletes frequently sustain lower extremity injuries. The upper extremity is the most commonly injured anatomic area in all Para athletes, unlike able-bodied athletes. Advanced age and spinal cord injury may increase the risk of upper extremity injury. Injury data for recreational and youth Para athletes are sparse. Summarizing current injury epidemiology data may help to accelerate the development of injury prevention strategies and lifetime injury models for Para athletes.

© 2018, Pleiades Publishing, Inc. This is the first study to observe a 25% atrophy of m. vastus lateralis and a decrease in the size of type I and II muscle fibers (by 35 and 44%, respectively) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women after five to seven years of alcohol intoxication. The decrease in muscle volume is due to the predominant destruction of contractile apparatus as compared with other components.

© 2018 Schafer, Moore, Dasgupta, Javadov, James, Glukhov, Strauss and Khuchua. Aim: Tafazzin knockdown (TazKD) in mice is widely used to create an experimental model of Barth syndrome (BTHS) that exhibits dilated cardiomyopathy and impaired exercise capacity. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a group of nuclear receptor proteins that play essential roles as transcription factors in the regulation of carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism. We hypothesized that the activation of PPAR signaling with PPAR agonist bezafibrate (BF) may ameliorate impaired cardiac and skeletal muscle function in TazKD mice. This study examined the effects of BF on cardiac function, exercise capacity, and metabolic status in the heart of TazKD mice. Additionally, we elucidated the impact of PPAR activation on molecular pathways in TazKD hearts. Methods: BF (0.05% w/w) was given to TazKD mice with rodent chow. Cardiac function in wild type-, TazKD-, and BF-treated TazKD mice was evaluated by echocardiography. Exercise capacity was evaluated by exercising mice on the treadmill until exhaustion. The impact of BF on metabolic pathways was evaluated by analyzing the total transcriptome of the heart by RNA sequencing. Results: The uptake of BF during a 4-month period at a clinically relevant dose effectively protected the cardiac left ventricular systolic function in TazKD mice. BF alone did not improve the exercise capacity however, in combination with everyday voluntary running on the running wheel BF significantly ameliorated the impaired exercise capacity in TazKD mice. Analysis of cardiac transcriptome revealed that BF upregulated PPAR downstream target genes involved in a wide spectrum of metabolic (energy and protein) pathways as well as chromatin modification and RNA processing. In addition, the Ostn gene, which encodes the metabolic hormone musclin, is highly induced in TazKD myocardium and human failing hearts, likely as a compensatory response to diminished bioenergetic homeostasis in cardiomyocytes. Conclusion: The PPAR agonist BF at a clinically relevant dose has the therapeutic potential to attenuate cardiac dysfunction, and possibly exercise intolerance in BTHS. The role of musclin in the failing heart should be further investigated.

© 2017 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Background: Elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a sensitive marker of inflammation, have been consistently reported in chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). Here, we retrospectively analyzed data from 1253 CSU patients from 2 centers to answer the following questions: (i) What is the prevalence of elevated levels of CRP in CSU? (ii) Why do CSU patients show elevated levels of CRP? (iii) Are elevated CRP levels relevant?. Methods: Serum levels of CRP were measured by the nephelometric method. We collected information regarding various laboratory tests including ESR, CBC with differential, D-dimer, fibrinogen, C3, C4, IL-6, etc. For most patients, we also collected data on age, gender, duration of CSU, presence of angioedema, activity (UAS at the time of blood sampling and for 7 days), quality of life (CU-Q2oL and/or DLQI), comorbidities and possible causes of CSU, and autologous serum skin test (ASST) response. The efficacy of second-generation antihistamines was evaluated on the day of blood collecting. Results: One-third of CSU patients had elevated levels of CRP. Higher levels of CRP were associated with ASST positivity (P =.009) and arterial hypertension (P =.005), but not with other possible causes or comorbidities of CSU. C-reactive protein correlated with urticaria activity (P <.001), quality of life impairment (P =.026), and inflammatory and coagulation markers (P <.001). C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher in nonresponders to antihistamines as compared to responders (P <.001). Conclusion: Elevated levels of CRP are common and relevant in CSU patients. The assessment of CRP levels may help to optimize the management of patients with CSU.

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.  Wild ducks are known to be able to carry avian influenza viruses over long distances and infect domestic ducks, which in their turn infect domestic chickens. Therefore, prevention of virus transmission between ducks and chickens is important to control the spread of avian influenza. Here we used a low pathogenic wild aquatic bird virus A/duck/Moscow/4182/2010 (H5N3) for prevention of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) transmission between ducks and chickens. We first confirmed that the ducks orally infected with H5N1 HPAIV A/chicken/Kurgan/3/2005 excreted the virus in feces. All chickens that were in contact with the infected ducks became sick, excreted the virus, and died. However, the ducks orally inoculated with 10 4 50% tissue culture infective doses of A/duck/Moscow/4182/2010 and challenged 14 to 90 days later with H5N1 HPAIV did not excrete the challenge virus. All contact chickens survived and did not excrete the virus. Our results suggest that low pathogenic virus of wild aquatic birds can be used for prevention of transmission of H5N1 viruses between ducks and chickens.

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Background: Very recently, a novel European hantavirus, Sochi virus, has been discovered which causes severe courses of hantavirus disease with a case fatality rate of about 15 percent. Objectives: We aimed to study to which extent and with which clinical severity children were affected by Sochi virus infection. Study design: Sochi virus infection of patients was confirmed by molecular, serological, and epizoonotic studies. Clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed for the age group of up to 15 years (n = 6) in comparison to all older patients (n = 56). Results: 9.7 percent of patients with hantavirus disease studied (6/62) were up to 15 years old. The children showed moderate to severe clinical courses similarly to the situation in adults. Conclusions: While children are in general considered to be less affected by hantavirus infections than adults, in case of highly pathogenic hantaviruses, such as Sochi virus, frequency of clinical cases as well as their clinical course are comparable between children and adults. Therefore, hantavirus disease, particularly in regions endemic to highly pathogenic hantaviruses, should be considered in cases of unclear fever and kidney/pulmonary failure in children.

© 2017 John Wiley  &  Sons Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society  Anxiety disorders result from a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors such as stress. On the level of cellular signaling, regulator of G protein signaling 2 (Rgs2) has been implicated in human and rodent anxiety. However, there is limited knowledge about the role of Rgs2 in fear learning and reactivity to stress. In this study, Rgs2 −/− mice showed increased fear learning, male mice displayed increased contextual and cued fear learning, while females showed selectively enhanced cued fear learning. Male Rgs2 −/− mice displayed increased long-term-contextual fear memory, but increased cued fear extinction. Learning in spatial non-aversive paradigms was also increased in Rgs2 −/− mice. Female, but not male mice show increased spatial learning in the Barnes maze, while male mice showed enhanced place preference in the IntelliCage, rendering enhanced cognitive function non-specific for aversive stimuli. Consistent with the previous results, Rgs2 deletion resulted in increased innate anxiety, including neophobic behavior expressed as hypolocomotion, in three different tests based on the approach-avoidance conflict. Acute electric foot shock stress provoked hypolocomotion in several exploration-based tests, suggesting fear generalization in both genotypes. Rgs2 deletion was associated with reduced monoaminergic neurotransmitter levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and disturbed corresponding GPCR expression of the adrenergic, serotonergic, dopaminergic and neuropeptide Y system. Taken together, Rgs2 deletion promotes improved cognitive function as well as increased anxiety-like behavior, but has no effect on acute stress reactivity. These effects may be related to the observed disruption of the monoaminergic systems.

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. KISS1 tumor suppressor protein regulates cancer cell invasion via MMP9 metalloproteinase. Downregulation of KISS1 gene expression promotes progression of breast cancer and melanoma, resulting in the development of distant metastases. In the current study, we investigated whether restoration of KISS1 expression in KISS1-deficient human metastatic breast cancer cells holds potential as an advanced anticancer strategy. To this end we engineered an infectivity-enhanced conditionally-replicative human adenovirus type 5 encoding KISS1 as an “arming” transgene in the Ad5 E3 region for an ectopic KISS1 expression in transduced cancer cells. The oncolytic potential of the vector was examined using brain-invading metastatic clones of CN34 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, which supported high levels of AdKISS1 replication, correlating with a robust CRAd-mediated cytotoxicity. Secretion of cellular factors responsible for tumor angiogenesis, cell-to-cell communication and anti-tumoral immune responses upon KISS1 expression in breast cancer cells was analyzed by a RayBiotech Kiloplex Quantibody array. Overall, our results indicate that KISS1 transgene expression provides an important benefit for CRAd-mediated cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells and holds potential as an anticancer treatment in conjunction with oncolytic virotherapy of breast and other metastatic cancers.

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Although recent Cannabis use is widely reported to be associated with drug-related traffic accidents, the evidence that Cannabis users show an increased risk of being involved in road crashes is still not unequivocally proved. The purpose of the present work is to provide an objective assessment of this hypothesis, by comparing the frequency of occurrence of positive urine analyses in drivers involved in traffic accidents (n = 1406) with that observed in a control population undergoing mandatory urine drug testing (n = 1953). Urine analyses for drugs of abuse were performed by screening immunometric techniques followed by confirmation with UHPLC-QQQ MS, adopting a cut-off concentration for THC-COOH of 15 ng/mL. A case was classified as “positive” when a driver admitted to hospital for road traffic injuries showed urine concentrations of THC-COOH higher than the cut-off. All samples showing positive results for any other controlled drug in urine or blood alcohol concentrations >0.5 mg/mL were excluded from the study. Subjects positive to THC-COOH, and negative to all the other tested substances were 116 in Group 1 (8.2%) and 16 in Group 2 (0.8%). Subjects resulting negative to any tested substances were 1290 in Group 1 and 1937 in Group 2. The frequency of THC-COOH detection in the two groups was compared by using the “chi square” test, which resulted = 119.57, i.e. highly significant (P <<< 0.01). The Odds Ratio of the two groups was =10.88, showing a high degree of association between the presence of THC-COOH in urine and the occurrence of traffic accidents (P < 0.0001). The presented data, proving a high degree of association between Cannabis use and the occurrence of traffic accidents with injuries of the driver, support the use of urine testing for Cannabis in the procedures for the issuing of the driving licence, particularly in the case of subjects formerly or presently using Cannabis. This finding looks even more relevant in the present times, because of the increasing success of the policies of legalization of Cannabis for medical and non-medical purposes.

© 2018 John Wiley  &  Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley  &  Sons Ltd This review presents evidence that the skin mast cell, in particular the MCTC subtype, is the primary effector cell in urticaria. Mast cells are located in the upper dermis, the ideal situation for wheal formation and sensory nerve stimulation. Increased numbers of mast cells are found in both lesional and non-lesional skin in CSU and inducible urticaria. Mast cell degranulation in the area of wheals has been demonstrated repeatedly by light and electron microscopy. Histamine, PGD2 and tryptase are found in the venous blood draining wheal formation. The last 2 are specific for mast cells rather than basophils. Mast cell reactivity is increased in active urticaria by local inflammatory cytokines and neuropeptides. Mast cell cytokines and neuropeptides, particularly nerve growth factor, induce a Th2 type inflammation that is particularly obvious at the sites of whealing. In conclusion, autoimmunity, either of Type 1 viz. IgE antibodies to local autoallergens, or Type 2b, viz. IgG autoantibodies to IgE or its receptor, are considered to be the most frequent causes of CSU. In both cases, the mast cell is likely to be the axial cell in producing the wheals.

© 2018, Pediatria Ltd. All rights reserved. The article presents results of the study of glutathione-S-transferase GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes polymorphism in children with an isolated form of esophageal atresia (EA) with tracheoesophageal fistula and without fistula. Study materials and methods: 130 children were examined, including 39 children with EA and 91 children without EA, whose mothers did not consume tobacco or alcohol during pregnancy. All children belong to the Russian ethnic group. Samples of DNA for further analysis were obtained from buccal epithelial cells. Typing of allelic polymorphism of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes was performed by Real-time PCR and quantitative PCR. Results: in children with an isolated EA the study revealed a statistically significant increase in the frequency of heterozygous genotypes (+/del) for GSTM1 in comparison with the frequency estimate in the control group (χ2=6,74 df=1, p<0,001). Conclusion: the association of EA with the heterozygous genotype of GSTM1 gene was first established, which may indicate a higher risk of pathology development for carriers of this genotype. The authors believe that EA formation depends on the cumulative effect of mother and newborn genotypes, leading to a decrease in GSTM1 enzyme catalytic activity. To determine the hereditary predisposition to EA development in a fetus it is reasonable to determine the glutathione-S-transferase genes polymorphisms in pregnant women who smoke and consume alcohol, as well as pregnant women living in ecologically unfavorable regions.

© 2018, The Author(s). Introduction: Heart rate (HR) reduction is an integral part of antianginal therapy, but many patients do not reach the guideline-recommended target of less than 60 bpm despite high use of beta-blockers (BB). Failure to uptitrate BB doses may be partly to blame. To explore other options for lowering HR and improving angina control, CONTROL-2 was initiated to compare the efficacy and tolerability of the combination of BBs with ivabradine versus uptitration of BBs to maximal tolerated dose, in patients with stable angina. Methods: This multicenter, open, randomized study included 1104 patients with Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) class II or III stable angina, in sinus rhythm, and on background stable treatment with non-maximal recommended doses of BBs. Consecutive patients were allocated to ivabradine + BB or BB uptitration in a 4:1 ratio. Results: At the end of the study (week 16), addition of ivabradine to BB treatment and BB uptitration resulted in reduction in HR (61 ± 6 vs. 63 ± 8 bpm; p = 0.001). At week 16, significantly more patients on ivabradine + BB were in CCS class I than with BB uptitration (37.1% vs. 28%; p = 0.017) and significantly more patients were angina-free (50.6% vs. 34.2%; p < 0.001). Patient health status based on the visual analogue scale (VAS) was also better in the ivabradine + BB group. Adverse events (AEs) were significantly more common with BB uptitration than with the ivabradine + BB combination (18.4% vs. 9.4%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: In patients with stable angina, combination therapy with ivabradine + BB demonstrated good tolerability, safety, and more pronounced clinical improvement, compared to BB uptitration. Trial Registration: ISRCTN30654443. Funding: Servier.

© 2018, Pediatria Ltd. All rights reserved. Materials and methods: the study assessed safety and clinical efficacy of combined use of vaccine preparations against S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae type b, leading pathogens in bronchopulmonary diseases exacerbations development, in previously unvaccinated 38 children aged 2–17 years with chronic bronchopulmonary diseases: 19 with malformations of the bronchi and lungs (MBL); 10 with malformations of bronchi and lungs in combination with bronchial asthma (MBL+BA); 9 with bronchial asthma (BA). The control group consisted of 19 unvaccinated children of the same age with a similar pathology. Combined vaccination against these infections, as well as their separate administration, did not cause adverse effects. Results: a year after the introduction of Pneumo-23 vaccine, the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and exacerbations of the main disease decreased by 2,3 times; Act-HIB by 2,3 and 2,1 times respectively; by 1,7 and 1,5 times respectively with simultaneous administration of these preparations. In children with BA the duration of one exacerbation decreased by 3,4 times, the average duration of temperature reaction by 1,9 times and the systemic antibiotic therapy of one exacerbation episode by 2,4 times. In the group of children with MBL+BA these indicators decreased by 2,1, 1,8 and 1,6 times, respectively, and in patients with MBL by 1,6, 1,5 and 1,4 times, respectively. Conclusion: vaccination against pneumococcal and hemophilic type b infections using one or both vaccines in patients with MBL and with MBL+BA is safe and positively affects the clinical course of the main disease.

© 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.  Background/Aims: Endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) has been shown to take part in the generation and progression of diverse diseases, involving a series of changes leading to a loss of their endothelial characteristics and an acquirement of properties typical of mesenchymal cells. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) is a new therapeutic option that has been successfully used in fracture healing. However, whether LIPUS can inhibit oxidative stress-induced endothelial cell damages through inhibiting EndMT remained unknown. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of LIPUS against oxidative stress-induced endothelial cell damages and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: EndMT was induced by H 2 O 2 (100 μm for seven days). Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) were exposed to H 2 O 2 with or without LIPUS treatment for seven days. The expression of EndMT markers (CD31, VE-cadherin, FSP1 and α-SMA) were analyzed. The levels of total and phosphorylated PI3K and AKT proteins were detected by Western Blot analysis. Cell chemotaxis was determined by wound healing and transwell assay. Results: LIPUS relieved EndMT by decreasing ROS accumulation and increasing activation of the PI3K signaling cascade. LIPUS alleviated the migration of EndMT-derived mesenchymal-like cells through reducing extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition that is associated with matrix metallopeptidase (MMP) proteolytic activity and collagen production. Conclusion: LIPUS produces cytoprotective effects against oxidative injuries to endothelial cells through suppressing the oxidative stress-induced EndMT, activating the PI3K/AKT pathway under oxidative stress, and limiting cell migration and excessive ECM deposition.

© 2017 This work is aimed at exhaustive and detailed study of chemical, physical and physico-chemical characteristics of NO-containing gas flow (NO-CGF) generated by a plasma-chemical generator of Plason device, which has been used in medical practice for more than 15 years for effectively healing wound and inflammatory conditions with exogenous nitric oxide (NO-therapy). Data was obtained on spatial structure of the gas flow, and values of its local parameters in axial and radial directions, such as nitric oxide content, velocity, temperature and mass flow density of nitric oxide, providing altogether the effectiveness of treatment by the exogenous NO-therapy method, were determined experimentally and by computations. It was demonstrated that plasma-chemical synthesis of NO from atmospheric air in a low direct current (DC) arc provides a high mass flow of nitric oxide at the level of 1.6–1.8 mg/s, while in the area of impact of NO-CGF on the biological tissue, on its axis, NO content is 400–600 ppm, flow velocity about 5 m/s, nitric oxide mass flow density 0.25–0.40 mg/(s·cm2), temperature 40-60 °C. Tendencies were determined for designing new devices for further experimental biological and medical research in the field of NO-therapy: lowering the temperature of NO-CGF to ambient temperature will enable variation, in experiments, of the affecting flow parameters in a wide range up to their maximum values: NO content up to 2000 ppm, velocity up to 20 m/s, nitric oxide mass flow density up to 2.5 mg/(s·cm2).

© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH  &  Co. KGaA, Weinheim The rational design of broad-spectrum antivirals requires data on antiviral activity of compounds against multiple viruses, which are often not available. We have developed a panel of (+)ssRNA viruses composed of Enterovirus and Flavivirus genera members allowing to study these activity spectra. Antiviral activity profiling of a set of nucleoside analogues revealed N4-hydroxycytidine as an efficient inhibitor of replication of coxsackieviruses and other enteroviruses, but ineffective against tick-borne encephalitis virus. Furano[2, 3-d]pyrimidine nucleosides with n-pentyl or n-hexyl tails showed selective inhibition of Enterovirus A representatives. 5-(Tetradec-1-yn-1-yl)-uridine showed selective inhibition of tick-borne encephalitis virus at the micromolar level.

© 2018 Tkacheva et al. Background: Geriatric syndromes (GSs) are common in older adults and have a significant effect on their quality of life, disability, and use of health care resources. Few studies have assessed the prevalence of GSs in Russia. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of GSs among older adults living in the community in Moscow. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four community clinics in Moscow. A total of 1,220 patients completed a screening questionnaire, and 356 of them also underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). Results: The mean age of the 1,220 participants was 74.9±6.1 years; 75.5% were women. Based on the questionnaire, 58.3% reported visual or hearing impairment, 58.2% cognitive impairment, 46% mood disorder, 42% difficulty walking, 28.3% urinary incontinence, 21.3% traumatic falls (over the previous year), and 12.2% weight loss. The mean number of GSs per patient was 2.9±1.5. Based on CGA, a decline in Instrumental Activity of Daily Living score was identified in 34.8% of the patients, a risk of malnutrition (Mini-Nutritional Assessment score, 17–23.5) in 25.8%, probable cognitive impairment (Mini-Mental State Examination score <25) in 8.6%, and symptoms of depression (15-item Geriatric Depression Scale score >5) in 36.2%. On the whole, patients demonstrated good mobility (average walking speed, 1±0.2 m/s) and hand grip strength (23.9±6.4 kg in women and 39.1±8.3 kg in men), but poor balance (only 39.4% were able to maintain their balance on one leg for 10 s or more). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a high prevalence of GSs among community-dwelling people aged 65 years and older in Moscow. The results provide a better understanding of the needs of older adults in Russia and can facilitate planning for medical and social assistance for this population.

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. Validation results for a spectrophotometric quantitative determination method for ormustine in a lyophilized dosage form are presented. The method is shown to be suitable for quantitative determination of ormustine with respect to parameters such as specificity, linearity, accuracy, repeatability, and intermediate precision.