Effects of Chicory ( L.) Extract on Male Rat Reproductive System, Pregnancy and Offspring Development.

Background: We recently reported that extract prepared from the aerial part of L. (CE) possesses hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, and hypoglycemic properties. This paper focuses on the effects of CE on the male rat reproductive system and the effects of this treatment on pregnancy and offspring development.

Screening of Alzheimer's Disease With Multiwavelength Stokes Polarimetry in a Mouse Model.

The minimum histological criterion for the diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in tissue is the presence of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in specific brain locations. The routine procedure of morphological analysis implies time-consuming and laborious steps including sectioning and staining of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. We developed a multispectral Stokes polarimetric imaging approach that allows characterization of FFPE brain tissue samples to discern the stages of AD progression without sectioning and staining the tissue.

Evaluating β-amyloidosis progression in Alzheimer's disease with Mueller polarimetry.

We applied the wide-field Mueller imaging polarimetry for the screening of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of mouse brain tissue at different stages of brain β-amyloidosis in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposits throughout the brain tissue is one of the key pathological hallmarks observed with the AD progression. We demonstrate that the presence of Aβ plaques influences the properties of backscattered polarized light, in particular, its degree of depolarization.

Role of scattering and birefringence in phase retardation revealed by locus of Stokes vector on Poincaré sphere.

Significance: Biological tissues are typically characterized by high anisotropic scattering and may also exhibit linear form birefringence. Both scattering and birefringence bias the phase shift between transverse electric field components of polarized light. These phase alterations are associated with particular structural malformations in the tissue.

Mueller-matrix-based polarization imaging and quantitative assessment of optically anisotropic polycrystalline networks.

We introduce a Mueller-matrix imaging polarization-based approach for the quantitative digital screening of the polycrystalline structure of fibrillary-based biological tissues in vitro. The morphometric evaluation of histological sections of myocardium was performed utilizing the high-order statistical moments calculated based on the spatial distribution of linear and circular birefringence and dichroism obtained experimentally. We demonstrate that spatial distributions of phase of light and optical anisotropy of scattering inherent to fibrillar networks of myocardium at different necrotic stages can be effectively used as a quantitative marker of stages of myosin fibril degradation.

[Infant feeding in the rural area of Chuvash Republic and Nizhny Novgorod Region].

The nature of feeding in the first year of life affects the health of the child in all subsequent periods of life. Objective - the article is devoted to the study of the state of feeding the children of the first year of life living in rural areas. The study was carried out on the basis of three children's clinics in the Chuvash Republic and the Nizhny Novgorod region by random sampling using an anonymous questionnaire of women who had children aged 1 to 2 years living in the rural areas of the Chuvash Republic and the Nizhny Novgorod Region (140 and 60 women, respectively).

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy for non-invasive assessment of water content in biological samples.

We apply terahertz time-domain spectroscopy for the quantitative non-invasive assessment of the water content in biological samples, such as tree leaves and pork muscles. The developed experimental terahertz time-domain spectroscopy system operates both in transmission and reflection modes. The Landau-Looyenga-Lifshitz-based model is used for the calculation of the water concentration within the samples.

Investigation of terahertz radiation influence on rat glial cells.

We studied an influence of continuous terahertz (THz) radiation (0.12 - 0.18 THz, average power density of 3.