Biomechanical analysis of the cervical spine segment as a method for studying the functional and dynamic anatomy of the human neck.

Background: Traditionally, dynamic and functional anatomy, in particular the dynamic anatomy of the neck, is studied on cadaveric material. However, the development of in vivo visualization technologies and in silico modeling has made it possible to expand these possibilities. Despite significant progress in the study of dynamic and functional anatomy of the neck by means of in silico methods, the issues of validating the developed models and taking into account the pronounced nonlinearity of soft tissues as well as local anisotropy remain open.

Computation of the resonance frequencies of the transmission line resonators used in MRI.

Stripline high frequency resonators or transmission line resonators (TLRs) manufactured as concentric RF coils at the opposite sides of a dielectric sheet serve as wireless self-resonant transmitters-receivers in MRI. Owing to their high quality factor relative to traditional RF coils composed of bulk inductor and capacitors, frequency selectivity of TLRs is high, making them promising elements for single-nucleus MRI. However, the computation of their resonance frequencies is cumbersome, and numerous mathematical mistakes and typos in publications lead to incorrect results.

Prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency in the North-West region of Russia: A cross-sectional study.

Russia is a country with geographic and economic preconditions for development of vitamin D deficiency. We analyzed serum 25(OH)D level in residents from North-West region (59-61° North latitude) of Russia to study the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency and its associations with gender, age, obesity and diet. The study population included 1664 residents (1544 adults 18-75 y.

Mitochondrial models of pathologies with oxidative stress. Efficiency of alkalization to reduce mitochondrial damage.

Previously, we developed a method to monitor the development of oxidative stress in isolated liver mitochondria. The method is based on recording of membrane potential changes in response to sequential introduction of low concentrations (5-20 μM) of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP). It allows monitoring of the extent of amplification or attenuation of oxidative stress caused by external influences (changes in incubation conditions, additions of biologically active substances).

Mechanism of induction of oxidative stress in liver mitochondria by low concentrations of tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

The mechanism of the effect of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBHP) on the kinetics of decrease in liver mitochondrial ΔΨ (transmembrane electric potential) in response to successive additions of tBHP in low concentrations has been studied. FeSO(4) was found to increase significantly the damaging effect of tBHP; this effect was shown to increase in the presence of low concentrations of Ca2+ starting from 2 µM CaCl(2). Cyclosporin A prevents these effects.