The Study of Effectiveness of Combined Proton-Neutron Irradiation of Tumor Cells In Vitro.

Combined proton-neutron therapy can be the best opportunity for neutron radiation therapy due to highly conformal proton irradiation and high relative biological effectiveness of neutrons. The study compares 4 schemes of sequential in vitro exposure of Chinese hamster fibrosarcoma cells B14-150 to 14.5 MeV neutrons and a scanning beam of protons.

Soft X-ray Microscopy in Cell Biology: Current Status, Contributions and Prospects.

The recent advances achieved in microscopy technology have led to a significant breakthrough in biological research. Super-resolution fluorescent microscopy now allows us to visualize subcellular structures down to the pin-pointing of the single molecules in them, while modern electron microscopy has opened new possibilities in the study of protein complexes in their native, intracellular environment at near-atomic resolution. Nonetheless, both fluorescent and electron microscopy have remained beset by their principal shortcomings: the reliance on labeling procedures and severe sample volume limitations, respectively.

Features of Electrochemical Hydrogen Pump Based on Irradiated Proton Exchange Membrane.

An electrochemical hydrogen pump (EHP) with a proton exchange membrane (PEM) used as part of fusion cycle systems successfully combines the processes of hydrogen extraction, purification and compression in a single device. This work comprises a novel study of the effect of ionizing radiation on the properties of the PEM as part of the EHP. Radiation exposure leads to nonspecific degradation of membranes, changes in their structure, and destruction of side and matrix chains.

Decreased renal expression of PAQR5 is associated with the absence of a nephroprotective effect of progesterone in a rat UUO model.

Fibrosis is a severe complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Progesterone, like other sex hormones, plays an important role in renal physiology, but its role in CKD is poorly understood. We investigated progesterone effect on renal fibrosis progression in the rat model of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

Harnessing the Therapeutic Potential of the Nrf2/Bach1 Signaling Pathway in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Although a complex interplay of multiple environmental and genetic factors has been implicated, the etiology of neuronal death in PD remains unresolved. Various mechanisms of neuronal degeneration in PD have been proposed, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, α-synuclein proteostasis, disruption of calcium homeostasis, and other cell death pathways.

Identification of a potent Nrf2 displacement activator among aspirin-containing prodrugs.

Aspirin is a desired leaving group in prodrugs aimed at treatment of neurodegeneration and other conditions. A library of aspirin derivatives of various scaffolds potentially activating Nrf2 has been tested in Neh2-luc reporter assay which screens for direct Nrf2 protein stabilizers working via disruption of Nrf2-Keap1 interaction. Most aspirin prodrugs had a pro-alkylating or pro-oxidant motif in the structure and, therefore, were toxic at high concentrations.

Implosion dynamics and x-ray generation in small-diameter wire-array Z pinches.

It is known from experiments that the radiated x-ray energy appears to exceed the calculated implosion kinetic energy and Spitzer resistive heating [C. Deeney, Phys. Rev.

Mitigation of the plasma-implosion inhomogeneity in starlike wire-array Z pinches.

Implosions in starlike triple and quadruple wire arrays were investigated in a 1 MA Zebra generator. Implosion in these loads is directed along the rays of the star and cascades from wire to wire to the center. Shadowgraphy shows improved homogeneity of imploding plasma and mitigation of instabilities.

Rheumatoid course of humoral (vascular) rejection after heart allotransplantation.

Analysis of planned endomyocardial biopsy specimens of heart allotransplants from 22 recipients revealed signs of humoral type rejection (slight, medium, and severe) presenting as fixation of IgG, IgM, and complement components (C3, C4d) in 61 of 63 sections. Permanent presence of rejection signs attests to rheumatoid course of this process.

[The peculiarities of bone exchange disorder and its regulation in men after long terms following orthotopic heart transplantation and cadaveric kidney transplantation].

The study found bone exchange disorder manifested by accelerated bone resorption, retarded bone formation, and the loss of the bone mineral density (BMD) of the axial and peripheral skeleton in 19 men (39 observations) 66 +/- 44 months following orthotopic heart transplantation (OTHT) and in 92 men 45 +/- 28 months after cadaveric kidney transplantation. An accelerated bone resorption, more pronounced in cadaveric kidney (CK) recipients, is associated with hyperparathyroidism (HPT) and renal dysfunction, while bone formation retardation is associated with a decrease in insulin-like growth factor-1 level. An increase in osteoprotegerin level is of compensatory character.

[Vasculopathy of the grafted heart: the synergism of proinflammatory and proatherogenous factors and viral infection].

The authors analyze the pathogenetic significance of hyperhomocysteinemia, antiphospholipid syndrome, the hyperexpression of cell adhesion molecules, inflammation, and oxidative disorders for, as well as the role of viral infections in the development of coronary artery disease of the grafted heart. The paper shows that viral infections in recipients lead to the development of proinflammatory, proatherogenous, and prothrombogenous status, expressing themselves in an increase in the corresponding laboratory markers in recipients' blood plasma, and points out the role of viral infection in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease of the transplanted heart. Control and treatment of viral infections, as well as pharmacocorrection of proinflammatory, proatherogenous, and prothrombogenous status would made it possible to influence the development of coronary artery disease of the grafted heart.

[Prognostic value of C-reactive protein and neopterin in autologous bone marrow cells transplantation].

Relationship between levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and neopterin and changes of left ventricular function was studied in 23 patients with heart failure (mean age 48.5+/-11.5 years) subjected to transplantation of autologous bone marrow cells (TABMC).

[To the effective concentration of xenon].

The present literature discusses what effective concentration of xenon may be used to induce adequate anesthesia. To examine the analgesic properties of the substance, 38 patients undergone laparoscopic operations for calculous cholecystitis under informational saturation EEG (INEEG) monitoring were included into this study. All the patients were divided into 3 groups in accordance to the mode of anesthesia maintenance and INEEG monitoring.

Valsartan in heart failure patients previously untreated with an ACE inhibitor.

Objective: To evaluate the effect on cardiac hemodynamic parameters of valsartan in patients with chronic stable congestive heart failure previously untreated with ACE inhibitors.

Methods: After a 2 to 4 week run-in period, 116 adult outpatients were randomized to receive valsartan 40, 80 or 160 mg twice daily, the ACE inhibitor lisinopril 5/10 mg once daily, or placebo. At baseline and after 28 days of treatment, cardiac hemodynamic parameters were measured.

[Humoral immunopathologic changes in the myocardium after clinical allotransplantation of the heart].

Endomyocardial diagnostic biopsies, recipient heart removed at operation, endomyocardial biopsies of allotransplants and postmortem material were studied using immunofluorescence to specify immunopathological process and to detect humoral rejection. Altogether 306 samples from 55 patients were studied. In the early postoperative period (one year) 8 out of 18 patients with heart transplants repeatedly showed immunopathologic picture of acute humoral (vascular) rejection which was characterized by a widespread immunoglobulin G and complement fixation in the capillary walls accompanied by enhanced capillary permeability and fibrin deposition in intestitial tissue.

[Indicators of bicycle ergometry after heart transplantation].

Exercise tolerance in postcardiac transplantation patients versus healthy controls was studied at different intervals after the surgery using bicycle ergometry. Being low after the transplantation, exercise tolerance in the patients increased throughout the rehabilitation period but still did not reach the values characteristic for healthy subjects. Initial heart rate in the above patients was higher, while chronotropic and inotropic reserves of the transplanted heart appeared lower than in the controls.

[The dynamics of the heart contraction rate and arterial pressure during physical loading after a heart transplant].

Compared to healthy controls, patients with transplanted heart have higher baseline heart rate (HR), delayed initial HR reaction, slower changes of HR both during exercise and after it, diminished chronotropic and inotropic reserves. The data obtained contribute to better understanding of physiology of transplanted denervated heart and objective assessment of patients after heart transplantation.

[Echocardiographic diagnosis of acute rejection of transplanted heart].

Comparing echocardiographic parameters with endomyocardial biopsy findings in 6 patients with acute crises of mild, moderate, and severe graft rejections and in 2 patients with persistent acute rejection crisis has shown that there are decreases in end-diastolic size and left ventricular end-diastolic ejection fraction volume, an increase in left ventricular myocardial mass, and thickening of the left ventricular posterior wall and ventricular septum, as evidenced by ultrasonic study. Such changes are detected in moderate and severe acute crises of graft rejection. Normalization of ultrasonic parameters of the grafted heart occurs 2-3 weeks after abolition of rejection crisis.

Evidence for antibody and immune-complex deposition in heart transplantation: a report of three cases.

Immunofluorescence microscopy of endomyocardial biopsy specimens from heart allograft recipients identified immunopathologic changes in three of 17 patients. These changes included immunoglobulin G and complement C3 deposition in tissue structures such as capillary endothelium and basal membranes, cardiomyocyte sarcolemma, and interstitial tissue. Moreover, the immunopathologic changes could be correlated with acute cellular rejection episodes evidenced by endomyocardial biopsy criteria.