Hydroxysteroid 17-β dehydrogenase 14 (HSD17B14) is an L-fucose dehydrogenase, the initial enzyme of the L-fucose degradation pathway.

L-Fucose (6-deoxy-L-galactose), a monosaccharide abundant in glycolipids and glycoproteins produced by mammalian cells, has been extensively studied for its role in intracellular biosynthesis and recycling of GDP-L-fucose for fucosylation. However, in certain mammalian species, L-fucose is efficiently broken down to pyruvate and lactate in a poorly understood metabolic pathway. In the 1970s, L-fucose dehydrogenase, an enzyme responsible for the initial step of this pathway, was partially purified from pig and rabbit livers and characterized biochemically.

[Justification of the hospitalization of rural population].

The analysis of validity of hospitalization at all stages of providing in-patient care for the rural population indicated that the process of selecting patients for this kind of care is in need of drastic improvement. The quality and efficiency of in-patient care, the validity of hospitalization at any hospital facility depend on the level of ambulatory and out-patient care, curative and diagnostic facilities and the completeness of their utilization at prehospital stage. Besides, the findings of the study suggested the necessity of further expanding the amount of specialized in-patient care provided to the rural inhabitants with the leading role in solving this problem to be played by central regional hospitals.