Сывороточные уровни резистина и ремоделирование сердца у пациентов с метаболическим синдромом в сочетании с различными вариантами сердечно-сосудистой патологии

Робота присвячена вивченню впливу змін сироваткових рівнів специфічного гормону жирової тканини резістіна, на процеси ремоделювання серця у хворих метаболічним синдромом в поєднанні з різною кардіоваскулярної патологією. Виявлено взаємозв’язки між концентрацією резістіна сироватки та структурно-функціональним станом міокарда у пацієнтів з метаболічним синдромом.The paper studies the impact of changes of serum levels of specific adipose tissue hormone resistin, on the processes of cardiac remodeling in patients with metabolic syndrome in combination with various cardiovascular disorders. The relationship between serum resistin concentration and structural and functional state of the myocardium in patients with metabolic syndrome was revealed

"Слово о полку Ігоревім" - важливе джерело вивчення подій ХІ - ХІІ століть на Чернігово-Сіверщині

У статті зроблено аналіз поглядів істориків, літераторів східних, західних, південних слов'ян у процесі перекладів, вивчення змісту «Слова о полку Ігоревім», припущень щодо автора «Слова», досягнень археологів, краєзнавців Чернігівщини з вивчення історії Чернігово-Сіверщини в ХІІ-ХІІІ століттях.В статье сделано анализ взглядов историков, литераторов восточных, западных, южных славян в процессе переводов, изучения содержания «Слова о полку Игореве», предположений относительно автора «Слова», достижений археологов, краеведов Черниговщины по изучению истории Чернигово-Северщины в XII - XIII веках.In the article it has done the analyses of views of historians, specialists of East, West and South Slaves during translating, studying the contest of "The word of Ihor's regiment", suppositions of archeologists, regional ethnographers of Chernihiv Region about learning the history of Chernihiv-Siverian land in XII - XIII centuries

‘Rationalized incrementalism’. How behavior experts in government negotiate institutional logics

Public policy design takes place in a complex ‘policy swamp’ that is not easily analyzed, let alone controlled. Nonetheless, recent scientific advances in understanding human behavior have led some to believe there is a way out of this swamp. A ‘Behavioural Insights’ movement has emerged, pushing a seemingly neo- rationalist strategy that clashes with the hitherto incrementalist strategy of policy-making. This article investigates how upcoming behavior experts in Dutch government grapple with this clash, based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork. The article points out that these behavior experts, despite their clear-cut rationalist impression, in the backstage take on the challenge of negotiating competing institutional logics

A peptide mimic of the chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus: towards the development of novel anti-inflammatory compounds

Complement factor C5a is one of the most powerful pro-inflammatory agents involved in recruitment of leukocytes, activation of phagocytes and other inflammatory responses. C5a triggers inflammatory responses by binding to its G-protein-coupled C5a-receptor (C5aR). Excessive or erroneous activation of the C5aR has been implicated in numerous inflammatory diseases. The C5aR is therefore a key target in the development of specific anti-inflammatory compounds. A very potent natural inhibitor of the C5aR is the 121-residue chemotaxis inhibitory protein of Staphylococcus aureus (CHIPS). Although CHIPS effectively blocks C5aR activation by binding tightly to its extra-cellular N terminus, it is not suitable as a potential anti-inflammatory drug due to its immunogenic properties. As a first step in the development of an improved CHIPS mimic, we designed and synthesized a substantially shorter 50-residue adapted peptide, designated CHOPS. This peptide included all residues important for receptor binding as based on the recent structure of CHIPS in complex with the C5aR N terminus. Using isothermal titration calorimetry we demonstrate that CHOPS has micromolar affinity for a model peptide comprising residues 7–28 of the C5aR N terminus including two O-sulfated tyrosine residues at positions 11 and 14. CD and NMR spectroscopy showed that CHOPS is unstructured free in solution. Upon addition of the doubly sulfated model peptide, however, the NMR and CD spectra reveal the formation of structural elements in CHOPS reminiscent of native CHIPS

Inter-laboratory comparison of methods to measure androstenone in pork fat

Today, different analytical methods are used by different laboratories to quantify androstenone in fat tissue. This study shows the comparison of methods used routinely in different laboratories for androstenone quantification: Time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay in Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (NSVS; Norway), gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in Co-operative Central Laboratory (CCL; The Netherlands) and in Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA; Spain), and high-pressure liquid chromatography in Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station (ALP; Switzerland). In a first trial, a set of adipose tissue (AT) samples from 53 entire males was sent to CCL, IRTA and NSVS for determination of androstenone concentration. The average androstenone concentration (s.d.) was 2.47 (2.10) μg/g at NSVS, 1.31 (0.98) μg/g at CCL and 0.62 (0.52) μg/g at IRTA. Despite the large differences in absolute values, inter-laboratory correlations were high, ranging from 0.82 to 0.92. A closer look showed differences in the preparation step. Indeed, different matrices were used for the analysis: pure fat at NSVS, melted fat at CCL and AT at IRTA. A second trial was organised in order to circumvent the differences in sample preparation. Back fat samples from 10 entire males were lyophilised at the ALP labortary in Switzerland and were sent to the other laboratories for androstenone concentration measurement. The average concentration (s.d.) of androstenone in the freeze-dried AT samples was 0.87 (0.52), 1.03 (0.55), 0.84 (0.46) and 0.99 (0.67) μg/g at NSVS, CCL, IRTA and ALP, respectively, and the pairwise correlations between laboratories ranged from 0.92 to 0.97. Thus, this study shows the influence of the different sample preparation protocols, leading to major differences in the results, although still allowing high inter-laboratory correlations. The results further highlight the need for method standardisation and inter-laboratory ring tests for the determination of androstenone. This standardisation is especially relevant when deriving thresholds of consumer acceptance, whereas the ranking of animals for breeding purposes will be less affected due to the high correlations between method

Pre-clinical Evaluation of a Cyanine-Based SPECT Probe for Multimodal Tumor Necrosis Imaging

Purpose: Recently we showed that a number of carboxylated near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) cyanine dyes possess strong necrosis avid properties in vitro as well as in different mouse models of spontaneous and therapy-induced tumor necrosis, indicating their potential use for cancer diagnostic- and prognostic purposes. In the previous study, the detection of the cyanines was achieved by whole body optical imaging, a technique that, due to the limited penetration of near-infrared light, is not suitable for investigations deeper than 1 cm within the human body. Therefore, in order to facilitate clinical translation, the purpose of the present study was to generate a necrosis avid cyanine-based NIRF probe that could also be used for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). For this, the necrosis avid NIRF cyanine HQ4 was radiolabeled with 111indium, via the chelate diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). Procedures: The necrosis avid properties of the radiotracer [111In]DTPA-HQ4 were examined in vitro and in vivo in different breast tumor models in mice using SPECT and optical imaging. Moreover, biodistribution studies were performed to examine the pharmacokinetics of the probe in vivo. Results: Using optical imaging and radioactivity measurements, in vitro, we showed selective accumulation of [111In]DTPA-HQ4 in dead cells. Using SPECT and in biodistribution studies, the necrosis avidity of the radiotracer was confirmed in a 4T1 mouse breast cancer model of spontaneous tumor necrosis and in a MCF-7 human breast cancer model of chemotherapy-induced tumor necrosis. Conclusions: The radiotracer [111In]DTPA-HQ4 possessed strong and selective necrosis avidity in vitro and in various mouse models of tumor necrosis in vivo, indicating its potential to be clinically applied for diagnostic purposes and to monitor anti-cancer treatment efficacy