bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mass spectrometry of blood low-molecular fraction as a method for unification of therapeutic drug monitoring
Authors: Lokhov P.G. , Maslov D.L. , Trifonova O.P. , Balashova E.E. , Archakov A.I.
Published: April 2015

The article describes a new therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) method based on direct infusion of low-molecular fraction of blood into electrospray ionization source of mass spectrometer. This technique allows performing TDM of almost all drugs used in clinic. In article, the universality and high-throughput of the method, that significantly simplifies its wide application, have been shown. Moreover, the possibility of method application in most cases of drug therapy has been argued as a tool of control of drug doses, rationality of drug therapy, and the quality of the drugs themselves. In conclusion, the prospects for application of the method as primary means of improving the quality and personalization of drug therapy have been discussed.
Stimulation of adenosine receptors on myeloid cells enhance leukocyte migration at the site of burn injury
Authors: Yuryeva K.S. , Nevskaya K.V. , Dzuman A.N. , Ikkert O.P. , Ivanov V.V. , Saltikova I.V. , Sazonov A.E. , Ogorodova L.M.
Published: April 2015

Adenosine, endogenous purine nucleoside, is an ATP metabolite that also acts as an extracellular signaling molecule. The concentration of extracellular adenosine rises during hypoxia and cell damage leading to numerous pleiotropic effects. Although a high concentration of adenosine was found at burn injury, the effect has not been well elucidated. We have studied human peripheral blood myeloid cell, due to their expression of specific adenosine receptors and capacity to migrate to the site of burn injury. We have shown that myeloid cells after 72 hours of stimulation of adenosine receptors develop altered expression of surface antigens: preserved monocyte’s marker CD14 with already expressed dendritic cell markers (CD209, CD1a). Whereas untreated cells have already lost monocyte marker in 72 hours, and express CD1a more abundantly. Adenosine modified myeloid cells express also higher levels of mRNA of proinflammatory cytokines and chemoattractants (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1 b). Using mouse model of the burn injury we have shown, that adenosine modified bone marrow derived myeloid cells injected in the site of the injury promote migration of granulocytes, monocytes, macrophages, and fibroblasts on the 7th day after burn. Thus, stimulation of adenosine receptors alters differentiation and function of myeloid cells. In the site of burn injury adenosine modified myeloid cells augment cell migration due to paracrine factors.
The use of immobilized ubiquitin for biosensor analysis of the mitochondrial subinteractome
Authors: Buneeva O.A. , Gnedenko O.V. , Medvedeva M.V. , Ivanov A.S. , Medvedev A.E.
Published: April 2015

Protein ubiquitination is considered as an important mechanism that is responsible not only for specific labeling of proteins for their subsequent degradation but also for localization of proteins in the cell and regulation of protein-protein interactions. In the context of protein-protein interactions binding of (mono/poly)ubiquitinated molecules to proteins containing specific ubiquitin binding domains appear to play the decisive role. Although formation of the ubiquitin interactome has been demonstrated for cytosol, involvement of mitochondria and associated extramitochondrial proteins into such interactions still requires detailed investigation. In this study using an optical biosensor we have demonstrated binding of proteins of mouse brain mitochondrial lysates to immobilized monomeric ubiquitin. Model purified proteins, which are known to be associated with the outer mitochondrial compartment (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydorgenase, creatine phosphokinase), interacted with immobilized ubiquitin as well as with each other. This suggests that (poly)ubiquitinated chains may be involved in protein-protein interactions between ubiquitinated and non-ubiquitinated proteins and thus may contribute to formation of (mitochondrial) ubiquitin subinteractome.
The effect of a water-soluble vitamins on the activity of some enzymes in diabetes
Authors: Petrov S.A. , Danilova A.O. , Karpov L.M.
Published: April 2015

Intramuscular injections of the vitamin complex containing: thiamine chloride (B1), riboflavin (B2), lipoic acid (N), calcium pantothenate (B5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (B6), folic acid (B9), ascorbic acid (C) can reduce the blood glucose level in serum of rats with alloxan diabetes, stabilize activity of some enzymes of energy metabolism, lactate dehydrogenase and pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
The correcting effects of dihydroquercetin in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury
Authors: Maksimovich N.Ye. , Dremza I.K. , Troyan E.I. , Maksimovich Ya.N. , Borodinskii A.N.
Published: April 2015

The dynamics of changes in the mitochondrial respiratory function, changes in the parameters of carbohydrate metabolism and some parameters of oxidative stress in the brain tissue have been investigated under conditions of ischemia-reperfusion and administration of dihydroquercetin. Dihydroquercetin (65 mg/kg) was administered per os 1 h before modeling of ischemia-reperfusion. Studies were carried 1 h after reperfusion. It was found that administration of dihydroquercetin caused a corrective effect to impairments of the respiratory function of mitochondria, indicators of carbohydrate metabolism and parameters of oxidative stress induced by ischemia-reperfusion.
Alteration of thyroid hormone secretion after long-term exposure to low doses of endocrine disruptor DDT
Authors: Yaglova N.V. , Yaglov V.V.
Published: April 2015

Endocrine disruptors are exogenous substances that exhibit hormone-like action and consequently disrupt homeostatic action of endogenous hormones. DDT is the most common disruptor. The objective was to evaluate changes in thyroid hormone secretion after long-term exposure to low doses of DDT. The experiment was performed on male Wistar rats. The rats were given DDT at doses of 1.89±0.86 мg/kg/day and 7.77±0.17 мg/kg/day for 6 and 10 weeks. Dose dependent increase of serum total thyroxine, total triiodthyronine, and thyroid peroxidase was revealed after 6 weeks exposure. After 10 weeks free thyroxine secretion was reduced. Such alterations of the thyroid status are typical for iodine deficient goiter. The data obtained indicate that the main mechanism of DDT action includes disruption of thyroxine secretion by thyrocytes, but not inhibition of deiodinase activity and decrease of blood thyroid binding proteins.
Production of nitric oxide metabolites during transplanted tumors growth with different metastatic potential
Authors: Deryagina V.P. , Ryzhova N.I. , Krivosheeva L.V. , Golubeva I.S.
Published: April 2015

The endogenous formation of metabolites of NO – nitrite (NI), nitrates (NA) and volatile nitrosamines in the body, tumor tissue and by abdominal cavity by macrophages for dynamics was investigated in mice F1(C57BlxCBA), Balb/c and BDF with subcutaneous transplanted tumors (Erlich carcinoma – EC and metastatic Lewis lung carcinoma – LLC). It was shown that growth of EC was accompanied by a statistically significant increase in the concentrations of NI and NA in tumor tissue to (7.3±4.67)´10-6 – (7.8±2.57)´10-5 (mol/kg) for the first three weeks and a sharp increase in urinary excretion of NI and NA. The maximum total concentration of NI and NA – (3.,6±0.46)´10-5 in tissue LLC was registered during the early stage of the tumor growth (7 days); it later declined, negatively correlating with the mass of the tumor. NI secretion by abdominal cavity macrophages demonstrated statistically significantly decrease at the stage of intensive growth LLC (14, 21 days). The tissue of EC contained varied concentration of cancerogenic N-nitrosodimethylamine and N-nitrosodiethylamine at all investigated time points. Thus, the ability of different gistogenesis tumor tissue to synthesize metabolites NO depended on time parameters and was more pronounced for EC, than LLC.
In vitro protein phosphorylation as a template for SRM method development
Authors: Zavialova M.G. , Zgoda V.G. , Kharybin O.N. , Nikolayev E.N.
Published: April 2015

Phosphorylation is one of the most common posttranslational modification (PTM) of proteins. Main challenge of phosphoprotein detection is their low abundance comparing to abundance of unmodified proteins. The method of selected reactions monitoring (SRM) allows to perform very sensitive and selective analysis of desired PTMs. Using myelin basic protein (MBP) as a model we have developed a method for phosphoprotein detection by SRM. The method is based on obtaining of phosphoproteins in a reconstituted kinase system and following usage these phosphorylated protein as a template for the development of the SRM method. The developed method was successfully applied for detection of phosphopeptides of myelin basic protein in the samples of human brain glioma.
Thrombolysis with plasminogen activators: use and research of serine proteinases, promise and actuality
Authors: Maksimenko A.V.
Published: April 2015

Physiological plasminogen activators of tissue and urokinase type (serine proteinases) are effective thrombolytic agents. Research and development of their novel forms contributed to progress of thrombolytic therapy, advanced treatment of acute coronary syndrome and a marked decrease in the lethal index.
Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) and the regulators of its activity as invasive factors in squamous cell cervical carcinomas
Authors: Timoshenko O.S. , Gureeva T.A. , Kugaevskaya E.V. , Solovyeva N.I.
Published: April 2015

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1MMP) is one of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), which play а key role in tumor invasion and metastasis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the peculiarities of expression of MT1MMP and endogenous regulators of its activity: the activator – furin and the inhibitor – TIMP-2, as invasive factors of squamous cell cervical carcinomas (SCC). The study was carried out using 11 specimens of SCC and 11 specimens of morphologically normal tissue adjacent to the tumor. It was shown that the increase of MT1-MMP and furin expression and low of TIMP-2 expression makes the main contribution to the destructive (invasive) potential of SCC. Moreover, substantial expression of MT1-MMP was registered in the specimens of morphologically normal adjoining to tumor tissue. This expression was found to make an additional contribution to the destructive potential of the cervical tumor.
Non-esterified fatty acids of blood serum in type 1 diabetic women during late pregnancy
Authors: Shablinskiy M.A. , Milentyev A.Yu. , Lotosh N.Yu. , Selischeva A.A. , Badyshtov B.A. , Besova N.V. , Saveliev S.V.
Published: April 2015

Using gas chromatography a comparative study of the range and content of individual non-esterified fatty acids in serum of patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 in the third trimester of pregnancy, and healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women has been carried out. In groups of pregnant women there was activation of lipid metabolism, confirmed by corresponding changesinserum biochemical parameters, as well as in the content of non-esterified fatty acids. Intergroup differences in the non-esterified fatty acids were not found. However, there were significant differences between the examined groups in the quantitative content of non-esterified fatty acids.
Peptide-agonist of protease-activated receptor (PAR 1), similar to activated protein C, promotesproliferation in keratinocytes and wound healing of epithelial layer
Authors: Kiseleva E.V. , Sidorova M.V. , Gorbacheva L.R. , Strukova S.M.
Published: April 2015

Activated protein C (APC) is serine protease hemostasis, independent of its anticoagulant activity, exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties that determine the possibility of the protective effects of APC in different diseases, including sepsis and chronic wound healing. APC, binding of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) and specifically cleaving PAR1 receptor and releasing peptide agonist PAR1 stabilizes not only endothelial cells, but also many others, including epidermal keratinocytes of the skin. We develop the hypothesis that the cytoprotective effect of APC on the cells, involved in wound healing, seem to imitate peptide - analogous of PAR1 "tethered ligand" that activate PAR1. In our work, we synthesized a peptide (AP9) – analogue of PAR1 tethered ligand, released by APC, and firstly showed that peptide AP9 (0.1-10 мM), like to APC (0.01-100 nM), stimulates the proliferative activity of human primary keratinocytes. Using a model of the formation of epithelial wounds in vitro we found that peptide AP9, as well as protease APC, accelerates wound healing. Using specific antibodies to the receptor PAR1 and EPCR was studied the receptor mechanism of AP9 action in wound healing compared with the action of APС. The necessity of both receptors – PAR1 and EPСR, for proliferative activity of agonists was revealed. Identified in our work imitation by peptide AP9 – PAR1 ligand, APC acts on keratinocytes suggests the possibility of using a peptide AP9 to stimulate tissue repair.
Development of targeted drug delivery system: synthesis of conjugates of address fragment (ra-cooh) with ligand (r-nh2)
Authors: Sanzhakov M.A. , Ignatov D.V. , Prozorovskyi V.N. , Druzhilovskaya O.S. , Medvedeva N.V. , Ipatova O.M.
Published: April 2015

One of the main ways to increase the effectiveness of well-known medical formulations well-established in clinical medicine – development of delivery systems using new technological approaches and nanomaterials. Currently, much attention is given to targeted delivery systems. At the same time drug carrier has in addition to medication the so-called vector/address with a high affinity for binding to specific receptors on cells/tissue target. In this paper it is described the method for producing of address conjugates to over-expressed receptors on the tumor cells. As address fragment it was folic acid and as a linker was dodecylamine, causing inclusion the conjugate into lipid nanoparticles.
Mass spectrometry analysis of blood plasma lipidome as method of disease diagnostics, evuation of effectiveness and optimization of drug therapy
Authors: Lokhov P.G. , Maslov D.L. , Balashova E.E. , Trifonova O.P. , Medvedeva N.V. , Torkhovskaya T.I. , Ipatova O.M. , Archakov A.I. , Malyshev P.P. , Kukharchuk V.V. , Shestakova E.A. , Shestakova M.V. , Dedov I.I.
Published: April 2015

A new method for the analysis of blood lipid based on direct mass spectrometry of lipophilic low molecular weight fraction of blood plasma has been considered. Such technique allows quantification of hundreds of various types of lipids and this changes existing concepts on diagnostics of lipid disorders and related diseases. The versatility and quickness of the method significantly simplify its wide use. This method is applicable for diagnostics of atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. Detalization of plasma lipid composition at the molecular level by means of mass spectrometry allows to assess the effectiveness of therapy and to optimize the drug treatment of cardiovascular diseases by phospholipid preparations.
Preparation of dendritic cells for cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Nazarkina Zh.K. , Laktionov P.P.
Published: April 2015

Development of new effective method for cancer therapy is one of the most important trends in the modern medicine. Along with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, induction of an immune response against the tumor cells is a promising approach for therapy of cancer, particularly metastatic, slowly dividing tumors and cancer stem cells. Induction of the antitumor T-cell immune response involves activation of antigen-presenting cells, which can efficiently present the cancer antigens and activate T-lymphocytes. The immune response may be activated by dendritic cells (DC) loaded with tumor antigens, such as tumor-specific proteins, tumor cell lysates, apoptotic or necrotic tumor cells, as well as nucleic acids encoding tumor antigens. Regardless of the selected source of the tumor antigen, preparation of mature DC is a principal step in the development of anticancer vaccines aimed at the induction of the cytotoxic T-cell immune response. Recently, various research groups have proposed several strategies for producing mature DC, differed by the set of agents used. It has been shown that the maturation strategy influences both their phenotype and the ability to induce the immune response. In this review we have analyzed the results of studies on the various strategies of preparation of mature DCs.
Oxidative stress and its effect on cells functional activity of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Dubinina E.E. , Schedrina L.V. , Neznanov N.G. , Zalutskaya N.M. , Zakharchenko D.V.
Published: April 2015

The paper summarizes literature data on the importance of oxidative stress as one of the pathogenetic mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease. The paper describes the main specific and nonspecific ways of reactive oxygen species generation in the course of the disease development. The effect of reactive oxygen species generated by the functional activity of cells, i.e. apoptosis and mitotic cycle, is shown. The role of the regulatory system of nodal cells is performed by phosphorylation/dephosphorylation process which is associated with intense phosphorylation of tau protein and mitosis-specific proteins. In Alzheimer's disease, the regulating function of peptidyl-prolyl isomerases in particular of Pin1 associated with maintaining a balanced state of phosphorylation/dephosphorylation processes is disturbed. Taking into consideration the multifactorial impairment of the cell cycle control, this process should be considered from the standpoint of the general state of metabolic processes, and oxidative stress has one of the key positions in aging.
pIPredict: a computer tool for predicting isoelectric points of peptides and proteins
Authors: Skvortsov V.S. , Alekseychuk N.N. , Khudyakov D.V. , Romero Reyes I.V.
Published: April 2015

The data on approximate values of isoelectric point (pI) of peptides obtained during their fractionation by isoelectric focusing can be successfully used for the calculation of the pKa’s scale for amino acid residues. This scale can be used for pI prediction. The data of peptide fractionation also provides information about various posttranslational modifications (PTM), so that the prediction of pI may be performed for a wide range of protein forms. In this study, pKa values were calculated using a set of 13448 peptides (including 300 peptides with PTMs significant for pI calculation). The pKa constants were calculated for N-terminal, internal and C-terminal amino acid residues separately. The comparative analysis has shown that our scale increases the accuracy of pI prediction for peptides and proteins and successfully competes with traditional scales and such methods as support vector machines and artificial neural networks. The prediction performed by this scale, can be made in our program pIPredict with GUI written in JAVA as executable jar-archive. The program is freely available for academic users at http://www.ibmc.msk.ru/LPCIT/pIPredict. The software has also the possibility of pI predicting by some other scales; it recognizes some PTM and has the ability to use a custom scale.
The metabolism of the innate immunity cells in bacterial infections
Authors: Plekhova N.G. , Somova L.M. , Drobot E.I.
Published: April 2015

Metabolic activity of innate immunity cells infected by various doses of Gram-negative (Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, Salmonella enteritidis) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes) bacteria has been investigated. Using various animal models we found that during the initial period (up to 2 days) changes of infection in cellular responses depend on the type of the pathogen. In response to infection caused by Gram-negative bacteria predominant neutrophil accumulation in the foci of inflammation was observed, while Gram-positive bacteria induced preferential accumulation of macrophages. The study of metabolism of these cells showed that the response of terminally differentiated primed phagocytes to pathogen appearance was higher than in cells circulating in blood. In addition to the priming state the phagocyte reactivity is influenced by the bacterial load. At a low phagocyte/microbe ratio the cells reaction is almost undetectable, while an excess of microorganisms causes (despite of the increase of the phagocytic parameters) the hyperactivation of cell metabolism and production of maximal amounts of bactericide agents, which exhibit a damaging effect on the cell itself.
HPLC estimation of coenzyme Q10 redox status in plasma after intravenous coenzyme Q10 administration
Authors: Kalenikova E.I. , Kharitonova E.V. , Gorodetskaya E.A. , Tokareva O.G. , Medvedev O.S.
Published: April 2015

The pharmacokinetics of the total pool of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), its oxidized (ubiquinone) and reduced (ubiquinol, CoQ10H2) forms have been investigated in rats plasma during 48 h after a single intravenous injection of a solution of solubilized CoQ10 (10 mg/kg) to rats. Plasma levels of CoQ10 were determined by HPLC with spectrophotometric and coulometric detection. In plasma samples taken during the first minutes after the CoQ10 intravenous injection, the total pool of coenzyme Q10 and proportion of CoQ10H2 remained unchanged during two weeks of storage at -20°C. The kinetic curve of the total pool of coenzyme Q10 corresponds to a one-part model (R2 = 0.9932), while the corresponding curve of its oxidized form fits to the two-part model. During the first minutes after the injection a significant portion of plasma ubiquinone undergoes reduction, and after 7 h the concentration of ubiquinol predominates. The decrease in the total plasma coenzyme Q10 content was accompanied by the gradual increase in plasma ubiquinol, which represented about 90% of total plasma CoQ10 by the end of the first day. The results of this study demonstrate the ability of the organism to transform high concentrations of the oxidized form of CoQ10 into the effective antioxidant (reduced) form and justify prospects of the development of parenteral dosage forms of CoQ10 for the use in the treatment of acute pathological conditions.
NMR study of human biological fluids for detection of pathologies
Authors: Beskaravainy P.M. , Molchanov M.V. , Suslikov A.V. , Paskevich S.I. , Kutyshenko V.P. , Vorob’ev S.I.
Published: April 2015

The paper deals with the NMR spectra obtained using preparations of five different human biological body fluids. Characteristic metabolite signals of blood, urine, tears, saliva, and sweat spectra have been determined and classified. The biological body fluid samples were used for search and identification of biomarkers of cardiovascular disease. Absolute functional biomarkers for diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD) have not been recognized even in the case acute myocardial infarction. A hypothesis explaining reasons of lack of such markers has been formulated. The results of comparative analysis of blood and urine samples from humans and some laboratory animals are given. Identify and analyze signals of metabolites of pathogenic microflora and their dynamics in the urine from patients with urogenital diseases have been determined and analyzed and characteristic biomarkers have been recognized.
Development of noninvasive bladder cancer diagnosis on basis of telomerase and it’s subunits hTERT and hTR detection
Authors: Glukhov A.I. , Grigorieva Y.E. , Gordeev S.A. , Vinarov A.Z. , Potoldykova N.V.
Published: April 2015

Telomerase activity (TA) and expression of genes coding it’s subunits (hTERT and hTR) have been examined in tumor tissue and urine sediment samples taken from patients with bladder cancer (BC) using the modified TRAP assay (in the case of telomerase detection) and RT-PCR (in the case of hTERT and hTR expression). Results obtained in this study demonstrate possibility of noninvasive diagnosis of BC with sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 100% in the case of telomerase detection and with sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100% in the case of hTERT detection in urine sediment samples.
A Multistate Asian-Language Tobacco Quitline: Addressing a Disparity in Access to Care
Authors: Cummins Sharon E. , Wong Shiushing , Bonnevie Erika , Lee Hye-ryeon , Goto Cynthia J. , McCree Carrington Judy , Kirby Carrie , Zhu Shu-Hong
Published: April 2015

Objectives. We conducted a dissemination and implementation study to translate an intervention protocol for Asian-language smokers from an efficacy trial into an effective and sustainable multistate service.

Methods. Three state tobacco programs (in California, Colorado, and Hawaii) promoted a multistate cessation quitline to 3 Asian-language-speaking communities: Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The California quitline provided counseling centrally to facilitate implementation. Three more states joined the program during the study period (January 2010–July 2012). We assessed the provision of counseling, quitting outcomes, and dissemination of the program.

Results. A total of 2004 smokers called for the service, with 88.3% opting for counseling. Among those opting for counseling, the 6-month abstinence rate (18.8%) was similar to results of the earlier efficacy trial (16.4%).

Conclusions. The intervention protocol, based on an efficacy trial, was successfully translated into a multistate service and further disseminated. This project paved the way for the establishment of a national quitline for Asian-language speakers, which serves as an important strategy to address disparities in access to care.
Physical Activity, Fruit and Vegetable Intake, and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Older Chinese, Hispanics, and Blacks in New York City
Authors: Kwon Simona C. , Wyatt Laura C. , Kranick Julie A. , Islam Nadia S. , Devia Carlos , Horowitz Carol , Trinh-Shevrin Chau
Published: April 2015

Objectives. We explored the relationship between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and adequate physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake among racial/ethnic minority groups aged 60 years or older living in New York City (NYC).

Methods. Survey data from 2009 to 2012 targeted minority groups in NYC ethnic enclaves; we analyzed 3594 individuals (Blacks, Hispanics, and Chinese) aged 60 years or older. Descriptive statistics were run; unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression evaluated the relationship of HRQOL with PA and F&V intake.

Results. Hispanics were most likely to engage in sufficient PA and eat recommended F&Vs and had significantly worse HRQOL. After multivariable adjustment, significant associations were found between PA and self-reported health, activity limitation and physical health days for all groups, and PA and mental health days for Hispanics. Significant associations were found between F&V intake and physical health days for Hispanics and F&V intake and self-reported health for Chinese.

Conclusions. Findings indicated variations between HRQOL and PA by racial/ethnic subgroup. Despite being highly insured, recommendations for PA and F&V intake were not met. There is a need to promote healthy living behaviors among aging NYC racial/ethnic populations.
Cause-of-Death Disparities in the African Diaspora: Exploring Differences Among Shared-Heritage Populations
Authors: Hambleton Ian R. , Jeyaseelan Selvi , Howitt Christina , Sobers-Grannum Natasha , Hennis Anselm J. , Wilks Rainford J. , Harris E. Nigel , MacLeish Marlene , Sullivan Louis W.
Published: April 2015

Objectives. We investigated changes in life expectancy (LE) and cause-specific mortality over time, directly comparing African-descent populations in the United States and the Caribbean.

Methods. We compared LE at birth and cause-specific mortality in 6 disease groups between Caribbean countries with a majority (> 90%) African-descent population and US African Americans.

Results. The LE improvement among African Americans exceeded that of Afro-Caribbeans so that the LE gap, which favored the Caribbean population by 1.5 years in 1990, had been reversed by 2009. This relative improvement among African Americans was mainly the result of the improving mortality experience of African American men. Between 2000 and 2009, Caribbean mortality rates in 5 of the 6 disease groups increased relative to those of African Americans. By 2009, mortality from cerebrovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes was higher in Afro-Caribbeans relative to African Americans, with a diabetes mortality rate twice that of African Americans and 4 times that of White Americans.

Conclusions. The Caribbean community made important mortality reductions between 2000 and 2009, but this progress fell short of African American health improvements in the same period, especially among men.
Analysis of Stress and Deflection about Steel-Concrete Composite Girders Considering Slippage and Shrink & Creep Under Bending
Authors: Haigen Cheng
Published: April 2015

Steel-concrete composite beams are composed of concrete slabs and steel girders by shear connectors. Due to
the limited rigidity of shear connector, and the shrink & creep property of concrete, relative slippage exists between the
concrete slab and steel girder under bending, and it is difficult to analyze the effect of those factors by the ordinary beam
theory, the finite element method(FEM) and so on. A differential equation of equilibrium is constituted corresponding to
the compatibility of deformation and the equilibrium of forces of steel-concrete composite beams under particular
assumed condition. Finite difference method (FDM) and variation principle are used to solve the differential equation. An
example of steel-concrete composite T girder is given to analyze the effect of slippage and concrete shrink & creep on its
stress and deflection. The concrete slab stress increases with increased rigidity in the shear connectors. The stress of the
steel girder and the deflection of the composite girder decrease with increment in the rigidity of the shear connectors.
Removing Grit During Wastewater Treatment:CFD Analysis of HDVS Performance
Authors: Meroney Robert N. , Sheker Robert E.
Published: April 2015

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to simulate the grit and sand separation effectiveness of a typical hydrodynamic vortex separator (HDVS) system. The analysis examined the influences on the separator efficiency of: flow rate, fluid viscosities, total suspended solids (TSS), and particle size and distribution. It was found that separator efficiency for a wide range of these independent variables could be consolidated into a few curves based on the particle fall velocity to separator inflow velocity ratio, Ws/Vin. Based on CFD analysis it was also determined that systems of different sizes with length scale ratios ranging from 1 to 10 performed similarly when Ws/Vin and TSS were held constant. The CFD results have also been compared to a limited range of experimental data.
Domination number in the annihilating-ideal graphs of commutative rings
Authors: Nikandish Reza , Maimani Hamid , Kiani Sima
Published: April 2015

Let R be a commutative ring with identity and A(R) be the set of ideals with
nonzero annihilator. The annihilating-ideal graph of R is defined as the
graph AG(R) with the vertex set A(R)* = A(R)\{0} and two distinct vertices I
and J are adjacent if and only if IJ = 0. In this paper, we study the
domination number of AG(R) and some connections between the domination
numbers of annihilating-ideal graphs and zero-divisor graphs are given.
Spectroscopic monitoring of FeO fluorescence for laser treatment of steel surfaces in air
Authors: Daigle J.-F. , Pudo D. , Théberge F. , Fortin J.
Published: April 2015

Laser treatment of steel surfaces in air using continuous-wave radiation emitted by a fiber laser at 1.07 μm is investigated using a spectroscopic method that monitors the presence of FeO molecular fluorescence. For all conditions tested, the irradiance levels remained below 106 W/cm2 thus inhibiting the formation of plasma. In this paper, we demonstrate that FeO emissions are related to laser-induced steel vaporization and can be used to monitor the performances of the laser system for drilling and cutting applications. The heated Fe atoms oxidize rapidly forming solid and liquid FeO at the interface with the oxygen-filled atmosphere. As the formation of FeO is exothermic and that the presence of the oxide further increases laser absorption, the laser-induced oxide is rapidly vaporized and ejected off the surface, leaving an empty hole. The presence of FeO molecules can be monitored via the characteristic fluorescence emitted from the well-known orange system which is excited by the treating of laser itself. Excellent quantitative agreement was found between the FeO signal strength and the volume of material ablated by the laser beam in a drilling configuration allowing real-time monitoring of the interaction for process optimization.
Understanding the Gap in Special Education Enrollments Between Charter and Traditional Public Schools
Authors: Winters Marcus A.
Published: April 2015

A widely cited report by the federal Government Accountability Office found that charter schools enroll a significantly smaller percentage of students with disabilities than do traditional public schools. However, thus far no hard evidence exists to definitively explain or quantify the disparity between special education enrollment rates in charter and traditional public schools. This article uses student-level data from Denver, Colorado, to map the creation and growth of the special education gap in elementary and middle school grades. The gap begins because students with disabilities are less likely to apply to charter schools in gateway grades than are nondisabled students. However, the special education gap in Denver elementary schools more than doubles as students progress between kindergarten and the fifth grade. About half of the growth in the gap in elementary grades (46%) occurs because of classification differences across sectors. The remaining 54% of the growth in the gap in elementary grades is due to differences in student mobility across sectors. However, the gap does not primarily grow—and in fact tends to shrink—due to the movement of students with disabilities across sectors and out of the city’s school system. Rather, the impact of student mobility on the gap is driven primarily by nondisabled students: Regular enrollment students are more likely to enter into charter schools, thus disproportionately reducing the percentage of students with disabilities within the charter sector.
Abatement of VOCs with Alternate Adsorption and Plasma-Assisted Regeneration: A Review
Authors: Sultana Sharmin , Vandenbroucke Arne , Leys Christophe , De Geyter Nathalie , Morent Rino
Published: April 2015

Energy consumption is an important concern for the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from waste air with non-thermal plasma (NTP). Although the combination of NTP with heterogeneous catalysis has shown to reduce the formation of unwanted by-products and improve the energy efficiency of the process, further optimization of these hybrid systems is still necessary to evolve to a competitive air purification technology. A newly developed innovative technique, i.e., the cyclic operation of VOC adsorption and NTP-assisted regeneration has attracted growing interest of researchers due to the optimized energy consumption and cost-effectiveness. This paper reviews this new technique for the abatement of VOCs as well as for regeneration of adsorbents. In the first part, a comparison of the energy consumption between sequential and continuous treatment is given. Next, studies dealing with adsorption followed by NTP oxidation are reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the adsorption mechanisms and the regeneration of catalysts with in-plasma and post-plasma processes. Finally, the influence of critical process parameters on the adsorption and regeneration steps is summarized.
HDAC Family Members Intertwined in the Regulation of Autophagy: A Druggable Vulnerability in Aggressive Tumor Entities
Authors: Koeneke Emily , Witt Olaf , Oehme Ina
Published: April 2015

The exploitation of autophagy by some cancer entities to support survival and dodge death has been well-described. Though its role as a constitutive process is important in normal, healthy cells, in the milieu of malignantly transformed and highly proliferative cells, autophagy is critical for escaping metabolic and genetic stressors. In recent years, the importance of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in cancer biology has been heavily investigated, and the enzyme family has been shown to play a role in autophagy, too. HDAC inhibitors (HDACi) are being integrated into cancer therapy and clinical trials are ongoing. The effect of HDACi on autophagy and, conversely, the effect of autophagy on HDACi efficacy are currently under investigation. With the development of HDACi that are able to selectively target individual HDAC isozymes, there is great potential for specific therapy that has more well-defined effects on cancer biology and also minimizes toxicity. Here, the role of autophagy in the context of cancer and the interplay of this process with HDACs will be summarized. Identification of key HDAC isozymes involved in autophagy and the ability to target specific isozymes yields the potential to cripple and ultimately eliminate malignant cells depending on autophagy as a survival mechanism.
Optimum Accelerated Degradation Tests for the Gamma Degradation Process Case under the Constraint of Total Cost
Authors: Lim Heonsang
Published: April 2015

An accelerated degradation test (ADT) is regarded as an effective alternative to an accelerated life test in the sense that an ADT can provide more accurate information on product reliability, even when few or no failures may be expected before the end of a practical test period. In this paper, statistical methods for optimal designing ADT plans are developed assuming that the degradation characteristic follows a gamma process (GP). The GP-based approach has an advantage that it can deal with more frequently encountered situations in which the degradation should always be nonnegative and strictly increasing over time. The optimal ADT plan is developed under the total experimental cost constraint by determining the optimal settings of variables such as the number of measurements, the measurement times, the test stress levels and the number of units allocated to each stress level such that the asymptotic variance of the maximum likelihood estimator of the q-th quantile of the lifetime distribution at the use condition is minimized. In addition, compromise plans are developed to provide means to check the adequacy of the assumed acceleration model. Finally, sensitivity analysis procedures for assessing the effects of the uncertainties in the pre-estimates of unknown parameters are illustrated with an example.
Amino Acid Transporters and Release of Hydrophobic Amino Acids in the Heterocyst-Forming Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120
Authors: Pernil Rafael , Picossi Silvia , Herrero Antonia , Flores Enrique , Mariscal Vicente
Published: April 2015

Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is a filamentous cyanobacterium that can use inorganic compounds such as nitrate or ammonium as nitrogen sources. In the absence of combined nitrogen, it can fix N2 in differentiated cells called heterocysts. Anabaena also shows substantial activities of amino acid uptake, and three ABC-type transporters for amino acids have been previously characterized. Seven new loci encoding predicted amino acid transporters were identified in the Anabaena genomic sequence and inactivated. Two of them were involved in amino acid uptake. Locus alr2535-alr2541 encodes the elements of a hydrophobic amino acid ABC-type transporter that is mainly involved in the uptake of glycine. ORF all0342 encodes a putative transporter from the dicarboxylate/amino acid:cation symporter (DAACS) family whose inactivation resulted in an increased uptake of a broad range of amino acids. An assay to study amino acid release from Anabaena filaments to the external medium was set up. Net release of the alanine analogue α-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) was observed when transport system N-I (a hydrophobic amino acid ABC-type transporter) was engaged in the uptake of a specific substrate. The rate of AIB release was directly proportional to the intracellular AIB concentration, suggesting leakage from the cells by diffusion.
Flavonoids from Sideritis Species: Human Monoamine Oxidase (hMAO) Inhibitory Activities, Molecular Docking Studies and Crystal Structure of Xanthomicrol
Authors: Turkmenoglu Fatma , Baysal İpek , Ciftci-Yabanoglu Samiye , Yelekci Kemal , Temel Hamdi , Paşa Salih , Ezer Nurten , Çalış İhsan , Ucar Gulberk
Published: April 2015

The inhibitory effects of flavonoids on monoamine oxidases (MAOs) have attracted great interest since alterations in monoaminergic transmission are reported to be related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety, thus MAOs may be considered as targets for the treatment of these multi-factorial diseases. In the present study, four Sideritis flavonoids, xanthomicrol (1), isoscutellarein 7-O-[6'''-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1→2)]-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), isoscutellarein 7-O-[6'''-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1→2)]-6''-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (3) and salvigenin (4) were docked computationally into the active site of the human monoamine oxidase isoforms (hMAO-A and hMAO-B) and were also investigated for their hMAO inhibitory potencies using recombinant hMAO isoenzymes. The flavonoids inhibited hMAO-A selectively and reversibly in a competitive mode. Salvigenin (4) was found to be the most potent hMAO-A inhibitor, while xanthomicrol (1) appeared as the most selective hMAO-A inhibitor. The computationally obtained results were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. In addition, the x-ray structure of xanthomicrol (1) has been shown. The current work warrants further preclinical studies to assess the potential of xanthomicrol (1) and salvigenin (4) as new selective and reversible hMAO-A inhibitors for the treatment of depression and anxiety.
Whole Tumor Antigen Vaccines: Where Are We?
Authors: Chiang Cheryl , Coukos George , Kandalaft Lana
Published: April 2015

With its vast amount of uncharacterized and characterized T cell epitopes available for activating CD4+ T helper and CD8+ cytotoxic lymphocytes simultaneously, whole tumor antigen represents an attractive alternative source of antigens as compared to tumor-derived peptides and full-length recombinant tumor proteins for dendritic cell (DC)-based immunotherapy. Unlike defined tumor-derived peptides and proteins, whole tumor lysate therapy is applicable to all patients regardless of their HLA type. DCs are essentially the master regulators of immune response, and are the most potent antigen-presenting cell population for priming and activating naïve T cells to target tumors. Because of these unique properties, numerous DC-based immunotherapies have been initiated in the clinics. In this review, we describe the different types of whole tumor antigens that we could use to pulse DCs ex vivo and in vivo. We also discuss the different routes of delivering whole tumor antigens to DCs in vivo and activating them with toll-like receptor agonists.
Comptabilité marchande et crédit au XVIII e siècle : étude d’une relation d’affaires de la maison nantaise Chaurand Frères
Authors: Lemarchand Yannick
Published: April 2015

L’analyse d’une relation d’affaires, de plus d’une dizaine d’années, entre deux grandes maisons de négoce de Nantes et de Bordeaux, à partir du compte courant ouvert à la seconde dans la comptabilité de la première, permet d’appréhender de manière approfondie le rôle joué par la comptabilité dans les pratiques du crédit marchand et dans l’articulation monnaie scripturale-monnaie fiduciaire. La comptabilité est l’un des artefacts essentiels à la mise en œuvre du crédit marchand. Inscription du crédit et moyen de preuve de son existence, elle est aussi, simultanément, instrument de crédit et moyen de paiement. Le compte courant ouvert à un partenaire rend compte de façon continue du crédit accordé à (ou par) ce partenaire et des compensations qui s’opèrent au fur et à mesure des livraisons réciproques. Il est de ce fait le siège du règlement scriptural, le jeu d’écritures réalisant le paiement d’une dette par une créance. Mais la comptabilité permet également d’assurer le suivi des titres de crédit émis ou reçus : la monnaie fiduciaire ; le tout en liaison avec les diverses opérations réalisées. Cette étude micro-historique en livre une illustration qui, au-delà des caractéristiques propres à cette relation — nature et rythmes des échanges et donc du crédit —, conduit à des observations de portée plus générale relativement au crédit marchand, qu’il s’agisse des modes de paiement, de la circulation des lettres de change et du rôle de la banque parisienne dans le dernier tiers du XVIII e siècle ou encore du coût du crédit. Elle met également en lumière le rôle de la comptabilité dans la construction et la pérennisation de la relation de crédit : l’artefact comptable n’est pas un simple témoin passif de cette relation, il en est acteur par le biais des rituels de redditions de comptes. Née de la pratique du crédit marchand, la comptabilité a directement participé à son expansion.
De la circulation du papier dans la librairie à Paris au XIX e siècle ou les dynamiques du crédit inter-entreprises dans le secteur du livre
Authors: Rebolledo-Dhuin Viera
Published: April 2015

Cet article met au jour les ressorts du financement des libraires, principalement fondé sur l’escompte des billets à ordre. À partir de l’analyse des dossiers de faillite et des archives de la Banque de France notamment, il s’agit d’expliquer les causes, les modalités et les dynamiques de ce crédit inter-entreprises profondément ancré dans le territoire de la librairie. Pour pallier la faiblesse de leurs fonds de roulement, les libraires, qui sont discrédités par les banquiers, ont principalement recours à leurs fournisseurs. L’escompte, imposant a priori des échanges commerciaux préalables à la circulation de papier, se révèle être un puissant moyen de crédit. Quelques intermédiaires dominent ce système de financement par le crédit interentreprises et tirent profit de leur position privilégiée. Ceci conduit à s’interroger sur le rôle des institutions économiques parisiennes et le mode de désignation de leurs membres.