Early neonatal features of juvenile offenders

Objective: Identification of perinatal risk factors as differential predictors of violent and non-violent crimes among children and adolescents who come under the attention of juvenile departments of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation.Methods: Study of the perinatal history data of 148 juvenile offenders of comparable age (13-16 years old), selected using continuous sampling method in the course of a clinical observational cohort retrospective study.Results: Children from the control group in half of the cases were “late premature” (48%), with protein-energy malnutrition (frequency of occurrence of FGRP 56.8% BMI 56.1 ± 13.65). The beginning of their life was accompanied by a low score according to Apgar scale (6.9 ± 1.81). From the first minutes of life, they required urgent therapy in the delivery room (35.9%) and subsequent treatment at the ICU (25.7%) due to the damage of the respiratory system (asphyxia 11.5%, RDS 19.6%, episodes of apnea 16.2 %) and increasing dysfunction of the central nervous system (IVH II-IV grade 24.3%). Subsequently, they demonstrated a disruption of early neonatal adaptation and a clinical picture of the realization of intrauterine fetal developmental disorders, which arose both as a result of improper metabolism and of a prolonged oxygen starvation (adrenal hypoplasia 27.7%, cardiomyopathy 29.7%, hypoxia 48.6%).Conclusions: The initial protein-energy deficiency revealed in the course of the study if accompanied by the course of both acute and chronic oxygen starvation could influence the formation of destructive behavior in the group of juvenile offenders.

Fish otolith geochemistry, environmental conditions and human occupation at Lake Mungo, Australia

Fish otoliths from the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (south-western New South Wales, Australia) have been analysed for oxygen isotopes and trace elements using in situ techniques, and dated by radiocarbon. The study focused on the lunettes of Lake Mungo, an overflow lake that only filled during flooding events and emptied by evaporation, and Lake Mulurulu, which was part of the running Willandra Creek system. Samples were collected from two different contexts: from hearths directly associated with human activity, and isolated surface finds. AMS radiocarbon dating constrains the human activity documented by five different hearths to a time span of less than 240 years around 19,350 cal. BP. These hearths were constructed in aeolian sediments with alternating clay and sand layers, indicative of fluctuating lake levels and occasional drying out. The geochemistry of the otoliths confirms this scenario, with shifts in Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca marking the entry of the fish into Lake Mungo several years before their death, and a subsequent increase in the δ18O by ∼4‰ indicating increasing evaporation of the lake. During sustained lake-full conditions there are considerably fewer traces of human presence. It seems that the evaporating Lake Mungo attracted people to harvest fish that might have become sluggish through oxygen starvation in an increasingly saline water body (easy prey hypothesis). In contrast, surface finds have a much wider range in radiocarbon age as a result of reworking, and do not necessarily indicate evaporative conditions, as shown by comparison with otoliths from upstream Lake Mulurulu.

Operando XAS of a Bifunctional Gas Diffusion Electrode for Zn-Air Batteries under Realistic Application Conditions

In this study, operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements were carried out on a newly developed O2 bi-functional gas diffusion electrode (GDE) for rechargeable Zn-air batteries, consisting of a mixture of α-MnO2 and carbon black. The architecture and composition of the GDE, as well as the electrochemical cell, were designed to achieve optimum edge-jumps and signal-to-noise ratio in the absorption spectra for the Mn K-edge at current densities that are relevant for practical conditions. Herein, we reported the chemical changes that occur on the MnO2 component when the GDE is tested under normal operating conditions, during both battery discharge (ORR) and charge (OER), on the background of more critical conditions that simulate oxygen starvation in a flooded electrode.

Developing a Cell Based Screen for Inhibitors of Two Component Signal Transduction in Mycobacteria

<p>The growing number of drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis appearing worldwide has had an enormous impact on the ability to control and treat Tuberculosis (TB). Discovering new anti-TB drugs is of paramount importance to the global effort for TB eradication. The success of the pathogen is largely due to its inherent ability to remain in a non-replicating or latent state for extended periods of time. In order to achieve this shift it requires tightly controlled signal transduction mechanisms to respond to its host environment. Two component systems (TCS) are one example of signalling mechanisms employed by prokaryotes and are ideal candidates for antibacterial drug targets. It is understood that many TCS are conserved in a large number of organisms, they are often essential to the virulence and persistence of pathogens and they are virtually exclusive to prokaryotes. In this study three Mycobacterium smegmatis TCS were selected; DevS/DevR, MtrB/MtrA and SenX3/RegX3. Promoters under the control of these systems were cloned into an optimised mycobacterial high copy number GFP reporter plasmid and subject to a number of in vitro stress conditions to ascertain induction conditions for these systems. As expected the DevS/DevR controlled hspX promoter was responsive to oxygen starvation and the SenX3/RegX3 controlled phoA was induced by phosphate starvation. Interestingly, phoA and mtrA were also induced by magnesium chelator EDTA in minimal media. The phoA and mtrA promoter constructs were then used for in vitro high throughput bioassays with a number of compound libraries in order to screen for any inhibitory activity on each of the target systems. A phosphorylation inhibitor included in one of the screens, oleic acid, indicated that this assay could potentially be used to screen for TCS inhibitors, but no novel compounds were found in this study. As a proof of principle, known TCS inhibitors palmitoleic and oleic acid were employed to show a dose dependent inhibition mtrA expression. This method could potentially be expanded to other TCS of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG, or other signal transduction systems such as one component regulators and serine threonine kinases.</p>

Developing a Cell Based Screen for Inhibitors of Two Component Signal Transduction in Mycobacteria

<p>The growing number of drug resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis appearing worldwide has had an enormous impact on the ability to control and treat Tuberculosis (TB). Discovering new anti-TB drugs is of paramount importance to the global effort for TB eradication. The success of the pathogen is largely due to its inherent ability to remain in a non-replicating or latent state for extended periods of time. In order to achieve this shift it requires tightly controlled signal transduction mechanisms to respond to its host environment. Two component systems (TCS) are one example of signalling mechanisms employed by prokaryotes and are ideal candidates for antibacterial drug targets. It is understood that many TCS are conserved in a large number of organisms, they are often essential to the virulence and persistence of pathogens and they are virtually exclusive to prokaryotes. In this study three Mycobacterium smegmatis TCS were selected; DevS/DevR, MtrB/MtrA and SenX3/RegX3. Promoters under the control of these systems were cloned into an optimised mycobacterial high copy number GFP reporter plasmid and subject to a number of in vitro stress conditions to ascertain induction conditions for these systems. As expected the DevS/DevR controlled hspX promoter was responsive to oxygen starvation and the SenX3/RegX3 controlled phoA was induced by phosphate starvation. Interestingly, phoA and mtrA were also induced by magnesium chelator EDTA in minimal media. The phoA and mtrA promoter constructs were then used for in vitro high throughput bioassays with a number of compound libraries in order to screen for any inhibitory activity on each of the target systems. A phosphorylation inhibitor included in one of the screens, oleic acid, indicated that this assay could potentially be used to screen for TCS inhibitors, but no novel compounds were found in this study. As a proof of principle, known TCS inhibitors palmitoleic and oleic acid were employed to show a dose dependent inhibition mtrA expression. This method could potentially be expanded to other TCS of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis BCG, or other signal transduction systems such as one component regulators and serine threonine kinases.</p>

Nitrate Reduction Stimulates and Is Stimulated by Phenazine-1-Carboxylic Acid Oxidation by Citrobacter portucalensis MBL

Phenazines are increasingly appreciated for their roles in structuring microbial communities. These tricyclic aromatic molecules have been found to regulate gene expression, be toxic, promote antibiotic tolerance, and promote survival under oxygen starvation.

Evaluation of erythrocyte deformability in patients with hypertension

Background. In the longterm course of hypertension, changes occur not only at the systemic, but also at the membrane level. The predominance of red blood spherocytic cells in hypertension, due to the low deformability of their membrane, can lead to further deterioration of the perfusion of the microcirculatory bed and the development of oxygen starvation of tissues. It is important to assess the extent of gas exchange disorders in organs and tissues in hypertension as early as possible in order to choose the correct and timely treatment strategy for patients with this disease. Currently, in order to assess the ability of red blood cells to deformability in the conditions of clinical units, it is necessary to have special equipment, certain conditions and specialist qualifications.Design and methods. We have developed a method of evaluating deformability of erythrocytes in hypertensive patients. The method includes measuring the patient’s blood pressure, blood sampling, lipidogram, measuring red blood cell parameters on a hematological analyzer with the calculation of the red blood cell sphericity index, and calculating the indicator of the red blood cell membrane deformability by the proposed formula.Conclusions. This method allows of timely diagnostics of the systemic microcirculation abnormality in hypertensive patients. The proposed method is intended for pathophysiologists, physicians, cardiologists, specialists of clinical laboratory diagnostics, it can also be applied for research purposes.