The Future of Neurocritical Care Research: Proceedings and Recommendations from the Fifth Neurocritical Care Research Network Conference.

The Fifth Neurocritical Care Research Network (NCRN) Conference held in Boca Raton, Florida, in September of 2018 was devoted to challenging the current status quo and examining the role of the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) in driving the science and research of neurocritical care. The aim of this in-person meeting was to set the agenda for the NCS's Neurocritical Care Research Central, which is the overall research arm of the society. Prior to the meeting, all 103 participants received educational content (book and seminar) on the 'Blue Ocean Strategy®,' a concept from the business world which aims to identify undiscovered and uncontested market space, and to brainstorm innovative ideas and methods with which to address current challenges in neurocritical care research. Three five-member working groups met at least four times by teleconference prior to the in-person meeting to prepare answers to a set of questions using the Blue Ocean Strategy concept as a platform. At the Fifth NCRN Conference, these groups presented to a five-member jury and all attendees for open discussion. The jury then developed a set of recommendations for NCS to consider in order to move neurocritical care research forward. We have summarized the topics discussed at the conference and put forward recommendations for the future direction of the NCRN and neurocritical care research in general.

Environmental sustainability assessment from planetary boundaries perspective - A case study of an organic sheep farm in Finland.

Food production processes may have both positive and negative environmental sustainability impacts. This makes decision-making challenging in the transition towards more sustainable food production systems. In this paper, a new method for presenting environmental impacts in the context of planetary boundaries is demonstrated. This will help food and agricultural producers compare the magnitudes of various environmental impacts. The environmental sustainability impacts of an organic sheep farm in the boreal climate zone in Finland are studied herein first using a life cycle assessment method. The results are then normalized and presented in a planetary boundary framework to ascertain the extent of different environmental impacts. The results show that in the planetary boundary context, there are positive impacts of sheep grazing on biosphere integrity (genetic diversity) and biogeochemical flows and negative impacts on climate change, land use or freshwater use. Magnitudes of the impacts greatly dependent on the assumptions made especially regarding biosphere integrity impacts. In the future, it is crucial that decision-making be based on the evaluation of various environmental impacts and that the focus be more on complex sustainability thinking, rather than on one single environmental impact. This research demonstrates that results from a life cycle assessment can be modified and presented in a planetary boundaries context. A planetary boundary framework approach similar to that proposed herein could be further used to identify different environmental sustainability perspectives and to help one better recognize the multifunctional aspects of the ecosystem processes.

Photocontrolled organic field effect transistors based on the fullerene C60 and spiropyran hybrid molecule.

Photocontrolled organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) containing a hybrid compound of fullerene C60 (n-semiconductor) with spiropyran (electrical conductivity photocontroller) as the active layer were fabricated for the first time. It was found that an OFET based on the hybrid compound, unlike the multilayer transistor (a device based on unmodified fullerene C60 and spiropyran in different layers), has higher transfer characteristics (source-to-drain current), charge carrier mobility in the active layer, and response rate to external influence, which makes them promising materials for the manufacture of optical memory elements.

Molecular structure and properties of κ-carrageenan-gelatin gels.

Rheological studies, FTIR spectroscopy and a molecular docking approach were used to explore the structural basis of the peculiar physicochemical properties of gelatin gels modified with a κ-carrageenan admixture. Mixed gel properties are affected by the polysaccharide-to-gelatin ratio, Z, and can be divided into two categories. At low ratios, the strength of mixed gels varies insignificantly compared to gelatin due to the similar structures of the gels. Above the threshold content of κ-carrageenan (Z > 0.1), the storage modulus and yield stress of mixed gels are significantly enhanced. The nonadditivity and threshold character of the rheological properties could be the result of conformational ordering of both gelatin and κ-carrageenan, leading to the formation of additional junction zones in the gel network. According to molecular docking studies, the junctions could be formed as a result of complementary interactions between the gelatin triple helix and the κ-carrageenan double helix. The stack formation increases the interaction energy, which explains the strengthening of the gel network.

[Ocular surface viral diseases in children]. / Virusnye zabolevaniya glaznoi poverkhnosti u detei.

UNLABELLED: Over the past 15 years the number of children with inflammatory eye diseases has increased by five-six times. Data analysis of Moscow children's health clinics in 2014 showed that for 40,000 outpatients a viral infection was observed in 49,000 cases, whereas some children suffered from the viral infection twice or thrice. 344 children (0.7 percent) had the viral infection accompanied by keratoconjunctivitis. According to 2015 data, viral infection was observed in 37,957 children, including 325 outpatients (0.8 percent) with keratoconjunctivitis. AIM: To analyze clinical features and treatment options of ocular surface viral diseases in children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We observed 140 children aged 2 to 13 years with ocular surface viral diseases. RESULTS: Despite the presence of corneal disorders, in 95 percent of children changes were reversible - in 1.5 months corneal opacity was not observed. Yet five percent of children, despite the intensive treatment, had bacterial complications, causing decrease in visual acuity. CONCLUSION: In case of viral infections, ophthalmologists, pediatricians and general practitioners should all be aware of ocular manifestations of these diseases. Even if adequate therapy for ocular surface viral disorders is appointed, in five percent of cases complications are possible, causing decline in visual function. Changes in vision can be a result of general disease manifestation, and only timely and proper treatment will help to relieve the symptoms of inflammation and prevent complications.The results of our observations revealed that the addition of Ophtalmoferon medication to the complex therapy of ocular surface diseases in children showed a high therapeutic efficacy and a good safety profile. This medication, in contrast to other antiviral agents, is available in the form of ready-to-use eye drops, significantly enhancing medication compliance in outpatients.

70th anniversary of the Lviv scientific school of oncology.

Contemporary development of scientific thought is fostered not by separate people but is a purposeful activity of a group of like-minded people armed with progressive ideas and modern technical equipment. Such schools appeared and work actively in the majo­rity of research and educational establishments, clinics, and universities. The Lviv school established in 1945 by Professor H.P. Kovtunovych and developed by Professor A.I. Hnatyshak and his disciples can serve as an example of a successful school of oncology that continues its activity and yields scientific results. This school appeared not out of the thin air. Medieval Lviv could boast of the first university on the territory of the present-day Ukraine. Many discoveries and endeavors that made a beneficial impact on the development of medicine in Eastern Europe were made in this city. For historical reasons, the city of Lviv used to belong to different state formations (Austria-Hungary, Poland, the USSR; now it is a part of Ukraine), which could not but reflect on the staffing of doctor-researchers. This process acquired a special intensity in 1939-1945 when the research staff of the university changed substantially. Then, in 1945, H.P. Kovtunovych, the disciple of the prominent oncologist N.N. Petrov, came to Lviv and brought the ideas of St.-Petersburg onco­logy to the Lviv ground. The Lviv school was influenced by the two times Nobel Prize winner Marie Sklodowska Curie, who facilitated the initiation of oncological radiology in Lviv. The article contains data on research done by the disciples of Professors H.P. Kovtunovych and A.I. Hnatyshak. The first ever teaching chair of oncology in the USSR was founded in Lviv (1966), as well as the first Ukrainian hospice--an institution for palliative care for the oncological patients. The Lviv oncology center is one of the biggest and best-equipped oncology centers in Ukraine. An organic combination of theory and clinical practice has always been the guiding principle of the Lviv school of oncology. Presently, the Lviv school of oncology unites six doctors of sciences, a large collective of educators and researchers, as well as practitioners of the center of oncology. The school maintains close scientific and practical ties with oncologists of Ukraine as well as with leading oncological centers of Europe and America.

Calponin-Like Protein from Mussel Smooth Muscle Is a Competitive Inhibitor of Actomyosin ATPase.

The goal of this work was to elucidate the mechanism of inhibition of the actin-activated ATPase of myosin subfragment-1 (S1) by the calponin-like protein from mussel bivalve muscle. The calponin-like protein (Cap) is a 40-kDa actin-binding protein from the bivalve muscle of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus. Kinetic parameters Vmax and KATPase of actomyosin ATPase in the absence and the presence of Cap were determined to investigate the mechanism of inhibition. It was found that Cap mainly causes increase in KATPase value and to a lesser extent the decrease in Vmax, which indicates that it is most likely a competitive inhibitor of actomyosin ATPase. Analysis of Vmax and KATPase parameters in the presence of tropomyosin revealed that the latter is a noncompetitive inhibitor of the actomyosin ATPase.

[Meiotic segregation of chromosomes 13 and 14 of heterozygous Robertsonian translocation der(13;14) (q10; q10) carriers].

Meiotic segregation of chromosomes 13 and 14 was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization on sperm of five heterozygous carriers of the most frequent Robertsonian translocation der(13;14). Alternate segregation mode was predominant (mean 78.2 +/- 5.7%). The prevalence of balanced sperm varied from 69.4 to 86.5%. Adjacent segregation mode was detected in 18.64 +/- 4.90% of sperm; 3:0 mode was detected in 2.48 +/- 1.20% of sperm. These results are informative for reproductive counseling of Robertsonian translocation der(13;14) carriers, providing information for assessment of probability of receiving normal/balanced embryos in assisted reproduction cycles.

Effect of ions of potassium and lithium on NO synthase expression in the human adrenal cortex.

The expression of endothelial and inducible NO synthase in the human adrenal glands was studied under a change in the concentration of K(+), which plays a regulatory role in aldosterone secretion. K(+) ions stimulated the expression of both isoforms of NO synthase in the human adrenal cortex. A stimulatory effect of K(+) on NO synthase is probably related to activation of the calmodulin system and potassium-induced translocation of protein kinase C. Lithium produced n inhibitory effect on both isoforms of NO synthase, which suggests that protein kinase C serves a major regulator of expression in the human adrenal glands.

[Modulation of S-1 conformation and inhibition of the skeletal muscle S-1-ATPase by calponin of the mussel].

A novel 40 kDa protein has been detected in native thin filaments from catch muscles of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus. In this study, using skeletal muscle actin and S-1, we investigated the effects of the mussel 40-kDa actin-binding protein on the acto · S-1 ATPase activity. On increasing the 40-kDa actin-binding protein (CaP-40) concentration, the actin-activated ATPase activity decreased, and was inhibited 80% at a CaP-40 to actin ratio of 0.5. Polarized fluorimetry technique and glycerinated muscle fibers were used to study effects of CaP-40 on the orientation and mobility of fluorescent label 1.5-IAEDANS specifically bound to CyS-707 of myosin subfragment-1 in the absence of nucleotide, and in the presence of MgADP or MgATP. We have concluded that CaP-40 binding to actin affects the strong binding of myosin to actin but has no effect on the weak binding. Thus, the influence of the CaP-40 on the formation of strong actomyosin binding forms A · M and A · M · ADP manifests itself by a decrease in the relative content of myosin cross-bridges strongly bound with actin, which probably results in a decrease in the relative content of "switch on" actin monomers in thin filaments. This suggests that, as calponin CaP-40 selects its target the phase of strong actomyosin binding binding which preceded by a phase generating power stroke.

[Diagnostics of the primary multiple forms of the colorectal cancer].

The issue analyses the diagnostics of the repeated malignant lesions of the colorectal region. The study covers the two decades period (1992-2011 yy). Of the observed patients with primary colorectal tumors, 238 showed the repeated lesions of the region. The article focuses on the on-time diagnostics and differential approach to the repeated malignancies of the colorectal region.

[Cardiomyocyte differentiation of individual clones murine induced pluripotent stem cells].

Cardiomyocyte differentiation of certain clones of murine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) was estimated. iPS were obtained due to reprogramming of murine embryonic fibroblasts with transposon-based Sleeping beauty plasmids as sene delivery systems. Differentiation was performed in suspension culture and in attached to tissue-culture plates embryoid bodies (EBs). Ascorbic acid was applied as inductor. According to the obtained results, the differentiation was tenfold more effective in attached EBs. Ascorbic acid stimulated the generation of cardiomiocytes.

40-kDa protein from thin filaments of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus changes the conformation of F-actin during the ATPase cycle.

Polarized fluorimetry was used to study in ghost muscle fibers the influence of a 40-kDa protein from the thin filaments of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus on conformational changes of F-actin modified by the fluorescent probes 1,5-IAEDANS and FITC-phalloidin during myosin subfragment (S1) binding in the absence of nucleotides and in the presence of MgADP or MgATP. The fluorescence probes were rigidly bound with actin, which made the absorption and emission dipoles of the probes sensitive to changes in the orientation and mobility of both actin monomer and its subdomain-1 in thin filaments of the muscle fiber. On modeling different intermediate states of actomyosin, the orientation and mobility of oscillators of the dyes were changed discretely, which suggests multistep changes in the actin conformation during the cycle of ATP hydrolysis. The 40-kDa protein influenced the orientation and mobility of the fluorescent probes markedly, suppressing changes in their orientation and mobility in the absence of nucleotides and in the presence of MgADP, but enhancing these changes in the presence of MgATP. The calponin-like 40-kDa protein is supposed to prevent formation of the strong binding state of actomyosin in the absence of nucleotides and in the presence of MgADP but to activate formation of this state in the presence of MgATP.

[Obesity and diabetes mellitus].

New literature data and the results of own researches concerning the role of excessive body weight and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus in humans are presented in the analytical review. Inaccordance with current insights, obesity and type 2 diabetes are considered diseases of inflammatory nature, characterized by systemic chronic low-grade inflammation, where different kinds of cytokines are cardinally involved. Unfavourable life style, i.e. excessive, high-energy, and irrational nutrition--an excessive consumption of animal fats and foods containing the high amount of glucose and starch with an insufficient use of high fiber vegetables, fish and vitamin D, and also sedentary, inactive life style leads to adipocyte hypertrophy and migration of M1 macrophages into the adipose tissue (AT). As a result, there is a low-grade inflammation accompanied by an increased production of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, etc.), adipokines (leptin, resistin, visfatin etc.) and chemokines (CCL2, CCL5, CCL26 and CX3C). Under the influence of these cytokines, on the one hand, IR "is emerged", and on the other--there is apoptosis of the ß-cells, that should be followed by the occurrence of clinically diagnosed type 2 diabetes. However, there is also the opposite system in humans, protecting the organism from the development of type 2 diabetes, and including an increase in the formation of M2 macrophages and the increased formation of secretion of antidiabetic cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13, etc.) and adiponectin.

[Common and individual in EEG spectral differences while performing verbal and spatial tasks].

It is shown previously that types of carried-out spatial-figurative and verbal-logic tasks can be distinguished by means of the trained automatic classifier, using individual for each examinee characteristics of EEG power spectra. Research with application of a subset of the same tasks, but aimed to identify the EEG spectral power group differences has been carried out with 31 participants. Contrast distribution of statistically significant differences on frequency bands qualitatively coincides with ranging of the bands by estimates of efficiency of recognition with the trained classifier, except for a range theta. Alpha bands are most involved. Results of comparison of the general (group) and individual indicators correspond to ideas of more significant involvement of mechanisms of semantic memory in the solution of verbal tasks, and also point to possible differences in balance of internal and external attention at realization of verbal-logic and spatial-figurative activity.

[Value of magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of recurrent colorectal cancer].

To diagnose recurrent colorectal cancer is an urgent problem of oncoproctology. Eighty patients with suspected recurrent colon tumor were examined. All the patients underwent irrigoscopy, colonoscopy, magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen and small pelvis. The major magnetic resonance symptoms of recurrent colon tumors were studied; a differential diagnosis of recurrent processes and postoperative changes at the site of intervention was made.

40-kDa actin-binding protein of thin filaments of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus inhibits the strong bond formation between actin and myosin head during the ATPase cycle.

Mobility and spatial orientation of a novel 40-kDa actin-binding protein from the smooth muscle of the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus was studied by polarized fluorometry. The influence of this protein on orientation and mobility of the myosin heads was investigated during modeling the different stages of the ATPase cycle. The 40-kDa actin-binding protein affected the strong actin-myosin binding. We suggest that the 40-kDa actin-binding protein is involved in regulation of the actin-myosin interaction in the smooth muscle of the mussel.

[Forensic medical assessment of the mechanisms of development of gunshot lesions caused by elastic destructive agents].

This paper reports the results of analysis of the data obtained in experimental studies and practical expert assessments of body injuries inflicted by rubber balls for traumatic weapons. The causes accounting for the polymorphism of such injuries and the mechanisms of their development were elucidated by means of damage simulation taking into consideration the physical and dynamic properties of elastic ball-type destructive agents and the morphological structure of different anatomical regions of the human body. The results of the study may be of interest for differential diagnostics of gunshot lesions caused by elastic destructive agents.