Blood Substitutes with Gas Transfer Function.

The review presents the results of the blood substitute development based on perfluororganic compounds (PFC). The limitations of PFC due to which their further development was suspended are described. The presented data allows us to imagine a possible way to create optimal drugs based on PFC. Chemically inactive perfluorocomponents should be used - perfluorinated hydrocarbons and tertiary perfluorinated amines. However, in order to emulsify and stabilize the emulsion, other types of effective and chemically indifferent surfactants that do not interact with oxygen and other components of the drug are needed.

Measurement of Electron-Neutrino Charged-Current Cross Sections on

Using an 185-kg NaI[Tl] array, COHERENT has measured the inclusive electron-neutrino charged-current cross section on ^{127}I with pion decay-at-rest neutrinos produced by the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Iodine is one the heaviest targets for which low-energy (≤50 MeV) inelastic neutrino-nucleus processes have been measured, and this is the first measurement of its inclusive cross section. After a five-year detector exposure, COHERENT reports a flux-averaged cross section for electron neutrinos of 9.2_{-1.8}^{+2.1}×10^{-40} cm^{2}. This corresponds to a value that is ∼41% lower than predicted using the MARLEY event generator with a measured Gamow-Teller strength distribution. In addition, the observed visible spectrum from charged-current scattering on ^{127}I has been measured between 10 and 55 MeV, and the exclusive zero-neutron and one-or-more-neutron emission cross sections are measured to be 5.2_{-3.1}^{+3.4}×10^{-40} and 2.2_{-0.5}^{+0.4}×10^{-40} cm^{2}, respectively.

[Comparison of psychometric and pathopsychological approaches in the assessment of intellectual activity in children and adolescents with progressive forms of schizophrenia]. / Sopostavlenie psikhometricheskogo i patopsikhologicheskogo podkhodov v otsenke intellektual'noi deyatel'nosti u detei i podrostkov s progredientnymi formami shizofrenii.

OBJECTIVE: To study the intellectual activity of children and adolescents with progressive forms of schizophrenia using quantitative and qualitative diagnostic methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An experimental group consisted of 67 children and adolescents (mean age 11.1±2.8 years) with mental pathology of schizophrenia spectrum with varying severity of the disease (malignant, progressive, and low progressive course) and leading clinical syndromes (catatonic, psychopathic, neurosis-like, and hyperkinetic). A control group included 63 children and adolescents (mean age 11.1±3.0 years) without a verified psychiatric diagnosis, secondary schools' students. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) was used for assessing intelligence, the Design of objects method was used for assessing the characteristics of thinking. RESULTS: The relationship between thinking disorders and the parameters of verbal intelligence in patients with schizophrenia was shown (the Information subtest is related to all Object Construction parameters, r=0.401 to r=0.634; verbal IQ score is associated with some Object Construction scores, r=0.541 to r=0.537). In the control group, such a relationship was not noted. A decrease in the level of intelligence and severe thinking disorders is associated with such clinical factors as the malignant course of the disease (mean Full IQ score is 60.1, z-value of the coefficient of standardization in relation to the age norm is -2.1) and catatonic syndrome (mean Full IQ score is 68.1, coefficient of standardization is 60%). CONCLUSION: The use of psychometric and pathopsychological approaches in the diagnosis of intellectual activity complements each other.

First Probe of Sub-GeV Dark Matter beyond the Cosmological Expectation with the COHERENT CsI Detector at the SNS.

The COHERENT Collaboration searched for scalar dark matter particles produced at the Spallation Neutron Source with masses between 1 and 220 MeV/c^{2} using a CsI[Na] scintillation detector sensitive to nuclear recoils above 9 keV_{nr}. No evidence for dark matter is found and we thus place limits on allowed parameter space. With this low-threshold detector, we are sensitive to coherent elastic scattering between dark matter and nuclei. The cross section for this process is orders of magnitude higher than for other processes historically used for accelerator-based direct-detection searches so that our small, 14.6 kg detector significantly improves on past constraints. At peak sensitivity, we reject the flux consistent with the cosmologically observed dark-matter concentration for all coupling constants α_{D}<0.64, assuming a scalar dark-matter particle. We also calculate the sensitivity of future COHERENT detectors to dark-matter signals which will ambitiously test multiple dark-matter spin scenarios.

Measurement of the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering Cross Section on CsI by COHERENT.

We measured the cross section of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) using a CsI[Na] scintillating crystal in a high flux of neutrinos produced at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. New data collected before detector decommissioning have more than doubled the dataset since the first observation of CEvNS, achieved with this detector. Systematic uncertainties have also been reduced with an updated quenching model, allowing for improved precision. With these analysis improvements, the COHERENT Collaboration determined the cross section to be (165_{-25}^{+30})×10^{-40} cm^{2}, consistent with the standard model, giving the most precise measurement of CEvNS yet. The timing structure of the neutrino beam has been exploited to compare the CEvNS cross section from scattering of different neutrino flavors. This result places leading constraints on neutrino nonstandard interactions while testing lepton flavor universality and measures the weak mixing angle as sin^{2}θ_{W}=0.220_{-0.026}^{+0.028} at Q^{2}≈(50 MeV)^{2}.

First Measurement of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering on Argon.

We report the first measurement of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) on argon using a liquid argon detector at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Spallation Neutron Source. Two independent analyses prefer CEvNS over the background-only null hypothesis with greater than 3σ significance. The measured cross section, averaged over the incident neutrino flux, is (2.2±0.7)×10^{-39} cm^{2}-consistent with the standard model prediction. The neutron-number dependence of this result, together with that from our previous measurement on CsI, confirms the existence of the CEvNS process and provides improved constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions.

Functional Analysis of Coilin in Virus Resistance and Stress Tolerance of Potato Solanum tuberosum using CRISPR-Cas9 Editing.

The role of the nuclear protein coilin in the mechanisms of resistance of potato Solanum tuberosum cultivar Chicago to biotic and abiotic stresses was studied using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology. For the coilin gene editing, a complex consisting of the Cas9 endonuclease and a short guide RNA was immobilized on gold or chitosan microparticles and delivered into apical meristem cells by bioballistics or vacuum infiltration methods, respectively. Editing at least one allele of the coilin gene considerably increased the resistance of the edited lines to infection with the potato virus Y and their tolerance to salt and osmotic stress.

[Psychological diagnosis of cognitive dysontogenesis]. / Psikhologicheskaia diagnostika kognitivnogo dizontogeneza.

The article discusses a systematic clinical and psychological approach to different types of impaired cognitive development in children and adolescents with mental disorders in the context of the concept of cognitive dysontogenesis. The authors describe the types of cognitive dysontogenesis in schizophrenic and autistic spectrum disorders and present two models of its estimation: with complex psychometric and pathopsychological diagnosis and with a support on pathopsychological diagnosis of cognitive development only. Special attention is paid to domestic techniques developed in MHRC, which classify the types of cognitive dysontogenesis in children and adolescents with different disorders of mental development without reliance on psychometric indicators. The developed model of cognitive development profiles allows to make a conclusion about a typical picture of cognitive disorders in different versions of mental pathology.

Guide RNA Design for CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Potato Genome Editing.

The activity of the pool of sgRNA molecules designed for different regions of potato coilin and phytoene desaturase genes was compared in vitro. Due to the presence of nucleotides unpaired with DNA, sgRNA is able not only to inhibit but also to stimulate the activity of the Cas9-sgRNA complex in vitro. Although the first six nucleotides located in the DNA substrate proximally to the PAM site at the 3' end are the binding sites for cas9, they had no significant effect on the activity of the Cas9-sgRNA complex.

Non-structural Functions of Hordeivirus Capsid Protein Identified in Plants Infected by a Chimeric Tobamovirus.

Capsid proteins (CPs) of (+)RNA-containing plant viruses are multifunctional proteins involved in many stages of viral infection cycle, in addition to their main function of virus capsid formation. For example, the tobamoviral CP ensures virus systemic transport in plants and defines the virus-host interactions, thereby influencing the virus host range, virus infectivity, pathogenicity, and manifestation of infection symptoms. Hordeiviruses and tobamoviruses belong to the Virgaviridae family and have rod-shaped virions with a helical symmetry; their CPs are similar in structure. However, no non-structural functions of hordeiviral CPs have been described so far. In this study, we assayed possible non-structural functions of CP from the barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) (hordeivirus). To do this, the genome of turnip vein clearing virus (TVCV) (tobamovirus) was modified by substituting the TVCV CP gene with the BSMV CP gene or its mutants. We found that BSMV CP efficiently replaced TVCV CP at all stages of viral infection. In particular, BSMV CP performed the role of tobamoviral CP in the long-distance transport of the chimeric virus, acted as a hypersensitive response elicitor, and served as a pathogenicity determinant that influenced the symptoms of the viral infection. The chimeric tobamovirus coding for the C-terminally truncated BSMV CP displayed an increased infectivity and was transported in plants in a form of atypical virions (ribonucleoprotein complexes).

Application of the CRISPR/Cas System for Generation of Pathogen-Resistant Plants.

The use of the CRISPR/Cas9 prokaryotic adaptive immune system has led to a breakthrough in targeted genome editing in eukaryotes. The CRISPR/Cas technology allows to generate organisms with desirable characteristics by introducing deletions/insertions into selected genome loci resulting in the knockout or modification of target genes. This review focuses on the current state of the CRISPR/Cas use for the generation of plants resistant to viruses, bacteria, and parasitic fungi. Resistance to DNA- and RNA-containing viruses is usually provided by expression in transgenic plants of the Cas endonuclease gene and short guide RNAs (sgRNAs) targeting certain sites in the viral or the host plant genomes to ensure either direct cleavage of the viral genome or modification of the plant host genome in order to decrease the efficiency of virus replication. Editing of plant genes involved in the defense response to pathogens increases plants resistance to bacteria and pathogenic fungi. The review explores strategies and prospects of the development of pathogen-resistant plants with a focus on the generation of non-transgenic (non-genetically modified) organisms, in particular, by using plasmid (DNA)-free systems for delivery of the Cas/sgRNA editing complex into plant cells.

Observation of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering.

The coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei has eluded detection for four decades, even though its predicted cross section is by far the largest of all low-energy neutrino couplings. This mode of interaction offers new opportunities to study neutrino properties and leads to a miniaturization of detector size, with potential technological applications. We observed this process at a 6.7σ confidence level, using a low-background, 14.6-kilogram CsI[Na] scintillator exposed to the neutrino emissions from the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Characteristic signatures in energy and time, predicted by the standard model for this process, were observed in high signal-to-background conditions. Improved constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions with quarks are derived from this initial data set.

Searching for active mobile genetic elements in dsRNA fraction of Pinus sylvestris having witches broom abnormalities.

The most common type of coniferous mobile genetic elements are retrotransposons. Despite of their early positive impact on evolution of modern coniferous species they can have a significant negative impact for Forestry and breeding. Breaking genomic structural integrity mobile elements can cause phenotypic defects of plants. In this regard, the study of the diversity of coniferous mobile genetic elements is particularly interesting. In the present paper, we describe mobile genetic elements in dsRNA fraction of Pinus sylvestris having witches broom abnormalities. In result of assembled contigs analysis by RepeatMasker 70 mobile genetic elements were identified. A 68 of that were retroelements. Most of elements represented by Gypsy (16 contigs) and Copia (48 contigs). In 4 cases retroelements specific to Pinus taeda were identified. In most cases fragments of integrase (24), reverse transcriptase (22) and RNaseH (15) were identified. Results of the study may be of interest for coniferous breeding and genetic specialists. The raw data of these experiments have been deposited at NCBI under the accession number SAMN06185845.

A conserved region in the Closterovirus 1a polyprotein drives extensive remodeling of endoplasmic reticulum membranes and induces motile globules in Nicotiana benthamiana cells.

In infected plant cells, closterovirus replicative polyproteins 1a and 1ab drive membrane remodeling and formation of multivesicular replication platforms. Polyprotein 1a contains a variable Central Region (CR) between the methyltransferase and helicase domains. In a previous study, we have found that transient expression of the Beet yellows virus CR-2 segment (aa 1305-1494) in Nicotiana benthamiana induces the formation of ~1µm mobile globules originating from the ER membranes. In the present study, sequence analysis has shown that a part of the CR named the "Zemlya region" (overlapping the CR-2), is conserved in all members of the Closterovirus genus and contains a predicted amphipathic helix (aa 1368-1385). By deletion analysis, the CR-2 region responsible for the induction of 1-µm globules has been mapped to aa 1368-1432. We suggest that the conserved membrane-modifying region of the BYV 1a may be involved in the biogenesis of closterovirus replication platforms.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN TREATMENT OF FRACTURES OF THE UPPER EXTREMITIES IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE MULTIPLE AND POLYTRAUMA.

A comparative analysis of treatment results of fractures of long bones of the upper extremities was made in 172 victims with severe polytrauma. The traditional strategy of treatment was used in the first group. The new technologies such as prognostic tactics, method of Damage control orthopedics and low-invasive osteosynthesis developed by the authors were applied in the second group. The application of new technologies allowed doctors to improve the immediate and long-term results of surgery. The rate of lethality decreased in 1,6 times, incidence of complications reduced in 1,4 times. Hospital stay shortened in 2 times: for victims with favorable prognosis ­ on 7 days; for patients with unfavorable prognosis ­ on 13 days. The long-term results were studied in 154 (89,5%) patients. The common duration of treatment reduced on 30 days and the quantity of good results increased on 18,6%. The number of patients with vocational rehabilitation increased from 82,3 to 90,7%.

[On the problem of psychological (psychometric) diagnosis of intelligence in children with developmental disorders]. / Psikhometricheskaia otsenka intellekta u deteĭ s narusheniiami psikhicheskogo razvitiia.

A review includes the following sections corresponded with methods of investigation and groups of patients: Wechsler test for atypical autism and schizophrenia; Psycho Educational Profile (PEP) in endogenous mental pathology, the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement in children schizophrenia, Edinburgh Picture Test in mental dysontogenesis. The results of the studies in these fields are presented.

[A rare clinical report of giant hemangiopericytoma].

Authors show an example of a successful treatment of a patient with a giant intracranial hemangiopericytoma. Hemangiopericytoma are aggressive tumors with a high rate of recurrence and metastasis. Despite the malignant nature of these tumors often reach a large size with minor clinical signs. Surgical removal of the tumor is still the primary method of treatment.

Study of photoinduced antitumor activity of phthalocyanin-based nanostructures as pro-photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy of malignant tumors in vivo.

Nanoparticles of aluminum and zinc phthalocyanin and metal-free phthalocyanin (AlPc, ZnPc, and H2Pc), whose molecular forms are photosensitizers, can serve as effective "prophotosensitizers" in photodynamic therapy for malignant tumors. Transition (stimulation) of photo-inert nanoparticles into a photoactive photosensitizer is realized locally in the tumor node by its exposure to potent laser pulses. Systemic injection of AlPc, ZnPc, and H2Pc nanoparticles has not led to accumulation of their photoactive form in the skin, which can lead to the development of skin phototoxicity. Effective protocols of photodynamic therapy with ZnPc nanoparticles are determined. The use of these protocols in mice with S-37 sarcoma led to 92-70% tumor growth inhibition, 48% improvement of survival, and cure in 84% cases.

[Variants of cognitive development in children and adolescents with different forms of schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To explore cognitive disorders in children and adolescents with schizophrenia from the perspective of cognitive dysontogenesis concept, assess severity and specificity of cognitive deficits and identify variants of the dynamics and types of cognitive development. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three diagnostic groups of patients were studied: 1) childhood onset schizophrenia, 2) schizotypal disorder, and 3) other types of schizophrenia. RESULTS AND СONCLUSION: There was a predomination of cognitive development types, named cognitive dysontogenesis, which structure was determined by a combination of the dynamics of cognitive development and severity of cognitive deficits. Severity and type of the dynamics of cognitive deficits were associated with the diagnosis and cognitive process.

Evidence for the role of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C in sustained hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction.

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) and elucidate its possible interactions within HPV mechanism. Inhibition of PC-PLC with D609 (30µM) resulted in partial reduction of the transient phase and almost complete abolition of the sustained phase of HPV in isolated rat intrapulmonary arteries (IPAs). Intravenous injection of D609 (5mg/kg) 30min before the onset of hypoxia prevented the development of acute hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (AHPH) in rats. D609 also inhibited pulmonary vasoconstriction induced with a generator of superoxide anions LY83583, but not the one induced with hydrogen peroxide. Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibition with Ro-31-8220 partially diminished the transient phase of hypoxic contraction in IPA while the sustained phase remained unchanged. Phosphocholine, known to be released due to phosphatidylcholine breakdown by PC-PLC, induced sustained contraction in isolated IPA and also transient pulmonary and systemic hypertension if administered intravenously (70mg/kg). We conclude that PC-PLC plays an important role in sustained HPV possibly through the activation of PKC-independent mechanism, which may be coupled with phosphocholine release.