An Isotonic Drink Containing Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus) Processing Waste Collagen Hydrolysate for Bone and Cartilage Health.

Malnutrition is one of the major factors of bone and cartilage disorders. Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) processing waste is a cheap and highly promising source of bioactive substances, including collagen-derived peptides and amino acids, for bone and cartilage structure stabilization. The addition of these substances to a functional drink is one of the ways to achieve their fast intestinal absorption. Collagen hydrolysate was obtained via enzymatic hydrolysis, ultrafiltration, freeze-drying, and grinding to powder. The lyophilized hydrolysate was a light gray powder with high protein content (>90%), including collagen (about 85% of total protein) and a complete set of essential and non-essential amino acids. The hydrolysate had no observed adverse effect on human mesenchymal stem cell morphology, viability, or proliferation. The hydrolysate was applicable as a protein food supply or a structure-forming food component due to the presence of collagen fiber fragments. An isotonic fitness drink (osmolality 298.1 ± 2.1 mOsm/L) containing hydrolysate and vitamin C as a cofactor in collagen biosynthesis was prepared. The addition of the hydrolysate did not adversely affect its organoleptic parameters. The production of such functional foods and drinks is one of the beneficial ways of fish processing waste utilization.

X-ray fluorescent method for the analysis of trace elements in bio-materials with correction of the matrix effect.

A method for correcting the matrix effect by measuring the intensity of fluorescent radiation and its absorption by the sample material in the same x-ray optical scheme is proposed. The use of a complex secondary Ag-Ge emitter as a primary radiation source provides a low detection limit for a wide range of chemical elements from Ca (Z = 20) to Mo (Z = 42) in the K-series and from Cd (Z = 48) to Bi (Z = 83) in the L-series. To measure the absorption, the radiation of an additional secondary emitter is used, of which the wavelength can be varied in the range from 0.633 to 3.38 Å, depending on the measured impurity. An example of determining the mass fraction of an impurity in a sample of unknown composition prepared from a mixture of state standard samples of aqueous solutions is given. The x-ray optical scheme was assembled on the basis of a portable Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer. The method is designed to study materials with a base consisting of chemical elements with a low atomic number.

Method for determining the electronegativity of bound atoms of chemical elements with a small atomic number.

The classical approach of James and Brindley for determining the shielding of a nucleus by electrons from the atomic form factor of the scattering of x rays is generalized for atoms in a bound state. It is shown that for chemical elements with atomic number Z < 10, the ratio of the peaks of coherent IR and incoherent IC scattering in the range of (sin θ)/λ from 0.7 to 2.0 Å-1 is determined by the form factor of scattering by internal electrons of the (1, 0) level. For each atom in a multicomponent system, there is only one adjustable parameter-the effective charge Z* = (Z - s), which characterizes the shielding of the nucleus by electrons. Fitting the dependence IR/IC ((sin θ)/λ) allows you to determine Z* for each free or bound atom and calculate its electronegativity. The values of the electronegativity of lithium, boron, carbon, oxygen, and fluorine in compounds with different types of chemical bonds are analyzed.

Determination of the figurative point trajectory on the phase diagram of NiO lithiation-oxidation process by x-ray diffraction and Compton scattering methods.

The positions of the figurative points on the triangular Gibbs phase diagram for the process of high-temperature synthesis of solid solutions LiyNi2-yO2 were determined for the first time using a combination of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Compton scattering methods. The trajectory of the figurative point is built according to experimental data for temperatures of 650 and 750 °C. The ratios of the phases in equilibrium are found. It was established that, when the structure goes from rock salt to layered structures, the composition of the reagent mixture changes nonmonotonically: with an increase in the degree of ordering of the solid solution lattice, the sum molecular weight of the solid reagents increases. It has been shown experimentally that the combined use of XRD and Compton scattering makes it possible to carry out physicochemical analysis of the process and predict the final product.

Patient perspectives of care pathways for people with low back pain: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) care pathways aim to enhance health outcomes through patient-clinician mutual decision-making and care coordination. However, challenges to successful translation into practice include patients' understanding, expectation, and acceptance of treatment and management strategies for LBP. This study explored patients' perspectives and/or experience of care pathways and their involvement in decision-making in primary care. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants with LBP recruited from the community. Inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data was conducted within the design framework to enable a systematic comparison of experiences across participants and within individual cases. RESULTS: Five themes described participant perspectives and understanding of care pathways: i) care pathways can guide decision-making; ii) familiarity with no and/or stepped care pathway, but preference for matched or blend of care pathways; iii) engaging in shared decision-making; iv) patient-related barriers to implementation; v) patient-related facilitators to implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Participants felt that existing care pathways did not meet their needs when pain persisted. Participants preferred matched or hybrid care pathways and suggested that implementation of such pathways should focus on addressing an individual's needs. Adopting a holistic approach, and clarity in shared decision-making, were deemed crucial for effective implementation of LBP pathways in practice. Consumer (patient) engagement in the design of LBP care pathways is recommended.

Application of the Gadidae Fish Processing Waste for Food Grade Gelatin Production.

Waste from fish cutting (heads, swim bladders, fins, skin, and bones) is a high-value technological raw material for obtaining substances and products with a wide range of properties. The possibility of using waste from cutting fish of the Gadidae family: the Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) and the Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), processed in the coastal zone, is scientifically substantiated. In this work, a technology has been developed for processing accumulated waste from fish cutting in order to obtain fish gelatin, which is characterized by high protein content (more than 80.0%) and a full set of essential and nonessential amino acids. We studied the quality of fish gelatin obtained from wastes from cutting the fish of the Gadidae family. The possibility of using fish gelatin as a component of fish products is shown; the dose of its introduction into the fish products is substantiated. The data obtained made it possible to recommend the use of fish processing waste products as a gelling component and a source of amino acids in multicomponent food systems.

Chemical Characterization of Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Collagen Hydrolyzed Using Enzyme Preparation Derived from Red King Crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) and Its Potential as a Core Component of Bacterial Culture Medium.

The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) processing wastes are massive and unutilized in the Murmansk region of Russia. The samples of skin-containing waste of Atlantic cod fillets production were hydrolyzed using enzyme preparations derived from red king crab hepatopancreases, porcine pancreases, and Bacillus subtilis bacteria. The activity of enzymes from crab hepatopancreases was significantly higher than the activity of enzymes derived from other sources. The optimal conditions of the hydrolysis process have been figured out. The samples of cod processing waste hydrolysate were analyzed for amino acid composition and molecular weight distribution. The samples of hydrolysate were used as core components for bacterial culture medium samples. The efficiency of the medium samples was tested for Escherichia coli growth rate; the most efficient sample had an efficiency of 95.3% of that of a commercially available medium based on fish meal. Substitution of medium components with those derived from industrial by-products is one of the ways to decrease a cost of a culture medium in biopharmaceutical drug production.

Tissue-Specific Expression of Genes Involved in Cellular Transportation in Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Exposed to Cadmium.

Juvenile common carp were treated with Cd2+ at a sublethal concentration for Cyprinidae (6.4 mg/L). The expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunit genes (NR2A, NR2B) and ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 1 gene (ABCC1) was compared between treated and untreated fish. In addition, cadmium accumulation in the fish tissues was assessed. NR2A was 18.9-fold upregulated by Cd2+ in the eyes (choroid + retina), which accumulated Cd, and was not upregulated in brain, which didn't accumulate Cd. This may have been caused by the blocking of calcium channels by Cd2+, which has a very similar ionic radius to that of Ca2+. ABCC1 was 2.6-fold upregulated in gills and was not upregulated in liver; both tissues accumulated high levels of Cd. This difference may have been caused by the accumulation of predominantly previously inactivated Cd in liver or by some difference in the mechanisms of self-detoxification from Cd2+ in fish gills and liver.

Retrospective surveillance of antibiotic use in maternity wards and neonatal intensive care units in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Antibiotic overuse in infants is associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events. Development of antibiotic stewardship programs aimed at reducing overall antibiotic consumption requires epidemiological surveillance. Retrospective surveillance and evaluation of all antibiotics provided to every infant admitted to maternal wards or neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) from 01 January 2014 to 31 December 2014 were performed in five medical centers of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Types of antibiotics and dates of administration were recorded. Antibiotic use was quantified by length of therapy (length of therapy, LOT, per 1000 patient-days, PD) and days of therapy (DOT/1000 PD). An additional parameter named "instant DOT/1000 PD" was introduced by authors for assessment of longitudinal patterns of administrations. Antibiotic load was 825.6 DOT/1000 PD in maternity wards and 1425.8 DOT/1000 PD in the NICUs. These levels are two to four times higher than DOTs reported in the USA for a level III NICU (348 DOT/1000PD). Antibiotic load was associated with the length of hospital stay (LOS) and birth weight. These associations were distorted when assessed using the conventional parameters, LOT and DOT, because they do not reflect the longitudinal component of treatment and underestimate antibiotic load when a patient stays in hospital without treatment. The proposed additional parameter successfully overcame these flaws and uncovered hidden associations. Severe overuse of antibiotics may be taking place in Russia and antibiotic stewardship development should be urged. Instant DOT/1000 PD is a more powerful tool in assessing treatment patterns than DOT/1000 PD.

Prospects for application of X-ray anomalous transmission effect to monochromatization of broadband spectrum.

The characteristics of spectra obtained by monochromatization of a broadband spectrum using the effect of X-ray anomalous transmission (Bormann effect) have been experimentally studied. Optimization of the crystal thickness allows one to obtain the spectral band with a controlled width of ΔE/E = 1-5 10-3 and with a contrast of more than 250 with a peak reflectivity not less than 4% in the transmitted Bormann beam. It was found that due to the wave field compression, the width of the transmitted Bormann beam decreased three times as the thickness of the crystal increased. The value of parallel displacement of the transmitted Bormann beam relative to the primary one, which depends on crystal thickness, was measured. This value was shown to be sufficient for the beams to be separated by the slit. Monitoring the transmitted Bormann beam by the shape of 2d-curves of the diffracted Laue-beam enables the precise control of characteristics of the primary source with a complex shape of angle and energy distributions of photons.

The myogenic mechanism of synchronization and coordination for uterine myocytes contractions during labor.

The article summarized the results of many years studying of synchronization and coordination of uterine myocytes contractile activity during physiological labor contractions. The authors suggest that the physiological basis for these processes is the mechanoreceptor mechanism of feedback for the stretching which is one of the fundamental mechanisms for control contractile activity of uterine myocytes during parturition.

In preeclampsia endogenous cardiotonic steroids induce vascular fibrosis and impair relaxation of umbilical arteries.

BACKGROUND: Marinobufagenin (MBG), a bufadienolide cardiotonic steroid, induces cardiovascular fibrosis. Because levels of MBG in preeclampsia are increased, and anti-MBG monoclonal antibody reduces blood pressure (BP) in a rat model of preeclampsia, we hypothesized that in preeclampsia, elevated MBG levels would be associated with the development of fibrosis in feto-placental circulation and with impairment of vascular relaxation. METHOD: We studied 16 patients with preeclampsia (systolic BP=150±4 mmHg; 28±2 years, 37±1 weeks gestational age) and 14 gestational age-matched normal pregnant women (systolic BP=112±2 mmHg). RESULTS: Preeclampsia was associated with a rise in plasma and placental levels of MBG. In preeclamptic umbilical arteries, the expression of Fli-1, a transcription factor and a negative regulator of fibrosis, was significantly reduced (P<0.001), whereas procollagen-1 expression was increased (P<0.01). As compared to control vessels, isolated rings of umbilical arteries from patients with preeclampsia demonstrated unaltered responsiveness to endothelin-1 (EC50=2.2 and 3.2 nmol/l, respectively), but exhibited an impaired response to the relaxant effect of sodium nitroprusside (EC50=1.5 vs. 32.4 nmol/l, P<.001) following endothelin-1-induced constriction. Ex-vivo treatment of normal umbilical arteries explants with 1 and 10 nmol/l MBG for 24 h mimicked the effects of preeclampsia, specifically suppressed Fli-1 and increased collagen-1 expression while impairing vasorelaxation. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that in preeclampsia, elevated levels of MBG induce vascular fibrosis via a Fli-1-dependent mechanism which leads to an impairment of vasorelaxation, and suggest that MBG represents a potential target for therapy of this syndrome.

Use of a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system to treat bleeding related to uterine leiomyomas.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate the potential usefulness of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG IUS) in treating women with uterine leiomyomas. DESIGN: Prospective before-and-after study. SETTING: Family planning unit in an academic research institute. PATIENT(S): Sixty-seven women with uterine leiomyomas who chose the LNG IUS as their method of contraception. INTERVENTION(S): Clinical and ultrasound examinations were performed prior to and 3, 6, and 12 months after the LNG IUS insertion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Menstrual blood loss assessed with pictorial blood loss assessment charts, ferritin and hemoglobin concentrations, and uterine and leiomyoma volume. RESULT(S): Use of the LNG IUS was associated with a marked reduction in menstrual blood loss. After 12 months of use, the mean pictorial blood loss assessment chart score declined from 97 to 16 (P<.001). Hemoglobin and ferritin levels increased significantly over 1 year of use. Eighteen of 19 women (95%) who were anemic at the beginning of the study were no longer anemic at 12 months, as judged by hemoglobin levels. No pregnancies occurred during the study. CONCLUSION(S): The LNG IUS was associated with a profound reduction in menstrual blood loss. For women with leiomyomas of this size, the LNG IUS provides effective medical treatment of bleeding.