Introduction. The outbreaks of the Zaire ebolavirus (ZE) disease (ZED) that have arisen in the last decade determine the need to study the infection pathogenesis, the formation of specific immunity ...forming as well as the development of effective preventive and therapeutic means. All stages of fight against the ZED spread require the experimental infection in sensitive laboratory animals, which are rhesus monkeys in case of this disease .The aim of the study is to evaluate the rhesus monkey cellular immunity following the ZE experimental infection by the means of flow cytometry (cytofluorimetry).Material and methods. Male rhesus monkeys were intramuscularly infected by the dose of 15 LD50 (dose of the pathogen that causes 50% mortality of infected animals) of the ZE, the Zaire strain (ZEBOV). Levels of 18 peripheral blood lymphocyte populations of the animals before the ZE experimental infection and at the terminal stage of the disease were assessed using flow cytometry.Results and discussion. The certain changes in the levels of the lymphocyte populations were observed following infection, indicating simultaneous activation and suppression of the immune system during ZED. The increase in content was observed for T-lymphocytes, T-helper and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes expressing the corresponding markers of early activation. The decrease was recorded for T-lymphocytes and double-positive T-lymphocytes expressing corresponding markers of late activation, as well as natural killer cells expressing CD8 (p 0.05).Conclusion. For the first time in the Russian Federation, the rhesus monkey cellular immunity before and after the ZE experimental infection was assessed using flow cytometry.
Cellular immunity plays an important role in the pathogenesis and formation of protective immune defense against the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus.
The aim
of the work was to study the cellular immunity of rhesus ...monkeys applying flow cytometry after experimental infection with the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus.
Materials and methods
. Male rhesus monkeys were intranasally inoculated with the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus, Isolate B strain and hCoV-19/Russia/SP48-1226/2020 strain (abbreviated name U-2), at a dose of 5.0 lg PFU. Using flow cytometry, the levels of 21 populations/subpopulations of mononuclear cells in the peripheral blood of animals were determined before experimental infection with the pathogen and on day 14 after infection. SARS‑CoV‑2 coronavirus RNA was assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Determination of the titer of virus-neutralizing antibodies to the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus in the blood sera of animals was conducted through neutralization test evaluating the ability to suppress negative colonies.
Results and discussion
. Infection with Isolate B strain culture has led to an increase in the relative content of total T-lymphocytes (p˂0.2), cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (p˂0.1), as well as monocytes expressing the early activation marker CD25 (p˂0.2). The decrease in levels has been observed for total B-lymphocytes (p˂0.2) and T-helper cells (p˂0.1). Infection with the U-2 strain culture revealed an increase in the relative content of monocytes expressing the early activation marker CD25 (p˂0.2). Thus, for the first time in the Russian Federation, flow cytometry was used to study the cellular immunity of rhesus monkeys before and after experimental infection with the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus. The obtained information can be used for studying the pathogenesis of SARS‑CoV‑2 infection, course, and outcome of the disease, and developing strategies for vaccination and treatment.
The Arenaviridae family consists of a large group of single strand ambisense RNA viruses that are separated phylogenetically, serologically and geographically into Old World and New World viruses. ...Recent studies indicate that cellular entry of arenaviruses requires a series of cellular protein interaction and molecular mechanisms. The arenaviruses entry into cells is initiated by the interaction of viral glycoprotein with one or more receptors on the surface of host cells. The main host cell factors that are involved in filovirus entry are attachment factors (α-dystroglycan for Old World and human transferrin receptor 1 for New World viruses), endolisosomal host cell factors (cathepsins B and L and Niemann-Pick C1 protein). The review presents the modern knowledge about the role of structural proteins of arenaviruses and some cell factors in pathogenesis of the diseases, caused by arenaviruses.
Although more severe acute postoperative pain increases the risk of chronic pain following breast cancer surgery, few studies have examined the characteristics of patients who develop greater acute ...pain. To identify risk factors for acute pain and its persistence one month following breast cancer surgery, a sample of 114 women scheduled for breast cancer surgery was assessed preoperatively for demographic, clinical, and emotional functioning variables that were hypothesized to be associated with acute pain severity. Clinically meaningful postoperative pain was assessed at follow-up interviews 2, 10, and 30 days after surgery. In univariate analyses, the risk of clinically meaningful acute pain was increased among women who were younger, unmarried, had more invasive surgeries, and had greater preoperative emotional distress. In multiple logistic regression analyses, greater preoperative anxiety was the only variable that made an independent contribution to predicting clinically meaningful acute pain at 2 days after surgery whereas younger age, being unmarried, and preoperative anxiety each made an independent contribution to predicting clinically meaningful acute pain that persisted from 2 to 30 days after surgery. These results increase understanding of neurobiologic mechanisms and psychosocial processes that contribute to the development of acute pain following breast cancer surgery and have implications for the development of interventions to prevent it.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, OILJ, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UPUK
Following disastrous earthquakes in Alaska and in Niigata, Japan in 1964, Professors H. B. Seed and I. M. Idriss developed and published a methodology termed the "simplified procedure" for evaluating ...liquefaction resistance of soils. This procedure has become a standard of practice throughout North America and much of the world. The methodology which is largely empirical, has evolved over years, primarily through summary papers by H. B. Seed and his colleagues. No general review or update of the procedure has occurred, however, since 1985, the time of the last major paper by Professor Seed and a report from a National Research Council workshop on liquefaction of soils. In 1996 a workshop sponsored by the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER) was convened by Professors T. L. Youd and I. M. Idriss with 20 experts to review developments over the previous 10 years. The purpose was to gain consensus on updates and augmentations to the simplified procedure. The following topics were reviewed and recommendations developed: (1) criteria based on standard penetration tests; (2) criteria based on cone penetration tests; (3) criteria based on shear-wave velocity measurements; (4) use of the Becker penetration test for gravelly soil; (4) magnitude scaling factors; (5) correction factors for overburden pressures and sloping ground; and (6) input values for earthquake magnitude and peak acceleration. Probabilistic and seismic energy analyses were reviewed but no recommendations were formulated.
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DOBA, FGGLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Chronic pain following breast cancer surgery is associated with decreased health-related quality of life and is a source of additional psychosocial distress in women who are already confronting the ...multiple stresses of cancer. Few prospective studies have identified risk factors for chronic pain following breast cancer surgery. Putative demographic, clinical, and psychosocial risk factors for chronic pain were evaluated prospectively in 95 women scheduled for breast cancer surgery. In a multivariate analysis of the presence of chronic pain, only younger age was associated with a significantly increased risk of developing chronic pain 3 months after surgery. In an analysis of the intensity of chronic pain, however, more invasive surgery, radiation therapy after surgery, and clinically meaningful acute postoperative pain each independently predicted more intense chronic pain 3 months after surgery. Preoperative emotional functioning variables did not independently contribute to the prediction of either the presence or the intensity of chronic pain after breast cancer surgery. These findings not only increase understanding of risk factors for chronic pain following breast cancer surgery and the processes that may contribute to its development but also provide a basis for the development of preventive interventions.
Clinical variables and severe acute pain were risk factors for chronic pain following breast cancer surgery, but psychosocial distress was not, which provides a basis for hypothesizing that aggressive management of acute postoperative pain may reduce chronic pain.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Predictive equations for estimating normalized shear modulus and material damping ratio of Quaternary, Tertiary and older, and residual/saprolite soils are presented in this paper. The equations are ...based on a modified hyperbolic model and a statistical analysis of existing Resonant Column and Torsional Shear test results for 122 specimens obtained from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama. Variables used in the equations for normalized shear modulus are: shear-strain amplitude, confining stress, and plasticity index (PI). The equations for damping ratio are expressed in terms of a polynomial function of normalized shear modulus plus a minimum damping ratio. It is found that the Quaternary soils exhibit more linearity than soils of the other two groups. Also, it is found that the effect of PI on dynamic soil behavior is not as significant as previously thought. Data from all three groups exhibit significant variations with confining stress, similar to the variations determined by Stokoe et al. The uncertainties associated with the equations for PI of 0 and mean effective confining stress of
100
kPa
are quantified using the point estimate method. A case study from Charleston, S.C. is provided to illustrate an application of the equations to seismic response analysis and the importance of considering confining stress and geologic age.
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Quantifying the nursery role of habitats or locations in supporting fisheries is central to understanding population-scale animal−habitat relationships, and in guiding ecosystem-based management. We ...assessed the nursery role of northern Gulf of Mexico seagrass meadows for gray snapper, lane snapper, and gag recruiting to Alabama’s extensive offshore reef complex. We accomplished this using broadscale juvenile trawl surveys and geochemical tags—indicative of past habitat use—stored in the otoliths of > 2200 fishes. These natural tags revealed that 47−61% of snapper and gag recruits to Alabama reefs originated in Florida panhandle seagrass nurseries. Seagrass meadows in Alabama and Mississippi were also important nurseries for snappers and gag, contributing 26−46% of recruits. Despite high juvenile snapper and gag catches along the extensive Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, relatively few of those fishes recruited to Alabama’s reefs (< 13% of total recruits, across species), although they may have recruited to populations outside our sampling domain. Beyond the applied value of these data for resource management (i.e. interstate connectivity), our findings highlight broadscale drivers of the nursery role of juvenile habitats for coastal marine populations. These factors include: (1) juvenile habitat extent (i.e. extensive Florida panhandle meadows sourced the most recruits for Alabama fisheries); (2) proximity between juvenile and adult habitats (i.e. highest unit-area contribution from Alabama− Mississippi meadows); and (3) unidirectional, alongshore migration of egressing juveniles (i.e. primarily east-to-west movement, enhancing connectivity with Florida panhandle nurseries, and dampening connectivity with Chandeleur nurseries).
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Abstract
Crassostrea virginica
is one of the most common estuarine bivalves in the United States’ east coast and is frequently found in archaeological sites and sub-fossil deposits. Although there ...have been several sclerochronological studies on stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in the shells of this species, less is known about δ
15
N values within their shells, which could be a useful paleoenvironmental proxy to assess estuarine nitrogen dynamics. Modern
C. virginica
samples were collected in Chesapeake Bay for comparison with archaeological shells from nearby sites ranging in age from ~100 to 3,200 years old. Left valves were sampled by milling the hinge area and the resulting powder was analyzed for %N and δ
15
N values. Comparison of δ
15
N values between
C. virginica
shells shows relatively constant values from ~1250 BC to ~1800 AD. After ~1800 AD, there are rapid increases in
15
N enrichment in the shells, which continue to increase in value up to the modern shell values. The increase in δ
15
N values is evidence of early anthropogenic impact in Chesapeake Bay. These results corroborate the observation that coastal nitrogen pollution occurred earlier than the 19th century and support the use of oyster shell δ
15
N values as a useful environmental proxy.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
In 2022, the European Chemicals Agency issued advice on the selection of high dose levels for developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) studies indicating that the highest dose tested should aim ...to induce clear evidence of reproductive toxicity without excessive toxicity and severe suffering in parental animals. In addition, a recent publication advocated that a 10% decrease in body weight gain should be replaced with a 10% decrease in bodyweight as a criterion for dose adequacy. Experts from the European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals evaluated these recent developments and their potential impact on study outcomes and interpretation and identified that the advice was not aligned with OECD test guidelines or with humane endpoints guidance. Furthermore, data analysis from DART studies indicated that a 10% decrease in maternal body weight during gestation equates to a 25% decrease in body weight gain, which differs from the consensus of experts at a 2010 ILSI/HESI workshop. Dose selection should be based on a biological approach that considers a range of other factors. Excessive dose levels that cause frank toxicity and overwhelm homeostasis should be avoided as they can give rise to effects that are not relevant to human health assessments.
•ECHA's advice to increase dose levels in reproductive (DART) studies is evaluated.•Recommended high dose criteria contrary to OECD guidelines and DART experts' opinion.•Excessive dose levels may cause irrelevant secondary effects on reproduction.•Dose selection should consider the complexity of the maternal-placental-fetal model.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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