Parasites of the liver:A global problem?

Parasitic liver diseases can be caused by trematodes,cestodes,nematodes,and protozoa.This pathology is significant because millions of people in different parts of the world have liver parasites,which can manifest themselves in the development of inflammation,liver cysts,cholecystitis,cholelithiasis,pancreatitis and liver cirrhosis that are often threatening their lives.The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers three species of trematodes,Schistosoma haematobium,Opisthorchis viverrini and Clonorchis sinensis,to be carcinogens.Complex modern examination methods,in some cases including extensive screening of large populations,are required for diagnosing liver parasites.Treatment of parasitic liver diseases is differentiated and can involve a combination of surgical and therapeutic measures.There is no doubt that the clinical and epidemiological scale allows one to regard parasitic liver diseases as a global healthcare problem.

Inhibition of M2 tumor-associated macrophages polarization by modulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway as a possible liver cancer therapy method

The problem of liver cancer is becoming increasingly important due to the epi-demic of metabolic diseases and persistent high alcohol consumption.This deter-mines great attention to the development and improvement of methods for early diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer.Huang et al presented a study in the World Journal of Gastroenterology,in which they showed that the use of the traditional Chinese medicine Calculus bovis(CB)can suppress tumor growth in mice by inhibiting M2 tumor-associated macrophages(TAM)through modulating the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.The interaction of CB components with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway,M2 TAM polarization,and tumor dynamics were studied using network pharmacology,transcriptomics,and molecular docking.It is now generally accepted that the polarization of TAM and the differentiation of the functions of M1 and M2 phagocytes are of great importance for the progression of neoplasms.It is assumed that M2 TAM promote proliferation and migration of tumor cells.Attempts to medicinally influence the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in order to modulate phagocyte polarization now belong to one of the most promising areas of immunotherapy of oncological diseases.Undoubtedly,the work of the Chinese authors deserves attention and further development.

Neurobiological risk factors for problematic social media use as a specific form of Internet addiction:A narrative review

Problematic social media use(PSMU)is a behavioral addiction,a specific form of problematic Internet use associated with the uncontrolled use of social networks.It is typical mostly for modern adolescents and young adults,which are the first generations fully grown up in the era of total digitalization of society.The modern biopsychosocial model of the formation of behavioral addictions,postulating the impact of a large number of biological,psychological,and social factors on addictive behavior formation,may be quite applicable to PSMU.In this narrative review,we discussed neurobiological risk factors for Internet addiction with a focus on current evidence on the association between PSMU and structural/functional characteristics of the brain and autonomic nervous system,neurochemical correlations,and genetic features.A review of the literature shows that the vast majority of the mentioned neurobiological studies were focused on computer games addiction and generalized Internet addiction(without taking into account the consumed content).Even though a certain number of neuroimaging studies have been conducted for PSMU,there is practically no research on neuropeptide and genetic associations for PSMU to date.This fact points to the extremely high relevance of such studies.

Insight into the key kinetic steps in the pyrolysis of coking and non-coking coals,characterization of the pyrolysis products

The chemical composition,structural and plastometric properties of different-ranked coals from Mongolia deposits were studied.The non-isothermal iso-conversion Ozawa-Flynn-Wall and Friedman model-free methods were used to assess kinetic parameters and to differentiate decomposition steps.Key peculiarities of the pyrolysis kinetics of brown and bituminous coals were revealed and discussed in terms of the composition and plastometric properties.Brown coal was shown to undergo three decomposition steps with ever increasing activation energy as temperature increased because of the decomposition of thermally more and more stable molecular fragments.The pyrolysis of bituminous coals occurred in four steps,the activation energy having extreme mode of temperature dependence.An important new finding was that the temperature range of the second,major pyrolysis step well corresponded to that between the softening and re-solidification temperatures according to Gieseler plastometry.The yield and composition of the pyrolysis products obtained under isothermal conditions were also characterized depending on coal rank and temperature,and the ways for qualified utilizations were offered.

Fuel characteristics, loads and consumption in Scots pine forests of central Siberia

Forest fuel investigations in central and southern Siberian taiga of Scots pine forest stands dominated by lichen and feather moss ground vegetation cover revealed that total aboveground biomass varied from 13.1 to 21.0 kg/m 2.Stand biomass was higher in plots in the southern taiga,while ground fuel loads were higher in the central taiga.We developed equations for fuel biomass(both aerial and ground)that could be applicable to similar pine forest sites of Central Siberia.Fuel loading variability found among plots is related to the impact and recovery time since the last wildfi re and the mosaic distribution of living vegetation.Fuel consumption due to surface fi res of low to high-intensities ranged from 0.95 to 3.08 kg/m 2,that is,18–74%from prefi re values.The total amount of fuels available to burn in case of fi re was up to 4.5–6.5 kg/m 2.Moisture content of fuels(litter,lichen,feather moss)was related to weather conditions characterized by the Russian Fire Danger Index(PV-1)and FWI code of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System.The data obtained provide a strong foundation for understanding and modeling fi re behavior,emissions,and fi re eff ects on ecosystem processes and carbon stocks and could be used to improve existing global and regional models that incorporate biomass and fuel characteristics.

Improving corrosion resistance of Cu-Al-based anodes in KF-AlF_(3)-Al_(2)O_(3)melts

The anodic behaviour of pre-oxidised and non-oxidised Cu-Al-based anodes(Cu-10Al and Cu-9.8Al-2Mn)in KF-AlF_(3)-Al_(2)O_(3)melts was studied through galvanostatic and potentiodynamic polarization techniques.The alloy compositions were oxidised for a short-term(8 h)at 700℃,followed by galvanostatic polarization for 1 h at 800℃with an applied current density of 0.4 A/cm^(2).The potentiodynamic curves were recorded with a sweep rate of 0.01 V/s.XRD analysis was conducted on frozen melt samples collected on the surface of the anode,and SEM observation was performed on the anode after the experiment to study the phases of the scales formed on the alloys.All the anode materials had a steady potential between 2.30 and 2.50 V(vs Al/AlF_(3)).The corrosion rates of the anodes were calculated from the data acquired through potentiodynamic polarization.It was seen that pre-oxidised anodes possess a low corrosion rate compared to those without pre-oxidation treatment.

Coupled large earthquakes in the Baikal rift system: Response to bifurcations in nonlinear resonance hysteresis

The current lithospheric geodynamics and tectonophysics in the Baikal rift are discussed in terms of a nonlinear oscillator with dissipation.The nonlinear oscillator model is applicable to the area because stress change shows up as quasi-periodic inharmonic oscillations at rifting attractor structures （RAS）.The model is consistent with the space-time patterns of regional seismicity in which coupled large earthquakes,proximal in time but distant in space,may be a response to bifurcations in nonlinear resonance hysteresis in a system of three oscillators corresponding to the rifting attractors.The space-time distribution of coupled MLH ＞ 5.5 events has been stable for the period of instrumental seismicity,with the largest events occurring in pairs,one shortly after another,on two ends of the rift system and with couples of smaller events in the central part of the rift.The event couples appear as peaks of earthquake ‘migration＇ rate with an approximately decadal periodicity.Thus the energy accumulated at RAS is released in coupled large events by the mechanism of nonlinear oscillators with dissipation.The new knowledge,with special focus on space-time rifting attractors and bifurcations in a system of nonlinear resonance hysteresis,may be of theoretical and practical value for earthquake prediction issues.Extrapolation of the results into the nearest future indicates the probability of such a bifurcation in the region,i.e.,there is growing risk of a pending M ≈ 7 coupled event to happen within a few years.

Influence of high-temperature convective flow on viability of Scots pine needles(Pinus sylvestris L.)

During a forest fire,plants are affected by high temperatures causing stress.At the time of burning,it is difficult to record temperature changes in tree crowns and the associated effects on photosynthesis.This paper presents the results of modelling a high-temperature effect simulating a convective flow from a ground fire.Evaluation of the response was carried out by the parameters of rapid fluorescence(Fv/Fm,ETR),the state of the pigment complex,and the relative water content in the needles.To characterize the degree of heat endurance and short-term effects concerning thermal damage,saplings of Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.)were used at different times during the growing season(June,July,August,September).Experimental heating at 55℃ lasted for 5 and 10 min.There were different levels of heat resistance by the needles.Data in June show that heating of the saplings significantly suppressed photosynthesis.In July,August,and September,the photochemical quantum yield(Fv/Fm)was restored to 75%and 60%from the initial level after 5-and 10-min heating,respectively.The electron transport rate(ETR)for saplings in September was restored to their initial level within 3 days after a short heat exposure.Restoration of the photosynthetic activity in needles was observed after a 5-min impact,but by the end of the study period,restoration had not reached control values.A longer heating of 10 min resulted in an irreversible suppression of photosynthesis and destruction of the photosynthetic apparatus,as evidenced by the decrease in the number of photosynthetic pigments.

Upstream Filtration Preparation of Poor Sections of Deposits before Development

Forming a new concentrated sense of useful components in conditions of nature, geological processes allows us to create techogenous deposits of required quality and forms in situ. The article presents a variant of the preparation of the deposit by a filtration geological process in situ. Structural and material transformation of the massif of hypergenesis nature methods allows bringing qualitative indicators to the required condition values. This will ensure the effective development of the deposit with traditional technological solutions. Experimental results of aqueous filtration are described. The schemes of technological solutions for natural and technogenic deposits are considered.

The Holocene environmental changes revealed from the sediments of the Yarkov sub-basin of Lake Chany,south-western Siberia

Lake Chany is the largest endorheic lake in Siberia whose catchment is entirely on the territory of Russia.Its geographical location on the climate-sensitive boundary of wet and dry landscapes provides an opportunity to gain more knowledge about environmental changes in the West Siberian interior during the Holocene and about the evolution of the lake itself.Sediment cores obtained from the Yarkov subbasin of the lake in 2008 have been comprehensively studied by a number of approaches including sedimentology and AMS dating,pollen,diatom and chironomid analyses(with statistical interpretation of the results),mineralogy of authigenic minerals and geochemistry of plant lipids(biomarker analysis.).Synthesis of new results presented here and published data provides a good justification for our hypothesis that Lake Chany is very young,no older than 3.6 ka BP.Before that,between 9 and 3.6 ka BP,the Chany basin was a swampy landscape with a very low sedimentation rate;it could not be identified as a water body.In the early lake phase,between 3.6 and 1.5 ka BP,the lake was shallow,1.2–3.5 m in depth,and it rose to its modern size,up to 6.5 m in depth,during the last millennium.Our data reveal important changes in the understanding of the history of this large endorheic lake,as before it was envisioned as a large lake with significant changes in water level since ca.14 ka BP.In addition to hydrology,our proxies provide updates and details of the regional vegetation and climate change since ca.4 ka BP in the WestSiberian forest-steppe and steppe.As evolution of the Chany basin is dependent on hydroclimatic changes in a large region of southern West Siberia,we compare lake-level change and climate-change proxies from the other recently and most comprehensively studied lakes of the region.