Analysis of rheograms of the blood of patients with myocardial ischemia and type-2 diabetes mellitus with the use of a new model in the process of pharmaceutical therapy

Curves of the blood flow in patents with myocardial ischemia (MI), patients with MI and type-2 diabetes mellitus (MI + DM2), and donors have been analyzed using a rheological model proposed by the authors. The influence of the standard antianginal and antiaggregative therapy on the parameters of this model has been investigated. It has been established that the four parameters of the model are reliably changed for both groups of patients as compared to those for the healthy donors, and that, for the donors, there exists a temperature-dependent correlation between the other two parameters of the model that is absent for the patients. A criterion is proposed for estimating a normal blood-flow curve at 25°C. It is shown that the antianginal and antiaggregative therapies do not influence the parameters of the model for the patients studied. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 78, No. 5, pp. 186–189, September–October, 2005.     

Rheological properties of the whole blood of rheumatological patients

Using the method of nonstationary rheometry, the changes occurring in the rheological properties of the blood of rheumatological patients in plasmapheresis in the range of rates of shear of 1–10 sec⁻¹ at a temperature of 37°C were studied. These studies were paralleled by measurements of the hematocrit index to correct the viscosity of the blood. A statistically reliable mathematical dependence of the change in the rheological properties of blood in plasmapheresis has been constructed. The role of the rheological factor of blood as a possible additional diagnostic parameter in plasmapheresis has been evaluated. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 73, No. 4, pp. 792–796, July–August, 2000.     

Hemodialysis‐induced changes in the blood composition affect function of the endothelium

Hemodialysis induces oxidative stress causing intravascular inflammation, which may cause endothelial dysfunction. We evaluated how hemodialysis‐induced changes in blood affect the function of endothelial cells in in vitro culture. Serum samples were collected from 42 uremic patients treated with hemodialysis, one before the start of dialysis and the other one at the end of session. All patients were dialysed with polysulfone dialyzer. Concentrations of the inflammatory molecules carbonyl protein and metabolites of NO synthesis were measured in blood. Additionally, the effect of the serum obtained before and after dialysis on the function of endothelial cells in in vitro culture was studied. Hemodialysis caused increase of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1 (+17%), hepatocyte growth factor (+91%), and pentraxin‐3 (+30%) concentration in serum. Concentration of carbonyl protein was decreased by 30%. Decrease of blood level of asymmetric dimethylarginine (?25%) and nitrate/nitrites (?62%) was observed. Serum obtained after hemodialysis stimulated proliferation of endothelial cells (+10%) and synthesis of MCP‐1(+11%) in these cells. Hemodialysis‐induced intravascular inflammation changes the function of endothelial cells, which may lead to acceleration of atherosclerosis.     

Modification process of selected thermoplastics with cold plasma and evaluation of changes in their properties

Targeted surface modification of materials is becoming a commonly used process in the production and research environment. This process alters the functional properties of the polymer surface and, under laboratory and manufacturing conditions, can ideally be initiated by a diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge plasma, also called a cold plasma. The efficiency of the surface modification process by this type of discharge is given mainly by the speed of the plasma-chemical modification process. An interesting area of research in this area is the characterization of changes in the above plasma chemical modification. The nature of the changes can be observed ideally on the flat surfaces of selected materials, since the height of the visually homogeneous plasma layer is approximately 0.3 mm. During the process of plasma chemical modification, the investigated surface of the polymeric material is also exposed to temperature, electric micro-discharges, heat flow and ultraviolet radiation. All these elements affect changes that need to be investigated and described. The effect of temperature and micro-discharges during the cold plasma treatment can be evaluated from thermograms. Visually homogenous plasma respectively heat flow from its generation is first time monitored with Schlieren Imaging system. The effect of degradation (due to ultraviolet radiation) of polymers is monitored with static tensile test.     

Spatial-frequency Fourier polarimetry of human blood plasma in the diagnostics of pathological changes

A method of polarization mapping of the optical-anisotropic polycrystalline networks of the blood plasma albumin and globulin proteins with adjusted spatial-frequency filtering of the coordinate distributions of the azimuth and ellipticity of the polarization of laser radiation in the Fourier plane is proposed and substantiated. A set of criteria of diagnosing prostate cancer based on the statistical correlation and fractal analysis of the spatial-frequency filtered polarization distributions generated by dendritic networks of albumin and globulin spherulitic networks has been detected and substantiated.     

Rheological properties of blood in the process of plasmapheresis

The rheological properties of the blood of donors and patients have been experimentally investigated on a rotational viscosimeter in the process of plasmapheresis at a temperature of 30°C and rates of shear ranging from 1.7 to 54.2 sec⁻¹. The efficiency of the plasmapheresis was increased when it was performed in combination with an extracorporeal autohemomagnetotherapy. The action of the plasmapheresis and the combined action of the plasmapheresis and the extracorporeal autohemomagnetotherapy on the rheological properties of blood were compared. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 78, No. 5, pp. 24–26, September–October, 2005.     

Fabrication of antioxidative and antibacterial surface coatings with metformin-loaded self-assembled multilayers for periodontal regeneration in diabetes mellitus patients

Rescuing the compromised function of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) due to hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and reducing the risk of postoperative infection around the interface of scaffold materials are of prime importance for periodontal regeneration in diabetes mellitus. To this end, a facile and green approach for the establishment of surfaces with antioxidative and antibacterial properties was developed in this work. Briefly, the surfaces of polystyrene (PS) plate were pre-modified with polydopamine and then coated with a genipin crosslinked layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, which was established by using the antibacterial polyelectrolytes carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) and polylysine (PLL) as building block. Metformin as an antioxidative agent was incorporated into the discrete nanolayers to achieve sustainable release. Our research showed that metformin-loaded LbL assembly presented favorable cytocompatibility. The released metformin could partially rescue the impaired osteogenic function of human PDLSCs induced by high glucose in vitro. Meanwhile, owing to the antibacterial activity of CMC and PLL, the colonization of common pathogenic bacteria related to periodontal disease could be disturbed on the surface of developed coatings. Accordingly, the presented strategy for surface functionalization of materials in our study holds a promising potential for periodontal regeneration application in diabetic patients.

Graphical abstract

     

Complex wounds tend to develop more rapidly in patients receiving hemodialysis because of diabetes mellitus

The number of patients requiring dialysis because of diabetes mellitus is increasing and such patients often have complex chronic wounds, which are difficult to heal. However, there are few retrospective studies of wounds requiring surgical treatment. We evaluated 14 patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) (8 because of diabetes and 6 because of other diseases) who had extremity wounds and underwent surgical treatment in our unit from 2004 through 2007. We investigated differences in the cause of wounds, and in the interval between the start of HD and wound development. Wounds in patients undergoing HD because of diabetes originated due to ischemia in 2 cases (25%), trauma in 2 cases (25%), and infection in 4 cases (50%). Seven of 8 wounds developed infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Wounds in patients undergoing HD because of other diseases developed due to ischemia in 2 cases (33%) and trauma in 4 cases (67%). Three of 6 wounds developed infection and MRSA were isolated from 2 wounds. The interval between the start of HD and wound development was significantly shorter in patients with diabetes than in patients without diabetes. All patients with infectious wounds required immediate debridement. We conclude that patients receiving HD because of diabetes are likely to have more severe and rapidly developing wounds due to infections. Thus, they usually require immediate debridement before blood access shunt infection occurs.     

碳纳米管的等离子体功能化及其聚苯胺复合材料的制备

采用等离子体技术对碳纳米管(CNTs)功能化,而后与苯胺原位聚合制备CNTs/聚苯胺(PANI)复合材料。电导测试结果表明:相对于CNTs的强酸氧化法(0.936S/cm),等离子体处理更易获得高电导率的复合材料(2.86S/cm)。相应的最佳等离子体工艺参数为:处理功率50W、时间5min、压力0.08Torr、温度110℃、磁场线圈电流0.08A及电极距离5cm。SEM观察发现:聚合后,CNTs的光滑表面转变成粗糙结构,同时管径增加了80nm。XRD、FTIR及Raman结果均证实:PANI被均匀包覆于CNTs的表面。     

Disease pattern recognition in infrared spectra of human sera with diabetes mellitus as an example

To benefit from the full information content of the mid-IR spectra of human sera, we directly related the overall shape of the spectra to the donors' disease states. For this approach of disease pattern recognition we applied cluster analysis and discriminant analysis to the example of the disease states diabetes type 1, diabetes type 2, and healthy. In a binary, supervised classification of any pair of these disease states we achieved specificities and sensitivities of ~80% within our data set.     

Hormonal and metabolic changes in oncology patients subjected to general hyperthermia and ways for their correction

Hormonal-metabolic changes in oncology patients subjected to general hyperthermia (GHT) result in enhancement of free-radical oxidation and accumulation of endotoxins under the conditions of violation of their targeted transport to detoxication. A pathogenesis-matched stress-limiting program is developed that allows optimization of the GHT treatment. Scientific Research Institute of Oncology and Medical Radiology of the Ministry of Public Health of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 69, No. 3, pp. 443–450, May–June, 1996.     

An evaluation of blood volume changes during ultrafiltration pulses and natriuretic peptides in the assessment of dry weight in hemodialysis patients

Changes in blood volume (BV) during dialysis as well as plasma levels of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal (NT) pro-BNP levels are possible tools to assess dry weight in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of the study was to compare these parameters with other non-invasive techniques used to assess dry weight in HD patients, and to study their relation with intradialytic hypotension (IDH) and the presence of cardiovascular disease BV changes during HD, both during regular dialysis and during an ultrafiltration pulse, plasma levels of NT pro-BNP and BNP, and vena cava diameter index (VCDI) were assessed in a cohort of 66 HD patients, which was subdivided according to tertiles of total body water (TBW) corrected for body weight, assessed by bioimpedance analysis. Parameters were also related to the presence of IDH and history of cardiovascular disease. The decline in BV during regular dialysis and during an ultrafiltration pulse, as well as VCDI and BNP were significantly different between the tertiles of normalized TBW, but refill after the ultrafiltration pulse and NT pro-BNP were not. Only VCDI and the decline in BV during regular dialysis were significantly different between patients with or without IDH. Vena cava diameter index, BNP, and NT pro-BNP were significantly higher in patients with cardiovascular disease. Using bioimpedance as the reference method, changes in BV, either during regular dialysis or during an ultrafiltration pulse, as well as VCDI and BNP are all indicative of hydration state in dialysis patients, but refill after an ultrafiltration pulse is not. Only VCDI and BV changes were related to IDH. The presence of cardiovascular disease appears to influence both VCDI as well as BNP.     

Intradialytic changes of serum magnesium and their relation to hypotensive episodes in hemodialysis patients on different dialysates

Magnesium is a crucial mineral, involved in many important physiological processes. Magnesium plays a role of maintaining myocardial electrical stability in hemodialysis patients. Intradialytic hypotension is a common complication of dialysis and it is more common with acetate dialysate. The significance of the intradialytic changes of magnesium and their relation to parathyroid hormone (PTH) level and calcium changes during dialysis, and their relation to hypotensive episodes during dialysis are interesting. The aim of this work is to investigate the intradialytic changes of serum magnesium in chronic hemodialysis patients with different hemodialysis modalities and the relation to other electrolytes and to PTH, and also the relation to intradialytic hypotension. The present study was conducted on 20 chronic renal failure patients. All patients were on regular hemodialysis thrice weekly 4 hr each using acetate dialysate (group I). To study the effect of an acetate-based dialysate vs. a bicarbonate-based dialysate on acute changes of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and PTH during a hemodialysis session, the same patients were shifted to bicarbonate dialysis (group II). All patients were subjected to full history and clinical examination, predialysis laboratory assessment of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine, albumin, and hemoglobin, serial assessment of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone at the start of the hemodialysis session, 2 hr later, and at the end of the session, blood pH, and electrocardiogram (ECG) presession and postsession. All patients were urged to fix their dry weight, diet, and current medications. None of the patients had diabetes, neoplasia, liver disease, or cachexia, nor had they been recently on magnesium-containing drugs or previously parathyroidectomized. Hemodialysis sessions were performed by volumetric dialysis machines using the same electrolyte composition. Magnesium level significantly increased in the bicarbonate group at the end of dialysis (0 hr: 2.73+/-0.87, 2 hr: 3.21+/-1.1, and at 4 hr: 5.73+/-1.45 mg/dL, p value <0.01), while it significantly decreased in the acetate group (0 hr: 3.00+/-0.58, 2 hr: 2.26+/-0.39, 4 hr: 1.97+/-0.33 mg/dL, p value <0.01). Calcium level significantly increased in the bicarbonate group (p=0.024) but not in the acetate group. Phosphorus level significantly decreased in both acetate and bicarbonate groups. PTH level did not significantly change in either group, p value > or =0.05. Blood pH significantly increased, changing from acidic to alkaline pH, with both modalities of hemodialysis. ECG showed no significant changes during sessions with either type of dialysate. Hypotension was significantly higher in group I compared with group II (p=0.01), and this hypotension was positively correlated with a decrease in serum magnesium level in group I. Intradialytic changes in serum magnesium have no correlation with intradialytic changes in serum calcium or with PTH level. However, it was significantly correlated with hypotension during the dialysis session, especially with acetate dialysate. Further investigations are needed to determine whether or not this is true in patients using bicarbonate dialysis.     

Altered levels of acute phase proteins in the plasma of patients with schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a relatively common psychiatric syndrome that affects virtually all brain functions. We investigated the plasma proteome of 22 schizophrenia male patients and 20 healthy male controls using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. In total, we have identified 66 protein spots in human plasma and found that seven of them showed altered changes in schizophrenia patients, as compared to healthy controls, which mainly were acute phase proteins (APPs). Among these APPs, haptoglobin alpha2 chain (p < 0.001), haptoglobin beta chain (p < 0.001), alpha1-antitrypsin (p = 0.001), and complement factor B precursor (p = 0.022) showed overexpression in schizophrenia patients, whereas apolipoprotein A-I (p = 0.034) and transthyretin (p = 0.035) were found to be significantly decreased in patients. In addition, the expression of apolipoprotein A-IV (p = 0.018) was significantly up-regulated in schizophrenia patients, as compared to controls. We also found these APP genes, which were differentially expressed in this study, overlap in the schizophrenia susceptibility loci. Our findings further support the hypothesis that the inflammatory response system is linked to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.     

Rheological factor in the thermal problem of SHF-hyperthermia-treatment. 2. Simulation of relative blood flow variation

The rheological effect on the temperature field in a homogeneous tissue under SHF hyperthermia treatment is discussed.Academic Scientific Complex The A. V. Luikov Heat and Mass Transfer Institute, Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 561–566, November, 1993.     

Pair fluctuations in nonideal plasma and their restriction at the ionization threshold

A self-consistent fluctuation approach is developed to the consideration of the spectral region intermediate between discrete and continuous levels of energy in nonideal plasma. Pair fluctuations are identified within the classical method of molecular dynamics. The transition of pair fluctuations in the limit of low degrees of nonideality of plasma to excited atoms is considered. The domains of existence of excited atoms and pair fluctuations are estimated. The pattern of restraint of statistical sum of atom in nonideal plasma is clarified.     

Monitoring thermal-induced changes in tumor blood flow and microvessels with laser speckle contrast imaging

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) was used to monitor thermal-induced changes in the blood flow and the diameter of mesenteric microvessels of normal and tumor bearing mice under 60 min treatment at different constant temperatures between 41 degrees C and 45 degrees C. The results show that the blood flow and the diameter increase at the beginning and then reach a plateau and finally start to decrease. The lower the temperature, the longer the plateau stays. A t-test indicates that there is no significant difference in plateau values of relative blood flow and relative diameter for the same group. For normal mice, the relative increases in the blood flow and the diameter are 1.26 and 1.41, respectively, while for tumor-bearing mice they are 1.08 and 1.13, respectively. At higher treatment temperature or under longer heat treatment, there are decreases in the blood flow and the diameter, such changes in tumor-bearing mice are more obvious than those in normal mice, which means tumor microvessels are more sensitive to heat than normal. Moreover, thermal induced shrink of microvessel usually occurs sooner than the decrease in blood flow, and the relative change in diameter is larger than that in blood flow. Therefore we may conclude that deformation of vessel is a main factor for changing the blood perfusion of a microvessel.     

Nanostructural changes in bamboo cell walls with aging and their possible effects on mechanical properties

In Asian countries, only bamboo culms that are 3–5 years old are used especially as materials because of their toughness, pliability, and/or workability. In this study, we evaluated the mechanical properties of bamboo in correlation with age-dependent changes in the nanostructures of cell walls, such as microfibril angles (MFAs), crystallite sizes, and crystallinity. Current year and 1.5-, 3.5-, 4.5-, 6.5-, and 8.5-year-old Phyllostachys pubescens samples were used. Three-point bending tests and wide-angle X-ray scattering experiments were conducted. The specific bending of Young’s modulus and the specific bending strength of 3.5- and 4.5-year-old bamboo samples were greater than those of other ages. The MFAs decreased in 1.5-year-old bamboo, were constant until samples were 6.5-years old, and then increased slightly in 8.5-year-old bamboo. The widths of crystallites appeared to be constant for all ages, while the lengths of crystallites and crystallinity showed age-dependent differences only on the inner side. In this study, the MFA was negatively correlated with the toughness of bamboo culms. This result should be considered with other structural features at the tissue level; however, the age-related changes in MFA values appear to be important factors related to the mechanical properties of bamboo.