Metabolic Syndrome and β-Oxidation of Long-Chain Fatty Acids in the Brain,Heart, and Kidney Mitochondria

We present evidence that metabolic syndrome (MetS) represents the postreproductive stage of the human postembryonic ontogenesis. Accordingly, the genes governing this stage experience relatively weak evolutionary selection pressure, thus representing the metabolic phenotype of distant ancestors with β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids (FAs) as the primary energy source. Mitochondria oxidize at high-rate FAs only when succinate, glutamate, or pyruvate are present. The heart and brain mitochondria work at a wide range of functional loads and possess an intrinsic inhibition of complex II to prevent oxidative stress at periods of low functional activity. Kidney mitochondria constantly work at a high rate and lack inhibition of complex II. We suggest that in people with MetS, oxidative stress is the central mechanism of the heart and brain pathologies. Oxidative stress is a secondary pathogenetic mechanism in the kidney, while the primary mechanisms are kidney hypoxia caused by persistent hyperglycemia and hypertension. Current evidence suggests that most of the nongenetic pathologies associated with MetS originate from the inconsistencies between the metabolic phenotype acquired after the transition to the postreproductive stage and excessive consumption of food rich in carbohydrates and a sedentary lifestyle.     

Capillary forces between sediment particles and an air-water interface

In the vadose zone, air-water interfaces play an important role in particle fate and transport, as particles can attach to the air-water interfaces by action of capillary forces. This attachment can either retard or enhance the movement of particles, depending on whether the air-water interfaces are stationary or mobile. Here we use three standard PTFE particles (sphere, circular cylinder, and tent) and seven natural mineral particles (basalt, granite, hematite, magnetite, mica, milky quartz, and clear quartz) to quantify the capillary forces between an air-water interface and the different particles. Capillary forces were determined experimentally using tensiometry, and theoretically assuming volume-equivalent spherical, ellipsoidal, and circular cylinder shapes. We experimentally distinguished between the maximum capillary force and the snap-off force when the air-water interface detaches from the particle. Theoretical and experimental values of capillary forces were of similar order of magnitude. The sphere gave the smallest theoretical capillary force, and the circular cylinder had the largest force due to pinning of the air-water interface. Pinning was less pronounced for natural particles when compared to the circular cylinder. Ellipsoids gave the best agreement with measured forces, suggesting that this shape can provide a reasonable estimation of capillary forces for many natural particles.     

Decellularization of Human Pancreatic Fragments with Pronounced Signs of Structural Changes

A significant lack of donor organs restricts the opportunity to obtain tissue-specific scaffolds for tissue-engineering technologies. One of the acceptable solutions is the development of decellularization protocols for a human donor pancreas unsuitable for transplantation. A protocol of obtaining a biocompatible tissue-specific scaffold from decellularized fragments with pronounced human pancreas lipomatosis signs with preserved basic fibrillary proteins of a pancreatic tissue extracellular matrix was developed. The scaffold supports the adhesion and proliferation of human adipose derived stem cell (hADSCs) and prolongs the viability and insulin-producing function of pancreatic islets. Experiments conducted allow for the reliance on the prospects of using the donor pancreas unsuitable for transplantation in the technologies of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, including the development of a tissue equivalent of a pancreas.     

Brain Neurons during Physiological Aging: Morphological Features,Autophagic and Mitochondrial Contribution

Accumulating data suggest that the brain undergoes various changes during aging. Among them are loss of both white and gray matter, neurons and synapses degeneration, as well as oxidative, inflammatory, and biochemical changes. The above-mentioned age-related features are closely related to autophagy and mitochondria. Therefore, we aimed to reveal the most peculiar morphological features of brain nervous tissue and to characterize the expression of autophagy and mitochondrial immunohistochemical biomarkers in neurons of different human brain zones during aging. Counting the number of neurons as well as Microtubule-associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B), Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), Lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2A (LAMP2A), Alpha subunit of ATP synthase (ATP5A), and Parkinson disease protein 7 (DJ1) immunohistochemical staining were performed on FFPE samples of human prefrontal cortex, corpus striatum, and hippocampus obtained from autopsy. Statistical analysis revealed a loss of neurons in the studied elderly group in comparison to the young group. When the expression of macroautophagy (LC3B), chaperon-mediated autophagy (HSP70, LAMP2A), and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex V (ATP5A) markers for the young and elderly groups were compared, the latter was found to have a significantly higher rate of optical density, whilst there was no significance in DJ1 expression. These findings, while preliminary, suggest that both autophagy and mitochondria are involved in neuronal maintenance during aging and could indicate their potential role in adaptive mechanisms that occur in aging.     

The Ability of the Nitric Oxide Synthases Inhibitor T1023 to Selectively Protect the Non-Malignant Tissues

Previously, we showed that a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, compound T1023, induces transient hypoxia and prevents acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in mice. Significant efficacy (according to various tests, dose modifying factor (DMF)—1.6–1.9 against H-ARS/G-ARS) and safety in radioprotective doses (1/5–1/4 LD10) became the reason for testing its ability to prevent complications of tumor radiation therapy (RT). Research methods included studying T1023 effects on skin acute radiation reactions (RSR) in rats and mice without tumors and in tumor-bearing animals. The effects were evaluated using clinical, morphological and histological techniques as well as RTOG classification. T1023 administration prior to irradiation significantly limited the severity of acute RSR. This was due to a decrease in radiation alteration of the skin and underlying tissues, and the preservation of the functional activity of cell populations that are critical in the pathogenesis of radiation burn. The DMF values for T1023 for skin protection were 1.4–1.7. Moreover, its radioprotective effect was fully selective to normal tissues in RT models of solid tumors—T1023 reduced the severity of acute RSR and did not modify the antitumor effects of γ-radiation. The results indicate that T1023 can selectively protect the non-malignant tissues against γ-radiation due to hypoxic mechanism of action and potentiate opportunities of NOS inhibitors in RT complications prevention.     

Chemical Stability of ZnO–Na2O–SO3–P2O5 Glasses

We report on chemical stability and corrosion behavior of highly depolymerized sulfophosphate glasses from the system ZnO–Na₂O–SO₃–P₂O₅ in aqueous solution, providing data on weight loss, ion release rates, and modifications of surface topology as a function of time, temperature and pH value. Observations seem consistent with the previously developed structural model of chemical heterogeneity, where cations Na⁺ and Zn²⁺ cluster selectively in the vicinity of sulfate and phosphate anions, respectively.     

Application of Porous Glasses in Ophthalmic Prosthetic Repair

The ophthalmic prosthetic materials besides their necessary cosmetic view should be biologically inert. Silica porous glasses can be fabricated to satisfy the cosmetic requirements while their pores can be filled with medicines that would help to avoid complications when contacting the biological tissues. In this work the ability of different silica porous glasses to support a necessary level of the medicine around itself for long periods of time was studied. Hentamicini sulphate antibiotic was used as the biologically active substance while vitamin B₆ was employed as the nutrient. The concentration of the above substances in the normal saline solution that simulated the lachrymal liquid was controlled by the luminescent technique. It was demonstrated that the silica porous glass that was obtained by phase separation at 490°C without subsequent removal of the residual silica gel supported the necessary level of medicines around itself for the longest period of time.     

Local and high-strength joining of transparent glass and glass-ceramics by femtosecond Bessel beam

The creation of robust joint among different materials with notably different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) is an urgent task for the development of the engineering, laser technology, and aerospace industry. In this regard, femtosecond laser welding is a promising technique for efficient adhesion-free bonding of transparent materials. This paper reports on the laser welding of laser phosphate glass (CTE = 110 × 10⁻⁷ K⁻¹) and spinel-based glass–ceramic (CTE = 50 × 10⁻⁷ K⁻¹) by the Bessel beam. Dependencies of weld geometric parameters on the pulse energy and scanning speed were investigated, and the laser exposure conditions were optimized for durable welding. The weld joints were tested on shear strength, which was shown to be as record high as up to 147 MPa. Atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and elemental analysis were used to investigate the structure and morphology of the weld after its fracture, which revealed the laser-induced amorphization of glass–ceramics and the formation of strong interconnection by laser-driven mutual diffusion of two glassy phases. The results demonstrate the prospects for using femtosecond lasers for efficient industrial welding of a wide range of materials.