Sexual dimorphism of the bony labyrinth: A new age‐independent method

Currently in physical anthropology there is a need for reliable methods of sex estimation for immature individuals and highly fragmented remains. This study develops a sex estimation technique from discriminant function analysis of the bony labyrinth as it matures before puberty and can survive taphonomic conditions that would destroy most other skeletal material. The bony labyrinth contains the organs of hearing and balance. For this reason biologists and paleoanthropologists have undertaken research in this area to understand evolutionary changes in locomotion. Prior studies have found clear differences between species, but within‐species variation has not been satisfactorily investigated. 3D segmentations of the left and right labyrinths of 94 individuals from a Cretan collection were generated and measured. Mean measurements of height, width, size, and shape indices were analyzed for sexual dimorphism, bilateral asymmetry, and measurement error. Significant sexual dimorphism was detected for several measurements. For sex estimation, the single best variable was the radius of curvature of the posterior semicircular canal, which achieved 76% accuracy. Two multivariate functions increased accuracy to 84%. Although these equations are less accurate than equations for complete long bones and crania, they appear to be as accurate as or better than other techniques for sexing immature individuals and temporal bones. Am J Phys Anthropol 151:290–301, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Interaction of tert -butyl Hydroperoxide with Hypochlorous Acid. A Spin Trapping and Chemiluminescence Study

The formation of radical species during the reaction of tert-butyl hydroperoxide and hypochlorous acid has been investigated by spin trapping and chemiluminescence. A superposition of two signals appeared incubating tert-butyl hydroperoxide with hypochlorous acid in the presence of the spin trap &#102 -(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN). The first signal (a_N = 1.537mT, a^&#103_H = 0.148mT) was an oxidation product of POBN caused by the action of hypochlorous acid. The second spin adduct (a_N = 1.484mT, a^&#103_H = 0.233mT) was derived from a radical species that was formed in the result of reaction of tert-butyl hydroperoxide with hypochlorous acid. Similarly, a superposition of two signals was also obtained using the spin trap N-tert-butyl- &#102 -phenylnitrone (PBN). tert-Butyl hydroperoxide was also treated with Fe²⁺ or Ce⁴⁺ in the presence of POBN. Using Fe²⁺ a spin adduct with a _N= 1.633mT and a^&#103_H = 0.276mT was observed. The major spin adduct formed with Ce⁴⁺ was characterised by α_N = 1.480mT and a^&#103_H = 0.233mT. The reaction of tert-butyl hydroperoxide with hypochlorous acid was accompanied by a light emission, that time profile and intensity were identical to those emission using Ce⁴⁺. The addition of Fe²⁺ to tert-butyl hydroperoxide yielded a much smaller chemiluminescence. Thus, tert-butyl hydroperoxide yielded in its reaction with hypochlorous acid or Ce⁴⁺ the same spin adduct and the same luminescence profile. Because Ce⁴⁺ is known to oxidise organic hydroperoxides to peroxyl radical species, it can be concluded that a similar reaction takes place in the case of hypochlorous acid.     

DNA damage in thymocytes of mice after exposure of the whole body to combined action of cadmium ions and γ radiation

The effect of combined action of cadmium chloride at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg of body weight and γ-radiation of 1 Gy on induction of DNA damage in thymocytes and the total number of cells in the thymus of mice was studied. We found that injection of CdCl₂ 0.5 h prior to irradiation decreased the number of single-strand DNA breaks and the number of alkali-labile sites in thymocytes 48 h after irradiation as compared to the γ-radiation effect only. This effect was associated with a strong decrease in the total number of thymocytes in this organ as compared to the action of cadmium ions and γ radiation separately. This masked the general genotoxic effect of combined treatment and created an illusion of a radioprotective effect of cadmium ions. Injection of cadmium chloride into mice 24 h prior to irradiation was followed by an additive increase in the number of the single-strand DNA breaks and the number of alkali-labile sites in thymocytes as compared to the respective controls such as the separate effects of cadmium ions and irradiation. We revealed a simultaneous decrease in the part of DNA tightly bound to proteins, i.e., DNA-protein cross-links as compared to the effect of γ-radiation only. We did not observe any statistically significant changes in the total number of thymocytes as compared to the separate effects of cadmium ions and irradiation. Thus, our data show that exposure of murine thymocytes to combined action of cadmium ions and γ-radiation at the doses and with the methods of treatment used induced additive effects but not antagonistic effects or protection against radiation.     

Particularities of blood lymphocyte response to irradiation in vitro in breast cancer patients

DNA breaks and their repair efficiency were analyzed in irradiated in vitro lymphocytes (at doses 1 Gy, gamma-radiation of 60Co, dose rate 1 Gy/min) isolated from peripheral blood of 41 untreated patients with breast cancer and 25 healthy donors using the DNA comet assay under non-denaturing conditions (mainly double-strand DNA breaks (DSB), as well as apoptotic cell death using the DNA halo assay. To estimate the expression of bystander effect, the cells were incubated in a culture medium obtained from lymphocytes irradiated in vitro at doses 1 Gy. The average DSB level in blood lymphocytes of breast cancer patients was shown to be significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared with that in control donors. In general, the following effects were observed in irradiated in vitro lymphocytes of cancer patients: (1) increased sensitivity to y-radiation-induced DNA DSBs compared with lymphocytes from healthy donors, (2) reduced repair efficiency of these damages. Incubation of irradiated blood lymphocytes in a medium from irradiated cells led to an increased relative number of DNA DSBs and an elevated fraction of cells dying through apoptotic pathway both in blood lymphocytes from cancer patients and control donors. However, these non-targeted effects were more expressed for the blood lymphocytes of breast cancer patients.     

Molecular and cellular consequences of the Chernobyl accident

In this paper the results of the Chernobyl accident investigation 5-10 and 24 years after are summarized. The genomic instability, adaptive response formation, genome damage and oxidative status have been investigated. The studies were performed on cells in culture, mice, children and adults living in contaminated areas and liquidators. On cells in culture after exposition in the accident zone and culturing thereafter in laboratory conditions the cell proliferative activity decrease; the late cell death, the frequency of cells with micronuclei and giant cells increasing have been observed. In the progeny of exposed cells the enhancement of radiosensitivity has been noticed. So we can suppose that in cultured cells exposition in the zone of the accident the genomic instability is induced which results in many disturbances. At the organism level in mice exposed in the Chernobyl zone the radiosensitivity increase and the decrease of endotheliocytes density in brain tissue has been observed. On the stimulated by PHA blood lymphocytes of children the increase of the frequency of cells with micronuclei more than 2 time have been noticed. In all groups investigated, the decrease of individuals with significant adaptive response was observed. In children and adults inhabitants the increase of radiosensitivity after low dose of irradiation has been noticed. 24-year after the accident it was discovered that in liquidators lymphocytes the frequency of cells with micronuclei, with chromosome type aberrations, with DNA double strand breaks have been increased; the reactive oxygen species (ROS) were decreased in comparison with the control population. We can suppose that genomic instability induced in residents of contaminated regions and liquidators long after the accident results in the genetic apparatus damage, radiosensitivity enhancement, hypoxia that represent risk factors and increase the probability of tumour and non-tumour diseases. The development of these pathological processes may happen in much more remote periods.     

Experimental assessment of combined effect of nitrates and acute gamma-irradiation on green algae Scenedesmus quadricauda growth

The combined effect of acute gamma-irradiation at doses of 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 Gy and nitrates in concentrations of 0.04 g/dm3 (that corresponds to maximum permissible concentrations for fishery waters), 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5 g/dm3 (that is close to NO3(-) level in water of a reservoir R-17 used as radioactive waste storage of the "Mayak" Production Association) and 5.0 g/dm3 (that is close to NO3(-) level in the water of radioactive waste storage reservoir R-9) on the unicellular green algae Scenedesmus quadricauda growth has been studied in laboratory conditions. It was shown that the joint effects of nitrates and y-radiation had an antagonistic character. Thus, it may be concluded that chemical pollution is the factor limiting the development of green algae in reservoir R-17; probably, both factors, chemical and radiating, are essential to the algocenosis degradation in reservoir R-9.     

Influence of Body Mass Index and Albumin on Perioperative Morbidity and Clinical Outcomes in Resected Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Obesity is a known risk factor for PDA and recent reports suggest obesity has a negative impact on clinical outcomes in patients with PDA. Pretreatment body mass index (BMI) and serum albumin (SA) have been shown to be associated with worse overall survival in patients with advanced and metastatic PDA. However, minimal data exists on the impact of BMI and SA on perioperative and long-term clinical outcomes in patients with early-stage resected PDA. Herein, we report on the impact of these variables on perioperative clinical outcomes, overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) in patients with resected PDA. With IRB approval, we evaluated 1,545 patients with PDA treated at a single institution from 2007–2013 and identified 106 patients who underwent upfront resection with curative intent. BMI and SA were calculated preoperatively and at the time of last clinical evaluation. Influence of preoperative BMI, SA, change in either variable, and influence of other clinical and pathologic variables on perioperative morbidity and mortality was assessed. The impact of these variables on DFS and OS was assessed with cox regression modeling and ANOVA. Actuarial estimates for DFS and OS were calculated using Kaplan-Meier methods. Median follow up time was 16 months (3–89). Mean age was 68 years. Median survival was 14 months (3–65) and median time to recurrence was 11 months (1–79). Length of hospital stay was associated with BMI (p = .023), change in BMI (p = .003) and SA (p = .004). Post-operative transfusion rate was associated with SA (p = .021). There was a strong correlation between BMI change and positive margin (p = .04) and lymph node status (p = .01). On multivariate analysis, change in SA (p = .03) and node positivity (p = .008) were associated with decreased DFS. Additionally, preoperative SA (p = .023), node positivity (p = .026) and poor differentiation (p = .045) were associated with worse OS on multivariate analysis. Low preoperative SA was associated with worse DFS and OS in patients with resected PDA. Lower BMI and SA were associated with longer post-operative hospital stay. Our study is one of the first to describe how pre-operative BMI and SA and post-operative changes in these variables impact clinical and perioperative outcomes. This data supports nutritional status and weight loss as predictors of outcome in resected pancreatic cancer patients and warrants further prospective investigation.     

Vegetation dynamics of taiga and alpine landscapes in the upper part of the Bureya River Basin

The paper briefly characterizes vegetation changes: pyrogenic, lithogenic, floodplain, Aeolian, and waterlogging. Fire events are among the basic ecological factors determining the differentiation of vegetation cover and vegetation diversity over the territory under consideration.     

Use of spin probe in the determination of oxygen consumption in human neutrophils

A quantitative method of the oxygen consumption rate measurement by human blood neutrophils upon their activation is described. This method is based on the spin exchange determination between 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrroline-1-yloxyl spin probe and oxygen molecules from the ESR spectra. Method allows the determination of about 1 micromolar concentrations of oxygen.