Reduction of Deuterium Level Supports Resistance of Neurons to Glucose Deprivation and Hypoxia: Study in Cultures of Neurons and on Animals

The effect of a reduced deuterium (D) content in the incubation medium on the survival of cultured neurons in vitro and under glucose deprivation was studied. In addition, we studied the effect of a decrease in the deuterium content in the rat brain on oxidative processes in the nervous tissue, its antioxidant protection, and training of rats in the T-shaped maze test under hypoxic conditions. For experiments with cultures of neurons, 7-8-day cultures of cerebellar neurons were used. Determination of the rate of neuronal death in cultures was carried out using propidium iodide. Acute hypoxia with hypercapnia was simulated in rats by placing them in sealed vessels with a capacity of 1 L. The effect on oxidative processes in brain tissues was assessed by changes in the level of free radical oxidation and malondialdehyde. The effect on the antioxidant system of the brain was assessed by the activity of catalase. The study in the T-maze was carried out in accordance with the generally accepted methodology, the skill of alternating right-sided and left-sided loops on positive reinforcement was developed. This work has shown that a decrease in the deuterium content in the incubation medium to a level of -357‱ has a neuroprotective effect, increasing the survival rate of cultured neurons under glucose deprivation. When exposed to hypoxia, a preliminary decrease in the deuterium content in the rat brain to -261‱ prevents the development of oxidative stress in their nervous tissue and preserves the learning ability of animals in the T-shaped maze test at the level of the control group. A similar protective effect during the modification of the 2H/1H internal environment of the body by the consumption of DDW can potentially be used for the prevention of pathological conditions associated with the development of oxidative stress with damage to the central nervous system.

Electrophysiological Activity and Survival Rate of Rats Nervous Tissue Cells Depends on D/H Isotopic Composition of Medium

The deuterium content modification in an organism has a neuroprotective effect during the hypoxia model, affecting anxiety, memory and stress resistance. The aim of this work was to elucidate the possible mechanisms of the medium D/H composition modification on nerve cells. We studied the effect of an incubation medium with a 50 ppm deuterium content compared to a medium with 150 ppm on: (1) the activity of Wistar rats' hippocampus CA1 field neurons, (2) the level of cultured cerebellar neuron death during glucose deprivation and temperature stress, (3) mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and the generation of reactive oxygen species in cultures of cerebellar neurons. The results of the analysis showed that the incubation of hippocampal sections in a medium with a 50 ppm deuterium reduced the amplitude of the pop-spike. The restoration of neuron activity was observed when sections were returned to the incubation medium with a 150 ppm deuterium content. An environment with a 50 ppm deuterium did not significantly affect the level of reactive oxygen species in neuron cultures, while MMP decreased by 16-20%. In experiments with glucose deprivation and temperature stress, the medium with 50 ppm increased the death of neurons. Thus, a short exposure of nerve cells in the medium with 50 ppm deuterium acts as an additional stressful factor, which is possibly associated with the violation of the cell energy balance. The decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential, which is known to be associated with ATP synthesis, indicates that this effect may be associated with the cell energy imbalance. The decrease in the activity of the CA1 field hippocampal neurons may reflect reversible adaptive changes in the operation of fast-reacting ion channels.

4310Left ventricular myocardial mass index is a predictor of clinical outcomes in patients with Fabry disease

Methods

The diagnosis of FD was confirmed by enzymatic and genetic studies. The outcomes included death and a composite of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), cardiac (clinically significant arrhythmia and cardioverter/pacemaker implantation) and cerebrovascular (transient ischemic attack, stroke) events. Cox regression model was used to examine the risk of clinical outcomes.

Results

One hundred adult patients (65 males and 35 females, median age 40 [32; 50.8] years) with a definite diagnosis of FD were enrolled in our study. The majority of patients had classic phenotype (94.2%) and missense mutations in the GLA gene (69.0%). Forty-seven patients (38 males and 9 females) experienced clinical outcomes which included arrhythmias in 10 patients (atrial fibrillation in 8 of thems), ESRD in 33 patients, and cerebrovascular events in 8 patients. The median age of the first outcome was 39 (32; 49) years. In males, the outcomes occurred more frequently than in females (58.5% vs. 25.7%, respectively, p=0.002). Eleven males died at the median age of 43 (37; 46) years. All of them had ESRD. The most frequent cause of death was sudden cardiac death (n=9). Left ventricular myocardial mass index (LVMMI) was higher among patients with outcomes than in patients without outcomes (153 g/m2 [102; 203] vs. 92 g/m2 [78; 122], respectively, p<0.0001). However, there was no correlation between LVMMI and cardiac events (p=0.12). Using Cox regression analysis, LVMMI (HR 1.01 [1.002; 1.02], p=0.015), eGFR <60 ml/min/1.73m2 (HR 3.79 [1.87; 7.66], p<0.0001) and albuminuria>300 mg/day (HR 1.29 [1.04; 1.59], p=0.022) were associated with a higher risk of a composite outcome after adjustment for gender and age. Albuminuria>300 mg/day (HR 1.57 [1.05; 2.35], p=0.029) and LVMMI (HR 1.006 [1; 1.012], p=0.038) were predictors of death after adjustment for gender. However, this effect has been lost after adjustment for hemodialysis duration. The type of mutation in the GLA gene was not a predictor of clinical outcomes.

Conclusion

Left ventricular myocardial mass index was a predictor of clinical outcomes in patients with FD. Poor prognosis in our cohort was related to ESRD that accounted for all deaths.

Elimination of persistent emerging micropollutants in a suspended-bed photocatalytic reactor: influence of operating conditions and combination with aerobic biological treatment

Study of a three-phase suspended-bed reactor operation with titania coatings on expanded natural clay granules coupled with biotreatment for removal of pharmaceuticals.

Neural correlates of music recognition in Down syndrome

The brain mechanisms that subserve music recognition remain unclear despite increasing interest in this process. Here we report the results of a magnetoencephalography experiment to determine the temporal dynamics and spatial distribution of brain regions activated during listening to a familiar and unfamiliar instrumental melody in control adults and adults with Down syndrome (DS). In the control group, listening to the familiar melody relative to the unfamiliar melody, revealed early and significant activations in the left primary auditory cortex, followed by activity in the limbic and sensory-motor regions and finally, activation in the motor related areas. In the DS group, listening to the familiar melody relative to the unfamiliar melody revealed increased significant activations in only three regions. Activity began in the left primary auditory cortex and the superior temporal gyrus and was followed by enhanced activity in the right precentral gyrus. These data suggest that familiar music is associated with auditory-motor coupling but does not activate brain areas involved in emotional processing in DS. These findings reveal new insights on the neural basis of music perception in DS as well as the temporal course of neural activity in control adults.

Optimal reduction of MCG in fetal MEG recordings

Recording fetal magnetoencephalographic (fMEG) signals in-utero is a demanding task due to biological interference, especially maternal and fetal magnetocardiographic (MCG) signals. A method based on orthogonal projection of MCG signal space vectors (OP) was evaluated and compared with independent component analysis (ICA). The evaluation was based on MCG amplitude reduction and signal-to-noise ratio of fetal brain signals using exemplary datasets recorded during ongoing studies related to auditory evoked fields. The results indicate that the OP method is the preferable approach for attenuation of MCG and for preserving the fetal brain signals in fMEG recordings.

Photocatalytical polishing of paper-mill effluents

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) is a promising technology for purification of biological pretreated wastewater or destruction of non-biodegradable compounds. For this reason PCO has been investigated as a last step of purification of biologically pre-treated paper-mill effluents. The influence of the parameters pH, TiO2-modification, TiO2-concentration, catalyst re-use, concentration of substances to be oxidised (wastewater quality) has been determined. The TOC of the biologically pretreated wasterwater was up to 55 mg L(-1). This wastewater was treated with a previously presented aerated cascade photoreactor which was modified for batch experiments. A high specific oxidation rate of up to 0.76 g TOC m(-2) h(-1) as well as a complete TOC mineralization has been achieved after the optimisation of the process parameters. The complete destruction of recalcitrant compounds will offer the opportunity to reuse the wastewater in the production process. The increase of the BOD5/TOC ratio after a short irradiation period indicates the transformation of recalcitrant organic compounds to better biodegradable intermediates. The use of PCO as a pre-treatment step for the enhancement of the biodegradability of wastewater, containing recalcitrant or inhibitory compounds is an alternative to a long and energy-intensive total pollutant mineralization.

Measurements of cosmic-ray low-energy antiproton and proton spectra in a transient period of solar field reversal

The energy spectra of cosmic-ray low-energy antiprotons ( *p's) and protons ( p's) have been measured by BESS in 1999 and 2000, during a period covering reversal at the solar magnetic field. Based on these measurements, a sudden increase of the *p/p flux ratio following the solar magnetic field reversal was observed, and it generally agrees with a drift model of the solar modulation.

Precision measurement of cosmic-Ray antiproton spectrum

The energy spectrum of cosmic-ray antiprotons ( &pmacr;'s) has been measured in the range 0.18-3.56 GeV, based on 458 &pmacr;'s collected by BESS in a recent solar-minimum period. We have detected for the first time a characteristic peak at 2 GeV of &pmacr;'s originating from cosmic-ray interactions with the interstellar gas. The peak spectrum is reproduced by theoretical calculations, implying that the propagation models are basically correct and that different cosmic-ray species undergo a universal propagation. Future BESS data with still higher statistics will allow us to study the solar modulation and the propagation in detail and to search for primary &pmacr; components.