Relationships between the Content of Micro- and Macroelements in Animal Samples and Diseases of Different Etiologies.

Many of the micro- and macro-elements (MMEs) required by the body are found in environmental objects in concentrations different from their original concentration that can lead to dangerous animal diseases ("microelementoses"). The aim was to study the features of MME (accumulating in wild and exotic animals) in connection with particular diseases. The work using 67 mammal species from four Russian zoological institutions was completed in 2022. Studies of 820 cleaned and defatted samples (hair, fur, etc.) after "wet-acid-ashing" on an electric stove and in a muffle furnace were performed using a Kvant-2A atomic absorption spectrometer. The content of zinc, copper, iron, cadmium, lead, and arsenic was assessed. The level of MME accumulation in the animal body contributes not only to the MME status and the development of various concomitant diseases, but the condition itself can occur by intake of a number of micronutrients and/or drugs. Particular correlations between the accumulation of Zn and skin, oncological diseases, Cu-musculoskeletal, cardiovascular diseases, Fe-oncological diseases, Pb-metabolic, nervous, oncological diseases, and Cd-cardiovascular diseases were established. Therefore, monitoring of the MME status of the organism must be carried out regularly (optimally once every 6 months).

Nuclear Expression of ß-Catenin Is Associated with Improved Outcomes in Endometrial Cancer.

Beta-catenin is involved in intercellular adhesion and participates in the Wnt signaling pathway. This study evaluated the expression pattern and prognostic value of ß-catenin in a series of endometrial carcinoma patients. Immunohistochemical analyses were used to assess the expression and subcellular localization of ß-catenin from tissue sections of 74 patients with endometrial carcinoma. No correlation was found between beta-catenin expression and clinicopathological parameters. Patients expressing nuclear ß-catenin (n = 13; 16%) showed a more favorable prognosis than patients expressing membranous ß-catenin; the 5-year disease-related survival rate was 100% for cases expressing nuclear ß-catenin, compared with 73.8% (SE 0.08) of cases expressing membranous ß-catenin (p = 0.04). Although statistical significance was not reached (p = 0.15), cases expressing nuclear ß-catenin showed a 5-year disease-free survival rate of 90.9% (SE 0.08) compared with 67.4% (SE 0.08) of cases expressing membranous ß-catenin. Univariate Cox analysis revealed that membranous ß-catenin expression was found to be associated with a relative risk of death of 33.9 (p = 0.04). The stage of disease (p = 0.0006), histology (p = 0.003), and grading (p = 0.008) were also significantly correlated with disease-free survival according to univariate Cox analyses. Determining ß-catenin expression and localization patterns may predict survival in patients with endometrial cancer and, therefore, should be considered a potential prognostic marker of disease.

Black carbon footprint of human presence in Antarctica.

Black carbon (BC) from fossil fuel and biomass combustion darkens the snow and makes it melt sooner. The BC footprint of research activities and tourism in Antarctica has likely increased as human presence in the continent has surged in recent decades. Here, we report on measurements of the BC concentration in snow samples from 28 sites across a transect of about 2,000 km from the northern tip of Antarctica (62°S) to the southern Ellsworth Mountains (79°S). Our surveys show that BC content in snow surrounding research facilities and popular shore tourist-landing sites is considerably above background levels measured elsewhere in the continent. The resulting radiative forcing is accelerating snow melting and shrinking the snowpack on BC-impacted areas on the Antarctic Peninsula and associated archipelagos by up to 23 mm water equivalent (w.e.) every summer.

The Scientific Biography of P.Ya. Galperin: Stages of Life and Creative Work.

Background: This article is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin (1902-1988), an outstanding Soviet psychologist, the author of an original psychological concept and scientific school, and an organizer of psychological science. Objective: To reconstruct the main stages of the scientific biography of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin. Results: The paper demonstrates the internal logic of P.Ya. Galperin's developing scientific views in creating the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts, which analyzes the process of formation of the main components of mental activity and develops a system of conditions for transforming an objective action into a psychological phenomenon.This biography is based on Galperin's publications and speeches, memoirs of associates and family members, and numerous archival materials.All the periods of Galperin's life are presented, reflecting his participation, starting from the mid-1920s, in scientific and scientific-practical events. Particular attention is paid to Galperin's work at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU): 55 years of Galperin's professional and personal life (from 1943 until his death in 1988) were associated with the Philosophy Faculty, and then with the Psychology Faculty. Conclusion: The importance of preserving P.Ya. Galperin's scientific legacy is shown and steps taken in this direction are indicated.

Multifractal Characteristics of Geomagnetic Field Fluctuations for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres at Swarm Altitude.

This paper explores the spatial variations of the statistical scaling features of low to high latitude geomagnetic field fluctuations at Swarm altitude. The data for this study comes from the vector field magnetometer onboard Swarm A satellite, measured at low resolution (1 Hz) for one year (from 9 March 2016, to 9 March 2017). We estimated the structure-function scaling exponents using the p-leaders discrete wavelet multifractal technique, from which we obtained the singularity spectrum related to the magnetic fluctuations in the North-East-Center (NEC) coordinate system. From this estimation, we retain just the maximal fractal subset, associated with the Hurst exponent H. Here we present thresholding for two levels of the Auroral Electrojet index and almost the whole northern and southern hemispheres, the Hurst exponent, the structure-function scaling exponent of order 2, and the multifractal p-exponent width for the geomagnetic fluctuations. The latter quantifies the relevance of the multifractal property. Sometimes, we found negative values of H, suggesting a behavior similar to wave breaking or shocklet-like propagating front. Furthermore, we found some asymmetries in the magnetic field turbulence between the northern and southern hemispheres. These estimations suggest that different turbulent regimes of the geomagnetic field fluctuations exist along the Swarm path.

Processes in auroral oval and outer electron radiation belt.

We have analyzed the role of auroral processes in the formation of the outer radiation belt, considering that the main part of the auroral oval maps to the outer part of the ring current, instead of the plasma sheet as is commonly postulated. In this approach, the outer ring current is the region where transverse magnetospheric currents close inside the magnetosphere. Specifically, we analyzed the role of magnetospheric substorms in the appearance of relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt. We present experimental evidence that the presence of substorms during a geomagnetic storm recovery phase is, in fact, very important for the appearance of a new radiation belt during this phase. We discuss the possible role of adiabatic acceleration of relativistic electrons during storm recovery phase and show that this mechanism may accelerate the relativistic electrons by more than one order of magnitude.

Convergent in vivo and in vitro selection of ceftazidime resistance mutations at position 167 of CTX-M-3 beta-lactamase in hypermutable Escherichia coli strains.

We report on a novel CTX-M extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), designated CTX-M-42, with enhanced activity toward ceftazidime. CTX-M-42 was identified in a hypermutable Escherichia coli nosocomial isolate (isolate Irk2320) and is a Pro167Thr amino acid substitution variant of CTX-M-3. By molecular typing of ESBL-producing E. coli strains previously isolated in the same hospital ward, we were able to identify a putative progenitor (strain Irk1224) of Irk2320, which had a mutator phenotype and harbored the CTX-M-3 beta-lactamase. To reproduce the natural evolution of CTX-M-3, we selected for ceftazidime resistance mutations in bla CTX-M-3 gene in vitro both in clinical isolate Irk1224 and in laboratory-derived hypermutable (mutD5) strain GM2995. These experiments yielded CTX-M-3 Pro167Ser and CTX-M-3 Asn136Lys mutants which conferred higher levels of resistance to ceftazidime than to cefotaxime. CTX-M-3 Asn136Lys had a level of low activity toward ampicillin, which may explain its absence from clinical isolates. We conclude that the selection of CTX-M-42 could have occurred in vivo following treatment with ceftazidime and was likely facilitated by the hypermutable background.