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One of the most critical tasks of modern energy is accumulating thermal energy due to the inefficient use of thermal energy during the underloading of power systems in which heat-accumulating materials are used. Therefore the paper studies the effect of alternating electric current on the heat-accumulating properties in a mixture based on Na2SO4·10H2O. It is established that the AC effect leads to an increase in the melt crystallization temperature of Na2SO4·10H2O and Na2S2O3·5H2O and also contributes to the return of heat. The selection of the treatment mode of the Na2SO4·10H2O–Na2S2O3·5H2O (50: 1 wt.) mixture by the AC was carried out. It was shown that the latent heat of melting of 329 kJ/kg is achieved at 500000 Hz frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of studying terminology in maritime higher educational institutions is beyond any doubt. Poor proficiency in professional English vocabulary may cause problems in communication between multinational crew and threaten the safety of life, ship and cargo at sea. Thus, mastering of the vocabulary is and will always be the main direction in teaching a foreign language for professional purposes. The paper analyzes the main types of lexical units that form the termbase of maritime English. Effective ways of mastering professional vocabulary are provided. At the same time, it is noted that teaching shall be provided and complied with the terms of a professionally oriented approach, where all decisions regarding the selection of the syllabus are coordinated with the professionally oriented communicative requirements of cadets. It means that the cadets study lexical units which are required for further application in specific areas and situations, taking into account the professional direction.The special lexical units that are considered as a substantial component of a special lexical competence which acts as an integrative phenomenon and has level structure and includes knowledge about special lexical units, skills of using studied special lexical units in a given communicative context are discussed. Some aspects of marine terminology which are necessary for cadets’ familiarization when studying the course “Foreign language (English)” have been considered.It is noted that a combination of various tactics and teaching methods with the use of illustrative materials to the use of original professional documents such as ship's instructions, checklists and others is useful and productive when studying professional English terminology. The combination of all these methods will allow the cadets to have an integral “linguistic” pattern of their future profession, from individual words and word combinations to the functioning of lexical units in a real professional language.

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare congenital disorder of the connective tissue, leading to thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) and dissection, among other complications. Currently, the most efficient strategy to prevent life-threatening dissection is preventive surgery. Periodic imaging applying complex techniques is required to monitor TAA progression and to guide the timing of surgical intervention. Thus, there is an acute demand for non-invasive biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis, as well as for innovative therapeutic targets of MFS. Unraveling the intricate pathomolecular mechanisms underlying the syndrome is vital to address these needs. High-throughput platforms are particularly well-suited for this purpose, as they enable the integration of different datasets, such as transcriptomic and epigenetic profiles. In this narrative review, we summarize relevant studies investigating changes in both the coding and non-coding transcriptome and epigenome in MFS-induced TAA. The collective findings highlight the implicated pathways, such as TGF-β signaling, extracellular matrix structure, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Potential candidates as biomarkers, such as miR-200c, as well as therapeutic targets emerged, like Tfam, associated with mitochondrial respiration, or miR-632, stimulating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. While these discoveries are promising, rigorous and extensive validation in large patient cohorts is indispensable to confirm their clinical relevance and therapeutic potential.

Fusarium basal rot of onions causes large losses during storage of commercial production of onion bulbs, which in turn adversely affects the food market situation in the off-season period. There are no data on the composition of Fusarium spp., which causes onion basal rot in the Russian Federation. Therefore, our research was aimed at Fusarium spp. causing onion basal rot in the Moscow Region of the Russian Federation and studying the pathogenicity of these species for the host plant. We studied 20 isolates of Fusarium spp. collected from affected mature bulbs and seed bulbs. Species identification of the isolates was carried out using analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the three genetic loci ITS, tef1 and rpb2 , as well as was based on the macro- and micromorphological characteristics of these isolates. As a result, the species F. annulatum ( F. fujikuroi species complex), F. oxysporum ( F. oxysporum species complex), F. acuminatum ( F. tricinctum species complex) and F. solani ( F. solani species complex) were identified to involve in the pathogenesis of Fusarium basal rot. We have shown for the first time that the species F. annulatum and F. acuminatum are highly aggressive and capable of causing onion basal rot. The predominant species were F. annulatum and F. oxysporum . The proportion of these species in the total number of analyzed isolates was 60% and 25%, respectively. The largest proportion (33%) of highly aggressive on mature bulbs isolates was found in the species F. annulatum . The data obtained provide practical insights for developing strategies to manage Fusarium fungi responsible for onion basal rot Moscow Region of the Russian Federation. In addition, data about species composition and aggressive isolates may be used in onion breeding for resistance to Fusarium basal rot.

Fusarium wilt pathogens represent an ongoing threat to pepper production worldwide. This is the first report providing data on the molecular identification of Fusarium fungi that cause wilt in pepper in the southern regions of Russia. Monitoring of the Fusarium infection on pepper was carried out in 2019-2022 in two economically important regions of this culture production: the Krasnodar Krai and Crimea. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the translation elongation factor ( EF1a ) and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), as well as the macro- and micromorphological characteristics of the fungi, the causative agents of Fusarium wilt have been identified. The causative agents identified as representatives of the Fusarium species composition included: F. clavus , F. solani , F. oxysporum , F. verticillioides , F. commune , F. torulosum , and F. sporotrichioides . Depending on the region, the specifics of biodiversity and the ratio of these species in pathocomplexes were noted. In Crimea, wilting could be attributed to all of the identified species; in the Krasnodar Krai, F. verticillioides and F. clavus were found to contribute to wilting. The pathogenicity test showed that the pathogens of pepper wilting in Russia, in addition to the already known F. oxysporum and F. solani , are the species F. clavus and F. verticillioides . This is the first report on the ability of these species to cause Fusarium wilt in pepper cultures. The obtained data will be of practical value for the development of biological control measures for fungi of the genus Fusarium , which cause pepper wilt in areas of industrial production and seed production. In addition, data on species composition and aggressive isolates will be used in a pepper breeding program for resistance to Fusarium wilt.

Voltage-gated Na + channels are crucial to action potential propagation in excitable tissues. Because of the high amplitude and rapid activation of the Na + current, voltage-clamp measurements are very challenging and are usually performed at room temperature. In this study, we measured Na + current voltage-dependence in stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes at physiological temperature. While the apparent activation and inactivation curves, measured as the dependence of current amplitude on voltage, fall within the range reported in previous studies, we identified a systematic error in our measurements. This error is caused by the deviation of the membrane potential from the command potential of the amplifier. We demonstrate that it is possible to account for this artifact using computer simulation of the patch-clamp experiment. We obtained surprising results through patch-clamp model optimization: a half-activation of -11.5 mV and a half-inactivation of -87 mV. Although the half-activation deviates from previous research, we demonstrate that this estimate reproduces the conduction velocity dependence on extracellular potassium concentration. KEY POINTS: Voltage-gated Na + currents play a crucial role in excitable tissues including neurons, cardiac and skeletal muscle. Measurement of Na + current is challenging because of its high amplitude and rapid kinetics, especially at physiological temperature. We have used the patch-clamp technique to measure human Na + current voltage-dependence in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. The patch-clamp data were processed by optimization of the model accounting for voltage-clamp experiment artifacts, revealing a large difference between apparent parameters of Na + current and the results of the optimization. We conclude that actual Na + current activation is extremely depolarized in comparison to previous studies. The new Na + current model provides a better understanding of action potential propagation; we demonstrate that it explains propagation in hyperkalaemic conditions., (© 2024 The Authors. The Journal of Physiology © 2024 The Physiological Society.)

Botulinum toxin A is a well-known neurotransmitter inhibitor with a wide range of applications in modern medicine. Recently, botulinum toxin A preparations have been used in clinical trials to suppress cardiac arrhythmias, especially in the postoperative period. Its antiarrhythmic action is associated with inhibition of the nervous system of the heart, but its direct effect on heart tissue remains unclear. Accordingly, we investigate the effect of botulinum toxin A on isolated cardiac cells and on layers of cardiac cells capable of conducting excitation. Cardiomyocytes of neonatal rat pups and human cardiomyocytes obtained through cell reprogramming were used. A patch-clamp study showed that botulinum toxin A inhibited fast sodium currents and L-type calcium currents in a dose-dependent manner, with no apparent effect on potassium currents. Optical mapping showed that in the presence of botulinum toxin A, the propagation of the excitation wave in the layer of cardiac cells slows down sharply, conduction at high concentrations becomes chaotic, but reentry waves do not form. The combination of botulinum toxin A with a preparation of chitosan showed a stronger inhibitory effect by an order of magnitude. Further, the inhibitory effect of botulinum toxin A is not permanent and disappears after 12 days of cell culture in a botulinum toxin A-free medium. The main conclusion of the work is that the antiarrhythmic effect of botulinum toxin A found in clinical studies is associated not only with depression of the nervous system but also with a direct effect on heart tissue. Moreover, the combination of botulinum toxin A and chitosan reduces the effective dose of botulinum toxin A., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)