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This work aimed to study the genome organization and the metabolic potential of Streptomyces carpaticus strain SCPM-O-B-9993, a promising plant-protecting and plant-stimulating strain isolated from brown semi-desert soils with very high salinity. The strain genome contains a linear chromosome 5,968,715 bp long and has no plasmids. The genome contains 5331 coding sequences among which 2139 (40.1%) are functionally annotated. Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of secondary metabolites exhibiting antimicrobial properties (ohmyungsamycin, pellasoren, naringenin, and ansamycin) were identified in the genome. The most efficient period of SCPM-O-B-9993 strain cultivation was 72 h: during this period, the culture went from the exponential to the stationary growth phase as well as exhibited excellent phytostimulatory properties and antiviral activity against the cucumber mosaic virus in tomatoes under laboratory conditions. The Streptomyces carpaticus SCPM-OB-9993 strain is a biotechnologically promising producer of secondary metabolites exhibiting antiviral and phytostimulatory properties.

Recent studies suggested the potential role of mast cells (MCs) in the pathology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the precise description of the MCs’ activation and the engagement of their proteases is still missing. The objective of this study was to further reveal the importance of MCs and their proteases (chymase, tryptase, and carboxypeptidase A3 (CPA3)) in the development of lung damage in patients with COVID-19. This study included 55 patients who died from COVID-19 and 30 controls who died from external causes. A histological analysis of the lung parenchyma was carried out to assess the protease profiles and degranulation activity of MCs. In addition, we have analyzed the general blood test, coagulogram, and C-reactive protein. The content of tryptase-positive MCs (Try-MCs) in the lungs of patients with COVID-19 was higher than in controls, but their degranulation activity was lower. The indicators of chymase-positive MCs (Chy-MCs) were significantly lower than in the controls, while the content of CPA3-positive MCs (CPA3-MCs) and their degranulation activity were higher in patients with COVID-19. In addition, we have demonstrated the existence of correlations (positive/negative) between the content of Try-MCs, Chy-MCs, and CPA3-MCs at different states of their degranulation and presence (co-adjacent/single) and the levels of various immune cells (neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes) and other important markers (blood hemoglobin, activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), international normalized ratio (INR), and fibrinogen). Thus, the identified patterns suggest the numerous and diverse mechanisms of the participation of MCs and their proteases in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, and their impact on the inflammatory process and coagulation status. At the same time, the issue requires further study in larger cohorts of patients, which will open up the possibility of using drugs acting on this link of pathogenesis to treat lung damage in patients with COVID-19.

In this paper, we investigate the solvability of a boundary value problem for a heat and mass transfer model with the spatially averaged Rayleigh function. The considered model describes the 3D steady-state non-isothermal flow of a generalized Newtonian fluid (with shear-dependent viscosity) in a bounded domain with Lipschitz boundary. The main novelty of our work is that we do not neglect the viscous dissipation effect in contrast to the classical Boussinesq approximation, and hence, deal with a system of strongly nonlinear partial differential equations. Using the properties of the averaging operation and d-monotone operators as well as the Leray–Schauder alternative for completely continuous mappings, we prove the existence of weak solutions without any smallness assumptions for model data. Moreover, it is shown that the set of all weak solutions is compact, and each solution from this set satisfies some energy equalities.

The article is devoted to the study of the role of the Olympic Games in the structure of the “soft power” of the state, as well as the transformation of the “soft power” tools associated with the Olympic movement in recent years. The article focuses on the political role of the initiatives to boycott the Olympic Games in Russia on the eve of the XXII Winter Olympic Games 2014 in Sochi and the XXIV Winter Olympic Games 2022 in Beijing, as well as the role of the Olympic agenda in international political discourse in the context of sanctions related to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

Background: Although the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is characterized by mostly mild and asymptomatic cases (more than 80%), it appears important to assess the potential risks for the male reproductive system, in particular, for the parameters of the sperm. Aim: To study the effect of a mild and asymptomatic course of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the male sperm's parameters. Methods: The study included 397 patients who applied for a spermogram. All the patients underwent a spermogram study according to the WHO protocol, with the additionally measured degree of sperm DNA fragmentation, acrosine activity, fructose level, zinc level, citric acid level, neutral-glucosidase activity. A test for sperm binding to hyaluronic acid (HBA test) was performed, and the serum antibodies (IgM and IgG) against SARS-CoV-2 were analyzed. The study was conducted twice with an interval of 35 months. Results: At the first examination, normozoospermia was found in 33.5% (n=133) of patients, pathospermia in 66.5% (n=264). All the patients had no antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). When the analysis was repeated after 35 months, antibodies (IgG) against SARS-CoV-2 were detected in 144 patients: in 14.6% (n=21) the coronavirus infection was mild, and in 85.4% (n=123) it was asymptomatic. Those patients who received some type of a treatment (andrologic, anticovid, and/or other) were excluded from the further study. The subsequent analysis of the data from the untreated patients (131 patients without antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and 93 patients with antibodies (IgG) against SARS-CoV-2) was performed using the Student's paired test. For all the parameters of the standard spermogram according to the WHO protocol, the found changes after the mild and asymptomatic form of COVID-19 were not statistically significant. Also, the changes in the degree of fragmentation of sperm DNA, the enzymatic activity of acrosine, and other estimated parameters of the sperm (levels of fructose, citric acid, zinc, and the activity of neutral-glucosidase) were not statistically significant. The results of the test for the spermatozoa's interaction with hyaluronic acid (HBA test) worsened and had statistically significant differences after the coronavirus infection in both the mild form (p=0.006) and asymptomatic form (p=0.001). There were no statistically significant changes in the sperm parameters (including those from the HBA test) in the patients who had not had the new coronavirus infection. Conclusions: No statistically significant data were obtained on the effect of mild and asymptomatic forms of the course of the new coronavirus infection on the parameters of the standard spermogram, on the degree of fragmentation of spermatozoa's DNA and the enzymatic activity of acrosin. Mild and asymptomatic forms of the new coronavirus infection course can negatively affect the interaction of spermatozoa with hyaluronic acid (HBA test), that indicates the impairment of the spermatozoa binding to the zona pellucida. One should pay attention to the HBA test when examining the sperm of patients who have suffered the new coronavirus infection.

Symbiotic bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are widespread in Drosophila melanogaster populations. Based on the polymorphism of the Wolbachia genome, the symbionts’ diversity in D. melanogaster is presented by two groups: MEL (wMel, wMel2, wMel3 and wMel4) and CS (wMelCS and wMelCS2). The wMel genotype is predominant in natural D. melanogaster populations and is distributed all over the world. The CS genotypes, on the other hand, are of particular interest because it is unclear how they are maintained in the fruit f ly populations since they should have been eliminated from them due to their low frequency and genetic drift or been replaced by the wMel genotype. However, this is not what is really observed, which means these genotypes are supported by selection. It is known that the wMelPlus strain of the wMelCS genotype can increase the lifespan of infected f lies at high temperatures. The same genotype also increases the intensity of dopamine metabolism in Drosophila compared to the MEL-group genotypes. In the present study, we searched for the rare Wolbachia wMelCS and wMelCS2 genotypes, as well as for new genotypes in wild-type D. melanogaster strains and in several mutant laboratory strains. The symbiont was found in all populations, in 200 out of 385 wild-type strains and in 83 out of 170 mutant strains. Wolbachia diversity in D. melanogaster wild-type strains was represented by the wMel, wMelCS and wMelCS2 genotypes. More than 90 % of the infected strains carried wMel; 9 %, wMelCS2; and only two strains were found to carry wMelCS. No new Wolbachia genotypes were found. The northernmost point reported for the wMelCS2 genotype was Izhevsk city (Udmurtia, Russia). For the f irst time the wMelCS2 genotype was detected in D. melanogaster from the Sakhalin Island, and wMelCS, in the f lies from Nalchik (the North Caucasus). A comparison of Wolbachia genetic diversity between the wild-type laboratory strains and previously obtained data on mutant laboratory strains demonstrated differences in the frequencies of rare CS genotypes, which were more prevalent in mutant strains, apparently due to the breeding history of these Drosophila strains.

In the molecule of the title compound, C9H11N5O2, the oxime and hydrazide groups are situated in a cis-position in relation to the C—C bond linking the two functional groups. The CH3C(=NOH)C(O)NH fragment deviates from planarity because of a twist between the oxime and amide groups. In the crystal, molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming zigzag chains in the [013] and [0\overline{1}3] directions.

The peculiarities of the structure and phase composition of the high-entropy alloy of the TiCrFeMnSiC system obtained from the powder mixture of ferrotitanium, ferrochrome and ferrosilicon-manganese ferroalloys are considered in the work. The technological scheme of alloy production included joint grinding of the mixture in a planetary mill, consolidation of the blanks, their heating to 1100 0C, hot forging on the arc press and subsequent annealing of hot-forged samples at 1200 0C. According to the results of X-ray analysis of the obtained alloy, it was found that the main phase of the alloy is the BCC phase with the parameter of the cubic lattice a = 0.2868 nm, which is a solid solution based on alloying components of the original charge. The phase composition of the composite also recorded titanium carbide TiC with FCC lattice with the parameter a = 0.4319 nm, which corresponds to a stoichiometric composition of about TiC0.6 and a small amount of FCC phase of iron-chromium carbide (Cr, Fe)23C6 with lattice parameter a = 1.0645 nm. The material has a high hardness (up to 60-61 HRC), which can provide high resistance of this multicomponent alloy.

Introduction. is to The analysis of the genetic relatedness of isolates aiming to find the source of infection is an important task of nosocomial infection control. The most common causative agent of healthcare-associated infections is Acinetobacter baumannii.Objective. To evaluate the results of whole genome sequencing of A. baumannii bacteria isolated from clinical samples of patients undergoing inpatient treatment in the northern territories of the Tyumen region.Materials and methods. Nine isolates of A. baumannii from the clinical material of patients were studied. Bacterial cultures were identified by mass spectrometry. Whole genome sequencing, multilocus sequence typing and search for markers of antibiotic resistance were performed.Results. The studied strains belonged to sequence types ST2 and ST187, and to the international clonal complex CC2. All A. baumannii isolates were found to have beta-lactamase genes, as well as genes for resistance to aminoglycosides, to the MLS group of antibiotics, and to tetracyclines. The presence of a cluster of genes associated with virulence was detected: those responsible for the synthesis of acinetobactin and iron binding, surface antigen 1 and porin.Conclusion. Based on data of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, A. baumannii isolates from the clinical material of patients of healthcare institution #1 belong mainly to one bacterial strain. Isolates of A. baumannii from the clinical material of patients of healthcare institution #2 are closely related. The ability to distinguish clinical isolates of A. baumannii at the level of several SNPs per genome will improve the identification of the source of infection, and whole genome sequencing data can contribute to the rational prescription of antibiotic therapy and the correction of disinfection and antiseptic measures.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). First reported in 2019, it has already caused more than 500 million cases worldwide. The problem of COVID-19 treatment is still relevant, and it is necessary to study in detail the pathogenesis of COVID-19, including the involvement of different immune cells and their mediators. There is increasing evidence of the important role of mast cells (MCs) and their specific protease carboxypeptidase A3 (CPA3) in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. MCs chymase and tryptase are already well studied, while CPA3 is of growing interest. The aim of this review is to study the CPA3 features and mechanisms of its participation in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and some other infectious and non-infectious diseases. Methods and Results: A literature search was carried out using Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Medline, and E-Library databases. Of the158 articles analyzed, 33 were included in the review. CPA3, expressed by MCs in various organs, including human lungs, plays a role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19 by indirectly causing pulmonary fibrosis, associating with levels of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and severity of COVID-19.

Mast cells (MCs) as key players in the development of both physiological and pathological processes in the organism can form a specific tissue microenvironment. Having a rich secretion of biologically active substances, MCs can secrete tryptase and/or chymase and thereby participate in the regulation of processes such as inflammation, neoangiogenesis, allergic reactions, and oncogenesis. Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) play an essential role in regulation of MC degranulation, shown in vitro and in vivo models. Application of molecular hydrogen as a substance with antioxidant characteristics pathogenically appears to be an important mechanism decreasing MC secretory activity, and, as a consequence, a novel option to reduce an inflammatory background in the specific tissue microenvironment.

Herein, we report the novel strategy for the synthesis of 4-enamino-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydroisothiazole 1-oxides (in other words α-phenyl β-enamino γ-sultims) based on the CSIC reaction. Particularly, readily available α-amino nitriles (the Strecker products) reacted with benzyl sulfinyl chloride to give the corresponding sulfinamides, which upon treatment with excess of LiHMDS converted into the target α-phenyl β-enamino γ-sultims. The method works well and tolerates strained 3- and 4-membered spirocyclic substituents. A preliminary in silico study indicated that the γ-sultim scaffold can be considered a promising pharmacophore template. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]