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Highly accurate visualization of the points of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) application on the brain cortical surface could provide anatomy-specific analysis of TMS effects. TMS is widely used to activate cortical areas with high spatial resolution, and neuronavigation enables site-specific TMS of particular gyrus sites. Precise control of TMS application points is crucial in determining the stimulation effects. Here, we propose a method that gives an opportunity to visualize and analyze the stimulated cortical sites by processing multi-parameter data. • This method uses MRI data to create a participant's brain model for visualization. The MRI data is segmented to obtain a raw 3D model, which is further optimized in 3D modeling software. • A Python script running in Blender uses the TMS coil's orientation data and participant's brain 3D model to define and mark the cortical sites affected by the particular TMS pulse. • The Python script can be easily customized to visualize TMS points task-specifically.

The adrenal glands are important endocrine organs that play a major role in the stress response. Some adrenal glands abnormalities are treated with hormone replacement therapy, which does not address physiological requirements. Modern technologies make it possible to develop gene therapy drugs that can completely cure diseases caused by mutations in specific genes. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an example of such a potentially treatable monogenic disease. CAH is an autosomal recessive inherited disease with an overall incidence of 1:9500–1:20,000 newborns. To date, there are several promising drugs for CAH gene therapy. At the same time, it remains unclear how new approaches can be tested, as there are no models for this disease. The present review focuses on modern models for inherited adrenal gland insufficiency and their detailed characterization. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of various pathological models are discussed, and ways of further development are suggested.

Neuropathic pain is a condition affecting the quality of life of a substantial part of the population, but biomarkers and treatment options are still limited. While this type of pain is caused by nerve damage, in which lipids play key roles, lipidome alterations related to nerve injury remain poorly studied. Here, we assessed blood lipidome alterations in a common animal model, the rat sciatic nerve crush injury. We analyzed alterations in blood lipid abundances between seven rats with nerve injury (NI) and eight control (CL) rats in a time-course experiment. For these rats, abundances of 377 blood lipid species were assessed at three distinct time points: immediately after, two weeks, and five weeks post injury. Although we did not detect significant differences between NI and CL at the first two time points, 106 lipids were significantly altered in NI five weeks post injury. At this time point, we found increased levels of triglycerides (TGs) and lipids containing esterified palmitic acid (16:0) in the blood plasma of NI animals. Lipids containing arachidonic acid (20:4), by contrast, were significantly decreased after injury, aligning with the crucial role of arachidonic acid reported for NI. Taken together, these results indicate delayed systematic alterations in fatty acid metabolism after nerve injury, potentially reflecting nerve tissue restoration dynamics.

Currently, Euro 5 (no more than 10 ppm sulfur content) and Euro 6 (less than 10 ppm sulfur content) diesel motor fuels are produced worldwide. High-quality diesel fuels are produced by removing sulfur compounds using a hydrodesulfurization process. This article is devoted to the study of hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuel containing 120 ppm of sulfur compounds in the presence of an Al-Ni-Mo-O catalyst with a 98% diesel fuel purification rate. According to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Panchenkov theory, a kinetic model of the process is developed with the calculation of the theoretical change in the entropy and enthalpy of the activation of the hydrodesulfurization process. The mathematical model, for the first time, takes into account the influence of the pressure of substances involved in the process on the transformation of sulfur-containing compounds. A mechanism for diesel fuel hydrotreating from sulfur-containing compounds is formulated using a generalized quantum-chemical principle. The hydrodesulfurization mechanism includes nine stages. The formulated mechanism and developed mathematical model of hydrotreating fully describe the reaction of the hydrodesulfurization of diesel fuel and show the possibility of regulating and controlling this industrially important process.

Fluoxetine is an antidepressant commonly prescribed not only to adults but also to children for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The adverse effects of the long-term treatment reported in some patients, especially in younger individuals, call for a detailed investigation of molecular alterations induced by fluoxetine treatment. Two-year fluoxetine administration to juvenile macaques revealed effects on impulsivity, sleep, social interaction, and peripheral metabolites. Here, we built upon this work by assessing residual effects of fluoxetine administration on the expression of genes and abundance of lipids and polar metabolites in the prelimbic cortex of 10 treated and 11 control macaques representing two monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotypes. Analysis of 8871 mRNA transcripts, 3608 lipids, and 1829 polar metabolites revealed substantial alterations of the brain lipid content, including significant abundance changes of 106 lipid features, accompanied by subtle changes in gene expression. Lipid alterations in the drug-treated animals were most evident for polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). A decrease in PUFAs levels was observed in all quantified lipid classes excluding sphingolipids, which do not usually contain PUFAs, suggesting systemic changes in fatty acid metabolism. Furthermore, the residual effect of the drug on lipid abundances was more pronounced in macaques carrying the MAOA-L genotype, mirroring reported behavioral effects of the treatment. We speculate that a decrease in PUFAs may be associated with adverse effects in depressive patients and could potentially account for the variation in individual response to fluoxetine in young people.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder requiring lifelong treatment. While medications are available that are effective in treating some patients, individual treatment responses can vary, with some patients exhibiting resistance to one or multiple drugs. Currently, little is known about the causes of the difference in treatment response observed among individuals with schizophrenia, and satisfactory markers of poor response are not available for clinical practice. Here, we studied the changes in the levels of 322 blood plasma lipids between two time points assessed in 92 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia during their inpatient treatment and their association with the extent of symptom improvement. We found 20 triglyceride species increased in individuals with the least improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores, but not in those with the largest reduction in PANSS scores. These triglyceride species were distinct from the rest of the triglyceride species present in blood plasma. They contained a relatively low number of carbons in their fatty acid residues and were relatively low in abundance compared to the principal triglyceride species of blood plasma.

Three types of bi-layer hybrid nanocomposites on the base of perfluorinated cation-exchange membrane MF-4SC (Russian analogue of Nafion®-117) were synthesized and characterized. It was found that two membranes possess the noticeable asymmetry of the current–voltage curve (CVC) under changing their orientation towards the applied electric field, despite the absence of asymmetry of diffusion permeability. These phenomena were explained in the frame of the “fine-porous model” expanded for bi-layer membranes. A special procedure to calculate the real values of the diffusion layers thickness and the limiting current density was proposed. Due to asymmetry effects of the current voltage curves of bi-layer hybrid membranes on the base of MF-4SC, halloysite nanotubes and platinum nanoparticles, it is prospective to assemble membrane switches (membrane relays or diodes) with predictable transport properties, founded upon the theory developed here.