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We studied the role of receptors with high and low affinity for fMLF chemotaxic peptide in the generation of active oxygen species by umbilical cord blood granulocytes from newborns with normal neonatal period, born after normal or complicated gestation, in children with manifestations of bacterial infection born after complicated pregnancy, and in granulocytes of non-pregnant women with normal reproductive function. Granulocytes of children born after complicated pregnancy exhibited high reactivity in induction of respiratory burst in a wide range of fMLF concentrations. The presentation of receptors with high and low affinity on granulocytes during initiation of the respiratory burst differs in children born after complicated pregnancy and in healthy babies born after normal gestation. Presumably, the detected differences result from high expression of receptors with low affinity for fMLF and disorders or immaturity of mechanisms responsible for receptor inactivation.

We studied the relationship between changes in the maternal and newborn granulocyte functions under conditions of infection risk and realization. Women with normal gestation and their healthy newborns, pregnant women with a high risk of infection and their newborns, healthy or with intrauterine infection, were examined. Changes in the active oxygen species dependent phagocytosis system were found in the blood of risk group patients. An inverse relationship between the parameters venous and umbilical cord blood was detected indicating a relationship between changes in functional activities of maternal and newborn granulocytes. The percentage of CD11b + cells in venous and umbilical cord blood strictly correlated with the percent of cells that phagocytosed FITC-labeled E. coli . Deviations in the generation of active oxygen species in phagocytosis seemed to be related to the expression of surface receptors in the risk groups.

We carried out a comparative clinical and immunological examination of newborns whose mothers were at risk of infectious inflammatory diseases. Umbilical blood cell phenotype was evaluated by flow cytofluorometry. ROS level was evaluated by chemiluminescence intensity. Spontaneous production of ROS and phagocytic activity of cells in the whole umbilical blood was reduced in newborns born after complicated pregnancy. Low immunoregulatory index indicating changed CD4+/CD8+ ratio and low percentage of natural killer cells were observed in children with manifestations of bacterial infection. ROS production by isolated granulocytes and the effects of PI3K and p38 MAPK (kinases involved in the regulation of activity of NADPH oxidase responsible for the production of ROS) in the risk group infants differed from the corresponding parameters in the control group. The results indicate shifts in the phagocytosis system, immune status, and the receptor-conjugated regulatory systems of ROS generation by granulocytes in newborns at risk of infectious inflammatory diseases.

Generation of active oxygen forms by blood granulocytes was studied in women with a history of habitual abortions (2-3 spontaneous abortions in the first trimester, undeveloped pregnancies). The level of spontaneous luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of nonfractionated peripheral blood was increased in this patient population (study group) in comparison with women with normal reproductive function (reference group). The two groups differed by the level of activation of respiratory burst induced by opsonized zymosan and by activity of isolated granulocytes in response to chemotactic peptide N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (1-50 microM). Differences in the effects of inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinases and protein phosphatases and inhibitor of mitogen-activated proteinkinase p38 MAPK were detected. The results attest to predisposition to oxidative stress and poor cytotoxic functions of granulocytes in women with habitual abortions, which can be due to specific features of regulation of oxidase activity by tyrosine protein kinases and protein phosphatases and by p38 MAPK.

Production of reactive oxygen species in unfractionated peripheral blood increased in parturient women without postpartum infectious complications and patients with postpartum endometritis. The control group included nonpregnant women with normal reproductive function. Intergroup differences were revealed in the degree of respiratory burst activation with opsonized zymosan and response of isolated granulocytes to chemotactic peptide N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phen (1 muM). Production of reactive oxygen species tended to normal after therapy. We studied the effects of a specific mitogen-activated protein kinase p38MAPK inhibitor and inhibitors of tyrosine protein phosphatases and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase. The role of p38MAPK in reactive oxygen species generation by cells changes significantly in parturient women.

This paper reports the results of a comprehensive survey of the effects of the accidental release of radiation caused by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in April 1986. The accident and the resulting release of radiation and radioactive products into the atmosphere produced the most serious environmental contamination so far recorded. We have concentrated on evaluating the outcomes and health risks to women, their reproductive situation, and consequences for their progeny. We have concentrated on two well-defined areas: the Chechersky district of the Gomel region in Belorussia and the Polessky district of the Kiev region in the Ukraine. A number of investigations were carried out on 688 pregnant women and their babies, and data were obtained from 7000 labor histories of the development of newborns for a period of 8 years (3 years before the accident and 5 years after it). Parameters examined included birth rate, thyroid pathology, extragenital pathology such as anemias, renal disorders, hypertension, and abnormalities in the metabolism of fats, complications of gestation, spontaneous abortions, premature deliveries, perinatal morbidity and mortality, stillbirths and early neonatal mortality, infections and inflammatory diseases, neurological symptoms and hemic disturbances in both mothers and infants, trophic anomalies, and biochemical and structural changes in the placenta. Several exogenous, complicating influences were also considered such as psycho-emotional factors, stress, lifestyle changes, and others caused directly by the hazardous situation and by its consequences such as treatment, removal from affected areas, etc. The results allow us to conclude that health of mothers, fetuses, and children were significantly influenced by the radiation, with adaptational and pathological abnormalities of various organs and body systems of pregnant women and children. Although the female reproductive system itself remains relatively intact, the decrease in compensatory-adaptive mechanisms of mothers and fetoplacental disorders cause long-term or chronic diseases in the newborns. It is suggested that special attention is paid to possible prophylaxis and to treatment of groups at risk in order to reduce hazardous consequences of such accidents and to preserve the health of future generations.

Soil organisms are a crucial part of the terrestrial biosphere. Despite their importance for ecosystem functioning, few quantitative, spatially explicit models of the active belowground community currently exist. In particular, nematodes are the most abundant animals on Earth, filling all trophic levels in the soil food web. Here we use 6,759 georeferenced samples to generate a mechanistic understanding of the patterns of the global abundance of nematodes in the soil and the composition of their functional groups. The resulting maps show that 4.4 ± 0.64 × 10 20 nematodes (with a total biomass of approximately 0.3 gigatonnes) inhabit surface soils across the world, with higher abundances in sub-Arctic regions (38% of total) than in temperate (24%) or tropical (21%) regions. Regional variations in these global trends also provide insights into local patterns of soil fertility and functioning. These high-resolution models provide the first steps towards representing soil ecological processes in global biogeochemical models and will enable the prediction of elemental cycling under current and future climate scenarios. High-resolution spatial maps of the global abundance of soil nematodes and the composition of functional groups show that soil nematodes are found in higher abundances in sub-Arctic regions, than in temperate or tropical regions.

The emergence of van der Waals (vdW) materials resulted in the discovery of their high optical, mechanical, and electronic anisotropic properties, immediately enabling countless novel phenomena and applications. Such success inspired an intensive search for the highest possible anisotropic properties among vdW materials. Furthermore, the identification of the most promising among the huge family of vdW materials is a challenging quest requiring innovative approaches. Here, we suggest an easy-to-use method for such a survey based on the crystallographic geometrical perspective of vdW materials followed by their optical characterization. Using our approach, we found As2S3 as a highly anisotropic vdW material. It demonstrates high in-plane optical anisotropy that is ~20% larger than for rutile and over two times as large as calcite, high refractive index, and transparency in the visible range, overcoming the century-long record set by rutile. Given these benefits, As2S3 opens a pathway towards next-generation nanophotonics as demonstrated by an ultrathin true zero-order quarter-wave plate that combines classical and the Fabry–Pérot optical phase accumulations. Hence, our approach provides an effective and easy-to-use method to find vdW materials with the utmost anisotropic properties.We developed a geometric approach to identify highly anisotropic materials. This leads to the discovery of giant anisotropy of As2S3, enabling the record-small quarter-wave plate.

GC-MS on the Viking 1976 Mars missions did not detect organic molecules on the Martian surface, even those expected from meteorite bombardment. This result suggested that the Martian regolith might hold a potent oxidant that converts all organic molecules to carbon dioxide rapidly relative to the rate at which they arrive. This conclusion is influencing the design of Mars missions. We reexamine this conclusion in light of what is known about the oxidation of organic compounds generally and the nature of organics likely to come to Mars via meteorite. We conclude that nonvolatile salts of benzenecarboxylic acids, and perhaps oxalic and acetic acid, should be metastable intermediates of meteoritic organics under oxidizing conditions. Salts of these organic acids would have been largely invisible to GC-MS. Experiments show that one of these, benzenehexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid), is generated by oxidation of organic matter known to come to Mars, is rather stable to further oxidation, and would not have been easily detected by the Viking experiments. Approximately 2 kg of meteorite-derived mellitic acid may have been generated per m2of Martian surface over 3 billion years. How much remains depends on decomposition rates under Martian conditions. As available data do not require that the surface of Mars be very strongly oxidizing, some organic molecules might be found near the surface of Mars, perhaps in amounts sufficient to be a resource. Missions should seek these and recognize that these complicate the search for organics from entirely hypothetical Martian life.