An application of QVAR dynamic connectedness between geopolitical risk and renewable energy volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflicts.

The article is the first to employ a quantile vector autoregression (QVAR) to identify the connectedness between geopolitical risks and energy volatility from January 1, 2015, to April 03, 2023. This paper is also the first to examine the mediating roles of uncertain events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict on this interlinkage. Dynamic connectedness is 29% in the short term and approximately 6% in the long term. Dynamic net total directional connectedness over a quantile also indicates that connectedness is very intense for both highly positive changes (above the 80% quantile) and negative changes (below the 20% quantile). In the short term, the geopolitical risks remained net receivers of shock, but they turned into net shock transmitters during 2020 in the long term. Clean energy, in the short term, transmits shocks to other markets, and it plays the same role in the long term. Crude oil was a net receiver of shocks during COVID-19 and turned into a net transmitter of shocks in early 2022. Dynamic net pairwise directional connectedness over a quantile suggests that uncertain events like the COVID-19 epidemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict influence the dynamic interlinkages between geopolitical risks and renewable energy volatility and change their roles in the designed system. These findings are critical since they help authorities develop effective policies to lessen the vulnerabilities of these indicators and minimize how widely the renewable and non-renewable energy market is exposed to risk or uncertainty.

Evaluation of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives (CBRNE) Knowledge Change and Skills Confidence Among Frontline-Line Providers During the Russia-Ukraine War.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in knowledge and skill confidence after implementation of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) training course during the Russia-Ukraine War. METHODS: Pre/post-test study in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa. Fifteen CBRNE courses were conducted over a 3-mo period, August to October 2022. Change in knowledge and skills confidence were evaluated with pre/post-course written exams and practical skill assessments that were observed during the training exercises. Changes were analyzed based on nonparametric Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank testing. Pre/post self-efficacy surveys were analyzed with McNemar's test for paired data. Course evaluations were conducted with standardized questions which assessed instruction quality, teaching relevance, knowledge gained, and post-course skills confidence. RESULTS: A total of 523 participants registered and completed 1 of the 15 courses. Overall mean pre-course test score: 57.8% (SD 20.7%); mean post-course test score: 81.4% (SD 11.3%); participants with increasing test scores: 90.7%; mean difference in score (95% confidence interval) 23.6% (21.2%-25.9%), P < 0.0001. Pre/post self-efficacy surveys (4-point Likert scale) noted participants recognized signs and symptoms of a CBRNE incident, and necessary skills to manage CBRNE exposures, P < 0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of this CBRNE course for front-line providers in Ukraine was successful. To our knowledge, it was the first implementation of a field course during the current Russian-Ukraine war. Future research should evaluate knowledge retention and impact of our innovative Train-the-Trainer model. Further iterations should emphasize expanding the quantity of training equipment and practical skill sessions.

The impacts of COVID-19 on structural inequities faced by people living with HIV who inject drugs: A qualitative study in St. Petersburg, Russia.

BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs (PWID) living with HIV may be disproportionately impacted by pandemic restrictions. This study qualitatively explored the impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on PWID with HIV in St. Petersburg, Russia. METHODS: In March and April 2021, we conducted remote, semi-structured interviews with PWID with HIV, health care providers, and harm reductionists. RESULTS: We interviewed 25 PWID with HIV (aged 28-56 years, 46% female) and 11 providers. The pandemic exacerbated economic and psychological challenges experienced by PWID with HIV. Simultaneously, barriers to HIV care access, ART prescription refill and dispensing and police violence, which hindered the health and safety of PWID with HIV, were themselves hindered from normal operations by the pandemic, significantly reducing these burdens. CONCLUSION: Pandemic responses should account for the unique vulnerabilities of PWID with HIV to avoid worsening the structural violence they already experience. Wherever the pandemic decreased structural barriers, such as institutional, administrative, and bureaucratic challenges and state violence enacted by police and other elements of the criminal justice system, such changes should be protected.

Chapitre 2. Health in Russia, a basic topic: Risk strategies and socio-psychological aspects.

High mortality rates in the Russian Federation in all age cohorts, which are exacerbated nowadays due to the risk of contracting a new coronavirus infection, indicate the lack of programs to promote a healthy lifestyle in society, as well as the preservation of negative attitudes of society associated with any aspects of taking care of one’s health.Switching the public’s attention to self-preservation practices is not viable without considering the socio-economic and psychological conjuncture. Maintaining health requires both time and money, so for many people it remains a secondary task for many years, if the disease does not make itself felt.By appealing to the individual’s choice of a voluntary strategy of the preservation of their health, the state should make sure that they are ready to show a high level of self-awareness and culture. However, there is a stable tradition of risky behaviors in Russian society, in which ignoring the first signs of the disease, the transition of the disease to severe forms, and indifferenceе to the outcome of treatment became a social norm. In this vein, individuals show a disregard for new approaches and often aggravate their problem by resorting to alcohol and drugs, which leads to serious health related consequences.The study of aspects of an individual’s choice of risky life strategies showed the interdependence of the level of health preservation on the material and psychological well-being of a social group (i.e., family). The lower the satisfaction of an individual’s needs in society, the higher the apathy and tendency to addiction, which is often followed by crimes against the life and health of others or a tendency to suicide.

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Russia reveals recurring cross-border transmission throughout 2020.

In 2020, SARS-CoV-2 has spread rapidly across the globe, with most nations failing to prevent or substantially delay its introduction. While many countries have imposed some limitations on trans-border passenger traffic, the effect of these measures on the global spread of COVID-19 strains remains unclear. Here, we report an analysis of 3206 whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 samples from 78 regions of Russia covering the period before the spread of variants of concern (between March and November 2020). We describe recurring imports of multiple COVID-19 strains into Russia throughout this period, giving rise to 457 uniquely Russian transmission lineages, as well as repeated cross-border transmissions of local circulating variants out of Russia. While the phylogenetically inferred rate of cross-border transmissions was somewhat reduced during the period of the most stringent border closure, it still remained high, with multiple inferred imports that each led to detectable spread within the country. These results indicate that partial border closure has had little effect on trans-border transmission of variants, which helps explain the rapid global spread of newly arising SARS-CoV-2 variants throughout the pandemic.

[The analysis of application of telemedicine technologies in the Russian Federation in 2019-2022].

Over the past five years, development of telemedicine was accompanied by many changes. Despite the need for remote medical care, development of telemedicine technologies was not uniformly intensive, both in different countries and in regions of a single state (such as Russia). The purpose of the study is to evaluate dynamics of volume of medical care and number of types of services using telemedicine technologies in regions of the Russian Federation. The retrospective analysis was applied to data retrieved from the Form of the Federal Statistical Observation № 30 of 2019-2021, from documentation of territorial programs of state guarantees of free medical care of population and tariff agreements in regions of the Russian Federation in 2021-2022 and from the Federal Telemedicine System in 2021. The study established that total number of telemedicine consultations increased in 2021 by 23% as compared with 2020. The percentage of consultations financed by the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund also increased from 6.95% in 2020 to 11.72% in 2021. The number of patients being on remote monitoring increased in 2021 up to 44% as compared to 2020. In addition, percentage of patients receiving medical care through remote monitoring and financed by the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund increased from 6.55% in 2021 to 19.96% as compared with 2020. In the territorial programs of state guarantees for seven regions of the Russian Federation the number of types of telemedicine services fixed in tariff agreements increased in 2022 as compared to 2021. However, it decreased in ten regions. The most common medical care profiles for which telemedicine consultations in the "physician-physician" format were provided by Federal medical organizations in 2021 were: oncology (55 regions of Russia requested consultations on this profile), pediatrics (45 regions), and intensive-care medicine (39 regions). The telemedicine solutions are in high demand, as it is demonstrated by increasing both of volume of remote medical care and of percentage of consultations financed by the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund. The COVID-19 pandemic had rather strong impact on development of telemedicine. The alignment of market for telemedicine services in public health sector began in 2021 and it is confirmed by decreasing of total number of consultation types in tariff agreements in 2022. In terms of remote interaction in "physician-physician" format, situation continues to be stable. In the nearest future one should expect more gradual development of telemedicine in Russia with appearance of individual initiatives in terms of pilot projects and experimental law modes.

Mucosal immunity in health care workers' respiratory tracts in the post-COVID-19 period.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has generated interest in the assessment of systemic immune status, but existing knowledge about mucosal immunity is clearly insufficient to understand the full pathogenetic mechanisms of the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of novel coronavirus infection on mucosal immunity in the postinfection period among health care workers (HCWs). A total of 180 health care workers with and without a history of COVID-19 who ranged in age from 18 to 65 years were enrolled in this one-stage, cross-sectional study. The study subjects completed the 36-Item Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36) and the Fatigue Assessment Scale. Secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and total immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels were quantified in saliva samples, induced sputum samples, and nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal scrapings by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were quantified in serum samples by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Analysis of the questionnaire data showed that all HCWs with a history of COVID-19 reported health problems that limited their daily activities and negative changes in their emotional health three months after the disease, regardless of its severity. The following shifts were detected in the adaptive arm of the immune response in different mucosal compartments. Among subjects who had severe or moderate-to-severe COVID-19, salivary sIgA levels were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.005, respectively). Compared to the subjects in the control group, all subjects with prior COVID-19 had significantly higher levels of total IgG in induced sputum. In the group of patients who had had severe infection, total IgG in saliva was also higher (p < 0.05). A direct statistically significant correlation was also detected between the levels of total IgG in all studied samples and the levels of specific IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the serum. A significant correlation was observed between total IgG levels and the parameters of physical and social activities, mental health, and fatigue levels. Our study demonstrated long-term changes in the humoral mucosal immune response, which were most pronounced in health care workers with a history of severe or moderate-to-severe COVID-19, and an association of these changes with certain clinical signs of post-COVID-19 syndrome.

Environmental reverberations of geopolitical risk and economic policy uncertainty resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict: A wavelet based approach for sectoral CO2 emissions.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and a natural gas crisis between the European Union (EU) and Russia has begun. These events have negatively affected humanity and resulted in economic and environmental consequences. Against this background, this study examines the impact of geopolitical risk (GPR) and economic policy uncertainty (EPU) caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on sectoral carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To this end, the study analyzes data from January 1997 to October 2022 by using wavelet transform coherence (WTC) and time-varying wavelet causality test (TVWCT) approaches. The WTC results show that GPR and EPU reduce CO2 emissions in the residential, commercial, industrial, and electricity sectors, while GPR increases CO2 emissions in the transportation sector during the period from January 2019 to October 2022, which includes Russia-Ukraine conflict. The WTC analysis also indicates that the reduction in CO2 emissions provided by the EPU is higher than that of the GPR for several periods. According to the TVWCT, there are causal impacts of the GPR and the EPU on sectoral CO2 emissions, but the timing of the causal impacts differs between the raw and decomposed data. The results suggest that the EPU has a larger impact on reducing sectoral CO2 emissions during the Ukraine-Russia crisis and that production disruptions due to uncertainty have the greatest impact on reducing CO2 emissions in the electric power and transportation sectors.

Vaccine research and development capacity in Central and West Asia: A path toward sustainable vaccine R&D programs.

The ability to support a comprehensive vaccine research and development (R&D) portfolio from a health security perspective has taken on enhanced significance over the past 3 years whereby countries that had existing vaccine R&D infrastructure (G7, Russia and China) have been at the forefront of global efforts to combat COVID-19. Few countries outside of these key players have the infrastructure necessary to develop national vaccine programs, though this is beginning to change with investment across many low- and middle-income countries. These same opportunities exist for countries in Central and West Asia, and in this perspective, we highlight the existing infrastructure and expertise across seven countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) and propose opportunities for enhanced collaboration along with a bold proposal for establishing a new-build, regional vaccine translational research institute to facilitate the development of a robust, regional vaccine R&D environment to combat existing and future health challenges.

COVID-19: seroprevalence and adherence to preventive measures in Arkhangelsk, Northwest Russia.

BACKGROUND: The published estimates of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Russia are few. The study aimed to assess the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Arkhangelsk (Northwest Russia), in a year after the start of the pandemic, to evaluate the population adherence to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), and to investigate characteristics associated with COVID-19 seropositive status. METHODS: We conducted a SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study between 24 February and 30 June 2021 involving 1332 adults aged 40-74 years. Logistic regression models were fit to identify factors associated with seropositive status and with adherence to NPIs. RESULTS: Less than half (48.9%) of study participants adhered all recommended NPIs. Male sex (odds ratio [OR] 1.7, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.3; 2.3), regular employment (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3; 2.5) and low confidence in the efficiency of the NPIs (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.5; 2.5) were associated with low adherence to internationally recommended NPIs. The SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence rate was 65.1% (95% CI: 62.5; 67.6) and increased to 73.0% (95% CI: 67.1; 85.7) after adjustment for test performance. Regular employment (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.5; 2.8) and current smoking (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2; 0.5) were associated with being seropositive due to the infection. CONCLUSIONS: Two third of the study population were seropositive in a year after the onset of the pandemic in Arkhangelsk. Individuals with infection-acquired immunity were more likely to have regular work and less likely to be smokers. The adherence to NPIs was not found associated with getting the virus during the first year of the pandemic.

Predictive algorithm for the regional spread of coronavirus infection across the Russian Federation.

BACKGROUND: Outbreaks of infectious diseases are a complex phenomenon with many interacting factors. Regional health authorities need prognostic modeling of the epidemic process. METHODS: For these purposes, various mathematical algorithms can be used, which are a useful tool for studying the infections spread dynamics. Epidemiological models act as evaluation and prognosis models. The authors outlined the experience of developing a short-term predictive algorithm for the spread of the COVID-19 in the region of the Russian Federation based on the SIR model: Susceptible (vulnerable), Infected (infected), Recovered (recovered). The article describes in detail the methodology of a short-term predictive algorithm, including an assessment of the possibility of building a predictive model and the mathematical aspects of creating such forecast algorithms. RESULTS: Findings show that the predicted results (the mean square of the relative error of the number of infected and those who had recovered) were in agreement with the real-life situation: σ(I) = 0.0129 and σ(R) = 0.0058, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that despite a large number of sophisticated modifications, each of which finds its scope, it is advisable to use a simple SIR model to quickly predict the spread of coronavirus infection. Its lower accuracy is fully compensated by the adaptive calibration of parameters based on monitoring the current situation with updating indicators in real-time.

[The hospital substitution form of home medical care of population of Tte Russian Federation: the analysis of functioning].

The important direction of the National Project "Health Care" are improvement of primary health care system, including introduction of hospital-replacing technologies.The purpose of the study is to evaluate functioning of hospital-substituting form of home medical care (home hospitals) to population of the Russian Federation in 2006-2020.The normative legal documents regulating activities of stationary-substituting form of home medical care (home hospitals) for adults and children, reporting forms of sectoral statistical observation № 14ds for 2006-2018 were analyzed. In 2019-2020, unified data on functioning of day hospitals and home hospitals and composition of patients treated there of medical organizations providing medical care on out-patient basis was filled in form № 14ds. The in-depth analysis permitted to extract information about activities of home hospitals for adults and children and to study their functioning in dynamics for 15 years. The content analysis, statistical and analytical methods were applied.The examination of data for 2006-2020 established increasing of number of treated adult patients in home hospitals up to 27.9% and children up to 15.0%.The distribution of the number of treated adults and children in hospitals at home per 1000 of the corresponding population by subjects indicates their significant fluctuation.For 15 years, it has been established that in the structure of treated adult patients, the proportion of people with diseases of the circulatory system has decreased from 62.2 to 31.5%, the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue - from 11.7 to 7.4%; in children - with respiratory diseases from 81.9 to 63.4%, some infectious and parasitic diseases - from 7.7 to 3.0%, diseases of the digestive system - from 3.6 to 3.2%.In the country for 2019-2020 in hospitals at home, the number of treated adults significantly increased by 1.8 times, children - by 2.3 times, the composition of those treated has changed, which is associated with the treatment of patients with a new coronavirus infection COVID-19 in them under conditions re-profiling of the majority of medical organizations into infectious diseases hospitals.

Identification and Genetic Characterization of MERS-Related Coronavirus Isolated from Nathusius' Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus nathusii) near Zvenigorod (Moscow Region, Russia).

Being diverse and widely distributed globally, bats are a known reservoir of a series of emerging zoonotic viruses. We studied fecal viromes of twenty-six bats captured in 2015 in the Moscow Region and found 13 of 26 (50%) samples to be coronavirus positive. Of P. nathusii (the Nathusius' pipistrelle), 3 of 6 samples were carriers of a novel MERS-related betacoronavirus. We sequenced and assembled the complete genome of this betacoronavirus and named it MOW-BatCoV strain 15-22. Whole genome phylogenetic analysis suggests that MOW-BatCoV/15-22 falls into a distinct subclade closely related to human and camel MERS-CoV. Unexpectedly, the phylogenetic analysis of the novel MOW-BatCoV/15-22 spike gene showed the closest similarity to CoVs from Erinaceus europaeus (European hedgehog). We suppose MOW-BatCoV could have arisen as a result of recombination between ancestral viruses of bats and hedgehogs. Molecular docking analysis of MOW-BatCoV/15-22 spike glycoprotein binding to DPP4 receptors of different mammals predicted the highest binding ability with DPP4 of the Myotis brandtii bat (docking score -320.15) and the E. europaeus (docking score -294.51). Hedgehogs are widely kept as pets and are commonly found in areas of human habitation. As this novel bat-CoV is likely capable of infecting hedgehogs, we suggest hedgehogs can act as intermediate hosts between bats and humans for other bat-CoVs.

Tuberculosis in the Russian Federation: Prognosis and Epidemiological Models in a Situation After the COVID-19 Pandemic.

AIM: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many support programs for tuberculosis (TB) patients have been discontinued and TB mass screening activities decreased worldwide, resulting in a decrease in new case detection and an increase in TB deaths (WHO, WHO global lists of high burden countries for TB, multidrug/rifampicin-resistant TB (MDR/RR-TB) and TB/HIV, 2021-2025, 2021). The study aimed to assess changes in epidemiological indicators of tuberculosis in the Russian Federation and to simulate these indicators in the post-COVID-19 period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The main epidemiological indicators of tuberculosis were analyzed with the use of government statistical data for the period from 2009 to 2021. Further mathematical modeling of epidemiological indicators for the coming years was carried out, taking into account the TB screening by chest X-ray. Statistical analysis was carried out using the software environment R (v.3.5.1) for statistical computing and the commercial software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 24.0, IBM Corp., 2016). Time series forecasting was performed using the programming language for statistical calculations R, version 4.1.2 and the bsts package, version 0.9.8. STUDY RESULTS: The study has found that the mean regression coefficient of a single predictor differs in the model for TB incidence and mortality (0.0098 and 0.0002, respectively). Forecast of overall incidence, the incidence of children and the forecast for mortality using the basic scenario (screening 75-78%) for the period from 2022 to 2026 was characterized by a mean decrease rate of 23.1%, 15.6% and 6.0% per year, respectively. A conservative scenario (screening 47-63%) of overall incidence indicates that the incidence of children and the forecast for mortality will continue to decrease with a mean decrease rate of 23.2%, 15.6% and 6.0% per year, respectively. Comparable data were obtained from the forecast of overall incidence, the incidence of children and the forecast for mortality using the optimistic scenario (screening 82-89%) with a mean decrease rate of 22.9%, 15.4% and 6.0% per year, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: It has been proven that the significance of screening with chest X-ray as a predictor of mortality is minimal. However, TB screening at least 60% of the population (chest X-ray in adults and immunological tests in children) have provided relationship between the TB screening rate and TB mortality rate (TB mortality rate increases with an increase in the population coverage and, conversely, decreases with a decrease in the population coverage).

The Search of Association of HLA Class I and Class II Alleles with COVID-19 Mortality in the Russian Cohort.

HLA genes play a pivotal role in the immune response via presenting the pathogen peptides on the cell surface in a host organism. Here, we studied the association of HLA allele variants of class I (loci A, B, C) and class II (loci DRB1, DQB1, DPB1) genes with the outcome of COVID-19 infection. We performed high-resolution sequencing of class HLA I and class II genes based on the sample population of 157 patients who died from COVID-19 and 76 patients who survived despite severe symptoms. The results were further compared with HLA genotype frequencies in the control population represented by 475 people from the Russian population. Although the obtained data revealed no significant differences between the samples at a locus level, they allowed one to uncover a set of notable alleles potentially contributing to the COVID-19 outcome. Our results did not only confirm the previously discovered fatal role of age or association of DRB1*01:01:01G and DRB1*01:02:01G alleles with severe symptoms and survival, but also allowed us to single out the DQB1*05:03:01G allele and B*14:02:01G~C*08:02:01G haplotype, which were associated with survival. Our findings showed that not only separate allele, but also their haplotype, could serve as potential markers of COVID-19 outcome and be used during triage for hospital admission.

Myopic axial elongation in school children and the COVID-19 lockdown in Russia: The Ural Children Myopia Study.

BACKGROUND: To explore an influence of the COVID-19-related lockdown on ocular axial elongation in school children in Russia. METHODS: The participants of the school-based Ufa Children Myopia Study in Ufa/Russia underwent, at baseline in 2019/2020 before the COVID-19 outbreak and after a COVID-19-related lockdown, a detailed interview and ophthalmological examination including laser interferometric biometry for axial length measurement. RESULTS: The study included 461 children (age:10.7±2.1 years;range:6.8-16.9 years). The mean follow-up was 1.41±0.33 years. Mean axial length at baseline was 23.96±0.95mm and 23.94±0.95mm in the right and left eyes, respectively. During the study period, annual axial elongation (right/left eyes) was 0.19±0.17mm/0.19±0.22mm. Before the COVID-19 lockdown, the age-dependent coefficient for axial length (ADCAL) for the right/left eyes was 0.21mm (95%CI:0.17,0.25)/0.20mm (95%CI:0.16,0.24). In children younger than 9.6 years (n = 157), annual axial elongation (right eyes) during the study period was larger than the ADCAL before the COVID-19 outbreak (0.29 mm (95%:0.00,0.66) versus 0.21 mm (95%CI:0.02,0.41)). In the groups aged 9.6 to 11.4 years (n = 148) and aged >11.4 years (n = 156), annual axial elongation during the study period was comparable to the ADCAL before the COVID-19 outbreak (0.18mm (95%CI:-0.07,0.46) versus 0.22mm (95%CI:-0.05,0.48), and (0.09mm (95%CI:-0.15,0.34) versus 0.14mm (95%CI:0.00,0.28), respectively). In children aged ≤9 years at study end, axial length at study end was 0.20 mm larger than axial length at baseline in the participants aged ≤9 years at baseline. Larger axial elongation during the study period was associated (multivariable analysis) with younger age (beta:-0.62;P<0.001), female sex (beta:0.21;P<0.001), longer study period (beta:0.22;P<0.001), and longer axial length at baseline (beta:0.28;P<0.001), and marginally, with less time spent outdoors (beta:-0.07;P = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19-related lockdown in the Russian city of Ufa was associated with a relatively minor increase in axial elongation, detected only in children aged <9.6 years.

[The problems of research financing in medicine: economical aspect].

The article considers problems of financing research studies in medicine at modern stage of allocation of financial support of scientific directions. In last several years situation in the Russian science cardinally changed and process of shaping new system of management of science. The sensitive issue of national science remains problem of inadequate financing. The actuality of the study is determined by putting into effect the most severe sanctions from some states. Therefore, to achieve import independence today the priority directions are determined, and among them special place occupies medicine. During last decade, the investments in medical science increased 4.3 times. The onset of coronavirus infection clearly demonstrated existing problems in health care systems of all countries hereby process of digitization. In crisis conditions, fast and qualitative medical data exchange became a priority direction formed among participants of health care system awareness about necessity to head jointly to intelligent medicine meeting actual challenges.The purpose of the study is to investigate problems of financing scientific research in medicine. The study results permit to conclude that further progressing development of scientific research in medicine depends on financial support so it is necessary to engage and private investments into development of science in The Russian Federation.