[Spermoprotective properties of Prostatex in patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis].

AIM: To study the effect of Prostatex therapy on spermatogenesis in patients with infertility that developed due to chronic abacterial prostatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 men with infertility in marriage and chronic abacterial prostatitis were included in the study. All patients received therapy with Prostatex rectal suppositories 10 mg 1 time per day. The duration of treatment was 30 days. After taking the drug, patients were observed for 50 days. The study was carried out for 80 days and included 3 visits at 1, 30 and 80 days. The study showed that the use of Prostatex rectal suppositories 10 mg had a positive effect on the main indicators of spermatogenesis, as well as on the subjective and objective symptoms of chronic abacterial prostatitis. Based on these results, we recommend Prostatex rectal suppositories to patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis, accompanied by impaired spermatogenesis, according to the scheme: 1 suppository 10 mg 1 time per day for 30 days.

[Evaluation of the results of sodium fumarate, furosemide, and mannitol on the initiation and outcome of renal warm ischemia in an experimental study].

While performing surgical treatment of the localized form of renal cell cancer by means of open or laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, renal warm ischemia is an important issue. Using renal warm ischemia allows to prevent parenchymal bleeding, to optimize conditions for resection of the tumor and to increase significantly the efficiency of hemostasis. However, an important problem is the probability of ischemic hypoxic damage of the remaining part of the kidney tissue during renal warm ischemia and renal functional impairment in the postoperative period. AIM: To compare nephroprotective activity of sodium fumarate, mannitol and furosemide using experimental model of 30- and 60-minute renal warm ischemia in rabbits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experiments were carried out on 360 conventional male-rabbits of the "Chinchilla" breed weighed 2,6+/-0,3 kg which were allocated into 10 groups. The control group No1 included intact animals, the control group No2 included the rabbits in which renal artery was not clamped. For the animals from the trial groups (No3-No10) the experimental model of 30- and 60-minute renal warm ischemia was used. In groups No3 and No4 no drugs were provided. Other rabbits undergone renal warm ischemia with a protection by sodium fumarate (groups No5 and No6 - 1,5 ml/kg IV), lasix (groups No7 and No8 - 3,0 mg/kg IV) and mannitol (No9 and No10 - 1,0 g/kg IV). The influence of renal warm ischemia on the renal tissue ultrastructure and the levels of NGAL, Cystatin-C and creatinine in blood and urine were studied. RESULTS: During experimental pharmacologically uncorrected 30-minute renal warm ischemia in animals, edema of the terminal part of microvilli of the proximal tubules epithelium, an increase of lysosome number in the hyaloplasm of epithelial cells, appearance of flaky content of medium electronic density in the lumens of distal tubules and collecting tubules, as well as sharp peak-like increase of NGAL and cystatin-C in blood and urine were observed. Increasing the time of ischemia up to 60 minutes was accompanied by more severe disturbances. In groups where sodium fumarate, lasix and mannitol were used the observed ultrastructural disturbances were expressed to lesser extent, whereas sodium fumarate demonstrated the best nephroprotective activity. After using mannitol the severity of disturbances was less than in the groups where mannitol, lasix or sodium fumarate were not given. Lasix and sodium salt of fumaric acid showed a higher nephroprotective activity. The best results were received in the animals received sodium fumarate. CONCLUSIONS: The studied drugs provided a nephroprotective effect regarding ischemia of rabbit kidney. The effect of sodium fumarate was the most pronounced, followed by furosemide and, to a lesser extent, mannitol. Use of sodium fumarate allows to protect and stimulate the kidney tissue effectively during oxygen deprivation under ischemic state.

[Possibilities of monotherapy with Prostatex in patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis].

AIM: To study the efficiency of the treatment of patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis using the drug Prostatex. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 72 patients aged 22 to 43 years with chronic abacterial prostatitis were included in the study. All patients received Prostatex in the form of suppositories 10 mg QD within 20 days. The duration of the follow-up was 1 month. RESULTS: By the third visit from the start of treatment, there were almost no symptoms of the disease, according to the NIH-CPSI and IPSS questionnaires. In 67 (93.1%) patients, the prostate became an elastic, while in 69 (95.8%) men it was painless at palpation. In addition, a decrease in the prostate size, volume of residual urine and an improvement in urine flow rate were seen. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that monotherapy with Prostatex in patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis was effective and had pathogenetic rationale. This drug has a positive effect on the main symptoms of the disease, significantly reduces pain, urination disturbances, helps to reduce the prostate size and the volume of residual urine, improves prostate microcirculation and can be recommended for this category of patients.

[Spontaneous rupture of kidney tumor. Successful surgical treatment].

A clinical case of spontaneous rupture of the kidney lesion that occurred after physical exercise is presented in the article. During the examination (ultrasound, multi-slice computed tomography of the kidneys), the diagnosis was unclear, and therefore, the patient underwent surgical treatment. Given the risks of complications and impossibility to exclude the malignancy, a decision was made to perform nephrectomy. The diagnosis was clear cell adenocarcinoma. We consider the prompt nephrectomy in this clinical situation as a success.

[Possibilities of using sildenafil in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate].

AIM: To study the efficacy and safety of using sildenafil in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) and concomitant cardiovascular diseases (CVD) who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 59 patients (age from 50 to 75 years) with a diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), requiring surgical treatment due to inefficiency of drug therapy, I-PSS score more than 20 points), who were sexually active, but had erectile dysfunction (IIEF score < 21), coronary heart disease (NYHA class I) and stage 1-2 hypertension with stable blood pressure. All patients underwent bipolar TURP. From the first day after the TURP, therapy was prescribed as following: tamsulosin 0.4 mg once a day for 90 days, ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice a day for 10 days. In addition, the patients received treatment for comorbidities. In the main group (n=30), men additionally received sildenafil (EFFEX Sildenafil Evalar) 50 mg daily for 60 days, starting from the 30th day postoperatively. We have chosen this drug from an economic standpoint. RESULTS: At baseline, all patients in both groups had hemodynamic and microcirculatory disorders in the prostate, which got worse in the early postoperative period. During the long-term follow-up, hemodynamic and microcirculatory impairments decreased. This effect was more pronounced in patients who received sildenafil. In addition, patients had an improvement in sexual function. During follow-up, there was no adverse effects of sildenafil on hemodynamic parameters (blood pressure, heart rate). CONCLUSION: Our results allow to recommend sildenafil in order to restore sexual function postoperatively in patients with BPH, including those with concomitant cardiovascular disorders.

Tuning the hysteresis of a metal-insulator transition via lattice compatibility.

Structural phase transitions serve as the basis for many functional applications including shape memory alloys (SMAs), switches based on metal-insulator transitions (MITs), etc. In such materials, lattice incompatibility between transformed and parent phases often results in a thermal hysteresis, which is intimately tied to degradation of reversibility of the transformation. The non-linear theory of martensite suggests that the hysteresis of a martensitic phase transformation is solely determined by the lattice constants, and the conditions proposed for geometrical compatibility have been successfully applied to minimizing the hysteresis in SMAs. Here, we apply the non-linear theory to a correlated oxide system (V1-xWxO2), and show that the hysteresis of the MIT in the system can be directly tuned by adjusting the lattice constants of the phases. The results underscore the profound influence structural compatibility has on intrinsic electronic properties, and indicate that the theory provides a universal guidance for optimizing phase transforming materials.

[The effects of combination therapy with 5-reductase inhibitor and -blocker on the prognosis of BPH].

INTRODUCTION: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a polyethological disease of elderly and old men. The symptomatic pharmacological treatment of BPH involves the use of drugs that reduce either the dynamic component of obstruction or the size of the prostate (a mechanical component of obstruction). 5-reductase inhibitors (5-ARI) and -blockers are considered first-line therapy in the management of prostate adenoma. AIM: To investigate the efficacy of combination therapy with Fokusin and Penester in BPH patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is based on the analysis of medical records of 67 BPH patients aged over 50 years. All patients included in the study were randomized to 3 groups and had comparable age, sex, clinical manifestations and severity of the disease. Group 1 comprised 21 patients (mean age 63.8+/-9.7 years), who received a 5-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) Pentester (Sanofi, France) 5 mg once daily. Group 2 included 22 patients (mean age 65.2+/-7.8 years), who received an -blocker Fokusin (Sanofi, France) 0.4 mg once a day. Group 3 comprised 24 patients (mean age 64.2+/-8.6 years) who received combination therapy with 5-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) (Penester 5 mg once daily) and blocker (Fokusin 0.4 mg once daily). RESULTS: The study findings showed that in comparison with monotherapy, the concurrent administration of Fokusin and Penester was more effective in reducing the clinical manifestations of BPH, slowing the growth of adenomatous tissue thus reducing the size of the enlarged prostate. CONCLUSION: Combination therapy with Fokusin and Penester can be recommended to improve the treatment results of BPH patients.

Laser-assisted atom probe tomography of Ti/TiN films deposited on Si.

Laser-assisted atom probe tomography (L-APT) was used to examine superconducting TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer films with nominal respective thicknesses of 5/5/5 (nm). Such materials are of interest for applications that require large arrays of microwave kinetic inductance detectors. The trilayers were deposited on Si substrates by reactive sputtering. Electron energy loss microscopy performed in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM/EELS) was used to corroborate the L-APT results and establish the overall thicknesses of the trilayers. Three separate batches were studied where the first (bottom) TiN layer was deposited at 500°C (for all batches) and the subsequent TiN/Ti bilayer was deposited at ambient temperature, 250°C, and 500°C, respectively. L-APT rendered an approximately planar TiN/Si interface by making use of plausible mass-spectral assignments to N31+, SiN1+, and SiO1+. This was necessary since ambiguities associated with the likely simultaneous occurrence of Si1+ and N21+ prevented their use in rendering the TiN/Si interface upon reconstruction. The non-superconducting Ti2N phase was also revealed by L-APT. Neither L-APT nor STEM/EELS rendered sharp Ti/TiN interfaces and the contrast between these layers diminished with increased film deposition temperature. L-APT also revealed that hydrogen was present in varying degrees in all samples including control samples that were composed of single layers of Ti or TiN.

[ROLE OF CYTOMEDINES IN THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC PROSTATITIS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPAIRED SPERMATOGENESIS].

The efficiency and safety of tablet drug Vitaprost in the treatment of 35 patients with chronic abacterial prostatitis associated with impaired spermatogenesis were evaluated. The treatment course comprises the use of drug 1 tablet 2 times a day for 60 days. It was shown that Vitaprost had a positive effect on the basic parameters of spermatogenesis, helping to increase the number of sperm cells (28.8%), their mobility (17%), and viability (14.2%). The number of abnormal sperm cells at the same time decreased by 26.2%.

[Polymorphism of the mtDNA control region in wild reindeer Rangifer tarandus (Mammalia: Artiodactyla) from the European part of Russia].

Genetic diversity ofwild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) inhabiting the European part of Russia, including Komi Republic, Arkhangelsk oblast, Murmansk oblast, and the Republic of Karelia was characterized using sequence polymorphism of the mtDNA control region. Despite of currently low population number of wild reindeer, they were characterized by a high level of genetic diversity (pi = 0.018; H= 0.872 to 0.914). Phylogenetic analysis showed close relationships between European reindeer and wild reindeer of Siberia. In reindeer from Murmansk oblast a haplotype in common with the wild reindeer form Southwestern Norway was described. The reindeer sample examined contained no haplotypes earlier described for the reindeer of Central Norway. It is suggested that in recent past wild reindeer from the European north of Russia formed one population with the reindeer from the north of the Asian part of Eurasia.

Photoluminescence polarization in strained GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowires.

The optical polarization properties of GaN/AlGaN core/shell nanowire (NW) heterostructures have been investigated using polarization resolved micro-photoluminescence (µ-PL) and interpreted in terms of a strain-dependent 6 × 6 k·p theoretical model. The NW heterostructures were fabricated in two steps: the Si-doped n-type c-axis GaN NW cores were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and then epitaxially overgrown using halide vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) to form Mg-doped AlGaN shells. The emission of the uncoated strain-free GaN NW core is found to be polarized perpendicular to the c-axis, while the GaN core compressively strained by the AlGaN shell exhibits a polarization parallel to the NW c-axis. The luminescence of the AlGaN shell is weakly polarized perpendicular to the c-axis due to the tensile axial strain in the shell.

Ultimate bending strength of Si nanowires.

Test platforms for the ideal strength of materials are provided by almost defect-free nanostructures (nanowires, nanotubes, nanoparticles, for example). In this work, the ultimate bending strengths of Si nanowires with radii in the 20-60 nm range were investigated by using a new bending protocol. Nanowires simply held by adhesion on flat substrates were bent through sequential atomic force microscopy manipulations. The bending states prior to failure were analyzed in great detail to measure the bending dynamics and the ultimate fracture strength of the investigated nanowires. An increase in the fracture strengths from 12 to 18 GPa was observed as the radius of nanowires was decreased from 60 to 20 nm. The large values of the fracture strength of these nanowires, although comparable with the ideal strength of Si, are explained in terms of the surface morphology of the nanowires.

[Phlebothrombosis of the amputation femur stump: certain aspects of pathogenesis and prophylactics].

An experience with treatment of 455 patients who underwent transfemoral amputation was analyzed. In 54 patients (11.9%) phlebothrombosis of the femur stump developed in the early postoperative period. Certain little studied problems of pathogenesis of the complication in question are considered, possible variants of the clinical picture are described. Negative role of thrombosis of the femur stump veins is shown in the development of thromboembolism of the lung artery that was a direct cause of death of 20 patients. Prophylactics of stump phlebothrombosis allows getting less frequency of the development of this complication, decreased lethality, improvement of quality of life and duration of life of patients after transfemoral amputation.

Compressive stress effect on the radial elastic modulus of oxidized Si nanowires.

Detailed understanding and optimal control of the properties of Si nanowires are essential steps in developing Si nanoscale circuitry. In this work, we have investigated mechanical properties of as-grown and oxidized Si nanowires as a function of their diameter. From contact-resonance atomic force microscopy measurements, the effect of the compressive stress at the Si-SiO(2) interface was revealed in the diameter dependence of the elastic modulus of Si nanowires oxidized at 900 and 1000 degrees C. A modified core-shell model that includes the interface stress developed during oxidation captures the diameter dependence observed in the measured elastic moduli of these oxidized Si nanowires. The values of strain and stress as well as the width of the stressed transition region at the Si-SiO(2) interface agree with those reported in simulations and experiments.

Contact-resonance atomic force microscopy for nanoscale elastic property measurements: Spectroscopy and imaging.

Quantitative measurements of the elastic modulus of nanosize systems and nanostructured materials are provided with great accuracy and precision by contact-resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM). As an example of measuring the elastic modulus of nanosize entities, we used the CR-AFM technique to measure the out-of-plane indentation modulus of tellurium nanowires. A size-dependence of the indentation modulus was observed for the investigated tellurium nanowires with diameters in the range 20-150nm. Over this diameter range, the elastic modulus of the outer layers of the tellurium nanowires experienced significant enhancement due to a pronounced surface stiffening effect. Quantitative estimations for the elastic moduli of the outer and inner parts of tellurium nanowires of reduced diameter are made with a core-shell structure model. Besides localized elastic modulus measurements, we have also developed a unique CR-AFM imaging capability to map the elastic modulus over a micrometer-scale area. We used this CR-AFM capability to construct indentation modulus maps at the junction between two adjacent facets of a tellurium microcrystal. The clear contrast observed in the elastic moduli of the two facets indicates the different surface crystallography of these facets.

[Pharmacophysiotherapy in combined treatment of neurosensory hypoacusis in the presence of circulatory disorders in the vertebral arteries].

Basing on the results of ultrasound dopplerography of the vertebral arteries of 337 patients with neurosensory hypoacusis (NSH), we identified 104 (30.9%) patients having vertebrobasilar hemodynamic disorders. We performed endaural phonoelectrophoresis of cavinton in modification, with application of the second electrode with vasoactive drugs on the region of cervical spine. This method of NSH treatment in patients with vertebral circulatory disorders showed clinical efficacy.

[Use of "Serebrianyi Kliuch" mineral water in the postoperative treatment of patients with nephrolithiasis after extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy]. / Ispol'zovanie mineral'noi vody "Serebrianyi Kliuch" v posleoperatsionnom lechenii bol'nykh nefrolitiazom, perenesshikh distantsionnuiu udarno-volnovuiu litotripsiiu.

27 patients with nephrolithiasis were exposed to extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL). They were divided into two groups: group 1 of 10 patients who were exposed to ESWL and drank tap water and group 2 of 17 patients who were exposed to ESWL and drank silver-containing mineral water Serebryany klyuch. In group 2 there was a marked diuretic effect manifesting with intensive excretion of electrolytes (K, Na), phosphorus and uric acid. This led to improvement and normalization of renal function, promoted faster elimination of concrement fragments and more frequent (by 52.3%) complete elimination of the concrements.

[Silver-containing hydrocarbonate-calcium-magnesium mineral water in complex treatment of patients with chronic pyelonephritis]. / Ispol'zovanie serebrosoderzhashchei gidrokarbonatnoi magnievo-kal'tsievoi mineral'noi vody v kompleksnom lechenii bol'nykh khronicheskim pielonefritom.

95 patients suffering from chronic pyelonephritis in active inflammation phase received antibacterial therapy with adjuvant drinking of silver-containing mineral water Serebryany klyuch (21 patients) or without such drinking (17 patients). Spa treatment with mineral water Serebryany klyuch in combined therapy of chronic pyelonephritis is shown to relieve clinical symptoms, decontaminate urine completely in 88.6% cases, to eliminate signs of immunodeficiency and endotoxicosis and to produce a 25.6% decrease in the recurrences for the nearest 2 years.