Superfluid ß phase of

It is known that in low magnetic fields the superfluid transition of ^{3}He in nematic aerogel occurs into the polar phase. Using a vibrating aerogel resonator, we observe that in high magnetic fields this transition splits into two discrete transitions, occurring at different temperatures. According to theoretical models, a new superfluid phase-the ß phase-should be realized between these two transitions. The temperature range of existence of the new phase is measured as a function of magnetic field. The results are well consistent with theoretical expectations for the ß phase.

Half-quantum vortices and walls bounded by strings in the polar-distorted phases of topological superfluid 3He.

Symmetries of the physical world have guided formulation of fundamental laws, including relativistic quantum field theory and understanding of possible states of matter. Topological defects (TDs) often control the universal behavior of macroscopic quantum systems, while topology and broken symmetries determine allowed TDs. Taking advantage of the symmetry-breaking patterns in the phase diagram of nanoconfined superfluid 3He, we show that half-quantum vortices (HQVs)-linear topological defects carrying half quantum of circulation-survive transitions from the polar phase to other superfluid phases with polar distortion. In the polar-distorted A phase, HQV cores in 2D systems should harbor non-Abelian Majorana modes. In the polar-distorted B phase, HQVs form composite defects-walls bounded by strings hypothesized decades ago in cosmology. Our experiments establish the superfluid phases of 3He in nanostructured confinement as a promising topological media for further investigations ranging from topological quantum computing to cosmology and grand unification scenarios.

Bose-Einstein Condensation of Magnons and Spin Superfluidity in the Polar Phase of

The polar phase of ^{3}He, which is topological spin-triplet superfluid with the Dirac nodal line in the spectrum of Bogoliubov quasiparticles, has been recently stabilized in a nanoconfined geometry. We pump magnetic excitations (magnons) into the sample of polar phase and observe how they form a Bose-Einstein condensate, revealed by coherent precession of the magnetization of the sample. Spin superfluidity, which supports this coherence, is associated with the spontaneous breaking of U(1) symmetry by the phase of precession. We observe the corresponding Nambu-Goldstone boson and measure its mass emerging when applied rf field violates the U(1) symmetry explicitly. We suggest that the magnon BEC in the polar phase is a powerful probe for topological objects such as vortices and solitons and topological nodes in the fermionic spectrum.

Effect of Magnetic Boundary Conditions on Superfluid

We report results of experiments with superfluid ^{3}He confined in aerogels with parallel strands which lead to anisotropic scattering of ^{3}He quasiparticles. We vary boundary conditions for the scattering by covering the strands with different numbers of atomic ^{4}He layers and observe that the superfluid phase diagram and the nature of superfluid phases strongly depend on the coverage. We assume the main reason for these phenomena is a magnetic channel of the scattering which becomes important at low coverages and can be essential in other Fermi systems with triplet pairing.

[Metaphylaxis of urolithiasis: new look, modern approach, implementation in a mobile application].

AIM: To analyze the sub-segment of mHealth devoted to assessing of the risk of recurrent stone formation and metaphylaxis of stone formation. To design a smartphone application (app.) in Russian language for urolithiasis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three working groups of urologists from three St. Petersburg clinics searched for downloadable medical applications relevant to the above requirements. After searching and analyzing existing medical applications, the most acceptable design and structure of our own application were identified. RESULTS: The developed "Urolithiasis" application is available for free download in Russian language versions in App Store (Apple, Inc.) and Google Play (Android market, Google, Inc.). It features the following sections: 1) "Take the test" (personalized calculation of the risk of kidney stone recurrence and providing relevant recommendations using ROKS nomogram), 2) "Water" (with reminders to drink water and automatic logging of the water intake), 3) "Food" (Nutrition facts on the content of calcium, oxalate, purine, protein, citrate and calories in common foods), 4) "My doctor" (in the future this option will allow for on-line communication with a patients physician), 5) "Feedback" (if the patient does not find the desired product or has a question - this section is for him/her). CONCLUSIONS: The smartphone application "Urolithiasis" in Russian may be recommended to patients with urolithiasis for improving the effectiveness of metaphylaxis.

Observation of Half-Quantum Vortices in Topological Superfluid

One of the most sought-after objects in topological quantum-matter systems is a vortex carrying half a quantum of circulation. They were originally predicted to exist in superfluid ^{3}He-A but have never been resolved there. Here we report an observation of half-quantum vortices (HQVs) in the polar phase of superfluid ^{3}He. The vortices are created with rotation or by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism and identified based on their nuclear magnetic resonance signature. This discovery provides a pathway for studies of unpaired Majorana modes bound to the HQV cores in the polar-distorted A phase.

[Life Threatening Complications in Patients With ST-Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome-Dependence on Reperfusion Interventions (Data of Federal Register of Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome)].

AIM: to study rate and type of life-threatening complications (LC) in patients with ST-Elevation (STE) Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and their relation to implementation of reperfusion measures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Database of the Federal Register of patients with ACS (FRACS) which functioned from 01/01/2009 to 01/01/2014 contains information on 212304 patients with verified diagnosis of ACS. From this pool using random number generator we selected a cohort comprising 10348 patients with STEACS (60% men, mean age 63.5+/-0.1 clinical systolic and diastolic arterial pressure [AP] 135.2+/-0.3 and 81.9+/-0.2 mm Hg, respectively). Killip class was used for determination of degree of acute heart failure. RESULTS: Most frequent forms of LC were heart rhythm disturbances (6.2%) and cardiogenic shock (5.4%). Patients subjected to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) including those in whom pharmacoinvasive approach was used had less LC and lower hospital mortality than patients who received only thrombolytic therapy (TLT). Reperfusion measures were administered mostly to patients with class I-II acute heart failure. Hospital mortality was highest (9.47%) among patients not subjected to reperfusion measures and lowest (1.09%) among patients treated with PCI+TLT. CONCLUSION: FRACS assesses LC in patients with STEACS in the context of implemented reperfusion measures. Data of FRACS can be used by the health service authorities for improvement of medical aid to patients with STEACS.

Polar Phase of Superfluid (3)He in Anisotropic Aerogel.

We report the first observation of the polar phase of superfluid (3)He. This phase appears in (3)He confined in a new type of aerogel with a nearly parallel arrangement of strands which play the role of ordered impurities. Our experiments qualitatively agree with theoretical predictions and suggest that in other systems with unconventional Cooper pairing (e.g., in unconventional superconductors) similar phenomena may be found in the presence of anisotropic impurities.

[The pharmacokinetics of colistin under parenteral injection of sodium colistimitate in children with chemically induced neutropenia].

The prevalence of hospital strains of P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii and K. pneumoniae characterizing by multiple drug resistance to overwhelming majority of antibiotics anew evoked an increased interest to colistin. However, until now there is not enough information concerning pharmacokinetics of colistin to optimize dosage of this pharmaceutical. The study was carried out to analyze pharmacokinetics of both colistin and sodium colistimitate in children with chemically induced neutropenia. To quantitatively detect colistin in blood serum the technique of highly effective fluid chromatography with mass spectrometry was applied. The concentration of colistin was detected in 21 children with chemically induced neutropenia (13 patients with septicemia, 8 children of control group) after intravenous injection of sodium colistimitate. The significant variability of pharmacokinetic parameters of colistin was established both in patients with septicemia and in control group. The technique of highly effective fluid chromatography with mass spectrometry can be applied for therapeutic medicinal monitoring and optimization regimen of dosage.

Homogeneously precessing domain in (3)He-B: formation and properties.

The long-range order realized in the superfluid phases of (3)He leads to a nonlocal motion of spin in these phases. In the B phase the nonlocality manifests itself in the formation of a homogeneously precessing domain (HPD). This domain is formed under conditions of nuclear magnetic resonance. Within the domain spin precesses coherently-with the same frequency and phase even though the steady magnetic field can be nonuniform. Coherence of precession is maintained by the spin current carried by the condensate of Cooper pairs. The key experiments, revealing the main properties of the HPD and the underlying theory are briefly reviewed in this paper.

[Electron microscopic detection and in situ characterization of bacterial nanoforms in extreme biotopes].

The morphology, ultrastructure, and quantity of bacterial nanoforms were studied in extreme biotopes: East Siberia permafrost soil (1-3 Ma old), petroleum-containing slimes (35 years old), and biofilms from subsurface oil pipelines. The morphology and ultrastructure of microbial cells in natural biotopes in situ were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and various methods of sample preparation: ultrathin sectioning, cell replicas, and cryofractography. It was shown that the biotopes under study contained high numbers of bacterial nanoforms (29-43% of the total number of microorganisms) that could be assigned to ultramicrobacteria due to their size (diameter of < or =0.3 microm and volume of < or =0.014 microm3) and structural characteristics (the presence of the outer and cytoplasmic membranes, nucleoid, and cell wall, as well as their division patterns). Seven different morphostructural types of nanoforms of vegetative cells, as well as nanospores and cyst-like cells were described, potentially representing new species of ultramicrobacteria. In petroleum-containing slimes, a peculiar type of nanocells was discovered, gram-negative cells mostly 0.18-0.20 x 0.20-0.30 microm in size, forming spherical aggregates (microcolonies) of dividing cells in situ. The data obtained promoted the isolation of pure cultures of ultramicrobacteria from petroleum-containing slimes; they resembled the ultramicrobacterium observed in situ in their morphology and ultrastructure.

[Study of ectoparasitism of ultramicrobacteria of the genus Kaistia, strains NF1 and NF3 by electron and fluorescence microscopy].

Transmission electron and fluorescence microscopy was used to study the character of the interaction of free-living ultramicrobacterial (UMB) strains NF1 and NF3, affiliated with the genus Kaistia, and seven species of gram-positive and gram-negative heterotrophic bacteria. Strains NF1 and NF3 were found to exhibit parasitic activity against gram-positive Bacillus subtilis and gram-negative Acidovorax delafildii. UMB cells are tightly attached to the envelopes of the victim cells and induce their lysis, thus demonstrating the features of typical ectoparasitism. The selectivity of parasitism of the studied UMB to the victim bacteria has been shown: only two soil microorganisms of the seven test objects, B. subtilis ATCC 6633 and an aerobic gram-negative bacterium A. delafildii 39, were found to be sensitive to UMB attack. Other bacteria (Micrococcus luteus VKM Ac-2230, Staphylococcus aureus 209-P, Pseudomonas putida BS394, Escherichia coli C 600, and Pantoea agglomerans ATCC 27155) were not attacked by UMB. It was established for the first time that free-living UMB may be facultative parasites not only of phototrophic bacteria, as we have previously demonstrated, but of heterotrophic bacteria as well. The UMB under study seem to play an important role in the regulation of the quantity of microorganisms and in the functioning of microbial communities in some natural ecotopes.

[Ultrastructural organization and development cycle of soil ultramicrobacteria belonging to the class Alphaproteobacteria].

Gram-negative chemoorganotrophic soil ultramicrobacteria (UMB), strains NF1 and NF3, have been isolated. In their development cycle, the strains formed small coccoid cells of 400-800 nm and ultrasmall cells of 200-300 nm. Phylogenetically, the strains NF1 and NF3 belong to Alphaproteobacteria and are close to the type strain of the recently described species Kaistia adipata. The ultrastructure of UMB cells has been studied using ultrathin sections and freeze-fracturing. It has been shown that the structure of UMB cell walls is of the gram-negative type; the outer membrane and peptidoglycan layer are well differentiated. The cell surface has numerous protrusions (prosthecae) of conical or spherical shape filled with the contents of the periplasm. The formation of unusual cellular structures (not occurring in known free-living bacteria) is a feature of UMB: these include the following: (a) piles of rod-like subunits, ca. 30 A in diameter and 150-250 angstroms in length: (b) long bunches (up to 300-400 angstroms) comprised of filamentous subunits; and (c) large electron-dense spherical bodies (up to 200-300 angstroms in diameter) localized in the periplasm. A distinctive feature of UMB is their ability to grow as facultative parasites on living cyanobacterial (CB) cells. In this case, three types of interaction between UMB and CB have been revealed: (1) adsorption of UMB cells on the surface of CB cells; (2) penetration of UMB into polysaccharide sheathes; and (3) penetration of UMB into CB eytoplasm. UMB cells have been shown to reproduce by budding, with buds (up to 2-3) located directly on the mother cell, without formation of intennediate hyphae.

Thrombotic complications during cancer treatment in children.

AIM: To determine the hereditary risk factors contributing to the development of thrombosis in children with cancer. METHODS: Sensitive PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. RESULTS: There has been shown significant prevalence of factor V leiden (FVL) in the group of 19 patients with thrombosis (P=0.0004). The prothrombin G20210A mutation was not detected in 19 cases and 80 controls, indicating low frequency of this mutation among Belarusian population. The MTHFR C677T mutation was found in both cases and controls and has approximately the same frequencies in both groups (47.4% and 55.0% accordingly). CONCLUSION: Clinical condition, coagulation status, volume of haemostatic therapy and clinical evidence of sepsis, as well as duration of catheterization were not significant as predisposing to thrombosis factors. We have shown that the leading risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in children with cancer are mutation FVL, prolonged immobilization or both immobilization and indwelling femoral venous catheter. Cancer patients affected with VTE during treatment are potential candidates for genotyping assay for FVL mutation, as the former may determine duration of anticoagulation therapy and administration of secondary prophylaxis.

[A new parasitological index for the estimation of peculiarities of the relationships between parasite and its host, and biotope of the host].

A new parasitological index (hostal-topical index) for the estimation of the degree of ectoparasite's relationship with its host and biotope of the host is proposed: [formula: see text], where [formula: see text]--hostal-topical index; n--amount of ectoparasites of the given species on the given host species in the biotope; N--amount of ectoparasites of all species from the given taxonomic group on the given host species in the biotope; n1--amount of hosts of the given species in the biotope; N1--amount of hosts of all species from the given taxonomic group in the biotope; n2--amount of ectoparasites of the given species in the biotope; N2--amount of ectoparasites of all species from the given taxonomic group in the biotope. Values [formula: see text] < 0.1 indicate that there is a distinct relationship with the biotope in spite of the host; values fallen into the range 0.1 < [formula: see text] < 0.5 indicate a moderate relationship with the biotope through the host; values [formula: see text] > 0.5 indicate a significant relationship with the host. By means of this index we have analyzed peculiarity of several parasitic species of fleas and gamasid mites to their hosts, biotopes, and biotope through the host. As it was found on the materials from different native zones and subzones of the Omsk Region (Western Siberia, Russia), values of the hostal-topical index for polyhostal parasitic species are lesser than those for oligohostal species. Values of this index can be different for the same species in the different native zones and subzones as well as in the different biotopes of the same native zone (subzone).

[Fluorescence microscopic study of the microorganisms treated with chaotropic agents].

The yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris and the bacteria Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, and Anaerobacter polyendosporus have been treated with the chaotropic agents guanidine hydrochloride and guanidine thiocyanate and certain detergents and studied using fluorescence microscopy. Studies with the use of fluorochromes that can selectively stain nucleic acids (diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), propidium iodide, and acridine orange) show that treatment of the bacterial and yeast cells at 37 degrees C for 3-5 h induces a release of DNA from the cytoplasm and its accumulation in the cellular zone, known as ectoplasm, located between the cell wall and the remainder of the cytoplasm (called endoplasm) in the form of one or several large granules. After treating the cells with the chaotropic agents at 100 degrees C for 5-6 min, the DNA is diffusively distributed over the ectoplasm. The fluorochromes used do not allow the detection of RNA. These findings are in agreement with previous data obtained from electron microscopic study of thin cell sections. After 33 PCR cycles, a considerable portion of DNA leaves the cells; as a result, they show a low level of diffusive fluorescence when stained with DAPI. When endospores of B. subtilis are treated with the chaotropic agents, they become highly permeable to the fluorochromes. Fluorescence microscopic study of such endospores shows that they contain DNA in the central part of their cores.

[Ultrastructure of resting cells of some non-spore-forming bacteria]. / Tonkoe stroenie pokoiashchikhsia kletok nekotorykh nesporoobrazuiushchikh bakterii.

Using electron microscopy (ultrathin sections and freeze-fractures), we investigated the ultrastructure of the resting cells formed in the cultures of Micrococcus luteus, Arthrobacter globiformis, and Pseudomonas aurantiaca under conditions of prolonged incubation (up to 9 months). These resting cells included cyst-like forms that were characterized by complex cell structure and the following ultrastructural properties: (i) a thickened or multiprofiled cell wall (CW), typically made up of a layer of the preexisting CW and one to three de novo synthesized murein layers; (ii) a thick, structurally differentiated capsule; (iii) presence of large intramembrane particles (d = 180-270 A), occurring both on the PF and EF sides of the membrane fractures of M. luteus and A. globiformis; (iv) a peculiar structure of the cytoplasm, which was either fine-grained or lumpy (coarse-grained) in different parts of the cell population; and (v) a condensed nucleoid. Intense formation of cyst-like cells occurred in aged (2- to 9-month-old) bacterial cultures grown on diluted complex media or on nitrogen-, carbon-, and phosphorus-limited synthetic media, as well as in suspensions of cells incubated in media with sodium silicate. The general morphological properties, ultrastructural organization, and physiological features of cyst-like cells formed during the developmental cycle suggest that constitutive dormancy is characteristic of non-spore-forming bacteria.

[Changes in the fine structure of microbial cells induced by chaotropic salts]. / Izmenenie tonkoi struktury kletok mikroorganizmov pod vozgeistviem solei-khaotropov.

The electron microscopic examination of the thin sections of cells of the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris and the gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus subtilis showed that cell treatment with the chaotropic salts guanidine hydrochloride (6 M) and guanidine thiocyanate (4 M) at 37 degrees C for 3-5 h or at 100 degrees C for 5-6 min induced degradative processes, which affected almost all cellular structures. The cell wall, however, retained its ultrastructure, integrity, and rigidity, due to which the morphology of cells treated with the chaotropic salts did not change. High-molecular-weight DNA was localized in a new cell compartment, ectoplasm (a peripheral hydrophilic zone). The chaotropic salts destroyed the outer and inner membranes and partially degraded the outer and inner protein coats of Bacillus subtilis spores, leaving their cortex (the murein layer) unchanged. The spore core became accessible to stains and showed the presence of regions with high and low electron densities. The conditions of cell treatment with the chaotropic salts were chosen to provide for efficient in situ PCR analysis of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes with the use of oligonucleotide primers.

[An electron microscopic study of the ultrastructure of microbial cells in extreme biotopes in situ]. / Elektronno-mikroskopicheskoe izuchenie ul'trastruktury mikrobnykh kletok in situ v ékstremal'nykh biotopakh.

The ultrastructure of microbial cells was studied in situ in natural biotopes by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy using the known methods of cryofractography, thin sectioning, and the negative staining of total cell specimens, as well as new methods of the low-temperature fractionation of microbial cells (providing for the recovery of cells from natural sources and their concentration), the preparation of micromonoliths, and aimed electron microscopy. Among the natural biotopes studied were permafrost ground and oil sludge. Most of the microorganisms found in the 1- to 3-million-year-old permafrost ground represented resting forms (spores, cysts, and cyst-like cells with specific organo-mineral envelopes). Oil sludge older than 35 years contained bacteria of atypical morphology and ultrastructure, including various resting forms and ultramicrobacteria. The data obtained is indicative of considerable promise of high-resolution electron microscopy in studying microbial communities in situ.

[Therapy of patients with arterial hypertension with fixed dose combination of losartan and hydrochlorothiazide. Effect on 24 hour blood pressure and left-ventricular hypertrophy]. / Vliianie dlitel'noi terapii kombinatsiei lozartana i gidrokhlorotiazida na sutochnyi profil' arterial'nogo davleniia i gipertrofiiu levogo zheludochka u bol'nykh s miagkoi i umerennoi arterial'noi gipertoniei.

Twenty four hour blood pressure (BP) monitoring was carried out and structural state of left ventricular myocardium assessed in 20 patients with mild and moderate hypertension before and after 24 weeks of therapy with Hyzaar - fixed dose combination of losartan (50 mg) and hydrochlorothiazide (12.5 mg). According to data of 24-hour BP monitoring the use of Hyzaar was associated with lowering of diurnal (by 26.9/17.2+/-3/2 mm Hg, p<0.001), nocturnal (by 32.6/18.9+/-3/2 mm Hg, p<0.001), pulse (p<0.001) BP, and rate of morning systolic BP rise (p<0.05), decrease of nocturnal systolic and diastolic BP variability, and improvement of 24-hour BP rhythm. Trough/peak coefficients for systolic and diastolic BP (70 and 76%, respectively) reflected sufficient and steady hypotensive effect throughout 24 hours after single dose of Hyzaar. Target BP level was achieved in 70% of patients. At the background of 24-week treatment with Hyzaar left ventricular myocardial mass index significantly decreased (from 120.1+/-3.5 to 108.6+/-3.1 g/m2, D=11.5+/-1.0, p<0.001) and became normal in 60% of patients. Correlation analysis revealed independence of cardioprotective action of therapy from its hypotensive activity. Thus therapy with Hyzaar produced hypotensive and cardioprotective effects which were independent from each other.