Crystal structures of two dimeric nickel di-phenyl-acetate com-plexes.

In the crystal structures of the title com-pounds, namely µ-aqua-κ2 O:O-di-µ-di-phenyl-acetato-κ4 O:O'-bis-[(di-phenyl-acetato-κO)bis-(pyridine-κN)nickel(II)], [Ni2(C14H11O2)4(C5H5N)4(H2O)] (1) and µ-aqua-κ2 O:O-di-µ-di-phenyl-acetato-κ4 O:O'-bis-[(2,2'-bi-pyridine-κ2 N,N')(di-phenyl-acetato-κO)nickel(II)]-aceto-nitrile-di-phenyl-acetic acid (1/2.5/1), [Ni2(C14H11O2)4(C10H8N2)2(H2O)]·2.5CH3CN·C14H12O2 (2), the com-plex units are stabilized by a variety of intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, as well as C-H⋯π and π-π contacts between the aromatic systems of the pyridine, dipyridyl and di-phenyl-acetate ligands. Despite the fact that the di-phenyl-acetate ligand is sterically bulky, this does not inter-fere with the formation of the described aqua-bridged dimeric core, even with a 2,2'-bi-pyridine ligand, which has a strong chelating effect.

[Easyhalers in practice for treating patients with asthma].

A comparative investigation was conducted to study the therapeutic effect of using two powder inhalers (the new-generation device--an easyhaler as well as an aerolyser inhaler) in daily practice for treating patients with moderate asthma. It showed the pharmacological equivalence, efficiency, and safety of applying a combination of the easyhalers budesonide and formoterol, as well as the simplicity and convenience to use the inhalers of this type.

[Biliary dysfunctions and their prevention].

THE AIM OF REVIEW: To present the up-to-date methods of prophylaxis of biliary system pathology. ORIGINAL POSITION: The number of patients with biliary tract pathology is constantly growing up. Participation of psychovegetative state in the development of gallbladder dysfunction was confirmed. CONCLUSION: Revealing and treatment of gallbladder dysfunction, treatment of disorders of psychovegetative disorders system in patients with dysfunction of gallbladder is the necessity for successful prophylaxis of chronic cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, pancreatitis.

[Hypomotor dysfunction of gallbladder: connection between clinical symptomatic and psychovegetative state].

Article presents data on connection between disorders of psychovegetative state and clinical symptomatic in the patients with hypomotor dysfunction of gallbladder. Participation of disorders of psychovegetative state in the development clinical symptomatic of hypomotor dysfunction of gallbladde was confirmed.

[Laboratory monitoring of pesticide residues in the environment].

The paper presents the results of laboratory monitoring pesticide residues in the environment in the Republic of Mordovia in 2000 to 2007. It gives examples how to determine organic chlorine pesticides in the foodstuffs and environment, by stating the concentrations of ingredients. The entry route of pesticides and their action on human beings are shown. The main preventive measures are indicated for persons handling pesticides.

Crystal structure prediction of organic pigments: quinacridone as an example.

The structures of the alpha, beta and gamma polymorphs of quinacridone (Pigment Violet 19) were predicted using Polymorph Predictor software in combination with X-ray powder diffraction patterns of limited quality. After generation and energy minimization of the possible structures, their powder patterns were compared with the experimental ones. On this basis, candidate structures for the polymorphs were chosen from the list of all structures. Rietveld refinement was used to validate the choice of structures. The predicted structure of the gamma polymorph is in accordance with the experimental structure published previously. Three possible structures for the beta polymorph are proposed on the basis of X-ray powder patterns comparison. It is shown that the alpha structure in the Cambridge Structural Database is likely to be in error, and a new alpha structure is proposed. The present work demonstrates a method to obtain crystal structures of industrially important pigments when only a low-quality X-ray powder diffraction pattern is available.

[Application of the breath hydrogen test in gastroenterology].

The diagnostic capacities of the breath hydrogen test in gastroenterology are discussed in the article. The authors describe the results of their own research--determination of the intestinal bacterial contamination in patients with chronic biliary pancreatitis with the help of the Micro H2 breath hydrogen analyzer.

Stress and well-being in mothers of young children 11 years after the Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident.

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the association between exposure to the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion and the psychological and physical well-being of mothers with young children. The study also examines whether exposure to Chornobyl increased the vulnerability of mothers to subsequent economic and social stress, and thus represents a unique test of the stress-vulnerability model in a non-Western setting. METHOD: The sample consisted of mothers evacuated from the contamination zone surrounding the plant (evacuees) and mothers who had never lived in a radiation-contaminated area (controls). In addition to exposure status, the interview obtained data on perceived economic stress, social stress and stress moderators. The dependent variables were measured by the SCL-90 global severity index (GSI), perceived physical health and number of days unable to work due to illness. RESULTS: Overall, evacuees reported fewer stressors and greater personal and social resources than control mothers. Nevertheless, evacuees scored higher on the GSI, reported lower perceived physical health and took more sick days relative to control mothers, even after controlling for demographic factors, stressors and stress moderators. Tests of interaction effects were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirmed that married women with young children evacuated to Kyiv following the Chornobyl nuclear power plant explosion reported significantly poorer psychological and perceived physical health than controls 11 years later. Although perceived social and economic adversities also affected these outcomes, there was no evidence that exposure to the Chornobyl accident increased the vulnerability of mothers to these stressors, giving support to the additive burden model of stress.

Ukrainian application of the Children's Somatization Inventory: psychometric properties and associations with internalizing symptoms.

This paper examines the psychometric properties of the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI) in 600 10-12-year old children in Kyiv, Ukraine, replicating and extending the original findings from a sample in Nashville, Tennessee (J. Garber et al. 1991). The Kyiv children had significantly lower CSI total scores and reported significantly fewer symptoms than the American children. The Kyiv mothers, however, reported significantly more somatization symptoms in their children than did the American mothers. A factor analysis of the children's data yielded four similar factors encompassing pseudoneurologic, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and pain/weakness symptoms. Consistent with the findings from the Nashville study, the CSI was significantly related to the children's self-reports of health and depressive and anxiety symptoms and to maternal reports of child depression and anxiety symptoms. In addition, although more children with the highest CSI scores (25+) reported various illness experiences than those with 0-1 symptoms, no differences were found in the school absentee records. Thus, the results were congruent with the findings of the Nashville study, indicating that the CSI reliably measured somatization in this Ukrainian sample.

Comparison of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptom subtypes in Ukrainian schoolchildren.

OBJECTIVE: This study used a parent-completed, DSM-IV-referenced rating scale to examine prevalence rates of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) behaviors and differences between subtypes in 10- to 12-year-old Ukrainian children. METHOD: During 1997, a total of 600 parents and children residing in Kyiv, Ukraine, and their teachers participated in extensive clinical assessments using standard Western measures. RESULTS: The screening prevalence rate of ADHD behaviors was 19.8%: 7.2% for inattentive (I), 8.5% for hyperactive-impulsive (HI), and 4.2% for combined (C). Post hoc comparisons indicated a number of significant (p < .05) group differences. Mothers of children with ADHD symptoms reported higher rates of disruptive behavior, negative mother-child interactions, and physical punishment than the non-ADHD group. Teachers rated children with ADHD as more hyperactive and inattentive, but only the HI subtype was rated more oppositional than non-ADHD students. The I subtype was less academically proficient and socially adept (but less likely to have behavior problems). The C subtype was the most behaviorally disruptive (mother ratings), and their fathers were more likely to be aggressive and abuse alcohol. The HI subtype also had problems with disruptive behavior but were less socially impaired. CONCLUSIONS: Although symptom prevalence rates are higher in Ukraine than the United States, this study provides additional evidence supporting DSM-IV ADHD subtypes as distinct clinical entities.

Children's well-being 11 years after the Chornobyl catastrophe.

BACKGROUND: The psychological effects of technological disasters have rarely been studied in children. This study assessed the aftermath of the 1986 Chornobyl disaster in children evacuated to Kyiv from the contaminated zone surrounding the nuclear power facility. METHODS: In 1997, we evaluated three hundred 10- to 12-year-old children in Kyiv who were in utero or infants at the time of the disaster and who had resided near Chornobyl (evacuees) and 300 sex-matched homeroom classmates who had never lived in a radiation-contaminated area. Response rates were 92% (evacuees) and 85% (classmates). Data were obtained from children, mothers, and teachers using standard measures of well-being and risk factors for childhood psychopathology. The children also received physical examinations and basic blood tests. RESULTS: The evacuees and classmates perceived their mental health similarly except for Chornobyl-related anxiety symptoms and perceived scholastic competence. No differences were found on the Iowa Conners' Teacher Rating Scale. Although the physical examination and blood test results were normal, the evacuee mothers rated their children's well-being as significantly worse, especially with respect to somatic symptoms on the Children's Somatization Inventory and Child Behavior Checklist. The most important risk factors for these ratings were maternal somatization and Chornobyl-related stress. CONCLUSIONS: Given the multiple stressful experiences to which evacuee families were exposed, the small differences in the children's self-reports suggest that there are protective factors in the lives of these children. The trauma experienced by the mothers was reflected in their perceptions of their children's well-being, particularly somatic symptoms, but was not transmitted to the children themselves.

School and neuropsychological performance of evacuated children in Kyiv 11 years after the Chornobyl disaster.

This paper examines the cognitive and neuropsychological functioning of children who were in utero to age 15 months at the time of the Chornobyl disaster and were evacuated to Kyiv from the 30-kilometer zone surrounding the plant. Specifically, we compared 300 evacuee children at ages 10-12 with 300 non-evacuee Kyiv classmates on objective and subjective measures of attention, memory, and school performance. The evacuee children were not significantly different from their classmates on the objective measures (grades; Symbolic Relations subtest of the Detroit Test; forms 1 and 2 of the Visual Search and Attention Test; Benton Form A; Trails A; Underline the Words Test) or on most of the subjective measures (the attention subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist completed by mothers; the attention items of the Iowa Conners Teacher's Rating Scale; mother and child perceptions of school performance). The one exception was that 31.3% of evacuee mothers compared to 7.4% of classmate mothers indicated that their child had a memory problem. However, this subjective measure of memory problems was not significantly related to neuropsychological or school performance. No significant differences were found in comparisons of evacuees and classmates who were in utero at the time of the explosion, children from Pripyat vs. other villages in the 30-kilometer zone, and children manifesting greater generalized anxiety. For both groups, children with greater Chornobyl-focused anxiety performed significantly worse than children with less Chornobyl-focused anxiety on measures of attention. The results thus fail to confirm two previous reports that relatively more children from areas contaminated by radiation had cognitive deficits compared to controls. Possible reasons for the differences in findings among the studies are discussed.

[The imitation of the effects of otolith-ocular asymmetry by eccentric rotation]. / Modelirovanie éffektov otolit-okuliarnoi asimmetrii v usloviiakh ékstsentricheskogo vrashcheniia.

Today, investigation of the vestibuloocular reactions is the mainstream method of studying the vestibular asymmetry. Analysis of experimental data requires a model of otolith-ocular interaction. The proposed model is based on the literary data concerning measurements of ocular counter-rotation (OCR) and luminous line rotation (LLR) in experiments with eccentric rotation. The method utilizes a number of simplifications and suppositions, the basic of which are linearity of all phases of transformation of mechanic stimulus with the exception of the afferents' transmission function (proportionality of the nervous response to acceleration; the otolith-ocular response is proportional to the nervous response). It was demonstrated that the model qualitatively imitates the behavior of OCR and LLR in response to axifugal acceleration of the utricular otoliths and permits analysis of the role of various parameters of the otolith-ocular interaction. Comparison of calculated and experimental dependence of OCR and LLR on acceleration can help understanding of the otolith asymmetry.

[Social-psychological features of the life style of aging persons]. / Sotsial'no-psikhologicheskie osobennosti obraza zhizni stareiushchikh liudei.

On the basis of a comprehensive medico-social and sociopsychological examination of a populational sample in the city of Kiev, the authors analyze the characteristics of the mode of life of the people before retirement and retired on pension. The causes of the disadaptation of elderly people to this period of life and the ways to eliminate them are discussed. The interrelations between the marital status, mode of life and the state of health are outlined. Prophylactic measures aimed at preventing the disadaptation of old people and the pension disease are recommended.