Genetic characteristics of spring viraemia of carp virus strains Kirov/08 and Orenburg/14.

The paper presents the genetic characteristics of two strains of spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV), Kirov/08 and Orenburg/14, isolated in the Kirov and Orenburg oblasts of the Russian Federation, respectively. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a 516-bp fragment of the G genes of Kirov/08 and Orenburg/14 showed 9.5% divergence. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a close relationship of these strains to SVCV isolates recovered in Russia, Ukraine, and the Republic of Moldova.

Promising La2Mo2O9-La2Mo3O12 Composite Oxygen-Ionic Electrolytes: Interphase Phenomena.

The La2Mo2O9-La2Mo3O12 composite materials represent a novel class of highly conductive materials demonstrating increased oxygen-ion conductivity. Extensive research of (100 - x)La2Mo2O9-xLa2Mo3O12 composites over a wide range of concentrations (x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 100) was carried out for the first time. An increase in conductivity, oxygen surface exchange coefficient, and oxygen diffusivity is observed for composites compared to individual oxides, which is associated with the segregation of different ions on the surface of the grains and the formation of a La5Mo3O16 new phase at the contact boundary of La2Mo2O9 and La2Mo3O12. 3D-modeling of the composite microstructure was performed on the basis of SEM-image analysis data in order to estimate the conductivity of the interphase layer between the La2Mo2O9 and La2Mo3O12 grains containing La5Mo3O16. The electrical conductivity values of the composite materials calculated from a 3D-simulated microstructure and the experimentally measured conductivity correlate and demonstrate a composite effect.

Use of Additive Technologies in Surgical Treatment of Chronic Posterior Dislocations of the Shoulder.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of additive technologies in surgical treatment of patients with osteochondral defects of the humeral head articular surface against the background of chronic posterior dislocation of the shoulder by means of comparing clinical and radiological results with the McLaughlin procedure. Materials and Methods: A prospective randomized comparative group clinical study was conducted, which included 20 patients who in 2019-2021 underwent surgical treatment of chronic posterior dislocation of the shoulder in the Traumatological and Orthopedic Department of the Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Privolzhsky Research Medical University (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). Depending on the type of surgery, all patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 (n=10) was subject to McLaughlin procedure, whereas group 2 (n=10) - to reconstruction of the humeral head using a customized implant based on additive technologies (3D printing). To assess postoperative results, 6 months after the surgery all patients underwent the following procedures: X-ray imaging of the shoulder joint in two projections, CT scanning, and angulometry as well as provided their responses in line with the following questionnaires: Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Shoulder Score (ASES), Constant Shoulder Score (CSS), Shoulder Rating Questionnaire (SRQ), and the Hospital for Special Surgery Shoulder Surgery Expectations Survey (Survey of patient, SP). Results: Both the McLaughlin procedure and the reconstruction of the humeral head using a customized implant made using additive 3D printing technologies increased the range of motion in the shoulder joint, mitigated the pain syndrome and improved the patients' quality of life. During the postoperative period, there were no infectious complications in both groups. The total bed-day in group 1 was 7 [5; 9] days; in group 2, it was 8 [6; 9] days. There was no recurrence of dislocation or progression of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint in patients in both groups during 6 months after the surgery. The ASES, SP, SRQ, CSS, DASH, and VAS questionnaires assessment for both groups showed a statistically significant improvement for all indicators in the postoperative period. There were no statistically significant differences found between the groups as to the results of angulometry and answering the questionnaires. Conclusion: Customized implants made using additive technologies can shorten the surgery duration by 1.3 times, whereas the volume of intraoperative blood loss - by at least 1.5 times compared to the McLaughlin procedure.

Mercury content in the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1844) from the coastal and inland areas of the Russia.

Being a global pollutant, mercury can originate from both natural as well as anthropogenic sources. Coastal marine atmospheric fog is considered a potential source of ocean-derived monomethylmercury (MMHg) to coastal terrestrial ecosystems. However, the ratio between mercury appearing through natural processes and that from the results of human activity is unclear. We assumed that the total mercury content in the fur of tigers would differ depending on the distance from the sea. Here we show that the average mercury content in tigers from the coast (0.435 ± 0.062 mg kg-1) is significantly different from tigers from the inland area (0.239 ± 0.075 mg kg-1), (p = 0.02). We found that the content of mercury in the fur of tigers is largely dependent of natural processes rather than human activity. We assume that the levels of mercury in coastal ecosystems in the south of the Russian Far East reflect the position of the region relative to the deep faults of the East Pacific Platform. Obtained data indicate that environmental risks associated with mercury pollution currently exist, but do not pose a serious threat to Siberian tigers.

Tailoring spontaneous infrared emission of HgTe quantum dots with laser-printed plasmonic arrays.

Chemically synthesized near-infrared to mid-infrared (IR) colloidal quantum dots (QDs) offer a promising platform for the realization of devices including emitters, detectors, security, and sensor systems. However, at longer wavelengths, the quantum yield of such QDs decreases as the radiative emission rate drops following Fermi's golden rule, while non-radiative recombination channels compete with light emission. Control over the radiative and non-radiative channels of the IR-emitting QDs is crucially important to improve the performance of IR-range devices. Here, we demonstrate strong enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate of near- to mid-IR HgTe QDs coupled to periodically arranged plasmonic nanoantennas, in the form of nanobumps, produced on the surface of glass-supported Au films via ablation-free direct femtosecond laser printing. The enhancement is achieved by simultaneous radiative coupling of the emission that spectrally matches the first-order lattice resonance of the arrays, as well as more efficient photoluminescence excitation provided by coupling of the pump radiation to the local surface plasmon resonances of the isolated nanoantennas. Moreover, coupling of the HgTe QDs to the lattice plasmons reduces the influence of non-radiative decay losses mediated by the formation of polarons formed between QD surface-trapped carriers and the IR absorption bands of dodecanethiol used as a ligand on the QDs, allowing us to improve the shape of the emission spectrum through a reduction in the spectral dip related to this ligand coupling. Considering the ease of the chemical synthesis and processing of the HgTe QDs combined with the scalability of the direct laser fabrication of nanoantennas with tailored plasmonic responses, our results provide an important step towards the design of IR-range devices for various applications.

Plasmonic Nanolenses Produced by Cylindrical Vector Beam Printing for Sensing Applications.

Interaction of complex-shaped light fields with specially designed plasmonic nanostructures gives rise to various intriguing optical phenomena like nanofocusing of surface waves, enhanced nonlinear optical response and appearance of specific low-loss modes, which can not be excited with ordinary Gaussian-shaped beams. Related complex-shaped nanostructures are commonly fabricated using rather expensive and time-consuming electron- and ion-beam lithography techniques limiting real-life applicability of such an approach. In this respect, plasmonic nanostructures designed to benefit from their excitation with complex-shaped light fields, as well as high-performing techniques allowing inexpensive and flexible fabrication of such structures, are of great demand for various applications. Here, we demonstrate a simple direct maskless laser-based approach for fabrication of back-reflector-coupled plasmonic nanorings arrays. The approach is based on delicate ablation of an upper metal film of a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) sandwich with donut-shaped laser pulses followed by argon ion-beam polishing. After being excited with a radially polarized beam, the MIM configuration of the nanorings permitted to realize efficient nanofocusing of constructively interfering plasmonic waves excited in the gap area between the nanoring and back-reflector mirror. For optimized MIM geometry excited by radially polarized CVB, substantial enhancement of the electromagnetic near-fields at the center of the ring within a single focal spot with the size of 0.37λ2 can be achieved, which is confirmed by Finite Difference Time Domain calculations, as well as by detection of 100-fold enhanced photoluminescent signal from adsorbed organic dye molecules. Simple large-scale and cost-efficient fabrication procedure offering also a freedom in the choice of materials to design MIM structures, along with remarkable optical and plasmonic characteristics of the produced structures make them promising for realization of various nanophotonic and biosensing platforms that utilize cylindrical vector beam as a pump source.

Experimental Study of Rheoreaction of the European River Lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis (L.) Downstream Migrating Smolts under Various Illumination.

Rheoreaction of the downstream migrating smolts of the European river lamprey was studied in the experimental conditions at illuminations of day and night intensity. It was found that at the daytime the smolts are mostly dormant and if move downstream then in active-passive form (with the head against the stream, and their speed going beyond the velocity). This data is well within the findings on the night downstream migration of the smolts during the 24h period in natural conditions. Thus, the downstream migration of the smolts has an active form.

[Experience of using the antibacterial drug Fosfomycin Esparma for the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis in women].

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the antibacterial drug fosfomycin trometamol (Fosfomycin Esparma) in women of reproductive age with acute uncomplicated cystitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In order to assess the efficacy and safety of using fosfomycin trometamol (Fosfomycin Esparma), a prospective, non-randomized, uncontrolled study involving 32 women with acute uncomplicated cystitis was carried out. The average patients age was 27.3+/-3.1 years. Before the study, all women underwent a general clinical, bacteriological, and ultrasound examination. Inclusion criteria was the presence of pathognomonic symptoms of acute uncomplicated cystitis. Exclusion criteria were as following: complicated urinary tract infection, anatomical and functional disorders of the urinary tract, comorbidities. All patients were prescribed a study drug at a dose of 3 g, once. The efficiency of therapy was evaluated on days 3 and 14 after administration of Fosfomycin Esparma based on clinical and microbiological cure and safety. RESULTS: The only bacterial pathogen isolated from the urine was E. coli. In 4 cases (12.5%) strains produced extended-spectrum -lactamase. The sensitivity of E. coli to fosfomycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, amikacin and meropenem was 100%. A resistance to ampicillin was 15.6%, compared to 9.4% for levofloxacin and norfloxacin and 12% for cefotaxime, ceftazidime, cefpoxin. By the 3rd day after receiving fosfomycin, the symptoms of cystitis were resolved in all patients. On day 14, according to the results of the urine culture, there was no growth of bacteria. During the follow-up period, no significant side effects was detected. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that antibacterial drug Fosfomycin Esparma in women of reproductive age with acute uncomplicated cystitis is effective and safe. Maintaining a high sensitivity to fosfomycin allows us to recommend this drug as an empirical antibiotic therapy in this cohort of patients.

Chronic Exposure to Ultrasonic Frequencies Selectively Increases Aggression in Rats.

We studied aggression in male Sprague-Dawley rats in a model of a depressive-like state induced by unpredictable treatment with ultrasonic waves with the frequencies of 20-45 kHz for 1, 2 or 3 weeks. We did not find any increase in the number of animals exhibiting aggression in the "resident-intruder" test after the treatment of any selected duration. However, the aggressive animals exposed to ultrasound exhibited the substantially increased number of attacks and their total duration as well as decreased latency of the first attack compared to the respective indices in the animals of the control group. Taking this into account, it is possible to suggest that the initial level of aggression increases in a model of ultrasonic chronic stress.

[A comparative analysis of intravesical sodium hyaluronate monotherapy and its combination with oral chondroitin sulfate in patietns with bladder pain syndrome/intersticial cystitis].

AIM: It is established that intravesical sodium hyaluronate and chondroitin sulfate has high efficacy in patients with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). Currently, an oral form of chondroitin sulfate is also available. The aim of study was to compare the efficacy of intravesical hyaluronic acid monotherapy and long-term oral chondroitin sulfate in combination with intravesical therapy in patients with BPS/IC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 59 patients with BPS/IC were randomized in two groups. In Group 1, 30 women (mean age 57.1 years) received viscoelastic solution of sodium hyaluronate 50 ml 1 time per week for 12 weeks as intravesical monotherapy. In Group 2 (n=29), patients were prescribed to complex therapy, which included the similar intravesical therapy combined with chondroitin sulfate in a dose 0.39 g, 2 capsules 3 times a day, also for 12 weeks. All patients completed visual analogue scale (VAS), interstitial cystitis symptom index (ISCI), interstitial cystitis problems index (ICPI) and voiding diary before and 1 week after the start of therapy. In all cases a cystoscopy and urodynamic study were performed in order to exclude other bladder pathologies. RESULTS: At baseline, a mean VAS score in both groups was 7 points, a mean ISCI score was 17 points in Group 1 and 18 points in Group 2 (p>0.1). The mean ICPI score in both groups was 15 points. A frequency of urination in Group 1 and 2 was 11.4 and 11.6 per day, respectively (p>0,1). A mean volume of urination was 138+/-24.6 and 131+/-18.6 , respectively. After 12 weeks of therapy there was significant improvement of VAS, ICSI and ICPI scores in both groups, as well as frequency and volume of urination, but in Group 2 an improvement in almost all parameters studied, except for the volume of urination, was more pronounced. CONCLUSION: The combined therapy of BPS/IC with intravesical hyaluronic acid and oral chondroitin sulfate provides significantly better results in comparison with intravesical hyaluronic acid as monotherapy.

Standardized human bone marrow-derived stem cells infusion improves survival and recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an incurable disorder with an unmet need of an effective treatment. Recently, autologous human bone marrow-derived stem cells have shown to promote functional improvement, due to their anti-inflammatory and regenerative/apocrine properties. In this study, the primary objective was to test whether a single intrathecal injection with a 100 µL suspension of 400,000 fresh human bone marrow-derived CD34+ and an equal number of CD105+ stem cells (Neuro-Cells (NC)), one day after balloon-compression of the spinal cord, improves motor function and reduces secondary damage in immunodeficient rats. During the first 5 weeks after this intervention, NC significantly improved locomotor recovery and induced less injury-associated adverse events compared to vehicle-treated rats. Histological analysis showed that NC reduced astrogliosis, and apoptosis early after administration (day 4), but not at a later stage (day 56) after SCI. Proteomic studies (at day 56) pointed to the release of paracrine factors and identified proteins involved in regenerative processes. As stem cells seem to reach their effects in acute lesions by mainly suppressing (secondary) inflammation, it is thus realistic to expect a lower magnitude of their eventual beneficial effect in T-cell deficient rats, a fact reinforcing the robustness of Neuro-Cells efficacy. Taken together, this study indicates that an intrathecal instillation of Neuro-Cells holds great promise as a neuro-regenerative intervention in a clinical setting with acute SCI patients.

Circadian Rhythms and Locomotor Activity of Smolts of the European River Lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis (L.).

Locomotor activity was investigated in smolts of the European river lamprey at alternation of light and darkness (12/12 h) and in the dark. Two groups of smolts were discerned differing in the level of locomotor activity. The presence of the circadian rhythm in smolts has been revealed, and its role in downstream migration has been shown. The locomotor activity leading smolts to channel flow increases with decreasing illumination at evening twilight. The period of high nocturnal activity is completed a short time before morning twilight, under the action of the individual circadian rhythm. This decreases the probability of impact of predators on migrating smolts.

10-million-elements-per-second printing of infrared-resonant plasmonic arrays by multiplexed laser pulses.

We report on high-quality infrared (IR)-resonant plasmonic nanoantenna arrays fabricated on a thin gold film by tightly focused femtosecond (fs) laser pulses coming at submegahertz repetition rates at a printing rate of 10 million elements per second. To achieve this, the laser pulses were spatially multiplexed by fused silica diffractive optical elements into 51 identical submicrometer-sized laser spots arranged into a linear array at periodicity down to 1 µm. The demonstrated high-throughput nanopatterning modality indicates fs laser maskless microablation as an emerging robust, flexible, and competitive lithographic tool for advanced fabrication of IR-range plasmonic sensors for environmental sensing, chemosensing, and biosensing.

Ultrafast laser printing of self-organized bimetallic nanotextures for multi-wavelength biosensing.

Surface-enhanced spectroscopy (SES) techniques, including surface-enhanced photoluminescence (SEPL), Raman scattering (SERS) and infrared absorption (SEIRA), represent powerful biosensing modalities, allowing non-invasive label-free identification of various molecules and quantum emitters in the vicinity of nanotextured surfaces. Enhancement of multi-wavelength (vis-IR) excitation of analyte molecules of interest atop a single textured substrate could pave the way toward ultimate chemosensing performance and further widespread implementation of the SES-based approaches in various crucial areas, such as point-ofcare diagnostics. In this paper, an easy-to-implement ultrafast direct laser printing via partial spallation of thermally-thick silver films and subsequent large-scale magnetron deposition of nanometer-thick Au layers of variable thickness was implemented to produce bimetallic textured surfaces with the cascaded nanotopography. The produced bimetallic textures demonstrate the strong broadband plasmonic response over the entire visible spectral range. Such plasmonic performance was confirmed by convenient spectroscopy-free Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color analysis of the dark-field (DF) scattering images supported by numerical calculations of the electromagnetic (EM) "near-fields", as well as comprehensive DF spectroscopic characterization. Bimetallic laser-printed nanotextures, which can be easily printed at ultrafast (square millimeters per second) rate, using galvanometric scanning, exhibited strong enhancement of the SEPL (up to 75-fold) and SERS (up to 106 times) yields for the organic dye molecules excited at various wavelengths. Additionally, comprehensive optical and sensing characterization of the laser-printed bimetallic surface structures allows substantiating the convenient spectroscopy-free RGB color analysis as a valuable tool for predictive assessment of the plasmonic properties of the various irregularly and quasi-periodically nanotextured surfaces.

[Treatment of an aortic arch aneurysm ruptured into the lung]. / Lechenie razryva anevrizmy dugi aorty s proryvom v legkoe.

Described herein is a clinical case report concerning treatment of a 32-year-old female patient with rupture of an aneurysm of the arch and descending portion of the thoracic aorta, with the bleeding having penetrated the upper lobe of the left lung. The woman was admitted to the Department of Vascular Surgery of Municipal Multimodality Hospital No 2 of Saint Petersburg, presenting with a clinical pattern of aneurysmal rupture previously diagnosed by computed tomography performed at one of the local hospitals. Studying her case history revealed that, when a child, she had endured an operation for a defect of the interventricular septum and aortic coarctation with aortoplasty using a Dacron synthetic patch. On admission, she was treated as an emergency to immediately undergo temporal ascending-descending bypass grafting of the aorta and left common carotid artery without use of a heart-lung machine. After resection of the aneurysm of the arch and descending portion of the thoracic aorta and removal of the upper lobe of the left lung, a decision was made to leave the temporal shunt as permanent. In the early postoperative period the woman developed acute cerebral circulation impairment with minimal neurological deficit which was later on relieved. After 22 days, due to persisting atelectasis of the lower lobe of the left lung, the presence of an incompetent stump of the upper bronchus and air in the left pleural cavity, as well as high risk of infection of the vascular graft, we performed final bilateral pneumonectomy with omentopexy, i. e., suturing of the greater omentum to a portion of the thoracic graft. The woman was discharged on postoperative day 34 in a satisfactory condition. She then successfully gave birth to a child. She is currently presenting neither complaints nor evidence of respiratory insufficiency. The duration of follow up amounted to 8 years.

Comparative Analysis of the Concentrations of Ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+, and Cl‒) in the Blood of the Brown Trout Salmo trutta from Different Rivers.

The contents of ions in the blood have been compared in three ecological groups of brown trout (parr, mature, and resident) living in rives of the basins of Lake Onega and Lake Ladoga. Brown trout from the Alats-oya (the Ladoga basin, remote from two other rivers belonging to the Onega Lake) is characterized by the lowest concentrations of the Na+, Ca2+, and Cl- ions in blood. The probable effect of the ion level in blood of brown trout on selection of life strategy is discussed.

[Bickerstaff's encephalitis]. / Éntsefalit Bikerstaffa.

A clinical case of Bickerstaff encephalitis, an autoimmune neuropathy, which affects central and peripheral nerve systems, is presented. This article describes problems of the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Results of MRI, PET, electrophysiological and immunological studies are presented.

Three-Week Isolation Does Not Lead to Depressive-Like Disorders in Rats.

We studied the effects of social isolation for 1, 2 or 3 weeks on behavioral reactions of male rats. As social isolation is a common model for inducing depressive-like state in rodents, classical tests for depressive-like behavioral features were conducted: Porsolt forced swimming test and tests for anhedonia and social interest. None of the experimental groups showed statistically significant disorders in comparison with the control group kept under standard conditions. Thus, social isolation for up to 3 weeks did not cause behavioral abnormalities in male rats. Single housing can be used in other models of induction of depressive-like states, but the use of this paradigm as an independent model for the development of depressive-like behavior requires longer period of social isolation.

Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy on Cognitive Functions of Rats with Depression-Like Disorders Induced by Ultrasound Exposure.

We studied the effect of electroconvulsive therapy on cognitive functions in rats with depression-like disorder caused by exposure to ultrasound of varying frequency (20-45 kHz). Object recognition and Morris water-maze tests revealed no negative effects of the therapy on memory. Moreover, positive effect of therapy was demonstrated that manifested in amelioration of memory disturbances in depression-like disorders in these behavioral tests. The results of this study do not support the idea about side effects of electroconvulsive therapy, in particular, development of transient amnesia, and are a prerequisite for a more thorough study of internal mechanisms of the effect of the therapy on cognitive sphere.

[Severe carotid stenosis: cerebral autoregulation in the ipsilateral region]. / Kriticheskie stenozy vnutrennikh sonnykh arterii: tserebral'naia autoreguliatsiia v ipsilateral'nom basseine.

AIM: To study cerebral autoregulation (CA) in region of the stenotic carotid artery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 35 patients with critical stenosis of the carotid arteries, including 24 patients were asymptomatic and 11 patients with symptomatic course. Blood flow velocity in middle cerebral arteries was monitored using Multi Dop X (DWL, Germany) with simultaneous noninvasive systemic blood pressure registration (CNAP, Austria). CA was assessed by calculating the phase shift (PS) between spontaneous oscillations of blood flow velocity and blood pressure within the range of systemic Mayer waves (80-120 mHz). RESULTS: In 18 patients, the CA indicators were in the normal range (PS 1.2±0.3 rad). Seventeen patients, including asymptomatic as well as symptomatic types, had impaired CA (PS 0.2±0.2 rad and 0.3±0.2 rad, respectively). Reconstructive surgery, irrespective of clinical manifestations, led to the significant increase in PS (p<0.001) in the early postoperative period (0.9±0.5 and 0.9±0.3 rad, respectively). CONCLUSION: A significant variability in the cerebrovascular reserve capacity in symptomatic and asymptomatic types of carotid artery stenosis was found. CA can be used in determining the indications for surgical treatment and evaluation of its effectiveness in patients with stenosis of carotid arteries.