The Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) experiment for NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory.

We present a summary of the physical principles and design of the Dynamic Albedo of Neutrons (DAN) instrument onboard NASA's 2009 Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission. The DAN instrument will use the method of neutron-neutron activation analysis in a space application to study the abundance and depth distribution of water in the martian subsurface along the path of the MSL rover.

[Leukinferon in the treatment of patients with sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome]. / Leikinferon v lechenii septicheskikh bol'nykh s sindromom poliorgannoi nedostatochnosti.

Dynamics of clinical signs, blood formula and some cytokins in serum samples of the patients with sepsis complicated by multiorgan disfunction syndrome (as a rule kidney and liver were involved) were investigated. Etiotropic therapy was combined with immunocorrecting treatment with leukinferone Combined regime provided positive results in clinical symptoms, in lymphocytes number normalization (abs. and per cent), stimulated T lymphocytes differentiation and facilitated intoxication finishing according to LII). Immunocorrection practically had no effect on TNF-alpha, IL-1 alpha, IL-6, and stimulated IL-8 secretion more effectively than etiotropic therapy. IF-gamma level enhanced along with stopped IL-10 production. As a result ratio of IF-gamma/IL-10 enhanced from 0.56 to 1.0, in the case of etiotropic therapy this ratio diminished from 0.48 to 0.3. It is concluded that immunocorrecting therapy provided positive dynamics in the ration IF-gamma/IL-10, recurring cell immune reactions. The recurrence period was shortened and lethality level was substantially lower (2.5 times).

[Classification of destructive pulmonary tuberculosis into groups according to quantitative and qualitative characteristics with the aim of developing differentiated treatment methods]. / O razdelenii destruktivnogo tuberkuleza legkikh na gruppy po kachestvennoi i kolichestvennoi kharakteristike s tsel'iu razrabotki differentsirovannykh metodov lecheniia.

The results of observation of 1196 new cases of destructive pulmonary tuberculosis are analyzed. The qualitative and quantitative characteristics identified its 5 categories which greatly differed in the frequency and time of decay cavity closure and outcomes of chemotherapy: pulmonary tuberculosis with minimum destruction, restrictive destructive tuberculosis, disseminated destructive tuberculosis, disseminated destructive tuberculosis, tuberculomas with decay, and fibrocavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. Comparing the efficiency of 3 combined treatment regimens led to the conclusion that it was necessary to develop the methods of differential therapy of destructive pulmonary tuberculosis in relation to its qualitative and quantitative characteristics.

[Pathospermia in patients with glomerulonephritis and rheumatoid arthritis treated by immunodepressants: the possibilities of its correction with zinc and parlodel]. / Patospermiia u bol'nykh glomerulonefritom i revmatoidnym artritom, lechivshikhsia immunodepressantami: vozmozhnosti korrektsii tsinkom i parlodelom.

Two groups of patients aged 16.5-31 years with pathospermia given immunodepressants (IDS) for glomerulonephritis (group I) or rheumatoid arthritis (group II) before and/or at the moment of examination were examined. Five out of 6 patients of group I and all the patients of group II showed azoospermia. As a result of the treatment with zinc (30-90 mg of elementary zinc a day) and parlodel (2.5 mg/day) for 2-23 months, spermatogenesis improved or returned to normal in 2 patients of group I and in 2 patients of group II. It should be mentioned that out of 8 patients who turned out refractory to the treatment, 7 received glucocorticoids and cytostatics (CT) whereas among those who responded to the treatment, only 2 patients out of 4 were given CT. The reported data on the gonadotoxic dose of CT are discussed. The conclusion is made about the necessity of carrying out active treatment policy for pathospermia in patients who received IDS.

[Outcome of pulmonary tuberculosis with single destructive cavity depending on its size]. / Iskhody tuberkuleza legkikh s odinochnymi polostiami raspada v zavisimosti ot ikh razmera.

In the course of chemotherapy of 685 pulmonary tuberculosis patients, great differences in the period of time needed for the cavity closure depending on the dimensions of the latter were found. These dimensions were sub-divided into three groups: less than 2 cm (most often up to 1.5 cm), 2-4 cm, and 5 cm or over. With cavitation of equal dimensions there was no evident relationship between the closure period of cavities and the extension of focal and infiltrative changes in the lungs. Tuberculin therapy could increase the treatment efficacy of the patients belonging to the first two groups of cavitation and did not influence greatly the closure of large-size cavities. Much shorter time and higher closure rate of these cavities were achieved with the use of an intensive complex treatment. The paper discusses whether it is advisable to develop methods for differential therapy for pulmonary tuberculosis patients with varying cavity dimensions.

[Clinical forms of tuberculosis with minimal destruction of pulmonary tissue]. / Klinicheskie formy tuberkuleza s minimal'noi destruktsiei legochnoi tkani.

Three hundred and eighty seven patients with pulmonary tuberculosis having single or multiple destructive cavities less than 2 cm in size were observed. Two thirds of the caverns became undetectable 2-4 months after the therapy start. The roentgenograms of the patients were analyzed, the time courses of the caverns were compared with those of lung tuberculomas of the same size and the disease outcomes were estimated. It was concluded that in the cases with small cavities not closing for prolonged periods tuberculomas with destructions in the infiltrate depth or caseous foci with their partial resolution might be suspected. It was indicated that tuberculin therapy increased the frequency of small cavern healing though their significant part closed at late periods which requires development of more efficient methods for their medication. On the whole, the outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis with minimal destruction of the lung tissue were favourable. The disease progress was stated only in the patients who did not complete the treatment course.