Opinion research among Russian Physicians on the application of technologies using artificial intelligence in the field of medicine and health care.

BACKGROUND: To date, no opinion surveys has been conducted among Russian physicians to study their awareness about artificial intelligence. With a survey, we aimed to evaluate the attitudes of stakeholders to the usage of technologies employing AI in the field of medicine and healthcare and identify challenges and perspectives to introducing AI. METHODS: We conducted a 12-question online survey using Google Forms. The survey consisted of questions related to the recognition of AI and attitudes towards it, the direction of development of AI in medicine and the possible risks of using AI in medicine. RESULTS: 301 doctors took part in the survey. 107 (35.6%) responded that they are familiar with AI. The vast majority of participants considered AI useful in the medical field (85%). The advantage of AI was associated with the ability to analyze huge volumes of clinically relevant data in real time (79%). Respondents highlighted areas where AI would be most useful-organizational optimization (74%), biopharmaceutical research (67%), and disease diagnosis (52%). Among the possible problems when using AI, they noted the lack of flexibility and limited application on controversial issues (64% and 60% of respondents). 56% believe that AI decision making will be difficult if inadequate information is presented for analysis. A third of doctors fear that specialists with little experience took part in the development of AI, and 89% of respondents believe that doctors should participate in the development of AI for medicine and healthcare. Only 20 participants (6.6%) responded that they agree that AI can replace them at work. At the same time, 76% of respondents believe that in the future, doctors using AI will replace those who do not. CONCLUSIONS: Russian doctors are for AI in medicine. Most of the respondents believe that AI will not replace them in the future and will become a useful tool. First of all, for optimizing organizational processes, research and diagnostics of diseases. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Medical Research and Education Center (IRB00010587).

Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 1360, an Effective Biocatalyst of C3 Oxidative Transformation of Oleanane Triterpenoids.

The optimal conditions for C3 oxidative biotransformation of 1.0 g/L pentacyclic triterpenoids oleanolic (OA) and glycyrrhetinic (GA) acids were determined using the resting cells of Rhodococcus rhodochrous IEGM 1360 from the Regional Specialised Collection of Alkanotrophic Microorganisms. Resting cell suspensions (OD600 2.6, pH 8.0, and OD600 2.2, pH 6.0) showed the highest catalytic activity against OA and GA, resulting in the formation of 61 and 100% of their 3-oxo derivatives, respectively. Using phase contrast, atomic force, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, an adaptive response of rhodococci to the effects of OA and GA was revealed. In silico, the apoptotic activity of 3-oxo-OA and antioxidant activity of 3-oxo-GA have been assumed. In vitro, a pronounced antibacterial activity of 3-oxo-OA against Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis was shown. The absence of toxic effects of the above triterpenoids and their 3-oxo derivatives on aquatic objects and plants was demonstrated in silico and in vitro, respectively. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1134/S0026261722603360.

European Biomedical Research Infrastructures and the Fight against COVID-19 Pandemic.

The study aims to assess the role of EU biomedical research infrastructures in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze their response to the challenges associated with the spread of the new pathogen. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the materials of the Seventh Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP7, 2007-2013) of the EU and the Eighth Framework Program "Horizon 2020" (FP8, 2014-2020), official reports of the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures, expert reports, as well as documents of the European Commission, the COVID-19 Data Portal, and other relevant sources of information. Results: The analysis revealed that the mechanisms created within the united European research community provided for a flexible response to the emerging threat of COVID-19 as soon as January-May 2020. In particular, information channels were established to timely analyze the research results and coordinate the efforts in the fight against COVID-19. The biomedical infrastructures created in the EU and proved successful earlier have now been mobilized to search for ways of preventing and treating COVID-19. These mechanisms facilitated communication and data exchange between various research institutions and thus laid the ground for new achievements in this area. Conclusion: The decisions taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic have convincingly illustrated that the EU research infrastructures, integrated into a united ecosystem, are highly adaptable and flexible, which allows to realign priorities in a short time and to create instruments that enable scientists to respond to new challenges.

2-(4-Chloro-benzo-yl)-1-(diamino-methyl-ene)hydrazinium chloride monohydrate.

In the cation of the title compound, C(8)H(10)ClN(4)O(+)·Cl(-)·H(2)O, the guanidinium group is planar (maximum deviation = 0.0001 Å) and nearly perpendicular to carboxamide group, making a dihedral angle of 87.0 (3)°. The N atoms of the guanidine fragment have a planar trigonal configuration and the N atom of the carboxamide group adopts a pyramidal configuration. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular N-H⋯O, N-H⋯Cl and O-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds link the cations, anions and water mol-ecules into layers parallel to the bc plane.

[Pharmaco-profilometry using alpha-1a adrenergic blockers in the diagnosis of dynamic infravesical obstruction in the vesicourethral zone segment]. / Farmakoprofilometriia s alfa 1a-adrenoblokatorami v diagnostike dinamicheskoi infravezikal'noi obstruktsii v zone puzyrno-uretral'nogo segmenta.

Alpha-blockers decrease sympathetic influence and thus lower pressure in bladder neck region. Pharmacoprofilometry with tamsulosin was used in diagnostic dynamic outlet obstruction in 43 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and in 17 patients with urethral stricture. 12 BPH patients with positive results of the test received tamsulosin in a single daily dose 0.4 mg. After 3 months the subjective symptom score significantly improved in all the patients. Stenosis of the urethra and bladder neck was found in 17 patients who had micturation disturbance in different periods after prostatectomy. In 9 patients urethral pressure in the region of the bladder neck decreased after 3 days of tamsulosin treatment given a single daily dose 0.4 mg. Urethrotomy without bladder neck resection was performed in these patients. Three months later average Q max increased from 6 ml/s to 18 ml/s and residual urine decreased from 112 ml to 30 ml. Selective alpha-blocker profilometry allows to distinguish between organic and functional neck stenosis and choose the necessary treatment.

[The use of the holmium laser for treating strictures of the urethra and bladder neck in men]. / Primenenie gol'mievogo lazera dlia lecheniia striktur uretry i sheiki mochevogo puzyria u muzhchin.

30 patients with strictures of the urethra (n = 19) and bladder cervix (n = 11) received combined treatment including surgical endoscopic correction of the stricture with Ho:YAG laser, pre- and postoperative endourethral radiation with low-energy laser, instillations of collagenase and dimexide solution into the urinary tract. The operation was made by Ho:YAG laser (2.09) microns, 4 J, 15 Hz, 300 mc). Persistent response for 10-12 months was achieved in 93.3% of patients.

[Attempt at allo-aortal conduits in the correction of congenital heart defects]. / Pervyi opyt ispol'zovaniia alloaortal'nykh konduitov pri korrektsii vrozhdennykh porokov serdtsa.

In the period September 1990 to April 1993, an allo-aortic conduit was used in 16 patients during reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow duct. The patients age ranged from 2 years 8 months to 14 years, their body weight was 11.8 to 26 kg. Seven patients were diagnosed as having pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect, 4 had Fallot's tetrad and 5 transposition of great vessels with pulmonary stenosis and ventricular septal defect. The allo-aortic conduit made by the procedure developed at the A. N. Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, was used in all cases to reconstruct the right ventricular outflow duct. The allografts were sterilized in a solution containing culture medium RPMI-1640 and mixture of antibiotics. After sterilization, the prostheses were frozen in liquid nitrogen vapours and kept at -150 to -160 degrees C till their clinical application. In the immediate postoperative period, 2 patients died, which amounted to 13%. Two deaths were caused by excessive bleeding, but in one case the implanted conduit wall bled. The residual right ventricle-pulmonary artery gradient was no more than 23 +/- 17 mm Hg. A discharge echocardiographic examination of patients found no valvular dysfunction of the implanted conduits on days 12 to 26 days after surgery. The findings suggest that the allo-aortic conduits prepared at the A. N. Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, can be regarded as the prostheses of choice in the surgery of congenital cardiac malformations.

[Prosthesis of the aortic valve by a loose allograft]. / Protezirovanie aortal'nogo klapana beskarkasnym allograftom.

A procedure has been developed to prepare live aortic allografts, which consists in taking a valve early after a donor's death, sterilizing it in antibiotics and freezing it to -190 degrees C in the presence of the cryoprotective agent dimethylsulfoxide. The preservation of valve tissue is evidenced by morphological studies. The first 3 operations for aortic valvular diseases were performed. In two cases, the indication for surgery was infectious endocarditis refractory to antibiotic therapy. Postimplantation complications were not seen. The competence of the allograft was confirmed by intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographical study. The patients examined 4 months postoperation developed no signs of aortic incompetence and infectious endocarditis. Thus, the creation of a bank of live valves allows this prosthesis to be implanted with appropriate indications, one of which is active infectious endocarditis of the aortic valve.

[Effect of chronic administration of antidepressants on the binding of 3H-imipramine with mouse brain synaptic membranes]. / Vliianie khronicheskogo vvedeniia antidepressantov na sviazyvanie 3H-imipramina s sinapticheskimi membranami golovnogo mozga myshi.

Subchronic (14 days) administration of chlorimipramine and zimelidine, and a new morpholine derivative produces different effects on 3H-imipramine binding with synaptic membranes of the mouse brain. Chlorimipramine increases the concentration of the binding sites (Bmax), zimelidine raises both the Bmax and the dissociation constant, while the new morpholine derivative does not significantly change these characteristics. It has been demonstrated that the changes in the Bmax that occur during prolonged administration of chlorimipramine depend on the method for the obtaining of membrane brain preparations.

[Effect of cholesterol oxidase on the involution of experimental hypercholesterolemia in rabbits]. / Vliianie kholesterinoksidazy na obratnoi razvitie eksperimental'noi giperkholesterinemii u krolikov.

Cholesterol oxidase (3 beta-hydrosteroid oxidase), isolated from Actinomyces lavendulae, oxidized unesterified cholesterol in rabbit blood serum without detergents in vitro. Intravenous administration of the enzyme into hypercholesterolemic rabbits at a dose of 0.5-2.0 un/kg decrease distinctly the cholesterol content in blood. The rate of the decrease depended on the dose of the preparation. Acute toxicity of the cholesterol oxidase preparations for mice correlated with the degree of purification of the enzyme. Cholesterol oxidase from Act. lavendulae may be considered as a potential hypocholesterolemic drug.