[Noninvasive peripheral magnetic stimulation in the treatment of neurogenic urination disorders in children]. / Neinvazivnaya perifericheskaya magnitnaya stimulyatsiya v terapii neirogennykh rasstroistv mocheispuskaniya u detei.

Neurogenic urination disorders in children are often clinically represented by urinary incontinence (UI). The prevalence of UI reaches 8.6%, but tends to decrease in frequency with age. One of the methods of non-drug therapy of UI is extracorporeal magnetic stimulation (ExMI) - a type of non-invasive peripheral magnetic stimulation, which is widely used in adult urological practice. However, the effectiveness of the method in children has not been studied. OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness and safety of ExMI in the rehabilitation of children with neurogenic UI. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective open randomized comparative clinical trial included 75 children (from 5 years to 16 years and 6 months) with neurogenic UI, who were divided by simple randomization into a main group (n=39), who received a standard rehabilitation and ExMI program for 21 days, and a comparison group (n=36), in which the standard rehabilitation program did not include the use of ExMI. RESULT AND DISCUSSION: A prospective open randomized comparative study revealed that the clinical effectiveness of the ExMI method in the complex rehabilitation of children with neurogenic UI is 94.8%, which is 25.4% higher than in the comparison group. After treatment, patients in the main group had a noticeable decrease in UI episodes, an increase in the micturition volume, and an improvement in the quality of life. Patients with various background neurological pathology responded to treatment, which indicates the common pathogenetic mechanisms of the development of LUTS in these conditions and the independence of the final effect from the basic diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The use of the perineal ExMI method in children with neurogenic UI increases the effectiveness of rehabilitation and is a promising and safe direction of rehabilitation treatment.

[Prognostic Value of Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients With Decompensated Chronic Heart Failure].

Aim      To determine the incidence rate and the practical significance of right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) in the development of cardiovascular complications in patients with decompensated chronic heart failure (DCHF).Material and methods  This prospective, single-site observational study included 171 patients older than 18 years with NYHA functional class (FC) II-IV chronic heart failure (CHF) who were hospitalized for DCHF. Standard and extended 2D and 3D echocardiography (EchoCG) was performed for all patients on admission. Additionally, functional characteristics of the right ventricle (RV) were evaluated in the 3D mode followed by autonomic 3D processing with a EchoPac station (USA). RVD was taken as a disorder of two or more RV functional parameters according to results of 2D EchoCG, or a reduced RV free wall strain according to results of 2D speckle-tracking EchoCG, or a reduced RV ejection fraction (EF) according to results of 3D EchoCG. Statistical analysis was performed with a SPSS Statistics v. 26.0 software.Results The incidence rate of RVD in general population of patients with DCHF was 75.4 % (n=129). A higher prevalence of RVD was observed in patients with CHF with a low left ventricular (LV) EF (90.1 %). Patients with RVD had a more severe clinical status (significantly higher FC and higher Clinical Condition Scale (CCS) scores), more frequent atrial fibrillation (AF), and higher concentrations of uric acid and total bilirubin. RVD significantly correlated with male sex (odds ratio (OR), 2.05; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.01-4.19; р=0.046) and AF (OR, 3.52; 95 % CI, 1.71-7.26; р<0.001). Patients with RVD had lower values of both LV and RV function. Lower LV EF and AF increased the probability of RVD by 1.06 times (95 % CI, 0.90-0.98; р=0.001) and by 2.63 times (95 % CI, 1.08-6.40; р=0.001), respectively. Evaluation of the predictive significance of RV parameters measured by 2D and 3D EchoCG showed only effects of RV EF (2D) and RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) (3D) on all-cause hospitalization. RVD as evaluated by accepted criteria did not influence adverse outcomes.Conclusion      The determined incidence, correlations, and the predictive value of RVD in patients with DCHF indicated the appropriateness of assessing the RV function to optimize the management of patients regardless of the CHF phenotype.

[Laparoscopic management of the prostatic utricle cyst in a 4-year-old child].

The article present the clinical observation of 4 year old boy with scrotal hypospadias. Previous surgery management had unsatisfactory results due to complications of the cyst of the prostatic utricle. Laparoscopic removal of the cyst of the prostatic utricle was performed. The next step was urethral plastic. The results of the operation were satisfactory. A brief review of the literature is provided.

Analysis of In Vivo Activity of the Bovine Cholesterol Hydroxylase/Lyase System Proteins Expressed in Escherichia coli.

The cholesterol hydroxylase/lyase (CHL) system, located in the mitochondria of the mammalian adrenal cortex cells, consists of cytochrome P450scc (CYP11A1), adrenodoxin (Adx), and adrenodoxin reductase (AdR) and performs the first stage of the steroidogenesis: AdR and Adx enable the electron transfer between NADPH and cytochrome P450scc, and P450scc catalyzes the conversion of cholesterol into pregnenolone. CHL system was reconstructed in Escherichia coli using the polycistronic plasmid pTrc99A/CHL. In E. coli cells, the recombinant proteins form the catalytically active system. CHL activity towards 22R-hydroxycholesterol was 4.0 ± 1.3 nmol pregnenolone/h per 1 mg homogenate protein. The alteration of the order of heterologous cDNAs in the expression cassette from AdR-Adx-P450scc to P450scc-Adx-AdR results in alteration of stoichiometric ratio P450scc/Adx/AdR from 1:1.45:4.2 to 1:1.67:0.98; the former ratio is more optimal for the functioning of the cytochrome P450scc. The application of modified cDNA of Adx (AdxS112W) does not increase the CHL activity; however, the introduction of the second copy of AdxS112W gene into the expression cassette increases both the expression level of АdxS112W and the CHL activity in comparison with P450scc/АdxS112W/AdR system. In vivo activity of the CHL system in bacteria is limited by the substrate uptake by bacterial cells: it varied in the range of 0.05-0.62 mg pregnenolone/l resting cell suspension per 1-day cultivation, depending on the type and concentration of permeabilizing agents in the medium. The obtained results contribute to the knowledge of CHL system functioning in living bacteria.

Enhancements in specimen preparation of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films.

When producing slices from Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) thin films for solar cells by use of a focused ion beam (FIB), agglomerates form on the Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) surfaces, which deteriorate substantially the imaging and analysis in scanning electron microscopy. Similar problems are also experienced when depth-profiling Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) thin films by means of glow-discharge or secondary ion mass spectrometry. The present work shows that the agglomerates are composed of (mainly) Cu, and that their formation may be impeded considerably by either cooling of the sample or by use of reactive gases during the ion-beam sputtering. The introduction of XeF(2) during FIB slicing resulted in excellent images, in which the microstructures of most layers in the Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) thin film stack are visible, including the microstructure of the 20 nm thin MoSe(2) layer. Acquisition of high-quality two-dimensional and also three-dimensional electron backscatter diffraction data was possible. The present work gives a basis for enhanced SEM imaging and analysis not only in the case of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) thin films but also when dealing with further material systems exhibiting similar formations of agglomerates.

Comprehensive comparison of various techniques for the analysis of elemental distributions in thin films.

The present work shows results on elemental distribution analyses in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films for solar cells performed by use of wavelength-dispersive and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) in a scanning electron microscope, EDX in a transmission electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron, angle-dependent soft X-ray emission, secondary ion-mass (SIMS), time-of-flight SIMS, sputtered neutral mass, glow-discharge optical emission and glow-discharge mass, Auger electron, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, by use of scanning Auger electron microscopy, Raman depth profiling, and Raman mapping, as well as by use of elastic recoil detection analysis, grazing-incidence X-ray and electron backscatter diffraction, and grazing-incidence X-ray fluorescence analysis. The Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin films used for the present comparison were produced during the same identical deposition run and exhibit thicknesses of about 2 µm. The analysis techniques were compared with respect to their spatial and depth resolutions, measuring speeds, availabilities, and detection limits.

[Immunity to poliomyelitis in adult population of Moscow region. Role of vaccine and wild polioviruses in its formation].

Assessment of immunity to poliomyelitis in adults from 8 towns of Moscow region was conducted. Low levels of population immunity against some serotypes of poliovirus in several towns have been found. At the same time, these levels were high and very high in other towns. Measurement of levels of strain-specific antibodies to vaccine and wild polioviruses demonstrated wide circulation of wild polioviruses during past decades which had significant influence on formation of immunity. Substantial number of non-immune adults represents favorable conditions for circulation of vaccine polioviruses after cessation of vaccination, which, in its turn, could result in reestablishment of their neurovirulent properties and subsequent reemergence of poliomyelitis.

[Collective poliomyelitis immunity in the adult population and its impact on eradication of this infection].

Collective poliomyelitis immunity was studied in 6339 donors from 19 towns and cities of Russia. Its stress substantially varied in different towns and cities. Studies of strain-specific antibodies to vaccine and wild viruses of poliomyelitis in donors from 4 towns established that the immune persons were more in the town where wild polioviruses had previously circulated than in those where the circulation of wild polioviruses had been limited and immunity resulted from vaccination. Circulation of vaccine viruses and reversion of their neurovirulent properties should be expected in the town where there are low collective poliomyelitis immunity rates. It is concluded that it is impossible to eradicate poliomyelitis as infection today; it is possible only to eliminate the disease if further vaccination of children is performed with live poliomyelitis vaccine.

[Strain-specific antibodies as an indicator of the circulation of wild poliomyelitis viruses and their role in the formation of collective immunity in the population]. / Shtammospetsificheskie antitela kak pokazatel' tsirkuliatsii dikikh virusov poliomielita v populiatsii i ikh roli v formirovanii kollektivnogo immuniteta u naseleniia.

Essential differences in the intensity of collective immunity to poliomyelitis in the donors of Moscow and Kaluga were established. To find out the nature of high characteristics of collective immunity to poliovirus, types 1 and 2, in the donors of Kaluga, strain-specific antibodies to wild and vaccine polioviruses were studied. In a considerable number of donors strain-specific antibodies to poliovirus, types 1 and 2, were detected. This made it possible to presume a sufficiently wide circulation of these viruses among the population of the city in the middle of the 20th century and, as a consequence, high level of collective immunity appeared. Strain-specific antibodies to poliovirus of type 3 were rarely detected. This made it possible to suggest that the circulation of viruses of this type among the population was limited. Immunity to viruses of this type was due only to immunization. For this reason the characteristics of collective immunity in the donors of Moscow and Kaluga coincided. The detection of strain-specific antibodies to poliomyelitis virus allowed to retrospectively form the opinion of the spread and time of the circulation of wild poliomyelitis viruses in the population.

[State of collective immunity to poliomyelitis in Moscow donors]. / Sostoianie kollektivnogo immuniteta k poliomielitu u donorov Moskvy.

Immunity induced by immunization with oral poliomyelitis vaccine has long been considered to last for life, similarly to immunity developing after infection with wild poliomyelitis virus. Vaccine virus cannot circulate among the immune population for a long time. The vaccination of children against poliomyelitis, carried out in the course of many years, has made it possible to suggest that a considerable number of immune persons were present among the adult population. The examination of 1,030 Moscow donors has revealed that antibodies to poliomyelitis virus of types 1, 2 and 3 were detected in 47.3%, 45.5% and 76.4% of the examinees respectively, the values of the average geometric titers being low. It is known that passages of poliomyelitis vaccine virus through nonimmune persons may result in emergence of revertant viruses with increased neurovirulence. The nonimmune adult population, especially the mothers of vaccinated and revaccinated children, may serve as favorable environment for the circulation of vaccine viruses and the appearance of revertant viruses.

[Construction of promoter-probe vectors on the basis of a modified beta-galactosidase gene of Escherichia coli]. / Konstruirovanie promotornprobnykh vektorov na osnove modifitsirovannogo gena beta-galaktozidazy.

Plasmid-based promoter-probe vectors pPV4 and pPV5 have been constructed which are useful for comparing the relative efficiencies of bacterial promoters. The vectors utilize the beta-galactosidase (lacZ) gene of E. coli as an indicator gene. The latter was modified using synthetic DNA fragments. The promotor-probe system contains the ampicillin resistance gene and the origin of replication of plasmid pBR322. The plasmids pPV4 and pPV5 carry clustered unique restriction sites usable for promoter insertions, and SD sequence. A synthetic DNA fragment corresponding to transcription terminator was inserted downstream the lacZ gene. Presence of the terminator made it possible to clone strong promoters controlling transcription of the lacZ gene. To prevent any undesired promotor effect, the plasmid pPV5 has also second synthetic terminator upstream from the polylinker sequence. Using this promoter-probe system, relative efficiencies of a series of synthetic promoters, including PL promoter of phage lambda and its mutant, gene X promotor of phage fd and several model statistic promoters, have been compared.

[Streptoverticillium griseoviridum n. sp., a producer of the candidin-amphotericin B group, antifungal heptaene nonaromatic antibiotic 0185]. / Streptoverticillium griseoviridum n. sp.--produtsent protivogribkovogo geptaenovogo nearomaticheskogo antibiotika 0185 gruppy kandidina-amfoteritsina B.

An actinomyceteous strain LIA-0185 producing a heptaenic non-aromatic antibiotic of the candidin type was isolated from a soil sample taken in the Georgian SSR under the programme of screening antifungal antibiotics. The taxonomic study of the strain showed that it belonged to the series of viridoflavum and had the following main taxonomic features: the sporophores in the whorls, straight, remote: the aerial mycelium from yellow to dark-olive-grey; the substrate mycelium olive; the soluble pigment absent; the melanine pigment was produced on the peptone medium; the culture formed H2S; assimilated glucose, mannose, inozide and to a lesser extent fructose; did not assimilate arabinose, xylose, sucrose, lactose, ramnose and raffinose. The strain inhibited the growth of yeast and fungi, grampositive bacteria and actinomycetes and produced a complex of non-aromatic heptaenic antibiotics. The actinomycete differed from the other whorl cultures. It was classified as a new species Sv. griseoviridum sp. nov. The antibiotic complex was a mixture of 2 components, i. e. I and II present approximately in equal amounts. Component II was analogous to candidin. Component I was a new original substance.

[Long-term observations of dynamics of collective immunity to poliomyelitis in vaccinated children]. / Dlitel'nye nabliudeniia za dinamikoi kollektivnogo immuniteta protiv poliomielita u privitykh detei.

Examinations of children in the Moscow region in 1972 revealed low values of the herd immunity to poliomyolitis. This was suggested to be due to improper organization of vaccination of children. The regional health authorities took special measures for better organization of vaccination. The examinations two years later, in 1974, showed nearly 90% of children between the ages of 1 and 6 years to have antibody to all three types of poliomyelitis virus. The geometric mean antibody titre increased. In children of 10--14 years the heard immunity values did not differ significantly from those found in 1972. It is concluded that proper vaccination gives sufficiently intensive immunity nearly in 90% of children. It was found that in children vaccinated 10--12 times the herd immunity persists without significant changes for 3 years after the last vaccine feeding; at 4 years, however, some values of the herd immunity, particularly to poliomyelitis virus type III, were significantly lower than the original values. It is suggested that it is likely to be expedient to revaccinate 4-grade schoolchildren and to reduce the total number of vaccine feedings during the first 4 years of life.