Analysis of the Antimicrobial Activity of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG).

We studied antimicrobial activity of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a green tea polyphenolic catechin, and its combined use with ceftazidime (CAZ) against bacterial strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae. EGCG exhibited no activity against strains of K. pneumoniae with a different sensitivity to CAZ. However, for a "sensitive" strain, a decrease in minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CAZ (from 0.064 to 0.023 mg/liter) was revealed when CAZ was co-administered with EGCG. For a "resistant" stain, MIC of CAZ remained high, but activation of EGCG at its high concentrations was observed. Indirect evidence of antimicrobial effect of EGCG co-administered with CAZ on Klebsiella was obtained.

[Enteral therapy in patients with blunt abdominal trauma]. / Enteral'naya terapiya u patsientov s zakrytoi travmoi zhivota (predvaritel'nye rezul'taty).

OBJECTIVE: To improve the outcomes in ICU patients with blunt abdominal trauma via enteral therapy by saline enteral solution. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective and prospective study included 24 patients (18 (75%) men and 6 (25%) women) with blunt abdominal trauma who underwent examination and treatment at the Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Care. Age of patients ranged from 38 to 81 years (mean 50.1±13.6). RESULTS: Enteral therapy was followed by normalization of serum lactate, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase after 3 days. There were significant differences in decrease of lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase and C-reactive protein. In the control group, these parameters decreased only by the 10th day. CONCLUSION: Inclusion of saline enteral solution into the complex therapy contributes to earlier recovery of gastrointestinal function and prevents compartment syndrome. These aspects reduced the number of patients with multiple organ failure.

[Presbyvestibulopathy in clinical practice.]

With increasing life expectancy, there is an increase in the number of patients with symptoms caused by aging of the vestibular system - presbyvestibulopathy. Presbyvestibulopathy is based on degenerative processes in various parts of the vestibular analyzer - from the semicircular canals and otolithic receptors to the conduction tracts and vestibular nuclei. When examining such patients, it is necessary to take into account the multiplicity of damage to sensory systems in the elderly (impaired balance, vision, cognitive functions). Recognizing presbyvestibulopathy as part of the multifaceted aging process will help to develop comprehensive approaches to the treatment of patients who are always at risk for deterioration of the condition. In this review, we discuss the association of presbyvestibulopathy with neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the correlation between presbyvestibulopathy and balance, visual, cognitive, and psychological disorders.

[Questionnaire of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology is a new tool for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction]. / Oprosnik NMITs koloproktologii imeni A.N. Ryzhikh ­ novyi instrument otsenki khronicheskoi tazovoi boli i narusheniya funktsii tazovykh organov.

The article presents the work of a multidisciplinary team of experts from various fields of medicine to optimize the «Questionnaire for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction (QCPPD) of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology¼ for use in clinical practice. The survey of respondents was conducted from June 28 to September 28, 2021. As a result of this survey, by repeatedly making edits and clarifications during communication with respondents, the final version was obtained, which allows assessing the patient's subjective sensations by the nature and localization of pelvic pain, sensitivity disorders and pelvic organ function. The main objective of this Questionnaire is to differentiate patients with neurogenic pain from a huge number of patients with chronic pelvic pain. This aspect will allow a more targeted approach to the diagnosis and pathogenetically justified treatment of patients, including after appropriate instrumental examinations. The work of a multidisciplinary team implies a higher degree of objectification and terminological accuracy of the Questionnaire under discussion. The presented version of the «Questionnaire for assessing chronic pelvic pain and pelvic organ dysfunction (QCPPD) of the Ryzhikh National Medical Research Centre for Coloproctology¼ will be primarily used in coloproctological patients with pelvic pain problems and anal incontinence and obstructive defecation. Further studies will be directed to the clinical evaluation of the results of the work carried out.

[Endoscopic transluminal drainage of infected pancreatic necrosis]. / Endoskopicheskoe translyuminal'noe drenirovanie ostrogo zhidkostnogo skopleniya pri infitsirovannom pankreonekroze.

OBJECTIVE: To report initial experience of endoscopic transluminal drainage of infected pancreatic necrosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: There were 8 patients with acute severe pancreatitis and large-focal pancreatic necrosis who underwent transluminal drainage of destruction zones for the period from December 2018 to October 2019. RESULTS: Transluminal drainage of pancreatogenic destruction zones in acute severe pancreatitis can be considered as the only surgical approach in 50% of cases that is comparable with literature data.

[Endovascular embolization of spinal intramedullary arteriovenous malformation at the cervical level: case report and literature review]. / Endovaskulyarnaya embolizatsiya spinal'noi intramedullyarnoi arteriovenoznoi mal'formatsii na sheinom urovne. Klinicheskii sluchai i obzor literatury.

We report a successful endovascular treatment of complex arteriovenous malformation of the spinal cord at the cervical level. The strategy, technical aspects and the main principles of embolization of arteriovenous malformation are considered in the article.

Experience of Using Tripeptide Leu-Ile-Lys for Experimental Therapy of Chronic 16-Week Oxalate Nephrolithiasis in Rats.

We studied the effect of tripeptide Leu-Ile-Lys on the course of chronic 16-week oxalate nephrolithiasis in rats modeled by administration of 1% ethylene glycol solution in drinking water for 16 weeks. The tripeptide Leu-Ile-Lys obtained by chemical synthesis (sample purity ≥98%) was administered intragastrically through a probe in a dose of 11.5 mg/kg in 1 ml saline. It was found that during tripeptide Leu-Ile-Lys significantly alleviated the course of experimental pathology, which was confirmed by characteristic biochemical and morphological indicators. We observed a decrease in the concentration of calcium ions by 4.4 times, weakening of oxidative stress in the renal tissue due to a decrease in the total prooxidant activity by 1.2 times, normalization of increased catalase activity, and reduction of superoxide dismutase activity by 2.4 times relative to disease control. Histological signs of nephrolithiasis were recorded in 9% cases (vs. 75% cases in disease control).

An Experimental Study of the Effect of Diindolylmethane on Alveolocyte and Hepatocyte Adhesion Strength in Mice.

We studied the effect of diindolylmethane in a dose of 600 mg/kg on the change in adhesion strength of alveolocytes and hepatocytes in CBA mice. Diindolylmethane was administered intragastrically to experimental animals for 10 days, controls intragastrically received an equivalent volume of saline. At the end of the therapeutic period, mice treated with diindolylmethane showed a significant increase in the adhesion strength of alveolocytes by 16% (p=0.003) and hepatocytes by 61% (p=0.0001) in comparison with the control group, which indicates the antipromotor activity of diindolylmethane.

[The research activities based at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Rostov State Medical University]. / Nauchnaia rabota LOR-kafedry Rostovskogo gosudarstvennogo meditsinskogo universiteta.

This article reports the results of the main fields of the scientific activities carried out by the research personnel of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the Rostov State Medical University. In addition the data on the history of the Department are presented beginning from the time of its foundation, together with the characteristic of its ongoing work and the main tendencies of its further development. The most important publications of the scientists of the Department are listed, the new research areas and prospects for the future studies and practical works along these lines are discussed.

Comparison of automated and visual DWI ASPECTS in acute ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To assess intra-and inter-rater agreement of the ASPECTS (Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score) based on diffusion-weighted MRI and to compare it with fully - automated methods (eASPECTS). METHODS: DWI-ASPECTS of scans of 96 patients with acute ischemic stroke was rated by 2 experts. Automated methods based on thresholding the affected volumes of a coregistered atlas, and a regression tree learning method were established. Intra-rater, inter-rater and human-rater vs. automated methods agreements were investigated based on the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland Altman plots. RESULTS: Intra-rater agreement was good for both raters (ICC of 0.91 and 0.93). Inter-rater agreement was worse (ICC = 0.86) indicating a slight bias between both raters. Agreement with automated methods ranged from 0.81 to 0.87. Root-mean-squared deviation was 0.89 and 0.69 for the human raters and ranged from 0.95 to 1.24 for the automated methods. CONCLUSIONS: Agreement values are on the same order or higher compared to a literature review of CT-based ASPECTS. Automated methods perform slightly worse than human expert ratings, but they still have enough power to determine the DWI-ASPECTS with good precision in a clinical setting.

Photophysical properties and in vitro photocytotoxicity of disodium salt 2.4-di(alpha-methoxyethyl)-deuteroporphyrin-IX (Dimegine).

Photophysical and in vitro photocytotoxicity studies were performed for the photosensitizer Dimegine, a disodium salt 2.4-di(alpha-methoxyethyl)-deuteroporphyrin-IX with very low systemic toxicity. The singlet oxygen and luminescence quantum yield were ΦΔ = 0,65 ± 0,06, and Φƒ=0,11 ± 0,01 respectively, and were independent of the excitation wavelength. The photobleaching coefficients for Dimegine dissolved in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), and DMEM medium at concentration 2 µM/l and in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at concentration 10 µM/l were 16·10-5, 9·10-5 and 2·10-5 respectively. In vitro cellular distribution and photocytotoxicity was studied in two human (U87 - primary glioblastoma and HT1376 - bladder cancer) and two rat cell lines (RG2 - glioma, and AY27 - bladder carcinoma). Fluorescence microscopy analysis shows primary Dimegine accumulation as small fluorescent inclusion bodies around the nuclei, suggesting an apoptotic over a necrotic cell death mechanism. The PDT efficacy was slightly higher for the rat cell lines over the human-derived cell lines, with LD50 values of 2,5 µM/l, 2.8 µM/l, 4.5 µM/l, 2.8 µM/l using 530 nm excitation wavelength for AY27, RG2, HT1376 and U87 respectively, and 1.8 µM/l, 2 µM/l, 5 µM/l, 2.4 µM/l using 625 nm excitation wavelength for AY27, RG2, HT1376 and U87 respectively. Comparison to literature data showed that Dimegine demonstrated improved phototherapeutic characteristics comparing to PpIX-mediated PDT.

[The influence of corticosteroids on the frequency of vestibular crises]. / Vliianie kortikosteroidov na chastotu vestibuliarnykh krizov.

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the dynamics of the hormonal status of the adrenal glands in the patients suffering from Menière's disease in its different clinical forms. We examined a total of 26 patients at the age from 29 to 47 years presenting with this condition. All the patients were divided into two groups depending on the character of the disease. Group 1 was comprised of 20 patients experiencing the crises from 2 to 6 times during a year. Group 2 was composed of six patients in whom the crises occurred with a frequency of 2-4 times per week within at least two weeks. The serum levels of cortisol and aldosterone were measured both during the crises and between them with the use of the proper immunoenzyme assays. The control group was formed of 20 practically healthy volunteers. It was shown that the blood cortisol level during a fit of dizziness in the patients of group 1 increased in comparison with that in the control subjects (798.7±71.2 nmol/l and 453.68±49.39 nmol/l respectively; p<0.05). The patients having recurrent crises (group 2) experienced a significant decrease in the blood cortisol levels down to 293.5±38.1 nmol/l during a crisis in comparison with the control subjects (453.68±49.39 nmol/l; p<0.05). During the inter-crisis periods , the blood cortisol level in the patients of the first group remained within normal bounds whereas in the patients of the second group its mean value was 18.7% lower (p>0.05). The serum aldosterone level in the patients of the first group was not significantly different from that in the second group both during crises and in the periods of remission. It is concluded that the results of the study provide the data for the pathogenetic substantiation of the possibility for the use of corticosteroids in the treatment of the patients suffering from frequent crisis of Menière's disease.

Morphological Evaluation of the Influence of the Peptide Complex from Tissue of Porcine Kidneys on the Experimental Urolithiasis.

We performed morphological analysis of the effect of the peptide complex from porcine kidneys on the course of experimental urolithiasis modeled in rats by treatment with 1% ethylene glycol solution (in drinking water) for 6 weeks. The peptide complex obtained by acetic acid extraction was administered in a dose of 15 mg. Administration of the peptide complex to animals with experimental kidney stone disease leads to 100% destruction of large and medium stones to the "dust" granularity.

[Combination treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations using endovascular and microsurgical techniques]. / Kombinirovannoe lechenie arteriovenoznykh mal'formatsii golovnogo mozga s ispol'zovaniem éndovaskuliarnogo i mikrokhirurgicheskogo metodov.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 40 patients with cerebral AVMs. In the study group, 14 (35%) patients underwent microsurgical resection without preliminary embolization (1st group), and 26 (65%) patients underwent combined treatment (endovascular embolization and microsurgical intervention, 2nd group). The first group included patients with S&M grade I-III AVMs, and the second group included patients with S&M grade II-V AVMs. Treatment outcomes were evaluated with allowance for completeness of AVM resection, operative blood loss, duration of surgery, changes in clinical and neurological impairments according to the modified Rankin scale, and rate of neurological and surgical complications. RESULTS: According to postoperative findings, AVMs were totally resected in all patients. Persistent focal neurological symptoms developed in 2 (7.7%) cases in the second group; neurological complications occurred in 1 (7.1%) patient in the first group. The mean blood loss during resection of AVMs without preliminary embolization and embolized AVMs in patients with S&M grade I-III AVMs was 271.4 mL and 149.1 mL, respectively. The duration of surgery and blood loss did not differ significantly in microsurgery and combination treatment groups. CONCLUSION: Combination treatment, including microsurgical intervention after endovascular embolization, is an effective treatment for AVMs, in particular for high grade (S&M grade III-V) AVMs. Teamwork and coordination among the surgeon, endovascular surgeon, and radiologist in treatment of AVMs is a prerequisite for a good outcome.

[Comparative estimation of antilithogenic activity of porcine kidney derived biomedical substance and sodium citrate in experimental urolithiasis].

AIM: to compare the anti-lithogenic activity of biomedical substance derived from freeze-dried porcine kidney and sodium citrate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experiments were conducted on Wistar rats divided into three groups of 15 animals each: control group (disease control), comparison group (sodium citrate treatment) and experimental group (treatment with biomedical substance from porcine kidneys). Experimental urolithiasis was modeled using the ethylene glycol model. On every 7th day of the 6 week experiment testing was done calcium and oxalate urine concentration and the activity of marker enzymes of renal epithelial damage: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), -glutamyl transferase (GGT), and N-acetyl--D-glucosaminidase (NAG). At the end of the experiment, a part of the rats were decapitated and the renal tissue was tested for the oxidant status indicators of (renal thiobarbiturate reactive product content, TBRP, and total prooxidant activity, TPA) and antioxidant enzyme activities: glutathione peroxidase (GPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). To measure the number and size of calcium deposits formed in the renal papillary area, the Koss histochemical method was used. RESULTS: The experimental findings showed developing oxalate nephrolithiasis in the control group, as indicated by urinary supersaturation of oxalate ion, increased activity of marker enzymes, oxidative stress and the formation of numerous calcium deposits in the renal papillary area. In the comparison group, the 3-week use of sodium citrate contributed to a significant decrease in nephrolithiasis: a 3 to 4-fold decrease in the activity of marker enzymes in the urine, a 3.8-fold increase in the concentration of TBRP, normalization of GPO activity; the number and size of urinary calcium deposits decreased by 3.4 and 1.9 times, respectively. In the experimental group, using biomedical substance led to an even greater therapeutic effect. LDH activity and concentration of TPRP showed 1.9 times and by 26.2% greater decrease than in the comparison group, respectively, SOD and CAT activity almost doubled, there were 3.6 times fewer calcium deposits in the field of view and their mean size was 1.7 times smaller than in the comparison group. CONCLUSION: The study findings showed that the porcine kidney derived biomedical substance provide significantly greater antilithogenic effect than sodium citrate.

[Surgical treatment of «Mirror¼ aneurysms of the internal carotid artery]. / Khirurgicheskoe lechenie «zerkal'nykh¼ anevrizm vnutrennei sonnoi arterii.

BACKGROUND: A relatively high occurrence of "mirror" aneurysms of the anterior cerebral circulation in neurosurgical practice necessitates generalization of experience of using different surgical approaches. The choice of treatment is usually associated with the number of surgical stages. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty nine patients (19 males and 30 females) with mirror aneurysms of the anterior circulation underwent one- and two-step surgery at the Novosibirsk Federal Center of Neurosurgery in 2013-2015. The total number of bilateral aneurysms was 51 couples (102 aneurysms). The patients' age ranged from 19 to 66 years (mean age, 47.1±11.6 years). Most of the patients (47) underwent elective surgery; 2 patients were operated on in acute subarachnoid hemorrhage. RESULTS: Sixty nine microsurgical operations and 19 endovasal interventions were performed during the main step. Microsurgery alone was used in 34 cases; endovascular surgery alone was performed in 6 cases; a combination of the techniques was used in 9 cases. Ten patients underwent one-step surgery, and 39 patients underwent two-step surgery. The radicalness of surgery amounted to 94.1% for the microsurgical technique and 83.3% for the endovasal technique. The excellent and good functional outcome (modified Rankin scale, 0-2) was achieved in 46 (93.9%) patients, and the poor outcome (mRs, 3-5) was observed in 3 (6.1%) patients. CONCLUSION: Generalization of the results indicates that one-stage surgery is more preferable in the treatment of mirror cerebral aneurysms. However, the two-stage approach remains important and, in the case of certain anatomical peculiarities, is the only possible treatment. A combination of microsurgical and endovascular techniques improves clinical outcomes in treatment of mirror aneurysms of the anterior part of the cerebral arterial circle.

Do twisted laser beams evoke nuclear hyperpolarization?

The hyperpolarization of nuclear spins promises great advances in chemical analysis and medical diagnosis by substantially increasing the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Current methods to produce a hyperpolarized sample, however, are arduous, time-consuming or costly and require elaborate equipment. Recently, a much simpler approach was introduced that holds the potential, if harnessed appropriately, to revolutionize the production of hyperpolarized spins. It was reported that high levels of hyperpolarization in nuclear spins can be created by irradiation with a laser beam carrying orbital angular momentum (twisted light). Aside from these initial reports however, no further experimental verification has been presented. In addition, this effect has so far evaded a critical theoretical examination. In this contribution, we present the first independent attempt to reproduce the effect. We exposed a sample of immersion oil or a fluorocarbon liquid that was placed within a low-field NMR spectrometer to Laguerre-Gaussian and Bessel laser beams at a wavelength of 514.5nm and various topological charges. We acquired (1)H and (19)F NMR free induction decay data, either during or alternating with the irradiation that was parallel to B0. We observed an irregular increase in NMR signal in experiments where the sample was exposed to beams with higher values of the topological charge. However, at no time did the effect reach statistical significance of 95%. Given the measured sensitivity of our setup, we estimate that a possible effect did not exceed a hyperpolarization (at 5mT) of 0.14-6%, depending on the assumed hyperpolarized volume. It should be noted though, that there were some differences between our setup and the previous implementation of the experiment, which may have inhibited the full incidence of this effect. To approach a theoretical description of this effect, we considered the interaction of an electron with a plane wave, which is known to be able to induce electronic (e.g. in rubidium) and subsequent nuclear hyperpolarization. Compared to the plane wave, the additional transitions caused by a twisted wave are of the order of 10(-3) less. This suggests that the twist of the laser is unlikely to be responsible for the hyperpolarization of nuclear spins, unless a new mechanism of momentum transfer is identified.

[Revisiting eponyms of arteries of the brain]. / Ob eponimakh arterii golovnogo mozga.

This article describes the eponymous terms in anatomical nomenclature of the cerebral arteries. There are historical references revealing the etymology of described eponyms, including information about the professional and personal life of doctors and scientists who had first discovered or described particular structure of the cerebral arterial network. Chronology of the discovery of the cerebral arterial circle is described in details. It is shown that some eponymous terms contain the names of several doctors who studied a particular medical issue simultaneously, which is a reflection of the stages of the medical science development and the evidence of the continuity of scientific knowledge.

ARTERIAL EPONYMS IN GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT.

Eponym--name of the disease, certain structure or method after the person who usually first discovered and described them. Eponyms are widely spread in medicine which appeared to be in the area of a great interest for a lot of scientists. They can serve as a reflection of the evolution of the medical knowledge and making up the majority of anatomical terms. The article describes 12 arterial eponyms of the gastrointestinal tract giving a full anatomical description. It also gives an explanation of why and how those structures were named after certain scientists and what contribution they've made into the development of medicine.

MesoFT: unifying diffusion modelling and fiber tracking.

One overarching challenge of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is to quantify tissue structure at the cellular scale of micrometers, based on an MRI acquisition with a millimeter resolution. Diffusion MRI (dMRI) provides the strongest sensitivity to the cellular structure. However, interpreting dMRI measurements has remained a highly ill-posed inverse problem. Here we propose a framework that resolves the above challenge for human white matter fibers, by unifying intra-voxel mesoscopic modeling with global fiber tractography. Our algorithm is based on a Simulated Annealing approach which simultaneously optimizes diffusion parameters and fiber locations. Each fiber carries its by their individual set of diffusion parameters which allows to link them structural relationships.