[Association between emotional disorders and ophthalmopathology in residents of the Arkhangelsk region at the age of 60-74 years.]

A study was conducted to investigate the associations of the diseases of the organ of vision and its accessory apparatus with anxiety and depression in the elderly people. The study included 678 participants of the ESSE-RF3 population study in the Arkhangelsk region in the age of 60-74 years. We used a questionnaire, including the hospital scale of anxiety and depression score (HADS), and the assessment of the ophthalmological status. It was found that all the study participants had diseases of the visual organ. Elevated depression scores were associated with sex, age, marital status (being single), and disability, elevated anxiety scores - with sex. The scores on the anxiety scale were on average 25% higher in participants whose visual acuity decreased to 0,5 units, and showed no independent associations with diagnosed ophthalmological diseases. The scores on the depression scale were on average 33% higher in participants with visual acuity 0,5 units, and 22% higher in the presence of retinopathy. In conclusion, anxiety and depression in the elderly people were more associated with visual deficits rather than with the presence of ophthalmological diseases underlying a decrease in functional status.

Powdery mildew resistance of apple clonal rootstocks from the collection of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University.

Apple clonal rootstocks are the basis of modern intensive horticulture, providing a rapid increase in yield and convenience of fruit trees cultivation. Production of clonal rootstocks under high humidity often causes powdery mildew infection caused by the pathogenic fungus Podosphaera leucotricha Salm., which significantly reduces the productivity of stoolbed. Growing powdery mildew resistant genotypes is the most appropriate way to combat this disease and allows reducing the use of fungicides. To accelerate the search for resistant forms, molecular markers associated with resistance genes have been developed. However, these markers have not been used to study clonal rootstocks. The aims of the work were the field assessment of powdery mildew resistance of apple clonal rootstocks from the collection of the Michurinsk State Agrarian University and the screening of the collection for Pl-1, Pl-2, Pl-w and Pl-d resistance genes. The results of a three-year field evaluation of powdery mildew resistance of 80 rootstocks allowed us to distinguish five main groups ranging from very low to highly resistant. A group of 57 accessions was classified as powdery mildew resistant. The search for resistance genes was performed using the AT20 SCAR (Pl-1 gene), OPU02 SCAR (Pl- 2 gene), EM DM01 (Pl-d gene), and EM M02 (Pl-w gene) markers. The Pl-d and Pl-1 genes identified in 33 (41.25 %) and 31 (38.75 %) accessions, respectively, were the most common in the collection. The Pl-w gene was detected only in two accessions. Identification of the Pl-2 gene with the OPU02 SCAR marker did not reveal a fragment of the expected size. Thirty accessions with different powdery mildew resistance scores had two genes, Pl-1 and Pl-d, and highly resistant forms G16 and 14-1 had a combination of the Pl-d and Pl-w genes. These accessions can be used as donors of powdery mildew resistance for breeding new apple clonal rootstocks.

Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors and cardiac remodeling.

The aim of this study was to determine how sacubitril/valsartan compared with valsartan in an outpatient setting affects left ventricular remodeling in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and functional (or secondary) mitral regurgitation (SMR) due to the effect of dual inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system and neprilysin. The outpatient study included 90 patients with chronic SMR who were followed up for 12 months. They received sacubitril/valsartan or valsartan instead of the more commonly used angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril for heart failure, in addition to standard medical therapy for heart failure. The difference in NT-proBNP change between groups was the primary endpoint. Changes in effective regurgitation orifice area, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indices, left atrial volume index, E/e' index, and exercise tolerance on the 6-minute walk test were secondary endpoints. In the treatment efficacy analysis, NT-proBNP levels decreased significantly by 37% in the sacubitril/valsartan group and by 11% in the valsartan group (P<0.001). Ejection fraction and exercise tolerance (increase in walking distance in the 6-min test) increased in the sacubitril/valsartan group (P<0.05). Also, in this group, the effective area of the regurgitation orifice, the left atrial volume index, the E/e' index, and the indices of the end-systolic and end-diastolic volume of the left ventricle (P<0.05) decreased more pronouncedly. Compared with valsartan, treatment with sacubitril/valsartan led to a significant improvement in cardiac remodeling in patients with SMR and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors and cardiac remodeling

The aim of this study was to determine how sacubitril/valsartan compared with valsartan in an outpatient setting affects left ventricular remodeling in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and functional (or secondary) mitral regurgitation (SMR) due to the effect of dual inhibition of the renin-angiotensin system and neprilysin. The outpatient study included 90 patients with chronic SMR who were followed up for 12 months. They received sacubitril/valsartan or valsartan instead of the more commonly used angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril for heart failure, in addition to standard medical therapy for heart failure. The difference in NT-proBNP change between groups was the primary endpoint. Changes in effective regurgitation orifice area, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic volume indices, left atrial volume index, E/e' index, and exercise tolerance on the 6-minute walk test were secondary endpoints. In the treatment efficacy analysis, NT-proBNP levels decreased significantly by 37% in the sacubitril/valsartan group and by 11% in the valsartan group (P<0.001). Ejection fraction and exercise tolerance (increase in walking distance in the 6-min test) increased in the sacubitril/valsartan group (P<0.05). Also, in this group, the effective area of the regurgitation orifice, the left atrial volume index, the E/e' index, and the indices of the end-systolic and end-diastolic volume of the left ventricle (P<0.05) decreased more pronouncedly. Compared with valsartan, treatment with sacubitril/valsartan led to a significant improvement in cardiac remodeling in patients with SMR and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

Safe Use of Genetic Technologies.

The prospects and problems of the development of modern genetic technologies are analyzed, and pressing issues of updating the regulatory framework for the safe use of their products are posed in this article, which is based on the materials of reports at the RAS Presidium meeting on December 7, 2021. At the end of 2018, by Presidential Decree no. 680 On the Development of Genetic Technologies in the Russian Federation, this R&D area was declared a priority. According to the authors, to expand genetic technologies in Russia, it is necessary to change the concept of their legal regulation and to bring the legislative norms in line with the current level of the development of science in this area, including the adjustment of the genetic engineering nomenclature.

Free-carrier generation dynamics induced by ultrashort intense terahertz pulses in silicon.

We report the results of experimental studies and numerical simulation of the dynamics of the electron-hole pairs formation in silicon under the action of a two-period terahertz pulse with a maximum electric field strength of up to 23 MV/cm. It is shown that an inhomogeneous distribution of the charge carrier concentration over the depth of the silicon sample is formed, which persists for several microseconds. This inhomogeneity is formed due to a sharp increase in the rate of filling the conduction band with free carriers in the subsurface input layer of the silicon wafer, which occurs at a field strength above 15 MV/cm.

[C-reactive protein and its associations with сardiometabolic risk factors and echocardiographic indicators of heart failure: results of "Know your heart" study in Arkhangelsk].

Aim To evaluate the relationship between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and echocardiographic (EchoCG) indicators of heart failure (HF) among adult population of the North region of Russia.Material and methods The Know Your Heart transversal study was performed in 2015-2017 on a random sample of adult population of Arkhangelsk aged 35-69 years (n=2381). The exclusion criterion for this study was a concentration of hsCRP >10 mg/l. The group of subclinical inflammation included 686 participants with hsCRP ≥2.0 mg/l; the comparison group consisted of 1158 participants with hsCRP <2.0 mg/l. Analysis included cardiometabolic risk factors, EchoCG indexes of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function and biomarkers (NT-proBNP, hsTroponin Т, cystatin С). Linear and logistic regressions were used.Results The group with hsCRP ≥2.0 mg/l had higher rates of arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, HF, and myocardial infarction in history than the comparison group. The hsCRP level was independently associated with waist circumference (ß=0.379, p <0.001), male gender (ß=-0.135, p<0.001), smoking (ß=0.109, p<0.001), triglycerides (ß=0.083, p<0.001), diastolic blood pressure (ß=0.082, p<0.001), cystatin C (ß=0.082, p<0.001), glycated hemoglobin (ß=0.064, p=0.003), and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) (ß=0.049, p=0.025). Independent predictors of subclinical inflammation included older age, smoking, abdominal obesity, elevated values of LDL (>3.0 mmol/l), triglycerides (>1.7 mmol/l), and cystatin C (>1.2 mg/l). hsCRP was independently negatively associated with LV ejection fraction, left atrial volume index, ratio of early to late LV diastolic filling velocity (p=0.003, p=0.002, p=0.005, respectively), which reflected the relationship of the increased content of hsCRP with impairment of LV systolic and diastolic function. A relationship between heart remodeling indexes and hsCRP concentration was shown.Conclusion In a sample of adult population from the North region of Russia, the hsCRP concentration was independently associated with cardiometabolic risk factors and structural and functional changes in the heart detected by EchoCG, which reflects a potential contribution of inflammation to heart remodeling and development of HF.

Formation of inverse electron distribution function and absolute negative conductivity in nonlocal plasma of a dc glow discharge.

The inversion of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) at low energies and the absolute negative electron conductivity are predicted and confirmed by numerical modeling of a direct current glow discharge in argon. It is shown that, in contrast to the local approximation used earlier for searching the inverse EEDF, in a real gas-discharge plasma, the formation of the EEDF is significantly affected by the terms with spatial gradients in the Boltzmann kinetic equation. In analogy with the inverse population of excited states in lasers, such a medium will amplify electromagnetic waves.

[Changes in proinflammatory cytokines in patients with chronic periodontitis and metabolic syndrome, depending on gender and age]. / Izmenenie provospalitel'nykh tsitokinov u patsientov s khronicheskim parodontitom na fone metabolicheskogo sindroma v zavisimosti ot pola i vozrasta.

In a study of 537 patients with chronic generalized periodontitis and metabolic syndrome (MS) depending on age and gender, it was found that the increase of TNF-α and IL-6 in the content of periodontal pockets correlated with the severity of chronic generalized periodontitis and MS. For these cytokines, there was a clear gender relationship: women had higher levels in periodontal pocket content than men. For IL-1ß and IL-4 cytokines, there is no coupling between the severity of the damage and the level of cytokines in the periodontal pocket. The developed model for calculating the risk of chronic generalized periodontitis depending on the level of TNF-α in the patient's periodontal pockets allows predicting and monitoring the dynamics of the disease.

[Diagnostic value of molecular biomarkers of infection in screening by Sepsis-3 criteria]. / Diagnosticheskoe znachenie molekuliarnykh biomarkerov infektsionnogo protsessa pri skrininge po kriteriiam Sepsis-3.

AIM: To compare diagnostic value of molecular biomarkers of sepsis in patients with surgical infection in screening via Sepsis-2 (Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2012, SSC 2012) and Sepsis-3 (The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock) criteria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Septic patients according to Sepsis-2 and Sepsis-3 criteria were identified from general population with surgical infection. Logistic regression models quality was the criterion for assessment of diagnostic value of molecular biomarkers. Risk factors importance was estimated via odds ratios (OR) calculation. RESULTS: Sepsis-3 ROC-AUC for procalcitonin increased up to 0.933, cut-off value 2.35 ng/ml (Sepsis-2 AUC 0.768 (p=0.004), cut-off 1.72 ng/ml). Sepsis-3 ROC-AUC for presepsin increased up to 0.932, cut-off value - 772 pg/ml (Sepsis-2 AUC 0.865, cut-off 567 pg/ml). The highest risk of sepsis was observed in systemic response to inflammation combined with organ dysfunction (OR 69.667, S 0.636; 95% CI 20.03-242.4) (Sepsis-2 - OR 9.25, S 0.548; 95% CI 3.2-27.1, p<0.001). Increased levels of both biomarkers significantly increased the risk of sepsis (OR 22.5, S 0.794; 95% CI 4.74-106.6 and OR 20.97, S 0.58; 95% CI 6.705-65.6, respectively). CONCLUSION: Organ dysfunction assessment by Sepsis-3 criteria improves diagnostic possibilities in patients with suspected sepsis. Maximum predictive value is observed for systemic inflammation response combined with organ dysfunction. In these patients procalcitonin and presepsin are characterized by equivalent high diagnostic potential for evidence of infectious nature of the disease. Increased level of these markers can serve as a basis for antimicrobial therapy administration.

Publisher Correction: Ambipolar field role in formation of electron distribution function in gas discharge plasma.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML version of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Ambipolar field role in formation of electron distribution function in gas discharge plasma.

It is shown that the local approximation for electron distribution function (EDF) determination at plasma periphery, where the ambipolar field is dominant, is not applicable even at high pressures when the characteristic plasma size exceeds the energy relaxation length of the electrons R > λ ε . Therefore, consistent results can be obtained only when solving the complete kinetic equation in both energy and spatial variables (i.e. it is necessary to solve nonlocal kinetic equation).

Cytotoxicity control of silicon nanoparticles by biopolymer coating and ultrasound irradiation for cancer theranostic applications.

Silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) prepared by mechanical grinding of luminescent porous silicon were coated with a biopolymer (dextran) and investigated as a potential theranostic agent for bioimaging and sonodynamic therapy. Transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence and Raman scattering measurements of dextran-coated SiNPs gave evidence of their enhanced stability in water. In vitro experiments confirmed the lower cytotoxicity of the dextran-coated NPs in comparison with uncoated ones, especially for high concentrations of about 2 mg ml-1. Efficient uptake of the NPs by cancer cells was found using bioimaging in the optical transmittance and photoluminescence modes. Treatment of the cells with uptaken SiNPs by therapeutic ultrasound for 5-20 min resulted in a strong decrease in the number of living cells, while the total number of cells remained nearly unchanged. The obtained data indicate a 'mild' effect of the combined action of ultrasonic irradiation and SiNPs on cancer cells. The observed results reveal new opportunities for controlling the photoluminescent and sonosensitizing properties of silicon-based NPs for applications in the diagnostics and mild therapy of cancer.

[Analysis of microsatellite loci variability in rare and endemic species Allium regelianum A.K. Becker ex Iljin].

SSR analysis of rare and endemic species Allium regelianum, which grows in the south of Russia, was performed for the first time. Variability analysis of 88 accessions of A. regelianum was carried out using four highly polymorphic microsatellite loci (PIC value ranged from 0.55 to 0.72). SSR-analysis made it possible to revealed polymorphism within and among the populations of A. regelianum from Volgograd region. Analysis of Wright's F-statistics and the analysis of molecular variance showed that more than 90% of total genetic variation of the species was attributed to the differences within the populations and less than 10% of the differences were found among the populations. Cluster analysis of 46 accessions of A. regelianum from three populations of Volgograd region and principal coordinate analysis of all accessions did not reveal differentiation among the populations.

Silicon Nanoparticles as Amplifiers of the Ultrasonic Effect in Sonodynamic Therapy.

The possibility of using mesoporous silicon nanoparticles as amplifiers (sensitizers) of therapeutic ultrasonic exposure were studied experimentally in vitro and in vivo. The combination of nanoparticles and ultrasound led to a significant inhibition of Hep-2 cancer cell proliferation and Lewis lung carcinoma growth in mice. These results indicated good prospects of using silicon nanoparticles as sensitizers for sonodynamic therapy of tumors.

Laser-synthesized oxide-passivated bright Si quantum dots for bioimaging.

Crystalline silicon (Si) nanoparticles present an extremely promising object for bioimaging based on photoluminescence (PL) in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions, but their efficient PL emission in aqueous suspension is typically observed after wet chemistry procedures leading to residual toxicity issues. Here, we introduce ultrapure laser-synthesized Si-based quantum dots (QDs), which are water-dispersible and exhibit bright exciton PL in the window of relative tissue transparency near 800 nm. Based on the laser ablation of crystalline Si targets in gaseous helium, followed by ultrasound-assisted dispersion of the deposited films in physiological saline, the proposed method avoids any toxic by-products during the synthesis. We demonstrate efficient contrast of the Si QDs in living cells by following the exciton PL. We also show that the prepared QDs do not provoke any cytoxicity effects while penetrating into the cells and efficiently accumulating near the cell membrane and in the cytoplasm. Combined with the possibility of enabling parallel therapeutic channels, ultrapure laser-synthesized Si nanostructures present unique object for cancer theranostic applications.

Ni(2+)-zeolite/ferrosphere and Ni(2+)-silica/ferrosphere beads for magnetic affinity separation of histidine-tagged proteins.

Magnetic Ni(2+)-zeolite/ferrosphere and Ni(2+)-silica/ferrosphere beads (Ni-ferrosphere beads - NFB) of a core-shell structure were synthesized starting from coal fly ash ferrospheres having diameters in the range of 0.063-0.050 mm. The strategy of NFB fabrication is an oriented chemical modification of the outer surface preserving the magnetic core of parent beads with the formation of micro-mesoporous coverings. Two routes of ferrosphere modification were realized, such as (i) hydrothermal treatment in an alkaline medium resulting in a NaP zeolite layer and (ii) synthesis of micro-mesoporous silica on the glass surface using conventional methods. Immobilization of Ni(2+) ions in the siliceous porous shell of the magnetic beads was carried out via (i) the ion exchange of Na(+) for Ni(2+) in the zeolite layer or (ii) deposition of NiO clusters in the zeolite and silica pores. The final NFB were tested for affinity in magnetic separation of the histidine-tagged green fluorescent protein (GFP) directly from a cell lysate. Results pointed to the high affinity of the magnetic beads towards the protein in the presence of 10 mM EDTA. The sorption capacity of the ferrosphere-based Ni-beads with respect to GFP was in the range 1.5-5.7 mg cm(-3).

TRA.NSTHORACIC PUNCTURE BIOPSY IN DIAGNOSTICS OF FOCAL LESIONS OF THE LUNG.

The transthoracic puncture biopsy was performed under surveillance of X-ray computed tomography in order to verify diagnoses in 80 patients with lung tumors. This procedure allowed verification of diagnosis and choice of treatment strategy in 95% of cases. The complications obtained as result of intervention didn't bring severe character and were arrested in term of two days.

[Robot-assisted cystprostatectomy for urinary bladder cancer (the first experience)].

The article reports a case of a robot-assisted cystprostatectomy in a 36 y.o. patient with a malignant bladder neoplasm (highly differentiated infiltrative urothelial bladder cancer, Gr 2, invading the bladder wall mucosa, the multicentric growth type, with the focal tumor growth in the urethral mucosa and prostate). The ileal neobladder was constructed using intracorporeal access. Operating time was 6 hours, intraoperative blood loss was 150 ml. There was no intra - or postoperative complications. Voiding function was restored at day 10 postoperatively.

[Analysis of the ITS1/ITS2 nuclear spacers and the secondary structure of 5.8S rRNA gene in endemic species Bellevalia sarmatica (Pall. ex Georgi) Woronow and related species of the subfamily scilloideae].

Sequence variability of the ITS spacers and 5.8S rRNA gene was examined in 11 accessions of the subfamily Scilloideae, including seven accessions of rare and endangered species Bellevalia sarmatica from Volgograd region. The intraspecific polymorphism level of the examined ITS1­5.8S­ITS2 sequence of B. sarmatica accessions constituted 1.3%. The phylogenetic position of B. sarmatica within the genus Bellevalia was determined. It was demonstrated that B. sarmatica belonged to the section Nutantes, and the most closely related species were B. webbiana and B. dubia. Nucleotide substitutions in the 5.8S rRNA gene sequence of the analyzed Scilloideae accessions were identified and studied. The predicted secondary structure of 5.8S rRNA gene was constructed. It was demonstrated that in the examined accessions, mutations in the 5.8S rRNA gene were mainly localized in the third hairpin region and had no effect on the secondary structure of the 5.8S rRNA molecule.