Population Dynamics in Russia in the Context of Global Trends.

The article examines the current demographic trends in Russia as compared to population changes in the world and its major regions based on data from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), Eurostat, and the UN Population Division. It is shown that in terms of a number of characteristics of population reproduction-low fertility, ageing population structure, natural population decline-Russia is quite similar to the developed countries group. However, Russia is behind many countries in reducing the mortality rate of the middle-aged and older population, especially in men, and, correspondingly, in life expectancy for all age groups, which results in a noticeable increase in natural population decline and in deformation of the sex structure of the population. The specifics of the age structure of the Russian population that have been formed by a number of demographic waves are such that changes in the number of births and in age group sizes come in waves; this trend will continue in the coming decades. The article also analyzes excess mortality in Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison with similar data for the European Union (EU-27) and compares healthy life expectancy estimates for Russia, the entire world, individual countries, and different groups of countries by income.

[Using L- and acetyl-L-carnintines in combination with clomiphene citrate and antioxidant complex for treating idiopathic male infertility: a prospective randomized trial].

The most common cause of male infertility is idiopathic oligo-, and or astheno-, and /or teratozoospermia. In such cases, anti-estrogens, antioxidants (vitamins and trace elements) or carnitines are used, but the evidence on their effectiveness is inconsistent; there are currently no published studies exploring their concurrent use. AIM: To investigate the efficacy and safety of the L- and acetyl-L-carnitine complex, vitamins A, E, C, selenium, zinc and other antioxidants ("SpermActin" + "More than vitamins") in combination with clomiphene citrate (CC) in managing male idiopathic infertility in the form of oligo, and/or astheno-, and/or teratozoospermia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised 173 men from infertile couples aged 25-45 years who were divided into two groups - the study group (n=88) and control group (n=85). All the patients were examined according to the WHO recommendations. Patients of the study group received L-carnitine fumarate (1 g), acetyl-L-carnitine (0.5 g) twice daily, a complex of vitamins and microelements and CC 25 mg twice daily orally. Patients of the control group were administered the same dosages of CC and a complex of vitamins. Ejaculate was evaluated before and after 3-4 months of treatment. Six months after the start of treatment, information about the onset or absence of pregnancy over the last six months was collected via telephone or online survey. RESULTS: Co-administration of L- and acetyl-L-carnitines concurrently with CC and antioxidant complex (vitamins and minerals) in patients with idiopathic oligo- and/or asteno- and/or teratozoospermia provides some additional positive effect on the concentration of spermatozoa, more pronounced in patients with multiple impaired semen parameters - oligoasthenoteratozoospermia, but does not improve the morphology, progressive sperm motility and pregnancy rates compared to patients receiving basic treatment.

[Personality identification based on the outcomes of mass casualty events].

This study concerns the problem of personality identification based on the outcomes of mass casualty events. New organizational measures are proposed to optimize the work with cadaveric materials. Specifically, they envisage creation of four major working groups and organization of their cooperation along the following lines: collection and delivery of postmortem information, systematization of antemortal information, and functioning of the identification centre. DNA-technologies and computer-assisted data processing are shown to find the increasingly wider application for personality identification.

[The value of monitoring of qualitative content of onco-antigens in serum in diagnostics of malignant tumors].

The results of monitoring of qualitative content of 8 onco-antigens (CK, CA-242, CA-19-9, CA-125, REA, AFP, SCC, NSE) in serum of 414 patients are presented. The examination of 62 patients with tumors of different localization was carried our in dynamics before and after treatment. The monitoring of concentration of onco-antigens in serum permitted to apply early diagnostics of malignant process to 9 out of 28 patients with unclear clinical symptomatic. The technique informativeness is demonstrated in pre-clinical diagnostic and prognosis of course of oncological diseases. The possibility of transitory increase of concentration of certain onco-antigens under non-oncologic diseases returning to normal values after application of corresponding pharmaceutical treatment is revealed. The broader implementation of this technique into practice of public health is recommended.

[Kidney transplantation in recipients with renal carcinoma].

Transplantation of the kidney in patients with renal carcinoma is disputable. The article presents the results of kidney transplantation in different cancer lesions of the patient's kidneys. Seven case histories of patients with primary renal tumors are retrospectively analysed. A clinical case of development of the tumor of own kidney in a patient after transplantation is reported. A time factor of kidney transplantation after tumor removal in a recipient is discussed.

[Computer morphometry of lymphocytes in the diagnosis of chronic transplant nephropathy].

AIM: to assess the role of immunological mechanisms in the development and progression of chronic transplant nephropathy (CTN) and the prognostic value of rapid computer morphometry of lymphocytes in predicting the risk of renal allograft rejection. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty-seven renal graft recipients (29 males and 8 females; mean age 35.9 +/- 2.2 years; mean time after renal allografting 19.9 +/- 2.7 months). Twenty-three patients had satisfactory renal graft function; 14 patients were diagnosed as having CTN. A control group included 30 apparently healthy individuals. Along with physical examination, vital computer phase morphometry (CPM) of peripheral blood immunocompetent cells was carried out in all the patients. RESULTS: Small and average cells were predominant in the T and B lymphocyte populations. In CTN, there were increases in diameter, perimeter, and area and decreases in the phase height and volume of B lymphocytes, which is indicative of their activation. There was a predominance of average B lymphocytes in CTN. CONCLUSION: Vital CPM of peripheral blood immunocompetent cells may be used for the early diagnosis and prediction of CTN development.

Raman spectra of organic compounds kladnoite (C6H4(CO)2NH) and hoelite (C14H8O2)--rare sublimation products crystallising on self-ignited coal heaps.

As minerals, aromatic compounds occur very rarely in nature. Not more than 10 of such minerals are known and most of them were described in the coal deposits where they were formed as a result of coal bed fires or burning of coal waste heaps. Raman spectra of kladnoite C(6)H(4)(CO)(2)NH (natural phthalimide) and hoelite C(14)H(8)O(2), (natural 9,10-anthraquinone) display complex features. Raman microspectroscopy help to detect these phases non-destructively directly in the frame of rare samples. Investigated minerals are transformation products formed from gaseous phase originating in natural pyrolytical process occurring in the frame of coal heaps and coal series outcrops. It is recommended to include Raman spectroscopic characteristics of similar materials in databases for exobiological studies.

[Correlation of hormone-metabolic status in breast cancer and effectiveness of adjuvant hormone therapy].

Hormono-metabolic status was assayed before and after month 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 54 and 60 of therapy in 72 patients with receptor-positive tumors of the breast who completed 5 years of adjuvant tamoxifen (20 mg/24 hrs) or letrozole (2.5 mg/24 hrs). Eleven patients were not followed up, 11 relapsed and had metastases while 50 completed therapy. Significant fall in body mass (Ketle's index), in C-peptide concentration after an insignificant rise and C-peptide/insulin ratio 129 min after glucose loading, low basal blood level of estradiol as well as stable estradiolemia throughout treatment were characteristic of cases of pre-treatment recurrence and metastastic spread. Insulin resistance status, basal serum-estradiol level and fasting its course of development during hormonotherapy should be the subject of further research in criteria for adjuvant hormonotherapy efficacy.

[Modern approach to pathogenetic therapy of the oral mucosa lichen].

Study of humoral immunity, morphofunctional status of cell factors of immunologic reactivity (T-lymphocytes, neutrophils) and intestinal microecology allowed design of comprehensive pathogenetic therapy of oral lichen.

New data on the effect of helicobacter pylori on oxygen metabolism in human neutrophils.

A new phenomenon is discovered: Helicobacter pylori suppressed production of superoxide radical by neutrophils, while intracellular production of oxygen radicals is considerably activated. This phenomenon seems to play an important role in Helicobacter modulation of the inflammatory process in the stomach and persistence of the bacterium in the inflammatory focus.

[Infectious complications in using mofetil micofenolate in patients with renal allotransplant].

AIM: To study infectious complications in renal transplant recipients receiving mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for prevention of acute transplant rejection or treatment of chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A group of renal transplant recipients (n=47) receiving 1.0-2.0 g/day MMF with cyclosporine A (CsA) and steroids as maintaining immunosuppression was compared to a group (n=47) taking triple immunosuppressive therapy which included azathioprine (Aza). Separate group of patients (n=9) received MMF for treatment of CAN. In all groups etiology and incidence of infections were evaluated. RESULTS: During 2 years various posttransplant infections developed in 72.3% patients on MMF and 93.6% on Aza. The incidence of viral infections was 53.2% in MMF and 59.6% in Aza group, the incidence of bacterial infection--55.3 and 70.2%, respectively. Among 9 recipients with CAN the infections occurred in five. There were two cases of active tuberculosis in Aza group, one--in MMF group and one in patients with CAN. CONCLUSION: We suggest that MMF in the dose 1-2 g/day does not increase infection rates in renal transplant recipients comparing Aza.

[An algorithm of computerized processing of molecular-genetic data for personality identification based on the outcome of events involving numerous victims].

Computerized systems of data processing are a high-efficiency tool for the storage and processing of big volumes of molecular genetic data as well as for the forensic medical identification of personality in events involving enormous unidentified bodies coming from zones of calamity or natural disaster. Described in the paper is a sequence of actions undertaken by the expert when the DNAdacto and mDNAbase soft tools are in use. The algorithm of computer-based expert analysis of typing of chromosome and mitochondrial DNA was tested at the 124th Central laboratory of medical-criminal identification of Russia's defense ministry; it was proven to be highly effective for identification made in events with numerous unidentified bodies.

[Practical use of the molecular-genetic technologies in solving the tasks of forensic medical identification of remains in emergencies with huge human death toll]. / Prakticheskoe ispol'zovanie molekuliarno-geneticheskikh tekhnologii dla resheniia zadach sudebno-ékspertnoi identifikatsii neopoznannykh ostankov pri chrezvychainykh situatsiiakh s massovymi chelovecheskimkimi zhertvami.

Previously, we have developed different variants, for the expert use, of information technologies, i.e. of computer automated analytical systems, to ensure an effective analysis of huge bulwarks of molecular-genetic expert findings. The results obtained in the above research significantly advanced the possibilities of expert evaluation related with personality identification under the conditions of a big death toll; they also cleaned the ground for the introduction of such methodological approaches in the practice of investigations of emergency accidents involving huge death tolls. Described within the present case study is a practical experience of forensic medical identification of unrecognized remains in air crashes with huge human death tolls implemented through computer-assisted complex molecular-genetic tests on the basis of indirect DNA identification involving the establishment of blood relationship.

[Advanced technique for the preparation of bone and tooth tissue for molecular-genetic expert tests]. / Usovershenstvovannyi sposob podgotovki kostnoi i zubnoi tkani dlia molekuliarno-geneticheskikh ékspertnykh issledovanii.

Laboratory schemes related with the procedure of purifying the osseous and dental samples by applying the dental drilling machine, dental technical carborundum shapes, fogging discs and hard-alloy dental drills were made use of to improve the quality and effectiveness of the mentioned schemes used prior to molecular-and-genetic expertise tests.

[Acute intestinal infections in children in areas with industrial environmental air pollution]. / Ostrye kishechnye infektsii u detei v raionakh s tekhnogennym zagriazneniem atmosfernogo vozdukha.

Acute intestinal infections were clinically and epidemiologically studied in children residing in the towns with different quantitative and qualitative composition of ambient air pollutants and in the districts of a town, which differ in the level of technogenic ambient air pollution. Six hundred and eighty patients with different types of shigellosis and 421 patients with salmonellosis admitted to the infection hospitals of the towns of Angarsk (an intensively polluted locality) and Irkutsk (a better ecological area) were examined in 1995 to 2000. The technogenic ambient air pollution was found to exert a noticeable impact on the incidence with S. sonnei dysentery. In poor environmental areas, all the infections under study are characterized by a great burden, duration, more severe clinical symptoms, and poor laboratory changes in the presence of a decreased responsiveness.

[Variable tandem repeat VcA of Vibrio cholerae]. / Variabel'nyi tandemnyi povtor VcA Vibrio cholerae.

Computer analysis revealed seven potential variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) loci in the Vibrio cholerae genome. Specific primers were designed to amplify locus VcA located on chromosome 2 and containing a TGCTGT repeat. The locus was found in all tested strains from a V. cholerae strain collection, the repeat number varying 3 to 23. In total, 14 VcA alleles were observed. The VcA locus was proposed as a marker for the molecular typing of V. cholerae strains.

[Distribution of HLA DQA1, LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, and GC locus alleles in the population of Russia]. / Raspredelenie allelei lokusov HLA DQA1, LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, GC sredi naseleniia Rossii.

The distribution of chromosome locus alleles HLA DQA1, LDLR, GYPA, HBGG, D7S8, and GC of PolyMarker molecular genetic individualizing system was studied for the first time in a representative "mean statistical" sampling of Russian population. Typing of these locuses was carried out in 391 donors (no relatives) from 63 regions of the Russian Federation. The incidence of genotypes of all 6 locuses corresponded to the expected values, estimated on the basis of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium hypothesis. This allows us to use the frequency characteristics of HLA DQA1 locus and the PolyMarker locuses determined in our study as the reference parameters for standard probability estimations in DNA identification. The frequencies of PolyMarker locuses alleles in the Russian sampling (in comparison with other ethnic groups) coincided best of all for allele frequencies in Europeoids living in the USA. For expert evaluation of the efficiency of using these locuses as molecular genetic markers with identification purposes, the discrimination potential was estimated separately for each locus and combinations thereof. HLA DQA1 locus was the most informative of the studied 6 locuses. The main population characteristics of this locus (probability of accidental coincidence, potential of discrimination--PD, polymorphism coefficient--PIC, exclusion potential--Pe, and mean value of parentage index--PI) were estimated for the population of Russia. The frequency distribution of alleles of the studied panel of locuses in the mean statistical Russian population obtained in our study can be used in molecular genetic personality identification and in anthropological studies.

[Effect of lysozyme on the growth of murine lymphoma and antineoplastic activity of cyclophosphamide]. / Vliianie lizotsima na rost myshinoi limfomy i protivoopukholevuiu aktivnost' tsiklofosfamida.

It was shown that hen egg-white lysozyme (LM) in the dose 100 mg/kg under the daily intragastral use slightly inhibited tumor grown or did not influence significantly upon it and did not change antitumor activity of cyclophosphamide. When used at mice C57Bl/6J with the transplanted ascitic or solid T-cell lymphoma EL4 (syngeneic system). On model of the same tumors in ascitic form at mice-hybrids (C57Bl/6J x DBA2)F1 (semisingeneic system) LM significantly potentiates antitumor activity of cyclophosphamide, though it had no effect on the rate of tumor growth. Potentiation of the effect of cyclophosphamide revealed itself in more slow development of ascite, increased mean life-span and the overall survival, appearance of completely cured animals. Our clinic-laboratory studies have revealed a sharp deficit of endogenic lysozyme in the blood serum of leukemic patients and extremely low lysozyme content in lavage liquid, from leukemic patients, with pneumonia. These data suggest that LM can be useful as a food additive in the complex treatment of oncological patients for enhancing antineoplastic chemotherapy efficacy.

[Role of neurophysiological mechanisms in pathogenesis of optic nystagmus]. / Rol' neirofiziologicheskikh mekhanizmov v patogeneze opticheskogo nistagma.

54 children aged 6-14 years with optic nystagmus were examined. They were divided into two groups. Patients of group 1 (n = 26) had isolated nystagmus while 28 patients of group 2 had nystagmus and concomitant ocular pathology. It was found out that visual deterioration was mainly related with the damage of the central part of visual analyzer. This was confirmed by alteration of contrast-frequency characteristics in the range of high frequencies, decline of amplitude and the alpha-rythm nebulosity in combination with high-amplitude fusiform oscillations. These data point to an impaired process in the formation of correlation between cortical areas and cerebral subcortical structures.