Study of the Effect of Radiation Dose Rate on the Stability of Various Organochlorine Pesticides

Abstract irradiated at dose of 10 kGy with dose rate varied from 8.3 ⋅ 10−3 up to 2.33 Gy/sec. It is found that the shape of the degradation degree relationship on dose rate is similar for different OCPs in polar and non-polar solvents (hexane, 2-propanol) and does not depend on the concentration of initial substance. The maximum of the OCP degradation degree is registered in the dose rate range of 0.23-0.43 Gy/sec. A lognormal distribution is considered as a function best fitting the experimental data. The OCP degradation mechanism could be explained by the ratio of active and recombined particles along the gradient of ionizing radiation intensity. Keywords: organochlorinated pesticide; irradiation, dose and dose rate of gammaradiation; radiation degradation; functional dependenc

Singularities, Lax degeneracies and Maslov indices of the periodic Toda chain

The n-particle periodic Toda chain is a well known example of an integrable but nonseparable Hamiltonian system in R^{2n}. We show that Sigma_k, the k-fold singularities of the Toda chain, ie points where there exist k independent linear relations amongst the gradients of the integrals of motion, coincide with points where there are k (doubly) degenerate eigenvalues of representatives L and Lbar of the two inequivalent classes of Lax matrices (corresponding to degenerate periodic or antiperiodic solutions of the associated second-order difference equation). The singularities are shown to be nondegenerate, so that Sigma_k is a codimension-2k symplectic submanifold. Sigma_k is shown to be of elliptic type, and the frequencies of transverse oscillations under Hamiltonians which fix Sigma_k are computed in terms of spectral data of the Lax matrices. If mu(C) is the (even) Maslov index of a closed curve C in the regular component of R^{2n}, then (-1)^{\mu(C)/2} is given by the product of the holonomies (equal to +/- 1) of the even- (or odd-) indexed eigenvector bundles of L and Lmat.Comment: 25 pages; published versio

Increased serum NSE and S100B indicate neuronal and glial alterations in subjects under 71 years with mild neurocognitive disorder/mild cognitive impairment

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered a pre-stage of different dementia syndromes. Despite diagnostic criteria refined by DSM-5 and a new term for MCI - "mild neurocognitive disorder" (mild NCD) - this diagnosis is still based on clinical criteria.Methods: To link mild NCD to the underlying pathophysiology we assessed the degree of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in the brain and peripheral biomarkers for neuronal integrity (neuron-specific enolase, NSE), plasticity (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF), and glial function (S100B) in 158 community-dwelling subjects with mild NCD and 82 healthy controls. All participants (63-79 years old) were selected from the Leipzig-population-based study of adults (LIFE).Results: Serum S100B levels were increased in mild NCD in comparison to controls (p = 0.007). Serum NSE levels were also increased but remained non-significant after Bonferroni-Holm correction (p = 0.04). Furthermore, age by group interaction was significant for S100B. In an age-stratified sub-analysis, NSE and S100B were higher in younger subjects with mild NCD below 71 years of age. Some effects were inconsistent after controlling for potentially confounding factors. The discriminatory power of the two biomarkers NSE and S100B was insufficient to establish a pathologic threshold for mild NCD. In subjects with mild NCD, WMH load correlated with serum NSE levels (r = 0.20, p = 0.01), independently of age.Conclusion: Our findings might indicate the presence of neuronal (NSE) and glial (S100B) injury in mild NCD. Future studies need to investigate whether younger subjects with mild NCD with increased biomarker levels are at risk of developing major NCD

Комбинированная непроникающая глубокая склерэктомия и факоэмульсификация с фемтосопровождением у больных с катарактой и глаукомой

The problem of cataract treatment in patients with coexisting glaucoma attracts attention of ophthalmologists for many years. Most of them prefer combined surgery in these cases. Antiglaucomatous component of such treatment - non-penetrating deep sclerotomy (NPDS) has less complications and Femtosecond laser assistance can decrease the trauma of phacoemulsification. PURPOSE: The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of femtoassisted phacoemulsification with NPDS in cases of glaucoma and cataract combination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All the patients were divided to groups according to the procedure performed: 1) phacoemulsification (269 eyes, 213 patients); 2) femtoassisted phacoemulsification (461 eyes, 320 patients); 3) phacoemulsification with NPDS and Xenoplast drainage implantation (11 eyes, 7 patients); 4) femtoassisted phacoemulsification with NPDS and Xenoplast drainage implantation (53 eyes, 42 patients). RESULTS: Vision acuity before operation in average was: 1 group - 0.13; 2 group - 0.23; 3 group - 0.24; 4 - 0.14. 1 months after operation it was 0.67; 0.72; 0.66 and 0.68 correspondingly. IOP in first two groups 1 day after the surgery was identical. Femtolaser assistance in all cases decreased the intraocular working time. There were no cases of hemorrhage intraoperative complications. In groups of combined surgery IOP normalized by 5-10 day after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS:Combined phacoemulsification and NPDS with Xenoplast implantation is safe and effective procedure. Femtoassistance in cataract surgery can decrease intraocular operation time and doesn't lead to intraoperative and postoperative complications increase.Проблема хирургического лечения катаракты у больных с сопутствующей глаукомой много лет привлекает внимание офтальмологов. Большинство хирургов отдают предпочтение одномоментным комбинированным вмешательствам. Анти-глаукоматозный компонент такого вмешательства - непроникающая глубокая склерэктомия (НГСЭ), дает минимальное количество осложнений. Фемтосопровож-дение позволяет увеличить атравматичность факоэмуль-сификации. ЦЕЛЬ. Оценка эффективности и безопасности фако-эмульсификации с фемтосопровождением при сочетании глаукомы и катаракты в комбинации с НГСЭ. МАТЕРИАЛЫ И МЕТОДЫ. Группы пациентов различались по методу хирургического вмешательства: 1) факоэмульсификация (269 глаз, 213 пациентов); 2) факоэмульсификация с фемтосопровождением (461 глаз, 320 пациентов); 3) факоэмульсификация с НГСЭ с имплантацией дренажа Ксенопласт (11 глаз, 7 пациентов); 4) факоэмульсификация с НГСЭ с имплантацией дренажа Ксенопласт с фемтосопровождением (53 глаза, 42 пациента). РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ. Острота зрения до операции в 1-й группе составила в среднем 0,13, во 2-й группе - 0,23, в 3-й - 0,24, в 4-й - 0,14; через 1 мес. после операции 0,67; 0,72; 0,66; 0,68 соответственно ВГД в первых двух группах в первый день после операции было практически идентично. Фемтолазерное сопровождение во всех случаях помогало хирургу сократить время интраокулярной работы. Ни в одном случае комбинированного вмешательства не было интраоперационных геморрагических осложнений. В группе комбинированных вмешательств ВГД было нормализовано к 5-10 суткам после операции. ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ. Комбинированная факоэмульсификация и НГСЭ с имплантацией Ксенопласта является эффективным, безопасным вмешательством для лечения больных катарактой и глаукомой в амбулаторных условиях. Фемтосопровождение факоэмульсификации позволяет сократить время интраокулярной работы хирурга, не приводит к увеличению количества операционных и послеоперационных соложнений

The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

E-Democracy and the European Public Sphere

The chapter starts with an outline of outstanding recent contributions to the discussion of the EU democratic deficit and the so-called “no demos” problem and the debate about European citizenship and European identity—mainly in the light of insights from the EU crisis. This is followed by reflections on the recent discussion on the state of the mass media-based European public sphere. Finally, the author discusses the state of research on the Internet’s capacity to support the emergence of a (renewed) public sphere, with a focus on options for political actors to use the Internet for communication and campaigning, on the related establishment of segmented issue-related publics as well as on social media and its two-faced character as an enabler as well as a distorting factor of the public sphere. The author is sceptic about the capacities of Internet-based political communication to develop into a supranational (European) public sphere. It rather establishes a network of a multitude of discursive processes aimed at opinion formation at various levels and on various issues. The potential of online communication to increase the responsiveness of political institutions so far is set into practice insufficiently. Online media are increasingly used in a vertical and scarcely in a horizontal or interactive manner of communication

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health

BIOTIC DIVERSITY OF KARELIA: CONDITIONS OF FORMATION, COMMUNITIES AND SPECIES

The monograph generalises vast data characterising the diversity of the biota in Russian Karelia. The data pool includes both materials of long-term studies, and new data collected in 1997–2000 within the Russian-Finnish project “Inventory and studies of biological diversity in Republic of Karelia”. The volume is composed of four interrelated chapters. Chapter one provides a detailed account of the climatic, geological, geomorphological, hydrological and soil conditions in which the regional biota has been forming. Chapter two describes and evaluates the diversity of forest, mire and meadow communities, and the third chapter details the terrestrial biota at the species level (vascular plants, mosses, aphyllophoroid fungi, lichens, mammals, birds, insects). A special section is devoted to the flora and fauna of aquatic ecosystems (algae, zooplankton, periphyton, macrozoobenthos, fishes). Wide use is made of various zoning approaches based on biodiversity-related criteria. Current status of the regional biota, including its diversity in protected areas, is analysed with elements of the human impact assessment. A concise glossary of the terms used is annexed. This is an unprecedentally multi-faceted review, at least for the taiga zone of European Russia. The volume offers extensive reference materials for researchers in a widest range of ecological and biological fields, including graduate and post-graduate students. The monograph is also available in Russian