The prevalence of serological markers of viral hepatitis among labor migrants arriving in the Russian Federation

Aim. To determine of the prevalence of viral hepatitis A, E, B, C and D markers in migrant workers.Materials and methods. Blood serum samples from 1,333 migrant workers recently arrived in Russia from Uzbekistan (n = 464), Tajikistan (n = 415), Ukraine (n = 308) and Moldova (n = 146) were analyzed. Anti-HAV IgG, anti-HEV IgM and IgG, HBsAg, anti-HBV and anti-HCV were tested using commercial ELISA tests.Results. The frequency of HBsAg detection was significantly higher among migrants from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (5,3% and 5,2%, respectively) compared to migrants from Ukraine (1,0%) and Moldova (3,4%). No anti-HDV was detected in any positive HBsAg sample. The rate of anti-HCV detection was high regardless of the country of origin: 4,5% (Uzbekistan), 4.8% (Tajikistan), 3,9% (Ukraine), 4,8% (Moldova). Anti-HEV IgG was significantly higher in migrants from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan compared to those from Ukraine and Moldova (25,4% and 43,1%, vs. 7,8% and 12,3%, respectively, p <0,05). Anti-HEV IgM, indicative of current or recent infection, was detected in migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Moldova with similar frequency – 3,9%, 7,8%, 5,8% and 6,8%, respectively. AntiHAV IgG positivity rate was significantly lower in migrants from Ukraine compared to those from Moldova, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (70,1% versus 91,8%, 98,7%, 99,8%, respectively, p <0,05).Conclusion. The high prevalence of hepatitis B and C serologic markers in labor migrants, as well as anti-HEV IgM, suggests a high probability of the importation of HCV, HBV and HEV in the Russian Federation. Thus, inclusion of hepatitis B, C and E testing into routine screening of labor migrants might be beneficial

Methods to reduce medication errors in a clinical trial of an investigational parenteral medication

AbstractThere are few evidence-based guidelines to inform optimal design of complex clinical trials, such as those assessing the safety and efficacy of intravenous drugs administered daily with infusion times over many hours per day and treatment durations that may span years. This study is a retrospective review of inpatient administration deviation reports for an investigational drug that is administered daily with infusion times of 8–24 h, and variable treatment durations for each patient. We report study design modifications made in 2007–2008 aimed at minimizing deviations from an investigational drug infusion protocol approved by an institutional review board and the United States Food and Drug Administration. Modifications were specifically aimed at minimizing errors of infusion rate, incorrect dose, incorrect patient, or wrong drug administered. We found that the rate of these types of administration errors of the study drug was significantly decreased following adoption of the specific study design changes. This report provides guidance in the design of clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of study drugs administered via intravenous infusion in an inpatient setting so as to minimize drug administration protocol deviations and optimize patient safety

Ignition of a Ti-Al-C system by an electron beam

This paper describes the optimal modes of initiation of self-propagating hightemperature synthesis with the help of an electron beam on the example of a Ti-Al-C powder mixture. A pulsed electron beam with a particle energy of tens of kiloelectronvolts and a duration of hundreds of microseconds is used. Morphology, structure, and elemental composition of formed products in the form of Ti3AlC2 and TiC are studie

Modeling Elasticity in Crystal Growth

A new model of crystal growth is presented that describes the phenomena on atomic length and diffusive time scales. The former incorporates elastic and plastic deformation in a natural manner, and the latter enables access to times scales much larger than conventional atomic methods. The model is shown to be consistent with the predictions of Read and Shockley for grain boundary energy, and Matthews and Blakeslee for misfit dislocations in epitaxial growth.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figure

Detection of antibodies to the hepatitis E virus in domestic reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i>) in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Introduction. Although domestic pigs and wild boars are the main reservoir of zoonotic hepatitis E virus (HEV) genotypes in temperate countries, the presence of antibodies to HEV (anti-HEV) in the indigenous population of circumpolar territories, i.e. outside the habitat of wild and domestic pigs, indicates the presence of an alternative reservoir of the virus. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) may be a potential reservoir for HEV in the polar regions. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of anti-HEV among domestic reindeer in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Materials and methods. Sera from 497 domestic reindeer from the Oymyakon (n = 425) and Ust-Yansky districts (n = 72) of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) were tested for anti-HEV. A commercial ELISA kit DS-ELISA-ANTI-HEV-G (Diagnostic Systems-Stolitsa LLC, Russia) was used for detection of anti-HEV IgG, but a rabbit polyclonal antibody against deer IgG labeled with horseradish peroxidase (KPL, USA) at a dilution of 1 : 100 in phosphate-buffered saline were used instead of the human specific conjugate from the kit. Results. The average detection rate of anti-HEV in reindeer sera was 15.5% (95% CI: 12.6–19.0%). The detection rate of anti-HEV significantly increased with age, from 3.5% (95% CI: 1.1–9.0%) in calves aged 3–6 months to 25.0% (95% CI: 1.6 –36.5%) in deer aged 2–4 years (p 0.0001). From this age group, anti-HEV detection rates reached a plateau, not differing significantly between older age groups (p 0.05). The average anti-HEV detection rate among reindeer 2 years of age and older was 19.0% (95% CI: 15.3–23.4%). There were no statistically significant differences in the frequency of anti-HEV detection between female and male reindeer, both among adult animals and among calves. Conclusion. The observed anti-HEV detection rates among domestic reindeer in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) indicate that infection caused by HEV or an antigenically similar virus is common in these animals. The dynamics of antibody accumulation in the reindeer population indicates that infection apparently occurs during the first two years of life

Porous Nanocrystalline Silicon Supported Bimetallic Pd-Au Catalysts: Preparation, Characterization, and Direct Hydrogen Peroxide Synthesis.

Bimetallic Pd-Au catalysts were prepared on the porous nanocrystalline silicon (PSi) for the first time. The catalysts were tested in the reaction of direct hydrogen peroxide synthesis and characterized by standard structural and chemical techniques. It was shown that the Pd-Au/PSi catalyst prepared from conventional H2[PdCl4] and H[AuCl4] precursors contains monometallic Pd and a range of different Pd-Au alloy nanoparticles over the oxidized PSi surface. The PdAu2/PSi catalyst prepared from the [Pd(NH3)4][AuCl4]2 double complex salt (DCS) single-source precursor predominantly contains bimetallic Pd-Au alloy nanoparticles. For both catalysts the surface of bimetallic nanoparticles is Pd-enriched and contains palladium in Pd0 and Pd2+ states. Among the catalysts studied, the PdAu2/PSi catalyst was the most active and selective in the direct H2O2 synthesis with H2O2 productivity of 0.5 [Formula: see text] at selectivity of 50% and H2O2 concentration of 0.023 M in 0.03 M H2SO4-methanol solution after 5 h on stream at -10°C and atmospheric pressure. This performance is due to high activity in the H2O2 synthesis reaction and low activities in the undesirable H2O2 decomposition and hydrogenation reactions. Good performance of the PdAu2/PSi catalyst was associated with the major part of Pd in the catalyst being in the form of the bimetallic Pd-Au nanoparticles. Porous silicon was concluded to be a promising catalytic support for direct hydrogen peroxide synthesis due to its inertness with respect to undesirable side reactions, high thermal stability, and conductivity, possibility of safe operation at high temperatures and pressures and a well-established manufacturing process

Coverage with timely administered vaccination against hepatitis b virus and its influence on the prevalence of HBV infection in the regions of different endemicity

Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by grant of the Russian Science Foundation (ID-20-15-00148). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Universal hepatitis B vaccination of newborns was implemented in Russia starting from 1998. From 1998 to 2019, the incidence of acute hepatitis B reduced from 43.8 to 0.57 cases per 100,000 population. Here, we assessed the timely coverage of newborns with the birth dose (HepB-BD), second dose (HepB-2nd), and three vaccine doses (HepB3) in two remote regions of Russia with low (Belgorod Oblast) and high (Yakutia) levels of hepatitis B virus (HBV) endemicity. Vaccination data were obtained from the medical records of 1000 children in Yakutia and 2182 children in Belgorod Oblast. Sera of healthy volunteers from Belgorod Oblast (n = 1754) and Yakutia (n = 1072) across all age groups were tested for serological markers of HBV to assess the infection prevalence and herd immunity. Average HepB-BD coverage was 99.2% in Yakutia and 89.4% in Belgorod Oblast (p < 0.0001) and in both regions varied significantly, from 66% to 100%, between medical centers. The principal reason for the absence of HepB-BD was parent refusal, which accounted for 63.5% of cases of non-vaccination (83/123). While timely HepB-2nd coverage was only 55.4%–64.7%: HepB3 coverage by the age of one year exceeded 90% in both study regions. HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence in the 1998–2019 birth cohort was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.01–1.3%) in Belgorod Oblast and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.9–5.2%) in Yakutia. The proportion of persons testing negative for both antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and antibodies to HBV core antigen (anti-HBc) in the 1998–2019 birth cohort was 26.2% (125/481) in Belgorod Oblast and 32.3% (162/501) in Yakutia. We also assessed the knowledge of and attitude towards vaccination among 782 students and teachers of both medical and non-medical specialties from Belgorod State University. Only 60% of medical students knew that hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable disease. Both medical and nonmedical students, 37.8% and 31.3%, respectively, expressed concerns about safety and actual necessity of vaccination. These data indicate the need to introduce a vaccine delivery audit system, improve medical education with respect to vaccination strategies and policies, and reinforce public knowledge on the benefits of vaccination.Peer reviewe

РАСПРОСТРАНЕННОСТЬ СЕРОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ МАРКЕРОВ ВИРУСНЫХ ГЕПАТИТОВ СРЕДИ ТРУДОВЫХ МИГРАНТОВ, ПРИБЫВАЮщИХ В РОССИйСКУЮ ФЕДЕРАЦИЮ

Aim. To determine of the prevalence of viral hepatitis A, E, B, C and D markers in migrant workers.Materials and methods. Blood serum samples from 1,333 migrant workers recently arrived in Russia from Uzbekistan (n = 464), Tajikistan (n = 415), Ukraine (n = 308) and Moldova (n = 146) were analyzed. Anti-HAV IgG, anti-HEV IgM and IgG, HBsAg, anti-HBV and anti-HCV were tested using commercial ELISA tests.Results. The frequency of HBsAg detection was significantly higher among migrants from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (5,3% and 5,2%, respectively) compared to migrants from Ukraine (1,0%) and Moldova (3,4%). No anti-HDV was detected in any positive HBsAg sample. The rate of anti-HCV detection was high regardless of the country of origin: 4,5% (Uzbekistan), 4.8% (Tajikistan), 3,9% (Ukraine), 4,8% (Moldova). Anti-HEV IgG was significantly higher in migrants from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan compared to those from Ukraine and Moldova (25,4% and 43,1%, vs. 7,8% and 12,3%, respectively, p &lt;0,05). Anti-HEV IgM, indicative of current or recent infection, was detected in migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Moldova with similar frequency – 3,9%, 7,8%, 5,8% and 6,8%, respectively. AntiHAV IgG positivity rate was significantly lower in migrants from Ukraine compared to those from Moldova, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (70,1% versus 91,8%, 98,7%, 99,8%, respectively, p &lt;0,05).Conclusion. The high prevalence of hepatitis B and C serologic markers in labor migrants, as well as anti-HEV IgM, suggests a high probability of the importation of HCV, HBV and HEV in the Russian Federation. Thus, inclusion of hepatitis B, C and E testing into routine screening of labor migrants might be beneficial. Цель. Определение распространенности маркеров вирусных гепатитов А, Е, В, С и D среди рабочих мигрантов, недавно прибывших в Российскую Федерацию.Материалы и методы. Исследованы образцы сыворотки крови от 1333 трудовых мигрантов, недавно прибывших в РФ из Узбекистана (n=464), Таджикистана (n=415), Украины (n=308) и Молдовы (n=146). Анти-ВГА IgG, анти-ВГЕ IgM и IgG, HBsAg, анти-ВГD и анти-ВГС определяли с помощью коммерческих ИФА-тестов.Результаты. Частота выявления HBsAg была достоверно выше среди мигрантов из Таджикистана и Узбекистана (5,3% и 5,2% соответственно) по сравнению с мигрантами из Украины (1,0%) и Молдовы (3,4%). Ни в одном позитивном по HBsAg образце не были выявлены анти-ВГD. Частота выявления анти-ВГС среди трудовых мигрантов была высокой, независимо от страны происхождения: 4,5% (Узбекистан), 4,8% (Таджикистан), 3,9% (Украина), 4,8% (Молдова). Анти-ВГЕ IgG достоверно чаще выявляли среди мигрантов из Узбекистана и Таджикистана по сравнению с мигрантами из Украины и Молдовы (25,4% и 43,1% против 7,8% и 12,3% соответственно, p&lt;0,05). Анти-ВГЕ IgM, свидетельствующие о текущей или недавно перенесенной инфекции, выявляли среди мигрантов из Узбекистана, Таджикистана, Украины и Молдовы с примерно одинаковой частотой – 3,9%, 7,8%, 5,8% и 6,8% соответственно. Серопозитивные по анти-ВГА IgG лица достоверно реже встречались среди мигрантов из Украины по сравнению с лицами, прибывшими из Молдовы, Узбекистана и Таджикистана (70,1% против 91,8%, 98,7%, 99,8% соответственно, p&lt;0,05).Заключение. Высокая частота выявления маркеров гепатитов В и С у трудовых мигрантов, а также анти-ВГЕ IgM, позволяет предполагать высокую вероятность завоза ВГС, ВГВ и ВГЕ в РФ, что делает необходимым включение в алгоритм обследования трудовых мигрантов маркеров гепатитов В, С и Е.

New national and regional bryophyte records, 59

Peer reviewe