Decrease of atmospheric neutron counts observed during thunderstorms.

We report here, in brief, some results of the observation and analysis of sporadic variations of atmospheric thermal neutron flux during thunderstorms. The results obtained with unshielded scintillation neutron detectors show a prominent flux decrease correlated with meteorological precipitations after a long dry period. No observations of neutron production during thunderstorms were reported during the three-year period of data recording

Possibility for Transcriptional Targeting of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts—Limitations and Opportunities

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are attractive therapeutic targets in the tumor microenvironment. The possibility of using CAFs as a source of therapeutic molecules is a challenging approach in gene therapy. This requires transcriptional targeting of transgene expression by cis-regulatory elements (CRE). Little is known about which CREs can provide selective transgene expression in CAFs. We hypothesized that the promoters of FAP, CXCL12, IGFBP2, CTGF, JAG1, SNAI1, and SPARC genes, the expression of whose is increased in CAFs, could be used for transcriptional targeting. Analysis of the transcription of the corresponding genes revealed that unique transcription in model CAFs was characteristic for the CXCL12 and FAP genes. However, none of the promoters in luciferase reporter constructs show selective activity in these fibroblasts. The CTGF, IGFBP2, JAG1, and SPARC promoters can provide higher transgene expression in fibroblasts than in cancer cells, but the nonspecific viral promoters CMV, SV40, and the recently studied universal PCNA promoter have the same features. The patterns of changes in activity of various promoters relative to each other observed for human cell lines were similar to the patterns of activity for the same promoters both in vivo and in vitro in mouse models. Our results reveal restrictions and features for CAF transcriptional targeting

Change Management in a Medical Organisation during the Implementation of the Federal Project “Creation of a New Model of a Medical Organisation Providing Primary Health Care”

Aim. To study reasons behind the resistance of medical workers to changes while implementing the federal project “Creation of a New Model of a Medical Organisation Providing Primary Health Care”, as well as to develop guidelines on change management on the basis of Goldratt’s theory.Materials and methods. Changes in the process organisation of medical institutions are necessitated by the implementation of the federal project “Creation of a New Model of a Medical Organisation Providing Primary Health Care” developed by the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation with the methodological support of the Rosatom Production System. A new model of a medical organisation is based on continuous improvement (kaizen) using lean tools, which requires a different approach to managing changes and overcoming the resistance of medical workers to their implementation. The study sample included the employees of the Central City Hospital in Goryachy Klyuch (Krasnodar Territory). The research took the form of an anonymous questionnaire survey drawing on Goldratt’s theory.Results. Basic recommendations on the management of changes associated with the transitioning to the new model suggested in this work allow heads of healthcare institutions to evaluate employees’ readiness to changes comprehensively, as well as to transform the existing model of a medical organisation effectively and gradually.Conclusion. These guidelines on change management when transitioning to the new model may be used by heads of medical institutions in order for the organisation to achieve effective transition to the continuous process optimisation with the use of lean tools, aiming to meet the criteria of the new model

Study of the EAS size spectrum in thermal neutrons measured by the PRISMA-YBJ array

An Extensive Air Shower array of a novel type has been constructed in Tibet at an altitude of 4300 m above sea level. It consists of specially designed scintillator en-detectors capable of measuring two main EAS components: hadrons (n) and electrons (e). Results of the experiment are presented. It is demonstrated that the EAS integral distribution in the number of thermal neutrons can be well fitted by a single power law function. Comparison with detailed Monte-Carlo simulations using CORSIKA6.9 and GEANT4.10 codes are also shown

Study of the EAS size spectrum in thermal neutrons measured by the PRISMA-YBJ array

An Extensive Air Shower array of a novel type has been constructed in Tibet at an altitude of 4300 m above sea level. It consists of specially designed scintillator en-detectors capable of measuring two main EAS components: hadrons (n) and electrons (e). Results of the experiment are presented. It is demonstrated that the EAS integral distribution in the number of thermal neutrons can be well fitted by a single power law function. Comparison with detailed Monte-Carlo simulations using CORSIKA6.9 and GEANT4.10 codes are also shown

The PRISMA-LHAASO project: Status and overview

The status of and main features of the PRISMA-LHAASO project are presented. We discuss here the science project and some preliminary results obtained with the PRISMA prototype