The Soviet and Russian historians about the reasons of losses of archival documents in days of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)

This article emphasizes the main reasons for disappear of documents in days of th

Observation of second flexural mode enhancement in graphene resonators

The enhancement of the second flexural mode in a monolayer graphene resonator by an inhomogeneous electrostatic actuation force has been observed. The devices have been fabricated by transferring the graphene onto a poly-Si/SiO2/Si substrate whereby the poly-Si has been released to produce graphene resonators. Enhancement of the second harmonic has been demonstrated by varying the actuation voltage, achieving an amplitude enhancement of up to 95% of the fundamental mode. The reported findings open new perspectives for graphene resonant sensors with enhanced sensitivity.</p

Prevalence of chronic HCV infection in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Russia

BACKGROUND: The poor outcomes of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and type 2 diabetes determine the socio-economic significance of the combined pathology since they lead to premature death. The proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes with markers of viral hepatitis (VH) in the Russian Federation is not known, which does not allow us to estimate the burden for the state of this medical problem.OBJECTIVE: Assessment of the prevalence of concomitant pathology, HCV infection and type 2 diabetes, as well as the proportion of severe liver damage in its structure, according to the analysis of the primary medical records of four Moscow hospitals.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with HCV infection and diabetes mellitus, who admitted at different periods to four hospitals in Moscow, was carried out, as well as a total examination for the presence of anti-HCV in the blood of all patients with diabetes who were admitted within a certain period to the endocrinology department of a multidisciplinary hospital. Additionally, to determine the proportion of patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), an additional examination of patients with this combined pathology was carried out in accordance with the standards for the diagnosis of hepatitis C.RESULTS: In total, according to data from 4 hospitals in Moscow, over a certain period, 2% (105/5298) of diabetes patients with anti-HCV in their blood were identified. Sex ratio for men: women = 54 (51%): 51 (49%). Patients aged 50–69 years prevailed — 70% (74/105). Seroprevalence of HCV in cohorts of patients with type 2 diabetes according to the analysis in 3 health facilities: 0.9% (20/2196), 1.9% (8/432), 1.9% (28/1500). A significant drawback was revealed that did not allow assessing the true seroprevalence of HCV: not all patients were hospitalized with the results of a VH test, and not all of them were assigned an examination for VH markers if it was not performed before hospitalization. The proportion of type 2 diabetes patients with anti-HCV in the blood according to the results of total screening (3.7%; 16/432) became comparable to the proportion of type 2 diabetes patients among patients with CHC admitted to an infectious hospital (4.2%; 49 / 1170). The proportion of patients with LC according to the analysis of the medical records of the infectious hospital is 65% (32/49), in the group of endocrinological patients with additional examination it is 18% (13/71).CONCLUSION: For the first time in the Russian Federation, data were obtained on the prevalence of HCV infection in combination with type 2 diabetes. The results of the study indicate the need to develop effective screening programs to detect active HCV infection in the group of patients with diabetes, as well as patients among them with severe hepatic fibrosis for the timely conduct of highly effective antiviral therapy, which will prevent poor outcomes in a separate perspective

Simulation Methodology for Electron Transfer in CMOS Quantum Dots

The construction of quantum computer simulators requires advanced software which can capture the most significant characteristics of the quantum behavior and quantum states of qubits in such systems. Additionally, one needs to provide valid models for the description of the interface between classical circuitry and quantum core hardware. In this study, we model electron transport in semiconductor qubits based on an advanced CMOS technology. Starting from 3D simulations, we demonstrate an order reduction and the steps necessary to obtain ordinary differential equations on probability amplitudes in a multi-particle system. We compare numerical and semi-analytical techniques concluding this paper by examining two case studies: the electron transfer through multiple quantum dots and the construction of a Hadamard gate simulated using a numerical method to solve the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and the tight-binding formalism for a time-dependent Hamiltonian

Clinical and laboratory characteristics of tick-borne rickettsiosis related to <i>Rickettsia sibirica</i> and <i>Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae</i>

The Siberian tick-borne typhus (STT) is the most common tick-borne rickettsiosis (TBR) in Russia, registered in 17 administrative territories of the Southern Siberia and the Far East. The aim of this study was to describe clinical picture, pathological data and results of laboratory diagnostics during fatal mixed infection caused by two Rickettsia species most common in Russia — pathogenic Rickettsia sibirica and poorly examined Candidatus R. tarasevichiae, including identification of its etiological agents. A four-year-old girl in Krasnoyarsk Krai in a hyperendemic focus of the Siberian tick-borne typhus after tick sucking revealed typical TBR symptoms (scab at the site of tick suction, fever, spotted rash, myalgia) and meningeal syndrome, which is not typical for the Siberian tick-borne typhus. The child died on the seventh day of illness. Autopsy data (hepatosplenomegaly; cerebral edema, which was the immediate cause of death) and the results of histological examination (productive vasculitis of the brain, spinal cord and skin, polymorphic cell perivascular infiltrates in the liver and lungs, serous meningitis, myeloid hyperplasia of the spleen and lymph nodes, interstitial lymphoid infiltration in the myocardium) confirmed the clinical diagnosis of tick-borne rickettsiosis. The patient’s blood and brain samples were tested for a wide range of tick-borne pathogens and enteric viruses that cause brain damage using PCR followed by sequencing of the positive samples. The DNA of Rickettsia sibirica and Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae was found in both blood and brain samples. R. sibirica was identified by the nucleotide sequences of gene fragments gltA, ompA and ompB, and Candidatus R. tarasevichiae — by the gltA and ompB genes using nested PCR and sequencing. All amplified fragments were sequenced in both directions; the obtained sequences were deposited in the GenBank database under the inventory numbers MK048467–MK048475. We have not identified other tick-borne pathogens or intestinal viruses in the patient samples able to result in meningeal syndrome. The area where the child was sucked by the tick belongs to the regions with a high incidence of STT. Several species of mites coexist in this area; of these, Haemaphisalis concinna, the carrier of R. sibirica, dominates the populations of Ixodes mites, while Ixodes persulcatus, the main reservoir of Candidatus R. tarasevichiae, is less common. As a result of the conducted studies, for the first time in the Russian Federation, a verified case of a lethal infection associated with two species of Rickettsia — Rickettsia sibirica and Candidatus R. tarasevichiae — was identified and described

Genome sequencing and population genomic analyses provide insights into the adaptive landscape of silver birch

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Tandem fusion of hepatitis B core antigen allows assembly of virus-like particles in bacteria and plants with enhanced capacity to accommodate foreign proteins

The core protein of the hepatitis B virus, HBcAg, assembles into highly immunogenic viruslike particles (HBc VLPs) when expressed in a variety of heterologous systems. Specifically, the major insertion region (MIR) on the HBcAg protein allows the insertion of foreign sequences, which are then exposed on the tips of surface spike structures on the outside of the assembled particle. Here, we present a novel strategy which aids the display of whole proteins on the surface of HBc particles. This strategy, named tandem core, is based on the production of the HBcAg dimer as a single polypeptide chain by tandem fusion of two HBcAg open reading frames. This allows the insertion of large heterologous sequences in only one of the two MIRs in each spike, without compromising VLP formation. We present the use of tandem core technology in both plant and bacterial expression systems. The results show that tandem core particles can be produced with unmodified MIRs, or with one MIR in each tandem dimer modified to contain the entire sequence of GFP or of a camelid nanobody. Both inserted proteins are correctly folded and the nanobody fused to the surface of the tandem core particle (which we name tandibody) retains the ability to bind to its cognate antigen. This technology paves the way for the display of natively folded proteins on the surface of HBc particles either through direct fusion or through non-covalent attachment via a nanobody

Anhydrobiosis-Associated Nuclear DNA Damage and Repair in the Sleeping Chironomid: Linkage with Radioresistance

Anhydrobiotic chironomid larvae can withstand prolonged complete desiccation as well as other external stresses including ionizing radiation. To understand the cross-tolerance mechanism, we have analyzed the structural changes in the nuclear DNA using transmission electron microscopy and DNA comet assays in relation to anhydrobiosis and radiation. We found that dehydration causes alterations in chromatin structure and a severe fragmentation of nuclear DNA in the cells of the larvae despite successful anhydrobiosis. Furthermore, while the larvae had restored physiological activity within an hour following rehydration, nuclear DNA restoration typically took 72 to 96 h. The DNA fragmentation level and the recovery of DNA integrity in the rehydrated larvae after anhydrobiosis were similar to those of hydrated larvae irradiated with 70 Gy of high-linear energy transfer (LET) ions (4He). In contrast, low-LET radiation (gamma-rays) of the same dose caused less initial damage to the larvae, and DNA was completely repaired within within 24 h. The expression of genes encoding the DNA repair enzymes occurred upon entering anhydrobiosis and exposure to high- and low-LET radiations, indicative of DNA damage that includes double-strand breaks and their subsequent repair. The expression of antioxidant enzymes-coding genes was also elevated in the anhydrobiotic and the gamma-ray-irradiated larvae that probably functions to reduce the negative effect of reactive oxygen species upon exposure to these stresses. Indeed the mature antioxidant proteins accumulated in the dry larvae and the total activity of antioxidants increased by a 3–4 fold in association with anhydrobiosis. We conclude that one of the factors explaining the relationship between radioresistance and the ability to undergo anhydrobiosis in the sleeping chironomid could be an adaptation to desiccation-inflicted nuclear DNA damage. There were also similarities in the molecular response of the larvae to damage caused by desiccation and ionizing radiation