Current State of Natural Foci of Dangerous Infectious Diseases in the Territory of the Russian Federation

Objective of the study is to evaluate the current state of epizootic activity of natural zoonotic foci, as the basis for the development of prophylactic measures aimed at prevention of natural-focal infections during mass events. Materials and methods. Utilized have been reports from the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Republic of Tatarstan, the data provided by Rospotrebnadzor Administration in the Republic of Tatarstan over the period of 2009-2014, and literature references. Results and conclusions. The most pressing natural-focal infectious diseases are hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, tick-borne borreliosis, and tick-borne viral encephalitis. Yersinioses, leptospiroses, and West Nile fever are rarely registered. Tularemia infections have not been reported within the past 20 years. The period of 2009-2013 is characterized by the decrease in the numbers of carriers and vectors of the diseases, as well as epizootic activity of natural foci, which came up to minimum values in 2013. Emerged since 2014 increment in the abundance rates of the carriers and later the vectors can lead to the increase in the incidence of natural-focal diseases. In the territory of the Republic, allocated are the spatial combination areas of natural foci of the diseases of various etiology with high risk of population exposure. Previous to conduction of mass events it is necessary to enhance the epizootiological surveillance in the natural foci, the results of which lay premises for the development of complex prophylactic activities

Potential use of polymeric particles for the regulation of plant growth

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are molecules widely applied in the agriculture, leading to increased crop yield and improved quality of agricultural products. These compounds act as plant hormones, affecting the plant hormonal homeostasis, and thus control plant growth and development. Recently, the development of polymer-based modified release systems for PGRs has emerged as a promising alternative for increasing the efficacy of these compounds. This review will focus on polymeric particles that are used as carrier systems for PGRs, allowing their controlled release and protecting them from degradation. Successful examples include the phytohormone gibberellic acid(GA3)-loaded nanoparticles, which showed higher efficacy than the non-nano active ingredient in promoting seed germination and seedling growth, and salicylic acid (SA) and nitric oxide (NO)-releasing nanoparticles as effective plant protection agents against stresses. Polymeric nanomaterials per se such as chitosan (Cs) can also alter plant signaling pathways and promote plant growth and development. Despite their great potential in improving the plant production with less damage to the environment, relatively few studies have focused on the use of these nanomaterials for the development of modified release systems for PGRs. In this scenario, this review discusses on the major advances and obstacles in the area.Fil: Pereira, Anderson E. S.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho. Faculdade de Engenharia; BrasilFil: Sousa, Bruno T.. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Iglesias, María José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Vera Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Casalongue, Claudia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Oliveira, Halley C.. Universidade Estadual de Londrina; BrasilFil: Fraceto, Leonardo F.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho. Faculdade de Engenharia; Brasi