Toktrapport fra det norsk/russiske økotoktet i Barentshavet og nærliggende områder

The aim of the joint Norwegian/Russian ecosystem survey in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters, August-October (BESS) is to monitor the status and changes in the Barents Sea ecosystem and provide data to support stock advice and research. The survey has since 2004 been conducted annually in the autumn, as a collaboration between the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Norway and the Polar branch of the VNIRO (PINRO) in Russia. The general survey plan and tasks were agreed upon at the annual IMR-PINRO Meeting in March 2022. Ship routes and other technical details are agreed on by correspondence between the survey coordinators. BESS aims at covering the entire Barents Sea. Ecosystem stations are distributed in a 35×35 nautical mile regular grid, and the ship tracks follow this design. Exceptions are the area around Svalbard (Spitsbergen), some additional bottom trawl hauls for demersal fish survey indices estimation, and additional acoustic transects for the capelin stock size estimation. Survey start for the Russian vessel was significantly delayed, resulting in REEZ being covered two-three months later than NEEZ. This resulted in reduced area coverage, decrease in the numbers of trawl hauls, and lack of standard pelagic trawl sampling. In NEEZ, RV “Kronprins Haakon” was cancelled due to difficult economic situation, making it necessary to allocate one of the two remaining vessels to the area west and north of Svalbard (Spitsbergen). This resulted in low coverage in this area, and problems with synoptic coverage in north-east of Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and thus increased uncertainty in assessment of demersal fish (e.g. Greenland halibut) and capelin. The 19-th joint Barents Sea autumn Ecosystem Survey (BESS) was carried out in two periods. The Norwegian research vessels “G.O. Sars” and “Johan Hjort” covered NEEZ in the period 16-th August to 03-th October, providing data to stock assessment, 0-group fish abundance indices, and state and changes descriptions which is comparable with earlier survey years in NEEZ. The Russian research vessel “Vilnyus” covered REEZ in the periods 20-th to 30-th September and 22-th October to 3-rd December. Survey coordinators in 2022 were Dmitry Prozorkevich (PINRO) and Geir Odd Johansen (IMR). Exchange of Russian and Norwegian experts between each country’s respective vessels did not take place in 2022. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the crew and scientific personnel onboard RVs “Vilnyus”, “G.O. Sars” and “Johan Hjort” for their dedicated work, as well as all the people involved in planning and reporting of BESS 2022. This report is a summary of observations and status assessment based on the survey data. Even though the survey was not well completed, the data obtained are the main source of knowledge about the ecosystem of the Barents Sea.Survey report from the joint Norwegian/Russian Ecosystem Survey in the Barents Sea and the adjacent waters August- December 2022publishedVersio

The Antibiotic Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors of Patients Purchasing Antibiotics without Prescription: Results of National Survey

Background. The inappropriate and overuse of antimicrobials is a problem worldwide. To target future interventions, a thorough understanding of current behavior reasons is needed. The aim of the study was to explore antibiotic knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among patients residing in Russia. Methods. In total, 149 semistructured interviews were carried out with respondents using antibiotics without prescriptions. Interviews were used to assess participants’ practices to treat symptoms of a confirmed/suspected infectious disease and their behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes toward the use of antimicrobials. A directed content analysis was applied. Results. Despite regulation, inappropriate use of antibiotics is a common practice. Knowledge on the mechanism of action and indications for the use of antibiotics was generally low. However, self-diagnosis, self-treatment with antimicrobials, and attempts to purchase antibiotics in pharmacies with no prescription were quite common. Family members and friends were involved in decisions about treatment strategy. Time spent for the doctor’s visit, fear to be exposed to additional infections in outpatient clinics/hospitals, previous experience with antimicrobial self-treatment, and “loyal” policy of selling antibiotics influenced the respondents’ decisions of not going to the doctor. COVID-19 made an impact on antimicrobial self-treatment: there was a substantial complexity in contacting a medical healthcare provider. Most of the respondents did not pay much attention or even noticed informational materials on the proper use of antibiotics. Conclusion. Self-treatment with antibiotics in Russia exists. Conducted information campaigns were not effective enough as the low level of knowledge about antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance was revealed by the present study

A Clinical Case of Nosocomial Pneumonia as a Complication of COVID-19: How to Balance Benefits and Risks of Immunosuppressive Therapy?

We report a Russian case of a 61-year-old male patient with confirmed COVID-19 infection who developed nosocomial pneumonia complicated by lung abscess associated with multi-drug-resistant isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, which could have been provoked due to the immunosuppressive therapy. We discuss the existing literature highlighting the issue of the prudent balance between benefits and risks when prescribing immunomodulators to hospitalized patients with COVID-19 due to the risk of difficult-to-treat nosocomial infections caused by MDR Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Currently, there is evidence of a substantial positive effect of dexamethasone on the course of COVID-19 in patients requiring supplemental oxygen or anti-interleukin-6 drugs in individuals with prominent systemic inflammation. However, it seems that in real clinical practice, the proposed criteria for initiating treatment with immunomodulators are interpreted arbitrarily, and the doses of dexamethasone can significantly exceed those recommended

Survey report (Part 2) from the joint Norwegian/Russian Ecosystem Survey in the Barents Sea and the adjacent waters August-October 2023 — Marine environment, Mesozooplankton, Commercial Demersal Fish, Fish Biodiversity, Commercial Shellfish, Benthic Invertebrate Community, Marine Mammals and Seabirds

The aim of the joint Norwegian/Russian ecosystem survey in the Barents Sea and adjacent waters, August-October (BESS) is to monitor the status and changes of in the Barents Sea ecosystem. The survey has since 2004 been conducted annually in the autumn, as a collaboration between the IMR in Norway and the Polar Branch of VNIRO (PINRO) in Russia. The general survey plan, tasks, and sailings routes are usually agreed at the annual PINRO-IMR Meeting in March, but in 2023, due to external factors making physical meetings between Norwegian and Russian researchers difficult, they were agreed by correspondence. Survey coordinators in 2023 was Dmitry Prozorkevich (PINRO) and Geir Odd Johansen (IMR). No exchange of Russian and Norwegian experts between their respective vessels in 2023. The 21th BESS was carried out during the period from 10th August to 7th October by the Norwegian research vessels “Kronprins Haakon”, “G.O. Sars” and “Johan Hjort”, and the Russian vessels “Vilnyus”. The scientists and technicians taking part in the survey onboard the research vessels are listed in Table 1. As always, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the crew and scientific personnel onboard RVs “Vilnyus”, “G.O. Sars”, “Kronprins Haakon” and “Johan Hjort” and for their dedicated work, as well as all the people involved in planning and reporting of BESS 2023. This is a first part of the survey report summarising the observations and status assessments based on the survey data. The information obtained in BESS 2023 will be further used for the implementation of various international and national projects, assessment of fish and invertebrate stocks, environmental monitoring, etc.Survey report (Part 2) from the joint Norwegian/Russian Ecosystem Survey in the Barents Sea and the adjacent waters August-October 2023 — Marine environment, Mesozooplankton, Commercial Demersal Fish, Fish Biodiversity, Commercial Shellfish, Benthic Invertebrate Community, Marine Mammals and SeabirdspublishedVersio