Agricultural Development in Kuzbass in 1981–1985

The article describes the agricultural sector of the Kemerovo Region (Kuzbass). The author used it as an example to identify the main stages of agricultural development of Western Siberia in 1981–1985. The study relied on the theory of modernization, which links economic and political changes with agricultural reforms. According to archival documents and regional statistics, the new tools of economic development and the favorable investment climate allowed the industry to overcome the agrarian crisis in the early 1980s, improve the state of affairs on collective and state farms, and increase the agricultural production. The new measures included producing for profit, labor contracts, and elements of land lease as the economic independence of agricultural enterprises continued to grow. The regional agricultural sector developed much faster in the 1980s than in the late 1970s. However, non-production costs, crop waste, and cattle mortality remained high while irrational utilization of state resources was quite common. In general, Kuzbass showed average agricultural indicators for the West Siberian economic region

Application of Antimicrobial Peptides of the Innate Immune System in Combination With Conventional Antibiotics—A Novel Way to Combat Antibiotic Resistance?

Rapidly growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to conventional antibiotics leads to inefficiency of traditional approaches of countering infections and determines the urgent need for a search of fundamentally new anti-infective drugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of the innate immune system are promising candidates for a role of such novel antibiotics. However, some cytotoxicity of AMPs toward host cells limits their active implementation in medicine and forces attempts to design numerous structural analogs of the peptides with optimized properties. An alternative route for the successful AMPs introduction may be their usage in combination with conventional antibiotics. Synergistic antibacterial effects have been reported for a number of such combinations, however, the molecular mechanisms of the synergy remain poorly understood and little is known whether AMPs cytotoxicy for the host cells increases upon their application with antibiotics. Our study is directed to examination of a combined action of natural AMPs with different structure and mode of action (porcine protegrin 1, caprine bactenecin ChBac3.4, human alpha- and beta-defensins (HNP-1, HNP-4, hBD-2, hBD-3), human cathelicidin LL-37), and egg white lysozyme with varied antibiotic agents (gentamicin, ofloxacin, oxacillin, rifampicin, polymyxin B, silver nanoparticles) toward selected bacteria, including drug-sensitive and drug-resistant strains, as well as toward some mammalian cells (human erythrocytes, PBMC, neutrophils, murine peritoneal macrophages and Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells). Using “checkerboard titrations” for fractional inhibitory concentration indexes evaluation, it was found that synergy in antibacterial action mainly occurs between highly membrane-active AMPs (e.g., protegrin 1, hBD-3) and antibiotics with intracellular targets (e.g., gentamicin, rifampcin), suggesting bioavailability increase as the main model of such interaction. In some combinations modulation of dynamics of AMP-bacterial membrane interaction in presence of the antibiotic was also shown. Cytotoxic effects of the same combinations toward normal eukaryotic cells were rarely synergistic. The obtained data approve that combined application of antimicrobial peptides with antibiotics or other antimicrobials is a promising strategy for further development of new approach for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria by usage of AMP-based therapeutics. Revealing the conventional antibiotics that increase the activity of human endogenous AMPs against particular pathogens is also important for cure strategies elaboration

Arterial-ventricular coupling and tolerance to physical exertion in patients with primary hypothyroidism

Aim. To study the influence of medicamentous compensation of primary hypothyroidism on tolerance to physical exertion and arterial-ventricular coupling. Material and methods. Thirty-one women with primary hypothyroidism underwent stress-echocardiography before and after medicamentous achievement of euthyroid state. Subclinical hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 15 patients. Overt hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 16 patients. Results are presented with 95% confidence interval. Results. In patients with subclinical hypothyroidism reaching of euthyroid state was associated with an increase of physical capacity from 72.2 (55.9–88.5) to 95.5 (82.1–108.9) Wt (p  0.001), a decrease in arterial stiffness index from 4.80 (4.45–5.15) to 3.87 (3.56–4.18) mm Hg × ml-1 × m-2 (p  0.001), a decrease in left ventricular stiffness index from 6.67 (6.03–7.31) to 5.87 (5.30–6.44) mm Hg × ml-1× m-2 (p  0.005). In patients with overt hypothyroidism reaching of euthyroid state was associated with an increase of physical capacity from 75.4 (64.1–86.6) to 98.2 (88.6–107.7) Wt (p  0.001), a decrease in arterial stiffness index from 4.56 (4.18–4.94) to 4.00 (3.73–4.27) mm Hg × ml-1 × m-2 (p  0.001), a decrease in left ventricular stiffness index from 6.47 (5.86–7.08) to 6.13 (5.69–6.57) mm Hg × ml-1 × m-2 (p  0.05). In patients with subclinical hypothyroidism cardiovascular arterial-ventricular coupling index decreased from 0.72 (0.69–0.75) to 0.66 (0.62–0.71) units. In patients with overt hypothyroidism cardiovascular arterial-ventricular coupling index decreased from 0.71 (0.67–0.74) to 0.66 (0.63–0.69) units. In the whole group gain of left ventricular stiffness index after physical exertion increased from 4.13 (3.67–4.59) to 6.05 (5.60–6.50) mm Hg × ml-1 × m-2 (p  0.01), cardiovascular arterial-ventricular coupling index increased from 0.07 (0.03–0.10) to 0.14 (0.11–0.17) units (p 0.01)

Combined Use of Antimicrobial Peptides with Antiseptics against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria: Pros and Cons

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are acknowledged as a promising template for designing new antimicrobials. At the same time, existing toxicity issues and limitations in their pharmacokinetics make topical application one of the less complicated routes to put AMPs-based therapeutics into actual medical practice. Antiseptics are one of the common components for topical treatment potent against antibiotic-resistant pathogens but often with toxicity limitations of their own. Thus, the interaction of AMPs and antiseptics is an interesting topic that is also less explored than combined action of AMPs and antibiotics. Herein, we analyzed antibacterial, antibiofilm, and cytotoxic activity of combinations of both membranolytic and non-membranolytic AMPs with a number of antiseptic agents. Fractional concentration indices were used as a measure of possible effective concentration reduction achievable due to combined application. Cases of both synergistic and antagonistic interaction with certain antiseptics and surfactants were identified, and trends in the occurrence of these types of interaction were discussed. The data may be of use for AMP-based drug development and suggest that the topic requires further attention for successfully integrating AMPs-based products in the context of complex treatment. AMP/antiseptic combinations show promise for creating topical formulations with improved activity, lowered toxicity, and, presumably, decreased chances of inducing bacterial resistance. However, careful assessment is required to avoid AMP neutralization by certain antiseptic classes in either complex drug design or AMP application alongside other therapeutics/care products

New records of bat flies (Diptera: Nycteribiidae), with an updated checklist of the nycteribiids of Russia

We assembled a checklist by documenting and curating previously published data as well as previously unpublished records of bat flies from the Russian Federation. A total of 20 bat fly species are listed, belonging to 4 genera. Basilia mongolensis nudior Hůrka, 1972 and Basilia nattereri (Kolenati, 1857) are recorded from Russia for the first time. The following new host associations are reported: Basilia mongolensis nudior ex Myotis nattereri (Kuhl), Basilia nattereri ex Eptesicus nilssonii (Keyserling & Blasius), Basilia rybini Hůrka, 1969 ex Myotis dasycneme (Boie) and Eptesicus nilssonii, and Nycteribia quasiocellata Theodor, 1966 ex Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus. We provide data on nine major Russian regions for which nycteribiid records were previously lacking