Site-fidelity and spatial movements of western North Pacific gray whales on their summer range off Sakhalin, Russia

The Western North-Pacific (WNP) gray whale feeding grounds are off the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island, Russia and is comprised of a nearshore and offshore component that can be distinguished by both depth and location. Spatial movements of gray whales within their foraging grounds were examined based on 13 years of opportunistic vessel and shore-based photo-identification surveys. Site fidelity was assessed by examining annual return and resighting rates. Lagged Identification Rates (LIR) analyses were conducted to estimate the residency and transitional movement patterns within the two components of their feeding grounds. In total 243 individuals were identified from 2002-2014, among these were 94 calves. The annual return rate over the period 2002-2014 was 72%, excluding 35 calves only seen one year. Approximately 20% of the individuals identified from 2002-2010 were seen every year after their initial sighting (including eight individuals that returned for 13 consecutive years). The majority (239) of the WNP whales were observed in the nearshore area while only half (122) were found in the deeper offshore area. Within a foraging season, there was a significantly higher probability of gray whales moving from the nearshore to the offshore area. No mother-calf pairs, calves or yearlings were observed in the offshore area, which was increasingly used by mature animals. The annual return rates, and population growth rates that are primarily a result of calf production with little evidence of immigration, suggest that this population is demographically self-contained and that both the nearshore and offshore Sakhalin feeding grounds are critically important areas for their summer annual foraging activities. The nearshore habitat is also important for mother-calf pairs, younger individuals, and recently weaned calves. Nearshore feeding could also be energetically less costly compared to foraging in the deeper offshore habitat and provide more protection from predators, such as killer whales

Economic benefit of using testosterone gel (used externally) in men with diabetes mellitus and testosterone deficiency

BACKGROUND: High prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its input to the increase of mortality indicate that social and economic value of this disease and financial burden are great. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) enhances the effectiveness of T2DM treatment. A research was conducted to assess if Androgel® therapy in diabetic men is cost-effective. OBJECTIVES: Defining of economic benefit of adding “Androgel” to the T2DM treatment in men with testosterone deficiency. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Economic modeling and results of other clinical studies were used in the analysis. A guildeline of The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) was used for clinical study selection, development of economic modelling and study design, assessment of study quality. The study analyzed clinical effects (fasting morning glycemia, glycosylated hemoglobin, HOMA index) and mortality reduce. RESULTS: It was shown that TRT can help to reduce costs of glycemic control, to increase efficiency in terms of cost-effectiveness analysis. Target HbA1c value can be reached by additional cost of 569.39 roubles for every patient. There is a possible additional income from 454.100 to 8.896.186 rubles though reduced mortality. CONCLUSION: Thus, testosterone replacement therapy was shown as cost effective due to reduced costs. The analysis demonstrated HbA1c target achievement and, as a result, reduction of the T2DM outcomes and reduced mortality. There is a possible additional income from 454.100 to 8.896.186 rubles per year

Continuum elastic modeling of graphene resonators

Starting from an atomistic approach we have derived a hierarchy of successively more simplified continuum elasticity descriptions for modeling the mechanical properties of suspended graphene sheets. The descriptions are validated by applying them to square graphene-based resonators with clamped edges and studying numerically their mechanical responses. Both static and dynamic responses are treated. We find that already for deflections of the order of 0.5{\AA} a theory that correctly accounts for nonlinearities is necessary and that for many purposes a set of coupled Duffing-type equations may be used to accurately describe the dynamics of graphene membranes.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Efficacy and safety of antihistamines in children with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is one of the most common inflammatory diseases. This disease is characterized by severe itching, recurrent eczematous lesions and has a heterogeneous clinical picture. AD occurs in all countries, in both sexes, in different age groups. There has been a steady increase in the incidence of AD detection over the past three decades. The prevalence of AD symptoms in various regions of the Russian Federation (RF) ranged from 6.2 to 15.5%. There is no generally accepted classification of AD, the working classification of AD reflects the age dynamics, clinical and morphological forms, severity and stages of the course of the disease. Treatment of AD should be patient-centered and should include prevention of individual trigger factors, restoration of the skin barrier, and a stepwise and gradual approach to reduce inflammation based on the severity of the disease. mGCS are the first-line treatment for exacerbations of AD. Topical calcineurin inhibitors are tacrolimus and pimecrolimus. Pimecrolimus is indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate AD, and tacrolimus is indicated for moderate to severe AD. Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are characterized by low systemic absorption, they do not cause skin atrophy and do not affect the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. Systemic corticosteroids should be used only in exceptional cases for short-term treatment of an exacerbation or when starting another systemic therapy. The therapeutic value of 1st generation antihistamines lies in their sedative properties by normalizing nighttime sleep and reducing the intensity of itching. Dimetindene maleate is an effective and safe treatment for relieving symptoms of pruritus and normalizing sleep in patients with AD. Dimetindene maleate has a high safety profile and can be prescribed from 1 month of age

Inhaled antibiotics to improve efficacy and safety in the treatment of upper airway and lung inflammatory diseases

Inhaled antibacterial drugs have been used since the 1940s with greater or lesser effectiveness, due to the possibility of targeted delivery of drugs directly to the infection site at concentrations higher than MICs. High local concentrations of antibacterial agents expand the possibilities of treating infections caused by multiresistant strains and reduces antibiotic resistance in the population. The inhaled delivery method is characterized by a high level of safety due to the absence of systemic toxic effects, which reduces the risk of pseudomembranous colitis and other complications of antibiotic therapy. Thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteinate is a combined drug that includes thiamphenicol and N-acetylcysteine, which causes its antibacterial and mucolytic activity. The results of clinical studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of TGA in the treatment of acute and chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, community-acquired pneumonia, laryngotracheitis, rhinosinusitis and other infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract. In pediatrics, the drug is used to treat bronchitis and pneumonia, especially those that cannot be treated with other antibacterial drugs, bronchiolitis, whooping cough, and cystic fibrosis. The article presents data on the effectiveness and safety of containing TGA. A wide spectrum of antibacterial actions, the ability to form high local concentrations of antibacterial and mucolytic components in the focus of infection, a low risk of serious side effects in both adults and children are noted. The topical use of the combination drug has proven to be effective not only in bringing about a pronounced clinical improvement, but also in reducing the frequency of use of systemic antibiotic therapy. The efficacy of thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteinate is not inferior to macrolide antibiotics

Cap Layer Effect on Key Features of Persistent Photoconductivity Spectra in HgTe/CdHgTe Double Quantum Well Heterostructures

Persistent photoconductivity (PPC) spectra of HgTe/CdHgTe heterostructures with double quantum wells with different cap layers have been studied in the radiation excitation range 0.62–3.1 eV. We have shown that the material of the cap layer defines key features of the PPC spectra—local extrema—and their origin. An unusual oscillatory behavior of the PPC spectra is demonstrated. Such a behavior is shown to be independent of both cap and barrier layers

Electron energy relaxation under terahertz excitation in (Cd1− x Zn x )3As2 Dirac semimetals

We demonstrate that measurements of the photo-electromagnetic effect using terahertz laser radiation provide an argument for the existence of highly conductive surface electron states with a spin texture in Dirac semimetals (Cd1-xZnx)(3)As-2. We performed a study on a range of (Cd1-xZnx)(3)As-2 mixed crystals undergoing a transition from the Dirac semimetal phase with an inverse electron energy spectrum to trivial a semiconductor with a direct spectrum in the crystal bulk by varying the composition x. We show that for the Dirac semimetal phase, the photo-electromagnetic effect amplitude is defined by the number of incident radiation quanta, whereas for the trivial semiconductor phase, it depends on the laser pulse power, irrespective of wavelength. We assume that such behavior is attributed to a strong damping of the interelectron interaction in the Dirac semimetal phase compared to the trivial semiconductor, which may be due to the formation of surface electron states with a spin texture in Dirac semimetals

Past and Future of Permafrost Monitoring: Stability of Russian Energetic Infrastructure

This study is an attempt to suggest a new state system of permafrost monitoring, primarily for energetic infrastructure, based on past approaches and achievements in Russia for over a hundred years of Arctic studies. The methodology of this study is based on general theoretical methods of scientific research. Historical (retrospective analysis of the development of the monitoring system of long-term permafrost in Russia) and logical (inductive generalization) methods were applied. The structure and methods of permafrost monitoring in the Soviet Union and new technologies used nowadays to establish permafrost monitoring systems, taking into account modern Arctic energetic development, have been analyzed

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P < 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)