Comparative Analysis of Clinical, Hormonal and Morphological Studies in Patients with Neuroendocrine ACTH-Producing Tumours

This paper highlights the problem of neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) with clinical symptoms of hypercorticism caused by hypersecretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by tumour cells. In most cases (85%), the tumours were localized in the pituitary gland (Cushing's disease); 15% of the patients had an extrapituitary tumour that manifest as an ectopic ACTH secretion (EAS). Comparative analysis of clinical, hormonal, histological, and immunohistochemical characteristics of pituitary and extrapituitary ACTH-secreting NET was performed. It included 46 patients with CD and 38 ones exhibiting ectopic ACTH secretion (EAS). Results of the study suggest differences between CD and EAS in terms of the severity of clinical manifestations and duration of the disease. Hormonal studies showed that EAS unlike CD was associated with high plasma ACTH and cortisol levels, late-evening salivary cortisol and daily urinary free cortisol, the absence of a 60% or greater reduction of cortisol in the HDDST test, and the presence of a low (less than 2) ACTH gradient in response to desmopressin administration with catheterization of cavernous sinuses. The study of morphofunctional characteristics of the removed NET demonstrated the ability of both pituitary and extrapituitary NETs to express ACTH as well as GH, PRL, LH, and FSH. The angiogenic markers (CD31 and VEGF) were detected with equal frequency regardless of the NET localization. The histological structure of all corticotropinomas suggested their benign origin, but extrapituitary NETs were represented by different morphological types with varying malignancy, invasiveness, and metastatic properties. A higher cell proliferation potential (Ki-67) was documented for NET in patients presenting with an ectopic ACTH secretion compared to those having corticotropinomas

Anthropogenic- and natural sources of dust in peatland during the Anthropocene

As human impact have been increasing strongly over the last decades, it is crucial to distinguish human-induced dust sources from natural ones in order to define the boundary of a newly proposed epoch - the Anthropocene. Here, we track anthropogenic signatures and natural geochemical anomalies in the Mukhrino peatland, Western Siberia. Human activity was recorded there from cal AD 1958 (±6). Anthropogenic spheroidal aluminosilicates clearly identify the beginning of industrial development and are proposed as a new indicator of the Anthropocene. In cal AD 1963 (±5), greatly elevated dust deposition and an increase in REE serve to show that the geochemistry of elements in the peat can be evidence of nuclear weapon testing; such constituted an enormous force blowing soil dust into the atmosphere. Among the natural dust sources, minor signals of dryness and of the Tunguska cosmic body (TCB) impact were noted. The TCB impact was indirectly confirmed by an unusual occurrence of mullite in the pea

Hydrometeorological dataset of West Siberian boreal peatland: a 10-year record from the Mukhrino field station

Northern peatlands represent one of the largest carbon pools in the biosphere, but the carbon they store is increasingly vulnerable to perturbations from climate and land-use change. Meteorological observations taken directly at peatland areas in Siberia are unique and rare, while peatlands are characterized by a specific local climate. This paper presents a hydrological and meteorological dataset collected at the Mukhrino peatland, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra, Russia, over the period of 8 May 2010 to 31 December 2019. Hydrometeorological data were collected from stations located at a small pine–shrub–Sphagnum ridge and Scheuchzeria–Sphagnum hollow at ridge–hollow complexes of ombrotrophic peatland. The monitored meteorological variables include air temperature, air humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, incoming and reflected photosynthetically active radiation, net radiation, soil heat flux, precipitation (rain), and snow depth. A gap-filling procedure based on the Gaussian process regression model with an exponential kernel was developed to obtain continuous time series. For the record from 2010 to 2019, the average mean annual air temperature at the site was −1.0 ∘C, with the mean monthly temperature of the warmest month (July) recorded as 17.4 ∘C and for the coldest month (January) −21.5 ∘C. The average net radiation was about 35.0 W m−2, and the soil heat flux was 2.4 and 1.2 W m−2 for the hollow and the ridge sites, respectively. The presented data are freely available through Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4323024, Dyukarev et al., 2020), last access: 15 December 2020) and can be used in coordination with other hydrological and meteorological datasets to examine the spatiotemporal effects of meteorological conditions on local hydrological responses across cold regions.</p

A case report of surgical treatment of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis in a patient with multiple organ failure

Amiodarone is a drug used in the treatment of life-threatening arrhythmias, which can lead to the development of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis. In most cases this pathology can be treated by conservative methods; surgical treatment is resorted to in cases of thyrotoxicosis refractory to medical treatment. This case report describes surgical treatment of a patient with amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis, progressive heart failure, neurological pathology, bilateral pneumonia, functioning tracheostomy, systemic infectious process, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, who was treated in the intensive care unit. Due to the lack of response to therapy with antithyroid drugs (thiamazole, lithium preparations and pulse therapy with prednisolone) and a progressive deterioration of the condition in a short period of time, according to vital indicators, the patient underwent thyroidectomy. In the postoperative period, there was a decrease in the occurrence of chronic heart failure symptoms. Medical control of cardiac arrhythmias was achieved. Surgical stage proceeded without complications in the period of 30-days. The patient was discharged for outpatient rehabilitation treatment

Long-term follow-up of a female patient with Weber–Christian panniculitis

Weber–Christian disease is a rare form of lobular panniculitis characterized by painful subcutaneous nodules on the trunk and limbs commonly concurrent with systemic manifestations and a tendency to relapse. Known are only sporadic cases of a long-term (more than 5-year) followup of patients with Weber–Christian disease. For this reason, there are neither prognostic criteria for the disease no proven conventional treatment option now. The paper describes a clinical case of a female patient with a verified diagnosis of Weber–Christian disease who has a sustained subclinical remission due to low-dose prednisone use and basic antirecurrent therapy

Новые виды и наиболее интересные находки для флоры Урала и прилегающих территорий

The article provides information about rare and newly described species for the flora of the Urals and adjacent territories, namely: Astragalus saphronovae Kulikov, Atraphaxis decipiens Jaub. et Spach., Carex amgunensis F. Schmidt, Galium densiflorum Ledeb., Jovibarba globifera (L.) J. Parn., Najas minor All., Potamogeton nodosus Poir., Pseudorchis albida (L.) Á. Löve et D. Löve, Salix myrsinites L., Veronica agrestis L. Essays include the information on the species ecology and short taxonomic notes. © 2021 Altai State University. All rights reserved.The work was supported by the state assignments: АААА-А19-119031290052-1 “Sosudistye rasteniia Evrazii: sistematika, flora, rastitelʹnye resursy” [“Vascular plants of Eurasia: systematics, flora, plant resources”], АААА-А18-118011990151-7 “Izucheniye, sokhraneniye i rasshireniye bioraznoobraziya rasteniy v prirode i pri introduktsii na Yuzh nom Urale i Priuralye” [“Study, conservation and expansion of plant biodiversity in nature and during introduction in the Southern Urals and the Cis- and Trans-Urals region”], AAAA-A17-117050400146-5 “Otsenka prostranstvennovremennoy izmenchivosti bioraznoobraziya i usloviy yego formirovaniya na Severe Zapadnoy Sibiri v svyazi s izmeneniyem klimata i osvoyeniyem neftegazovykh resursov” [“Assessment of the spatio-temporal variability of biodiversity and the conditions for its formation in the north of Western Siberia in connection with climate change and the development of oil and gas resources”], and by “Programmoy povysheniya konkurentosposobnosti Uralskogo federalnogo universiteta” [“The program for improving the competitiveness of the Ural Federal University”] (the decree no. 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract no. 02.A03.21.0006)

Overview: Recent advances in the understanding of the northern Eurasian environments and of the urban air quality in China – a Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) programme perspective

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) Science Plan, released in 2015, addressed a need for a holistic system understanding and outlined the most urgent research needs for the rapidly changing Arctic-boreal region. Air quality in China, together with the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, was also indicated as one of the most crucial topics of the research agenda. These two geographical regions, the northern Eurasian Arctic-boreal region and China, especially the megacities in China, were identified as a “PEEX region”. It is also important to recognize that the PEEX geographical region is an area where science-based policy actions would have significant impacts on the global climate. This paper summarizes results obtained during the last 5 years in the northern Eurasian region, together with recent observations of the air quality in the urban environments in China, in the context of the PEEX programme. The main regions of interest are the Russian Arctic, northern Eurasian boreal forests (Siberia) and peatlands, and the megacities in China. We frame our analysis against research themes introduced in the PEEX Science Plan in 2015. We summarize recent progress towards an enhanced holistic understanding of the land–atmosphere–ocean systems feedbacks. We conclude that although the scientific knowledge in these regions has increased, the new results are in many cases insufficient, and there are still gaps in our understanding of large-scale climate–Earth surface interactions and feedbacks. This arises from limitations in research infrastructures, especially the lack of coordinated, continuous and comprehensive in situ observations of the study region as well as integrative data analyses, hindering a comprehensive system analysis. The fast-changing environment and ecosystem changes driven by climate change, socio-economic activities like the China Silk Road Initiative, and the global trends like urbanization further complicate such analyses. We recognize new topics with an increasing importance in the near future, especially “the enhancing biological sequestration capacity of greenhouse gases into forests and soils to mitigate climate change” and the “socio-economic development to tackle air quality issues”

Длительное наблюдение пациентки с панникулитом Вебера–Крисчена

Weber–Christian disease is a rare form of lobular panniculitis characterized by painful subcutaneous nodules on the trunk and limbs commonly concurrent with systemic manifestations and a tendency to relapse. Known are only sporadic cases of a long-term (more than 5-year) followup of patients with Weber–Christian disease. For this reason, there are neither prognostic criteria for the disease no proven conventional treatment option now. The paper describes a clinical case of a female patient with a verified diagnosis of Weber–Christian disease who has a sustained subclinical remission due to low-dose prednisone use and basic antirecurrent therapy. Болезнь Вебера–Крисчена – редкая форма лобулярного панникулита, характеризующаяся развитием болезненных подкожных узлов на туловище и конечностях часто в сочетании с системными проявлениями и тенденцией к рецидивам. Известны единичные случаи длительного (более 5 лет) наблюдения пациентов с болезнью Вебера–Крисчена. По этой причине в настоящее время не существует прогностических критериев заболевания и доказанного общепринятого метода лечения. Представлено клиническое наблюдение пациентки с верифицированным диагнозом кожной формы болезни Вебера–Крисчена, у которой длительное время отмечается субклиническая ремиссия на фоне приема низких доз преднизолона и базисной противорецидивной терапии.

Долгосрочное влияние нетакимаба на качество жизни, боль в спине и работоспособность пациентов с анкилозирующим спондилитом: результаты международного многоцентрового рандомизированного двойного слепого клинического исследования III фазы BCD-085-5/ASTERA

The article contains the data obtained during the 156-week follow-up of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in the ASTERA phase III study.Objective: to evaluate the effect impact of netakimab (NTK) on quality of life (QoL), back pain and work capacity in patients with active AS.Material and methods. The study enrolled 228 patients with active AS who were randomized 1:1 to receive NTK 120 mg or placebo. At week 52, patients in Group 1 (NTK) who achieved ASAS20 continued therapy (NTK at a dose of 120 mg once every 2 weeks) until week 156. Patients in Group 2 (placebo/NTK) received the study drug at a dose of 120 mg subcutaneously every 2 weeks from week 20 until week 68, after which the efficacy of therapy was determined (by achieving an ASAS20 response). Patients who achieved ASAS20 received treatment (NTK at a dose of 120 mg once every 2 weeks) until week 172.Results and discussion. Under NTK therapy, a significant improvement in QoL was observed in the assessment of the physical and psychological components of the SF-36 questionnaire, which was maintained during the three years of therapy: increase in indicator by 12.68±9.92; 13.27±10.14; 12.92±10.03; 14.10±10.35; 14.76±9.77 and 6.10±11.59; 5.50±11.82; 6.32±11.01; 5.87±11.45; 5.25±11.98 points at week 52, 76, 104, 128 and 156, respectively. During the extended therapy period, a reduction in the proportion of working hours missed for health reasons, an improvement in work capacity and work efficiency and an increase in daily activity were observed. Back pain (BASDAI question 2) and nocturnal back pain decreased steadily during the entire follow-up period compared to the screening values.Conclusion. NTK is an effective therapy for active AS that improves QoL scores, significantly reduces pain intensity and improves work productivity.В статье приведены данные, полученные в ходе 156 нед наблюдения за пациентами с анкилозирующим спондилитом (АС) в исследовании III фазы ASTERA.Цель исследования – оценить влияние нетакимаба (НТК) на качество жизни (КЖ), боль в спине и работоспособность пациентов с активным АС.Материал и методы. В исследование включено 228 больных активным АС, которые были рандомизированы в соотношении 1:1 в группу НТК 120 мг или группу плацебо. На неделе 52 пациенты группы 1 (НТК), достигшие ASAS20, продолжили получать терапию (НТК в дозе 120 мг 1 раз в 2 нед) до недели 156. Пациенты группы 2 (плацебо/НТК), начиная с недели 20, использовали исследуемый препарат в дозе 120 мг подкожно 1 раз в 2 нед до недели 68, после которой у них была определена эффективность терапии (по достижению ответа ASAS20). Пациенты, достигшие ASAS20, получали лечение (НТК в дозе 120 мг 1 раз в 2 нед) до недели 172.Результаты и обсуждение. На фоне лечения НТК наблюдалось значимое улучшение КЖ при оценке физического и психологического компонентов опросника SF-36, которое сохранялось на протяжении 3 лет терапии: повышение показателя на 12,68±9,92; 13,27±10,14; 12,92±10,03; 14,10±10,35; 14,76±9,77 и 6,10±11,59; 5,50±11,82; 6,32±11,01; 5,87±11,45; 5,25±11,98 балла на неделях 52, 76, 104, 128, 156 соответственно. В течение продленного периода терапии было выявлено снижение доли рабочего времени, пропущенного по состоянию здоровья, улучшение работоспособности и эффективности труда, а также повышение повседневной активности. Боль в спине (вопрос 2 BASDAI) и ночная боль в спине стойко уменьшались на протяжении всего периода наблюдения по сравнению с их показателями на момент скрининга.Заключение. НТК является эффективным методом терапии активного АС. Под действием НТК улучшаются показатели КЖ, в том числе значимо снижается интенсивность боли и улучшается производительность труда