A patient tumour-on-a-chip system for personalised investigation of radiotherapy based treatment regimens

Development of personalised cancer models to predict response to radiation would benefit patient care; particularly in malignancies where treatment resistance is prevalent. Herein, a robust, easy to use, tumour-on-a-chip platform which maintains precision cut head and neck cancer for the purpose of ex vivo irradiation is described. The device utilises sintered discs to separate the biopsy and medium, mimicking in vivo microvascular flow and diffusion, maintaining tissue viability for 68 h. Integrity of tissues is demonstrated by the low levels of lactate dehydrogenase release and retained histology, accompanied by assessment of cell viability by trypan blue exclusion and flow cytometry; fluid dynamic modelling validates culture conditions. An irradiation jig is described for reproducible delivery of clinically-relevant doses (5 × 2 Gy) to newly-presenting primary tumours (n = 12); the addition of concurrent cisplatin is also investigated (n = 8) with response analysed by immunohistochemistry. Fractionated irradiation reduced proliferation (BrdU, p = 0.0064), increased DNA damage (ƴH2AX, p = 0.0043) and caspase-dependent apoptosis (caspase-cleaved cytokeratin-18) compared to control; caspase-dependent apoptosis was further increased by concurrent cisplatin compared to control (p = 0.0063). This is a proof of principle study showing the response of cancer tissue to irradiation ex vivo in a bespoke system. The novel platform described has the potential to personalise treatment for patients in a cost-effective manner with applicability to any solid tumour

Течение генерализованной формы менингококковой инфекции у пациента призывного возраста, отказавшегося от специфической профилактики (клинический случай)

Meningococcal infection is an acute infectious disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis, characterized by a polymorphism of clinical manifestations from meningococcus carriage to invasive forms. They, in turn, pose a great danger to the patient’s life, since in most cases they have a severe course with the development of complications, fulminant course and high mortality. The success of treatment of invasive meningococcal disease largely depends on the timeliness of diagnosis and the timing of treatment initiation. The article describes a clinical case of a generalized form of severe meningococcal infection with a rapidly developing infectious toxic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome in a soldier who had previously refused specific prophylaxis. Despite the mistakes made at the prehospital stage and, accordingly, late hospitalization, this case had a favorable outcome.Менингококковая инфекция — острое инфекционное заболевание, вызываемое Neisseria meningitidis, характеризующееся полиморфизмом клинических проявлений от менингококконосительства до генерализованной формы. Она, в свою очередь, представляет большую опасность для жизни заболевшего, поскольку в большинстве случаев имеет  молниеносное течение с развитием осложнений и высокую летальность. Успех терапии генерализованных форм менингококковой инфекции во многом зависит от своевременности диагностики и срока начала лечения. В статье описан клинический случай генерализованной формы менингококковой инфекции тяжелой степени тяжести со  стремительно развившимся инфекционно-токсическим шоком, синдромом диссеминированного внутрисосудистого свертывания у военнослужащего по призыву, отказавшегося ранее от специфической профилактики. Несмотря на допущенные ошибки на догоспитальном этапе и, соответственно, позднюю госпитализацию, данный случай имел благоприятный исход

Cultivation efficiency of new varieties of winter soft wheat in the north-eastern zone of the Krasnodar Territory

The paper presents a comparative assessment of new varieties of winter soft wheat cultivated in the north-eastern zone of the Krasnodar Territory. It provides the results on yield, grain quality and cost efficiency of their cultivation. On average over the years of study the Alekseich and Bezostaya 100 varieties have consistently provided high actual grain yields for the predecessor of peas – 6.67 and 6.55 t/ha, respectively. The highest grain quality was formed by the Bezostaya 100 variety. The average protein content over three years was 13.3%, gluten content 2 – 4.6%, grain unit – 806 g/l. Bezostaya 100 and Alekseich varieties ensured a high profit of 38,625-39,885 rub/ha and a level of profitability of 128-132% when cultivating the predecessor of peas. The study resulted in conclusions and proposals to the production to increase the efficiency of growing winter soft wheat varieties in Kuban

THE ASSESSMENT OF AGROPHYSICAL AND AGROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE DARK BROWN (CHESTNUT) SOIL OF THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE ROSTOV REGION

The article deals with the data of several agrophysical and agrochemical properties of the dark brown (chestnut) soil of the southern arable part of the Rostov region. These properties do not only characterize soil fertility, but also promote the growth and development of the plants, influence on their productivity. The awareness of the soil properties in the agrocenosis allows not only estimating its condition but applying the technologies of its improvement. The article considers the analysis of each 0-10 cm soil layer to the one meter depth that gives a clear understanding about the changes of the indexes in the depth. There have been determined the indexes of grain-size and aggregated composition of soil, density of soil, content and reserves of humus, pH and solid residue

RESPONSE OF SPRING BARLEY VARIETIES ON DIFFERENT CULTIVATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE ROSTOV REGION

In the southern part of the Rostov region we studied effect of different cultivation technologies on productivity of spring barley varieties ‘Vikont’ (for forage) and ‘Priazovsky 9’ (for brewing) in heavy loamy carbonate chernozem (black soil). The technologies varied in doses of mineral nutrition and protection during vegetation.The technological effect was studied according to three methods of primary tillage, i.e. plowing, combined tillage and surface tillage. The study showed that these factors influenced a lot on productivity, grain quality and economic profitability. The varieties showed the greatest productivity and better grain quality when cultivated by intensive technologies using plowing as a primary tillage. The article gives the assessment of economic profitability of spring barley. The improvement of the variety productivity and an increase of intensive cultivation showed economic efficiency reduce. The receiving of the yield per unit area using intensive technologies with a plowing turned to be the most expensive one with a total expenditure of 13287-13386 rub/ha, a prime cost of 3264-3524 rub/ha and a net income of 6173-7114 rub/ha. The cultivation of barley using extensive technologies with a surface tillage turned to be low-cost (6563-6574 rub/ha). The prime cost was the lowest one (2206-2369 rub/ha) and the net income was the highest one (7287-8326 rub/ha). Among all cultivation technologies an extensive method showed the maximum profitability of 95,1-126,7 %,when an intensive method showed only 43,0-53,1%

the course of a invasive meningococcal disease in a patient of military age from specific prophylaxis (clinical case)

Meningococcal infection is an acute infectious disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis, characterized by a polymorphism of clinical manifestations from meningococcus carriage to invasive forms. They, in turn, pose a great danger to the patient’s life, since in most cases they have a severe course with the development of complications, fulminant course and high mortality. The success of treatment of invasive meningococcal disease largely depends on the timeliness of diagnosis and the timing of treatment initiation. The article describes a clinical case of a generalized form of severe meningococcal infection with a rapidly developing infectious toxic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome in a soldier who had previously refused specific prophylaxis. Despite the mistakes made at the prehospital stage and, accordingly, late hospitalization, this case had a favorable outcome