COMBINED HEAT SUPPLY SYSTEM USING THE ENERGY OF THE SUN AND EARTH

An energy-efficient hybrid heat supply system for buildings with a solar water heating system and a geothermal heat pump is considered.Рассмотрена энергоэффективная гибридная система теплоснабжения зданий с солнечной водонагревательной установкой и геотермальным тепловым насосом

ASSESSMENT OF THE SENSITIVITY OF NEW CRITERIA FOR SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS IN RUSSIAN PATIENT POPULATION

Systemic sclerosis (SS) is a progressive connective tissue disease, the prognosis of which largely depends on the time of adequate therapy initiation. Low sensitivity of the 1980 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SS classification criteria for identifying patients with early stage of the disease, and with its limited form in particular, has necessitated revision of existing SS diagnostic standards and elaboration of more sensitive criteria that allow to establish the diagnosis when the first sign of the disease appear.Objective: to compare the sensitivity of the novel SS criteria of ACR and European League against Rheumatism (ACR/EULAR) 2013 and the 1980 ACR criteria in different stages of the disease.Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 302 patients who had been diagnosed by experts as having SS and followed up at the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology in 2007–2013. The patients’ mean age was 49±13 years (18 to 80 years); male to female ratio – 1:9 (31 and 271), that of patients with diffuse and limited SS – 1:2 (105 and 197); mean duration of the disease from the first non-Raynaud’s syndrome was 8.2±7.0 years (6 months to 36 years). Physical examination, nailfold capillaroscopy, chest radiography or computed tomography, echocardiography for the determination of pulmonary artery systolic pressure and SS-specific antibodies evaluation were performed.Results. 273 (90%) patients fulfilled the novel ACR/EULAR 2013 SS criteria. 76 (25%) patients had skin thickening above the metacarpophalangeal (MPC) joints in both hands; 263 (87%) – finger skin thickening [70 (23%) – finger swelling, 192 (64%) – thickening of all fingers distal to the MPC joints], 141 (47%) – digital ischemia [79 (26%) – digital pitting scars, 20 (7%) – digital ulcers, 42 (14%) – digital pitting scars and ulcers], 134 (44%) – telangiectasias, 276 (91%) – capillaroscopic changes, 225 (78%) – pulmonary hypertension (PH) or interstitial lung disease (ILD) [15 (5%) – PH 185 (61%) – ILD, 35 (12%) – ILD and PH], 301 (99%) – Raynaud’s phenomenon, and 185 (61%) – SS autoantibodies [138 (46%) – anti-Scl-70 antibodies (a-Scl-70), 42 (14%) – anti-centromere antibodies (ACA), 5 (1.7%) – ACA and a-Scl-70]. 216 (72%) patients fulfilled 1980 ACR SS criteria, and all of them met the novel criteria. With the latter, SS could be additionally diagnosed in 57 more (18%) patients.Conclusion. The 2013 ACR/EULAR SS classification criteria have much higher sensitivity than the 1980 ACR criteria. The sensitivity of the novel criteria remained at the level of 90% in all, including the earliest, stages of the disease while the ACR criteria allowed to confirm diagnosis of SS in only half of patients with a disease duration of less than 1 year

SCLERODERMA SYSTEMATICA WITH INTERSTITIAL LUNG LESION: COMPARATIVE CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICSWITH PATIENTS WITHOUT LUNG LESION

Objective. To compare disease history data and clinical and laboratory parameters in patients with scleroderma systematica (SDS) with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT)-verified interstitial lung lesion (ILL) versus those without lung involvement. Subjects and methods. An examination was made in 138 patients with SDS who had been consecutively admitted in 2006-2008, female/male ratio, 124 : 14; limited : diffuse : mixed forms, 78 : 40 : 20; mean age, 47±13 years; median disease duration, 6 (2.5 11) years. The history data (occupational hazards, smoking, respiratory diseases) and clinical manifestations of SDS and laboratory data were studied. The diagnosis of ILL was established on the basis of chest HRCT. Results. According to HRCT data, the signs of varying ILL were found in 82% of the patients with SDS. The duration of SDS was similar in the patients with and without lung involvement; but the latter were younger at the time of disease onset. There were no significant differences between the groups compared in history data, clinical forms of SDS, the frequency of involvement of visceral organs and systems. Crepitation was heard only in the patients with ILL. The frequency of respiratory manifestations increased with a larger number of the involved lung segments. The prevalence of ILL was found to be positively correlated with age at the onset of SDS (r=0.29;

Influence of silicone mammoplasty on the immunoendocrine status of female recipients

The article concerns a study of early influence of silicone breast implants on the development of autoimmune reactions and dynamics of prolactin and thyroid hormone levels in women after mammoplasty. At the present time, this issue remains relevant for several reasons: more than 20 million pairs of implants have been installed in the world and the number of their implantations is constantly growing. Despite relative safety of the silicone implants, some of them are periodically banned by regulatory bodies in various countries. At the same time, there is a growing number of controversial publications in the scientific literature, about potential adverse consequences of their use. Some authors suggest an association between the silicone implants and risk of developing autoimmune conditions, connective tissue disorders, and occasional malignancies. On the other hand, the journals are full of publications about the overall safe tolerance of such medical devices by the patients. These considerations served as a pre-requisite to our research. As part of this project, we have assayed serum levels of autoantibodies to ten antigens, as well as contents of prolactin and thyroid hormones by means of ELISA technique in 27 patients before, 3 and 6 months after aesthetic and reconstructive mammoplastics performed within a period of September 2018 to November 2019. As a result, it was found that 5 out of 27 patients exhibited changes in the autoimmunity spectrum and intensity after mammoplasty. In particular, the concentrations of autoantibodies to modified citrullinated vimentin and IgM autoantibodies to cardiolipin exceeded the normal level at 3 and 6 months. In addition, the initially high prolactin concentration in mammoplasty recipients dropped to normal ranges by 3 months after breast surgery, even after several-fold increased initial levels. As for thyroid hormones, there were no statistically significant changes in their dynamics. The increase of autoantibodies to various target antigens after mammoplasty was statistically significant and positively correlated with each other. This can be explained, for example, by dependence on the adjuvant effect of silicone, which is not associated with antigen specificity. However, it may generally stimulate the immune responses

STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY OF MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL THERAPY IN PATIENTSWITH SYSTEMIC SCLERODERMA

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the major causes of death in systemic scleroderma (SSD). Treatment of these patients remains difficult and controversial. Mycophenolate mofetil (MPM) has been in vitro shown to inhibit overproduction of type I collagen and hence may be effective against SSD. Objective: to study the efficiency and safety of MPM therapy in patients with SSD and clinically relevant ILD in an open-label prospective study. Subjects and methods. Ten patients with SSD (7 and 3 with its diffuse and limited forms, respectively) and ILD were given MPM in combination with glucocorticoids (mean daily dose was 10+4 mg). The mean MPM therapy duration was 11.4+1.3 months. The Rodnan total skin thickness score, flexion index, forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and European Scleroderma Study Group (EScSG) activity index were estimated and a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) was carried out before and after MPM therapy. Results. After therapy, the whole group showed a significant reduction in skin scores from 12.9+9.8 to 5.6+3.2 (p=0.036) and EScSG from 3.9+1.4 to 2.25+1.03 (p=0.015) and an increase in exercise tolerance from 446+155 to 535+78 m (p=0.03) as evidenced by 6MWT. The degree of flexion contractures decreased from 15+21 to 3.7+11.3 mm (p>0.05). FVC (77.8+18.7% versus 73.8+11.3%) and DLCO (45+14.4% versus 42+16.4%) were significantly unchanged. A 10% or more clinically significant fall was noted in FVC and DLCO in 3 and 1 patients, respectively. In the remaining patients, the lung functional test results remained stable. MPM tolerability was satisfactory. All the patients completed their course of treatment. Conclusion. Stabilization of lung function with higher exercise tolerance and significantly reduced skin density allow therapy with MPM in combination with low-dose glucocorticoids to be regarded as an effective and well-tolerated treatment in patients with ILD in the presence of SS

IAEA activities on 67Cu, 186Re, 47Sc Theranostic radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals

Despite interesting properties, the use of 67Cu, 186Re and 47Sc theranostic radionuclides in preclinical studies and clinical trials is curtailed by their limited availability due to a lack of widely established production methods. An IAEA Coordinated Research Project (CRP) was initiated to identify important technical issues related to the production and quality control of these emerging radionuclides and related radiopharmaceuticals, based on the request from IAEA Member States. The international team worked on targetry, separation, quality control and radiopharmaceutical aspects of the radionuclides obtained from research reactors and cyclotrons leading to preparation of a standard recommendations for all Member States. The CRP was initiated in 2016 with fourteen participants from thirteen Member States from four continents. Extraordinary results on the production, quality control and preclinical evaluation of selected radionuclides were reported in this project that was finalized in 2020. The outcomes, outputs and results of this project achieved by participating Member States are described in this minireview

Search for dark matter at √s=13 TeV in final states containing an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for physics beyond the Standard Model in events containing an energetic photon and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. As the number of events observed in data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, is in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, model-independent limits are set on the fiducial cross section for the production of events in this final state. Exclusion limits are also placed in models where dark-matter candidates are pair-produced. For dark-matter production via an axial-vector or a vector mediator in the s-channel, this search excludes mediator masses below 750–1200 GeV for dark-matter candidate masses below 230–480 GeV at 95% confidence level, depending on the couplings. In an effective theory of dark-matter production, the limits restrict the value of the suppression scale M∗ to be above 790 GeV at 95% confidence level. A limit is also reported on the production of a high-mass scalar resonance by processes beyond the Standard Model, in which the resonance decays to Zγ and the Z boson subsequently decays into neutrinos

Динамика газовыделений больных тяжелой бронхиальной астмой на фоне базисной противовоспалительной терапии

Because of the shortcomings of existing methods of assessment of asthma severity, the method of laser opto-acoustic spectroscopy was considered using for this purpose. Findings results show the availability of this method for diagnostics of clinical course severe asthma.В связи с недостатками существующих методов оценки состояния тяжести бронхиальной астмы рассмотрены возможности использования для этой цели метода лазерной оптико-акустической спектроскопии. Полученные результаты показывают перспективность данного метода для диагностики течения тяжелой бронхиальной астмы