Experimental Vaccines for Prevention of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever and Animal Models for Studying Pathogenesis

Marburg fever is an acute natural-focal disease characterized by severe course, hemorrhagic syndrome, high level of contagiousness and lethality. The causative agent of the disease is the RNA-containing virus belonging to the family of filoviruses (Filoviridae). The main problem faced by doctors and scientists involved in the fight against Marburg fever is the lack of vaccines and preventive drugs against this disease. The development of effective vaccines against filovirus infection is relevant for protecting the population living in natural foci and medical personnel during epidemic outbreaks, as well as for ensuring safe research work in BSL-4 laboratories. In this regard, this review considers biomodels suitable for studying the pathogenesis of filovirus infections, preclinical studies of specific activity and harmlessness of prototype Marburg virus vaccines and variants of these vaccines

Almost Periodic and Asymptotically Almost Periodic Solutions of Liénard Equations

The aim of this paper is to study the almost periodic and asymptotically almost periodic solutions on (0,+1) of the Li´enard equation x′′ + f(x)x′ + g(x) = F(t), where F : T ! R (T = R+ or R) is an almost periodic or asymptotically almost periodic function and g : (a, b) ! R is a strictly decreasing function. We study also this problem for the vectorial Li´enard equation. We analyze this problem in the framework of general non-autonomous dynamical systems (cocycles). We apply the general results obtained in our early papers [3, 7] to prove the existence of almost periodic (almost automorphic, recurrent, pseudo recurrent) and asymptotically almost periodic (asymptotically almost automorphic, asymptotically recurrent, asymptotically pseudo recurrent) solutions of Li´enard equations (both scalar and vectorial)

Abelian Sandpile Model on the Husimi Lattice of Square Plaquettes

An Abelian sandpile model is considered on the Husimi lattice of square plaquettes. Exact expressions for the distribution of height probabilities in the Self-Organized Critical state are derived. The two-point correlation function for the sites deep inside the Husimi lattice is calculated exactly.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, source files and some additional information available at http://thsun1.jinr.dubna.su/~shcher

LED-based Fourier transform spectroscopy of H216O in the range 15500-16000 cm-1

The vibrational-rotational absorption spectrum of water vapor within the range 15500–16000 cm−1 is measured and analyzed. The spectrum is recoded with an IFS-125M Fourier transform spectrometer with a resolution of 0.03 cm−1, at pressure of 25 mbar, at a temperature of 24°C, and at an optical path length of 34.8 m. The measurements are performed using a multipass White cell with a base length of 60 cm. A light-emitting diode is used as a radiation source. The signal-to-noise ratio is about 104, which makes it possible to measure the parameters of lines with intensities on the order of 10−27 cm/molecule. The centers, intensities, and half-widths of lines are determined by fitting the Voigt profile parameters to measured data set by the least squares method. A list of more than 430 lines is formed based on the analysis of the spectrum. The obtained results are compared with calculated and experimental data of other authors

20.5 kA current leads for ATLAS Barrel Toroid superconducting magnets

Three pairs of 20.5 kA current leads for the ATLAS Toroid Magnets have been designed, manufactured and tested at Kurchatov Institute. The current leads have a high mechanical reliability and the vacuum tightness under 30 bars of internal pressure. The insulation between the current carrying parts and the mounting flange, the hydraulic connections and the temperature gauges withstand the overvoltage of at least 2 kV. The current leads are fully equipped with diagnostics needed for safety and control. The current leads were tested up to 24 kA. According to CERN's specification they were also tested in the absence of any cooling at very slow current discharge rate (5 A/s) from 20.5 kA to zero without any excessive overheating. Nowadays the current leads are successfully used at the ATLAS Magnet Test Facility at CERN. (6 refs)

Study on the process of Fe (III) oxide fluorination

The article deals with a fundamentally new fluoride technology for obtaining fluoride materials, provides data on the kinetics of the process of fluorination of Fe oxide with fluorine, fluoride and ammonium bifluoride. The physical and chemical properties of obtained fluorides are shown: a study of the elemental composition, grain-size composition using the method of scanning electron microscopy and laser diffraction

Development of a vaccine adjuvant based on squalene and study of its adjuvant properties

The use of modern subunit vaccines involves adjuvant introduction into their composition. Currently, the search for new and improvement of existing adjuvant systems is actively underway. Squalene- based adjuvants are well-known and approved in a number of countries for clinical use in influenza vaccines. Our study was devoted to the development of an adjuvant composition on the basis of squalene. The resulting adjuvants were composed in a form of oil emulsion containing a hydrophilic and hydrophobic phase. The stability of the emulsion was achieved by treating it with ultrasound at a frequency of 22 kHz. Particle sizes of the obtained emulsions were examined with the use of an electron microscope. The particle size was calculated to be 50-80 nm for the majority of particles (84%). Adjuvant activity was evaluated in 100 male Balb/C mice, weighing 16-18 g. To assess the humoral immune response, immunization was performed twice, with a 14-day interval, by intramuscular injection of 200 mL per animal. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the surface S protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Delta variant (B.1.617.2)) or ovalbumin (OVA) from chicken eggs were used as antigens. RBD was administered at a dose of 50 mg/animal; OVA was administered at two doses (1 mg or 5 mg/animal). An antigen with aluminum hydroxide was used as a positive control; a saline solution was used as a negative control. The effectiveness of the obtained adjuvants was determined by measuring the titers of specific antibodies in mouse sera in ELISA assays using the recombinant RBD of SARS-CoV-2 S-protein or ovalbumin from chicken eggs. It was shown that the use of squalene-based adjuvants increased the antigens’ immunogenicity. The average titers of specific antibodies against RBD in the experimental group were 4 times higher than in the group immunized with RBD adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide. An increase in immunogenicity of the antigen adjuvanted with squalene was also observed in the experimental OVA-group. Thus, it was shown that the developed squalene-based adjuvant compositions could be an alternative to the traditional adjuvants based on aluminum salts

Color terms and phraseological units of sports jargon: russian and french languages

The study discusses some aspects of sports communication and linguistic worldview with due regard to national and cultural parameters. In particular, the authors of the article study sport phraseological units with coloronim-components in Russian and Frenc

Global digitalization and linguistic aesthetics: textology and linguistic identity

In a publicistic way, the article discusses the problem of correlations between digitalization and linguistic aesthetic