Impact of External Factors on National Energy Security

The article examines both external and internal threats to national energy security, formulates the tasks of increasing energy security, discloses modern challenges, as well as measures to level them. In recent years, Russian economy has felt the growing influence of external threats and risks: unfair competition in world markets, high politicization of energy issues, and attempts to prevent Russia from monetizing national energy reserves. Influence of the use of renewable energy sources on national energy security, growth of liquefied natural gas production, stricter environmental requirements, changes in the demand for petroleum products, and introduction of anti-Russian sanctions are analyzed. The influence of internal risks is no less significant: quality of hydrocarbon reserves in the Russian Federation is declining, effectiveness of geological exploration is insufficient, and the share of hard-to-recover reserves is increasing. Energy security assessments are recommended taking into account modern challenges and on the basis of parameters such as ratio of the annual increase in the balance values of primary fuel and energy resources to the volume of their production, share of natural gas in the balance structure of primary fuel and energy resources, implementation of investment programs by fuel and energy sectors, change in the specific energy intensity of GDP, prices and etc

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF THE SPECIFICITY OF IMMUNE RESPONSE IN VARIOUS OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES

Experimental models of anthracosilicosis (AS) and fluoride intoxication. (FI) show that the inhalation of coal and. rock dust (CRD) results in an early anti-inflammatory cytokine response (IL-4, IL-10) and. activation of humoral immunity on the background of lower level of proinflammatory cytokines. Later stages of the CRD activity are characterized by inflammation and. immunodeficiency. FI start is accompanied, by an increase of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-8, TNF-α). Anti-inflammatory protection is seen on the later stages (IL-10), immunoglobulin levels did. not change during 6 weeks of FI. Recommendations for the prevention of the anthracosilicosis and. fluoride intoxication given

Features of respiratory diseases in children with proven man-made load on the organism

The purpose of the study is to determine the clinical features of the pathology of the respiratory system in children with a proven technogenic load in relation to the concentration of heavy metals and arsenic in the blood.Цель исследования – определить клинические особенности патологии дыхательной системы у детей с доказанной техногенной нагрузкой во взаимосвязи с концентрацией тяжелых металлов и мышьяка в крови

The laser technologies of targeted opening of blood-brain barrier for drug brain delivery

Here we show the photodynamic treatmen

Assessment of polymorbidity, antihypertensive therapy, renal function and electrolyte disorders in hospitalized cardiac patients

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the differences in kidney function and the state of electrolyte metabolism.Цель исследования – оценить различия функций почек и состояния электролитного обмена

ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ ПОДДЕРЖИВАЮЩЕЙ ТЕРАПИИ ПОСЛЕ ОКОНЧАНИЯ ПЕРВОЙ ЛИНИИ ЛЕЧЕНИЯ БОЛЬНЫХ МЕТАСТАТИЧЕСКИМ РАКОМ ТОЛСТОЙ КИШКИ – РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ ПОПУЛЯЦИОННОГО ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ

Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of different regimens of maintenance chemotherapy after the first line of treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.Materials and methods. We performed retrospective analyses of the data from 432 patients from 17 clinics in 14 regions of the Russian Federation who started systemic therapy for metastatic cancer in 2013. The main inclusion criterion was objective response or stabilization after the first 16 weeks of first-line therapy. Four groups of patients were compared, depending on the nature of maintenance therapy: those receiving fluoropyrimidines, a combination of fluoropyrimidines with bevacizumab, monotherapy of bevacizumab and monotherapy of anti-EGFR antibodies. The main criteria for assesment of the effectiveness of treatment were progression-free survival and overall survival. The statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 20.0 sof tware package.Results. Maintenance therapy after completion of the first 16 weeks of the 1st line of chemotherapy was administered in 126 patients, most of them were treated with fluoropyrimidines (53.1 %). The median overall survival in the maintenance group was 27 versus 21 months in the observation group, p=0.01, HR=0.78 (95 % CI 0.6–1.02) Median progression-free survival in the maintenance group was 11 vs 7 months in the observation group (p<0.001, HR=0.6, 95 % CI 0.5–0.8). The worst results of progression-free survival were observed in the group with monotherapy of bevacizumab – median was 10 months versus 12 months in the fluoropyrimidine monotherapy group, 10 months for the combination of fluoropyrimidine with bevacizumab and 14 months for monotherapy of the anti-EGFR (p=0,9, HR=1.0, 95 % CI 0.9–1.2).Conclusions. There were no statistical differences in survival with different regimens of maintenance therapy. Monotherapy of bevacizumab in maintenance treatment was associated with the worst sur vival rates.Цель. Оценить эффективность различных режимов поддерживающей терапии после окончания первой линии лечения больных метастатическим раком толстой кишки.Материалы и методы. Проведен анализ индивидуальных карт 432 пациентов 17 клиник 14 регионов РФ, которые начали терапию по поводу метастатического рака в 2013 г. Основным критерием отбора в исследование являлось отсутствие прогрессирования в течение первых 16 нед. терапии первой линии. Проведено сравнение четырех групп пациентов в зависимости от характера поддерживающей терапии: получавших фторпиримидины, комбинацию фторпиримидинов с бевацизумабом, бевацизумаб в монорежиме и анти-EGFR антитела. Основными критериями оценки эффективности лечения считались выживаемость без прогрессирования и общая выживаемость. Статистический анализ проводился в пакете программ SPSS 20.0.Результаты. Поддерживающая терапия после завершения первой линии лечения была назначена 126 пациентам, большинству проводилась терапия фторпиримидинами (53,1 %). Медиана продолжительности жизни в группе поддерживающей терапии составила 27 мес. против 21 мес. в группе наблюдения (р=0,01, ОР=0,78, 95 % ДИ 0,6–1,02). Медиана выживаемости без прогрессирования – 11 против 7 мес. (p<0,001, ОР=0,6, 95 % ДИ 0,5–0,8). Наихудшие результаты выживаемости без прогрессирования наблюдались в группе поддерживающего лечения мототерапии бевацизумабом: медиана 10 мес. против 12 мес. в группе монотерапии фторпиримидинами, 10 мес. в группе комбинации фторпиримидинов с бевацизумабом и 14 мес. в группе монотерапии анти-EGFR антителами (р=0,9, ОР=1,0, 95 % ДИ 0,9–1,2).Выводы. Не получено статистических различий в выживаемости при применении различных режимов поддерживающей терапии. Монотерапия бевацизумабом в поддерживающем лечении была ассоциирована с наименьшими показателями выживаемости пациентов

Early acquisition and high nasopharyngeal co-colonisation by Streptococcus pneumoniae and three respiratory pathogens amongst Gambian new-borns and infants

BACKGROUND: Although Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Staphylococcus aureus and Moraxella catarrhalis are important causes of invasive and mucosal bacterial disease among children, co-carriage with Streptococcus pneumoniae during infancy has not been determined in West Africa. METHODS: Species specific PCR was applied to detect each microbe using purified genomic DNA from 498 nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs collected from 30 Gambian neonates every two weeks from 0 to 6 months and bi-monthly up to 12 months. RESULTS: All infants carried S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis at several time points during infancy. S.pneumoniae co-colonized the infant nasopharynx with at least one other pathogen nine out of ten times. There was early colonization of the newborns and neonates, the average times to first detection were 5, 7, 3 and 14 weeks for S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis and S. aureus respectively. The prevalence of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis increased among the neonates and exceeded 80% by 13, 15 and 23 weeks respectively. In contrast, the prevalence of S. aureus decreased from 50% among the newborns to 20% amongst nine-week old neonates. S. pneumoniae appeared to have a strong positive association with H. influenzae (OR 5.03; 95% CI 3.02, 8.39; p<0.01) and M. catarrhalis (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.29; p<0.01) but it was negatively associated with S. aureus (OR 0.53; 95% CI 0.30, 0.94; p=0.03). CONCLUSION: This study shows early acquisition and high co-carriage of three important respiratory pathogens with S. pneumoniae in the nasopharyngeal mucosa among Gambian neonates and infants. This has important potential implications for the aetiology of respiratory polymicrobial infections, biofilm formation and vaccine strategies

Fusion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigen 85A to an Oligomerization Domain Enhances Its Immunogenicity in Both Mice and Non-Human Primates

To prevent important infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, vaccines inducing greater T cell responses are required. In this study, we investigated whether fusion of the M. tuberculosis antigen 85A to recently described adjuvant IMX313, a hybrid avian C4bp oligomerization domain, could increase T cell responses in pre-clinical vaccine model species. In mice, the fused antigen 85A showed consistent increases in CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses after DNA and MVA vaccination. In rhesus macaques, higher IFN-γ responses were observed in animals vaccinated with MVA-Ag85A IMX313 after both primary and secondary immunizations. In both animal models, fusion to IMX313 induced a quantitative enhancement in the response without altering its quality: multifunctional cytokines were uniformly increased and differentiation into effector and memory T cell subsets was augmented rather than skewed. An extensive in vivo characterization suggests that IMX313 improves the initiation of immune responses as an increase in antigen 85A specific cells was observed as early as day 3 after vaccination. This report demonstrates that antigen multimerization using IMX313 is a simple and effective cross-species method to improve vaccine immunogenicity with potentially broad applicability

Clinical features of post-COVID-19 period. Results of the international register “Dynamic analysis of comorbidities in SARS-CoV-2 survivors (AKTIV SARS-CoV-2)”. Data from 6-month follow-up

Aim. To study the clinical course specifics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and comorbid conditions in COVID-19 survivors 3, 6, 12 months after recovery in the Eurasian region according to the AKTIV register. Material and methods.The AKTIV register was created at the initiative of the Eurasian Association of Therapists. The AKTIV register is divided into 2 parts: AKTIV 1 and AKTIV 2. The AKTIV 1 register currently includes 6300 patients, while in AKTIV 2 — 2770. Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 receiving in- and outpatient treatment have been anonymously included on the registry. The following 7 countries participated in the register: Russian Federation, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Uzbekistan. This closed multicenter register with two nonoverlapping branches (in- and outpatient branch) provides 6 visits: 3 in-person visits during the acute period and 3 telephone calls after 3, 6, 12 months. Subject recruitment lasted from June 29, 2020 to October 29, 2020. Register will end on October 29, 2022. A total of 9 fragmentary analyzes of the registry data are planned. This fragment of the study presents the results of the post-hospitalization period in COVID-19 survivors after 3 and 6 months. Results. According to the AKTIV register, patients after COVID-19 are characterized by long-term persistent symptoms and frequent seeking for unscheduled medical care, including rehospitalizations. The most common causes of unplanned medical care are uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) and chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or decompensated type 2 diabetes (T2D). During 3- and 6-month follow-up after hospitalization, 5,6% and 6,4% of patients were diagnosed with other diseases, which were more often presented by HTN, T2D, and CAD. The mortality rate of patients in the post-hospitalization period was 1,9% in the first 3 months and 0,2% for 4-6 months. The highest mortality rate was observed in the first 3 months in the group of patients with class II-IV heart failure, as well as in patients with cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In the pattern of death causes in the post-hospitalization period, following cardiovascular causes prevailed (31,8%): acute coronary syndrome, stroke, acute heart failure. Conclusion. According to the AKTIV register, the health status of patients after COVID-19 in a serious challenge for healthcare system, which requires planning adequate health system capacity to provide care to patients with COVID-19 in both acute and post-hospitalization period