When the party's over : political blame attribution under an electoral authoritarian regime

Peer reviewe

Observability obstructs motivated reasoning in autocracy

Why do people continue to support authoritarian leaders even when their performance is poor? The theories of motivated reasoning in politics explain the paradox with identity-protective behaviour. Dictator supporters almost always frame even her failures in a way that makes her appear advantageous. In this study, I argue that issues observability––which contributes to people’s ability to observe problematic issues unmediated––is an understudied factor that might weaken directional reasoning in autocracy. As an empirical test, I use the example of Russia, which is a prototypical informational autocracy that consolidates power through information control. First, I show that direct experience with crisis areas leads people to loosen identity-protective behaviour and become more critical of President Putin. My second contribution is to demonstrate that varying conditions of observability require distinct modes of information processing and motivated reasoning, which explains why people arrive at different evaluations. This study takes a citizens’ perspective to show why informational autocracies are successful in manipulating largely unobservable issues in the media and how it helps to consolidate dictator supporters. As well this work spots a potential weakness in autocratic information control.Master of Art

Towards targeted colorectal cancer biopsy based on tissue morphology assessment by compression optical coherence elastography

Identifying the precise topography of cancer for targeted biopsy in colonoscopic examination is a challenge in current diagnostic practice. For the first time we demonstrate the use of compression optical coherence elastography (C-OCE) technology as a new functional OCT modality for differentiating between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues in colon and detecting their morphological features on the basis of measurement of tissue elastic properties. The method uses pre-determined stiffness values (Young’s modulus) to distinguish between different morphological structures of normal (mucosa and submucosa), benign tumor (adenoma) and malignant tumor tissue (including cancer cells, gland-like structures, cribriform gland-like structures, stromal fibers, extracellular mucin). After analyzing in excess of fifty tissue samples, a threshold stiffness value of 520 kPa was suggested above which areas of colorectal cancer were detected invariably. A high Pearson correlation (r =0.98; p <0.05), and a negligible bias (0.22) by good agreement of the segmentation results of C-OCE and histological (reference standard) images was demonstrated, indicating the efficiency of C-OCE to identify the precise localization of colorectal cancer and the possibility to perform targeted biopsy. Furthermore, we demonstrated the ability of C-OCE to differentiate morphological subtypes of colorectal cancer – low-grade and high-grade colorectal adenocarcinomas, mucinous adenocarcinoma, and cribriform patterns. The obtained ex vivo results highlight prospects of C-OCE for high-level colon malignancy detection. The future endoscopic use of C-OCE will allow targeted biopsy sampling and simultaneous rapid analysis of the heterogeneous morphology of colon tumors

Digital risk management

Based on the latest statistics, an analysis of indicators, indices and sub-indices wasmade, showing the level of development of information and communication technologies in the world, and a comparative description of Russia with the leading countries was carried out. Using methods of analysis, comparison, induction and decomposition, it is possible to determine which areas of the Russian digital economy are successfully implemented and competitive, and which suffer and need support. The process of global digitalization has been started. In order to reach a higher level of development, it is necessary to increase the share of activities in the field of information in relation to GDP

Pharmacoeconomic aspects of the development of myocardial remodeling in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aim. Determine the relationship between the treatment and the development of left ventricular myocardial remodeling; conduct a pharmacoeconomic assessment of therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods. The study included 208 patients with diabetes: group A (retrospective) – 105 patients, group B (prospective) – 103 patients. All patients received hypoglycemic and antihypertensive therapy. To determine the economic feasibility of using the drugs, the cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) was calculated. Results. The frequency of changes in the geometry of the heart increased in the absence of insulin therapy or on the background of PSGP monotherapy, as well as in the absence of ACE inhibitors, ARA II as antihypertensive therapy. NNT analysis showed greater efficacy and safety of alogliptin and empagliflozin. Our clinical and economic study also confirmed the greater efficacy of these drugs, but they turned out to be less economically acceptable compared to biguanides. Conclusion. The results of our study clearly demonstrate the dependence of the development of structural changes in the heart on the treatment of both primary and comorbid pathology in patients with type 2 diabetes, the most effective drugs from the IDPP-4 and AHHP-1 groups, as well as the ACE inhibitor and ARA II

Multimodal OCT Control for Early Histological Signs of Vulvar Lichen Sclerosus Recurrence after Systemic PDT: Pilot Study

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a modern treatment for severe or treatment-resistant vulvar lichen sclerosus (VLS). The chronic and recurrent nature of VLS requires control of recurrences at an early stage. In this paper, a non-invasive multimodal optical coherence tomography (OCT) method was used to control for early histological signs of VLS recurrence after systemic PDT using Photodithazine®. To interpret the OCT data, a histological examination was performed before PDT and 3 months after PDT. Two groups of patients were identified: with early histological signs of VLS recurrence (Group I, n = 5) and without histological signs of VLS recurrence (Group II, n = 6). We use structural OCT, OCT angiography, and OCT lymphangiography throughout 6 months after PDT to visually assess the skin components and to quantitatively assess the dermis by calculating the depth-resolved attenuation coefficient and the density of blood and lymphatic vessels. The OCT data assessment showed a statistically significant difference between the patient groups 3 months after PDT. In Group II, all the studied OCT parameters reached maximum values by the 3rd month after PDT, which indicated recovery of the skin structure. At the same time, in Group I, the values of OCT parameters did not approach the values those in Group II even after 6 months. The obtained results of multimodal OCT can be used for non-invasive control of early histological recurrence of VLS after systemic PDT and for adjusting treatment tactics in advance, without waiting for new clinical manifestations of the disease

NGR4 and ERBB4 as Promising Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets for Metabolic Disorders

Obese individuals are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The aim of this review was to analyze the scientific literature and databases to reveal the fundamental role of neuregulin 4 (NRG4) and its receptors in the development of obesity-associated metabolic disorders. This review demonstrates that NRG4 and its receptors are promising therapeutic targets for the treatment of socially significant obesity-associated pathologies. The review contains nine chapters. Information on the structure of ERBB4 and NRG4 splice isoforms and subsequent activation of downstream targets is presented. The tissue-specific features of the NRG4 and ERBB4 genes and protein production are also highlighted. The role of NRG4 and ERBB3/4 in the pathophysiological mechanisms of the development of metabolic disorders in obesity is discussed in detail. The final chapter of the review is devoted to the miRNA-dependent regulation of NRG4 and ERBB4. Recent studies have shown that several miRNAs regulate ERBB4 expression, but no information was found on the interaction of NRG4 with miRNAs. We now demonstrate the putative relationships between NRG4 and let-7a-5p, let-7c-5p, miR-423-5p, miR-93-5p, miR-23a-3p, and miR-15b-5p for the first time. In addition, we found SNP mutations affecting the interaction of NRG4 and ERBB4 with miRNA in these genes as well as in miRNAs. In summary, this review provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of the role of NRG4 in obesity-associated metabolic disorders. The review summarizes all current studies on this topic and opens perspectives for future research

Intraoperative Assessment of Breast Cancer Tissues after Breast-Conserving Surgery Based on Mapping the Attenuation Coefficients in 3D Cross-Polarization Optical Coherence Tomography

Intraoperative differentiation of tumorous from non-tumorous tissue can help in the assessment of resection margins in breast cancer and its response to therapy and, potentially, reduce the incidence of tumor recurrence. In this study, the calculation of the attenuation coefficient and its color-coded 2D distribution was performed for different breast cancer subtypes using spectral-domain CP OCT. A total of 68 freshly excised human breast specimens containing tumorous and surrounding non-tumorous tissues after BCS was studied. Immediately after obtaining structural 3D CP OCT images, en face color-coded attenuation coefficient maps were built in co-(Att(co)) and cross-(Att(cross)) polarization channels using a depth-resolved approach to calculating the values in each A-scan. We determined spatially localized signal attenuation in both channels and reported ranges of attenuation coefficients to five selected breast tissue regions (adipose tissue, non-tumorous fibrous connective tissue, hyalinized tumor stroma, low-density tumor cells in the fibrotic tumor stroma and high-density clusters of tumor cells). The Att(cross) coefficient exhibited a stronger gain contrast of studied tissues compared to the Att(co) coefficient (i.e., conventional attenuation coefficient) and, therefore, allowed improved differentiation of all breast tissue types. It has been shown that color-coded attenuation coefficient maps may be used to detect inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity of various breast cancer subtypes as well as to assess the effectiveness of therapy. For the first time, the optimal threshold values of the attenuation coefficients to differentiate tumorous from non-tumorous breast tissues were determined. Diagnostic testing values for Att(cross) coefficient were higher for differentiation of tumor cell areas and tumor stroma from non-tumorous fibrous connective tissue: diagnostic accuracy was 91–99%, sensitivity—96–98%, and specificity—87–99%. Att(co) coefficient is more suitable for the differentiation of tumor cell areas from adipose tissue: diagnostic accuracy was 83%, sensitivity—84%, and specificity—84%. Therefore, the present study provides a new diagnostic approach to the differentiation of breast cancer tissue types based on the assessment of the attenuation coefficient from real-time CP OCT data and has the potential to be used for further rapid and accurate intraoperative assessment of the resection margins during BCS

Depth-Resolved Attenuation Mapping of the Vaginal Wall under Prolapse and after Laser Treatment Using Cross-Polarization Optical Coherence Tomography: A Pilot Study

Vaginal wall prolapse is the most common type of pelvic organ prolapse and is mainly associated with collagen bundle changes in the lamina propria. Neodymium (Nd:YAG) laser treatment was used as an innovative, minimally invasive and non-ablative procedure for the treatment of early-stage vaginal wall prolapse. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess connective tissue changes in the vaginal wall under prolapse without treatment and after Nd:YAG laser treatment using cross-polarization optical coherence tomography (CP OCT) with depth-resolved attenuation mapping. A total of 26 freshly excised samples of vaginal wall from 26 patients with age norm (n = 8), stage I–II prolapses without treatment (n = 8) and stage I–II prolapse 1–2 months after Nd:YAG laser treatment (n = 10) were assessed. As a result, for the first time, depth-resolved attenuation maps of the vaginal wall in the B-scan projection in the co- and cross-polarization channels were constructed. Two parameters within the lamina propria were target calculated: the median value and the percentages of high (≥4 mm−1) and low (−1) attenuation coefficient values. A significant (p p < 0.0001) increase in the parameters compared to the normal level was also observed. Notably, in the cross-channel, both parameters showed a greater difference between the groups than in the co-channel. Therefore, using the cross-channel achieved more reliable differentiation between the groups. To conclude, attenuation coefficient maps allow visualization and quantification of changes in the condition of the connective tissue of the vaginal wall. In the future, CP OCT could be used for in vivo detection of early-stage vaginal wall prolapse and for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment