Relaxation of superflow in a network: an application to the dislocation model of supersolidity of helium crystals

We have considered the dislocation network model for the supersolid state in He-4 crystals. In difference with uniform 2D and 3D systems, the temperature of superfluid transition T_c in the network is much smaller than the degeneracy temperature T_d. It is shown that a crossover into a quasi superfluid state occurs in the temperature interval between T_c and T_d. Below the crossover temperature the time of decay of the flow increases exponentially under decrease of the temperature. The crossover has a continuous character and the crossover temperature does not depend on the density of dislocations.Comment: Corrected typo

RISK FACTORS FOR OSTEOPOROSIS IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

The present review is devoted to the risk factors of osteoporosis progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), both relevant and irrelevant to the main disease. It is assumed that the most important predictors of the bone mineral density decrease is severe course of RA, significant functional disability (according to HAQ), glucocorticoid therapy, elderly age, low body mass index and menopause. However, despite the vast amount of studies, results on the risk factors of osteoporosis remain ambiguous and require further investigation

Analgesic treatment, by using a systemic algorithm

To control musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is an important component of combination treatment for systemic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis, and a major area of therapy for osteoarthritis and nonspecific back pain. Pain development is associated with a number of pathogenetic mechanisms: local involvement; involvement of the elements of the ligamentous apparatus; chronic muscle tension; biomechanical disorders; dysfunction of the nociceptive system. This necessitates a comprehensive approach during analgesic therapy, with combined use of drugs having a different mechanism of analgesic action. This review considers the targets of pharmacotherapy for MSP and the main groups of medications that may affect them. The paper proposes an analgesic treatment algorithm based on the diagnosis of individual elements of the pathogenesis of chronic MSP and on the successive assessment of treatment results

Morphology and Genetics of the Ciscoes (Actinopterygii: Salmoniformes: Salmonidae: Coregoninae: Coregonus) from the Solovetsky Archipelago (White Sea) as a Key to Determination of the Taxonomic Position of Ciscoes in Northeastern Europe

Background: The characteristic feature of the genus <i>Coregonus</i> is the multitude of nominal species of obscure identity. The northeastern Europe is inhabited by, inter alia—the vendace, <i>Coregonus albula</i> (Linnaeus, 1758)—considered the European cisco—and the least cisco, <i>C. sardinella</i> Valenciennes, 1848—often referred to as the Siberian species. There is a large area in where the ranges of both species overlap. Using morphological- as well as genetic tools we attempted to test the working hypothesis that the <i>Coregonus</i> fish (ciscoes) inhabiting the above-mentioned transitional zone represent a single species. Materials and methods: Within 1995–2009 we collected 344 ciscoes from five lakes in Bolshoy Solovetsky Island and determined diagnostic morphological traits for the two species. For some samples, the polymorphism of the creatine kinase isoloci (<i>CK-A1,2</i>*) and the fragment of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoding the subunit 1 of NADH-dehydrogenize complex (<i>ND-1</i> fragment) was also studied. Results: According to one of the main taxonomical characteristics—the number of vertebrae—the cisco of Solovetsky Island occupies an intermediate position between <i>C. albula</i> and <i>C. sardinella</i>. The molecular markers,however, did not reveal any differences between the ciscoes of Bolshoy Solovetsky Island and the vendace found elsewhere. All specimens had the type allele of creatine kinase <i>(CK-A*100)</i> which was considered to be typical for C. albula at other locations as well as the haplotype E of mtDNA widespread in vendace populations. Conclusion: The cisco from Solovetsky Island is more similar to typical vendace. Differences in some morphological traits between Solovetsky Island populations and the vendace from elsewhere are likely to reflect adaptation to environmental conditions. Thus it appears that morphological criteria do not allow reliable differentiation between two forms of ciscoes as well as between least cisco and vendace because they are influenced by environmental conditions. We believe that the presence of populations with intermediate features is a strong argument for combining <i>C. albula</i> and <i>C. sardinella</i> into a single species (<i>C. albula</i>)

Evaluation of the applicability of immunochromatography to the identification of live plague vaccines and the tularaemia allergen (Tularin)

The regulatory standards require that the identification of live plague vaccines and the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin) should be performed by immunofluorescence. A major drawback of the recommended method is its labour intensive nature. However, immunochromatography represents an alternative method that offers a number of advantages, including rapid testing and easy result interpretation. The aim of the study was to assess the applicability of immunochromatography to the identification of live plague vaccines and the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin).Materials and methods. The authors performed identification tests using samples of the pharmacopoeia standard for live plague vaccines, three commercial batches of a live plague vaccine, and two batches of the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin). These samples were tested using immunochromatographic assay (ICA) reagent kits for rapid detection and identification of Yersinia pestis (ICA System for Y. pestis) and Francisella tularensis (ICA System for F. tularensis) manufactured by the State Scientific Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.Results. The findings show that immunochromatography is an effective, rapid, and species-specific method to confirm the presence of Y. pestis in a sample of a live plague vaccine or F. tularensis in a sample of the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin). To perform identification tests by immunochromatography, the authors recommend diluting live plague vaccine samples to a concentration of 109 bacterial cells/mL and using undiluted samples of the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin).Conclusions. The study results may support the inclusion of ICA into the regulatory standards for live plague vaccines and the liquid tularaemia allergen (Tularin) as an alternative identification method

Effects of pertussis toxin and <i>Bordetella pertussis</i> lipo-oligosaccharide on the specific toxicity and potency of whole-cell pertussis vaccines

Scientific relevance. The content of Bordetella pertussis lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) and the residual levels of active pertussis toxin (PT) are generally accepted to be the primary factors that determine the reactogenicity of whole-cell pertussis vaccines. To improve the quality of whole-cell pertussis vaccines, it is both relevant and necessary to study the relationship between the toxicity of B. pertussis bacterial cell components and the main quality parameters of these vaccines, including their potency and specific toxicity, as termed in the WHO recommendations and the European Pharmacopoeia.Aim. This study aimed to analyse the effects of B. pertussis LOS and residual active PT on the specific toxicity and potency of adsorbed diphtheria, tetanus, and whole-cell pertussis (DTwP) vaccines.Materials and methods. The authors tested 57 commercial batches of adsorbed DTwP vaccines for compliance with the regulatory standards and product specification files. Vaccine batches that failed specific toxicity tests formed Group 1, and the other batches were designated as Group 2. The potency was tested in F1 CBA/Ca×C57BL/6J hybrid mice with experimentally induced meningoencephalitis that were immunised with DTwP and reference vaccines. The authors assessed the specific toxicity of DTwP vaccines by changes in body weight following intraperitoneal administration. The toxic activity was assessed indirectly by changes in body weight in the first 16–24 h (B. pertussis LOS) and on day 7 (PT) after dosing. The authors used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to measure the strength of correlation between the toxic activity of vaccine components and the specific toxicity and potency of the vaccine, which were established using the same vaccine batches.Results. The authors measured the toxic activity of LOS and residual active PT in the vaccine batches studied. The correlation coefficients between the specific toxicity and potency of the vaccines and the toxic activity of LOS were 0.113 (p&gt;0.05) and 0.049 (p&gt;0.05), respectively. Similarly, the correlation coefficients between the specific toxicity and potency of the vaccines and the toxic activity of PT accounted for 0.595 (p&lt;0.01) and –0.534 (p&lt;0.01), respectively.Conclusions. The authors studied the toxic activity of B. pertussis LOS and residual active PT in whole-cell pertussis vaccines and found an inverse correlation between the potency of the vaccines and the toxic activity of residual active PT. The study demonstrated that the specific toxicity test for whole-cell pertussis vaccines fails to detect and quantify B. pertussis LOS in the samples. The authors advise to determine the content of LOS in the B. pertussis strains intended for the production of whole-cell pertussis vaccines, which is not yet an accepted practice in the Russian Federation