New opportunities in the treatment of asthenic symptoms after a new coronavirus infection

Introduction. Asthenia is an urgent problem during the pandemic of new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) because of its high frequency regardless of the severity of the disease.The purpose of this subanalysis of data from the multicenter controlled randomized clinical trial TONUS was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of meldonium therapy for аsthenia in COVID-19 survivors.Materials and methods. A total of 880 patients with asthenia who underwent COVID-19 within the last 6 months were included in the analysis. The efficacy of asthenia therapy was assessed by the MFI-20 scale, Schulte tables, and the General Clinical Impression (CGI) scale. All patients were previously randomized in two parallel branches of the TONUS study, including patients without concomitant disease in TONUS-1 (who received meldonium 500 mg/day for 14 days in the main group) and patients with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease in TONUS-2, who received meldonium at a dose of 1000 mg/day for 42 days in the main group. In both arms of the study, the drugs in the comparison groups were multivitamin complexes.Results. For the TONUS-1 groups.In the group of patients receiving meldonium compared with the control group (p < 0.001): total MFI-20 score decreased and was 31 (25; 40); MFI-20 –35 (–46; 23); performance value –5 (–11; –2) seconds; proportion of patients with significant improvement (by CGI-I) by the end of follow-up was 92.8%. For TONUS-2 groups.In the group of patients receiving meldonium compared with the control group (p < 0.001): total MFI-20 score decreased to 35 (27; 44); MFI-20 –34 (–46; –21), performance value –5 (–11; –2), proportion of patients with significant improvement (by CGI-I) by end of follow-up – 90.8%.Conclusion. Significant positive dynamics and regression of asthenia were noted in the groups of patients receiving meldonium in comparison with the control groups

Interaction between Earthworms and Soil-Inhabiting Anthrax Microbe Spores

Studied are phenotypic and genetic properties of anthrax agent strains, isolated from earthworms retained in infected soil for a period of 20 and 30 days. Discovered is the fact that the presence of worms in the biotope reduces the number of Bacillus anthracis spores by 30-50 %. However, the rest of the spores preserve original properties, and biological and genetic virulence dominants

DIGITAL CULTURE – A HISTORICAL STAGE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INFORMATION CULTURE OF SOCIETY

Different scientific approaches to digital culture have been analysed in the article: digital culture is considered as a special form of being, a special integral design that includes audiovisual, semiotic, technological, logical, communication, network and other subsystems that exists at five levels: material, functional, symbolic, mental and spiritual; and as a set of values ofmodern society based on digital coding; and as a system of changes in practices, products of human activity associated with the culture of the digital age; and as a special level of digital literacy and competency. The anthropological aspect of digital culture has been emphasized. The main causes and stages of the development of digital culture as a modern stage in the development of the information culture of society also have been considered

Managing academic mobility as a tool of «soft power» in contemporary China

The paper deals with the phenomenon of academic mobility in the context of internationalization of higher education in modern China. It focuses on such problems as specificity of Chinese approach to internationalization of higher education and functioning of academic mobility in the context of transformation of international educational space. It is shown that the image of the future educated China is based on the traditional project of “Great Unity” society (Datong society in Confucian concept of social ideal). At the same time the idea of a united humanity is not exceptionally Chinese, but has deep historical roots and a universal nature. Cautious about the supranational extrapolation of this idea, modern China is nevertheless expanding international cooperation and strengthening cross-national contacts, using cross-border academic mobility as one of its “soft power” tools

THE ISSUE OF “CULTURAL AMNESIA” IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT

The issue of the dual impact of innovative technologies on the sphere of spiritual culture has been considered. On the one hand, the digitalization of cultural values gives hope for their longevity, compared with traditional storage methods. On the other hand, the preservation of cultural heritage is facing new, previously unmet difficulties: the life of digital documents is short due to constant technological improvement and the rapid obsolescence of technology; not all artifacts can be digitized; when knowledge is transmitted through the media, its reduction, vulgarization occurs; finally, the person is changing, for whose sake the preservation of the cultural heritage takes place. Generations possessing clip thinking will have to deal with the fragmented, unsystematic cultural heritage, which is fraught with real cultural amnesia. The new approaches to digital information management and, specifically, digital cultural heritage have been proposed in the article

SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE SECURITY IN THE DIGITAL EDUCATIONAL SPACE

The article deals with the spread of digital technologies in education and digital learning as a special stage of digital socialization, changing the social roles of the teacher and student. Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, big data analysis, robotics and virtualization have taken their place in the educational process, and traditional offline teaching methods require revision. The problem of knowledge alienation in the digital educational space has been analysed and ways to solve this problem have been proposed. Particular attention has been paid to the problem of the safety of knowledge in the educational space. It has been concluded about the need for such a reorganization of the digital space in which cognitive conditions for the safe functioning of knowledge will be provided

Transforming educational space under the impact of the pandemic: student and teacher well-being in higher education

The article presents the study of some areas of educational space transformation under the COVID-19 pandemic influence. The focus of attention is on such problems as the cognitive well-being of the student, the tutor model of teacherstudent relations in the digitalising educational space, the functioning of academic mobility institution in a pandemic and post-pandemic world. Cognitive well-being of students implies mastering digital literacy with strict adherence to the norms of digital ethics. A tutor in modern education plays the role of not only a developer of an individual educational trajectory, but also a controller and educator. For the successful implementation of tutoring functions, the teaching staff of universities needs additional training. The main trends in academic mobility are internal and virtual mobility. The authors conclude that educational organisations need for adequate infrastructural policy, and educational space – inevitable transformations in budget financing. The results of the article can be used in further research on the higher education transformation problems, in the development of proposals and recommendations for specialists in the of higher education management field for use in practice

Peculiarities of the Conjugative pSa Plasmid Transfer from <I>Escherichia coli</I> into <I>Francisella tularensis</I>

per a recipient cell). pSa′ plasmid molds several topological shapes with variable electrophoretic mobility in E. coli C600, while in tularemia microbe, this plasmid has only one shape. After the transfer of the plasmid from E. coli cells into F. tularensis cells each individual clone of tularemia microbe possesses a plasmid which differs in its electrophoretic mobility from plasmids of other clones

Identification of Bacillus anthracis Isolated from Soil of the Animal Burial Site

The usage of modern gene engineering methods makes it possible not only to identify anthrax strains isolated from soil, but also to hold out comparative molecular genetic assays with these strains. Carried out was the laboratory research of 80 soil samples isolated from the old animal burial site using microbiological and genetic techniques. Epidemiological significance of the isolated strains was evaluated on the basis of the results of PCR with species-specific primers and multi-locus VNTR-analysis data. Extracted were the six strains, three of which were classified as B. anthracis, and the rest - as closely related bacillus. Demonstrated was the possibility to use this particular complex method for anthrax strains typing and their differentiation from closely related microorganisms

EVALUATION OF SUITABILITY OF METHODS FOR TESTING BLOOD PROTEIN HYDROLYSATES FOR THEIR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY AND TOXICITY

The use of high quality nutrient media comprising protein hydrolysates as the main components for maintaining their nutrient value is a critical prerequisite for appropriate fnal product preparation in FMD vaccine biotechnology. The incoming control of raw materials, in particular testing blood protein hydrolysates of different batches for their quality, is of considerable importance. Currently, there are different methods for the determination of hydrolysate efcacy using cell cultures and unicellular organisms as test systems. We used suspended baby hamster kidney (ВНК-21) cell line as a model for testing blood protein hydrolysates in the raw materials intended for FMD vaccine production for their biological activity and toxicity. The validation of the proposed method was carried out to confrm the reliability of the test results obtained. The following main validation characteristics were determined through testing 560 blood protein hydrolysate samples: trueness, specifcity, sensitivity, as well as precision under repeatability and reproducibility conditions. The validation results for the proposed method demonstrated high reliability (Fisher’s criterion – 0.021; ≤0.050) and full compliance with acceptance criteria