Effects of nanodispersed iron on the morphofunctional parameters of the blood system

The effects of nanodispersed iron forms on the morphology and function of the blood system were studied. Maghemite and lepidocrocite caused a leukocytic shift towards segmented neutrophil forms, reduction of lymphocyte rigidity, and stimulated their compactization. In addition, the counts of small hyperchromatic erythrocytes with high rigidity increased in the blood flow. The results indicated that a single dose of nanodispersed iron-containing drugs improved the blood respiratory function and its microrheolog

Библиотека Главного штаба во второй половине XIX в.

The author investigates into the history of the main military library of the Russian Empire. In the mid 19-th century, the General Staff Library became one of the largest book depositories in Russia. The author sets the goal to review the main events related to the library during the period when F. F. Kruse and A. N. Petrov were heading the institution. This period was characterized by consistent collection development and collaborations with military historians, and by the new trends of expanding openness of the institution. Owing to the reform by Dmitry Milyutin, Minister of War, the library became accessible for all military personnel a nd, through s pecial o rder, f or c ivilians. T he s ources f or the s tudy a re unpublished materials from the Russian State Military Historical Archive.Based on these sources and literature, the author describes the efforts of the librarians F. F. Kruse and A. N. Petrov, analyzes the internal structure of the institution, the sources for collection development and structure. Despite the fact that the institution was run by professional soldiers – the above-mentioned librarians had a military education, and Petrov even took part in the Crimean War – the library was developed properly and performed efficiently.В статье рассматривается деятельность главной военной библиотеки Российской империи. В середине XIX в. библиотека Генерального штаба стала одним из крупнейших отечественных книгохранилищ. Цель статьи – рассмотрение основных событий, связанных с историей библиотеки в то время, когда её возглавляли Ф. Ф. Крузе и А. Н. Петров. Этот период охарактеризован как пополнением фонда, работой с военными историками, так и новыми тенденциями, связанными с расширением открытости учреждения. Одним из результатов реформы военного министра Д. А. Милютина стала доступность библиотеки для всех военнослужащих и, по особому распоряжению, гражданских лиц. Источники исследования – неопубликованные материалы Российского государственного военно-исторического архива.На основе источников и литературы показаны деятельность библиотекарей Ф. Ф. Крузе и А. Н. Петрова, внутреннее устройство учреждения, источники пополнения фонда и его состав. Несмотря на то, что управляющие библиотекой не имели специальной подготовки, – у обоих было военное образование, а Петров даже участвовал в Крымской войне – учреждение функционировало на должном уровне и выполняло все поставленные задачи

Hurwitz spaces of quadruple coverings of elliptic curves and the moduli space of abelian threefolds A_3(1,1,4)

We prove that the moduli space A_3(1,1,4) of polarized abelian threefolds with polarization of type (1,1,4) is unirational. By a result of Birkenhake and Lange this implies the unirationality of the isomorphic moduli space A_3(1,4,4). The result is based on the study the Hurwitz space H_{4,n}(Y) of quadruple coverings of an elliptic curve Y simply branched in n points. We prove the unirationality of its codimension one subvariety H^{0}_{4,A}(Y) which parametrizes quadruple coverings \pi:X --> Y with Tschirnhausen modules isomorphic to A^{-1}, where A\in Pic^{n/2}Y, and for which \pi^*:J(Y)--> J(X) is injective. This is an analog of the result of Arbarello and Cornalba that the Hurwitz space H_{4,n}(P^1) is unirational.Comment: 28 pages, amslatex, to appear in Mathematische Nachrichte

Adaptive correction of thermal distortions of multichannel laser radiation

Results of the simulation of multichannel radiation propagation under conditions of thermal blooming are presented. The correction of nonlinear thermal distortion by means of the beam phase and amplitudephase control is considered. The results show the dependence of the correction effectiveness on the number of channels and on the precision of the reference beam phase retrieval. An additional increase in the effectiveness is possible by means of adjustment of amplification in the channels of the optical system, i.e., with the use of amplitude-phase control over the beam wavefront

Neural network parametrization of the lepton energy spectrum in semileptonic B meson decays

We construct a parametrization of the lepton energy spectrum in inclusive semileptonic decays of B mesons, based on the available experimental information: moments of the spectrum with cuts, their errors and their correlations, together with kinematical constraints. The result is obtained in the form of a Monte Carlo sample of neural networks trained on replicas of the experimental data, which represents the probability density in the space of lepton energy spectra. This parametrization is then used to extract the b quark mass m_b^{1S} in a way that theoretical uncertainties are minimized, for which the value m_b^{1S}=4.84 \pm 0.14^{exp}\pm 0.05^{th} GeV is obtained.Comment: 32 pages, 22 figures, JHEP3 class. v4 version accepted for publication in JHE

Dog filariosis in the Lazio region (Central Italy): first report on the presence of Dirofilaria repens

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological investigations were carried out in the Lazio Region to assess the status of canine filariosis and to evaluate the actual risk for veterinary and medical public health. METHODS: Since August 2001 to June 2003, a total of 972 canine blood samples, collected in public kennels and from private owners animals of the 5 Provinces of the Region, were tested. The presence of filarial parasites was evaluated by microscopy and bio-molecular techniques; the species identification was performed by means of the same diagnostic tools. RESULTS: A total of 17/972 (1.75%; 95%CI 1.06%–2.85%) blood samples were parasitized by D. repens,13 out them drawn by dogs resident in the Province of Roma, and 4 in the other provinces. Multivariate analysis was performed in order to evaluate the association between filariosis and risk factors. The origin from coastal territories seems to be a significant risk factor to acquire the infection. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of canine filariosis in the Lazio Region, where D. repens was before reported only in foxes. The risk of human zoonotic infection is stressed, and the absence of other filarial species is discusse

Влияние миэктомии с пластикой митрального клапана на трехмерную модель клапана и обструкцию в выводном отделе левого желудочка у больных гипертрофической кардиомиопатией

Aim. To assess the effects of combined myectomy with mitral valve repair on a three-dimensional model of the mitral valve in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Methods. 24 patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and left ventricular outflow obstruction over 50 mm Hg at rest were recruited in a study. Eight patients underwent combined myectomy with mitral valve repair according to the Carpentier method. Seven patients underwent the Alfieri's edge-to-edge repair, and nine patients underwent secondary chordae resection using the Ferrazzi’s technique. Before combined myectomy and two weeks after it, all patients underwent standard transthoracic echocardiography and real-time 3D transesophageal imaging of the mitral valve, followed by quantitative 3D reconstruction of the mitral valve and calculation of the annulus, the leaflets, and the aorto-mitral angle.Results. Despite the selected mitral valve repair technique, we observed a decrease in the LVOT obstruction gradient. There were no differences in the residual obstruction gradient between the selected mitral valve repair technique. Patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, who underwent combined myectomy and posterior mitral leaflet plasty valve according to the Carpentier approach, reported a correlation of a decrease in the LVOT obstruction with the non-planar angle (r = -0.83; p = 0.040), sphericity index (r = 0.83; p = 0.04) and a decrease in the velocity excursion of the annulus (r = 0.94; p = 0.005). Patients who underwent the Alfieri's edge-to-edge repair demonstrated that the residual LVOT obstruction gradient depended on the annulus height (r = 0.90; p = 0.04) and the ratio of this height to the commissural diameter of the annulus ( r = 0.90; p = 0.04). After secondary chordae resection, a decrease in the LVOT obstruction gradient correlated with the sphericity index (r = 0.77; p = 0.03), the anterolateral-posteromedial annulus diameter (r = -0.72; p = 0.04), the anterior (r = -0.78; p = 0.02) and posterior (r = -0.78; p = 0.02) leaflets, the ratio of the total leaflet length to the anteroposterior diameter of the annulus (r = -0.83; p = 0.01), the area (r = -0.76; p = 0.0з) and the mitral valve tenting height (r = -0.95; p = 0.00). Conclusion.Combined myectomy with mitral valve repair is the method of choice in the treatment of patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The comparison of three mitral valve repair techniques did not reveal any differences in the residual LVOT obstruction gradient. However, the Alfieri's edge-to-edge repair may be considered as the most physiological technique to repair dynamic LVOT obstruction.Цель. Оценить влияние миэктомии с пластикой митрального клапана (МК) на трехмерную модель клапана у больных обструктивной гипертрофической кардиомиопатией (ГКМП).Материалы и методы. Исследованы 24 пациента с ГКМП и обструкцией в выводном отделе левого желудочка (ВОЛЖ) более 50 мм рт. ст. в покое, которым выполнены миэктомия с пластикой МК по методике A. Carpentier (n = 8), O. Alfieri (по типу «край в край», n = 7) и резекцией вторичных хорд по Р. Ferrazzi (n = 9). Всем пациентам до и в течение двух недель после c-очетанной операции выполнены стандартная трансторакальная эхокардиография и чреспищеводная трехмерная визуализация МК в реальном масштабе времени с последующей трехмерной количественной реконструкцией МК и расчетом показателей фиброзного кольца (ФК), створок и аортально-митрального угла.Результаты. Независимо от метода пластики МК наблюдалось снижение градиента обструкции в ВОЛЖ. Не выявлено различий в величине резидуального градиента обструкции между применяемыми методиками пластики. У больных ГКМП после миэктомии в сочетании с пластикой задней створки МК по A. Carpentier величина снижения обструкции в ВОЛЖ коррелировала с непланарным углом (r = -0,83; p = 0,040), индексом сферичности (r = 0,83; p = 0,04) и снижением скорости движения ФК (r = 0,94; p = 0,005). У пациентов после пластики МК по типу «край в край» (O. Alfieri) резидуальный градиент обструкции в ВОЛЖ связан с высотой ФК (r = 0,90; p = 0,04) и отношением этой высоты к комиссуральному диаметру ФК МК (r = 0,90; p = 0,04). После резекции вторичных хорд величина снижения градиента обструкции в ВОЛЖ коррелировала с индексом сферичности (r = 0,77; p = 0,03), переднелатеральнозаднемедиальным диаметром ФК (r = -0,72; p = 0,04), углом передней (r = -0,78; p = 0,02) и задней (r = -0,78; p = 0,02) створок, отношением суммарной длины створок к переднезаднему диаметру ФК (r = -0,83; p = 0,01), площадью (r = -0,76; p = 0,03) и высотой (r = -0,95; p = 0,00) тентинга створок МК.Заключение. Миэктомия в сочетании с пластикой МК является предпочтительным способом лечения пациентов с ГКМП. При оценке трех методов пластики МК не выявлено различий в резидуальных градиентах обструкции в ВОЛЖ. Наиболее физиологичными технологиями коррекции динамической обструкции ВОЛЖ следует считать методики по типу «край в край»

Melanoides tuberculata as intermediate host of Philophthalmus gralli in Brazil

Melanoides tuberculata that naturally harbored trematode larvae were collected at the Pampulha dam, Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais, Brazil), during malacological surveys conducted from 2006 to 2010. From 7,164 specimens of M. tuberculata collected, 25 (0.35%) were infected by cercariae, which have been morphologically characterized as belonging to the Megalurous group, genus Philophthalmus. Excysted metacercariae were used for successful experimental infection of Gallus gallus domesticus, and adult parasites recovered from the nictitating membranes of chickens were identified as Philophthalmus gralli. This is the first report of P. gralli in M. tuberculata in Brazil