Research potential as a basis for innovative development of the region

Purpose of work is to determine an amount of influence from region’s innovative activity on effective usage of current scientific-research potential. Innovative activity of regions in many respects depends on the availability and efficient use of the existing research capacity. The main components of the research capacities in the region are: interest of universities, employers and society in research and development and their implementation in practice; development of research infrastructure; and a focus of higher education on the innovative activity of students; financial and tax support of enterprises engaged in innovative activities, from the stat

Temperature effects in low-frequency Raman spectra of corticosteroid hormones

Experimental Raman spectra of the corticosteroid hormones corticosterone and desoxycorticosterone are recorded at different temperatures (in the range of 30–310 K) in the region of low-frequency (15–120 cm−1) vibrations using a solid-state laser at 532.1 nm. The intramolecular vibrations of both hormones are interpreted on the basis of Raman spectra calculated by the B3LYP/6-31G(d) density functional theory method. The intermolecular bonds in tetramers of hormones are studied with the help of the topological theory of Bader using data of X-ray structural analysis for crystalline samples of hormones. The total energy of intermolecular interactions in the tetramer of desoxycorticosterone (−49.1 kJ/mol) is higher than in the tetramer of corticosterone (−36.9 kJ/mol). A strong intramolecular hydrogen bond O21-H⋯O=C20 with an energy of −42.4 kJ/mol was revealed in the corticosterone molecule, which is absent in the desoxycorticosterone molecule. This fact makes the Raman spectra of both hormones somewhat different. It is shown that the low-frequency lines in the Raman spectra are associated with skeletal vibrations of molecules and bending vibrations of the substituent at the C17 atom. The calculated Raman spectrum of the desoxycorticosterone dimer allows one to explain the splitting and shift of some lines and to interpret new strong lines observed in the spectra at low temperatures, which are caused by the intermolecular interaction and mixing of normal vibrations in a crystal cell. On the whole the calculated frequencies are in a good agreement with the experimental results

A CLINICAL CASE OF NORVEGIAN SCABIES IN A PATIENT WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA

A case of Norwegian scabies is described in a patient of 19 years with a lesion of the scalp, face, trunk, upper and lower extremities that occurred against the background of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A good effect was obtained from conducting etiotropic, pathogenetic and symptomatic therapy in combination with specific treatment of the underlying disease

EVALUATION OF FCR THERAPY EFFICACY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA BASED ON IMMUNOGENETIC CRITERIA

A number of studies have shown that distinct common variants of the genes controlling immune/inflammatory response may affect efficiency of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treatment. In a recently published paper, we reported polymorphic variants of some immune response genes in CLL patients to be associated with different rates of disease progression. Correlations between the distribution of gene modification profiles in indolent and agressive forms of CLL have been established. The present study describes results of pharmacogenetic studies aimed for identifying associations between the immune response genes polymorphism, and efficacy of FCR treatment regimen in CLL patients. 19 polymorphic loci of 14 immune response genes were studied in 33 patients with CLL who received FCR therapy. The TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, TLR6, TLR9, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, CD14, TNFα, FCGR2A genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction with allele-specific primers. CLL patients were divided into several groups depending on the terms of response to FCR treatment, i.e., achieving partial/complete remission after two, four, six courses of treatment, and those who did not respond to the therapy. Statistically significant differences in the distribution of haplotype frequencies were detected for the following genes: IL-1β (C-3953T, p = 0.02-0.009); IL-10 (C-819T, p = 0.04); IL-10 (G-1082A, p = 0.04-0.002-0.006), FCGR2A (His166Arg, p = 0.006); TLR4 (Thr399Ile, p = 0.02); TLR6 (Ser249Pro, p = 0.04); TLR9 (A2848G, p = 0.04-0.007); CD14 (C-159T, p = 0.03). When testing the significance hypothesis by multiple comparisons, the difference for the detected events was confirmed only for IL-10 gene (G-1082A, p < 0.01; χ2 = 20,082). The results show a relationship between the allelic status of the IL-10-1082 gene and the timing of response to FCR therapy, as well as predict a group of patients with primary-resistant CLL before treatment. The role of the relationship between IL-10 gene polymorphism and IL-10 production is discussed in connection with occurrence risk and clinical course of mature B-cell lymphoid malignancies. IL-10 is thought to be a growth factor for normal and transformed human B-lymphocytes, it controls a balance between cellular and humoral immune responses while exerting a pronounced immunosuppressive activity, along with ability to stimulate tumor cell proliferation. A rationale for conducting pharmacogenomic studies in CLL is provided, in order to predict efficiency of a specific drug or their combination in a distinct patient, thus representing chances to detect a factor which may influence success of the therapy since its earlier stage

Quantum interference and manipulation of entanglement in silicon wire waveguide quantum circuits

Integrated quantum photonic waveguide circuits are a promising approach to realizing future photonic quantum technologies. Here, we present an integrated photonic quantum technology platform utilising the silicon-on-insulator material system, where quantum interference and the manipulation of quantum states of light are demonstrated in components orders of magnitude smaller than in previous implementations. Two-photon quantum interference is presented in a multi-mode interference coupler, and manipulation of entanglement is demonstrated in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, opening the way to an all-silicon photonic quantum technology platform.Comment: 7 page

Загрязнение атмосферного воздуха и болезни органов дыхания у населения

An influence of long-term atmospheric air pollution on health status in population of the Moscow Central district (CD) was studied in 1992-1999. A retrospective analysis of air condition monitoring data, respiratory diseases spread and mortality of them was performed. The leading air pollutants at the district during that period were nitric oxide, nitric dioxide, phenol and suspended particles.An increase in the average annual concentration (AAC) of nitric oxide promoted a spread extension of chronic tonsil diseases in adults, chronic pharyngitis in adolescents and adults, allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma in children and adults, and women's mortality of chronic bronchitis as well.The AAC of nitric dioxide correlated directly with a growth of number of children with chronic pharyngitis and men's mortality of chronic bronchitis.The AAC of phenol correlated directly with the spread of allergic rhinitis in adolescents and correlated inversely with morbidity of pneumonia in all age groups.An increase in the AAC of suspended particles at the atmospheric air was directly associated with the growing number of children suffering from the chronic pharyngitis.The study performed permits to conclude that the evaluation of the atmospheric air pollution should take into account a sensitivity of adults and children. The analysis of curve of exponential growth showed that the growth of respiratory diseases spread takes place if the AACs of the air pollutants exceeded certain levels. The further data accumulation will allow to define these threshold values to following detection the permissible AACs of atmospheric air pollutants.Изучено влияние длительного загрязнения атмосферного воздуха на показатели здоровья населения Центрального административного округа (ЦАО) Москвы за период с 1992 по 1999 г.Проведен ретроспективный анализ данных мониторинга атмосферного воздуха и показателей распространенности болезней органов дыхания и смертности от этой группы болезней. Установлено, что на протяжении указанного периода наблюдения ведущими загрязнителями атмосферного воздуха на территории округа являлись окись азота (фактор 1), двуокись азота (фактор 2), фенол (фактор 3) и взвешенные частицы (фактор 4).Повышение среднегодовой концентрации (СгК) двуокиси азота способствовало увеличению распространенности хронических болезней миндалин у взрослых, хронического фарингита (ХФ) у подростков и взрослых, аллергического ринита (АР) у детей и взрослых и бронхиальной астмы (БА) у подростков и взрослых, а также смертности женщин от хронического бронхита.СгК двуокиси азота имели прямую корреляцию с увеличением числа детей, страдающих ХФ, и смертностью мужчин от хронического бронхита.СгК фенола и распространенность АР у подростков имели прямую связь, а заболеваемость пневмонией во всех возрастных группах населения — обратную зависимость.Повышение СгК взвешенных частиц в атмосферном воздухе было прямо связано с увеличением числа детей, страдающих ХФ.Проведенное исследование позволяет сделать заключение, что при оценке степени загрязнения атмосферного воздуха следует принимать во внимание чувствительность как детского, так и взрослого населения. Анализ кривой экспоненциального роста позволил определить, что увеличение распространенности болезней органов дыхания отмечается при превышении СгК загрязнителей атмосферного воздуха определенных уровней. Дальнейшее накопление данных позволит уточнить эти пороговые значения для последующего определения допустимых СгК загрязнителей атмосферного воздуха

Production of Rabbit Anti-Rabies Immunoglobulin Using Cultural Antigen

Justified is the possibility of application of fixed rabies virus Moscow 3253, reproduced on the cell culture Vero, as an antigen for heterologous anti-rabies immunoglobulin production. Application of the adjuvant - aluminium hydrate - is determined to be effective. Herein, by the day 73 post immunization, specific antibodies titer is ≥ 1:500 (wherein specific activity has been identified by means of neutralization test, carried out on white mice, and dot-blot immunoassay). The level of specific activity in experimental samples of anti-rabies immunoglobulin, isolated from rabbit immune serum, corresponds to 332 and 347 ME/ml. Physicochemical and biological properties of anti-rabies immunoglobulin, produced with the help of cultural antigen, fully comply with regulatory requirements specified for commercial preparation of heterologous anti-rabies immunoglobulin

Non-Waste Alternative Technologies in the Production of Heterologous Anti-Rabies Immunoglobulin

Presented is a comprehensive approach to utilization of the wastes that appear in the process of heterologous anti-rabies immunoglobulin production (packed red cells, fibrin, and alcohol-containing products). Specific immunoglobulin is extracted from the surface of red blood cells using desorption technique. Additional yields of immunoglobulin after exposure of erythrocytes to non-ionic detergent amount to 10-19 % of the output. Rich protein supplement feeding for horses-producers is obtained from spray-dried packed red cells. Solid nutritious substrate for microbiological media production is obtained from fibrin using enzymic hydrolysis method. The efficiency of the fibrin hydrolysate-based media is 1.5-2 times higher in comparison with that of the media based on the digest of meat and casein, as demonstrated by the results of Vibrio cholerae scaled cultivation. Furthermore, worked out is the technology of ethanol regeneration after the rivanol-ethanolic precipitation of gamma globulin, alcohol content by volume being (93±1) % after the regeneration. It is demonstrated that the regenerated alcohol can be used as a precipitator in the process of anti-rabies serum fractioning. All in all, the developed techniques make it possible to utilize the wastes of anti-rabies immunoglobulin production and provide for further use of derivatives while producing medical immunobiological preparations

Sensitivity of the IceCube Detector to Astrophysical Sources of High Energy Muon Neutrinos

We present the results of a Monte-Carlo study of the sensitivity of the planned IceCube detector to predicted fluxes of muon neutrinos at TeV to PeV energies. A complete simulation of the detector and data analysis is used to study the detector's capability to search for muon neutrinos from sources such as active galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. We study the effective area and the angular resolution of the detector as a function of muon energy and angle of incidence. We present detailed calculations of the sensitivity of the detector to both diffuse and pointlike neutrino emissions, including an assessment of the sensitivity to neutrinos detected in coincidence with gamma-ray burst observations. After three years of datataking, IceCube will have been able to detect a point source flux of E^2*dN/dE = 7*10^-9 cm^-2s^-1GeV at a 5-sigma significance, or, in the absence of a signal, place a 90% c.l. limit at a level E^2*dN/dE = 2*10^-9 cm^-2s^-1GeV. A diffuse E-2 flux would be detectable at a minimum strength of E^2*dN/dE = 1*10^-8 cm^-2s^-1sr^-1GeV. A gamma-ray burst model following the formulation of Waxman and Bahcall would result in a 5-sigma effect after the observation of 200 bursts in coincidence with satellite observations of the gamma-rays.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figures, 6 table

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors: physics and applications

Single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires (SSPDs or SNSPDs) have rapidly emerged as a highly promising photon-counting technology for infrared wavelengths. These devices offer high efficiency, low dark counts and excellent timing resolution. In this review, we consider the basic SNSPD operating principle and models of device behaviour. We give an overview of the evolution of SNSPD device design and the improvements in performance which have been achieved. We also evaluate device limitations and noise mechanisms. We survey practical refrigeration technologies and optical coupling schemes for SNSPDs. Finally we summarize promising application areas, ranging from quantum cryptography to remote sensing. Our goal is to capture a detailed snapshot of an emerging superconducting detector technology on the threshold of maturity.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, Review article preprint versio