MONITORING OF IMMUNE RESPONSE IN VIROLOGIC SUCCESSFULLY TREATED HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN SERBIA

The number of CD4 lymphocytes defines the evolutional stage of HIV-infection and is the most important for a reliable estimation of the individual risk of developing AIDS. However, it is difficult to predict the degree of immune reconstitution during antiretroviral therapy, as it varies significantly from one person to another. Further investigations to better understand the limitations of immunological success are necessary to improve the response to treatment and regimen durability. The current study includes HIV-infected patients in Southeastern Serbia with achieved virologic suppression of HIV infection. The CD4 count was determined by flow cytometry, and was correlated with the duration of treatment, initial number of CD4 cells, type of antiretroviral therapy, mode of transmission of infection, age and gender of examinees. The resulting arithmetic mean and standard deviation of CD4 number was 473±259 cells/µl (range, 1130 cells/µl). There was no statistically significant correlation between the values of CD4 count and length of treatment, stage of the infection at which the therapy was started, treatment profile, method of infection, age or gender. The obtained results are comparable with the existing studies that follow immunological response to antiretroviral therapy and primarily point out the issue of substantial individual response variability, which has not yet been fully elucidated

The long non-coding RNA GHSROS reprograms prostate cancer cell lines toward a more aggressive phenotype

It is now appreciated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important players in orchestrating cancer progression. In this study we characterized GHSROS, a human lncRNA gene on the opposite DNA strand (antisense) to the ghrelin receptor gene, in prostate cancer. The lncRNA was upregulated by prostate tumors from different clinical datasets. Transcriptome data revealed that GHSROS alters the expression of cancer-associated genes. Functional analyses in vitro showed that GHSROS mediates tumor growth, migration and survival, and resistance to the cytotoxic drug docetaxel. Increased cellular proliferation of GHSROS-overexpressing PC3, DU145, and LNCaP prostate cancer cell lines in vitro was recapitulated in a subcutaneous xenograft model. Conversely, in vitro antisense oligonucleotide inhibition of the lncRNA reciprocally regulated cell growth and migration, and gene expression. Notably, GHSROS modulates the expression of PPP2R2C, the loss of which may drive androgen receptor pathway-independent prostate tumor progression in a subset of prostate cancers. Collectively, our findings suggest that GHSROS can reprogram prostate cancer cells toward a more aggressive phenotype and that this lncRNA may represent a potential therapeutic target

Colour reconnection in e+e- -> W+W- at sqrt(s) = 189 - 209 GeV

The effects of the final state interaction phenomenon known as colour reconnection are investigated at centre-of-mass energies in the range sqrt(s) ~ 189-209 GeV using the OPAL detector at LEP. Colour reconnection is expected to affect observables based on charged particles in hadronic decays of W+W-. Measurements of inclusive charged particle multiplicities, and of their angular distribution with respect to the four jet axes of the events, are used to test models of colour reconnection. The data are found to exclude extreme scenarios of the Sjostrand-Khoze Type I (SK-I) model and are compatible with other models, both with and without colour reconnection effects. In the context of the SK-I model, the best agreement with data is obtained for a reconnection probability of 37%. Assuming no colour reconnection, the charged particle multiplicity in hadronically decaying W bosons is measured to be (nqqch) = 19.38+-0.05(stat.)+-0.08 (syst.).Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Euro. Phys. J.

Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP

A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson with the OPAL Detector at LEP

This paper summarises the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV performed by the OPAL Collaboration at LEP. The consistency of the data with the background hypothesis and various Higgs boson mass hypotheses is examined. No indication of a signal is found in the data and a lower bound of 112.7GeV/C^2 is obtained on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson at the 95% CL.Comment: 51 pages, 21 figure

Оценка воздействия социальных медиа на политические и социокультурные взгляды молодежи в условиях глобальной трансформации общества (на примере видеоблогинга)

Исследование социальных медиа - одна из самых динамично развивающихся областей современной социологии. Актуальность исследования обусловлена трансформацией общественных ценностей, формированием глобальной политической и культурной среды и значительным влиянием современных информационных технологий на всю социокультурную систему. Целью исследования является оценка воздействия социальных медиа на социокультурную трансформацию общества и анализ влияния видеоблогинга как формы социальных медиа на молодых людей в возрасте от 17 до 30 лет. Методы. В процессе исследования был использован абстрактно-логический подход на основе системного анализа существующих эмпирических данных и онлайн-опроса, проведенного в социальной сети «ВКонтакте» среди студентов МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова и студентов Национального исследовательского университета «Высшая школа экономики». Опрос содержал большое количество вариантов ответов (перечисление имен известных блогеров) и возможность добавления респондентом собственных вариантов ответов и комментариев. Результаты. Выяснилось, что воздействие блогеров на мировоззрение зрителей молодого поколения значительно. Половина опрошенных респондентов в возрасте от 17 до 30 лет интересуются политическими блогами, что говорит о возрастающей роли видеоблогинга среди молодежи в сети Интернет. Этот вид социальных медиа становится ареной политической борьбы за влияние на мировоззрение молодежи. Большинство участников опроса уделяют внимание политизированным блогерам, в частности Алексею Навальному. Значительная часть респондентов также следит за научно-популярными блогами, что может говорить о желании получать новые знания в сжатом и упрощенном виде.The study of social media is one of the most dynamically developing areas of modern sociology. The relevance of the study is caused by transformation of social values, emergence of global political and cultural environment, and significant impact of modern information technologies on the entire socio-cultural system. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of social media on the socio-cultural transformation of society and to analyze the impact of video blogging as a form of social media on young people aged 17 to 30 years. The method. The abstract-logical approach based on the system analysis of existing empirical data and an online-survey was used. The survey was conducted in the social network Vkontakte among students of the Lomonosov Moscow State University and National Research University «Higher School of Economics». The survey had a large number of answers and the possibility for respondents to add their own answers and comments. Results. It was found that the impact of bloggers on the worldview of the younger generation is significant. Half of the respondents aged 17 to 30 are interested in political blogs, which indicates the increasing role of video blogging among young people on the internet. This type of social media becomes battleground for political struggle for influence on the worldview of young people. The majority of respondents pay attention to politicized bloggers, in particular Alexei Navalny. A significant part of respondents also follows popular science blogs, which may indicate a desire to gain new knowledge in a concise and simplified form

Стартап выведения на внутриигровой рынок IT-продукта на базе платформы Steam

Анализ способов ведения коммерческой деятельности в рамках платформы Steam и игры Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Разработка it-продукта для повышения эффективности работы на платформе Steam. Оформление разработки в качестве стартапа.Analysis of ways of doing business within the Steam platform and the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Development of an it-product to improve the efficiency of work on the Steam platform. Registration of development as a startup

From bench to bedside: Immunotherapy for prostate cancer

The mainstay therapeutic strategy for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) continues to be androgen deprivation therapy usually in combination with chemotherapy or androgen receptor targeting therapy in either sequence, or recently approved novel agents such as Radium 223. However, immunotherapy has also emerged as an option for the treatment of this disease following the approval of sipuleucel-T by the FDA in 2010. Immunotherapy is a rational approach for prostate cancer based on a body of evidence suggesting these cancers are inherently immunogenic and, most importantly, that immunological interventions can induce protective antitumour responses. Various forms of immunotherapy are currently being explored clinically, with the most common being cancer vaccines (dendritic-cell, viral, and whole tumour cell-based) and immune checkpoint inhibition. This review will discuss recent clinical developments of immune-based therapies for prostate cancer that have reached the phase III clinical trial stage. A perspective of how immunotherapy could be best employed within current treatment regimes to achieve most clinical benefits is also provided