Economic Evaluation of the Efficiency of Supply Chain Management in Agricultural Production Based on Multidimensional Research Methods

The article studies the system of indicators characterizing the efficiency of supply chain management in agricultural production. The hierarchical classification of the subjects of the Russian Federation according to the indicators characterizing the results of the activity of the agricultural sector has been carried out. Clusters with high, medium and low levels of supply chains management’s efficiency have been identified. Regions for selected clusters are set. A comparative analysis of the regions on the performance of the agricultural sector has been carried out. Regularities are revealed, prospects for further development are defined. For each cluster promising areas of effective development of agriculture were identified

Uterine microbiome in women with uterine scar defect after cesarean section: Prospective cohort study

Aim. To evaluate the endometrial microbiota in patients with uterine scar defect after cesarean section. Materials and methods. The study included 80 women of reproductive age. The main group included 50 patients with a uterus scar defect due to cesarean section; the comparison group included 30 women with a competent uterus scar due to cesarean section. Patients underwent a Pipelle endometrial biopsy on days 2022 of the menstrual cycle using a double-lumen catheter that excludes sample contamination with vaginal and cervical microflora. A molecular genetic study of the endometrium was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction using the Femoflor 16 reagent kit (DNA-Technology Moscow). The DNA content in the specimen was measured using software and expressed in genome equivalent (GE) proportional to the number of microorganisms. The statistical data were processed using the Exсel software package and SPSS Statistics 22.0. Results. The study showed the following statistically significant differences: lower count of Lactobacillus spp. 2.600 (1.4303.600) GE/mL vs 3.550 (2.8004.700) GE/mL in patients of the comparison group (p=0.02); higher count of Streptococcus and Staphylococcus spp. 3.270 (3.0003.700) GE/mL and 3.450 (3.2003.600) GE/mL vs 1.030 (0.7601.700) GE/mL and 0.560 (0.1201.200) GE/mL in the comparison group, respectively (p0.00001); higher count of Enterobacteriaceae 2.700 (1.7003.300) GE/mL vs 0.950 (0.6601.120) GE/mL in the comparison group (p0.00001); higher count of Gardnerella/Prevotellabivia/Porphyromonas spp. 2.310 (0.9303.480) GE/mL vs 1.000 (0.0001.860) GE/mL (p=0.003); higher count of Peptostreptococcus spp. 0.195 (0.0001.560) GE/mL vs 0.000 (0.000-0.000) GE/mL (p=0.032); Eubacterium spp. 1.355 (0.1002.460) GE/mL vs 0.000 (0.0001.560) GE/mL (p=0.040). Conclusion. Endometrial dysbiosis in patients with a uterus scar defect after cesarean section due to the possible effects of microorganisms can be considered one of the leading causes of the formation of a uterus scar defect in the postoperative period

Neonatal Nav1.5 protein expression in human colorectal cancer: immunohistochemical characterization and clinical evaluation

Voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSCs) are expressed widely in human carcinomas and play a significant role in promoting cellular invasiveness and metastasis. However, human tissue-based studies and clinical characterization are lacking. In several carcinomas, including colorectal cancer (CRCa), the predominant VGSC is the neonatal splice variant of Nav1.5 (nNav1.5). The present study was designed to determine the expression patterns and clinical relevance of nNav1.5 protein in human CRCa tissues from patients with available clinicopathological history. The immunohistochemistry was made possible by the use of a polyclonal antibody (NESOpAb) specific for nNav1.5. The analysis showed that, compared with normal mucosa, nNav1.5 expression occurred in CRCa samples (i) at levels that were significantly higher and (ii) with a pattern that was more delineated (i.e., apical/basal or mixed). A surprisingly high level of nNav1.5 protein expression also occurred in adenomas, but this was mainly intracellular and diffuse. nNav1.5 showed a statistically significant association with TNM stage, highest expression being associated with TNM IV and metastatic status. Interestingly, nNav1.5 expression co-occurred with other biomarkers associated with metastasis, including hERG1, KCa3.1, VEGF-A, Glut1, and EGFR. Finally, univariate analysis showed that nNav1.5 expression had an impact on progression-free survival. We conclude (i) that nNav1.5 could represent a novel clinical biomarker (‘companion diagnostic’) useful to better stratify CRCa patients and (ii) that since nNav1.5 expression is functional, it could form the basis of anti-metastatic therapies including in combination with standard treatments

The impact of clothing style on bone mineral density among post menopausal women in Morocco: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: The clothing style is an important factor that influences vitamin D production and thus bone mineral density. We performed a case-control study in order to evaluate the effect of veil wearing (concealing clothing) on bone mineral density in Moroccan post menopausal women. METHODS: The cases were osteoporotic women whose disease was assessed by bone mineral density measurement. Each patient was matched with a non osteoporotic woman for age, and body mass index. All our patients were without secondary causes or medications that might affect bone density. The veil was defined as a concealing clothing which covered most of the body including the arms, the legs and the head. This definition is this of the usual Moroccan traditional clothing style. RESULTS: 178 post menopausal osteoporotic patients and 178 controls were studied. The mean age of the cases and the controls was 63.2 years (SD 7) and the mean body mass index was 32.1 (SD 8). The results of crude Odds Ratios analyses indicated that wearing a veil was associated with a high risk of osteoporosis: OR 2.29 (95% CI, 1.38–3.82). Multiparity or a history of familial peripheral osteoporotic fractures had also a significant effect on increasing the osteoporosis risk (ORs: 1.87 (95% CI, 1.05–3.49) and 2.01 (95% CI, 1.20–3.38)). After a multiple regression analysis, wearing the veil and a history of familial osteoporotic fractures remained the both independent factors that increased the osteoporosis risk (ORs: 2.20 (95% CI, 1.22–3.9) and 2.19 (95% CI, 1.12–4.29) respectively). CONCLUSION: our study suggested that in Moroccan post menopausal women, wearing a traditional concealing clothing covering arms, legs and head increased the risk of osteoporosis. Further studies are required to evaluate the clinical impact of the above findings and to clarify the status of vitamin D among veiled women in Morocco

Terahertz technology in intraoperative neurodiagnostics: A review

Terahertz (THz) technology offers novel opportunities in biology and medicine, thanks to the unique features of THz-wave interactions with tissues and cells. Among them, we particularly notice strong sensitivity of THz waves to the tissue water, as a medium for biochemical reactions and a main endogenous marker for THz spectroscopy and imaging. Tissues of the brain have an exceptionally high content of water. This factor, along with the features of the structural organization and biochemistry of neuronal and glial tissues, makes the brain an exciting subject to study in the THz range. In this paper, progress and prospects of THz technology in neurodiagnostics are overviewed, including diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease, myelin deficit, tumors of the central nervous system (with an emphasis on brain gliomas), and traumatic brain injuries. Fundamental and applied challenges in study of the THz-wave – brain tissue interactions and development of the THz biomedical tools and systems for neurodiagnostics are discussed