Etiology of influenza-like illnesses in the population of Novosibirsk city in the 2018–2019 epidemic season

Influenza and other acute respiratory viral infections lead to a substantial incidence of severe cases and hospitalizations and so remain a global health problem. Within the frame of the Global Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network (GIHSN), we assessed the contribution of influenza and other respiratory viruses to severe cases of influenzalike diseases in patients hospitalized to the Novosibirsk infectious hospitals in the years 2018–2019. We analyzed 484 nasopharyngeal swabs collected from patients admitted to the hospitals with acute respiratory infections (ARI) using real-time polymerase chain reaction commercial kits. We confirmed viral etiology of ARI in 69.8% cases. Influenza viruses were detected in 47.1% cases, wherein concomitant circulation of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) viruses was observed in 20.7% and 26% of patients, respectively, whereas influenza B virus was detected only in one sample. All analyzed influenza A viruses were antigenically similar to vaccine strains. Genetically, the Novosibirsk strains were closely related to influenza A viruses distributed in Russia and worldwide. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus was detected in all patients aged 0 to 14 years and required intensive care. Other respiratory viruses were detected in 36.4% of children and 5.8% of adults, and 8.3% of children had viral coinfection, whereas no cases of coinfection were detected in adults. The most common viruses in children were metapneumovirus — 12.8%, rhinovirus — 9.3% and respiratory syncytial virus — 8.0%. In adults, metapneumovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza virus and rhinovirus were detected with a detection rate no exceeding 2%. In this study, we found no differences in the detection rate of the influenza virus due to concomitant chronic diseases, pregnancy, or smoking habits. At the same time, the detection rate of other respiratory viruses in non-smokers vs. smokers was significantly lower than in smokers and former smokers (26.15%, 66.67% and 62.50%, respectively). In addition, the level of detection of respiratory viruses in children with vs. without chronic pathology was significantly higher (55.3% and 38.7%, respectively). Thus, our and similar studies are important for monitoring and control of the infection

PROBLEMS AND RESEARCH TOOLS DEVELOPED THE LEVEL OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN REGIONS

The authors examine the approaches and compare the assessment of the level of innovative development of Russian regions by various known methods. Particular attention is paid to the discrepancy to the different methods caused a set of parameters describing the combined index of innovative development and algorithms used in its calculation. It showed a methodical scheme of creation of original software for analytics and visualization of complex indicators of innovative development, which allows to compare results across existing or new flexibility formed by the algorithms in accordance with the purposes of analysis and expertise to develop solutions for the various levels of government. Illustrations are given on the testing program for the calculation of certain types of composite indexes. The estimation of the level of innovative development is performed by methods, which have different set of indicators and algorithms. Purpose of the article - the analysis methods to assess the composite index of Regional Development to create a general scheme for its calculation based on the original software. The methodology of the study includes the comparison of the empirical results of different methods in order to create a computer program that contains a library of algorithms for analysis and visualization. The research result - scheme of constructing the composite index and its interregional comparisons. It is shown that the application of different algorithms provide similar estimates the level of innovative regional development - leaders such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod region. At the same time there is a big difference estimates for most regions. Verification of scheme for calculating the composite index is made by some techniques on the example of assessing the knowledge economy index regions of Russia. The software package allows to create and maintain a library of algorithms constructed by the user, visualization results. Its practical application extends the capabilities of the applied analysis of various formulations of indicators characterizing the development of Russian regions

Capture of Essential Trace Elements and Phosphate Accumulation as a Basis for the Antimicrobial Activity of a New Ultramicrobacterium—Microbacterium lacticum Str. F2E

Microbial interactions play an important role in natural habitat. The long-term coevolution of various species leads to the adaptation of certain types of microorganisms as well as to the formation of a wide variety of interactions such as competitive, antagonistic, pathogenic and parasitic relationships. The aim of this work is a comprehensive study of a new ultramicrobacterium Microbacterium lacticum str. F2E, isolated from perennial oil sludge, which is characterized by high antimicrobial activity and a unique ultrastructural organization of the cell envelope, which includes globular surface ultrastructures with a high negative charge. A previously undescribed mechanism for the antagonistic action of the F2E strain against the prey bacterium is proposed. This mechanism is based on the ability to preferentially capture essential microelements, in which charge interactions and the property of phosphate accumulation may play a significant role. The revealed type of intermicrobial interaction can probably be attributed to the non-contact type antagonistic action in the absence of any diffuse factor secreted by the antagonistic bacteria