State of infantile mortality in Chernigov area.

State and dynamics of perinatal and infant mortality rate in Chernigov region over the 2001-2010 period were studied. It is shown that the level of perinatal mortality and mortinatality should be analysed separately over 2 periods: 2001-2006 and 2007-2010, as in 2007 Ukraine turned to determination of perinatal period, live birth - and mortinatality according to WHO criteria. It is identified that over the 2001-2006 period there were no considerable changes of perinatal mortality level in Chernigov region. Over the 2007-2010 period this index dropped by 14 %, while in Ukraine – only by 6,3 %. During 2001-2006 mortinatality in this area was lower than in Ukraine, however it had a tendency to increase (by 10,6%); in subsequent years this resulted in exceeding of national values. Level of mortinatality rate in Chernigov region over the 2001-2010 period dropped by 28,6%, while in Ukraine – by 19,5%. It is identified that decrease in level of mortinatality occurred due to the decline of both neonatal and postneonatal mortality rate. Ranking of region areas by the levels of perinatal mortality, mortinatality, infant mortality, including neonatal and postneonatal mortality was conducted. It is found that perinatal states, inborn anomalies and accidents are the main causes of infant mortality both in Chernigov region and in Ukraine as a whole. Over the 2004-2010 period proportion of perinatal states in the structure of infant mortality rate increased by 14,8 %

Transport properties of single channel quantum wires with an impurity: Influence of finite length and temperature on average current and noise

The inhomogeneous Tomonaga Luttinger liquid model describing an interacting quantum wire adiabatically coupled to non-interacting leads is analyzed in the presence of a weak impurity within the wire. Due to strong electronic correlations in the wire, the effects of impurity backscattering, finite bias, finite temperature, and finite length lead to characteristic non-monotonic parameter dependencies of the average current. We discuss oscillations of the non-linear current voltage characteristics that arise due to reflections of plasmon modes at the impurity and quasi Andreev reflections at the contacts, and show how these oscillations are washed out by decoherence at finite temperature. Furthermore, the finite frequency current noise is investigated in detail. We find that the effective charge extracted in the shot noise regime in the weak backscattering limit decisively depends on the noise frequency $\omega$ relative to $v_F/gL$, where $v_F$ is the Fermi velocity, $g$ the Tomonaga Luttinger interaction parameter, and $L$ the length of the wire. The interplay of finite bias, finite temperature, and finite length yields rich structure in the noise spectrum which crucially depends on the electron-electron interaction. In particular, the excess noise, defined as the change of the noise due to the applied voltage, can become negative and is non-vanishing even for noise frequencies larger than the applied voltage, which are signatures of correlation effects.Comment: 28 pages, 19 figures, published version with minor change

Fractional charge in transport through a 1D correlated insulator of finite length

Transport through a one channel wire of length $L$ confined between two leads is examined when the 1D electron system has an energy gap $2M$: $M > T_L \equiv v_c/L$ induced by the interaction in charge mode ($v_c$: charge velocity in the wire). In spinless case the transformation of the leads electrons into the charge density wave solitons of fractional charge $q$ entails a non-trivial low energy crossover from the Fermi liquid behavior below the crossover energy $T_x \propto \sqrt{T_L M} e^{-M /[T_L(1-q^2)]}$ to the insulator one with the fractional charge in current vs. voltage, conductance vs. temperature, and in shot noise. Similar behavior is predicted for the Mott insulator of filling factor $\nu = integer/(2 m')$.Comment: 5 twocolumn pages in RevTex, no figure

Threshold features in transport through a 1D constriction

Suppression of electron current $\Delta I$ through a 1D channel of length $L$ connecting two Fermi liquid reservoirs is studied taking into account the Umklapp electron-electron interaction induced by a periodic potential. This interaction causes Hubbard gaps $E_H$ for $L \to \infty$. In the perturbative regime where $E_H \ll v_c/L$ ($v_c:$ charge velocity), and for small deviations $\delta n$ of the electron density from its commensurate values $- \Delta I/V$ can diverge with some exponent as voltage or temperature $V,T$ decreases above $E_c=max(v_c/L,v_c \delta n)$, while it goes to zero below $E_c$. This results in a nonmonotonous behavior of the conductance.Comment: Final variant published in PRL, 79, 1714; minor correction

Using a New Method for Preparing an Autograft for Anterior Cruciate Ligament Plasty

Background. Currently, work continues to improve the methods of arthroscopic reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament with an autograft, aimed at reducing the risk of postoperative failure.Aim of the study. To assess the immediate results of using a new method of preparing an autograft for anterior cruciate ligament plasty.Materials and methods. The analysis of the results of surgical treatment of 28 patients with old complete traumatic rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, who were treated in the Department of traumatology and orthopedics of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of Surgery and Traumatology, was carried out. The patients were men aged 18 to 40 years. The common thing for all patients was the All-inside arthroscopic plasty of the anterior cruciate ligament. Two groups of patients were formed depending on the method of preparation of the autograft. The first group consisted of 18 patients in whom a well-known technique was used, including the formation of a four-bundle autograft from one tendon of the semitendinosus muscle. In 10 patients of the second group, a new method of preparing an autograft was used, including the stage of preliminary determination of the required length and thickness of the autograft, and the stage of forming an autograft from the tendon of the semitendinosus and gracilis muscles on the common tendon pedicle.Results. Comparative analysis of the immediate results of arthroscopic plasty of the anterior cruciate ligament with an autograft in case of its old complete traumatic injury revealed a significantly lower number of undesirable consequences when using a new method of preparing an autograft. In two cases, persistence of  the pain syndrome associated with arthritic changes in the joint was observed, in one patient there was a  restriction of movements in the knee joint, no synovitis, a sensation of instability of the knee joint, ruptures  and detachments of the autograft were found. All patients were satisfied with the achieved result.Conclusion. A new method of preparing an autograft for plasty of the anterior cruciate ligament allows  achieving anatomical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, optimal function of the knee joint,  reducing pain, significantly reducing the risk of developing knee instability, ruptures and abruptions of the autograft in the postoperative period due to an individual approach, increasing the strength of the autograft and the strength of its fixation in the bone canals

Atomically thin boron nitride: a tunnelling barrier for graphene devices

We investigate the electronic properties of heterostructures based on ultrathin hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) crystalline layers sandwiched between two layers of graphene as well as other conducting materials (graphite, gold). The tunnel conductance depends exponentially on the number of h-BN atomic layers, down to a monolayer thickness. Exponential behaviour of I-V characteristics for graphene/BN/graphene and graphite/BN/graphite devices is determined mainly by the changes in the density of states with bias voltage in the electrodes. Conductive atomic force microscopy scans across h-BN terraces of different thickness reveal a high level of uniformity in the tunnel current. Our results demonstrate that atomically thin h-BN acts as a defect-free dielectric with a high breakdown field; it offers great potential for applications in tunnel devices and in field-effect transistors with a high carrier density in the conducting channel.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Past distribution of Tilia-feeding Phyllonorycter micromoth (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in the Russian Far East based on survey of historical herbarium

Distribution data of Tilia-feeding Phyllonorycter in the Russian Far East have been retrieved from a century-old Tilia herbarium stored in Vladivostok. Overall, 280 typical mines of Phyllonorycter, some with larvae and pupae, were found on 61 out of 799 herbarized specimens of Tilia spp. collected in Khabarovskii krai and Primorskii krai. For the first time, the presence of Tilia-feeding Phyllonorycter has been documented in Amurskaya oblast and Jewish Autonomous oblast. High densities of the leafminer have been recorded on Tilia amurensis sampled in Khabarovskii krai and Primorskii krai between 1937 and 2005 suggesting a population dynamics with recurrent outbreaks. Our results confirm the importance of historical herbarium collections in studying trophic interactions and invasion ecology of folivore organisms

Using an Autograft from the Fibula Diaphysis in the Surgical Treatment of Patients with Fractures of the Proximal Humerus on the Background of Critical Osteoporosis

The frequency of unsatisfactory results of surgical treatment of patients with a fracture of the proximal humerus remains high and is up to 40 %. This is primarily due to the early instability of the metal structure against the background of osteoporosis and as a consequence of non-fusion of the fracture and the formation  of a false joint. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a new surgical method for treating patients with a fracture of the proximal humerus against the background of critical osteoporosis. After the approval of the local ethics Committee, 2 groups of 10 patients were formed in the clinic: the patients of  main group were operated by the proposed method; the group of clinical comparison was operated by the standard method. In all clinical cases, fractures of the proximal humerus were consolidated on control radiographs. VAS assessment the pain syndrome in the early postoperative period showed that there were no  statistically significant differences in the shoulder joint area in the groups. Three months after surgery, when assessing the volume of movement in the shoulder joint (without the participation of the scapula), there was a statistically significant improvement in the main group: abduction – by 35° and external  rotation – by 25° (p<0.05). When assessing the range of motion of the operated shoulder joint using the ASES scale, a  statistically significant improvement was observed in the main group by 11.6 points after 3 months after  surgery. According to the assessment of the patient›s functional recovery according to the DASH scale, the indicators in the main group were statistically significantly better, which indicates a complete recovery of the shoulder joint function. Thus, the use of the proposed new method, in comparison with other known technologies for surgical treatment of fractures of the proximal humerus, allows achieving a more rigid and stable fixation of bone fragments in the aftermath of trauma and the presence of regional osteoporosis

Rotator cuff tendon ruptures (literature review)

Rotator cuff injury is a common pathology: up to 20 % of the population over 45 years of age has ruptures of varying severity, and up to 40 % of these ruptures are large and massive. The gradual development of tendon degeneration and fatty degeneration of muscle tissue and the asymptomatic course of the disease often lead to late medical attention when secondary arthropathy of the shoulder joint develops. With age, the probability of having a rupture increases, reaching 51 % in people over  80  years of age. The main diagnostic tools are radiography and  magnetic resonance imaging of the shoulder joint combined with clinical examination. Conservative treatment for massive injuries is ineffective, and the risk of worsening rotator cuff tendinopathy to rupture reaches 54 %. There are three main directions in the surgery of rotator cuff injuries: tendon reconstruction or replacement of their defect with grafts; muscle transfer; shoulder arthroplasty. Subacromial balloon spacer and tenogenic patches are also used. Each of these methods has a number of disadvantages and limitations. The frequency of repeated ruptures of reconstructed tendons reaches 45 %. Muscle transfer is extremely demanding on the skill of the surgeon and is associated with high risks of neurological complications. Arthroplasty imposes a number of significant restrictions on the patient, reducing the  quality of life, and prosthesis components wear increases the risk of complications, especially during revision interventions. The use of the subacromial spacer is limited by its high cost and lack of  long-term follow-up of treatment outcomes. Tenogenic patches have not undergone clinical trials, being an experimental technique. There is no single approach to the treatment of massive rotator cuff ruptures. The results are contradictory, the advantages of each of the methods are balanced by their disadvantages, which provides a wide window of opportunity in the studying, optimizing classical and introducing new methods of treatment of this patholog