Late Ediacaran Redox Stability and Metazoan Evolution

The Neoproterozoic arrival of animals fundamentally changed Earth's biological and geochemical trajectory. Since the early description of Ediacaran and Cambrian animal fossils, a vigorous debate has emerged about the drivers underpinning their seemingly rapid radiation. Some argue for predation and ecology as central to diversification, whereas others point to a changing chemical environment as the trigger. In both cases, questions of timing and feedbacks remain unresolved. Through these debates, the last fifty years of work has largely converged on the concept that a change in atmospheric oxygen levels, perhaps manifested indirectly as an oxygenation of the deep ocean, was causally linked to the initial diversification of large animals. What has largely been absent, but is provided in this study, is a multi-proxy stratigraphic test of this hypothesis. Here, we describe a coupled geochemical and paleontological investigation of Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks from northern Russia. In detail, we provide iron speciation data, carbon and sulfur isotope compositions, and major element abundances from a predominantly siliciclastic succession (spanning>1000 m) sampled by the Kel'tminskaya-1 drillcore. Our interpretation of these data is consistent with the hypothesis that the $pO_2$ threshold required for diversification of animals with high metabolic oxygen demands was crossed prior to or during the Ediacaran Period. Redox stabilization of shallow marine environments was, however, also critical and only occurred about 560 million years ago (Ma), when large motile bilaterians first enter the regional stratigraphic record. In contrast, neither fossils nor geochemistry lend support to the hypothesis that ecological interactions altered the course of evolution in the absence of environmental change. Together, the geochemical and paleontological records suggest a coordinated transition from low oxygen oceans sometime before the Marinoan (~635 Ma) ice age, through better oxygenated but still redox-unstable shelves of the early Ediacaran Period, to the fully and persistently oxygenated marine environments characteristic of later Ediacaran successions that preserve the first bilaterian macrofossils and trace fossils.Earth and Planetary SciencesOrganismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Магнитно-резонансная томография легких с парамагнитным контрастным усилением в динамическом контроле терапии рака легкого у больных с радиофобией: клинический случай

Till now the facilities of MRI with paramagnetic contrast enhancement (CE-MRI) in detection of lung tumors remain underused and almost ignored. A clinical case of primary detection and prospective follow-up of lung cancer in a patient whose MRI of the chest revealed a tumor lesion — a central cancer of the left lung, in particular a lesion of the bronchus of the lower lobe of the left lung. MRI of the chest with paramagnetic contrast enhancement was carried out as part of the whole body CE-MRI study after the complex therapy of breast cancer, and both the primary lung tumor and metastatic lesion of mediastinal — subbifurcation lymph nodes were revealed. With a transbronchial biopsy, the diagnosis of lung cancer was verified. Chemotherapy (ChT) was started using the vinorelbin/ carboplatin regimen. After this, the CE-MRI has been carried out during the whole period of followup of anti-cancer chemotherapy. At the CE-MRI during the first course of ChT visually the complete regression of the disease, also with clinical remission was achieved. However, the ChT scheme was not fully completed due to the patient’s departure for urgent private reasons. Two months later, the patient was examined again according to the same CE-MRI protocol, while a relapse of the disease was detected with a more pronounced lesion of the mediastinal lymph nodes than during the initial treatment. ChT with vinorelbine/carboplatin was again carried out under the control CE-MRI, this time completely. According to the chest CE-MRI, visual remission was achieved, with the disappearance of nodular tumor at the site of the previously identified primary tumor of lung cancer and metastatic lesions of lymph nodes. Thus, it was the CE-MRI which provided the early diagnosis and adequate control of treatment of the lung cancer with extensive local lymph nodes spread. After this CE-MRI, the whole body PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) was also performed and no signs of relapse or continued tumor growth were revealed. Five months after this stage, the patient did persist to stay completely preserved clinically, at work and socially active. Thus, the chest CE-MRI can be employed for the follow-up of the tumor process in lung cancer, as necessary, without radiation exposure, without limiting the number and frequency of studies. До сих пор возможности магнитно-резонансной томографии (МРТ) в диагностике и контроле лечения рака легкого практически мало востребованы из-за недостаточного опыта и знакомства с ними клиницистов-онкологов. Представлен клинический случай первичного выявления и проспективного наблюдения в ходе терапии рака легкого у пациентки, направленной неврологом поликлиники для проведения МР-томографии головного мозга в связи со стойкими головными болями, после перенесенного двумя месяцами ранее сомнительного эпизода заболевания COVID-19. При МРТ органов грудной клетки (ОГК) было выявлено опухолевое поражение — центральный рак слева с поражением бронха нижней доли левого легкого. МРТ ОГК с парамагнитны контрастным усилением (ПМКУ) выполнялась как часть исследования всего тела после проведенной комплексной терапии рака молочной железы, была выявлена как первичная опухоль рака легкого, так и метастатическое поражение средостенных — суббифуркационных лимфоузлов. Диагноз рака легкого был верифицирован при трансбронхиальной биопсии. В ходе дальнейших повторных контрольных исследований МРТ ОГК с ПМКУ выполнялась повторно и многократно. После начала химиотерапии (ХТ) c использованием схемы винорелбин/карбоплатин был достигнут по результатам МРТ с ПМКУ визуально полный регресс заболевания с клинической ремиссией. Однако полностью схема химиотерапии не была завершена в связи с отъездом пациентки по настоятельным частным причинам. Спустя два месяца пациентка была вновь обследована по тому же протоколу МРТ органов грудной клетки с парамагнитным контрастным усилением, при этом выявлен рецидив заболевания с более выраженным поражением лимфоузлов средостения, чем при первичном обращении. Вновь проведена под контролем МРТ ОГК с ПМКУ комплексная химиотерапия винорелбином/карбоплатином, на этот раз полностью. По данным контрольной МРТ ОГК с ПМКУ — достигнута визуальная ремиссия, с исчезновением узловых новообразований на месте ранее выявленной первичной опухоли рака легкого и метастатических поражений лимфоузлов. После МРТ с  ПМКУ также проведена ПЭТ всего тела с  18F-фтордезоксиглюкозой. Признаков рецидива или продолженного роста опухоли не выявлено. Спустя 5 мес после этого этапа пациентка была полностью сохранна клинически, активна профессионально и социально. Таким образом, МРТ ОГК с ПМКУ может быть использована для проведения проспективной повторной оценки состояния опухолевого процесса при раке легкого по необходимости, без лучевой нагрузки, без ограничения количества исследований

Assessment of Stability of Chemical Cholera Vaccine in a New Primary Packaging

The bivalent chemical cholera vaccine is the only drug for the prevention of cholera registered in the Russian Federation. The vaccine has been produced in glass bottles containing 210 tablets. At the same time, modern trends dictate the need to produce the drug in varying dispensing and more practical packaging for the convenience of the consumer.The aim of the work was to study the stability of the properties of the immunobiological medicinal product “Bivalent chemical cholera vaccine” with modified filling and in new primary packaging.Materials and methods. When studying the quality of bivalent chemical cholera vaccine batches, physicochemical parameters, formaldehyde content, specific activity and safety, abnormal toxicity, immunogenicity, and microbiological purity were assessed. Stability in terms of “specific activity” was evaluated using dot immunoassay.Results and discussion. As a result of this work, the use of several dispensing options and new primary packaging of cholera vaccine has been experimentally substantiated. The stability of the finished vaccine preparation has been established in the “accelerated aging” test and during long-term storage. The possibility of using dot immunoassay with a conjugate based on staphylococcal protein A, labeled with colloidal gold, to monitor the stability of cholera vaccine has been experimentally demonstrated

Difficulties in the Differential Diagnosis of Tracheobronchomegaly in Children

Tracheobronchomegaly is a rare developmental defect in children, which is characterized by the expansion of the trachea and large bronchi, the diagnosis and treatment of which are made more often in adult practice, when the clinical diagnostic picture acquires the obvious features of Mounier-Kuhn syndrome. In this connection, the need arises for the early detection of this pathology in children and its differentiation from other diseases and malformations of the tracheobronchial tree, which mask a recurrent inflammatory process in the lung and upper respiratory tract, and primarily with those, such as cystic fibrosis and primary ciliary dyskinesia.The paper describes a case of secondary tracheobronchomegaly in a child with obvious clinical manifestations of Mounier-Kuhn syndrome in the presence of bronchiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, and signs of systemic connective tissue disease. It discusses the possibilities of chest computed tomography in the diagnosis of this defect in children, as well as its causes. The sizes of the trachea and main bronchi in this patient are compared with those in the groups of children of the same age and sex who have cystic fibrosis or diffuse pulmonary fibrosis to identify a more significant role of hereditary connective tissue diseases in the development of secondary tracheobronchomegaly. The authors propose to separate the concepts of tracheobronchomegaly and Mounier-Kuhn syndrome in children and to recognize the threshold for tracheal expansion in these patients having +3SD or more

Use of inosine pranobex in frequently ill children

The follow-up group of «frequently ill children» is formed on the basis of criteria formulated by domestic pediatricians A.A. Baranov and V.Yu. Al’bitskiy, due to the high relevance of medical, social and economic problems caused by the increased morbidity in this category of patients especially with acute respiratory infections, with likely development of severe complications or the manifestation of chronic respiratory diseases. In general, the state of the immune system in frequently ill children is characterized by decreased local immunity and increased stress of systemic immunity, and the features of the functional immunity activity in this category of patients determine the various possibilities to affect immunity during the prevention and treatment of acute respiratory infections. This article discusses the features of the functional activity of the immune system in frequently ill children, as well as the possibilities of drug management of its disorders and the benefits of using inosine pranobex to prevent and treat respiratory infections in this category of patients. According to the international classification of drugs maintained by the World Health Organization, the drug belongs to the groups of immunomodulators (L) and antimicrobial antiviral drugs (J) for systemic use. It is proved that inosine pranobex effectively increases cellular and humoral immunity, and reduces non-specifically the viral replication capacity. During clinical trials, the drug proved to be a highly effective and safe component of the complex treatment of acute respiratory infections in frequently ill children. The use of inosine pranobex reduces the duration and intensity of symptoms of infectious respiratory tract diseases. The drug can be recommended for children with concomitant chronic respiratory tract diseases

Prevalence of geriatric syndromes in persons over 65 years: the first results of the EVCALIPT study

Aim. To study the prevalence of geriatric syndromes and assess their relationship with senile asthenia in persons aged ³65 years living in Russian regions with different demographic, climatic and socio-economic characteristics.Material and methods. We examined 664 patients aged 65-107 years (mean age, 79±9 years; men, 25%) living in Moscow (n=365) and Voronezh (n=299). All patients underwent a comprehensive geriatric examination, which consisted of two stages: a survey with original questionnaire and an objective examination.Results. The prevalence of senile asthenia was 66,4%, including 47,4% in people aged 65-74, 71,1% — 75-84 years, and 82,8% — ³85 years (p for trend <0,001). Senile asthenia was associated with age (odds ratio (OR), 2,36; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1,89-2,93; p<0,001) and female sex (OR, 1,52; 95% CI 1,06-2,18; p=0,024). Patients with senile asthenia had a lower socioeconomic status. Also, close associations of senile asthenia with other geriatric syndromes (dementia, depression, vision and hearing impairment, incontinence, falls, high risk of falls, functional decline, failure to thrive) with OR from 1,32 to 7,22 were revealed.Conclusion. The first results of the EVCALIPT study indicate a high incidence of senile asthenia in persons aged ³65 years and its close association with other geriatric syndromes and socio-economic factors