Control of structurization processes in wood-cement systems at fixed pH

The paper presents a study of structurization processes in the wood-cement systemmixed with the buffer solutions and the improvement of service properties of products produced therefrom. Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray phase analysis, and pH measurements show that structurization processes in wood-cement systems depend on the acidity of aqueous solution, the behavior of hydration, neutralization, and polycondensation reactions with the formation of polymer products including those with cement grout components and functional groups of wood. It is shown that phosphate buffer solutions used for mixing wood-cement compositions improve their strength properties and reduce water absorption. The optimum acidity of the buffered medium for service properties of the wood-cement systemis pH = 4.8

Treatment of children with medulloblastoma without metastatic involvement in the age group older than 3 years: international experience and results of intercenter trial

Background. During the past 20 years, some large international studies have been conducted that evaluated the effectiveness of treatment programs for children with medulloblastoma. At the same time, in the standard risk group, fairly high rates of 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were achieved, which amounted to 85% and 80%, respectively. At the present time some risk-adaptive therapeutic programs are developed according to molecular-biological features of tumor cells and possibility of chemotherapy and craniospinal radiation (CSI) therapy dose reduction. Materials and methods. From 2008 to 2018 fifty one pediatric patients with primary diagnosed medulloblastoma in the age group 318 years were included in trial, 38 in standard risk group, 13 in high risk group (without metastatic disease). Treatment program consisted of surgical removal of the primary tumor site with subsequent chemotherapy (with high-dose cyclophosphamide or thiophosphamide) and radiation therapy (with CSI of 23.4 Gy or 36 Gy, depending on the risk group). In order to detect morphological and molecular biological distinctive features of tumor cells, the following criteria were evaluated: histological variant, molecular subgroup, methyltransferase status by DNMT and MGMT proteins expression, presence of C-MYC/N-MYC gene amplification, Iso17q and TP53 gene mutation. Results. As a result of this study, sufficiently high rates of overall survival and progression/relapse-free survival (PRFS) were achieved in standard and high-risk groups patients, which amounted to 76.08.8% and 83.310.8% with median follow-up 62.96.2 months and 52.27.8 months, respectively. There was revealed patients group in the age 37 years with 100% PRFS and median follow-up 66.98.9 months. At the same time, morphological and molecular biological factors of an unfavorable outcome of the disease were absent in the tumor samples (large cell anaplastic histology, C-MYC/N-MYC gene amplification, Iso17q and TP53 gene mutation). We have also achieved 100% PRFS in patients with desmoplastic tumor histology and in patients, who were treated with thiphosphamide-based chemotherapy regimen. Molecular-biological characteristics analysis of tumor cells showed a negative effect on PRFS of DNMT-positive status (Score 4, by 3 markers) and presence of N-MYC gene amplification (SHH molecular subgroup). Conclusion. There was identified a group of patients aged 3 to 7 years, for whom the possibility for reducing of CSR dose down to 18 Gy opens. Understanding of tumor cells methyltransferase status creates the prerequisites for using of epigenetic demethylating therapy. It is necessary more observations to assess the effect of the chemotherapy regimen with high-dose thiophosphamide on the PRFS

Control of structurization processes in wood-cement systems at fixed pH

The paper presents a study of structurization processes in the wood-cement systemmixed with the buffer solutions and the improvement of service properties of products produced therefrom. Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray phase analysis, and pH measurements show that structurization processes in wood-cement systems depend on the acidity of aqueous solution, the behavior of hydration, neutralization, and polycondensation reactions with the formation of polymer products including those with cement grout components and functional groups of wood. It is shown that phosphate buffer solutions used for mixing wood-cement compositions improve their strength properties and reduce water absorption. The optimum acidity of the buffered medium for service properties of the wood-cement systemis pH = 4.8

Parameters of Surface Electromyogram Suggest That Dry Immersion Relieves Motor Symptoms in Patients With Parkinsonism

Dry immersion (DI) is acknowledged as a reliable space flight analog condition. At DI, subject is immersed in water being wrapped in a waterproof film to imitate microgravity (μG). Microgravity is known to decrease muscle tone due to deprivation of the sensory stimuli that activate the reflexes that keep up the muscle tone. In contrary, parkinsonian patients are characterized by elevated muscle tone, or rigidity, along with rest tremor and akinesia. We hypothesized that DI can diminish the elevated muscle tone and/or the tremor in parkinsonian patients. Fourteen patients with Parkinson's disease (PD, 10 males, 4 females, 47–73 years) and 5 patients with vascular parkinsonism (VP, 1 male, 4 females, 65–72 years) participated in the study. To evaluate the effect of DI on muscles' functioning, we compared parameters of surface electromyogram (sEMG) measured before and after a single 45-min long immersion session. The sEMG recordings were made from the biceps brachii muscle, bilaterally. Each recording was repeated with the following loading conditions: with arms hanging freely down, and with 0, 1, and 2 kg loading on each hand with elbows flexed to 90°. The sEMG parameters comprised of amplitude, median frequency, time of decay of mutual information, sample entropy, correlation dimension, recurrence rate, and determinism of sEMG. These parameters have earlier been proved to be sensitive to PD severity. We used the Wilcoxon test to decide which parameters were statistically significantly different before and after the dry immersion. Accepting the p < 0.05 significance level, amplitude, time of decay of mutual information, recurrence rate, and determinism tended to decrease, while median frequency and sample entropy of sEMG tended to increase after the DI. The most statistically significant change was for the determinism of sEMG from the left biceps with 1 kg loading, which decreased for 84% of the patients. The results suggest that DI can promptly relieve motor symptoms of parkinsonism. We conclude that DI has strong potential as a rehabilitation method for parkinsonian patients

Reactogenicity, safety and immunological efficacy of the live, pentavalent rotavirus vaccine in childhood immunization (results of the multicenter clinical trial)

Introduction. Rotavirus infection (RVI) is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide: 600,000 children die annually; it accounts for approximately 3 million hospitalizations and 25 million physician visits each year among children. Preventive vaccination is universally recognized as the most effective measure against this infection.The purpose of the study is assessment of reactogenicity, safety and immunogenicity of the pentavalent live vaccine for RVI prevention in childhood immunization.Materials and methods. The first multicenter prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of the pentavalent live vaccine for RVI prevention was conducted in Russia among healthy infants aged 2 months at the time of the first vaccination.Results. The vaccine had a satisfactory safety profile and high immunologic activity when administered in a threedose series for childhood immunization. No negative changes in the children’s health condition were detected during the surveillance monitoring.Discussion. The seroconversion rates, the seroconversion factor and the geometric mean antibody titer were consistent with the results obtained during trials of the above vaccine and its equivalents in other countries

Management of coronary disease in patients with advanced kidney disease

BACKGROUND Clinical trials that have assessed the effect of revascularization in patients with stable coronary disease have routinely excluded those with advanced chronic kidney disease. METHODS We randomly assigned 777 patients with advanced kidney disease and moderate or severe ischemia on stress testing to be treated with an initial invasive strategy consisting of coronary angiography and revascularization (if appropriate) added to medical therapy or an initial conservative strategy consisting of medical therapy alone and angiography reserved for those in whom medical therapy had failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death or nonfatal myocardial infarction. A key secondary outcome was a composite of death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. RESULTS At a median follow-up of 2.2 years, a primary outcome event had occurred in 123 patients in the invasive-strategy group and in 129 patients in the conservative-strategy group (estimated 3-year event rate, 36.4% vs. 36.7%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79 to 1.29; P=0.95). Results for the key secondary outcome were similar (38.5% vs. 39.7%; hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.29). The invasive strategy was associated with a higher incidence of stroke than the conservative strategy (hazard ratio, 3.76; 95% CI, 1.52 to 9.32; P=0.004) and with a higher incidence of death or initiation of dialysis (hazard ratio, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.11; P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease, advanced chronic kidney disease, and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of death or nonfatal myocardial infarction

Health status after invasive or conservative care in coronary and advanced kidney disease

BACKGROUND In the ISCHEMIA-CKD trial, the primary analysis showed no significant difference in the risk of death or myocardial infarction with initial angiography and revascularization plus guideline-based medical therapy (invasive strategy) as compared with guideline-based medical therapy alone (conservative strategy) in participants with stable ischemic heart disease, moderate or severe ischemia, and advanced chronic kidney disease (an estimated glomerular filtration rate of <30 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 or receipt of dialysis). A secondary objective of the trial was to assess angina-related health status. METHODS We assessed health status with the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) before randomization and at 1.5, 3, and 6 months and every 6 months thereafter. The primary outcome of this analysis was the SAQ Summary score (ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating less frequent angina and better function and quality of life). Mixed-effects cumulative probability models within a Bayesian framework were used to estimate the treatment effect with the invasive strategy. RESULTS Health status was assessed in 705 of 777 participants. Nearly half the participants (49%) had had no angina during the month before randomization. At 3 months, the estimated mean difference between the invasive-strategy group and the conservative-strategy group in the SAQ Summary score was 2.1 points (95% credible interval, 120.4 to 4.6), a result that favored the invasive strategy. The mean difference in score at 3 months was largest among participants with daily or weekly angina at baseline (10.1 points; 95% credible interval, 0.0 to 19.9), smaller among those with monthly angina at baseline (2.2 points; 95% credible interval, 122.0 to 6.2), and nearly absent among those without angina at baseline (0.6 points; 95% credible interval, 121.9 to 3.3). By 6 months, the between-group difference in the overall trial population was attenuated (0.5 points; 95% credible interval, 122.2 to 3.4). CONCLUSIONS Participants with stable ischemic heart disease, moderate or severe ischemia, and advanced chronic kidney disease did not have substantial or sustained benefits with regard to angina-related health status with an initially invasive strategy as compared with a conservative strategy

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used

Health-status outcomes with invasive or conservative care in coronary disease

BACKGROUND In the ISCHEMIA trial, an invasive strategy with angiographic assessment and revascularization did not reduce clinical events among patients with stable ischemic heart disease and moderate or severe ischemia. A secondary objective of the trial was to assess angina-related health status among these patients. METHODS We assessed angina-related symptoms, function, and quality of life with the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) at randomization, at months 1.5, 3, and 6, and every 6 months thereafter in participants who had been randomly assigned to an invasive treatment strategy (2295 participants) or a conservative strategy (2322). Mixed-effects cumulative probability models within a Bayesian framework were used to estimate differences between the treatment groups. The primary outcome of this health-status analysis was the SAQ summary score (scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status). All analyses were performed in the overall population and according to baseline angina frequency. RESULTS At baseline, 35% of patients reported having no angina in the previous month. SAQ summary scores increased in both treatment groups, with increases at 3, 12, and 36 months that were 4.1 points (95% credible interval, 3.2 to 5.0), 4.2 points (95% credible interval, 3.3 to 5.1), and 2.9 points (95% credible interval, 2.2 to 3.7) higher with the invasive strategy than with the conservative strategy. Differences were larger among participants who had more frequent angina at baseline (8.5 vs. 0.1 points at 3 months and 5.3 vs. 1.2 points at 36 months among participants with daily or weekly angina as compared with no angina). CONCLUSIONS In the overall trial population with moderate or severe ischemia, which included 35% of participants without angina at baseline, patients randomly assigned to the invasive strategy had greater improvement in angina-related health status than those assigned to the conservative strategy. The modest mean differences favoring the invasive strategy in the overall group reflected minimal differences among asymptomatic patients and larger differences among patients who had had angina at baseline