To the question regarding accuracy of COVID-2019 laboratory diagnostics

Issues of accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of PCR-analysis depending on features of performing preanalytical and analytical stages of laboratory diagnostics of COVID-19, as well as comparing PCR and lung computed tomography (CT) results have been analyzed in the study. Currently, a molecular genetic test based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used for diagnostics of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). As of November 1, 2020, more than 750 million PCR tests have been conducted globally. Evidence accumulated by now allows to estimate diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the SARS-CoV-2-specific PCR as high as 82—91% and 99—100%, respectively. In addition, increased PCR sensitivity may be noted upon performing repeated testing of the upper respiratory tract samples comprising 82.2% during the primary analysis that was further elevated up to 90.6% after two consecutive tests. A whole set of factors affect the PCR accuracy. In particular, false negative data might result from insufficient amount of virus-coupled genetic material in the sample, timeframe and mistakes made upon selecting biological samples. It was found that SARS-CoV-2 virus RNA was detected at the maximum diagnostic sensitivity in the upper respiratory tract 1—3 days before the onset of symptoms and sustained within the 5—6 days after disease onset. Such period of time is associated with the peak risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. On week 2 after disease onset, there have been noted elevated rate of detecting viral RNA in bronchopulmonary samples. The duration of detecting virus-related markers (including those found in the absence of viable virus forms) correlates with disease severity and may last for as long as 1—2 months. Another real-world issue related to PCR analysis is posed by an opportunity of obtaining false positive data, which solution requires high level organized laboratory research, especially in case large-scale studies. Upon that, it is worth noting that positive PCR results may account for detecting solely certain RNA-related fragments present in any sample, rather than a viable virus. It was noted that PCR in comparison to CT analysis demonstrates higher specificity, but does not allow to distinguish pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 from pneumonia caused by other etiological agents (up to 25% false positive results). However, the diagnostic CT sensitivity was 97.2% that exceeds such parameter for PCR by 10—15%. It was concluded that the approach combining use of both PCR and CT by taking into account their own features as well as factors affecting the accuracy of the data obtained, allows us to correctly interpret the diagnostical results

МИЦЕЛЛЯРНАЯ ЭКСТРАКЦИЯ ИОНОВ ЛЕГКО ГИДРОЛИЗУЮЩИХСЯ МЕТАЛЛОВ С 2,3,7-ТРИОКСИФЛУОРОНАМИ В МОДИФИЦИРОВАННУЮ ФАЗУ ЦЕТИЛПИРИДИНИЙ ХЛОРИДА

The micellar extraction of 2,3,7-trihydroxyfluorones and their complexes with some metal ions was investigated. Сationic cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) was used as surfactant for the formation of surfactant-rich phase. Phase separation of CPC at room temperature was induced by the addition of salicylic acid. The increasing of the extraction degree of 2,3,7-trihydroxyfluorones and their complexes as hydrophobicity of reagent increase was established. The quantitative extraction of the complex of Sb(III) with phenylfluorone into surfactant-rich phase was shown. The influence of concentration of CPC and salicylic acid on the absorption of Sb(III)-phenylfluorone solutions was studied. The optimum conditions for extraction of the complex into surfactant-rich phase were found. Spectrophotometric and colorimetric techniques for the determination of  Sb(ІІІ) after micellar extraction were developed. Under the selected optimum conditions, the limits of detection (LOD) for Sb(III) were 5.0 and 1.0 µg L-1 for spectrophotometric and colorimetric procedure, respectively. The proposed methods for Sb(ІІІ) determination were applied for bottled mineral water and urine analysis.Key words: micellar extraction, antimony, phenylfluorone, cetylpyridinium chloride(Russian)DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/analitika.2014.18.1.011 M.G. Mandziuk, S.A. KulichenkoTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine  Исследована мицеллярная экстракция ряда 2,3,7-триоксифлуоронов (ТОФ) и их комплексов с некоторыми легко гидролизующимися ионами металлов в катионную мицеллярную фазу на основе цетилпиридиний хлорида (ЦПХ). Установлено, что степень извлечения ТОФ увеличивается с ростом их гидрофобности, однако не превышает 75 %. Комплексообразование реагентов с ионами металлов повышает извлечение в мицеллярную фазу, при этом с увеличением гидрофобности лиганда параметры извлечения также  увеличиваются. Изучено влияние компонентов мицеллярно-экстракционной системы на светопоглощение растворов комплекса Sb(ІІІ) с фенилфлуороном. Показано, что введение салициловой кислоты на оптические характеристики образующегося комплекса влияет мало, а с ростом содержания ЦПХ интенсивность поглощения растворов комплекса увеличивается.  Найдены оптимальные условия извлечения комплекса в катионную мицеллярную фазу. Разработанные спектрофотометрическая и цветометрическая методики с предварительным концентрированием в катионную мицеллярную фазу апробированы при определении Sb(ІІІ) в бутилированной минеральной воде и моче.Ключевые слова: мицеллярная экстракция, сурьма, фенилфлуорон, цетилпиридиний хлоридDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/analitika.2014.18.1.011

Genetic Monitoring of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in the South of the European Part of Russia

Presented are the results of gene-typing of CCHF virus detected in clinical samples from CHF patients from the Stavropol, Rostov and Astrakhan Regions in 2011. For 28 samples determined are nucleotide sequences of the fragments 115–652 (S segment) and fragments 984–1469 (M segment). Philogenetic analysis of these nucleotide sequences demonstrated that typical strains circulated in 2011 in the regions under surveillance, importation of the new genetic variants of the virus did not take place. CCHF virus variant affiliated to the subgroup “Astrakhan-2” was detected in the clinical samples for the first time and characterized for its genome S- and M-segment fragments

The analysis of technical solutions for medical ozonators

The article deals with the basic principles of control systems construction in the medical ozone generators. The authors present and analyzes the specific diagram of the electrical and pneumatic part of ozonator. According to analysis results the authors give recommendations for the considered systems realization in the medical ozone generators

Personalized targeted therapy of moderate and severe atopic asthma in Russia

Introduction. Taking into account the prevalence of asthma and especially severe atopic asthma which requires carefully selected and expensive therapy, the appearance of the domestic biosimilar omalizumab among biological therapy drugs makes the choice of treatment for this category more affordable. The article presents the results of an observational open prospective clinical trial of the omalizumab biosimilar in severe athopic asthma patients.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the domestic production biosimilar in the real clinical practice.Materials and methods. The study involved 10 adult patients aged 19 to 55 years with a diagnosis of moderate to severe uncontrolled persistent asthma treated with mediun to high dose ICS and second&more controller (ACQ-5 ≥ 1,5, FEV1 < 80% of the predicted normal value). For 26 weeks all patients received the omalizumab. The evaluation of the efficacy was provided taking into account asthma symptoms improvement the results of ACQ-5, FEV1, PEF, asthma exacerbations and the use of health resources. Results. According to the results of data analysis due to omalizumab all patients demonstrated reducing daily asthma symptoms, nocturnal awakening and night time symptom, shortness of  breath and SABA using. An  asthma control improvement was observed after 1 month treatment (Δ ACQ-5 1.6 [1.2; 2.4], p = 0.0002 compared to the baseline data) with a continued tendency to further increase during 6 months of the study. A statistically significant increase in FEV1 was noted (initially, FEV1 56.7% [51.25; 61.8] of the predicted; after 1 month, FEV1 67.5% [63.45; 70.6] of the predicted, p = 0.00003; after 6 months, FEV1 80.6% [80.55; 84.05] of the predicted, p >< 0.001). Omalizumab biosimilar used allowed to reduce the background asthma therapy. No asthma exacerbation was registered due to 26 weeks omalizumab treatment. Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, it was shown that the administration of the omalizumab biosimilar to patients with severe atopic asthma improves control over the symptoms, lung function and reduces the amount of asthma exacerbations, and has a good safety>< 80% of the predicted normal value). For 26 weeks all patients received the omalizumab. The evaluation of the efficacy was provided taking into account asthma symptoms improvement the results of ACQ-5, FEV1, PEF, asthma exacerbations and the use of health resources.Results. According to the results of data analysis due to omalizumab all patients demonstrated reducing daily asthma symptoms, nocturnal awakening and night time symptom, shortness of  breath and SABA using. An  asthma control improvement was observed after 1 month treatment (Δ ACQ-5 1.6 [1.2; 2.4], p = 0.0002 compared to the baseline data) with a continued tendency to further increase during 6 months of the study. A statistically significant increase in FEV1 was noted (initially, FEV1 56.7% [51.25; 61.8] of the predicted; after 1 month, FEV1 67.5% [63.45; 70.6] of the predicted, p = 0.00003; after 6 months, FEV1 80.6% [80.55; 84.05] of the predicted, p < 0.001). Omalizumab biosimilar used allowed to reduce the background asthma therapy. No asthma exacerbation was registered due to 26 weeks omalizumab treatment.Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, it was shown that the administration of the omalizumab biosimilar to patients with severe atopic asthma improves control over the symptoms, lung function and reduces the amount of asthma exacerbations, and has a good safety

COVID-19 as a zoonotic infection

Here we discuss the issues for attributing the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 to zoonoses based on the data on probable origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the possible formation of its reservoir in animals (bats) as well as human susceptibility. Today, the dominant point of view is that the outbreak of COVID-19 arose as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus overcoming the interspecies barrier, acquiring ability to infect and spread in human population. Comparative phylogenetic analysis at the molecular level showed that SARS-CoV-2 is genetically closest to bat coronaviruses, particularly to the RmYN02 and RaTG13 strains isolated from the horseshoe bat, a species considered to be the main host of SARSCoV and MERS-CoV coronaviruses. The ability of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to infect various wild animal has been revealed. SARS-CoV-2 has been found in minks on farms in the Netherlands with mortality rates ranging from 1.2 to 2.4%. While infecting rhesus monkeys with the SARS-CoV-2, it resulted in productive infection and detected viremia. Cats have been found to be susceptible hosts for the human SARS-CoV-2 virus. A likely explanation for this lies in the high similarity between the human and feline counterpart of the ACE2 receptor. It has been shown that dogs can become infected but transmit no virus to other animals. To date, over the entire period of the pandemic the World Organization for Animal Health provides no information about cases of human infection transmitted from pets. Thus, there is no evidence that animals play a role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among people during the current period of the pandemic. Human outbreaks are caused by human-to-human virus transmission, and based on the currently available information, the risk of spreading COVID-19 from animals is considered low. More research is needed to understand how COVID-19 can affect animals of a wide variety of species and how big might be the risks of infection transmission from them to humans

Attitudes of Germans towards distributive issues in the German health system

Social health care systems are inevitably confronted with the scarcity of resources and the resulting distributional challenges. Since prioritization implies distributional effects, decisions on respective rules should take citizens’ preferences into account. Thus, knowledge about citizens’ attitudes and preferences regarding different distributional issues implied by the type of financing health care is necessary to judge the public acceptance of a health system. In this study we concentrate on two distributive issues in the German health system: First, we analyse the acceptance of prioritizing decisions concerning the treatment of certain patient groups, in this case patients who all need a heart operation. Here we focus on the fact that a patient is strong smoker or a non-smoker, the criteria of age or the fact that a patient has or does not have young children. Second, we investigate Germans’ opinions towards income dependent health services. The results reveal strong effects of individuals’ attitudes regarding general aspects of the health system on priorities, e.g. that individuals behaving health demanding should not be preferred. In addition, experiences of limited access to health services are found to have a strong influence on citizens’ attitudes, too. Finally, decisions about different prioritization criteria are found to be not independent.

АЛГОРИТМ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ПНЕВМАТИЧЕСКОЙ СИСТЕМОЙ С ШИРОТНО-ИМПУЛЬСНОЙ МОДУЛЯЦИЕЙ ПОТОКА ОЗОНО-КИСЛОРОДНОЙ СМЕСИ

The work described the pneumatic system flow control of ozone-oxygen mixtures of medical ozone generator. For flow adjustment used method of the pulse-width modulation, which is implemented by a microprocessor control system. The flow-diagram of the algorithm of the system operation and graphs of process to automatically flow control are stated. References 6, figures 4.В работе рассмотрена пневматическая система регулирования расхода озоно-кислородной смеси медицинского озонатора. Для регулирования расхода использован метод широтно-импульсной модуляции, который реализуется микропроцессорной системой управления. Приведена блок-схема алгоритма работы этой системы и графики, демонстрирующие процесс автоматического регулирования расхода. Библ. 6, рис. 4.У роботі розглянута пневматична система регулювання витрати озоно-кисневої суміші медичного озонатора. Для регулювання витрати використано метод широтно-імпульсної модуляції, який реалізується мікропроцесорною системою керування. Наведена блок-схема алгоритму роботи цієї системи та графіки, що демонструють процес автоматичного регулювання витрати. Бібл.6, рис. 4

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL SITUATION ON CRIMEAN HEMORRHAGIC FEVER IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN 2016, AND PROGNOSIS FOR 2017

Abstract. This paper presents analysis of epidemiological situation on Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF) in Russia in 2016. Summarized are the results of epizootiological survey of the territory of the natural CHF focus in the south of the European part of Russia, discussed are the results of genetic typing of CCHFV RNA isolates. In 2016, the Russian Federation reported 162 cases of CHF. Increase in the incidence of CHF occurred in the Astrakhan, Volgograd Regions, Republic of Kalmykia, and Stavropol Territory. For the first time CHF case was identified in Kabardino-Balkar Republic. In 2016 in stationary points for the long-term observation of the natural CHF focus, high abundance rates of larvae and nymphs of H. marginatum remain. In case of successful Ixodidae ticks wintering and late onset of the hot and dry season in the summer, 2017, there is probability that high numbers of H. marginatum will be retained and the period of the imago activity is prolonged, which may in its turn  contribute to the increase in CHF morbidity rates

Epidemiologic Situation on Brucellosis in the Russian Federation in 2012 and Prognosis for 2013

Displayed is the analysis of epizootic and epidemic situation on brucellosis in the Russian Federation in 2012. Demonstrated is the fact that epizootic condition still remains tense. It specifies the character of epidemic manifestations. For 2013 leveling of the brucellosis incidence rate among the population of the Russian Federation is forecasted