PREFACE: DROPS, BUBBLES, AND THIN FILMS, SPECIAL ISSUE HONORING PROFESSOR OLEG KABOV

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Effectiveness of empirical <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> eradication therapy with furazolidone in Russia: results from the European Registry on <i>Helicobacter pylori</i> Management (Hp-EuReg)

Background. First-line therapy does not always provide a high level of Helicobacter pylori eradication due to the increase of H. pylori resistance to antibiotics; therefore, it remains necessary to identify the most effective rescue treatments. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of empirical H. pylori furazolidone-containing regimens. Materials and methods. Adult H. pylori infected patients empirically treated with furazolidone-containing eradication regimens were registered in an international, prospective, multicenter non-intervention European registry on H. pylori management (Hp-EuReg). Data were collected at AEG-REDCap e-CRF from 2013 to 2021 and the quality was reviewed. Modified intention-to-treat (mITT) effectiveness analyses were performed. Results. Overall 106 patients received empirical furazolidone-containing therapy in Russia. Furazolidone was prescribed in a sequential scheme along with amoxicillin, clarithromycin and a proton pump inhibitor in 68 (64%) cases, triple regimens were prescribed in 28 (26%) patients and quadruple regimens in 10 (9.4%). Treatment duration of 7 days was assigned to 2 (1.9%) patients, 10-day eradication therapy in case of 80 (75%) and 14 days in 24 (23%) patients. Furazolidone was mainly used in first- (79%) and second-line (21%) regimens. The methods used to diagnose H. pylori infection were: histology (81%), stool antigen test (64%), 13C-urea breath test (6.6%), and rapid urease test (1.9%). The mITT effectiveness of sequential therapy was 100%; 93% with the triple therapy and 75.5% with quadruple therapy. Compliance was reported in 98% of cases. Adverse events were revealed in 5.7% of patients, mostly nausea (3.8%). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusion. Furazolidone containing eradication regimens appear to be an effective and safe empirical therapy in Russia

Prediction of protein assemblies, the next frontier: The CASP14-CAPRI experiment

We present the results for CAPRI Round 50, the fourth joint CASP-CAPRI protein assembly prediction challenge. The Round comprised a total of twelve targets, including six dimers, three trimers, and three higher-order oligomers. Four of these were easy targets, for which good structural templates were available either for the full assembly, or for the main interfaces (of the higher-order oligomers). Eight were difficult targets for which only distantly related templates were found for the individual subunits. Twenty-five CAPRI groups including eight automatic servers submitted ~1250 models per target. Twenty groups including six servers participated in the CAPRI scoring challenge submitted ~190 models per target. The accuracy of the predicted models was evaluated using the classical CAPRI criteria. The prediction performance was measured by a weighted scoring scheme that takes into account the number of models of acceptable quality or higher submitted by each group as part of their five top-ranking models. Compared to the previous CASP-CAPRI challenge, top performing groups submitted such models for a larger fraction (70–75%) of the targets in this Round, but fewer of these models were of high accuracy. Scorer groups achieved stronger performance with more groups submitting correct models for 70–80% of the targets or achieving high accuracy predictions. Servers performed less well in general, except for the MDOCKPP and LZERD servers, who performed on par with human groups. In addition to these results, major advances in methodology are discussed, providing an informative overview of where the prediction of protein assemblies currently stands.Cancer Research UK, Grant/Award Number: FC001003; Changzhou Science and Technology Bureau, Grant/Award Number: CE20200503; Department of Energy and Climate Change, Grant/Award Numbers: DE-AR001213, DE-SC0020400, DE-SC0021303; H2020 European Institute of Innovation and Technology, Grant/Award Numbers: 675728, 777536, 823830; Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique (INRIA), Grant/Award Number: Cordi-S; Lietuvos Mokslo Taryba, Grant/Award Numbers: S-MIP-17-60, S-MIP-21-35; Medical Research Council, Grant/Award Number: FC001003; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI, Grant/Award Number: JP19J00950; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Grant/Award Number: PID2019-110167RB-I00; Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Grant/Award Numbers: UMO-2017/25/B/ST4/01026, UMO-2017/26/M/ST4/00044, UMO-2017/27/B/ST4/00926; National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Grant/Award Numbers: R21GM127952, R35GM118078, RM1135136, T32GM132024; National Institutes of Health, Grant/Award Numbers: R01GM074255, R01GM078221, R01GM093123, R01GM109980, R01GM133840, R01GN123055, R01HL142301, R35GM124952, R35GM136409; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 81603152; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Numbers: AF1645512, CCF1943008, CMMI1825941, DBI1759277, DBI1759934, DBI1917263, DBI20036350, IIS1763246, MCB1925643; NWO, Grant/Award Number: TOP-PUNT 718.015.001; Wellcome Trust, Grant/Award Number: FC00100

MARKERS OF ADAPTATION TO PHYSICAL LOADS IN YOUNG PEOPLE COMMITTED TO HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

The aim was to study the gender characteristics of the heart rate variability (HRV) in young people depending on physical loading (FL), associated with habitual physical activity (FA).Materials and methods. 98 practically healthy students of a medical high school with different levels of habitual FA were examined. HRV was studied at short 10-minute intervals at rest and after intense FL with the energy consumption of 72–88 kcal.Results. HRV changes are determined, which depend not only on the FL intensity and the training level of young people, but are also gender-associated. At rest, less pronounced sympathetic tone (LF/HF 0.86±0.04 versus 1.05±0.04, p&lt;0.05) and the predominance of the central mechanisms of the heart rhythm over the autonomous ones (ID 75.3±5.7 versus 55.8±5.5 units, p&lt;0.05) were observed for female respondets as compared to the young men. After intense FL, a more pronounced inhibition of the parasympathetic tone (pNN (50%) 5.4±1.2 vs. 10.2±1.9%, p&lt;0.05) and a more pronounced functional intensity of adaptive reactions (ID 176.6±17.9 against 101.4±14.4 units, p&lt;0.05) were noted for the female respondetns as well.Conclusion. Changes in HRV parameters, which reflect the beneficial effects of physical training on the adaptive responses of the cardiovascular system, have been found in young people with constant, habitually high FA. The application of the HRV research methodology for short periods in dynamics is justified in the practice of health-saving preventive and rehabilitation measures, since it allows the process of optimal adaptation of a person to physical loading to be controlled.Conflict of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest

Are Synapse-Like Structures a Possible Way for Crosstalk of Cancer with Its Microenvironment?

The failure of therapies directed at targets within cancer cells highlight the necessity for a paradigm change in cancer therapy. The attention of researchers has shifted towards the disruption of cancer cell interactions with the tumor microenvironment. A typical example of such a disruption is the immune checkpoint cancer therapy that disrupts interactions between the immune and the cancer cells. The interaction of cancer antigens with T cells occurs in the immunological synapses. This is characterized by several special features, i.e., the proximity of the immune cells and their target cells, strong intercellular adhesion, and secretion of signaling cytokines into the intercellular cleft. Earlier, we hypothesized that the cancer-associated fibroblasts interacting with cancer cells through a synapse-like adhesion might play an important role in cancer tumors. Studies of the interactions between cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts showed that their clusterization on the membrane surface determined their strength and specificity. The hundreds of interacting pairs are involved in the binding that may indicate the formation of synapse-like structures. These interactions may be responsible for successful metastasis of cancer cells, and their identification and disruption may open new therapeutic possibilities

PREVALENCE OF EARLY CERVICAL OSTEOCHONDROSIS IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND ITS EFFECT ON THE ADAPTIVE CAPABILITIES OF THE ORGANISM

The aim is to investigate the adaptive capabilities of the organism during university study on the basis of the analysis of functional changes in central hemodynamics in university students suffering from early cervical osteochondrosis,Materials and methods. The students selected for the research were divided into groups depending on the severity of radiographic changes in the cervical spine. Group I (n=28) included students with a distortion of spinal statics. The second group (n=36) was represented by students with degenerative-dystrophic processes. Group III (n=17) combined students with radiologically significant changes. For research purposes, a comparison group of practically healthy students was recruited (group IV, n=30). The adaptive potential (AP) was calculated using the R.M. Baevsky method in scores: less than 2.1 — satisfactory adaptation; 2.11–3.2 — stressed adaptation mechanisms.Results. Male students in the first group are found to manifest mild clinical symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis (ceased within a short period of time), compared to female respondents, who in 23.5% of the cases reported moderately expressed complaints for a prolonged period time. Female students in the groups II and III, manifested the clinico-neurological symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis in 60.9% and 100%, respectively. In the group III students, radiologically significant changes in the cervical spine were accompanied by moderately severe complaints in 75% of cases, with 25% of the students reporting minor complaints. Thus, the differences in cardiohemodynamics are found to correspond to the obtained data on AP, where the greatest stress of adaptation mechanisms was found in students comprising groups I and II.Conclusion. The present study has allowed us to identify one of the reasons affecting the adaptive capabilities of the organism and, as a result, successful learning and the quality of life of young students. For the prevention of psychosomatic disorders (against the background of circulatory disorders in the vertebrobasilar basin) in the presence of early cervical osteochondrosis, Х-ray examination should be performed.Conflict of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest