Dysfunction of the meibomian glands in patients with diabetes mellitus

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has increased in recent decades. The most common ophthalmic manifestations of diabetes mellitus are retinopathy, epitheliopathies, corneal erosion and dry eye syndrome, the symptoms of which are more pronounced than in people without diabetes. The meibomian glands, which are the producer of various lipids, participate in the formation of the lipid layer of the tear film, which prevents the evaporation of the water-mucin phase and ensures the preservation of homeostasis of the ocular surface. Meibum is a lipid-rich secret produced by fully differentiated meibocytes. Impaired insulin secretion, insulin resistance, absolute insulin deficiency, as well as hyperglycemia, potentiate the development of oxidative stress and a cascade of metabolic changes, leading to a change in the anatomical and functional state of the meibomian glands, which affects the qualitative and quantitative secretion. Cytological abnormalities, as well as the structure of the excretory ducts of the meibomian glands in patients with long-term diabetes mellitus, were established using the method of laser scanning microscopy. Using the method of mass spectrometry, it is possible to determine the patterns of changes in the chemical composition of meibum in patients with diabetes mellitus. The data obtained can become one of the criteria for predicting the course, reflect the degree of compensation and / or progression of diabetes mellitus

The effect of a new coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus on microcirculation in the conjunctiva

Introduction. The availability of an objective assessment of the microcirculatory bed is possible when examining the vessels of the conjunctiva. This is especially true in individuals who have had COVID-19 and have diseases associated with endothelial dysfunction.Aim. To study the microcirculation in the conjunctiva after a new coronavirus infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Materials and methods. 83 patients with a history of coronavirus infection were examined. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on the presence or absence of comorbidities. Group 1 patients (n = 42) with post-COVID changes in the conjunctiva (severe  injection of  the eyeball, chemosis, microhemorrhagia, folliculosis of  the tarsal and bulbar conjunctiva, the  presence of  a  nodular formation  (conflicts), slight edema of  the corneal epithelium) and a  history of  concomitant diseases: arterial hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis. Group 2 patients (n = 41) with no history of concomitant diseases and similar post-COVID changes in  the conjunctiva. The control group consisted of  healthy volunteers without a  history of coronavirus infection (n = 30). All subjects underwent laser Doppler flowmetry of the bulbar conjunctiva 3, 6, 12 months after the coronavirus infection.Results and discussion. In comparison with the control group of persons after 3 months, microcirculatory disorders were detected in both groups (group 1 – subcompensated, group 2 – decompensated). In group 1, after 6 months and 12 months, violations persisted in  the subcompensation stage, which were accompanied by an increase in  the intensity of  the functioning of  the regulatory systems of the microcirculation: the M index corresponded to normal values, and the values of σ and Kv were above the norm. After 6 months in group 2, compensation of microcirculatory disorders was noted (indicators M, σ, Kv were normal), which persisted even by 12 months of observation.Conclusion. The data obtained indicate that in patients with concomitant endothelial dysfunction, the processes of restoration of the microvasculature are slowed down

Formation, accumulation and development of human capital in the modern conditions

Purpose: The aim of the study is to identify trends in the formation of human capital. Design/Methodology/Approach: The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of labor economics, human capital and management. Historical, statistical, economic and social sources of information were used to approach the subject under modern conditions. Findings: It was revealed that in the rural and urban areas the reproduction of human resources is carried out at various rates. The demographic factors influencing the reproduction of labor resources in the Russian Federation were analyzed. Practical implications: The authors substantiated the conclusions that the existence of problems in the development of rural territories is the result of the insufficient effectiveness of the measures taken by state authorities in the agrarian sphere. Originality/Value: Recommendations were made to improve the efficiency of social and economic policy in rural areas, including an increase in government subsidies to social infrastructure facilities, including feldsher-obstetric items, objects of pre-school and school education and culture.peer-reviewe

The efficiency of tear substitute therapy at dysfunction tear basic secretion

Purpose: to evaluate the efficiency and tolerance of drops replacing tear with hyaluronic acid 0.15% (Hylabak, thea, France) for the treatment of tear film diseases, in particular blepharoconjunctival form of dry eye syndrome.Methods: 32 patients (range 38 to 72 years) with blepharoconjunctival form of dry eye syndrome were treated lubricant Hylabak 2-4 times a day during 7-30 days.Results: After treatment was detected the elimination of complaints in 30 of 32 people, increasing the stability of the tear film (increasing values of the samples Norn test from 7.3 ±0.5 to 10.1±0.6 seconds), as well as normalization of Schirmer test (from 8.8±0.4 to 15.2±0.5 mm).Conclusion: the study was showed high efficacy of lubricant Hylabak and subjective tolerability at blepharoconjunctival form of dry eye syndrome

Morris-Thorne wormholes with a cosmological constant

First, the ideas introduced in the wormhole research field since the work of Morris and Thorne are briefly reviewed, namely, the issues of energy conditions, wormhole construction, stability, time machines and astrophysical signatures. Then, spherically symmetric and static traversable Morris-Thorne wormholes in the presence of a generic cosmological constant are analyzed. A matching of an interior solution to the unique exterior vacuum solution is done using directly the Einstein equations. The structure as well as several physical properties and characteristics of traversable wormholes due to the effects of the cosmological term are studied. Interesting equations appear in the process of matching. For instance, one finds that for asymptotically flat and anti-de Sitter spacetimes the surface tangential pressure of the thin-shell, at the boundary of the interior and exterior solutions, is always strictly positive, whereas for de Sitter spacetime it can take either sign as one could expect, being negative (tension) for relatively high cosmological constant and high wormhole radius, positive for relatively high mass and small wormhole radius, and zero in-between. Finally, some specific solutions with generic cosmological constant, based on the Morris-Thorne solutions, are provided.Comment: latex, 49 pages, 8 figures. Expanded version of the paper published in Physical Review

Nomenclatural standards, voucher specimens and genetic passports of potato cultivars created in the Siberian and Ural breeding centers

The present paper discusses methodological approaches to the creation of nomenclatural standards and genetic passports for Russian cultivars, currently being developed at the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) in collaboration with different breeding research centers. Plant material of potato cultivars bred in the Siberian Research Institute of Plant Cultivation and Breeding was collected by the cultivar creator A.D. Safonova in the experimental field of this institute and transferred to the VIR herbarium for preparation of their nomenclatural standards. Plant shoots and tubers of potato cultivars bred in other Siberian research centers in collaboration with the A.G. Lorkh All-Russian Research Institute of Potato Farming (VNIIKH) was collected by the representative of this institute in the experimental field of VNIIKH. As a result of joint research, nomenclatural standards were accomplished for 11 cultivars, namely ‘Аntonina’, ‘Zlatka’, ‘Lina’, ‘Lûbava’, ‘Nakra’, ‘Pamâti Rogačeva’, ‘Sarovskij’, ‘Safo’, ‘Solnečnyj’, ‘Tuleevskij’, ‘Ûna’** bred in five different Siberian breeding institutes including cultivars developed in collaboration with VNIIKH. Nomenclatural standards were prepared according to the ‘International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants’. DNA samples isolated from nomenclatural standards were used for preparation of genetic passports of these 11 cultivars. These genetic passports include information of the polymorphism of eight chromosome-specific microsatellites, data on the markers of 11 R-genes conferring resistance to various harmful organisms, as well as the information about cytoplasm types. Voucher specimens of additional three Siberian cultivars ‘Kemerovčanin’, ‘Kuznečanka’, ‘Tanaj’ and five Ural cultivars ‘Аlâska’, ‘Bravo’, ‘Irbitskij’, ‘Lûks’, ‘Terra’ from the Ural Research Institute for Agriculture were also registered in the VIR herbarium collection. For these eight cultivars, the genetic passports were not issued, but the results of SSR genotyping and molecular screening of voucher specimens performed with the same set of the DNA markers are presented in this report. A similar set of DNA markers was used for genotyping cultivar accessions from the in vitro and field collections of various institutes as well as cultivar specimens from eco-geographical tests performed within the framework of the Comprehensive Research Plan of the subprogram “Development of potato breeding and seed production in the Russian Federation”. The comparison of cultivar genetic passport data with genotyping results of specimens having the same name, but obtained from different sources made it possible to verify this plant material

IgG4-RELATED DISEASE. CLINICAL NOTES

IgG4-related diseases are a new nosological entity that encompasses a few previously known diseases. IgG4-related systemic disease is diagnosed if two or more affected organs are detected. This group of diseases has two similar signs: serological (elevated serum IgG4 subclass concentrations) and histological (organ and tissue infiltration from plasmo-cytes secreting IgG4, and eosinophils, and the development of fibrosclerosis and phlebitis obliterans). The paper describes two cases. In one case, a multisystemic disease was observed virtually at its onset whereas in the other this lesion was diagnosed several years after the natural course of the disease

Современные подходы к использованию глюкокортикоидных и цитотоксических препаратов при болезни Шегрена

Tsel' issledovaniya. Otsenit' effektivnost' dlitel'noy terapii bolezni Shegrena (BSh) malymi dozami glyukokortikoidnykh (GK) i alkiliruyushchikh tsitotoksicheskikh (ATs) preparatov Materialy i metody. V issledovanie vklyucheno 412 patsientov (406 zhenshchin i 6 muzhchin) s BSh, nablyudavshikhsya v Institute revmatologii v 1975 - 2007 gg. Mediana nablyudeniya - 9 (5-15) let. Sredniy vozrast bol'nykh na nachalo nablyudeniya - 44,8 goda. Mediana dlitel'nosti BSh do pervogo postupleniya - 9 let, mediana vozrasta debyuta BSh - 33 goda. Effektivnost' dlitel'noy terapii malymi dozami GKu 151 bol'nogo (mediana - 10 let), malymi dozami ATsu 147 bol'nykh (mediana - 5 let) otsenena v sravnenii s rezul'tatami lecheniya 94 bol'nykh, poluchavshikh tol'ko «oftal'mologicheskie» i «stomatologicheskie» metody terapii. Rezul'taty issledovaniya. Pokazano, chto terapiya malymi dozami GK i ATs polozhitel'no vliyala na nekotorye zhelezistye i vnezhelezistye proyavleniya zabolevaniya, odnako k snizheniyu veroyatnosti razvitiya limfoproliferativnykh zabolevaniy (r=0,036) i povysheniyu vyzhivaemosti bol'nykh s BSh privodila tol'ko terapiya ATs (r=0,037). Razrabotany i predstavleny metodiki lokal'nogo ispol'zovaniya GK pri tyazhelykh oftal'mologicheskikh i stomatologicheskikh proyavleniyakh BSh. U 150 bol'nykh s BSh s tyazhelymi sistemnymi proyavleniyami predstavleny pokazaniya i protivopokazaniya dlya provedeniya pul's-terapii (PT), kombinirovannoy PT, plazmafereza, krioafereza i dvoynoy fil'tratsii plazmy v sochetanii s kombinirovannoy PT. Pokazano, chto naznachenie malykh doz GK i PT u zhenshchin s BSh s sokhranennym menstrual'nym tsiklom privodit k bolee rannemu nastupleniyu menopauzy i sposobstvuet razvitiyu glyukokortikoidnogo i postmenopauzal'nogo osteoporoza v otdalennye sroki. Otseneny naibolee znachimye pobochnye proyavleniya terapii GK i ATs pri razlichnykh variantakh terapii BSh.Цель исследования. Оценить эффективность длительной терапии болезни Шегрена (БШ) малыми дозами глюкокортикоидных (ГК) и алкилирующих цитотоксических (АЦ) препаратов Материалы и методы. В исследование включено 412 пациентов (406 женщин и 6 мужчин) с БШ, наблюдавшихся в Институте ревматологии в 1975 - 2007 гг. Медиана наблюдения - 9 (5-15) лет. Средний возраст больных на начало наблюдения - 44,8 года. Медиана длительности БШ до первого поступления - 9 лет, медиана возраста дебюта БШ - 33 года. Эффективность длительной терапии малыми дозами ГКу 151 больного (медиана - 10 лет), малыми дозами АЦу 147 больных (медиана - 5 лет) оценена в сравнении с результатами лечения 94 больных, получавших только «офтальмологические» и «стоматологические» методы терапии. Результаты исследования. Показано, что терапия малыми дозами ГК и АЦ положительно влияла на некоторые железистые и внежелезистые проявления заболевания, однако к снижению вероятности развития лимфопролиферативных заболеваний (р=0,036) и повышению выживаемости больных с БШ приводила только терапия АЦ (р=0,037). Разработаны и представлены методики локального использования ГК при тяжелых офтальмологических и стоматологических проявлениях БШ. У 150 больных с БШ с тяжелыми системными проявлениями представлены показания и противопоказания для проведения пульс-терапии (ПТ), комбинированной ПТ, плазмафереза, криоафереза и двойной фильтрации плазмы в сочетании с комбинированной ПТ. Показано, что назначение малых доз ГК и ПТ у женщин с БШ с сохраненным менструальным циклом приводит к более раннему наступлению менопаузы и способствует развитию глюкокортикоидного и постменопаузального остеопороза в отдаленные сроки. Оценены наиболее значимые побочные проявления терапии ГК и АЦ при различных вариантах терапии БШ

Changes in oxygen partial pressure of brain tissue in an animal model of obstructive apnea

Background: Cognitive impairment is one of the main consequences of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is usually attributed in part to the oxidative stress caused by intermittent hypoxia in cerebral tissues. The presence of oxygen-reactive species in the brain tissue should be produced by the deoxygenation-reoxygenation cycles which occur at tissue level during recurrent apneic events. However, how changes in arterial blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) during repetitive apneas translate into oxygen partial pressure (PtO2) in brain tissue has not been studied. The objective of this study was to assess whether brain tissue is partially protected from intermittently occurring interruption of O2 supply during recurrent swings in arterial SpO2 in an animal model of OSA. Methods: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were used. Sixteen rats were anesthetized and noninvasively subjected to recurrent obstructive apneas: 60 apneas/h, 15 s each, for 1 h. A control group of 8 rats was instrumented but not subjected to obstructive apneas. PtO2 in the cerebral cortex was measured using a fastresponse oxygen microelectrode. SpO2 was measured by pulse oximetry. The time dependence of arterial SpO2 and brain tissue PtO2 was carried out by Friedman repeated measures ANOVA. Results: Arterial SpO2 showed a stable periodic pattern (no significant changes in maximum [95.5 ± 0.5%; m ± SE] and minimum values [83.9 ± 1.3%]). By contrast, brain tissue PtO2 exhibited a different pattern from that of arterial SpO2. The minimum cerebral cortex PtO2 computed during the first apnea (29.6 ± 2.4 mmHg) was significantly lower than baseline PtO2 (39.7 ± 2.9 mmHg; p = 0.011). In contrast to SpO2, the minimum and maximum values of PtO2 gradually increased (p < 0.001) over the course of the 60 min studied. After 60 min, the maximum (51.9 ± 3.9 mmHg) and minimum (43.7 ± 3.8 mmHg) values of PtO2 were significantly greater relative to baseline and the first apnea dip, respectively. Conclusions: These data suggest that the cerebral cortex is partially protected from intermittently occurring interruption of O2 supply induced by obstructive apneas mimicking OSA