The parallax distorsion via a weak microlensing effect

Parallax measurements allow distances to celestial objects to be determined. Coupled with measurement of their position on the celestial sphere, it gives a full three-dimensional picture of the location of the objects relative to the observer. The distortion of the parallax value of a remote source affected by a weak microlensing is considered. This means that the weak microlensing leads to distortion of the distance scale. It is shown that the distortions to appear may change strongly the parallax values in case they amount to several microseconds of arc. In particular, at this accuracy many measured values of the parallaxes must be negative.Comment: 34 LaTeX pages, 12 PostScript figure (epsfig.sty

Microarcsecond instability of the celestial reference frame

The fluctuation of the angular positions of reference extragalactic radio and optical sources under the influence of the irregular gravitational field of visible Galactic stars is considered. It is shown that these angular fluctuations range from a few up to hundreds of microarcseconds. This leads to a small rotation of the celestial reference frame. The nondiagonal coefficients of the rotation matrix are of the order of a microarcsecond. The temporal variation of these coefficients due to the proper motion of the foreground stars is of the order of one microsecond per 20 years. Therefore, the celestial reference frame can be considered inertial and homogeneous only to microarcsecond accuracy. Astrometric catalogues with microarcsecond accuracy will be unstable, and must be reestablished every 20 years.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted to MNRA

Mast cell activation syndrome: a new world view.

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a severe relapsing disease requiring inpatient treatment, the clinical picture of which contains signs of anaphylaxis. The article presents diagnostic criteria to differentiate MCAS from other severe conditions with similar symptoms, as well as discusses local forms of mast cell activation.The consensus group established clear criteria for diagnosing MCAS. These agreed-upon criteria include episodic (recurrent) occurrence of typical systemic symptoms that are caused by mast cells mediators and involve at least 2 organ systems; an increase in serum tryptase level of at least 20% over individual baseline tryptase plus 2 ng/ml tryptase within 3-4 hours of the reaction; a positive response to drugs that either target mast cells mediators or their effects.The classification of MCAS is etiological in nature, and is subdivided into primary (clonal) MCAS, secondary MCAS, and idiopathic MCAS. Primary MCAS is determined by clonal expansion of mast cells and is systemic mastocytosis. In secondary MCAS, normal mast cells are activated by known triggers, such as via IgE. If neither clonal expansion nor a trigger for mast cells activation can be identified, the condition is defined as idiopathic MCAS.The new coronavirus infection Covid-19 has attracted particular interest in MCAS, it has been suggested that the severe course of Covid-19 is due to latent MCAS, but the criteria for MCAS in these patients were not reproduced. In the presence of local symptoms, such as urticaria, or in the presence of 1 organ involvement, such as isolated gastrointestinal symptoms, and suspicion of mast cells activation as the basis of pathogenesis, the term mast cells activation disorder was introduced. Also, the article discusses several different mediators that are proposed for use in the diagnosis of MCAS.However, overdiagnosis of MCAS entails the risk of missing the underlying pathology, which is not associated with MCAS, and requires differential diagnosis with a number of diseases. In the absence of severe attacks (with hypotension and shock), the likelihood of MCAS is generally very low. Certainly, patients with mastocytosis and/or confirmed IgE-dependent allergy are at higher risk of developing MCAS, but a key diagnostic marker is an event-related increase in mast cells tryptase from baseline, measured in the asymptomatic interval. When the tryptase level rises above a certain threshold (20% of baseline plus 2 ng/mL), a diagnosis of MCAS is highly likely

Role of diamine oxidase in the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria

Chronic urticaria is a polyetiological disease proceeding by various immunological and non-immunological (pseudo-allergic) mechanisms. Food intolerance is a distinct type of pseudo-allergies, manifesting, e.g., with histamine intolerance syndrome, caused by imbalance between the histamine accumulation and the ability to degrade it. The purpose of this article was to summarize results of recent studies, to discuss the difficulties of diagnosing this pathology, which primarily depends on the degree of impaired histamine degradation under the influence of diamine oxidase. Diamine oxidase is the main enzyme required for histamine destruction in the intestines, being synthesized by apical enterocytes. The review draws attention to the reasons leading to increased level of histamine not only with consumed food, given its different concentration in the same food products, depending, for example, on their processing and storage, but also with suppressing activity of the enzymes required for metabolism of histamine by various food additives, by the influence of microbiota. The results of studies in which the levels of histamine and/or diamine oxidase activity were determined, which depend on adherence to the diet confirming the association of diamine oxidase with the symptoms of histamine intolerance. According to most studies, the compliance with diet led to increased level of diamine oxidase. However, in some studies, no changes in the activity of this enzyme were found. There are several studies that have evaluated the levels of diamine oxidase in patients with true allergies. Moreover, some authors, in addition to adherence to the diet, evaluated the effectiveness of drugs containing diamine oxidase in patients with low levels of this enzyme in blood serum. The workers also confirm high proportion of histamine intolerance syndrome among various food reactions, suggesting a need for differential diagnosis with other non-immune reactions, including disorders of gastrointestinal tract and psychosomatic reactions. Thus, all the authors confirm the need for laboratory diagnosis of histamine intolerance syndrome, since this will not only increase the efficiency of dietary adherence, but also substantiate the usage of drugs containing diamine oxidase, which will improve quality of life in these cohorts. However, these patients are still treated with low-histamine diets. The literature data confirm the opportunity of using this histamine degradation enzyme as a biological marker of histamine intolerance syndrome, and recommend its assays for inclusion into the diagnostic algorithm for chronic urticaria

COSTS OF THE HEALTH CARE IN RUSSIA ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING

Aim. To analyze costs of health care in Russia associated with smoking in 2009. Material and methods. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) were included in the analysis. Calculation was performed on the basis of the relative risks of diseases associated with smoking, and obtained from foreign surveys, official statistics on morbidity and health system resources expenditure, and costs of health-seeking in line with state program of guaranteed free medical care.  Results. In 2009 total costs of the health care system associated with smoking exceeded RUR 35.8 bln. It corresponded to 0.1% of gross domestic product in Russia in 2009. The costs structure was the following: hospitalization – RUR 26.2 bln, emergency calls – RUR 1.4 bln, and outpatient health-seeking – RUR 8.2 bln. Costs of outpatient pharmacotherapy were not included into analysis because of lack of baseline data needed for calculations. Cardiovascular diseases caused 62% of the health care costs associated with smoking, cancers – 20.2%, and COPD – 17.8%. Conclusion. The smoking in Russia is associated with significant health care costs. It makes needed resources investment in preventive programs to reduce smoking prevalence

Ocean loading effects from tidal tilt observations in Lanzarote Island

Comunicación presntada a la 3ª Asamblea Hispano-Portuguesa de Geodesia y Geofísica = 3ª Assembleia Luso-Espanhola de Geodesia e Geofisica, celebrada en Valencia entre el 4 y el 8 de febrero de 2002.Since 1995 two short base-length horizontal pendulums are continuously recording at the station Cueva de los Verdes (Geodynamics laboratory of Lanzarote). Both tilt-meters are modified from the classical Ostrovsky pendulums and are adapted to the local features of the station. The tilt-meters have a working range of measurements of +-20seconds of arc and can resolve up to one second of arc. Such technical properties allow determining the precise tilt response to Earth tides. The tidal tilt models obtained show an important influence from ocean tides. Thus, the estimated amplitude for the main harmonic constituents is of some 4-5 times larger than values measured at continental stations. In this work, the ocean loading and attraction effect, which are computed from global ocean tidal models supplemented with precise regional and local ones will be evaluated. Hence, tidal tilt observations can be corrected from this effect.Peer reviewe

THE MODERN CONCEPTIONS ABOUT IMMUNOPATHOGENESIS OF INFECTION CAUSED BY THE EPSTEIN–BARR VIRUS

Abstract. The current review summarizes modern data about structural and functional organization of the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and stages of its reproduction. The information concerning immune pathogenesis and clinical features of infection caused by EBV and EBV-associated diseases is presented in the article

Formation of Anthropometric, Functional and Psychophysiological Indicators in Students of Medical Colleges under the Influence of Physical Activity

Purpose: to define the dynamics of physical development indicators among medical college students in 2017 and to compare it with the results of the previous study of 2005. Method: The inclusion criteria were: no health complaints at the time of the examination, no chronic diseases in family medical history, no deviations from the norm in clinical and laboratory tests. The selected young men were examined by medical specialists (neuropathologist, ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, therapist, surgeon); detailed clinical, laboratory and diagnostic tests were conducted: X-ray; spirography; electrocardiography; dental examination; ultrasound examination (cardiovascular, thyroid, abdominal, urological); biochemical blood testing. The participants were subdivided into two groups: Group 1 (students (n=140) who studied at Zhytomyr Medical College in 2004-2005) and Group 2 (students (n=150) who studied at Zhytomyr Medical Institute in 2016-2017). Results: According to the results of studying the dynamics of anthropometric, functional and psychophysiological indicators of physical development among Ukrainian medical college students (n=290; 17-21 years old) in 2017, comparing them with the results of the previous study, conducted in 2005, the tendency to gain in body mass in average values from (0.88 ± 0.26) to (2.7 ± 0.67), in body mass index from (0.88 ± 0.26) to (1.38 ± 0.38), in the fat component from (8.70 ± 0.22) to (9.36 ± 0.21) was established. Conclusions: An increase in body mass index, the fat component in medical college students was revealed, which is related to problems in the quality of the students' diet. Though the muscle mass has increased, and the study indicates that there is insufficient physical activity; sustainability and concentration of attention indicators tend to decrease under the influence of intensification of the educational process. The dynamics of the indicators under analysis indicates the stabilization of the growth process in Ukrainian male students

Clinical significance of sensitization to house dust mite allergens using flow cytometry-based basophil activation test

Respiratory allergy takes a significant place among allergic diseases. Similar clinical manifestations occur in sensitized patients in response to various airborne allergens. Accordingly, the allergen testing by means of in vivo and in vitro techniques is necessary to identify a causally significant allergen. The main laboratory assay to estimate sensitization to the airborne allergens is based on detection of specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE). However, clinical manifestations cannot be always confirmed by this test. The aim of this work was to evaluate the potential of basophil activation test (BAT) using flow cytometry, in order to confirm sensitization to house dust mite allergens. The BAT was carried out with allergens from Dermatofagoides in 34 volunteers, 130 patients were examined at the Russian Centre of Emergency and Radiation Medicine (33 people with household and 97 people with polysensitization), and 10 patients with allergy to house dust mites confirmed by skin testing. The sensitization was assessed using two laboratory kits (Allergenicity and BD FastImmune). The total IgE and sIgE to house dust mites, as well as concentrations of eosinophilic cationic protein, were determined. Specificity of the BAT with Allergenicity kit for the house dust mites was 94%. The sensitivity was 88% in the patients with household sensitization, thus being comparable with skin testing results available from the literature. An absolute correlation was found between positive results of skin testing and the BAT. In patients with household sensitization, sIgE levels > 0.35 UA/mL were detected in 39% of cases. A positive correlation was shown between the indices of basophil activation in response to testing allergens, and total immunoglobulin E and sIgE concentrations. High degree of correlation was found between the results of Dermatofagoides sensitization testing with both BAT kits. It was shown that the use of H1 histamine receptor blockers had no effect on BAT results. A decrease in sensitivity assay for airborne allergens was revealed upon therapy with glucocorticosteroids. Due to the proven clinical significance of the basophil activation test for diagnosing sensitization to inhaled allergens, one may require to supplement the range of approved assays in Russian Clinical Guidelines with BAT testing to prove sensitization in patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma, thus contributing to better diagnosis of causally significant allergens and, accordingly, administration of proper therapy

FEATURES OF IMMUNE RESPONSE AND BASOPHIL ACTIVATION IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC URTICARIA

Some features of peripheral bood basophil activation were studied in children with different types of chronic urticaria, in order to specify the sustaining mechanisms of chronic urticaria. This study presents comparative data concerning spontaneous basophil activation, IgE level and Th2 helper cells. We observed forty-seven children with chronic urticaria, seventy children with exacerbated atopic dermatitis with different disease severity, fifteen healthy children without signs of allergy, or pseudo-allergy. High degree of the basophil activation was detected in children with exacerbation of atopic dermatitis (a comparison group), which was different from the groups of healthy children and patients with chronic urticaria. Spontaneous basophile activation was higher in children with chronic urticaria than in healthy children, as influenced by immune and non-immune pathogenetic factors of the disease. A positive pairwise correlation was shown between total IgE level, and Th2 helper cell numbers in peripheral blood in patients with chronic urticaria, thus confirming a Th2 immune shift. The results obtained contribute to our understanding of immune pathology in chronic urticaria