Quality information for quality use of medicines; 2nd International Conference, Kazan, 15-16 October 2010

Kazan hosted Russia's first international conference on medicines that was entirely independent of the pharmaceutical industry, attracting 414 participants from 9 countries and 20 regions of the Russian Federation. The meeting was greeted and endorsed by world leaders in pharmaceutical information, policy and regulation. Delegates discussed the professional and social problems arising from unethical drug promotion, including compromised evidence from clinical trials and consequent impairments in health service delivery. The Conference adopted a resolution prioritizing policy development and health system needs, notably including the development of clinical pharmacology. A website documents conference materials and provides an interface for future collaboration: http://evidenceupdate-tatarstan.ru/confer. © 2011 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Assessing methodological quality of Russian clinical practice guidelines and introducing AGREE II instrument in Russia

© 2018 Lienhard et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background There are multiple organisations in Russia that publish clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). The demand for CPGs and appreciation of their role in healthcare provision has been steadily growing. However, quality and methodology of development of CPGs have not been systematically addressed. Aim To analyse the quality of Russian-produced CPGs for surgical treatment of hepatic-pancreatic-biliary diseases. Methods We searched Russian databases for CPGs, published between 2013 and 2017. We identified 6 relevant documents that met our inclusion criteria. We approached four experts in the field with written and verbal instructions on the use of the AGREE II questionnaire. Results All six CPGs received the highest domain scores for the domain Clarity of Presentation (46%–80%). The lowest domain scores were for the domain Editorial Independence (6%-25%). Overall, the experts put the highest total sum scores to the CPG for treating chronic pancreatitis (70%), while the lowest total sum score was attributed to the CPG for treating acute cholangitis (22%). Conclusions The overall quality of CPGs, as assessed by the four experts with the AGREE II instrument, was low. The highest scoring, best organized and most comprehensive and straightforward CPG was the one for chronic pancreatitis. The AGREE II instrument should be considered for use in Russia by guideline developers to assess existing CPGs and inform the creation of new guidelines

Oath as a pragmalinguistic phenomenon of the professional discourse

The article presents the author's view on pragmatic and linguistic parameters of the oath as a performative speech genre, the authors identified and analyzed components of oath as a communicative act: con-situation, semantic context, presupposition and speech. The comparative analysis of Russian and English texts of oaths revealed isomorphism of the composition of an oath as a non-fiction type of text comprising three parts: introduction (predominantly realized in an introductory phrase), the main part and conclusion. The analysis pursued demonstrated isomorphism of stylistic means of Russian and English texts of the oath manifesting itself in repetitive infinitives, the main function of which is to focus on the actions of the sender and adherence to professional duty

Surface morphology and electrocatalytic properties of nickel nanoparticles formed in track pores

© 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.Structures, each of which is composed of a conducting substrate with a protective dielectric layer containing an array of equal-sized pores formed under the action of high-energy ions and chemical etching, are created. The created pores are electrochemically filled with nickel nanoparticles. With atomic-force microscopy (AFM), it is established that Ni nanoparticles are generated exclusively within ion tracks without film formation on the surface of a silicon-dioxide layer. Histograms illustrating the nanoparticle-diameter distribution are constructed, and areas of the nickel nanoparticles are calculated. The electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of Ni nanoparticles inherent to ethanol-oxidation reactions are investigated. The catalytic activity per unit area of the nanocatalyst is estimated using voltammograms, AFM data, and histograms characterizing the particle size distribution

Atomic-force microscopy of nickel nanoparticles possessing electrocatalytic properties

Surface morphology of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite with electrodeposited nickel nanoparticles was studied by atomic-force microscopy in the presence and absence of ethanol. Voltammetric and atomic-force microscopic data and histograms of particle size distribution were used to evaluate the unit-area catalytic activity of the nanocatalyst in relation to conditions of its preparation. © 2010 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

The study of the dependence of phlogotropic and membrane-tropic activity of phosphonates on their chemical structure

This paper deals with the study of the anti-inflammatory and membranotropic activity of dimephosphone, mephoprane and new chemical synthesis products belonging to different series of substitut-ed phosphonic acid derivatives - monophosphonates. The effect of monophosphonates on the intensity of carrageenin inflammation in mice and rats was studied. The relationship of chemical structure and membrane-protective activity was analyzed on the models of osmotic and free-radical hemolysis. It was established that the organophosphorousc compounds - derivatives of alkylphosphonic acids - show anti-inflammatory and membrane-tropic activity. The anti-inflammatory and membrane-tropic activity of functionally substituted monophosphonates depends on the length of the hydrocarbon radicals in the ester fragments of the molecule: the greater length and the presence of the methyl radicals and a carbonyl (carboxyl) group in the alkyl frag-ment of the molecule provide greater activity. The greatest activity has a 2-carbobutoxypropyl-phosphonic acid dibutyl ether - ephorane (IIId)

The study of the anti-inflammatory activity of Eforan

Searching for new effective and low-toxic antiphlogistics among the new classes of compounds that could have a selective and prolonged effect and minimum side effects is highly relevant. In this respect, the promising compounds are di- and monophosphonic compounds, which representative is a drug Dimephosphon. Objective of our study was to investigate the influence of Eforan, a new phosphonate, on various models of experimental inflammation, as well as on the development of edema caused by various mediators and modulators of inflammation. In the experiments on rats, Eforan reduced dose-dependently the intensity of the inflammatory reaction caused by carrageenan. The duration of anti-inflammatory action of Eforan was up to 24 hours of observation. Eforan effect on the carrageenan model of inflammation was comparable in the strength of anti-inflammatory effect with acetylsalicylic acid, and differed in longer duration of action. The anti-inflammatory effect of Eforan was demonstrated on the model of chronic autoimmune diseases - adjuvant arthritis. Both anti-histamine and anti-serotonin effects of the drug, as well as the absence of antagonism with bradykinin were established. The paper discusses the originality of the mechanism of anti-inflammatory action of phosphonates that show no gastrotoxicity unlike the traditional NSAIDs. It can be assumed that the anti-inflammatory effect of phosphonates, including Eforan, exemplified in cyclooxygenase-2 (COG-2) dependent inflammation models, is associated with the selective inhibition of COG-2

Atomic force microscopy of cobalt nanoparticles with electro-catalytic properties

A method of controlled potential electrodeposition of the cobalt nanoparticles with sizes from 30 to 400 nm on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite has been developed. The images of nanoparticles were obtained with an atomic force microscope. A computer program was applied to obtain the size distribution of electrodeposited particles depending on the electrodeposition potential, electrolytic concentration, and deposition time. Using voltammetry it has been established that the cobalt nanoparticles with the diameter of about 50 nm show the maximal catalytic activity during electro-oxidation of ethanol. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2009

Creation of lithographic masks using a scanning probe microscope

© 2015, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. The experimental results on scanning probe lithography (SPL)—the formation of lithographic masks using scanning probe microscope—are presented. Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-based masks prepared by the SPL method are used to form metal nanoparticles of the specified sizes and shape, as well as the metallic nanowires connecting the contact areas. The analysis of various SPL modes showed that the procedure of point indentation with the switched-on microscope feedback is optimal for the formation of round nanoparticles. When forming the rectangular particles, the procedure of multiple scanning of one region in the contact mode is optimal. The quality of lithographic masks can be substantially increased by the additional use of chemical etching to remove excess PMMA after the mask is formed. The topography and magnetization structure of the formed structures were monitored by atomic force microscopy and magnetic force microscopy

Effect of the Organic Loading Rate Increase and the Presence of Zeolite on Microbial Community Composition and Process Stability During Anaerobic Digestion of Chicken Wastes

© 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York. This study investigates the effect of the organic loading rate (OLR) increase from 1.0 to 3.5 g VS L−1 day−1 at constant hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 35 days on anaerobic reactors’ performance and microbial diversity during mesophilic anaerobic digestion of ammonium-rich chicken wastes in the absence/presence of zeolite. The effects of anaerobic process parameters on microbial community structure and dynamics were evaluated using a 16S ribosomal RNA gene-based pyrosequencing approach. Maximum 12 % of the total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) was efficiently removed by zeolite in the fixed zeolite reactor (day 87). In addition, volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the fixed zeolite reactor accumulated in lower concentrations at high OLR of 3.2–3.5 g VS L−1 day−1. Microbial communities in the fixed zeolite reactor and reactor without zeolite were dominated by various members of Bacteroidales and Methanobacterium sp. at moderate TAN and VFA levels. The increase of the OLR accompanied by TAN and VFA accumulation and increase in pH led to the predominance of representatives of the family Erysipelotrichaceae and genera Clostridium and Methanosarcina. Methanosarcina sp. reached relative abundances of 94 and 57 % in the fixed zeolite reactor and reactor without zeolite at the end of the experimental period, respectively. In addition, the diminution of Synergistaceae and Crenarchaeota and increase in the abundance of Acholeplasmataceae in parallel with the increase of TAN, VFA, and pH values were observed