Evidence for a Direct Harmful Effect of Alcohol on Myocardial Health: A Large Cross-Sectional Study of Consumption Patterns and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Biomarkers From Northwest Russia, 2015 to 2017.

Background Alcohol drinking is an increasingly recognized risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, there are few studies of the impact of harmful and hazardous drinking on biomarkers of myocardial health. We conducted a study in Russia to investigate the impact of heavy drinking on biomarkers of cardiac damage and inflammation. Methods and Results The Know Your Heart study recruited a random sample of 2479 participants from the population of northwest Russia (general population) plus 278 patients (narcology clinic subsample) with alcohol problems. The general population sample was categorized into harmful drinkers, hazardous drinkers, nonproblem drinkers, and nondrinkers, according to self-reported level of alcohol consumption, whereas the narcology clinic sample was treated as the separate group in the analysis. Measurements were made of the following: (1) high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T, (2) NT-proBNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide), and (3) hsCRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). The narcology clinic subsample had the most extreme drinking pattern and the highest levels of all 3 biomarkers relative to nonproblem drinkers in the general population: high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T was elevated by 10.3% (95% CI, 3.7%-17.4%), NT-proBNP by 46.7% (95% CI, 26.8%-69.8%), and hsCRP by 69.2% (95% CI, 43%-100%). In the general population sample, NT-proBNP was 31.5% (95% CI, 3.4%-67.2%) higher among harmful drinkers compared with nonproblem drinkers. Overall, NT-proBNP and hsCRP increased with increasing intensity of alcohol exposure (test of trend P<0.001). Conclusions These results support the hypothesis that heavy alcohol drinking has an adverse effect on cardiac structure and function that may not be driven by atherosclerosis

Revealing Josephson vortex dynamics in proximity junctions below critical current

Made of a thin non-superconducting metal (N) sandwiched by two superconductors (S), SNS Josephson junctions enable novel quantum functionalities by mixing up the intrinsic electronic properties of N with the superconducting correlations induced from S by proximity. Electronic properties of these devices are governed by Andreev quasiparticles [1] which are absent in conventional SIS junctions whose insulating barrier (I) between the two S electrodes owns no electronic states. Here we focus on the Josephson vortex (JV) motion inside Nb-Cu-Nb proximity junctions subject to electric currents and magnetic fields. The results of local (Magnetic Force Microscopy) and global (transport) experiments provided simultaneously are compared with our numerical model, revealing the existence of several distinct dynamic regimes of the JV motion. One of them, identified as a fast hysteretic entry/escape below the critical value of Josephson current, is analyzed and suggested for low-dissipative logic and memory elements.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, 43 reference

Solid oxide fuel cell anode surface modification by magnetron sputtering of NiO/YSZ thin film

NiO/ZrO[2]-Y[2]O[3] (NiO/YSZ) anode functional layers (AFL) with 16-60 vol.% of NiO were deposited onto NiO/YSZ anode substrates by magnetron sputtering, followed by annealing in air at 1200 °C. The optimal deposition conditions for NiO/YSZ were determined. NiO content in the films was varied by changing the oxygen flow rate during the sputtering process. The microstructure and phase composition of NiO/YSZ anode functional layer were studied by SEM and XRD methods. Anode functional layers were fully crystallized and comprised of grains up to 500 nm in diameter after reduction in hydrogen. Anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) with the diameter of 20 mm including the magnetron sputtered AFL, 4-microns thick YSZ electrolyte and La[0.6]Sr[0.4]Co[0.2]Fe[0.8]O[3]/Ce[0.9]Gd[0.1]O[2] (LSCF/CGO) cathode were fabricated and tested. Electrochemical properties of the single fuel cells were investigated as a function of NiO volume content in AFL and AFL thickness

Safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma for COVID-19: the preliminary results of a clinical trial

Background. The lack of effective etiotropic therapy for COVID-19 has prompted researchers around the globe to seekr various methods of SARS-CoV-2 elimination, including the use of convalescent plasma. Aim. The aim of this work was to study the safety and efficacy of the convalescence plasma treatment of severe COVID-19 using the plasma containing specific antibodies to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 S protein in a titer of at least 1:1000. Methods. A single-center, randomized, prospective clinical study was performed at the FRCC FMBA of Russia with the participation of 86 patients who were stratified in two groups. The first group included 20 critically ill patients who were on mechanical ventilation the second group included 66 patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 and with spontaneous respiration. The patients in the second group were randomized into two cohorts in a ratio of 2:1. In the first cohort (46 patients), pathogen-reduced convalescent plasma was transfused (twice, 320 ml each), in the second cohort (20 patients) a similar amount of non-immune freshly frozen plasma was transfused to the patients. Results. The use of plasma of convalescents in patients with severe COVID-19 being on mechanical ventilation does not affect the disease outcome in these patients. The mortality rate in this group was 60%, which corresponds to the average mortality of COVID patients on mechanical ventilation in our hospital. In the second group, clinical improvement was detected in 75% and 51%, for convalescent and non-immune plasma, respectively. Of the 46 people who received convalescent plasma, three patients (6.5%) were transferred to mechanical ventilation, two of them died. In the group receiving non-immune plasma, the need for mechanical ventilation also arose in three patients (15%), of which two died. The hospital mortality in the group of convalescent plasma was 4.3%, which is significantly lower than the average COVID-19 hospital mortality at our Center (6.73%) and more than two times lower than the hospital mortality in the control group (n=150), matched by age and by the disease severity. Conclusions. Thus, we demonstrated a relative safety of convalescent plasma transfusion and the effectiveness of such therapy for COVID-19 at least in terms of the survival of hospitalized patients with severe respiratory failure without mechanical ventilation. In the absence of bioengineered neutralizing antibodies and effective etiotropic therapy, the use of hyperimmune convalescent plasma is the simplest and most effective method of specific etiopathogenetic therapy of severe forms of COVID-19

Initial attitude determination and correction of gyro-free INS angular orientation on the basis of GPS linear navigation parameters

The exclusion of gyroscopes from navigation system architecture achieves an essential reduction in systems cost. However, the absence of gyroscopes leads to the growth of errors in the determination of navigation system angular orientation. This, in its turn, leads to the growth of errors in the determination of vehicle coordinates. Therefore, one of the main problems in the construction of an integrated navigation system which is based on a gyro-free Inertial Navigation System (INS) and a single antenna Global Positioning System (GPS) is the determination of the initial angular orientation and correction of gyro-free INS angular characteristics on the basis of linear navigation parameters (coordinates and velocity) that are obtained from GPS. This paper is devoted to the description of the proposed solution method for this problem.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Accelerometer based gyro-free multi-sensor generic inertial device for automotive applications

The importance of developing a unified inexpensive generic inertial device is substantiated in this paper based on the current situation in the automotive market. A gyro-free architecture of the generic inertial device is proposed as a solution. Exclusion of gyroscopes from the inertial system allows to achieve an essential decrease in price, while the inertial system based on multiple accelerometers distributed inside the vehicle can still deliver data at sufficient accuracy for automotive inertially-aided systems. The paper also focuses on the choice of mathematical models as a Harwich of models evolving from the basic six sensor gyro-free model, and shows the importance of optimization of parts of the design that permit formalization but involve tedious work. The original approach to the choice of optimal sequence of elementary operations is then described.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

History of Women's political and civil rights in the Federal Republic of Germany

The formation and development of women's rights in Europe has a long history, it is different within each of the states. In 2019 is celebrated the centenary of receiving voting rights for women in Germany. The publication is devoted to the study of the political and civil rights of women in Germany from the end of the 19th century to the present day. The authors consider the development of women's rights against the backdrop of political events unfolding in 20th century in Germany and around the world. The author analyses the history of the feminist movement that originated in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century and its role in establishing the political and civil rights of women. © 2019 Rossiiskaya Akademiya Nauk, Institut Istorii Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General Hist. All rights reserved

Роль российской В.Д. Спасовича юриспруденции в развитии

Russian jurisprudence has a long history of development, in which individuals played a significant role: lawyers, human rights defenders, counsels. One of the prominent Russian human rights defenders is Vladimir Danilovich Spasovich. Vladimir Danilovich made a huge contribution to the development of domestic jurisprudence. The authors study his personality and professional activities. Particular attention is paid to the role of Vladimir Danilovich Spasovich in the development of domestic criminal law. © 2020 Rossiiskaya Akademiya Nauk, Institut Istorii Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of General Hist. All rights reserved