Electroabsorption by 0D, 1D, and 2D nanocrystals: a comparative study of CdSe colloidal quantum dots, nanorods, and nanoplatelets.

This work presents a comprehensive study of electroabsorption in CdSe colloidal quantum dots, nanorods, and nanoplatelets. We experimentally demonstrate that the exposure of the nanoplatelets to a dc electric field leads to strong broadening of their lowest-energy heavy-hole absorption band and drastically reduces the absorption efficiency within the band. These are results of the quantum-confined Stark and Franz–Keldysh effects.

Molecular characteristics of patients with glycosaminoglycan storage disorders in Russia.

Background: The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are rare genetic disorders caused by mutations in lysosomal enzymes involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). In this study, we analyzed a total of 48 patients including MPSI (n=6), MPSII (n=18), MPSIIIA (n=11), MPSIVA (n=3), and MPSVI (n=10).

Methods: In MPS patients, urinary GAGs were colorimetrically assayed.

A metallic room-temperature oxide ion conductor.

Nanoparticles of Bi3 Ir, obtained from a microwave-assisted polyol process, activate molecular oxygen from air at room temperature and reversibly intercalate it as oxide ions. The closely related structures of Bi3 Ir and Bi3 IrOx (x≤2) were investigated by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and quantum-chemical modeling. In the topochemically formed metallic suboxide, the intermetallic building units are fully preserved.

Awareness and utilization of reporting pathways for adverse events following immunization: online survey among pediatricians in Russia and Germany.

Objectives: Vaccine safety surveillance is highly dependent on accurate reporting of adverse events following immunization (AEFI). An online survey was conducted to assess the utilization of AEFI reporting standards and pathways among pediatricians in Germany, and in Russia where pediatric specialization begins in medical school.

Methods: In May 2011, a 31-item online questionnaire was sent to members of the German Professional Association for Pediatricians (BVKJ) and the Union of Pediatricians of Russia (UPR), capturing information on vaccine safety training, awareness of AEFI reporting pathways, and use of standardized case definitions for the ascertainment of AEFI.

Genetic analysis of 17 children with Hunter syndrome: identification and functional characterization of four novel mutations in the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene.

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II) is a rare X-linked disorder caused by alterations in the iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS) gene. In this study, IDS activity in peripheral mononuclear blood monocytes (PMBCs) was measured with a fluorimetric enzyme assay. Urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) were quantified using a colorimetric assay.

Genetic background of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic rheumatologic disease in children. JIA is a group of disorders that share the clinical manifestation of chronic joint inflammation. The human leukocyte antigen region (HLA) seems to be a major susceptibility locus for JIA that is estimated to account for 17% of familial segregation of the disease.

Serotypes and antibiotic resistance of non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae circulating in pediatric hospitals in Moscow, Russia.

Background: Pneumococcal infections remain a major medical problem associated with high morbidity and mortality. Moreover, the resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to conventional antibiotics is constantly growing. The implementation of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in the last decade has dramatically reduced the incidence of the vaccine type-associated invasive pneumococcal diseases in many countries.

[Laparoscopic transperitoneal and extraperitoneal reconstructive plastic surgery on the ureter].

The results of laparoscopic reconstructive operations on ureter distal of ureteropelvic junction are analyzed. The study included 19 patients with different obstructive lesions of the ureter who underwent surgery in the period from 2003 to 2012. According to the method of surgical treatment, the patients were divided into three groups.

Electron localizability indicators from spinor wavefunctions.

For the fully relativistic 4-component many-electron wavefunction six flavors of electron localizability indicators (ELI) have been proposed. Their counterparts, suitable for the application to the 2-component wavefunctions, have been also derived. Six proposed indicators have been tested on Ar and Rn atoms and one of them, the ELI-D for spatially antisymmetrized electron pairs, has been found to reveal atomic shell structures at quantitative level.

[Trends of infant and child mortality in the Russian Federation in the period of 1990-2012].

Objective: Dynamics and causes of infant and child mortality in the Russian Federation in post-Soviet period (1990-2012) under conditions of demographic policy implementation and healthcare system reforming are presented.

Methods: Federal State Statistics Service's official statistics data (1990-2012) had been analyzed. The data was compared with similar rates of European Union countries.

Energy transfer in complexes of water-soluble quantum dots and chlorin e6 molecules in different environments.

The photoexcitation energy transfer is found and investigated in complexes of CdSe/ZnS cationic quantum dots and chlorin e6 molecules formed by covalent bonding and electrostatic interaction in aqueous solution and in porous track membranes. The quantum dots and chlorin e6 molecules form stable complexes that exhibit Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) from quantum dots to chlorin e6 regardless of complex formation conditions. Competitive channels of photoexcitation energy dissipation in the complexes, which hamper the FRET process, were found and discussed.

Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype distribution in children in the Russian Federation before the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines into the National Immunization Program.

WHO recommends the inclusion of PCVs in childhood vaccination programs world-wide. Many countries including the Russian Federation are currently planning the inclusion of PCVs in their National Immunization Programs and, therefore, data on the pneumococcal serotype distribution is important to estimate the potential disease impact. Here we review eight recent epidemiological studies on the pneumococcal serotype distribution from Russia.

Note: Near infrared spectral and transient measurements of PbS quantum dots luminescence.

We describe an experimental setup for the characterization of luminescence from nanostructures. The setup is intended for steady-state and time-resolved luminescence measurements in the near-infrared region. The setup allows us to study spectral luminescence properties in the spectral range of 0.

Fluorescence energy transfer in quantum dot/azo dye complexes in polymer track membranes.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer in complexes of semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with molecules of heterocyclic azo dyes, 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol and 4-(2-pyridylazo) resorcinol, formed at high quantum dot concentration in the polymer pore track membranes were studied by steady-state and transient PL spectroscopy. The effect of interaction between the complexes and free quantum dots on the efficiency of the fluorescence energy transfer and quantum dot luminescence quenching was found and discussed.

[Laparoscopic transperitoneal and retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy].

The article presents a modern approach to partial nephrectomy, and evaluation of individual results of laparoscopic partial nephrectomies. The study included 38 patients who underwent laparoscopic partial nephrectomy in the period from 2006 to 2011. Kidney cancer was diagnosed in 30 patients, other diseases--in 8.

[Evaluation of premature infants nutritional status by air plethysmography: first Russian prospective study].

In this article results of first Russian study on premature infants body composition in association with trend of their physical development within the first month and according to way of feeding. 30 preterm newborns without signs of intrauterine hypotrophy at birth with gestational age less than 35 month were examined by air body plethysmography. The infants were examined reaching term corrected age.

Anisotropy of optical transitions in ordered ensemble of CdSe quantum rods.

We report on the observation of spectral dependence of absorption anisotropy in a CdSe quantum rod (QR) ensemble, which is aligned in a polymer film with a nanocrystal concentration of 2×10(-5) M. The experimental data on the polarization direction and anisotropy factor were obtained for the lowest excitonic transition and the second group of transitions in the QR. The nonzero constant value of anisotropy was investigated for the high-energy transitions, and is evidence of the one-dimensional confinement in the QR.

Reversible photoluminescence quenching of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots embedded in porous glass by ammonia vapor.

The photoluminescence response of semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots embedded in a borosilicate porous glass matrix to exposure to ammonia vapor is investigated. The formation of surface complexes on the quantum dots results in quenching of the photoluminescence and a shortening of the luminescence decay time. The process is reversible, desorption of ammonia molecules from the quantum dot surface causes the photoluminescence to recover.

Nonlocal laser annealing to improve thermal contacts between multi-layer graphene and metals.

The accuracy of thermal conductivity measurements by the micro-Raman technique for suspended multi-layer graphene flakes has been shown to depend critically on the quality of the thermal contacts between the flakes and the metal electrodes used as the heat sink. The quality of the contacts can be improved by nonlocal laser annealing at increased power. The improvement of the thermal contacts to initially rough metal electrodes is attributed to local melting of the metal surface under laser heating, and increased area of real metal-graphene contact.

[Efficiency and safety of human monoclonal antibodies to TNF-alpha in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in primary and secondary ineffectiveness of other biologicals].

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficiency of adalimumab in children with severe refractory JIA with primary inefficiency, partial effect or loss of the effectiveness of other biologicals.

Patients And Methods: The article presents the results of the retrospective observational study of the efficacy and safety of adalimumab in 68 patients aged 10 (3, 17) years with various embodiments of JIA, with the primary inefficiency or partial or loss of the effectiveness of other biologicals. JIA diagnosis established on the basis of criteria ILAR (International League of Associations for Rheumatology).

Kinetics of pulse-induced photoluminescence from a semiconductor quantum dot.

Optical methods, which allow the determination of the dominant channels of energy and phase relaxation, are the most universal techniques for the investigation of semiconductor quantum dots. In this paper, we employ the kinetic Pauli equation to develop the first generalized model of the pulse-induced photoluminescence from the lowest-energy eigenstates of a semiconductor quantum dot. Without specifying the shape of the excitation pulse and by assuming that the energy and phase relaxation in the quantum dot may be characterized by a set of phenomenological rates, we derive an expression for the observable photoluminescence cross section, valid for an arbitrary number of the quantum dot's states decaying with the emission of secondary photons.

Domain-averaged Fermi-hole analysis for solids.

The domain-averaged Fermi hole (DAFH) orbitals provide highly visual representation of bonding in terms of orbital-like functions with attributed occupation numbers. It was successfully applied on many molecular systems including those with non-trivial bonding patterns. This article reports for the first time the extension of the DAFH analysis to the realm of extended periodic systems.

[Ontogenesis of neurocognitive development of children and adolescents].

The article represents the results of neurocognitive development study in progress. Clinical methods of investigation are supplemented with examination of children with Russian computer psychophysiological complex "Psichomat", which allows to examine a number of cognitive functions--perception, attention, memory, visual-motor coordination, processes of analysis and synthesis--in mathematical function expression: milliseconds and percentage of mistakes. A child's intrauterine and postnatal development is determined by various factors.

[Surgical treatment of advanced retinopathy of prematurity--last chance for vision. Report 2. Analysis of functional results].

Functional results of staged surgical treatment of advanced retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are analyzed between 2005 and 2010 in ophthalmologic department of city children's hospital ( St. Petersburg). A total of 154 children (303 eyes) were operated.

[Surgical treatment of advanced retinopathy of prematurity--last chance for vision. Report 1. Analysis of anatomic results].

Anatomic results of treatment of advanced retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) are analyzed between 2005 and 2010 in ophthalmologic department of city children's hospital ( St. Petersburg). 154 children (303 eyes) aged from 3 months till 1,5 years were treated.