Ultrasmall maghemite nanoparticles as MRI contrast agent: Unique combination of aggregation stability, low toxicity, and tumor visualization.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are a promising candidate for the dual-mode MRI contrast agent, however most of them have limited circulation time and predominant negative contrast. We developed citric acid stabilized superparamagnetic maghemite nanoparticles (CA-SPMNs) with size 3.2 ± 0.

Studying the small extracellular vesicle capture efficiency of magnetic beads coated with tannic acid.

The isolation of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), including those secreted by pathological cells, with high efficiency and purity is highly demanded for research studies and practical applications. Conventional sEV isolation methods suffer from low yield, presence of contaminants, long-term operation and high costs. Bead-assisted platforms are considered to be effective for trapping sEVs with high recovery yield and sufficient purity for further molecular profiling.

Raman spectra simulation of antiplatelet drug-platelet interaction using DFT.

The paper reflects the results of molecular docking and mathematical DFT simulation for antiplatelet drugs and the target platelet receptor/ferment interaction in the limited area. The results of Raman spectra simulation are implemented and obtained from the interaction of the clopidogrel metabolite of the P2Y12 receptor. The interaction of aspirin with the COX-1 enzyme was also investigated.

Application of vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance methods for drugs pharmacokinetics research.

Objectives: The development of new methods for determining the concentration of drugs is an actual topic today. The article contains a detailed review on vibrational spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance methods using for pharmacokinetic research. This study is devoted to the possibility of using vibrational spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the concentration of drugs and the use of these groups of techniques for therapeutic drug monitoring.

Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Determinants of Clinical Outcomes for Rifampin-Resistant Tuberculosis: A Multisite Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Rifampin-resistant and/or multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (RR/MDR-TB) treatment requires multiple drugs, and outcomes remain suboptimal. Some drugs are associated with improved outcome. It is unknown whether particular pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships predict outcome.

Spectral homogeneity of human platelets investigated by SERS.

This paper describes a detailed study of the spectral homogeneity of human platelets using Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). We used a combined approach based on multivariate methods as principal component analysis and pair correlation algorithms to investigate platelets spectral properties. The correlation coefficients for each sample have been calculated, and the average coefficient of determination has been estimated.

Process evaluation for the adaptation, testing and dissemination of a mobile health platform to support people with HIV and tuberculosis in Irkutsk, Siberia.

Objectives: We developed and tested a mobile health-based programme to enhance integration of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) care and to promote a patient-centred approach in a region of high coinfection burden. Phases of programme development included planning, stakeholder interviews and platform re-build, testing and iteration.

Setting: In Irkutsk, Siberia, HIV/TB coinfection prevalence is high relative to the rest of the Russian Federation.

Spectral and time-resolved photoluminescence of human platelets doped with platinum nanoparticles.

This paper describes a detailed study of spectral and time-resolved photoprocesses in human platelets and their complexes with platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs). Fluorescence, quantum yield, and platelet amino acid lifetime changes in the presence and without femtosecond ablated platinum NPs have been studied. Fluorescence spectroscopy analysis of main fluorescent amino acids and their residues (tyrosine (Tyr), tryptophan (Trp), and phenylalanine (Phe)) belonging to the platelet membrane have been performed.

Size-Dependent Biodistribution of Fluorescent Furano-Allocolchicinoid-Chitosan Formulations in Mice.

The aim of this study was to compare the biodistribution in mice of functionalized rhodamine B (Rh) labeled colchicine derivative furano-allocolchicinoid (, ) either conjugated to 40 kDa chitosan (, ) or encapsulated into chitosan nanoparticles (). AC-NPs were formed by ionotropic gelation and were 400-450 nm in diameter as estimated in mice by dynamic light scattering and confocal microscopy. AC-Chi and AC-NPs preserved the specific colchicine activity in vitro.

An electrochemical sensor for detecting selenium in biological fluids on an arenediazonium tosylate-modified metal electrode.

This article presents the results on using a new electrochemical sensor modified with arenediazonium salts (MGE-Cu-COOH) to determine selenium in biological fluids (blood serum). It was shown that the sensitivity of the determination of selenite ions using this modified electrode is higher compared to that of the unmodified one (MGE-Cu). The effect of the concentration of arenediazonium tosylates on various substituents was studied, and the conditions for the production of the electrochemical sensor were developed.

NMR spectroscopy reveals acetylsalicylic acid metabolites in the human urine for drug compliance monitoring.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Long-term use of antiplatelet drugs is a well-studied therapy for the prevention of cardiovascular death. Ensuring compliance with lifelong administration of antiplatelet drugs, in particular acetylsalicylic acid, is one of the challenges of such therapy.

Implementation of a Mobile Health Strategy to Improve Linkage to and Engagement with HIV Care for People Living with HIV, Tuberculosis, and Substance Use in Irkutsk, Siberia.

In Irkutsk, Siberia, there is a high prevalence of HIV and tuberculosis (TB) coinfection. Mobile health (mHealth) strategies have shown promise for increasing linkage to and engagement in care for people living with HIV (PLWH) in other contexts. We evaluated outcomes for a cohort of PLWH, TB, and substance use in Irkutsk after participation in a multi-feature mHealth intervention called MOCT.

Urine colorimetry for levofloxacin pharmacokinetics and personalized dosing in people with drug-resistant tuberculosis.

Background: Levofloxacin is a preferred drug for multidrug-resistant (MDR)-tuberculosis (TB) with bactericidal activity that correlates with the pharmacokinetic exposures of serum peak concentration (C) and total area under the concentration time curve (AUC). Pharmacokinetic exposures can be measured to personalize dosing to reach targets, but this practice requires venepuncture, chromatographic or mass spectrometry equipment, and technical expertise. We sought to demonstrate the accuracy of using urine colorimetry as a more feasible estimation of levofloxacin exposure.

Dataset of human platelets in healthy and individuals with cardiovascular pathology obtained by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

This data article contains Raman experimental data, obtained with Centaur U Raman spectrometer (Russia), which can be used for rapid and early structure changes and biomarkers identification in individuals with cardiovascular decease (CVD) pathology . The data include analyzed Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) spectra of human platelets taken from healthy individuals and individuals with cardiovascular pathology. Data can provide information about characteristic maxima of different cell components and its changes in platelets.

Glycan-binding profile of DC-like cells.

Modification of vaccine carriers by decoration with glycans can enhance binding to and even targeting of dendritic cells (DCs), thus augmenting vaccine efficacy. To find a specific glycan-"vector" it is necessary to know glycan-binding profile of DCs. This task is not trivial; the small number of circulating blood DCs available for isolation hinders screening and therefore advancement of the profiling.

Distribution and antibiotic resistance profile of key Gram-negative bacteria that cause community-onset urinary tract infections in the Russian Federation: RESOURCE multicentre surveillance 2017 study.

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections in clinical practice. This RESOURCE (pathogen distribution and antibiotic RESistance prOfile of key Gram-negative bacteria caUsing community-onsEt URinary traCt) study aimed to determine the antimicrobial resistance profile of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from outpatient urine samples collected across the Russian Federation.

Methods: A total of 96 781 urine samples were collected from 520 cities in the Russian Federation between 01 January 1 and 31 December 2017.

Imbalances in cellular immunological parameters in blood predetermine tumor onset in a natural mouse model of breast cancer.

The development of new approaches to breast cancer (BC) early diagnosis is an important objective of modern oncology. Although the role of the immune system in cancer initiation process was experimentally well established, the prognostic value of cellular blood immunological parameters (CBIPs) for BC onset prediction was not demonstrated either in clinics or in mouse models. In this study, we focused on revealing informative CBIPs for mammary cancer (MC) onset prediction in the BLRB/BYRB mouse model with a high incidence of natural MC development.

Local Interleukin-2 Immunotherapy of Breast Cancer: Benefit and Risk in a Spontaneous Mouse Model.

Earlier, naturally arising mammary cancer in BLRB female mice was shown to reproduce some key pathological characteristics of the familial set of human breast cancer. Then we advanced a novel 3S-paradigm of anticancer research that helped to develop selection criteria and to estimate benefit/risk of local interleukin-2 (IL-2) effects in this spontaneous mouse model. In this paper, the efficacy of single and triple local IL-2 doses is compared using properly selected murine BLRB females based on our previously published data.

Histological study on maturation, fertilization and the state of gonadal region following spawning in the model sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis.

The starlet sea-anemone Nematostella vectensis has emerged as a model organism in developmental biology. Still, our understanding of various biological features, including reproductive biology of this model species are in its infancy. Consequently, through histological sections, we study here key stages of the oogenesis (oocyte maturation/fertilization), as the state of the gonad region immediately after natural spawning.

Liposomal formulation of a methotrexate lipophilic prodrug: assessment in tumor cells and mouse T-cell leukemic lymphoma.

In a previous study, a formulation of methotrexate (MTX) incorporated in the lipid bilayer of 100-nm liposomes in the form of diglyceride ester (MTX-DG, lipophilic prodrug) was developed. In this study, first, the interactions of MTX-DG liposomes with various human and mouse tumor cell lines were studied using fluorescence techniques. The liposomes composed of egg phosphatidylcholine (PC)/yeast phosphatidylinositol/MTX-DG, 8:1:1 by mol, were labeled with fluorescent analogs of PC and MTX-DG.

The digestive system of the stony coral Stylophora pistillata.

Because hermatypic species use symbiotic algal photosynthesis, most of the literature in this field focuses on this autotrophic mode and very little research has studied the morphology of the coral's digestive system or the digestion process of particulate food. Using histology and histochemestry, our research reveals that Stylophora pistillata's digestive system is concentrated at the corals' peristome, actinopharynx and mesenterial filaments (MF). We used in-situ hybridization (ISH) of the RNA transcript of the gene that codes for the S.

Administrative interventions associated with increased initiation on antiretroviral therapy in Irkutsk, Siberia.

A bundle of initiatives to integrate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) services was assessed for the impact on antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation at a TB referral hospital in Irkutsk, Russian Federation, from February 2014 to December 2015. The ART initiation rates in 166 ART-naïve patients undergoing anti-tuberculosis treatment (34.1% with multidrug or extensively drug-resistant TB) increased significantly from 14 (17%) pre-intervention to 44 (54%) post-intervention ( < 0.

[The detection of highly-transmissible genotypes of agent in clinical samples for prognosis of unfavorable course of tuberculosis.].

The bio-information search was carried out and the design of primers and TaqMan probes was developed to detect DNA of agent of tuberculosis subtypes CC1 and CC2-W148 of Beijing genotype and also Ural genotype in various clinical material (phlegm, spinal fluid, pleural fluid, etc.) using real-time polymerase chain reaction technique. The 180 clinical samples from 143 patients with tuberculosis of lungs were used to carry out an approval of sensitivity and specificity of the developed tests concerning studies at the genetic analyzer GeneXpert.