Molecular characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug-resistant isolates from HIV- and HIV+ tuberculosis patients in Russia.

Background: High burden of drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) is a significant threat to national TB control programs all over the world and in the Russian Federation. Different Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) genotypes are hypothesized to have specific characteristics affecting TB control programs. For example, Beijing strains are supposed to have higher mutation rates compared to strains of other genotypes and subsequently higher capability to develop drug-resistance.

Gut Microbiome in a Russian Cohort of Pre- and Post-Cholecystectomy Female Patients.

The last decade saw extensive studies of the human gut microbiome and its relationship to specific diseases, including gallstone disease (GSD). The information about the gut microbiome in GSD-afflicted Russian patients is scarce, despite the increasing GSD incidence worldwide. Although the gut microbiota was described in some GSD cohorts, little is known regarding the gut microbiome before and after cholecystectomy (CCE).

Optimized packing multidimensional hyperspheres: a unified approach.

In this paper an optimized multidimensional hyperspheres packing problem (HPP) is considered for a bounded container. Additional constraints, such as prohibited zones in the container or minimal allowable distances between spheres can also be taken into account. Containers bounded by hyper- (spheres, cylinders, planes) are considered.

Double jeopardy--drug and sex risks among Russian women who inject drugs: initial feasibility and efficacy results of a small randomized controlled trial.

Background: With HIV prevalence estimated at 20% among female injecting drug users (IDUs) in St. Petersburg, Russia, there is a critical need to address the HIV risks of this at-risk population. This study characterized HIV risks associated with injecting drug use and sex behaviors and assessed the initial feasibility and efficacy of an adapted Woman-Focused intervention, the Women's CoOp, relative to a Nutrition control to reduce HIV risk behaviors among female IDUs in an inpatient detoxification drug treatment setting.