Radiotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Russia: a Survey-Based Analysis of Current Practice and the Impact of an Educational Workshop on Clinical Expertise.

Radiation therapy (RT) is an effective treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but globally, it is underutilized. In Russia, practice patterns with regard to liver-directed radiation are unknown. Under the auspices of Russian Society of Clinical Oncology (RUSSCO), our team conducted an IRB-approved contouring workshop for Russian radiation oncologists.

Bridging the Gap in Global Advanced Radiation Oncology Training: Impact of a Web-Based Open-Access Interactive Three-Dimensional Contouring Atlas on Radiation Oncologist Practice in Russia.

Radiation oncologists in Russia face a number of unique professional difficulties including lack of standardized training and continuing medical education. To combat this, under the auspices of the Russian Society of Clinical Oncology (RUSSCO), our group has developed a series of ongoing in-person interactive contouring workshops that are held during the major Russian oncology conferences in Moscow, Russia. Since November 2016 during each workshop, we utilized a web-based open-access interactive three-dimensional contouring atlas as part of our didactics.

Detection of Rickettsia helvetica and Candidatus R. tarasevichiae DNA in Ixodes persulcatus ticks collected in Northeastern European Russia (Komi Republic).

The number of tick-borne infections in the northern European regions of Russia has increased considerably in the last years. In the present study, 676 unfed adult Ixodes persulcatus ticks were collected in the Komi Republic from 2011 to 2013 to study tick-borne rickettsioses. Rickettsia spp.

The meanings of science: conversations with geneticists.

It is often suggested in the mass media and popular academic literature that scientists promote a secular and reductionist understanding of the implications of the life sciences for the concept of being human. Is adhering to this view considered to be one of the components of the notion of being a good scientist? This paper explores responses of geneticists interviewed in the UK, the USA and Russia about the cultural meanings of their work. When discussing this question the interviewees distinguished between their 'personal' and 'professional' views.

Genetics, history, and identity: the case of the Bene Israel and the Lemba.

The paper examines the impact of genetic research on the religious identity of the Bene Israel Indian Jewish community and the Lemba Judaising group of southern Africa. It demonstrates how DNA tests which happened to support the possibility of the communities' legends of origin affected their self-perception, the way they are viewed by their neighbors, and their image in the West. It is argued that in both cases what accounted most for the Bene Israel and Lemba responses to the tests was the way the results were portrayed in the mass media, the history of the development of Judaism in their communities, and the local realities.