Thalamic changes in patients with chronic facial pain.

Purpose: To investigate structural alterations in the thalamus in patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia and provide a detailed perspective on thalamic remodeling in response to chronic pain at the level of individual thalamic nuclei.  METHODS: We analyzed a sample of 62 patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia who underwent surgical treatment, along with 28 healthy participants. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were acquired using a 3T system equipped with a 16-channel receiver head coil.

Use of Adjuvant Compositions Based on Squalene Ensures Induction of Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.

Squalene-based adjuvant compositions that can provide effective induction of specific humoral immune response have been developed. Recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of surface S-protein of SARS-CoV-2 was used to evaluate the properties of the composition. Immunization of mice with the developed squalene-based compositions in combination with RBD allows obtaining high titers of specific antibodies: from 10 to 2×10.

The study of the influence of the geometry of a lateral electric field resonator on its resonant characteristics.

An experimental study of the dependence of the electrical impedance of a lateral electric field resonator on its thickness and the size of the gap between the electrodes was carried out. The resonator was made of PZT-19 piezoceramics in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped with the shear dimensions of 18 × 20 mm. Two rectangular electrodes with a gap that varied in the range from 4 to 14 mm were applied on one side of the resonator.

Determination of Electrical and Mechanical Properties of Liquids Using a Resonator with a Longitudinal Electric Field.

The possibility of determining the elastic modules, viscosity coefficients, dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of a viscous conducting liquid using a piezoelectric resonator with a longitudinal electric field is shown. For the research, we chose a piezoelectric resonator made on an AT-cut quartz plate with round electrodes, operating with a shear acoustic mode at a frequency of about 4.4 MHz.

Diffusion tensor imaging reveals distributed white matter abnormalities in primary trigeminal neuralgia: Tract-based spatial statistics study.

Background: Primary trigeminal neuralgia (PTN) is a prevalent chronic pain disorder whose pathogenesis is not limited to the trigeminal system. Despite the significant advances in uncovering underlying mechanisms, there is a paucity of comprehensive and consistent data regarding the role of white matter throughout the entire brain in PTN.

Methods: We performed a prospective case-control study.

Application of the T1w/T2w mapping technique for spinal cord assessment in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy.

Study Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Objectives: To investigate signal changes on T1w/T2w signal intensity ratio maps within cervical cord in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM).

Setting: Novosibirsk Neurosurgery Center, Russia.

Electroacoustic Biosensor Systems for Evaluating Antibiotic Action on Microbial Cells.

Antibiotics are widely used to treat infectious diseases. This leads to the presence of antibiotics and their metabolic products in the ecosystem, especially in aquatic environments. In many countries, the growth of pathogen resistance to antibiotics is considered a threat to national security.

T1w/T2w ratio is associated with the brush sign and perfusion delay in watershed regions in patients with moyamoya angiopathy.

Background: It has been shown recently using the T1w/T2w mapping technique that white matter microstructural integrity impairments exist in watershed regions patients with moyamoya angiopathy (MMA). We hypothesized that these changes could be associated with the prominence of other neuroimaging markers of chronic brain ischemia, such as perfusion delay and the brush sign.

Methods: Thirteen adult patients with MMA (24 affected hemispheres) were evaluated using brain MRI and CT perfusion.

Microwave resonator-based sensor system for specific antibody detection.

An antibody-detecting sensor is described that is based on a microwave electrodynamic resonator. A polystyrene film with immobilized bacteria deposited on a lithium niobate plate was placed at one end of the resonator and was used as the sensing element. The second end was electrically shorted.

SARS-CoV-2 RBD Conjugated to Polyglucin, Spermidine, and dsRNA Elicits a Strong Immune Response in Mice.

Despite the rapid development and approval of several COVID vaccines based on the full-length spike protein, there is a need for safe, potent, and high-volume vaccines. Considering the predominance of the production of neutralizing antibodies targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of S-protein after natural infection or vaccination, it makes sense to choose RBD as a vaccine immunogen. However, due to its small size, RBD exhibits relatively poor immunogenicity.

Assessment of normal myelination in infants and young children using the T1w/T2w mapping technique.

Background: White matter myelination is a crucial process of CNS maturation. The purpose of this study was to validate the T1w/T2w mapping technique for brain myelination assessment in infants and young children.

Methods: Ninety-four patients (0-23 months of age) without structural abnormalities on brain MRI were evaluated by using the T1w/T2w mapping method.

The Study of the Acoustic Characteristics of Chitosan Acetate Film Using a Radial Electric Field Excited Resonator.

Currently, the lateral electric field excited resonators are used for the creation of various sensors. We have recently proposed a new type of acoustic resonator called radial electric field excited disk acoustic resonator. The advantage of this type of resonator is its high sensitivity to mechanical and electrical boundary conditions on its free surface.

Backward Acoustic Waves in Piezoelectric Plates: Possible Application as Base for Liquid Sensors.

Backward acoustic waves are characterized by oppositely directed phase and group velocities. These waves can exist in isotropic and piezoelectric plates. They can be detected using a set of interdigital transducers with different spatial periods located on the same piezoelectric substrate.

The Effect of Glycerol-Based Suspensions on the Characteristics of Resonators Excited by a Longitudinal Electric Field.

This study examines the effect of suspensions based on pure glycerol and diamond powder with different concentrations on the characteristics of resonators with a longitudinal electric field. We used two disk resonators made of the quartz and langasite plates with round electrodes on both sides of the plate and resonant frequencies of 4.4 and 4.

Compact liquid analyzer based on a resonator with a lateral excitation electric field.

A compact hardware-software complex for measuring the electrical and mechanical parameters of a liquid based on a piezoelectric resonator with a lateral exciting electric field has been developed. It is shown that the modulus of the electrical impedance of the resonator near the resonant frequency decreases monotonically with an increase in conductivity of the contacting liquid. The obtained dependences can be used as calibration curves for measuring conductivity in the range of 100-10,000 μS/cm.

Construction and Characterization of HIV-1 env-Pseudoviruses of the Recombinant Form CRF63_02A and Subtype A6.

HIV-1 env-pseudoviruses are a useful tool in the search for antiviral drugs (entry inhibitors) and evaluation of the efficacy of HIV-1 vaccines. Given the high genetic variability of HIV-1, it is necessary to regularly update the panels of pseudoviruses in accordance with the emergence of new strains. Based on genetic variants of HIV-1 circulating in the regions of the Siberian Federal District, 13 HIV-1 env-pseudoviruses of recombinant form CRF63_02A and subtype A6 were obtained.

Microbial Acoustical Analyzer for Antibiotic Indication.

In this study, a compact acoustic analyzer for express analysis of antibiotics based on a piezoelectric resonator with a lateral electric field and combined with a computer was developed. The possibility of determining chloramphenicol in aqueous solutions in the concentration range of 0.5-15 μg/mL was shown.

Sensor System Based on a Piezoelectric Resonator with a Lateral Electric Field for Virus Diagnostics.

A sensor system based on a piezoelectric resonator with a lateral electric field in the frequency range 6-7 MHz of the electric field for virus detection is described. Through use of the transmissible virus causing gastroenteritis in pigs and specific antibodies, the possibility of detecting the virus in suspension in real time was determined. It was found that the frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the electrical impedance of such a resonator loaded with a virus suspension changes significantly after the addition of specific antibodies to the suspension.

Self-Assembled Particles Combining SARS-CoV-2 RBD Protein and RBD DNA Vaccine Induce Synergistic Enhancement of the Humoral Response in Mice.

Despite the fact that a range of vaccines against COVID-19 have already been created and are used for mass vaccination, the development of effective, safe, technological, and affordable vaccines continues. We have designed a vaccine that combines the recombinant protein and DNA vaccine approaches in a self-assembled particle. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 was conjugated to polyglucin:spermidine and mixed with DNA vaccine (pVAXrbd), which led to the formation of particles of combined coronavirus vaccine (CCV-RBD) that contain the DNA vaccine inside and RBD protein on the surface.

Microbial acoustic sensor test-system based on a piezoelectric resonator with a lateral electric field for kanamycin detection in liquid.

A microbial test-system for real-time determination of low/residual concentrations of kanamycin in a liquid without the need for special labels is presented. The main element of the system was a piezoelectric resonator excited by a lateral electric field based on an X-cut lithium niobate plate 0.5 mm thick with two rectangular electrodes on one side.

A new liquid sensor based on a piezoelectric resonator with a radial electric field.

The possibility of development a liquid sensor based on a piezoelectric resonator with radial concentric electrodes is shown. The specified resonator has a large number of resonance peaks corresponding to different vibrational modes. The influence of two types of liquid container with distilled water on the resonance characteristics of these vibrational modes is experimentally investigated.

Acoustical Slot Mode Sensor for the Rapid Coronaviruses Detection.

A method for the rapid detection of coronaviruses is presented on the example of the transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) directly in aqueous solutions with different conductivity. An acoustic sensor based on a slot wave in an acoustic delay line was used for the research. The addition of anti-TGEV antibodies (Abs) diluted in an aqueous solution led to a change in the depth and frequency of resonant peaks on the frequency dependence of the insertion loss of the sensor.

The Experimental Registration of the Evanescent Acoustic Wave in YX LiNbO Plate.

Evanescent acoustic waves are characterized by purely imaginary or complex wavenumbers. Earlier, in 2019 by using a three dimensional (3D) finite element method (FEM) the possibility of the excitation and registration of such waves in the piezoelectric plates was theoretically shown. In this paper the set of the acoustically isolated interdigital transducers (IDTs) with the different spatial periods for excitation and registration of the evanescent acoustic wave in Y-cut X-propagation direction of lithium niobate (LiNbO) plate was specifically calculated and produced.

Concentration of viruses and electron microscopy.

Nearly all lethal viral outbreaks in the past two decades were caused by newly emerging viruses. Viruses are often studied by electron microscopy (EM), which provides new high-resolution data on the structure of viral particles relevant to both fundamental virology and practical pharmaceutical nanobiotechnology. Electron microscopy is also applied to ecological studies to detect viruses in the environment, to analysis of technological processes in the production of vaccines and other biotechnological components, and to diagnostics.

Delivery of mRNA Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 Using a Polyglucin:Spermidine Conjugate.

One of the key stages in the development of mRNA vaccines is their delivery. Along with liposome, other materials are being developed for mRNA delivery that can ensure both the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, and also facilitate its storage and transportation. In this study, we investigated the polyglucin:spermidine conjugate as a carrier of an mRNA-RBD vaccine encoding the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.