The Hepatitis C Continuum of Care Among HIV-Positive Persons with Heavy Alcohol Use in St. Petersburg, Russia.

This study describes the self-reported prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection and the HCV care continuum among persons enrolled in the St PETER HIV Study, a randomized controlled trial of medications for smoking and alcohol cessation in HIV-positive heavy drinkers and smokers in St. Petersburg, Russia. Baseline health questionnaire data were used to calculate proportions and 95% confidence intervals for self-reported steps along the HCV continuum of care.

Dependence of seasonal dynamics of hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes on the climate of a region: A meta-analysis.

Background: Cardiovascular events occur more often in winter than in summer; however, the dependence of strokes on various meteorological factors remains unclear.

Aims: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the dependence of the circannual dynamics of hospitalizations for hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke on seasonal fluctuations in meteorological factors.

Summary Of Review And Conclusions: For our meta-analysis, we selected 20 and 26 publications examining the seasonal dynamics of hemorrhagic stroke and ischemic stroke, respectively .

Pilot study of tolerability and safety of opioid receptor antagonists as novel therapies for chronic pain among persons living with HIV with past year heavy drinking: a randomized controlled trial.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03278886.

Eculizumab in Asian patients with anti-aquaporin-IgG-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: A subgroup analysis from the randomized phase 3 PREVENT trial and its open-label extension.

Background Eculizumab, a terminal complement inhibitor, significantly reduced the risk of relapse compared with placebo in patients with anti-aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G-positive (AQP4+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in the PREVENT trial. We report efficacy and safety analyses in Asian patients in PREVENT and its open-label extension (OLE). Methods PREVENT was a double-blind, randomized, phase 3 trial.

Ambroxol increases glucocerebrosidase (GCase) activity and restores GCase translocation in primary patient-derived macrophages in Gaucher disease and Parkinsonism.

Mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) encoding the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GCase) cause Gaucher disease (GD) and are the most commonly known genetic risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). Ambroxol is one of the most effective pharmacological chaperones of GCase. Fourteen GD patients, six PD patients with mutations in the GBA gene (GBA-PD), and thirty controls were enrolled.

Influence of the cumulative effect of zoledronic acid on periodontal microcirculation in rats.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of repeated administration of zoledronic acid (ZA) on the development and severity of osteonecrosis of the jaws.

Methods: In the experiment, 36 rats were used, which were divided into 4 groups: group 1 was injected with saline for 6 weeks, group 2 was injected with ZA once, group 3 was injected zoledronic acid for 3 weeks once a week, group 4 was injected with ZA for 6 weeks once a week. While taking medications, the tooth was removed.

Results and Prospects of Using Activator of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Differentiation in Complex Therapy for Patients with COVID-19.

The paper presents the results of a standard and complex treatment method using the peptide drug thymus thymalin in patients with COVID-19. One of the mechanisms of the immunomodulatory effect of thymalin is considered to be the ability of this peptide drug to influence the differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). It was found that, as a result of standard treatment, patients in the control group showed a decrease in the concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, C-reactive protein, D-dimer.

Seasonal variations in levels of human thyroid-stimulating hormone and thyroid hormones: a meta-analysis.

Seasonal dynamics in biological functions of mammals is regulated by melatonin-mediated circannual fluctuations in the secretion of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid hormones. Most anatomical and molecular structures responsive to photoperiod and melatonin secretion changes and the associated receptors are preserved in modern humans. This work aimed to determine the seasonal dynamics of TSH and thyroid hormone levels (total triiodothyronine (T3), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (FT4) and to investigate the dependence of these variations on gender, age and amplitude of meteorological fluctuations.

Genomic epidemiology of the early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Russia.

The ongoing pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 presents novel challenges and opportunities for the use of phylogenetics to understand and control its spread. Here, we analyze the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in Russia in March and April 2020. Combining phylogeographic analysis with travel history data, we estimate that the sampled viral diversity has originated from at least 67 closely timed introductions into Russia, mostly in late February to early March.

Recent Progress in Animal Studies of the Skin- and Bone-integrated Pylon With Deep Porosity for Bone-Anchored Limb Prosthetics With and Without Neural Interface.

Introduction: The three major unresolved problems in bone-anchored limb prosthetics are stable, infection-free integration of skin with a percutaneous bone implant, robust skeletal fixation between the implant and host bone, and a secure interface of sensory nerves and muscles with a prosthesis for the intuitive bidirectional prosthetic control. Here we review results of our completed work and report on recent progress.

Materials And Methods: Eight female adult cats received skin- and bone-integrated pylon (SBIP) and eight male adult cats received SBIP-peripheral neural interface (PNI) pylon into the right distal tibia.

Model of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats Caused by Repeated Intravenous Administration of Partially Biodegradable Sodium Alginate Microspheres.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a rare and life-threatening complication of pulmonary embolism. As existing animal models of CTEPH do not fully recapitulate complex disease pathophysiology, we report a new rat model for CTEPH evoked by repetitive embolization of the distal pulmonary artery branches with partially biodegradable alginate microspheres (MSs). MSs (180 ± 28 μm) were intravenously administered eight times at 4-day intervals; control animals received saline.

Comparative Analysis of Mucociliary Clearance and Mucosal Morphology Using High-Speed Videomicroscopy in Children With Acute and Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

Objective: evaluation of mucociliary clearance and mucosal morphology using high-speed videomicroscopy, and their association with markers of disease severity in children with acute (ARS) and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

Methods: A total of 67 children aged from 6 to 17 years including 15 healthy children, 20 pediatric patients with acute rhinosinusitis, and 32 cases with chronic rhinosinusitis were enrolled in the present study. SNOT20, Lund-Kennedy, and Lund-Mackay scores were also evaluated.

Clinical phenotypes of primary hyperparathyroidism in hospitalized patients who underwent parathyroidectomy.

Objective: The aim of our study was to investigate the distribution of the PHPT clinical manifestations and biochemical features in patients who underwent parathyroidectomy.

Materials And Methods: Medical records of 449 patients from three Medical Centers (Saint-Petersburg, Russia), hospitalized during a period from 2011 to 2018, were reviewed. History and anthropometric data, laboratory results (iPTH, total and iCa, phosphorus, ALP, 24-h urinary calcium, 25(OH)D) and imaging data (ultrasonography, scintigraphy, CT/MRI scan, DXA) were analyzed.

Benefits of eculizumab in AQP4+ neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: Subgroup analyses of the randomized controlled phase 3 PREVENT trial.

Background: Antibodies to the aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channel in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) are reported to trigger the complement cascade, which is implicated in astrocyte damage and subsequent neuronal injury. The PREVENT study demonstrated that the terminal complement inhibitor eculizumab reduces adjudicated relapse risk in patients with anti-AQP4 immunoglobulin G-positive (AQP4+) NMOSD. The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of eculizumab in reducing relapse risk and its safety in AQP4+ NMOSD across clinically relevant subgroups in PREVENT.

Peter the Great and sexually transmitted diseases.

Shortly after syphilis appeared in Europe at the time of Columbus' voyage to the New World, the big pox, as it was often known, became a serious issue in Russia for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Members of the Russian royal family were made aware of the disease from adolescence onward. Czar Peter the Great had many sexual contacts and could have contracted any number of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that were quite common in his era.

Linking HIV-positive people in addiction care to HIV services in St. Petersburg, Russia - Mixed-methods implementation study of strengths-based case management.

Access to HIV services for HIV-positive patients in addiction care is challenging in Russia, because both care systems are organised independently from each other. Strengths-based case management is an effective strategy to connect people with HIV (PHIV) to HIV care. This mixed-methods study's objective was to investigate implementation of a case management intervention in St.

Presenting a conceptual framework for an HIV prevention and care continuum and assessing the feasibility of empirical measurement in Estonia: A case study.

Objective: We aim to show the feasibility of using an integrated prevention and care continuum (PCC) model as a complete and improved tool for HIV control measurement and programming. Alignment of prevention and care continua is essential to further improve health outcomes and minimize HIV transmission risk.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Protecting the skin-implant interface with transcutaneous silver-coated skin-and-bone-integrated pylon in pig and rabbit dorsum models.

Implant-associated soft tissue infections at the skin-implant interface represent the most frequent complications in reconstructive surgery and lead to implant failures and revisions. Titanium implants with deep porosity, called skin-and-bone-integrated-pylons (SBIP), allow for skin ingrowth in the morphologically natural direction, thus restoring a reliable dermal barrier and reducing the risk of infection. Silver coating of the SBIP implant surface using physical vapor deposition technique offers the possibility of preventing biofilm formation and exerting a direct antimicrobial effect during the wound healing phase.

Postural instability and neuropsychiatric disturbance in the overlapping phenotype of essential tremor and Parkinson's Disease.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of postural and neuropsychiatric features in patients with essential tremor (ET), various Parkinson's disease (PD) phenotypes, and the phenotype of combined ET and PD (ET-PD).

Methods: 169 PD patients with early (1.0-2.

Compulsory admissions of patients with mental disorders: State of the art on ethical and legislative aspects in 40 European countries.

Background: Compulsory admission procedures of patients with mental disorders vary between countries in Europe. The Ethics Committee of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) launched a survey on involuntary admission procedures of patients with mental disorders in 40 countries to gather information from all National Psychiatric Associations that are members of the EPA to develop recommendations for improving involuntary admission processes and promote voluntary care.

Methods: The survey focused on legislation of involuntary admissions and key actors involved in the admission procedure as well as most common reasons for involuntary admissions.

Altered level of plasma exosomes in patients with Gaucher disease.

Mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) cause Gaucher disease (GD), the lysosomal storage disorder (LSD), and are the most common genetic risk factor of Parkinson's disease (PD). Lysosome functionality plays a critical role for secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their content. Here we compared EVs from the blood plasma of 8 GD patients and 8 controls in terms of amounts, size distribution, and composition of their protein cargo.

Serum, Whole Blood, Hair, and Mucosal Essential Trace Element and Mineral Levels in Children with Verified Chronic Rhinosinusitis Undergoing Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery.

The objective of the present study was to assess hair, serum, whole blood, and excised tissue essential element content in children with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Eighty-eight children with chronic rhinosinusitis and 66 healthy controls were enrolled in the present study. Evaluation of endoscopic Lund-Kennedy and computed tomography Lund-Mackay scores, as well as tissue sampling, was performed only in children with chronic rhinosinusitis.

International registry of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons with COVID-19.

Background: It has become clear that healthcare workers are at high risk, and otolaryngology has been theorized to be among the highest risk specialties for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to detail the international impact of COVID-19 among otolaryngologists, and to identify instructional cases.

Methods: Country representatives of the Young Otolaryngologists-International Federation of Otolaryngologic Societies (YO-IFOS) surveyed otolaryngologists through various channels.

The experimental study of tissue integration into porous titanium implants.

Introduction: Due to a lack of uniform shapes and sizes of bone defects in hip and knee joint pathology, their fixing could benefit from using individually manufactured 3D-printed highly porous titanium implants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent of bone and muscle tissue integration into porous titanium implants manufactured using additive technology.

Materials And Methods: Porous and non-porous titanium plates were implanted into the latissimus dorsi muscle and tibia of 9 rabbits.

The First Clinical Use of Augmented Reality to Treat Salivary Stones.

In this study, we report our first experience of applying the concretion visualization method using augmented reality technology. A clinical case of a new surgical intervention on the parotid salivary gland with the localization of salivary stone in its parenchyma is considered. During additional diagnostics, it was found that the size of the concretion exceeds 5 mm which did not allow us to use the endoscopic technologies.