Long-term dissemination of CTX-M-5-producing hypermutable Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium sequence type 328 strains in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

In this paper, we present evidence of long-term circulation of cefotaxime-resistant clonally related Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains over a broad geographic area. The genetic relatedness of 88 isolates collected from multiple outbreaks and sporadic cases of nosocomial salmonellosis in various parts of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan from 1996 to 2009 was established by multilocus tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The isolates belong to sequence type 328 (ST328) and produce CTX-M-5 β-lactamase, whose gene is carried by highly related non-self-conjugative but mobilizable plasmids.

Mental health status among younger generation around Chernobyl.

Introduction: In order to improve our understanding of how to approach the younger generation around Chernobyl, we screened mental health status among young adults born after the accident living in the Gomel region, Belarus.

Material And Methods: We enrolled 697 medical students who were born after the accident. Participants were asked to answer self-administered questionnaires including the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12).

Increased incidence of antiretroviral drug discontinuation among patients with viremic hepatitis C virus coinfection and high hyaluronic acid, a marker of liver fibrosis.

Background: Most antiretroviral drugs are metabolized by the liver; hepatic disease or liver damage as a result of hepatitis C virus (HCV) could impair this metabolism leading to an increased risk of drug toxicity. This study aimed to determine the risk of antiretroviral drug discontinuation among HCV/HIV coinfected patients.

Methods: EuroSIDA patients taking combination antiretroviral therapy were included.

Thermo-mechanical properties of the cell surface assessed by atomic force microscopy.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in lateral force mode was applied to assess the microscale thermo-mechanical (frictional) properties of the air-dried cell surface in the wide temperature range (288-363K/15-90°C). AFM-investigated cell surface layer can be represented as a biocomposite composed of several layers including the glycocalyx, the membrane and the intercellular layer containing membrane (cortical) cytoskeleton. The cells with two different cytoskeleton structures, erythrocytes and thymocytes, were studied.

Ceruloplasmin plasma levels in patients with severe forms of herpes infection.

Background: Research interest in ceruloplasmin (CP) has significantly increased in recent years owing to new discoveries of its properties including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. Data on CP blood plasma level in patients with herpetic infection caused by herpes simplex virus are scarce and often contradictory. Most point to a reduction of CP in the blood plasma of patients during the exacerbation of the disease with gradually return to normal values after treatment.

[Time course of gastric mucosal changes in the assessment of long-term results of Helicobacter pylori eradication].

The impact of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication on the gastric mucosa (GM) was studied in patients with gastroduodenal ulcers. Clinical and morphological changes in the GM were assessed in 122 patients 3-7 years (mean 4.

Leptin is an independent determinant of bone mineral density in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

To investigate the possible relationship of leptin to bone mineral density (BMD) in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we screened 168 Belarusian men aged 45-65 years. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride concentrations were assessed, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were calculated. Hemoglobin A(1c), immune-reactive insulin (IRI), serum total testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin were also evaluated.

Testosterone is an independent determinant of bone mineral density in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: Although many reports have elucidated pathophysiological characteristics of abnormal bone metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DT2), determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) in patients with DT2 are still controversial.

Methods: We examined 168 Belarussian men 45-60 years of age. Plasma total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), immunoreactive insulin, and C-reactive protein concentrations were assessed.

Nitric oxide production disorders in leukocytes of patients with recurrent furunculosis.

Aim: The propensity for certain individuals to develop staphylococcal recurrent furunculosis (RF) is not fully understood. But among the reasons of its development the immune system dysfunctions are described. As in the staphylococcus elimination the main role is played by neutrophils, the objective of this study was to determine nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by polymo rphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) of patients with RF and to compare them with the response of normal cells to stimulation.

Trien conjugates, schiff bases, and ceruloplasmin concentrations as markers of the onset of the risk of autodermoplasty complications.

Background. Surgical interference which includes debridement and further renewal of skin cover by autodermoplasty (ADP) is the most effective method of burn wound treatment. Skin graft failure is a serious complication of ADP procedures leading to the opening of previously closed wounds, graft loss, and an increased wound surface owing to the donor zone.

Mechanical properties of cells and ageing.

Mechanical properties are fundamental properties of the cells and tissues of living organisms. The mechanical properties of a single cell as a biocomposite are determined by the interdependent combination of cellular components mechanical properties. Quantitative estimate of the cell mechanical properties depends on a cell state, method of measurement, and used theoretical model.

Structural and mechanical characteristics of erythrocyte membranes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The morphology and structure of erythrocyte cytoskeleton and local mechanical characteristics in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and donors were studied by atomic force microscopy. Poikilocytosis and anisocytosis, spatial reorganization of the cytoskeleton (loosening and condensation of the actin-spectrin network), and modification of local mechanical properties of erythrocytes were characteristic of diabetics. These results indicate significant heterogeneity of erythrocyte population in the patients, most likely due to the presence of erythrocytes of different age groups, which can promote the development of diabetes complications (angiopathy).

Structural and functional changes in the membrane and membrane skeleton of red blood cells induced by peroxynitrite.

The changes in passive ion permeability of the red blood cell membrane after peroxynitrite action (3 microM-3 mM) have been studied by biophysical (using radioisotopes of rubidium, sodium and sulphur (sulphate)) and electrophysiological methods. The enhancement of passive membrane permeability to cations (potassium and sodium ions) and the inhibition of anion flux through the anion exchanger in peroxynitrite-treated red blood cells were revealed. In patch-clamp experiments the whole-cell conductance after peroxynitrite (80 microM) treatment of red blood cells increased 3-3.

Effect of peroxynitrite on mechanical properties of human erythrocyte membranes.

Atomic force microscopy showed that treatment of human whole blood with peroxynitrite modified local mechanical and physical characteristics of erythrocyte membranes, specifically, increased their rigidity.

Atomic force microscopy probing of cell elasticity.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has recently provided the great progress in the study of micro- and nanostructures including living cells and cell organelles. Modern AFM techniques allow solving a number of problems of cell biomechanics due to simultaneous evaluation of the local mechanical properties and the topography of the living cells at a high spatial resolution and force sensitivity. Particularly, force spectroscopy is used for mapping mechanical properties of a single cell that provides information on cellular structures including cytoskeleton structure.

Molecular characterisation of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates from Gomel region, Belarus.

This study describes the characterisation by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) typing and antimicrobial resistance profiles of 35 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates, mostly from infections in children who acquired an infection outside hospitals in the Gomel region of Belarus. Thirty-one isolates were highly similar according to PFGE and MLVA typing, were multidrug-resistant, including resistance to ceftiofur, and harboured the bla(CTX-M-5) gene. These results indicate that a common source may have been responsible for most of the infections.

Atomic force microscopy observation of peroxynitrite-induced erythrocyte cytoskeleton reorganization.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study surface layers of fixed intact erythrocytes. Advantages of simultaneous analysis of surface topography and lateral force maps in the investigation of cytoskeleton structure were shown. Fractal analysis was applied to the lateral force maps of erythrocyte surfaces to evaluate the complexity of the cytoskeleton.

Probing of liquids by Bessel light beams under conditions of acousto-optical interactions.

The acousto-optical interactions of Bessel and Gaussian light beams with the ultrasonic field in liquids under the condition of Raman-Nath diffraction for the standing-wave mode are experimentally investigated. The main differences of acousto-optical interactions for Bessel and Gaussian light beams are revealed. The various phenomena of refraction and focusing of Bessel beam in liquids owing to sound-field spatial modulation are demonstrated.