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This study aims to estimate and explore the experience of introducing renewable energy use in the context of the world’s smart cities. In this regard, the study points out that the use of green energy is an important part of sustainable development. Environmental problems are a matter of global concern. Hence sustainable development is one of the approaches to end the harmful anthropogenic impact. The work includes quantitative assessment methods, for example, statistics, quantitative analysis, analogy, and synthesis. As a result, the analysis confirms that the effective development of a smart green city is impossible without the introduction of several renewable energy sources, the integrated use of which will reduce the likelihood of problems with the city’s energy supply. Likewise, the outcome accentuates that the desire to fully switch to renewable energy sources (RES) can be accompanied by several problems as the creation of RES technologies does not always take the risk of abnormal situations into account. In conclusion, the research findings are recommended to be taken into consideration by researchers in the field of smart and sustainable cities development, as well as urbanists and economists for designing future smart green cities based on renewable energy sources.

Objective: to determine the occurrence and clinical characteristics of different types of PS (pulmonary stenosis) in dogs Reseach tasks: to identify the breed predisposition to PS, to study the clinical, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic characteristics of various types of PS and to analyse their dependence on the severity of the heart defect. Materials and methods: a retrospective analysis of Biocontrol veterinary clinic medical records throughout six years (2014–2020). Cardiological examination of dogs presented to the primary ambulatory appointment included physical examination, echocardiography using the Philips HD15 ultrasound system, radiography and electrocardiography. Animals: 31 dogs with isolated pulmonary artery stenosis (17 males and 14 females). Breeds: French Bulldog, English Bulldog, Yorkshire Terrier, German Spitz, American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, Toy Terrier, Cane Corso, Whippet, Biewer Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua, Entlebucher, German Boxer, East European Shepherd, American Bully. Results and discussion: 43 dogs with a PS were examined from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020. Of these, 31 dogs (72 %) with isolated PS and 12 dogs (28 %) with a combination of PS with other congenital heart defects. The most common combinations were PS with aortic stenosis (25 %) and PS with ventricular septal defect (25 %). The most common form of isolated PS was type A valve stenosis (68 %). Severe stenosis prevailed (58 %). The most common breeds were French Bulldogs (22.6 %), English Bulldogs (16.1 %) and Yorkshire Terriers (9.7 %). Males were more prevalent (55 %). 61 % of animals from the group of dogs with severe PS visited clinic because of signalment, and syncope was the most frequently reported symptom (28 %). The symptoms associated with congenital heart defect were not identified in the group of animals with moderate and mild degrees of PS. ECG showed that 100 % of dogs were diagnosed with sinus rhythm. Electrical right axis deviation of the heart was detected in 45 % of dogs. Direct dependency was between the severity of the stenosis and the severity of electrical right axis deviation. According to echocardiographic studies — 100 % of animals with severe and moderate stenosis and 14% with mild stenosis were diagnosed with concentric, eccentric or mixed forms of right ventricle myocardial hypertrophy, enlargement of the right atrial. Direct dependency is founded between the severity of stenosis, the type of right ventricle hypertrophy and the size of the right atrium. The more severe stenosis, the more mixed form of hypertrophy; increase of the right atrium was recorded in dogs with mixed right ventricular hypertrophy. Post-stenotic dilatation of the trunk and branches of the pulmonary artery was determined in all dogs with single right coronary artery type R2A. Conclusions: PS is most commonly found in French Bulldogs. The most common type of PS is type A valvular stenosis in the form of an isolated defect. Severe PS is prevalent. There is direct dependency is between the severity of the defect and the severity of right ventricular myocardial hypertrophy, the large size of the right atrium and electrical right axis deviation of the heart.

The aim of the study was to assess the features of the course of new coronavirus infection in newborns and children of the first year of life. Materials and methods. Thirty-six children aged eight days to 11 months were hospitalized in the covid centre of the National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health (of which nine children were transferred from one of the surgical hospitals in Moscow due to the contact with SARS-CoV-2). Results. Despite severe concomitant surgical pathology in 25% of patients, 98% of children had mild to moderate disease. Febrile temperature (up to a maximum of 39 oC) was observed in 4 infants, sub-febrile temperature in 5 people. In other children, for the entire period of treatment, there was no increase in temperature. Mothers’ complaints about lethargy dominated the clinical picture of the disease, followed by refusal to eat, runny nose, sneezing, swallowing voice, coughing, shortness of breath in their children. During the examination, the following signs were revealed: yawn hyperemia, mucous separated from the nose, hard breathing and dry wheezing (in 1 infant). The general blood test showed anemia (mostly related to prematurity anemia, or iron deficiency anemia), leftward leukocytosis (due to concomitant surgical pathology), leukopenia, various changes in the leukocytic formula of blood. In some instances, thrombocytopenia increased in D-dimer C-RP, procalcitonin, ferritin, bilirubin, and alanine aminotransferase. In only six infants with a moderate disease course, changes characteristic of a new coronavirus infection were identified on the chest CT scan. Six infantas had rhythm disorders detected in electrocardiographic examination (no deviations were found in echocardiographic examination). Conclusion. According to both foreign literature and data obtained during our study, it can be concluded that, compared with adults, infants have a milder course of the disease and less pronounced changes obtained during laboratory and instrumental studies.

Confectionary sunflower variety Karavan was developed in V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops within a breeding program of development of the varieties of the different maturity groups, usage directions and resistant to stress factors. The variety Karavan belongs to mid-maturing group, possesses potentially high yield, is tolerant to a complex of broomrape races E, F, G. Plant height is 180– 190 сm. The new variety is characterized with high speed of growth at the initial stages of development. Thousand-seed weight is more than 140 g at recommended plant population. The variety Karavan is included into the State Registry of the breeding achievements of the Russian Federation since 2021 and permitted for production in the Central Black Soil (5), the Northern Caucasus (6), Middle Volga (7) and Low Volga (8) regions.

This article is aimed at identifying the peculiarities of students' attitude to distance education. As a leading method, the questionnaire method was used, which made it possible to identify the students’ positive and negative attitudes regarding distance learning more effectively. The article considers students' ideas about distance learning, identifies the positive and negative aspects of the distance learning process. The authors of the article in the process of research revealed that many students of various fields of study are interested in participating in distance courses, but within the framework of mastering a second education. Some students note the usefulness of distance courses, the use of their materials at any time, and the convenience of going back to the materials they have completed at any time to fill in gaps or recall a topic. Some students reported a violation of the educational process in the distance format due to the repeated lack of Internet or its poor quality. Most of the students expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of contact communication in the distance learning process. It is proved that the majority of students believe that distance education will never replace traditional education. Mainly students of technical areas of study gave a negative assessment of the distance education system. It was revealed that students of various fields of study took distance courses that were held in other cities or countries. From the point of view of many students, educational websites have an inconvenient interface. Keywords: distance education, distance courses, students, learning process, pros and cons.

The purpose of the article is to assess the probability of transferring the cargo flow of the main cargo of Belarus from the Baltic ports to the railways of Russia and Russian ports in the Baltic. Using such theoretical methods of research as analysis, generalization, forecasting and hypothesizing, the main trends in the development of the railway network and Russian ports in the Baltic Sea, as well as factors affecting the likelihood of changes in the scheme of cargo flows of export cargo, are identified. Brief conclusions are made about the probability of changes in cargo traffic. In particular, it was found that such criteria as the price offered by Russian logistics companies and port operators for servicing significant volumes of Belarusian cargo, as well as the development of logistics chains, will have a significant impact on the decision of Belarus to abandon the services of Baltic ports. A study of the operational activities of the Baltic sea ports and the Lenin-grad Region suggests that they take place in a highly competitive environment and require constant work to diversify cargo flows, as well as investments to modernize the port and related railway infrastructure. The construction of the Ust-Luga railway junction has brought this junction to a leading position not only in Russia, but also in Europe. The Ust-Luga transport hub is capable of processing 20 types of cargo at 12 terminals, according to the level of technological equipment. It is assumed that when the port of Ust-Luga reaches its maximum capacity by 2024, the transit potential of Belarusian cargo will be fully provided.

А bibliographical review, based on domestic and foreign data, provides up-to-date information on hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP, exogenous allergic alveolitis) in children. It presents the current data on epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, classification, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, therapy, prevention and prognosis of the disease. A computed tomographic semiotics of HP is described in full details in comparison with data on morphology and histopathological patterns of the disease. This review includes classification criteria for the disease for diagnosis of reliable, probable and possible HPs to be verified. Information on the treatment and prevention of the disease is presented in an evidence-based medicine context.

The review, based on modern literature data and the results of many years of research conducted by the authors, highlights the problem of comorbidity (multimorbidity) in children with bronchial asthma (BA). There is a grouping of concomitant diseases in children with asthma depending on the type of comorbidity (causal, complicated, unspecified, reverse). Based on epidemiological data, observational and cohort studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses, information on the frequency of BA in children with various comorbid diseases and comorbid diseases in children with BA was summarized. Scientific, theoretical and practical significance of comorbidity in BA, diagnostic and treatment programs in pediatric patients suffering from BA and comorbid diseases are substantiated.

Nowadays as part of the process of digitalization of the labor market there are structural changes: new forms and types of employment appear. A global trend in recent years is the increase in the number of employees working remotely, which has significant value in difficult epidemiological situation in the world. Today, women are far more at risk of being deprived of the benefits of digital innovations, job losses due to robotics and automatization, have to put much more effort to achieve wage levels of male workers. The article examines the typology of new non-standard forms of employment, their distinctive features. The author highlights the main advantages and risks associated with the wide spreading of new forms of employment in the context of the digitalization of the labor market. The study touches upon the gender aspect, special attention is paid to the analysis of innovative forms of employment and the involvement of women in innovative teams, ICT and STEM-specialties. The factors influencing the formation of innovative behavior in national innovation systems are described. The ways of coordination of state, business and research structures within the framework of "collective action" aimed at stimulating scientific and technological progress in the development of the knowledge economy, the digital economy are outlined. The author also highlighted a number of fundamental reasons for the socio-psychological insecurity of male and female workers associated with the use of non-standard employment, noted in general terms ways of solving problems in the field of precarious employment and leveling gender inequality in the context of the development of the digital economy.

Among different forest inventory problems, one of the most basic is defining dominant species. These data are crucial in forest management to determine forest category, and a cheaper remote sensing-based approach would be a useful supplement to field surveys. We used WorldView multispectral satellite imagery to address this problem as an image segmentation task dividing the image into regions with particular dominant species. Neural networks have recently become one of the most useful tools for this kind of problem, including incomplete or erroneous training labels. However, it is still challenging to distinguish between such similar patterns as different forest compositions. To handle this, we represented the multiclass forest classification problem as a hierarchical set of binary classification tasks, which allowed us to reach better results with both high- and medium-resolution satellite imagery. We also examined supplementary data, such as tree height, to improve the species classification results for wider tree age diversity. We conducted experiments considering six neural network architectures to find the best one for each task in the hierarchical decomposition. The proposed approach was tested on sample territories in Leningrad Oblast of Russia, for which the field-based observations were acquired and made publicly available as a single dataset. The proposed approach showed significantly better results (average F1-score 0.84) than multiclass classification (average F1-score 0.7).

Aim: to study the possibilities of vestibular component correction in patients with vestibular migraine using external trigeminal nerve stimulation. Patients and Methods: the study included 42 patients (32 of them women) aged 18 to 50 y.o., with established vestibular migraine. All patients underwent external trigeminal nerve stimulation. The duration of each therapeutic course was 20 minutes, the frequency was 3 times a week for 3 months. The assessment of the condition dynamics was conducted using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Subjective Vestibular Assessment on a 5-point scale and Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefit Questionnaire. Results: at the first visit, the majority (77%) of patients suffered from severe dizziness, 23% of patients experienced moderate symptoms. After treatment, most patients experienced only mild symptoms of dizziness, while 31% of patients had no symptoms of dizziness. The total score for DHI before treatment was 58 (95% CI 54–63), after treatment — 19 (95% CI 16–24) (p

Introduction. Since nowadays ballast-free track structures are most often used in combination with continuous welded track solutions for organizing a rail string, it should be emphasized that stresses arising in the rail string affect the stress-strain state of the entire construction of the track superstructure; therefore, it is necessary to monitor the current state of the continuous welded track. Nevertheless, kinks are formed and assembled rails and sleepers lose stability during the operational period of a continuous welded track, and methods are needed to determine the pre-failure conditions related to the temperature range of operation of a continuous track. Materials and methods. In this study, we propose a model of a flat structure made of a material having anisotropic properties, which makes it possible to take account of initiation and propagation of wave processes under the action of an external dynamic load. Results. The considered methods of simulating the propagation of elastic waves in a plate will make it possible to identify the points where direct and reflected waves of various orders converge; these waves can both increase and reduce the overall intensity of wave processes, leading to an increase or reduction in stresses and deformations in the characteristic points of a structure. Conclusions. The proposed solutions are most relevant for the structural elements of transport infrastructure facilities, since they are the ones that are exposed to alternating dynamic loads having varying intensity and time distribution of characteristic values.

In order to enter cells, SARS-CoV-2 virus uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor that is also expressed in retina. Aim. Determination of the frequency and nature of retinal changes, evaluation of visual functions in patients who have got over COVID-19. Materials and methods. This observational research includes 31 patients aged from 28 to 79 that got over COVID-19 (with severity according to computed tomography (CT): 1–3) in the period from 15 to 40 days before the research. Standard ophthalmological examination and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed; visual acuity measurement and threshold static perimetry were used to assess visual functions.Results. Pathology of the ocular surface wasn’t detected. Ophthalmoscopy revealed retinal changes in only one patient. At OCT, 27 (87%) patients proved to have de novo changes in the retinal neuroepithelium at the level of the internal plexiform layer and the retinal ganglion cell layer in the form of hyper-reflective polymorphic foci with clear borders; 18 (67%) patients had monocular lesions. The maximum corrected visual acuity didn’t differ from the previously defined one; no violations of retinal light sensitivity were detected. No association was found between the severity of CT lung changes and retinal changes. The detected retinal changes weren’t associated with symptoms of anosmia (hyposmia) and ageusia. OCT repeated after 12–15 days showed no dynamics of hyperreflective foci: they remained unchanged in their shape, echogenicity and size. Conclusion. De novo changes in retinal neuroepithelium at the level of the inner plexiform layer and the retinal ganglion cell layer were detected according to OCT data in 87% of patients who had undergone COVID-19. Anatomical changes in the retina weren’t manifested by functional visual disturbances. There is no association of retinal changes with lesions of I and IX cranial nerve pairs.

Introduction. Due to dynamic loading, the upper structure of the railway track is subject to deformation over the entire construction and operation period. This paper focuses on the development of a mathematical model of the base plate of a general-type ballastless railway track structure without relying on specific existing technological solutions used for such elements. The effect of the actually given vertical component of the rolling stock velocity arising from the deviation from the design position of the long-welded rails on the dynamic deflection of the plate and the contact force of cylindrical anisotropy and the initial rate of dynamic interaction is studied. The proposed model makes it possible to take into account the effect of elastic waves originating in the contact area between the wheel and the rail that move at their final speeds after contact. The actual issue researched in this paper is the reinforcement of the ballastless railway base plate for the prevention of severe damage in the base plate. Materials and methods. A mathematical model has been developed to describe the dynamic behavior of a reinforced concrete plate of a ballastless railway track taking into account the specifics of load application from rolling stock wheel sets. Results. Detailed presentation of the research results in the form of analytical expressions and dependence diagrams of dynamic and kinematic parameters of the structure behavior can have practical application when designing rapid transit and high-speed railway lines both in Russia and abroad. Conclusions. The obtained results can be used for carrying out full-fledged research of dynamic behavior of the track bed under mobile loading, for checking the local durability of plates under shock impact, for researching and selecting optimal rigidity parameters for the track bed.

Background The flow cytometry analysis of GPI-linked proteins on red blood cells and leukocytes is crucial for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) diagnostics. However, the commonly used multicolor panels cannot be implemented in low-resourced hematology laboratories. In order to develop a simple prediagnostic test for PNH screening, we analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of the two-color (FLAER/CD15) detection of GPI-deficient neutrophils. Methods We reanalyzed multicolor data set of 1594 peripheral blood samples of patients screened for PNH applying only two markers (FLAER/CD15). The quantitative positivity/negativity was reported. Then, these results were compared in a blinded manner with previously obtained multicolor data from the same samples. Results Among the 1594 samples included in the study, 507 samples were PNH-positive by the multicolor assay. The two-color method revealed 510 PNH-positive samples. The detailed examination of this discrepancy revealed 12 false-positives and 9 false-negatives. Therefore, FLAER/CD15 screening method displayed 98.90% of the diagnostic specificity and 98.22% of the sensitivity. Conclusion This simple two-color evaluation of FLAER-negative neutrophils is a highly effective screening test for PNH. Although this approach is not intended to replace the multicolor diagnostic procedure, it could minimize the number of patients requiring a conventional multicolor flow cytometric assay.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with left-to-right shunting is common congenital heart disease. The PDA with right-to-left shunting is rare. The main diagnostic methods are echocardiography, contrast echocardiography, electrocardiography and a complete blood count. When choosing a method for treating PDA direction shunting is accounted. With a left-to-right shunting the patient is recommended a surgery. With right-to-left shunting, the main goal of treatment is to reduce pulmonary arterial hypertension and preventive treatment of polycythemia. Therefore, drug therapy is prescribed with control of dynamics on treatment. Operative measure for this defect is associated with high risks. Our clinical case illustrates the clinical signs and diagnostic capabilities of PDA with Eisenmenger syndrome.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) monitoring by flow cytometry at the end of induction therapy is one of the key ways of a prognosis assessment in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In B-cell precursor ALL (BCP–ALL), this method of MRD detection is complicated due to the immunophenotypic similarity between leukemic cells and normal B-cell precursors (BCPs). A decrease in intensity of induction therapy can lead to a more frequent appearance of normal BCPs in the bone marrow, which significantly complicates the MRD monitoring. Aim: to assess the incidence of normal BCPs in bone marrow on the 36th day of induction therapy with two different regimens of glucocorticoid (GC) administration according to ALL-MB 2015 protocol. This study was approved by the Independent Ethical Committee and the Academic Council of Dmitriy Rogachev National Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Immunology Ministry of Healthcare of Russian Federation. The study included 220 patients with BCP-ALL who were randomized to two types of GC-based induction therapy: a continuous administration of dexamethasone (n = 139) and an intermittent regimen with a 1-week dexamethasone therapy stop (n = 81). On the 36th day of induction therapy, MRD and normal BCPs were quantified in bone marrow samples by flow cytometry. On the 36th day of treatment, 43.2% of BCP(+) samples were established in the intermittent-therapy group, and 27.3% in the continuous-therapy group (p = 0.016). Comparison of the BCP level in BCP(+) samples revealed the more equitable distribution of BCPs at different developmental stages in the intermittent-therapy group, meanwhile mainly the immature BCPs in a quantity of less than 0.01% were found in the continuous-therapy group. Reduced-intensity induction therapy for patients with BCP-ALL leads to a noticeable increase of normal BCPs in bone marrow at the end of this treatment stage. A higher rate of BCP(+) bone marrow samples hinder the MRD detection due to the immunophenotypic similarity of BCPs and leukemic cells.

The review presents modern data on postnatal adaptation in infants born prematurely, which are characterized by “catching up” the pace of development. It is shown that the conditionally early neonatal period in extremely immature infants can stretch up to 3-4 months of the postnatal life, which is associated with a high risk of adaptation failures with inadequate environmental influences, but at the same time is the basis for a mild aimed correction of perinatal brain damage. Functionally immature structures of the central nervous system of a premature baby were been established to have pronounced plasticity, which can be considered as the ability of the nervous system of a growing organism to reorganize. Plasticity of the nervous system is associated with increased expression of a large complex of neurotrophic biologically active compounds - protein and peptide growth factors of nervous tissue, which intensify the growth and development of nerve cells. At the early stages of the development, changes in the microenvironment of the child and the environment can change the morphofunctional properties of the central nervous system, the rate of psychomotor development, and the behavior of the newborn too significantly. The urgency of the problem is associated with a high incidence of disability in infants born prematurely, as well as with the undesirability of drug loading on an immature organism. The effectiveness of new methods of physical treatment, including weightlessness modeling and positional therapy, as well as the need for active participation of the family in the process of child rehabilitation and in creating a sensory-developing environment, is presented.

Tumors of the heart are a rare and, until recently, poorly studied pathology in humans and animals. Currently, the frequency of intravital detection of heart tumors and their successful treatment is increasing due to the use of high-tech diagnostic methods, such as echocardiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, myocardial biopsy with histological and immunohistochemical examination of the tumor. However, in some cases, even the use of a wide range of diagnostic capabilities of intravital diagnostics does not provide sufficient data and confirmation of the diagnosis is possible only by the results of postmortem autopsy. The clinical manifestations of tumor growth in the heart are variable and depend on the type of tumor and its location. The most common primary neoplasm of the heart is hemangiosarcoma, the second most frequent tumor is the base of the heart tumor - nonchromophinous paraganglioma (chemodectoma). Our clinical case indicates possible difficulties in the diagnosing of heart base tumors, even with the use of a wide range of high-tech diagnostic methods.

Aim. The article deals with studying the effect of feedback training on the characteristics of brain bioelectrical activity. Materials and methods. 60 female non-athletes aged 18–20 years participated in the study. Sports training for improving the vestibular analyzer and proprioceptive sensitivity was conducted as well as feedback training with the data for ‘the projected center of mass position’ and ‘applied efforts’ parameters. EEG recording was conducted during the Romberg and Biryuk tests before and after the training course. Results. The specificity of the physiological mechanisms of various types of training, aimed at improving the vestibular analyzer and proprioceptive sensitivity, is reflected in the formation of special patterns of bioelectric activity of the cerebral cortex. Traditional training methods have the least effect on EEG characteristics, while biofeedback training is characterized by a more pronounced effect. Along with similar effects (the increased slow activity of theta and delta range, mainly in the frontal area of the cortex, and activation of high-frequency beta activity in the occipital leads), differences are also recorded. If training with the “projected center of mass position” parameter used as a BFB channel was accompanied by suppression of alpha-range activity, then training with the “applied efforts” parameter used as a BFB channel, on the contrary, increased the alpha activity in the occipital cortex. Conclusion. The parameters of bioelectrical activity of the cerebral cortex are informative when conducting biofeedback training and can be used to monitor its effectiveness and assess the physiological aspects.

This article is devoted to the analysis of state and municipal unitary enterprises as an object of public control in the Russian Federation. State and municipal enterprises exercise a number of public powers delegated by the state and municipalities. Their activities affect the interests of individuals and legal entities. The authors substantiate the need to organize and implement public control measures in relation to state and municipal unitary enterprises by developing a system of proposals for improving legislation in the field of public control.

The relevance of this study is due to the challenges of the global pandemic, which has led to the large-scale development of education digitalization. In this regard, this article is devoted to revealing the features of remote learning in the context of a global pandemic, identifying the risks and benefits of digital learning. The article reveals the discursive content of the counter-pandemic vector of distance learning for University students; defines the classification of risks and advantages of large-scale digitalization of students’ remote learning. Based on the results of the study, the authors justified the consolidated model of students distance learning, the counter-pandemic vector of which is a large-scale digitalization of the University educational process. The effectiveness of the model is proved by the results of its use in the process of large-scale digitalization of students’ remote learning in the context of a global pandemic. The materials of the article have practical application and can be useful in the development and implementation of digital educational complexes. They are recommended to teachers and students of the University, methodologists, curators, Tutors.

The aim of research was to observe and to describe biodestructions of fabrics that usually used inside a home, to estimate the destruction (total number of destruction “N” and destruction index “K”). The samples of fabrics were placed into a thermostat in sterile Petri dishes on moistened sterile filter paper in order to stimulate the microflora occurred on fibers. Incubation carried out in a thermostat at a +24-28 °C, humidity of 90-100% and exposed for 8 month. The samples examined with a microscope. As a result of the study of fiber’s damage, the types of damage were identified as follow: layering, fretting, mottling, fouling, spotting, swelling, granular disintegration, delamination, thinning, and damage of the fiber wall. Initially the most destructed was detected sample of natural silk and hemp according to the highest value of destruction index K. However, after 8 months of exposure, this sample turned out to be the most resistant to biodegradation. The data obtained based on the evaluation of the biostability of fabrics made from various textile fibers showed that the usage of natural silk, hemp and polyester able to supply textile with resistance to biodegradation by spontaneous microflora.

Urban green infrastructure (GI) performs a number of ecosystem services that can improve urban environment. Many studies are dedicated to regulating services (RS), heat mitigation and air pollutants removal in particular, since they directly effect the urban comfortability and human health. Most methods of RS assessment require time-consuming field works, usually not suited for multicity scale, but limited by smaller urban areas. We offer time-efficient methods to evaluate heat mitigating and air purifying services in 16 largest Russian cities, using available statistics, remote sensing data and results of similar works. For the assessment indicators we took 1) the percentage of removed pollutants by vegetation from total emissions from transport; 2) from point sources; 3) the percentage of urban area, influenced by the GI’s cooling effect. Our study revealed that the majority of cities do not have enough tree vegetation to absorb a significant part of all emissions, especially carbon oxide. At the same time, in many cases GI has a potential to cool more than 100% of urban area. However, the distribution of green elements is mostly uneven, leaving densely populated city centers not effected enough by cooling islands. The method we applied is still to be improved, as it does not consider meteorological and landscape differences for air purifying service, or all forms and sizes of GI to differentiate their cooling range. It enables, however, to get a general picture of the situation with RS volume in large cities of Russia, to define and locate the most problematic parts.

The near-infrared (NIR) spectral range (from 780 to 2500 nm) of the multispectral remote sensing imagery provides vital information for landcover classification, especially concerning vegetation assessment. Despite the usefulness of NIR, it does not always accomplish common RGB. Modern achievements in image processing via deep neural networks make it possible to generate artificial spectral information, for example, to solve the image colorization problem. In this research, we aim to investigate whether this approach can produce not only visually similar images but also an artificial spectral band that can improve the performance of computer vision algorithms for solving remote sensing tasks. We study the use of a generative adversarial network (GAN) approach in the task of the NIR band generation using only RGB channels of high-resolution satellite imagery. We evaluate the impact of a generated channel on the model performance to solve the forest segmentation task. Our results show an increase in model accuracy when using generated NIR compared to the baseline model, which uses only RGB (0.947 and 0.914 F1-scores, respectively). The presented study shows the advantages of generating the extra band such as the opportunity to reduce the required amount of labeled data.

The concept of capacity, traditional for classical ecology, in the context of sustainable development has also been used to assess the prospects for the development of sustainable tourism in the territory, it is also included in the Strategy for the Development of Tourism in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2035. The main purpose of the article is to analyze the existing domestic and foreign approaches to the assessment of environmental capacity and to develop on their basis algorithms for assessing capacity for different tourist areas. The analysis of the transformation of the existing methods of assessing environmental capacity, used in Russian and foreign practice since the 1970s, allowed, first, to identify the similarities and differences of scientific and practical approaches to solving this problem, and secondly, to identify the most valuable developments of world practice that are relevant to the Russian reality. Modern ideas about carrying capacity indicate the flexibility and multivariance of this concept, its dependence on both the natural properties of the territory and the types of recreational activities, as well as the degree of satisfaction of the recreational expectations of the tourist. The article proposes a universal algorithm for determining the ecological capacity for different types of tourist areas, based on the assessment of its technogenic and recreational components. The division into two components is fundamental for the methodology, since technogenic capacity is largely regulated by various provisions of existing legislation (codes, regulations, sanitary norms and rules), the indicators of compliance with which are evaluated by normalization and assignment of expert points, and recreational capacity, to a greater extent, depends on the properties of the territory and recreational activities. Among the environmental factors determining tourism capacity factors relating to environmental risks (such as fire hazard, the entropy of the relief, the likelihood of adverse exogenous geodynamic processes), and factors influencing the environment-stabilizing potential of the area (urbanization, plowed, and their) are included in the assessment. The methodology is being tested for two types of tourist territories – the Kenozersky National Park and the Greater Yalta region.

CD19-directed treatment in B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL) frequently leads to the downmodulation of targeted antigens. As multicolour flow cytometry (MFC) application for minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD) assessment in BCP-ALL is based on B-cell compartment study, CD19 loss could hamper MFC-MRD monitoring after blinatumomab or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. The use of other antigens (CD22, CD10, CD79a, etc.) as B-lineage gating markers allows the identification of CD19-negative leukaemia, but it could also lead to misidentification of normal very-early CD19-negative BCPs as tumour blasts. In the current study, we summarized the results of the investigation of CD19-negative normal BCPs in 106 children with BCP-ALL who underwent CD19 targeting (blinatumomab, n = 64; CAR-T, n = 25; or both, n = 17). It was found that normal CD19-negative BCPs could be found in bone marrow after CD19-directed treatment more frequently than in healthy donors and children with BCP-ALL during chemotherapy or after stem cell transplantation. Analysis of the antigen expression profile revealed that normal CD19-negative BCPs could be mixed up with residual leukaemic blasts, even in bioinformatic analyses of MFC data. The results of our study should help to investigate MFC-MRD more accurately in patients who have undergone CD19-targeted therapy, even in cases with normal CD19-negative BCP expansion.

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Background The presence of minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD) before or after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is known as a predictor of poor outcome in patients with acute myeloid (AML) or lymphoblastic (ALL) leukemia. When performed with multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC), assessment of residual leukemic cells after HSCT may be limited by therapy-induced shifts in the immunophenotype (e.g., loss of surface molecules used for therapeutic targeting). However, in such cases, questionable cells can be isolated and tested for hematopoietic chimerism to clarify their origin. Methods Questionable cell populations were detected during the MFC-based MRD monitoring of 52 follow-up bone marrow samples from 37 patients diagnosed with T cell neoplasms (n =14), B cell precursor ALL (n = 16), AML (n = 7). These cells (suspected leukemic or normal) were isolated by flow cell sorting and tested for hematopoietic chimerism by RTQ-PCR. Results The origin of cells was successfully identified in 96.15% of cases (n = 50), which helped to validate the results of MFC-based MRD monitoring. Conclusions We believe that a combination of MFC, cell sorting, and chimerism testing may help confirm or disprove MRD presence in complicated cases after HSCT.

Information on forest composition, and specifically the tree types and their distribution, aids in timber stock calculation and helps better understand the biodiversity in a particular region. Automatic satellite imagery analysis can significantly accelerate the process of tree type classification, which is traditionally done via ground-based observations. Although computer vision methods have proven their efficiency in remote sensing tasks, specific challenges arise in forestry applications. In this paper, we aimed to improve tree species classification based on the neural network approach. The study involved four species commonly found in the Russian boreal forests: birch, aspen, pine, and spruce. We used imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite, which has multiple bands in the visible and infrared spectra, and spatial resolution of up to 10 meters. Additionally, the short revisit time and free access policy, it makes these images a valuable data source for the purposes of forest classification. In computer vision terms, we define the problem of tree type classification as one of semantic segmentation, and assign each pixel of the image a particular tree type. The forest inventory data contain the tree type composition, but do not describe their spatial distribution within each individual stand. Therefore, some pixels can be assigned a wrong label if we consider each stand to be homogeneously populated by its dominant species. This calls for the weakly supervised learning approach. To solve this problem, we used a deep convolutional neural network with a tailored loss function set to optimize for multiple objectives. We tested the model's transferability by creating a dataset of images for three regions of Russia (Arkhangelsk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, and Perm Krai), with the combined area of more than one million hectares, over four years (2016-2019). In our study, we demonstrated how to modify the training strategy so it outperforms the basic per-pixel neural network approach.

The paper presents information reflecting assessment of quality of life of patients of otorhinolaryngological departments of the Togliatti, Samara oblast, who were admitted for planned surgical treatment and had no severe comorbidity. The study examined dynamics of quality of life of patients against the background of treatment. The SF-36 questionnaire was applied to assess the quality of life. The study established portrait of operated patients in otorhinolaryngological departments. It was found that planned otorhinolaryngological surgical treatment in specialized in-patient departments of Togliatti generally had positive effect on quality of life of patients. It was also found that there were no statistically significant changes in the indicators "pain intensity" and "viability".

Information on forest composition, specifically tree types and their distribution, aids in timber stock calculation and can help to better understand the biodiversity in a particular region. Automatic satellite imagery analysis can significantly accelerate the process of tree type classification, which is traditionally carried out by ground-based observation. Although computer vision methods have proven their efficiency in remote sensing tasks, specific challenges arise in forestry applications. The forest inventory data often contain the tree type composition but do not describe their spatial distribution within each individual stand. Therefore, some pixels can be assigned a wrong label in the semantic segmentation task if we consider each stand to be homogeneously populated by its dominant species. Another challenge is the spatial distribution of individual stands within the study area. Classes are usually imbalanced and distributed nonuniformly that makes sampling choice more critical. This study aims to enhance tree species classification based on a neural network approach providing automatic markup adjustment and improving sampling technique. For forest species markup adjustment, we propose using a weakly supervised learning approach based on the knowledge of dominant species content within each stand. We also propose substituting the commonly used CNN sampling approach with the object-wise one to reduce the effect of the spatial distribution of forest stands. We consider four species commonly found in Russian boreal forests: birch, aspen, pine, and spruce. We use imagery from the Sentinel-2 satellite, which has multiple bands (in the visible and infrared spectra) and a spatial resolution of up to 10 meters. A data set of images for Leningrad Oblast of Russia is used to assess the methods. We demonstrate how to modify the training strategy to outperform a basic CNN approach from F1-score 0.68 to 0.76. This approach is promising for future studies to obtain more specific information about stands composition even using incomplete data.

The paper is devoted to the modification of the dynamic behavior model of a flat orthotropic element under shock and vibrational impacts. The impacts were caused by solid cylindrical body for the case of ballastless railway construction. The suggested model allows simulating the element deformation in the upper structure of the ballast-free design track. The propagation of elastic waves moving with finite speeds, orthotropic properties of the foundation slab, which allow optimally selecting rod reinforcement are taken into account. The obtained analytical and graphical results make it possible to assess the influence of properties of the reinforced concrete slab, the underframe speed, the presence of defects in wheel sets or rail bars, as well as the characteristics of the technical content of the track section.