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The article analyzes the role of microcirculatory disorders in the pathogenesis of inflammatory complications (peri-implantitis) in patients with orthopedic constructions on dental implants and substantiates the possibility of a complex course application of low-intensity infrared laser therapy and low-frequency electrostatic therapy. It was shown that the initial state of patients with peri-implantitis is characterized by significantly low values of the level of general perfusion and its intensity, as well as the predominance of shunt mechanisms that reduce the values of the nutritive link of blood flow. The cause of the revealed disorders is the low level of functioning of the vasodilation mechanisms, caused by inflammatory and destructive processes in the peri-implant tissues. The use of a complex of physiotherapeutic exposure was characterized by a more pronounced corrective effect on the parameters of microcirculation and oxidative metabolism in comparison with standard dental treatment. The observed dynamics of microcirculatory systems of tissues of the peri-implant zone under the conditions of the complex influence of physiotherapeutic factors is aimed at the formation of adaptive reactions of local hemodynamics to the local needs of soft and bone tissues experiencing an inflammatory process around the implant, as well as strengthening the mechanisms of long-term adaptation of trophic relations in tissue peri-implant microregions. Taking into account the pathogenetic significance of microhemodynamic disorders in the formation of clinical manifestations of peri-implantitis, the revealed activating effect of the technology of the combined use of a laser and low-frequency electrostatic therapy serves as an objective proof of its therapeutic efficacy.

The article presents the results of the treatment of inflammatory complications in patients with orthopedic constructions on dental implants using the course complex application of low-intensity infrared laser therapy and low-frequency electrostatic therapy. It has been shown that under the influence of a complex of physiotherapeutic factors, a more pronounced inverse dynamics of the clinical manifestations of peri-implantitis is observed in comparison with the standard treatment regimen, which has a positive effect on the indicators of the secondary stability of the implants themselves. The mechanisms of realization of the therapeutic efficiency of a low-intensity laser and a low-frequency electrostatic field are considered from the medical and biological point of view. The analysis of the study allows concluding that the course complex application of physiotherapeutic technologies in the treatment of post-prosthetic inflammatory complications during dental implantation is highly effective. The addition of the standard treatment regimen with the combined use of a low-frequency electrostatic field and laser therapy has a positive effect on the regression of the clinical manifestations of peri-implantitis and on the index indicators of the patients’ dental status. The increase in therapeutic efficiency observed when using a low-frequency electrostatic field in combination with an infrared laser of the complex is realized due to the potentiating type of interaction of physical factors, which is based on various points of application and the mechanisms of their corrective activity.

A primary abscess in the region of the Sella turcica is a rare neurosurgical pathology especially in the pediatric population. This pathology has no specific symptoms and may have an atypical presentation. It has no specific radiological features making diagnosis very difficult. In this article, we report on a 13-year-old girl with a confirmed primary pituitary abscess. Clinical and instrumental investigations as well as hormonal profile indicated a lesion of the Rathkes pouch- like a craniopharyngioma and to a lesser extent, a pituitary adenoma. In this case, laboratory and Magnetic resonance studies did not show any features of systemic or local acute inflammatory response respectively. The child underwent a surgery, during which the diagnosis was made — primary abscess of the pituitary gland.

To improve diagnostic informativity of AR gene mutation analysis in patients with AIS, we recommend to include novel identified missense mutation c.2507T>G in the list of AIS‐causing mutations.

Актуальность исследования обусловлена той, исключительно важной ролью, которую играет вероятностное распределение скоплений углеводородов по массе (усеченное распределение Парето) при количественном прогнозе нефтегазоносности в слабоизученных и зрелых нефтегазоносных бассейнах. Знание этого распределения позволяет осуществлять прогноз количества и суммарных ресурсов углеводородов в любых заданных интервалах крупности, прогноз величины запасов невыявленных скоплений и последовательности их открытий. Цель: для закона распределения залежей углеводородов по массе - усеченного распределения Парето, получить соответствующее вероятностное распределение для месторождений по массе углеводородов. Методы: аналитические методы теории вероятностей, метод статистических испытаний, статистическая обработка эмпирических данных. Объект: нефтегазоносные бассейны, запасы нефти и газа залежей, месторождений, количество залежей в месторождениях, законы распределения скоплений углеводородов по массе. Результаты. Показано, что степенное распределение вероятностей (классическое распределение Парето, усеченное распределение Парето) не может играть роль распределения скоплений углеводородов по массе одновременно и для залежей, и для месторождений. Применение метода статистических испытаний позволило получить условные вероятностные распределения месторождений углеводородов по массе при фиксированном числе залежей в них. На основе обработки эмпирических данных по четырем крупнейшим нефтегазоносным провинциям России (Волго-Уральской, Западно-Сибирской, Тимано-Печорской и Северо-Кавказской) были найдены оценки распределений месторождений углеводородов по количеству залежей в них. Исходя из закона распределения залежей углеводородов по их крупности - усеченного распределения Парето, найден закон распределения углеводородов по массе для месторождений. Показано, что полученное вероятностное распределение, не являясь, строго говоря, степенным, оказывается весьма близким к нему. Relevance of the study is related to the extremely important role played by the probabilistic distribution of the sizes of oil and gas fields (truncated Pareto distribution) in the quantitative prediction of petroleum potential in both mature and immature basins. Using this distribution it is easy to forecast the quantity and total hydrocarbon resources in any given size interval as well as the forecast of the sizes of undiscovered oil and gas pools and the succession of their discoveries. The aim of the study is to obtain the respective probability distribution of oil and gas fields using the law of the size distribution of oil and gas pools (truncated Pareto distribution). Methods: analytical methods of probability theory, statistical test method, statistical processing of empirical data. Object: petroleum basins, oil and gas reserves of pools and fields, number of pools in each field, laws governing the distribution of the sizes of oil and gas fields. Results. It was shown that the power-law probability distribution (the classical Pareto distribution, the truncated Pareto distribution) cannot be used as the distribution of sizes of both oil and gas fields and pools. By using statistical testing procedures, the conditional probabilistic distributions of the sizes of oil and gas fields were obtained for a fixed number of pools. Based on the processing of empirical data for four largest petroleum provinces of Russia (Volga-Ural, West Siberian, Timan-Pechora and North Caucasian), we obtained estimates of the distribution of the number of oil and gas pools in each field. The law governing the distribution of the sizes of oil and gas fields was obtained using the law of size distribution of oil and gas pools (truncated Pareto distribution). It was shown that this probability distribution, not being, strictly speaking, a power law, turns out to be very close to it. Key words: Petroleum province, hydrocarbon accumulations, pools, fields, probabilistic distribution of sizes of oil and gas pools and fields, classical Pareto distribution, truncated Pareto distribution.

The relationship between OA and osteoporosis characteristics remains controversial. This study revealed that age-adjusted hand OA is associated with lower hand/arm BMD levels. Wrist fracture occurrence is associated with increased OA hand scores and low arm BMD. Conversely, age-adjusted knee and spine OA is associated with high spine, hip, and total BMDs. Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis are two common musculoskeletal diseases which contribute a high burden of disability, yet assessments of their relationship remains controversial. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between bone mineral densities (BMD) of the hand, arm, spine, hip, and total body, and OA of the hand and knee and lumbar disc degeneration in two different ethnic groups. Radiographic assessments of the hand, knee, and spine were collected and coded for joint space narrowing, osteophytes, and the Kellgren-Lawrence score from Chuvashian (n = 1504) and British (n = 2280) individuals. BMD measurements of standard skeletal sites were estimated by dual X-ray absorptiometry. Age- and familial-adjusted regression analyses were conducted to determine associations. Knee OA affection was positively associated with elevated hip, spine, and total body BMD levels (p

The authors of the study analyze various definitions of chronic heart failure (CHF). CHF, having many faces, despite the consensus concerning the paradigm of its pathogenesis, is given different definitions, using both the syndromic and nosological approaches. Most authors share a view of CHF as the final stage (outcome or complication) of many diseases in which there is impairment of ventricular filling or ejection of blood, i.e. as a syndrome, and not an independent nosological form. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the XXI century leading Russian specialists in heart failure presented a reasoned point of view on CHF not only as the final stage of the cardiovascular continuum, complicating the course of a disease of the cardiovascular system, but also as an independent nosological form. This approach, which contradicts the standard rules for the formulation of the final clinical and pathological diagnoses, as well as the agreed positions of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, has been the subject of reasonable criticism. Since the identification of the underlying cause of heart failure is crucial for therapeutic reasons, the only correct view is that of CHF as a syndrome, the detailed description of which in clinical diagnosis is an important intranosological characteristic that allows building the most effective differentiated therapy and accurately determining the prognosis of the disease.

Age-related hearing impairment (ARHI) is very common in older adults and has major impact on quality of life. The heritability of ARHI has been estimated to be around 50%. The present study aimed to estimate heritability and environmental contributions to liability of ARHI and the extent to which a polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from a recent genome-wide association study of questionnaire items regarding hearing loss using the UK Biobank is predictive of hearing loss in other samples. We examined (1) a sample from TwinsUK who have had hearing ability measured by pure-tone audiogram and the speech-to-noise ratio test as well as questionnaire measures that are comparable with the UK Biobank questionnaire items and (2) European and non-European samples from the UK Biobank which were not part of the original GWAS. Results indicated that the questionnaire items were over 50% heritable in TwinsUK and comparable with the objective hearing measures. In addition, we found very high genetic correlation (0.30–0.84) between the questionnaire responses and objective hearing measures in the TwinsUK sample. Finally, PRS computed from weighted UK Biobank GWAS results were predictive of both questionnaire and objective measures of hearing loss in the TwinsUK sample, as well as questionnaire-measured hearing loss in Europeans but not non-European subpopulations. These results demonstrate the utility of questionnaire-based methods in genetic association studies of hearing loss in adults and highlight the differences in genetic predisposition to ARHI by ethnic background.

Background Emerging evidence suggests that dysbiosis, imbalanced gut microbial community, might be a key player in the development of various diseases, including inflammatory arthropathies, such as rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis (mainly, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis), and osteoarthritis. Yet, the underlying mechanisms and corresponding interactions remain poorly understood. Methods We conducted a critical and extensive literature review to explore the association between dysbiosis and the development of inflammatory arthropathies. We also reviewed the literature to assess the perspectives that ameliorate inflammatory arthropathies by manipulating the microbiota with probiotics, prebiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation. Results Some bacterial species (e.g. Prevotella, Citrobacter rodentium, Collinsella aerofaciens, Segmented filamentous bacteria) participate in the creation of the pro-inflammatory immune status, presumably via epitope mimicry, modification of self-antigens, enhanced cell apoptosis mechanisms, and destruction of tight junction proteins and intestinal barrier integrity, all leading to the development and maintainance of inflammatory arthropathies. Whether dysbiosis is an epiphenomenon or is an active driver of these disorders remains unclear, yet, recent observations clearly suggest that dysbiosis precedes and triggers their development implying a causative relationship between dysbiosis and inflammatory arthropathies. The underlying mechanisms include dysbiosis-mediated changes in the functional activity of the intestinal immune cell subsets, such as innate lymphoid cells, mucosa-associated invariant T cells, invariant natural killer T cells, T-follicular helper and T-regulatory cells. In turn, disturbed functionality of the gut-associated immune system is shown to promote the overgrowth of many bacteria, thus establishing a detrimental vicious circle of actively maintaining arthritis. Conclusions Analysis of the data described in the review supports the notion that a close, dynamic and tightly regulated cross talk between dysbiosis and the gut-associated immune system governs the development of inflammatory arthropathies.

This article considers the most important aspects of the development of the oil and gas complex of Russia. The exhausted paradigm of development of the country’s raw material base should be changed to prevent a drop in oil production in Russia. The sedimentary basins in the shelves of the Russian part of the Arctic Ocean, poorly studied provinces on land, and unique unconventional oil deposits (Bazhenov, Domanik, Khadum, Kuonam, and other formations) should be primarily used to search for oil deposits in the twenty-first century. In addition, the focus should be on the small and smallest reserves of mature oil-and-gas provinces that should be developed by attracting small and medium-sized enterprises that can provide up to 20% of oil production in the country in the near future. Priority technological tasks to switch the Russian oil and gas complex from extensive to intensive development are formulated.

Toll-like receptor 4 (encoded by TLR4 gene) has a variety of functions, including tissue homeostasis, regulation of cell death and survival via activation of signaling pathways which lead to interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) activation and type I interferon production. TLR4 may have a crucial role in pathogenesis of complex and infectious diseases. Functional polymorphism TLR4 +3725G/C substitution (rs11536889) leads to faster transcript degradation and receptors number decrease. The study investigated TLR4 rs11536889 genotype and allele distribution in healthy volunteers from Ukraine (n = 155), autoimmune hepatitis (AH) children (n = 56) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC) adult patients with various fibrosis severity stages (n = 78). Genotyping was performed by allele-specific PCR. The obtained genotype frequencies in Ukrainian population were: GG genotype—0.813, GC—0.168, CC—0.019 and showed no significant deviation from the ones expected according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. AH and CHC patients were divided according to METAVIR fibrosis score into two groups—with stages F1–F2, and with F3–F4. The frequency of rs11536889 C allele carriers were higher in the group of AH patients with F3–F4 (0.179) comparing to patients with F1–F2 (0.071). This data did not reach the threshold for significance but showed a trend toward association between C allele carriers and higher fibrosis degree. Moreover, the significantly (p < 0.05) higher frequency of C allele carriers was observed in CHC patients with higher fibrosis degree (0.400) compared to patients with lower degree (0.057). Severe liver damage risk in such individuals is 11 increased (OR = 11.11, 95% CI: 2.70–45.66). Thus, TLR4 rs11536889 C allele is associated with higher level of fibrotic liver damage in patients with chronic hepatitis.

Graft-versus-host diseases (GVHD) is one of most significant complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT). T-cell activation is a major stage in the GVHD pathogenesis. T-cells require 2 signals for activation: cognate antigen/MHC binding T-cell receptors and positive costimulatory signals from antigen-presenting cells (APC). The predominant positive costimulatory signal to human CD4 T0-cells comes through the CD28 receptor. This signal can be blocked by fusion proteins (such as CTLA4-Ig). Abatacept is a soluble fusion protein, which links the extracellular domain of human CTLA-4 to the modified Fc portion of human IgG1. We present results of single-center prospective randomized study to evaluate the efficacy of adding abatacept to the GVHD prophylaxis protocol after hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with non-malignant diseases. Study was approved by Ethics Committee and Scientific Council of the Institute (protocol # 9/2013 from 01.10.2013). During 4 years we included 62 patients, 30 of them received abatacept as additional agent. Cumulative incidence of acute GVHD was significantly lower in this group in compare with control group (p = 0,018). When we stratified patients in dependents of graft processing technology, we did not see any advantages of abatacept in patients after transplantation with TCRαβ+/СD19+ graft depletion. However, after HSCT with non-manipulated graft the abatacept showed significant efficacy in aGVHD prophylaxis compared with control group (p = 0,024). Abatacept can be recommended as effective additional agent for GVHD prophylaxis after allogeneic HSCT in patients with non-malignant diseases.

The development of low back pain (LBP) is often associated with obesity and sarcopenia. However, the mechanisms of this association remain unclear. To clarify this, we measured circulating levels of a selected panel of soluble factors, presumably involved in obesity and sarcopenia pathogenesis, and correlated them with several LBP-related characteristics, taking into account body composition and other relevant covariates. In the cross-sectional study of 1078 individuals, we collected data on self-reported LBP, body composition (including fat and skeletal muscle mass) assessed by the bioimpedance method and anthropometrically, and measured plasma levels of several cytokines by ELISA. In the statistical analysis, we took into account familial composition of the sample and possible putative genetic effects. We report that LBP-affected individuals were significantly older, with increased obesity and decreased skeletal mass, respectively, compared with the non-affected group. In univariate analyses, plasma concentrations of Growth and differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), leptin, chemerin and follistatin were found significantly elevated in the LBP-affected groups (with or without sciatic pain) and were highly significantly (p 0.001) associated with other LBP-related phenotypes, specifically, disease duration, disability and physician consults. However, after adjustment for one another, age, sex, body composition and putative genetic factors, the only associations between GDF-15 and LBP disability and medical consulting phenotypes, remained significant. In conclusion, we report for the first time, a significant and independent association between plasma GDF-15 concentrations and LBP-associated disability. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether GDF-15 could be a novel therapeutic target for prevention and/or treatment of LBP.

Modern science becomes more complex day after day. Besides, there appeared many unpredictable links between different subjects, which we never expected to be connected. This is called ‘interdisciplinary’ science. For example, just occasionally we found common points in the simulation of the starting input for optical and architectural design, and moreover, we discovered a lot of similar procedures in both of them. Basing on the analysis of these two fields of knowledge, as well as using optical expert and architectural expert evaluations, we propose an approach to build a heuristic algorithm for computer aided design in these two fields. Later, we expect that it grows into a set of expert systems under the roof of artificial intelligence. We see in the near future a prospective of using new technology in design–building information modeling, which could be expanded from architectural design to optical design, etc. Besides, this is our first experience in this field. We consider that it is possible to widen it further to other subjects. The main ideas of this approach are presented.

The article discusses the development of an information system (IS) simulation model in order to determine the parameters of the designed system. The designed IS is considered as a virtual machine with preinstalled processing multimedia data software. As the initial data for building a simulation model, it is proposed to take the minimum or specified parameters of the hardware platform, such as the number of cores, the amount of RAM, and others.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a severe genetic hemoglobin disorder that results in premature destruction of red blood cells. Assessment of the severity of the disease is a challenging task in clinical routine since the causes of broad variance in SCD manifestation despite the common genetic cause remain unclear. Identification of the biomarkers that would predict the severity grade is of importance for prognosis and assessment of responsiveness of patients to therapy. Detection of the changes in red blood cell (RBC) density through separation of Percoll density gradient could be such marker as it allows to resolve intercellular differences and follow the most damaged dense cells prone to destruction and vaso-occlusion. Quantification of the images obtained from the distribution of RBCs in Percoll gradient and interpretation of the obtained is an important prerequisite for establishment of this approach. Here, we propose a novel approach combining a graph convolutional network, a convolutional neural network, fast Fourier transform, and recursive feature elimination to predict the severity of SCD directly from a Percoll image. Two important but expensive laboratory blood test parameters measurements are used for training the graph convolutional network. To make the model independent from such tests during prediction, the two parameters are estimated by a neural network from the Percoll image directly. On a cohort of 216 subjects, we achieve a prediction performance that is only slightly below an approach where the groundtruth laboratory measurements are used. Our proposed method is the first computational approach for the difficult task of SCD severity prediction. The two-step approach relies solely on inexpensive and simple blood analysis tools and can have a significant impact on the patients' survival in underdeveloped countries where access to medical instruments and doctors is limited, Accepted for publication at MICCAI 2021 workshop on aFfordable healthcare and AI for Resource diverse global health (FAIR)

Distributed Virtual Private Networks (dVPNs) are new solutions aiming to solve the trust-privacy concern of a VPN's central authority by leveraging a distributed architecture. In this paper, we discuss the requirements of a successful dVPN system and we present VPN-Zero: a dVPN system with strong privacy guarantees that provides traffic accounting and has minimal performance impact on its users. VPN-Zero guarantees that a dVPN node only carries traffic it has “allowlisted”, without revealing its allowlist or knowing the traffic it tunnels. This is achieved via three main innovations: (a) an attestation mechanism which leverages TLS to certify a user visit to a specific domain, (b) a zero-knowledge proof to certify that some incoming traffic is authorized (e.g., falls in a node's allowlist, without disclosing the target domain), and (c) a dynamic chain of VPN tunnels to both increase privacy and guarantee service continuation while traffic certification is in place. The paper demonstrates VPN-Zero functioning when integrated with two production systems: BitTorrent's Distributed Hash Table and ProtonVPN. Early evaluation results show that the median setup time of VPN-Zero is about 10 seconds.

Accurate web measurement is critical for understanding and improving security and privacy online. Such measurements implicitly assume that automated crawls generalize to typical web user experience. But anecdotal evidence suggests the web behaves differently when seen via well-known measurement endpoints or measurement automation frameworks, for various reasons. Our work improves the state of web privacy and security by investigating how key measurements differ when using naive crawling tool defaults vs. careful attempts to match “real” users across the Tranco top 25k web domains. We find web privacy and security measurements significantly affected by vantage point and browser configuration. We conclude that unless researchers ensure their web measurement tools match real world user experience, the research community is likely missing important signals systematically. For example, we find browser configuration alone causing shifts in 19% of known ad and tracking domains encountered and altering the loading frequency of up to 10% of distinct JavaScript code units executed. We find network vantage point having similar, though less dramatic, effects on the same web metrics. To ensure reproducibility, we carefully document our methodology and publish both our code and collected data.

Objective To present a hypothesis on a novel strategy in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). Design A narrative review. Setting FM as a disease remains a challenging concept for numerous reasons, including undefined etiopathogenesis, unclear triggers, and unsuccessful treatment modalities. We hypothesize that the inflammatome, the entire set of molecules involved in inflammation, acting as a common pathophysiological instrument of gut dysbiosis, sarcopenia, and neuroinflammation, is one of the major mechanisms underlying FM pathogenesis. In this setup, dysbiosis is proposed as the primary trigger of the inflammatome, sarcopenia as the peripheral nociceptive source, and neuroinflammation as the central mechanism of pain sensitization, transmission, and symptomatology of FM. Whereas neuroinflammation is highly considered as a critical deleterious element in FM pathogenesis, the presumed pathogenic roles of sarcopenia and systemic inflammation remain controversial. Nevertheless, sarcopenia-associated processes and dysbiosis have been recently detected in individuals with FM. The prevalence of pro-inflammatory factors in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood has been repeatedly observed in individuals with FM, which supports the idea of a role of the inflammatome in FM pathogenesis. As such, failed inflammation resolution might be one of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Accordingly, the application of specialized, inflammation pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) seems most suitable for this goal. Conclusions The capability of various SPMs to prevent and attenuate pain has been repeatedly demonstrated in laboratory animal experiments. As SPMs suppress inflammation in a manner that does not compromise host defense, they could be attractive and safe candidates for the alleviation of FM symptomatology, probably in combination with anti-dysbiotic medicine.

Immunocompromised patients, including HSCT recipients, may have a poor prognosis after contracting COVID-19 due to the absence of a pathogen-specific adaptive immune response. One of the possible options for severe COVID-19 treatment may be the transfusion of hyperimmune SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma. A 9-month-old girl with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia received an HSCT from a haploidentical donor. On day +99, during routine virologic monitoring, SARS-CoV-2 was detected without any clinical symptoms. On day +144, the child developed a polysegmental bilateral viral pneumonia with 60 % damage to the lung tissue and confirm a positive SARS-Cov-2 results in throat swab. The patient was treated with tocilizumab and three doses of fresh frozen plasma obtained from a SARS-CoV-2 convalescent patient. Therapy with tocilizumab and three doses of fresh frozen plasma was well tolerated. In spite of full resolution of the lung lesions, complete elimination of SARS-CoV-2 has not been achieved 4 months after the first detection, which is due to persistence of secondary immunodeficiency after HSCT and the lack of reconstitution of the adaptive immune response. This case represents a demonstration of an atypical course of COVID-19 and the delayed development of lung lesions, which was most likely associated with the features of the patient's immune status after HSCT. SARS-CoV-2 convalescent plasma in combination with other therapeutic approaches is one of the possible curative options for this clinical situation.

Hereditary hemolytic anemias are genetic disorders that affect the shape and density of red blood cells. Genetic tests currently used to diagnose such anemias are expensive and unavailable in the majority of clinical labs. Here, we propose a method for identifying hereditary hemolytic anemias based on a standard biochemistry method, called Percoll gradient, obtained by centrifuging a patient's blood. Our hybrid approach consists on using spatial data-driven features, extracted with a convolutional neural network and spectral handcrafted features obtained from fast Fourier transform. We compare late and early feature fusion with AlexNet and VGG16 architectures. AlexNet with late fusion of spectral features performs better compared to other approaches. We achieved an average F1-score of 88% on different classes suggesting the possibility of diagnosing of hereditary hemolytic anemias from Percoll gradients. Finally, we utilize Grad-CAM to explore the spatial features used for classification., Comment: Accepted for publication at the 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2021)

This paper reports on strategies to determine optimal sets of optical fabrication technologies (OFT) for given optical elements, to be applied in optical fabrication chains. For this purpose, optical systems are categorized and linked to critical characteristics of optical fabrication technologies, which are determined by a methodical analysis of their processing parameters.

The chapter analyzes the impact of the training system in the field of cyber-physical production processes for the oil industry of the Samara region. Mathematical models in the form of the production function are Cobb–Douglas linking the efficiency of the petrochemical cluster of indicators of activities supporting the University in the Samara region. On the obtained mathematical models the forecast for oil production and refining volumes is shown, depending on the training of qualified specialists in the university taking into account the regular nature of economic conditions. Based on the DEA (Data envelopment Analysis) methodology, in the period under review, the comparative performance indicators of the oil industry in the Samara region as a cyber-physical production system are evaluated.

We assessed the predictive ability of a combined genetic variant panel for the risk of recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) through a case-control study. Our study sample was from Ukraine and included 114 cases with idiopathic RPL and 106 controls without any pregnancy losses/complications and with at least one healthy child. We genotyped variants within 12 genetic loci reflecting the main biological pathways involved in pregnancy maintenance: blood coagulation (F2, F5, F7, GP1A), hormonal regulation (ESR1, ADRB2), endometrium and placental function (ENOS, ACE), folate metabolism (MTHFR) and inflammatory response (IL6, IL8, IL10). We showed that a genetic risk score (GRS) calculated from the 12 variants was associated with an increased risk of RPL (odds ratio 1.56, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.04, p = 8.7 &times, 10&minus, 4). The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.72), indicating an improved ability of the GRS to classify women with and without RPL. &Iota, mplementation of the GRS approach can help define women at higher risk of complex multifactorial conditions such as RPL. Future well-powered genome-wide association studies will help in dissecting biological pathways previously unknown for RPL and further improve the identification of women with RPL susceptibility.

We study gain switching of the broad-stripe InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers and show that the ratio of ground and excited states emission varies with the lateral position at the laser facet.

In this paper, a new concept to design responsive radio communication jammer based on microwave photonics approach is proposed and discussed. After studying the common design principles and distinctive features of the available all-electronics radio communication jammers we highlight a microwave-photonics-based radio communication jammer including optoelectronic processor with all-optical processing. To confirm the performability and advantages of the proposed concept, a MATLAB-based proof-of-concept modeling experiments are carried out using realistic digital radio communication signals that allow us to determine optimal structure of the optical delay line inside the optoelectronic processor and demonstrate the device's reaction rate as small as near $1\ \mu\mathrm{s}$ .

User demand for blocking advertising and tracking online is large and growing. Existing tools, both deployed and described in research, have proven useful, but lack either the completeness or robustness needed for a general solution. Existing detection approaches generally focus on only one aspect of advertising or tracking (e.g. URL patterns, code structure), making existing approaches susceptible to evasion. In this work we present AdGraph, a novel graph-based machine learning approach for detecting advertising and tracking resources on the web. AdGraph differs from existing approaches by building a graph representation of the HTML structure, network requests, and JavaScript behavior of a webpage, and using this unique representation to train a classifier for identifying advertising and tracking resources. Because AdGraph considers many aspects of the context a network request takes place in, it is less susceptible to the single-factor evasion techniques that flummox existing approaches. We evaluate AdGraph on the Alexa top-10K websites, and find that it is highly accurate, able to replicate the labels of human-generated filter lists with 95.33% accuracy, and can even identify many mistakes in filter lists. We implement AdGraph as a modification to Chromium. AdGraph adds only minor overhead to page loading and execution, and is actually faster than stock Chromium on 42% of websites and AdBlock Plus on 78% of websites. Overall, we conclude that AdGraph is both accurate enough and performant enough for online use, breaking comparable or fewer websites than popular filter list based approaches., To appear in the Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Security & Privacy, May 2020

Bevz T. I., Martynyuk G. A., Livshits L. A., Demchyshyn Y. M. Laboratory-biochemical features of the course of chronic hepatitis C with polymorphism rs11536889 + 3725G/C of TLR-4 gene. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2020;10(4):254-261. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2020.10.04.028 https://apcz.umk.pl/czasopisma/index.php/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2020.10.04.028 https://zenodo.org/record/4002496 The journal has had 5 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. § 8. 2) and § 12. 1. 2) 22.02.2019. © The Authors 2020; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 06.04.2020. Revised: 23.04.2020. Accepted: 30.04.2020. LABORATORY-BIOCHEMICAL FEATURES OF THE COURSE OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS C WITH POLYMORPHISM rs11536889 + 3725G/C OF TLR-4 GENE T. I. Bevz1, G. A. Martynyuk2, L. A. Livshits3, Y. M. Demchyshyn1 1National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsya, Ukraine 2Central city hospital, Rivne, Ukraine 3Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, NAS of Ukraine Abstract Chronic HCV infection remains as a global health problem due to its wide prevalence, latent course without clinical manifestations, development of liver fibrosis with the eventual formation of cirrhosis and liver cancer, which largely leads to poor prognosis and short survival of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to study in more detail the risk factors for adverse events, as their modification which may improve the prognosis and clinical consequences for patients with CHC. The article considers the changes of the main biochemical markers of liver damage and their dependence with the rs11536889 + 3725G/C polymorphism of the TLR-4 gene. Key words: HCV; chronic hepatitis C; cytolysis; cholestasis; hepatocellular insufficiency; TLR-4

Funding the production of quality online content is a pressing problem for content producers. The most common funding method, online advertising, is rife with well-known performance and privacy harms, and an intractable subject-agent conflict: many users do not want to see advertisements, depriving the site of needed funding. Because of these negative aspects of advertisement-based funding, paywalls are an increasingly popular alternative for websites. This shift to a “pay-for-access” web is one that has potentially huge implications for the web and society. Instead of a system where information (nominally) flows freely, paywalls create a web where high quality information is available to fewer and fewer people, leaving the rest of the web users with less information, that might be also less accurate and of lower quality. Despite the potential significance of a move from an “advertising-but-open” web to a “paywalled” web, we find this issue understudied. This work addresses this gap in our understanding by measuring how widely paywalls have been adopted, what kinds of sites use paywalls, and the distribution of policies enforced by paywalls. A partial list of our findings include that (i) paywall use has increased, and at an increasing rate (2 × more paywalls every 6 months), (ii) paywall adoption differs by country (e.g., 18.75% in US, 12.69% in Australia), (iii) paywall deployment significantly changes how users interact with the site (e.g., higher bounce rates, less incoming links), (iv) the median cost of an annual paywall access is 108 USD per site, and (v) paywalls are in general trivial to circumvent. Finally, we present the design of a novel, automated system for detecting whether a site uses a paywall, through the combination of runtime browser instrumentation and repeated programmatic interactions with the site. We intend this classifier to augment future, longitudinal measurements of paywall use and behavior.

Taking into account the increase in the level of cardiovascular diseases in recent decades, the clinician faces the task of attempting to make the fastest possible diagnosis of the pathology at its earliest stages. That is why the aim of our work was to identify the main groups of biological markers, and to separate the role of each of them in the assessment of the risk of development, progression and possible complications of cardiovascular diseases. We have given the main working classification of markers of cardiovascular processes with the allocation of their main types, as well as the basic criteria for the “ideal” biological marker. Finally, an attempt was made to structure biomarkers depending on their molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis in the development of a particular pathology. All these data should help the clinician at the stage of early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

The era of gene therapy has begun. In recent years, potentially breakthrough datasets and rapidly expanding company pipelines have begun to overshadow the unfulfilled promise characteristic of the gene therapy sector in decades prior. One barometer for progress in the space can be seen in stock markets, where NASDAQ-listed in vivo gene therapy companies we follow have increased from 4 companies with $1.9 billion in market capitalization on January 31, 2014, to 24 companies with $30.5 billion in market capitalization on October 31, 2018. For many in the financial community, a tangible signal for the emergence of the broader gene therapy space is the recent notable mergers and acquisitions activity, a signal that previously heralded the arrival of blockbuster biotechnologies like monoclonal antibodies. Notably, Novartis' $8.7 billion acquisition of in vivo adeno-associated virus 9–based gene therapy player, AveXis, earlier this year has focused many on looking for new investment opportunities in the space, thereby increasing interest in the valuation of gene therapy companies. This perspective discusses the theoretical underpinnings of company valuation and explains why traditional approaches have limitations when valuing in vivo gene therapy companies, which produce single treatments that may achieve durable or curative benefits. We use the AveXis case study to illustrate certain points on the valuation of breakthrough innovation that we think have broader applicability throughout the in vivo gene therapy space. This publication is the first in a three-part series. Future discussions in this series on in vivo gene therapy companies will explore real-world approaches and considerations that have already proven successful in mitigating the limitations of traditional valuation approaches as well as those that may soon emerge.

Much experience in practical optical systems design (over 40 years for each author) gives us the perspective to discuss recent trends in advanced optical technologies. We give an ontology of its development and try to make a forecast for the near future, which will be useful for beginners as well as professionals in this complex field.

This paper considers the prospects of creating steam–gas thermoelectric plants for power supply to microdistricts and towns remote from centralized power plants. We propose a new type of thermoelectric plants with a waste heat boiler of medium steam parameters and an afterburner section located between its evaporation stages. It has been shown that fuel afterburning increases electric and thermal power and the specific electric power production at heat consumption.

Transparent conductive networks are important for flexible electronics and solar cells. Often interwire (junction) conductivity is the limiting factor for network conductivity and can be improved by various treatments. The conductivity of individual junctions in a single walled carbon nanotube network was measured by conductive atomic force microscopy before and after exposure to nitric acid. The measurements show that this exposure improves the conductivity of each one of the junctions within the network. Our results suggest that the acid improves the conductivity by p-type charge transfer doping and by surfactant degradation.

Cavernous malformation (CM) is a rare vascular disorder of the brain in children. Its prevalence in the general population is in the range of 0.1 to 0.9%, with about one quarter of cases occurring in children. This descriptive review presents an analysis of 17 publications in English and Russian literature on the series of children with cavernomas of the central nervous system and describes their etiology, pathophysiology, clinical particulars, and methods of diagnosis, management, prognosis and outcomes in pediatric practice. In most of the published studies, surgery was performed for 35.3 to 100% of the CM diagnosed during a hemorrhage. The indications for surgical management of CM have been poorly described, and this issue remains unresolved so far. There is also no consensus on the treatment strategy for deeply located cavernomas (brainstem, thalamus and basal ganglia), asymptomatic supratentorial cavernomas and CM located in the functionally important zones of the cortex. Criteria for determination of the intervention volume in patients with CM and symptomatic epilepsy have not been determined, as well. All these issues require further evaluation in multicenter randomized trials.