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Institutionalized children are often deprived of affective touch. Such tactile deprivation often leads to constant stress, as measured by the levels of salivary cortisol. We report here the impact of an affective touch program, optimized to activate a specific population of unmyelinated mechanosensitive nerves in the skin called c-tactile afferents (CT) on stress resistance. Two populations of children (age 4-10) were recruited: (i) a cohort living in an orphanage and (ii) a fostered cohort. Both groups received the affective touch program daily for 10-15 min for 5-6 weeks. A cohort of age-matched children living in a family environment acted as a control group and did not receive any instructions for tactile stimulation. Salivary cortisol was collected at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the study in all three groups. For institutionalized and fostered children there was a significant improvement in the level of cortisol (p < 0.0001) between T1 and T2, which is manifested in the balancing cortisol levels: a decrease where it was elevated and an increase, where the critically low level testified to the distress of the child. Balancing cortisol levels is a process of recovery to normal values, which indicates the restoration of neurohumoral mechanisms of stress regulation. The effect of balancing cortisol levels was more pronounced in the group of fostered children compared to the group of orphanage children (p = 0.0326). The children in the control group had no significant differences., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The range of digital technologies that children use from an early age has expanded significantly. Most studies demonstrate that preschoolers now spend substantially longer on digital devices and start using them at a younger age. Finding a solution for this challenge has research merits and relevance, as the data on benefits and harm of early preschoolers' exposure to digital devices is contradictory. This poses a need to determine theoretically sound and practically validated criteria that could guide the duration and quality of children's exposure to the digital environment., Objective: To review studies that contain recommendations on preschoolers' exposure to the digital environment, namely, exposure limits and evidence to justify the limitation of preschoolers' time on digital media., Design: The analysis starts by identifying theoretical foundations that researchers use in their studies of children's behavior in the digital environment. This is followed by an overview of 40 studies that include research papers, official reports, and methodological recommendations made by healthcare and governmental organizations., Results: The review identified the following ground rules for children's exposure to the digital environment: to provide for child's interaction with a digital device, to use educational applications that will develop skills appropriate to the child's age, to ensure mandatory supervision of children's engagement by an adult who limits the exposure according to child's age-related capabilities and creates conditions for active exploration of the real rather than a virtual world. Children's cognitive development suffers the most from passive intake of digital content., Conclusion: The data herein can help to develop strategies to promote healthy and educational engagement of children with digital devices and media; however, the review highlights the insufficiency of psychophysiological research that would make it possible to practically validate the recommendations on the duration of preschoolers' exposure to the digital environment., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© Lomonosov Moscow State University, 2023© Russian Psychological Society, 2023.)

Background: To date, fewer than 20 patients have been identified as having germline biallelic mutations in the coronin-1A gene ( CORO1A ) and its protein with clinical features of combined immunodeficiency characterized by T-cell lymphopenia ranging from the severe phenotype to the mild phenotype, recurrent infections, and lymphoproliferative disorders. However, the effects of CORO1A protein disruption on actin-dependent functions in primary cells have not been fully delineated., Objective: We sought to characterize the underlying defects of actin-dependent cellular functions in a female patient with combined immunodeficiency caused by a novel missense variant in the CORO1A gene in combination with a de novo heterozygous microdeletion of chromosome 16p11.2 and also to provide evidence of the pathogenicity of this gene mutation., Methods: To identify the genetic defect, next-generation sequencing followed by Sanger confirmation and array comparative genomic hybridization were performed. Western blot and quantitative PCR tests were used to assess the effects on the protein. Flow cytometry and live microscopy were performed to investigate cellular motility and immune cell counts and function., Results: We demonstrated that the CORO1A hemizygous variant c.19C>T, p. A7C induces significant decreases in cellular levels of the CORO1A protein while leaving mRNA concentrations unaffected. The observed mutation resulted in impaired natural killer cell cytotoxicity and platelet calcium signaling. In addition, primary granulocytes and mesenchymal cells showed significant defects in motility., Conclusion: Collectively, we added new data about the CORO1A gene as a key player in actin cytoskeleton dynamics and cell signaling. Our findings expand the clinical spectrum regarding CORO1A protein deficiency and confirm the importance of a personalized therapeutic approach for each patient., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: We analyzed the hypothesis that the vestibular and auditory systems are integrative functions., Methods: The study involved 383 children (5.5 ± 2.4 years old). We assessed the conduct of auditory information by recording the auditory brain stem response (ABR), post-rotational nystagmus (PRN), and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMP), and calculated the integration of the parameters. All procedures were carried out using the JACOBI 4 software package., Results: We have found out that PRN, ABR, and cVEMP represent three different groups of integrative functions, each of which is conditioned by its own integrative mechanism. We have proven that PRN and ABR are associated with age, but no relationship was found between cVEMP and age., Conclusion: According to our data, the severity of ABR and PRN depended on age, while cVEMP was not associated with age. The functional immaturity of the child's vestibular system, which probably arose in utero, often becomes apparent only at school when reading and writing must be mastered. These skills require maturity of both the vestibule ocular and vestibule spinal functions of the vestibular system.

The development of modern society is characterized by an increase in the volume and changing forms of information presentation. In the works of Russian and foreign gerontologists, it is noted that the perception and analysis of the flow of relevant data today causes difficulties for a significant part of citizens of older age groups, which is due, among other things, to the deterioration of their psychophysiological state. The lack of the ability to use the necessary information negatively affects the quality of life, the level of social adaptation and professional competence. This problem is particularly significant for population groups and professional communities, whose life and activities require the actualization of certain sectors of the information field. Typical examples of such groups are citizens of retirement age who continue professional activities related to the mobilization of intellectual and creative potential, in particular, university teachers. The use of gerontotechnologies contributes to solving the problem, which provides for the development of effective methods for correcting the functional state of elderly citizens, in particular, increasing the ability to perceive information and the level of vital activity. This publication presents the results of an experimental study of the effectiveness of the combined use of peptide bioregulators and massage on the level of professional performance of elderly teachers of a pedagogical university.

The results obtained during the study of antigeneity of inactivated vaccines against hepatitis A ("Avaxim", France; "Hep-A-in-VAC", Russia; "Havrix", Belgium) used in troop units and RF MD institutions are presented in the article. The aim of the investigation is choice of the drug that provides the production of antibody protective levels in maximally short periods. It is very important for the army collectives sent to the zones of armed conflicts and HAV epidemic centres. It is shown that the most acceptable vaccine is "Avaxim" that provides the highest percentage of seroconversion (93.75%) with antibody level not less than 125 mIU/ml. It is recommended to consider this level as the protective one in conditions of army collectives.

Epizootological, serological, and molecular virological analysis of an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in the Egoryevsk district of Moscow region (September 1995-January 1996) has been carried out. Hantavirus (Puumala) antigen and virus-specific antibodies were isolated from bank voles captured in the endemic focus. Anti-Puumala antibodies were detected in the sera of all HFRS patients and in 2% healthy residents of the endemic focus. Analysis of nucleotide sequence (RNA from hantavirus-positive lung of a bank vole) showed that the studied hantavirus is a distinct genotype of Puumala virus. Hence, a new highly active natural focus of HFRS associated with Puumala virus, dangerous for the population, has been revealed in Moscow region.

Aim: To examine the relationship between the vascular response of the microcirculatory bed to vasoactive agents and lipid peroxidation (LPO) and antioxidative defense in patients with unstable angina pectoris., Materials and Methods: Thirty male patients (mean age 58.0 +/- 2.4 years) were examined. The patients were divided into 2 groups: 1) those with high alpha-cholesterolemia alone and 2) those with high alpha-cholesterolemia concurrent with hyperglyceridemia and elevated total cholesterol levels. Photoplethysmographic determination was used to evaluate vascular responses to norepinephrine (vasopressor function) and histamine (vasodilating function), the blood levels of cortisol, LPO products, antioxidative protection components, histamine, and serotonin., Results: Vascular dilating function was found to be most pronounced in Group 1. Moreover, Group 1 patients had a significant depression of the antioxidative defense system and the highest blood levels of cortisol, and serotonin. The levels of LPO products did not differ significantly in both groups though they were significantly higher than those in healthy individuals., Conclusion: Impairment in the antioxidant system and in coordination of vasodilating function to histamine stimulation are typical of patients with unstable angina.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationships between brain hemisphere predominance and disturbance of lipid metabolism in atherosclerosis in different ethnic groups. Three groups of subjects were examined: 52 healthy Selkups (the isolated ethnic population of the Far North), 50 healthy Russian men, living in Novosibirsk, and 78 Russian men, living in Novosibirsk, who had myocardial infarction before the age of 50. Blood cholesterol, low density lypoprotein (LDL) and high density lypoprotein (HDL) levels of the subjects with different brain functional asymmetry were compared. The lack of either hemisphere predominance is the most common among the Selkups. The population of Selkups as a whole showed low concentrations of cholesterol and LDL in comparison with both Russian groups. For all examined groups the pattern of lipid metabolism has been worsened for the subjects showing the left hemisphere predominance. The changes of lipid metabolism indices in subjects with the dominant left hemisphere is discussed.

Seventy-eight men (mean age, 47.0 +/- 1.1 years) who had suffered from myocardial infarction were examined. Blood cholesterol, lipoproteins, triglycerides, insulin and cortisol concentrations were compared in patients with left hemisphere or right hemisphere cerebral dominance. Patients with left hemisphere dominance had more serious disease and much higher levels of blood cholesterol and lipoproteins. Patients with right hemisphere dominance had the highest levels of blood cortisol and insulin. The brain's functional asymmetry may be one of the risk factors for coronary atherosclerosis in subjects under the age of 50 years.

Functional sensorimotor asymmetry (FSMA) was analyzed in 21 healthy volunteers, 19 neurotic patients and 29 patients suffering from alimentary diseases. Among the neurotic patients, there prevailed those with the left profile of FSMA as compared to the group of healthy persons. As to the group of the patients with alimentary diseases, a subgroup of persons with no disturbances of emotional information perception by the neurotic type was distinguished according to the psychophysiological characteristics. Among those persons in the given representative sample, none showed the left and symmetric profiles of FSMA.

Due to the features of its production technology, human leukocyte interferon (HLI) for intranasal administration is likely to contain ovalbumin (OA). Commercial batches of HLI were tested for the presence of OA responsible for the sensitizing effect of HLI given intranasally. The content of OA in commercial batches of HLI was shown to vary widely and to exceed by far the concentrations having the sensitizing effect. As a result of these studies, the upper limit of OA content was established and the technology of HLI production was modified. These measures permitted production of commercial batches of HLI with OA content not exceeding 0.05 micrograms/ml.

The profile of functional sensomotor asymmetry (FSMA) was evaluated by a series of tests and inversion of emotional reflection. Altogether 70 healthy subjects and 114 cardiovascular diseases patients were examined. Among the patients there were 36 subjects with acute myocardial infarction, 28 with coronary heart disease, 26 with borderline hypertension and 24 with neurocirculatory dystonia (NCD). The highest emotional tension was recognized in myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease. NCD patients exhibit the left FSMA profile more frequently than healthy subjects.

The paper presents findings on weekly weight gain in pregnant women as related to constitutional make-ups. Normal and apparently normal pregnant women who were followed up at an antenatal clinic from 7-8 to 40-41 week's gestation have been assigned at the beginning of pregnancy to three weight groups: normal body weight, excessive body weight due to increased fat deposition and deficient body weight. Anthropometric measurements at 7-8, 25-26 and 36-37 weeks showed that weight gain and fat accretion were highest in pregnancies with an initial deficient body weight and lowest in pregnant women with adiposity. Correlation analysis suggested that there was a relationship between the maternal body weight, gestational weight gain and neonatal birthweights. Since women with initial deficient body weights have a wider range of weight gain, as compared with other somatic types, dietary restriction counselling should be cautious and adequate.

This paper presents a criterion for measuring the efficiency of adaptation to an altered environment. The criterion is related to the quantitative evaluation of memory adequacy at early stages of the exposure to a new environment. An improvement in the reproduction of emotional words and a slight deterioration of the recollection of neutral words may be regarded as a prognostically significant criterion of the adaptation success. The lack of an improvement in the reproduction of emotionally important information and a significant deterioration of the recollection of neutral information at early stages of adaptation is an adverse sign predicting a potential failure of the adaptation process.

Case histories of 4 patients with myocardial infarction are given, 3 had ventricular fibrillation during the acute period and one a month later after infarction. When discharged all of them completed a physical training program. They had no rhythm disorders and all returned to work. It is concluded that myocardial infarction cases who had had ventricular fibrillation can achieve complete rehabilitation, if there are no rhythm disorders during exercise. Physical training can be used for rehabilitation.

The results of application of emotional reflection inversion test were juxtaposed to the data of psychiatric investigation of 133 subjects in an out-patient department. The test proved most efficient in detecting the neurotic responses ensuring emotional strain and nonadaptive attitudes. The test is simply used and recommended for mass prophylactic population screening.