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Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare complication of viral pneumonia. The prevalence of pneumomediastinum among coronavirus infection patients is unknown.Subjects and methods. Three cases of spontaneous pneumomediastinum among the COVID-19 pneumonia patients were analyzed. The researchers investigated and compared clinical, radiological and laboratory data.Results. According to the research results, no correlation was found between the development of pneumomediastinum and changes in values of blood laboratory tests. As well as there were no signs of correlation between drug treatment and pneumomediastinum frequency.Conclusion: The researchers suggest that the leading cause of spontaneous pneumomediastinum is viral pneumonia-associated severe alveolar damage.

Introduction: Changes in hormonal status in patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness (PDC) remain poorly understood. There are no studies devoted to the investigation of prognostic value of hormonal changes to predict the outcome which is primarily due to a relatively small number of patients, different variants of structural brain disorders in vegetative state (VS) patients, concomitant somatic pathology including typical complications.The objective: to study the correlation between outcomes in VS patients with hormonal status and the level of natriuretic peptide. Subjects and methods. 275 patients in VS were examined for the time period from 2007 to 2017. 152 patients had sequela of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 123 patients suffered from hypoxic brain damage. All patients matched the international criteria of VS diagnosis. In all patients, blood samples were collected during the first week after admission to ICU to test hormones and natriuretic peptide levels. ACTH, cortisol, TSH, free T3 and T4 , STH, prolactin and natriuretic peptide were tested in the period from 2 to 4 months of staying in VS. In men, the level of total testosterone, LH and FSH was additionally tested. The obtained data were compared with VS outcome.Results. The tested hormones were stably insufficient only in few VS patients. None of the tested hormones of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis made a reliable criterion for predicting VS outcome. The tendency of disrupted rhythm of cortisol secretion was found to be most frequent and consistent, with higher rates in the evening hours. The average value of STH was higher in men with sequela of traumatic brain injury who had recovered consciousness versus those who remained in VS. A significant decrease in testosterone levels, regardless of age, was found in the patients with TBI sequela. Mean levels of LH were higher in patients with TBI sequela and hypoxia who remained unconscious versus patients who later restored consciousness. The average level of FSH was higher in patients who had recovered consciousness compared to those who remained in chronic VS. The increased level of natriuretic peptide was observed both in patients who remained in chronic VS and in those who restored consciousness.Conclusions. When investigating levels of certain hormones, no specific endocrine background characterizing this category of patients was found. Abnormal rhythms of some hormones secretion, in particular cortisol, can be considered typical of VS patients especially patients with TBI sequela.

According to the national radwaste management programme, low and intermediate level wastes originating from nuclear power plant (NPP) operation, from the nuclear fuel cycle and from the application of radioisotopes in medicine, industry and research are centrally collected and transported for disposal at 16 special repositories. Packagings and conveyances for these purposes are discussed. A concept of regional repositories and transport of wastes from NPPs and the Navy is also considered together with transport packagings and transport methods.

Development of hydrocarbon resources in the sea area of oil-and-gas-bearing provinces is considered nowadays as the most promising trend of growth of the mineral resources base and it is one of the basic investment trends for leading oil and gas companies of the world. In this context it is quite challenging to develop the southern regions of Russia, water areas of the Black sea in particular, where geological exploration is carried out actively at the moment.