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Hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause chronic hepatitis B, one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world. Global estimates suggest that over 2 billion people are affected by HBV, with over 250 million people developing chronic infection. Upon treatment of comorbidities, patients with chronic infection may develop an abrupt increase of viral replication-HBV reactivation-leading to liver decompensation and, in some cases, death. HBV reactivation occurs mostly due to suppression of antiviral immune response and activation of intracellular pro-viral signaling. Defining the mechanisms of HBV reactivation is necessary for the rational use of drugs and reduction of mortality rates in patients with chronic infection. In this study, for the first time we analyzed the effects of HBx protein on HBV reactivation, described reactivation of HBV from the transcriptionally inactivated state at the methylated recombinant HBV genome model, and investigated HBV reactivation upon treatment with genotoxic agents (doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide) and targeted drug therapies (sunitinib and bortezomib). We report that both wild-type HBx protein and, to a greater extent, the mutant form of HBx protein lacking the nuclear exportation signal, potentiate viral replication and promote HBV reactivation. For the first time, we demonstrate that HBV can reactivate from the transcriptionally inactive state. Doxorubicin and hydrogen peroxide induce HBV reactivation at models of both transcriptionally active and transcriptionally silenced viral genome. Sunitinib weakly reactivates HBV, while bortezomib does not affect HBV replication in vitro.

Characteristics of clonal composition of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strain population in Russia using MLST, as well as evaluation of a possibility of using of this method during execu- tion of monitoring of diphtheria infection causative agent strains.C. diph- theriae strains, isolated in Russia in 1957 - 2015 and sent to Gabrichevsky MRIEM reference centre for diphtheria and pertussis, were studied. Gentyping of C. diphtheriae using MLST was carried out based on sequencing ofhousekeepinggene fragments. ST identification was carried out according to PubMLST Result. C. diphtheriae strains of 36 sequence-types (ST) were identi- fied on the territory of Russia - 27 previously known and 9 novel, detected for the first time. 2 sequence types ST25 and ST8 (22% and 18%) dominated. Inter-relation between phenotype. properties (toxigenicity. and biovar) and membership of C. diphtheriae strains in certain sequence- types was shown - toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae strains of various biovars were characterized by certain sequence-types. Changes of clonal composition of C. diphtheriae popula- tion in dynamics of epidemic process of diphtheria infection were.shown.Use of MLST allowed to characterized clonal composition of C. diphtheriae strains' population in Russia and has shown perspectives of use of this method to characterize population of diphtheria causative agent, detect epidemically significant strains and decipher foci of diphtheria infection.

There was studied the use of SPECT-CT for visualization of sentinel lymph nodes and lymph drainage pathways in 35 patients with localized prostate cancer (cT1-T2 N0 M0). Sentinel lymph nodes were imaged in 31 (89%) patients. There were advantageously detected drainage pathways to exterior (77%) and internal iliac (58%) lymph nodes. Visceral (29%) lymph nodes (paraprostatic, paravesical and mesorectal) were less determined. There was established high informative value of SPECT-CT for imaging sentinel lymph nodes, determining their location as well as identification of lymph drainage pathways in patients with prostate cancer.

In the aricle there are considered the processing technologies for the improvement of the quality of leaven and sprouted wheat grain products, which being notable for unstable microflora need for the quality control and research of micro biological indices. The use of hop composition was established to give rise in the increase in the quality of the thick grain leaven. It is proved that in this microbiological indices of bakery products advanced, the number of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms falls, the duration of storage without signs of growth of molds increases. This work is of practical interest in refining the quality of bakery sprouted wheat grain products and their microbiological purity.

The results of a medical genetic survey of the population of four raions (176 535 individuals) of Rostov oblast (Dubovsky, Zimovnikovsky, Myasnikovsky, and Krasnosulinsky raions) are presented. The load of autosomal dominant (AD), autosomal recessive (AR), and X-linked hereditary diseases for urban and rural population was calculated, and the diversity of monogenic hereditary diseases (MHD) was reviewed. The nosological spectrum of MHD constituted 117 diseases (63 diseases with AD inheritance; 38 with AR inheritance; and 16 with X-linked inheritance). The analysis showed that the incidence of MHD among the population of Rostov oblast was 1 : 336. Considerable differentiation in the prevalence rates of MHD (AD, AR, and X-linked pathologies) among certain raions was revealed.

Background The Namangan Region in the Pap District, located in Eastern Uzbekistan is the main focus of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Uzbekistan. In total, 28 cases of human VL were registered during 2006-2008 in this region. A study on the epidemiology of VL in this area was carried out in 2007-2008 in the villages of Chodak, Oltinkan, Gulistan and Chorkesar located at elevations of 900-1200 above sea level. Results A total of 162 dogs were tested for Leishmania infection. Blood was drawn for serology and PCR. When clinical signs of the disease were present, aspirates from lymph nodes and the spleen were taken. Forty-two dogs (25.9%) had clinical signs suggestive of VL and 51 (31.5%) were sero-positive. ITS-1 PCR was performed for 135 dogs using blood and tissue samples and 40 (29.6%) of them were PCR-positive. Leishmanial parasites were cultured from lymph node or spleen aspirates from 10 dogs. Eight Leishmania strains isolated from dogs were typed by multi-locus microsatellite typing (MLMT) and by multilocus enzyme electrophoretic analysis (MLEE), using a 15 enzyme system. These analyses revealed that the strains belong to the most common zymodeme of L. infantum, i.e., MON-1, and form a unique group when compared to MON-1 strains from other geographical regions. Conclusions The data obtained through this study confirm the existence of an active focus of VL in the Namangan region of Uzbekistan. The fact that L. infantum was the causative agent of canine infection with typical clinical signs, and also of human infection affecting only infants, suggests that a zoonotic form of VL similar in epidemiology to Mediterranean VL is present in Uzbekistan.

The results of comparative study of sera obtained from donors and from several groups of patients with suspected toxoplasmosis are presented. The study has been carried out with the use of commercial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits: Toxoplasma gondii IgG EIA and Toxoplasma gondii IgM EIA manufactured by Labsystems (Finland), Sevatest ELISA IgG Toxo Micro I manufactured by Sevac (Czechoslovakia). Statistical processing of the results has confirmed the identity of these kits. The necessity of using evaluation criteria (the separation point, the scale for the interpretation of results) when working with the Sevac kits is emphasized. Comparative evaluation of antibody profiles in the sera under test suggests that the titer less than 1:1600 should be regarded as the separation point for these kits. IgM antibodies to T. gondii have been found only in 22% of patients with high titers of IgG antibodies.

This work analyzes the results of 4 serologic tests used for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis: the complement fixation (CFT), indirect immunofluorescence (IIF), passive hemagglutination (PHAT) tests, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The last-mentioned one was made with the use of the commercial kits Sevatest ELISA IgG/Toxo Micro I. The results of ELISA were in good correlation with those yielded by the traditional tests: 70% coincidence with CFT, 80% with IIF, 84% with PHAT; besides, ELISA has shown a higher sensitivity in the screening of sera.

The data on the transforming activity of intact DNA of human adenovirus type 6 and that fragmented by restrictases Bam H I (31.3% of the genome), Bgl 2 (9.3% of the genome), and Hind 3 (7.6% of the genome) in a primary culture of rat kidney cells are presented. The activity of the specimens varied within 1.1-2.1 foci per 1 microgram of DNA. From the transformation foci 5 cell lines were derived and their properties (T-antigen production, integration of adenovirus genome, phenotypic features) were studied.

Methods for generation of cell lines transformed by highly oncogenic simian adenovirus SA7, nononcogenic human adenovirus type 6 and their DNAs are described. WAG rat kidney cells were used for transformation. To produce 1 focus of transformation, 1.7 X 10(6) PFU of SA7 virus is required. Intact and fragmented DNA of both viruses may be quite effectively used for transformation. For production of 1 transformation focus 1.2 microgram SA7 DNA and 1.1 microgram type 6 adenovirus DNA is required. In most cases, DNA fragmentation increases the transforming activity which has been shown to be associated with the left genome region of both viruses under study.

The results of the repeated tests of 295 serum samples from patients, previously examined by means of enzyme immunoassay screening and traditional serological tests (complement fixation, indirect immunofluorescence, and indirect hemagglutination) and 115 serum samples from healthy donors, studied by enzyme immunoassay techniques with the use of the commercial kits Sevatest ELISA, have been analyzed. The methodological approach permitting the determination of the final titer of the serum under study, taken in a dilution of 1:800, by its optical density has been used. The mean geometric titer for the control group of donors, determined in the enzyme immunoassay, has been 1:800. This fact suggests that titers exceeding 1:1,600 should be considered diagnostically significant.

Rhinoviruses (RV) are the etiological factors of not only acute respiratory diseases of the common cold type but also of acute and chronic diseases of otorhinolaryngological organs. Virological and bacteriological examinations of patients with chronic pneumonia in the stages of exacerbation and incomplete remission revealed a high degree of the infection activity. Virus-bacterial associations were frequently found. RV were isolated from the lower respiratory tract (bronchopulmonary secrete, biopsy materials). The association of RV with the involvement of the lower respiratory tract in patients with chronic pneumonia was demonstrated. Rhinoviremia was detected in one child dying with acute respiratory disease. The results of studies on some factors of specific and nonspecific immunity in patients with chronic pneumonia are presented.

Four cell lines transformed by simian adenovirus SA7 and its DNA were analysed by means of molecular hybridization. Content of viral DNA sequences in different lines varied from 10% (the left end) of the molecule to the entire genomes. Transcription of the D BglII fragment (coordinates 1.8--10) was observed in all examined lines. The integration type of highly oncogenic simian adenovirus SA7 DNA differed from the pattern of integration of the highly oncogenic human adenovirus type 12 and was similar to that of the non-oncogenic adenoviruses in adenovirus-transformed cells.

In the period of 1971--1973 in Moscow, 85 strains of rhinoviruses (types IB, 14, 20, 27, 33, 48, 56, 60 and 69) were isolated from patients with respiratory diseases. In March-May 1971 in one administrative district of Moscow, from ambulatory patients with ARD rhinoviruses of types 48 (24 strains) and 27 (8 strains) were predominantly isolated. An outbreak of diseases due to these two types appeared to have occurred. From children rhinoviruses were isolated not only from nasopharyngeal washings. From 3 children they were isolated from the lower respiratory tract (from the blood collected before his death due to staphylococcal sepsis. Surveys for virus-neutralizing antibody to 17 rhinovirus serotypes in 10 lots of gamma globulin prepared in different towns of the Soviet Union revealed wide spread of rhinovirus types IB, 13, 18, 31 and 32 limited spread of types 17 and 42 and moderate spread of types 2, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 22, 24, 48 and 53.

A soluble extract from the nuclei of green monkey kidney cells, infected with adenovirus SA7, carries out replication of SA7 DNA. It was observed, that in vitro DNA synthesis, which is dependent on the exogenously added viral DNA-protein complex as its optimal template, proceeds by a semiconservative mechanism. The data obtained are compared with literary data on soluble enzyme systems from adenovirus-infected cells. The early factors provided by SA7 also supported replication of the DNA-protein complex, prepared from human adenovirus type 5, in nuclear extracts of monkey cells.

In January--May, 1971, detection of rhinoviurs infections among ambulatory patients with respiratory diseases in Moscow was carried out in parallel by virological and immunofluorescent methods. Rhinovirus infections were virologically confirmed in 13% out of 238 patients. By the indirect immunofluorescence technique, rhinovirus antigens of serotype 17 were detected in 2.2% out of 220 patients, of type 1B in 4.3% out of 183 patients, of type 48 in 5.6% out of 123 patients and of type 7 in 4.6% out of 86 patients. The use of immunofluorescence supplemented the results of virological examinations and increase the effectiveness of aetiological diagnosis of rhinovirus infections.

The results of treatment of acute heart failure by means of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABC) in ten patients with overdosage of tranquilizers or barbiturates are analysed in this paper. The afterload is decreased by IABC and the cardiac muscle is able to maintain a higher arterial pressure which in its turn permits the continuation of detoxication therapy. In some cases IABC makes it possible to detoxicate the blood extracorporeally by use of the artificial kidney or charcoal column.

Virological, serological and immunofluorescence studies revealed circulation of rhinoviruses of the strains 1A, 1B, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16-23, 27, 29-33, 42, 48, 53, 56, 60 and 69 on the territory of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. According to virological results, type 48 predominated and was followed in frequency of occurrence by types 27, 14 and 16 in the USSR and 30, 1A and 31 in the CSSR. RV infection in adults with ARD diseases was the aetiology in 28.5% of cases. Among the causative agents of acute rhinitis, rhinosinusitis and otitis, rhinovirus infection makes up a large proportion. Interrelation has been found between rhinovirus infection and chronic inflammation of the mucosa of the nose, the accessory sinuses and the ears. Prolonged course of rhinovirus infection and isolation of the virus in the late stages of disease (1-4 months after its onset) support the presumption that rhinoviruses promote chronicity of inflammation. RV was isolated from patients with chronic pneumonia from the lower respiratory passages (bronchial secretion). Rhinoviraemia was found in a child who died of ARD.