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Background: Many studies on cerebral atherosclerosis and its treatment have been conducted over the past 60 years. Several modifications of open surgical treatment (carotid endarterectomy) have been proposed. There are several techniques of carotid endarterectomy; however, there is no consensus on advantages of any of these techniques.Objective: To analyze the anatomy and geometry of the common carotid artery bifurcation in patients with hemodynamically significant stenoses of the internal carotid artery.Materials and methods: To study geometric parameters, we used computed tomography data of patients operated on at the Scientific Research Institute – Ochapovsky Regional Clinical Hospital No. 1 (Krasnodar, Russian Federation). The patients underwent the following procedures: classical, eversion, or glomus-sparing carotid endarterectomy. We built geometric models using specialized software and studied hemodynamics at the common carotid artery bifurcation in the early postoperative period (1 day after surgery) and 1 year after surgery.Results and conclusion: Zones at risk for atherosclerotic plaque formation are mainly in the common carotid artery. This phenomenon is explained by the surgery technique, namely, by the fact that the cut line of the atherosclerotic plaque is located in this region. Models built on the basis of computed tomographic angiograms 1 year after surgery demonstrate a decrease in the area of zones at risk. This might be due to the arterial wall smoothing and neointima formation.

The article analyzes statistical data on the 2020 vs 2019 opisthorchiasis incidence rate on the territory of the Russian Federation and in foreign countries, provides absolute and intensive morbidity indicators across entire the Russian Federation and specifically in its subjects — republics and regions, general prevalence of helminthiasis, and opisthorchiasis particularly overall pattern of parasitic diseases, as well as contribution of opisthorchiasis to general pattern of biohelminthiasis, its dynamics, and prevalence of relevant causative agent. A comparative analysis for incidence rates in the regions where opisthorchiasis was recorded and mean country-wide statistical parameters was carried out. As a result, it was concluded that despite a decline in the Russia-wide overall parasitic morbidity, an excess of mean indicators, sometimes significant, was noted in some regions. Thus, compared to Russia-wide magnitude of intensive indicator, it was higher by 4-fold in the Komi Republic, whereas in the Kurgan, Vologda, Arkhangelsk Regions and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug — by 3-fold. The article provides an analysis of the population age groups as well as percentage of opisthorchis-affected urban and rural populations. In addition, the special clinical and epidemiological significance of opisthorchiasis remains urgent due to severity of its course, affected various body systems and organs, emergence of serious complications leading to disability, and in some cases to fatal outcomes, the presence of natural foci, most of which are located in the Russian Federation. Almost all territories adjacent to the basins of the Ob, Irtysh, Tom rivers and their tributaries pose special concern regarding opisthorchiasis. The data related to prevalence of helminthiasis larvae detected in fish in 2020 and 2019 since 2010 are presented. Based on the data shown above, strict adherence to preventive measures plays an important role in reducing opisthorchiasis incidence rate and preventing its spread.

The article presents the results of the development of means for intelligent robust control of the parameters of a tribotronic rotor-support system with a tapered bearing with a removable bush. The proposed controller is implemented on the basis of deep Q-network reinforcement learning (DQN) synthesized on the basis of a numerical model of a rotor support system. The control strategy involved simultaneous control of the shaft position and friction in the lubrication layer. Methods for control synthesis are presented for both a deterministic system and a system with stochastic parameters. In the latter case, a controller synthesis technique is proposed that takes into account uncertainties in the system at the training stage. Testing of the resulting controllers shows the better ability of a controller trained to take into account uncertainties to cope with variable loads, as well as predict possible changes in the system and proactively transfer the system to more advantageous states.

The paper presents research and review articles published between 2014 and 2023 on the use of cloud technologies and blockchain for smart agriculture development in Russia, China and the Republic of Belarus. The main directions of modern agriculture digitalization have been listed. The comparison of technical progress of agriculture in Russia and neighboring European countries (Poland and Latvia) has been carried out. The survey results show that in Russia advanced developments consider soil-climatic and agro-technological peculiarities of the territory, cloud technology providers and own data processing centers are being developed. Some practical systems are not unified, computing resources are geographically distributed, and less than 8–10 % of farms in Russia use digital platforms. Promising research directions of modern technologies and their application in agriculture have been described. The article studies information technologies used in intelligent agriculture based on cloud computing and blockchain. Intelligent agriculture is characterized by large amounts of data. Data transmission and analysis in such information system are based on cloud technologies. Agro-production processes are linked to other parts of the value chain in complex, highly automated production, and logistics chains involving wholesalers, retailers, logistics, agricultural producers, and their suppliers. Such chains can reduce food costs and retail prices, as well as the need for production and distribution capacity. Supply and value chains digitalization and digital platforms development that connect participants in the agroecosystem are driving the use of blockchain.

Chronic non- infectious diseases represent an important medical and social problem for the healthcare system. Optimal pharmacotherapy is not always effective enough, and the use of surgical treatment methods is not possible in all patients. In addition, an important link in the comprehensive management of such patients is dosed physical activity, however, in most of them, low exercise tolerance does not allow them to exercise, starting a vicious circle that leads to a decrease in the functional reserve of the body. In this case, the use of non-pharmacological treatment methods, for example, enhanced external counterpulsation, may be useful. This review is devoted to the analysis of literature data on the possibilities of using this method, which is important in clinical practice.

INTRODUCTION. This work continues the authors’ earlier study on gelatine capsule contamination with elemental impurities, which resulted in proposing a list of elements for standardisation. To ensure the safe use of medicinal products in this dosage form, it is necessary to develop criteria for the quantitative assessment of potential human health risks associated with elemental impurities in gelatine capsule shells.AIM. This study aimed to determine the permitted daily concentration (PDC) limits for elemental impurities in gelatine capsules from a risk-based pharmaceutical quality control perspective.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The authors analysed their previous experimental data, the relevant Russian State Standard (GOST), the requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation and leading world pharmacopoeias (USA, UK, EU, China, Japan, and India), and the scientific literature published from 1980 to 2023 on the content of elemental impurities (Al, As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Cr, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in gelatine capsule shells and medical gelatine.RESULTS. When standardising the content of elemental impurities in gelatine capsule shells, it is necessary to consider not only the toxicity of impurities but also their potential to compromise the quality of gelatine. Complexing elements (Cd, Cu, Hg, Cr, and Zn) can affect the quality of gelatine at subtoxic concentrations. For Cd, Cu, and Hg, the authors recommended using the PDC limits specified in GOST 23058-89 Gelatine. Raw materials for the medical industry. Specifications. For Cr and Zn, the authors recommended adhering to the PDC limits specified in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, edition XIV, Monograph 2.1.0099.18 Gelatine. Lead affects the quality of gelatine at concentrations above the toxicity threshold, and arsenic does not cause clustering of gelatine molecules. For Pb and As, the authors recommended using the PDC limits specified in the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, edition XV, General Monograph 1.1.0040 Elemental impurities. The authors proposed a conversion factor to account for the complexing potential of Al when limiting its content in gelatine capsule shells. The authors recommended assessing the risks to human health associated with Mn intake with gelatine capsule shells indirectly by listing total heavy metals as a quality attribute to be controlled at the level of medical gelatine. The content of Fe should also be standardised at the raw material level.CONCLUSIONS. The content of elemental impurities in gelatine capsule shells should not exceed the following limits: 45 µg/g for Al, 1.5 µg/g for As, 0.03 µg/g for Cd, 10 µg/g for Cr, 15 µg/g for Cu, 0.05 µg/g for Hg, 0.5 µg/g for Pb, and 30 µg/g for Zn. The standardisation of these elements in gelatine capsule shells will prevent negative effects on the human body and shell quality.

Na Yu,1,* Mingqin Su,1,* Juan Wang,2 Yakun Liu,1 Jingya Yang,1 Jingyi Zhang,1 Meimei Wang1 1Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Public Health Inspection and Quarantine, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Meimei Wang, Department of Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, No. 81, Mei-Shan Road, Hefei, 230032, People’s Republic of China, Email wangmm@ustc.edu.cnBackground: Tumor development and progression is a long and complex process influenced by a combination of intrinsic (eg, gene mutation) and extrinsic (eg, environmental pollution) factors. As a detoxification organ, the liver plays an important role in human exposure and response to various environmental pollutants including nanomaterials (NMs). Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors and remains a serious threat to human health. Whether NMs promote liver cancer progression remains elusive and assessing long-term exposure to subtoxic doses of nanoparticles (NPs) remains a challenge. In this study, we focused on the promotional effects of nano zinc oxide (nZnO) on the malignant progression of human HCC cells HepG2, especially aged nZnO that has undergone physicochemical transformation.Methods: In in vitro experiments, we performed colony forming efficiency, soft agar colony formation, and cell migration/invasion assays on HepG2 cells that had been exposed to a low dose of nZnO (1.5 μg/mL) for 3 or 4 months. In in vivo experiments, we subcutaneously inoculated HepG2 cells that had undergone long-term exposure to nZnO for 4 months into BALB/c athymic nude mice and observed tumor formation. ZnCl2 was administered to determine the role of zinc ions.Results: Chronic low-dose exposure to nZnO significantly intensified the malignant progression of HCC cells, whereas aged nZnO may exacerbate the severity of malignant progression. Furthermore, through transcriptome sequencing analysis and in vitro cellular rescue experiments, we demonstrated that the mechanism of nZnO-induced malignant progression of HCC could be linked to the activation of Claudin-2 (CLDN2), one of the components of cellular tight junctions, and the dysregulation of its downstream signaling pathways.Conclusion: Long-term exposure of fresh and aged nZnO promotes hepatocellular carcinoma malignancy by up-regulating CLDN2. The implications of this work can be profound for cancer patients, as the use of various nanoproducts and unintentional exposure to environmentally transformed NMs may unknowingly hasten the progression of their cancers. Keywords: nano zinc oxide, environmental transformation of NPs, long-term exposure, malignant progression of tumors, CLDN2

The article outlines the prerequisites and results of using a specialized technology for processing vibrograms obtained during high-performance vibroseismic studies using the “slip-sweep” technology. The goal is to reveal the potential and advantages of multispectral adaptive data processing, mainly associated with improving the quality and information content of the results obtained. The prerequisites for the introduction of technology are the existence of an objective demand for high-performance seismic exploration methods and the physical feasibility, in modern conditions, of recording and processing data from the level of initial vibrograms. The work describes the advantages and disadvantages of the vibroseismic method and its high-performance modifications, provides a brief retrospective analysis of the topic of processing vibrograms before correlation, substantiates specific methodological approaches to reducing the technological noise of vibroseismic “slip-sweep” surveys, demonstrates specific examples of improving data quality (both at the level of correlograms, and at the level of total sections) with different numbers of groups of vibroseismic sources. The main conclusion is that processing vibrograms using the “slip-sweep” method provides an increase in quality comparable to at least a one and a half to twofold increase in the shooting magnification.

The latest major technological change in seismic surveys at the sites of the NOVATEK Group of Companies is the use of high-performance sleep-sweep vibroseismic exploration technology.The total volume of work performed in the NOVATEK Group of Companies using the sleep-sweep technology has currently exceeded 20 000 square kilometers.As part of the assessment of the efficiency and prospects of the sleep-sweep, the article analyzes the optimization possibilities, as well as the risks and difficulties in implementing the technology, analyzes the performance of the sleep-sweep in the conditions of the Arctic region, and presents a methodology for predicting daily productivity, applicable for designing and assessing the technical and economic indicators of research.

In June–July 2021, the entomofauna of a storage facility for pyrite cinders in the vicinity of Cherepovets was studied. A total of 161 species of insects from 64 families and 8 orders were found. The orders with the greatest species diversity were Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera. Most of the species reported are widespread in the region, but rare, including protected, species are also found. The richest species composition of insects is on the tops and slopes of the sludge reservoir. The fauna includes numerous hortobiont species that feed on flowers, pollen and nectar and have good dispersal abilities. A small number of phyllophagous insects was found. At the top and slopes of the sludge reservoir, ants are dominant. A total of 5 species of ants were found in the study area.