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The article presents studies on the functional stability of pipeline systems for supplying military forces with fuel. The conditions for the functional stability and its manifestation at various levels are defined and considered. A formation sequence of scientific foundations for the functional stability of pipeline systems at the methodological level is given. The essence of the proposed methodology for studying the stability of the functioning in various pipeline systems of oil products supply is explored.

Systems approach is used to determine the types of disturbances arising in a linear pipe component during its functioning and their effect causing disruption of leakproofness of composite pipes. A physical model of the permeation process where the pipe wall is considered to be a porous medium penetrated by parallel capillaries is proposed and the results of estimation of the permeability of the wall of a nonequilibrium spiral-screw wound composite pipe based on the leakproofness criterion are presented. The conceptual approaches to the solution of the problem of composite pipeline leakproofness are validated.

This chapter presents a literature review on the use of various materials in devices providing gas exchange in artificial (extracorporeal) blood circulation. The issues related to the history of artificial blood circulation systems development are considered. Most of authors have noted the need to avoid direct contact between the gas phase and the blood when the latter is saturated with oxygen. Thus, solid polymer membrane devices have become most common to date. The most promising materials for oxygenator membranes are amorphous fluoropolymers as they have high gas permeability and hemocompatibility. Amorphous poly-perfluoro(2-methyl-2-ethyl-1,3-dioxol) and Teflon AF2400 are the most promising materials for oxygenator membranes as they have a 1.5-2-fold greater hemocompatibility and gas permeability than polydimethylsiloxane. Liquid oxygenators using fluorocarbon liquids as the gas transport medium were also considered. These devices may have a great future, as liquid-liquid systems are “ideal”-they have no direct contact of gas with blood, no diffusion resistance of the membrane, the surface of gas exchange is also the surface of heat exchange.

Cyclic voltammetry is used to study the cathode reduction of yttrium ions on a copper electrode in an YCl3-containing NaCl–KCl melt at 1023 K. The potentials of formation of copper–yttrium compounds are determined. Samples of Cu6Y, Cu4Y, Cu2Y, and CuY alloy coatings are prepared by controlled potential electrolysis; samples of Cu6Y and Cu4Y alloy coatings are prepared by no-current diffusion saturation at 973 and 1023 K. It was found that the samples prepared by no-current diffusion saturation are thicker than those prepared by electrolysis. However, the controlled potential electrolysis allowed us to prepare coatings of a given composition.

Cyclic voltammetry is used to study the electrolytic reduction of holmium ions on a nickel electrode in a holmium chloride-containing equimolar molten mixture of sodium and potassium chlorides in a temperature range of 1073–1173 K. The potentials of formation of nickel–holmium intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are determined. Nickel–holmium intermetallic compounds are synthesized by controlled potential electrolysis. Under the selected electrolysis conditions, the prepared coating is shown to be single-phase and its composition corresponds to the HoNi2 stoichiometry. The coefficients of reaction diffusion of holmium in nickel are calculated and the activation energy of alloy-formation process is determined.

The no-current diffusion saturation method is used to study the possibility to synthesize a powder Co2Er intermetallic compound in the molten eutectic mixture of lithium and potassium chlorides at a fixed temperature of 850 K. Based on the results obtained, the conditions of synthesizing the powder Co2Er intermetallic compound of a given composition are determined. The range of metallic-phase component blending ratios for a reaction mixture is determined; within this range, the powder compound free from impurity intermetallic compounds and unreacted base metal (powder cobalt) can be synthesized. The reliability of the results obtained is confirmed by X-ray fluorescent and X-ray diffraction analyses using an EDX-720 energy dispersive X-ray fluorescent spectrometer and an XRD-700S diffractometer, respectively.

The behavior of yttrium ions in an equimolar NaCl–KCl melt is studied in a temperature range of 973–1123 K using cyclic voltammetry at an inert electrode containing 5 wt % YCl3 in the range of potential sweep rates from 0.02 to 0.2 V/s. A cathodic reaction proceeds via the scheme Y(III) + 3e = Y. The diffusion coefficients of yttrium ions are determined, and the activation energy of the diffusion of yttrium ions is estimated.

The kinetic characteristics of alloy formation during the diffusion saturation of nickel with gadolinium in the LiCl-KCl-GdCl3 molten mixture are determined experimentally. The results of a chemical analysis, an electron probe microanalysis, and an X-ray phase analysis of coatings showed that intermetallic compounds, which are the Laves phase of the GdNi2 composition, are formed during the no-current transfer in the surface layer of alloys. The coefficients of reactive diffusion and activation energy for the GdNi2 compound are calculated.

Corrosion of gadolinium and ytterbium in a molten eutectic mixture of lithium and potassium chlorides is studied in the present work using the gravimetry and EMF methods. It is found that the corrosion rate of ytterbium is 3–5 times higher than that of gadolinium under similar conditions. Satisfactory agreement between the current density values of gadolinium corrosion calculated on the basis of the results of the gravimetric data and the values of steady-state potentials points to the electrochemical mechanism of gadolinium corrosion in the LiCl-KCl melt.

The dependence of the reaction capacity (R) of a LiCl (60 mol %)-KCl melt held in contact with samarium at 873 and 973 K on the concentration of the corroding metal in the melt was obtained. The R value was used to estimate the content of Sm2+ ions in the lowest oxidation state, their fraction, and the conventional equilibrium constant of the 2Sm3+ + Sm ↔ 3Sm2+ reaction. The results were used to determine the particular mechanism of currentless transfer of samarium in the chloride melt onto a substrate of a more electropositive metal (in particular, onto nickel).

Gravimetry is used to study the effect of temperature T and time τ on the specific change in the nickel sample weight Δm/s (s is the sample surface area) during no-current diffusion saturation with samarium in a LiCl-KCl-SmCl3 melt. The dependence of Δm/s on τ in the temperature range 673–873 K is obtained, and the Ni-Sm alloys synthesized on the sample surface are examined by chemical, X-ray diffraction, and electron-probe analyses. The potentials of nickel samples during saturation with samarium are measured. The measurement results support the fact that the diffusion layer consists of one structural zone, whose composition corresponds to a Laves phase.

An analysis of treatment results was made in 226 patients with multiple isolated intrapulmonary metastases of solid tumors. It appears that surgical removal of metastases was possible in patients with satisfactory functional resources and accurate evaluation in order to validate the indications for surgery. The operation shouldn't result in considerable reduction of quality of life and didn't prevent using other methods of treatment such as medicamental and radiation therapy. The indications to surgical intervention have to be set as individual in consideration of the number of metastases and potential of the patient to undergo the surgery.

Gravimetry is used to study the effect of the temperature and time of no-current diffusion ytterbium saturation of nickel in a molten mixture of the LiCl-KCl eutectic with YbCl3 on the specific change in the nickel sample weight w = Δm/s, where Δm is the change in the sample weight and s is the sample surface area. The dependences of w on the process time are obtained in the temperature range 773–973 K. The experimentally formed alloy Ni-Yb coatings on nickel are examined by chemical analysis, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and X-ray diffraction. The experimental results demonstrate the presence of one structural zone, which consists of a Laves phase, in the diffusion layer.

The effect of temperature and duration of the process on the corrosion rate of samarium and lanthanum is studied in the melt of LiCl (60 mol %)-KCl. It is found that the corrosion rate of samarium is by an order of magnitude higher than that of lanthanum at similar temperatures. Satisfactory coincidence of the corrosion current density of lanthanum calculated on the basis of the gravimetric data, experimental data on steady-state potentials, and information on anodic polarization points to the electrochemical mechanism of lanthanum corrosion in the LiCl-KCl melt.

The results of an experimental study of the efficiency of cycloferon included in a complex chemotherapy of generalized drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) are presented. It is established that cycloferon (3.6 mg/kg) produces a significant therapeutic effect, which is manifested by an increase in the lung clearance from MBT, a decrease in the spread of specific inflammation in the lungs, and the disappearance of MBT-induced alterations. In addition, activation of the signs of tension in the local immunity of lung tissues is observed as manifested by changes in the cellular composition of granulomas and more frequent detection of large lymphocytic and macrophage infiltration. The administration of cycloferon significantly increases the absorptive and digestive activity of phagocytosis by peritoneal macrophages, which has been inhibited during the development of experimental MBT infection.

Efficacy of remaxol in complex chemotherapy of generalized drug resistant tuberculosis was studied on mice. Mycobacterium tuberculosis 5419 SPBNIIF isolated from a patient with freshey diagnosticated pulmonary tuberculosis resistant to isoniazid (10 mcg/ml), rifampicin (40 mcg/ml), streptomycin (10 mcg/ml) and ethionamide (30 mcg/ml) was used in the experiments. The main polychemotherapy included 4 antituberculosis drugs in the highest therapeutic doses: isoniazid, amikacin, ethambutol and tavanic, the treatment course was 8 weeks. Remaxol was administered in a dose of 25 ml/kg intraperitoneally 5 times a week (14 injections). Significant activating effect of remaxol on the tension of the lung tissue local immunity was revealed by changes in the granuloma cell composition (from mainly epitheliod to mainly lymphoid) and by more frequent large lymphohistiocytic infiltrates. The use of remaxol also greatly increased the absorptive and digestive activity of the peritoneal macrophages phagocytosis, inhibited in the process of the experimental tuberculosis development.

The resection specimens from 31 patients with fibrocavernous tuberculosis (FCT) underwent a complex clinical andimmunological study, as well as a morphological one. It was ascertained that partial or extended lymphadenectomy did not always positively correlate with an adequate postoperative immune response and it depended on the morphological features of lymphatic apparatus lesion. The direct results of surgical treatment of patients with FCT suggest that in patients with specific lymphadenitis and cell-mediated immunodeficiency, the frequency of postoperative specific pleuropulmonary complications and their severity considerably exceed those if there is an adequate immune response. In patients with progressive FCT, baseline cell-mediated immunity deficiency is aggravated by surgery, increasing the risk of postoperative specific and nonspecific infectious pleuropulmonary complications.

The study was undertaken to enhance the efficiency of surgical treatment for progressive drug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis, by applying adjuvant lymphotropic chemotherapy (ALCT). Seventy-one patients were examined and operated on; of them 35 patients received ALCT and 36 patients formed a control group. The determinants of the efficiency of the performed treatment were the frequency of specific postoperative complications. ALCT used in combination with the conventional antituberculous treatments made it possible to enhance the efficiency of surgical treatment, by halving the number of postoperative complications, reducing the duration of a postoperative period, and enhancing the intensity of chemotherapy, by taking into account the data on the resistance of a pathogen, without causing adverse reactions, and to improve the psychoemotional status of patients.

The paper analyzes whether it is possible to predict a risk for postoperative empyema, by studying a totality of characteristics of a patient, a pathological process, and the properties of MBT in 46 patients with progressive fibrocavernous tuberculosis. It also shows it actual to accomplish this task with a prediction accuracy of 89.5-100%, by simultaneously taking into account both the bacteriological properties of MBT (the magnitude of Mycobacterium tuberculosis excretion and viability) and different combinations of serum biological parameters that reflect the activity of an inflammatory process.

The presented paper discusses the experience with exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and argon plasma coagulation (APC) used at cavernotomy in 31 patients with multidrug-resistant fibrocavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. Supplementary treatments depending in infectious risk factors were comprehensively evaluated. The application of APC and NO significantly improved the results of open cavern sanitation, as evidenced by the bacterial excretion index, and doubled the immediate efficiency of surgical treatment.

Functional activity of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) phagocytes was studied in 33 and 16 patients with fibro-cavernosis (FC) and infiltrative (I) pulmonary tuberculosis (PT), respectively. Complex examination of BALF, alveolar macrophages (AM) and neutrophils (N) sedimented from BALF revealed interrelationship between functional activity of the cells and the form of PT. Higher activities in BALF of neopterin and elastase mainly secreted by activated AM and N respectively, reflect a higher secretory activity of both types of cells in FC - PT. These patients are also characterized by more pronounced bactericide activity of Ns, which significantly correlates with adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity. It is suggested that changes in BALF of various biochemical parameters examined (neopterin, elastase, ADA and its isoenzymes, 2-deoxyADA) and bactericide activity of the sedimented cells represent are the consequences of differend sides of BALF phagocytes functioning. According to modem notions about the mechanisms of their regulation different intercellular relations are suggested in different form of PT.

The paper pools the experience gained in the surgical treatment of lung malformations in children and adults, which has been used to develop their current classification. It also presents the outcomes of surgical treatment of acute infectious lung destructions, by taking into account the Marchuk severity index. Modes of surgical treatment of bullous pulmonary emphysema have been provided, which yield minimum postoperative mortality rates (3%). The experience of surgical treatment of 110 patients with cicatrical tracheal stenosis is summarized. The authors also present the results of operations made in 390 patients with Stage III non-small cell carcinoma of the lung, specify indications and procedures for resection of the bifurcation of the trachea when the latter is involved in the tumorous process. They also summarize the experience gained in having performed more than 300 operations in the past 5 years for progressive pulmonary tuberculosis, with 2.7% mortality, and 106 final pneumonectomies for postoperative recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis. The experience with allografting of the trachea (n = 2) and lung (n = 3) is important and little studied in our country.

The pattern of concomitant diseases has been studied in 708 patients operated on for progressive pulmonary tuberculosis. The incidence of concomitant diseases has been found to considerably increase in recent years and it was as high as 77%. Peptic ulcer and chronic viral hepatitis were responsible for 1.5- and 6-fold increases, respectively, in the incidence of concomitant diseases. Virtually all diseases accompanying pulmonary tuberculosis were ascertained to cause an increase in the frequency of postoperative complications. Diabetes mellitus and chronic viral hepatitis concurrent with tuberculosis had the greatest negative impact on the course of a postoperative period. These diseases and peptic ulcer substantially worsened the long-term results of surgical treatment, by increasing the frequency of postoperative recurrences of tuberculosis.

A histological examination of the pulmonary and bronchopulmonary lymph nodes was made in 47 patients treated surgically for fibrocavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. The speed of immunopathological reactions development is the main reason of differences between drug-resistant and drug-sensitive primary tuberculosis. Formation of cellular immunity in drug-resistant tuberculosis has all necessary morphological prerequisites both in the lungs and lymph nodes but their realization is delayed. Immunogenesis concentrates on the early stages when initial paraspecific reactions prevail. Morphologically, they are most demonstrative in the bronchial walls where in different patients or even in one patient but in various bronchi all reactions of delayed type (contact, tuberculine type and granulematous) can be simultaneously observed.

The long-term results of 1311 primary resections for pulmonary tuberculosis and 203 repeated interventions for postoperative recurrences were studied. During a 10-year follow-up, the cumulative rate of postoperative recurrences was 18.4%, the minimum (5.7%) being in the operated on for tuberculosis, the maximum in cavernous tuberculosis (27.9%) and caseous pneumonia (40%). 58% of recurrent tuberculosis occur within the first 3 years after surgery, the efficiency of their medical treatment does not exceed 30%, indications for resurgery are established at the same rate. Repeated lung resections, final pneumonectomies were performed in 72.8% of the patients with the immediate efficiency of 87.5-86.2% and mortality rates of 6.2-12.1%. Caverno- and thoracoplasties were made in 27.2% of the patients. The efficiency of these deliberately nonradical operations was 83.3-55.5%.

The lungs and bronchopulmonary lymph nodes were studied in 203 patients aged 20-60 years operated for fibrocavernous tuberculosis. Histological, immunohistochemical and histoenzymological tests demonstrated that clinically diagnosed fibrocavernous tuberculosis comprises a heterogenous group. Specific alterations in the lymph nodes indicate progression of primary tuberculosis while the absence of such alterations is the sign of real fibro-cavernous tuberculosis.

The paper presents the outcomes of 48 cavernoplasties for destructive forms of postoperative recurrences, which was 23.5% in the structure of all interventions for postoperative recurrences. One-stage cavernoplasty was performed in 17 patients; 31 patients underwent multistage cavernoplasty (with a period of open sanitation). After one-stage cavernoplasty, at discharge 2 (11.8%) of the patients were found to have formed residual caverns due to detachment of a muscle flap, other complications were not recorded in this group of patients. After multistage cavernoplasty, the above complications developed in 5 (16.1%) cases. There were deaths after these operations. In the late postoperative periods, a steady-state abatement of the process occurred in 12 (33.3%) patients, a relative stable course of tuberculosis with mild exacerbations was noted in 8 (22.2%) patients; further progression was revealed in 44.4% of the cases; late postoperative mortality was 27.8%.

The paper deals with the effect of glutoxim included into a preoperative preparation regimen on immunological parameters in patients with fibrocavernous pulmonary tuberculosis. On admission, all the patients had inadequate cellular immunity and activated humoral immunity. After termination of a course of glutoxim therapy, there was an increase in the baseline low values of lymphocytic proliferative activity, in the count of mature T lymphocytes, and in the production of IL-2 induced by phytohemagglutinin. At the same time the similar parameters remained unchanged in the control group. The drug exerted the most noticeable stimulating effect on cellular immunity in patients with a limited process. Glutoxim produced no noticeable effect on humoral immunity. The immunomodulating effect of glutoxim was followed by improvement of the clinical and X-ray pictures of the disease. In glutoxim-treated patients with baseline immunological disorders, progression was found to occur 1.5-2 times more infrequently than in the control group. Indications for the use of glutoxim in the treatment of tuberculosis are specified on the basis of the baseline immunological parameters of each patient.

The remote postoperative results were followed up for as long as up to 10 years. It was established in case of abacillary patients that the frequency rate of relapses was minimal ranging from 3.6% in the group of patients operated for tuberculosis and caseous-necrotic tuberculosis to 11.5% in fibrous-cavernous tuberculosis. Patients with bacterial discharge, primarily of the extensive nature, had more often relapses (19.4% in operated patients for caseous-necrotic tuberculosis and 31.7% in patients operate for fibrous-cavernous tuberculosis). Drug resistance (DR) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) to three and more anti-TB preparations essentially increase a possibility of relapses in all clinical forms of tuberculosis with maximum threat being in patients with fibrous-cavernous lesions (36%). As for the repeatedly operated patients for postoperative relapses involving DR MBT to isoniazid and rifampicin, only slightly above 50% of them survived 5 years after surgery; the index of the 5-year survival was 33% among the patients with DR to 4 and more drugs.

The outcomes of surgical treatment of 546 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis were analyzed in relation to the bacteriological characteristics. Seeding detected sputum bacterial isolation in 52.4% of cases. Mycobacterial drug resistance was detected in 83.6% of the tested cultures. It has been concluded that the resistance is a first-order infectious agent whose action is shown in lowering the efficiency of preoperative courses of chemotherapy by 2.5 times, in increasing the incidence and severity of postoperative pleural and pulmonary complications by 6-7 times, in deteriorating the immediate outcomes of surgical treatment to 82.4% with a 7.4% mortality rate. Intensive bacterial isolation unarrested by surgery is a second-order infectious agent which more clearly shows a relationship of the efficiency of surgical treatment to a reduction in the cure rate to 74.2% with a total mortality of 15.2%. There is evidence for that it is advisable to apply an active surgical policy in a group of patients having an infectious risk factor.

The effects of roncoleukine (recombinant human interleukin-2) on clinical and immunological parameters were studied in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Twenty five patients with fibrocavernous pulmonary tuberculosis steadily progressive during the therapy were examined. Roncoleukine caused no complications and its clinical effect was recorded in 80.8% of cases. Changed immunological parameters noticeably tended to become normal. The increase in the baseline lower cellular immunological parameters was most pronounced. The paper shows it expedient to use roncoleukine as an immunomodulator in the treatment of severe pulmonary tuberculosis.

To clarify criteria for functional operability, external respiratory function (ERF) and pulmonary capillary blood flow (PCBF) were studied in 116 patients with postoperative recurrent pulmonary tuberculosis who had been admitted to the resurgery unit. Moderate ERF impairments (stages I and II) were identified in 65% of cases, 23% had stage III ventilation disorders (VD), and 11% were found to have stages IV and V VD. In focal recurrences, overall PCBF ranged 19 to 36% of the total pulmonary blood flow with is decrease from 11 to 0.3% in the total number of recurrences. Preoperative preparation improved ERF in 54% of patients. Contraindications for surgery were found in 9% due their low functional reserves. A total of 105 patients were operated on, postoperative mortality was 11.4%. Cardiopulmonary insufficiency was a cause of death in 4 cases, of them 3 patients underwent repeated resection of the lung as pneumonectomy in baseline stage III VD, which allows these patients to refer to as a high surgical risk group.

The late outcomes of surgical treatment of 124 patients operated on for pulmonary tuberculosis at many sites were analyzed. Surgery was made in the anatomic variant of typical polysegmental resections involving 3 to 7 bronchopulmonary segments in combination with a number of additional elements. The stable cure rates were 77.7, 71.2, and 64.3% at 3-, 5- and 10-year follow-ups, respectively. The maximum relapse rates at 2- and 3-year follow-up were 9.5 and 9.2%, respectively with variations in some subgroups according to the type of resection, the clinical forms of tuberculosis, the bacteriological activity of the process by surgery and the drug resistance of Mycobacteria. The cumulative adjusted survival rates in the same periods were 92.1, 85.1, and 70%, respectively, with the maximum mortality rate (6.8%) at 3-year follow-up, they being ranged under the influence of the above risk factors. No systematic controlled preventive chemotherapy regimens are a cause of relapses and death in the late periods of follow-ups.

The results of 240 complex polysegmental resections of the lung for tuberculosis at multiple sites are analyzed. Surgical risk factors associated with additional surgical elements, such as expansion of an interventional area in the lung outside anatomic resection, traumatic elements of correction of volumetric ratios, and special procedures for isolating the lung from adhesions. Complex polysegmental resections as an anatomic variant without additional elements provide a high direct surgical effectiveness (95-100%) without deaths. The efficiency of complex polysegmental resections as a combined variant using additional elements reduces the effectiveness of treatment to 88% with 4.5-7.4% death rates in relation to the type of an operation. There is a high risk of postoperative complications in optional polysegmental and lobe + segment resections.

Immunological testing of surgical patients with specific pulmonary tuberculosis revealed specific immunodeficiency in 68% of cases which appeared at higher risk of postoperative complications. A scheme of a simple immunological testing by 2 reactions is provided.

The paper deals with the results of detection of liver diseases in 868 patients who underwent examination at the department of pulmonary tuberculosis surgery of the St. Petersburg research institute of phthisiopulmonology. The rate of carriage of hepatitis B surface antigen was 11.05%, while Al/At activity was increased in 30.41% of the cases. Signs of chronic liver disease were diagnosed in 84 patients. Morphological examination verified the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis in 53% of the cases, including 44% of virus etiology; in the rest of patients medicamentous and alcoholic forms were found. Specific liver affections were detected in 16% of the patients, dystrophic and cirrhotic changes in 25%, mainly of medicamentous and alcoholic etiology; in 8% the cause of liver affection remained +non-established.