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The process of stone formation in the human body remains incompletely understood, which requires clinical and laboratory studies and the formulation of a new endogenous, nanotechnological concept of the mechanism of origin and formation of crystallization centers. Previously, the mechanism of sialolithiasis was considered a congenital disease associated with the pathology of the ducts in the structure of the glands themselves. To date, such morphological changes of congenital nature can be considered from the position of the intrauterine formation of endogenous bacterial infections complicated by the migration of antigenic structures initiating the formation of crystallization centers. The present work is devoted to the study of the morphology and composition of stones obtained as a result of surgical interventions for sialolithiasis. Presumably, nanoparticles of metals and other chemical compounds can be structural components of crystallization centers or incorporated into the conditions of chronic endogenous inflammation and the composition of antigenic structures, in complexes with protein and bacterial components. X-ray microtomography, X-ray fluorescence analysis, scanning transmission electron microscopy and microanalysis, mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the pathogenesis of stone formation. Immunoglobulins (Igs) of classes A and G, as well as nanoparticles of metals Pb, Fe, Cr, and Mo, were found in the internal structure of the stones. The complex of antigenic structures was an ovoid calcified layered matrix of polyvid microbial biofilms, with the inclusion of metal nanoparticles and chemical elements, as well as immunoglobulins. The obtained results of clinical and laboratory studies allow us to broaden the view on the pathogenesis of stone formation and suggest that the occurrence of the calcification of antigenic structures may be associated with the formation of IgG4-associated disease.

Исследование посвящено повышению точности цифровых датчиков с запаздыванием по времени. Актуальность темы обусловлена широким распространением датчиков этого типа, что во многом обусловлено резким повышением требований к точности датчиков, а также расширяющимся применением цифровых технологий для обработки информации в системах управления, связи, мониторинга и многих других. Для устранения ошибок, обусловленных временной задержкой цифровых датчиков, предлагается использовать астатический быстродействующий корректор. Целесообразность применения этот корректора обосновывается свойствами дискретных динамических систем. В связи с этим сначала рассматриваются условия, при которых дискретные системы являются физически реализуемыми и имеют конечную длительность переходных процессов, поскольку в этом последнем случае они являются наиболее быстродействующими. Также показано, что для измерения полиномиального сигнала ограниченной интенсивности с нулевой ошибкой в установившемся режиме, датчик должен иметь порядок астатизма на единицу больше степени этого сигнала. На основе приведенных условий доказывается основной результат статьи – теорема, в которой устанавливаются условия существования астатического быстродействующего корректора. При включении этого корректора на выходе цифрового датчика или коррекции программного обеспечения последнего образуется модернизированный датчик, ошибка которого в установившемся режиме будет равна нулю. Это происходит вследствие того, что корректор устраняет ошибку цифрового датчика, обусловленную имевшейся в нём задержкой по времени, которая предполагается кратной периоду дискретизации. Порядок корректора как системы определяется целочисленным решением полученного в работе уравнения, которое связывает степень измеряемого полиномиального сигнала, запаздывание цифрового датчика, допустимое перерегулирование модернизированного датчика и относительный порядок искомого корректора. Это уравнение решено для случаев, когда степень измеряемого сигнала не больше единицы, перерегулирование равно часто назначаемым значениям, а задержка по времени не превышает четырёх периодов дискретизации. Порядки соответствующих модернизированных цифровых датчиков приведены в табличной форме. Это позволяет находить необходимый корректор без решения указанного уравнения во многих практических случаях. Эффективность предлагаемого подхода к повышению точности цифровых датчиков показана на численном примере. Нулевое значение ошибки модернизированного датчика подтверждается как путем компьютерного моделирования, так и численным расчетом. Полученные результаты могут использоваться при разработке высокоточных цифровых датчиков различных физических величин.

Background: The neutrophil-leukocyte index (NLI) is an independent predictor of an unfavorable outcome in stable ischemic heart disease, as well as of mortality in patients with acute coronary syndromes and uncontrolled heart failure. A number of studies have shown the informative value of NLI for the prediction of severe course of COVID-19. NLI variability in COVID-19 with comorbid baseline physical diseases and cardiovascular disorders in particular, has not been studied. Aim: To evaluate the clinical value of NLI in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 depending on their concomitant cardiac disorders. Materials and methods: In this retrospective quantitative study we have analyzed the data from medical files of the patients with the diagnosis of new coronavirus infection confirmed by polymerase chain reaction, treated in a specialized in-patient department of infectious diseases in 2020 to 2022. Previously diagnosed cardiac disorders were defined as any past history of these disorders. The results of instrumental and laboratory work-up were assessed before treatment. Results: The analysis included 226 patients with median age of 50.0 (Q1Q3: 42.063.0) years, with 81.4% (n = 184) of them being men. Ninety four (41.6%) patients had no previously diagnosed cardiovascular disorders. Arterial hypertension by the time of admittance was present in 132 (58.4%), ischemic heart disease, in 77 (34.1%), atherosclerotic and/or post-infarct cardiosclerosis, in 82 (36.3%), and chronic heart failure, in 77 (34.1%) of the patients. In the total study group (n = 226) the median NLI was 2.6 (1.574.47). The larger was the volume of the lung involvement (assessed by computed tomography at admittance), the higher was NLI (p = 0.009, Kruskal-Wallis test). There was an association between the NLI value and the degree of respiratory failure (p 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis test). Median NLI in the patients with cardiac disorders (irrespective of their nosology) was significantly higher than that in the patients without any history of cardiovascular problems: 3.30 (2.095.42) versus 1.95 (1.423.62) (p 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test). We found significant difference in the NLI values for each type of cardiac disorders, compared to that in the patients without history of cardiovascular disorders, including for the patients with arterial hypertension (p 0.001, Kruskal-Wallis test), ischemic heart disease (p 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test), atherosclerotic cardiosclerosis (p = 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test), and chronic heart failure (p = 0.040, Kruskal-Wallis test). Conclusion: We have confirmed the contribution of cardiovascular disorders to the course of COVID-19 and the clinical value of NLI as a convenient laboratory marker of the severity of infectious disease.

The article is devoted to a special phenomenon in the architectural and historical environment of Tobolsk – stone merchant houses of the second half of the 18th century in the context of the development of urban stone construction of the late 17th-18th centuries. The paper provides periodisation and identifies the main factors that caused active stone construction in Tobolsk in the 18th century. The study considers the preserved dwelling houses, characterises the architectural, planning and stylistic features of the buildings, and provides an assessment of their current state in the aspect of heritage preservation. The study is accompanied by historical and modern photos made by the authors in the period 2006-2022.

The study analyzed the thermal performance of enclosing structures made of: polystyrene concrete, heat block, arbolite blocks, foam concrete and aerated concrete. The calculation of heat losses was carried out using finite element methods, in the software package “Elcut”. The results of the study showed that the enclosing structure in the form of a wall consisting of aerated concrete blocks will be most effective in terms of heat conservation. In order to identify the most affordable and economical material for the construction of a house with an estimated area of 100 m2, an enlarged calculation was carried out, including determining the cost of building material necessary for the construction of an enclosing structure. According to the calculation results, the most expensive technologies turned out to be construction options from aerated concrete blocks and a heat block. The house made of wood-mineral composites (arbolite) turned out to be the most inexpensive. The materials of the work can be used by developers in the selection and justification of materials for wall structures of low-rise construction.

The article discusses the advantages of simulation modeling of the number of sales personnel in order to increase the economic efficiency of the organization. Headcount optimization aims to generate savings while meeting the organization’s goals. This example considers the activities of one of the leading players in the regional food market. In accordance with the general structure of the processes of receiving and servicing customers in the organization, their simulation model was developed in the GPSS World software environment. The obtained conclusions are economically substantiated.

The article discusses the advantages of simulation modeling of the number of sales personnel in order to increase the economic efficiency of the organization. Headcount optimization aims to generate savings while meeting the organization’s goals. This example considers the activities of one of the leading players in the regional food market. In accordance with the general structure of the processes of receiving and servicing customers in the organization, their simulation model was developed in the GPSS World software environment. The obtained conclusions are economically substantiated.

This article describes a case of a transformed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the stomach in a patient with Sjögren's disease (SjD) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), as well as a brief review of the literature on lymphoproliferative diseases in SjD and SSc.

Planar-view TEM investigation revealed the formation of cubic silicon carbide layers on porous silicon by vacuum carbidization. The formation of cubic silicon layers in the form of a two-phase system was found. At the same time, the formed SiC layers on the mesoporous buffer layer are predominantly polycrystalline. Using the Rutherford backscattering method, it was found that the use of buffer layers of porous silicon makes it possible to obtain SiC layers of greater thickness than on a pure silicon substrate under similar conditions of vacuum carbidization. It is shown that an increase in the pore size in porous silicon layers leads to an increase in the thickness of the formed SiC layers. It has been shown by scanning electron microscopy that vacuum carbideization of porous silicon leads to formation of SiC grains in pores, partial overgrowth and sintering of pores. The dependence of the SiC grain size on the pore size was established.

Introduction. The natural history of bronchial asthma (BA) in newly diagnosed children is not well understood.Objective. To determine the trends in the course of mild BA in children over 3 years from the date of initial diagnosis.Materials and methods. A prospective controlled study included 149 children (106 boys, 43 girls) aged 5 years to 5 years 11 months with mild BA diagnosed less than 1 year ago. During a 3-year follow-up, the severity of BA, the need for basic and emergency therapy were assessed. An increase in therapy and the severity of BA was regarded as progression of the disease; the spectrum and extension of sensitization to inhaled allergens were taken into account.Results and discussion. Of 149 children with persistent asthma, 103 were sensitized to one or more household allergens, most frequently to cat (36.2% in the cohort) and dust mites (30.9%). During 3 years of follow-up, the patients did not develop a stable remission of BA with the possibility of canceling basic therapy for more than 6 months in a row. In children receiving basic therapy, it is typical (up to 71% of cases) that the need for therapy remains, or the volume of therapy increases (up to 27% of cases). In children who initially did not receive basic therapy, an increase in therapy is typical (63% of cases). Disease progression was noted over 3 years of follow-up in 70 (47%) patients, most often in the group who initially did not receive basic therapy (73.5%) as well as among children with polysensitization to household allergens (88.9%).Conclusion. Dynamic observation of preschool age patients with BA shows a tendency to persistence or progression of the disease in the first 3 years from the diagnosis.

Введение. Амебиаз в Гродненском регионе регистрировался крайне редко в виде завозных случаев, последний из которых был в 1999 г. Цель исследования – представить краткий обзор клинических характеристик амебиаза и примеры амебного поражения печени, лёгких, кишечника и мягких тканей, диагностированных у 4 жителей Гродненского региона с января 2021 г. по апрель 2022 г. Материал и методы. Выполнен анализ историй болезни 4 пациентов, находившихся на стационарном лечении в УЗ «Гродненская университетская клиника» (ГУК) в 2021-2022 гг. Результаты. Впервые в Гродненском регионе в течение 1,5 лет этиологически диагностированы 4 случая хронического бессимптомного течения амебиаза, которые были подтверждены выделением вегетативных форм амеб и разных эпитопов (кишечник, печень, лёгкие, ткани). Представленные примеры по своим клиническим, лабораторным, визуализационным, паразитоскопическим и морфологическим данным – типичные (классические) и на 100% совпадают с приведенными в литературе данными. Эпидемиологические данные предполагают возможное инфицирование одного пациента 3 года назад в Египте. Остальные 3 пациента за пределы страны не выезжали. Выводы. Зафиксированная «вспышка» инвазивной формы амебиаза в Гродненском регионе может быть следствием стремительного изменения климатических условий и создания оптимальных условий для паразитирования амеб во внешней среде (почва, вода). Дополнительной причиной может быть снижение общего иммунитета у населения, подвергнутого пролонгированному иммуносупрессивному действию COVID-19 в последние годы. Для ускорения и повышения качества диагностики амебиаза в виде очаговых поражений разных органов или кишечных форм необходимо осуществление эпидемиологических мероприятий и клинических исследований по установлению влияния внешних факторов на передачу инфекции, а также проведение просветительской и профилактической работы с населением.

In order to ensure sufficient recovery of the human body and brain, healthy sleep is indispensable. For this purpose, appropriate therapy should be initiated at an early stage in the case of sleep disorders. For some sleep disorders (e.g., insomnia), a sleep diary is essential for diagnosis and therapy monitoring. However, subjective measurement with a sleep diary has several disadvantages, requiring regular action from the user and leading to decreased comfort and potential data loss. To automate sleep monitoring and increase user comfort, one could consider replacing a sleep diary with an automatic measurement, such as a smartwatch, which would not disturb sleep. To obtain accurate results on the evaluation of the possibility of such a replacement, a field study was conducted with a total of 166 overnight recordings, followed by an analysis of the results. In this evaluation, objective sleep measurement with a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 was compared to a subjective approach with a sleep diary, which is a standard method in sleep medicine. The focus was on comparing four relevant sleep characteristics: falling asleep time, waking up time, total sleep time (TST), and sleep efficiency (SE). After evaluating the results, it was concluded that a smartwatch could replace subjective measurement to determine falling asleep and waking up time, considering some level of inaccuracy. In the case of SE, substitution was also proved to be possible. However, some individual recordings showed a higher discrepancy in results between the two approaches. For its part, the evaluation of the TST measurement currently does not allow us to recommend substituting the measurement method for this sleep parameter. The appropriateness of replacing sleep diary measurement with a smartwatch depends on the acceptable levels of discrepancy. We propose four levels of similarity of results, defining ranges of absolute differences between objective and subjective measurements. By considering the values in the provided table and knowing the required accuracy, it is possible to determine the suitability of substitution in each individual case. The introduction of a “similarity level” parameter increases the adaptability and reusability of study findings in individual practical cases.

There are millions of MOOC participants who vary in gender, age, educational level, employment status, intentions, etc. Although MOOC participants' characteristics have been studied, there is still a lack of knowledge of the divergence between the participants and completers of MOOCs with different levels of difficulty. The term 'level of difficulty' as used in this paper encompasses, besides the difficulty of covered topics, the variety of supportive teaching methods and different course durations. The aim of this study was to determine the demographic and social background characteristics of participants and completers in three programming MOOCs with different difficulty levels. It was found that the difficulty of a topic is related to gender, age and educational level distribution in MOOCs. According to our results, previous experience in the topic and the difficulty level of the MOOC influence completion. However, our results were less clear-cut regarding the correlation of age, education and employment status with difficulty level of MOOC. The results can be useful for MOOC instructors in supporting different participant groups, for example, by allowing more flexibility for specific participant groups.

Understanding redox and photochemical reactions in aqueous environments requires a precise knowledge of the ionization potential and electron affinity of liquid water. The former has been measured, but not the latter. We predict the electron affinity of liquid water and of its surface from first principles, coupling path-integral molecular dynamics with ab initio potentials, and many-body perturbation theory. Our results for the surface (0.8 eV) agree well with recent pump-probe spectroscopy measurements on amorphous ice. Those for the bulk (0.1-0.3 eV) differ from several estimates adopted in the literature, which we critically revisit. We show that the ionization potential of the bulk and surface are almost identical; instead their electron affinities differ substantially, with the conduction band edge of the surface much deeper in energy than that of the bulk. We also discuss the significant impact of nuclear quantum effects on the fundamental gap and band edges of the liquid.

Due to the increase in the weight of allergic diseases in the general pathology of childhood, the diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhinitis in children and the management of these patients at the outpatient stage have not lost their relevance. The period of preschool and school age is characterized by a high frequency of acute respiratory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, especially acute rhinitis, rhinopharyngitis, rhinosinusitis. This daily poses to the district pediatrician the tasks of differential diagnosis of allergic rhinitis and acute rhinitis with a prolonged course. Allergic rhinitis most often does not require hospitalization and, with timely diagnosis, does not lead to serious consequences. It is known that children who are prone to allergies suffer from acute respiratory viral infections more often and more severely than their peers. An integrated approach to the diagnosis and treatment of such children with the participation of an allergist, an otorhinolaryngologist, under the constant supervision of a district pediatrician, the rational use of drug therapy can reduce the duration of the disease, improve the quality of life of the patient.The article presents generalized principles of management of patients with allergic rhinitis from the point of view of domestic and international recommendations, describes in detail the rules of life for children with allergic rhinitis, emphasizes the role of the district pediatrician in teaching parents to ensure a hypoallergenic environment of the child. The authors present a clinical example of the effective use of a combined decognensant and an antihistamine for the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections in a child with allergic rhinitis.

Currently, East Siberia as a whole and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in particular are the territories of extensive geological exploration. Field geophysical surveys are mainly performed by seismic technologies used to discover new deposits and provide data for detailed appraisal of the known fields. Three-dimensional seismic surveys are effectively used for clarifying the details of geologic structures and obtaining the data for drilling programs. Upon further development of technologies, improvements are introduced in field operations, seismic data processing and interpretation, and drilling programs. As the information content of the survey data increases, it becomes possible to revise and update geological models and/or develop them in a more detail. With the use of modern data processing technologies that preserve the signals and depth migration data, the tectonic model of the Srednebotuobinskoe Oil and Gas Condensate Field was fully modified. Furthermore, additional isolated tectonic blocks were discovered in the eastern part of the Central deposit, and their map was constructed. The geological exploration based on the updated tectonic model is successful – new mineral reserves have been discovered, and the vector of geological exploration has been completely changed.

Background. The ratio of breasted children for more than six months increased from 33 to 40% in the period from 1991 to 2019 according to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. This number has not changed in recent 12 years and remained on the level of 39-41%. Relatively low adherence to breastfeeding may be the consequence of the lack of training of future doctors in these issues.Objective. The aim of the study was to analyse the knowledge (and its dynamics over the past decade) of medical students, interns and residents on breastfeeding support and promotion in Russian Federation.Methods. We have conducted the survey among senior students, interns, and residents in 2009-2011 and 2018-2019. 8 medical universities participated in the study in 2009-2011, and 24 medical universities and one continuing education institute — in 2018-2019. Knowledge on breastfeeding support issues was estimated according to the results of future doctors’ responses to the proposed questionnaires.Results. Sample of 2009-2011 has included 1088 students, interns, and residents, sample of 2018-2019 — 3694. There is still high level of mistakes in the breastfeedng issues due to the decline in knowledge of the WHO breastfeeding recommendations. The level of understanding of practical aspects has not changed significantly over the 10 years, and there is still a gap between theoretical knowledge and practice.Conclusion. The necessity to improve quality of future doctors training in breastfeeding issues is shown.

Метою статті є обґрунтування доцільності створення нових фінансових інструментів в українському економічному просторі. Зокрема йдеться про запровадження державних цінних паперів, індексованих на інфляцію, виявлення умов випуску, які будуть взаємовигідними для інвесторів та держави-емітента. Проаналізовано закономірності динаміки річного індексу споживчих цін в Україні. Здійснено оцінку доцільності впровадження індексованих до інфляції облігацій шляхом розрахунку їхньої дохідності та порівняння її з дохідністю традиційних державних облігацій. Проведено порівняння витрат на погашення й обслуговування державного боргу, емітованого в 2009 та 2016 роках при різних варіантах емісії 3-річних ОВДП. Підтверджено тезу про те, що емісія індексованих до інфляції цінних паперів може створювати економію бюджетних коштів і водночас бути вигідною не тільки державі, а й фінансовим компаніям, які працюють у сфері недержавного пенсійного забезпечення. Розрахунково доведено, що впровадження середньострокових індексованих облігацій із терміном обігу близько 3 років вигідне державі, якщо облігація випущена в період, який припадає на спад інфляції. Проведені розрахунки на прикладі періодів 2009-2011 та 2016-2018 років показали, що взаємовигідні умови випуску нових фінансових інструментів для держави як позичальника й для покупців цих цінних паперів виникають через певний час. Це пов’язано з тим, що в українському економічному середовищі періодично генерується хвилеподібна зміна інфляції. Зокрема, новий інфляційний спад може сформуватися після відбиття збройної агресії російської федерації проти України. Проаналізовано динаміку активів НПФ та компаній зі страхування життя в Україні, приватних пенсійних активів у деяких країнах Європи та Україні, а також частку активів пенсійних фондів у ВВП України та країн-сусідів. Показано, що вдосконалення цінних паперів, які стимулюватимуть збільшення обсягу «довгих грошей» є актуальним, адже розвиток недержавного пенсійного забезпечення в Україні перебуває на початковому етапі, а обсяги накопичених пенсійних активів є надто малими, порівняно із сусідніми країнами.

Sleep is extremely important for physical and mental health. Although polysomnography is an established approach in sleep analysis, it is quite intrusive and expensive. Consequently, developing a non-invasive and non-intrusive home sleep monitoring system with minimal influence on patients, that can reliably and accurately measure cardiorespiratory parameters, is of great interest. The aim of this study is to validate a non-invasive and unobtrusive cardiorespiratory parameter monitoring system based on an accelerometer sensor. This system includes a special holder to install the system under the bed mattress. The additional aim is to determine the optimum relative system position (in relation to the subject) at which the most accurate and precise values of measured parameters could be achieved. The data were collected from 23 subjects (13 males and 10 females). The obtained ballistocardiogram signal was sequentially processed using a sixth-order Butterworth bandpass filter and a moving average filter. As a result, an average error (compared to reference values) of 2.24 beats per minute for heart rate and 1.52 breaths per minute for respiratory rate was achieved, regardless of the subject’s sleep position. For males and females, the errors were 2.28 bpm and 2.19 bpm for heart rate and 1.41 rpm and 1.30 rpm for respiratory rate. We determined that placing the sensor and system at chest level is the preferred configuration for cardiorespiratory measurement. Further studies of the system’s performance in larger groups of subjects are required, despite the promising results of the current tests in healthy subjects.

The article The low competitiveness of many agricultural organizations is mainly due to the insufficient use of opportunities to improve the efficiency of their management. The effectiveness of the activities of agricultural organizations determines the provision of the population with food products. This indicates the paramount role of strategic management of the development of agricultural organizations, and, above all, strategic planning.

The paper presents an approach to the automatic grouping algorithms development based on parametric optimization models for processing high-volume data in the agrarian and industrial complex. Combined search algorithms with alternating randomized neighborhoods show much more stable results (give a smaller minimum value, and also have a low standard deviation of the target function) and hence better performance compared to known (so-called classical) algorithms, such as j-means and k-means.

At present, the problem of depletion of forest resources and the associated increase in the export shoulder and the corresponding logistics costs are increasingly felt. Today, as one of the solutions to this issue, the concept of using timber terminals has been applied, when the processing of roundwood into a more appropriate form, including for transportation, is carried out in close proximity to the cutting area. The overall efficiency of timber terminals is affected by the equipment operated on them, in particular, the sawmill. This article discusses the main types of sawmills according to the type of working body: tire, frame, tape and disk, indicating their positive and negative qualities for direct use in timber terminals. The article also formulates tasks aimed at improving the energy sustainability of timber terminals - as production sites for deep processing of timber.

One of the leading places in the complex of measures to increase the productivity of forests and the rational use of wood resources is occupied by thinning for forest care. Timely and justified thinning for forest maintenance allows not only increasing the productivity and sustainability of forests, increasing the size of forest use, but also creating prerequisites for the effective implementation of environmental protection and climate control functions by forests. Growing highly productive stands of optimal composition requires regular forest maintenance. In the Republic of Belarus, forest thinning is carried out by various multi-operational systems of machines and methods, each of which has its own characteristics and efficiency depending on the conditions of their operation. This article analyzes the effectiveness of thinning for forest care in the conditions of forestry institutions of the Republic of Belarus using multi-operational systems of machines. The most important goals for the development of the country's forestry are noted, among which are the provision of the formation of highly productive and sustainable forests, as well as increasing the resource potential of forests to meet the needs of the environment and society.

Theoretically calculated IR absorption spectra of Ti/SiO2/Si3N4/n+-Si structures with an island surface layer were used to show that the absorption maximum broadened and shifted to longer wavelength as the n+-Si island size increased with a constant period of their placement on the surface. This peak was probably associated with excitation of plasmon oscillations in the surface island layer. A structure with an island size of 3 μm and a period of 6 μm was shown to absorb ~99% of the incident radiation at a wavelength practically equal to the period (6.2 μm). Other absorption bands at ~4 μm and 9.0–9.5 μm arose regardless of the island size and were associated with absorption in the SiO2 layer. A layer of undoped silicon of thickness up to 200 nm located between the Ti substrate and SiO2 layer slightly reduced the intensity and half-width of the plasmon absorption maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the large number of studies devoted to the study of systemic sclerosis (SSc), the high risk of developing lymphomas in this disease, the relationship of their development with certain subtypes of SSc and specific SSc-associated autoantibodies is still debated in the literature. Aim.To study demographic, clinical, laboratory and immunological characteristics of patients with a combination of primary Sjogrens syndrome (pSS) and SSc and diagnosed lymphoproliferative diseases (LPDs); to characterize morphological/immunomorphological variants and course of non-Hodgkins lymphomas (NHL), developing in patients with these rheumatic diseases (RDs). Materials and methods.In 19982018 at the Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology, 13 patients with clinical and laboratory manifestations of pSS (12) and SSc (13) were diagnosed with various lymphoproliferative diseases (LPDs). In 3 cases, an induced RD was observed: 1 case of a diffuse, rapidly progressive form of SSc, 2 cases of pSS in combination with a limited form of SSc after chemotherapy and radiation therapy of Hodgkins lymphoma (1), B-cell NHL (1) and CR of the breast (1) respectively. The first 2 cases were excluded from the analysis, since the development of lymphomas is not pathogenetically associated with RD. Results.Of 11 patients with LPDs, 10 after a long course of RDs were diagnosed with NHL [MALT lymphoma of the parotid salivary glands 7, disseminated MALT lymphoma 2, disseminated MALT lymphoma with transformation into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) 1]. RDs debuted with Raynauds phenomenon (RP) in 64.5% and pSS manifestations in 45.5% of patients. Stomatological manifestations of pSS were characterized by recurrent parotitis in 36%, significant parotid gland enlargement with massive infiltration of labial salivary glands (focus score 4) in 100%, severe xerostomia in 70%, extraglandular manifestations and lymphadenopathy in 50% of patients. The course of the SSc was characterized by mild RP with various types of capillaroscopic changes and mild lung changes and non-significant progression during long-term follow-up (median 22 years). The entire spectrum of SSс specific antibodies (anticentromere antibodies 60%, antibodies to ribonucleoprotease III 30%, Pm/Scl 10%), excepting antibodies to topoisomerase I, as well as pSS specific autoantibodies (antiRo/La 70%, RF (rheumatoid factor) 90%), were detected in patients with a combination of these RDs. Conclusion.pSS is often combined with a limited form of SSc regardless of the type of autoantibodies detected. The presence of pSS, rather than SSc, is a high-risk factor for the development of NHL in this group of patients. The patients with pSS and SSc are characterized by a steady progression of pSS with a slow and mild course of SSc throughout the observation period. The development of severe stomatological manifestations and high immunological activity of pSS contribute to the development of localized MALT lymphomas (70%) and disseminated MALT lymphomas (30%) with primary lesions of the salivary glands and transformation into DLBCL in case of their late diagnosis. The optimal method for preventing the development of NHL in this group of patients is the early diagnosis of pSS, the appointment of alkylating cytotoxic agents and/or anti-B-cell therapy in the early stages of pSS. Given the possibility of transformation of localized NHL into DLBCL, for early diagnosis, minimally invasive surgical biopsies of significantly enlarged parotid salivary glands should be performed before glucocorticoids are prescribed. Detection of positive B-cell clonality and lymphoepithelial lesions in the parotid salivary gland is considered a predictor of MALT lymphoma development during follow-up. Localized and disseminated MALT lymphomas in patients with pSS and SSc respond well to therapy, in contrast to MALT lymphomas transformed into DLBCL.

The formation of chromium disilicide layers on n-type single crystal silicon substrates (111) during rapid thermal annealing in heat balance mode by the methods of Rutherford backscattering, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy of cross sections was investigated. Chromium films of about 30 nm thickness were deposited by magnetron sputtering of a chromium target with argon ions onto silicon substrates at room temperature. The rapid thermal treatment was carried out in a temperature range of 200 to 550 °C in a heat balance mode by irradiating the substrates backside with a non-coherent light flux of quartz halogen lamps in a nitrogen ambient for 7 s. It was established that hexagonal phase of chromium disilicide formation with grain size of 150–300 nm occurs in a threshold manner when the temperature of rapid thermal treatment exceeds 400 °C. At the same time, there are strong changes in the films surface morphology and surface roughness, and a silicide-silicon interface occur. In this case the wavy film surface morphology practically repeats silicide-silicon interface morphology (the surface exactly replicates the interface). The mechanism of CrSi2/Si interface structure roughness formation based on consideration of Kirkendall effect and deformation-stimulated diffusion of vacancies is proposed and discussed. The research results of the structure and morphology of CrSi2 layers on silicon are well-correlated with the results of the Schottky barrier electrophysical measurements. The results obtained can be used in microelectronics for forming rectifying contacts and interconnects metallization for integrated circuits, as well as for thermoelectric and optoelectronic applications.