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An analysis of the results of six Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Surveys, "The Values and Interests of the Population of Russia" (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010), conducted by the Center for the Study of Sociocultural Changes at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, provides evidence that two stages in the transformation of Russian society are complete and that it is entering its third stage: (1) radical social and economic "reforms" (in the 1990s); (2) the "stabilization" of new structures and processes (1999-2008); and (3) the worldwide financial and economic crisis and a new historical fork in the road of Russia: the "stagnation" or the "modernization" of the structures and processes that have come into being (2009-12 and later). This analysis of the third stage of the transformation of Russian society--modernization--looks at sociocultural spheres that are stagnant and act as brakes on modernization, and examines the hierarchy of the basic values of Russia's population. It reveals the systemic gap between the human dimensions of stagnation in Russia and modernization in the developed countries of Europe, and offers a general sociocultural strategy for the modernization of Russia. (Contains 6 tables, 3 figures and 5 notes.) [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]

From the 16th through the 31st of May 1985, a Soviet delegation consisting of eight research associates from the State Committee on Science and Technology and the USSR Academy of Sciences participated in the Soviet-American Symposium on the Foundations of Cybernetics and Systems Theory and the Thirty-fourth Annual Conference of the Society for General Systems Research. During their stay in the USA, the Soviet researchers gave twenty-one lectures (research papers) and visited a number of American scientific research centers in Washington, New York, and Los Angeles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) presents several clinical challenges. This is in large part due to the formation of biofilm which can make infection eradication exceedingly difficult. Following an extensive literature search, this review surveys a variety of non-pharmacological methods of preventing and/or treating biofilm within the body and how they could be utilized in the treatment of PJI. Special attention has been paid to physical strategies such as heat, light, sound, and electromagnetic energy, and their uses in biofilm treatment. Though these methods are still under study, they offer a potential means to reduce the morbidity and financial burden related to multiple stage revisions and prolonged systemic antibiotic courses that make up the current gold standard in PJI treatment. Given that these options are still in the early stages of development and offer their own strengths and weaknesses, this review offers an assessment of each method, the progress made on each, and allows for comparison of methods with discussion of future challenges to their implementation in a clinical setting.

Hundreds of thousands of human implant procedures require surgical revision each year due to infection. Infections are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics due to the formation of biofilm on the implant surface. We have developed a noninvasive method to eliminate biofilm on metal implants using heat generated by intermittent alternating magnetic fields (iAMF). Here, we demonstrate that heat and antibiotics are synergistic in biofilm elimination. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm, bacterial burden was reduced >3 log with iAMF and ciprofloxacin after 24 h compared with either treatment alone (p < 0.0001). This effect was not limited by pathogen or antibiotic as similar biofilm reductions were seen with iAMF and either linezolid or ceftriaxone in Staphylococcus aureus. iAMF and antibiotic efficacy was seen across various iAMF settings, including different iAMF target temperatures, dose durations, and dosing intervals. Initial mechanistic studies revealed membrane disruption as one factor important for AMF enhanced antibacterial activity in the biofilm setting. This study demonstrates the potential of utilizing a noninvasive approach to reduce biofilm off of metallic implants., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Medical and geographic contrasts, ecologically unfavorable conditions in some Eastern regions of Russia, dramatic social troubles in departure places and new residence of compulsory migrants not only result in acute diseases responding to stress situations, but also in exacerbation of chronic illnesses.

A sociohygienic and medicodemographic characterization of the health status of forced migrants (refugees) was made on a model of a large industrial city in West Siberia. Morbidity for the most informative disease classes was studied using interviews and medical examinations of a random sampling of a representative group of refugees aged over 16 years. Each group of refugees from certain regions (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan, and Tajikistan) is characterized by specific features in the structure of certain disease incidence. Nervous and mental disorders are an exclusion: their prevalence is 7 to 14.5 times higher than in the local controls in all refugees, except those from Kirghizstan.