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In the article, the development of the cities of the Shirvan plain, located in the central part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the impact of this development on the loss of biodiversity of the cities were analyzed. Currently, cities, where more than 50% of the world’s population live, are the main reasons for the change of natural landscapes. The development of cities and the intensity of urbanization accelerate these changes. Therefore, our research is dedicated to the current issue. During the research, preference was given to modern methods. Landsat 5, 8 and 9 satellite images of 6 cities located on the Shirvan plain were obtained. As a result of the processing and analysis of these satellite images, the development of the territory and population of the cities was studied, and their effects on the natural landscape, its components, vegetation and water bodies were analyzed. The boundaries of cities in 1975 and 2023 were determined and compared. As a result of the conducted studies, it was determined by the processing of the 1975 topo plans and the 2023 satellite images that the area of the cities has increased by at least 2 times. The high average annual growth of the population has led to the transformation of cities from small towns to medium and large cities in a short period of time. This causes the loss of biodiversity as soon as possible and accelerates this process.

The purpose of our work is to determine the prevalence of associative infections of domestic pigs in the farms of Azerbaijan. The research was conducted in 2009–2015. The faeces samples were taken from 2272 domestic pigs of different ages kept in private farms in the districts of Balaken, Zagatala, Shamakhi, Ismayilli, Guba, Khachmaz, Khudat, Salyan and Absheron peninsula in Azerbaijan, in the region of the Great Caucasus. Species composition, infection intensity, and ecological features of the pig parasitic protozoans had not been studied prior to our research. In the course of our study, the associative invasions in domestic pigs were as follows: Eimeria and Isospora oocysts were found in 582 pigs (25.6 % out of the total animals examined), Eimeria and Cryptosporidium oocysts in 622 pigs (27.4 %), Eimeria oocysts with Balantidium cysts in 273 pigs (12.0 %), Isospora and Balantidium oocysts in 18 pigs (0.8 %), Eimeria, Isospora and Cryptosporidium oocysts were detected in mixed form from one pig only (0.04 %). None of the analysed faecal samples contained a four-component mixed parasitic invasion. The two-component mixed infestations, viz. Eimeriosis + Cryptosporidiosis and Eimeriosis + Isosporiasis, were recorded during the whole year, while the prevalence of Eimeriosis + Balantidiosis and Isosporiasis + Balantidiosis mixed infestations decreased in summer. Keeping pigs of different ages in one pen at the farms increases the risk of associative invasion. In the pig farms equipped with various technological devices, the epizootic situation is different. If the animals kept traditionally, the infestation with associative invasions is much higher. Among the animals that live in unventilated pens with a wooden floor, the intensity of mixed infestation is the highest that results in the extremely high economic loss in such farms. In the animals kept in warm pens with high humidity, the invasion intensity is high even in winter. The primary reasons of this phenomenon are heat and humidity that create favourable conditions for the exogenous development of coccidian oocysts.

The impact of the particle size and wettability on the orientation and order of assemblies obtained by self-organization of functionalized microscale polystyrene cubes at the water/air interface is reported. An increase in the hydrophobicity of 10- and 5-μm-sized self-assembled monolayer-functionalized polystyrene cubes, as assessed by independent water contact angle measurements, led to a change of the preferred orientation of the assembled cubes at the water/air interface from face-up to edge-up and further to vertex-up, irrespective of microcube size. This tendency is consistent with our previous studies with 30-μm-sized cubes. However, the transitions among these orientations and the capillary force-induced structures, which change from flat plate to tilted linear and further to close-packed hexagonal arrangements, were observed to shift to larger contact angles for smaller cube size. Likewise, the order of the formed aggregates decreased significantly with decreasing cube size, which is tentatively attributed to the small ratio of inertial force to capillary force for smaller cubes in disordered aggregates, which results in more difficulties to reorient in the stirring process. Experiments with small fractions of larger cubes added to the water/air interface increased the order of smaller homo-aggregates to values similar to neat 30 μm cube assemblies. Hence, collisions of larger cubes or aggregates are shown to play a decisive role in breaking metastable structures to approach a global energy minimum assembly.

Background: Early forecasting of any pathological process is of great significance from both medical and economic point of view. An illness requires much more attention in the light of exhaustion of resources of the body, and a doctor should be maximally aware of the near and far future of a patient. In this regard, the preparation of forecasting programs on a mathematical basis would be a rational and, most probably, the only true approach to the solution of forecasting., Aims and Objectives: The aim of the article is to study the forecasting of atopic dermatitis (AD) in newborns., Methodology: The authors studied 109 clinical and laboratory indicators in children without and with AD. Discriminant analysis was used as an algorithm for the resolution of diagnostic issues., Results: The main indicators acceptable as a forecasting criterion in the formation of AD in children were defined. The sensitivity, specificity, and general diagnostic value of statistically valid differing factors in the formation of AD were studied. Key rules of the forecast were formed after processing all indicators through the KU-Kruskal-Wallis discriminant criterion, a universal computer method., Conclusion: It was concluded that the power of influence of rhinitis, cluster of differentiation 31, mucin 2, and intestinal trefoil factor 3 are higher in the AD model., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Indian Journal of Dermatology.)

Background: Low back pain is common in the general population and in individuals with primary headaches. We assessed the relative frequency of self-reported back pain in persons with and without primary headaches and examined pain sensitivity., Method: A population of 796 individuals completed a headache interview based on ICHD criteria and provided data of interest in a self-administered questionnaire. Headache cases were classified into chronic (≥15) (CH) or episodic (<15 headache days/month) (EH). A total of 495 had a pericranial total tenderness score (TTS), and 494 had cephalic and extracephalic pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) assessed., Results: Adjusted for age, gender, education and poor self-rated health, 1-year relative frequency of back pain was higher in individuals with CH (82.5%) and EH (80.1%) compared to no headache group (65.7%). In persons with back pain, TTS was higher in CH, (26.3 ± 12.1) than in EH, (18.5 ± 10.0; p < 0.001) and higher in both groups than in those with no headache, 10.8 ± 8.5 (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In persons with back pain, temporalis PPT were lower in CH, 169.3 ± 57.8, than in EH, 225.2 ± 98.1, and in no headache group, 244.3 ± 105.4 (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively). In persons with back pain, finger PPT were lower in CH, 237.1 ± 106.7, than in EH, 291.3 ± 141.3, or in no headache group, 304.3 ± 137.4 (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively)., Conclusion: Back pain is highly frequent in individuals with CH, followed by EH and no headache. In persons with CH, back pain is associated with lower cephalic and extracephalic PPTs suggesting central sensitization may be a substrate or consequence of comorbidity., Significance: We found that back pain has high relative frequency in individuals with CH followed EH and no headache. Back pain is associated with low cephalic and extracephalic PPTs in individuals with CH. Central sensitization may be a substrate or consequence of this comorbidity of back pain and CH., (© 2018 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.)

Background: We assessed the prevalence of neck pain in the population in relation to headache., Methods: In a cross-sectional study, a total of 797 individuals completed a headache interview and provided self-reported data on neck pain. We identified migraine, TTH or both migraine and TTH (M+TTH) groups. Pericranial tenderness was recorded in 496 individuals. A total tenderness score (TTS) was calculated as the sum of local scores with a maximum score of 48., Results: The one-year prevalence of neck pain was 68.4% and higher in those with vs. without primary headache (85.7% vs. 56.7%; adjusted OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.0-4.4, p<0.001). Adjusting for age, gender, education and poor self-rated health, in comparison with those without headaches, the prevalence of neck pain (56.7%) was significantly higher in those with M+TTH (89.3%), pure TTH (88.4%) and pure migraine (76.2%) (p<0.05 for all three group comparisons). Individuals with neck pain had higher TTS than individuals without neck pain (15.1±10.5 vs. 8.4±8.0, p<0.001)., Conclusions: Neck pain is highly prevalent in the general population and even more prevalent in individuals with primary headaches. Prevalence is highest in coexistent M+TTH, followed by pure TTH and migraine. Myofascial tenderness is significantly increased in individuals with neck pain., (© International Headache Society 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.)