Search

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 10-year-old male who developed an atraumatic, nasal septal hematoma with abscess following several days of rhinorrhea and cough. His chief complaint to the emergency department was a two-day history of nasal swelling and discomfort, associated with difficulty breathing through his nose. The patient was well-appearing with swelling and tenderness along the external nasal ridge and nasal septal swelling that occluded both nares. Contrast-enhanced maxillofacial computed tomography revealed a rim-enhancing, fluid-filled collection to the anterior nasal septum. The patient underwent successful incision and drainage by otolaryngology.Discussion: Infected septal hematomas are rare but important to recognize as they can result in septal deformity and potentially life-threatening sequelae, such as intracranial infections. Most are secondary to nasal trauma in adult patients. This case highlights a unique presentation of atraumatic septal hematoma with abscess formation in an immunocompetent pediatric patient.

INTRODUCTION. The safe use of lily-of-the-valley medicinal products requires adequately controlling the content of cardiac glycosides. The State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation stipulates that the content of cardiac glycosides in lily-of-the-valley medicinal products should be quantified using bioassays and spectrophotometry. However, the determination of cardiac glycosides needs more accurate and selective physicochemical methods, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).AIM. This study aimed to develop and validate an HPLC analytical procedure for the quantitative determination of cardiac glycosides (convallatoxin) in lily-of-the-valley herbal medicinal products.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study examined the Lily-of-the-Valley Tincture, Zelenin Drops, Valocormid, Carniland®, and Lily-of-the-Valley Extract Reference Standard samples. The content of cardiac glycosides was determined by comparison with a reference standard for convallatoxin by HPLC and spectrophotometry. The samples were prepared as outlined in Monograph 3.4.0003.18 Lily-of-the-Valley Herb Tincture of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. Mixed cardiac glycosides were separated on a Luna 5 µm C18(2) column by gradient elution with 0.1% orthophosphoric acid in water and acetonitrile. The analysis was performed using an autoinjector with sample cooling to 5 °C.RESULTS. The developed analytical procedure met the acceptance criteria for specificity, intermediate precision, linearity (correlation coefficient of 0.99985), and repeatability (relative standard deviation of convallatoxin measurements of 1.61%). The analytical procedure is suitable for the quantitative determination of convallatoxin in lily-of-the-valley herbal medicinal products because it produces reliable and repeatable results.CONCLUSIONS. The authors developed a highly sensitive and selective HPLC analytical procedure for the quantitative determination of convallatoxin in lily-of-the-valley herbal medicinal products. The content of convallatoxin ranged from 0.012 to 0.018 mg/mL in the liquid active substance Lily-of-the-Valley Tincture, from 0.004 to 0.013 mg/mL in the medicinal product Zelenin Drops, and from 0.005 to 0.007 mg/mL in the medicinal products Carniland® and Valocormid. For the Lily-of-the-Valley Extract Reference Standard, the content of convallatoxin amounted to 0.029 mg/mL.

Pathogenic variants in the KCNV2 gene can cause a rare retinal dystrophy that can be inherited recessively, known as cone dystrophy with supernormal rod response (CDSRR). CDSRR leads to specific changes in photoreceptors’ electroretinogram response, especially in the rods, poor visual acuity, photophobia, and even maculopathy. The derived iPSC lines from patients with CDSRR may pave the way for apprehension of the pathogenetic mechanism and drug development using in vitro models. PBMCs were established into induced pluripotent stem cells and then characterized by confirming the expression of pluripotency markers, demonstrating the ability to differentiate into the three germ layers, and obtaining normal karyotyping.

Case Presentation: We present a case of a 10-year-old male who developed an atraumatic, nasal septal hematoma with abscess following several days of rhinorrhea and cough. His chief complaint to the emergency department was a two-day history of nasal swelling and discomfort, associated with difficulty breathing through his nose. The patient was well-appearing with swelling and tenderness along the external nasal ridge and nasal septal swelling that occluded both nares. Contrast-enhanced maxillofacial computed tomography revealed a rim-enhancing, fluid-filled collection to the anterior nasal septum. The patient underwent successful incision and drainage by otolaryngology. Discussion: Infected septal hematomas are rare but important to recognize as they can result in septal deformity and potentially life-threatening sequelae, such as intracranial infections. Most are secondary to nasal trauma in adult patients. This case highlights a unique presentation of atraumatic septal hematoma with abscess formation in an immunocompetent pediatric patient.

Abstract Hybrid immunity, acquired through vaccination followed or preceded by a COVID-19 infection, elicits robust antibody augmentation. We hypothesize that maternal hybrid immunity will provide greater infant protection than other forms of COVID-19 immunity in the first 6 months of life. We conducted a case-control study in Israel, enrolling 661 infants up to 6 months of age, hospitalized with COVID-19 (cases) and 59,460 age-matched non-hospitalized infants (controls) between August 24, 2021, and March 15, 2022. Infants were grouped by maternal immunity status at delivery: Naïve (never vaccinated or tested positive, reference group), Hybrid-immunity (vaccinated and tested positive), Natural-immunity (tested positive before or during the study period), Full-vaccination (two-shot regimen plus 1 booster), and Partial-vaccination (less than full three shot regimen). Applying Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the hazard ratios, which was then converted to percent vaccine effectiveness, and using the Naïve group as the reference, maternal hybrid-immunity provided the highest protection (84% [95% CI 75-90]), followed by full-vaccination (66% [95% CI 56-74]), natural-immunity (56% [95% CI 39-68]), and partial-vaccination (29% [95% CI 15-41]). Maternal hybrid-immunity was associated with a reduced risk of infant hospitalization for Covid-19, as compared to natural-immunity, regardless of exposure timing or sequence. These findings emphasize the benefits of vaccinating previously infected individuals during pregnancy to reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations in early infancy.

Aim. To study risk factors for fatal cardiovascular events in patients with non-small cell lung cancer over two years of standard treatment.Material and methods. This pilot retrospective non-randomized cohort study included 179 patients who were consecutively admitted to the chemotherapy department of City Clinical Hospital 1 from January to December 2020 with a confirmed diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer based on the comprehensive examination and morphological verification according to the 2018 clinical guidelines on bronchial and lung cancer. Diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases were carried out according to national clinical guidelines. The follow-up period for non-small cell lung cancer and cardiovascular disease was 2 years. Logistic regression models were considered to assess the risk of cardiovascular death. The model accuracy was assessed by a cross-validation.Results. The best model in terms of the sensitivity and specificity sum according to a cross-validation was the model with the following explanatory variables: sex, cancer stage, platinum-based chemotherapy, etoposide, immunotherapy, surgical treatment. This model showed a sensitivity of 70,1% and a specificity of 82,1%.Conclusion. This approach is easy to implement and may optimize treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

A method for separating clean plates of epicuticular wax has been proposed. The use of water, which can penetrate deeply into wax structures under the influence of van der Waals forces and expand upon freezing, allows to quickly obtain uncontaminated wax plates with a native structure without any third-party chemical impurities. Using scanning electron microscopy, images of blue spruce (Picea pungens Engelm.) needle wax were obtained. Its morphological and structural characteristics have been determined. A distinctive feature is the presence of wax nanotubules with a characteristic diameter of ~150 nm and a length of 3–5 μm. Nanotubes lie on top of each other in stacks, forming a one-dimensional long-period lattice. Microscopic observations of the wax were made in reflected and transmitted light. It has been shown that the coating of blue spruce needles consists of microparticles of wax with a structural color. In a wide spectral range, individual particles change color from blue to red, as a result, large conglomerates of particles are white. Fluorescence spectra of needles with native wax cover and the same needles after wax removal were obtained. When comparing the width of fluorescence lines at half-height of blue spruce needles with and without wax, the influence of the wax layer on the lifetime of excited electrons in photosystem II was revealed, thereby establishing a connection between the wax cover and the process of photosynthesis. Using the matrix transfer method, transmission spectra were calculated for a lattice similar to a waxy structure, a chloroplast, and a combination of a waxy structure with a chloroplast. In the latter version, the long-wave zone of selective reflection is much wider than in individual cases. When examining a structure containing a chloroplast and epicuticular wax, there is a slight splitting of the stop zone, as if there were a defect, which contributes to a high concentration of energy at the site of splitting. Due to an increase in energy concentration, the density of photonic states at the corresponding wavelengths increases. This effect is important for photosynthesis because, according to Fermi’s golden rule, the rate of reaction is proportional to the density of photonic states. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental spectra.

Accumulating data on the increasing degradation of coral reefs worldwide has led to a focus on the unique mesophotic coral ecosystem (MCE) as a potential refuge for threatened shallow-water species (i.e., the deep reef refugia hypothesis: DRRH). Sponges play a crucial role in coral-reef functioning but are often overlooked in benthic surveys. This knowledge gap is especially true for the Red Sea, where data on sponge abundance, coverage and species composition are scarce. Furthermore, to date, no study has examined mesophotic sponges in the Red Sea. Here we compared sponge abundance and diversity metrics between shallow and mesophotic reefs at two sites in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea. We also examined the role of biotic and abiotic parameters in determining sponge variability between sites and depths. Sponge diversity metrics significantly varied with increasing depth and between sites. Sponge species composition also differed significantly between depth and sites. However, parameters measured in the water column, that is, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), Particulate Organic Carbon (POC), NOx, etc., did not differ between depths and sites, except for Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus concentration, which did. The findings indicated that site characteristics and biotic interactions may play an essential role in determining sponge diversity and community composition. Between-site differences in sponge fauna revealed in the study highlight the importance of considering the variability in the benthic communities and the factors controlling it when designing management tools for coral reefs, particularly for the northern Red Sea.

The mechanism of the relationship between pretumor changes in the bronchial respiratory epithelium and the risk of progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. It has been suggested that the relationship between reactive changes in the bronchial mucosa and NSCLC progression may be caused by the functional status of monocytic-macrophage cells as important participants in infammation, which determines both the risk of premalignant changes in the epithelium and malignant progression. The purpose of the study was to investigate the phenotypic profle of peripheral blood monocytes and macrophages induced from monocytes in vitro depending on the state of respiratory epithelium in NSCLC patients. Material and Methods. The study included 39 patients with newly diagnosed NSCLC. Based on the morphological examination of small bronchi taken at the distance of 3–5 cm from the tumor, patients were divided into the following groups depending on the type of pretumor changes: no pretumor changes (n=6), isolated basal cell hyperplasia (BCH) (n=13), combination of BCH and squamous metaplasia (SM) (n=3), combination of unchanged epithelium and focal BCH (n=17). The phenotypic features of peripheral blood monocytes and in vitro-induced macrophages were assessed before treatment using fow cytometry. Results. The state of the respiratory epithelium in NSCLC patients prior to the start of anticancer treatment was associated with the phenotypic features of peripheral blood monocytes, but not with the profle of macrophages induced from them. Distortion of the response of induced macrophages to the polarizing stimuli was observed in NSCLC patients: the cultured cells responded to both M1 and M2 inducers (LPS and IL-4, respectively) with a phenotype shift to M2, while the CD206 marker expression varied depending on the presence and type of pretumor changes. Conclusion. The phenotypic profle of peripheral blood monocytes was associated with the state of the respiratory epithelium in NSCLC patients before anti-tumor treatment, but not with the phenotypic features of induced macrophages.

Scientific relevance. The State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, edition XIV, requires the identification of aniseed and fennel fruits by the same thin-layer chromatography (TLC) procedure using Sudan III and menthol. These markers are neither specific nor related to the therapeutic effects of these herbal drug products. The visual interpretation of chromatograms is complicated because of the low intensity of adsorption zones. Moreover, the corresponding compendial monographs do not characterise the adsorption zones specific to each of the plants. The most abundant component in aniseed and fennel essential oils, trans-anethole, would make a better reference standard from a methodological point of view.Aim. This study aimed to optimise the TLC procedure for essential oil determination in herbal drugs and herbal medicinal products of aniseed and fennel fruits and subsequently recommend it for inclusion in the relevant compendial monographs.Materials and methods. The study examined samples from several batches of herbal drugs, including aniseed and common fennel fruits, sourced from Russian manufacturers. The reference standards comprised commercial reagents, including trans-anethole, anise oil, and linalool, as well as fresh essential oils that had been steam distilled from the test samples in a Clevenger apparatus. The study was conducted by TLC. Sample preparation involved using Merck aluminium TLC plates, an IKA KS-501 digital orbital shaker, and a CAMAG Linomat 5 semi-automatic sample application system. The authors heated the plates in either a Binder ED53 drying oven or a CAMAG TLC plate heater. For visualisation, the authors selected a CAMAG TLC VISUALIZER 2 UV imaging and documentation system.Results. The informational and experimental research showed the feasibility of using trans-anethole as an identification reference standard for common anise and fennel fruits. The authors selected the optimal solvent for extracting active substances from the test products (hexane) and a detection reagent for improving visual evaluation of the chromatograms (1% sulfovanillin). The authors established characteristic adsorption zones for differentiating between aniseed and fennel fruits.Conclusions. The optimised procedure identifies the main components in the essential oils of aniseed and fennel fruits with a specific reference standard. This procedure may be recommended for inclusion in draft monographs for the corresponding herbal medicinal products.

Knowledge of the composition of proteins that interact with plasma DNA will provide a better understanding of the homeostasis of circulating nucleic acids and the various modes of interaction with target cells, which may be useful in the development of gene targeted therapy approaches. The goal of the present study is to shed light on the composition and architecture of histone-containing nucleoprotein complexes (NPCs) from the blood plasma of healthy females (HFs) and breast cancer patients (BCPs) and to explore the relationship of proteins with crucial steps of tumor progression: epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), cell proliferation, invasion, cell migration, stimulation of angiogenesis, and immune response. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometric analysis of NPCs isolated from blood samples using affine chromatography was performed. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the shares of DNA-binding proteins in the compositions of NPCs in normal and cancer patients are comparable and amount to 40% and 33%, respectively; in total, we identified 38 types of DNA-binding motifs. Functional enrichment analysis using FunRich 3.13 showed that, in BCP blood, the share of DNA-binding proteins involved in nucleic acid metabolism increased, while the proportion of proteins involved in intercellular communication and signal transduction decreased. The representation of NPC passenger proteins in breast cancer also changes: the proportion of proteins involved in transport increases and the share of proteins involved in energy biological pathways decreases. Moreover, in the HF blood, proteins involved in the processes of apoptosis were more represented in the composition of NPCs and in the BCP blood—in the processes of active secretion. For the first time, bioinformatics approaches were used to visualize the architecture of circulating NPCs in the blood and to show that breast cancer has an increased representation of passenger proteins involved in EMT, cell proliferation, invasion, cell migration, and immune response. Using breast cancer protein data from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and DEPC, we found that 86% of NPC proteins in the blood of BCPs were not previously annotated in these databases. The obtained data may indirectly indicate directed protein sorting in NPCs, which, along with extracellular vesicles, can not only be diagnostically significant molecules for liquid biopsy, but can also carry out the directed transfer of genetic material from donor cells to recipient cells.

Exosomes are membrane vesicles 30–150 nm in size released by cells upon fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. A distinctive feature of these vesicles is the presence of the surface tetraspanins CD9, CD63, and CD81. The Rab family of small GTPases, including Rab27A and Rab27B, controls various steps in exosome release, including transport of multivesicular bodies and fusion of the multivesicular body to the plasma membrane. It is commonly accepted to date that exosomes are the main carriers of information between cells under physiological conditions, such as mammary development and lactation, and under pathological conditions, such as breast cancer. This review considers the peculiarities of exosome formation, secretion and transport, their composition and role in normal and breast cancer, as well as the prospects for using these vesicles to develop early non-invasive diagnostics and improve the effectiveness of anti-tumor therapy.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is involved in many vital biochemical processes in the human body. Rose hips are a natural source of ascorbic acid. Rose hips are used in decoctions and many vitamin herbal teas. Russian compendial methods for the quantitative determination of ascorbic acid have certain limitations precluding its objective measurement in herbal drugs, herbal drug preparations, and herbal medicinal products.The aim of the study was to develop an analytical procedure for the quantitative determination of ascorbic acid in herbal drugs, herbal medicinal preparations, and herbal medicinal products using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Materials and methods. The study involved two herbal medicinal products, Rose Hips (rose hips) and Vitamin Herbal Tea 2 (rose hips and rowan fruits), and reference standards for ascorbic acid, rutoside, quercetin, gallic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, luteolin-7-glucoside, citric acid, DL-malic acid, thiamine, and pyridoxine hydrochloride. The authors used a 1260 Infinity II chromatograph with a diode array detector by Agilent and an Inertsil ODS-3 chromatographic column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) by GL Sciences. The HPLC system was operated in gradient elution mode, and the detector was set at 244 nm.Results. Ascorbic acid content in herbal drugs, herbal medicinal preparations, and herbal medicinal products can be determined by HPLC. Adequate sample preparation and chromatography conditions allow for inhibiting ascorbic acid oxidation in aqueous solutions for a period sufficient to complete testing (not less than 8 h).Conclusions. The authors developed a highly sensitive and selective HPLC procedure for the quantitative determination of ascorbic acid intended for the standardisation of herbal drugs, herbal medicinal preparations, and herbal medicinal products. The procedure is worthy of inclusion in the Rose Hips and Vitamin Herbal Tea 2 monographs of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation. Switching to HPLC should not require lowering the limit for ascorbic acid (not less than 0.2%) established in the Rose Hips and Vitamin Herbal Tea 2 monographs for the titration method. The ascorbic acid content was below this limit in the vast majority of study samples. However, this discrepancy may be explained by the presence of dog rose (Rosa canina) species low in vitamin C, which should normally be used only as choleretics.

When used to quantify alkaloids in thermopsis dry extract, acidimetric titration has several limitations, including insufficient specificity of the method and arbitrary selection of a titration endpoint. Different parts of the Thermopsis lanceolata plant produce alkaloids in different proportions: the herb is rich in thermopsine, whereas the seeds are rich in cytisine. Since thermopsine and cytisine have different pharmacological effects, it is important to identify and quantify individual alkaloids in thermopsis dry extract.The aim of the study was to develop and validate an analytical procedure for identifying and quantifying total alkaloids in thermopsis dry extract by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with densitometric detection.Materials and methods. The study included samples from two pilot-scale batches of thermopsis dry extract and reference standards for cytisine and thermopsine. The authors used Merck HPTLС Silica Gel 60 F254 20×10 cm plates for chromato-graphic separation and analysed the results with a CAMAG® TLC Scanner 4 densitometer and the winCATS software.Results. The authors identified thermopsis dry extract using HPTLC separation followed by spectrodensitometry. The alkaloid-specific solution applied to chromatography plates helped to identify the three most abundant and four minor alkaloids of thermopsis. The most abundant alkaloids were thermopsine, cytisine, and an unidentified alkaloid with a retention factor of approximately 0.2. These three alkaloids accounted for almost 80% of the total alkaloid content of the dry extract. The authors quantified cytisine, thermopsine, and total alkaloids expressed as thermopsine.Conclusions. The authors developed and validated an analytical procedure for identifying and quantifying total alkaloids in thermopsis dry extract. This procedure offers the possibility of reducing the analysis time from 4–5 hours to 2–2.5 hours.

Currently, there is an increase in preand post-approval testing of medicinal products containing diosmin and hence a need to unify approaches to standardisation of this group of pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation lacks a monograph for these products.The aim of the study was to determine an approach to standardisation of medicinal products containing diosmin.Materials and methods: the study analysed scientific publications, as well as monographs of leading foreign pharmacopoeias. Experimental work was carried out using samples of diosmin-containing pharmaceuticals in the form of 500 and 1000 mg film-coated tablets produced by Russian and foreign manufacturers. The study involved high performance liquid chromatography with UV detection using an Agilent 1260 Infinity II liquid chromatography system with a diode array detector. The following reference standards were used: a diosmin RS, USP grade; a hesperidin CRS, Ph. Eur. Grade; and a diosmin CRS for testing chromatography system suitability for identification of impurities A, B, C, D, E, and F, Ph. Eur. grade.Results: the authors reviewed quality requirements for pharmaceutical products containing diosmin and analysed experimental data obtained during preand post-approval testing of Russian and foreign medicines. The comparison of regulatory documents for registered diosmin-containing medicinal products showed a difference in approaches to assessing the contents of related substances and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Having analysed the literature, experimental data and regulatory requirements for standardisation of diosmin-containing pharmaceuticals, the authors recommended an approach to standardisation. According to the approach, concomitant flavonoids (hesperidin, isorchoifolin, linarin, and diosmetin) contributing to the pharmacological activity of a medicinal product are specified as part of Assay, and process-related by-products (impurities A and D) are specified and evaluated as part of Related substances tests.Conclusion: the authors propose to evaluate the contents of concomitant flavonoids (hesperidin, isorchoifolin, linarin, diosmetin) under Assay and to specify impurities A and D, as well as single unidentified impurities and total amount of impurities under Related substances.

IntroductionImmunometabolism is essential factor of tumor progression, and tumor-associated macrophages are characterized by substantial changes in their metabolic status. In this study for the first time, we applied targeted amino acid LC-MS/MS analysis to compare amino acid metabolism of circulating monocytes isolated from patients with breast, ovarian, lung, and colorectal cancer.MethodsMonocyte metabolomics was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS) analysis of amino acid extracts. The targeted analysis of 26 amino acids was conducted by LCMS/MS on an Agilent 6460 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source and an Agilent 1260 II liquid chromatograph.ResultsComparison of monocytes of cancer patients with monocytes of healthy control individuals demonstrated that in breast cancer most pronounced changes were identified for tryptophan (AUC = 0.76); for ovarian cancer, aminobutyric acid was significantly elevated (AUC= 1.00); for lung cancer significant changes we indented for citrulline (AUC = 0.70). In order to identify key amino acids that are characteristic for monocytes in specific cancer types, we compared each individual cancer with other 3 types of cancer. We found, that aspartic acid and citrulline are specific for monocytes of patients with colorectal cancer (p

The past, current and planned future developments of X-ray imagers in the Photon-Science Detector Group at DESY-Hamburg is presented. the X-ray imagers are custom developed and tailored to the different X-ray sources in Hamburg, including the storage ring PETRA III/IV; the VUV-soft X-ray free electron laser FLASH, and the European Free-Electron Laser. Each source puts different requirements on the X-ray detectors, which is described in detail, together with the technical solutions implemented.

We study the features of the heat and mass transfer accompanied by diffusion-limited evaporation in a two-phase liquid--gas system with an interface on the basis of an exact solution to the thermosolutal convection equations. We examine changes in kinematic and temperature characteristics in the two-layer system as well as the vapor content in the carrier gas and evaporative mass flow rate on the interface. We analyze the stability of the exact solution and study the evolution of the neutral curve topology and the most dangerous perturbations with changes in the gas flow rate. We ascertain the destabilizing influence of the pumping gas on the threshold characteristics of the stability for the two-layer flow. Bibliography: 18 titles. Illustrations: 5 figures., In this paper, we study the characteristics of gas sheared liquid flows under evaporation conditions in a plane channel based on an exact solution of group origin. The results of [...]

The aim of investigation was to study experimentally the morphological features of tissue integration of two-layer titanium nickelide (TiNi) knitwear when replacing thoracoabdominal defects.Materials and methods. The experiments were carried out on 40 Wistar rats. The experimental animals were divided into two comparison groups: in Group A (n = 20) the defect was replaced using a two-layer knitted tape made of TiNi, in Group B (n = 20) a polypropylene mesh implant was used. The technique of the operation and the peculiarities of keeping the animals did not differ. Animals were taken out after 14, 30, 60 and 90 days of experiment. The macroscopic structural features at the site of implant fixation to tissues and at the sites of contact with underlying organs were studied, and the inflammatory process was assessed. The histological and electron microscopic study was carried out with an assessment of the features of tissue integration through the mesh structure of knitwear.Results. Thirty days after the surgery in four cases of Group B the appearance of the chest wall deformation at the site of implant fixation was noted, in one case the deformation site was located along the lateral edge of the abdominal wall. Among the animals of Group A no such changes were recorded. The histological and electron microscopy examination revealed that the porous structure of the TiNi wire, as well as the biomechanical and biochemical properties of the two-layer metal knitwear, ensure optimal integration of the endoprosthesis in the body tissues, forming an elastic frame close to natural. In Group B, on the contrary, the reaction of the body caused by the implanted polypropylene prosthesis was characterized by more pronounced fibrosis, and tissue integration through the mesh structure of the implant was not observed.Conclusion. Two-layer TiNi knitwear in the replacement of complex structures of the thoracoabdominal zone showed promising results, which opens up prospects for further clinical research.

Our oceanic swimming-writing-reading together practice coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown in South Africa. Awash with vulnerability, precarity, and isolation, oceanic swimming-writing-reading became one of the few ways in which we, as three academics from different higher education institutions, found respite in a practice of care for ourselves and others. Curious as to whether swimming and free writing could materialise alternative creative scholarly practices, we began to meet regularly to swim, write, read and think together with theoretical perspectives that subscribe to a feminist relational ontology. This article turns to visual and written narratives generated during this period and building on them, considers health and wellbeing at both subjective and planetary levels. Our global southern location articulates with these themes in very particular ways – access, risk and embodiment in relation to seas, beaches and littoral zones. South Africa remains haunted by the continuing geopolitical effects of its slave, colonial, apartheid, and neoliberal past and current contexts of global capitalism that seep into encounters with the ocean. Our swimming-writing-thinking is a reminder of our relationalities with and response-abilities for the hydrocommons as the measure of human, other species and the planet’s capacity to survive and flourish.

Objective: to investigate sexual disorders (SDs) in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) both before and after undergoing various temporal lobe operative procedures.Material and methods. A retrospective andrological and sexologic study was conducted, utilizing catamnesis data. Multiple examination methods were employed, including semen and prostatic fluid analysis, Decourt–Dumic sperm morphotype analysis, vegetative tests, Shcherbak thermoregulation reflex examination, ultraviolet erythema test, sugar curve analysis, and electroencephalography. The study assessed the results of surgical treatment and long-term catamnesis for 120 TLE patients who had undergone various temporal lobe operative procedures (TLPs), with ages at the time of surgery ranging from 4.5 to 47 years. Among them, 82 patients (41 males and 41 females) in the main group reported complaints of SDs, representing 100% for all calculations.Results. Hypersexuality and sexual perversions were most prevalent among patients with severe mental disorders. Following TLPs, patients with mild mental disorders and cessation of epileptic seizures (EPs) experienced regression in 83.6% of SD cases. Conversely, among patients with severe mental disorders, SDs regressed in 45% of cases after TLPs. Encouraging outcomes were observed in patients with hypersexuality, which was ameliorated after the cessation of EPs, with a catamnesis period ranging from 17 to 24 years.Conclusion. This study, conducted in real-world clinical settings, supports the recommendation of surgical treatment for TLE patients with mild mental disorders. In the majority of cases, the cessation or reduction of EPs following TLPs leads to improvements in TLE manifestations, including the patient's mental state, SDs, and social adaptation.