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The article considers the possibility of using adaptogens based on lactobacilli that stimulate nonspecific resistance and help reduce the impact of stress factors on aquaculture facilities as a result of the current difficult situation on the market of feed and feed additives for trout. The object of the study was authentic strains of lactobacilli − Lactobacillus brevis 1.5, L. brevis 1.7 and L. brevis 2.6. Under experimental conditions, the biochemical activity of lactobacilli was evaluated in relation to glucose, sucrose, mannitol, L-arabinose and glycerol; antibacterial activity and the ability to co-culture. According to the results of the study, the most promising strains were selected for use as a basis for the development of biologics of targeted adaptogens.

The dominant factor determining chemical industry objects’ durability is the corrosive wear of the stretched reinforcement and the compressed zone of concrete. The article presents a methodology and results of a numerical assessment of the residual life of the reinforced concrete frame beams of an industrial building operating in an aggressive environment. According to the full-scale engineering survey results, the most damaged frame structures - the beams of the intermediate floors were identified. The period of concrete protective layer complete neutralization, the degree of corrosion damage to the working reinforcement, the compressed concrete neutralized layer depth, the change in its strength characteristics with depth and the degree of its heterogeneity were determined by the field measurements using the standard and non-standard methods of non-destructive testing. A linear law of the accumulation of corrosion damage to concrete in the compressed zone and the rate of corrosion damage in the working reinforcement after the concrete protective properties’ exhaustion is adopted. A normative design apparatus is used for the first group of limiting states in relation to the most loaded section. For an adequate assessment and prediction of the residual resource, the main emphasis is on experimental and diagnostic methods.

Energy production is the most important system-forming infrastructure in the Russian Far East. The Asia-Pacific Region retains the position of the most attractive region in terms of investment into new projects, but the investment prospects of the region in terms of development of the fuel and energy sector on the global investment market consists of ten factors. 27 state programs specifically target the Far East, meanwhile small and medium businesses will also be given means for development.

The article deals with the historical development of mineral deposits exploitation which has very old history. Several thousands of years hid from us where and when people first began to extract minerals from the interior of the earth. With the development of human society the extraction of minerals has been increasing steadily. Nowadays the growth of extraction is accompanied by the deterioration of mining and geological conditions of mining operations, reducing mineralization in the deposit. As a result of intensive development mineral reserves located near the soil surface have changed significantly. Modern open-casts, open pits, and mines are highly productive and automated production complexes, including very extensive and diverse mining, various industrial buildings and facilities, the system of energy-mechanical equipment, automation and control with the use of microcomputer equipment. The paper describes a number of stages which modern mining in its development had passed and at which innovative breakthrough radically changed the place of the mineral sector in the society, and made the work of miners safer and more productive. For the systemization of the historical development of coal industry it is important to identify those technological breakthroughs that radically changed the technological and technical conditions of mining.

The study objective was to describe the formation of forensic microbiological examination as an analysis of a new type, defined as the detection and registration of reliably measured environmental and physiological changes within the microbial community of corpse in order to substantiate the possibility of using microbiological parameters to establish the prescription of death coming. It has been determined that the knowledge of the patterns of interaction of a human and his corpse with endogenous and exogenous flora provides the basis for solving a number of traditional and new application-oriented expert tasks and the allocation of such a variety of forensic examination as forensic microbiological examination. Endogenous and exogenous human flora and its interaction with living and dead biological tissues are the objects of this kind of examination, and the dynamic patterns of such interaction are the subject of study. One of the initial relevant tasks of forensic microbiological examination consists in development of methods, adequate for the expert task to be solved, choice of the research «target», «models» for comparative analysis and medium, adequate for task in hand, as well as certification of these methods and standardization of assessment criteria for the obtained results.

New coronavirus infection is registered less frequently in children than in adults. Among all patients with COVID-19, the share of children is 8.6%. Clinical practice shows that in children, COVID-19 can be severe and even fatal. Articles have been published reflecting the clinical manifestations of Long Covid in children, while data on pathomorphological examination of the lungs during long-term COVID-19 in children are not available in the literature. On the basis of the Department of Pathological Anatomy with a course of Forensic Medicine and the Pathological-Anatomical Department of the Clinic of St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, an analysis of medical documentation was carried out, autopsy materials were selected from 3 observations of the death of children from COVID-19. The selection criterion was the duration of the disease. A histological examination using standard methods and IHC analysis using antibodies to the nucleocapsid of SARS-Cov-2, CD95, CD31 were carried out on the lung tissue of 3 children aged 2 months to 2 years who died from a new coronavirus infection. Microscopically, all three patients showed microvessels damage, their thrombosis, angiogenesis, as well as signs of diffuse alveolar damage The combination of expression of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and the apoptosis marker on the vascular endothelium of the MCR is of interest., Conclusion: The data obtained indicate infection with coronavirus and death of endothelial cells due to apoptosis. Endothelial damage in the microvessels of the lungs is the initiating factor in the development of capillary-alveolar block, tissue hypoxia, and disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, leading in some cases to respiratory/multiple organ failure and death.

Although the World Health Organization has declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors continue to register new cases of the disease among both adults and children. Unfortunately, the course of COVID-19 in children can have a severe form, with death being a potential outcome. The absence of published works discussing the pathological morphology of COVID-19 in children prevents the objective analysis of the disease's pathogenesis, including among the adult population. In this vein, the objective of our study is to identify the morphological features of the lungs' involvement and evaluate virus-host interactions in the case of COVID-19 in patients at a pediatric medical practice. We present the results of the study of the lungs of three children who died due to COVID-19, highlighting the predominant involvement of their respiratory organs at different stages of the disease (5, 21, and 50 days). This article presents data obtained from histopathological and immunohistochemical investigations, taking into account the results of clinical and laboratory indicators and intravital and postmortem SARS-CoV-2 PCR investigations. The common finding of all of the examined COVID-19 cases is the involvement of the endothelium in microcirculation vessels, which are considered to be a primary target of various pathogenic influencing factors. We also discuss both the significance of apoptosis as a result of virus-host interactions and the most likely cause of endothelium cell destruction. The results of this study could be useful for the development of endothelium-protective therapy to prevent the progression of disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome.

Phenotypic signs of dominants isolated from the surface of bony remnants from the historic burial site were analyzed in order to expand data on the biodiversity of microorganisms in the microbial flora of bony remnants and to assess the possibility of using the results of microbiological analysis in the evidence base of forensic examination and forensic archaeology. It was detected that only Deuteromycota and Eubacteria colonized all types of surfaces in the samples of bone fragments from the historic burial site (with the age in the range of 90-95 years); with the abundance of micromycetes, the proportion of Eubacteria naturally decreased, while with the increased bacterial background counts the rate of micromycetes detection decreased. The insignificant amount of nutrients in the bony remnants led to the decrease in the number and biological diversity of microorganisms contaminating them; species adapted to a hard-to-reach organic substrate dominated there. During the process of bony remnants decomposition, when the conditions of their location changed, inter-species competition and specific recolonization occurred by species of microorganisms most adapted to a hard-to-reach organic substrate in the abiotic and biotic conditions of existence given. The results obtained are important for the descriptive ecology and biology of specific groups of microorganisms in the postmortem microbiome and form the basis for a more thorough study of complex communications between species of microorganisms in the necrobiome of bony remnants - in the future it will allow putting forward original hypotheses about the involvement of microbes in the circulation of matter and energy, as well as to apply the information obtained in the evidence base of forensic examination and forensic archaeology.

The Aim of the Study: Is to justify using the corpses of large mammals as model objects for studying the postmortem period. Similarities in processes occurring postmortem in human and swine corpses (decomposition stages and the structure of dominant necrophilic organisms inhabiting the corpse), as well as similar changes of relative impedance parameters for the cartilaginous tissue and musculoskeletal flap of swine and human corpses have been established. The results obtained allow recommending the swine corpse as an adequate human corpse model both for scientific studies and for solving specific scientific and practical issues arising in the practice of forensic examination when determining the prescription of death coming and the postmortem period conditions.

The article is devoted to the history of Professor D.D. Lokhov Department of Pathological Anatomy with a course of forensic medicine of the St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University of the Ministry of Health of Russia, founded by one of founders of the national pathological anatomy of childhood and adolescence, Professor D.D. Lokhov, whose name has been awarded to the Department since 2022. The updated advances of the Department in research, teaching and diagnostic activity are presented.

Through experimental reproduction of the decomposition process using the cadaver of rabbit Oryctolagus sp., the dynamics of cadaver microflora was studied; the dominant bacterial taxa were isolated in pure culture and identified; their ecological and trophic profiles and biodiversity were described based on the values of Simpson and Menchinic ecological indices. The dependence of cadaver rotting and skeletonization rate on the taxonomic profile of microorganisms, decomposition period, and abiotic environmental factors (temperature, acidity, soil moisture) was demonstrated. The data obtained contribute to justifying the use of microbiological methods in forensic practice. To establish objective causality patterns of microbial transformation of organic matter in nature, further targeted study of ecological patterns of cadaveric microflora is necessary.

The purpose of the work is to evaluate the cultural and morphological properties of colonies of clinically significant corynebacteria on culture mediums for the isolation of corynebacteria. The study used 9 culture mediums for the isolation of corynebacteria: a culture medium for the isolation of corynebacteria (Corynebacagar); Tellurite-containing blood agars on base - Culture medium № 1 GRM, Culture agar for the cultivation of microorganisms (GRM agar), Culture medium for determining the sensitivity of microorganisms to antibacterial preparations - AGV, culture agar for the cultivation of dry microorganisms (SPA), Clauberg medium II, Hoyle Medium agar (Oxoid), Blood agar base (Conda), Columbia Agar Base (Conda). The work used 7 test strains of microorganisms from the State collections of pathogenic microorganisms - C. diphtheriae biovars gravis, mitis, intermedius, belfanti and subspecies lausannense, C. ulcerans and C.pseudotuberculosis. Studies were carried out in accordance with MUK 4.2.3065-13 «Laboratory diagnosis of diphtheria infection». We describe culture-morphological properties of strains on all tested culture mediums the isolation of corynebacteria after 24 and 48 hours of incubation. Analysis of the results on the growth properties of culture mediums showed that all culture mediums had high sensitivity - from dilution 10-7 for all test strains. Colonies of corynebacteria were visually detected on culture mediums after 19-20 hours of cultivation. When cultivating a suspension of corynebacteria from breeding 10-6 on culture mediums, the number of colonies ranged from 95±5 to 120±10. Conclusion. All culture mediums had differential diagnostic properties that ensure the growth of corynebacteria after the day of incubation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The aim of this work is to monitor the state of the proteolytic community in time and space for the subsequent development of approaches to an objective assessment of the late postmortem period. The study proposes a combination of standard bacterioscopic and bacteriological research methods with methods of molecular biology and genetics, which make it possible to identify species and strains of mammalian corpses' proteolytics at the level of specific DNA or RNA. On the basis of phenotypic traits and a comparative analysis of the nucleotide sequences of genes encoding 16S rRNA, the species belonging of the isolated strains was proved. The set of methods' combination, including traditional microbiological analysis and molecular genetic studies, seems promising both for the purpose of substantiating and widespread use of microbiological methods in forensic medical practice, and for development an objective scientific base for establishing the cause-and-effect patterns of microbial transformation of organic matter in nature.

Objective - to study the diversity of physiological groups of microorganisms that control the transformation of bone remains in nature. Traditional microbiological methods were used to study the cytological, physiological, biochemical and environmental properties of microorganisms isolated from the bone remains of Oryctolagus sp. 8 of 14 physiological groups of microorganisms - participants of diagenesis are established: ammonifiers, nitrifying bacteria, bacteria decomposing cellulose, causative agents of lactic acid and acetic acid fermentation, nitrogen fixators and denitrifying bacteria. Most of the identified physiological groups are in constant dynamics that is probably due to the uneven distribution in the soil of organic substances formed at different times in the process of microbial transformation of bone fragments. The analysis of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of these microorganisms' groups makes it possible not only to assess the intensity of the processes taking place over time but also to define the dependence on environmental factors such as soil acidity and ambient temperature. The results obtained can be used to obtain reliable data in forensic medical examination to solve issue about the prescription of death or the term of burial of bone remains.

Objective: Intrauterine hypoxia/asphyxia is not the cause, but a consequence of different pathological conditions that requires a more detailed study of the morphogenesis of perinatal death., Methods: Structural changes in placentas of intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) in different stages of intrauterine period and placentas in early neonatal death were reviewed and compared. Control group was composed of term placentas without evidence of perinatal asphyxia or other neonatal abnormalities. Immunohistochemical investigation was performed by antibodies to Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Morphometric analysis was performed using the Pannoramic Midi II histoscanner of "3DHISTECH" company., Results: The histologic examination of placentas revealed differences between IUFD and early neonatal death. Predominant localization of HSV and CMV antigens was noted in the walls of capillaries and in placental villous stroma in absolute majority of IUFD and early neonatal death cases; importantly, colocalization of TNF, HSV, and CMV antigens was also detected in cases of IUFD and early neonatal period., Conclusion: Damage of placental vessels due to the influence of pathogenic factors (virus antigens, TNF) can cause acute or chronic intrauterine fetus hypoxia which is a leading pathogenetic factor of perinatal death., (© 2020 by the Association of Clinical Scientists, Inc.)

The purpose of work was to study the activity of collagenase biosynthesis by bacilli and clostridia isolated from the bone microflora in a pure culture at different periods of bone decomposition and at different values of acidity of the medium and the temperature of cultivation. The comparative collagenase activity of the strains of Bacillus mycoides , Bacillus subtilis , Clostridium putrificum , Clostridium sporogenes found in microflora of bone tissue was determined. The catalytic activity of collagenases was evaluated according to the modified method of agar blocks by the diameter of precipitation zone as a result of diffusion of enzyme into an agar medium with collagen. Within 6 months of experiment, the dynamics of changes in the number of collagenolytic strains was monitored. For all isolated Bacillus and Clostridium isolates, a steady increase in collagenase synthesis was observed throughout the study period, with the exception of Bac. subtilis , which is probably due to the acidity of medium, which did not correspond to the optimal pH range for this species. The optimum temperature for manifestation of the maximum collagenolytic activity of bacilli was 40 °C, and for clostridia - 30 °C. The study of proteolytically active species involved in the destruction of bone collagen is promising for the purposes of forensic examination. The use of bacterial enzymes in forensic practice remains a difficult task, however, the use of their substrate specificity can significantly expand the evidence base of the examinations.

The Aim of the Study: Is a complex microbial-zoological characterization of the post-mortal period and ways of its determination during forensic examination. The heterotrophic component of the microflora of the corpse and its bed were studied using standard methods of microbiological research and PCR analysis, necrophilic insects - entomological method, and damages from some vertebrate animals - traditional methods of their analysis. We studied 125 corpses of humans, pigs, chickens, mice and some other representatives of mammal class weighing from 100 g to 100 kg at different times of decomposition. We isolated and studied more than 1000 isolates of microorganisms, more than 32 000 insects and more than 100 damages caused by rodents, dogs, cats and birds. We determined the main trends in microbial decomposition of dead bodies. The general characteristics of the corpse decomposition by insects are given and anatomical-topographical and morphological features of the corpse damage by some vertebrates are established. Significant The heterotrophic component of the microflora of the corpse and its bed were studied using standard methods of microbiological research and PCR analysis, necrophilic insects - entomological method, and damages from some vertebrate animals - traditional methods of their analysis. We studied 125 corpses of humans, pigs, chickens, mice and some other representatives of mammal class weighing from 100 g to 100 kg at different times of decomposition. We isolated and studied more than 1000 isolates of microorganisms, more than 32 000 insects and more than 100 damages caused by rodents, dogs, cats and birds. We determined the main trends in microbial decomposition of dead bodies. The general characteristics of the corpse decomposition by insects are given and anatomical-topographical and morphological features of the corpse damage by some vertebrates are established. Significant microbial and zoological characteristics of the post-mortem period have been identified, and ways of its establishment have been determined and confirmed by practical testing during forensic examination. A set of practical recommendations has been developed for forensic experts on the collection of necrophilous insects during the examination of the corpse at the scene and the tactics of the examination with the involvement of entomologists. The results obtained prove that there is a close correlation between the impact of vertebrate scavengers, necrophilic insects and the enzymatic activity of a specific community of heterotrophic microorganisms on the corpse.

The objective of the present study was to demonstrate the possibility of the diagnostics of prescription of death coming (PDC) based on the results of the studies with the application of the entomological and microbiological methods. The entomological materials included larvae of two dipteran species Stearibia nigriceps (Piophilidae) and Fannia vesparia (Fanniidae) collected from bone tissue fragments and the bony bed. The detailed investigation of the succession of necrophilic insects taking place in the course of decomposition of organic matter and the development of the preimaginal stages of the dipterans made it possible to determine the duration of the period during which the corpse remained in the ambient environment. The microbiological studies made it possible to determine the composition of necrobiome of the bone remains. It included, among other things, the association of soil bacterial forms belonging to the orders Actinomycetales, Pseudomonadales, and Aeromonadales in the combination with the fungi of the order Endomycetales. The enteral microorganisms that trigger putrefaction at the early stages of corpse decomposition were totally absent in the remains that hosted soil microorganisms destroying the hard tissues. The predominance of Actinobacteria in the samples of bone remains gave evidence of active disintegration of the skeletal tissues by the bacterial species inhabiting the local soil milieu. The study demonstrated that the results of the analysis of the microbial constituent of the washouts from the surfaces of the skull and the left upper arm bone of the human corpse were consistent with the conclusion about the prescription of death coming based on the entomological data. It is agued that the development of the methods for the diagnostics of prescription of death coming, including those to be used for the examination of the skeletonized corpses, based on the results of the entomological and microbiological investigations has good prospects as an area of research in the field of forensic medicine.

The objective of the present study was to characterize the specific features of corpse putrification under the influence of necrobiome enzymatic systems depending on the duration of the post-mortem period. We present the results of investigations into the enzymatic activity of the dominant species of microorganisms making up the post-mortem microbiome. The domestic pork carcasses weighing 50-70 kg were used as an experimental putrification model. The study revealed the characteristic features of protein decomposition under the influence of proteolytic enzymes of pseudomonads, bacilli, and clostridia, such as alteration in the amount of necrobionts producing proteases in the entire carcass and its fragments during biodegradation in the air over 30 and 136 days of the post-mortem period. A series of experiments designed to evaluate the effectiveness of protein hydrolysis by necrobionts have demonstrated the dependence of the rate of biodegradation on the environmental temperature, duration of the putrification pocess, and the species composition of the necrobiome.

The objective of the present work was to study dynamics of the temperature of a corpse of an experimental animal (a pig) between the moment of death till complete skeletization, The porcine corpse weighing approximately 100 kg was placed in the bilberry spruce forest in the southern part of the Karelian Republic. Variations in the temperature of the corpse were measured with the use of the EClrerk-USB-2Pt logger (an autonomous register of temperature) along with those of the environmental (the air and the soil) temperature during 86 days in the period from June till September. It was shown that the temperature of the corpse first decreased but began to increase thereafter due to the enhancement of the biological activity of microorganisms. It is concluded that putrefactive decomposition of the corpse does not always suggest the necessity to discontinue the measurement of its temperature. The forensic medical examination of a corrupted corpse should take into consideration the possibility of an increase of its temperature in the course of time because it may be a source of a mistake when estimating prescription of death coming. The problem of postmortem rise in the temperature of a corpse undergoing putrefactive decomposition needs a thorough theoretical interpretation with a view to promoting the practical application of the proposed method with due regard for the difference in the environmental conditions in various climatographical regions of the Russian Federation.

Multifactorial statistical analysis was used to identify differential diagnostic cytological features of glandular hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma of the endometrium. Twelve cytological features were identified for calculating linear discriminant function. The effectiveness of the diagnostic algorithm depends upon the diagnostic value of the sample and proficiency of the cytologist.

Combined treatment was used in 380 patients with breast cancer stage IIB, IIIA and IIIB. Preoperative therapy included large-fraction radiation (213 patients) or CMP chemotherapy course (176 patients). It was followed by radical mastectomy and postoperative chemotherapy, radiation. Cytograms of the specimens from the removed tumors were compared to pretreatment findings. This served the basis for recognition of 4 degrees of breast cancer pathomorphosis. The scheme can be used as additional morphological information on the degree of the breast cancer destruction and should be taken into consideration together with other data.

A study was made of the cytological criteria of various degrees of radiation pathomorphosis of soft tissue cancers and sarcomas in different dose fractionation regimens and varying time of a preoperative interval. Combinations of the main and additional parenchymatous and stromal cytological signs, reflecting pathomorphosis of I-IV degrees were singled out. Schemes of cytological prediction of a direct effect of tumor radiation exposure were drawn up on the basis of regularities of changes in cellular pictures, obtained from diagnostic data before irradiation.

In the work different cytologic patterns of infiltrative breast carcinoma are systematized. Based on cytomorphological, cytometric and cytochemical studies 3 types of cancer cytographs are distinguished: low-differentiated, with a moderate differentiation of the parenchyma and high-differentiated. This systematization may enable the precise cytological conclusion to be made, but in a number of cases the histological typing of a tumor too. The cytological data on the degree of cancer dedifferentiation may be used clinically to prognosticate the immediate effect of irradiation on the tumor. The degree of breast cancer dedifferentiation, evidenced by cytological preparations, not always corresponds to the grade of tumor malignancy revealed histologically.

Electron microscopic and cytological study of mammary carcinoma cells of different degrees of anaplasia was carried out using morphometric methods in 15 patients with infiltrating carcinoma of this localization and correlation of cytological and histological data. The results showed the quantitative ultrastructural characteristics of the infiltrating mammary carcinoma reflecting the level of development of granular reticulum and polyribosomal apparatus to differ significantly depending on the degree of the tumor anaplasia established by cytological and histological studies with a light microscope. The cytological signs showing the maximum correlation with the ultrastructural changes in cells were found to include the numbers of "naked" nuclei, sizes of the cells and nuclei, number of nucleoli in the cell. Combinations of these signs typical for mammary carcinoma of different degrees of anaplasia are described.

Cytological classifications of cancer and precancerous lesions of the lung, breast, esophagus and stomach are suggested. They are based on the analysis of the results of research and practical experience gained at the Institute in the treatment of more than 2,000 cases. The cytological classifications are in conformity with those of WHO and provide for identification of malignancy, histological pattern, degree of tumor differentiation as well as the degree of dysplasia in precancerous lesions.

The results of 1,215 emergency surgical cytological assays conducted in 619 cases of cancer and some other malignant tumors are presented. Specimens were obtained by puncture of primary tumor, swollen lymph nodes, indurations and infiltrations, by attrition of primary tumor, serous surfaces and surgical incisions, from serous cavity fluids and imprints of bioptical material. The results of emergency cytological diagnosis of cancer and other malignant tumors were confirmed in 95% of cases.

From a variety of cytological patterns of breast cancer the signs are singled out, which may be of a prognostic value for determining the degree of tumor malignancy prior to instituting any kind of therapy. The data on 59 patients, radically treated for breast cancer, stage IIIb, are reported: 17 patients died during a year period, 42 - survived for 5 years and longer. There were singled out 11 cytological signs among which are those available in the WHO classification for typing breast cancer malignancy. The most informational signs were as follows: the character of cell location, the content of "naked" nuclei and nuclear hyperchromia. It was found that for low malignancy cancer a combination of the following signs is typical: a predominance of cell aggregations, the content of "naked" nuclei not exceeding 20%, and the absence of nuclear hyperchromia. To determine the rate of breast cancer malignancy in a cytological investigation, it is recommended to take into account, in addition to the recommended by the WHO classification signs (hyperchromia, the number of mitoses, heterogenity of nuclei in size, form and character of staining), also such a sign as the content of "naked" nuclei.