Current features of HIV-infection in St. Petersburg

Dynamics of HIV-infection epidemic in St. Petersburg was analyzed. New features of epidemic process, which were not observed in St. Petersburg earlier, whereas noted in other territories of Russia, were revealed and described.     

Transthyretin gene V30M, H90N, and del9 mutations in cardiomyopathy patients from St. Petersburg

A search of transthyretin (TTP) gene mutations was conducted in patients with cardiomyopathies from St. Petersburg. Mutations H90N, V30M, G47A, and deletion (del9) of nucleotides GACTTCTCC in position 6776 from the start codon of the TTP gene (in position 98782 according to reference sequence AC079096 (NCBI) was found. The H90N mutation in the third exon of TTP gene was detected in a son of a cardiomyopathy patient and in his mother, which lacked any clinical manifestations. Mutations V30M and G47A in exon 2 of TTP gene were found in heterozygous and homozygous state, respectively, in one of the probands. Deletion (del9) was revealed in a patient with cardiomyopathy and in his two daughters from different marriages, who had no clinical manifestations of the disease. All the mutations revealed in this study were previously identified in other populations.     

Transthyretin gene V30M,H90N,and (del9) mutations in cardiomyopathy patients from St. Petersburg

A search of transthyretin (TTR) gene mutations was performed in patients with cardiomyopathies from St. Petersburg. Mutations H90N, V30M and deletion (del9) of nucleotides GACTTCTCC in position 6776 from the start codon of the TTR gene (in position 98782 according to reference sequence AC079096 (NCBI) was found. The H90N mutation in the third exon of TTR gene was detected in a son of a cardiomyopathy patient and in his mother, which lacked any clinical manifestations. Mutation V30M in exon 2 of TTR gene was found in heterozygous in one of the probands. Deletion (del9) was revealed in a patient with cardiomyopathy and in his two daughters from different marriages, who had no clinical manifestations of the disease. All the mutations revealed in this study were previously identified in other populations.     

Plant Respiration: Physiological Aspects,T.K. Golovko,St. Petersburg: Nauka, 1999

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology -     

Grandmaternal age in children with Down syndrome in St. Petersburg

Advanced maternal age is a well-established factor of DS occurrence. However the majority of DS cases are born to young couples. Some studies suggested that the risk for Down syndrome may be related to an aging grandmother. We obtained data on grandmaternal ages in 243 families of DS and 330 families of healthy children born in 1990-1999. The data were analyzed according to two categories of maternal ages, <30 yr and > or =30 yr. We did not find systematic differences in grandparental age distribution between the studied groups. Specifically, in 102 young couples with DS, medians for both maternal and paternal grandmother's age appeared to be equal (26 yr). Similar figures were observed in 284 young controls (27 yr). There was no difference in age distribution between 141 older couples with DS and 104 control couples. Therefore we failed to support the suggestion that advanced age of the DS grandmother is responsible for meiotic disturbance in her daughter. Neither the hypothesis suggesting a significant contribution of parentally transmitted trisomy 21 to DS population rate has been confirmed.     

Molecular-biological characteristics of rubella virus strains isolated in St. Petersburg

In the surveillance of the incidence of rubella in the northwestern region of Russia, an analysis was conducted of swabs from the noses and pharynxes of 37 patients with rubella treated in Solovev District Military Clinical Hospital No. 442. To isolate the virus, the RK-13 cell line was used, in total 22 strains were allocated. The strains of the Rubella virus isolated in St. Petersburg during the 2007 outbreak belong to the 1E genotype. In the culture of RK-13 cells, changes of cellular morphogenesis and the formation of replicative complexes, as well as the shells of virions of rubella viruses, were detected.     

Hoverflies (Diptera,Syrphidae) in Agrolandscapes of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Province

A total of 57 species from 32 genera of hoverflies (Diptera, Syrphidae) were found in the agricultural landscapes of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Province. One species, Cheilosia vulpina (Mg.), was recorded in the region for the first time. The largest numbers of species occurred at forest and field edges covered with wild grasses and shrubs, while 21 species of hoverflies were recorded in crops. The species most commonly found in crops were representatives of the genera Melanostoma, Sphaerophoria, and Platycheirus whose larvae feed on aphids.     

Post-socialism and notions of context in St Petersburg

The anthropology of post-socialism has largely been framed around a suspension of judgement of the so-called 'transition to market capitalism'. In this article I explore this theme as an ethnographic question and ask how social context is marked locally. I argue that while suspending judgements about the nature of context is nearly impossible in a sustained fashion – marriages must be planned, universities attended, etc. – in many ways people have a practical disposition that does in fact resemble the anthropological hesitance to pass judgement. I argue that ways of imagining context have more to do with historically informed practices of personhood and 'pretence' than with crisis and chaos.