Clinical and X-ray features of pneumonia in drug addicts

The authors observed 68 drug addict in-patients, who received treatment for the pneumonia at the Primorski Regional Clinical Hospital and Vladivostok Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 1. The article details the specific features of the pneumonia of these in-patients. It was distinguished the 3 groups of hospital patients with the following characteristic features: patients with the respiratory distress syndrome of the adults; patients with the primary infective endocarditis mainly with the damage of respiratory (right) heart; patients with non-specific pneumonia. The peculiarities of the clinical process with the X-Ray pictures of the disease were also presented. The article identifies the acute beginning of the disease; the strongly pronounced intoxication syndrome; the usual cases of the late going to hospital of those patients; the extensiveness of the damage; the occurrence of the following complications at the early stage: pulmonary destruction, exudative pleurisy, empyema; the long period of the disease process; the development of the extensive pulmonary fibrosis. It was identified the 33.7% lethality for these groups of in-patients, while the average lethality of the in patients treated for pneumonia was 3.3% for the same period of time. The complicated pneumonia process of young patients with the infective endocarditis with damages of respiratory (right) hearts let us suppose their drug addiction.     

Levan Enhances Associated Growth of Bacteroides,Escherichia, Streptococcus and Faecalibacterium in Fecal Microbiota

The role of dietary fiber in supporting healthy gut microbiota and overall well-being of the host has been revealed in several studies. Here, we show the effect of a bacterial polyfructan levan on the growth dynamics and metabolism of fecal microbiota in vitro by using isothermal microcalorimetry. Eleven fecal samples from healthy donors were incubated in phosphate-buffered defined medium with or without levan supplementation and varying presence of amino acids. The generation of heat, changes in pH and microbiota composition, concentrations of produced and consumed metabolites during the growth were determined. The composition of fecal microbiota and profile of metabolites changed in response to substrate (levan and amino acids) availability. The main products of levan metabolism were acetic, lactic, butyric, propionic and succinic acids and carbon dioxide. Associated growth of levan-degrading (e.g. Bacteroides) and butyric acid-producing (e.g. Faecalibacterium) taxa was observed in levan-supplemented media. The study shows that the capacity of levan and possibly also other dietary fibers/prebiotics to modulate the composition and function of colon microbiota can be predicted by using isothermal microcalorimetry of fecal samples linked to metabolite and consortia analyses.     

Novel Genes Associated with the Development of Carotid Paragangliomas

Molecular Biology - Carotid paragangliomas (CPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors of the head and neck. “Germline” and somatic mutations in a number of genes were shown to be associated...     

The electrophoretic typing of rotaviruses in the clinico-epidemiological study of infection]

The electrophoretic study of the RNA of human rotavirus strains (1146 strains) circulating in 9 cities at the territory of the European part of the RSFSR was carried out. The electrophoretic (EP) types of rotavirus were established in each individual area. The study revealed that the most widespread rotaviruses responsible for the majority of gastroenteritis cases are those with the long EP type of RNA, characterized by the joint migration of segments 2, 3 and 7 (the 3rd EP type of RNA). Rotaviruses with the 3rd EP type of RNA much more often induce a severe course of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children aged 8 months to 3 years.