Vol 31, No 4 (2024)

Background: Russian studies still underestimate one bronchial asthma risk factor, namely, the ground-level ozone recognized by the World Health Organization as the second most dangerous toxicant for the respiratory system. It is of particular importance to determine safe levels of ozone exposure, particularly in areas where patients are undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation and conditions are conducive to the formation of elevated ozone concentrations.

Aim: To identify and describe the relationship between the frequency of medical emergency calls by patients with bronchial asthma and the ground-level ozone concentration (GLOC) on the South Coast of Crimea.

Material and methods: The study utilized data from the medical emergency calls in Yalta by patients with bronchial asthma in 2010–2014. The GLOCs for the same period were measured at the Karadag Background Environmental Monitoring Station by optical method using APOA 370 (HORIBA) automatic gas analyzer. The correlation between the number of medical emergency calls and GLOC values was analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

Results: The number of medical emergency calls increased from 2010 to 2014, rising from 471 to 661. During the same period, GLOCs exceeding the permissible average annual values were observed. Correlation analysis revealed that ground-level ozone was a significant factor affecting the condition of bronchial asthma patients over the 2010–2014 period, to varying degree. Five statistically significant ( p ≤0.05) and nine tendency-level ( p ≤0.10) correlations were identified between the frequencies of medical emergency calls and the daily average amplitudes of fluctuations and maximal and minimal GLOCs. The greatest number of significant correlations was reported in 2012, which was also a year marked by high amplitudes of GLOC fluctuations in the context of episodes of above-limit single ozone concentration and higher daily averages, similar to 2011. The correlations were positive, with the majority exhibiting a weak association (0.35 ≤Rs ≤0.48). These correlations were not observed during the warm seasons, when GLOC is typically higher, but during the cold season.

Conclusion: The established correlations, when considered alongside reliable international data on the negative effect of ozone on respiratory health, serve to highlight the importance of further research in the region. It is imperative to ascertain the safe GLOC levels, taking into account the concomitant meteorological and technogenic factors of the South Coast of Crimea, which have the potential to significantly modify the effect of ozone on the human body. This will facilitate the development of an early warning system to mitigate the adverse effects of ground-level ozone on asthmatic patients.

Background: The composition of colonic microbiota is influenced by environmental factors, including dietary habits. Several studies on dietary habits and nutrition of Arctic residents have been published, but the information on the associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and gut microbiota is scarce.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of preferred fruit and vegetable consumption on colonic microbiota in young residents of Arkhangelsk, using a sample of students and staff from a medical university.

Material and methods: The study included 90 healthy volunteers (23 men and 67 women) from Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk aged 18–45 years with a normal body mass index. Fruit and vegetable consumption was assessed using a questionnaire. Stool samples were collected for molecular genetic analysis of colonic microbiota. Associations between fruit and vegetable consumption and concentrations of 33 microbiota indicators were examined using multivariable median regression, with adjustments made for age, gender, and place of origin.

Results: Vegetables and fruits were consumed daily by 43.33% and 15.56% of respondents, respectively. The most frequently consumed vegetables were tomatoes (77.78%) and cucumbers (80.0%), while only 25.00% consumed potatoes and carrots. Among fruits, apples were consumed most frequently (74.44%), followed by bananas (57.78%) and citrus fruits (41.11%). Significant associations were found between Methanobrevibacter smithii and tomatoes ( p =0.008) and carrots ( p =0.006), between Prevotella spp. and cucumbers ( p =0.032), Blautia spp. and carrots ( p =0.002) and bananas ( p =0.020). Additionally, association was found for Acinetobacter spp. with tomatoes ( p =0.036), potatoes ( p =0.028) and citrus fruits ( p =0.019), Bifidobacterium spp. with potatoes ( p =0.039) and citrus fruits ( p =0.002). Direct association was found between Bacteroides spp. and cucumbers ( p =0.023).

Conclusion: Our findings on the associations between selected fruits and vegetables and microbial concentrations may contribute to the development of personalized and balanced diet to enrich microbiota biodiversity and improve the quality of life of the residents of the North.

Background: Functional sympatholysis is determined as a tenfold increase in blood flow in the muscular arteries following the muscle contraction. This is explained by various mechanisms. However, there are no works on quantitative analysis of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the epinephrine effects on the arterial α-adrenergic receptors in sympatholysis before and during the cold adaptation.

Aim: To study the effect of the 30-day cold adaptation on the adrenal reactivity of muscular arterial vessels to epinephrine in the functional sympatholysis.

Material and methods: The experiments used four groups of rabbits. First group: control ( n =20); second group ( n =15): modelling of the muscle contraction by electrical stimulation in the sympatholysis; third group ( n =15): after 30-day cold adaptation; and fourth group ( n =15): modelling of the muscle contraction by electrical stimulation after 30-day cold adaptation. Adaptation to low temperatures was modeled at the daily 6-hour cooling at 10°C. A unique technique was used: blood was perfused into the limb muscles of all the rabbits via the femoral artery, after ligation of all anastomoses, using a constant flow pump. The adrenal reactivity was analyzed using the “dose-effect” response in double-reversed Lineweaver–Burk plot. This approach allowed determining the maximum pressor (Pm) response, which characterizes the number of active adrenergic receptors and the sensitivity (1/K) of the adrenergic receptors to epinephrine.

Results: The sympatholysis was proved to be present in both the cold-adapted and control rabbits, but to a lesser extent. Sympatholysis reduced the contraction of arteries in response to epinephrine solely due to the mechanisms of the 24.49-fold reduced sensitivity of adrenergic receptors from 1/Km=1.2±6.7 1/μg.kg in the control group to 1/Km = 0.049±0.0016 1/μg.kg in the sympatholysis group ( p <0.05). The number of active adrenergic receptors did not significantly change (Pm=222.0 ±6.7 in the control group, Pm=222.0 ±7.5 in the sympatholysis group). As a process of arterial dilatation, sympatholysis reduced in the rabbits after the cold adaptation due to the increased number of the pressor adrenergic receptors in the cold conditions to Рm=312.5 ±11.0 mm Hg from Pm=222.0 ±7.5 mm Hg in the no-cold sympatholysis ( p <0.05). The sensitivity of adrenergic receptors to epinephrine (1/Km) in the no-cold sympatholysis and in the cold conditions did not significantly change ( p >0.05).

Conclusion: Sympatholysis persists in the cold conditions but to a lesser extent than in the control group. As a stress hormone, epinephrine causes a greater contraction of arteries in the cold-adapted rabbits in sympatholysis than in no-cold conditions, which helps conserving heat in the body in such source of stress as the arctic cold, and improves survival.

Aim: To present the ARILIS study aimed at assessing the use of artificial intelligence to analyze chest computed tomography (CT) data to predict and prevent non-cancer mortality in patients with cancer.

Material and methods: This cohort study will include patients with cancer diagnosed in the Arkhangelsk region (AR) within the 2019–2023 period. The COVID-19 patients with pneumonia, patients with general medical conditions, and the population of the Know Your Heart Study are planned to be enrolled as control groups. To detect and quantify the CT signs of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and bone disorders, the thoracic СT scans of all the subjects will be processed using the multi-targeted AI algorithm provided by the IRA Labs company. From the date of processing of the thoracic CT scans using the multi-targeted AI algorithm, the study subjects will be followed for new clinical diagnoses and all-cause mortality.

Expected results: T he study will determine the prevalence of CT signs of the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and bone disorders in patients with cancer compared with the Know Your Heart Study population sample. It will also assess the incidence of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and bone events and all-cause mortality in patients with cancer compared with control groups, explore the potential of the IRA Labs’ multi-targeted AI algorithm in the assessment and reclassification of assessed risks in patients with cancer, and provide a software product for using mtIA in healthcare practice.