ISSN Print 2500–1094    ISSN Online 2542–1204
BIOMEDICAL JOURNAL OF PIROGOV UNIVERSITY (MOSCOW, RUSSIA)

New articles

Moderate exercise not only has a positive impact on overall health, but also can serve as a rather accessible preventive measure for maintaining health, particularly the cardiovascular system health. The study aimed to assess the cardiovascular system adaptive capacity in chronic heart failure with moderate exercise in different age groups. Moderate exercise was induced in 6- and 19-month-old rats by forced swimming in a water bath at 32–34°C. During training, chronic heart failure was induced by intraperitoneal administration of the anthracycline antibiotic doxorubicin (Teva) at a cumulative dose of 15 mg/kg, divided into 6 injections over 14 days. Serum levels of brain natriuretic peptide and corticosterone were determined by ELISA every seven days throughout the experiment in all rats. It was found that with chronic heart failure and moderate exercise, myocardial adaptation was significantly higher in both age groups. It was most pronounced in aging rats, as evidenced by the dynamic changes of serum natriuretic peptide levels throughout the experiment. In both fertile-age and aging rats, the body's adaptive capacity in the event of cardiac dysfunction with moderate exercise is higher than in the absence of training.
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The study of the role of catecholamines (CAs) in cerebral organization of functions in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia (CCI) is relevant, since their important role as neurotransmitters is well known, along with the association with stress severity and cortisol. The study aimed to assess the impact of stable combinations of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NA), and adrenaline (ADR) on the organization of cerebral functions. A total of 76 patients with CCI were assessed based on the fMRI data (n = 21) converted into a network structure using the SPM-12 and CONN-18 software tools. Significance level estimation involved adjustment for multiple comparisons. Stable combinations of CAs reflecting mutual positive correlation of DA, NA and BP significantly affected cerebral organization of patients with CCI. CA combinations were associated with salivary cortisol (F = 4.8; p = 0.038) and memory (F = 7.5; p = 0.011) indices: the CA level increase was associated with increased cortisol levels and worse memory indices. Based on fMRI data the differences were revealed in connectivity organization of CCI patients with high and low levels of all three CAs. Patients with the CA content below median are characterized by the presence of closed neural networks extending to both brain hemispheres, which contributes to information integration and retention. It is assumed that such networks may be associated with the long-term potentiation mechanisms playing an important role in memory processes and changes in the synaptic connection strength. Thus, the use of non-invasive biochemistry testing methods and fMRI has made it possible to obtain new data on the ring organization of brain neural networks associated with stable CA combinations. Such neural network organization is likely to affect cognitive functions. High catecholamine levels in CCI patients are associated with increased cortisol levels, memory deterioration, and decreased connectivity in neural network of the brain.
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Non-AIDS-defining cancers represent one of the leading causes of death among people living with HIV in developed economies due to successful antiretroviral therapy. Malignant neoplasms (MNs) of the lung occupy leading positions in prevalence and mortality, affecting younger people compared to the general population. Despite the fact that the role of HIV in the direct mechanism underlying the lung cancer carcinogenesis has not been proven, the immunodeficiency-mediated effect, including that on the anti-tumor immunity, contributes to the earlier neoplastic process development and to the features of the disease course and anti-tumor treatment. HIV often becomes an exclusion criterion for multiple oncology clinical trials, and this group of patients is overlooked. The study aimed to assess the impact of the CD4/CD8 ratio as one of the key markers of the state of cell-mediated immunity on the lung cancer course prognosis during anti-tumor treatment. The data of 17 HIV patients with MNs of the lung and 31 non-HIV patients of the control group, who underwent treatment in 2018–2023, were analyzed. The analysis determined the threshold CD4/CD8 ratio value (≤ 0.57) and the fact of its decrease by more than 0.01, which reflected a significant overall survival worsening (p < 0.05) during lung cancer treatment. Furthermore, comparative analysis of patients of the index and control groups revealed no significant differences in progression-free survival and the number of therapy lines, which suggests comparable treatment outcomes in patients with lung cancer against the background of existing HIV (p > 0.05).
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Popular articles

Despite widespread use of methods to assess structure and functional activity of spermatozoa, practical application of those in in vitro fertilization programs is currently rather limited. Limitations are primarily due to destructive nature of the methods. The study aimed to investigate the capabilities of confocal Raman spectroscopy in analysis of the human sperm organelle biochemical markers. Assessment of 176 spectra of spermatozoa collected from healthy sperm donors aged 18–35 years was performed using the Bruker Senterra confocal Raman microscope (Germany). Spectra were acquired from the sperm acrosome, nucleus, and midpiece. In addition, the spermatozoa suspension was exposed to a focused x-ray beam. As a result, bands were identified inherent to the sperm nuclear DNA  — 1092 cm–1 and 780 cm–1, typical for the head — 748 cm–1 (mitochondrial DNA marker); changes of shape of the triple band 420 cm–1, 1445 cm–1 and 1486 cm–1 with predominance of the middle part 1445 cm–1 are typical for acrosomal spectra. No differences in the main Raman bands nherent to cells post DNA damage under exposure to x-ray radiation for 5 and 10 min relative to intact samples were reported. Confocal Raman spectroscopy is a promising noninvasive method to assess sperm ultrasctructure and biochemical processes.
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Dear researcher!
At the end of 2015, Bulletin of RSMU saw an important change in its typographic design and content. We formulated new editorial policies and established strict ethical standards for submitted manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines of reputable international bodies. As a result, about a quarter of the submitted works have been rejected, the primary reason being the author trying to submit a previously published article. Sometimes authors believe that by making slight changes to the introduction, excluding a few people from the study, performing a new statistical analysis, and thus obtaining totally new results they will turn their old manuscript into a novel work. That is why we would like to talk about scientific integrity, honesty, plagiarism, and self-plagiarism in our special project “Author’s work”.
Richard FEYNMAN Cargo cult science
American physicist Richard P. Feynman, a Nobel laureate, was always very scrupulous about the quality of a research study. During his commencement address at the California Institute of Technology in 1974, he talked about scientific integrity and honesty and warned young researchers “not to fool” themselves. A must-read for anyone who believes he/she is a true scientist.
Ivan PAVLOV On the Russian mind
In 1918, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, a Nobel laureate, delivered two lectures: on the mind in general and the Russian mind in particular; on those mind qualities that determine the success of a research work and on how these qualities are present in the Russian mind. Pavlov's thoughts are an effective vaccine against poor intellectual work.