Vol 68, No 3 (2013)

A comprehensive review of National research policy papers issued over the past 6 years was carried out. A set of problems concerning the quality of predicted values of some bibliometric indicators reflecting the level of research performance and publication activity that were declared in governmental documents was discussed. Basic metrics of scientific performance that should be required to achieve the goals declared in the recent governmental policy papers including President’s Executive Order № 599 of May 7, 2012 (increasing the share of Russian researchers’ publications in the total number of publications in international scientific journals indexed in the Web of Science up to 2,44% in 2015). Taking into account the current structure of modern global science in which papers in biomedical subjects make up for approximately one third of the total world scientific output, it becomes obvious how difficult is the governmental task set up to the researchers — to double the number of journal publications indexed in Web of Science in the short-term period of the nearest three years. The priorities and reasonable goal-oriented efforts to meet the targets are proposed in the paper.

This review summarizes the results of studies to identify the dominant mechanisms of development and persistence of inflammation in severe asthma and results of pharmacogenetic studies of determination response to drugs. These mechanisms could potentially be used for diagnostic purposes and become the new targets of asthma therapy. Pharmacogenetic information will enable the use of a personalized approach to the asthma management which will adjust the therapy technology and increase the possibility of achieving disease control.

Critical limb ischemia is a syndrome that combines several peripheral artery diseases with different ethiology and pathogenesis but with similar prognosis, high morbidity and mortality. Possibility of surgical and conservative treatment of critical limb ischemia almost completely exhausted. Some hopes have arisen due to progress in cell technology. The article provides a critical analysis of pathogenic prerequisites of stem/progenitor cells for the treatment of patients with a critical limb ischemia in detail the basic results of preclinical and clinical studies on the safety and efficacy of cell technology. Unsolved problems and prospects of practical application are also discussed.

The analysis of transprosthetic hemodynamics in adults after aortic valve replacement in the Bakoulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery in 2007–2010 demonstrated the hemodynamic advantage of the concept of new full-flow mechanical aortic valve prosthesis «CorBeat». Having the same size of internal orifice and tissue annulus diameters, the values of transprosthetic parameters (peak and mean gradients, blood flow velocities) through «CorBeat» were close to physiological values of transvalvular native aortic parameters and had a tendency to be not dependent on the size of prosthesis (p =0,63). In the article for the first time a morphometric database of geometric values of internal orifice area of normal native aortic valves in adults was used taking into account both the gender and the body surface area’s of a patient. There was also used the standardized prosthesis size Z-score which represents the number of SDs by which the internal prosthesis area differs from the mean normal native aortic valve area for the patient’s body surface area. The article emphasizes the need of the personal selection of the size and the type of prosthesis for any patient as well as the need for new design development of prosthetic heart valves.

420 foreign first year students of Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia from different regions of the world were examined for oral health status. The main dental indexes were analyzed and recommendations for dental diseases prevention and treatment were given for each region group. For students from Africa the leading direction is caries prevention. Students from Middle East and Latin America need in caries treatment and endodontic treatment. The main problem of students from Asia is periodontal diseases.

The results of the pharmacological investigation of the properties of apricot leaves dry extract are indicated in the article. It is proved that the extract belongs to the group of «relatively harmless» substances, exclusion of the ulcerogenic effect on the stomach, local irritating and allergenic effect on animals. It is found minimal reacting dose of the extract, which is 70 mg/kg of body weight. On the model of liver lesion by tetrachlormethane it is proved the antioxidant properties of the extract, which is manifested by the decreasing of the activity of oxidative processes and the resumption of the activity of the endogenous antioxidant system. At the studying of the bile formation and bile secretion functions in the conditions of the toxic tetrachlormethane lesion the hepatoprotective effect of the dosage form was confirmed, which was realized by the increasing of the speed of bile secretion and its volume. It is proved a positive effect of the extract on the detoxification function of the liver, that is confirmed by the reducing of the hexenal sleep in rats after toxicant exposure.