The article summarizes modern approaches of big data analytics implementation in healthcare, including OMIC’s data. The existing challenges for big data in medicine, barriers for implementation, reasons for slow development of practical usage of big data analytics and artificial intelligence in healthcare are discusses as well as perspective for the nearest future.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been touted as a paradigm shifting, game-changing development in medicine. Did AI in cardiology take off? In this paper, we discuss some areas within cardiology in which there has some been progress in the implementation of AI technologies. Despite the promise of AI, challenges remain including cybersecurity, implementation and change management difficulties. This paper discusses the use of AI embedded as a ‘black box’ technology in existing diagnostic and interventional tools, AI as an adjunct to diagnostic tools such as echo or CT or MRI scans, AI in commercially available wearables, and AI in chatbots and other patient-fronting technologies. Lastly, while there has been some progress, the legal, regulatory, financial and ethical framework remains a work in evolution at national and international levels.

The paper considers the most important and effective approaches and models for explaining and interpreting diagnostic results obtained using intelligent computer-aided diagnosis systems. The need to use them is due to the fact that the intelligent computer-aided diagnosis system itself is a “black box” and it is important for the doctor not only to get the patient’s diagnosis, but also to understand why such a diagnosis is stated, what elements of the patient information are the most significant from the point of view of the diagnosis. Reviews of the main approaches to explain predictions of machine learning models applied to general areas as well as to medicine are presented. It is shown how different types of the initial patient information impact on the choice of explanation models. Models are considered when visual or tabular information is available. Example-based explanation models are also studied. The purpose of the work is to review the main explanation models and their dependence on types of information about the patient.

The year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the vitamin D discovery, however, vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is globally widespread both in Russia and around the world. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic poses a serious challenge to global health. To date, more and more evidence is emerging to consider vitamin D deficiency as a modifiable COVID-19 severe course risk factor. Current review presents possible mechanisms behind the immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D, as well as shows the relationship between the vitamin D level and the course of COVID-19. In addition, the therapeutic potential of cholecalciferol supplementation to standard therapy for COVID-19 is being discussed.

Assessment of heart rate variability (HRV) is widely used in modern sports medicine to determine the functional state of the body, planning of training cycles and rehabilitation programs. This method is distinguished not only by its accessibility and versatility, but also by its high sensitivity to environmental conditions. In this article we decided to consider the possibility of using HRV parameters to assess the degree of body adaptation to heat stress. The article considers the impact of high temperature from the position of stress, gives a description of the basic mechanisms of adaptation and physiological processes under heat stress and considers the main works in which the impact of high temperature and HRV appears.

In order to expand the range of autoprobiotic release forms, increase consumer attractiveness, prolongate product’s shelf life and transportation possibilities, a protocol for obtaining an encapsulated form of autoprobiotics was developed. Tests were carried out on encapsulated forms of indigenous bacteria in order to assess the viability of bacterial cells after lyophilization and storage under various conditions. The effect of various cryoprotectants on the lyophilized Lactobacillus spp. and Enterococcus spp. cells viability was studied. The results obtained showed that the use of 10 % sucrose and 1 % gelatin as part of a protective medium retains the original properties of bacterial strains, contributing to their survival during cryopreservation and lyophilization. The most favorable storage conditions and expiration dates for encapsulated autoprobiotics based on Lactobacillus spp. and Enterococcus spp. were determined.

The use of recombinant proteins as vaccine preparations is limited by their weak immunogenicity, which can be enhanced by the use of adjuvants, the development of which is an important and urgent problem of modern vaccinology. Significantly, adjuvants as additives to vaccine preparations are of concern to clinicians. From this point of view, the idea of including an internal adjuvant into the structure of a recombinant protein molecule is of undoubted interest. Previously, we synthesized and studied two recombinant vaccine preparations specific for S. agalactiae (Su4) and S. pneumoniae (PSPF). Each of them was a tandem of immunogenic bacterial surface proteins in combination with an additional adjuvant site. The amino acid sequence identical to flagellin acted as an internal adjuvant. In this work, we investigated the possibility of additional enhancement of the body’s immune response to immunization with recombinant Su4 and PSPF proteins due to the simultaneous administration of an external adjuvant, carboxymethylchitosan or Imject Alum.

Studies have shown that the additional introduction of these adjuvants into the composition of the vaccine preparation did not affect the immunogenicity of the Su4 and PSPF proteins, which included the internal adjuvant flagellin. The protective efficacy of the immune response to all immunization options was comparable.

Thus, the inclusion of a flagellin insert as an internal adjuvant into the composition of recombinant proteins ensures the development of the highest possible level of the immune response and its protective efficacy against the corresponding pathogens of a bacterial infection.

The review presents data on the etiology and treatment of bacterial vaginosis. Bacterial vaginosis is caused by the replacement of a protective microbiota in a lower part of a female reproductive tract with the pathogenic one. This disease is widespread in a world, in some cases it is asymptomatic, but is accompanied by complications, which include chorioamnionitis, inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs, cervicitis, premature birth. In some cases, the disease is characterized by a recurrent course that requires a personalized treatment.

Introduction. The development and use of therapeutic drugs based on bacterial viruses, or bacteriophages, is a promising direction in the fight against bacterial infections. The composition of phage preparations must be constantly updated, which requires the search for new viruses through the screening of biological material and samples from the environment.

Purpose. Development of a method for the search and identification of virulent enterococcal bacteriophages based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Materials and methods. The known diversity of enterococcal viruses was assessed by database searches of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). Primers were selected using the NCBI PrimerBlast and Primer3 programs. Primers were tested on seven commercial phage cocktails and 46 biomaterial samples. The specificity of PCR was confirmed by determining the nucleotide sequences of PCR products.

Results. The obligately virulent enterococcal bacteriophages described in the literature belong to five ICTV approved genera: Copernicusvirus, Efquatrovirus, Kochikohdavirus, Saphexavirus, and Schiekvirus. Representatives of the sixth genus, Phifelvirus, have a temperate life cycle. The PCR scheme developed by us is intended for specific amplification of fragments of the gene of the main capsid protein of the mentioned genera of bacteriophages. It was used to identify representatives of all five genera of virulent enterococcal bacteriophages in commercial phage cocktails. In samples of biological material, we identified representatives of the genera Efquatrovirus, Kochikohdavirus, Saphexavirus and Schiekvirus.

Conclusion. The PCR scheme presented in this work makes it possible to detect all currently described obligately virulent bacteriophages infecting Enterococcus spp. in phagolysates and samples of biological material, and can also be used to determine the genera of viruses.

Timely therapy of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and metabolically healthy obesity is necessary to prevent serious complications associated with disorders of carbohydrate metabolism (CM) and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of autoprobiotics in the treatment of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the initial stage of CM disorders. A study of anthropometric indicators and parameters of CM was conducted in 24 obese patients without CM disorders (group K) and 31 patients with IGT. Patients with MS and obesity were randomized into groups receiving: an autoprobiotic in two courses, for 20 days (AP+), and a placebo (Pl). The AP+ and Pl groups differed from K by a large quantitative content: Bacteroides spp., Prevotella spp., Eubacterium sp., Streptococcus spp. and Roreburia inulinivorans according to PCR-RT. Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), concentration of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and serum glucose correlated with these taxa.

In the AP+ group, in contrast to Pl, a gradual decrease in BW, BMI, glucose and HbA1c was revealed, against the background of changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota: a decrease in the number of streptococci, roseburia, eubacteria prevotella, ruminococci and a tendency to decrease acinetobacter.

The effectiveness of the use of autoprobiotic enterococci in obesity and IGT has been proven. Despite the fact that the mechanisms of their action remain insufficiently studied, their use can be considered as a promising component of the comprehensive prevention and therapy of MS, DM2 and obesity.