Integral Index Research Articles

A copula-based parametric composite drought index for drought monitoring and applicability in arid Central Asia

Due to the complexity of meteorological and hydrological conditions in a changing environment, previous drought indices for monitoring a specific drought type do not reflect the overall regional situation of water scarcity. Therefore, in order to obtain accurate and reliable drought monitoring, a more integrated drought index should be developed to identify drought events comprehensively. In this paper, a non-linear trivariate drought index (NTDI) was constructed based on the joint probability distribution of parametric copulas, combining precipitation (P), potential evapotranspiration (PET), and root zone soil moisture (SM) variables. Subsequently, it was respectively compared with four drought indices, SPEI, SSMI, SC-PDSI and TVDI, and cross-validated with actual recorded drought events and annual crop yield to evaluate its applicability in arid Central Asia (ACA). The results indicated that: (1) Frank copula (1-,3-month scale) and Gumbel copula (6-,12-month scale) were considered to be the best-fitted copula functions for constructing joint probability distributions in the ACA. (2) The NTDI integrated the P-PET and SM drought signals to sensitively capture drought onset and duration, reflecting the combined characteristics of meteorological and agricultural drought. (3) The drought information expressed by NTDI was generally consistent with recorded drought events, and the monitoring results are accurate. (4)The NTDI performed better in agricultural drought monitoring than other drought indices. This study provides a reliable multivariate composite indicator which is significant for drought monitoring, prevention and risk assessment in ACA.

Forest landscape connectivity to prioritize afforestation in urban ecosystems: Seoul as a case study

Forest landscape connectivity is a key indicator that reflects the quality and function of the ecological environment. In urban ecosystems, analysis frameworks are needed to prioritize and optimize afforestation projects that maintain and increase forest landscape connectivity to help mitigate the increasing fragmentation of urban habitats, coordinate the relationship between urban development and urban ecosystem services, and guide decision making processes. The objective of this study is to identify forest patches that are most worth conserving and small patches that make the most significant contribution to landscape connectivity after their transformation into forest patches in a high-density city. We conducted a case study in Seoul, South Korea, where we initially quantified the landscape connectivity changes from 2001 to 2018 using the probability of connectivity (PC) and integral index of connectivity indices. Subsequently, we calculated the importance of each forest patch for four different years and ranked the potential contribution of each patch based on data from 2018 using the delta values for PC index (dPC). Our results showed that forest landscape connectivity in Seoul increased significantly from 2001 to 2018. In all four years, the ten forest patches with the highest dPC values remained nearly unchanged and were large in size; however, the individual area of each patch was not strictly related to its importance for connectivity. Based on these findings, we further examined the potential effect that the afforestation of habitat patches smaller than 20 ha would have on the overall forest landscape connectivity in Seoul. We also identified the 50 most important patches for afforestation using six land use and land cover types to provide a guide for effective afforestation efforts in Seoul. We expect that this study could enhance the effectiveness of habitat connectivity intervention while providing a realistic strategy for ecological afforestation planning in urban ecosystems.

Dynamics of Phytoplankton Species Structure in the Kurile Lake (Kamchatka Peninsula)

The species structure of the dominant community of unicellular algae inhabiting the spawning and feeding salmon lake was studied in the Kurile Lake (southern Kamchatka peninsula). It has been shown that this structure is well described by the Motomura model. The geometric progression coefficient does not differ significantly from the value prescribed by the model, which is based on the stochastic remainder hypothesis. Several integral indicators characterizing the species structure have been calculated. The study has revealed some typical and unusual correlations between these integral indices. Inter-annual and intra-annual cyclical fluctuations in the value of indicators have been found.

THYROID STATUS IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE LIVING UNDER MILD IODINE DEFICIENCY CONDITIONS

Purpose. This study aimed to examine thyroid picture in twenty-five women of reproductive age (18-35 years old, mean age 27.28 ±0.23 yrs) living in conditions of moderate iodine deficiency but being not diagnosed with obvious thyroid.
 Materials and Methods. A Beckman Coulter Dx1800 analyzer was applied to perform a serum marker test for thyroid gland performance level with the immunochemiluminescent method using paramagnetic particles. A Toshiba Aplio 500 unit was used for thyroid gland ultrasound examination with a linear sensor.
 Results. The pituitary-thyroid analysis showed no severe impairment in the examined women. Of all the 25 subjects, 8 women (32%) reported a normally high level of TSH (2.0–4.2 mME/L), which may indicate minimal thyroid insufficiency seen in its early, mild stage. We analyzed the content of hormones depending on the TSH variables, and found a statistically significant decrease in the integral thyroid index ITI (p=0.0001) in examinees with normally high TSH levels, which also indicated the initial stage of hypothyroidism, in spite of the individual blood serum iodothyronines lying within the reference ranges. The tendency to the raised free T3 concentration with a fall in free T4 showed a strong link to an increase in the processes of peripheral conversion of iodothyronines in subjects with higher TSH levels.
 By the thyroid gland ultrasound examination we revealed no structural disorders or pathologies in 18 of 25 women (72%); 5 women (20%) exhibited single or multiple cysts in different localities of the organ; 2 women (8%) demonstrated signs of autoimmune thyroiditis with grade 1 hyperplasia; and 1 woman (4%) had a node of the thyroid gland.
 Conclusion. The research showed the necessity to conduct assessment studies on thyroid performance in groups at special risk for developing iodine deficit diseases, especially in women of reproductive age who are planning pregnancy and living in conditions of moderate iodine deficiency.

Functional traits and performance of woody species on oil- affected soils of the Ecuadorian Amazon

Introduction: Plant functional traits are widely used to predict community productivity. However, they are rarely used to predict the performance (in terms of growth diameter, growth height, survival, and integral response index) of woody species planted in degraded soils. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the functional traits and the performance of 25 woody species planted in disturbed soils affected by oil extraction activities in Ecuadorian Amazon. Methods: Eighteen permanent sampling plots were established and five 6-month-old seedlings of each 25 species were randomly planted in each plot (125 individuals per plot), at a distance of 4×4 m. Eight quantitative functional traits (leaf size, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf phosphorus concentration, leaf minimum unit, leaf dry matter content, stem specific density and leaf tensile strength) were determined for each species. Results: The woody species with high performance shows greater leaf size, specific leaf area and Stem Specific Density than those showing low performance. Leaf nitrogen concentration and stem specific density had a direct relationship with the integral response index. The leaf size, leaf phosphorus concentration, leaf dry matter content and leaf tensile strength sows a negative relationship with the integral response index. Conclusions: Our study showed that the performance of woody species o disturbed soils can be predicted satisfyingly by leaf and stem functional traits, presumably because these traits capture most of environmental and neighborhood conditions.

Prevention of acute respiratory viral infections in children with chronic exudative otitis media in the postoperative period

Introduction. Chronic otitis media vis effusion (COME) is a disease characterized by the presence of exudate in the cavities of the middle ear and hearing loss. Predisposing factors to the development of COME can be recurrent upper respiratory tract infections.Aim. To study the effectiveness of the drug Sinupret® in children who have undergone surgical treatment for COMEMaterials and methods. A clinical study was conducted at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of TMU and GBUZ TO OKB No. 2 in 2020–2021. This study involved 30 children (15 boys and 15 girls) with HESO. The mean age of all patients was 6.33 ± 0.31 years. In the 1st group of children, consisting of 15 people (10 boys and 5 girls), Sinupret® was prescribed in the postoperative period, in the 2nd group of children, consisting of 15 people (5 boys and 10 girls), Sinupret® was not prescribed. Diagnosis of chronic POE was carried out on the basis of clinical and instrumental examination and integral indices of peripheral blood. Conservative treatment consisted of topical decongestant therapy and rifamycin 2.6% ear drops for a week. The observation period included 12 months.Results. ARVI episodes during the year in group I were observed in 20%, in group II in 60% of children, the average duration of the disease in group I was 5 ± 0.71 days, in group II 7.8 ± 0.42 days (p = 0.01), stable hearing recovery in children of the 1st group was recorded in 100%. POE recurrence in children of group II was registered in 27% (4 people), which required repeated shunting to restore hearing.Conclusions. Prophylactic use of the drug Sinupret® in children who have undergone surgical treatment for chronic OME allows you to achieve a stable restoration of hearing and contributes to complete recovery.

Dietary supplementation with Lippia sidoides essential oil improves organ integrity but the specific activity of antioxidant enzymes is dose-dependent in Danio rerio.

The nutritional quality of food can affect the health of animals. This study examined the effects of dietary supplementation with Lippia sidoides essential oil (LSEO) on the physiology of Danio rerio. Four hundred fourty-eight fish were divided into 28 tanks and subjected to different dietary treatments: a control group with no supplementation, a group with grain alcohol supplementationand five groups with LSEO at concentrations of 0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.00%and 1.25%. After 15 days, histological and enzymatic analyses were conducted. The 0.25% LSEO group exhibited lower glutathione peroxidase and catalase activity compared to the 1.00% group. Additionally, fish in the 0.25% LSEO group showed improved liver, kidneyand splenic integrity indices. These findings support the inclusion of 0.25% LSEO in the diet of D. rerio, suggesting potential benefits for fish physiology and encouraging further research on phytotherapeutics in fish diets.

Assessing the ecological health of the Qingyi River Basin using multi-community indices of biotic integrity

Biological integrity refers to the capacity to sustain a healthy ecosystem comprising multiple biological communities within a region. Robust assessments of biological integrity thus require the sampling of multiple biological groups. We evaluated the ecological health of the Qingyi River Basin (QRB) using three indexes of biotic integrity (IBIs), including those based on the phytoplankton (P-IBI), zooplankton (Z-IBI), and benthos (B-IBI), and found that the health of the QRB system was “good” according to P-IBI (75.9 ± 17.9), Z-IBI (74.8 ± 21.8), and WQI (92.2 ± 5.3) and “moderate” according to B-IBI (43.8 ± 16.1). The assessments of the reliability of the three IBIs by exploring the relationships between biological communities and water quality environments from multiple perspectives revealed that the three IBIs were spatially positively correlated with WQI, Pearson and linear regression (P < 0.01). The results of redundancy analysis between the three IBIs, their constituent metris and physicochemical factors indicate that physicochemical factors have varying importance in determining the scores of the three IBIs. However, the scores of the three IBIs were lower than that of the WQI (P < 0.01), and B-IBI scores were lower than those of P-IBI and Z-IBI (both P < 0.001). In conclusion, IBIs are effective for evaluating the health of river ecosystems and could be widely applied. IBIs show greater sensitivity than WQI for detecting environmental damage, and B-IBI was the most sensitive index.

Synthetic antioxidant TS-13 reduces doxorubicin cardiotoxicity

The antitumor antibiotic doxorubicin, a representative of a large group of anthriacyclines, is widely and quite effectively used to treat patients with malignant neoplasms. The aim of this study was to study the effect of TS-13, a synthetic phenolic antioxidant and an activator of the antioxidant-responsive element redox-sensitive signaling system Keap1/ Nrf2/ARE, on the functional parameters of an isolated rat heart after a course of doxorubicin administration. Material and methods. Male Wistar rats (n = 24) were divided into three groups: control (n = 10), doxorubicin group (n = 7) (3 weekly intraperitoneal injections of doxorubicin solution at a cumulative dose of 15 mg/kg) and doxorubicin + TS-13 (n = 7) (administration of doxorubicin according to a similar scheme, TS-13 solution with drinking water). On the 21st day after the start of the experiment, the cardioprotective effect of TS-13 was assessed on the ex vivo model of perfusion of the heart isolated according to Langendorff. Coronary flow, heart rate (HR), pressure in the left ventricle (myocardial contractility) were recorded as parameters of myocardial functional activity; the integral indicator of myocardial contractility (working capacity) was calculated as the product of HR and pressure in the left ventricle. Results and discussion. The general toxic effect of doxorubicin was manifested in a significant decrease in rat body weight (by 21 %), the administration of TS-13 reduced the cachectic effect of the cytostatic. Doxorubicin worsened heart work by all studied parameters (coronary flow, HR, myocardial contractility and integral index of contractility); the effect persisted throughout the entire perfusion period (40 min). Animals treated with intraperitoneal injections of doxorubicin and TS-13 per os lost weight to a lesser extent, the functional activity of isolated hearts improved significantly – coronary flow, pressure in the left ventricle, and working capacity increased. Conclusions. Since, as we have shown earlier, TS-13 administration not only does not cancel, but even potentiates the antitumor activity of doxorubicin, the results obtained indicate the promise of using TS-13 as an adjuvant therapy for malignant neoplasms, enhancing the antitumor effect of the cytostatic and leveling its side effects, including cardiotoxicity.

THE SYSTEM OF INDICATORS FOR EVALUATING REGIONAL INVESTMENT PROJECTS FINANCED FROM BUDGETARY FUNDS

The purpose of the study. The article deals with the issues of a comprehensive assessment of regional investment projects implemented at the expense of budgetary funds. In accordance with this, the purpose of the article is to form a system of indicators that takes into account the main and additional criteria for the economic and socio-environmental effectiveness of the implementation of regional investment projects through the prism of assessing the investment attractiveness of the project and its performers. To achieve this goal , the following tasks have been set and solved: 1) the main and additional criteria for evaluating a regional investment project have been identified; 2) a system of indicators for assessing the investment attractiveness of the project and its potential performers has been developed; 3) a summary index of the feasibility of state financing of the project has been proposed; 4) calculations of indicators and a summary index have been carried out on a specific example. Conclusions. In order for the state customer to make an informed decision on the budget financing of a regional investment project, a multiplicative index of the expediency of state financing has been developed, which includes indices of the investment attractiveness of the project itself and its performer. Each index is determined on the basis of basic and additional indicators that characterize, on the one hand, the utility, economic, budgetary, social and environmental effectiveness of the project itself, and on the other hand, economic efficiency, resource potential, compliance with ESG principles of doing business and the business image of the project executor. The results obtained can be used by state and municipal authorities to make an informed decision on the appropriateness of budgetary financing of regional investment projects and their potential performers selected on the basis of the author's system of indicators and the proposed integral index.

Glycaemia risk index uncovers distinct glycaemic variability patterns associated with remission status in type 1 diabetes.

The aim of this work was to define a unique remission status using glycaemia risk index (GRI) and other continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) metrics in individuals with type 1 diabetes for improved phenotyping. A group of 140 individuals with type 1 diabetes were recruited for a cross-sectional study. The participants were categorised into four groups based on their remission status, which was defined as insulin-dose-adjusted A1c (IDAA1c) <9 or C-peptide ≥300 pmol/l: new-onset (n=24); mid-remission (n=44); post-remission (n=44); and non-remission (individuals who did not experience remission, n=28). Participants in the remission phase were referred to as 'remitters', while those who were not in the remission phase were referred to as 'non-remitters', the latter group including new-onset, post-remission and non-remission participants. Clinical variables such as HbA1c, C-peptide and insulin daily dose, as well as IDAA1C and CGM data, were collected. The patterns of CGM metrics were analysed for each group using generalised estimating equations to investigate the glycaemic variability patterns associated with remission status. Then, unsupervised hierarchical clustering was used to place the participants into subgroups based on GRI and other CGM core metrics. The glycaemic variability patterns associated with remission status were found to be distinct based on the circadian CGM metrics. Remitters showed improved control of blood glucose levels over 14 days within the range of 3.9-10 mmol/l, and lower GRI compared with non-remitters (p<0.001). Moreover, GRI strongly correlated with IDAA1C (r=0.62; p<0.001) and was sufficient to distinguish remitters from non-remitters. Further, four subgroups demonstrating distinct patterns of glycaemic variability associated with different remission status were identified by clustering on CGM metrics: remitters with low risk of dysglycaemia; non-remitters with high risk of hypoglycaemia; non-remitters with high risk of hyperglycaemia; and non-remitters with moderate risk of dysglycaemia. GRI, an integrative index, together with other traditional CGM metrics, helps to identify different glycaemic variability patterns; this might provide specifically tailored monitoring and management strategies for individuals in the various subclusters.

Economic Sustainability of the Milk and Dairy Supply Chain: Evidence from Serbia

The sector of milk and dairy products in Serbia along the entire supply chain has been under significant challenges in recent years, especially in current crises. In this direction, this research looked at the supply chain of milk and dairy products by analyzing the primary production, the situation in the processing industry, and the international market’s competitiveness. Indicators of technical efficiency were used to analyze the situation on agricultural farms, while for the processing industry, the impact of various variables on profitability was evaluated using panel models. Furthermore, an examination of these products’ standings in the global market was conducted by assessing their revealed comparative advantages and integration index. The results of the research determined the level of technical efficiency of the producer, while the statistically significant influence of certain variables on profitability was determined within the processing industry. Additionally, the analysis showed modestly revealed comparative advantages in the international market but good integration with the international market. Finally, the sustainability of the milk and dairy products supply chain is highly questionable in crises, which will be a challenge for producers and policymakers.

Ground Fire Legacy Effects on Water-Dynamics of Volcanic Tropical Soils

The forest floor is a critical component in maintaining the life cycles of forest ecosystems. It normally includes organic soil horizons, known as duff and litter, which are prone to be rapidly consumed after flaming and smoldering fires. This work aims to understand the legacy effects of surface and ground fires on the infiltration capacity of a volcanic forest soil. We studied five sites with fires recorded in the last 20 years. All of them are located in pine-oak forests of the volcanic mountain region in central Mexico with a temperate climate and Andic soil properties. Tension-infiltration tests were carried out to determine hydraulic conductivity and the number of active macropores. After each test, cores were taken to evaluate in a laboratory setting, where soil water repellency at different moisture concentrations and the integrative dynamic repellency index were determined. Field-saturated hydraulic conductivity was moderately high in all sites, with mean values of 13 and 42 mm·h−1 for burned and control plots, respectively. A non-linear relationship was found between recurrence and type of fires with the concentration of active pores and several dynamic water repellency parameters. This work confirmed the presence of latent combustion in these temperate neotropical forests. The changes in soil water repellency and hydraulic conductivity detected do not necessarily imply an exceeded soil infiltration capacity. However, many of the fires in this region are associated with increasing agricultural activities, so further studies are needed to determine if higher fire frequencies could exceed the resilience capacity of the soils triggering land degradation.

INFLUENCE OF RIPARIAN FOREST AND TEMPERATURE ON PRIMARY PRODUCTION OF TROPICAL STREAMS

Primary production is a key feature for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. The trophic state of the streams reflects this primary production and is influenced by local limnological variables and level of integrity of the watershed. Thus, in this study, habitat integrity index (HII) and physical, chemical, and biological parameters of tropical streams were sampled in two sub-basins to understand the functioning of these ecosystems. We hypothesized that the variables association to the environmental integrity should determine the primary production in the streams. Because of the similar land use in the sub-basins (ex.: agriculture and livestock) they will show similar limnological variables. To identify how the streams differed in relation to their limnological characterization and the HII, we performed a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The association between variables was assessed by Pearson's correlation analysis. To identify the difference between the two basins, a Student's Test was performed. The best predictors of primary production were determined using a multiple regression analysis with the Akaike selection criteria. The concentration of chlorophyll-a in the surface water indicated that the tropical streams sampled have, in general, low concentrations of nutrients, except for some more urban points. The variables that most differed among streams were blue-green cells/ml, pH, conductivity, and width of the riparian forest. Only redox potential and pH differed between the two watersheds. Temperature, blue-green cells/ml and width of the riparian forest were the variables that best predicted the phytoplankton primary production of watercourses in both watersheds. In this study we reinforce the importance of temperature in aquatic productivity, even more present in the face of climate change, which, added to deforestation, increases the surface area of sunlight in water courses, increases primary productivity and the eutrophication process.Keywords: blue-green algae; chemical variables; chlorophyll-a; HII; phytoplankton.

Influence of cognitive functioning on the effectiveness of treatment of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury

A history of traumatic brain injury in veterans is associated with higher use of mental health services, regardless of psychiatric diagnoses, which makes it important to develop a comprehensive approach to treatment and evaluate its effectiveness. The study aimed to investigate the impact of cognitive functioning among 329 veterans with comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury on the effectiveness of combination therapy. The following tests were used to assess cognitive functioning: the Ray-Osterritz test, the Symbolic Communication Test, the Stroop test, and the Verbal Fluency Test. Functioning was assessed using the World Health Organization Questionnaire for the Assessment of Disability. The effectiveness of the combination therapy was also assessed using the Four-Dimensional Symptom Inventory. The influence of cognitive functioning on the effectiveness of 8-week complex therapy for veterans with this comorbidity was confirmed. The results of the Trail Making Test had statistically significant negative correlations with the cognitive sphere scale (ρ = -0.237; p = 0.0117) and the integral index of the World Health Organization questionnaire for the assessment of disability (ρ= -0.192; p = 0.0424), as well as positive correlations with the scales of self-care (ρ = 0.2038; p = 0.0311) and daily activity (ρ = 0.2048; p = 0.0303). It was found that patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, mild traumatic brain injury and their comorbidity responded differently to therapy, which was determined by the clinical features of their cognitive processes, namely associative performance, control rigidity/flexibility, attention, working memory and executive function. The dynamics of cognitive functioning differed in each group. It was also found that cognitive symptoms were targeted by therapy, as evidenced by their reduction after the intervention. The data obtained will allow for a more efficient and comprehensive organization of specialised psychiatric care for veterans, and cognitive functioning is predictive of the effectiveness and duration of treatment

Heart rate variability and risk of agitation in Alzheimer's disease: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Agitation in Alzheimer's disease is common and may be related to impaired emotion regulation capacity. Heart rate variability, a proposed index of autonomic and emotion regulation neural network integrity, could be associated with agitation propensity in Alzheimer's disease. We used the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study cohort data, collected over seven visits spanning over two decades, to investigate whether heart rate variability (change) was associated with agitation risk in individuals clinically diagnosed with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. Agitation (absence/presence) at Visit 5, the primary outcome, was based on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory agitation/aggression subscale, or a composite score comprising the total number of agitation/aggression, irritability, disinhibition and aberrant motor behaviour subscales present. Visit 1-5 heart rate variability measures were the log-transformed root mean square of successive differences in R-R intervals and standard deviation of normal-to-normal R-R intervals obtained from resting, supine, standard 12-lead ECGs. To aid interpretability, heart rate variability data were scaled such that model outputs were expressed for each 0.05 log-unit change in heart rate variability (which approximated to the observed difference in heart rate variability with every 5 years of age). Among 456 participants who had dementia, 120 were clinically classified to have dementia solely attributable to Alzheimer's disease. This group showed a positive relationship between heart rate variability and agitation risk in regression models, which was strongest for measures of (potentially vagally mediated) heart rate variability change over the preceding two decades. Here, a 0.05 log-unit of heart rate variability change was associated with an up to 10-fold increase in the odds of agitation and around a half-unit increase in the composite agitation score. Associations persisted after controlling for participants' cognitive status, heart rate (change), sociodemographic factors, co-morbidities and medications with autonomic effects. Further confirmatory studies, incorporating measures of emotion regulation, are needed to support heart rate variability indices as potential agitation propensity markers in Alzheimer's disease and to explore underlying mechanisms as targets for treatment development.

Where economic parity meets ecology: Neither biodiversity nor ecosystem integrity values relate to wealth in the context of a medium-sized Finnish city.

Ecological conditions are heavily influenced by human-environment interactions, which is why understanding the relationships between people and nature is crucial. While earlier studies have indicated a pattern of positive correlations between economic wealth and biodiversity in urban areas, there are some examples that suggest that such associations are more intricate than initially presumed. In this study, we aimed to assess whether such a relation holds in Lahti, a medium-sized city in southern Finland, considering two biodiversity proxies (i.e., bird and woody plant species richness) and the Urban Ecosystem Integrity Index (UEII) of the city. Our results show no clear relationship between economic wealth (average annual income per statistical area) reported for 2019 and the two assessed biodiversity proxies and the UEII. These findings shed new light on the "luxury effect" in urban areas and reveal the nature of such relationship in highly green cities embedded in economic parity scenarios.

Clinical value of serum interleukin-13 levels in vincristineinduced polyneuropathy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Vincristine polyneuropathy is the leading neurotoxic effect when treating pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Recent studies have demonstrated involvement of immune system in pathogenesis of peripheral nervous system damage. Over recent years, there have been reports examining the relationship between interleukin-13 (IL-13) and development of toxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. Our objective was to assess clinical value of IL-13 level in children with vincristine polyneuropathy. The study included 27 children with ALL aged from 3 to 17 years, who received chemotherapy according to the conventional protocol. Plasma IL-13 levels were determined, and the values in two subgroups have been compared taking into account development of vincristine polyneuropathy. IL-13 content was assessed by multiparametric immunofluorescent analysis with magnetic microspheres (xMAP technology, Luminex 200, USA) and using ProcartaPlex Human Cytokine/Chemokine test system (Invitrogen, USA). Vincristine polyneuropathy in the study group was registered in the majority of children (n = 15) manifesting mainly at the induction stage of chemotherapy and presenting as predominance of sensory disorders. In a comparative analysis of IL-13 plasma levels in patients with vincristine polyneuropathy, we observed a statistically significant increase of its concentration, in contrast to patients without signs of peripheral nervous system damage (p = 0.042). The diagnostic sensitivity of this index was 75%, specificity – 100%, the integral index characterizing the accuracy of the test was 0.89. IL-13 changes were found to correlate with higher relative risk level, indicating its significant relationship to the development of vincristine polyneuropathy. The results of the study on the IL-13 content in blood plasma in children with vincristine polyneuropathy allowed us to consider it a predictive biological marker of peripheral nervous system damage.

ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY OF URBANIZED TERRITORIES ACCORDING TO THE STRUCTURE OF HYDROBIONT GROUPS

The paper proves the possibility of conducting water quality assessment using such an indicator as the species assemblage of Unionidae habitats for the purpose of conducting local bioindication. According to the species assemblage of Unionidae habitats, it was established that of the five analyzed sites of material collection of the main stream of the Teteriv River, in one case the water quality can be assessed as "Dirty", which corresponds to the IV water quality class, and in three cases as "Contaminated", which corresponds to the III class, and in another one - as "Good" - II class of quality. The rivers Guiva (Ivankiv), Kroshenka and Putyatinka within Zhytomyr belong to the IV class of water quality. Five more points are assigned to the II quality class (Guyva River in the area of Pryazhevo and Zarichany villages; Kam'yanka River (Zhytomyr); Kodenka River (Vertokiyivka village) and Hnylop'yat River (Berdychiv).More detailed information about the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems is provided by the use of algal communities of plankton as biological descriptors, but this approach is time-consuming. In general, the bioindication of water quality in the rivers of the Teteriv basin according to phytoplankton showed the predominance of indicators of saprobity, which correspond to the III class of water quality ("Contaminated"). Class II ("Good") indicators make up a significant share. A moderate level of organic water pollution is indicated by the predominance of eurysaprobes in the rivers. In terms of phytoplankton biomass, the Teteriv and Kroshenka rivers belong to the III class of water quality, other watercourses belong to the II class. According to the saprobity index, the water quality of the Teteriv, Putyatinka, and Kroshenka rivers is rated as satisfactory, and that of other watercourses as good. According to primary production and the ratio of production and destruction processes, watercourses were ranked into three groups - those belonging to II, III and IV water quality classes. The average values of the integral index ∑А/∑R for all watercourses, except for the Putyatinka River, are higher than 1. This indicates a positive balance of organic matter, characteristic of aquatic ecosystems with a high intensity of photosynthesis. The predominance of the heterotrophic phase in Putyatynka is most likely a response of the watercourse ecosystem to anthropogenic pressure.A comprehensive assessment of the water quality of watercourses in urbanized areas using as biological descriptors the ecological state of hydroecosystems of algae, plankton and mollusk settlements is the foundation for further ecological monitoring of waters, forecasting changes in the autotrophic and heterotrophic links of aquatic ecosystems under the influence of environmental factors.

Does digital inclusive finance promote the integration of rural industries? Based on the mediating role of financial availability and agricultural digitization.

The integration of rural industries will inevitably lead to new business forms and new models, which put forward new requirements for traditional agricultural finance. The development of digital inclusive finance will provide new momentum for the integration of rural industries. Based on the provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020, the evaluation index system is constructed from three dimensions: industrial integration method, integration subject and integration format, and the development index of rural industrial integration is calculated. This paper establishes double fixed effect model and intermediary effect model to test the effect and path of digital inclusive finance on the integration of rural industries, and further explores the regulatory role and spatial difference of financial support. The results show that: (1) The integration of rural industries shows a growing trend, the eastern region develops more rapidly, while the central and western regions develop more slowly; (2) The digital inclusive finance can promote the integration of rural industries, digitization degree is remarkable, but coverage breadth and using depth are not significant, increasing the rate of per capita electricity consumption and urbanization can promote the integration of rural industries, consumption has limited pulling effect on the integration of rural industries, the per capita investment in fixed assets has no significant effects on the integration of rural industries; (3) The financial availability and the agricultural digitization play a complete intermediary effect; (4) Financial support has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between the two; (5) The eastern and central regions have a significant promoting effect, while the western region has a negative effect.