The total vaccination rate remains relatively low in Russia as of March 2022 (around 55%, with around 20% in some regions). In the paper, we study the reasons for it. We communicate the results of our survey aimed at detecting reasons for the relatively low anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rate in Russia (47.1% as of mid-January 2022) and suggest potential measures to increase the level of confidence in the Russian vaccination campaign. A total of 14,310 users exhibited interest to participate in the research (16.84% of the total number of invitations sent in the Russian social network VKontakte). After the sample set repair, only 5822 (40.68% of those who agreed to participate) responses were suitable for the research, and they composed the final set. The age range of the respondents was 16–51 years old (y.o.) with a mean of 29.1 ± 10.6 y.o. The proportion of the female gender in responses was 44.23%. A total of 2454 persons (42.15%) expressed their hesitant, cautious, or negative attitude towards vaccine uptake. Of the 2454 persons with cautious attitude towards vaccination, only 928 (37.82%) were concerned about the quality of the Russian vaccines. A total of 1323 individuals (53.91%) supported one or more conspiracy beliefs. A total of 5064 (86.98% of the whole set) showed cautious or negative attitude towards the planned introduction of a nationwide system of vaccination certification/verification based on QR codes. The main social factors that hinder the Russian vaccination campaign are: vexation over the lack of desire of officials to receive feedback from the general population regarding vaccination, wide support for conspiracy beliefs, and controversy over the QR code-based digital system. To elevate the vaccination rate in Russia, the following steps may be taken: social encouragement of those who support vaccination, increase in transparency of the vaccination campaign, acceptance of both digital and paper vaccination certificates, increase in participation of society in vaccination-related discussions, public disclosure of vaccine composition, and avoidance of excessive digitalization of data in the vaccination campaign.

In comparison with other respiratory viruses, the current COVID-19 pandemic’s rapid seizing the world can be attributed to indirect (contact) way of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus in addition to the regular airborne way. A significant part of indirect transmission is made through cash bank notes. SARS-CoV-2 remains on cash paper money for period around four times larger than influenza A virus and is absorbed by cash notes two and a half times more effectively than influenza A (our model). During the pandemic, cryptocurrencies have gained attractiveness as an “epidemiologically safe” means of transactions. On the basis of the authors’ gallop polls performed online with social networks users in 44 countries in 2020–2021 (the total number of clear responses after the set repair 32,115), around 14.7% of surveyed participants engaged in cryptocurrency-based transactions during the pandemic. This may be one of the reasons of significant rise of cryptocurrencies rates since mid-March 2020 till the end of 2021. The paper discusses the reasons for cryptocurrency attractiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, there are fear of SARS-CoV-2 spread via cash contacts and the ability of the general population to mine cryptocurrencies. The article also provides a breakdown of the polled audience profile to determine the nationalities that have maximal level of trust to saving and transacting money as cryptocurrencies.

Honey has been recognized for its medicinal properties for centuries, with well-documented benefits such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, despite the widespread use of honey for health-related purposes, many of the underlying mechanisms responsible for its bioactivity remain underexplored. This review delves into the complexity of honey’s composition, particularly focusing on the active substances and the honey microbiota contribution to its properties. We aim to bridge the gap in understanding how honey’s multifaceted bioactivity arises from interactions between bees, plants, and microorganisms. The review sheds light on the key compounds, including hydrogen peroxide, methylglyoxal, polyphenols, and antimicrobial peptides, which play vital roles in honey's health benefits. It also highlights the often-overlooked contributions of the honeybee’s gut microbiota and the nectar’s microbiota, which together influence the chemical transformation of nectar into honey and enhance its therapeutic efficacy. By examining the current literature, this article emphasizes the need for deeper investigation into how various factors-such as floral origin, bee subspecies, and environmental conditions-affect the medicinal quality of honey. Understanding these mechanisms could lead to optimized use of honey in medical applications and reveal new therapeutic potentials. This article provides a comprehensive review of the intricate processes and components that make honey not only a nutritional food source but also a potent natural medicine.

Few analytical or research works claim that the negative impact of improper use of ASEs may be comparable with that of hydrocarbons and sometimes even greater. It has become a common view that “green” energy (ASE) is clean, safe and environmentally friendly (eco-friendly) in contrast with “black” energy (hydrocarbons). We analyzed 144 works on systemic and/or comparative research of the modern and prospective ASE: biofuels, hydrogen, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power, geothermal power, oceanic thermal power, tidal power, wind wave power and nuclear fusion power. We performed our analysis within the Spaceship Earth paradigm. We conclude that there is no perfect ASE that is always eco-friendly. All ASEs may be dangerous to the planet considered as a closed and isolated unit (“spaceship”) if they are used in an inconsistent manner. This is not in the least a reason to deny them as prospective sources of energy. Using all ASEs in different proportions in various regions of the planet, where their harm to the planet and humanity can be minimized and, on the contrary, their efficiency maximized, would give humanity the opportunity to decarbonize the Earth, and make the energy transition in the most effective way.

The reprogramming of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells into retinal cells (transdifferentiation) lies in the bases of retinal regeneration in several Urodela. The identification of the key genes involved in this process helps with looking for approaches to the prevention and treatment of RPE-related degenerative diseases of the human retina. The purpose of our study was to examine the transcriptome changes at initial stages of RPE cell reprogramming in adult newt Pleurodeles waltl. RPE was isolated from the eye samples of day 0, 4, and 7 after experimental surgical detachment of the neural retina and was used for a de novo transcriptome assembly through the RNA-Seq method. A total of 1019 transcripts corresponding to the differently expressed genes have been revealed in silico: the 83 increased the expression at an early stage, and 168 increased the expression at a late stage of RPE reprogramming. We have identified up-regulation of classical early response genes, chaperones and co-chaperones, genes involved in the regulation of protein biosynthesis, suppressors of oncogenes, and EMT-related genes. We revealed the growth in the proportion of down-regulated ribosomal and translation-associated genes. Our findings contribute to revealing the molecular mechanism of RPE reprogramming in Urodela.

In the freshwater snail L. stagnalis, two hours of shallow water crawling exercise are accompanied by the formation of memory, metabolic, neuronal, and behavioral changes, such as faster orientation in a novel environment. Interestingly, rest following exercise enhances serotonin and dopamine metabolism linked to the formation of memory and adaptation to novel conditions. However, the underlying transcriptional responses are not characterized. In this paper, we show that, while two hours of forced crawling exercise in L. stagnalis produce significant changes in nervous system gene expression, the subsequent rest induces a completely distinct transcriptional program. Chromatin-modifying, vesicle transport, and cell cycle genes were induced, whereas neurodevelopmental, behavioral, synaptic, and hormone response genes were preferentially repressed immediately after two hours of exercise. These changes were normalized after two hours of the subsequent rest. In turn, rest induced the expression of genes functioning in neuron differentiation and synapse structure/activity, while mitotic, translational, and protein degradation genes were repressed. Our findings are likely relevant to the physiology of exercise, rest, and learning in other species. For example, chronic voluntary exercise training in mice affects the expression of many homologous genes in the hippocampus. Moreover, in humans, homologous genes are pivotal for normal development and complex neurological functions, and their mutations are associated with behavioral, learning, and neurodevelopmental abnormalities.