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The results of the “Terminator” space experiment on board the International Space Station are presented. Images of Earth’s atmosphere are obtained in the near IR spectral range with the limb geometry of observations under a full moon. The calculated vertical profiles of volume emission/scattering rate point that the aerosol layer occurs within the height region of 80–100 km in Earth’s atmosphere. It is proposed that this layer is meteoric in origin. Estimates show that the size spectrum of aerosol particles lies within the 1–100 nm range.

During the “Terminator” space experiment on board the International Space Station, a layered optical structure was discovered in the lower thermosphere. The observations were carried out in the visible (540 nm) and near infrared (700 and 830 nm) spectral ranges. A brief description of the scientific equipment is given. This paper presents the results of processing the acquired images, which allowed interpreting them as images of an aerosol layer that has a planetary scale. Possible variants of the origin of this aerosol formation are considered.

An important problem that arises when planning experiments on remote sensing from space in the P-band is taking into account the influence of the Earth’s ionosphere. We investigated the influence of ionospheric inhomogeneities on the results of remote sensing of the Earth from space, taking into account the curvature of the propagation medium. One- and two-layer models of the ionosphere, both with and without large-scale inhomogeneities of the cold ionospheric plasma, were considered. To obtain numerical results, a bicharacteristic system was used, which makes it possible to adequately take into account the complex structures of ionospheric plasma layers. The dependence of the rate of phase change on the height and the dependence of the total electron concentration on the horizontal distance and group time were investigated. The case was compared when the vector of the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane of propagation, and the case when this vector lies in the plane of propagation. The dependence of the difference between the refractive indices on the height along the rays was studied. Estimates of the Faraday rotation angle and phase deviation were obtained for various models. The magnitude of the angle of Faraday rotation depends significantly on the orientation of the trajectory relative to the Earth’s magnetic field. Polarization coefficients are investigated. It is shown that the o- and x-waves are separately circularly polarized, and the contribution of the longitudinal component of the electric field in the electromagnetic wave is insignificant.

Regulatory B lymphocytes (Bregs) are B cells with well-pronounced immunosuppressive properties, allowing them to suppress the activity of effector cells. A broad repertoire of immunosuppressive mechanisms makes Bregs an attractive tool for adoptive cell therapy for diseases associated with excessive activation of immune reactions. Such therapy implies Breg extraction from the patient’s peripheral blood, ex vivo activation and expansion, and further infusion into the patient. At the same time, the utility of Bregs for therapeutic approaches is limited by their small numbers and extremely low survival rate, which is typical for all primary B cell cultures. Therefore, extracting CD19 + cells from the patient’s peripheral blood and specifically activating them ex vivo to make B cells acquire a suppressive phenotype seems to be far more productive. It will allow a much larger number of B cells to be obtained initially, which may significantly increase the likelihood of successful immunosuppression after adoptive Breg transfer. This comparative study focuses on finding ways to efficiently manipulate B cells in vitro to differentiate them into Bregs. We used CD40L, CpG, IL4, IL21, PMA, and ionomycin in various combinations to generate immunosuppressive phenotype in B cells and performed functional assays to test their regulatory capacity. This work shows that treatment of primary B cells using CD40L + CpG + IL21 mix was most effective in terms of induction of functionally active regulatory B lymphocytes with high immunosuppressive capacity ex vivo .

For half a century, the quiet work of a specialized immunosuppressive B cell subset has been slowly unveiled, revealing its profound impact on immune balance. This review provides a comprehensive retrospective on the history of regulatory B cell (Breg) investigation, tracing their journey from initial elusive observations to their current recognition as crucial immunomodulators. We explore the paradigm shift from B cells solely as antibody producers to their multifaceted roles in immunosuppression. Key milestones include the earliest suggestions of suppressive B cell activity around 1970, the formal coining of the currently used term \"regulatory B cells\" in the early 2000s, and the subsequent elucidation of diverse Breg subsets and their suppressive mechanisms. Finally, we discuss contemporary advances, including the application of single-cell multi-omics, the identification of novel markers and metabolic regulators, and the promising yet challenging path toward Breg-based therapeutic strategies. This historical perspective underscores the remarkable progress in Breg biology and illuminates future directions for harnessing their clinical potential.

Wound healing is a complex process involving a coordinated series of events aimed at restoring tissue integrity and function. Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are a subset of B lymphocytes that play an essential role in fine-tuning immune responses and maintaining immune homeostasis. Recent studies have suggested that Bregs are important players in cutaneous immunity. This review summarizes the current understanding of the role of Bregs in skin immunity in health and pathology, such as diabetes, psoriasis, systemic sclerosis, cutaneous lupus erythematosus, cutaneous hypersensitivity, pemphigus, and dermatomyositis. We discuss the mechanisms by which Bregs maintain tissue homeostasis in the wound microenvironment through the promotion of angiogenesis, suppression of effector cells, and induction of regulatory immune cells. We also mention the potential clinical applications of Bregs in promoting wound healing, such as the use of adoptive Breg transfer.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism rs71327024 located in the human 3p21.31 locus has been associated with an elevated risk of hospitalization upon SARS-CoV-2 infection. The 3p21.31 locus contains several genes encoding chemokine receptors potentially relevant to severe COVID-19. In particular, CXCR6, which is prominently expressed in T lymphocytes, NK, and NKT cells, has been shown to be involved in the recruitment of immune cells to non-lymphoid organs in chronic inflammatory and respiratory diseases. In COVID-19, CXCR6 expression is reduced in lung resident memory T cells from patients with severe disease as compared to the control cohort with moderate symptoms. We demonstrate here that rs71327024 is located within an active enhancer that augments the activity of the CXCR6 promoter in human CD4+ T lymphocytes. The common rs71327024(G) variant makes a functional binding site for the c-Myb transcription factor, while the risk rs71327024(T) variant disrupts c-Myb binding and reduces the enhancer activity. Concordantly, c-Myb knockdown in PMA-treated Jurkat cells negates rs71327024’s allele-specific effect on CXCR6 promoter activity. We conclude that a disrupted c-Myb binding site may decrease CXCR6 expression in T helper cells of individuals carrying the minor rs71327024(T) allele and thus may promote the progression of severe COVID-19 and other inflammatory pathologies.

Currently, numerous associations between genetic polymorphisms and various diseases have been characterized through the Genome-Wide Association Studies. Majority of the clinically significant polymorphisms are localized in non-coding regions of the genome. While modern bioinformatic resources make it possible to predict molecular mechanisms that explain influence of the non-coding polymorphisms on gene expression, such hypotheses require experimental verification. This review discusses the methods for elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying dependence of the disease pathogenesis on specific genetic variants within the non-coding sequences. A particular focus is on the methods for identification of transcription factors with binding efficiency dependent on polymorphic variations. Despite remarkable progress in bioinformatic resources enabling prediction of the impact of polymorphisms on the disease pathogenesis, there is still the need for experimental approaches to investigate this issue.

The project of a facility for studying the ionizing radiation effects from outer space is under development at Russian Federal Nuclear Center All-Russia Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF, Sarov). The National Research Center Kurchatov Institute (KCTEF) has developed a technical project and design documentation for a heavy ion linac. The linac provides the acceleration of the beams with the mass-to-charge ratio within the range of 4–8 in a pulsed mode up to energy of 4 MeV per nucleon with a current of 10 mA. The accelerator consists of a laser ion source, an RFQ section and two DTL sections operating at multiple frequencies. The world’s most powerful laser ion source can generate a Bi 27+ ion beam with a current of at least 3 mA at a pulse duration of 5 μs. In the linac, at least 95% of the injected beam current is captured in acceleration.