[Surgical treatment of sternal osteomyelitis and sternomediastinitis following cardiac surgery]. / Khirurgicheskoe lechenie osteomielita grudiny i sternomediastinita vsledstvie kardiokhirurgicheskikh operatsii.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the incidence of cardiac surgeries and postoperative sternal osteomyelitis/sternomediastinitis, as well as treatment outcomes in these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We summarized 171 patients with postoperative sternal osteomyelitis and sternomediastinitis. RESULTS: Organization of the Khabarovsk center for cardiovascular surgery in the Far Eastern Federal District was followed by 7.9- and 24.9-fold increase of the number of cardiac surgeries and CABG in 2005-2019, respectively. As a result, the number of patients with sternal osteomyelitis and sternomediastinitis after cardiac surgery increased from 0.50±0.10 to 1.59±0.17 cases per 100.000 (t=3.01; p<0.01). CPB and aortic clamping time (t=3.97; p<0.01), as well as surgery time (t=2.4; p<0.05) were significant risk factors of early postoperative complications. Two-stage surgical treatment of postoperative sternal osteomyelitis and sternomediastinitis (removal of ligatures and foreign bodies, sternal curettage with removal of sequesters at the first stage; resection of sternum with chest wall repair at the second stage) reduced hospital-stay from 31.9±13.4 to 29.2±10.8 days.

[Hygienic assessment of the impact of diesel fuel on the ordinary black soil microbiocenosis].

The main sources of soil contamination by oil products in the Dnepropetrovsk region are oil depots, gas stations and all types of transport that use and transport oil. The diesel fuel was found to be the one of the priority multicomponent components of the petroleum products, so it there was occurred the necessity for the hygienic regulation of the oil component in order to monitor a multicomponent composition ofpetroleum products in the study of complex influence of environmental factors on health population. In the study of the effect of various concentrations of diesel fuel on the number of total bacterial count (TBC) as the threshold for general sanitary indicator of hazard, there was recommended the concentration of4000 mg/kg, which oppressed the vital activity of soil microorganisms by 50-27.3% for the first 2 weeks of the laboratory experiment.

Problems and prospects for finding new pharmacological agents among adenosine receptor agonists, antagonists, or their allosteric modulators for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

A1-adenosine receptors (A1AR) are widely distributed in the human body and mediate many different effects. They are abundantly present in the cardiovascular system, where they control angiogenesis, vascular tone, heart rate, and conduction. This makes the cardiovascular system A1AR an attractive target for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The review summarizes the literature data on the structure and functioning of A1AR, and analyzes their involvement in the formation of myocardial hypertrophy, ischemia-reperfusion damage, various types of heart rhythm disorders, chronic heart failure, and arterial hypertension. Special attention is paid to the role of some allosteric regulators of A1AR as potential agents for the CVD treatment.

[Biosynthesis of L-lysine-alpha-oxidase, an antitumor enzyme, by Trichoderma spp].

Strains of Trichoderma spp., producing L-lysine-alpha-oxidase, prospective in chemotherapy of malignant tumors, were studied. The best results of the enzyme biosynthesis were observed on the wheat bran medium. When grown on the media with various pH levels, the strains showed different spectra of the L-aminooxidase activity. The highest activity of the strains was recorded with respect to destruction of L-lysine. The lysine-producing organism Brevibacterium sp. induced L-lysine-alpha-oxidase activity in Trichoderma spp.

Bradykinin degradation pathways in human blood plasma.

The kinetics of proteolysis of bradykinin and its metabolites in human blood plasma was studied, the limiting stages were determined and each stage of the degradation was correlated with the appropriate plasma enzyme. A scheme of the pathways of major and minor degradation processes has been proposed.

Protegrins: leukocyte antimicrobial peptides that combine features of corticostatic defensins and tachyplesins.

Porcine leukocytes contained three homologous peptides, PG-1, 2 and 3, that manifested potent microbicidal activity against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Candida albicans in vitro. The peptides ('protegrins') were composed of 16 (PG-2) or 18 amino acid residues, and, like tachyplesins (broad-spectrum antibiotic peptides of horseshoe crab hemocytes), they contained two intramolecular cystine disulfide bonds. Considerably smaller than defensins, protegrins nevertheless showed substantial homology to them, especially to the 'corticostatic' rabbit defensin, NP-3a. The relatively simple structure of protegrins should provide useful prototypes for constructing congeners with selectively enhanced host defense activities.

Primary structure of three cationic peptides from porcine neutrophils. Sequence determination by the combined usage of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and Edman degradation.

The primary structure of three major cationic peptides from porcine neutrophils has been determined. The sequencing was made by the combined use of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and Edman degradation. The determined sequences unambiguously show that these peptides can not be considered as defensins.

[A quantitative method for evaluating the structure and conformational stability of proteins by second derivative UV-spectroscopy]. / Kolichestvennyi metod otsenki struktury i konformatsionnoi ustoichivosti belkov po vtorym proizvodnym UF-specktrov pogloshcheniia.

A quantitative method is suggested for estimating the structure and conformational stability of proteins based on the individual absorbance of Tyr residues in the second derivative UV spectra. Subtilisins Carlsberg, BPN' and 72 were chosen as the model proteins. The values of the increase of the Tyr absorption at 282.3 nm upon the total denaturation of the proteins made it possible to calculate the number of the exposed and "buried" tyrosine residues in the native proteins. A mathematical model of spectrum changes during the transition of Tyr residues from the "buried" to exposed form is suggested. The method is useful for the determination of the denaturation constants of proteins bearing "buried" tyrosine residues.

[Digestion of Luliberine analogues containing D-alanine residue by human gastric juice]. / Rasshcheplenie zheludochnym sokom cheloveka analogov liuliberina, soderzhashchich ostatok D-alanina.

The digestion of surphagone and other luliberine analogues containing residues of D-amino acids by human gastric juice was studied. By means of chromatography and mass spectrometry, these peptides were shown to undergo hydrolysis of the bond formed by D-Ala at the P-1 position, and this hydrolysis was shown to be catalyzed by gastricsin rather than pepsin A. Gastricsin was assumed to be a highly specific protease. The results are in a good agreement with the concept of conformational specificity of proteases towards the natural oligopeptides.

[Proteolysis of human proinsulin catalysed by native, modified, and immobilized trypsin]. / Proteoliz proinsulina cheloveka, kataliziruemyi nativnym, modifitsirovannym i immobilizirovannym tripsinom.

Proteolysis of recombinant human proinsulin by the native trypsin, by trypsin modified with a copolymer of vinylpyrrolidone and acrolein, and by the same modified trypsin immobilized on Silochrom 1.5 was studied by RP HPLC and mass spectrometry. Rate constants of the main stages of proinsulin hydrolysis by the native trypsin were estimated. The values of rate constants of the digestions of the most easily hydrolyzable bonds (those formed by the pairs of the basic amino acid residues) in proinsulin were found to be of the same order as those formed by the separate lysine residues (Lys7) and those formed by the four basic amino acid residues of the C-terminal cluster of melittin. It was established that covalent trypsin binding to the copolymer did not change the ratio of the rate constants of the individual stages of proinsulin hydrolysis, whereas after the immobilization of modified trypsin on the Silochrome, the formation of diarginyl insulin-ArgArg, intermediate forms of hydrolyzed insulin, and desThr-insulin proceeds with comparable rates.

[APUD- and RAA- regulatory systems in acute radiation injury]. / APUD- i RAA-sistemy reguliatsii pri ostrom radiatsionnom porazhenii.

An experimental morpho-functional assessment of rat APUD and RAA systems status in acute radiation injury (cerebral form) was performed. The named regulatory systems were found to display an actual momentary post-exposure reaction, followed by subsequent functional changes of a distinct phase character. The latter were shown to determine in many respects the clinical picture and in some cases the outcome of the disease.

[Fusion of protoplasts in Streptomyces antibioticus]. / Izuchenie sliianiia protoplastov Streptomyces antibioticus.

The analysis of Streptomyces antibioticus recombinants isolated under non-selective conditions for stability of inheritance of parental properties demonstrated the existence of non-stable diploids and stable haploid recombinants. Also, genetic analysis of heteroclones isolated on selective medium after plating spores of regenerants was conducted. The results of analysis of haploid recombinant and heteroclones pointed to linkage of genetic loci and the possibility to use the technique of protoplast fusion for establishment of genetic map of S. antibioticus.

[A comparative analysis of the biological activity of an acid-extractable brain protein and fibroblast growth factors]. / Sravnitel'nyi analiz biologicheskoi aktivnosti mozgovogo kislotoékstragiruemogo belka i faktory rosta fibroblastov.

An acid-soluble protein was isolated from bovine brain tissue using a combination of 5% HClO4 acidic extraction, cation-exchange chromatography and heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. This preparation had a biological activity similar to that of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF). It has stimulated neurite outgrowth in organotypic culture of chicken embryo dorsal root ganglia and also has stimulated a proliferation of human embryonic fibroblasts in the culture. The biological activity of isolated preparation was totally inhibited by anti-bFGF antibodies, while anti-aFGF antibodies had no effect. The bFGF showed a neurite stimulating activity in the organotypic culture that was completely abolished by the anti-bFGF, IgG, while the aFGF was inactive. This data, as well as cationic properties of isolated protein and its heparin-binding ability, enable us to postulate a high degree of homology of the brain acid-soluble protein and the bFGF. At the same time the relations of the isolated growth factor and other brain-derived heparin-binding growth factors are yet to be established.

Energy metabolism in rat brain structures after injections of kainic acid into the frontal cortex.

We studied behavioral reactions of rats after injection of subconvulsive dose of kainic acid into the frontal cortex and mitochondrial respiration in the hippocampus and frontal and temporal cortex 17-20 days after administration of kainic acid. Retention of acquired habit and the dynamics of its extinction in experimental rats were close to those in the control group. Changes in mitochondrial function were observed only in the region of kainic acid injection: activation of phosphorylating respiration during oxidation of succinate. Presumably, the detected activation of energy metabolism in the frontal cortex indicates functional restructuring in mitochondria, aimed at compensation of disorders caused by the neurotoxin.

[Tuberculosis of the respiratory tract and chronic alcoholism]. / Tuberkulez organov dykhaniia i khronicheskii alkogolizm.

Tuberculosis of respiratory organs was studied in chronic alcoholics under the conditions of an industrial city the Republic of Byelarus after the Chernobyl atomic power plant accident. Respiratory tuberculosis was found to occur in chronic alcoholics more frequently than in those without chronic alcoholism, to run relatively badly, destructive form and bacterial isolation being commonly, therapeutical efficiency in them was reduced, and long-term prognosis was under question. Controlled combined anti-tuberculous and antialcoholic treatment should be performed in chronic alcoholics with tuberculosis.

[A method of calculation of accessibility to solvent of aromatic amino acid residues of proteins in water-organic mixtures]. / Metod rascheta dostupnosti rastvoriteliu aromaticheskikh aminokislotnykh ostatkov belkov v vodno-organicheskikh smesiakh.

Suggested method for calculation of solvent accessibility of tryptophan and tyrosine residues in water-organic mixtures is based on evaluation of second order derivatives of UV spectra. Second order derivative of the spectrum enable differentiation between direct effects of the organic solvent on spectral characteristics of exposed aromatic amino acid residues and the effect of the organic solvent on protein conformation. The method is suitable for calculation of exposition of tryptophan in water-organic mixtures if the content of tyrosine amino acid residues in protein does not exceed the content of tryptophan. Similar method of calculation of exposition of tyrosine residues can be used in proteins when the content of tyrosine is at least 5-fold higher than the content of tryptophan. For example, solvent accessibility of tryptophan residues of chymotrypsin is calculated in the presence of various organic solvents including ethanol, dioxane, and dimethyl formamide.

[Determination of solvent accessibility of residues of aromatic amino acids in proteins using the second derivative of the UV-absorption spectrum]. / Opredelenie dostupnosti rastvoriteliu ostatkov aromaticheskikh aminokislot v belkakh po vtorym proizvodnym UF-spektrov pogloshcheniia.

A new method for determining the solvent accessibility of tyrosine and tryptophan residues in proteins from the wavelengths of absorption peak maxima in secondary derivatives of UV absorption spectra has been developed. Analytical expressions for calculating the number of groups in latent and exposed states of amino acid residues in protein globules were obtained on the basis of the previously elaborated mathematical model of spectral changes observed during the transition between those respective states. The new procedure was used to analyze sixteen proteins and showed a good correlation between the experimental results and literary data.

[The study of degradation of peptides in human plasma and serum by the ERIAD high pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method]. / Izuchenie degradatsii peptidov v plazme i syvorotke krove cheloveka metodom vysokoéffektivnoi zhidkostnoi khromatografii-mass- spektrometrii ERIAD.

The proteolysis of bradykinin, [Leu5]enkephalin and some of its synthetic analogs. [D-Ala2,Leu5]enkephalin and [D-Ala2,Leu5]enkephalinyl-Arg, by human blood plasma and serum enzymes was investigated. The degradation products were identified. Based on the kinetic data, the principal pathways of degradation and its limiting steps were established.