Radioactive contamination of the soil-plant cover at certain locations of Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka Peninsula: Assessment of the Fukushima fallout.

The contamination densities of soil-plant cover at certain locations within the Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka Peninsula attributable to 90Sr, 137Cs and 239,240Pu were 500-1390 Bq m-2, 980-2300 Bq m-2 and 37-74 Bq m-2, respectively. These values do not exceed average global background levels, typical for mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The spatial distribution of radionuclides depends on the climatic conditions of the region. A positive dependence of the 90Sr and 137Cs contamination densities, as well as additional 137Cs from NPP "Fukushima" in the soil, was determined based on the sum of annual atmospheric precipitation within the study areas. No trends in the spatial distribution of Pu isotopes were observed. The 137Cs contribution from the "Fukushima" NPP constitutes 11-300 Bq m-2 in the Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Island and at the Kamchatka peninsula, i.e., 1-22% of the total amount of radionuclides in the soil. The contribution of this radionuclide to the contamination of moss-lichen vegetation ranged from 7 to 42%.

[Antibiotic Resistance of MRSA in the Russian Federation].

The results of the multicentre trial on estimation of MRSA antibiotic susceptibility to 17 antibiotics are presented. 474 nonrepeting isolates of MRSA (mecA+), collected in 2011-2014 in 10 cities of the Russian Federation were used in the trial. The antibiotic susceptibility was determined by the method of serial microdilutions in broth with estimation of the MICs in accordance with the international standards CLSI 2014 and EUCAST 2014. The highest levels of the MRSA resistance were stated against ciprofloxacin--92%(MIC50 32 mcg/ml), gentamicin--85% (MIC50 128 mcg/ml), erythromycin--54% (MIC50 32-mcg/ml) and clindainycin - 45% (MIC50 0.03 mcg/ml), as well as against rifampicin--38% (MIC50 0.06 mcg/ml). The frequency of MRSA isolated at the vancomycin dose of 2 mcg/ml equaled 26%. No correlation of the decrease in susceptibility to vancomycin and rifampicin was observed. In 5% of MRSA isolated from infected surgical wounds in patients with bone infection or sepsis, there was observed a decrease in the susceptibility to ceftarolin (MIC 2-4 mcg/ml). Co-trimoxasole, fusidic acid (MIC50 0.06 mcg/ml) and mupirocin (MIC50 0.5 mcg/ml) showed high antibacterial activity, 93-98% of the isolates being susceptible to the drugs. No resistance to linezolid and tigecycline was detected. By the associate resistance spectrum, most of the MRSA isolates were characterized by resistance to drugs of 3-7 groups (56%). The phenotypes with simultaneous resistance to drugs of 8-10 groups amounted to 6%. As a whole, 70 variants of associate resistance combinations were detected.

[Man-made radionuclides and their accumulation by plants of different taxonomic groups from the soils of the eastern ural radioactive trace].

Investigations of the spatial and vertical distribution of 90Sr, 137Cs and 239, 240Pu in the soils of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT) and accumulation of these radionuclides by plants were carried out in 2003-2011. Investigations showed that the spatial distribution of the radionuclides with increasing distances from the epicenter of the accident is satisfactorily approximated by the exponential function. During the post-accidental period the essential amount of radionuclides is located in the 15-20 cm root layer of the soil. Uptake by plants of 90Sr is determined, first of all, by the level of the soil contamination. For 137Cs, reliable differences in its accumulation ability between representatives of the higher plants and lower ones are remained in the whole gradient of contamination.

[Estimation of MRSA susceptibility to oxacillin, cefoxitine, vancomycin and daptomycin].

Prevalence and therapy of infections due to MRSA remain one of the most serious problems in the world. Therefore, correct laboratory identification of the MRSA phenotype based on the use of the marker antibiotic cefoxitine, as a more susceptibile one vs. oxacillin, is of great importance. There is lately being observed a tendency towards emergence of strains with lower susceptibility to the last reserve drugs protecting from MRSA, i. e. vancomycin and daptomycin. Susceptibility of MSRA to these drugs was not investigated in Russia and there are no data on the prevalence of the VISA and hVISA phenotypes. The results of our study on estimation of susceptibility of 316 MRSA isolates from several regions of Russia to oxacillin, cefoxitine, vancomycin and daptomycin are presented herein. It was shown that the ranges of the oxacillin MIC were extremely wide, i. e. 0.5 to 512 mcg/ml, while 2.2 +/- 1% of the isolates was susceptible by the phenotype to oxacillin, in spite of the mecA gene presence. As for cefoxitine, the MRSA isolates were rather resistant to it at the MIC > 16 mcg/ml. The tests with serial microdilutions revealed that 30.7 +/- 7% of the isolates had a critical level of susceptibility to vancomycin at the MIC 2 mcg/ml. The E-tests revealed 1.3 +/- 1% of the isolates which were susceptible at the MIC 2-4 mcg/ml. The MRSA isolates were highly susceptible to daptomycin, while high levels of the MIC (2 mcg/ml) were characteristic of 2.8 +/- 1% of the isolates. Cross reduction of the susceptibility to vancomycin and daptomycin was observed.

[Radioecological investigation of the soil cover of eastern Urals State radioactive reserve and neighboring areas].

The contamination levels and spatial distribution of 90Sr and 137Cs in the soil cover of the Eastern Ural State Radioactive Reserve and neighboring areas have been studied. Situated in the Chelyabinsk region, the Reserve embraces the frontal part of the Eastern Urals Radioactive Trace. This Trace emerged in 1957 as a result of the nuclear accident at the Production Association "Mayak". In the studied areas, the content of radionuclides in soils decreases exponentially as the distance from the source of contamination increases. 90Sr received by the soil cover as a result of the accident in 1957 has remained the main contaminant of the Reserve central part (97% of the total contamination). Its contribution throughout western neighboring areas reduces up to 67%, which decreases the effect of 90Sr on the environment. Within eastern neighboring areas, soil is mainly contaminated by 137Cs received as a result of the wind disseminated dried sediments from the shores of Lake Karachay (1967) that was used for dumping high-level radioactive waste. Also observed was enrichment of forest litters with this radionuclide due to current atmospheric fallout.

Radionuclides in terrestrial ecosystems of the zone of Kyshtym accident in the Urals.

It was shown that along the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace central axis, about 100 km in length, decrease of the (90)Sr and (137)Cs deposition densities in soil samples may be described as an exponential function. At the western and eastern periphery of the trace, (90)Sr contents in soils approached to the background level due to global fallout. (90)Sr and (137)Cs concentrations in seeds of some herbaceous plants have been determined. The radionuclide concentrations and the resulting dose loads upon plant seeds showed an excess over the background level of about two or three orders of magnitude.

[Plutonium at the ecosystems of impact zone the Beloyarsk NPP].

The distribution of the plutonium at the ecosystems of impact zone the Beloyarsk NPP was studied. Higher quantity of Pu (to 500 Bq/m2) was revealed in the bottom sediments of the Olkhovsk bog where low-level radioactive water of the Beloyarsk NPP have been discharged. The total amount of the radionuclide in a soil cover did not exceed 140 Bq/m2. The contribution of the Beloyarsk NPP to contamination of the investigated ecosystems was accounted with using ratio 238Pu/239.240Pu. It was 64.1-99.3% both in the bottom sediments and soils.

[Muscular mechanisms of lowering of physical working capacity in chronic heart failure and action of beta-adrenoblockers].

Parameters of physical working capacity (symptom limited treadmill test with gas analysis, 6 min walk test and usual everyday activity), activity of muscular metaboreflex, efficacy of pulmonary ventilation, and heart rate variability were studied in 50 patients with postinfarction cardiosclerosis with chronic class I-III heart failure and 30 patients without heart failure. Patients with heart failure of all functional classes had lowered parameters of working capacity while metaboloreflex hyperactivation and diminished effectiveness of ventilation were found only in patients with clinical signs of chronic heart failure but not in those with symptomless left ventricular dysfunction. Therapy with metoprolol was associated with lowering of activity of metaboloreflex, augmented effectiveness of ventilation and heart rate variability, improvement of results of 6 min test and everyday activity without considerable changes of peak oxygen consumption.

[Radioecological situation at the villages of the Techa river]. / Radioékologiceskiaia situatsiia v raionakh naselennykh punktov beregovoi zony r. Techna.

The Techa river was contaminated in 1949-1956 from the nuclear enterprise "Mayak". The investigations were carried out in flood plain of the Techa river in 1992-2001. 90Sr and 137Cs stores were calculated in the soil-vegetation cover. There is uneven character of the spatial radionuclides contamination of the investigated area. The store with 90Sr changes from 25 to 930 kBq/m2 (0.7-25.0 Ci/km2) and that with 137Cs--from 30 to 1700 kBq/m2 (0.8-46.0 Ci/km2). In the preriver-bed soils the ratio 90Sr/137Cs increases with further from discharge point. Individual effective dose was calculated for the Brodocalmak population. 90Sr was revealed in the flood plain soils of the Iset river. The contribution of the contaminated Techa river and its flood plains soils accounted for as by incorporated radionuclides as background gamma-radiation does not exceed 0.13-0.17 mSv/yr if the contaminated Techa river utilization is limited. In other case the contribution of the contaminated Techa river increases to 1.6-3.0 mSv/yr. These values exceed international safety norms.

Induction of myocarditis in rabbits injected with group A streptococci.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: We have earlier proposed that group A streptococcal (GAS) immunoglobulin binding surface proteins (IgGBPs) might trigger anti-IgG production and immune complex formation leading to glomerulonephritis. In the present study, cardiac tissue material from rabbits injected with heat-killed GAS was investigated. METHODS: Rabbits were injected intravenously with 10(9) colony forming units of streptococci three times weekly for 8 wk. Cardiac tissue samples were obtained at different times and deposition of IgG, C3, TNF-alpha and IL-6 was studied. RESULTS: After 8 or more weeks of intravenous (iv) injections, minimal changes were seen in animals receiving an IgG non-binding GAS strain, type T27, whereas in those animals receiving either of two IgG binding GAS strains, types M1 or M22, strong inflammatory and degenerative myocardial changes accompanied by deposition of IgG and C3 were noted. Furthermore, on injecting rabbits with defined mutants of a type M22 strain, the development of myocardial tissue damage proved to be dependent on the presence streptococcal IgGBPs. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: The present data supported a role of streptococcal IgGBPs in the induction of myocardial tissue injury by GAS.

[Endovascular surgery in the treatment of patients with myoma uteri]. / Endovaskuliarnaia khirurgiia v lechenii bol'nykh miomami matki.

Forty patients with myoma uteri of varying sites were treated by the new little invasive method - embolization of the uterine arteries. All the patients were admitted to the clinic with the symptoms of the high menstrual blood loss or functional disorders of the pelvic organs. Embolization of the uterine arteries made it possible to achieve good clinical results marked by minimization or removal of the clinical manifestations of myoma uteri.

Environmental radioactivity in the South Urals 1990-1997. An international study supported by INTAS, EC and national funding.

Radioecological studies carried out in a joint co-operation between Russian, Ukrainian and Danish Laboratories are reported. The environmental impact of routine, discharges as well as accidental events, notably the Kyshtym accident in 1957 and the Karachay wind dispersion in 1968 have been studied. From measurements and based on model assumptions it has been estimated that the Ob river system outside Mayak, i.e. first of all the Techa and Iset rivers and their floodplains contain 0.1 PBq 90Sr, 0.3 PBq 137Cs and 0.8 TBq 239, 240Pu. The uncertainty of these estimates is a factor of 3-4. The present contamination from the Kyshtym accident outside the Mayak area is calculated to 0.1-0.5 PBq 90Sr and from the Karachay incident the contamination is 0.05-0.1 Bq 137Cs. The environmental contaminations with Pu from these two events are in the order of 1 TBq. The occurrence of 99Tc, 129I and 237Np in highly contaminated Techa river sediments collected outside Mayak is for the first time reported.

Immuno-, phagocytosis-modulating, and antitoxic properties of amino acids and peptide preparations.

The influence of amino acids, their mixtures, and peptides on the immune response, phagocytosis in vitro, and in CBA mice, and broiler chickens, as well as on in vitro ability of listed preparations to protect animals' splenocytes from toxic action of benzene and aflatoxin B1 were studied. It was shown that amino acids (Asp, Glu, Val, Trp), amino acid mixtures (cerebrolysine, levamine, aviamine), and the dipeptides GluTrp and LysAsp stimulate the immune response to SRBC at subcutaneous and peroral application. The peptides thymopentin, thymosin alpha-1, and peptide mixtures (thymosin fraction 5, thymalin) stimulate the immune response only at the site of subcutaneous injections. Lys, Tyr, and bursin (LysHisGly-amide), regardless of the mode of application, do not change, but Arg inhibits the immune response. None of the preparations studied change the immune response to Viantigen. Levamine, cerebrolysine, and aviamine are immunoreactive only at low doses (6.5 x 10(2)-6.5 x 10(-8) mg/kg). At a dose of 65 mg/kg these preparations lose immunostimulating properties. Amino acids (6.5 x 10(-2) mg/kg), which stimulate, rather than influence or inhibit the immune response, enhance phagocytosis of S. aureus by granulocytes, regardless of mode of application. Levamine and cerebrolysine in the range of doses of 6.5 x 10(-2)-6.5 x 10(-6) mg/kg do not influence phagocytosis; at a dose of 65 mg/kg, phagocytosis is enhanced. Aviamine stimulates phagocytosis as well at low and at high doses. The ability of preparations to protect in vitro at a low concentration (1.3 x 10(-3) mg/ml) murine or chickens' splenocytes from toxic action of benzene and aflatoxin B1 (at 1:1000 dilution) does not correlate with their action on the immune response and phagocytosis. The protective actions revealed by the following preparations include: (a) stimulating the immune response and phagocytosis (Glu, Asp, Trp, amino acid mixture aviamine, the dipeptides LysAsp, GluTrp, the peptide mixtures thymalin, thymosin fraction 5); (b) enhancing the immune response but not influencing phagocytosis (Met, levamine, cerebrolysine); (c) influencing neither the immune response nor phagocytosis (Gly, Ile). At the same time those preparations (Lys, Arg) that stimulate phagocytosis but influence the immune response in a different way (Lys does not influence; Arg suppresses the response) are inert as antitoxic agents. Antitoxic properties of amino acid preparations levamine, cerebrolysine, and aviamine retain as well in the assays at a rather large (1.3 mg/ml) concentration like their phagocytosis-stimulating properties.

[The immunotropism of sunflower oil and starch in peroral administration to mice]. / Immunotropnost' podsolnechnogo masla i krakhmala pri peroral'nom vvedenii mysham.

It has been shown that per os introduction of sunflower oil and starch to adult thymectomized mice resulted in reconstitution of the number of Thy-I+ spleen cells similar of the glutamic acid effect. Glutamic acid restored the immune response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), however, sunflower oil and starch were not effective. The influence of these compounds on the immune response to SRBC in normal and sham-thymectomized mice was different: glutamic acid stimulated it, starch had no influence on the immune response, sunflower oil suppressed it.

[The immunostimulating properties of cholecystokinin octapeptide and its fragments]. / Immunostimuliruiushchie svoistva oktapeptida kholetsistokinina i ego fragmentov.

Immunostimulating properties of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) were evaluated in experiments on adult normal and thymectomized mice, in vitro. It was shown that CCK-8 stimulates IgM-PFC production to SRBC, but does not change the immune response to Vi-antigen. CCK-8 increases the number of Thy-I+ spleen T cells and restores thymus-dependent immune response in thymectomized mice. CCK-8 has no effect on neutrophil phagocytosis activity in vitro. The immunostimulating activity of CCK-8 is related mainly to C-terminal fragment (identical to pentagastrin tetrapeptide) since the N-terminal CCK-8 tetrapeptide displays negligible effect in all tests.

Peptides and their constituent amino acids influence the immune response and phagocytosis in different ways.

To elucidate the role of immunoactive amino acids (which are capable of stimulating the immune response) in the peptide regulation of antibody production and phagocytic processes we have studied the influence of some fragments of natural peptides and the amino acids included in them on the thymus-dependent immune response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and on the phagocytosis of Staphylococcus by murine peritoneal neutrophils. It has been found that the effects of amino acids, as well as of peptides that they form, on the immune response and on phagocytosis were diverse. Glutamic and aspartic acids, threonine and valine stimulated both the immune response and phagocytosis. Glycine and isoleucine influenced neither the immune response nor phagocytosis, whereas lysine, proline, tyrosine and leucine did not influence the immune response, but enhanced the phagocytic activity of neutrophils. Arginine inhibited the immune response but stimulated phagocytosis. Peptide TTKD section (the fragment 77-80 of murine Thy-1-antigen) contained in C- and N-terminus amino acids (T and D) which stimulated the antibody production and phagocytosis, and lysine (K) which stimulated phagocytosis only, enhanced both processes. Peptides LGIP and PYIK (the fragments 49-53 and 66-69 of murine Thy-1 antigen) which contained both immunologically inert amino acids (L, G, I, P, Y, K) and phagocytosis stimulating amino acids (L, Y, P, K) influenced neither the immune response nor the phagocytic activity of neutrophils.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Immunomodulatory properties of certain amino acids influence the immunostimulating properties of specific peptides.

Using the previously obtained data that amino acids could influence the thymus-dependent immune response, the significance of amino acids in the immunostimulating activity of peptides has been studied. The effect of seven synthetic fragments of murine Thy-1 antigen, non-sulfated cholecystokinin (CCK-8), the two tetrapeptides at the N- and C-terminal fragments of CCK-8, as well as neurotensin (NT) have been investigated. It has been found that both NT and those Thy-1 fragments which consisted of immunologically inert amino acids, did not influence the immune response in mice. CCK-8, its C-terminal fragment and those Thy-1-antigen peptides which contained immunoactive amino acids at C- or N-terminus or both, stimulated IgM-plaque forming cells (PFC) in animals. The N-terminal CCK-8 tetrapeptide showed negligible activity. The possibility of the existence of two independent immunoregulatory systems--one amino acids based and the other dependent upon a sequence of amino acids in the peptide is being discussed.