The presence of radiotoxic 210Po and 210Pb in Ukrainian wild medicinal plants and the assessment of related dose and cancer risk.

Herbal plants are considered natural pharmaceuticals but also accumulate chemical elements and compounds at high levels. 210Po and 210Pb are highly radiotoxic and may cause carcinogenesis due to ionizing radiation. Thirteen of the most popular wild-growing herbaceous plant species, mostly included in the European Pharmacopoeia, were collected across Ukraine. 210Po and 210Pb were determined in the medicinal plants, and their radiotoxicity and cancer risk were calculated. The results of 210Po activities measured in herbal raw material ranged from 2.28 Bq kg-1 dw (where dw is dry weight) in herb of common horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) collected near Lviv to 37.7 Bq kg-1 dw in leaves of common birch (Betula pendula Roth.) from Rava Ruska. The activity concentrations of 210Pb varied from 0.44 Bq kg-1 dw in leaves of common birch from Starokostyantyniv to 28.4 Bq kg-1 dw in leaves of common birch from Mizhhirya. There were statistically significant differences between 210Po and 210Pb content in flowers, leaves, and aerial portions. The studies indicated that the estimated annual effective radiation dose from Ukrainian herbs consumption was low, ranging 5.00-82.6 µSv from 210Po and 0.56-35.8 µSv from 210Pb, while the cancer morbidity and mortality risk ranged from 10-4 to 10-6. The presented data indicated no radiological risk related to using herbal plant materials.

[Correction of several parameters of homeostasis in patients with ischemic heart disease by different methods of extracorporeal treatment of blood]. / Korrektsiia nekotorykh pokazatelei gomeostaza u bol'nykh ishemicheskoi bolezn'iu serdtsa pri razlichnykh metodakh ékstrakorporal'noi obrabotki krovi.

Plasmapheresis, ultraviolet exposure of the blood, combination of these two methods, and plasmapheresis with removal of the upper layer of cells (partial cytapheresis) were added to routine treatment of 204 coronary patients. The above methods brought about good results, their efficacy being determined by the degree of myocardial involvement. A clear-cut effect of plasmapheresis on DIC, typical of such patients, is worthy of note.

[A new site-specific endonuclease BspKT51]. / Novaia sait-spetsificheskaia éndonukleaza BspKT51.

The new site-specific endonuclease BspKT5I free from interfering impurities has been isolated from thermophilic soil bacteria Bacillus species KT5 by successive chromatography on blue agarose, hydroxyapatite and heparin-Sepharose. BspKT5I on double-stranded DNA recognizes the sequence 5'-CTGAAG16N decreases 3'-GACTTC14N increases and cleaves the DNA at the recognition site as indicated by the arrows to form dinucleotide 3'-protruding termini. The isolated endonuclease is an isoschisomer of Eco57I. However, unlike Eco57I, it is not stimulated by S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and can therefore be related to subclass IIs but not to IV, as Eco57I. In addition, endonuclease BspKT5I, unlike Eco57I, has no methylase activity.