Hypolimnion behavior of technetium in freshwater at various stages of eutrophication.

The article presents a study of various mechanisms of hypolimnion technetium behavior which occur at different stages of waterbodies eutrophication. Eutrophication stage was found to be positively correlated with the rate of 99Tc removal from water phase. The study identified a complex biogeochemical mechanism of technetium behavior. Planktonic phototrophic community plays a pivotal role in such a mechanism by ensuring fast oxygen consumption in hypolimnion. This creates favorable conditions for the active development of anaerobic bottom bacteria of sulfur and iron cycles given nutrients inflow. Sulfates and nitrates were discovered to have inhibitory effect on 99Tc biosorption by bottom sediments due to oxidizing conditions. Apart from the shift of redox potential of the medium to reducing values, the 99Tc removal and partial immobilization are also promoted by the presence of inorganic mineral phases of reduced sulfur and iron. These phases form a reducing barrier in the silt, thus preventing the oxidation and migration of technetium. We suggest the ways of stimulating in situ waterbody remediation by means of various additives, which will allow irreversible immobilization of technetium in silt once several growth periods have passed.

CTCF As an Example of DNA-Binding Transcription Factors Containing Clusters of C2H2-Type Zinc Fingers.

In mammals, most of the boundaries of topologically associating domains and all well-studied insulators are rich in binding sites for the CTCF protein. According to existing experimental data, CTCF is a key factor in the organization of the architecture of mammalian chromosomes. A characteristic feature of the CTCF is that the central part of the protein contains a cluster consisting of eleven domains of C2H2-type zinc fingers, five of which specifically bind to a long DNA sequence conserved in most animals. The class of transcription factors that carry a cluster of C2H2-type zinc fingers consisting of five or more domains (C2H2 proteins) is widely represented in all groups of animals. The functions of most C2H2 proteins still remain unknown. This review presents data on the structure and possible functions of these proteins, using the example of the vertebrate CTCF protein and several well- characterized C2H2 proteins in Drosophila and mammals.

Stabilization of Alfvén Eigenmodes in DIII-D via Controlled Energetic Ion Density Ramp and Validation of Theory and Simulations.

Fast-ion driven Alfvén waves with frequency close to the ion cyclotron frequency (f=0.58f_{ci}) excited by energetic ions from a neutral beam are stabilized via a controlled energetic ion density ramp for the first time in a fusion research plasma. The scaling of wave amplitude with injection rate is consistent with theory for single mode collisional saturation near marginal stability. The wave is identified as a shear-polarized global Alfvén eigenmode excited by Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance with fast ions with sub-Alfvénic energetic ions, a first in fusion research plasmas.

[Effect of lipid-lowering activity of the natural original enzyme preparation in the experiment]. / Éksperimental'nye dannye o gipolipidemicheskoi aktivnosti otechestvennogo fermentnogo preparata prirodnogo proiskhozhdeniia kholesterinoksidazy.

The experimental study in vivo was aimed at evaluation of hypolipidemic action of the original natural microbial enzyme preparation of cholesterol oxidase (CHO). In preliminary chronic experiments in rats, rabbits, dogs, low toxicity, good tolerability, and anti-atherosclerotic activity of the CHO preparation were established. To assess the effect of CHO under conditions of moderate, nutritional, atherogenic dyslipoproteinemia, experiments were carried out in rats, guinea pigs, and rabbits. It was shown that administration of CHO had the pronounced lipid-lowering effect in models of atherogenic dyslipoproteinemia induced in these animals.

[Health risk factors in the family-members of chlamydiosis patients]. / Faktory riska dlia zdorov'ia chlenov semei s ochagom khlamidiinoi infektsii.

AIM: To study the characteristics of health state in family-members of ENT-patients with identified Chlamydia infection. METHODS: We have examined 245 members of 87 families of otorhinolaryngological patients with verified (44 families) and without (44 families) Chlamydia infection. Laboratory methods of the research included the identification of the following types: Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydophila pneumoniae. Chlamydia diagnostics involved both direct immune fluorescence and immune enzyme analyses as well as polymerase chain reaction. Health state in ENT-patient family-members has been evaluated by the complex method based on the special questionnaire for every family-member aimed at determining the health category, the calculation of health average coefficient for each family member followed by the determination of family identity with some definite health category. RESULTS: in the families of otorhinolaryngological patients with verified Chlamydia infection there have been revealed considerably more family-members with acute and chronic pathology of different organs and systems associated with functional disorders. The health status of family members of ENT patients with respiratory Chlamydia was significantly worse than in families of patients with negative laboratory results for Chlamydia, which was manifested by a much smaller number of healthy family members and a large number of people with risk factors for health.

A first phosphine oxide-based extractant with high Am/Cm selectivity.

A new phosphine oxide ligand demonstrates high selectivity for the Am-Cm pair with SF = 2.9-3.5 and the Am-Eu pair with SF = 7.3-8.5 in a range of 0.1-3 M nitric acid. Thermodynamic measurements show that the entropy factor is responsible for selectivity observed in the extraction experiment. The most prevalent complexes of all three metal ions were (Ph2PyPO)2M(NO3)3. According to their DFT modelling, the M-N distances for the Cm ion were larger than those for Am, so the last ion enters deeper into the pseudo-cavity of the ligand, which causes the observed selectivity.

Identification of the ORC Complex Subunits That Can Interact with the ENY2 Protein of Drosophila melanogaster.

The interaction of the Drosophila ENY2 protein with the ORC complex subunits was investigated. It is found that ORC4 and ORC6 subunits directly interact with ENY2.

Study of the Ability of the gypsy Insulator to Stabilize Amplification of the chorion Replication Origin of Drosophila melanogaster.

The role of the gypsy insulator in the replication origin (RO) activity in the presence and absence of one and two copies of this insulator in several genomic sites was studied. Due to the fact that the prepared model system makes it possible to study the activity of this element in a given genomic site, it was shown that the RO stabilization, indeed, is determined by the activity of the insulator rather than by the construct integration site into the genome. The role of the Su(Hw) protein in this process was also studied in detail.

Suppression of Alfvén Modes on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade with Outboard Beam Injection.

In this Letter we present data from experiments on the National Spherical Torus Experiment Upgrade, where it is shown for the first time that small amounts of high pitch-angle beam ions can strongly suppress the counterpropagating global Alfvén eigenmodes (GAE). GAE have been implicated in the redistribution of fast ions and modification of the electron power balance in previous experiments on NSTX. The ability to predict the stability of Alfvén modes, and developing methods to control them, is important for fusion reactors like the International Tokamak Experimental Reactor, which are heated by a large population of nonthermal, super-Alfvénic ions consisting of fusion generated α's and beam ions injected for current profile control. We present a qualitative interpretation of these observations using an analytic model of the Doppler-shifted ion-cyclotron resonance drive responsible for GAE instability which has an important dependence on k_{⊥}ρ_{L}. A quantitative analysis of this data with the hym stability code predicts both the frequencies and instability of the GAE prior to, and suppression of the GAE after the injection of high pitch-angle beam ions.

[MEDICAL AND SOCIAL STATE OF HEALTH IN FAMILIES WITH THE FOCUS OF RESPIRATORY CHLAMYDIA].

Medical and social state of health in family persons was assessed on the basis of a questionnaire. Developed by the author's questionnaire included two sections, reflecting the state of health, health risk factors and social characteristics of the family members of ENT patients. In the article there is presented an analysis of the medical and social state of 44 families of patients with diseases of the upper respiratory tract associated with chlamydial infection. The comparison was performed with 43 families of ENT patients with unconfirmed respiratory chlamydia. Diagnosis of Chlamydia infection complex was carried out with the use of laboratory methods (direct immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, polymerase chain reaction). The health and social status of families with hearth respiratory chlamydia were shown to be significantly worse compared with families with the lack of the latter

DNA methylation of genes of the main components of the telomerase complex in Danio rerio.

The methylation status of the genes of telomerase reverse transcriptase (tert) and telomerase RNA (terc) was determined in brain tissues of Danio rerio of different age. It is found that, regardless of the age of fish, the regulatory region of the tert gene was completely methylated, whereas the coding region remained unmethylated in all cases. The level of methylation of the region located downstream of the coding region of the terc gene changes with age. This region was analyzed in the samples of other tissues, and its methylation status was also nonuniform. The alteration of the methylation status in the 3'-untranslated region of the terc gene suggests the possibility of transcription of the antisense strand in this region.

[The algorithm for laboratory diagnostics of chlamydial infection in the patients presenting with chronic sinusitis]. / Algoritm laboratornoĭ diagnostiki khlamidiĭnoĭ infektsii u bol'nykh khronicheskim sinusitom.

The objective of the present study was to develop a system of laboratory diagnostics ofchlamydial infection in the mucous membrane of the nose and paranasal sinuses in the patients presenting with chronic sinusitis. A total of 168 subjects at the age varying from 18 to 65 years were available for the examination based at the Department of Otorhinolaryngologyduring the period of exacerbation of chronic sinusitis. Chlamydia were identified by simultaneously using two direct (polymerase chain reaction and direct immunofluorescence) and one indirect (immunoenzymatic assay) methods. The study has demonstrated the high degree of probability of the detection of chlamydial infection based on the above complex of the laboratory methods. It is concluded that the use of the proposed algorithm in practical medicine makes it possible to improve the quality of laboratory verification of chlamydial infection and thereby to choose the adequate diagnostic strategy for the patients suspected of having chlamydial infection and to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapeutic measures being taken.

Coupling of Neutral-Beam-Driven Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes to Kinetic Alfvén Waves in NSTX Tokamak and Energy Channeling.

An energy-channeling mechanism is proposed to explain flattening of the electron temperature profiles at a high beam power in the beam-heated National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Results of self-consistent simulations of neutral-beam-driven compressional Alfvén eigenmodes (CAEs) in NSTX are presented that demonstrate strong coupling of CAEs to kinetic Alfvén waves at the Alfvén resonance location. It is suggested that CAEs can channel energy from the beam ions to the location of the resonant mode conversion at the edge of the beam density profile, modifying the energy deposition profile.

Proliferative and Synthetic Activity of Nerve Cells after Combined or Individual Exposure to Hypoxia and Hypercapnia.

We compared synthetic and proliferative activity of brain cells in rats exposed hypoxia, hypercapnia, or both prior to experimental focal stroke. The mean number of nucleolus organizer regions in penumbra neurons did not change after normobaric hypoxia, but increased after permissive hypercapnia or hypercapnic hypoxia. These data attest to activation of proliferative and synthetic functions in nerve cells, which plays an important role in the neuroprotective mechanisms under conditions of combined exposure to hypoxia and hypercapnia.

[Development and testing of an enzyme immunoassay-based monoclonal test system for the detection of the Yersinia pestis V antigen].

An enzyme immunoassay-based test system for Y. pestis V antigen detection was developed. The specificity and sensitivity of this system met the requirements for medical immunobiological preparations for the identification of causative agents of highly fatal diseases. The sensitivity of the test system was assessed, and its high specificity was also demonstrated: the test system did not detect bacterial cells of closely related (four Y. pseudotuberculosis strains) and heterologous microorganism strains. The test system developed was able to detect the V antigen at concentrations as low as 2.0 ng/mL in cells of nine experimental Y. pestis cultures. The obtained preparation can be recommended for use in laboratory diagnostics of plaque.

[High level of expression and nuclear localization of RNA, transcribed from genome region, containing repetitive elements].

The non-coding and repetitive sequences constitute a great amount of higher eukaryotes genomes, but the elucidation of its role and mechanisms of action is now at the very beginning. Here we found, that internal telomeric repeats in Danio rerio are colocalized with some repetitive elements, namely, hAT and EnSpm repeats, which are highly represented in vertebrate genome. While investigating one of genome regions, containing two pairs of such repeats in close proximity we found, that it is transcribed. RNA-dependent structures, containing this sequence, were revealed in D. rerio fibroblast nuclei, which may serve as evidence of functional relevance of repetitive elements in genomes or of their transcripts.

[The frequency of chlamydial infection in the children attending pre-school institutions].

The objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and specific features of chlamydial infection within an organized group of children of pre-school age. The data concerning the frequency of chlamydial infection of the upper respiratory tract in the children attending pre-school facilities are reported. The species composition of identified Chlamydia depending on the sex of the children is described. It is shown that acute and chronic ENT pathology in the patients presenting with chlamydial infection occurs much more frequently than in the unaffected children. These results were obtained during the examination of 121 children. Chlamydia was identified by means of the direct immunofluorescence technique.

[Characteristics of the course of maxillary sinusitis in children with verified chlamydia infection].

AIM: To explore the detection rate of chlamydia infection and immunological features of children with acute maxillary sinusitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical epidemiologic characteristics of the course of acute maxillary sinusitis were studied in the way of medical examination provided for 58 children in the ages from 3 to 15 years, patients of ENT department. In order to identify Chlamydia structures and specific antibodies we used direct (polymerase-chain reaction, direct immune fluorescence) and indirect (immune enzyme analysis) methods. The research for cellular link of immunity was carried out by indirect immune fluorescence technique, using monoclonal antibodies. RESULTS: The authors report on high level of Chlamydia infection in epithelium of nasal mucosa, and also type structure of verified Chlamydia, clinical signs and peculiarities of immune response in children with acute maxillary sinusitis associated with this infection. CONCLUSIONS: Chlamydia was detected in 48% of children with acute maxillary sinusitis infection with prevalence of Chlamydophila pneumoniae. Optimal for detection of chlamydia infection is a disease duration not exceeding 2 weeks. The special features of clinical and immunological manifestations in children with acute sinusitis, paired with Chlamydia infection are the more frequent complaints of pain in the affected sinuses, expressed symptoms of intoxication, and the presence of an imbalance in cellular immunity, manifested a relative lymphopenia and activation of T-lymphocytes CD8+.

[Helicobacter pylori in the development of dental caries].

It is shown, that in patients with erosive and ulcer defects of gastroduodenal zone at settling Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in an oral cavity in 100% of cases caries develops at intensity 13.6 +/- 1.4 teeth. Produced Hp protease and ammonia cause disintegration connected to protein silica acids and reduce activity lysocim, worsening, thus, fluid and protective properties of a saliva. In the subsequent infringement of autopurification of a teeth results in accumulation of a dental strike where protease activity conditionally pathogenic microflora conducts to depolymerization and demineralization enamels of a teeth.

[Development of a comprehensive approach to detecting the antituberculous activity of low molecular-weight chemical compounds].

The optimal parameters of the Alamar Blue test have been determined to detect the antituberculous activity of the chemical compounds under study. The duration of mycobacterial cell incubation before addition of Alamar Blue is 24 hours; that is 17 hours for both H37Ra and H37Rv M. tuberculosis. A method has been devised to evaluate the bactericidal/bacteriostatic activity of the chemical compounds. A thoroughly characterized collection of clinical M. tuberculosis strains that differ in drug sensitivity has been created. A procedure has been developed to reveal the activity of the chemical compounds, by applying mono and multiresistant M. tuberculosis strains. Variability in the growth rate for the clinical strains of mycobacterial cultures is shown. A method has been devised to evaluate the toxicity of the chemical compounds for eukaryotic cells.