[Reconstruction of gene network associated with Parkinson disease for gene targets search]. / Rekonstruktsiia gennoi seti bolezni Parkinsona dlia poiska genov-mishenei.

Accumulation of genetic data in the field of Parkinson's disease research culminated in identifying risk factors and confident prediction of the disease occurrence. To find new gene-targets for diagnostics and therapy we have to reconstruct gene network of the disease, to cluster genes in the network, to reveal key (hub) genes with largest number of interactions in the network. Using the on-line bioinformatics tools OMIM, PANTHER, g:Profiler, GeneMANIA, and STRING-DB, we have analyzed the current array of data related to Parkinson's disease, calculated the categories of gene ontologies for a large list of genes, visualized them, and built gene networks containing the identified key objects and their relationships. However, translating the results into biological understanding is still a promising major challenge. The analysis of the genes associated with the disease, the assessment of their place in the gene network (connectivity) allows us to evaluate them as target genes for medicinal effects.

[A simple and highly sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography assay of salivary putrescine and cadaverine].

A simple and highly sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography assay is proposed to test salivary diamines (putrescine and cadaverine). Derivation was carried out with the orthophthalic aldehyde 2-mercaptoethanol. A rapid purification procedure for derivatives on the cartridges packed with 10 mg of hypercrosslinked polystyrene (Purosep-200) was first developed. Separation was made on a Chromolith (Merck), 100 x 4.6 mm in size, with monolithic reverse-phase silica gel (RP-18e) in the isocratic mode with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 230 nm. The eluent contained 55% acetonitrile and 45% 0.01 M phosphate buffer pH 6.8, added by 1% of isopropanol; flow rate was 1400 pl/min; pressure was 28 bars. Complete separation of diamine derivatives lasted at least 5 min. The sensitivity of the assay with UV detection (230 nm) was about 0.1 ngfor diamines and about 0.5 ng for the internal standard (IS) at a signal/noise ratio of 3.0, which enabled diamines to be determined in I pl (0.001 ml) of saliva. The simplicity, reproducibility, and high sensitivity of the assay along with the feasibility of its application on standard chromatographic equipment (an isocratic pump and an UV detector) make it suitable for routine clinical application.

Nuclear magnetic resonance of 93Nb in LiNbO3: effect of structural distortions on lineshapes.

The expression for the angular dependence of the first moment of the nuclear magnetic resonance central transition (+/-1/2<-->-/+1/2) lineshapes of a quadrupolar nuclei with half integer spins in a disordered solid is derived and used for investigation of the structural distortions in LiNbO3.

[A discussion of 2 remarkable schools]. / K diskussii dvukh zamechatel'nykh shkol.

Opinions on the role of the pulp in the status of dental enamel in health and caries are contradictory. Three parameters are discussed: the notion of a normal enamel, the initiation of a carious process, and prediction of the disease course. The third aspect of the discussion is touched upon in this paper: prediction of caries. The enamel resistance test (ERT) is suggested to be used for caries prediction, although its value is denied by some authors. The author of this paper advocates wide use of prophylactic measures, no matter what the results of ERT are.

[The status of the oral cavity and results of the use of fluorine-containing preparations in preventing dental caries in children]. / Sostoianie polosti rta i rezul'taty primeneniia ftorsoderzhashchikh preparatov v profilaktike kariesa zubov u detei.

Stomatologic examinations of 1370 children aged 7, 12, and 15, determination of hygienic indexes in them, and anonymous questionnaires distributed among 154 parents and 64 pupils, as well as study of the efficacies of fluorine lacquer and gel have lead the authors to a conclusion that the level of dental caries intensity is low in children, but shows a tendency to growth. This necessitates introduction of a program of measures for the prevention of dental diseases and local administration of fluoride drugs, fluoride gel being the most effective of them.

[The comparative efficacy of local anticaries agents]. / Sravnitel'naia éffektivnost' mestnykh protivokarioznykh sredtsv.

A total of 857 7-year-old children were examined, divided into 9 groups. A certain prophylactic agent was used in every group. Caries augmentation intensity and reduction indexes, determined in a year after prophylactic treatment, evidence that 2% sodium fluoride solution was the most effective caries inhibiting agent. 1% fluoride gel and fluoride varnish were also found effective means of caries prevention.

[Psychological profile of patients with ischemic heart disease and its association with various exogenous risk factors]. / O psikhologicheskom profile bol'nykh ishemicheskoi bolezn'iu serdtsa i ego sviazi s nokotorymi ekzogennymi faktorami riska.

Males with coronary heart disease (CHD) aged 35 to 60 years were studied. The patients were divided into three groups: 32 patients with angina of effort and at rest (test group I), 39 survivors of myocardial infarction (test group II) and 50 clinically healthy people (control group). The relationship was established between a certain behavioural complex of CHD patients and some exogenic risk factors. The study was aimed at elucidating the premorbid characteristics of the personality of CHD patients. Individuals with the variable type of orientation were predominant in both test groups. The data from Eisenk's questionnaire revealed the predominance of extraverts in group I and introverts in group II. It is suggested that the variable character may prove to be the premorbid, basic property of the personality determining the specific mechanism of psychologic adaptation and the entire complex of behavioural characteristics of CHD patients.