Antibiotics in the treatment of wounds in the victims of the earthquake in the Armenian SSR

Purulent wounds in 88 victims of the Armenian earthquake with the syndrome of long-term squeezing were examined microbiologically and the experience with using antimicrobial drugs for their treatment was analyzed. In all the cases microbial associations were detected, coliform and nonfermenting gram-negative bacilli, enterococci, anaerobes and yeast-like fungi being isolated from 80, 20, 15 and 25 per cent of the patients respectively. 130 bacterial strains were studied in detail. 80 to 100 per cent of the bacterial isolates were resistant to the antibiotics routinely used in surgical practice, i.e. benzylpenicillin, tetracycline, levomycetin, kanamycin, cephalothin and cefazolin and highly sensitive to new antimicrobial drugs belonging to ureidopenicillins (mezlocillin), quinolones (ciprofloxacin) and cephalosporins of the 3rd generation (cefoperazone and ceftazidime). Retrospective estimation of the antibiotic therapy revealed its inadequacy in 55.7 per cent of the patients for the most part because of the isolates resistance. The 19 variants of the antibiotic use prescribed by the physicians mainly included penicillins, aminoglycosides and their combinations (in 67.2 per cent of the cases). The use of the highly efficient drugs of the groups of ureidopenicillins and quinolones was extremely rare which was likely due to lacking of information on the drugs.     

Histogenesis of the taste buds of the vallate papilla in the in the rat in the postnatal stages of development

The developing taste buds of vallate papillae were studied with electron microscope in rats during the first 7 days after birth. Two types of cells--light and dark--are identified in the taste buds of a one day old animal. The apical parts of dark cells are characterized by numerous dark granules. A distinguishing feature of light cells is the presence of synaptic contacts with afferent intragemmal nerves. On the 4th day of development on the top of the apical parts of the cell, a microvillar apparatus is seen to form, which does not yet communicate with the oral cavity. On the 7th day, basal cells appear in the taste buds. Some of these cells are seen mitotically dividing. The differentiated microvillar apparatus now communicates with oral cavity. The structure of the taste buds is getting similar to that in the adults. The structural and functional peculiarities of the developing taste buds are discussed in association with the period of ontogenesis under consideration.     

Changes in the size of the nucleoli of the Purkinje cells in the canine cerebellum in the postresuscitation period

The changes in the size of Purkinje cell (PC) nucleolus in the lateral and medial cerebellum zones were studied in dogs with different degree of neurologic status recovery after clinical death of various etiology and duration. PC always possess one nucleolus in the control and experimental groups. In the case of complete neurologic status recovery of animals the area of PC nucleolus increases in both zones studied, irrespective of the cause of clinical death. In the case of neurologic disorders the increase in PC nucleolus area is clearly expressed only in the medial zone of the cerebellum, being insignificant in the lateral zone. It is suggested that adaptive characteristics of PC are distinct in the two compared zones, which leads to greater PC vulnerability in the lateral zone during deep hypoxia.     

Psychological Attributes of the Culture of the Ukrainians in the Modern Stage of the Development of Society and Trends in Changes in These Attributes in the Post-Soviet Period

The authors of the article focus on the transition of the former Soviet state of Ukraine to a market economy. One aspect of the analysis is the cultural values and attitudes of the citizens in a new situation. Market economy and entrepreneurship demand new types of motivation and individual values from people. A challenge for social psychology in the country is the further elaboration of methodological basis of research.     

Frequency of the stages in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium in the rat

This study determined the optimum number of tubules to be counted per testis cross section, and the number of animals per treatment group, when changes in stage frequencies in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium are criteria for assessing effects of treatment on spermatogenesis. A data base of 9,672 observed and staged tubules was collected from testicular cross sections of 15 Sprague-Dawley rats. A significant variation between animals was found for the frequencies of Stages I, II, IV, VI, VIII, and XIII. Computer simulation was used to randomly select different combinations of animal and tubule numbers from the observed data. Stage frequency means from each simulation experiment were compared statistically to observed mean frequencies. A model that used data from all 14 stages was analyzed. The following conclusions were made: a) a minimum of 200 tubule cross sections/testis is recommended for estimating stage frequencies; b) for a fixed number of tubules scored, the number of animals sampled is more important than the number of tubules per animal in reducing variance; c) to detect a difference of 2 standard deviations from the mean with a 2% error rate and examining 200 tubules/testis, at least 12 animals must be used per group when assessing all 14 stages; d) when individual stages are examined using 10 animals per group, only Stage VII has 80% or greater power of test (alpha = 0.05) to detect a frequency difference; e) pooling stages into 3-4 groups is recommended to improve the power of detecting a treatment difference.     

Immunohistochemistry of the cytoskeleton in the excurrent ducts of the testis in birds of the Galloanserae monophyly

The presence, location and degree of immunoexpression of various microfilament (MF) and intermediate filament (IF) systems (actin, cytokeratins, desmin, vimentin) were studied in the excurrent ducts of the testis in sexually mature and active galliform (Japanese quail, domestic fowl, turkey) and anseriform (duck) birds. These proteins were variably expressed between the epithelia and periductal tissue (periductal smooth muscle cell layer and interductal connective tissue) types and between species. Variable heterogeneous co-expression of filament systems was also found in the various duct epithelia and periductal tissue types: co-expression of filament systems was the rule rather than the exception. In the duck, neither vimentin nor cytokeratin was present in any of the tissues, whereas actin and desmin (absent in the rete testis) were co-expressed in the efferent ducts and epididymal duct unit (comprising the ductus conjugens, ductus epididymidis and ductus deferens). Actin, desmin and vimentin were generally co-expressed in the rete testis, efferent ducts and epididymal duct unit of the quail, domestic fowl and turkey, with vimentin being more strongly immunoreactive than actin and desmin in the epididymal duct unit, but more weakly immunoexpressed in the efferent ducts. Cytokeratin was present and co-expressed with actin, desmin and vimentin in the rete testis, efferent ducts and epididymal duct unit of the domestic fowl and turkey, but not in the quail and duck. The periductal smooth muscle cell layer and interductal tissue co-expressed actin, desmin and vimentin variably in all birds. Luminal spermatozoa of both the turkey and duck were immunonegative for all protein systems, whereas those of the quail and domestic fowl co-expressed actin, desmin and vimentin moderately or strongly. The tissues of the reproductive tract of male birds thus contain cytoskeletal protein systems that are variably but mostly co-expressed and whose contractile ability appears necessary and sufficient for transportation through the various excurrent ducts of the voluminous testicular fluid and its high sperm content, characteristic features of male avian reproduction.     

Role of the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus in the function of generalization in the cat

In chronic experiments on cats contribution of the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus to the organization of the processes of generalization and abstraction was studied by means of alternation method. Electrolytic ablation of the nucleus retarded the learning and impeded the initial stages of formation of the generalization function. Mechanisms of thalamic dementia are discussed.