On the Feasibility of Plasma Separation of Spent Nuclear Fuel Components in a Nonuniform Magnetic Field

Plasma Physics Reports - A new concept of plasma separation of spent nuclear fuel components in a variable-cross-section chamber with a nonuniform magnetic field is proposed. Numerical simulation...     

Effect of Low-Frequency Pulsed Magnetic Field and Low-Level Laser Radiation on Oxidoreductase Activity and Growth of Fungi—Active Destructors of Polymer Materials

Microbiology - Effect of low-frequency pulsed magnetic field and of low-intensity laser radiation on mycelial fungi actively degrading various polymer materials was studied. These factors had a...     

The effect of membrane composition on the hemostatic balance

The phospholipid composition requirements for optimal prothrombin activation and factor Va inactivation by activated protein C (APC) anticoagulant were examined. Vesicles composed of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) supported factor Va inactivation relatively well. However, optimal factor Va inactivation still required relatively high concentrations of phosphatidylserine (PS). In addition, at a fixed concentration of phospholipid, PS, and APC, vesicles devoid of PE never attained a rate of factor Va inactivation achievable with vesicles containing PE. Polyunsaturation of any vesicle component also contributed significantly to APC inactivation of factor Va. Thus, PE makes an important contribution to factor Va inactivation that cannot be mimicked by PS. In the absence of polyunsaturation in the other membrane constituents, this contribution was dependent upon the presence of both the PE headgroup per se and unsaturation of the 1,2 fatty acids. Although PE did not affect prothrombin activation rates at optimal PS concentrations, PE reduced the requirement for PS approximately 10-fold. The Km(app) for prothrombin and the Kd(app) for factor Xa-factor Va decreased as a function of increasing PS concentration, reaching optimal values at 10-15% PS in the absence of PE but only 1% PS in the presence of PE. Fatty acid polyunsaturation had minimal effects. A lupus anticoagulant immunoglobulin was more inhibitory to both prothrombinase and factor Va inactivation in the presence of PE. The degree of inhibition of APC was significantly greater and much more dependent on the phospholipid composition than that of prothrombinase. Thus, subtle changes in the phospholipid composition of cells may control procoagulant and anticoagulant reactions differentially under both normal and pathological conditions.     

The use of batumin-containing disks for the rapid identification of staphylococci

The study of 467 microbial strains obtained from collections and from clinical sources revealed that microorganisms of the genus Staphylococcus were highly sensitive to batumin, a new antibiotic obtained from bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas. 378 strains of 15 Staphylococcus species proved to be highly sensitive to the diagnostic preparation "Diastaph", developed on the basis of batumin (antibiotic-impregnated discs); After 18-hour incubation the diameter of the growth inhibition zones on agar-containing culture media was 18-38 mm. Strains belonging to the genera Micrococcus, Dermacoccus, Kocuria and Kytococcus, as well as the tested representatives of other taxa (Planococcus, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Neisseria, the representatives of all tested genera of the family Enterobacteriaceae, fungi of the genus Candida) were insensitive to the diagnosticum. "Diastaph" permits not only the rapid identification of staphylococci pure cultures, but also the determination of their presence in association with other microbial species directly in pathological material, which makes it possible to recommend this diagnostic preparation for use in medical, veterinary and sanitary microbiology.     

Structural Features of Pregna-D′-pentaranes Determining Their Interaction with Three Rat Proteins

Competition of a number of progesterone 16,17-cycloalkane derivatives with ³H-labeled ligands for the binding sites of rat uterine progesterone receptor, uterine pentaranophilin, and blood serum pentaranophilin was studied. We found that the selective ligands for the progesterone receptor are progesterone, 16,17-cyclopropanoprogesterone, and 16,17-cyclopent-3-enoprogesterone and the selective ligands for serum pentaranophilin are 6-methyl-16,17-cyclohexanopregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione and 3-hydroxy-16,17-cyclohexanopregn-5-en-20-one. No selective ligands for the uterine pentaranophilin were found. The majority of substituents in rings A, B, and D we studied decreased the affinity of ligands for all the three proteins. The substitution of the ⁵-3-hydroxy grouping for the ⁴-3-keto grouping exerted the strongest negative effect in the case of the progesterone receptor and the uterine pentaranophilin, whereas the introduction of the 3,4-dimethyl grouping strongly inhibited the ligand affinity for the uterine pentaranophilin. The extent and even the direction of the effect of a substituent on the affinity of ligands for the proteins substantially depended on the presence of other substituents in the steroid molecules. We hypothesized that a certain similarity exists between three proteins studied in respect to the structures of their ligand-binding pockets.     

Genetic analysis of inheritance of mei8, sy1 and sy10 mutations,disrupting the correct meiosis in the rye Secale cereale L

It is shown that mutations mei8 (irregular condensation and fragmentation of meiotic chromosomes), sy1 (asynapsis), and sy10 (heterologous synapsis) of rye Secale cereal are nonallelic. In double mutants mei8 sy1 and mei8 sy10 both mutations are expressed simultaneously and independently of each other. A study of joint inheritance of mutations sy1 and sy10 revealed their interaction by means of recessive epistasis: the double mutants has the sy10 phenotype. This means that the sy10 gene controls an earlier stage of synapsis in meiotic prophase than the sy1 gene. Mutation mei8 is inherited independently of sy1 but it is linked to sy10 (recombination frequency 26.8 +/- 3.58%).     

The study of joint inheritance of mutations impairing the structure of meiotic chromosomes in rye Secale cereale L

Genetic analysis has demonstrated that meiotic mutations mei8 (irregular condensation and fragmentation of meiotic chromosomes) and mei10 (chromosome overcompaction) are nonallelic. Mutation mei10 exhibits digenic inheritance (with a segregation ratio of 13:3) in the combinations of crosses studied. It is assumed that the phenotypic expression of mutation mei10 is suppressed by the effect of recessive gene lch1 or lch2 (long chromosomes), both of which have been revealed in one of the parental lines (Mc10). These genes determine weak condensation of meiotic chromosomes. In double mutants mei8 mei10, the mutations are expressed independently of each other. Gene mei10 is linked with gene mei8 (r = 36.8 +/- 5.38%); genes lch1 and lch2 are not linked either with them or with each other. Taking into account the data on the linkage between genes mei10 and sy10 and between mei8 and sy10, the order of genes in the linkage group is shown to the following: mei8-sy10-mei10.     

Localization of cohesin complexes of polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster located on interbands

The distribution of cohesin complex in polytene chromosomes of Drosophila melanogaster was studied. Cohesin is a complicated protein complex which is regulated by the DRAD21 subunit. Using immunostaining for DRAD21p, the cohesins were shown to be preferentially located in the interband regions. This specificity was not characteristic for puffs, where uniform staining was observed. The presence of a few brightly fluorescent regions (five to ten per chromosome arm) enriched with cohesin complexes was shown. Some of these regions had permanent location, and the others, variable location. No antibody binding was detected in the chromocenter. Immunostaining of interphase nuclei of neuroblasts revealed large cohesin formations. On the polytene chromosomes of D. melanogaster, the Drad21 gene was mapped to the chromocentric region (81) of the L arm of chromosome 3.