Model of the selective calcium channel of characean algae

The present work was intended to further investigate the selective filter of calcium channel on both a cell membrane and reconstructed channels. For the studies on cell membranes, an inhibitor of chloride channels was chosen (ethacrynic acid) to pass currents only through the calcium channels. On both the cells and reconstructed channels, permeability of ions of different crystal radii and valencies was investigated. The obtained results suggest that the channel represents a wide water pore with a diameter larger than 8 A into which ions go together with the nearest water shell. The values of the maximal currents are given by electrostatic interaction of the ions with the anion center of the channel. A phenomenological two-barrier model of the channel is given which describes the movement of all the ions studied.     

The role of inhibition processes in the development of functional properties of neurons of the vibrissa projection area in the cat somatosensory cortex

The paper deals with the contribution of intracortical inhibitory processes to the organization of receptive fields in the vibrissae projection area of the somatosensory cortex. Inhibition blockade by means of microelectrophoretic application of picrotoxin and bicucullin was shown to lead to a loss of directional sensitivity of neurones. Activation of inhibition at remote glutamate application led to opposite changes: the neurones became directionally sensitive, and dependence was found between the spatial localization of activated neurones and the character of changes of detector parameters. Inhibitory processes caused by natural afferent stimulation led to similar changes of functional characteristics of neurones.     

Antigenic complexes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa slime: their isolation and biological properties

The possibility of using antigenic complexes contained in the extracellular slime of P. aeruginosa clinical strains belonging to different serological groups as the components of a chemical vaccine has been revealed. Animal experiments have demonstrated a high immunogenicity of these preparations, as well as their low toxicity. The use of slime antigens stimulates the production of specific antibodies exerting a protective action against infection with homologous P. aeruginosa strains.     

The assessment of the toxigenicity of clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by an immunoenzyme method using nitrocellulose filters

The enzyme immunoassay (EIA) on nitrocellulose filters was adapted for the detection of exotoxin A in 104 P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients and the environment in surgical wards in hospitals of Moscow and Alma-Ata. The method was shown to be highly sensitive: it permitted the detection of 5.ng of P. aeruginosa exotoxin A. The screening of 104 P. aeruginosa clinical strains by means of EIA on nitrocellulose filters revealed that these strains exotoxin A in 88.5% of cases.     

The critical electric field in heated SF<Subscript>6</Subscript>

The critical electric field at which the ionization rate is equal to the rate of electron attachment to neutral particles in heated sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) is calculated by numerically solving the Boltzmann equation for electrons. It is shown that the main causes of a decrease in the critical field with increasing gas temperature are the change in the electron energy distribution due to gas dissociation and the reduction in the rate of electron attachment to neutral particles. The calculated results are in qualitative agreement with the available experimental data.     

Determination of pyrimidine nucleotide sequences of DNA]

A modification of the Burton method for determination of pyrimidine nucleotide blocks (isopliths) of DNA, providing a higher yield of large-sized nucleotide isopliths, is described. The amount of side products (interisopliths) does not exceed their amount upon DNA hydrolysis according to the Burton method. Another advantage of the technique recommended is a considerable shortening of hudrolysis time (20 min instead of 18 hours). The modification described has been successfully used to determine the pyrimidine nucleotide blocks of some warm-blooded animals DNAs. It has been found that the DNA of animals with higher sensitivity to ionised irradiation contains more oligothymidylic sequences as compared to the DNA of animals, less sensitive to irradiation.     

Study of Implosion of Twisted Nested Arrays at the Angara-5-1 Facility

Results are presented from experimental studies of the implosion of twisted nested arrays in which the wires of the outer and inner arrays are twisted about the array axis in opposite directions (clockwise and counterclockwise). Experiments with twisted arrays were carried out at the Angara-5-1 facility at currents of up to 4 MA. The currents through the arrays were switched either simultaneously or the current pulse through the outer array was delayed by 10–15 ns with the help of an anode spark gap. It is shown that, in such arrays, the currents flow along the inclined wires and, accordingly, there are both the azimuthal and axial components of the discharge current. The process of plasma implosion in twisted arrays depends substantially on the value of the axial (longitudinal) magnetic field generated inside the array by the azimuthal currents. Two-dimensional simulations of the magnetic field in twisted nested arrays were performed in the (r, z) geometry with allowance for the skin effect in the discharge electrodes. It is shown that, depending on the geometry of the discharge electrodes, different configurations of the magnetic field can be implemented inside twisted nested arrays. The calculated magnetic configurations are compared with the results of measurements of the magnetic field inside such arrays. It is shown that the configuration of the axial magnetic field inside a twisted nested array depends substantially on the distribution of the azimuthal currents between the inner and outer arrays.