Comparative analysis of the HBsAg level in human blood preparations

A total of 218 batches of blood preparations produced from different raw materials have been studied by means of enzyme immunoassay kits (Abbott Laboratories, USA). The assays have revealed that the preparations under study are nonstandard with respect to the content and isolation rate of HBsAg, the marker of hepatitis B virus. These data necessitate search for the ways of improving the quality of blood preparations.     

Contractile properties of reinnervated skeletal muscle and their relation to the degree of nerve damage

Experiments with 22 rats have shown that the anterior tibial muscle in the stage of incomplete reinnervation is marked by decreased force and retardation of the semi-relaxation of an isometric contraction. In completely reinnervated muscles, the changes in the contractility are determined by the degree of nerve damage. The group of animals with the sciatic nerve injury demonstrated the contractility characteristic of a slower muscle, in contrast to the group with the fibular nerve damage.     

Tactical Voting in Plurality Elections

How often will elections end in landslides? What is the probability for a head-to-head race? Analyzing ballot results from several large countries rather anomalous and yet unexplained distributions have been observed. We identify tactical voting as the driving ingredient for the anomalies and introduce a model to study its effect on plurality elections, characterized by the relative strength of the feedback from polls and the pairwise interaction between individuals in the society. With this model it becomes possible to explain the polarization of votes between two candidates, understand the small margin of victories frequently observed for different elections, and analyze the polls'' impact in American, Canadian, and Brazilian ballots. Moreover, the model reproduces, quantitatively, the distribution of votes obtained in the Brazilian mayor elections with two, three, and four candidates.