Romanowsky staining,the Romanowsky effect and thoughts on the question of scientific priority

I give an historical account and analysis of the scientific priority of the discovery of the polychrome staining of microscopic biological preparations provided by mixtures of eosin plus methylene blue and its derivatives, especially azure B. I maintain that both the formal priority for the discovery of the polychrome staining phenomenon and credit for initiating the development of a technique of polychrome staining properly belong to D. L. Romanowsky. His scientific work demonstrated the possibility of using a simple technique to stain hematological preparations selectively to give good contrast, high resolution and the ability to identify malaria parasites. Romanowsky’s approach constituted the starting point for the development of a family of polychrome stains for microscopic investigation of hematological preparations by a number of his contemporaries.     

Feedback equilibrium control during human standing

Equilibrium maintenance during standing in humans was investigated with a 3-joint (ankle, knee and hip) sagittal model of body movement. The experimental paradigm consisted of sudden perturbations of humans in quiet stance by backward displacements of the support platform. Data analysis was performed using eigenvectors of motion equation. The results supported three conclusions. First, independent feedback control of movements along eigenvectors (eigenmovements) can adequately describe human postural responses to stance perturbations. This conclusion is consistent with previous observations (Alexandrov et al., 2001b) that these same eigenmovements are also independently controlled in a feed-forward manner during voluntary upper-trunk bending. Second, independent feedback control of each eigenmovement is sufficient to provide its stability. Third, the feedback loop in each eigenmovement can be modeled as a linear visco-elastic spring with delay. Visco-elastic parameters and time-delay values result from the combined contribution of passive visco-elastic mechanisms and sensory systems of different modalities     

Energetic aspects of CO oxidation in desulfovibrio desulfuricans

In cell suspension of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans B-1388, oxidation of CO as the only energy source is associated with reduction of SO42-. After a 2-h incubation of cells in 8% CO, 81% of the gas is converted. Oxidation of 1 mole CO results in formation of 0.23 mole H2S. Intracellular ATP content increases from 2.5 (control) to 8.3 nmoles/mg (during CO conversion). Dinitrophenol inhibits sulfate reduction and CO oxidation. CO dehydrogenase was detected in cytoplasmic and membrane cell fractions (59 and 34%, respectively).     

The functioning of a drained natural focus of leptospirosis in a nonchernozem area

The drainage of a natural focus of leptospirosis of the flood plain-swamp type, carried out over the period of 15 years, has led to changes in the species structure of small mammals and to an increase in the number of Leptospira-carrying species. Nevertheless, like before drainage, the prevalent species and the main carrier of leptospires is still the root vole (Microtus oeconomus Pallas). The intensity of the epizootic process among small mammals at the final stage of drainage has proved to be similar to that at the initial stage. At the same time the cultivated fields created on the drained territory of the natural focus abound, by the time of harvesting, with small mammals among whom the intensive epizootic process takes place.