Exploration and identification of Physcomitrella patens moss peptides

In the current study the isolation and identification of Physcomitrella patens (Hedw.) B.S.G. moss peptides are described. Physcomitrella patens moss is actively used in recent years as a model organism to study the biology of plants. Protoplasts, protonemata and gametophores of the moss are demonstrated for the first time to contain diverse small peptides. From gametophores was isolated and identified 58 peptides that are fragments of 14 proteins, and from protonemata - 49 peptides, fragments of 15 proteins. It was found that the protonemata and gametophores Ph. patens, which are the successive stages of development of this plant, significantly different from each other as a peptide composition and the spectrum of the precursor protein of identified peptides. Isolation of protoplasts of the enzymatic destruction of cell wall protonemata accompanied by massive degradation of intracellular proteins, many of whom are proteins of photosynthesis, which is a characteristic response of plants to stress the impact of environmental factors. A total of moss protoplasts were isolated and identified 323 peptides that are fragments of 79 proteins.     

Formation of an anisotropic electron velocity distribution function and production of multicharged ions in the micropinch discharge plasma

Analysis of the results of polarimetric measurements of X-ray line radiation of multicharged ions in a Z-pinch discharge indicates that the formation of an anisotropic electron velocity distribution in the neck of the current channel and the generation of highly charged ions are separated in time. The generation of a fast electron beam in the longitudinal ohmic electric field in the stage of plasma compression in the neck results in the polarization of X-ray bremsstrahlung continuum. In the stage of expansion of the hot dense micropinch plasma, the radial electric field prevails, due to which X-ray line radiation of multicharged ions becomes linearly polarized.     

Material transport in a low-inductance vacuum spark

The transport processes and the parameters of material flows in a low-inductance vacuum spark excited in a medium produced by erosion of the electrodes are investigated.     

Study of the possibility to control ion generation and transport in a high-current vacuum spark

The possibilities of optimizing a high-current vacuum spark as a source of metal ions are discussed. The influence of the shape and size of the electrodes on both the depth to which the hot plasma region is immersed in the surrounding cold matter and the plasma state in the hot spot, which is the source of multicharged ions, is demonstrated. Methods for optimization of the design of the discharge device for increasing the ion yield from a high-current vacuum spark are considered.     

Comparative study of the spatial structure of the X-ray and ion emission sources in the micropinch discharge plasma

Images of ion emission sources in the micropinch discharge plasma are obtained by the pinhole camera technique. A region that is the source of the most intense ion emission has a length of about 3 mm along the discharge axis and a width of ≤1 mm. It seems that the image of the emitting region recorded in the axial direction reflects the action of the discharge current magnetic field on the directional pattern of the ion flow.     

Production of marker-free tomato plants expressing the supersweet protein thaumatin II gene under the control of predominantly fruit-specific promoters

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Despite the lack of evidence of the danger of genetically modified organisms the presence of marker and antibiotic-resistant genes in transgenic...     

Some Results of the Application of the Probe Method to Studying Laser Plasma at the Radiation Intensity on the Target of ~109 W/cm2

Plasma Physics Reports - Three groups of charged particles are recorded at the impact of the laser radiation pulse with a metal target in a rarefied gas medium. The optical range laser radiation...     

The organization of an epidemiological surveillance of HIV infection in Krasnodar Territory

For the first time a case of AIDS was detected in the Krasnodar Territory of the USSR, and the presence of HIV infection in homosexuals, foreign students, and promiscuous persons was established. To study the spread of HIV infection, 5 diagnostic laboratories were created and 5 routes for the transportation of sera were organized. This permitted the screening of the population in 1988 with the complete coverage of groups to be placed under surveillance.     

Effect of the monooxygenase activity inhibitor ketoconazole on cholesterol esterification in mouse peritoneal macrophages

In order to determine the feasible role of monooxygenases in regulation of the macrophage acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) activity, the effects of ketoconazole on the activities of benz(a)pyrene hydroxylase and ACAT as well as on the [14C]oleate incorporation into cholesterol esters in cultured mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPM) were studied. Ketoconazole (0.5-50 M) inhibited the benz(a)pyrene hydroxylase activity but increased the free cholesterol (FC) level in MPM cultured with an acetylated low density lipoprotein (acetyl-LDL). An addition of ketoconazole (1-50 M) eliminated the increase in the rate of FC esterification after incubation of MPM with acetyl-LDL (but not with 25-hydroxycholesterol). In contrast, progesterone, an ACAT activity inhibitor, used at 5-30 M diminished the rate of FC esterification, when MPM were incubated with acetyl-LDL of 25-hydroxycholesterol. Ketoconazole provoked a dose-dependent decrease of the [3H]FC incorporation into macrophage polar oxysteroids. The data obtained suggest that the ketoconazole (1-30 M) effect on FC esterification in MPM cultured with acetyl-LDL is determined by its inhibiting monooxygenases, which produce oxidized forms of FC that are potential activators of ACAT.