Locomotor reactions and excitability of neurons during the blockade of dopamine by haloperidol in vertebrate and invertebrate animals

Two groups of rats with different level of motor activities: high- and low-active animals, were distinguished. The blockade of dopamine receptors by haloperidol led to depression of locomotor activity in both groups of rats; in grape snails, haloperidol caused a decrease of the velocity of locomotor responses. In was found that within 5 minutes of intravenous injection of haloperidol the excitability of spinal centers of rats decreased; but in 30 minutes in started restoring. Chronic application of the preparation depressed the effect of posttetanic potentiation of H-response in gastrocnemius muscle of spinal rats. In command neurons of grape snail, chronic injections of haloperidol causes a significant hyperpolarization shift of membrane potential and an increase of threshold of the generation of action potential. It was shown that the selective pharmacological inhibition of dopaminergic system of the brain led to a decrease of excitability in some determined neurons of the snail and spinal motor centers of rats, as well as inhibited the locomotor responses both in vertebrate and in invertebrate animals.     

A study of the role of lipoxygenases in radiation-induced apoptosis of thymocytes. Inhibitory analysis

The radiation-induced apoptosis of thymocytes is suppressed by the common inhibitor of lipoxygenases nordihydroguaiaretic acid but not the inhibitors of cyclooxygenases or cytochrome P-450, which indicates the key role of lipoxygenases in apoptosis. However, the specific inhibitors of 5-lipoxygenase (AA861) and of 12-lipoxygenase (baicalein) do not suppress apoptosis and even enhance it. This effect can be explained by an increase in the yield of the 15-lipoxygenase product upon inhibition of 5- and 12-lipoxygenases. Indeed, the addition of 15-hydroxyecosotetraenic acid, a product of 15-lipoxygenase, into the incubation medium induces apoptosis in thymocytes. The results obtained suggest that 15-lipoxygenase is one of the enzymes involved in radiation-induced apoptosis of thymocytes.     

Protein synthesis-dependent reactivation of environmental conditioned reflex in terrestrial snails

We investigated influence of anisomycine injection on reconsolidation of contextual memory after development of environmental conditioned reflex in terrestrial snail Helix. Testing the amplitude of behavioral reactions (tentacle withdrawal) in response to standard tactile stimulation of the skin in two contexts: a) when the snail was fixed by the shell and was moving on the surface of the ball floating in water, or b) was moving on the flat surface of glass terrarium, has shown no difference in response amplitudes. After a session of electric shocks (5 days) in one context only (ball) the associative learning was clearly observed as the significant difference of response amplitudes in two contexts. On the other day following testing was performed a session of "reminding", immediately after which the snails were injected by anisomycine (control snails were injected by saline solution). Testing has shown that injection of anisomycine led to impairment of the context conditioning. Results suggest that the mechanisms of consolidation of new memory and memory reconsolidation after retrieval are not identical.     

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with headspace for the analysis of volatile organic compounds in waste water

Headspace analysis combined with high-resolution gas chromatography and detection by mass spectrometry was evaluated for the analysis of 53 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in river waters, waste waters and treated water samples down to 0.1 microgl(-1) concentration levels. The conditions optimised included sample thermostatting time and temperature, autosampler parameters and the nature of salt, added to the sample. The pollutions origin and their seasonal rippling have been done. It was shown that the content of VOCs in river water mainly correlates to the content of these compounds in waste waters, which shows the anthropogenic character of the pollutions.     

Low-power inductive RF plasma sources for technological applications

The objective of the present paper is to develop an analytic theory of cylindrical low-power RF plasma sources operating at an industrial frequency (f=13.56 MHz, ω=8.52×10⁷ s^?1). Inductive surface exciters of electromagnetic fields (exciting antennas) are considered that are positioned either at the side surface of the cylinder or at one of its end surfaces. In the latter case, the plasma flows out of the source through the opposite end surface of the cylinder. A study is made of elongated systems in which the length L of the cylinder exceeds its diameter 2R and of planar disk-shaped systems with L<2R. Simple analytic expressions are derived for electromagnetic fields excited by the antenna in the source plasma. The equivalent plasma resistance and the equivalent RF power deposited in the plasma are calculated for systems with prescribed parameters, i.e., in a non-self-consistent model. Up to now, such sources have been investigated mainly through the numerical solution of the complicated general electrodynamic equations. In the Introduction, the problem is formulated in general terms and the geometry of the sources, as well as the characteristic parameters of the source plasma, is discussed. In Section 2, plasma sources operating without an external magnetic field are investigated. In Section 3, helicon plasma sources in a sufficiently strong external magnetic field are considered. Analytic predictions are compared with the results from solving the problem numerically without using the helicon approximation. Section 4 gives a brief discussion of an electron cyclotron resonance-based RF plasma source. In the Conclusion, the main results of the paper are summarized and the technological efficiency of the sources under consideration is estimated at a qualitative level.     

Assignment of heme resonances and determination of the electronic structures of high- and low-spin nitrophorin 2 by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy: an explanation of the order of heme methyl resonances in high-spin ferriheme proteins

The (1)H NMR resonances of the heme substituents of the low-spin Fe(III) form of nitrophorin 2, as its complexes with N-methylimidazole (NP2-NMeIm) and imidazole (NP2-ImH), have been assigned by a combination of (1)H homonuclear two-dimensional NMR techniques and (1)H-(13)C HMQC. Complete assignment of the proton and partial assignment of the (13)C resonances of the heme of these complexes has been achieved. Due to favorable rates of ligand exchange, it was also possible to assign part of the (1)H resonances of the high-spin heme via saturation transfer between high- and low-spin protein forms in a partially liganded NP2-NMeIm sample; additional resonances (vinyl and propionate) were assigned by NOESY techniques. The order of heme methyl resonances in the high-spin form of the protein over the temperature range of 10-37 degrees C is 8 = 5 > 1 > 3; the NMeIm complex has 5 > 1 > 3 > 8 as the order of heme methyl resonances at <30 degrees C, while above that temperature, the order is 5 > 3 > 1 > 8, due to crossover of the closely spaced 3- and 1-methyl resonances of the low-spin complex at higher temperatures. This crossover defines the nodal plane of the heme orbital used for spin delocalization as being oriented 162 +/- 2 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis for the heme in the B orientation. For the NP2-ImH complex, the order of heme methyl resonances is 3 > 5 > 1 > 8, which defines the orientation of the nodal plane of the heme orbital used for spin delocalization as being oriented approximately 150-155 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis. In both low-spin complexes, the results are most consistent with the exogenous planar ligand controlling the orientation of the nodal plane of the heme orbital. In the high-spin form of NP2, the proximal histidine plane is shown to be oriented 135 degrees clockwise from the heme N(II)-Fe-N(IV) axis, again for the B heme orientation. A correlation between the order of heme methyl resonances in the high-spin form of NP2 and several other ferriheme proteins and an apparent 90 degrees shift in the nodal plane of the orbital involved in spin delocalization from that expected on the basis of the orientation of the axial histidine imidazole nodal plane have been explained in terms of bonding interactions between Fe(III), the axial histidine imidazole nitrogen, and the porphyrin pi orbitals of the high-spin protein.     

Effect of pineal peptide on parameters of the biological age and life span in mice

Female CBA mice were injected with s.c. synthetic tetrapeptide Epithalon from a 6-month age until death. The drug failed to affect the body weight or food consumption, physical activity or behavioural parameters. However, it slowed down the age-related switching off of the estrus function, decreased body temperature, decelerated free redical processes, prolonged the mice life span with an accompanying drop in spontaneous tumour incidence.