Paradoxical vagal effects on the cardiac rhythm in cats

In anaesthetised cats, an increase in the vagal burst rate resulted in a paradoxical decrease of vagal bradycardia. This seems to be due to a shift of the vagal stimulus position towards early phase of cardiac cycle. The mechanism of this paradoxical effect depends on the magnitude of vagal chronotropic effect upon the time of vagal stimulus delivery within cardiac cycle.     

Detection of carotenoids in the vitreous body of the human eye during prenatal development

Carotenoids were found for the first time in the vitreous body of human eye during the fetal period from week 15 until week 28. Their maximum content was timed to week 16-22. No carotenoids were found the vitreous body of 31-week fetuses, as well as adult humans, which corresponds to the published data. It was shown using HPLC that chromatographic characteristics of these carotenoids correspond to those of lutein and zeaxanthin, characteristic pigments of the retinal yellow macula.     

The synthesis and antiviral activity of glycyrrhizic acid conjugates with alpha-D-glucosamine and some glycosylamines

Glycyrrhizic acid and its 30-methyl ester were conjugated with 2-amino-1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranose, 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl amine, 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-apha-L-arabinopyranosyl amine, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl amine, and beta-D-galactopyranosyl amine using N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and its mixtures with N-hydroxybenzotriazole. Structures of the conjugates were confirmed by IR, UV, 1H, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The glycoconjugate with the residues of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl amine in the carbohydrate part of its molecule exhibited antiviral activity (ID50 4 microg/ml) toward the herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV-1) in the VERO cell culture. Two compounds demonstrated anti-HIV-1 activity (50-70% inhibition of p24) in a culture of MT-4 cells at concentrations of 0.5-20 microg/ml. The English version of the paper: Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, 2004, vol. 30, no. 3; see also http://www.maik.ru.     

Cone-beam tomography of congenital fissures of the alveolar process and palate

Cone-beam tomography is one of the current radiodiagnostic techniques, which allows patients with congenital fissures of the alveolar process and soft and hard palates to be examined, by minimizing the radiation load. On surgical treatment planning, cone-beam tomography makes it possible to estimate the extent of a bone defect in the alveolar process, its sizes, the presence or absence of oronasal fistulas, the position of the intermaxilla, the state of bone tissue (sizes, density characteristics) in the genial area for an autograft, the degree of a maxillofacial deformity, and occlusive features. Postoperative cone-beam tomography permits one to estimate the degree of alveolar process recovery, the sizes of a regenerate, the processes of osteointegration, and the state of fixing elements and the donor bed.     

Arrangement of the sense and terminating codons of the template in the A-segment of human ribosomes from photocrosslinking data withe oligonucleotide derivatives

Oligoribonucleotide derivatives containing Phe codon UUC along with a 3'-flanking sense codon or stop codon carrying a perfluoroarylazido group at G or U were used to study the position of each nucleotide of the latter codon relative to the 18S rRNA in the A site of the 80S ribosome. To place the modified sense or stop codon in the A site, UCC-recognizing tRNA(Phe) was bound in the P site. Regardless of the position in the sense or stop codon, the modified nucleotide crosslinked with invariant dinucleotide A1823/A1824 or nucleotide A1825 in helix 44 close to the 3' end of the 18S rRNA. Located in the second or third position of either codon, the modified G bound with invariant nucleotide G626, which is in the evolutionarily conserved 530 stem-loop segment. The results were collated with the X-ray structure of the bacterial ribosome, and the template codon was assumed to be similarly arranged relative to the small-subunit rRNA in various organisms.     

Influence of omeprasole and lansoprasole on Na+, K+ -ATPase and Mg2+ -ATPase activity of the plasmatic membrane of myometrium smooth muscle cells

The paper deals with the influence of the proton pump inhibitors - omeprasole and lansoprasole on the enzymatic activity of the ouabain-sensitive Na+, K+ -ATPase and the ouabain-resistant Mg2+ - ATPase in the suspension of the myometrium cell plasmatic membranes treated with 0.1% digitonin solution. It was found, that omeprasole and lansoprasole inhibited Na+, K+ -ATPase in the range from 10 to 100 microM. The maximal effect was observed at a concentration of 100 microM with the percentage of inhibition of 81 and 86% at an average as compared with the control for omeprasole and lansoprasole, respectively. The magnitudes of the inhibition coefficient I(0.5) for omeprasole and lansoprasole were 35.60 +/- 0.81 and 29.40 +/- 1.79 microM respectively. Meanwhile cooperative effects on the Na+, K+ - ATPase activity were not found, as the Hill coefficient n(H) for omeprasole was 1.00 +/- 0.08, while for lansoprasole it was 1.20 +/- 0.03. These substances had also insignificant influence on Mg2+ -ATPase: the enzymatic activity was decreased to 84 and 82% as compared with the control with omeprasole and lansoprasole, respectively, in concentration of 100 microM for each inhibitor. The inhibition of Na+, K+ -ATPase activity can evidence for the possible side effects of omeprasole and lansoprasole when they are used for treatment of acid-dependent diseases of the stomach. In addition, obtained experimental data can be useful for further research of the membrane mechanisms of omeprasole and lansoprasole action on cationic exchange in the smooth muscle cells.     

Morphogenesis in planarians Dugesia tigrina

We carried out computer morphometry in regenerates of planarians Dugesia tigrina. The blastema growth was analyzed in fragments of planarians after their fission and after transverse transection at different body levels. The blastema was growing at a higher rate on tail fragments than on the head fragments and the growth rate was the higher, the closer the transection was to the head end. After fission, the blastema was growing at a slower rate than after transection in the fission zone. The growth of adjacent blastemas formed on both sides after fission or transection proceeded at different rates as a function of new body polarity.     

The role of beta-adrenoreceptors in the mechanism of the hemodynamic action and radiation-protective activity of the copolymer of 2-methyl-5-vinylpyridine with 2-methyl-5-vinylpyridinium-N-oxide

In experiment on anesthetized dogs and cats in was shown that the new water-soluble copolymer initiated depressive reaction characteristic for beta-adrenomimetics. This effect was levelled with the help of non-selective adrenoblockator--propranololum. In experiment on dogs the preliminary treatment with propranololum decreased the therapeutic antiradiation efficiency of the copolymer from 68.4 to 8.3%.     

Neuroprotective effect of N-acylethanolamines in chronic morphine dependence. II. Effect on the rat brain fatty acid composition

The effect of N-acylethanolamines mixture (NAE) with saturated and unsaturated acyl chains on the fatty acid composition of the rat brain under chronic morphine dependence was investigated. Long-term administration of NAE reduced morphine-induced decrease of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the rat brain crude lipid extract. Furthermore, NAE restored the acyl chain spectrum, especially the content of docosahexaenoic acid in essential phospholipids--phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine. Pharmacological activity of NAE depended on a dose.