The patterns of changes in the electrohysterogram amplitude characteristics in healthy pregnant women during the third trimester

The patterns of changes in the amplitude characteristics of the bioelectrical activity of the uterus were studied on the basis of the external multichannel electrohysterography data in healthy pregnant women with physiological pregnancy at weeks 28 to 40 of gestation using electrophysiological methods. Three groups of women were identified, according to the term of pregnancy. The first group included 12 women at 26–28 weeks of gestation; the second group, 49 women at 29–37 weeks of gestation; and the third group, 48 women at 38–40 weeks of gestation. The preliminary norms of the electrohysterogram amplitude characteristics were obtained. The average electrohysterogram amplitude was revealed to increase with the term of the pregnancy.     

Anthropology and genetics of the caucasus peoples and the problem of the origin of the caucasoids

The electrophoretical polymorphisms of some blood proteins were studied in the Talysh population of Pirasora situated in South-East Azerbaidjan. We calculated the gene frequencies of these polymorphisms and determined the genetic distances between the Talyshes and some Iranian populations of North, Central and South Iran, Afghans, and three populations of Azerbaijan. The Talyshes are very close to Iranians of Shiraz, whereas they are distant from the Azerbaijanians. Anthropological investigations showed that the Caucasoids and Mongoloids lived in the Aragvi Basin since the Eneolithic period. This was stated by Alexeev (1974), who emphasized the mixture of the Caucasus populations from ancient times on. We calculated the genetic distances between the Caucasus populations and numerous populations of other geographic regions, considering 28 alleles of 12 loci of blood group, serum protein and red cell enzyme polymorphisms and constructed the dendrogram of these populations. The position of the Caucasus populations in the dendrogram corresponds on principle to the earlier anthropological observations. The clustering of the Caucasoid populations corresponds completely with anthropological and historical data, and supports our earlier hypothesis (Nazarova 1999) concerning the differentiation of Caucasoids, Northern Mongoloids and Amerinds from the populations, which inhabitated Asia in palaeolithic times.     

Identification of new protein complexes of Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase using pull-down assay

Inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) is a conserved and essential enzyme catalyzing the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate PP_i. Its activity is required to promote a lot of thermodynamically unfavorable reactions including biosynthesis of activated precursors of sugars and amino acids. Several protein partners of PPase were found so far in Escherichia coli by large-scale approaches. Functional role of these interactions was not studied. In this paper we report the identification of three protein partners of E. coli PPase not found earlier. Pull-down assay on the Ni²⁺-chelating column using 6His-tagged PPase as bait was used to isolate PPase complexes from stationary-phase cells. Of several isolated protein components, five were identified by MALDI-TOF mass-spectrometry: two chaperones (DnaK and GroEL) and three enzymes of carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism (FbaB, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, class I; GadA, l-glutamate decarboxylase; and KduI, 5-keto-4-deoxyuronate isomerase). These three proteins were cloned, expressed and purified in 6His-tagged and/or tag-free forms. Their binary interactions with PPase were verified by independent approaches. Initial characterization of the complexes indicates that PPase may stabilize its protein partners against unfolding or degradation. Comparative analysis of the PPase protein partners allowed an insight into its possible involvement in the cell metabolic regulation.     

Physical state of mother at the period of pregnancy and sexual maturation of descendants-sons of the water vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arvicola terrestris</Emphasis> L.)

The role of characteristics of the maternal medium (the mother’s physical state at periods of pregnancy and lactation, calendar terms of birth, the number of pups, and the ratio of sexes in the litter) has been elucidated in regulation of growth and the sexual maturation of the water vole male pups. The anogenital distance was used as an indirect supravital evaluation of the mass of testicles. The physical state of females was estimated by a change of the body mass at the period of pregnancy or lactation with aid of parameters characterizing deviation of the female body mass after the end of each reproductive cycle stage from the calculated value found from the empirical regression equation. Sons of the females whose body mass increment for the period of pregnancy exceeded the expected value or was equal to it were growing faster. Results of regression analysis have shown that the anogenital distance in the 19-week old males is dependent statistically significantly only on the physical state of the mother at the period of their embryonic development.     

To differential diagnosis of esophageal cancer and other diseases with the similar clinical symptoms, by using traditional X-ray study

The principal purpose of the paper is to assess the role of the X-ray section of current radiation diagnosis in obtaining objective information and interpreting it in esophageal cancer. The study was methodically based on its serial studies, by comparing the data of clinical, radiation, and endoscopic diagnosis with those of morphological studies of the biopsy specimens taken at resection for cancer of the esophagus and the upper stomach, and histologically examined them in diseases running with the similar clinical symptoms. The complex of radiation techniques included traditional X-ray study (compact filling, double contrasting). A specially developed procedure that allowed physicians the opportunity to examine the cardioesophageal area in the fragmentary fashion was used during morphological studies. In cancer of the upper stomach, the lower esophageal segments were also involved in the process in 79.9%. It should be also noted that this number of observations includes some cases that clinical symptomatology and endoscopy strongly suggest cancer of the lower third of the esophagus. The authors have arrived at the conclusion that the present-day X-ray semiotics of esophageal diseases running with the similar clinical symptomatology permits their differential diagnosis just before the use of endoscopy and histology of biopsy specimens and that the unique advantage of radiation diagnosis over endoscopy is to specify the initial site of a tumor, namely, to detect primary gastric damage in cardioesophageal carcinoma.     

To the problem of differentiation of north Mongoloids,Caucasoids, and Amerinds on the territory of Eurasia (genetic data)

The matrix of genetic distances of 11 human populations of Europe, Asia, and America was calculated using data on frequencies of 28 alleles of 12 loci of proteins, enzymes, and blood groups. This matrix and constructed on their basis dendrogram permit one to suggest that the place of division of paleolitic population on ancestors of North Mongoloids, Caucasoids, and Amerinds was in South Siberia and possibly in neighbouring regions of Central Asia. Published data on polymorphism of mtDNA in the human populations of Eurasia and America were analysed. These data support the author's hypothesis.     

New Lindane-Degrading Strains Achromobacter sp. NE1 and Brevundimonas sp. 242

Microbiology - Two strains were isolated, Achromobacter sp. NE1 (GenBank MW132988) and Brevundimonas sp. 242 (GenBank MW132989), which possessed a unique ability to use lindane and the...     

The development of the activity-rest cycle in the rabbit fetus

On 25-30-day rabbit foetuses, in chronic experiments using constant synchronous recording of the motor activity and heart rate, studies have been made of temporal organization of the activity-rest cycle. Already in 25-day foetus, three functional conditions may be distinguished: active, intermediate and resting ones, the duration of the latter increasing to the end of gestation up to 8-10 min, whereas the duration of the intermediate phase decreases, reaching its minimum to the 30th day if not being completely reduced. Cyclic pattern of active and resting phases is observed in 28-day foetuses; to the 29th-30th day, these phases from a unique activity-rest cycle, its duration reaching 20-30 min to the end of intrauterine period. It is suggested that the resting phase in foetal rabbits serves as a basis for the development of polyphasic sleep in adult animals.     

Changes in the biosynthesis of nuclear matrix proteins in the thymocytes of mice exposed to radiation and hydrocortisone

Using the method of two-dimensional electrophoresis two newly synthesized proteins with pI 6.6 and 4.8 were identified whose synthesis had been induced by gamma-rays and hydrocortisone. The elucidation of the role of the newly synthesized polypeptides may be important in understanding the mechanisms of cell death.