Membrane technology as a basis for creation of treatment-and-prophylactic equipment for inhalation therapy and normobaric hypoxia]

The principles of membrane technology of gas distribution have been considered, that has a wider adoption in different branches of economy and in medicine. One of the promising trends of membrane technology employment is production of respiratory gas mixtures for hypoxytherapy, non-medicamental method to increase the human organism resistance to numerous pathogenetic environmental factors. Gas distributors and devices with different surface mass exchange and wide range of operating stress using hollow selectively permeable fibers of poly-4-methylpentene-1 are designed and produced under conditions of scientific productions. The technology of hollow fibers formation has been tried out on production spinning machinery of enterprises of chemical fibers in Ukraine. Design of gas distributors permits supplying them as a part of different devices of normobaric hypoxia from individual ones to devices of joint use allowing for customer's demands.     

Effect of diazepam on the Na, K-ATPase state in a penicillin--induced hyperactivity focus in the cerebral cortex]

Intramuscular injection of diazepam to rats at doses of 0.01 and 2 mg/kg 25-30 min after penicillin application to the rat brain cortex leads to alteration of periodic appearance of epileptic seizures (ES), to changes in the seizure pattern, and to emergence of periodic acceleration of epileptiform discharges (ED). Injection of diazepam at a dose of 2 mg/kg 20 min before penicillin application results in the reduction of ED latency in the epileptogenic focus and in a decrease in their frequency before seizures as compared to the control animals without diazepam injection. ES appear irregularly, their quantity is markedly reduced while duration is increased. Diazepam injection leads to disappearance of the rat moving reaction during ER and ES. In vivo experiments diazepam (2 mg/kg) does not influence brain cortex Na, K-ATPase of crude synaptosomes. However, diazepam leads to an increase in Na, K-ATPase activity both in the primary and dependent secondary epileptogenic foci. It is suggested that the anticonvulsant action of diazepam may be underlain by its activating effect on Na, K-ATPase of neuronal membranes in the epileptogenic focus.     

Enzymatic micromethod for determining Na, K-ATPase activity in rat cerebral cortex membranes]

A method for the assay of Na,K-ATPase activity of unpurified synaptosomal fraction obtained from the microquantities (2--3 mg of fresh tissue) of the rat cerebral cortex is described. This method is based on the fluorimetric determination of ADP formed in the course of ATPase reaction. The method is highly sensitive and may be used to determine the membrane preparations Na,K-ATPase activity with the protein content of 0.05--10.0 microgram per sample.     

Importance of immunoelectrophoresis in agar and disc electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel for characterizing different strains of Bordetella pertussis

The antigenic composition of typical and atypical B. pertussis strains obtained in the foci of pertussis infection, as well as experimentally obtained antibiotic-resistant B. pertussis strains, has been studied by the methods of immunoelectrophoresis in agar and electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel (PAAG). Immunoelectrophoresis in agar has been found capable of differentiating B. pertussis culture from a group of unidentified morphologically similar Gram-negative bacilli by their antigenic composition and thus suitable for use as an additional criterion in the identification of atypical B. pertussis strains. PAAG electrophoresis has permitted finding differences in the set of protein antigens in the control strain and in its clones obtained by multiple subculturing in media with antibiotics added.     

The breakdown of phthalic acid esters by microorganisms

The distribution in environment of phthalic acid esters classified according to their inherent toxicity, teratogenic, mutagenic properties and cancerogenic activity into a group of priority pollutants of biosphere is described in this review. The role of microbial community in degradation of phthalate esters has been demonstrated. The effect of such environmental factors as pH of the medium, temperature, humidity, concentration of organic matter, the introduction of promising microbial strains in natural biocenoses has been examined. The pathways of phthalate ester metabolism have been analysed in representatives of active bacterial destructors belonging to genera Nocardia, Pseudomonas and Micrococcus. The decomposition rate of phthalate esters has been shown to be correlated with structure, concentration and culture conditions.     

New approach to the diagnosis of meningococcal infection: latex-erythrocyte agglutination

A principal possibility and advantages of the diagnosis of meningococcal infection by means of agglutination of sensibilized latex particles with erythrocytes have been demonstrated. Polysterene carboxylated latex has been sensibilized by rabbit JgG to meningococcus of serogroup A. Dynamics of absorption of meningococcal polysaccharide on erythrocytes in vivo has been studied in mice.