Quantitative determination of lysozyme in the blood serum]

A method, based on the lysozyme ability to selective sorption on chitin followed by reversible enzyme-substrate complex formation, is suggested for quantitative determination of lysozyme in blood serum. The technique offers no difficulty in application, requires no expensive equipment and therefore can be used in clinical practice.     

Polymorphism of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans</Emphasis> strains dominating in processes of high-temperature oxidation of gold-arsenic concentrate

The composition was studied of the microbial association involved in tank biooxidation of the concentrate of a refractory pyrrhotite-containing pyrite-arsenopyrite gold-arsenic ore from the Olympiadinskoe deposit at 50°C. The two Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans strains predominant in the association were phylogenetically different from the strains used as inocula. The isolates were found to differ significantly both from each other and from the strains that dominated in the processes of biooxidation of a similar concentrate by traditional tank technology at 39°C or at 39°C with treatment of the concentrate with ferric iron prior to biooxidation. These results indicate the strain and species diversity of sulfobacilli in microbial associations involved in biooxidation of the concentrates under different technological modes.     

Electron microscopic study of the monoaminergic terminals in the caudate nucleus of the rat brain

A comparative analysis of some electron-microscopic techniques has been carried out to reveal biogenous amines in the rat muscle nucleus caudatus. Monoaminergic terminals were identified by the presence of large and small granular vesicles. The best results were obtained by chromaffine reaction of frozen sections: the revealing of small granular vesicles by this method is 11 fold more effective than that by the use of chromaffine reaction carried out on tissue samples.     

Study of the effect of seven-day immersion on the excretory function of the kidneys

The excretion of total protein, creatinine, urea, uric acid, glucose, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, as well as the uroproteinogram (12 groups of proteins) and uroenzymogram (five enzymes) parameters, was studied in the experiment with seven-day immersion in eight men aged 21–26 years. The results of the study allow a conclusion that seven-day immersion did not lead to any unfavorable changes in the renal function. The study of the uroproteinogram showed the absence of shifts in either glomerular filtration or tubular reabsorption, which agrees with the absence of significant changes in the uroenzymogram values. Even in significantly increased diuresis, the physiological norm of protein and glucose excretion was not exceeded; the electrolyte excretion was normalized quickly enough. An increased excretion of creatinine, urea, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus appears to reflect activation of catabolic processes in skeletal muscles.