Treatment of intestinal dysbacteriosis in children with diabetes mellitus]

The use of the probiotic Acylact in combination with Viferone containing human recombinant interferon-alpha 2 in the treatment of intestinal dysbacteriosis in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) was shown to be highly efficient. Elimination of microecologic disorders in the intestine was accompanied in all the children by immune rearrangements. The quantity of secretory and serum immunoglobulins and complement increased and the white blood cell chemiluminescence proved to be higher. The correction of the immune status of the children with IDDM resulted in a certain decrease of glycemia. The data are indicative of the fact that such a treatment of intestinal dysbacteriosis in children with IDDM is promising.     

Molecular cloning of cDNA encoding human prointerleukin-6

The data are presented on the cloning and sequencing of cDNA coding for human interleukin-6. The variability of cDNA proIL-6 cloned from different cellular sources was studied. The variability of cDNA proIL-6 may be expressed as heterogeneity of 5'- and 3'-end sequences of cDNA as well as single base-pair changes.     

Two common nonsynonymous paraoxonase 1 (<Emphasis Type="Italic">PON1</Emphasis>) gene polymorphisms and brain astrocytoma and meningioma

Background  

Human serum paraoxonase 1 (PON1) plays a major role in the metabolism of several organophosphorus compounds. The enzyme is encoded by the polymorphic gene PON1, located on chromosome 7q21.3. Aiming to identify genetic variations related to the risk of developing brain tumors, we investigated the putative association between common nonsynonymous PON1 polymorphisms and the risk of developing astrocytoma and meningioma.     

Neuronal responses in an isolated slab of the cat auditory cortex to intracortical stimulation

Neuronal responses in an isolated slab (area AI) to intracortical pulsed electrical stimulation at the level of layer IV were investigated extracellularly in acute experiments on cats immobilized with D-tubocurarine. Responding neurons were found in all layers of the slab. The character of their distribution by depth in the slab depended on the distance between recording and stimulating electrodes. The latent period of responses of different neurons ranged from 0.8 to 25 msec. With interelectrode distances of 0.5–2 mm most neurons responded mono- and disynaptically. However, responses of many neurons had a latent period of over 4 msec, i.e., they were polysynaptic. This indicates the complex character of interneuronal interactions, even in a limited area of the cortex. After intracortical stimulation no after-discharges with a latent period of over 40 msec could be recorded in the isolated slab of auditory cortex.I. I. Mechnikov Odessa State University. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 85–93, January–February, 1982.     

Effects of hypercholesterolemia on the electrical and contractile properties of the blood vessel wall

The investigations were performed on the ring strips of rabbit aorta. The electrical activity of the vessels smooth muscle cells was registered by the "sucrose gap" method; the contractile activity of the strips was determined simultaneously. Experimental atherosclerosis was induced by keeping rabbits on a special diet enriched by cholesterol for 2 and 4 months. Strips were prepared with intact or mechanically removed endothelium. Hypercholesterolemia was shown to inhibit the reactivity of the vessel's wall to the weakening action of acetylcholine due to endothelial stimulation. The cause of these changes was the inhibition of the endothelial functional activity and inactivation of mechanisms by which endothelium influences smooth muscle cells.     

The flotation characteristics of Bacillus cells and spores]

Variations in hydrophobicity of the surface of bacillary cells and their capacity to flotation in the process of batch cultivation have been studied. It is shown that hydrophobicity of the cell surface increases in the course of batch cultivation of Bacillus thuringiensis, B. licheniformis and B. megaterium. Hydrophobicity of spores of the mentioned cultures is considerably higher than that of the vegetative cells. The increase of hydrophobicity of bacillary cells positively correlated with their capacity to flotation. That is why the use of flotation for the age fractionation of bacillary cells is possible: spores are concentrated in the foam while vegetative cells remain in the culture liquid.