Lipolysis drives expression of the constitutively active receptor GPR3 to induce adipose thermogenesis

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The synthesis of diporphyrin systems on the basis of tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives bridged with peptide spacers

Diporphyrin systems based on tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives bridged with dipeptide or tripeptide spacers containing Gly and Phe residues were synthesized, and their physicochemical properties were studied. This article is dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the journal Bioorganicheskaya Khimiya     

Biosensor Systems for Antibiotic Detection

Antibiotics are widely used in medicine, veterinary medicine, and the food industry. However, the active use of antibacterial drugs leads to environmental pollution. In this regard, there is a great need for monitoring and determining antibiotics in various environments such as drinking water, food, drinks, waste water from pharmaceutical factories, etc. A number of methods, including those based on biosensors, have been developed to determine antibiotics. Biosensor methods of analysis are widely used and are an integral part of environmental monitoring. Electrochemical, optical, acoustic, microbial biosensors, immuno- and aptasensors, as well as sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymers are in the most demand for the analysis of antibiotics. This article provides a brief overview of biosensor methods and approaches for the determination of antibiotics. The most promising biosensor systems for determining antibacterial drugs were analyzed.

     

Radioecological investigation of the soil cover of eastern Urals State radioactive reserve and neighboring areas

The contamination levels and spatial distribution of 90Sr and 137Cs in the soil cover of the Eastern Ural State Radioactive Reserve and neighboring areas have been studied. Situated in the Chelyabinsk region, the Reserve embraces the frontal part of the Eastern Urals Radioactive Trace. This Trace emerged in 1957 as a result of the nuclear accident at the Production Association "Mayak". In the studied areas, the content of radionuclides in soils decreases exponentially as the distance from the source of contamination increases. 90Sr received by the soil cover as a result of the accident in 1957 has remained the main contaminant of the Reserve central part (97% of the total contamination). Its contribution throughout western neighboring areas reduces up to 67%, which decreases the effect of 90Sr on the environment. Within eastern neighboring areas, soil is mainly contaminated by 137Cs received as a result of the wind disseminated dried sediments from the shores of Lake Karachay (1967) that was used for dumping high-level radioactive waste. Also observed was enrichment of forest litters with this radionuclide due to current atmospheric fallout.     

Plutonium at the ecosystems of impact zone the Beloyarsk NPP

The distribution of the plutonium at the ecosystems of impact zone the Beloyarsk NPP was studied. Higher quantity of Pu (to 500 Bq/m2) was revealed in the bottom sediments of the Olkhovsk bog where low-level radioactive water of the Beloyarsk NPP have been discharged. The total amount of the radionuclide in a soil cover did not exceed 140 Bq/m2. The contribution of the Beloyarsk NPP to contamination of the investigated ecosystems was accounted with using ratio 238Pu/239.240Pu. It was 64.1-99.3% both in the bottom sediments and soils.     

An Electroacoustic Analysis for Determining the Effect of Amoxicillin on Microbial Cells

The probability of determining the effects of amoxicillin, which is one of β-lactam antibiotics, on microbial cells of Escherichia coli by the electroacoustic analysis method was shown for the first time. A piezoelectric resonator with a lateral electric field with a 1-mL liquid container was used as a biological sensor. It has been established that in the presence of amoxicillin the frequency dependence of the real and imaginary parts of the electrical impedance of a resonator loaded with a suspension of sensitive cells differs significantly from those of the resonator with a control of a microbial cell suspension without an antibiotic. When the resonator is loaded with the amoxicillin-resistant cell suspension, these dependencies are virtually the same. These results open prospects for the use of electroacoustic analysis methods to register the effect of β-lactam antibiotics on microbial cells and evaluate their antibacterial activity.     

Obtaining the phage mini-antibodies and their use for detection of microbial cells by using an electro-acoustic sensor

The phage mini-antibodies to bacterial cells of strain Azospirillum brasilense Sp245 were obtained and the possibility of using them for detection of microbial cells by means of a lateral field excited piezoelectric resonator was studied. It has been found that the frequency dependencies of the real and imaginary parts of the electrical impedance of the resonator loaded by the cell suspension A. brasilense Sp245 with the mini-antibodies, significantly differ from those of the resonator with the control cell suspension without mini-antibodies. The concentration limit of possible determination of the microbial cells in their interaction with the mini-antibodies is equal to 10(3) cells/ml. It has been ascertained that detection of A. brasilense Sp245 cells using the mini-antibodies is possible even in the presence of other cultures, for example, E. coli BL-Ril and A. brasilense Sp7 cells. Therefore, it has been shown for the first time that detection of microbial cells by an electro-acoustic sensor is feasible.     

Radioecological situation at the villages of the Techa river

The Techa river was contaminated in 1949-1956 from the nuclear enterprise "Mayak". The investigations were carried out in flood plain of the Techa river in 1992-2001. 90Sr and 137Cs stores were calculated in the soil-vegetation cover. There is uneven character of the spatial radionuclides contamination of the investigated area. The store with 90Sr changes from 25 to 930 kBq/m2 (0.7-25.0 Ci/km2) and that with 137Cs--from 30 to 1700 kBq/m2 (0.8-46.0 Ci/km2). In the preriver-bed soils the ratio 90Sr/137Cs increases with further from discharge point. Individual effective dose was calculated for the Brodocalmak population. 90Sr was revealed in the flood plain soils of the Iset river. The contribution of the contaminated Techa river and its flood plains soils accounted for as by incorporated radionuclides as background gamma-radiation does not exceed 0.13-0.17 mSv/yr if the contaminated Techa river utilization is limited. In other case the contribution of the contaminated Techa river increases to 1.6-3.0 mSv/yr. These values exceed international safety norms.