Effect of adrenocorticotrophic hormone on the development of oestrogen-induced changes and hyperplasia formation in the mouse uterus

The aim of this study was to examine the role of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) in proliferative and morphogenetic reactions in the uterus under continuous oestrogen treatment. Ovariectomized mice received injections of oestradiol dipropionate or vehicle once a week (2 microg per 100 g), and injections of ACTH (10 microg per 100 g) once a day or once a week for 30 days. Additional control mice received oestradiol and saline, vehicle of oestradiol, and ACTH once a day or once a week, or vehicle of ACTH, for 30 days. This study shows for the first time that ACTH affects oestrogen-dependent reactions in the uterus. Treatment with ACTH once a day resulted in a decrease in uterine mass, in cell proliferation (assessed by the number of mitotic and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labelled cells) and in the incidence of endometrial hyperplasia, in particular complex and atypical hyperplasia. Treatment with ACTH once a week led to a marked reduction in the incidence of endometrial hyperplasia, a slight increase in uterine mass and had almost no effect on cell proliferation. Daily treatment with ACTH reduced the concentration of oestrogen receptor alpha in all uterine compartments, but weekly ACTH administration had the opposite effect. Expression of glucocorticoid receptors, beta-catenin and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta in uterine tissues was lower in animals treated with oestradiol and ACTH once a day or once a week. When olive oil was used instead of oestradiol, treatments with ACTH did not produce detectable changes in all parameters examined. Thus, glucocorticoid receptor, oestrogen receptor alpha, beta-catenin and glycogen synthase kinase-3beta are involved in the effects of ACTH on oestrogen-induced changes in uterine mass, cell proliferation and the incidence of hyperplasia.     

Independent control of ion transmission in a jet disrupter dual-channel ion funnel electrospray ionization MS interface

A new atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer (API-MS) interface has been developed to allow the control of ion transmission through the first vacuum stage of the mass spectrometer. The described interface uses a dual-heated capillary and a dual-inlet ion funnel design. Two electrosprays, aligned with the dual-capillary inlet, are used to introduce ions from different solutions independently into the MS. The initial design was specifically aimed at developing a method for the controlled introduction of calibrant ions in highly accurate mass measurements using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FTICR). The dual-channel ion funnel has different inlet diameters that are aligned with the dual capillaries. The large diameter main channel of the ion funnel is used for analyte introduction to provide optimum ion transmission. The second, smaller diameter channel inlet includes a jet disrupter in the ion funnel to modulate the ion transmission through the channel. The two inlet channels converge into a single-channel ion funnel where ions from both channels are mixed, focused, and transmitted to the mass analyzer. Both theoretical simulations and experimental results show that the transmission of different m/z species in the small diameter channel of the ion funnel can be effectively modulated by varying the bias voltage on the jet disrupter. Both static and dynamic modulations of ion transmission are demonstrated experimentally by applying either a constant DC or a square waveform voltage to the jet disrupter. High ion transmission efficiency, similar to the standard single-channel ion funnel, is maintained in the main analyte channel inlet of the ion funnel over a broad m/z range with negligible "cross talk" between the two ion funnel inlet channels. Several possible applications of the new interface (e.g., for high-accuracy MS analysis of complex biological samples) are described.     

Joule-Thompson effect in a disperse medium

An expression for the Joule-Thompson coefficient of a polydisperse medium subject to throttling is derived in the relaxation approximation of thermodynamics of irreversible processes, with both temperature and velocity relaxation in the phases taken into account.Notation A_qk, A_fk thermal and momentum interphase exchange affinities - _qk, _fk relaxation parameters - T, w temperature and velocity of a phase relaxation in the mixture - density of the mixture - T_o, T_k temperature of the carrier phase and of the k-th group of solid particles - p pressure of the carrier phase - h enthalpy of the mixture - W _o ² /2 specific kinetic energy of the carrier phase - _o, _k volume concentration of the carrier phase and of the k-th group of solid particles - _o, _k true density of the carrier phase and of the k-th group of solid particles - c_v and c_p constant-volume and constant-pressure specific heats of the mixture - c_k specific heat of the k-th group of solid particles - c_v, c_p constant-volume and constant-pressure specific heats, respectively, of the mixture referred to volume - _qk, _fk temperature and velocity relaxation times, respectively, of the k-th group of solid particles - t times - frequency in the Fourier series expansion - differential Joule-Thompson coefficient (adiabatic throttle effect) - N number of groups of particles in the mixture Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 825–829, November, 1979.     

Allowable risks of construction in karst-prone regions

Proposals are outlined for the assignment of allowable specific risks of construction under conditions whereby the construction sites will most likely be affected by karstic cave-ins. Moreover, possible economic,social, and ecological losses are taken into account. __________ Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 5, pp. 19–21, September–October, 2007.     

An approach to the solution of the fuzzy covering problem

Translated from Kibernetika i Sistemnyi Analiz, No. 6, pp. 164–165, November–December, 1992.     

Comparative study of the action of phytohemagglutinin on DNA fluorescence in the lymphocytes of women with physiological pregnancy and in threatened abortion

The dynamics of the DNA binding with rivanol-SO2 in lymphocytes stimulated with phytohemagglutinin is investigated in women with normal and complicated pregnancy. It is established that the ability to bind rivanol-SO2 by DNA in the women with a habitual abortion and a threat of pregnancy interruption is reduced in lymphocytes under a 72-hour cultivation as compared with a 24-hour one. This phenomenon was not observed in women with a physiological course of pregnancy.     

Heat transfer between a stream of liquid and a polydispersion in a fluidized bed

An approximate formula is derived for the heating time of particles in a fluidized polydispersion bed.Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 403–407, March, 1972.     

Laser ablation of dental tissues with picosecond pulses of 1.06-microm radiation transmitted through a hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber

Sequences of picosecond pulses of 1.06-microm Nd:YAG laser radiation with a total energy of approximately 2 mJ are transmitted through a hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber with a core diameter of approximately 14 microm and are focused onto a tooth's surface in vitro to ablate dental tissue. The hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber is shown to support the single-fundamental-mode regime for 1.06-microm laser radiation, serving as a spatial filter and allowing the laser beam's quality to be substantially improved. The same fiber is used to transmit emission from plasmas produced by laser pulses onto the tooth's surface in the backward direction for detection and optical diagnostics.