Interferon-β Activity Is Affected by S100B Protein

Interferon-β (IFN-β) is a pleiotropic cytokine secreted in response to various pathological conditions and is clinically used for therapy of multiple sclerosis. Its application for treatment of cancer, infections and pulmonary diseases is limited by incomplete understanding of regulatory mechanisms of its functioning. Recently, we reported that IFN-β activity is affected by interactions with S100A1, S100A4, S100A6, and S100P proteins, which are members of the S100 protein family of multifunctional Ca²⁺-binding proteins possessing cytokine-like activities (Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(24):9473). Here we show that IFN-β interacts with one more representative of the S100 protein family, the S100B protein, involved in numerous oncological and neurological diseases. The use of chemical crosslinking, intrinsic fluorescence, and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy revealed IFN-β binding to Ca²⁺-loaded dimeric and monomeric forms of the S100B protein. Calcium depletion blocks the S100B–IFN-β interaction. S100B monomerization increases its affinity to IFN-β by 2.7 orders of magnitude (equilibrium dissociation constant of the complex reaches 47 pM). Crystal violet assay demonstrated that combined application of IFN-β and S100B (5–25 nM) eliminates their inhibitory effects on MCF-7 cell viability. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the direct modulation of IFN-β activity by the S100B protein described here could be relevant to progression of multiple oncological and neurological diseases.     

Algorithm of Robust Frequency Estimation in a Channel with White Gaussian Noise and Pulse Interferences

An algorithm for robust frequency estimation in a channel with additive white Gaussian noise and pulse interference is proposed. The algorithm involves iterative elimination of pulse interferences and subsequent calculation of the maximum likelihood estimate. It is demonstrated that the proposed filter-cleaner differs from the well-known Martin–Thomson filter in the functional dependence of adaptive coefficients on the estimates of parameters of distributions of the linear prediction error and the amplitude envelope of the signal. The results of mathematical modeling and numerical estimation of the threshold point of the method (0.49) are presented.     

Intensification of the biocatalytic oxidation of phenol with the use of activators of interface oxygen transfer

The transport of oxygen from the gas to the aqueous phase determines the rate of the biocatalytic oxidation of phenol. In this work, activators of the interphase transfer of O₂ are used to intensify the process, thus raising considerably the rate of gas entering the reaction space without additional power consumption, in contrast to the widely used methods of mixing and bubbling. We present the results from studies of the effect a number of substances on the value of K _L a at various mixing speeds of 100 to 1200 rpm. The solid-liquid phase and its activators are compared in terms of effectiveness. The maximum K _L a increase under different hydrodynamic conditions was achieved for activated carbon (3.7 times), aerosol (1.5 times), n-dodecane (3.1 times). These results are explained by a shuttle mechanism of O₂ phase transfer. It is shown that when K _L a is increased from 2.8 to 18.5 h^T-1, the biocatalytic oxidation of phenol is accelerated by a factor of 2.4. Using activated carbon as an activator of O₂ phase transfer allows us to increase the rate of the biocatalytic oxidation of phenol by ∼20%.     

Hydrogenation of Bituminous Sand

The effect of the conditions of bituminous sand hydrogenation on the yields and properties of the resulting liquid hydrocarbons was studied. It was found that, on the hydrogenation of bituminous sand, hydrocarbon products of higher quality can be obtained with a higher yield, as compared with the products of pyrolysis. The conditions affording a maximum yield of synthetic oil or an increased yield of light hydrocarbons were determined.     

Effect of ceresine on the properties of carbon fibre stuffing box packings

Erratum

Effect of ceresine on the properties of carbon fibre stuffing box packings     

Examination of the first unit at the armenian nuclear power station after the end of operation

Moscow Physics Research Institute. State Atomic Inspectorate Scientific Center. Moscow Special Research Institute. Armenian Nuclear Power Station. Institute for Atomic Energy. Dekom Cooperative. All-Union Nuclear Materials Research Institute. Gidropress Special Designs Office. Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 345–353, April, 1992.     

A genetic engineering approach to genetic algorithms

We present an extension to the standard genetic algorithm (GA), which is based on concepts of genetic engineering. The motivation is to discover useful and harmful genetic materials and then execute an evolutionary process in such a way that the population becomes increasingly composed of useful genetic material and increasingly free of the harmful genetic material. Compared to the standard GA, it provides some computational advantages as well as a tool for automatic generation of hierarchical genetic representations specifically tailored to suit certain classes of problems.