Relationships between left hemisphere predominance and disturbances of lipid metabolism in different ethnic groups

In neonates and infants, hearing impairment leads to impaired language and cognitive development. For that reason, early detection of this sensory deficit is of outstanding importance, particularly in pre-term neonates, who constitute a high risk population in regard to very early acquired hearing loss. Evoked (EOAE) and spontaneous otoacoustic emission (SOAE) recording in 93 pre-term and full-term neonates revealed that this technique is potentially useful for auditory screening in neonatology units. EOAEs and SOAEs can be recorded successfully from 30 weeks of conceptional age. SOAEs were found to be prevalent in females and presented higher peak numbers in right than in left ears. Furthermore, SOAE incidence in pre-term and full-term neonates was found to be high in EOAE positive ears, associated with strong and robust EOAEs.     

Long-term therapy of bronchial asthma with ingacort

To study the effectiveness of ACE-inhibitors in diabetic nephropathy (DN) 12 male and 16 female patients aged 13-21 years with DN having normal blood pressure (BP) were given ramipril (tritace) in a dose 2.5-5 mg/day in the course of 12-24 weeks. Efficacy and safety of the treatment were assessed by changes in albuminuria and proteinuria, BP. Reduction of albuminuria occurred in 19(79.1%) out of 24 patients with microalbuminuria, in 13(54.1%) of them urine excretion of albumin returned to normal levels. All the patients with proteinuria and macroalbuminuria benefited from ramipril therapy because their proteinuria diminished or even disappeared (2 cases). The persistence of the antiproteinuria effect on posttreatment week 12 was 66.6%. Ramipril effect on BP was minimal. It is inferred that ramipril is effective in the treatment of DN at the stage of microalbuminuria and proteinuria in patients with normal BP.     

Analysis of DNA strand break induction and repair in plants from the vicinity of Chernobyl.

For 3 years following the Chernobyl accident, DNA repair efficiency was studied in irradiated and control populations of various plant species. Compared with the control populations, some irradiated populations exhibited increases in the yield of DNA single-strand breaks per unit dose of challenge radiation. The effect was registered in low-dose-rate alpha-irradiated populations, but was absent in plant populations growing in conditions of low-dose-rate beta-irradiation. The efficiency of single-strand DNA repair was identical in control and irradiated populations and approximated 100%.     

Vladimir Andreevich Oppel'' (1872-1932)

A total of 46 pregnant women with premature delivery and preserved amniotic sac were examined. The effect of tocolysis applied was recorded at different control periods of time with the aid of obstetrical monitor. The basic frequency of uterine contractions was more than 3--84.78%. In the 120th min after tocolysis with Partusisten 50% of the cases did not show any labour activity: after 120 min the inhibition was very successful--82.61%. This success was mainly recorded in the cases with uterine contractions over 4 for 10 min (31.61%) followed by those with 3-4 contractions (34.78%) and those with up to 2 uterine contractions (15.22%). On the basis of the results obtained it is concluded that the quicker and earlier the tocolytic was applied, the quicker and lasting was the effect. The statistical analysis revealed that all uterine contractions in the second and particularly in the third group depending on the time of tocolysis gradually passed into the first and second group.     

Capacity for plasticity in the adult owl auditory system expanded by juvenile experience

In the process of creating a multimodal map of space, auditory-visual neurons in the optic tectum establish associations between particular values of auditory spatial cues and locations in the visual field. In the barn owl, tectal neurons reveal these associations in the match between their tuning for interaural time differences (ITDs) and the locations of their visual receptive fields (VRFs). In young owls ITD-VRF associations can be adjusted by experience over a wide range, but the range of adjustment normally becomes quite restricted in adults. This normal range of adjustment in adults was greatly expanded in owls that had previously learned abnormal ITD-VRF associations as juveniles. Thus, the act of learning abnormal associations early in life leaves an enduring trace in this pathway that enables unusual functional connections to be reestablished, as needed, in adulthood, even when the associations represented by these connections have not been used for an extended period of time.     

Dynamics of clot growth induced by thrombin diffusing into nonstirred citrate human plasma

We have tested whether action potential-evoked Ca2+ influx is required to initiate clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle endocytosis in the lamprey reticulospinal synapse. Exo- and endocytosis were temporally separated by a procedure involving tonic action potential stimulation and subsequent removal of extracellular Ca2+ (Ca2+e). A low concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]e of 11 microM) was found to be required for the induction of early stages of endocytosis. However, the entire endocytic process, from the formation of clathrin-coated membrane invaginations to the generation of synaptic vesicles, proceeded in the absence of action potential-mediated Ca2+ entry. Our results indicate that the membrane of synaptic vesicles newly incorporated in the plasma membrane is a sufficient trigger of clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle endocytosis.     

Special Features of the Calculation of the Stress–Strain State of VVÉR Second-Loop Pipelines with Erosion–Corrosion Thinning

Some details of an algorithm and computational results are presented for VVÉR second-loop pipelines exhibiting erosion–corrosion wear. The program makes it possible to perform calculations of thinnings for a complicated shape which gradually vary in two mutually perpendicular directions. The calculations were performed for rectilinear sections of a pipe and a zone near a bend. The computational results can be displayed in graphical form in color and in a black-and-white.     

Pneumococcal trafficking across the blood-brain barrier. Molecular analysis of a novel bidirectional pathway

Although Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of meningitis in humans, the mechanisms underlying its traversal from the circulation across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the subarachnoid space are poorly understood. One mechanism might involve transcytosis through microvascular endothelial cells. In this study we investigated the ability of pneumococci to invade and transmigrate through monolayers of rat and human brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC). Significant variability was found in the invasive capacity of clinical isolates. Phase variation to the transparent phenotype increased invasion as much as 6-fold and loss of capsule approximately 200-fold. Invasion of transparent pneumococci required choline in the pneumococcal cell wall, and invasion was partially inhibited by antagonists of the platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor on the BMEC. Pneumococci that gained access to an intracellular vesicle from the apical side of the monolayer subsequently were subject to three fates. Most opaque variants were killed. In contrast, the transparent phase variants were able to transcytose to the basal surface of rat and human BMEC in a manner dependent on the PAF receptor and the presence of pneumococcal choline-binding protein A. The remaining transparent bacteria entering the cell underwent a previously unrecognized recycling to the apical surface. Transcytosis eventually becomes a dominating process accounting for up to 80% of intracellular bacteria. Our data suggest that interaction of pneumococci with the PAF receptor results in sorting so as to transcytose bacteria across the cell while non-PAF receptor entry shunts bacteria for exit and reentry on the apical surface in a novel recycling pathway.