Disability among the population of the Russian Federation

Previously we demonstrated that in the course of intracellular reproduction of WSN influenza virus strain, part of monomeric nucleoprotein (NP) undergo polymerization into dimers and trimers, which dissociate into monomers after boiling. Further studies showed that different strains of influenza virus are characterized by different degree of NP-oligomerization. Specifically, Duck/ Ukraine/63 (H3N8) and Seal Massacuhsets 1/80 (H7N7) NP monomers are completely transformed into oligomers. As a result of 40-min chase and of prolonged label exposure only NP-oligomers but not monomers can be detected in unboiled samples of infected cells or in virions. NP monomers of A/Duck/Ukraine strain are detectable in unboiled samples only after a short period of labeling. Influenza virus NP oligomers are more hydrophobic than NP monomers. Oligomers are hypothesized to be the native functionally important form of influenza virus NP.     

Problems of computer modelling and information facilities for diffusion bonding

The methods for improving arc striking with wires of minor diameter and for ensuring the weld formation at a current of 10 A with minimum melting and spatter losses are considered.     

Overexpression of the PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is part of the stress response induced by acute pancreatitis in rats

We have previously shown that the acute phase reaction of the pancreas is a powerful emergency mechanism which protects the organism against further pancreatic aggression. In an attempt to understand the mechanisms involved in this protective effect we tried to characterize at the molecular level the phenotypic changes of the pancreatic cell during acute stress. Using a systematic approach, we identified the PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA as strongly overexpressed in pancreas during the acute phase of pancreatitis. PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is also overexpressed in liver and kidney during acute pancreatitis but not in the other tissues analyzed. In addition, PC3/TIS21/BTG2 mRNA is overexpressed in kidney after a 30-min ischemia. Since acute pancreatitis and kidney ischemia-reperfusion-induced injury were associated with apoptosis, and PC3/TIS21/BTG2 has an antiapoptotic activity, we speculate that this protein may play a role in the control of apoptosis progression in these tissues.     

Synaptic transmission and hippocampal long-term potentiation in olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated channel type 1 null mouse

Field potential recording was used to investigate properties of synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) at Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in both hippocampal slices of mutant mice in which the alpha-subunit of the olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (alpha3/OCNC)1 was rendered null and also in slices prepared from their wild-type (Wt) littermates. Several measures of basal synaptic transmission were unaltered in the OCNC1 knockout (KO), including maximum field excitatory postsynaptic potential (fEPSP) slope, maximum fEPSP and fiber volley amplitude, and the function relating fiber volley amplitude to fEPSP slope and paired-pulse facilitation. When a high-frequency stimulation protocol was used to induce LTP, similar responses were seen in both groups [KO: 1 min, 299 +/- 50% (mean +/- SE), 60 min, 123 +/- 10%; Wt: 1 min, 287 +/- 63%; 60 min, 132 +/- 19%). However, on theta-burst stimulation, the initial amplitude of LTP was smaller (1 min after induction, 147 +/- 16% of baseline) and the response decayed faster in the OCNC1 KO (60 min, 127 +/- 18%) than in Wt (1 min, 200 +/- 14%; 60 min, 169 +/- 19%). Analysis of waveforms evoked by LTP-inducing tetanic stimuli revealed a similar difference between groups. The development of potentiation throughout the tetanic stimulus was similar in OCNC1 KO and Wt mice when high-frequency stimulation was used, but OCNC1 KO mice showed a significant decrease when compared with Wt mice receiving theta-burst stimulation. These results suggest that activation of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels may contribute to the induction of LTP by weaker, more physiological stimuli, possibly via Ca2+ influx.     

International surveillance of bloodstream infections due to Candida species: frequency of occurrence and antifungal susceptibilities of isolates collected in 1997 in the United States, Canada, and South America for the SENTRY Program. The SENTRY Participant Group

An international program of surveillance of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in the United States, Canada, and South America between January and December 1997 detected 306 episodes of candidemia in 34 medical centers (22 in the United States, 6 in Canada, and 6 in South America). Eighty percent of the BSIs were nosocomial and 50% occurred in patients hospitalized in an intensive care unit. Overall, 53.3% of the BSIs were due to Candida albicans, 15.7% were due to C. parapsilosis, 15.0% were due to C. glabrata, 7.8% were due to C. tropicalis, 2.0% were due to C. krusei, 0.7% were due to C. guilliermondii, and 5.8% were due to Candida spp. However, the distribution of species varied markedly by country. In the United States, 43.8% of BSIs were due to non-C. albicans species. C. glabrata was the most common non-C. albicans species in the United States. The proportion of non-C. albicans BSIs was slightly higher in Canada (47.5%), where C. parapsilosis, not C. glabrata, was the most common non-C. albicans species. C. albicans accounted for 40.5% of all BSIs in South America, followed by C. parapsilosis (38.1%) and C. tropicalis (11.9%). Only one BSI due to C. glabrata was observed in South American hospitals. Among the different species of Candida, resistance to fluconazole (MIC, > or = 64 microg/ml) and itraconazole (MIC, > or = 1.0 microg/ml) was observed with C. glabrata and C. krusei and was observed more rarely among other species. Isolates of C. albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, and C. guilliermondii were all highly susceptible to both fluconazole (99.4 to 100% susceptibility) and itraconazole (95.8 to 100% susceptibility). In contrast, 8.7% of C. glabrata isolates (MIC at which 90% of isolates are inhibited [MIC90], 32 microg/ml) and 100% of C. krusei isolates were resistant to fluconazole, and 36.9% of C. glabrata isolates (MIC90, 2.0 microg/ml) and 66.6% of C. krusei isolates were resistant to itraconazole. Within each species there were no geographic differences in susceptibility to fluconazole or itraconazole.     

Total quality management in behavioral health care

The literature on total quality management or continuous quality improvement in the behavioral health care field is just beginning to emerge. Although most of the evidence on its effectiveness remains anecdotal, it seems clear that it can work in behavioral health care organizations with strong leadership support and a long-term commitment.     

Effect of alpha-tocopherol and its derivatives on the viability of cultured malignant cells

The effect of alpha-tocopherol and its derivatives on viability and growth of attached cells culture: human epithelioid carcinoma of cervix HeLa-S3K and human cervical carcinoma cell line C-4-1 according to protein content and level of alkaline phosphatase, as well to unattached cells: human acute leukemia cell cultures CEM-C-1 and CEM-C-7 according to the amount of viable cells in suspension has been studied. It has been shown that alpha-tocopherol acetate and tocopherol maintain the viability of cells, while the derivatives of tocopherol with shorted side chain considerably inhibit growth of researched cultures, alpha-tocopherol with lacking side chain being most active among them.