A study of phase equilibria of nitrogen for constructing a medium value pressure scale

Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 3, pp. 40–42, March, 1993.     

F-actin bundling activity of Tetrahymena elongation factor 1 alpha is regulated by Ca2+/calmodulin

Translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) catalyzes the GTP-dependent binding of amino-acyl-tRNA to the ribosome. Previously, Tetrahymena 14-nm filament-associated protein was identified as EF-1 alpha [Kurasawa et al. (1992) Exp. Cell Res. 203, 251-258]. This and several other studies suggest that EF-1 alpha functions not only in translation but also in regulation of some part of the cytoskeleton. Tetrahymena EF-1 alpha bound to F-actin and induced bundling of F-actin. We investigated the effects of GTP/GDP and Ca2+/calmodulin on F-actin bundling activity of EF-1alpha. The presence of GTP, GDP, or guanylyl-imidodiphosphate (GMP-PNP) slightly decreased the amount of EF-1 alpha which bound to F-actin, but each had virtually no effect on the F-actin bundling activity. The formation of F-actin bundles by EF-1 alpha was Ca(2+)-insensitive. In the absence of Ca2+, calmodulin did not bind to EF-1 alpha and F-actin. On the other hand, in the presence of Ca2+, calmodulin directly bound to EF-1 alpha but did not have any serious influence on EF-1 alpha/F-actin binding. Under the conditions, electron microscopy demonstrated that Ca2+/calmodulin completely inhibited the F-actin bundling by EF-1 alpha. These results indicate that CA2+/calmodulin regulates the F-actin bundling activity of EF-1 alpha without inhibition of the binding between Ef-1 alpha and F-actin.     

Cell cycle-dependent tumor necrosis factor apoptosis

To determine if tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-mediated apoptosis affects cells at defined stages of the cell cycle, WEHI-164/2F (WEHI) cells were synchronized at G0-G1 after 3-day cultures in medium containing RPMI 1640 and 0.5% FCS (RPMI-0.5% FCS). The arrested WEHI cells (60-75% in G0-G1) showed increased sensitivity to TNF killing, measured as 48-h 3-(5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assays, and 15-h apoptosis by propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry analysis. The TNF killing kinetics of G0-G1-arrested cells was similar to controls, and TNF did not accelerate or retard cell cycle progression of the arrested cells after feeding with fresh RPMI-0.5% FCS. However, TNF inhibited WEHI DNA synthesis as early as 1 h after treatment, and inhibition was proportionate to sensitivity to TNF-induced apoptosis. WEHI cells treated with TNF showed a higher percentage of cells in S phase with concomitant decrease in G0-G1 and G2-M. When cultured for 3-18 h in fresh RPMI-0.5% FCS to allow progression of the G0-G1-arrested cells toward the G1-S boundary, WEHI cells became more sensitive to TNF killing, especially at the 3-9 h time points. Moreover, TNF did not degrade [125I]5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine-labeled WEHI DNA if the labeled cells were precultured for 9 h in fresh RPMI-0.5% FCS to allow them to pass S phase before the addition of TNF. These results show that TNF-induced apoptosis of WEHI cells is connected to cell cycle events; WEHI targets receive the TNF cytotoxic signal mainly at the G1-S boundary and begin to die by apoptosis as they exit from S phase.     

Selective detection and differentiation of subgenus B adenoviruses (types 3, 7 and 11) by polymerase chain reaction

Application of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for detection of subgenus B adenoviruses (types 3, 7 and 11) was investigated. It is based on a simple (nonnested) PCR using primer pairs specific for the hexon-coding region. The PCR allowed amplification of DNA from subgenus B adenovirus prototype strains (types 3, 7 and 11) and adenovirus isolates (types 3 and 7), whereas it did not amplify DNA from subgenus A (type 31), C (types 1, 2, 5 and 6), D (types 8, 19 and 37), E (type 4) and adenovirus isolates (types 1, 2, 5 and 6). These results suggest that subgenus B adenoviruses (types 3, 7 and 11) are detectable selectively by means of PCR with primer pairs developed in this study. Amplified fragments from adenovirus types 3, 7 and 11 could be differentiated with restriction endonuclease analysis with Rsa I.     

X-ray electron spectroscopic investigation of the structure of double lead silicate glasses

The method of x-ray electron spectroscopy is used to investigate lead silicatexPbO(1 -x) · SiO₂ (x - 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.55, 0.667) glasses. The concentration dependences of the spectra of inner Pb4f, Si2p, and Ols levels led to the conclusion that for low contents of PbO, lead is present in the glass in the form of modifying ions, whereas in high concentrations, it plays the role of glass former. Restructuring in the glass occurs for about 50% molar concentration of PbO. The Pb - O bond in the glass is more ionic than in PbO. With an increase in the PbO content in the glass, the Pb - O bond becomes closer to that of lead monoxide, i.e., is more covalent.     

Comment and discussion on digital processing of PD pulses

Some of the more salient aspects of the digital processing technology of PD signals are examined. Most of the efforts in this field are concentrated on the application of digital analyzers for pulse height analysis, pattern recognition and identification of the physical phenomena. It is demonstrated that errors in the signal processing unit can lead to dominant mistakes in the interpretation of the test results     

Modeling of Diffusion in Capillary Porous Materials During the Drying Process

This paper presents a model of heterogenous diffusion in capillary porous materials during the process of drying. The governing heat and mass transfer equations have been established using the liquid as well as vapor flow. Two models have been presented. Model 1 does not consider the heat conduction while the model 2 has been established by considering the conduction. The developed models and the numerical solutions of the resulting differential equations can take into account the moisture and temperature dependent thermophysical properties of the product. All equations have been established in spherical coordinates but the programme written for the purpose of calculations can be used for other geometries also. Numerical calculations have been performed for gas concrete and tiles using model 1, while model 2 has been used for gas concrete only because of the lack of data for thermophysical properties of the tile. For gas concrete it was seen that conduction has only marginal effect on the drying process and the numerical predictions of the drying process were reasonably accurate.     

Low-temperature phase transformation in Li-10 at. % Mg

It is not known whether impaired hematopoiesis noted during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection results from infection of stem/progenitor cells or of cells of the bone marrow microenvironment. Normal adherent primary stromal layers were exposed to HIV to determine which of this mixture of endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages are susceptible to the virus. Viral p24 in supernatants was noted with monocytotropic HIV-1Ada, HIV-1Ba-L, and HIV-1JR-FL but not with lymphotropic HIV-1LAI nor HIV-1MN strain, and only stromal macrophages expressed the viral antigens. Coculture of the layers with PHA-activated normal lymphocytes failed to rescue lymphotropic virus. No p24 was produced when macrophage-depleted stromal cells were exposed to either HIV-1Ba-L or HIV-1LAI; proviral DNA was then amplified by PCR in cells exposed to either virus, though coculture with lymphocytes rescued only HIV-1Ba-L. Altogether, these data indicate that macrophages are the major targets of HIV in cultured stromal layers. As virus replication in macrophages did not affect the profile of major cytokines involved in regulating hematopoiesis, HIV infection could alter hematopoiesis by other as yet unspecified mechanisms.     

Increasing the interference immunity of broadband systems for measuring and transmitting information by utilizing nonlinear signal processing methods

A method is considered for increasing the immunity from interference of broadband systems for measuring and transmitting information. It is based on utilizing nonlinear methods to process spread-spectrum signals. The possibility is investigated of using a quasioptimal receiving device which can be implemented in practice. It is shown that the proposed method makes it possible to solve the rejection problem at the physical level. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 11, pp. 13–15, November, 1996.