IgGs-Abzymes from the Sera of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis Recognize and Hydrolyze miRNAs

Autoantibodies-abzymes hydrolyzing DNA, myelin basic protein, and oligosaccharides have been revealed in the sera of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In MS, specific microRNAs are found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, which are characterized by increased expression. Autoantibodies, specifically hydrolyzing four different miRNAs, were first detected in the blood of schizophrenia patients. Here, we present the first evidence that 23 IgG antibodies of MS patients effectively recognize and hydrolyze four neuroregulatory miRNAs (miR-137, miR-9-5p, miR-219-2-3p, and miR-219-5p) and four immunoregulatory miRNAs (miR-21-3p, miR-146a-3p, miR-155-5p, and miR-326). Several known criteria were checked to show that the recognition and hydrolysis of miRNAs is an intrinsic property of MS IgGs. The hydrolysis of all miRNAs is mostly site-specific. The major and moderate sites of the hydrolysis of each miRNA for most of the IgG preparations coincided; however, some of them showed other specific sites of splitting. Several individual IgGs hydrolyzed some miRNAs almost nonspecifically at nearly all internucleoside bonds or demonstrated a combination of site-specific and nonspecific splitting. Maximum average relative activity (RA) was observed in the hydrolysis of miR-155-5p for IgGs of patients of two types of MS—clinically isolated syndrome and relapsing-remitting MS—but was also high for patients with primary progressive and secondary progressive MS. Differences between RAs of IgGs of four groups of MS patients and healthy donors were statistically significant (p < 0.015). There was a tendency of decreasing efficiency of hydrolysis of all eight miRNAs during remission compared with the exacerbation of the disease.     

Remote sensing technique for near-surface wind by optical images of rough water surface

The study of a new remote-sensing technique for the investigation of near-surface wind fields is an important oceanographic problem. This article is focused on a new method of recording wind fields by the analysis of optical images of sea surface and range–time–intensity images (RTI images) of the sea surface. An RTI image constructed from optical profiles of the sea surface is an optical analogue of a side-looking radar image of the sea surface but has a higher spatial resolution and some possibility for remote sensing of sea roughness. It is possible to form RTI images with a range from some tens of metres to tens of kilometres, depending on the spatial resolution needed. A set of original optical devices for recoding RTI images using linear arrays of CCD-photodiodes was created. An analytical model of sea surface radiance for visible light was developed taking into account the polarization of light and shadowing of surface waves for grazing view geometry. The principle of remote sensing of near-surface winds by its manifestations on a waved surface under grazing angles based on a comparison of measured and modelled surface radiance is discussed. Investigations of near-surface wind field features in internal reservoirs and various regions of the seas during the last few years have been conducted by optical systems. The structure of near-surface wind fields, eddies, wind fronts, and katabatic wind flows for ranges from hundreds of metres to some tens of kilometres was recorded and analysed. Derived data of optical monitoring of water surfaces may serve for future investigations of near-surface wind features.     

Analysis of the fracture surface of steel 10 in the initial state and after long-term operation

Conclusion In the process of heat treatment at the austenitization temperature, on the grain boundaries of steel 10 segregations of manganese and of substitutional impurities form, the adsorbed layers being about 200 nm thick. Long-term aging (up to 250,000 h) at 245°C does not lead to a noticeable change in the concentration of these layers.Leningrad Technological Institute of the Refrigeration Industry. Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 10, pp. 54–56, October, 1987.     

Low-energy ion beam treatment of α-Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>(0001) and improvement of photoluminescence of ZnO thin films

A low energy N₂ ^? ion beam impinged on a α-Al₂O₃(0001) single crystal surface in the range of fluence 5×10¹⁵/cm²?1×10¹⁸/cm² at room temperature. After ion bombardment, chemical bonding on the modified sapphire surface was investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Below a fluence of 1×10¹⁵/cm², only a non-bonded N1s peak at the binding energy 398.7 eV was found, but further irradiation up to 2×10¹⁷/cm² induced Al?O?N bonding at around 403 eV. The occurrence of Al?N bonding was identified at ion fluence higher than 5×10¹⁷/cm² at 396.6 eV. II–VI ZnO thin films were grown on an untreated/ion-beam-induced sapphire surface by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for the investigation of the modified-substrate effect on photoluminescence. The ZnO films grown on modified sapphire containing Al?O?N bonding only, and both Al?O?N and Al?N bonding showed a significant reduction of the peak related to deep-level defects in photoluminescence. These results are explained in terms of the formation of Al?N?O and Al?O?N layers and relaxation of the interfacial strain between Al₂O₃ and ZnO.     

Kinetics of redox processes in manganese oxides

The redox processes in ceramic and powder samples of α-Mn₂O₃ (kurnakite) and β-Mn₃O₄ (hausmannite) have been studied in the temperature range 20–1000°C. The results demonstrate that the conversion of α-Mn₂O₃ to β-Mn₃O₄ in the binary system Mn-O is essentially irreversible, even if there are nucleation centers in the form of the higher oxide α-Mn₂O₃ during the oxidation of hausmannite. It is shown that the high reactivity of hausmannite ground in a WC mill is not due to a mechanochemical effect. Grinding-induced contamination has a significant effect on the oxidation behavior of the system: the impurities incorporated into the sample during grinding in a mill favor complete (WC contamination) or partial (Fe contamination) conversion of hausmannite to kurnakite. Hausmannite contaminated with tungsten carbide oxidizes by a catalytic mechanism. In the case of Fe impurities, oxidation follows a solid-state mechanism, through the formation of restricted Fe_xMn_2?x O₃ solid solutions.     

Effect of lubricants and additives on the tribological performance of solids. Part 2. Active friction control

The paper presents an analysis of the state of the art in the study of the effect of magnetic and electric fields on lubrication and active control over the friction of solids. The lubricity of magnetic and electrorheological fluids is shown to depend greatly on the properties and component composition of fillers and to be related to the provision of the required rheological characteristics (varying over a wide range), which affect the lubricating film thickness. It is noted that the application of structural-sensitive LC systems and materials in joints is a promising method for the active and effective control over their friction.