[Cerebral mechanisms of behavior and higher mental functions]

The paper is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Department of Higher Nervous Activity and Psychophysiology at St.-Petersburg State University.

[A. A. Ukhtomskiĭ and I. P. Pavlov: a controversy or a dialogue?]

Pavlov's concept of conditioned reflexes and Ukhtomskii theory of dominanta fall within the biological line in physiology. They unravel the integral adaptive and active nature of the organism behavior in the environment. It is impossible to develop modern concepts about the determinants of goal-directed behavior of animals and voluntary activity of humans without in-depth study of the achievements of these Russian physiological schools which not only formed the methodological basis for the current studies but also directed the way for their further development.

[Depakine syrup in the treatment of therapy-resistant epilepsy]

Depakin syrup was given for several weeks in initial dose 300 mg/day with graded increase of the dose to 1200 mg/day to 11 patients aged 15-39 suffering from epilepsy and residual-organic affection of CNS with epileptic syndrome. A complete or partial discontinuation of the fits was achieved in 82% of the patients, primarily in those with partial and primary-generalized fits, partial fits with secondary generalization. It is concluded that depakin syrup treatment is justified in management of epilepsy, especially in the treatment-resistant cases.

[Use of bronchovaxom in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive bronchitis and bronchial asthma]

Polyvalent vaccine bronchovaxom (BV) was studied for efficacy against chronic obstructive bronchitis and bronchial asthma exacerbation. Good results were reported: reduction of disability duration, number of recurrences, cough intensity, discharged sputum. Laboratory tests discovered that BV brought about IgE decrease, IgA, T3, T4/T8 increase in bronchoalveolar lavage.

Microbiological 1,2-dehydration of microcrystalline epihydrocortisone and its 21-acetate

A method is described for obtaining epiprednisolone and its 21-acetate by means of microbiological 1,2-dehydration by a culture of Mycobacterium globiforme 193. The substrate, epihydrocortisone or its 21-acetate, is added in the form of a microcrystalline suspension at a concentration of 25-100 g/liter medium.

[Proliferative activity of Shvetz tumor following single and repeated irradiation]

Autoradiographic study of an experimentally-induced tumour following local irradiation in a dose of 600 rad showed no retardation of the cell cycle 6 to 12 hours after the irradiation. Marked reduction of the mitotic index (MI) and of the labeled nuclei index (LNI) was noted to the 96th hour after the irradiation. In repeated irradiation in a dose of 1200 rad at an interval of 18 hours there was revealed a marked reduction of the MI and of the LNI as a result of the block of the passage of cells from the G1-period into S. However, restoration of the cell proliferation uas noted by the 24th-48th hours. A high MI revealed at all the periods of investigation after repeated tumour irradiation at an interval of 24 hours was possibly caused by an increase in the time of mitosis proper, this also being confirmed by a significant accumulation of the number of late mitotic phases.