[The role of changes in the structure of water and water-based systems in the mechanism of combined action of the magnetic field and natural therapeutic factors]

The application of the dielectrometric technology in the combination with the resonance method and thermometry has been shown to provide an insight into a variety of factors including the influence of the magnetic field of the permanent magnets on the structure of water and water-containing systems. It was found that the magnetization of both distilled water and «Karachinskaya» mineral water increase their structuredness. Magnetization changes the biological properties of therapeutic peloids by virtue of a change in the structure of water and, accordingly, the structuring of the water fraction of therapeutic muds. The analysis of the results of experimental and theoretical studies gives evidence that variations in the structure of water and water-based systems play an important role in enhancing the effectiveness of the combined treatment with the use of the magnetic field and the natural therapeutic factors. The positive and adaptogenic effects of such treatment appears to be due to such changes in the structure of water and water-containing systems which facilitate communication between the processes in the resonant mode but maintain stability of the cellular structures by limiting the mobility of water dipoles under the influence of non-resonant frequencies.

[Group enterovirus infection due to coxsackievirus A16 in Northwestern Russia]

AIM

Study features of epidemic process and etiology of oral cavity and limb enterovirus exanthema group diseases in a number of territories of Northwestern Russia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Isolation and identification of non-poliomyelitis enteroviruses from material of patients was carried out according to WHO recommendations. Phenotyping and phylogenetic analysis of enteroviruses was carried out.

RESULTS

In 3 territories of Northwestern Russia oral cavity and limb enterovirus group diseases were registered. Children aged less than 14 years, predominately aged less than 3 years, were shown to be involved in the epidemic process. Coxsackie A16 enteroviruses from 27 samples of patients were isolated in cell cultures and identified by using specific sera. Coxsackie A16 enteroviruses from 16 samples were identified by using partial sequencing of VP1 genome area. Phylogenetic analysis has shown that the identified Coxsackie A16 viruses distributed among 2 phylogenetic groups.

CONCLUSION

Coxsackie A16 enteroviruses that had never been detected in the region previously were established to be the etiologic factor of oral cavity and limb enterovirus exanthema group disease in the 3 territories of Northwestern Russia. The data obtained give evidence on the necessity of epidemiologic and virological control for enterovirus infection with the aim of obtaining novel information on the circulation of non-poliomyelitis enteroviruses in the population and the establishment of development patterns for epidemic process of this infection.

Biological availability of (238)U, (234)U and (226)Ra for wild berries and meadow grasses in natural ecosystems of Belarus

This work is devoted to investigation of behavior of (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra by determining the soil to plant transfer under different natural conditions such as forest or swamped areas and meadow lands with different soil types. The paper summarizes the data on investigation of uranium and radium uptake by wild berries and natural meadow grasses in the typical conditions of Belarus. Parameters characterizing the biological availability of (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra for bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), lingonberry (Vaccinium viti-idaea), blueberry (Vaccinium iliginosum) and cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus palustris) as well as for widely occurring mixed meadow vegetation, which belongs to the sedge-grass or grass-sedge associations and forbs, have been established. In the sites under investigation, the deposition levels of (238+239+240)Pu were less than 0.37 kBq m(-2) and (137)Cs deposition ranged between less than 0.37 and 37 kBq m(-2). It was found that activity concentrations of radionuclides in berries varied in the ranges of 0.037-0.11 for (234)U, 0.036-0.10 for (238)U and 0.11-0.43 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, but in the mixed meadow grasses they were 0.32-4.4, 0.24-3.9 and 0.14-6.9 Bq kg(-1) accordingly. The (234)U/(238)U activity ratios were 1.02 ± 0.01 for wild berries, 1.20 ± 0.09 for underground meadow grasses and 1.02 ± 0.02 for proper soils. The concentration ratios (CRs, dry weight basis) of (234)U and (238)U for mixed meadow grasses were 0.036-0.42 and 0.041-0.46 respectively. The correspondent geometric means (GM) were 0.13 and 0.15 with geometric standard deviations (GSD) of 2.4. The CRs of (226)Ra for meadow grasses were 0.031-1.0 with GM 0.20 and GSD 2.6. The CRs of (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra for wild berries ranged within 0.0018-0.008 (GM is 0.0034, GSD is 1.8), 0.0018-0.008 (GM is 0.0035, GSD is 1.8) and 0.005-0.033 (GM is 0.016, GSD is 2.1) accordingly. The highest CR values of uranium for mixed meadow grasses were found in the sites with high-moor peat and sandy soils. The lowest CRs for grasses were common to loamy and peat-gley soils. The CRs for the same berry species in the sites with sandy soils exceeded the appropriate CR values in the sites with loamy soils by factors of 3-4 for uranium and 4-6 for radium. The data obtained on radionuclide accumulation by plants were used to estimate the average annual effective doses to the population from radionuclide intake through the "soil - wild berries - man" and "soil - meadow vegetation - animal - cow milk-beef - man" trophic chains. The effective doses resulting from (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra intake with the wild berries for adults were estimated as 0.02-0.09 μSv y(-1) (GM is 0.044, GSD is 1.6). It was established that only in the territory with (137)Cs deposition of ∼1.0-1.5 kBq m(-2) the doses resulting from (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra intake with wild berries can be comparable with corresponding doses from (137)Cs. In the territories with higher levels of (137)Cs deposition the doses resulting from its intake with the wild berries are usually over the summarized doses of uranium and (226)Ra. The total doses for adults resulting from uranium and (226)Ra intake with cow milk and beef ranged between 0.2 and 7.2 μSv y(-1) (GM is 2.0; GSD is 2.9) and the doses from (226)Ra usually exceeded the appropriate doses of uranium with a factor of 3-37. In the sites with (137)Cs deposition less than 3.7 kBq m(-2), the doses from (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra intake with cow milk and beef were assessing as 1.1-7.2 μSv y(-1) and they were usually higher than the doses from (137)Cs, which were assessing as 0.4-3.2 μSv y(-1) for its deposition 2 kBq m(-2). In the territory with (137)Cs deposition 10-20 kBq m(-2) and higher, the internal doses resulting from (137)Cs intake with cow milk and beef (10-50 μSv y(-1)) exceeded the proper doses from natural (234)U, (238)U and (226)Ra.

[Experimental evaluation of actoprotective activity of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds derivatives in extreme conditions]

In experiments on nonlinear male mice the ability of new derivatives of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds to increase the physical working capacity in conditions of hyperthermia, hypothermia and acute normobaric hypoxia and hypercapnia has been investigated. It is established, that pyridine derivative IBHF-11 has more expressed positive action in the said conditions. It provided increase of the working capacity of animals at all kinds of extreme influence, and the value of positive action was comparable, and in conditions of acute normobaric hypoxia and hypercapnia exceeded those at the reference products bemitil and bromantan.

Cortical control of Hering-Breuer reflexes in anesthetized rats

It had been hypothesized that the regions of prefrontal cortex which are involved in respiratory control can modulate Hering-Breuer reflexes evoked by vagal input from pulmonary stretch receptors. In the present study, experiments were performed on urethane anesthetized spontaneously breathing Wistar rats. The expiratory-promoting reflex was evaluated from changes in expiratory time immediately after airway occlusion at the end of inspiration. The inspiratory-inhibitory reflex was estimated from changes in inspiratory time provoked by airway occlusion at the end of expiration. The results indicate that electrical microstimulation of the responsive sites within the insular cortex significantly weakened both expiratory-promoting and inspiratory-inhibitory reflex. Activation of the infralimbic cortex depressed expiratory-promoting reflex, but inspiratory-inhibitory reflex was enhanced. These results suggest that stimulation of the prefrontal cortex influences vagally mediated control of the respiratory phases timing and several regions of the prefrontal cortex modulate distinct sets of neurons in the network controlling inspiratory and expiratory phases of a breath cycle.

[Effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid on the Hering-Breuer inspiratory-inhibitory reflex]

In acute experiments on rats, effects of cerebro-ventricular microinjections of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the ventilation and Hering-Breuer inspiratory-inhibitory reflex were studied. Alteration of this reflex was estimated by changing in amplitude and duration of the esophageal pressure inspiratory oscillations after tracheal occlusion which was made at the moment of the end of expiration. It has been found that injection of 20 microM of GABA into the lateral ventricle produced a decrease of ventilation in result of diminished respiratory rate and tidal volume and weakening of the inspiratory muscle contractions. The GABA injection significantly decreased the respiratory response to occlusion and therefore it seems that GABA receptors take part in the Hering-Breuer inspiratory-inhibitory reflex.

Prefrontal control of respiration

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that different parts of the prefrontal cortex could be involved in respiratory control. This hypothesis was tested by examining the changes in respiratory pattern produced by low intensity electrical stimulation of the insular and infralimbic cortex. The experiments were performed on the anaesthetised rats. It was found that the sites capable of inducing different kinds of respiratory responses were localized to the insular and infralimbic cortices. Microstimulation of the anterior insular cortex produced responses which manifested themselves in a decrease of inspiratory flow and tidal volume, but the respiratory time remained stable. Responsive sites within caudal insular and infralimbic cortex produced other alterations in breathing which included an increase of inspiratory flow, and decreases of tidal volume and respiratory time. These observations support the hypothesis proposed and localize distinct patterns of respiratory responses to different parts of the prefrontal cortex in the rat.

[Cardial fibrosis and the functional activity of leukocytes in patients with essential arterial hypertension]

The study revealed an increase in the serum levels of TGF-beta1 and the N-terminal peptide procollagen type III in patients with essential arterial hypertension (EAH), as well as an association between this increase and the duration of the disease, mean day arterial pressure profile, and left ventricular hypertrophy. An increased leukocyte functional activity is associated with disturbances in left ventricular diastolic function and an increase in TGF-beta1 serum concentration in EAH. The authors conclude that leukocytes participate in the development of myocardial hypertrophy and cardial fibrosis through the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and peptide growth factors within the process of their activation.

Soil-plant transfer of plutonium and americium in contaminated regions of Belarus after the Chernobyl catastrophe

Experimental data are presented for the soil to plant transfer of plutonium and americium into the main species of grass vegetation of Belarusian grasslands contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986. The content of radionuclides in pore soil solutions and the total reserve of biologically available forms of plutonium and americium in rooting layers of different soil varieties have been established. The distribution coefficients of (239,240)Pu and 241Am between the solid phase and pore waters of soils have been evaluated. The migration ability and biological availability of radionuclides in soils with different structures of the absorbing complex have been analyzed for various landscape conditions. The dependence of soil to plant transfer of plutonium and americium on the content and composition of organic matter, and other characteristics of the soil complex has been studied. On the basis of these data, predictions of the contamination levels of the main grass species of natural and agricultural ecosystems by 241Am are presented.

[Heat shock proteins 70 kD as a new marker of lesions to target organs in hypertension]

The presence and concentration of the inducible form of heat shock proteins (Hsp70) were determined in blood serum of patients with hypertension (HT), stage II, including 28 males with stage II HT, who did not receive any antihypertensive therapy, and 10 healthy subjects. A higher Hsp70 content was found in blood serum of in patients with stage II HT. Such Hsp70 concentration was related with ECG signs of left ventricular hypertrophy and with the rennin content in blood. The findings of endothelium-dependent vasodilation (EDVD) of the radial artery did not differ within the examined groups. Still EDVD was reliable lower in patients with atherosclerotic plagues in the common carotid arteries. A reduced EDVD in the radial artery was attributed to a higher EDVD content in blood serum, which did not depend on a prescription or on an arterial hypertension severity. The results are indicative of that a higher inducible Hsp70 concentration in blood serum could potentially be a marker of lesions to target organs in HT; equally it could be of a certain significance in the atherosclerotic pathogenesis.

Automatic annotation of genomic regulatory sequences by searching for composite clusters

A new method was developed for revealing of composite clusters of cis-elements in promoters of eukaryotic genes that are functionally related or coexpressed. A software system "ClusterScan" have been created that enables: (i) to train system on representative samples of promoters to reveal cis-elements that tend to cluster, (ii) to train system on a number of samples of functionally related promoters to identify functionally coupled transcription factors; (iii) to provide tools for searching of this clusters in genomic sequences to identify and functionally characterize regulatory regions in genome. A number of training samples of different functional and structural groups of promoters were analysed. Search for composite clusters in human chromosomes 21 and 22 reveals a number of interesting examples. Finally, a decision tree system was constructed to classify promoters of several functionally related gene groups. The decision tree system enables to identify new promoters and computationally predict their possible function.

Migration ability of radionuclides in soil-vegetation cover of Belarus after Chernobyl accident

This article illustrates the experimental experience achieved in the research of the self-restoration of radioactive-contaminated natural ecosystems. The main directions of studies were: the content and geochemical stability of "hot" particles in radioactive fallout from Chernobyl accident; the physicochemical forms (water-soluble, exchangeable, mobile and fixed) of Cs-137, Sr-90, Pu-239, 240 and Am-241 in the wide varieties of soils; the biological accessibility of radionuclides and their contents in soil pore solutions; and the dynamics and migration parameters of radionuclides vertical redistribution in different landscape conditions.

[Current aspects of the short-term prognosis of meningococcal infection morbidity for the sake of epidemiological surveillance]

The short-term prognosis of the epidemic situation requires the establishment of the system of constant surveillance, which takes into account the data on morbidity rates for several years, both total and in various age groups, the data on the morbidity level and its changes, induced by meningococci of the epidemic group, in the IV quarter of the year, the data on the level of carriership among the indicator groups of the population in this period, as well as the data on changes in antibody titers in the sera of donor blood samples taken in summer and in December.