[A marker of early stages of diabetic retinopathy]. / Marker rannikh stadii diabeticheskoi retinopatii.

A comparative estimate of the hormonal status and coagulatory activity was carried out in patients with diabetes mellitus at the functional and subclinical stages of diabetic retinopathy and in those without signs of diabetic retinopathy. In all patients, the blood level of hormones was elevated, while in patients with functional and subclinical stages of diabetic retinopathy, the changes in hormonal status were accompanied by increased local and systemic potentials, disturbed microcirculation, and decreased functional activity of the retina outer layers. The increased hormone level affected the hemostatic potentials and induced their elevation at a certain stage. The reliably increased local hemostatic potential was one of the first signs of pathological action of the increased hormone level, while the increase of systemic hemostatic potential was unreliable. The combination of elevated blood level of hormones and coagulatory activity of the tear fluid is a marker fore revealing the group of risk for development of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus.

[Experimental development of aseptic adhesive films]. / Eksperimental'naia razrabotka asepticheskikh lipkikh plenok.

Antibacterial activity of surgical adhesive films containing various antiseptics in the adhesive layer was studied experimentally. It was shown that the adhesive films containing 0.1 to 1% (in terms of active iodine) of iodopyrone had a stable bactericidal action and were effective against to the main causative agents of surgical infections, i. e. Staphylococcus spp., E. coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others.

[Protective artificial polysaccharide-protein antigens made from the O-specific polysaccharides of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria of the immunotypes 1, 2 and 7]. / Protektivnye iskusstvennye polisakharid-belkovye antigeny iz O-spetsificheskikh polisakharidov bakterii Pseudomonas aeruginosa immunotipov 1, 2 i 7.

O-specific polysaccharide (PS) obtained from P. aeruginosa lipopolysaccharide (LPS), immunotypes 1, 2 and 7, were condensed in the presence of aminated bovine serum albumin (amBSA). As a result, artificial polysaccharide-protein antigens were synthesized and their protective properties were studied by the subcutaneous immunization of mice with their subsequent challenge with the cells of the homologous strain injected intraperitoneally in a dose of 3-5 LD50. The most effective immunization was achieved by using homologous LPS, taken in a subimmunogenic dose, as adjuvant. Heterologous LPS, taken in the same doses, showed no stimulating effect. The protective properties of the conjugates were also found to depend on the length of the PS chain. The conjugate of amBSA and PS of immunotype 2 with a molecular weight of about 10 KD was found to possess the highest protective potency. The decrease of the molecular weight of PS of immunotype 7 from 50 KD to 10 KD by selective acid hydrolysis led to obtaining the conjugate with high protective potency. The possibility of using the structurally linked pair antigen-adjuvant for the development of artificial vaccines is discussed.

[Development of a polyvalent erythrocyte diagnostic agent based on the antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa slime]. / Razrabotka polivalentnogo éritrotsitarnogo diagnostikuma na osnove antigenov slizi Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The study has revealed the fundamental possibility, and established the concrete conditions of obtaining standard erythrocyte polyvalent diagnosticum for the detection of antibodies to the antigens of P. aeruginosa, belonging to 5 types most frequently occurring in clinical practice, in the passive hemagglutination test. The data on high type- and species-specificity of the new erythrocyte diagnosticum have been obtained, which indicates that slime antigens have been correctly chosen as sensitins and confirms the necessity of using the polyvalent preparation. Preliminary data on the clinical trial of the erythrocyte diagnosticum show the expediency of its use for the control of specific immune response in donors in the process of obtaining anti-P. aeruginosa hyperimmune plasma, as well as the possibility of using this method for the serological diagnosis of P. aeruginosa infection. The diagnostic preparation has been found to retain its activity for 10 months (the term of observation).

[Hospital infection due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in resuscitation departments]. / Gospital'naia infektsiia, obuslovlennaia sinegnoinoi palochkoi, v otdeleniiakh reanimatsii.

The bacteriological survey of resuscitation and intensive care units has revealed the presence of P. aeruginosa strains in the microflora in 69.4% of cases. The circulation of 1-2 P. aeruginosa strains, identical in their serovar and pyocin type, is indicative of the presence of hospital infection and, therefore, the endogenous character of the contamination of patients. P. aeruginosa hospital strains are the main causative agents of infectious complications in the patients treated in resuscitation units.

[Possible use of plasmids for studying the effect of space flight factors on biological objects]. / Vozmozhnost' ispol'zovaniia plazmid dlia izucheniia vliianiia faktorov kosmicheskogo poleta na biologicheskie ob"ekty.

The action of space flight factors on the phenotype and certain molecular and genetic parameters of E. coli plasmids (R, Col, Hly and others) was studied. The E. coli strains were grown and multiplied in the "Cytos" apparatus during the orbital flight of "Salyut-7" in June 1982. A synchronous experiment in the "Cytos" apparatus was performed under the Earth conditions. It was shown that space flight factors had no effect on the properties of the test strains and plasmids (antibiotic resistance, capacity for production of colicin, hemolysin, restriction endonuclease, conjugative capacity, frequency of conjugative transfers and molecular weight).

[Development of a latex agglutination method for the diagnosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection]. / Razrabotka metoda lateks-aggliutinatsii dlia diagnostiki sinegnoinoi infektsii.

The present investigation has revealed the possibility of using different kinds of monodispersed polystyrene latex, produced in the USSR, as carriers in the process of the preparation of antibody diagnosticums intended for the detection of water-soluble slime antigens of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains belonging to the most widespread serological types. The optimum conditions for the preparation of latex reagents and for making the latex-agglutination test have been experimentally established. The new diagnosticums+ have been shown to be highly species- and type-specific, which permits making judgment on the presence or absence of slime antigens of P. aeruginosa strains belonging to definite serovars in the clinical material under study. The preparations thus obtained have been found to retain their sensitivity for 16 months (the term of observation).

[Safety and sensitizing properties of a polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine and its effect on hematological indices]. / Bezvrednost', sensibiliziruiushchie svoistva polivalentnoi korpuskuliarnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny i ee vliianie na gematologicheskie pokazateli.

The acute and chronic toxicity, influence on hematological characteristics and sensitizing properties of P. aeruginosa polyvalent corpuscular vaccine have been studied in experiments on 3 species of animals. The acute experiment has shown that the LD50 of the preparation contains not less than 7800 million cells, which is almost 160 times higher than the recommended immunizing dose (500 million cells). The safety of the preparation is confirmed by the data obtained in the histological and histochemical investigations of the tissues and organs of animals subjected to multiple immunizations with the vaccine. These investigations have revealed no pathological changes in the animals. During the study of the chronic toxicity of the preparation the hematological characteristics of the animals have been found to remain within normal limits. The vaccine has been shown to possess low sensitizing activity, which is manifested by the absence of severe reactions to allergic skin tests with different bacterial allergens (specific allergens obtained from P. aeruginosa and allergens obtained from other bacterial species), made on completion of the course of immunization with the vaccine.

[Biological characteristics of bacteria during the Cytos-2 Soviet-French space experiment]. / Izuchenie nekotorykh biologicheskikh kharakteristik bakterii v usloviiakh provedeniia sovetsko-frantsuzskogo kosmicheskogo éksperimenta "Tsitos-2".

The experiment "Cytos-2" made it possible to reveal a certain increase in the antibiotic resistance of bacteria constituting the opportunistic pathogenic microflora of man (Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) to oxacillin, erythromycin, colistin and kanamycin under the conditions of space flight. The electron-microscopic study of the postflight staphylococcal cultures revealed the thickening of the cell membrane in staphylococci. The conditions of the experiment did not affect the stability of the biochemical characteristics of P. aeruginosa cultures, as well as their virulence, immunogenic properties and type specificity.

[Production and study of the properties of a polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine. IV. The effect of immunization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine on the immune status of volunteer donors]. / Poluchenie i izuchenie svoistv polivalentnoi korpuskuliarnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny. Soobshchenie IV. Vliianie immunizatsii sinegnoinoi vaktsinoi na immunnyi status donorov-dobrovol'tsev.

The influence of immunization with P. aeruginosa vaccine on the immune status of volunteer donors has been studied. Immunization with P. aeruginosa vaccine in doses of 0.5-0.5-1.0 ml at intervals of 7 days has been found to lead to the 13-fold increase of the titer of specific antibodies, lasting for 3-4 months, which ensures the possibility of obtaining anti-P. aeruginosa hyperimmune plasma with standard titers. The injection of P. aeruginosa vaccine to donors leads to the activation of humoral immunity simultaneously with the increase of the absolute and relative number of rosette-forming B-lymphocytes without essential changes in the amount of rosette-forming T-lymphocytes.

[Isolation and study of the properties of a polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine. An evaluation of the biological properties of a polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine]. / Poluchenie i izuchenie svoistv polivalentnoi korpuskuliarnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny. Otsenka biologicheskikh svoistv polivalentnoi korpuskuliarnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny.

P. aeruginosa killed polyvalent corpuscular vaccine, tested in a trial on 42 volunteer donors, is safe, low reactogenic and possesses pronounced immunogenicity, as the injection of the vaccine induced a rise in the titer of antibodies to P. aeruginosa up to 1:1280 in 95% of the immunized donors. To obtain specific antibodies in the blood plasma of the donors in an amount sufficient for the protective activity of the plasma becoming manifest, it is expedient to use the vaccination schedule providing for subcutaneous injections of 0.5, 0.5 and 1.0 ml at intervals of 7 days. Intense immunity thus induced in the donors lasts for 3-4 months. The hyperimmune plasma obtained from the donors has an antibody titer of at least 1:320 and shows a 90-100% protective effect in mice infected intraperitoneally with P. aeruginosa. The preliminary results of the clinical trial of anti-P. aeruginosa plasma have demonstrated its efficiency as a part of the complex treatment of patients with purulent septic complications of P. aeruginosa etiology.

[Protective action of a corpuscular polyvalent Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine against representative enterobacteria]. / Izuchenie protektivnogo deistviia korpuskuliarnoi polivalentnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny v otnoshenii nekotorykh predstavitelei énterobakterii.

Animal experiments have demonstrated that P. aeruginosa vaccine is capable of protecting animals from experimental P. aeruginosa infection, as well as rendering a protective effect with respect to some representatives of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The comparative study of the antigenic spectra of the vaccine strains and some representatives of Enterobacteriaceae (Enterobacter, Serratia, Citrobacter and Klebsiella) has revealed no direct relationship between the degree of this protective effect and the presence of common antigenic determinants in them.

[Effectiveness of a polyvalent corpuscular Pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine, antibiotics and their combinations in experimental chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection]. / Effektivnost' polivalentnoi korpuskuliarnoi sinegnoinoi vaktsiny, nekotorykh antibiotikov i ikh kombinatsii pri éksperimental'noi khronicheskoi sinegnoinoi infektsii.

The data on the development of the experimental model of P. aeruginosa chronic infection in mice, produced by their intraperitoneal inoculation with the infective agent, and on the study of the properties of this model are presented. The model has been used in the experimental study of the preventive action of P. aeruginosa polyvalent corpuscular vaccine. The comparative study, carried out with the use of the proposed model, has been made with a view to evaluating the effectiveness of different methods for the treatment of P. aeruginosa chronic septic infection by means of antibiotics (polymixin B and tobramycin), P. aeruginosa polyvalent corpuscular vaccine and their combination. The combined use of this vaccine with antibiotics (polymixin B or tobramycin) has proved to give the most pronounced curative effect with respect to P. aeruginosa chronic infection.

Preliminary results of Cytos 2 experiment.

Cytos 2 experiment, carried out during the French-Soviet manned flight (July 1982), has studied the antibiotics sensitivity of bacteria cultivated in vitro during the orbital flight. The results show an increase of the antibiotics resistance and a larger thickness of the cellular envelope for the inflight cells. The increase of antibiotics resistance can be related to a stimulating effect of space on the cell growth rate or to changes of the cellular envelope structure.

[Antigenic complexes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa slime: their isolation and biological properties]. / Antigennye kompleksy slizi Pseudomonas aeruginosa: vydelenie i nekotorye biologicheskie svoistva.

The possibility of using antigenic complexes contained in the extracellular slime of P. aeruginosa clinical strains belonging to different serological groups as the components of a chemical vaccine has been revealed. Animal experiments have demonstrated a high immunogenicity of these preparations, as well as their low toxicity. The use of slime antigens stimulates the production of specific antibodies exerting a protective action against infection with homologous P. aeruginosa strains.

[Use of an immunoenzyme method for detecting specific antibodies to Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with acute and chronic lung diseases]. / Ispol'zovanie immunofermentnogo metoda dlia vyiavleniia spetsificheskikh antitel k Pseudomonas aeruginosa u bol'nykh s ostrymi i khronicheskimi zabolevaniiami legkikh.

ELISA in which P. aeruginosa slime preparations are used as antigens permits the detection of antibodies to this microorganism in the blood sera of patients with acute and chronic pulmonary diseases induced by P. aeruginosa. This assay makes it possible to find out the etiology of infection even before the results of bacteriological investigation are obtained.

[Role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the etiology of postoperative suppurative inflammatory complications in patients with chronic suppurative lung diseases]. / Rol' sinegnoinoi palochki v étiologii posleoperatsionno-vospalitel'nykh oslozhnenii u bol'nykh s khronicheskimi nagnoitel'nymi zabolevaniiami legkikh.

The study of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients and various objects of the environment in one of the clinics of Yerevan, carried out by the methods of serotyping, pyocin typing and phage typing, has allowed the authors to establish the circulation of hospital strains and their role in the appearance of post-operative suppurative inflammatory complications in patients with chronic suppurative diseases. The study has also allowed them to reveal the sources of infection which is spread by patients serving either as its reservoirs or as intermediate hosts.