Adaptogenic effects of dihydroquercetin-chitosan composition during modeling of acute hypoxia.

The course of preventive oral treatment with a dihydroquercetin-chitosan composition produced a strong antihypoxic effect under conditions of experimental hypobaric hypoxia (arbitrary altitude 12,000 m). The lactate/pyruvate ratio in composition-receiving rats was much lower than in hypoxic animals (by 83%), but higher than in intact specimens (by 29%). The composition of chitosan and dihydroquercetin also possessed a strong antioxidant activity.

Ejection of nanoclusters from gold nanoislet layers by 38 keV Au ions in the elastic stopping mode.

Total absolute yields of the ejected gold were obtained regardless of the type of the particles are--atoms, clusters, nanoclusters,--as well as absolute yields of gold nanoclusters, from nanoislet gold targets under bombardment by monoatomic gold ions at 45 degrees to the target surface with the energy 38 keV, i.e., in the "purely" elastic stopping mode -6 keV/nm up to the fluence of 4 x 10(12) cm2. Three targets had gold nanoislets on the substrate surface: 2-12 nm; -18 nm; -35 nm, the most probable sizes being 7.1; 9.4; 17.5 nm respectively. The part of the surface area covered with gold was known. Total transfer of gold was determined by means of the neutron-activation analysis and decreased from 450 to 20 at/ion. The number of the ejected gold nanoclusters was determined using TEM and decreased from approximately 0.06 to < 0.01 per one 38 keV Au ion with the increase of the most probable sizes of the nanoislets on the target from 7.1 to 17.5 nm. The yields appeared to be surprisingly high, which is of scientific and practical importance. Tentative estimations were made using molecular dynamics simulations.

[The effect of the parameters of biolistic transformation of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) on the level of transient expression of GFP reporter gene].

The effect of the parameters of biolistic transformation (rupture disk pressure of helium, vacuum pressure, stopping screen to target tissue distance, material (gold or tungsten) and size of particles, and duration of explant culturing before bombardment) on the level of transient expression of GFP reporter gene was studied in barley embryos. The highest transient expression was observed after explant preincubation for 12-14 days and bombardment with 1 microm gold particles at the helium pressure of 61.24-74.85 atm, vacuum pressure of 0.064 atm, and distance to target of 9 cm.

[The transport of monovalent ions and calcium in the erythrocytes of patients with bronchial asthma]. / Transport odnovalentnykh ionov i kal'tsiia v éritrotsitakh bol'nykh bronkhial'noi astmoi.

The intracellular levels of sodium, potassium, and free calcium, as well as red blood cell transport of 86Rb (a radioactive potassium analogue) and 45Ca were measured in patients with bronchial asthma (BA). The intracellular content of sodium was 10-20% higher in patients with BA, though the differences in the present sample (7 controls and 18 BA patients) failed to be significant (p less than 0.05). The differences were most pronounced in infection-dependent BA and not eliminated during glucocorticoid hormone therapy. The activity of the Na+, K+ pump, as assessed by the values of an ouabain-inhibited component of 86Rb entry, was increased by 10-20% (p less than 0.05) in BA patients and of Na+, K+ cotransport (an ouabain-sensitive furosemide-inhibited component of 86Rb entry), by 35-45% (p less than 0.25). The passive red blood cell membrane permeability in BA patients (an ouabain + furosemide-insensitive component of 86Rb) remained unchanged. The quin-2-loaded red blood cell entry rate for 45Ca was decreased by 5-10%. In the absence of a Ca(2+)-ATPase inhibitor (0.5 mM orthovanadate), these differences were greatly significant (p less than 0.005). In addition, the patients with BA showed a 10% reduction in free calcium levels; however, the differences were insignificant (p less than 0.25), which might be caused by Ca-pump activation. As in the experiments with Na+ level measurements, the greatest differences in red blood cell Ca(2+)-balance control were recorded in patients with infection-dependent BA and independent of glucocorticoid hormone therapy. Possible mechanisms of involvement of the changes found in monovalent cation and Ca2+ transport in the pathogenesis of BA were also discussed.