[A case of favourable outcome of severe acute intoxication with an animal poison after a bite by the monocled cobra].

This paper reports a case of severe acute intoxication with an animal poison after a bite by the monocled cobra. Combined treatment including artificial lung ventilation, infusion-detoxication and desensitizing (hormonal) therapy, hemosorption, correction of metabolic disorders with cytoflavin, antibacterial therapy had positive effect on the patient's condition and ensured the favourable outcome ofpotentially lethal poisoning without the use ofa specific anti-snake venom serum.

[The use of remaxol in combined intensive therapy of acute mushroom poisoning].

A case of very severe mushroom poisoning is reported. Traditional hepatoprotective therapy with ademethionine, ornithine-aspartate, and essential phospholipids failed to ensure positive dynamics of the hepatic and general functional state. Hepatic insufficiency was complicated by cerebral oedema and swelling, bilateral pneumonia, and acute respiratory distress of mixed genesis. Combined therapy with remaxol and ornithine aspartate produced beneficial effect, resulted in the improvement of the patient's condition and favorable outcome of the life-threatening intoxication.

[Features of clinical way and treatment of old and senile patients with severe poisoning with carbon monoxide and the products of combustion].

The article presents the materials obtained in the course of treatment of 64 patients with severe poisoning with carbon monoxide and the products of combustion. It is established that acute carbon monoxide poisoning and combustion products in elderly and senile age is accompanied by more pronounced metabolic disorders, higher frequency of complications and lethality. Intensive therapy of severe poisoning with carbon monoxide has its own peculiarities. The use of Cytoflavin with antihypoxic purpose can lead to the development of metabolic desynchronization. To correct the hypoxic disorders in elderly and senile patients is more appropriate to use Reamberine, not having a negative effect on the indices of central hemodynamics and effectively reducing the depth of metabolic disorders.

[Pharmacologic correction of hypoxia in patients with acute cerebral failure due to acute poisoning with carbon monoxide and combustion products].

The article deals with the materials, which have been received in the process of the examination and treatment of 48 patients with acute severe carbon monoxide and burning products poisonings on fires. It has been registered that the including of citoflavin into the complex program of the intensive therapy of acute severe carbon monoxide and burning products poisonings on fires leads to a decrease of hypoxia and manifestations of acute toxicohypoxic cerebral deficiency, which significantly improves the clinics of acute severe poisonings.

[Pecularities of correction of alcohol affctions of liver in patients with acute ethanol poisoning in the setting of consequence of toxic effect of ethanol].

The aim of this work was to test the usage of infusion of hepatoprotector "remaxol" in intensive therapy of acute ethanol poisoning accompanied with severe alcohol affections of the lever. In the result of the examination and treatment of 130 patients it was established that severe alcohol poisonings registered on alcohol abused patients with toxic hepatopathy, are always accompanied with serious metabolic violations. In the process of a comparative valuation of the using of heptral (ademethionin) and remaxol in the intensive therapy of alcohol poisonings it has been revealed that the using of remaxol led to improvement of the clinic of that poisonings, what had been registered as a decrease of frequency and duration of an alcohol delirium from 33,9% to 10,8%, a decrease of frequency of secondary lung complication from 18,5 to 3,1%, a decrease of a duration of treatment in intensive care unit from 7,3 +/- 0,6 to 5,6 +/- 0,3 and a hospital treatment duration from 11,8 +/- 0,5 to 9,0 +/- 0,3 days. Biochemical investigation has shown that using as heptral, as remaxol led to improvement of lever damages due to alcohol. However remaxol compared with heptral was better in the treatment of metabolic violations.

[Correction of mnestico-intellectual disturbances in the somatogenic phase of acute poisoning with a mixture of psychotropic drugs].

A total of 60 patients suffering acute poisoning with a mixture of psychotropic drugs were available for observation. The study focused on comparative estimation of reintegration of psychic conditions (recovery of consciousness, conceptualization of mnestico-intellectual functions) in these patients. It was shown that intensive therapy of toxic and hypoxic brain lesions with antihypoxic agent cytoflavin results in rapid and effective reintegration of psychic activity including recovery of consciousness and conceptualization of mnestico-intellectual functions.

[Using of reamberin for correction of free radicals disturbances in patients with acute severe methadone poisonings].

The article deals with the materials, which have been received in the process of the examination and treatment of 44 patients with acute severe methadone poisonings. It has been revealed, that gravity of these patient's condition depends on intensity of hypoxia due to breath deficiency because of the methadone. The development of hypoxia, in its turn, cause violations of antiradical protection system and intensification of processes of peroxide lipid oxidation. It has been registered that the including of reamberin into the complex program of the intensive therapy of acute severe methadone poisonings lead to a more rapid restoration of antiradical protection system and to a decrease of activity of processes of peroxide lipid oxidation. The correction of hypoxia and free-radical violations led to improvement of the acute poisonings clinic, what had been characterized by a decrease of coma-period duration, duration of treatment with artificial lung ventilation, a decrease of secondary lung complications and a decrease of lethality.

[The use of cytoflavin in combined neurometabolic therapy of acute cerebral insufficiency associated with acute poisoning with neurotropic poisons].

Examination and treatment of 262 patients with severe acute intoxication by neurotropic poisons and unaffected oxygen delivery system showed that inclusion of cytoflavin in combined neurometabolic therapy of acute cerebral insufficiency significantly reduced severity of metabolic disorders. Specifically, tissue hypoxy, endotoxicosis, lipid peroxidation activity, and immunosuppression decreased while antioxidative protection and clinical picture were improved. Duration of comatose state and artificial lung ventilation was reduced from 64.5 +/- 15.1 to 28.8 +/- 10.2 hours and that of critical condition from 117.2 +/- 17.2 to 63.7 +/- 9.2 hours. Overall lethality dropped from 16 to 9.9%.

Intracellular magnetophoresis of statoliths in Chara rhizoids and analysis of cytoplasm viscoelasticity.

The statoliths in Chara rhizoids are denser and more diamagnetic than the cytoplasm, therefore they can be displaced inside a living cell by a sufficiently strong high gradient magnetic field (HGMF). An experimental setup for intracellular magnetophoresis of statoliths was developed. The movement of statoliths and rhizoid growth was measured by video microscopy either under the influence of gravity or a HGMF equivalent to about 2 g. The contribution of the cytoskeleton to statolith motility was assayed before and after depolymerizing microtubules with oryzalin and F-actin with latrunculin B. Application of latrunculin caused immediate cessation of growth, clumping of statoliths, and application of HGMF resulted in higher displacement of statoliths. Oryzalin had no effect on the behavior of statoliths. The data indicate that magnetophoresis is a useful tool to study the gravisensing system and rheology of the Chara rhizoid.

Influence of nonuniform magnetic fields on orientation of plant seedlings in microgravity conditions.

Experiments on the spatial behavior of the flax (Linum usitatissimum, L.) seedlings in a nonuniform magnetic field were conducted on the orbital space stations "Salut" and "Mir". This field can displace sensory organelles (statoliths) inside receptor cells and such displacement should cause a physiological reaction of the plant-tropistic curvature. Experiments were conducted in the custom-built "Magnetogravistat" facility, where seeds were germinated and grown for 3-4 days in a magnetic field with the dynamic factor grad (H2/2) approximately equal to 10(7) Oe2/cm, then fixed on orbit and returned to Earth for analysis. It was found, that 93% of the seedlings were oriented in the field consistently with curvature in response to displacement of statoliths along the field gradient by ponderomotive magnetic forces, while control seedlings grew in the direction of the initial orientation of the seed. This suggests, that gravity receptors of plants recognized magnetic forces on statoliths as gravity, and that gravity stimulus can be substituted for plants by a force of a different physical nature.

Composition and physical properties of starch in microgravity-grown plants.

The effect of spaceflight on starch development in soybean (Glycine max L., BRIC-03) and potato (Solanum tuberosum, Astroculture-05) was compared with ground controls by biophysical and biochemical measurements. Starch grains from plants from both flights were on average 20-50% smaller in diameter than ground controls. The ratio delta X/delta rho (delta X --difference of magnetic susceptibilities, delta rho--difference of densities between starch and water) of starch grains was ca. 15% and 4% higher for space-grown soybean cotyledons and potato tubers, respectively, than in corresponding ground controls. Since the densities of particles were similar for all samples (1.36 to 1.38 g/cm3), the observed difference in delta X/delta rho was due to different magnetic susceptibilities and indicates modified composition of starch grains. In starch preparations from soybean cotyledons (BRIC-03) subjected to controlled enzymatic degradation with alpha-amylase for 24 hours, 77 +/- 6% of the starch from the flight cotyledons was degraded compared to 58 +/- 12% in ground controls. The amylose content in starch was also higher in space-grown tissues. The good correlation between the amylose content and delta X/delta rho suggests, that the magnetic susceptibility of starch grains is related to their amylose content. Since the seedlings from the BRIC-03 experiment showed elevated post-flight ethylene levels, material from another flight experiment (GENEX) which had normal levels of ethylene was examined and showed no difference to ground controls in size distribution, density, delta X/delta rho and amylose content. Therefore the role of ethylene appears to be more important for changes in starch metabolism than microgravity.

Curvature in Arabidopsis inflorescence stems is limited to the region of amyloplast displacement.

Gravitropic sensing in stems and stem-like organs is hypothesized to occur in the endodermis. However, since the endodermis runs the entire length of the stem, the precise site of gravisensing has been difficult to define. In this investigation of gravisensitivity in inflorescence stems of Arabidopsis, we positioned stems in a high gradient magnetic field (HGMF) on a rotating clinostat. Approximately 40% of the young, wild-type (WT) inflorescences, for all positions tested, curved toward the HGMF in the vicinity of the stem exposed to the field. In contrast, when the wedge was placed in the basal region of older inflorescence stems, no curvature was observed. As a control, the HGMF was applied to a starchless mutant, and 5% of the stems curved toward the field. Microscopy of the endodermis in the WT showed amyloplast displacement in the vicinity of the HGMF. Additional structural studies demonstrated that the basal region of WT stems experienced amyloplast displacement and, therefore, suggest this region is capable of gravity perception. However, increased lignification likely prevented curvature in the basal region. The lack of apical curvature after basal amyloplast displacement indicates that gravity perception in the base is not transmitted to the apex. Thus, these results provide evidence that the signal (and thus, response) resulting from perception in Arabidopsis inflorescence stems is spatially restricted.

Curvature induced by amyloplast magnetophoresis in protonemata of the moss Ceratodon purpureus.

After gravistimulation of Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. protonemata in the dark, amyloplast sedimentation was followed by upward curvature in the wild-type (WT) and downward curvature in the wwr mutant (wrong way response). We used ponderomotive forces induced by high-gradient magnetic fields (HGMF) to simulate the effect of gravity and displace the presumptive statoliths. The field was applied by placing protonemata either between two permanent magnets at the edge of the gap, close to the edge of a magnetized ferromagnetic wedge, or close to a small (<1 mm) permanent magnet. Continuous application of an HGMF in all three configurations resulted in plastid displacement and induced curvature in tip cells of WT and wwr protonemata. WT cells curved toward the HGMF, and wwr cells curved away from the HGMF, comparable to gravitropism. Plastids isolated from protonemal cultures had densities ranging from 1.24 to 1.38 g cm-3. Plastid density was similar for both genotypes, but the mutant contained larger plastids than the WT. The size difference might explain the stronger response of the wwr protonemata to the HGMF. Our data support the plastid-based theory of gravitropic sensing and suggest that HGMF-induced ponderomotive forces can substitute for gravity.

The response of lazy-2 tomato seedlings to curvature-inducing magnetic gradients is modulated by light.

Shoots of the lazy-2 mutant of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. Ailsa Craig) exhibit negative gravitropism in the dark, but respond positively gravitropically in (red) light. In order to test whether high-gradient magnetic fields (HGMFs) exert only ponderomotive effects on amyloplasts or affect other physiological processes, we induced magnetophoretic curvature in wild-type (WT) and lazy-2 mutant seedlings. Straight hypocotyls of 4-d-old plants were selected and the tips of their hooks were placed in an HGMF near the edge of a magnetized ferromagnetic wedge [grad (H2/2) approximately 10(9)-10(10) Oe2/cm] and mounted on a 1-rpm clinostat. After 4 h in the dark, 85% of WT hypocotyls and 67% of mutant hypocotyls curved toward the wedge. When the seedlings were exposed to red light for 1 h prior to and during the application of the HGMF, 78% of the WT seedlings curved toward the magnetic gradient, but the majority of the lazy-2 seedlings (75%) curved away from the stronger field area. Intracellular amyloplast displacement in the HGMF was similar for both varieties and resembled the displacement after horizontal reorientation. The WT showed a distinct graviresponse pattern depending on the orientation of the hook, even after excision of the apex. Application of HGMFs to decapitated hypocotyls resulted in curvature consistent with that obtained after horizontal reorientation. After light exposure, decapitated lazy-2 seedlings did not respond positively gravitropically. The data imply that the lazy-2 mutants perceive the displacement of amyloplasts in a similar manner to the WT and that the HGMF does not affect the graviresponse mechanism. The study demonstrates that ponderomotive forces due to HGMFs are useful for the analysis of the gravity-sensing mechanism in plants.

Magnetophoretic induction of curvature in coleoptiles and hypocotyls.

Coleoptiles of barley (Hordeum vulgare) were positioned in a high gradient magnetic field (HGMF, dynamic factor gradient of H(2)/2 of 10(9)-10(10) Oe2 cm-1), generated by a ferromagnetic wedge in a uniform magnetic field and rotated on a 1 rpm clinostat. After 4 h 90% of coleoptiles had curved toward the HGMF. The cells affected by HGMF showed clear intracellular displacement of amyloplasts. Coleoptiles in a magnetic field next to a non-ferromagnetic wedge showed no preferential curvature. The small size of the area of nonuniformity of the HGMF allowed mapping of the sensitivity of the coleoptiles by varying the initial position of the wedge relative to the coleoptile apex. When the ferromagnetic wedge was placed 1 mm below the coleoptile tip only 58% of the coleoptiles curved toward the wedge indicating that the cells most sensitive to intracellular displacement of amyloplasts and thus gravity sensing are confined to the top 1 mm portion of barley coleoptiles. Similar experiments with tomato hypocotyls (Lycopersicum esculentum) also resulted in curvature toward the HGMF. The data strongly support the amyloplast-based gravity-sensing system in higher plants and the usefulness of HGMF to substitute gravity in shoots.

Intracellular magnetophoresis of amyloplasts and induction of root curvature.

High-gradient magnetic fields (HGMFs) were used to induce intracellular magnetophoresis of amyloplasts. The HGMFs were generated by placing a small ferromagnetic wedge into a uniform magnetic field or at the gap edge between two permanent magnets. In the vicinity of the tip of the wedge the dynamic factor of the magnetic field, delta(H2/2), was about 10(9) Oe2.cm-1, which subjected the amyloplasts to a force comparable to that of gravity. When roots of 2-d-old seedlings of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) were positioned vertically and exposed to an HGMF, curvature away from the wedge was transient and lasted approximately 1 h. Average curvature obtained after placing magnets, wedge and seedlings on a 1-rpm clinostat for 2 h was 33 +/- 5 degrees. Roots of horizontally placed control seedlings without rotation curved about 47 +/- 4 degrees. The time course of curvature and changes in growth rate were similar for gravicurvature and for root curvature induced by HGMFs. Microscopy showed displacement of amyloplasts in vitro and in vivo. Studies with Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. showed that the wild type responded to HGMFs but the starchless mutant TC7 did not. The data indicate that a magnetic force can be used to study the gravisensing and response system of roots.