[Application of udenafil for the correction of endothelial disorders in patients with stress-induced erectile dysfunction].

The study was aimed to the evaluation of vascular endothelium status in patients with stress-induced arterial hypertension, coupled with erectile dysfunction (ED). 51 patients underwent examination. Laurent--Segal Male Copulative Function Questionnaire (MCF), and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) were used for the detection of ED and assessment of its severity. Microcirculation in penile vessels was evaluated by laser Doppler flowmetry. Markers of endothelial function--endothelin 1 and asymmetric dimethylarginine-were measured. For the correction of violations identified, the drug udenafil (zydena) was used at a dose of 50 mg daily for 1 month. Against the background of therapy with udenafil, restoration of function of endothelial cells was detected. This suggested the functional nature of the violations in the genital sphere, and was regarded as a manifestation of stress-induced ED. Elimination of endothelial dysfunction led to significant reduction in ED symptoms.

[Combined lumbosacral and vaginal physiotherapy in the treatment of overactive bladder in postmenopausal women].

Efficacy of combined application of physical factors including lumbosacral magnetotherapy and vaginal vibromagnetic impact is shown in 48 postmenopausal women (mean age 62.5 +/- 1.6 years) with overactive bladder (OAB). Choice of this combination is explained by a multifactorial OAB pathogenesis and degenerative spinal diseases often encountered in postmenopausal women (70.8% in this study). The exposures of the spine and the bladder (vaginal) were made one after the other with duration of the first stage 10-15 min, of the second--5-7 min, the course consisted of 10-12 procedures. The results of the treatment were assessed by urination rhythm, volume, number of incontinence episodes. Quality of life was evaluated according to special questionnaires. Trophic function of the spinal cord and innervation of the bladder were studied by n. tibialis conduction measured by electroneuromyography (ENMG). The following results were obtained: reduction of urinations for 24 hours by 36.9%, urgent episodes--by 44%, urgent incontinence--by 59.7%. Voiding volume significantly increased (by 26%). A total score of anxiety related to OAB fell by 51.3%. M-response amplitude in ENMG rose 1.5-fold, while velocity of the impulse conduction along the n. tibialis enhanced 1.2-fold. The technique was accomplished with AMUS-01-Intramag device and attachment to it Rectomassager made in Russia.

The antimicrobial action of low-molar-mass chitosan, chitosan derivatives and chitooligosaccharides on bifidobacteria.

The crude fractions of chitooligosaccharides (COS) and low-molar-mass chitosans (LMWC) were prepared by enzyme hydrolysis of chitosan (CS). Specific growth rate of B. adolescentis, B. bifidum, B. breve, B. catenulatum, B. infantis and B. longum ssp. longum was determined in the presence of 0.025 and 0.5 % COS (<5 kDa), LMWC (5-10 kDa), and 0.025, 0.1 and 0.5% of CS, chitosan succinate and chitosan glutamate in vitro. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC; assayed by colony counting on TPY agar plates) of COS-LMWC and CS ranged from 0.025% to 0.75% of CS-LMWC. The growth of all bifidobacterial strains in the presence of chitosan, its derivatives and LMWC decreased at a concentration of 0.025%; the bacterial growth was completely inhibited at a concentration of 0.5%. COS did not show any inhibitory effect, an increased growth rate was even observed in the case of B. bifidum, B. catenulatum and B. infantis.

Extracellular complex of chitinolytic enzymes of Clostridium paraputrificum strain J4 separated by membrane ultrafiltration.

Membrane diafiltration was used for separation of the extracellular complex of chitinolytic enzymes of C. paraputrificum J4 free from contaminants with molar mass higher than 100 kDa and lower than 30 kDa. The enzyme complex containing beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGase) and six endochitinases was concentrated on a membrane with cut-off 30 kDa. In this retentate, the NAGase/endochitinase specific activity was 13.5/6.5-times higher than in the initial culture filtrate. The proportion (in%) of endochitinases: 23 (90 kDa), 42 (86 kDa), 8 (72 kDa), 16 (68 kDa) and 8 (60 kDa) was calculated from their peak areas (determined by densitometry) in images of zymograms. NAGase (38 kDa) was less active and stable at pH lower than 4 and higher than 8 but it was more temperature-stable than endochitinases, especially at 40-60 degrees C. In contrast to endochitinases, the pH optimum of NAGase activity was shifted by ca. 0.7 pH units to the alkaline region. Extracellular NAGase together with six endochitinases secreted by C. paraputrificum J4 were separated by membrane diafiltration and characterized by molar mass, stability and activity in dependence on pH and temperature. The knowledge of composition of chitinolytic enzymes, their pH and temperature stability is useful for optimization of the separation process.

[Complex application of indralin and ferrocin for the combined exposure on the organism of external gamma-irradiation and incorporation of 137Cs].

The summary of the study is that when using both medicines indraline doesn't influence the effectiveness of pherrocine in preventing of 137Cs accumulation in the main depositing/pooling organs. The radiation protecting medicine indraline used more intensive accumulation of radio nuclides in liver and kidney then a control. Accumulation rapidity and amount of 137Cs in liver and kidney depends on the time period between taking indraline and inflow of cesium into organism of animals. For the case when animals being exposured by external gamma-irradiation and incorporation of 137Cs the introduction of indraline without pherrocine is not advisable.

Chitinolytic activities of Clostridium sp. JM2 isolated from stool of human administered per orally by chitosan.

The novel chitinolytic bacterium Clostridium beijerinckii strain JM2 was isolated from the stool of healthy volunteers supplied daily per orally with 3 g of chitosan. The bacterium grown on colloidal chitin produced a complete array of chitinolytic enzymes. Significant activities of endochitinase, exochitinase and chitosanase were excreted into the medium (301, 282 and 268 nkat/microg protein, respectively). The high cellular activity of N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAGase) and chitosanase were detected (732.4 and 154 nkat/microg protein, respectively). NAGase activity represented the main activity associated with the cellular fraction. The activities of both enzymes tested increased from 20 to 50 degrees C; the optimum reaction temperature estimated being 50 degrees C. Endochitinase as well as NAGase showed an activity in the pH interval of 4.0-8.0; the optimum pH values were 6.5 and 6.0, respectively. The extracellular endochitinase complex consisted of six isoenzymes with molar mass of 32-76 kDa; in the cellular fraction five bands with molar mass of 45-86 kDa were detected. Exochitinase activity was demonstrated in the form of three bands (with molar mass of 30-57 kDa), NAGase activity displayed one band of 45 kDa.

Effect of chitosan on the growth of human colonic bacteria.

Growth of 6 bacterial strains representing dominant members of the human colonic microflora was measured in the presence of 0.025, 0.05 and 0.5 % chitosan (from shrimp shells, with a 97 % final degree of deacetylation). The effect of chitosan was variable and dependent on bacterial species. The most susceptible to chitosan were bacteria belonging to genera Bacteroides and Clostridium (91-97% growth inhibition). On the other hand, Roseburia sp., Eubacterium sp. and Faecalibacterium sp. were more resistant (63-83 % inhibition of growth). Chitosan can thus be considered as one of the means for influencing the bacterial population in the human colon.

Chitinolytic enzymes from Clostridium aminovalericum: activity screening and purification.

A strain isolated from the feces of takin was identified as Clostridium aminovalericum. In response to various types of chitin used as growth substrates, the bacterium produced a complete array of chitinolytic enzymes: chitinase ('endochitinase'), exochitinase, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, chitosanase and chitin deacetylase. The highest activities of chitinase (536 pkat/mL) and exochitinase (747 pkat/mL) were induced by colloidal chitin. Fungal chitin also induced high levels of these enzymes (463 pkat/mL and 502 pkat/mL, respectively). Crab shell chitin was the best inducer of chitosanase activity (232 pkat/mL). The chitinolytic enzymes of this strain were separated from culture filtrate by ion-exchange chromatography on the carboxylic sorbent Polygran 27. At pH 4.5, some isoforms of the chitinolytic enzymes (30% of total enzyme activity) did not bind to Polygran 27. The enzymes were eluted under a stepwise pH gradient (pH 5-8) in 0.1 mol/L phosphate buffer. At merely acidic pH (4.5-5.5), the adsorbed enzymes were co-eluted. However, at pH close to neutral values, the peaks of highly purified isoforms of exochitinases and chitinases were isolated. The protein and enzyme recovery reached 90%.

[The state of dog's metabolism after long interval after oxide tritium administration]. / Sostoianie obmena veshchestv u sobak v otdalennye sroki vozdeistviia okisi tritiia.

An attempt to evaluate the influence of tritium oxide on the metabolism by some indices of lipid metabolism (common lipids, beta-lipoproteins, cholesterin), protein metabolism (cholinesterasa) and carbohydrate metabolism (blood sugar) was made. It was established that the introduction into organism of tritium oxide in the quantities, which could form lethal and sublethal doses of internal radiation, provoked the main changes of values of mentioned indices of metabolism. The character of metabolism changes in the remote period allows us to judge about the development of sclerosis processes, which can be the result of radiation-stipulated acceleration of organism aging.

[Evaluation of relative biological effectiveness of tritium oxide based on biochemical indices of blood in rats]. / Otsenka otnositel'noi biologicheskoi éffektivnosti okisi tritiia po biokhimicheskim pokazateliam krovi krys.

The influence of tritium oxide injected peritoneally of the range of activity of 5.5 MBq/g to 111 MBq/g versus gamma-radiation of 137Cs with decreasing dose rate in biochemical parameters of blood in rats was compared. It was shown that relative biological effectiveness of tritium oxide was higher than that for metabolism and it was equal to 1.5 in average.

Effect of salt concentration gradient on separation of different types of specific immunoglobulins by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose.

A three-stage process, consisting of an ammonium sulfate precipitation step, dialysis desalination with microporous anion-exchange Neosepta membranes and anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose DE-52 was used for the isolation of mouse monoclonal antibodies specific against different antigens. The ascites fluids contained monoclonal antibodies against human IgG, against horseradish peroxidase and against the heavy chain of human IgM. The effect of the salt concentration gradient in the elution buffer was examined with the aim of optimizing chromatographic conditions. The quality of separation of protein zones was determined using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-reducing conditions. The immunoreactivity of purified monoclonal antibodies was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a solid-phase adsorbed antigens against which each monoclonal antibody type was directed.

Channels in the gramicidin S-with-urea structure and their possible relation to transmembrane ion transport.

The structure of membrane-active antibiotic cyclodecapeptide gramicidin S in the crystals of its complex with urea, C(60)H(92)N(12)0(10).0.(5)[(NH(2))(2)CO].7.94H(2)0, has been investigated with three-dimensional X-ray data by the automatic sequential approximation method. The crystals are trigonal, space group P3(1)21, a = 25.80(3), c= 21.49 (2) A, M(r) = 7968, calculated density = 1.088 mg m(-3), Z = 1. Conventional R factor: R1 = 0.0943, wR2 = 0.2478 [I> 2sigma(I)]. The molecule possesses an antiparallel twisted beta-structure, with turns involving the Phe-Pro peptides. The Orn side chains extend on one side of the sheet, while the non-polar Val and Leu side chains are located on the other face. One of the Orn residues (namely Orn2) is linked by an intermolecular hydrogen bond to the O atom of Phe4 residue, the other is free. The side chains of the Phe residues have trans orientation (chi(1) approximately 180 degrees ) and those of the Val, Orn, Leu residues, except those of Orn2, have the preferential gauche orientation with the chi(1) angle close to 60. Two side chains show statistical disorder and conformation of the Pro residues is C(s)-C(beta)-exo. There is half a urea molecule and also 7.94 water molecules distributed on 13 positions for each antibiotic molecule. A partially occupied and poorly ordered alcohol molecule had been identified. The gramicidin S molecules are arranged around the 3(1) axis in the form of a left-handed double spiral forming suggestive channels. The outer hydrophobic surface of the spiral is made of uncharged side radicals while the inside surface consists of the main-chain atoms, mainly O and N, and of ornithine side chains with N atoms at the ends. By changing the Orn side-chain conformation, the inner diameter of the channels may change from 3.4 to 6.3 A. Thus, ions and particles of rather large size may pass through the channel. The possibility of the creation of the gramicidin S channels in mitochondrial membranes has been noted by some biochemists. The channel complexes are close-packed in a hexagonal arrangement in the crystal. The CI(-) ions, present in abundance in the mother solution, are not found ordered in the crystals, which may indicate the absence of the charges in the terminal N atoms of the Orn residues.

Separation of specific immunoglobulin. 1. Desalination using a membrane system.

Separation of the ammonium sulfate precipitated protein fraction of mouse ascitic fluid, containing the specific immunoglobulin (pI 6.7-6.8; molecular weight 180000), from ammonium sulfate was investigated by means of non-traditional dialysis, based on the difference in diffusion rates of small and large molecules through porous membranes. The experiments were carried out in spiral membrane modules equipped with a Neosepta (AM-2 or ACS-SB) anion exchange membrane and a microfiltration membrane (Synpore or Sartorius). To enhance the driving force for penetration of ammonium sulfate and low-molecular-weight components from solution of ascitic protein fraction into water, a counterpressure was imposed on the side of microfiltration membrane. The flow rate, counterpressure and the pore sizes of microfiltration membranes had a significant effect on the separation process, as expected. The type of the anion exchange membrane had only a small effect. This process makes it possible to desalt the immunoglobulin fraction with high purity and yield in a few hours instead of 5 days.

[Gramicidin channels: a new mechanism for transmembrane transfer of ions (from high resolution x-ray structural studies of the antibiotic)]. / Gramitsidinovye kanaly: novyi mekhanizm transmembrannogo perenosa ionov (po dannym rentgenostrukturnogo issledovaniia antibiotika s vysokim razresheniem).

The crystal structure of the membrane-active antibiotic-cyclopeptide gramicidin S complex with urea was determined by the X-ray structure analysis. The gramicidin S molecule possesses an antiparallel beta-structure, its slightly twisted 30-membered cycle has a roughly rectangular form about 4.8 x 13.6 A in size, with the lesser side being formed by the main chain atoms of Phe and Pro residues. The maximum size of the molecule is 22.9 A. A characteristic feature of the molecule is the position of the extended side chains of the Orn residues on one side of the molecular cycle in the form of peculiar "legs--tentacles". One of these legs is "fastened" by the intramolecular H-bond to O atom of the nearer Phe4 residue, the other being free. The distance between the terminal NE atoms of the Orn residues is 5.7 A. The side chains of the Phe and Orn2 residues have trans-orientation, those of the Val, Orn7, Leu residues gauche-orientation. For Val1 and Leu3 side chains statistical disorder of the terminal C atoms is realized. The pyrrolidine rings of the Pro residues adopt Cs-C beta-exo conformation. There are one urea and 20 water molecules per one antibiotic molecule in the structure. The positions of three water molecules are fully occupied, the others with the probability of 0.56-0.20. One of the "water" positions is occupied on 2/3 by water, and on 1/3 by the O atom of the alcohol. There is a complicated system of intra- and intermolecular H-bonds in the structure, with and without the participation of water, alcohol and urea molecules. The gramicidin S molecules, collecting around 3(1) axis according to the left-handed double helix, form the channels whose outside hydrophobic surface is built of the side uncharged radicals, the inside surface being built of the main chain atoms, mainly of the O and N atoms and of the ornithine "tails" with uncharged NE atoms at the termini. The outer diameter of the channel is 29-43 A, inner (without ornithine "tails") is about 12.7 A. At the expense of the change of these "tails" conformation, the inner diameter of the channel filled with water molecules may change from 3.4 up to 6.3 A. Thus, the ions and particles of a rather large size may pass through the channel. The gramicidin channels are discovered and described for the first time. The channels in the crystal structure are close-packed under the hexagonal law.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Characteristics of the electrolyte balance of the blood of healthy newborn calves and calves with diarrhea]. / Osobennosti élektrolitnogo balansa krovi novorozhdennykh teliat v norme i pri diaree.

Cows and newborn (just after the birth, and on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 10th days after it) calves were tested for the peculiarities of the electrolyte blood composition and acid-base balance under normal and diarrheic conditions. The values of Na+/K+, Cl-/HCO3-, Pn/Ca2+ ratios in the blood serum of sick animals remain unchanged, which testifies to the deep disturbances of the water-salt metabolism in tissues.

[Sorption immobilization of alpha-amylase from Bacillus subtilis using meshed carboxyl polyelectrolytes]. / Sorbtsionnaia immobilizatsiia alpha-amilazy Bacillus subtilis setchatymi karboksil'nymi poliélektrolitami.

Immobilization of alpha-amylase from Bacillus subtilis by adsorption on carboxyl polyelectrolytes, copolymers of methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, was being investigated depending on the structure of the polymeric matrix. It is demonstrated that cation exchange resins can be successfully used for reversible sorption and immobilization of alpha-amylase. It was found that the more heterogeneous the structure of the polymeric carrier, the higher is reversibility of the enzyme adsorption. The isothermic process of Bac. subtilis alpha-amylase adsorption on copolymers of different structures was studied as well. The equilibrium of the sorption system was proved to be true.

[Effect of carbostimulin on acid-base equilibrium of the blood of racing horses during exertion]. / Vliianie karbostimulina na kislotno-shchelochnoe sostoianie krovi sportivnykh loshadei pri fizicheskoi nagruzke.

The paper deals with possibility to regulate in a proper direction the acid-base state in race horse blood administering carbostimulin at rest and under physical exercises. The preparation is shown to favour an increase in alkaline blood reserves in race hours at rest and to prevent acidotic changes caused by physical exercises. The results obtained show a promising use of carbostimulin for the directed correction of the acid-base state of blood in race horses aimed at increasing the efficiency of the training process.

[Spatial organization and interrelations of the structural elements in the human hair follicle]. / Prostranstvennaia organizatsiia i vzaimootnosheniia strukturnykh élementov volosianogo follikula u cheloveka.

A complex morphological investigation of the human hair follicle and root has been performed by means of scanning electron microscopy. A volumetric image on all structural elements in the hair follicle and on their spacial interrelations both with each other and with neighbouring tissues have been obtained. A connection of the hair root cuticle and the internal root shealth cuticle by means of variously directed position of their cell-squamae is demonstrated. Between the granule-containing and the pale layers of the inner root sheath (Huxley's and Henle's layers) there is an additional connection, that is mediated at the expense of entrance of pterygoid processes of cells of the granule-containing layer into the oval spaces between the cells of the pale epithelial layer. The connective tissue hair bursa consists of layer-cases inserting into each other, constructed mainly of flat collagenous fibers and connected with each other by connective fibers.