Studies of damage to hippocampal neurons in inbred mouse lines in models of epilepsy using kainic acid and pilocarpine.

Identification of the mechanisms of damage to neurons is an important task in contemporary neuroscience and is of enormous importance in medicine. This report compares two models of neuron damage due to hyperexcitation induced by kainic acid and pilocarpine, using two lines of mice, C57BL/6J and FVB/NJ. Neuron damage was more marked in FVB mice, though lethality was greater in C57BL mice. The levels of convulsive activity were not significantly different. Kainic acid had greater tropism for the hippocampus than pilocarpine. Hsp-70 and Egr-1 expression was not significantly different in C57BL and FVB mice. Analysis of the isolated mitochondrial fraction showed that free radical production was different in these mouse lines; this may be one of the reasons for the differential resistance of neurons to hyperexcitation.

[Neuronal damage in the hippocampus of inbred mouse strains in the models of epilepsy induced by kainic acid and pilocarpine]. / Issledovanie povrezhdenii neironov hippokampa v inbrednykh liniiakh myshei v modeliakh épilepsii s ispol'zovaniem kainovoi kisloty i pilokarpina.

Elucidation of the mechanisms of neuronal damage is an important task of modem neuroscience and is of paramount importance for medicine. Present work compares two models of excitotoxic neuronal damage induced by kainic acid and pilocarpine, in which inbred C57BL/6J (C57BL) and FVB/NJ (FVB) mice were used. Both models produced higher neuronal damage in FVB although mortality was higher in C57BL. No significant differences between two strains of mice were found in seizures severity. Kainic acid demonstrated greater tropism to hippocampus in comparison with pilocarpine. Hsp-70 and Egr-1 expression was not significantly different in C57BL and FVB. Analysis of the isolated mitochondrial fraction has shown different degree of free radical production in the strains studied, that could be one of the reasons for unequal susceptibility of their neurons to excitotoxic cell death.

[Experience in treating osseous sarcomas at the Research Institute of Pediatric Oncology, Cancer Research Center]. / Opyt lecheniia kostnykh sarkom v NII Detskoi Onkologii ONTs.

The paper presents clinical findings of 210 children with localized osteogenic sarcoma who have undergone various treatments. The authors consider neoadjuvant chemotherapy the method of choice, but by replacing tubular bone defects, endoprosthesis should be regarded the method of choice, which substantially reduces the time of rehabilitation and yields good (32.4%) and satisfactory (47.0%) functional results in most patients. In children with osteogenic sarcomas, the outcomes of treatment depend on its scope: 5-year survival was achieved in 68% of cases following multimodality treatment and in 36.2 and 14.0% after combined treatment and monotherapy alone, respectively. The retrospective analysis of treatment for morphologically verified Jung's sarcoma shows it expedient to implement a comprehensive program, including cyclic polychemotherapy, radiation of a damage focus in a dose of 57 Gy, obligatory surgical intervention into the operable sites, by assessing therapeutical pathomorphism and subsequent adjuvant polychemotherapy for at least 12-18 months.

[Surgical anatomy of the vagus nerves in the vagotomy aspect]. / Khirurgicheskaia anatomiia bluzhdaiushchikh nervov v aspekte vagotomii.

The surgical anatomy of vagus nerves was studied in 25 corpses and in protocols of operations-vagotomies in patients with ulcer disease of the duodenum. The authors consider incomplete vagotomy to be responsible for insufficiently decreased secretion of hydrochloric acid after operation in 24 (23.1%) of 104 patients examined. It was found that both the right and the left vagus nerves had different numbers of trunks and branches. The knowledge of variants of branching and disposition of the vagus nerve branches decreases the risk of incomplete and inadequate vagotomy.

Determination of Venus Winds by Ground-Based Radio Tracking of the VEGA Balloons.

A global array of 20 radio observatories was used to measure the three-dimensional position and velocity of the two meteorological balloons that were injected into the equatorial region of the Venus atmosphere near Venus midnight by the VEGA spacecraft on 11 and 15 June 1985. Initial analysis of only radial velocities indicates that each balloon was blown westward about 11,500 kilometers (8,000 kilometers on the night side) by zonal winds with a mean speed of about 70 meters per second. Excursions of the data from a model of constant zonal velocity were generally less than 3 meters per second; however, a much larger variation was evident near the end of the flight of the second balloon. Consistent systematic trends in the residuals for both balloons indicate the possibility of a solar-fixed atmospheric feature. Rapid variations in balloon velocity were often detected within a single transmission (330 seconds); however, they may represent not only atmospheric motions but also self-induced aerodynamic motions of the balloon.

[Ultrastructure of various ganglia of autonomic nervous system of the human embryo at the beginning of the mediator stage of ontogeny]. / Ul'trastruktura nekotorykh gangliev vegetativnoi nervnoi sistemy zarodysha cheloveka v nachale mediatornogo étapa ontogeneza.

Neural ganglia of the heart and stomach, paravertebral and spinal ganglia have been studied electron microscopically in 8-10-week-old human embryos. Amateur neurons in the ganglia are at various stages of differentiation and sometimes they are not divided with glia. In the cardiac ganglia the most mature neural elements are defined, comparing to other ganglia studied. It is demonstrated both in the developmental degree of cellular organelles, including those of the granular endoplasmic reticulum, and in manifestation of the glial tunic. Synaptic contacts at the stage of their formation are revealed in the intracardiac and sympathetic (paraventral) neural ganglia.