[Mild cognitive disorders in railway locomotive crew workers (review of literature)].

Functional reliability of engine operator and engine operator's assistant is one of the most important factors in railway safety. Ability to railway locomotive operation is determined via suitability criteria of occupationally important qualities of operator and operator's assistant, and of nervous system functional state. Lower reliability manifested in worse functional state of engine operator or in lost occupationally important qualities can be connected with various diseases of which most prevalent are cardiovascular disorders. Transitory brain circulatory disorders can cause cognitive disturbances varying in severity. When mild cognitive disorders, precise diagnosis leads to effective prevention of the diseases development and preserved occupationally important qualities in engine operators. Neuropsychologic methods for mild cognitive disorders help not only to diagnose presence and intensity of cognitive defect, but to suggest a mechanism of its development, that eventually increases efficiency of correction.

[On psychologic profile of locomotive crew workers in Russian Railways JSC and its role in accidents prevention].

The article covers personality characters of locomotive crew workers of Russian Railways JSC, and specifying a block of methods for psychologic support of these workers' occupational activities. According to the results obtained, the authors presented a thorough description of characterologic, motivational personality traits characterizing a select of locomotive crew workers, and analyzed a relationship between the traits and levels of accidents in the workers' occupational activity.

Origin of fibronectin type II (FN2) modules: structural analyses of distantly-related members of the kringle family idey the kringle domain of neurotrypsin as a potential link between FN2 domains and kringles.

Analysis of complete genome sequences has made it clear that fibronectin type II (FN2) modules are present only in the vertebrate lineage, raising intriguing questions about the origin of this module type. Kringle domains display many similarities to FN2 domains; therefore it was suggested previously that they are highly divergent descendants of the same ancestral protein-fold. Since kringles are present in arthropodes, nematodes, and invertebrate chordates as well as in vertebrates, it is suggested that the FN2 domain arose in the vertebrate lineage through major structural modification of the more ancestral kringle fold. To explore this structural transition, in the present work we compare key structural features of two highly divergent kringle domains (the kringle of Caenorhabditis elegans Ror receptor tyrosine kinase and the kringle of rat neurotrypsin) with those of plasminogen kringles and FN2 domains. Our NMR conformation fingerprinting analysis indicates that characteristic (1)H-NMR markers of kringle or FN2 native folding, such as the dispersion of Trp aromatic connectivities and shifts of the Leu(46)/Thr(16) methyl signals, both decrease in the order kringles > neurotrypsin kringle > FN2 domains. These results suggest that the neurotrypsin kringle may represent an intermediate form between typical kringles and FN2 domains.

Beta-carotene as an interceptor of free radicals.

Kinetics of nonenzymic and nonphotochemical oxidation of beta-carotene have been studied. The rate constants for the reactions of beta-carotene with initiator-derived C-centered and peroxyl radicals in solution were measured as approximately 10(4) and 5 x 10(5) - 1 x 10(4) M-1s-1, respectively. beta-Carotene-derived free radicals have been shown to be less reactive toward polyene than initiator-derived radicals. This suggests that beta-carotene might behave as an interceptor of free radical species regardless of the oxygen pressure in the environment. The mechanism for beta-carotene oxidation covering the main pathways for formation, transformation, and decay of free radicals has been formulated. In combination with experimental kinetic parameters and their temperature correlation, computer modeling has been used to solve the reaction kinetics numerically. The model proposed enables analysis of the kinetics of beta-carotene consumption and oxygen uptake under various conditions, as well as the influence of beta-carotene on oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their esters.

[Inhibitors of the nitrite oxidation of hemoglobin]. / Ingibitory nitritnogo okisleniia gemoglobina.

Different types of active inhibitors of the reaction of nitrite hemoglobin oxidation have been revealed and studied. The dependence of inhibition of methemoglobin formation, on concentration of inhibitors at pH 5.9 and 7.17 has been determined. Differential absorption spectra of the inhibitors in the presence sodium nitrite in UV and visual light has been studied. The values of oxidation-reduction potentials have been estimated. Possible mechanism of action of the inhibitors has been discussed.