[Experience with combined spinal and epidural anesthesia at cesarean section].

The paper analyzes some experience gained in using various modes of regional anesthesia as an anesthetic appliance at cesarean sections and comparatively characterizes various types of central segmental blocks. The results of 213 cases of cesarean section performed under spinal or combined spinal and epidural anesthesia (CSEA) were generalized by the following parameters: block onset, maternal and fetal action, the quality of anesthesia and postoperative analgesia, which leads to the conclusion that CSEA is the method of choice.

[Binding of the surface antigen of the hepatitis B virus with antibodies studied with different denaturation exposures and with different analytical methods]. / Izuchenie sviazyvaniia poverkhnostnogo antigena virusa gepatita B s antitelami pri razlichnykh denaturiruiushchikh vozdeistviiakh i raznykh metodakh analiza.

The effect of delipidizing agents and a reducing agent on the antigenicity of 20 nm particles of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) was studied. The antigenicity was determined from the capacity of binding with antibody in passive hemagglutination test (PHAT) and dot-blot immune binding (DBIB). Delipidation was found to lead to an apparent decrease of antigenicity caused by aggregation. Subsequent destruction of the aggregates by treatment with sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) reduced the antigenicity. Treatment with the reducing agent in the presence of SDS results in the loss of antigenicity detectable by PHAT, the DBIB titres remaining unchanged. Some examples demonstrate a high sensitivity of DBIB in detection of HBsAg. The advantages of the latter test over other methods of immune diagnosis are discussed.

[Chromatographic behavior of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen in donor plasma]. / Khromatograficheskoe povedenie poverkhnostnogo antigena virusa gepatita B v donorskoi krovi.

Behavior of HBsAg in adsorption chromatography of the antigen-containing plasma in a column with unmodified macropore silica was studied. Under the employed conditions of overlaying and elution, five maximum yields of plasma proper proteins from the column (peaks 1-5) were observed. HBsAg was determined mainly in the material of peaks 4 and 5 in which the dominating host protein was lipoprotein HDL. No HBsAg was detected in albumin-enriched fraction. Similarities of chromatographic behavior of all the three classes of particles whose surface is presented by HBsAg, 20 nm particles, filamentous forms, and Dane particles, were observed.

[Isolation of glycoproteins of the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus and an evaluation of their immunogenic activity]. / Vydelenie glikoproteidov virusa venesuél'skogo éntsefalomielita loshadei i otsenka ikh immunogennoi aktivnosti.

Isolation of purified Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus glycoproteins by means of a new Soviet nonionic detergent, MESK, is described. The MESK detergent was shown to permit isolation of approximately 70% of virus particle glycoproteins. The resulting preparation had a high hemagglutinating activity, contained no admixtures of foreign proteins and was not infectious. The study of the immunogenicity of purified glycoproteins in experimental mice and rabbits showed them to be capable of inducing high levels of serum antibodies. The immunogenicity of the isolated glycoproteins was comparable to their immunogenicity as components of virus particles. Treatment of the virus with MESK detergent also yielded preparations with predominant content of capsid protein. The described procedure for disintegration and purification of viral proteins is technologically simple and may be the basis for manufacture of a subunit vaccine. The resulting material may also be used for preparation of diagnosticums and in laboratory studies.