Electrocortical desynchronization after microinfusion of kainic acid into the locus coeruleus in rats

CD-1, a genetically-engineered CHO cell line, was cultivated with a Biosilon microcarrier culture system. We successfully cultivated CD-1 cells to a very high density (over 1 x 10(7) cells/ml). Prourokinase was stably secreted at about 180 IU/10(6) cells/24 h. Experiments showed that CD-1 cells growing on Biosilon microcarriers were able to spontaneously release from the microcarriers, then reattach and proliferate on fresh microcarriers. This makes it very easy to scale up production. The microcarriers could be reused several times without affecting adhesion, proliferation and prourokinase secretion. With CM-PECC membrane radial flow chromatography and MPG chromatography, the prourokinase in conditioned medium could be purified to a specific activity of 1 x 10(5) IU/mg of protein. The purification factor was about 600 fold, and approximately 90% of the biological activity was recovered.     

Dermoid cyst of the pancreas: a rare cystic neoplasm

Dermoid cysts of the pancreas, also called cystic teratomas, are a rare entity and are included in the group of neoplasms with a germ cell origin. Only twelve cases have been described in the world literature. The symptomatology is due to tumor compression of the neighboring tissues. Ultrasonography and computed tomography may be helpful, but there are no pathognomonic data for their preoperative recognition. The differential diagnosis should include all other cystic tumors of the pancreas. Complete surgical removal is mandatory. We describe the diagnostic and surgical procedures in a 74 year-old man with a pre-operatively unsuspected dermoid cyst. We review the previously published cases and emphasize the appropriate therapeutical management.     

Amoebapore homologs of Caenorhabditis elegans

It is shown that the Caenorhabditis elegans genome contains several distantly related members of the gene family of saposin-like proteins. The putative products of genes T07C4.4, T08A9.7A, T08A9.7B, T08A9.8, T08A9.9, T08A9.10 are similar to the amoebapores of Entamoeba histolytica, granulysin of cytotoxic T lymphocytes and a putative amoebapore-related protein of the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica inasmuch as they consist of only a single saposin-like domain and a secretory signal peptide. The saposin-like domain of protein T07C4.4, which is most closely related to NK-lysin and granulysin, has been expressed in Escherichia coli and the recombinant protein was shown to have a circular dichroism spectrum consistent with the helix bundle structure characteristic of saposin-like domains. Recombinant T07C4.4 protein was found to have antibacterial activity, suggesting that these amoebapore homologs may play a role in antibacterial mechanisms of C. elegans.     

Laser interferometer with fine-focused beams to monitor the spatial position of an object

Analogies with interferometers using a light source with low temporal coherence are used to analyze the principles of the construction of laser interferometers with averaging over the photodetector aperture, whose sensitivity to the position of an object being monitored at the maximum of the output signal is as good as that of low-coherence interferometry and tomography. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 19–24 (February 26, 1998)     

Construction of a parallel computational model by composition of computational facilities

We consider a general algorithm for constructing a parallel numerical model by composition of several computational objects. The only requirement for the applicability of the proposed algorithm is for the disturbance propagation speed to be finite. We present one possible approach to map a numerical model onto an object-oriented program model. Some results of numerical experiments on solving the heat conduction equation in linear and nonlinear cases are discussed.     

Structural strength of frozen soils during thawing

Conclusions Frozen clayey soils of semi-hard and hard consistency and sandy soils of medium density have a structural strength equal to the value of the actual pressure under complete saturation, and, consequently, the suspending effect of water, and their deformation is determined by the presence of ice striations and the extent to which the macropores that form after their complete thawing are interconnected. From The Editorial Office: Problems that are extremely interesting from the scientific and practical standpoint are touched upon in the paper. The authors, however, do not always adequately substantiate their own assumptions. Making note of the influence exerted by the suspending action of water on the settlement of frozen soils, the authors fail to cite data on comparison of the results of settlement computation with allowance for and with disregard of the suspending effect of water and actual settlement; this would impart greater persuasiveness to their assumptions. The authors' conclusions on the structural strength of soils are also insufficiently founded — neither physicomechanical characteristics of the soils under consideration nor geologic sections are cited, and there is no comparison made between computed and actual settlements.By publishing the paper "in order of discussion," therefore, the editorial office hopes that other specialists will participate in the solution of these critical problems.Translated from Osnovaniya, Fundamenty i Mekhanika Gruntov, No. 5, pp. 17–18, September–October, 1989.