Status of studying the reproductive function of women--passenger train engineers]

Analysis of medico-demographic indices of 3450 women--conductors of passenger long-distance trains give evidence of the presence of changes in the status of the reproductive function. Birth indices are low, in spite of favourable marriage levels. Childlessness levels in women working on trains are 5-6 times higher compared to the average values in the country. Unfavourable tendencies are observed in women of any age, however, they are more profoundly marked in older women who have been handling maximal contact with harmful occupational factors during many years of work. Significant relationships have not been observed between birth level and such parameters as nationality, place of living, educational level etc.     

Germanium Nanoparticles Prepared by Laser Ablation in Low Pressure Helium and Nitrogen Atmosphere for Biophotonic Applications

Due to particular physico-chemical characteristics and prominent optical properties, nanostructured germanium (Ge) appears as a promising material for biomedical applications, but its use in biological systems has been limited so far due to the difficulty of preparation of Ge nanostructures in a pure, uncontaminated state. Here, we explored the fabrication of Ge nanoparticles (NPs) using methods of pulsed laser ablation in ambient gas (He or He-N₂ mixtures) maintained at low residual pressures (1–5 Torr). We show that the ablated material can be deposited on a substrate (silicon wafer in our case) to form a nanostructured thin film, which can then be ground in ethanol by ultrasound to form a stable suspension of Ge NPs. It was found that these formed NPs have a wide size dispersion, with sizes between a few nm and hundreds of nm, while a subsequent centrifugation step renders possible the selection of one or another NP size fraction. Structural characterization of NPs showed that they are composed of aggregations of Ge crystals, covered by an oxide shell. Solutions of the prepared NPs exhibited largely dominating photoluminescence (PL) around 450 nm, attributed to defects in the germanium oxide shell, while a separated fraction of relatively small (5–10 nm) NPs exhibited a red-shifted PL band around 725 nm under 633 nm excitation, which could be attributed to quantum confinement effects. It was also found that the formed NPs exhibit high absorption in the visible and near-IR spectral ranges and can be strongly heated under photoexcitation in the region of relative tissue transparency, which opens access to phototherapy functionality. Combining imaging and therapy functionalities in the biological transparency window, laser-synthesized Ge NPs present a novel promising object for cancer theranostics.     

Protective effect of low-doses of antibodies to S-100 protein on the formation of long-term sensitization in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helix lucorum</Emphasis>

Injection of antibodies to Ca-binding protein S-100 in a dilution of 10⁻¹² before the formation of long-term sensitization in Helix lucorum (10 min before the first electric shock) prevented the increase in defense reactions of pneumostome closure and ommatophore withdrawal. Thus, we demonstrated a protective effect of low-dose antibodies to S-100 on the formation of long-term sensitization as a neurobiological model of anxiety and depression. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 143, No. 5, pp. 490–493, May, 2007