Estimating the hazard of toxic exposure of the population living in the area of the Orenburg gas-chemical complex to specific pollutants

Health anomalies in children are induced by environmental contamination with pollutants specific for this region due to the long-term running of the Orenburg gas-chemical complex. On assessing the health hazard of exposure to non-carcinogenic chemicals, the authors used such variable as the hazard coefficient. Estimations indicated that the hazard coefficient of non-carcinogenic effects was greater than the allowable level with reference to hydrogen sulfide in all areas under study, as shown by the data of stationary posts. According to the data of route studies, the hazard coefficient exceeded 1 with reference to hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen dioxide. Thus, upon exposure to specific air pollutants, such hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen dioxide, even at the concentrations below the maximum allowable concentration there is an increased hazard of their toxic effect on the population.     

The study of immunological component in antitumor effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trypanosoma cruzi</Emphasis>

The experiments with passive transfer of splenocytes obtained from animals immunized with Trypanosoma cruzi lysate revealed the role of cell-mediated component of the immunity in the antitumor effect of T. cruzi. The common features of T. cruzi antigens and tumor-specific antigens of Ehrlich’s adenocarcinoma were demonstrated. These antigens were shown to have common epitopes with mammalian mucins. The oncoprotective effect was achieved by immunization with type II and III mucins and was reproduced after passive transfer of splenocytes from immunized animals. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 145, No. 3, pp. 326–329, March, 2008     

Isolation and study of recombinant strains of Salmonella typhimurium SL 7207, producing HBcAG and HBcAG-HBs

Recombinant strains producing hepatitis B virus (HBcAg) core protein and chimeric core protein exposing on its surface the major immunogenic epitope of HBsAg (HBcAg-HBs) were constructed on the base of attenuated S. typhimurium SL 7202 strain. The resultant Salmonella strains produced proteins which were capable of self-assembly into virus-like particles and showed antigenic properties of both core and surface hepatitis B proteins. A single rectal immunization with recombinant S. typhimurium induced humoral and cellular immune response to HBcAg and HBsAg. Specific anti-HBcAg were detected in animal sera and intestinal tissues, which indicated the formation of specific mucosal immunity.     

Optimizing the HIV/AIDS informed consent process in India

Background

While the basic ethical issues regarding consent may be universal to all countries, the consent procedures required by international review boards which include detailed scientific and legal information, may not be optimal when administered within certain populations. The time and the technicalities of the process itself intimidate individuals in societies where literacy and awareness about medical and legal rights is low.

Methods

In this study, we examined pregnant women's understanding of group education and counseling (GEC) about HIV/AIDS provided within an antenatal clinic in Maharashtra, India. We then enhanced the GEC process with the use of culturally appropriate visual aids and assessed the subsequent changes in women's understanding of informed consent issues.

Results

We found the use of visual aids during group counseling sessions increased women's overall understanding of key issues regarding informed consent from 38% to 72%. Moreover, if these same visuals were reinforced during individual counseling, improvements in women's overall comprehension rose to 96%.

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that complex constructs such as informed consent can be conveyed in populations with little education and within busy government hospital settings, and that the standard model may not be sufficient to ensure true informed consent.     

Immunohistochemical Study of Fetal Stem/Progenitor Cells from Human Brain Transplanted into Traumatized Spinal Cord of Adult Rats

Neural stem/progenitor cells from human fetal brain were grown in a tissue culture and transplanted into traumatized spinal cord of adult rats. The behavior and differentiation of transplanted cells were studied morphologically by means of histological and immunohistochemical methods and confocal microscopy. Human neural stem/progenitor cells were viable for not less than 3 months. They migrated and differentiated into neurons and glia in the traumatized spinal cord of adult rats.     

FENTANYL THERAPY CONTROLS AUTONOMIC HYPERACTIVITY IN TETANUS

SUMMARY This report describes the use of fentanyl in severe tetanus after failure of established therapeutic modalities (heavy sedation, neuromuscular blockade and ventilation). Cardiovascular instability accompanying severe tetanus secondary to sympathetic overactivity and raised catecholamine levels is associated with a mortality of over 50%.¹ In this clinical situation, a variety of drugs with a primary or secondary action on the cardiovascular system has been used with varying success. The following case of severe generalised tetanus in the adult associated with autonomic hyperactivity, was successfully managed with large doses of intravenous fentanyl.     

Different systems of delivery of HIV-1 DNA vaccine encoding the multiepitope CTL-immunogene

We used, within the case study, virus-like particles (VLP) and attenuated strains of salmonella for the delivery of HIV-1 DNA vaccine encoding the multiepitope CTL-immunogene. The immunogenicity of the thus obtained vaccine constructions was comparatively analyzed. All constructions were shown to be able of inducing, in immunized animals, both the specific T-cell responses and the synthesis of virus-specific antibodies. The lowest level of immune response was registered in animals immunized by "naked" plasmid DNA. The delivery by plasmid DNA involving VLP or the attenuated strain of salmonella enhances the efficiency of the DNA-vaccine presentation to the immune system.     

Prediction of MHC class II binders using the ant colony search strategy

OBJECTIVE: Predictions of the binding ability of antigen peptides to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules are important in vaccine development. The variable length of each binding peptide complicates this prediction. METHODOLOGY: Motivated by the search properties of the ant colony system (ACS), a method for the identification of an alignment for a given set of short protein peptides has been developed. This alignment is further used for the derivation of a position specific scoring matrix. The distinguishing feature of this method is the use of the collective optimized search strategy of ants for the selection of the alignment. RESULTS: The performance of the new model has been evaluated with several benchmark datasets. It achieves better or comparable results as compared to the performance of existing methods. CONCLUSION: The experiments demonstrate that the predictive performance of the scoring matrix embodies several promising characteristics.