Synthesis and Pharmacological Activity of the Oxidized Fractions of Arabinogalactan from Siberian Larch (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Larix sibirica L.</Emphasis>)

Aqueous solutions of arabinogalactan from Siberian larch (Larix sibirica L.) were subjected to oxidative destruction by a hydrogen peroxide – molecular oxygen system. The obtained high- and low-molecular-weight fractions of oxidation products were characterized by chemical and spectral methods and tested for pharmacological activity. The results of experiments on animals showed evidence for significant antiulcer and antiinflammatory properties of the preparations studied. __________ Translated from Khimiko-Farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 39, No. 8, pp. 23 – 26, August, 2005.     

Cancer of the colon in an egg donor: policy repercussions for donor recruitment

This paper describes the tragic case of a young woman who died of cancer of the colon after successfully donating eggs to her younger sister. Although there is no direct link between her operation and the subsequent development of bowel carcinoma, this case imparts a feeling of unease when seen in conjunction with other cases reported during the last few years. It is a reminder that little is known of the long-term consequences of some aspects of assisted conception. Women undergoing ovarian stimulation for themselves or a matched recipient have the right to be advised, in an agreed format, that there is some concern about unproven potential risks from the stimulatory drugs. The safety of egg donors must assume priority over all other considerations, including lack of donors or any moral position. The recent decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to withdraw any form of payment or recompense to egg donors does not seem to us to be based on a balance of scientific advances, patient needs and the ethics of gamete supply. They state that the intention to withdraw payments was implicit in the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act. However the Act was based on the Warnock report made 6 years earlier. Even in 1990 ovum donation was uncommon and fertility drugs had not yet caused any unease. The Act provided the HFEA with discretionary powers to issue directions so that the future policies would be consistent with any emerging new medical evidence. It is imperative that the HFEA provide convincing evidence on how the current policy of payment to donors harms society, donors or recipients, and how in the UK the new policy will improve medical practice in assisted conception. Successful pilot studies must precede the implementation of any new policy. Failure to do this could cause irreversible harm to the practice of assisted conception using donor gametes, which will ultimately be against the basic aims of the 1990 HFE Act.      

Effect of weightlessness on some indices of brain development (results of residence of pregnant rats aboard the Cosmos-1514 biosatellite and investigation of subsequent development of their offspring on earth)

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology -     

Antitumor action of glycopeptides from the cell wall of Lactobacillus bulgaricus

The antitumor action of the substance blastolysin, the main components of which are glycopeptide fragments from the cell wall ofLactobacillus bulgaricus, was studied. Blastolysin exhibits a specific antitumor effect against sarcoma S-180, leukemia P-388, plasmacytoma MOPC-315, adenocarcinoma AKATOL, melanosarcoma B-16, carcinoma LLC, and spontaneous tumors of mice. It has low toxicity, does not depress hematopoiesis, and in the character of its action on tumor tissue it differs essentially from known chemotherapeutic preparations.M. M. Shemyakin Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Scientific-Production Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances, Sofia, Bulgaria. Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 84, No. 12, pp. 709–712, December, 1977.     

Investigation of three new mouse mammary tumor cell lines as models for transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and Neu pathway signaling studies: identification of a novel model for TGF-β-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Introduction  

This report describes the isolation and characterization of three new murine mammary epithelial cell lines derived from mammary tumors from MMTV (mouse mammary tumor virus)/activated Neu + TβRII-AS (transforming growth factor [TGF]-β type II receptor antisense RNA) bigenic mice (BRI-JM01 and BRI-JM05 cell lines) and MMTV/activated Neu transgenic mice (BRI-JM04 cell line).     

Bacteriophage Cocktails in the Post-COVID Rehabilitation

Increasing evidence suggests that gut dysbiosis is associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and may persist long after disease resolution. The excessive use of antimicrobials in patients with COVID-19 can lead to additional destruction of the microbiota, as well as to the growth and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics encourages the search for alternative methods of limiting bacterial growth and restoring the normal balance of the microbiota in the human body. Bacteriophages are promising candidates as potential regulators of the microbiota. In the present study, two complex phage cocktails targeting multiple bacterial species were used in the rehabilitation of thirty patients after COVID-19, and the effectiveness of the bacteriophages against the clinical strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae was evaluated for the first time using real-time visualization on a 3D Cell Explorer microscope. Application of phage cocktails for two weeks showed safety and the absence of adverse effects. An almost threefold statistically significant decrease in the anaerobic imbalance ratio, together with an erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), was detected. This work will serve as a starting point for a broader and more detailed study of the use of phages and their effects on the microbiome.     

Polymorphism of the APOE Gene and Markers of Brain Damage in the Outcomes of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Children

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - Objective. To compare the genotypes at the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene with outcomes and level of neural markers in children with severe traumatic brain...     

"Early-peak" carbon monoxide production in certain erythropoietic disorders

The "early-labeled" peak (ELP) of 14CO excretion following injection of glycine-2-14C was used to study erythropoiesis in a patient with sideroblastic anemia and in four subjects with myeloproliferative disorders. The ELP was greatly enlarged in all patients, as compared with a normal volunteer. The contour of the peaks from the hematologically abnormal subjects suggested the presence of increased erythroid heme degradation. In the patient with sideroblastic anemia, all hours of the early peak were significantly reduced after transfusion. This was interpreted to mean that even the earliest or "nonerythroid" phase of the peak is influenced by erythropoietic activity, at least under conditions of erythropoietic stress.