An estimate of phylogenetic relationships among culicine mosquitoes using a restriction map of the rDNA cistron

Restriction maps of the rDNA cistron of twelve species of mosquitoes in six genera of the subfamily Culicinae were constructed using eight 6 bp recognition restriction enzymes. Anopheles albimanus was used as an outgroup. The size of the rDNA cistron ranged from 8.5 kb in Aedes katherinensis to 12.9 kb in Ae. polynesiensis. A total of twenty-six sites were scored; eighteen were polymorphic among ingroup taxa. The proportion of polymorphic nucleotide sites (Pnuc) was 0.059 and the heterozygosity per nucleotide site (Hnuc) was 0.028. Wagner and Fitch Parsimony, Dollo Parsimony and Nei-Li distance/neighbour-joining methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees. The rDNA RFLP dataset did not provide a well-supported phylogeny among culicine taxa. The RFLP phylogenies are incongruent with the morphology character based and molecular phylogenies and derived relationships did not correspond with current taxonomic classifications. The lack of resolution was due to homoplasy arising from frequent independent loss or gain of restriction sites among unrelated taxa.     

Angiomyolipoma of the kidneys

59 angiomyolipomas were studied: immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used in 24 cases, electron microscopy (EM) in 6 cases. 57 tumors had a typical structure, 2 did not contain fat component. Premelanosomes were found by EM in one tumor. Smooth muscle actin was found in all tumor cells. Involvement of lymph nodes was observed in 2 patients. Histogenesis of this tumor is discussed.     

Morphochemical characteristic of rat brain structures after exposure to delta-sleep inducing peptide following long-term amphetamine administration

The aim of this work, that was carried out using Wistar rats, was to characterize the response of neurons of different morphofunctional types to amphetamine administration and to study the possibility of correction of these changes by delta-sleep inducing peptide (DSIP). Single intraperitoneal injection of 60 microg/kg of DSIP following a long term amphetamine administration (2.5 mg/kg for 3 weeks) was shown to result in normalization of brain metabolism, that was disturbed by the drug. The correcting DSIP effect was found in rat brain structures judging by the parameters of the state of proteins in neurons of sensomotor cortex and caudate nucleus and by the activity of enzymes of neurotransmitter metabolism, such as type A and B monoamine oxidases and acetylcholine esterase, that was determined in subfractions of the same brain structures. DSIP modulating effect in phenamine stereotypy supports its role as an adaptogen of intercenter relations in CNS pathology.     

Morphology of the microencapsulated form of measles vaccine based on pH-dependent polymers

Morphology of microparticles of the microencapsulated measles vaccine was studied by cryofractography, transmission electronic microscopy and by atomic force microscopy; co-polymers of polyacrylic acid and of sodium-alginate (spermidine) complexes were used as the matrix. The different-composition microcapsules had clear-cut borders and a certain range of sizes; but they were different in morphology, and their structures and densities varied identically with regard for a medium acidity, which is apparently preconditioned by some conformation-type alterations of matrix molecules. The studied preparations can, probably, protect the viral material in the stomach aggressive medium and release the material to ensure its contact with the intestine lymph tissue; thereof, they can be referred to as promising for further study of mucosal vaccines.     

Denervation of taste buds in the rabbit

Twenty-five rabbits were used to study the effect of glossopharyngeal nerve transection upon the number, size and cellular constitution of the taste buds. The glossopharyngeal nerve was cut on one side, the other being left undisturbed as a control. The animals were sacrificed in groups of three after 7, 10, 14, 21, and 30 days, and 2 and 4 months after the operation. Seven days after the operation the size and number of intragemmal cells were decreased in the taste buds. The taste pores with hairlets passing through them disappeared. The number of taste buds on circumvallate papillae decreased. After ten days taste buds in both types of papillae showed signs of degeneration. Fourteen days after the operation there was a marked decrease in size and number of taste buds. The circumvallate papillae now possessed no taste buds. After 21 days few taste buds were present in foliate gutters. These consisted of one or two sustentacular cells each. After 30 days there were no taste buds on foliate papillae, and thickness of the epithelium lining the gutters was decreased. Two or four months after denervation, the foliate gutters were shallow and some had become flattened. The importance of the gustatory nerve for development and maintenance of the normal status of the taste buds is discussed.     

Detection of the circulation of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus in the piedmont steppes of the North Caucasus

The laboratory verified cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in the piedmont steppes of the North Caucasus (Malgobeksky District, Republic of Ingushetia) are first described. The source of the first infection was Ixodidae ticks; three subsequent sources were contacts with the bloody discharges from patients. CCHF virus genome was detected in the blood of the cattle from an epidemic focus and in the pools of the Ixodes ticks Haemaphysalis parva Neum., 1897 and Boophilus annulatus Say, 1821, taken from cattle. The problem of including the piedmont steppes of the North Caucasus into the CCHF nosological area is discussed.     

Morphological and functional changes in spinal ganglion neurons after epidural clopheline administration

The aim of this chronic experimental study performed in 16 dogs was to determine the effect of epidural infusion of 0.01% clopheline solution on the morphological and histoenzymological characteristics of spinal ganglion neurons. Daily infusions of clopheline at the dose of 15 mg/kg for 14 days caused a decrease in capillary permeability in the spinal ganglia at the injection site and its increase in the intact areas. This finding suggests the changes in the activity of the microcirculatory bed with a disturbed interaction in capillary-neuron system. Analysis of morphometric parameters has demonstrated the presence of some functional and reversible dystrophic changes in spinal ganglion neurons, which were associated with epidural infusion of both clopheline and isotonic solution of sodium chloride. Determination of the activity of oxidation-reduction enzymes, which reflect the course of aerobic and anaerobic processes in spinal ganglion neurons, has shown no significant differences between the groups of animals infused with or isotonic solution of sodium chloride. In conditions of chronic experiment no significant variations were found in RNA content in ganglionic cells at and outside the sites of infusion of clopheline and of isotonic solution of sodium chloride.     

Iliac mucosa changes in late periods after total colectomy in patients with syndromes of gastro-intestinal polyposis

We studied follow-up iliac mucosa biopsies from 11 patients with juvenile polyposis and 4 patients with familial adenomatous polyposis who had undergone total colectomy with mucosal proctoectomy with creation of straight ileoanal anastomosis. The biopsies that have been taken from the posterior wall of the terminal ileum show incomplete and focal neocolonic transformation of iliac mucosa. Nevertheless, in most cases iliac mucosa preserved its architectural and histochemical characteristics. Chronic inflammation in iliac mucosa is not typical for patients with polyposis.