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For automation of segmental solid-phase synthesis a simple approach leading to the optimal scheme of synthesis of a large numbers of oligonucleotides in one reaction vessel has been proposed. An advantage of the scheme as compared with synthesis in four reaction vessels is a lower number of condensation steps and increased economy of the process. Sixteen oligodeoxyribonucleotides constituting promoter fragment of the viral genome have been synthesised by the modified segmental method on "Victoriya-2" synthesizer according to the optimal scheme.

A bufotenine metabolite has been isolated from the rabbit urine by the column chromatography on cellulose and preparative paper electrophoresis in acidic buffer. It has the structure of N,N-dimethyl-O-(beta-D-glucopyranuronosyl)-5-hydroxytryptamine as proved by comparison of chromatographic, electrophoretic and NMR data with those for respective synthetic O-glucuronide.

Behavior of the covalent [32P]- and [14C]AMP-RNA ligase complex under various conditions has been studied. The covalent structure is shown to be readily cleaved by acid and hydroxylamine and relatively stable to alkali and snake venom phosphodiesterase. Products of degradation of the AMP-RNA ligase and AMP-DNA ligase complexes were compared. The data obtained support the earlier assumption of a phosphoamide bond in the AMP-RNA ligase compound.

On mild acid degradation of a lipopolysaccharide from Pseudomonas cepacia strain IMV 4137, a serologically active O-specific polysaccharide was obtained and shown to contain L-rhamnose and D-galactose. According to 1H- and 13C-NMR data as well as methylation analysis, the polysaccharide is made up of disaccharide repeating units of the following structure:----2)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1----4)-alpha-D-Galp-(1----.

Trypsin and cyanogen bromide were used for cleavage of the OSCP preparations. The peptide mixtures thus formed were separated into individual components by a combination of various chromatographic procedures: gel filtration, ion exchange and paper chromatography, as well as reversed-phase HPLC. As a result, 31 tryptic peptides and 9 out of 10 possible cyanogen bromide peptides were isolated. Determination of the amino acid sequences of these peptide allowed the alignment of cyanogen bromide fragments in the polypeptide chain that shed light on the "architecture" of the protein molecule as a whole. It also afforded the overlappings for tryptic peptides, 16 in the N-terminal and 8 in the C-terminal portions of the molecule.

Reduced insulin sensitivity plays an important role in the pathogenesis of type II diabetes. Est-radiol increases sensitivity to insulin. Effect of estradiol may be due to the influence on gene expression, level of proteins or activity of insulin signaling pathway components and insulin target proteins. Effect of estradiol also may be due to the influence on GLUT4 translocation in the cell membrane. Effects of estradiol on insulin receptor substrate, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, protein kinase B, glucose transporter type 4, glucose-6-phosphatase most often examined. In this paper, data on the influence of estradiol on insulin sensitivity in liver, adipose and muscle tissues systematized in order to identify promising areas of research and new targets for pharmacological correction of insulin resistance.

In this paper the contribution of chronic irradiation at low doses (0.42 mGy/h) and dysgenesis to changing morphological parameters (gonadal atrophy/sterility and ovarian reserve) of the reproductive system of female Drosophild melanogaster is rated. It is shown that the sterilizing effect of dysgenesis is enhanced predominantly by irradiation of the maternal line. The level of ovarian reserve of irradiated females depends on the type of dysgenic system. Unlike I-R females in whom the level of radiation-induced ovarian reserve does not differ from the control, both decrease (in P-M females) and increase (in H-E females) is observed in the ovariole number. The results indicate the important role of mobile genetic elements destabilizing the genome in the modification of reproductive functions of females exposed to chronic-action of low-intensity γ-radiation.

The human oocyte is surrounded by the zona pellucida—an elastic, transparent extracellular matrix consisting of specific glycoproteins. The zona pellucida is preserved after fertilization and surrounds the developing human embryo for a few days. The embryo needs to get out of the zona pellucida before implantation to establish cell contacts between the trophectoderm and endometrial epithelium. The release of the embryo from the zona pellucida is carried out at the stage of the blastocyst and called zona hatching. During zona hatching the blastocyst breaks the zona pellucida and performs active movements to escape through a gap formed in the zona. While microscopic description of zone hatching is well known, biochemical and cytological basis of zone hatching remains poorly understood. The break of the zona pellucida occurs under the influence of two forces: mechanical pressure of the growing blastocyst on the zone and chemical dissolution of the zone material with secreted lytic enzymes. There is only one paper (Sathananthan et al., 2003), which describes the specialized cells in the trophectoderm that locally dissolve the zona pellucida, promoting the emergence of the hole for blastocyst release. Taking into account the singleness of the paper and the absence of further development of this subject by the authors in the following decade, the existence of specialized cells for zone hatching should be assumed with great care. Lytic enzymes, secreted by cells of the trophectoderm for dissolving the zona pellucida, are different. Depending on the species of the mammal, different classes of proteases participate in the zone hatching process: serine proteases, cysteine proteases, metalloproteinases. Proteases, secreted by human trophectoderm, are not described. The mechanisms of the active movement during blastocyst hatching are investigated to a lesser degree. Only the involvement of the cytoskeleton of trophectoderm cells in the mechanism of blastocyst compression was shown, and the participation of desmosomes in the coordinated change in the form of trophectoderm cells during compression is suggested. This review summarizes literature data on the possible mechanisms of zone hatching in the development of human embryos, obtained in experiments in vitro, as well as in animal models.

This paper presents an analysis of the data published in the scientific literature in connection with the prob- lem of forecasting the risk of development of malignant and non-malignant diseases by chromosome aberra- tion frequencies in cultures of human peripheral- blood lymphocytes. This question is closely linked with the concept of a common chromosomal instability. At the end of the twentieth century evidence of the possibility of such forecast for malignant diseases appeared when cytogenetic indices did not exceed control values on the whole. At the same time there are significant uncertainties due to interindividual and intraindividual variability. In addition, there are significant difficulties concerning distinction of chromosome aberrations induced by environmental influences (for example, radiation) and those due to the possibility of internal processes in the body. For non-malignant diseases the applicability of a similar approach to risk evaluation is not sufficiently substantiated.

The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the biomechanical characteristics human's walking before and after a stay in a long-term head-down bed rest at a -6 degrees angle simulating a microgravity (the HDBR-group) and in head-up bed rest (HUBR) at a +9.6 degrees angle as a analogue of lunar gravity (the HUBR-group). The biomechanical characteristics of the walking on a treadmill pace of 60 steps/minute before and after bed rest were analyzed. We investigated also the electromyographic characteristics of leg muscles and recorded the angles in the following joints: hip joint, knee joint and ankle joint. The most pronounced effect on the parameters of the humans walking was found in the HDBR-group. It was manifested in the changes of angles in the leg joints at various phases of a step change and in an electromyographic activity of muscles. Similar, but less pronounced changes of walking biomechanical characteristics were found after bed rest in the HUBR-group.

The studied in the paper is how breathing in isolated space (rerespiration) influences heart rate variability, arterial pressure indices, and composition of the expired gas in individuals with different vegetative regulation types in origin. Found that, the values and vector of the changes in low frequency indices of the power of heart rate spectrum before and within the process of rerespiration have been highly informative when assessing the leading type of vegetative regulation. The structure of intersystem correlations in the examined male subjects has specific features either at rest (baseline) or at breathing test that testifies to different mechanisms of maintaining functional abilities in sympathicotonic and vagotonic individuals undergoing hypoxic-hypercapnic gas mixture breathing.

The role of various classes of cortical and hippocampal interneurons in the pathogenesis of the temporal lobe epilepsy, which is among the most common forms of epilepsy, is discussed in this paper. The results of the morphological studies in postmortem brain tissue and electrophysiological experiments on brain slices of patients taken in neurosurgical operations as well as the results of in vivo and in vitro studies in animal models are critically reviewed. The selective elimination of the specific groups of interneurons and the functional disorders of the surviving interneurons causes the dysfunction of inhibitory processes in epileptic brain. The understanding of the specific role of different classes of interneurons in epileptic brain is a basis for the development of new effective treatment strategies.

Currently intestinal microbiota is considered as a potential target for influence in various pathologies which have inflammation, autoimmunity or neurodegeneration in the genesis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) combines all these processes in the pathogenesis. Furthermore, the balance of the components of intestinal microbiota is disrupted during MS and followed by disbiosis. Different probiotics - bacteria with proven beneficial properties are widely used to correct dysbisis. In this paper, was investigated the ability of probiotic strain Enterococcus faecium L-3 to reduce disease severity in multiple sclerosis model - experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). E. faecium L-3 were used alone or in combination with glatiramer acetate (GA). It is shown that administration of E. faecium L-3 reduces the severity of EAE in rats almost as same as that of GA. However, when the probiotic enterococci administered together with GA the protective effect does not observed. It is assumed that these preparations stimulates different ways of the immune system, because their action stimulate different immune cells populations. The study demonstrates the ability of E. faecium L-3 to influence on the immune system in MS, directly and indirectly (through the correction of dysbiosis). This fact allows us to consider E. faecium L-3 as a potential tool for immunomodulation in autoimmune, inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.

The paper describes the role of radionuclide technologies among the nuclear-physical methods used in medicine. The condition and prospects of the development of nuclear technology with use of radionuclides in medicine, and in particular, the method of brachytherapy are analyzed. The analysis of the current state of applying radionuclide facilities in medicine is provided.

The aim of the paper is to study modern tritium levels in various sources of the drinking water supply in the settlements situated in the riverside zone of the Techa. Almost everywhere the water entering water-conduit wells from deep slits (100-180 m) contains averagely 2-3 times higher tritium concentrations than the water from less deep personal wells, slits and springs. Tritium levels in the drinking water supply decrease with the distance from the dam; while in wells, springs and personal wells they are constant all along the river. The observed phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the river bed of the Techa is situated at a break zone of the earth crust, where the contaminated deep water penetrates from the reservoirs of the "Mayak" enterprise situated in the upper part of the regulated river bed. Less deep water sources (personal wells, slits and springs) receive predominantly flood, atmospheric and subsoil waters and are not connected with the reservoirs.

The GAGA protein of drosophila is a factor involved in epigenetic transcription regulation of a large gene group controlling developmental processes. In this paper, the role of GAGA factor in germ cell migration is demonstrated as well as its effect on the gonad development in drosophila embryogenesis. Mutations in the Trl gene, encoding GAGA factor, prematurely induces the active migration program and relocation of the primordial cells inward the embryo before the beginning of gastrulation. The germ cells that prematurely separated from the main group migrate ectopically, lose orientation, and stay out of gonad development. Expression pattern of the Trl gene suggests its activity in epithelial cells of the embryonic blastoderm, part of which contact primordial cells. Thus, GAGA factor influences migration of these cells in an indirect manner via their somatic environment.

The paper is devoted to determination of α-emitting radionuclides of 238, 239 + 240Pu and 241Am in liver, lungs, muscular and bone tissues of the boars on the territory of the Belarusian part of the ChNPP exclusion zone. It is shown that the content of Pu and Am isotopes in boar organs and tissues decreases in the following order: liver > bone tissues > lungs ≥ muscular tissues. The results received allow evaluation of penetration of 238, 239 + 240Pu and 241Am through the biological chain "soil-ration-organs and tissues". It is calculated that 1.7% of a boar's ration falls on the soil getting into the stomach with food. Translocation and accumulation coefficients characterizing the transfer of radionuclides through the chain "soil-vegetation-organs and tissues" were calculated. The conclusion about accumulation of Pu in the boar's body is made.

The paper describes a model of intentional form of tremor developed in experiments in animals. Experiments with lesion of nucleus caudatus revealed the important role of this structure to regulate normal relationships between activity of reciprocal muscles under producing the non stereotypic forms of motor behavior. The model may be used to study the etiology and pathogenesis of intentional tremor as well as for preclinical testing of pharmacological drugs potentially perspective for correction of given form of diskinesia in humans.

The paper presented the possibility of recognition by adult the comfort and discomfort state of 3 and 6 months old infant's on the base of their vocalizations. The acoustic features of the vocalizations that are important for the recognition of the infant state of the characteristics of voice was described. It is shown that discomfort vocalizations differ from comfort ones on the basis of the average and maximum values of pitch, pitch values in the central and final part of the vocalization. A mathematical model is proposed and described a classification function signal of discomfort and comfort. Was found that the vocalizations of infants attributable adults with a probability of 0.75 and above the categories of comfort and discomfort with high reliability are recognized by the mathematical model based on a classification function.

Results of theoretical (numerical) and experimental electromagnetic field dosimetry for homogeneous human head phantoms are considered. The simulation and measurement results are shown. This paper presents the results of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) evaluation in the "special anthropomorphic model" of human head, when a source of electromagnetic radio frequency field is placed in front of the face. The minimal difference is shown between measurements and simulation results in Head Simulating Liquid, which makes it possible to conduct further brain tissue simulations. The investigations show that the type of electromagnetic field source and phantom form play an important part for SAR distribution.

The paper analyzes the effects of spontaneous level of yH2AX and 53BP1 foci on a frequency of radiation-induced centromere-negative and centromere-positive micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 54 healthy individuals after exposure to 2 Gy of ionizing radiation in vitro. An inverse correlation was found between the level of spontaneous yH2AX foci and the frequency of centromere-negative micronuclei after irradiation. The corresponding correlations between the spontaneous level of protein 53BP1 foci and the frequency of centromere-negative micronuclei were not statistically significant. In addition, cells of the individuals with a high frequency of radiation-induced micronuclei were also characterized by a low proliferative activity. It was suggested that DNA double strand break repair works less efficiently in cells of the individuals with low levels of spontaneous yH2AX foci, and a greater number of DNA double strand breaks after exposure to ionizing radiation remains unrepaired, thus leading to a cell cycle block and an increase of the frequency of centromere-negative micronuclei.

For today the reagents based on oligonucleotides--gold nanoparticles conjugates and used for specific nucleic acids detection are actively being developed. Such molecular structures are stabilized through the bonds between thiol group in oligonucleotides and gold atoms in nanoparticle. The durability of oligonucleotides--gold nanoparticles binding affects directly on the stability of conjugates and on the possibility of further manipulations. In this paper, a method for the strengthening of oligonucleotides attachment on the gold nano-particles surface by means of anchor groups with dithiolane residues is proposed. A comparative study of the anchors molecular structure influence on the conjugates stability at conditions that typical for oligonucleotide probes was carried out.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the CNS that affects people of working age, in which the targets of aggressive immune cells become the myelin and myeline producing cells, as well as neurons. It is assumed that a predisposition to MS is forming in childhood, due to common infections. In this paper the experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was examined in rats administered IL-1beta at different periods of the early postnatal ontogenesis. EAE was induced in rats at the age of 3 months by single subcutaneous immunization with a homologous homogenate of spinal cord in complete Freund's adjuvant. The number of sick animals were evaluated, as well as the severity of the disease and its duration. It was shown that in rats after administration of IL-1beta on 1st and on 4th week of life EAE is more severe than corresponding control groups of rats. Discusses the damaging or protective effects of injections of IL-1beta during different periods of early postnatal ontogenesis, role of stress reactivity and communication with the "hygiene hypothesis".

Considerable modifications of the pools of free amino acid and some other compounds in the body ectothermic animals in response to the decrease in temperature are a consequence of the complexity of their adaptation mechanisms. There is no data in the literature on the contribution of such free connections in the low-temperature adaptation of brain ectothermic animals. In a previous study, it was found that as a result of exposure to acute cold shock in the brain eurothermal fish in large numbers appear two ninhydrinpositive compounds of unknown nature. In this paper, found that by the beginning of the winter period in the brain are accumulated the same connection also. Found that these are metabolites of phospholipids, phosphoethanolamine and phosphoserine. Phosphoethanolamine pool 94 times more in winter than in summer, and phosphoserine is only in the winter. Assumes that the accumulation of phosphoethanolamine and phosphoserine related to adaptation and modification of membrane phospholipid at low temperatures.

This paper is a short review of literature data and results of our own investigation into the adaptive response (AR). It was aimed at the analysis of the AR induction, its formation, some mechanisms, its expansion, and universality. It is supposed that a lot of mechanisms, a high variability degree, the absence of this phenomenon in some individuals, as well as dependence on many situations make the AR induction not predictable. Perhaps AR induction is not a universal phenomenon in practice, as it was supposed earlier.

The paper described a new mutation that causes the development of multiple meristematic foci as part of shoot apical meristem, which can give rise to new stem axes or cause stem fasciation. The wus-1 mutation represses development of additional apical meristem in fas5 mutant, indicating to the sequential action of the genes in the formation of the shoot apical meristem and FAS5 gene participation in spatial restriction of the WUS gene expression. This function gene FAS5 performs independently of other negative regulators of WUS gene--namely genes CLV, as demonstrated by additive phenotype of double mutants fas5 clv2-1 and fas5 clv3-2. Besides the effect on the development of the shoot apical meristem fas5 mutation causes a change in the shape and number of leaves, accelerates the plant transition to the reproductive stage and leads to the development of cell neoplasms on the stem (buds, stigmatic tissues and ovule-like structures). The mutation also causes changes in apical meristems and leaf cell morphology indicating the activation in cells of DNA endoreduplication. Pleiotropic effect of the fas5 mutation on different stages of ontogeny and different organs suggests that the FAS5 gene plays a complex regulatory role at all stages of the A. thaliana shoot development, and affects many direct or indirect target genes.

The results of treatment of cancer patients have not undergone any significant changes in recent years. This is due to the fact that opportunities to improve the outcomes by developing radiation therapy equipment and op- timizing the dose delivery are largely exhausted. However, there is a proven, but practically not utilized way--the use of radiomodifiers. This paper presents the experience of more than 25 years of clinical use of radiomodification in the Russian Scientific Center of Radiology and Modern Surgery Technologies. Simplicity, avai- lability, and stability of the results allow considering the use of radiomodification as one of the possible ways to improve the effectiveness of radiotherapy.

In this paper, we study the relation between the electrophoretic mobility of erythrocytes (EPME) and the activity of Na,K-ATPase of erythrocytes under the action of different types of stress factors (immobilization, hypoxia, radiation exposure), as well as the introduction of stress implementing agents (adrenaline, cortisol, bee and toad venom) rats. Activity of Na,K-ATPase and the change of EPME washed erythrocytes were examined through 15, 120 min and 24 hours after exposure. Found that at the initial stage (15 min after a stress-exposure) decrease of EPME associated with increased enzyme activity and further increase of EPME takes place on the background of the decrease of activity of Na,K-ATPase in all types of alterations, except the actions toad venom and cortisol. Toad venom and cortisol led to reduced activity of Na,K-ATPase and increase of EPME.

It has been shown that psychoneurological disorders are accompanied by different disturbances of immunity. Paper aimed to study the effects of repeated experience of aggression in daily agonistic interactions leading to the development of behavioral psychopathology on the parameters of cellular immunity in the thymus and spleen. There were no found the changes in the weight indexes, the number of cells in the thymus, spleen and blood in aggressive mice. In the spleen of aggressive mice percent of B-lymphocytes--CD19+ and CD16/32+, as well as T-lymphocytes CD4+8-, CD4-8+, and CD4+25(hi) decreased and percent of CD4-25+ increased in comparison with the controls. In the thymus percent of CD4-25+ cells are decreased without changes of other types of lymphocytes. Flow cytometric analysis revealed decreased percentage of apoptotic (A(0)) and resting (G0/G1) cells and increased percentage of proliferating cells in phase S+G2/M in the spleen of aggressive male mice in comparison with the control. The percentage of apoptotic thymocytes is increased and the percentage of thymocytes in S+G2/M phase is decreased under the repeated experience of aggression. Data suggest the possible development of an autoimmune procceses in male mice under the influence of repeated experience of aggression.

Results of experimental researches of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) dynamics in human under acute hypoxia have been analyzed in the paper. It was found that changes of CBF under severe acute hypoxia are of nonlinear character and have several phases--the primary growth in the first minutes of hypoxia, relative stabilization and secondary growth. Secondary growth has no relation to changes of the hypoxemia level. It begins earlier under more severe hypoxia and in individuals with less resistance to oxygen deficit. Opposite to this, hypoxic training prolongs the time from the onset of hypoxia till the moment of the CBF secondary growth. The hypothesis was suggested that the CBF secondary growth reflects a phase of certain exhaustion of the brain's neuronal mitochondrial reserve capacity, which is accompanied by accumulation of vasoactive substances--precursors of ATP.

The paper reports on the results of a ground walking gamma- and gamma-spectrometric survey made in the impact zone of the accidental underground nuclear explosion "Kraton-3". Patterns of migration, 137Cs, 90Sr and Pu distribution in the soil-vegetable cover of the northern taiga on permafrost are considered. Radioeco- logical situation within the territory surveyed is noted as unfavorable.

The brief analytic review of exceedingly important, tough, but the insufficient investigated problem of experimental investigation of spaceflight factors (SF) combined influence on animal organism functions is the content of this paper. The basic limited factor for interplanetary spaceflights is ionizing radiation. Therefore, in the paper studies the matters of the effects of combined influence and the different nonradiation SF. In this case the possible disturbances of central nervous system functions are the most important, because they present the basic danger for space mission performance and the cosmonauts life directly in spaceflight. Besides of that, in the paper studies the matters of character of interaction and mutual modifications of the combined effects of different SF: hypodynamia, G force, vibration, hypoxia, hyperthermia. The effects of this factor may have additive, potentiative, synergic or antagonistic character. In studies of SF combined influence effects the accentuation of the key factor and organism system that is targeted for this factor influence is necessary.

Liposomes are of great interest in biotechnology, as a drug delivery systems, due to their biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. However, low stability and tendency to aggregate still limits their application in medicine. Therefore, the actual problem is to obtain the effective stabilizing additives for the liposomes on the base of polymeric materials. In this paper we suggested to use the branched copolymers on the base of chitosan modified by polyethylene glycol (PEG-chitosan) as stabilizing additives for the liposomes. The method of copolymer synthesis of chitosan modified with PEG molecules by using mPEG-suc-NHS was developed and the PEG-chitosan copolymers of different modification degrees were obtained to investigate the influence of the complex formation of PEG-chitosan on the structure and stability of mixed anionic liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cardiolipin (CL) (80/20% w/w). It has been found by using FTIR spectroscopy and DLS methods that the PEG-chitosan co-polymers form a Complex of electrostatic nature by interaction with the anionic groups in liposomes. It was found that the main binding sites of the copolymer with liposomes are phosphate and carbonyl groups. Analysis of the IR spectra yields that the complex formation of liposomes with PEG-chitosan resulted to significant stabilization of liposomes against aggregation upon storage. This result is particularly important, taking into account the fact that the aggregation is one of the key factors limiting the use of liposomes in medicine. These results offer the prospect of the copolymer PEG-chitosan as an effective additive for stabilizing liposomes and hold promise for creating new drug delivery systems.

Neurulation is traditionally defined as the process of closure of the neural tube. New data have shown that the major driving forces ofneurulation continue to operate with the closure of the neural tube, at least until the central canal of the neural tube has formed. Owing to this, the paper proposes to distinguish two periods of neurulation. According to these notions, early neurulation corresponds to the period of closure of the neural tube, and late neurulation corresponds to the period of formation of the central canal. Examples of neural tube defects that affect late neurulation are discussed.

In the current paper we describe a new type of hybrid molecules including red fluorescent protein mCherry and 10th type III human fibronectin domain (10Fn3) - one of the alternative scaffold proteins which can be used for the construction of antibody mimics with various binding specificity. We have constructed different gene variants encoding for the hybrid fluorescent protein and studied their expression in Escherichia coli cells. It was shown that N-terminal position of mCherry and modification of its N-terminal amino acid sequence promotes efficientbacterial expression of the hybrid protein in the soluble form. On the basis of the proposed construction we have obtained the hybrid fluorescent protein ChIBF, containing alphaVbeta3-integrin binding vari- ant of 10Fn3, and demonstrated the possibility of its utilization for the visualization of alphaVbeta3-integrin at the surface of MDCK epithelial cells by confocal microscopy.

Nitric oxide is a universal molecule that regulates many different functions in an organism. In the eye retina nitric oxide plays both a regulatory role by modulation of the synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and bipolar cells and a toxic role in apoptosis induction in the outer nuclear layer and in the layer of ganglion cells. In this paper there has been made the first attempt to estimate the endogenous NO concentration in retina layers in vivo. The concentration of the nitric oxide was determined by two indepen- dent techniques: ESR spectrometry using spin trap for in vivo determination and NO-sensitive microelectrode for in situ determination in the survival isolated frog retina. The distinct NO con- centration was detected only in the ganglion cells layer (~0.25 μM) and in the inner segments layer of the photoreceptors (~0.6 μM). The activity and the kinetic characteristic of the NO-synthase localized in the same layers were also determined. Key words: retina cells layers, nitric oxide, ESR, NO-sensitive microelectrodes.

The outstanding embryologist Boris Ivanovich Balinsky (1905-1997) worked in the Soviet Union up to 1941 and in South Africa since 1949. His experimental studies fulfilled during the Soviet period of his scientific career mainly on the embryos of the caudate amphibians are widely known. After moving to Africa (Johannesburg), he continued the research of amphibian development, with using those possibilities, which were offered by the diverse fauna of local Anura. Other embryologists started complex studies of tropical frog ontogenies (mainly from South and Central America) 30-40 years later than Balinsky. Unfortunately, his pioneering works on numerous African species are poorly known (with the exceptions of the description of the development of endodermal derivatives in Xenopus laevis and the analysis of limb induction in the toad genus Amietophrynus). In this paper, the works of Balinsky are analyzed (with the emphasis on comparative and ecological aspects) and his priority in using of "nonmodel" tropical and subtropical anurans in embryological studies has been shown.

In normal state, a complex multicomponent system called glycocalyx is present on the surface of endothelial vascular system. The structure of the glycocalyx is determined by a group ofproteoglycans, glycoproteins and glycosaminoglycans, originating from endothelial cells and blood flow. Due to its complexity and location on the border of the system of blood circulation, glycocalyx participates in a number of functions supporting the metabolism of the vascular wall. Complete or partial loss of this structure in pathologicalconditions leads to inconsistencies in the vascular wall and changes in its functions. The first part of this review considers the history of detection and determination of endothelial glycocalyx structure, utilized methods and approaches. The molecular composition of the glycocalyx, properties of its components and glycocalyx structure organization are described. The English version of the paper: Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, see also http://www.maik.ru.

Unlabelled: Chronic social defeat stress leads to the development of mixed anxiety-depression state, which accompanied by immune deficiency in male mice. Paper aimed to study effects of ronkoleukin on the parameters of cellular immunity in the thymus and spleen and psychoemotional state in these animals., Methods: Mixed anxiety/depression state was produced by chronic social defeat stress during 20 days in male mice. Roncoleukin (5000 ME/kg, i/p) and saline were chronically injected to depressive mice during 2 weeks without agonistic interactions. After this period subpopulations of lymphocytes in the thymus and spleen were studied in male mice. The animals were also studied in behavioral tests estimating the levels of communicativeness, anxiety and depressiveness., Results: Roncoleukin decreases the number of lymphocytes in the thymus and spleen, and increased the number of lymphocytes in blood and thymus index. Medication increased per cent of CD4+8+ lymphocytes in the thymus and per cent of CD8+ and CD3+25- lymphocytes in the spleen. Roncoleukin induced anxiogenic, stimulative and antidepressive effects., Conclusion: Roncoleukin has small efficacy for treatment of immune suppression induced by chronic social defeat stress and has anxiogenic, stimulating and weak antidepressive effects.

The paper represents theresults of longitudinal monitoring of the changes in the parameters of simple visual-motor reaction, the visual acuity and the rate of the visual discrimination in the child users of mobile communication, which indicate the multivariability of the possible effects of radiation from mobile phones on the auditory system of children.

This paper presents a brief survey and preliminary classification of embryonic cleavage patterns in the class Amphibia. We use published data on 41 anuran and 22 urodele species concerning the character of the third cleavage furrow (latitudinal or longitudinal) and the stage of transition from synchronous to asynchronous blastomere divisions in the animal hemisphere (4-8-celled stage, 8-16-celled stage or later). Based on this, four patterns of amphibian embryonic cleavage are recognized, and an attempt to elucidate the evolutionary relationships among these patterns is undertaken. The so-called "standard" cleavage pattern (the extensive series of synchronous blastomere divisions including latitudinal furrows of the third cleavage) with the typical model species Ambystoma mexicanum and Xenopus laevis seems to be derived and probably originated independently in the orders Anura and Caudata. The ancestral amphibian cleavage pattern seems to be represented by species with longitudinal furrows of the third cleavage and the loss ofsynchrony as early as the 8-celled stage (such as in primitive urodele species from the family Cryptobranchidae).

The paper presents a comparative analysis of frequency, spatial-temporal parameters and three-dimensional localization of EEG sources that characterize changes of cortical-subcortical interactions processes in autumn and spring periods at northern schoolchildren living in satisfactory and disadvantaged (risk group) conditions of the social (family) environment. Seasonal rearrangement of interaction between wave components of main EEG rhythms was revealed. School students present regressive changes in the EEG pattern temporal organization in spring compared to autumn, and this effect was more expressed at adolescents from group of risk. Data EEDS-tomography showed increased activity in the prefrontal, cingular and subcallosal areas of the cortex in the autumn period that could be related to the mechanisms of season depression caused by the significant reduction of the day length in the North. The increased activity of the limbic system structures which is persisted in the spring in adolescents from risk group narrows the range of regulation of adaptive reactions. Unfavorable conditions of the family environment are an additional stress factor to increased load on the regulatory mechanisms that have a negative impact on the emotional-motivation behavior of children and adolescents, thus increasing the risk of the school and of social disadaptation.

The paper describes the phenomenon of substitution of the reduced M2 with a tooth of a complex structure in the American mink Neovison vison Schreber. The anomaly is observed on three skulls out of the 574 examined (0.52%) and is characterized by a clear localization, identical structure, and symmetrical manifestation. Atypical molars have two roots, equally well-developed paraconid, eokonid, hypoconid, and a less pronounced metaconid. Some possible hypotheses for the anomaly that are considered include disruption in the development of the dental germ, mutation, and phenotypic expression of genes that are characteristic of plesiomorphic species of mustelids. The substantiated viewpoint is that the cause of this phenomenon may be the "awakening of dormant genes" as a result of destabilizing selection and hybrid dysgenesis in the area of contact of farm and feral American minks.

In this paper we showed the pH-dependent change in the sensitivity of the membranes of murine peritoneal macrophages to UV-radiation. This relationship is discussed in terms of lipid bilayer membrane stability modification to the action of ROS and lipid peroxidation process (LPP) at different pH. Iron-ascorbate reinforced LPP also led to pH-dependent membranes damage. The increase of the cells incubation medium temperature up to 37 degrees C, which also stimulated LPP, did not change the picture of the pH-dependent damage. Decrease of the incubation medium pH did not reduce H2O2-induced cell damage. Increase of the pH intensified the cells damage.