Kinematic running resistance of an urban rail vehicle undercarriage: a study of the impact of wheel design.

Urban railway vehicles are important means of transport in towns and cities due to their high capacity, power source, and low running resistance, which make them efficient for operation. Although these properties are considered advantages, there is still room for improvement in their operational efficiency. The main objective of this article is to investigate the impact of railway wheel design on the level of kinematic running resistance, which is expressed as the amount of mechanical energy losses during the interaction of wheels with rails.

Ocean currents break up a tabular iceberg.

In December 2020, giant tabular iceberg A68a (surface area 3900 km) broke up in open ocean much deeper than its keel, indicating that the breakage was not immediately caused by collision with the seafloor. Giant icebergs with lengths exceeding 18.5 km account for most of the calved ice mass from the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

No general stability conditions for marine ice-sheet grounding lines in the presence of feedbacks.

The "marine ice-sheet instability" hypothesis continues to be used to interpret the observed mass loss from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. This hypothesis has been developed for conditions that do not account for feedbacks between ice sheets and environmental conditions. However, snow accumulation and the ice-sheet surface melting depend on the surface temperature, which is a strong function of elevation.

MECHANISMS OF THE FORMATION OF MOTOR-SECRETORY DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH GERD WITH CONCOMITANT AIT.

Objective: The aim: The aim of this work was to study the effect of thyroid hormones on motor-secretory dysfunction in patients with GERD with concomitant AIT.

Patients And Methods: Materials and methods: The study involved three groups of patients: with isolated GERD, GERD with AIT at the stage of hypothyroidism and GERD with AIT at the stage of hyperthyroidism. The control group consisted of 15 practically healthy individuals.

Change in future climate due to Antarctic meltwater.

Meltwater from the Antarctic Ice Sheet is projected to cause up to one metre of sea-level rise by 2100 under the highest greenhouse gas concentration trajectory (RCP8.5) considered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). However, the effects of meltwater from the ice sheets and ice shelves of Antarctica are not included in the widely used CMIP5 climate models, which introduces bias into IPCC climate projections.

Two Variants of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (rhBMP-2) with Additional Protein Domains: Synthesis in an Escherichia coli Heterologous Expression System.

Two variants of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) with additional N-terminal protein domains were obtained by expression in E. coli. The N-terminal domains were s-tag (15-a.

Recombinant domains III of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus envelope protein in combination with dextran and CpGs induce immune response and partial protectiveness against TBE virus infection in mice.

Background: E protein of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and other flaviviruses is located on the surface of the viral particle. Domain III of this protein seems to be a promising component of subunit vaccines for prophylaxis of TBE and kits for diagnostics of TBEV.

Methods: Three variants of recombinant TBEV E protein domain III of European, Siberian and Far Eastern subtypes fused with dextran-binding domain of Leuconostoc citreum KM20 were expressed in E.

Interactions outside the proteinase-binding loop contribute significantly to the inhibition of activated coagulation factor XII by its canonical inhibitor from corn.

Activated factor XII (FXIIa) is selectively inhibited by corn Hageman factor inhibitor (CHFI) among other plasma proteases. CHFI is considered a canonical serine protease inhibitor that interacts with FXIIa through its protease-binding loop. Here we examined whether the protease-binding loop alone is sufficient for the selective inhibition of serine proteases or whether other regions of a canonical inhibitor are involved.

[The family 28 carbohydrate-binding module of the thermostable endo-1,4-beta-glucanase CelD Caldicellulosiruptor bescii maximizes the enzyme's activity and binds irreversibly to amorphous cellulose].

The nucleotide sequence of a chromosome fragment of the thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor bescii (syn. Anaerocellum thermophilum) has been determined. The fragment contains four open reading frames with the second one of 749 aa encoding a multimodular endo-1,4-beta-glucanase CelD (85019 Da).

Regular patterns in frictional resistance of ice-stream beds seen by surface data inversion.

Fast-flowing glaciers and ice streams are pathways for ice discharge from the interior of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to ice shelves, at rates controlled by conditions at the ice-bed interface. Using recently compiled high-resolution data sets and a standard inverse method, we computed basal shear stress distributions beneath Pine Island and Thwaites Glaciers, which are currently losing mass at an accelerating rate. The inversions reveal the presence of riblike patterns of very high basal shear stress embedded within much larger areas with zero basal shear stress.

[Production of mycobacterial antigenes merged with cellulose binding protein domain in order to produce subunit vaccines against tuberculosis].

Protein genes Ag85A, Esat-6, and Cfp10 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were sequenced using the database GenBank to implement selection and synthesis of primer pairs of given genes. PCR was used to obtain target amplicons of the genes. Chromosome DNA of M.

Addictive behavior among young people in Ukraine: a pilot study.

The AUDIT-like tests system was created for complex assessment and evaluation of the addictive status of adolescents in a Ukrainian population. The AUDIT-like tests system has been created from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) developed by the World Health Organization. The AUDIT-like tests were minimally modified from the original AUDIT.

[Production of the recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 in Escherichia coli and testing of its biological activity in vitro and in vivo].

Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) represents the osteoinductive protein factor which plays a dominant role in growth and regeneration of a bone tissue. In clinical practice the bone grafting materials on the basis of rhBMP-2 are widely applied; the Russian analogues of similar materials are not produced. The fragment of the bmp2gene coding for a mature protein was cloned in Escherichia coli.

Chimeric lactase capable of spontaneous and strong immobilization on cellulose and development of a continuous-flow system for lactose hydrolysis at high temperatures.

Recombinant plasmids containing fusion proteins composed of two different modules were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. The modules encoded the lactase LacA (LacZ) from the thermophilic bacterium Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus and the cellulase CelD, a cellulose-binding module (CBM) from Anaerocellum thermophilum. The CelD CBM provides a spontaneous and strong sorption of the fusion proteins onto a cellulose carrier.

[Development and use of a domestic test system for diagnosis of tuberculous infection on the basis of quantitative analysis of interferon-gamma induction in whole blood samples in vitro, by using specific recombinant antigens].

A test system was developed to detect tuberculous infection by qualitative analysis of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in the plasma samples after 20-24-hour incubation of whole blood samples in the presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MBT) antigens: tuberculin PPD and a mixture of the MBT-specific recombinant antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10. The analysis used 3 test tubes each containing 1 ml of heparinized venous blood, one of which served as a control; the other two test tubes were employed to measure antigen-induced IFN-gamma production. Whether this test system might be used to determine primary tuberculous infection was studied in 277 children and adolescents.

[Human recombinant interferon-B constructed on the basis of affinity-binding domain technology].

Fusion gene consisting of dextran-binding domain from Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. Mesenteroides (DBD) and human recombinant interferon-beta (IFN-beta) incorporated between the nucleotide sequence encoding for the recognition site of human enteropeptidase (DDDDK) was installed and constructed in Escherichia coli. The overproducing strain of the chimeric protein DBD-IFN-beta consisting of the IFN-beta, spacer including 10 GS-repeats, human enteropeptidase recognition site, and dextran-binding domain from Leuconostoc mesenteroides was constructed.

Epigenetic changes in the rat livers induced by pyrazinamide treatment.

Drug-induced liver injury, including drug-induced hepatotoxicity during the treatment of tuberculosis infection, is a major health problem with increasingly significant challenges to modern hepatology. Therefore, the assessment and monitoring of the hepatotoxicity of antituberculosis drugs for prevention of liver injury are great concerns during disease treatment. The recently emerged data showing the ability of toxicants, including pharmaceutical agents, to alter cellular epigenetic status, open a unique opportunity for early detection of drug hepatotoxicity.

Targeting cancer cells by novel engineered modular transporters.

A major problem in the treatment of cancer is the specific targeting of drugs to these abnormal cells. Ideally, such a drug should act over short distances to minimize damage to healthy cells and target subcellular compartments that have the highest sensitivity to the drug. We describe the novel approach of using modular recombinant transporters to target photosensitizers to the nucleus, where their action is most pronounced, of cancer cells overexpressing ErbB1 receptors.

[Dependence of aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase VIII activity on protein serine/threonine kinases in Streptomyces rimosus].

In Streptomyces rimosus, selection with aminoglycoside kanamycin triggers "silent" aminoglycoside 3'-phosphotransferase (aph) VIII gene. Expression of aphVIII was accompanied by amplification of a chromosomal DNA fragment, which contained aphVIII. Earlier, S.

[Biogenesis and regulation of biosynthesis of erythromycins in Saccharopolyspora erythraea: a review].

Data on the structure and stages of biosynthesis of erythromycins, relating to (1) successive addition of L-mycarose and D-desosamine to the lactones erythronolide B and mycarosyl-erythronolide B, respectively, and (2) biotransformation of erythromycin D to erythromycin A, are presented. Pathways of biosynthesis of L-mycarose, D-desosamine, and methylmalonyl-CoA and methylpropionyl-CoA precursors of erythronolide B are reviewed, along with the properties of genes coding the enzymes involved. Possible mechanisms of biochemical and gene regulation of erythromycin biosynthesis in Saccharopolyspora erythraea are discussed, including the role of factors ensuring predominant formation of the target product, erythromycin A.

Thermostable DNA-polymerase from the thermophilic archaeon microorganism Archaeoglobus fulgidus VC16 and its features.

A gene (No. AF0497 GenBank, USA) was cloned from the archaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus strain found in the water of hot springs. This gene contains an open reading frame of 2346 base pairs which encodes a thermostable DNA-polymerase (762 amino acid residues).

Recombinant modular transporters for cell-specific nuclear delivery of locally acting drugs enhance photosensitizer activity.

The search for new pharmaceuticals that are specific for diseased rather than normal cells in the case of cancer and viral disease has raised interest in locally acting drugs that act over short distances within the cell and for which different cell compartments have distinct sensitivities. Thus, photosensitizers (PSs) used in anti-cancer therapy should ideally be transported to the most sensitive subcellular compartments in order for their action to be most pronounced. Here we describe the design, production, and characterization of the effects of bacterially expressed modular recombinant transporters for PSs comprising 1) alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone as an internalizable, cell-specific ligand; 2) an optimized nuclear localization sequence of the SV40 large T-antigen; 3) an Escherichia coli hemoglobin-like protein as a carrier; and 4) an endosomolytic amphipathic polypeptide, the translocation domain of diphtheria toxin.

[Targeted intracellular site-specific drug delivery: photosensitizer targeting to melanoma cell nuclei].

A number of drugs are regarded as possessing local activity because their effects take place at an extremely short distance from their location site in the cell. The response of different cellular compartments to these effects is different. Such substances as photosensitizers (PSs), which are used in photodynamic cancer therapy, should be targeted to the cell compartments where their effect is the most pronounced.

[Ultrastructure and metabolism of cardiomyocytes under experimental stress].

Morphogenesis of adaptational, disadaptational, and alterative changes affected structure and function of all live-supporting systems (contractile elements, macroergic phosphate synthesis, intracellular regeneration, and electrolyte exchange control) was studied in cardiomyocytes under experimental chronic stress using ultrastructural and cytochemical methods.