Catalytic Conversion of Biorenewable Sugar Feedstocks into Market Chemicals.

The transformation of low cost sugar feedstocks into market chemicals and monomers for existing or novel high performance polymers by chemical catalysis is reviewed. Emphasis is given to industrially relevant, continuous flow, trickle bed processes. Since long-term catalyst stability under hydrothermal conditions is an important issue to be addressed in liquid phase catalysis using carbohydrate feedstocks, we will primarily discuss the results of catalytic performance for prolonged times on stream.

[The influence of space geophysical and meteorological factors on the parameters of the body's nonspecific resistance].

The paper provides data on the complex influence of space geophysical factors and meteoreological conditions on the body's nonspecific resistance (BNSR) in Saint Petersburg dwellers. Associations and relationships have been established between the environmental parameters. The leading factors negatively affecting BNSR in the residents of the megapolis have been identified.

[Conduction analgesic techniques and a problem in safe anesthesia].

The authors analyze mortality rates during 338,000 anesthetic procedures. Mortality was 0.02%.

[Human thrombin: drug stability and stabilization].

Stabilization of enzymes is a key factor when using biocatalysis in practice. Each enzyme stability depends both on the structure of its molecule and on the effect of various environmental factors, thus, one of the methods of the enzyme stability preservation is the formation of optimal macromedium. Thus, water structure and enzyme hydration change in the presence of solvable additives that affects its stability and catalytic properties.

[Infectious complications after prosthesis implantation in patients with bone tumors].

Data on the retrospective analysis of 245 cases of endoprosthetic replacement of bones and major joints are presented. Intraprosthetic infection-related complications were reported in 11%. They developed within 3 months in 64% and their frequency was significantly higher in cases of repeat surgery, resection of proximal tibia with subsequent endoprosthetic replacement of defective knee joint as well as adjuvant polychemotherapy.

[Photoreceptor apparatus of a fungus Neurospora crassa].

Light governs living functions of ascomycete fungus Neurospora crassa by controlling expression of the genes responsible for differentiation of reproductive structures, synthesis of secondary metabolites and the circadian oscillator activity. Illumination also influences electrogenic processes in cell membrane and the activity and molecular organization of some enzymes. The major but, probably, not the sole photoreceptor pigment in Neurospora cells is WCC, a heterodimeric complex formed by PAS-domain-containing polypeptides WC-1 and WC-2, which are the products of genes white collar-1 and white collar-2.

Variations of the gravitational field as a motive power for rhythmics of biochemical processes.

Variations of the gravitational field affected by the Sun and the Moon while the Earth's moving along the orbit seem to be a powerful source of many rhythmical processes typical of biochemical processes. Studies carried out in AARI revealed the obvious relationships between the dynamics of some biochemical reactions and lambda(D)-function describing the regular variations of the gravitational field under combined influence of the Sun and the Moon. The following of them are examined as examples: the rate of the unithiol oxidation in vitro, concentration of the thiol compounds in human urine, some hematological indicators (rate of the erythrocytes sedimentation, hemoglobin content).

[Blood cell aggregation and oxidative stress in pathogenesis of ischemic stroke].

Rheologic properties of blood cells and a state of oxidative-reductive processes and blood systems have been studied in 75 patients in acute period of ischemic stroke. The signs of oxidative stress development and simultaneous augmentation of blood cells aggregation were found. Shifts of redox-equilibrium in thiol-disulfide and ascorbate oxidative-reductive blood systems and cells aggregation dependence on their state were detected.

[Treatment of limb osteosarcoma at the turn of the century (half century of experience in research)].

The Russian Cancer Research Center has experience in diagnosing and treating more than 800 patients with osteosarcoma who have been treated at the Clinic of General Oncology since 1952. Survival rates were no more than 10% before the 1970s when the only treatment was surgical. The use of adjuvant chemotherapy after radical surgery has increased survival up to 45-60%.

[Periodical changes of various hematological parameters of the human body adaptation and gravitation fields variations].

Monitoring the content of lymphocytes and nucleated neutrophils (observation period 10.5 months) and the determination of the values of leucocytes coefficient and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in chronic patients revealed rhythms of oscillations of these parameters (from 3-5 to 33 days). The coincidence of these rhythms with the rhythms of variations of gravitational field indicates that gravitational field affects the quantitative blood cell composition and the rheological properties of blood.

[Random fluctuations in readings of measurement devices: cosmophysic effects?].

Fluctuations of "computer time" provided by the PC quartz generator were studied. It was shown that variations in the yearly course of the quartz generator frequency occur with periodicities of 13-15 days and 28-30 days. Regular fluctuations with periods of 0.

[The use of a detector of the extremely weak radiation as a variometer of gravitation field].

It was shown that the detector of extremely weak radiation with selectively increased sensitivity to the nonelectromagnetic, including the gravitational component of the spectrum of active physical fields can be used as the basis for constructing a variometer of gravitational field of a new type.

[Detection of pulsed cosmic radiation].

Dynamics of the oxidation rate of unithiol (sodium dimercaptopropansulfonate) by sodium nitrite was studied under perfect ecological conditions in Antarctica. Short-term spikes (signals) in optical density of the examined solution were found. Special features of these signals, such as the high penetrating ability, the obvious dependence of number of signals on the Sun' longitude, and the high speed of propagation (V > or = 300,000 km/s), indicate the astrophysical origin and possible gravitational causality of these signals.

[Gravitational cause of fluctuations of the rate of oxidation of unithiol by nitrite ion].

The rate of oxidation of unithiol (sodium dimercaptopropansulfonate) by nitrite ion was determined in the course of the annual experiment at the Antarctic station Mirny in 1996-1997. The rhythmic fluctuations in the oxidation rate were found. It is shown that these fluctuations correlate with changes in the velocity of the Earth's forward-rotational movement by the action of the Sun and Moon.

[Spectrophotometry of thiols in the blood serum].

The technique of spectrophotometry of thioldisulfide (TDS) ratio in the plasma by methods making use of Ellman's reagent is described. TDS test is regarded as an indicator of the nonspecific resistance of the organism.

[Impact of chlorination and ozonization on the total mutagenic activity of drinking water].

The total mutagenic activity of chemical pollution of the water taken from the Volga water reservoir was investigated after its treatment with chlorine and ozone. The toxicity of the water was absent after its ozone treatment. Mutagens were found to form after water chlorination.

[Cyclic nucleotides and membrane electrogenesis in cell differentiation in Neurospora crassa].

Significance of membrane electrogenic system and cyclic nucleotides for developmental regulation in lower eukaryotes was studied in Neurospora crassa. Despite of their morphological uniformity, hyphal cells were differentiated by their electrophysiological parameters--membrane potential and input resistance. The cells maintained regulated electric communication through septal pores.

Epoxidation of propene by microbial cells immobilized on inorhanic supports.

Immobilization of gas-utilizing microorganism strains (Mycobacteria, Rhodococcus, methane-utilizers) on inorganic supports based on alumina, silicates, and carbon was carried out to develop heterogeneous biocatalysts for the biotechnologic processes, including the process of propene epoxidation. Adsorption ability of these microorganisms, biocatalytic properties of resting and immobilized bacterial cells, and effect of immobilization techniques on biocatalysis were studied. An approach of double immobilization using inorganic materials (supports and gel) was proposed as simple, universal, and available method to immobilize bacterial cells, resulting in a higher retention (up to 100%) of cells' enzymatic activity and enhanced stability.

[Computed tomography in assessing the local spread of soft-tissue tumors].

Computed tomographic (CT) data for 213 cases of various soft tissue tumors of the trunk and extremities were analysed to assess the role of the method in evaluating local extension of tumor. CT allowed to reliably identify the degree of tumor interaction with adjacent major vessels. Its data was fully confirmed by surgery in 88.

[The stimulating effect of helium-neon laser radiation on rabbit eyes].

Local and general reactions have been studied after subjecting a rabbit eye to dispersed helium-neon laser radiation, 8 x 10(-6) wt/cm-2, 10 min daily for 10 days. There were recorded increase of blood filling of the uveal tract of the eye, changes in the indices of systemic hemodynamics, systolic and diastolic pressure, stroke and minute volume of blood volume, activation of separate links of antioxidant system connected both with oxidation-reduction of thiol disulfide system and the functioning of antiperoxide enzymes. The activation of antioxidant system has a local character, the changes in the retina of the eye and pigmented epithelium is expressed stronger than in the peripheral blood.