Transverse Profile Monitor using Ion Probe Beams

A profile monitor is described that makes use of a low-intensity and low-energy ion beam to measure the transverse profile of a dense proton beam of small dimensions. Three tehcniques are considered based on the use of ion beams having a pencil, curtain, or cylindrical shape. The detector is almost non-interceptive for the proton beam and does not introduce disturbances in the machine environment. The theroretical aspects of the techniques used, together with experimental results obtained at the CERN SPS and Linac, are presented

Surface-barrier structures based on solid solutions (In2S3)x•(AgIn5S8)1–x

Методом направленной кристаллизации расплава (метод Бриджмена) выращены монокристаллы твердых растворов (In2S3)x·(AgIn5S8)1–x, проведены исследования элементного состава, кристаллической структуры и удельного сопротивления. На основе выращенных монокристаллов созданы фоточувствительные структуры In/(In2S3)x·(AgIn5S81–x и определены фотоэлектрические свойства данных структур. Показана возможность использования созданных структур в качестве широкополосных фотопреобразователей оптического излучения. Single crystals of solid solutions (In2S3)x⋅(AgIn5S8)1–x were grown by the method of directional crystallization of themelt (Bridgman method). Studies of the elemental composition and crystal structure of these single crystals have been carried out. On the basis of solid solutions (In2S3)x⋅(AgIn5S8)1–x, photosensitive structures have been created for the first timeand the photoelectric properties of these structures have been determined. The possibility of using the created structures as broadband photoconverters of optical radiation is shown

Universal BCT monitor for INR proton Linac pulse beam

The INR Proton Linac accelerated beam is now in the range of 10…12 mA pulse current, 0.3…200 µs pulse duration and 1…50 Hz repetition rate. The various beam pulse durations are important for nuclear experiments and medical applications. To provide both short and long beam pulse measurements special current monitor is developed. New Universal Beam Current Transformer (UBCT) monitor and electronics are described. The results of beam pulse measurements are presented.В настоящее время на линейном ускорителе ИЯИ РАН ускоряются импульсы протонов с амплитудой 10…12 мА, длительностью 0.3…200 мкс и частотой посылок от 1 до 50 Гц для проведения различных физических экспериментов. Для измерения параметров как коротких, так и длинных импульсов разработан и установлен на ускорителе специальный индукционный датчик тока пучка. В работе приводится описание этого датчика и его электроники. Представлены результаты измерений импульсного тока протонов.У цей час на лінійному прискорювачі ІЯІ РАН прискорюються імпульси протонів з амплітудою 10...12 мА, тривалістю 0.3...200 мкс і частотою посилок від 1 до 50 Гц для проведення різних фізичних експериментів. Для виміру параметрів як коротких, так і довгих імпульсів розроблений й установлений на прискорювачі спеціальний індукційний датчик струму пучка. У роботі приводиться опис цього датчика і його електроніки. Представлено результати вимірів імпульсного струму протоні

Temperature dependence of AgIn13S20 single crystal band gap

AgIn13S20 single crystals were grown by the vertical Bridgman method. The grown crystals composition was determined by X-ray spectroscopy analysis; the crystal structure was determined by X-ray method. It was shown, that AgIn13S20 compound crystallize in the cubic spinel structure. The band gaps of the obtained single crystals were estimated from transmittance spectra in the temperature range of 10-320 K. The band gap values decreased with temperature

Патогенетичні аспекти експериментальної інфекції кролів, зумовленої вірусом лейкозу великої рогатої худоби

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an infectious disease of cattle, causing high economic losses worldwide, especially in the field of dairy farming. There is no common vision on the problem of interspecies transmission of BLV. Therefore, a detailed study of the etiologic relationship between leukemia in cattle and other animal species is relevant. Various laboratory animal models provide insight into the pathogenesis of viral infections. The article presents the research results of two series rabbits’ intravenous infection with bovine leukemia virus (BLV) using the culture antigen FLK-BLV and the blood of rabbits with clinical, hematological and immunological signs of viral tumor growth. Blood from all animals was taken from the ear vein after 14, 21, 30 days, and then monthly for six months: to study the morphological parameters of blood and to determine the titer of antibodies to BLV. Blood serum for the presence of antibodies to BLV was examined using a diagnostic kit for the indication of animals infected with the leukemia virus in an immunodiffusion reaction produced by LLC “SRE Veterinary Medicine”, Kharkiv. It was found that the stage of the BLV provirus in the blood leukogram of infected animals was characterized by pronounced lymphocytosis on the 21st day of the experiment. The highest concentration of antibodies to BLV in the blood serum was found on the 90th day after the administration of the virus-containing material, which disappeared from the blood on the 150–180th day after infection. In experimental rabbits, after five months for thirty days, in the absence of antibodies to leukemia in the blood serum, multiple tumors of a dense consistency began to develop throughout the body. Such clinical signs and changes in the of rabbits’ blood of the experimental group are characteristic of serologically positive cows on the hematological development stage of leukemic process and correlate with the results of domestic and foreign authors. The presence of a large number of lymphoblasts, as well as leukolysis cells, in the histological preparation of lymph nodes, lungs, heart and the accumulation of lymphocytes’ immature forms around the interlobular vessels of the liver, which were found in pathohistological studies of the experimental rabbits’ organs, may indicate the development of the leukemia process on early stage in them. The results obtained indicate the ability of BLV to overcome successfully the interspecies barrier upon parenteral ingestion of heterologous individuals from infected lymphocytes and in the form of a culture antigen.Лейкоз великої рогатої худоби (BLV) – інфекційна хвороба великої рогатої худоби, яка спричиняє високі економічні збитки в усьому світі, особливо у галузі молочного скотарства. Не існує єдиного погляду на проблему міжвидової передачі BLV, тому актуальним є детальне вивчення етіологічного зв’язку між лейкозом великої рогатої худоби та інших видів тварин. Моделі різних лабораторних тварин дозволяють зрозуміти патогенез вірусних інфекцій. У статті наведено результати досліджень двох серій внутрішньовенного зараження кролів вірусом лейкозу великої рогатої худоби (BLV) з використанням культурального антигену FLK-BLV та крові кролів з клінічними, гематологічними та імунологічними ознаками вірусного пухлинного росту. Кров від усіх тварин відбирали з вушної вени через 14, 21, 30 діб, а потім щомісяця протягом пів року: для дослідження морфологічних показників крові та для визначення титру антитіл до BLV. Сироватку на наявність антитіл крові до BLV досліджували з використанням діагностичного набору для індикації інфікованих вірусом лейкозу тварин у реакції імунодифузії виробництва ТОВ “НДП “Ветеринарна медицина” (м. Харків). Встановлено, що стадія провірусу BLV в лейкограмі крові заражених тварин характеризувалась вираженим лімфоцитозом на 21 добу експерименту. Найвища концентрація антитіл до BLV у сироватці крові  виявлялась на 90-у добу після введення вірусовмісного матеріалу, які зникали з крові на 150–180 добу після зараження. У експериментальних кролів через п’ять місяців протягом тридцяти днів при відсутності антитіл до лейкозу в сироватці крові, на всьому тілі почали розвиватися множинні пухлини щільної консистенції. Такі клінічні ознаки та зміни в крові кролів дослідної групи характерні для серологічно позитивних корів на гематологічній стадії розвитку лейкозного процесу та корелюють із результатами вітчизняних та закордонних авторів. Наявність великої кількості лімфобластів, а також клітин лейколізу в гістопрепаратах лімфатичних вузлів, легень, серця і скупчення незрілих форм лімфоцитів навколо міжчасточкових судин печінки, виявлені у патогістологічних дослідженнях органів експериментальних кролів, можуть свідчити про розвиток у них ранньої стадії лейкозного процесу. Отримані результати свідчать про здатність BLV успішно долати міжвидовий бар’єр при парентеральному потраплянні в організм гетерологічних особин з інфікованих лімфоцитами та у вигляді культурального антигену

PACAP-38 induces neuronal differentiation of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells via cAMP-mediated activation of ERK and p38 MAP kinases1

The intracellular signaling pathways mediating the neurotrophic actions of pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) were investigated in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Previously, we showed that SH-SY5Y cells express the PAC1 and VIP/PACAP receptor type 2 (VPAC2) receptors, and that the robust cAMP production in response to PACAP and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was mediated by PAC1 receptors (Lutz et al. 2006). Here, we investigated the ability of PACAP-38 to differentiate SH-SY5Y cells by measuring morphological changes and the expression of neuronal markers. PACAP-38 caused a concentration-dependent increase in the number of neurite-bearing cells and an up-regulation in the expression of the neuronal proteins Bcl-2, growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) and choline acetyltransferase: VIP was less effective than PACAP-38 and the VPAC2 receptor-specific agonist, Ro 25-1553, had no effect. The effects of PACAP-38 and VIP were blocked by the PAC1 receptor antagonist, PACAP6-38. As observed with PACAP-38, the adenylyl cyclase activator, forskolin, also induced an increase in the number of neurite-bearing cells and an up-regulation in the expression of Bcl-2 and GAP-43. PACAP-induced differentiation was prevented by the adenylyl cyclase inhibitor, 2′,5′-dideoxyadenosine (DDA), but not the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, H89, or by siRNA-mediated knock-down of the PKA catalytic subunit. PACAP-38 and forskolin stimulated the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP; p38 MAP kinase) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). PACAP-induced neuritogenesis was blocked by the MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 and partially by the p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB203580. Activation of exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac) partially mimicked the effects of PACAP-38, and led to the phosphorylation of ERK but not p38 MAP kinase. These results provide evidence that the neurotrophic effects of PACAP-38 on human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells are mediated by the PAC1 receptor through a cAMP-dependent but PKA-independent mechanism, and furthermore suggest that this involves Epac-dependent activation of ERK as well as activation of the p38 MAP kinase signaling pathway

α,β-D-Constrained Nucleic Acids Are Strong Terminators of Thermostable DNA Polymerases in Polymerase Chain Reaction

(SC5′, RP) α,β-D- Constrained Nucleic Acids (CNA) are dinucleotide building blocks that can feature either B-type torsional angle values or non-canonical values, depending on their 5′C and P absolute stereochemistry. These CNA are modified neither on the nucleobase nor on the sugar structure and therefore represent a new class of nucleotide with specific chemical and structural characteristics. They promote marked bending in a single stranded DNA so as to preorganize it into a loop-like structure, and they have been shown to induce rigidity within oligonucleotides. Following their synthesis, studies performed on CNA have only focused on the constraints that this family of nucleotides introduced into DNA. On the assumption that bending in a DNA template may produce a terminator structure, we investigated whether CNA could be used as a new strong terminator of polymerization in PCR. We therefore assessed the efficiency of CNA as a terminator in PCR, using triethylene glycol phosphate units as a control. Analyses were performed by denaturing gel electrophoresis and several PCR products were further analysed by sequencing. The results showed that the incorporation of only one CNA was always skipped by the polymerases tested. On the other hand, two CNA units always stopped proofreading polymerases, such as Pfu DNA polymerase, as expected for a strong replication terminator. Non-proofreading enzymes, e.g. Taq DNA polymerase, did not recognize this modification as a strong terminator although it was predominantly stopped by this structure. In conclusion, this first functional use of CNA units shows that these modified nucleotides can be used as novel polymerization terminators of proofreading polymerases. Furthermore, our results lead us to propose that CNA and their derivatives could be useful tools for investigating the behaviour of different classes of polymerases

Properties and expression of Na+/K+-ATPase α-subunit isoforms in the brain of the swamp eel, Monopterus albus, which has unusually high brain ammonia tolerance

10.1371/journal.pone.0084298PLoS ONE812-POLN

Cerebellar gene expression profiles of mouse models for Rett syndrome reveal novel MeCP2 targets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>MeCP2, methyl-CpG-binding protein 2, binds to methylated cytosines at CpG dinucleotides, as well as to unmethylated DNA, and affects chromatin condensation. <it>MECP2 </it>mutations in females lead to Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by developmental stagnation and regression, loss of purposeful hand movements and speech, stereotypic hand movements, deceleration of brain growth, autonomic dysfunction and seizures. Most mutations occur <it>de novo </it>during spermatogenesis. Located at Xq28, <it>MECP2 </it>is subject to X inactivation, and affected females are mosaic. Rare hemizygous males suffer from a severe congenital encephalopathy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To identify the pathways mis-regulated by MeCP2 deficiency, microarray-based global gene expression studies were carried out in cerebellum of <it>Mecp2 </it>mutant mice. We compared transcript levels in mutant/wildtype male sibs of two different MeCP2-deficient mouse models at 2, 4 and 8 weeks of age. Increased transcript levels were evaluated by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were used to document <it>in vivo </it>MeCP2 binding to promoter regions of candidate target genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of several hundred genes with altered expression levels in the mutants, twice as many were increased than decreased, and only 27 were differentially expressed at more than one time point. The number of misregulated genes was 30% lower in mice with the exon 3 deletion (<it>Mecp2</it>^tm1.1Jae) than in mice with the larger deletion (<it>Mecp2</it>^tm1.1Bird). Between the mutants, few genes overlapped at each time point. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR assays validated increased transcript levels for four genes: <it>Irak1</it>, interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 1; <it>Fxyd1</it>, phospholemman, associated with Na, K-ATPase;<it>Reln</it>, encoding an extracellular signaling molecule essential for neuronal lamination and synaptic plasticity; and <it>Gtl2/Meg3</it>, an imprinted maternally expressed non-translated RNA that serves as a host gene for C/D box snoRNAs and microRNAs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays documented <it>in vivo </it>MeCP2 binding to promoter regions of <it>Fxyd1, Reln</it>, and <it>Gtl2</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Transcriptional profiling of cerebellum failed to detect significant global changes in <it>Mecp2</it>-mutant mice. Increased transcript levels of <it>Irak1, Fxyd1, Reln</it>, and <it>Gtl2 </it>may contribute to the neuronal dysfunction in MeCP2-deficient mice and individuals with Rett syndrome. Our data provide testable hypotheses for future studies of the regulatory or signaling pathways that these genes act on.</p