Peculiarities of a Colloidal Polysaccharide of Newly Isolated Iron Oxidizing Bacteria in Armenia

Microorganisms belonging to different systematic and physiological groups produce various intra- and extracellular polysaccharides, which both play an important role in the life of microorganisms and have great practical application. Iron and sulfur oxidizing bacteria produce capsular (EPS) and colloidal polysaccharides. At present the properties and functional role of EPS are well studied. However, the properties of the colloidal polysaccharides produced by iron oxidizing bacteria have not been sufficiently explored. A new iron oxidizing bacteria Leptospirillum ferriphilium CC was isolated from sulfide ores of Armenia. Its morphological and physiological features have been studied. A colloidal polysaccharide has been isolated with the use of an original method developed by the authors, and its physical and chemical properties have been studied. It has been shown that the colloidal polysaccharide consists of three different monomers- glucose, fructose, mannose.. Investigations with a complex method of optical polarization microscopy and analytical programs allowed determining the size, shape change, perimeter, degree of hydratation and crystallization at 0.07% and 0.04% of polysaccharide concentration. It was shown that the size of a polysaccharide colloidal particle does not much depend on polysaccharide concentration, however, the number of identical colloidal formations is dependent on the concentration of polysaccharide

НОВЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ В ДИАГНОСТИКЕ И ВОССТАНОВИТЕЛЬНОМ ЛЕЧЕНИИ РАССТРОЙСТВ МОЧЕИСПУСКАНИЯ ПОСЛЕ ХИРУРГИЧЕСКОГО ЛЕЧЕНИЯ РАКА ПРЕДСТАТЕЛЬНОЙ ЖЕЛЕЗЫ

The paper deals with the latest neurophysiological technologies for the recognition and treatment of neurogenic disorders of urination and erection in a group of patients operated on for prostate cancer (PC). Acicular electromyography of pelvic floor muscles with transcranial magnetic stimulation of micturition and erectile centers has been put into practice to examine this category of patients. The basic neurophysiological parameters of the muscles examined (cortical and segmental evoked motor response the latency, central motor conduction time (CMCT), and motor unit potential (MUP) amplitude and duration) were estimated. To develop a normative base, the neurophysiological features of the pelvic floor were studied in healthy volunteers (n = 12) who formed a control group. Examinations were made in 17 patients who had undergone operations for PC at Moscow hospitals 3 to 18 months before, such as retropubic prostatectomy (n = 11) and transurethral resection plus high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation (n = 6). Spontaneous urination was absent in 4 (23.5%) of cases; urinary incontinence was observed in 6 (35.2%) patients. The study group patients were found to have significant disorders of corticospinal tract conduction and those of perineal muscle contraction as potential fibrillation and positive pointed waves, as well as considerable CMCM prolongation and MUP polyphasia. Denervation alterations in PC patients after surgery and delayed reinnervation processes, nerve control recovery are determined by not only the surgery itself, but also by the features of the course of the underlying cancer process. Pelvic floor muscle studies indicated that HIFU was a very traumatic treatment for PC due to the fact that physical exposure spread outside the prostate to the neuromuscular structures. The denervation alterations detected in the pelvic floor muscles became essential in the elaboration of adequate treatment policy. The use of agents improving the function and trophicity of peripheral nerves in combination therapy and the introduction of extracorporeal magnetic stimulation methods could largely improve the results of treatment for dysuria.Статья посвящена новейшим нейрофизиологическим технологиям распознавания и лечения нейрогенных расстройств мочеиспускания и эрекции в группе пациентов, оперированных по поводу рака предстательной железы (РПЖ). В практику обследования пациентов данной категории внедрена игольчатая электромиография мышц тазового дна с транскраниальной магнитной стимуляцией центров мочеиспускания и эрекции. Оценены основные нейрофизиологические параметры изученных мышц — латентность коркового и сегментарного вызванного моторного ответа, время центрального моторного проведения (ВЦМП), амплитуда и длительность потенциала двигательной единицы (ПДЕ). С целью разработки нормативной базы изучены нейрофизиологические особенности тазового дна у здоровых добровольцев (n = 12), составивших контрольную группу. Обследованы 17 пациентов, которые в сроки от 3 до 18 мес назад перенесли операции по поводу РПЖ в стационарах Москвы: радикальная позадилонная простатэктомия (n = 11), трансуретральная резекция плюс высокоинтенсивная сфокусированная ультразвуковая аблация (HIFU) (n = 6). В 4 (23,5 %) наблюдениях самостоятельное мочеиспускание отсутствовало, недержание мочи отмечено у 6 (35,2 %) пациентов. В изученной группе больных выявлены значительные расстройства проводимости по кортикоспинальному тракту и сократительной способности мышц промежности в виде потенциальной фибрилляции и положительных острых волн, а также значительного удлинения ВЦМП, полифазия ПДЕ. Денервационные изменения у пациентов с РПЖ после операции и задержка процессов реиннервации, восстановления нервного контроля, определяются не только самим фактом операции, но и особенностями течения основного онкологического процесса. Исследования мышц тазового дна показали, что HIFU — весьма травматичный способ лечения РПЖ вследствие распространения физического воздействия за пределы предстательной железы на нервно-мышечные структуры. Выявляемые денервационные изменения в мышцах дна таза стали ключевыми в выработке адекватной лечебной тактики. Назначение в комплексной терапии препаратов, улучшающих проводящую функцию и трофику периферических нервов,а также внедрение методов экстракорпоральной магнитной стимуляции позволили в значительной степени улучшить результаты лечения при нарушениях мочеиспускания

A Cryogenic Silicon Interferometer for Gravitational-wave Detection

The detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers by LIGO has opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy, revealing a previously hidden side of the cosmos. To maximize the reach of the existing LIGO observatory facilities, we have designed a new instrument that will have 5 times the range of Advanced LIGO, or greater than 100 times the event rate. Observations with this new instrument will make possible dramatic steps toward understanding the physics of the nearby universe, as well as observing the universe out to cosmological distances by the detection of binary black hole coalescences. This article presents the instrument design and a quantitative analysis of the anticipated noise floor

Search for Gravitational Wave Bursts from Soft Gamma Repeaters

We present the results of a LIGO search for short-duration gravitational waves (GWs) associated with Soft Gamma Repeater (SGR) bursts. This is the first search sensitive to neutron star f-modes, usually considered the most efficient GW emitting modes. We find no evidence of GWs associated with any SGR burst in a sample consisting of the 27 Dec. 2004 giant flare from SGR 1806-20 and 190 lesser events from SGR 1806-20 and SGR 1900+14 which occurred during the first year of LIGO's fifth science run. GW strain upper limits and model-dependent GW emission energy upper limits are estimated for individual bursts using a variety of simulated waveforms. The unprecedented sensitivity of the detectors allows us to set the most stringent limits on transient GW amplitudes published to date. We find upper limit estimates on the model-dependent isotropic GW emission energies (at a nominal distance of 10 kpc) between 3x10^45 and 9x10^52 erg depending on waveform type, detector antenna factors and noise characteristics at the time of the burst. These upper limits are within the theoretically predicted range of some SGR models.Comment: 6 pages, 1 Postscript figur

Astrophysically Triggered Searches for Gravitational Waves: Status and Prospects

In gravitational-wave detection, special emphasis is put onto searches that focus on cosmic events detected by other types of astrophysical observatories. The astrophysical triggers, e.g. from gamma-ray and X-ray satellites, optical telescopes and neutrino observatories, provide a trigger time for analyzing gravitational wave data coincident with the event. In certain cases the expected frequency range, source energetics, directional and progenitor information is also available. Beyond allowing the recognition of gravitational waveforms with amplitudes closer to the noise floor of the detector, these triggered searches should also lead to rich science results even before the onset of Advanced LIGO. In this paper we provide a broad review of LIGO's astrophysically triggered searches and the sources they target

First LIGO search for gravitational wave bursts from cosmic (super)strings

We report on a matched-filter search for gravitational wave bursts from cosmic string cusps using LIGO data from the fourth science run (S4) which took place in February and March 2005. No gravitational waves were detected in 14.9 days of data from times when all three LIGO detectors were operating. We interpret the result in terms of a frequentist upper limit on the rate of gravitational wave bursts and use the limits on the rate to constrain the parameter space (string tension, reconnection probability, and loop sizes) of cosmic string models.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Replaced with version submitted to PR

All-sky LIGO Search for Periodic Gravitational Waves in the Early S5 Data

We report on an all-sky search with the LIGO detectors for periodic gravitational waves in the frequency range 50--1100 Hz and with the frequency's time derivative in the range -5.0E-9 Hz/s to zero. Data from the first eight months of the fifth LIGO science run (S5) have been used in this search, which is based on a semi-coherent method (PowerFlux) of summing strain power. Observing no evidence of periodic gravitational radiation, we report 95% confidence-level upper limits on radiation emitted by any unknown isolated rotating neutron stars within the search range. Strain limits below 1.E-24 are obtained over a 200-Hz band, and the sensitivity improvement over previous searches increases the spatial volume sampled by an average factor of about 100 over the entire search band. For a neutron star with nominal equatorial ellipticity of 1.0E-6, the search is sensitive to distances as great as 500 pc--a range that could encompass many undiscovered neutron stars, albeit only a tiny fraction of which would likely be rotating fast enough to be accessible to LIGO. This ellipticity is at the upper range thought to be sustainable by conventional neutron stars and well below the maximum sustainable by a strange quark star.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Stacked Search for Gravitational Waves from the 2006 SGR 1900+14 Storm

We present the results of a LIGO search for short-duration gravitational waves (GWs) associated with the 2006 March 29 SGR 1900+14 storm. A new search method is used, "stacking'' the GW data around the times of individual soft-gamma bursts in the storm to enhance sensitivity for models in which multiple bursts are accompanied by GW emission. We assume that variation in the time difference between burst electromagnetic emission and potential burst GW emission is small relative to the GW signal duration, and we time-align GW excess power time-frequency tilings containing individual burst triggers to their corresponding electromagnetic emissions. We use two GW emission models in our search: a fluence-weighted model and a flat (unweighted) model for the most electromagnetically energetic bursts. We find no evidence of GWs associated with either model. Model-dependent GW strain, isotropic GW emission energy E_GW, and \gamma = E_GW / E_EM upper limits are estimated using a variety of assumed waveforms. The stacking method allows us to set the most stringent model-dependent limits on transient GW strain published to date. We find E_GW upper limit estimates (at a nominal distance of 10 kpc) of between 2x10^45 erg and 6x10^50 erg depending on waveform type. These limits are an order of magnitude lower than upper limits published previously for this storm and overlap with the range of electromagnetic energies emitted in SGR giant flares.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure