Innovations in teaching

The article describes the main goal task, objective and point of innovation learningВ статье рассматриваются основные цели, задачи и сущность инноваций в образовани

Tigecycline attenuates polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) receptors but not functions

Tigecycline achieves high intracellular concentrations in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). To evaluate the effects of tigecycline on human PMNs, PMNs were incubated with tigecycline dilutions (0.1 to 100 mg L–1). Phagocytosis- associated PMN Fcg- and complement receptors as well as phagocytosis and oxidative burst induced by Staphylococcus aureus were measured by flow cytometry. Incubation with tigecycline caused small but significant decreases in the density of complement receptors CD11b and CD35 (all concentrations) and Fcg receptors CD16 and CD32 (high concentrations), but not in the percentages of receptor-bearing cells, except for small reductions in the proportions of CD16 positive cells at high concentrations. Tigecycline had no effect on phagocytosis or oxidative burst induced by S. aureus. Tigecycline was thus associated with decreased density of PMN complement and (at high concentrations) Fcg receptors. Although statistically significant, the differences were small and did not influence the PMN function as measured by phagocytosis and oxidative burst

Freezing of He-4 and its liquid-solid interface from Density Functional Theory

We show that, at high densities, fully variational solutions of solid-like type can be obtained from a density functional formalism originally designed for liquid 4He. Motivated by this finding, we propose an extension of the method that accurately describes the solid phase and the freezing transition of liquid 4He at zero temperature. The density profile of the interface between liquid and the (0001) surface of the 4He crystal is also investigated, and its surface energy evaluated. The interfacial tension is found to be in semiquantitative agreement with experiments and with other microscopic calculations. This opens the possibility to use unbiased DF methods to study highly non-homogeneous systems, like 4He interacting with strongly attractive impurities/substrates, or the nucleation of the solid phase in the metastable liquid.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Comparative estimation of maternal and fetal thrombophilia in patients with early (under 34 weeks of gestation) and late forms of pre-eclampsia

The article presents the results of the comparative analysis of maternal and fetal thrombophilia in patients with early (under 34 weeks of gestation) and late forms of pre-eclampsia. The diagnosing of latent acquired and genetic thrombophilia in women of high risk groups makes possible to predict the risk of pre-eclampsia and to substantiate the prophylaxis of complicated pregnancy. Such prophylaxis reduces the rate and the heaviness of pre-eclampsia and the number of perinatal complications

Data growth and its impact on the SCOP database: new developments

The Structural Classification of Proteins (SCOP) database is a comprehensive ordering of all proteins of known structure, according to their evolutionary and structural relationships. The SCOP hierarchy comprises the following levels: Species, Protein, Family, Superfamily, Fold and Class. While keeping the original classification scheme intact, we have changed the production of SCOP in order to cope with a rapid growth of new structural data and to facilitate the discovery of new protein relationships. We describe ongoing developments and new features implemented in SCOP. A new update protocol supports batch classification of new protein structures by their detected relationships at Family and Superfamily levels in contrast to our previous sequential handling of new structural data by release date. We introduce pre-SCOP, a preview of the SCOP developmental version that enables earlier access to the information on new relationships. We also discuss the impact of worldwide Structural Genomics initiatives, which are producing new protein structures at an increasing rate, on the rates of discovery and growth of protein families and superfamilies. SCOP can be accessed at http://scop.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/scop

Double-spiral magnetic structure of the Fe/Cr multilayer revealed by nuclear resonance scattering

We have studied the magnetization depth profiles in a [57Fe(dFe)/Cr(dCr)]x30 multilayer with ultrathin Fe layers and nominal thickness of the chromium spacers dCr 2.0 nm using nuclear resonance scattering of synchrotron radiation. The presence of a broad pure-magnetic half-order (1/2) Bragg reflection has been detected at zero external field. The joint fit of the reflectivity curves and Mossbauer spectra of reflectivity measured near the critical angle and at the "magnetic" peak reveals that the magnetic structure of the multilayer is formed by two spirals, one in the odd and another one in the even iron layers, with the opposite signs of rotation. The double-spiral structure starts from the surface with the almost antiferromagnetic alignment of the adjacent Fe layers. The rotation of the two spirals leads to nearly ferromagnetic alignment of the two magnetic subsystems at some depth, where the sudden turn of the magnetic vectors by ~180 deg (spin-flop) appears, and both spirals start to rotate in opposite directions. The observation of this unusual double-spiral magnetic structure suggests that the unique properties of giant magneto-resistance devices can be further tailored using ultrathin magnetic layers.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure