IMPAIRED REPAIR OF UVC-INDUCED DNA DAMAGE IN L5178Y-R CELLS: DNA UNWINDING STUDIES WITH THE USE OF 1-β-D-ARABINOFURANOSYL CYTOSINE

Abstract— L5178Y-R (LY-R) and L5178Y-S (LY-S) cells differ in sensitivity to UVC radiation (D₀: 2.8 and 9.0 J/m²respectively, for cells exposed in Fischer's medium). We used these cells and a DNA unwinding technique in conjunction with 1-β-D-arabinosyl cytosine to determine DNA strand breaks accumulating as a result of enzymatic incision during DNA repair. Following UVC exposure DNA strand break accumulation was observed in LY-S cells but not in LY-R cells. The repair defect in LY-R cells is accompanied by a delayed recovery of [³H]thymidine incorporation.     

Gain–loss asymmetry for emerging stock markets

Stock indexes for some European emerging markets are analyzed using an investment-horizon approach. Austrian ATX index and Dow Jones have been studied and compared with several emerging European markets. The optimal investment horizons are plotted as a function of an absolute return value. Gain–loss asymmetry, originally found for American DJIA index, is observed for all analyzed data. It is shown, that this asymmetry has different character for emerging and for established markets. For established markets, gain curve lies typically above loss curve, whereas in the case of emerging markets the situation is just the opposite. We propose a measure quantifying the gain–loss asymmetry that clearly exhibits a difference between emerging and established markets.     

A note on acoustic decay measurements

Two sources of experimental errors in acoustic decay measurements are investigated: smoothing produced by the averaging device and “ringing” of the bandpass filter. Both linear and exponential averaging are considered. It is concluded that if it is only the average slope of the decay curve which is of interest, it suffices that the integration time of the detector is less than one quarter of the reverberation time of the system under test (with linear averaging), that the “reverberation time” of the detector is less than the half of the reverberation time of the system (with exponential averaging), and that the product of the filter bandwidth and the reverberation time of the system is at least 16. The requirements are much stronger if the important initial part of the decay is needed, however.     

Infrared spectra of lanthanide complexes with eriochrome cyanine r

An infrared spectroscopic study of the composition of these complexes in the solid state is described. Evaluation of the spectra made it possible to distinguish changes in the character of the lanthanide—ligand bonds in the series La — Lu, and to study the “double-double” effect.     

Industrial applications of electron beam flue gas treatment—From laboratory to the practice

The electron beam technology for flue gas treatment (EBFGT) has been developed in Japan in the early 1980s. Later on, this process was investigated in pilot scale in the USA, Germany, Japan, Poland, Bulgaria and China. The new engineering and process solutions have been developed during the past two decades. Finally industrial plants have been constructed in Poland and China. The high efficiency of SO_x and NO_x removal was achieved (up to 95% for SO_x and up to 70% for NO_x) and by-product is a high quality fertilizer. Since the power of accelerators applied in industrial installation is over 1 MW and requested operational availability of the plant is equal to 8500 h in year, it is a new challenge for radiation processing applications.     

Determination of total magnesium in biological samples using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Magnesium content is an important diagnostic parameter in medicine. It is recognized that its determination in one compartment is not sufficient for reliable information about the magnesium status in the body. In addition to the common procedures of magnesium determination in blood by flame atomic absorption spectrometry, the procedure of electrothermal atomization has also been developed and applied to the analysis of blood fractions, mononuclear cells and isolated nuclei of liver cells.Electrothermal atomization is preferred in cases where the sample size is limited and the magnesium content low. The total errors are in the order of 3–4%. Various techniques of sample pretreatment have been tested and direct dilution with 0.05 mol l⁻¹ nitric acid was optimal when the samples were not mineralized. The calibration graph based on standards containing albumin was found to give the best results, as the form of magnesium in the samples may influence the ashing and atomization processes. Good agreement was obtained for determination of magnesium in standard serum. The results are compared with those obtained by the standard flame atomization technique.     

邻、间、对-氯苯甲酸钠的NMR(1H,13C)和振动光谱

研究了邻、间、对 -氯苯甲酸钠并记录了这些化合物的 NMR和振动光谱。用能量合适的分子做了单点计算 ,确立了氯和钠对分子中电荷分布的影响 ,并对邻、间、对氯苯甲酸钠分别与苯甲酸钠以及邻、间、对氯苯甲酸做了比较。从各种不同的方法中得出的结论是相同的 ,且表明氯和钠影响了苯甲酸的芳香体系 ,氯和钠的影响特征取决于氯在环上的位置 ,并在碳原子上计算的形式电荷和它的化学位移之间提出相关性。     

Cadmium speciation in Arabidopsis thaliana as a strategy to study metal accumulation system in plants

The strategy to identify cadmium deactivation mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana has been developed using selective and sensitive hyphenated techniques. Cadmium concentrations, in main parts of the plant, were determined by ICP-MS and total amount was found as 0.43-0.44 μg g⁻¹ in leaves and 3.3-3.4 μg g⁻¹ in roots. Speciation of the metal complexes in cells was investigated by SEC-ICP-MS in order to estimate the accumulation process. Phytochelatins, desglycyl-phytochelatins and phytochelatins homologues lacking the N-terminal γ-linked glutamic acid were extracted from plant and were identified by RPLC-ESI-MS. Two-dimensional chromatography allowed to link the metal complexes separated by SEC with isoforms of phytochelatins analyzed by high resolution RPLC and confirm their significant responsibility for metal accumulation. The potential of the cadmium complexes speciation indicates that obtained results could be reliable source of knowledge to confirm the information coming from the well-known genomic sequence of Arabidopsis and to estimate the role of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase in metabolism of glutathione.     

The epipharyngeal sensilla of the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata,Coenagrionidae)

The knowledge on Odonata adult mouthparts sensilla is scanty and, notwithstanding the epipharynx in the labrum is considered an organ of taste, no ultrastructural investigation has been performed so far on this structure in Odonata. The labrum of the adult of the damselfly Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae) shows on its ventral side the epipharynx with sensilla represented by articulated hairs and by small pegs located at the apex of slightly raised domes. Under scanning and transmission electron microscope, the articulated hairs, with a well developed socket and tubular body, have the typical structure of bristles, the most common type of insect mechanoreceptors, usually responding to direct touch; the pegs, showing an apical pore together with a variable number of sensory neurons (from two to five), the outer dendritic segments of which show a dendrite sheath stopping along their length, have features typical of contact chemoreceptors.