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Three hundred eight healthy subjects 20-106 years old were subjected to a battery of respiratory function tests. The elderly and old subjects exhibited diminished vital lung capacity at the expense of all its component volumes; there was increased residual volume, decreased ventilation effectiveness, diminished bronchial patency and bronchospasm, decreased blood filling of lung, reduced elasticity and increased rigidity of pulmonary vessels, and disturbed uniformity of pulmonary ventilation. The adaptive potentialities of external respiration were found to be limited. The alveolar partial oxygen pressure, however, showed no age-related differences. Arterial blood oxygen saturation was reduced, and the alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient was increased, probably as a consequence of discoordination in ventilation and blood circulation of the lung. Age-related changes of the broncho-pulmonary apparatus are not absolutely irreversible even in advanced old age. Indicative of this is the favorable effect of an 8-week course of an active regimen designed to improve the functional state of the external respiratory system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A USSR academician presents his views on expectations for rejuvenation and the problems in increasing the life-span. Also discussed are the possibilities of various biological agents in achieving these goals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Activity of prooxidant enzymes (NADPH-oxidase and xanthine oxidase), antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase), enzymes of the glutathione-dependent systems, as well as antioxidant vitamins (retinol and a-tocopherol), lipid peroxidation products (LPP) (conjugated dienes and Schiff bases), and peroxide chemiluminescence were studied in the amniotic fluid at different periods of physiological pregnancy and placental insufficiency (PI). It was found that at PI the activity of NADPH-oxidase, xanthine oxidase increased and the activity of SOD, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione transferase and the content of fat-soluble vitamins decreased. The direct and inverse correlation between the studied pro- and antioxidant parameters and the content of LPP products, was found ro be different in the II and III trimesters of gestation. The revealed differences obviously reflect metabolic impairments in the fetoplacental complex, and the activity and level of the paremeters of redox processes can be used as tests for pre- and postnatal disorders.

Aim: Comparative study of sensitivity and specificity of immunochromatographic (IC) assay kit and dot-immunoanalysis for assessment of feasibility of their use for laboratory diagnostics of cholera., Materials and Methods: Experimental lots of IC assay kit and dot-immunoassay (DIA) for detection of Vibrio cholerae serogroup 01 serovars Ogava and Inaba were constructed on the basis of species-specific monoclonal antibodies (MCA) conjugated with colloid gold (IC) and peroxidase (DIA). Hybridoma-producer of MCAwas obtained and stored in liquid nitrogen in Rostov-on-Don Research Institute for Plague Control. It was deposited in specialized collection of cell cultures of vertebrates in Institute of Cytology (Saint Petersburg)., Results: Strong specificity of IC assay kit and DIA relative to cholera vibrios 01 and absence of crossreactivity with closely related and heterologous microorganisms were shown. Minimal quantity of vibrios, which could be detected using IC assay kit and DIA, was 107 and 105-106 microbial cells respectively., Conclusion: Performance of IC assay takes 5-15 min, DIA--1.5 hour, they allow to visually assess the reaction, do not require instrumentation and in perspective both methods could be used on defined stages of scheme for laboratory analysis of cholera.