Studies in Soviet Science - Böcker

I am very glad to write a few introductory words to this important book by Professor Deryagin and his colleagues Drs. Krotova and Smilga. Ever since he first burst on the scientific scene in the 1930s, Professor Deryagin has continued to produce papers of seminal value in the general field of surface science, particularly those aspects of interest to physical chemists and colloid scientists. Many of the ideas introduced by Professor Deryagin and his long list of collaborators have entered into the broad stream of sci­ entific thought. Of course not all these ideas have been accepted and some have generated vigorous controversy. I am not sure that Professor Deryagin would have it otherwise for I sometimes have the feeling that he enjoys the cut and thrust of the scientific dia­ lectic. But none of these differences of opinion can detract from the quality of his work over many decades and from the impact of his contributions to surface science. In particular the ideas which he introduced with Landau (developed later but quite independently by Verwey and Overbeek in Holland) have laid the foundation for the whole of our present approach to colloid stability (the DLVO theory). A large part of Professor Deryagin's work has been con­ cerned with solid -liquid and liquid -liquid interactions. In the present book he and Drs.

Important advances in a subject are as often promoted by a new technique as by new concepts and theories. In the study of electrode reactions which involve diffusion in a primary or a secondary step, the development and use of techniques involving rotating disc electrodes and derived instrumentation based on ring-disc and split-ring systems has enabled advances of great importance to be made in the quantitative examination of diffusion processes at electrodes and their role in electrode processes generally. The technique allows precisely defined mass-transport conditions to be set up which can be subjected to exact mathe­ matical analysis so that quantitative treatment of hydrodynamic and diffusion behavior can be made. Of special interest for elec­ trochemists is the opportunity which the rotating ring-disc system offers for studying solution-soluble intermediates in sequential electrode processes and the kinetics of their reactions in solution. In this book by Pleskov and Filinovskii, both the experimental techniques and the mathematical analysis for the treatments of results for various conditions and types of reaction are described in detail. We believe that presentation of work that has been car­ ried out by means of rotating electrode techniques, to a large extent by Russian workers, in the form of a concise book will be of great value both to electrochemists and kineticists, and those interested in the physics of fluid motion.

Recent scientific and industrial developments have demon­ strated the major effects (advantageous or otherwise) of trace components in compounds, which in commercial products may substantially affect the properties and the course of reactions, especially catalytic ones. Some of these problems (e.g., the pur­ ity of natural waters and air) have attracted the attention not only of specialists but also of society generally. It would be impossible to do research on trace components and contaminants if we did not have reliable rapid and sensitive methods of determining substances present in mixtures in minute concentrations. Gas chromatography is an effective method of purity testing. This book deals with analysis for trace components, together with the basic methods of gas chromatography that are used for the purpose. We have tried to reflect here the principal papers in this area appearing in the foreign literature and in Rus­ sian. Weare indebted to Plenum Pre~'B for the opportunity of pre­ senting this edition. Moscow September 1972 v Preface Gas -chromatographic analysis for impurities is presently a rapidly developing area in gas chromatography, because many practical topics give considerable importance to impurity analy­ sis. Progress in this analysis bas been such for volatile com­ pounds (and also for nonvolatile ones, when reactive gas chroma­ tography is used) that one can now be confident of solving most practical problems in this way. Commercial ionization detectors of high sensitivity and selectivity often allow one to detect impuri­ ties down to levels of parts in 109.

Thermodynamic methods of analysis have in recent years found ever-growing extensions in diverse regions of modern tech­ nology. The object of the present book is to apply these methods to the description of materials of varying physical properties. I hope the book will illustrate the wide variety and usefulness of thermodynamics which was well described by Albert Einstein: "A theory is the more impressive the greater the simplicity of its premises is, the more different kinds of things it relates, and the more extended is its area of applicability. Therefore the deep impression which classical thermodynamics made upon me." The work of the American thermodynamic school is well known in the Soviet Union, and thus it is a great pleasure to offer this book to American readers. V. V. Sychev v Preface At the present time, when a number of new areas of tech­ nology are rapidly evolving, it is difficult to present a modern course in technical thermodynamics without developing such sub­ jects as the thermodynamics of insulators, magnets, and super­ conductors, or without treating the features of thermodynamic systems located in a gravitational field and in conditions of weight­ lessness, etc. In fact the limited coverage of technical thermody­ namics in the usual textbooks and school equipment as a rule prevents the authors from giving any detailed discussion of these important problems. I therefore resolved to treat these problems in a separate text. I discussed the concept of this book with my teachers V. A.

The book we are presenting to American and other English­ speaking readers is a review of the work on the electron struc­ ture of elements, alloys, and compounds, which was started back in the fifties. This work gradually grew into a system of ideas on the electron structure of condensed matter which is now known as the configurational model. This model is based on the assumption of the preferential formation of the most stable configurations of the localized va­ lence electrons in condensed matter. The existence of these stable configurations and the exchange of electrons with the de­ localized (collective-state) subsystem determines those prop­ erties which are related to the electron structure. The conclu­ sions which can be drawn from the applications of the configura­ tional model are only qualitative but they explain quite clearly the nature of various properties of condensed matter, and they are helpful in the search for materials with specified properties. The American edition has been corrected and supplemented in many minor respects. Moreover, the opportunity was taken to revise thoroughly the section on the fundamentals of the configura­ tional model in the light of the latest theoretical developments. other parts of the book have been shortened to eliminate material which is not of fundamental significance or has not yet been de­ veloped sufficiently fully.

This monograph gives an up-to-date account of the original results of the author's research in the complex field of the central control over relationships which have become established in the course of evolution between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. The author has limited the scope of this research on logical grounds to the study of central chemically reactive structures in the regulation of the adrenal glands through the intermediary of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system. Through the author's skill and expertise in the analysis of the extensive and sometimes complicated literature he has successfully undertaken a differential approach to the analysis of the concrete role of catecholamines, acetylcholine, and serotonin in relation to the endocrine system. The vast range of experimental investigations and results of clinical observations published in the last few decades have revealed the humoral neurosecretory factors of the hypothalamus as impor­ tant regulators of the princ ipal functions of the pituitary gland and, through it, of the cyclic activity of the peripheral group of endocrine glands. Until recently the region of the cascade of regulatory in­ fluences preceding the hypothalamus was terra incognita. It is for this reason that Evgenii Vladimirovich Naumenko's monograph ac­ quires its special importance for the neurophysiologist, for its author has striven, by the use of experimental methods, to ascertain in detail the nature of influences which for a long time were in­ terpreted as the general dogmas of an abstract "nervism.

I have had the privilege of conversing with Professor palladin on numerous occasions during the last 15 years of his life. In these years, after the age at which most people retire, he was still a most admirable man, with an active interest in science, and a wide and wise approach to its many facets. I was always impressed by his enthusiasm for, and lm. owledge about, studies of the nervous system, both his own and those of others. He was interested in myriads of details, which he was able to synthesize into concepts and systems. The present book reflects, in addition to his warmth and wit and wisdom, Dr. Palladin's approach and style: how he and his collaborators came to their conclusions after careful consid­ eration of all the facts. The references in this book, for example, show the great number of works that were found worthy of quoting and including. The reader can see the stepwise emergence of a concept as he reads the pages of this book. Facts are not given for facts' sake, but to try to present a picture based on a large number of observations, by most of the scientists who studied this aspect of the nervous system. The work emerges as from a community; there is ·no attempt to minimize results of others or to maximize those of Palladin's laboratories. Palladin's working lifespan covered over six decades, and many stages in biochemistry.

This translation from Russian into English of the monograph Hematopoi- etic and Lymphoid Tissue in Culture by E. A. Luriya provides us for the first time with a comprehensive review of the massive amount of work carried out in the USSR in this important area of biological research. Historically, the pioneering tissue culture studies of Maksimov, Popov, Chasovnikov, and their colleagues working in Russia in the early part of this century provided much of the impetus for subsequent studies on lymphopoiesis and hematopoiesis in vitro and much of the basic information used subsequently to achieve immune responses in vitro and to develop the methodology for cloning hematopoietic stem cells. Particularly welcome in this translation is the addition of the Appendix, in which Drs. Luriya and Fridenshtein describe in some detail the methodology that has been developed in their laboratories for the study of a variety of cell types in cell and tissue culture.For many of us, this description provides information that had previously not been accessible to us: porosity of millipore fIlters in relation to growth properties; colony-forming cell adhesiveness; pro- liferation kinetics of stromal cells; differential effectiveness of various media used for culture of liver cells; details of washing procedures for fIlter substrates used in culture.

This collection conta ins the results of a number of investiga­ tions which have been carried out in the Hydrothermal Synthesis Laboratory of the Institute of Crystallography, Academy of Sciences of the USSR;

In the last few years the physics of turbulent plasma has undergone rapid development, beginning with the first works, in which the term "turbulence" was used in various ways, and ending with the fundamental studies which provide a thorough examina­ tion of the turbulent state of plasma. In physics it is usually found that value is not so much contained in specific results for a partic­ ular field as it is in the more general outlook and overall view of the problem. Occasionally the older results take on new mean­ ing after the general view of things is perfected. In the case of the physics of turbulent plasma, this general picture is now com­ plete, for the most part. The first review devoted to the problem of plasma turbulence was written by B. B. Kadomtsev [in "Problems in Plasma Theory," edited by M. A. Leontovich, Volume 4, Moscow, Atomizdat (1964), p. 188; English Translation: "Plasma Turbulence," Academic Press, London (1965)].

In particular, any ambiguities as to the identity of organisms described only by common names in the original text were removed, because the author kindly supplied the Latin names in all such cases. A final chapter, "Recent Work on the Evolutionary Ecology of Ani­ mals," is presented as Appendix II to the translation of the original text.

Nearly three years have passed since the publication of the original Russian edition, in which time there have appeared various papers on recent research on the transuranium elements, of which the most notable concern the production of element 105 at Dubna and Berkeley. There has also been much fresh information on elements 104 (kurchatovium) and 103 (lawrencium). Our knowledge of shell effects in the fission barrier has been extended. Hopes of finding relatively stable superheavy elements have stimulated searches for such elements in nature as well as rapid development in heavy­ ion acceleration. We may see some very considerable discoveries in the next few years. The new results vary in reliability, and so it is not surprising that some papers on the properties of the heaviest elements have given rise to vigorous debates, whose value lies in the way they ad­ vance the subject. We have not attempted to give an exhaustive survey of recent papers and have merely added brief sections to reflect what we con­ sider to be the most important points from these. So far, the United states and the USSR have made the most considerable contributions to the synthesis, study, and use of the transuranium elements, so it is especially welcome to us that this book, first published in our country, should now appear in the USA in an English translation.

2 ence of a wave zone or induction zone under industrial and exper- imental conditions determines the physical values used to assess the intensity of irradiation (the power flux density or the field in- tensity), the instruments used for measuring, and the experimental technique (irradiation from a distant source, in a cavity resonator, inductor, capacitor, and so on). The physical parameters eVidently also determine the biolog- ical effects of the different frequency bands. In recent decades various bands of radio waves have been extensively used in many branches of industry. The microwave band has been widely applied in the field of radar, radionavigation, radioastronomy, radiometeorology, radiocommunication, nuclear physics, and physiotherapy. The short-wave and ultrashort-wave band are used for physiotherapy, radiocommunication, broadcast- ing, television, and also for the heat treatment of dielectrics and for welding plasticized rubber. The long and medium waves are used for the heat treatment of metals in the vacuum-tube industry and in mechanical engineering.

The main theme of this monograph - conditions of regenera­ tion of organs in mammals - reflects an area of increasing empha­ sis which permeates much current Soviet research on regeneration. The introduction of this theme goes back about 25 years, and empha­ sis on the influence of environmental conditions upon regenerative processes has fluctuated until the mid-1960s, when the viewpoints on this subject were established in much the same form as they are expressed in this book. For years, Russian regeneration research has been charac­ terized by the presence of several dominant and often conflicting schools of thought. Since an acquaintance with these makes the in­ terpretation of many of the theoretical implications of this book, particularly in the introductory and concluding chapters, consider­ ably clearer, those not familiar with the Russian literature might profit by reading my brief survey of this field (Carlson, B. M., 1968. Re­ generation research in the Soviet Union, Anat. Rec., 160:665-674).

This book presents a brief review of the main re­ sults obtained in two new branches of plasma physics that have developed rapidly in the last decade following the launching of artificial satellites.

Among all the cell fragments obtaine,d experimentally which can make a great contribution to our knowledge of cell structure, an important place is occupied by contractile cell models.

The present stage of technological development makes new and ever more complex demands on materials that have to work under conditions of high temperature and pressure, in high vacuum, and in corrosive media. In consequence special importance is now at­ tached to the refractory compounds of transition metals of groups IV to VI with such nonmetals as boron, carbon, silicon, and nitro­ gen. These compounds possess high melting points, great hard­ ness, and high refractory and corrosion-resisting properties. The most widely used and important compounds of this type from a technological point of view are the carbides, which are already fairly widely used in various fields of technology. The present collection of papers contains the results of re­ cent investigations into methods of producing high-purity carbides and also components made of the carbides and their alloys. Great attention has been paid to the study of a wide range of properties of the carbides and of alloys based on them, viz., the electro-and thermophysical, thermodynamic, mechanical, and chemical prop­ erties, and also to the utilization of the carbides as wear-and abrasion-resistant materials. In contrast to many previous publications dealing with carbides, the results presented in this collection relate to the properties of carbides having a definite phase composition, corresponding to a higher degree of purity 0 In some of the contributions the physical and chemical properties of the carbides are interpreted in terms of certain solid-state models and concepts concerning the types of chemical bonding in these compounds.

Sintering of powder metal compacts is one of the basic oper­ ations in powder metallurgy. The useful properties of a machine part are obtained after considerable densification of the sintered material. Although the mechanical properties of the part depend on other structural factors besides porosity, porosity is the main factor. Usually, the practical problem in sintering is to obtain a part with the desired or permissible porosity. Thus, knowledge of the laws governing densification and its final result is neces­ sary to control this process in the production of powder metal parts. The laws governing densification are also important for a more exact physical theory of sintering, which is still in the initial stages of its development. Such processes as the change in the density of lattice defects and the flow of crystalline substances during sintering have not yet received a complete physical inter­ pretation. Analysis of the laws of sintering may provide addition­ al material for more complete phenomenological characteristics of these processes that will be useful for further development of theoretical concepts of the flow of imperfect crystals under small loads. Although a substantial amount of experimental material has been accumulated, generalizations are still difficult.

(Written for the original Russian edition) Out of all the functional groups of protein molecules that be­ long to the side chains of amino acid residues, the sulfhydryl or thiol (SH) groups of cysteine residues and the disulfide (S-S) groups of cystine have for long attracted particular attention from chemists and biochemists. This is due, on the one hand, to the high chemical reactivity of these groups, which enter into many, and often very characteristic and selective, reactions with several types of compound. On the other hand, this attention is connected with the great significance of SH and S-S groups for the specific functions of a number of enzymes, hormones, and other biological­ ly active proteins, and consequently for the normal course of many physiological processes. The varied functions of sulfhydryl and disulfide groups in en­ zymes are particularly interesting; their role can consist of bind­ ing substrates and cofactors, in direct participation in the catalytic act, or in maintaining (in ways not so far sufficiently studied) the native, catalytically active conformation of the protein. It is entirely natural that the detailed study of the chemical behavior and biological role of these sulfur-containing groups in proteins (and in such low-molecular cofactors as glutathione, co­ enzyme A, lipoiC acid, etc. ) has, in addition to its academic, gen­ eral biological interest, great Significance for many applied branches of medicine and biology (toxicology, radiobiology, diagnostics and therapeutics, biochemical engineering, plant growing, etc. ).

Western knowledge of progress in biomedical research in Russia is severely limited by the scarcity of Russian journals available to us as well as the fact that few of us can read Russian. Therefore, it is of special significance that this recent contribution to the Russian scientific literature has been trans­ lated into English. This publication, Thyroid Hormones, brings to us a detailed analysis of recent work in Russia, and in particular in the Laboratory of Hormone Biochemistry, Institute of Biochemistry, Academy of Science of the Uzbek SSR and the Laboratory of Pathological Physiology, Institute of Experi­ mental Endocrinology and Hormone Chemistry, Academy Medical of Science of the USSR. The review illustrates the parallel pathways of inves­ tigation taken by investigators in Russia and in the West, indicating where the results have complemented each other or stimulated new questions and approaches. Consequently, the book provides an excellent review of the contributions made by Russian scientists in thyroid research and couples it with Western thought on these subjects to produce a complete review of the thyroid hormones. The large amount of data provided and the inclusion of multiple view­ points toward specific problems provides an excellent survey of the mecha­ nisms of biosynthesis and control of hormone formation, physiological effects of the hormones, and the molecular mechanisms involved in thyroid hormone action.