Comparison of freezing tolerance, compatible solutes and polyamines in geographically diverse collections of Thellungiella sp. and Arabidopsis thaliana accessions

Background: Thellungiella has been proposed as an extremophile alternative to Arabidopsis to investigate environmental stress tolerance. However, Arabidopsis accessions show large natural variation in their freezing tolerance and here the tolerance ranges of collections of accessions in the two species were compared. Results: Leaf freezing tolerance of 16 Thellungiella accessions was assessed with an electrolyte leakage assay before and after 14 days of cold acclimation at 4 degrees C. Soluble sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose, raffinose) and free polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, spermine) were quantified by HPLC, proline photometrically. The ranges in nonacclimated freezing tolerance completely overlapped between Arabidopsis and Thellungiella. After cold acclimation, some Thellungiella accessions were more freezing tolerant than any Arabidopsis accessions. Acclimated freezing tolerance was correlated with sucrose levels in both species, but raffinose accumulation was lower in Thellungiella and only correlated with freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis. The reverse was true for leaf proline contents. Polyamine levels were generally similar between the species. Only spermine content was higher in nonacclimated Thellungiella plants, but decreased during acclimation and was negatively correlated with freezing tolerance. Conclusion: Thellungiella is not an extremophile with regard to freezing tolerance, but some accessions significantly expand the range present in Arabidopsis. The metabolite data indicate different metabolic adaptation strategies between the species

The dependence of cylindrical resonator natural frequencies on the fluid density

The article examines the dependence of cylindrical resonator natural frequencies (sensitive element) on the density (mass) of different fluids flowing through it. The cylindrical resonators are being widely applied in automatic control systems of technological processes as oscillating transducer density meter. The article presents the experimental results that prove the dependence of natural frequencies and vibration amplitude on the fluid density

Direct evidence of nuclear Argonaute distribution during transcriptional silencing links the actin cytoskeleton to nuclear RNAi machinery in human cells

Mammalian RNAi machinery facilitating transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) is the RNA-induced transcriptional gene silencing-like (RITS-like) complex, comprising of Argonaute (Ago) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) components. We have previously demonstrated promoter-targeted siRNA induce TGS in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), which profoundly suppresses retrovirus replication via heterochromatin formation and histone methylation. Here, we examine subcellular co-localization of Ago proteins with promoter-targeted siRNAs during TGS of SIV and HIV-1 infection. Analysis of retrovirus-infected cells revealed Ago1 co-localized with siRNA in the nucleus, while Ago2 co-localized with siRNA in the inner nuclear envelope. Mismatched and scrambled siRNAs were observed in the cytoplasm, indicating sequence specificity. This is the first report directly visualizing nuclear compartment distribution of Ago-associated siRNA and further reveals a novel nuclear trafficking mechanism for RITS-like components involving the actin cytoskeleton. These results establish a model for elucidating mammalian TGS and suggest a fundamental mechanism underlying nuclear delivery of RITS-like components

Morphology and Dynamics of the Baltic Sea Shore within Kaliningrad Oblast (Overview)

A review of morphological and morphodynamic studies of the coast of the Kaliningrad oblast has been carried out for half a century. The studies include monitoring measurements by the Atlantic Branch of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (AB IO RAS) with the participation of the state institute Baltberegozashchita (BBZ), as well as pre-war studies and cartographic analyses of long-term coastline migration carried out by the private company Baltic Aerogeodetic Enterprise (BaltAGE). It shows the spatial alternation of abrasive and accumulative areas, as well as frequent changes in beach width and height within the same morphological coast type. A change in the development trend of particular coast sections from year to year was noted. The significant influence of anthropogenic factors on the coastal development was emphasized, including changes in the direction of coastal retreat/advance along an extensive coastal stretch. Comparison of the interannual and nearly century-old dynamics of the coast revealed noticeable differences between them, with opposite trends in several large-scale coast sections

Wind-Driven Currents and their Impact on the Morpho-Lithology at the Eastern Shore of the Gulf of Gdańsk

The paper presents results of a study of near-bottom currents, lithology and morphodynamics on the shore-zone of the Vistula Spit in Russia and on the western shore of the Sambian Peninsula. The measurements were conducted in 1991 and during the period of 2005-2009. The study involves the analysis of the synchronous and statistical parameters of the currents together with wind, grain-size and sorting coefficient distributions for the deposits of the beach and underwater slope, and also the analysis of the morphology and morphodynamics along the east coast of the Gulf of Gdańsk. It has been shown that under conditions of an acute angle between the seaward wind vector and the coastline the strongest and the most stable longshore currents are formed. An increase of the angle leads to a decrease of velocity and stability of these currents. Under conditions of the wind normal to the shore (90°) in the sector of the curved coast Yantarny - Baltiysk (west wind), convergence of the currents is observed. The assessments of annual capacities of the longshore sediment transport for the coastal segment at the Sambian Peninsula and the deformation volumes on the underwater slope at Baltiysk are summarized. A hypothesis is proposed that the sector of 5-15 km north of Baltiysk under the existing wind-wave conditions is the zone of convergence and the discharge-resulting sediment transport. The assumption of the prevalence of migratory and whirl circulations along the shore zone of Vistula Spit is put forward. It is noticed that entrance moles of Baltiysk considerably impact on parameters of the currents and flow of deposits along the coastline at the length of 3-4 km

Opportunities and instruments of strategic planning for the development of Russian football

The article discusses the opportunities and mechanisms for strategic planning and proposals for the establishment of the Federal Fund to Support Russian football (FFSF) for acceleration of the development of football infrastructure: construction of stadiums, providing youth sports schools, support the preparation of new and upgrading of existing coaching staff considering approaching World Football Cup-2018. The legislative initiative on limiting Russian footballers’ wages level is also analyzed in the article