Aspicilia stalagmitica (Megasporaceae) - A new lichen species with isidia-like thalline outgrowths

Aspicilia stalagmitica Paukov et Davydov from the Altai Mts, a species with isidia-like outgrowths on areoles, is described as new to science. From other species of the genus Aspicilia stalagmitica differs by the following set of characters: short narrow marginal lobes, conidiomata in the isidia-like outgrowths, appressed to almost substipitate apothecia, long picnoconidia, and stictic acid as a main secondary metabolite. A phylogenetic analysis of Aspicilia stalagmitica (ITS) showing its relationships within Aspicilia is presented. © 2020 Altai State University. All rights reserved.Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 18-04-00414Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, MinobrnaukaUppsala UniversitetEvgeny Davydov thanks Dr Wen-Li Chen for organizing the expedition to China. Alexander Paukov would like to thank RFBR (project 18-04-00414) and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (agreement no. 02.A03.21.0006) for financial support. We are grateful to Anders Nordin (Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University) whose comments have greatly improved the manuscript

An investigation of the feasibility of the organic municipal solid waste processing by coking

In the context of transition to a circular economy, one of the strategic priorities is the development of technological innovations aimed at waste processing. In this study, the foundations have been developed for a low-temperature, environmentally safe method for efficient processing of organic municipal solid waste, which may be further applied for processing both municipal and industrial waste organics in order to obtain liquid products. The maximum yield of liquid products is ensured when conducting the coking of a mixture of organic waste with long residuum in the temperature range of 400-420 °C, with a heating rate of 5-70 °C/min, and with an optimal heating time to the coking temperature of 80 min. Recommendations on the use of the waste recycling products are given. The proposed process is consistent with the principles of circular economy and does not require external energy costs because the energy needed for the process is generated by burning the gas produced during the waste coking. The process does not produce emissions into the environment and, in combination with standard refining processes, can be used to obtain commercial petroleum products. © 2019 by the authors.Government Council on Grants, Russian FederationFunding: This research received no external funding. Funding: This research received no external funding.  Acknowledgments: The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract Acknowledgments: The work was supported by Act 211 of the Government of the Russian Federation, contract

New species and records of saxicolous lichens from the Kodar Range (Trans-Baikal Territory, Russia)

Fifty-six species of saxicolous lichens are reported for the first time from the Kodar Range. Circinaria scyphulifera is described as new to science. Aspicilia nikrapensis and Fuscidea submollis are new for Russia; Aspicilia sublapponica, Lepra monogona and Thelignya lignyota are new for southern Siberia; and 35 species of saxicolous lichens are reported for the first time for the Stanovoye Nagor'e highlands. Fuscopannaria ahlneri alredy appears in the Red Data Book of the Trans-Baikal Territory. © 2018 Sergey Chesnokov et al., published by Sciendo.We thank Evgeny Davydov (Barnaul, Russia), Dmitry Himel-brant (St. Petersburg, Russia) and Alexandr Ezhkin (Yuzh-no-Sakhalinsk, Russia) for identifying some specimens, and the reviewers for valuable help. The study was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grants 14-04-01411, 15-04-05971, 16-04-01346) and by an institutional research project (“The lichen flora of the Russian Federation”, no. АААА-А18-118031590042-0) of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences

New records of lichens from the Russian Far East. I. Fuscidea submollis and other arctic-alpine species

Summary. Fuscidea submollis Mas. Inoue is reported for the first time from the Russian Far East. Distinctive features of the taxon are discussed, and a comparison with known saxicolous Fuscidea V. Wirth & Vězda species with amyloid medulla is made. Three arctic-alpine species: Sporastatia testudinea (Ach.) A. Massal., Buellia concinna Th. Fr., Amygdalaria panaeola (Ach.) Hertel et Brodo, and Aspilidea myrinii (Fr.) Hafellner are recorded for the first time in the South Far East from the Sikhote Alin Range (Primorye Territory). Calvitimela aglaea (Sommerf.) Hafellner is reported for the first time from Sikhote Alin Range and Primorye Territory. © 2019 Altai State University. All rights reserved.Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, JSPS: 19-54-50010Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBRThe reported study was funded by RFBR and JSPS according to the research project № 19-54-50010

The Role of Secondary Metabolites and Bark Chemistry in Shaping Diversity and Abundance of Epiphytic Lichens

Diversity of secondary lichen metabolites was studied in epiphytic lichens on six phorophytes—spruce, pine, birch, alder, aspen and poplar in the Middle Urals of Russia. Atranorin, usnic, fumarprotocetraric acid, zeorin, and gyrophoric acid were found in 31, 24, 23, 18, and 14 species, respectively, of 237 taxa collected. Seventy-seven species (i.e., 32% of total species documented) contained no secondary metabolites. Spectra of secondary metabolites of fruticose and foliose lichens varied on different phorophytes, while in crustose species the strong dependence on the tree species was not detected. This is different to the pH dependence of saxicolous lichens where crustose lichens were more susceptible to the rock chemistry. The results of Canonical Correspondence Analysis reveal the affinity of species containing depsides, depsidones or usnic acid to acidic substrata and those lacking secondary metabolites or containing terpenes and antraquinones to the pH-neutral bark. We suppose that phenolic compounds and flavonoids, as chemical constituents of bark, may interact with lichen symbioses and elements in phellem, and similarly to the lichen acids shape the affinity of species to the substrata. Copyright © 2022 Paukov, Teptina, Ermoshin, Kruglova and Shabardina.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 22-24-00817AE was partially supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant number 22-24-00817

Fungal literature records database of the Northern West Siberia (Russia)

Background Mycological research in the Northern part of West Siberia has now become sufficient for review and digitisation as over 460 scientific works have been completed mainly since the beginning of the 20th century. The history of research in the region started from isolated studies at the beginning of the 20th century, but regular and systematic research started from the 1970s. Over the following decades, several dozens of researchers have worked in the area, but the reported occurrences were scattered amongst a broad variety of publications, mainly hardly available. The great need in digitisation and accumulation of fungal records reported in published literature in a standardised regional database has now become evident. The «Fungal records database of the Northern West Siberia» (FuNWS) was initiated in 2016 according to contemporary biodiversity data standards (Darwin Core), to be compatible and accessible by the broad research community. The database has been supplemented ever since by the collective effort of specialists working in the area. According to the database summary report, there are 3358 fungal and fungus-like species revealed in the Northern West Siberia at present. The richest in species number classes are Agaricomycetes (60%) and Lecanoromycetes (33%) with a total of 25 classes represented. The FuNWS database was uploaded to Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (Ygra State University Biological Collection publisher) on 11 November 2017 (earlier titled «Fungal Records Database of Yugra, FReDY») to provide open access to the data and its reusability (Filippova et al. 2020). New information This publication summarises the results of the digitisation of literature-based occurrence records of fungi and fungus-like organisms initiated in the Northern part of West Siberia for the first time in the history of mycological research. The bibliography of regional mycological publications was created to include about 460 published works (Suppl. material 2). In total, about 140 literature sources were digitised and about 22000 occurrence records were integrated into the FuNWS database (Filippova et al. 2020). © Filippova N et al.20-04-00349Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Ð Ð¤Ð¤Ð : 18-05-00398Russian Foundation for Basic Research, Ð Ð¤Ð¤Ð : 13-01-20/39, 18-44-860017The research was funded by the Russian Fund for Basic Research and Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous region according to the research project 18-44-860017 and grant 13-01-20/39 of the Yugra State University. Anton G. Shiryaev was partially funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research No 18-05-00398 А. Elena A. Zvyagina was supported by the KhMAO – Ugra government assignment for Surgut State University №20-04-00349. А. S. Arefyev was supported by the Fundemental research programme of the Tyumen Scientific Center SB RAS VI.52.1. project number AAAA-A17-117050400146-1. The authors are grateful to Ilya Filippov for preparation of a graph

Peculiarities of electronic heat capacity of thulium cuprates in pseudogap state

Precise calorimetric measurements have been carried out in the 7 - 300 K temperature range on two ceramic samples of thulium 123 cuprates TmBa2Cu3O6.92 and TmBa2Cu3O6.70. The temperature dependence of the heat capacity was analyzed in the region where the pseudogap state (PGS) takes place. The lattice contribution was subtracted from the experimental data. The PGS component has been obtained by comparing electronic heat capacities of two investigated samples because the PGS contribution for the 6.92 sample is negligible. The anomalous behavior of the electronic heat capacity near the temperature boundary of PGS was found. It is supposed that this anomaly is due to peculiarities in N(E) function where N is the density of electronic states and E is the energy of carriers of charge.Comment: 12 pages, 3 Postscript figure

Low-Temperature Polymorphic Phase Transition in a Crystalline Tripeptide L-Ala-L-Pro-Gly·H2O Revealed by Adiabatic Calorimetry

We demonstrate application of precise adiabatic vacuum calorimetry to observation of phase transition in the tripeptide l-alanyl-l-prolyl-glycine monohydrate (APG) from 6 to 320 K and report the standard thermodynamic properties of the tripeptide in the entire range. Thus, the heat capacity of APG was measured by adiabatic vacuum calorimetry in the above temperature range. The tripeptide exhibits a reversible first-order solid-to-solid phase transition characterized by strong thermal hysteresis. We report the standard thermodynamic characteristics of this transition and show that differential scanning calorimetry can reliably characterize the observed phase transition with <5 mg of the sample. Additionally, the standard entropy of formation from the elemental substances and the standard entropy of hypothetical reaction of synthesis from the amino acids at 298.15 K were calculated for the studied tripeptide.National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-003151)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-001960)National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (EB-002026

Патологическая репарация в зонах ниш стволовых клеток респираторных отделов легкого при идиопатическом легочном фиброзе

The aim. Investigating morphological and molecular characteristics of injury and reparation of the stem cell niche (SCN) zones in the respiratory acini and determining a role of these changes for the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) / usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Methods. Surgical transthoracic (n = 71) and transbronchial (n = 47) lung biopsy specimen from 118 patients were investigated. Bronchiolar carcinoma occurring against the background of ILF was diagnosed in 13 cases. Serial paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Van Gieson picrofuchsin; immunohistochemical reactions were used to detect MMP-1, -2, -7, TIMP-4, PCNA, PDGF, EGF, FGF-b, desmin (Dsm), vimentin (Vimentin), SMA (LabVision, 1 : 100), Apo-Cas (Novocastra, 1 : 100), TGF-b, TNF-a, CD 34, CK-7, -18, Oct-4 and CD-117 (DAKO, 1 : 50), CD68, (DAKO, 1 : 100), CK-5 (Biogenesis, 1 : 200), CK-6, -19 (Uni-Heidelberg, 1: 100). Biotinylated antibodies against mouse and rabbit immunoglobulins (Dako LSAB + KIT, Peroxidase) were used as secondary antibodies. All quantitative and semi-quantitative data were analyzed with variational statistics. Results. Involvement of NSC zones of the lung tissue plays the key role in pathogenesis and morphogenesis of IPF / UIP. This leads to deficient reparation. Disorders of mesenchymal-epithelial transformation / epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (MET / EMT) are likely to be a basis for insufficient reparation in UIP. This is supported by appearance of cells with myofibroblast phenotype expressing both markers of mesenchymal and epithelial differentiation and stem cell markers in the SCN zones. Conclusion. Cells with myofibroblast phenotype could be considered as markers of pathologic reparation following MET program failure. Subsequently, MET program failure in UIP could lead to the development of «honey-comb» disorders in the lungs and also to lung carcinoma development.Изучены морфологические и молекулярно-биологические особенности повреждения и репарации зон ниш стволовых клеток (НСК) респираторных отделов легких и значения возникших в них изменений в патогенезе идиопатического легочного фиброза (ИЛФ) или обычной интерстициальной пневмонии (ОИП). Работа выполнена на материале открытых трансторакальных (n = 71) и трансбронхиальных (n = 47) биопсий легких у пациентов (n = 118) с диагностированным бронхиолоальвеолярным раком легкого (n = 13), развившимся на фоне ИЛФ. Серийные парафиновые срезы окрашивались гематоксилином и эозином и пикрофуксином по Ван Гизону; при помощи иммуногистохимических реакций выявлялись антитела к матриксным металлопротеиназам (MMP)-1, -2, -7, ингибитору ММП (TIMP-4), маркеру пролиферации PCNA, тромбоцитарноподобному фактору роста (PDGF), эпидермальному фактору роста, фактору роста фибробластов типа basic, маркерам клеточного происхождения клеток, участвующих в репарации, – десмину, виментину, гладкомышечному актину (LabVision, 1 : 100), Apo-Cas (Novocastra, 1 : 100), трансдермальному фактору роста-#b, фактору некроза опухоли-#a, цитокератину (ЦК)-7, -18, маркера неоангиогенеза CD-34, маркерам стволовых клеток Oсt-4 и СD-117 (DAKO, 1 : 50), CD-68, (DAKO, 1 : 100), ЦK-5 (Biogenesis, 1 : 200), ЦK-6, -19 (Uni-Heidelberg, 1 : 100). В качестве вторичных антител применялись биотинилированные антитела к иммуноглобулинам мыши и кролика (Dako LSAB + KIT, Peroxidase). Все полученные количественные и полуколичественные данные обработаны методом вариационной статистики. Показано, что в патогенезе и морфогенезе ИЛФ / ОИП важнейшую роль играет вовлеченность в процесс зон НСК легочной ткани, что приводит к последующей неполноценной репарации. Вероятно, что в основе неполноценной репарации при ОИП лежит нарушение процессов мезенхимально-эпителиальной (МЭТ) / эпителиально-мезенхимальной трансформации (ЭМТ), о чем свидетельствует появление в зонах НСК клеток с миофибробластическим фенотипом, одновременно экспрессирующих маркеры мезенхимальной и эпителиальной дифференцировки, а также маркеры стволовых клеток. Вероятно, что клетки с миофибробластическим фенотипом, «латающие» разрушенные базальные мембраны и сохраняющиеся в зонах НСК, можно рассматривать в качестве как маркерных, появление которых свидетельствует о патологической репарации легочной ткани в результате срыва программы МЭТ. При срыве программы МЭТ / ЭМТ в случае ОИП в последующем не только формируется «сотовое» легкое, но и развивается рак

Diversity and Functional Traits of Lichens in Ultramafic Areas: A Literature Based Worldwide Analysis Integrated by Field Data at the Regional Scale

While higher plant communities found on ultramafics are known to display peculiar characteristics, the distinguishability of any peculiarity in lichen communities is still a matter of contention. Other biotic or abiotic factors, rather than substrate chemistry, may contribute to differences in species composition reported for lichens on adjacent ultramafic and non-ultramafic areas. This work examines the lichen biota of ultramafics, at global and regional scales, with reference to species-specific functional traits. An updated world list of lichens on ultramafic substrates was analyzed to verify potential relationships between diversity and functional traits of lichens in different Köppen–Geiger climate zones. Moreover, a survey of diversity and functional traits in saxicolous communities on ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates was conducted in Valle d’Aosta (North-West Italy) to verify whether a relationship can be detected between substrate and functional traits that cannot be explained by other environmental factors related to altitude. Analyses (unweighted pair group mean average clustering, canonical correspondence analysis, similarity-difference-replacement simplex approach) of global lichen diversity on ultramafic substrates (2314 reports of 881 taxa from 43 areas) displayed a zonal species distribution in different climate zones rather than an azonal distribution driven by the shared substrate. Accordingly, variations in the frequency of functional attributes reflected reported adaptations to the climate conditions of the different geographic areas. At the regional scale, higher similarity and lower species replacement were detected at each altitude, independent from the substrate, suggesting that altitude-related climate factors prevail over putative substrate–factors in driving community assemblages. In conclusion, data do not reveal peculiarities in lichen diversity or the frequency of functional traits in ultramafic areas