Risk for human tick-borne encephalitis, borrelioses, and double infection in the pre-Ural region of Russia.

We assessed the risk for human tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), ixodid tick-borne borrelioses, and double infection from 1994 to 1998 in Perm, which has among the highest rates of reported cases in Russia. We studied 3,473 unfed adult Ixodes persulcatus ticks collected from vegetation in natural foci and 62,816 ticks removed from humans. TBE virus and Borrelia may coexist in ticks

A Mutant Ahr Allele Protects the Embryonic Kidney from Hydrocarbon-Induced Deficits in Fetal Programming

Background: The use of experimental model systems has expedited the elucidation of pathogenetic mechanisms of renal developmental disease in humans and the identification of genes that orchestrate developmental programming during nephrogenesis

RNase H2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a complex of three proteins

The composition of RNase H2 has been a long-standing problem. Whereas bacterial and archaeal RNases H2 are active as single polypeptides, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog, Rnh2Ap, when expressed in Escherichia coli, fails to produce an active RNase H2. By affinity chromatography purification and identification of polypeptides associated with a tagged S.cerevisiae Rnh2Ap, we obtained a complex of three proteins (Rnh2Ap, Ydr279p and Ylr154p) that together are necessary and sufficient for RNase H2 activity. Deletion of the gene encoding any one of the proteins or mutations in the catalytic site in Rnh2A led to loss of RNase H2 activity. Even when S.cerevisiae RNase H2 is catalytically compromised, it still exhibits a preference for cleavage of the phosphodiester bond on the 5′ side of a ribonucleotide–deoxyribonucleotide sequence in substrates mimicking RNA-primed Okazaki fragments or a single ribonucleotide embedded in a duplex DNA. Interestingly, Ydr279p and Ylr154p have homologous proteins only in closely related species. The multisubunit nature of S.cerevisiae RNase H2 may be important both for structural purposes and to provide a means of interacting with other proteins involved in DNA replication/repair and transcription

Devising A Procedure for Justifying the Choice of Reconnaissance-firing Systems

This paper reports a study into the special features of military (combat) activities at the present stage of military art development. The purpose was to subsequently define the basic requirements for reconnaissance-firing systems. The features under consideration are a rapid change in the situation, competition with an enemy for winning in time, accuracy, maneuverability, secrecy. They also involve a large amount of data that must be operated when deciding on combat use (hostilities). Other attributes of modern military (combat) activities are the consistency of operations and a clear structure of subordination; independence in maintenance and positioning. These data are useful and important because they make it possible to reasonably define the requirements for reconnaissance-firing systems. This paper has defined those requirements for reconnaissance-firing systems and such criteria for their selection that are predetermined by the specificity of military (combat) activities. The most important selection criteria include efficiency, accuracy, secrecy, robustness. Several actual reconnaissance-firing systems have been analyzed in order to demonstrate the use of the methodology. Specifically, «Kropyva» (Ukraine), «ArtOS» (Ukraine), «Obolon-A» (Ukraine), «Sokil» (Poland, Ukraine). A procedure for justifying the choice of reconnaissance-firing systems has been devised, taking into consideration the conditions of military (combat) activities, based on the method involving an analytic hierarchy process. A given procedure substantiates those selection criteria that were determined on the basis of patterns in modern military activities. From a practical point of view, the proposed methodology makes it possible to significantly reduce the time for planning an operation and considerably improve the validity of decisions by a commander (chief) regarding the choice of a reconnaissance-firing system and its further use in combat activities