FLARR Pages #65: The Role of Teachers in Russian Society

I would like to speak about the role of a teacher in the Russian society for the last 20 years. I will tell you about positive and negative events which have been taking place in Russian educational system since 1980\u27s

Helmutneris vadum, a new species of Lumbrineridae (Annelida) from Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

A new species of Lumbrineridae, Helmutneris vadum n. sp., is described from shallow waters near Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. The new species differs from two other known species of Helmutneris by having bidentate maxillae III and no ventral limbate chaetae. Sequences of the fragments of COI and 16S rDNA for two specimens including the holotype are deposited in GenBank. A key for three species of Helmutneris known to date is provided.publishedVersio

Names of colors in political discourse

Specificity of usage of color terms in political discourse is discussed. From the point of view of culturology history of political language and psychology the author analyzes etymology, history of usage and semantics of color names used in symbolic meaning in political texts (red, brown, green, blue, dark blue etc.). Differences in functioning of color terms in national languages are characterized, which are determined not only by historical and social-political realia, but also by peculiarities of conceptualization in language world pictures.Рассматривается специфика употребления колоративов в политическом дискурсе. С точки зрения культурологии, истории политического языка, психологии детально проанализировано происхождение, история употребления и семантика употребляющихся в политических текстах в символическом значении цветообозначений (красный, коричневый, зеленый, голубой, синий и т. д.). Охарактеризованы различия в функционировании колоративов в национальных языках, обусловленные как историческими и социально-политическими реалиями, так и особенностями концептуализации в языковых картинах мира

Toward a Comprehensive Model of Snow Crystal Growth: 4. Measurements of Diffusion-limited Growth at -15 C

We present measurements of the diffusion-limited growth of ice crystals from water vapor at different supersaturation levels in air at a temperature of -15 C. Starting with thin, c-axis ice needle crystals, the subsequent growth morphologies ranged from blocky structures on the needle tips (at low supersaturation) to thin faceted plates on the needle tips (at high supersaturation). We successfully modeled the experimental data, reproducing both growth rates and growth morphologies, using a cellular-automata method that yields faceted crystalline structures in diffusion-limited growth. From this quantitative analysis of well-controlled experimental measurements, we were able to extract information about the attachment coefficients governing ice growth under different circumstances. The results strongly support previous work indicating that the attachment coefficient on the prism surface is a function of the width of the prism facet. Including this behavior, we created a comprehensive model at -15 C that explains all the experimental data. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a kinetic model that reproduces a range of diffusion-limited ice growth behaviors as a function of supersaturation

Phylogeny and Cryptic Diversity of Diopatra (Onuphidae, Annelida) in the East Atlantic

Diopatra Audouin & Milne-Edwards, 1833 is a species rich genus that is common in tropical and subtropical regions. The genus is readily identified by its striking, spiral branchiae, but species identification has historically been challenging due to a high variation in diagnostic characters used. This study aims to reconstruct the phylogeny of Diopatra with molecular markers and assess the species diversity of West African Diopatra with the species delimitation programs bPTP and BPP. Specimens were collected from Morocco to Angola, and the markers COI, 16S and 28S were sequenced from 76 specimens. The constructed phylogeny retrieved Diopatra as monophyletic, as well as five well supported clades within the genus. All clades were defined by morphological characters, some of which have previously not been considered to have high phylogenetic or taxonomical value. Species delimitation analyses recovered 17 new species, several of which were not readily identified morphologically. One species complex comprising between one and 12 species was left unresolved due to incongruence between the species delimitation methods and challenging morphology. Our results indicate that the diversity of Diopatra is significantly underestimated, where this regional study near to doubled the number ofknown species from the East Atlantic.publishedVersio

New insights into the morphology and evolution of the ventral pharynx and jaws in Histriobdellidae (Eunicida, Annelida)

The jaw apparatus in several annelid families represents a powerful tool for systematic approaches and evolutionary investigations. Nevertheless, for several taxa, this character complex has scarcely been investigated, and complete comparative analyses of all annelid jaws are lacking. In our comprehensive study, we described the fine structure of the jaw apparatus and the ventral pharyngeal organ (VPO) in Histriobdella homari – a minute ectocommensal of lobsters putatively belonging to the Eunicida – using different comparative morphological approaches, including SEM, TEM, CLSM and subsequent 3D reconstruction. The H. homari jaw apparatus is composed of ventral paired mandibles and dorsal symmetrical maxillae consisting of numerous dental plates, ventral carriers and an unpaired dorsal rod, and the general assemblage and arrangement of the different parts are highly comparable to those of other eunicid families. The jaw ultrastructure of histriobdellids resembles that of the families Dorvilleidae and (juvenile) Onuphidae. Furthermore, our data reveal that in the process of development of the jaw apparatus, the mandibles, maxillae II and unpaired dorsal rod are formed first, and the remaining maxillae and ventral carriers appear later. Notably, the muscular apparatus differs from that in Dorvilleidae and Onuphidae in terms of the number and arrangement of muscle fibers encompassing the jaws – not only because of the very small size of Histriobdella but also because histriobdellid maxillary protraction occurs due to straightening of the dorsal rod and thus requires a different muscular scaffold. Based on our investigations, the arrangement of the muscular apparatus of the jaws, the presence of paired ventral carriers and the dorsal rod, and the morphology of the ventral pharyngeal organ represent a histriobdellid autapomorphy. Our datasets form a basis for further comparative analyses to elucidate the evolution of Eunicida and jaw-bearing Annelida.publishedVersio

Influence of the fractions isolated from Gentiana algida Pall. on the state of cellular and humoral chains of immune response

The immune modulatory effect of fractions isolated from the aerial part of Gentiana algida Pall. has been established in experiments on the СВА mice in respect of cellular and humoral immune response at immune suppression caused by azathioprine. The introduction of testfractions (polysaccharide, ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol) to mice increased the number of the antibody forming cells and index of hypersensitivity reaction of slow type compared with the level of suppression. The most immune modulating effect in respect of cellular and humoral immune response at immune suppression caused by azathioprine has polysaccharide fraction and an ethyl acetate fraction containing phenolic substances. The presence of marked immune modulating properties of the studied remedies in experimental immune suppression allow to recommend them for introduction into the medical practice for the prevention and treatment of immune deficiency conditions, as well as to conduct targeted search of new efficient and low-toxic immune correcting plant preparations