First Report of Insect Endophytic Oviposition from the Upper Permian of the Pechora Basin, on a Leaf of Phylladoderma (Peltaspermopsida: Cardiolepidaceae)

© 2020, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd. Abstract: The first endophytic oviposition from the Upper Permian of the Pechora Basin (Talbeyskaya Formation, Severodvinian–Vyatkian) is described in a formal system. Paleoovoidus krassilovi sp. nov. is a linear oviposition arranged in two oppositely directed rows on a leaf of Phylladoderma arberi Zalessky, 1913; it was probably produced by an odonatan insect. Cuticle punctures that probably represent traces of feeding by small and/or young palaeodictyopteroid nymphs were previously described from Phylladoderma leaves found in the same deposits. Fossil insects remain unknown from the Talbeyskaya Formation, but fossil records of plant–insect interactions enable the reconstruction of a well-balanced insect community that included sucking phytophages (palaeodictyopteroids) and predators (odonatans)

Нейтрофильные внеклеточные ловушки: значение для диагностики и прогноза COVID-19

Rationale: An important element of antiviral defense in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 is the innate cell immunity including polymorphonuclear neutrophils prone to netotic transformation. Neutrophils can be not only a marker of acute infection, but, being a source of neutrophil extracellular traps (NET), can play a key role in the development of thrombotic complications leading to acute respiratory insufficiency in COVID-19.Aim: To determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of NET levels in patients with COVID-19.Materials and methods: We monitored NET levels in peripheral blood of 34 patients with COVID-19 (mean age, 67 ± 15.8 years), admitted to MONIKI hospital. The control group consisted of 54 healthy volunteers (mean age, 52 ± 11.5 years). Whole blood samples of 2 pL each were used for the preparation of monolayer smears (Giemsa stain) and calculation of at least 200 cell structures including native intact and transformed neutrophils (MECOS-C2 microscope, Medical computer systems).Results: Patients with COVID-19 had higher NET levels, compared to those in healthy controls: 14.5% (2.9-28.6%) vs. 5.0% (1.8-11.9%, p 0.0001). The patients who were on non-invasive respiratory support (23.5%) had a NET level of 12% (8.122.3%), whereas those on invasive mechanical ventilation (17.6%) had a 1.5-fold higher NET level of 17.9% (12.3-28.2%) (p 0.05). In the patients who died (11.8% of the cases), the NET level amounted to 19% (16.5-26%, p 0.05). Monitoring of blood NET levels was performed in 9 patients from the day of admittance to the day of their transfer to the intensive care unit / discharge / death. It was shown that a decrease of NET levels mirrors an improvement of the patient's clinical condition and efficacy of his/hers treatment. On the opposite, an increase of NET levels can indicate a deterioration and risk of unfavorable course.Conclusion: We have identified some pathophysiological mechanisms in COVID-19, related to the neutrophil compartment. Patients with coronavirus infection are characterized by high NET levels which is at least 3-fold higher than that in healthy volunteers. This indicates an abnormality in immune host defense and development of an inadequate inflammatory response. An increase of NET in whole blood smears of more than 16% can be a criterion of an unfavorable prognosis of the disease course and the risk of death.Актуальность. В патогенезе COVID-19 важным элементом противовирусной защиты выступает врожденный клеточный иммунитет, включающий в том числе полиморфноядерные нейтрофилы, склонные к нетозной трансформации. При этом нейтрофилы не только служат маркером острой инфекции, но и, будучи источником нейтрофильных внеклеточных ловушек (НВЛ), играют ключевую роль в развитии тромботических осложнений, приводящих к острой дыхательной недостаточности при COVID-19.Цель - установить диагностическое и прогностическое значение уровня внеклеточных нейтрофильных ловушек у пациентов с COVID-19.Материал и методы. Проведен мониторинг уровня НВЛ периферической крови у 34 пациентов с COVID-19 (средний возраст 67 ± 15,8 года), госпитализированных в ГБУЗ МО МОНИКИ им. М.Ф. Владимирского. Контрольную группу составили 54 практически здоровых добровольца (средний возраст 52 ± 11,5 года). Из 2 мкл цельной крови готовили мазки по типу «монослой», окрашивали по Романовскому - Гимзе и с помощью системы автоматического микроскопа МЕКОС-Ц2 (ООО «Медицинские компьютерные системы (МЕКОС)») подсчитывали массив не менее 200 клеточных структур, включающий нативные неразрушенные и трансформированные нейтрофилы.Результаты. У пациентов с COVID-19 зарегистрирован высокий уровень НВЛ - 14,5% (2,9-28,6%) против 5,0% (1,8-11,9%) в контрольной группе (p 0,0001). 23,5% больных, получавших простую респираторную поддержку, продемонстрировали уровень НВЛ 12% (8,1-22,3%), тогда как у 17,6% пациентов, которые были подключены к искусственной вентиляции легких, уровень НВЛ оказался в 1,5 раза выше - 17,9% (12,3-28,2%) (p 0,05). В 11,8% случаев с летальным исходом уровень НВЛ достигал 19% (16,5-26%) (p 0,05). Мониторинг уровня НВЛ в крови 9 больных от момента поступления до момента перевода в отделение реанимации и интенсивной терапии/выписки или смерти показал, что снижение уровня обнаруженных НВЛ отражает улучшение клинического состояния и эффективность проводимой терапии. Рост уровня НВЛ, напротив, может свидетельствовать об ухудшении и риске негативного развития событий.Заключение. Выявлены некоторые патофизиологические механизмы развития COVID-19, связанные с компартментом нейтрофилов. Установлено, что для больных с коронавирусной инфекцией характерно наличие высокого уровня НВЛ, который в 3 раза и более превышает показатели практически здоровых добровольцев и свидетельствует о сбое иммунных механизмов защиты и развитии неадекватного воспалительного ответа. Повышение нейтрофильных внеклеточных ловушек в мазках цельной крови более 16% может служить критерием негативного прогноза течения заболевания и риска летального исхода

Causes of Juvenile Delinquency in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Goal: The goal of this paper is to identify the causes of juvenile delinquency in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Methodology: Application of interviewing and expert estimation methods, as well as sociological method helped to study crime among minors as a periodically changing social and legal phenomenon caused by a set of social, political, economic, legal and psychological-pedagogical reasons and conditions. Results: The primary causes of juvenile delinquency in the Republic of Kazakhstan have been identified. These include: impact of the mass media, Internet etc., which resulted in a weakening of the previously existing family and social traditions; low social level of the family; asocial lifestyle of parents; lack of control by adults; negative environment in which a juvenile lives and resides; inoccupation and lack of leisure during non-study time. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Climate and biotic evolution during the Permian-Triassic transition in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, Kuznetsk Basin, Siberia, Russia

The Siberian Traps volcanism is widely considered the main cause of the end-Permian mass extinction, the greatest biological crisis in the Earth history. While the extinction is interpreted as catastrophic and sudden with estimates of duration of approximately 35–40 thousand years from marine strata in South China, various lines of evidence have emerged for a more complex, prolonged, and diachronous extinction pattern. We present here the results of a multidisciplinary study of the Permian-Triassic continental transition in the Kuznetsk Basin, Russia. The region is proximal to the Siberian Traps LIP and the detrimental effects of the flood basalt volcanism in the Kuznetsk Basin may have been of similar scale as in the main area of the Siberian Traps distribution (Tunguska and Taymyr regions). Whereas earlier work has placed the Permian-Triassic boundary position between the coal-bearing Tailugan Formation and the volcanoclastic Maltsev Formation, here we revised the traditional model using three independent methods: radioisotopic CA-IDTIMS U-Pb zircon ages, δ13Corg isotope values and paleomagnetic proxies. The regional extinction of the humid-dominated forest flora (cordaites) and the aridity-induced biotic turnover in the Kuznetsk Basin occurred 820 kyr earlier than the end-Permian extinction event recorded in South China at 251.94 Ma. The biota in Kuznetsk Basin at the turnover subsequently diversified (with some exceptions) across the Permian-Triassic transition. By compiling a large taxonomic database, we find that marine and terrestrial biotic diversity in Siberia progressively increased from the beginning of the Permian up to the middle Roadian (early Guadalupian global glacial event). After that time, the diversity at the species and generic level progressively and slowly declined towards the aforementioned latest Changhsingian (252.76 Ma) biotic turnover. Starting from this time, the biota rapidly diversified in the latest Changhsingian and Early-Middle Triassic. We suggest that the Permian-Triassic mass extinction mostly occurred in the tropics and subtropics due to the strong climatic warming, which was relatively low in late Changhsingian and gradually but quickly extends in the latest Changhsingian to an abnormally high temperature and extremely low oxygenated water in the oceans that was deadly for most marine animals. The warm climate shift poleward during Permian-Triassic transition in the middle-high latitudes caused the replacement (turnover) of the humid-related biotas by the dry climate-related and more diverse communities, which continued to expand throughout the Triassic in both marine and terrestrial habitats. The pattern of the Permian-Triassic event in both marine and terrestrial habitats was more intricate in terms of extinction, turnover, and diversity of biota within the different climatic zones and environmental habitats than has been generally considered