Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Transmissive Antibiotic Resistance, Associated with the SXT Element, in Cholera Vibrios Isolated in the Territory of Russia

Aim. Detection of SXT elements in cholera vibrios O1 and nonO1/nonO139 serogroups and study of the effectiveness of their conjugative transmission to Escherichia coli cells.Materials and methods. In conjugation experiments, Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor (3) and V. cholerae nonO1/ nonO139 (3) strains were used as donors. Donor strains, recipients, and transconjugants were tested in realtime PCR for sensitivity to antibiotics and for the presence of drug resistance genes and integrase gene (int). Electrophoresis was carried out on a 0.7% agarose gel with ethidium bromide staining.Results. Resistance to chloramphenicol, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, streptomycin was transmitted in conjugation experiments with a frequency of 2.1 × 10–9–7.1 × 10–9. The genes int and dfrA1 (resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole) were found in most V. cholerae strains, and were stably transmitted to E. coli QD Rif r cells and in reverse crosses of V. cholerae O1 El Tor 5879 Nalr .Conclusion. The detection of the SXT element in V. cholerae strains and its successful horizontal transfer emphasize the need to detect such mobile genetic elements to control the spread of antibiotic resistance in V. cholerae

THE OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS AS A TOOL OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION

The article focuses on the professional standards features and benefits. These documents represent the current requirements for modern qualifications. The authors provide the main areas of the occupational standards in order to develop of the staff policy in the educational organization

Profiling of 179 miRNA expression in blood plasma of lung cancer patients and cancer-free individuals

Lung cancer is one of major cancers, and survival of lung cancer patients is dictated by the timely detection and diagnosis. Cell-free circulating miRNAs were proposed as candidate biomarkers for lung cancer. These RNAs are frequently deregulated in lung cancer and can persist in bodily fluids for extended periods of time, shielded from degradation by membrane vesicles and biopolymer complexes. To date, several groups reported the presence of lung tumour-specific subsets of miRNAs in blood. Here we describe the profiling of blood plasma miRNAs in lung cancer patients, healthy individuals and endobronchitis patients using miRCURY LNA miRNA qPCR Serum/Plasma Panel (Exiqon). From 241 ratios differently expressed between cancer patients and healthy individuals 19 miRNAs were selected for verification using the same platform. LASSO-penalized logistic regression model, including 10 miRNA ratios comprised of 14 individual miRNAs discriminated lung cancer patients from both control groups with AUC of 0.979

Long interspersed nuclear element-1 methylation status in the circulating DNA from blood of patients with malignant and chronic inflammatory lung diseases

Along with other malignant diseases, lung cancer arises from the precancerous lung tissue state. Aberrant DNA methylation (hypermethylation of certain genes and hypomethylation of retrotransposons) is known as one of the driving forces of malignant cell transformation. Epigenetic changes were shown to be detectable in DNA, circulating in the blood (cirDNA) of cancer patients, indicating the possibility to use them as cancer markers. The current study is the first to compare the Long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) methylation level in the blood from lung cancer patients before treatment versus different control groups as healthy subjects, patients with bronchitis and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The concentration of LINE-1 methylated fragments, region 1 (LINE-1 methylated, LINE-1-met) was estimated by quantitative methyl-specific PCR. The total concentration of the circulating LINE-1 copies was measured by qPCR specific for LINE-1 region 2, which was selected due to its CpG methylation-independent sequence (LINE-1-Ind). Both LINE-1 methylation level and LINE-1 methylation index (LINE-1-met/LINE-1-Ind ratio) was decreased in lung cancer patients compared with the joint control group (healthy subjects + patients with bronchitis + COPD patients) (Mann-Whitney U-test, P = 0.016). We also found that the tendency of LINE-1 methylation index decreases in the cirDNA from lung cancer patients versus COPD patients (Mann-Whitney U-test, P = 0.07). Our data indicate that the quantitative analysis of the LINE-1 methylation level in the cirDNA is valuable for discrimination of lung cancer patients from patients with chronic inflammatory lung diseases. © 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved

Plasma miR-19b and miR-183 as Potential Biomarkers of Lung Cancer

<div><p>Lung cancer is a complex disease that often manifests at the point when treatment is not effective. Introduction of blood-based complementary diagnostics using molecular markers may enhance early detection of this disease and help reduce the burden of lung cancer. Here we evaluated the diagnostic potential of seven plasma miRNA biomarkers (miR-21, -19b, -126, -25, -205, -183, -125b) by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. Influence clinical and demographical characteristics, including age, tumor stage and cancer subtype on miRNA levels was investigated. Four miRNAs were significantly dysregulated (miR-19b, -21, -25, -183) in lung cancer patients. Combination of miR-19b and miR-183 provided detection of lung cancer with 94.7% sensitivity and 95.2% specificity (AUC = 0.990). Thus, miRNAs have shown the potential to discriminate histological subtypes of lung cancer and reliably distinguish lung cancer patients from healthy individuals.</p></div

ROC analysis of miRNA expression.

<p>Receiving Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves for individual miRNAs and combination of miR-19b and miR-183. (A)–(E) Individual miRNAs; (F) Binary logistic regression of miR-19b and miR-183. ROC curves discriminate squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma (AD) and total study population of lung cancer patients (LC) from healthy individuals (HD).</p

Dynamic changes in circulating miRNA levels in response to antitumor therapy of lung cancer

<p><b>Purpose:</b> Expression levels of cancer-associated microRNAs were reported to be altered in serum/plasma samples from lung cancer patients compared with healthy subjects. The purpose of this study was to estimate the value of five selected miRNAs plasma levels as markers of response to antitumor therapy in lung cancer patients. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Expression levels of miR-19b, miR-126, miR-25, miR-205, and miR-125b have been evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR versus control miR-16 in blood plasma samples from 23 lung cancer (LC) patients. Plasma samples were obtained from LC patients before treatment (untreated-UT), within 30 days after completing two courses of chemotherapy (postchemotherapy-PC) and 15 days after surgery (postoperative-PO). <b>Results:</b> Repeated Measures ANOVA demonstrated that miR-19b expression levels were decreased in PC and increased in PO samples. These changes were characterized by a significant quadratic trend (<i>p</i> = 0.03). Expression levels of miR-125b increased both after chemotherapy and again after surgery and demonstrated a significant linear trend (<i>p</i> = 0.03). The miR-125b/miR-19b ratio changed during the course of the antitumor treatment with a significant linear trend (<i>p</i> = 0.04). Individual analysis in the groups of patients with partial response to chemotherapy and patients with stable or progressive disease showed different trends for miR-19b, miR-125b, and miR-125b/miR-19b ratio between the groups. The Kaplan–Meier survival curves demonstrated an association of miR-125b/miR-19b ratio value with the survival time without the tumor relapse (<i>p</i> < 0.1). <b>Conclusions:</b> Dynamic change of trends for miR-19b and miR-125b expression levels and miR-125b/miR-19b ratio in the blood plasma have shown a potentiality to discriminate types of response to antitumor therapy in lung cancer patients. Further in-depth investigation is needed to establish a direct link the miRNAs expression levels in blood plasma with therapy response and patient's survival.</p