Mountain grassland ecosystems on abandoned agricultural terraces (Russia, North Caucasus)

Terraces represent one of the most common agricultural landscape elementsin the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus. In the Central and WestCaucasus, most of the arable terraces were converted into grasslands for grazing and haymaking 60–70 years ago and then abandoned or underused during the last 20–25 years. Te role of abandoned terraces in maintaining the diversity of grasslands of the mountain slopes was studied in the case of eight terraces of different types. Plant communities of subalpine meadows and meadow steppes were distinguished on the terraces depending mainly on slope steepness at the same altitudes and to a lesser extent on the slope aspect. In general, the grasslands of the terrace platforms and those of original unterraced slopes had similar traits. At that, the mesophilous communities on the rich soils of terrace edges and scarp communities similar to vegetation of steep slopes with eroded soils create regular patterns on the terraced slopes. Tus, former agricultural terraces conditioning geodiversity also contribute to the diversity of plant communities and landscape fragmentation. Te current increase of temperature and humidity may lead to a reduction of climatic differences of the slopes, and the further convergence of grassland communities can be assumed

Influence of Endogenous Characteristics of Russian Fuel-and-Energy and Metallurgical Companies on their International Financing Operational Factors

By using the methods of principal components and canonical correlations influence of endogenous characteristics of Russian fuel-and-energy and metallurgical companies on their international financing operational factors is stud-ied. The Gazprom’s special role from the international investors’ standpoint is shown. Comparative analysis of the influence of corporate transparency on international financing operational factors is donefuel-and-energy companies; metallurgical companies; comparative analysis

Grasslands of intermontane basins of Central Caucasus: land use legacies and present-day state

Mountain semi-natural grasslands of intermontane basins of Central Caucasus, North Ossetia-Alania and the history of its land use were studied. It was found that post-forest, meadow-steppe and partially subalpine grasslands in the study area had been used as croplands for centuries and have been transformed into grazing lands about 60 years ago. In the last 20 years, the grasslands have been underused. It was revealed that current spatial distribution of grasslands is different from the classic scheme of natural climate-induced vegetation distribution. Species composition of meadow steppes is similar in different locations and does not reflect climatic differences of “dry” leeward and “wet” windward slopes of the intermontane basins. Present-day soils reflect parent material differences and erosion degree, but not topography-induced local climate specificity. However, discovered buried soils showed contrasting soil diversity on the southern and northern slopes. It is assumed that the present convergence of soil cover and vegetation is a result of long homogenising human impact and relatively short grassland development

Drosophila RISC Component VIG and Its Homolog Vig2 Impact Heterochromatin Formation

Heterochromatin formation plays an important role in gene regulation and the maintenance of genome integrity. Here we present results from a study of the D. melanogaster gene vig, encoding an RNAi complex component and its homolog vig2 (CG11844) that support their involvement in heterochromatin formation and/or maintenance. Protein null mutations vigEP812 and vig2PL470 act as modifiers of Position Effect Variegation (PEV). VIG and Vig2 are present in polytene chromosomes and partially overlap with HP1. Quantitative immunoblots show depletion of HP1 and HP2 (large isoform) in isolated nuclei from the vigEP812 mutant. The vig2PL470 mutant strain demonstrates a decreased level of H3K9me2. Pull-down experiments using antibodies specific to HP1 recovered both VIG and Vig2. The association between HP1 and both VIG and Vig2 proteins depends on an RNA component. The above data and the developmental profiles of the two genes suggest that Vig2 may be involved in heterochromatin targeting and establishment early in development, while VIG may have a role in stabilizing HP1/HP2 chromatin binding during later stages

Ganglion-specific splicing of TRPV1 underlies infrared sensation in vampire bats.

Vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) are obligate blood feeders that have evolved specialized systems to suit their sanguinary lifestyle. Chief among such adaptations is the ability to detect infrared radiation as a means of locating hotspots on warm-blooded prey. Among vertebrates, only vampire bats, boas, pythons and pit vipers are capable of detecting infrared radiation. In each case, infrared signals are detected by trigeminal nerve fibres that innervate specialized pit organs on the animal's face. Thus, vampire bats and snakes have taken thermosensation to the extreme by developing specialized systems for detecting infrared radiation. As such, these creatures provide a window into the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying evolutionary tuning of thermoreceptors in a species-specific or cell-type-specific manner. Previously, we have shown that snakes co-opt a non-heat-sensitive channel, vertebrate TRPA1 (transient receptor potential cation channel A1), to produce an infrared detector. Here we show that vampire bats tune a channel that is already heat-sensitive, TRPV1, by lowering its thermal activation threshold to about 30 °C. This is achieved through alternative splicing of TRPV1 transcripts to produce a channel with a truncated carboxy-terminal cytoplasmic domain. These splicing events occur exclusively in trigeminal ganglia, and not in dorsal root ganglia, thereby maintaining a role for TRPV1 as a detector of noxious heat in somatic afferents. This reflects a unique organization of the bat Trpv1 gene that we show to be characteristic of Laurasiatheria mammals (cows, dogs and moles), supporting a close phylogenetic relationship with bats. These findings reveal a novel molecular mechanism for physiological tuning of thermosensory nerve fibres

Protective Effect of Meso-Tetrakis-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin on the In Vivo Impact of Trimethyltin Chloride on the Antioxidative Defense System

The in vivo effect of trimethyltin chloride (Me(3)SnCl), free base meso-tetrakis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (R′(4)PH(2)) and their equimolar mixture, on the enzymatic activity of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and on the total content of free sulfhydryl groups has been studied in rat liver and kidney. It was demonstrated that the simultaneous treatment of tested animals with the combination of Me(3)SnCl and R′(4)PH(2) reduced the toxic impact of Me(3)SnCl

Incorporation and localisation of ganglioside GM3 in human intimal atherosclerotic lesions

AbstractImmunohistochemical examination showed that sections of intimal atherosclerotic plaques contained cells and cell clusters as well as areas of extracellular matrix specifically stained with antibodies against ganglioside GM3. No immunohistochemical staining was observed in areas bordering the plaques where there was no histological evidence of atherosclerosis. To determine whether the ganglioside GM3 deposits in the intimal plaques derived directly from plasma or were synthesised by intimal cells, intimal plaque and plasma LDL were assayed for ganglioside GM3 fatty acid composition. This assay showed that more than 50% of the fatty acids of GM3 isolated from both atherosclerotic and normal intima are either minor fatty acids or those absent from LDL GM3. We conclude that the GM3 deposits present in intimal plaque arise in intimal cells and do not derive from plasma LDL

Modeling the Reliability of High-Voltage Power Transmission Lines Taking into Account the Influence of the Parameters of a Sharply Continental Climate

Natural factors significantly affect the reliability of overhead transmission lines (OHTLs) as the operating conditions change with a change in natural conditions. As such, OHTLs in new natural conditions should be reconstructed optimally so that the number of failures would be less than the standard value. This paper considers the optimal option for 110 kV OHTL reconstruction in a sharply continental climate. Such option should reduce the power supply interruptions without changing the permissible overall dimensions and mechanical properties of the existing OHTLs with minimal economic costs. Mathematical modeling was thus performed using the specially developed Matlab/Simulink software, and the most common types of wires for OHTLs were considered. The calculation of the expected mechanical loads under the influence of natural factors showed that all the considered options for 110 kV high-voltage power line reconstruction satisfy the specified degrees of reliability. The article presents the developed methods for analyzing the functional reliability of the power system and proposes reliability indicators and a criterion for the efficiency of the operation of the 110 kV OHTL that reflect the systemic effect of the implementation of measures for improving the reliability of such line. These indicators, in contrast to the existing ones, take into account the cumulative impact of natural and operational factors

Tables as protocol for mass tests input in the Latin and other languages teacher’s personal information system interface: integrated technology for Word, Excel, Quizlet, Gift and Moodle

Under investigation is the combined use of the LMS MOODLE and special language teaching tools like QUIZLET. The core is the task of unification of the mass tests format and their import into LMS. The initial form of test arrays are WORD lists or EXCEL spreadsheets. The table structure of the AIST interface is proposed. The automated process of arrays converting from WORD and EXCEL tables to GIFT files for import into the MOODLE and QUIZLET is described. Shown that the use of the tabular interface makes anyone possible to implement an effective technology of mass test import into various language LMS