The Arctic Crossroads: Environmental Challenges for Russia

The Arctic region – a northern polar region of the Earth occupies an area down from the Arctic Pole and comprises the Arctic Ocean, northern parts around the Northern Pole.[1] It consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean surrounded by permafrost. The Arctic is known for its rich reserves of natural resources – oil, gas minerals, fresh water, fish, the economic significance of which is growing. Since late 19th century the sea route named as a Northeast Passage (now the North Seaway) along the Russian Northern seashore has been used as a transportation route. Being an area where the territorial boundaries of the Arctic States pass, its role in providing national security both through military presence upkeep may not be ignored. At the same time it is a unique ecosystem comprising most extensive continuous wilderness areas, rare reproduction places of animals and northern fragile landscapes. Its continental areas still home indigenous peoples who have managed to preserve traditional and environmentally favorable lifestyles. Due to such unique natural, economic, social, geographical and political features the Arctic region has become now a crossroad for various interests of states, economic activities, peoples and communities. Growing pressures on the ecosystem of the Arctic have noticeable environmental implications with already existing and expected problems of environmental degradation. All this makes both international cooperation and national efforts in environmental protection a vital task. Internationally, several initiatives have been undertaken in this direction[2], however, they do not have yet a high priority on the background of territorial and economic ambitions of states. Many internal interests meet at the Arctic crossroad of Russia. The country has jurisdiction over the largest EEZ as compared to other Arctic states, has well-developed fishing and oil extraction activities and claims to have control over the extended continental shelf. Its military fleet with nuclear weapons is based here, and it exploits ever more actively the North Seaway. Since early 20th century Russia has been developing economics at its continental part of the Arctic, where now such industries as minerals extraction, forest production, ship-building are based. The present policy views further growth of these interests and respectively activities aimed to reach them. This perspective sets important environmental challenges for Russia. For the recent time certain steps to create the adequate legal basis for environmental protection of the Arctic have been undertaken in Russia. In addition to the federal laws, like the Law on the Continental Shelf (1995 with amendments), On the Exclusive Economic Zone (1998), On Internal Sea Waters, Territorial Sea and Adjacent Zone (1998) that implement certain provisions of the Law of the Sea (ratified by the RF in 1997), in 2008 the president Medvedev approved “The Fundamentals of the National Policy of the RF in the Arctic for the Period up to 2020 and Further Perspectives” (Fundamentals), under which conservation of the unique environmental system together with the use of the Arctic as a strategic resource base, use of the North Seaway as a national transportation communication route and protection of the Arctic as a region of peace and international cooperation were declared as national interests of the state. As to environmental protection the document provides for implementing such measures as eliminating of stocked environmental pollution and addressing climate change. Implementing the Fundamentals in respect to environmental protection of the Arctic requires adoption of specific legislation. The law-making activities are now underway. The draft law on eliminating the stocked environmental damage is aimed to address the problem of dealing with pollution that has been stocked in certain regions under past economic activities. Such regions also comprise the continental part of the Russian Arctic and radioactive pollution of sea by defense activities. The draft law On conservation of the marine environment and its protection against oil pollution that is underway is intended to set rules aimed to prevent oil spills and provide for obligations of tankers to eliminate pollution. The discussion of drafts go with disagreements between various interested groups, change in approaches to deal with problems and in fact in putting off adoption of decisions.[3] At the moment general legal rules on environmental protection are applied in respect to Arctic problems. Practical steps to improve the environmental situation and address other interests of the country in the Russian Arctic are provided for in the Federal Programme “Global Ocean” approved by the Governmental Decree in 1998 that has a section “Development and Use of the Arctic”. The programme provides for removing the risks and consequences of environmental pollution, widening of the sea scientific expeditions, improving of the environmental monitoring system for the sake of addressing climate change problems. The activities are to get funding from the budget and other sources. [1] The Arctic. http://ru/wikipedia.org; Kolodkin A.L. and others. Outer Sea. International Legal Regime. Main Problems. Moscow. Status Publishers. 2007. P. 257-258. The southern boundaries of the Arctic Region are counted differently and this is critical for determining the list of the Arctic states and their respective rights. Roughtly there are two approaches. One is to count the Arctic region from the Northern Pole down up to the southern line of tundra - 27 million square km that comprises as Arctic countries Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland. Iceland and the USA, or down to the Arctic Circle comprising states that directly border the Arctic Ocean – (Russia, USA, Canada, Denmark, Norway) – 21 million square km. [2] E.g. cooperation within the Arctic Council (1996), under the Treaty over the Svalbard (Spitsbergen) Archipelago (1920), the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (1991), Illulissat Declaration (2008). In 2011 Russia and Norway ratified the Treaty on Marine Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean [3] Meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on Environmental Security and Elimination of Stocked Environmental Damage. 10 June 2011. http://blog.ecoaudit.ru/2011/06/blog-post.htm

The first results of the use of the gene pool of the Kalmyk breed on the brown stock of Brown Swiss cattle

The given investigation is devoted to a comparative assessment of the growth, meat productivity and efficiency of beef production by bulls of different genotypes. It was formed 3 groups of bull calves, 15 heads in eachon the 2nd-3rd days after birth: group firstis brown Swiss calves, the second is Kalmyk breed, the third is crossbreeds obtained from crossing Brown Swiss cows and Kalmyk bulls. It has been established that to the age of 18 months, the advantage of Kalmyk bulls and their crossbreeds in terms of live weight over purebred animals of the Brown Swiss breed averaged 16.3-28.2 kg (P>0.999). According to the average daily increase in live weight for the entire production cycle, animals of the Kalmyk breed favorably differed among the analyzed genotypes of young animals, the superiority of which over their peers of different origin varied within 29-61 g (P> 0.999). The difference between bulls of the Brown Swiss breed and crossbreds was 32 g (P>0.999) in favor of the latter. From bull-calves of the Kalmyk breed and their crosses, in contrast to those of the Brown Swiss breed, heavier carcasses were obtained - by 24.8 (P> 0.99) and 14.9 (P> 0.99) kg, slaughter yield is by 2.4 (P>0.99) and 1.4 abs.%, respectively. Representatives of the Kalmyk breed and crossbred peers differed in the highest yield of pulp, whose superiority over bulls of the improved breed was 12.0 (P>0.99) and 7.5 (P>0.99) kg, respectively. A higher level of profitability at the level of 34.6-37.9% was characterized by the descendants of bulls of the Kalmyk breed versus 26.7% in the group of brown Swiss breed

Indicators of production use and yaks immunity of the Central Ciscaucasia

The purpose of the research is to study the main production indicators and immunological status of the breeding stock of yaks of the Sarlyk breed living in the Central Ciscaucasia. The object of the investigation was the animals of LLC «Mountain-Alpine», LLC «Garant A», LLC «Selskie Dary», and LLC «Business Group», located in Chereksky district of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The breeding population of yaks in the region is more than 7,500 heads, of which 4,123 are yak-cows. The share of breeding sires is accounted of 217 heads, which is 2.9% more than the total yak population. Milk production of yak-cows is fluctuated on approximately the same level on farms and amount to 179-184 kg. For every 100 yak-cows in analyzed organizations were obtained at least 88 calves, and more than 98% of young animals were preserved for weaning. Species from all farms were distinguished by the optimal duration of the calving intervals, which made it possible to produce one calf per year from them within 12-13 months. More preferable values for the period between calving were observed among representatives from LLC Garant A (358 days) for all other things being equal. It was established that cows were eliminated from the herds at the age of 3.2-3.8 calving, and they were used longer by 0.4-0.6 calving in LLC «Selskie Dary» and LLC «Garant A» regardless of organizational affiliation. The most common reasons for attrition were injuries and diseases of the limbs. Yak -cows of all breeding reproducers were characterized by high humoral and cellular immunity

Elastin Barrier Membranes for Guided Tissue Regeneration Technologies

This article discusses the prospects for the use of new elastin barrier membranes manufactured using adapted technologies for the selective isolation of the elastin component from the extracellular xenogenic matrix of the pericardium ligamentous apparatus: (1) by high-temperature extraction under pressure; (2) cyanogen bromide method. A commercial material, Geistlich Bio–Gide® membrane (BG), was used as a control comparison group. It is shown that the materials of group (1) have a high degree of biocompatibility, exceeding the indicators of the control group BG. Based on the results of an study in a model of subcutaneous heterotopic implantation in rats, it was shown that elastin BM has a chemoattractant effect on the mesenchymal recipient cells and, unlike the control, is able to integrate to a high degree into the surrounding recipient tissues. At the same time, the materials of group (1) had a pronounced proangiogenic effect. Thus, it has been shown that elastin BM groups (1) have a medium-term barrier function and are able to induce full-fledged cellular repopulation and local neoangiogenesis, which can be useful in clinical practice, primarily in GTR technologies (with gingival flap augmentation) or when used together with other BM as an angiogenesis inducer to ensure formation of the vascular bed in GBR technologies of bone tissue

Compulsive methamphetamine taking in the presence of punishment is associated with increased oxytocin expression in the nucleus accumbens of rats

Methamphetamine addiction is mimicked in rats that self-administer the drug. However, these self-administration (SA) models do not include adverse consequences that are necessary to reach a diagnosis of addiction in humans. Herein, we measured genome-wide transcriptional consequences of methamphetamine SA and footshocks in the rat brain. We trained rats to self-administer methamphetamine for 20 days. Thereafter, lever-presses for methamphetamine were punished by mild footshocks for 5 days. Response-contingent punishment significantly reduced methamphetamine taking in some rats (shock-sensitive, SS) but not in others (shock-resistant, SR). Rats also underwent extinction test at one day and 30 days after the last shock session. Rats were euthanized one day after the second extinction test and the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dorsal striatum were collected to measure gene expression with microarray analysis. In the NAc, there were changes in the expression of 13 genes in the SRvsControl and 9 genes in the SRvsSS comparison. In the striatum, there were 9 (6 up, 3 down) affected genes in the SRvsSS comparison. Among the upregulated genes was oxytocin in the NAc and CARTpt in the striatum of SR rats. These observations support a regional role of neuropeptides in the brain after a long withdrawal interval when animals show incubation of methamphetamine craving

How Morphology of the Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Determines the Selection of the Best Clone

The application of patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has a great perspective for the development of personalized medicine. More than 10 hiPSCs clones can be obtained from one patient but not all of them are able to undergo directed differentiation with the same efficiency. Beside, some clones are even refractory to certain directions of differentiation. Therefore, the selection of the “best” or “true” hiPSC clone is very important, but this remains a challenge. Currently, this selection is based mostly on the clone’s morphological characteristics. Earlier, using methods of mathematical analysis and deep machine learning, we showed the fundamental possibility for selecting the best clone with about 89% accuracy based on only two to three morphological features. In this chapter, we will expand on how the morphological characteristics of various hiPSCs clones, the so-called “morphological portrait,” are reflected by their proteome. By reviewing previously published data and providing the new results, we will highlight which cytoskeletal proteins are responsible for the establishment of the “good” morphological phenotype. Finally, we will suggest further directions in this research area