Оцінка і прогноз інвазійності деяких адвентивних рослин за впливу кліматичних змін у степовому Придніпров’ї

The flora of the steppe Dnieper region is characterized by an abundance of naturalized alien species, some of which colonised over the last decade. Climate change, associated primarily with increasing temperature, became clearly manifested in this period. We tested the hypothesis that there is an association between climate change and the initiation of invasiveness of some alien plant species in the steppe Dnieper region. For this purpose, comparative studies of the distribution boundaries of naturalized alien trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants were conducted. Along the research route numerous 5–10-year-old broadleaf linden trees (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) were found in the man-made plantation communities of Dnipro city in areas with moist soil; seeded undergrowth was located at a significant distance from the adult linden plants. Numerous groups of young 7–10-year-old plants of the smoke trees (Cotinus coggygria Scop.), which had a seed origin, were found in the shelterbelt and urban recreational plantations. Young 10–12-year-old virginal and generative plants of the black cherry (Padus serotina Ehrh.) were found in large numbers in both the semi-natural and artificial plant communities at great distances from the adult trees. The alien plant species common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) showed the ability to form fairly sparse seminal seedlings, which was presented by the plants at the age of 4–7 years in both the natural and urban plant communities. The perennial herbaceous plant common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) was found in the course of the research in ruderal habitats, urban plant communities, and also in the agrocoenoses. The common milkweed reached its greatest abundance in fields of winter crops, where the spread of this species was accompanied by a sharp decrease in the number of other species of segetal plants. Our study results confirm that the extension of the distribution boundaries of alien species over the last decade was not related to the ground conditions of the steppe Dnieper region. At the same time, changes in climatic conditions were favourable for some naturalized alien species because they have created the opportunity for seed reproduction of species away from the maternal plants. Alien species C. coggigria, P. serotina and A. syriaca were also the most sensitive to the influence of the climate changes. Consequently, these species have the greatest potential for increasing their level of invasiveness and endangering the biodiversity in the steppe Dnieper region under conditions of climate change. We suggest that a simultaneous initiation of invasiveness of these several alien species leads to an increase in the degree of threat to the diversity of natural plants in the region. The study results confirm the urgent need for analysis and forecasting of the consequences of introduction of alien species, in order to prevent the undesirable effects that this would bring for the region’s native vegetation. Досліджено зміни меж розповсюдження натуралізованих адвентивних деревних, чагарникових і трав’янистих рослин у степовому Придніпров’ї на фоні кліматичних флуктуацій упродовж останніх десятиліть. Показано наявність віддаленої від материнських рослин насіннєвої порослі липи широколистої (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) у штучних фітоценозах міста Дніпро на ділянках із свіжуватими та свіжими гігротопами. Скумпія звичайна (Cotinus coggigria Scop.) утворила чисельний насіннєвий підріст у полезахисних насадженнях та міських рекреаційних зонах. У напівприродних і штучних фітоценозах знайдено віргінільні та генеративні рослини черемхи пізньої (Padus serotina Ehrh.) насіннєвого походження. У природних екотопах і міських фітоценозах зафіксовано насіннєву поросль каркасу західного (Celtis occidentalis L.). Виявлено проникнення ваточника сирійського (Asclepias syriaca L.) у міські фітоценози, а також різке зростання його чисельності в агроценозах, особливо у посівах озимих культур, де інвазія ваточника супроводжувалась зниженням чисельності інших сегетальних видів. Зроблено припущення, що саме кліматичні зміни останніх десятиліть створили для досліджених адвентивних видів сприятливі умови для формування життєздатного насіння та його проростання. Адвентивні види C. coggigria, P. serotina та A. syriaca виявили найбільшу чутливість до кліматичних змін, отже мають високий потенціал щодо посилення інвазійності та загрози біорізномініттю у степовому Придніпров’ї. Наголошується на необхідності аналізу та прогнозування можливих віддалених наслідків інтродукції чужорідних рослинних видів.Досліджено зміни меж розповсюдження натуралізованих адвентивних деревних, чагарникових і трав’янистих рослин у степовому Придніпров’ї на фоні кліматичних флуктуацій упродовж останніх десятиліть. Показано наявність віддаленої від материнських рослин насіннєвої порослі липи широколистої (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) у штучних фітоценозах міста Дніпро на ділянках із свіжуватими та свіжими гігротопами. Скумпія звичайна (Cotinus coggigria Scop.) утворила чисельний насіннєвий підріст у полезахисних насадженнях та міських рекреаційних зонах. У напівприродних і штучних фітоценозах знайдено віргінільні та генеративні рослини черемхи пізньої (Padus serotina Ehrh.) насіннєвого походження. У природних екотопах і міських фітоценозах зафіксовано насіннєву поросль каркасу західного (Celtis occidentalis L.). Виявлено проникнення ваточника сирійського (Asclepias syriaca L.) у міські фітоценози, а також різке зростання його чисельності в агроценозах, особливо у посівах озимих культур, де інвазія ваточника супроводжувалась зниженням чисельності інших сегетальних видів. Зроблено припущення, що саме кліматичні зміни останніх десятиліть створили для досліджених адвентивних видів сприятливі умови для формування життєздатного насіння та його проростання. Адвентивні види C. coggigria, P. serotina та A. syriaca виявили найбільшу чутливість до кліматичних змін, отже мають високий потенціал щодо посилення інвазійності та загрози біорізномініттю у степовому Придніпров’ї. Наголошується на необхідності аналізу та прогнозування можливих віддалених наслідків інтродукції чужорідних рослинних видів

Twenty Years of Galactic Observations in Searching for Bursts of Collapse Neutrinos with the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope

The results of twenty-year-long Galactic observations in neutrino radiation are summarized. Except for the recording of a neutrino signal from the supernova SN 1987A, no Galactic bursts of collapse neutrinos have been detected. An upper bound on the mean frequency of gravitational collapses in our Galaxy was obtained, $f_{collapse} (90$.Comment: latex, 7 pages, 2 eps figure

Protestant women in the late Soviet era: gender, authority, and dissent

At the peak of the anti-religious campaigns under Nikita Khrushchev, communist propaganda depicted women believers as either naïve dupes, tricked by the clergy, or as depraved fanatics; the Protestant “sektantka” (female sectarian) was a particularly prominent folk-devil. In fact, as this article shows, women’s position within Protestant communities was far more complex than either of these mythical figures would have one believe. The authors explore four important, but contested, female roles: women as leaders of worship, particularly in remote congregations where female believers vastly outnumbered their male counterparts; women as unofficial prophetesses, primarily within Pentecostal groups; women as mothers, replenishing congregations through high birth rates and commitment to their children’s religious upbringing; and women as political actors in the defence of religious rights. Using a wide range of sources, which include reports written by state officials, articles in the church journal, letters from church members to their ecclesiastical leaders in Moscow, samizdat texts, and oral history accounts, the authors probe women’s relationship with authority, in terms of both the authority of the (male) ministry within the church, and the authority of the Soviet state

Oxygen reduction reaction features in neutral media on glassy carbon electrode functionalized by chemically prepared gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared by chemical route using 4 different protocols by varying reducer, stabilizing agent and solvent mixture. The obtained AuNPs were characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), UV-Visible and zeta potential measurements. From these latter surface charge densities were calculated to evidence the effect of the solvent mixture on AuNPs stability. The AuNPs were then deposited onto glassy carbon (GC) electrodes by drop-casting and the resulting deposits were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in H2SO4 and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM). The electrochemical kinetic parameters of the 4 different modified electrodes towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in neutral NaCl-NaHCO3 media (0.15 M / 0.028 M, pH 7.4) were evaluated by rotating disk electrode voltammetry and subsequent Koutecky-Levich treatment. Contrary to what we previously obtained with electrodeposited AuNPs [Gotti et al., Electrochim. Acta 2014], the highest cathodic transfer coefficients were not obtained on the smallest particles, highlighting the influence of the stabilizing ligand together with the deposits morphology on the ORR kinetics

WEBER-CHRISTCHEN’S DISEASE (CLINICAL EXPERIENCE)

The case of severe form of Weber-Christchen’s disease in 31 year old man is described. The difficulty of diagnosis for the fist half a year is stressed - until characteristic nodes in subcutaneous layer appears. The diagnosis is confirmed by the data of biopsy of the node which revealed typical multinuclear macrophages with foamy cytoplasm (lypophages). The peculiarity of this case if the resistance of the disease to the combined treatment by high doses of GCS, cyloloxics and Sandimmune

RHEUMATIC MASKS OF PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROME

Summary Analysis of the prevalence and clinical manifestations of paraneoplastic syndrome in 173 patients with malignant tumors admitted in departments internal medicine of Regional Clinical hospital was done. Paraneoplastic syndromes was found in 13 patients (7%) and was characterized by the following rheumatic manifestations: articular syndrome, dermato- and polymyositis, lupus-like syndrome

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER OF THE KIDNEY AND BLADDER IN PRIMORSKY KRAI

Urinary system cancer is a malignancy caused by environmental exposures, the prevalence of which directly depends on the impact of environmental and anthropogenic factors. The aim of the study was to assess the kidney and bladder cancer incidence in different ecological and bioclimatic zones of Primorsky Krai. Material and methods. The incidence of kidney and bladder cancers in Primorsky Krai for the period between 1994 and 2014 was analyzed. In assessing the risk of kedney and bladder cancers in bioclimatic zones (marine climate, marine to continental transition and continental climate), environmental problems of the territories of Primorsky Krai were classified using the following ranks: critical, stress-like, satisfactory, and relatively favorable. The risk assessment was conducted using the guidance on Human Health Risk Assessment for Environmental Impact Assessment. To calculate the environmental impact on risk of urinary system cancer, the information entropy analysis was used. Results. The territories with low, medium and high incidence of bladder and kidney cancers were identified. The high incidences of kidney and bladder cancers were registered in the territories with environmental problems ranked as critical and stress-like, affected by coal, mining and chemical industries, and in the territories with intensive use of chemical pesticides. The incidence of bladder cancer in men tended to rise from the continental bioclimatic zone to the coast in all ecological zones mainly due to differences in the structure of the bioclimate between the coast and continental areas of Primorsky Krai. The increased risk of urinary system cancer was shown to be associated with parameters, such as the quality of drinking water, total pollution of the environment, chemical composition of groundwater, and the sanitary condition of the soil. Conclusion. The environmental risk assessment and ranking of territories by risk allow the cancer prevention and control programs to be developed and the need for increased cancer screening in certain areas to be identified