An Overview of Rural Development Strategies for the Baltics

Historically, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have been known primarily as agricultural countries. This description has determined the significance of all the changes and reforms that have been undertaken in the agrarian sector, including both the production and social spheres. The current agricultural reform is not a completely unexpected new development; it was prepared and shaped as a result of almost two centuries of changes in the countryside

Hakai is required for stabilization of core components of the m6A mRNA methylation machinery

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification on mRNA which influences most steps of mRNA metabolism and is involved in several biological functions. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Hakai was previously found in complex with components of the m6A methylation machinery in plants and mammalian cells but its precise function remained to be investigated. Here we show that Hakai is a conserved component of the methyltransferase complex in Drosophila and human cells. In Drosophila, its depletion results in reduced m6A levels and altered m6A-dependent functions including sex determination. We show that its ubiquitination domain is required for dimerization and interaction with other members of the m6A machinery, while its catalytic activity is dispensable. Finally, we demonstrate that the loss of Hakai destabilizes several subunits of the methyltransferase complex, resulting in impaired m6A deposition. Our work adds functional and molecular insights into the mechanism of the m6A mRNA writer complex

Ring nucleases deactivate Type III CRISPR ribonucleases by degrading cyclic oligoadenylate

This work was funded by grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (REF BB/M000400/1 and BB/M021017/1). MFW is a Wolfson Research Merit Award holder.The CRISPR system provides adaptive immunity against mobile genetic elements in prokaryotes, using small CRISPR RNAs that direct effector complexes to degrade invading nucleic acids1,2,3. Type III effector complexes were recently demonstrated to synthesize a  novel second messenger, cyclic oligoadenylate, on binding target RNA4,5. Cyclic oligoadenylate, in turn, binds to and activates ribonucleases  and other factors—via a CRISPR-associated Rossman-fold domain—and thereby induces in the cell an antiviral state that is important for immunity. The mechanism of the ‘off-switch’ that resets the system is not understood. Here we identify the nuclease that degrades these cyclic oligoadenylate ring molecules. This ‘ring nuclease’ is itself a protein of the CRISPR-associated Rossman-fold family, and has a metal-independent mechanism that cleaves cyclic tetraadenylate rings to generate linear diadenylate species and switches off the antiviral state. The identification of ring nucleases adds an important insight tothe CRISPR system.PostprintPeer reviewe

Manifestation of Parental Support for Primary Form Students Learning at Home

The research deals with the parental support for primary form student learning at home. The following problem questions were raised: what are the types of parental involvement in children's learning and how does parental support manifest in practice of children learning at home. The problem is also relevant because the primary form students' age is the time when parent support has the highest value and creates conditions for comprehensive personality growth: academic skills, children's future prospects, mental health and formation of social relationships. By applying the data collection method of in-depth interview, the conditions to understand what types of parental involvement in children's learning manifest while providing learning support at home have been created. The method of content analysis helped to reveal the following types of parental involvement in children's learning: control and autonomy supportive practice. Expression of the said roles manifested during the following parents' initiatives/ actions: collaboration, motivation, intrusion of rules, instructions of parents, preaching, continuous observation

Intestinal Parasites of Juvenile Salmonids from the Lower Oder River Basin and from the Middle of the Neman River

Atlantic salmon died out in Poland during the 1980s. The current population was recreated with Latvian salmon and now forms part of the southern Baltic cohort. Polish sea trout and brown trout come from the home cohort, but have survived only with regular restocking. In Lithuania, all the salmonides are from the home cohort and have not been restocked. The aim of this study was to compare parasitic invasion in juvenile salmonides that come from Poland and Lithuania. The juvenile salmonides in this study came from the lower Oder River basin and from the middle of the Neman River. 153 fish were caught using electrofishing from 2004 to 2006. The salmonides in the Oder had been artificially restocked and those in the Neman were wild. 33 salmon, 58 sea trout and 24 brown trout came from small tributaries of the Oder; 22 salmon, 5 sea trout and 11 brown trout came from tributaries of the middle Neman River. The fish were either 0+, 1+, or 2+ years old. Their size was characteristic for their species at that age, which suggested that they were in good condition. Our examination found 6 species of parasites from 3 taxa: Cestoda – Cyathocephalus truncates; Nematoda – Cystidicoloides ephe¬meridarum and Raphidascaris acus; and Acanthocephala – Acantho¬cephalus lucii, A. anguillae and Metechinorhynchus truttae. We found all three taxa of parasites in all the salmonides that came from the tributaries of the Oder, but all three taxa were found only in salmon from the Neman tributaries. In sea trout and brown trout from tributaries of the Nemen River we found only Nematoda. The invasion frequency was much higher in salmonides that came from tributaries of the Oder River than in salmonides from tributaries of the Nemen River. In tributaries of the Oder River, 57.6% of the salmon, 62.1% of the sea trout, and 58.3% of the brown trout had parasites. In tributaries of the Nemen River, 27.3% of the salmon, 40% of the sea trout, and 36.4% of the brown trout had parasites. In salmonides from both rivers the most common parasites were C. ephemeridarum, M. truttae, and C. truncatus. The other species of parasites were found in very few cases. Older salmonides had greater numbers of parasites. Although the salmonides came from different rivers and had different origins, the species of parasites that they had were typical for their family. In conclusion, parasite invasion is similar in salmonides both from the lower Oder River basin and from the middle of the Neman River

Overview of Rural Development Strategies for the Baltics, An

Historically, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have been known primarily as agricultural countries. This description has determined the significance of all the changes and reforms that have been undertaken in the agrarian sector, including both the production and social spheres. The current agricultural reform is not a completely unexpected new development; it was prepared and shaped as a result of almost two centuries of changes in the countryside.