One Complete and Seven Draft Genome Sequences of Subdivision 1 and 3 Acidobacteria Isolated from Soil.

We report eight genomes from representatives of the phylum Acidobacteria subdivisions 1 and 3, isolated from soils. The genome sizes range from 4.9 to 6.7 Mb. Genomic analysis reveals putative genes for low- and high-affinity respiratory oxygen reductases, high-affinity hydrogenases, and the capacity to use a diverse collection of carbohydrates

In Vitro Cytotoxicity Screening as a Criterion for the Rational Selection of Tear Substitutes

A large number of artificial tears are currently available in the pharmaceutical market. Selecting the right drug for the patient remains a challenge for both the doctor and the patient. Comparing the cytotoxicity of artificial tears is one of the criteria for the rational selection of a drug that promotes maximum clinical efficacy and a higher safety profile. It is known that cells grown in vitro retain many metabolic features of the parent host tissues and at the same time lack tissue and organ interrelations and regulatory effects of the nervous and endocrine systems and have very limited compensatory capabilities. These features of cell cultures provide an opportunity to investigate the interaction of chemical agents directly with the cell itself, to identify changes in cellular and subcellular structures that can be masked in whole-organism settings. This study presents the results of assessing the cytotoxicity of tear substitutes, which demonstrate that these drugs can have a cytostatic effect in vitro and differ in their cytotoxic potential. In recent years, the problem of drug therapy of patients with dry eye syndrome has been attracting increasing attention of ophthalmologists, so screening the cytotoxicity of a wide range of tear substitutes using cell culture-based test systems can promote the rational selection of these drugs

Somatometric Method to Assess the Level of High Schoolers' Physical Development

Раціональна організація фізичного виховання учнівської молоді неможлива без об’єктивного оцінювання її фізичного розвитку. Своєчасно проведене відповідне тестування – запорука запобіганню фізичних перенапружень, порушенням стану здоров’я. Метою дослідження була розробка таблиць для оцінювання рівня фізичного розвитку учнів на основі взаємодії тотальних розмірів тіла. Матеріалом дослідження були показники довжини тіла, маси тіла та обхвату грудної клітки хлопців (n=1111 осіб) і дівчат (n=1133 особи) 7-17 років загальноосвітніх шкіл. Для обчислення взаємодії показників тотальних розмірів тіла вперше застосовувалася множинна кореляція, а для розробки статево-вікових стандартів фізичного розвитку учнів – множинна регресія.Aim: To develop tables to assess the physical development of high schoolers based on the interaction of total physical dimensions. Materials and Methods: To achieve this goal, we studied the indicators of body length, body weight and chest circumference of 7-17 years old boys (n=1 111) and girls (n=l 133) of secondary schools in Kyiv (Ukraine). Multiple correlation was used to calculate the interaction of indicators of total physical dimensions, and multiple regression was used to develop gender and age standards of physical development of high schoolers. Results: The tables to assess physical development of high schoolers ofa certain gender and age have been developed. The tables contain body length in vertical direction and body weight or chest circumference in horizontal direction, depending on what is needed for determination: the proper values of CC or body weight. The guantitative characteristics of high schoolers with good, excessive, below average and low levels of physical development are presented. Conclusions: Rational organization of physical training of high schoolers is impossible without objective testing ofthe level of their physical development. Timely corresponding testing is a guarantee in preventing physical strains and health problems

Proteomic similarity of the Littorinid snails in the evolutionary context

Background The introduction of DNA-based molecular markers made a revolution in biological systematics. However, in cases of very recent divergence events, the neutral divergence may be too slow, and the analysis of adaptive part of the genome is more informative to reconstruct the recent evolutionary history of young species. The advantage of proteomics is its ability to reflect the biochemical machinery of life. It may help both to identify rapidly evolving genes and to interpret their functions. Methods Here we applied a comparative gel-based proteomic analysis to several species from the gastropod family Littorinidae. Proteomes were clustered to assess differences related to species, geographic location, sex and body part, using data on presence/absence of proteins in samples and data on protein occurrence frequency in samples of different species. Cluster support was assessed using multiscale bootstrap resampling and the stability of clustering—using cluster-wise index of cluster stability. Taxon-specific protein markers were derived using IndVal method. Proteomic trees were compared to consensus phylogenetic tree (based on neutral genetic markers) using estimates of the Robinson–Foulds distance, the Fowlkes–Mallows index and cophenetic correlation. Results Overall, the DNA-based phylogenetic tree and the proteomic similarity tree had consistent topologies. Further, we observed some interesting deviations of the proteomic littorinid tree from the neutral expectations. (1) There were signs of molecular parallelism in two Littoraria species that phylogenetically are quite distant, but live in similar habitats. (2) Proteome divergence was unexpectedly high between very closely related Littorina fabalis and L. obtusata, possibly reflecting their ecology-driven divergence. (3) Conservative house-keeping proteins were usually identified as markers for cryptic species groups (“saxatilis” and “obtusata” groups in the Littorina genus) and for genera (Littoraria and Echinolittorina species pairs), while metabolic enzymes and stress-related proteins (both potentially adaptively important) were often identified as markers supporting species branches. (4) In all five Littorina species British populations were separated from the European mainland populations, possibly reflecting their recent phylogeographic history. Altogether our study shows that proteomic data, when interpreted in the context of DNA-based phylogeny, can bring additional information on the evolutionary history of species