Amaranth nutritional properties assessment based on potassium and nitrate concentration in tissues

The chemical composition of plants of amaranth belonging to various species is determined genetically to a great extent. The concentration of mineral nutrients in amaranth tissues may influence the quality of food and fodder raw stuff. We studied the potassium and nitrate concentration in the tissues of the plants of four amaranth species grown in Western Siberia in similar rainfed conditions. We suggest using the ratio "potassium concentration/nitrate concentration" in the biomass of the plants under study as an additional indicator of their nutritional properties. The content of potassium in A. Hypochondriacus and A. tricolor dry weight was about 900 mEq/kg, in the tissues of A. Retroflexus-600 mEq/kg, in the tissues of A. Cruentus-455 mEq/kg. The maximal value of the mean nitrate content in dry matter for A. Cruentus was 105.9 mEq/kg. The content of nitrates in A. tricolor tissues was 80 mEq/kg, and in A. Retroflexus tissues-40 mEq/kg. The minimal content of nitrates was registered in the sample of the dry matter of the plants of A. Hypochondriacus-about 24 mEq/kg. The ratio "potassium concentration/nitrate concentration" in the plants of A. Hypochondriacus ran up to a multiple of 45, in A. Retroflexsus-16.4, in A. tricolor-10.8, and in A. Cruentus-4.5. A. Hypochondriacus has the highest feeding value compared to other amaranth species, with soil conditions being similar, without watering and fertilizers. The indicator "potassium/nitrate" can be used for express assessment of amaranth nutritional properties

Weed plants of oilseed rape agrocoenoses in Tomsk Oblast

The species composition of weed plants in the oilseed rape agrocoenoses in the south part of Western Siberia (Tomsk region) have been studied. There are more than 80 species of weed plants occupied oilseed rape fields on this territory. Euphorbia virgata, Convolvulus arvensis, Stachys palustris, Cirsium setosum and Sonchus arvensis belongs to the most common and widely distributed species of perennial weeds. In the seed lots of Brassica napus L. Metzg. Cultivated in Tomsk Oblast the fruit and seeds of more than 40 weed seeds have been founded

Laboratory of Senses

It is reported about a series of scientific and research events “Laboratory of Senses” organized in October and December 2016 at the Philological faculty of Samara State Socio-Pedagogical University. The content and purpose of “Laboratory of Senses” are characterized - teaching the analysis of literary text in literary, philological and linguistic methodology aspects with the achievements of various methodologies and scientific schools. Constructive performance of this series of activities carried out by teachers of the University with the bachelors and undergraduates is described

Perspectives of using Illumina MiSeq for identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) form one of the most common symbiosis with the majority of land plants. AMF supply the plant with various mineral elements, primarily phosphorus, and improve the water supply. The search for the most effective AMF strains for symbiosis and the creation of microbial preparations on that basis is an important task for modern biology. Owing to the difficulties of cultivation without a host plant and their high genetic polymorphism, identifying AMF is very difficult. The high number of cryptic species often also makes morphological identification unreliable. Recent years have seen growth in the number of AMF biodiversity studies performed by modern NGS-based methods, Illumina MiSeq in particular. Currently, there are still many questions that remain for the identification of AМF. The most important are whether conservative or variable sequences should be used to select a marker for barcoding and whether universal primers or those specific to AMF should be used. In our work, we have successfully used universal primers ITS3 and ITS4 for the sequencing in Illumina MiSeq of the 5.8S rDNA – ITS2 region of the 35S rRNA genes, which contain both a conservative and variable regions. The molecular genetic approach for AMF identification was quite effective and allowed us to reliably identify eight of nine isolates to the species level: five isolates of Rhizophagus irregularis, and one isolate of R. invermaius, Paraglomus laccatum, and Claroideoglomus etunicatum, respectively. For all five R. irregularis isolates high variability in the ITS region and the absence of ecotopic-related molecular characters in the ITS2 region were demonstrated. The NCBI data is still insufficient for accurate AMF identification of Acaulospora sp. isolates from the genus to the species level

Cytokinesproduction by blood immune cells in patients of different age groups with invasive ductal carcinoma of no special type and lymphatic metastases

The aim of this study was to evaluate production of cytokines by the blood immune cells in patients of different age groups with invasive non-specified type mammary ductal carcinoma, with or without metastases. Production of cytokines by periphery blood immunocompetent cells, either spontaneous and stimulated with polyclonal activators, was assessed in 82 patients with invasive mammary ductal carcinoma. The concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, IL-18, IL-1p, IL-1ra, TNFa, IFNy, G-CSF, GM-CSF, VEGF и MCP-1 were determined by solid-phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients were divided into 2 age groups: the first group consisted of 48 patients from 45 to 60 years old; the second group consisted of 34 older patients (61 to 75 years old). Metastases in local lymph nodes were documented in twenty patients from the first group and nine patients from the second group. The younger patients (45-60 years old) with metastases in local lymph nodes showed higher polyclonal activation index of IL-4 and IL-1ra production, when compared to the patients without lymphatic metastases. As for the older patients (61 to 75 years old), their polyclonal activation index of IL-6, IL-8, IL-1ra, G-CFS, GM-CSF production was significantly lower in cases of local lymph nodes metastases. The latter was due to higher level of spontaneous production, which suppressed the influence of polyclonal activators. The index of polyclonal activation upon production of cytokines in patients with lymphatic metastases was shown to be significantly higher for the age group of 45 to 60 years than in the age group of 61 to 75 years old. This fact suggested a highly stimulating effect of polyclonal activators in patients younger than 60 years. It was found that correlation between the index of polyclonal activation of cytokine production, and the indexes of ER, PR, HER2/NEU and Ki-67 receptor expression, which are used for the determination of molecular genetic subtype of the tumor, differ significantly for the distinct age groups

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CLASSICAL NUCLEAR REACTOR KINETICS AND KINETICS OF MARKOV CHAIN FISSION REACTION

Comparison of the classical kinetics of the nuclear reactor with the kinetics of the Markov chain nuclear reaction had established the limits of application of the classical kinetics, depending on the reactivity and the degree of divergence from the kinetics of the Markov chain reaction

Conservation implications of misidentification and killing of protected species

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordData availability: All data supporting the results in this paper are available from Zenodo (digital repository).Killing protected species mistaken for morphologically similar quarry species, or species with weaker protection, can hinder their conservation. Despite policy aims to reduce threats from illegal killing, information is lacking on susceptible species, conservation impacts and the identification accuracy of hunters. We examined the ability of hunters (n = 232) in Arctic Russia to identify the endangered Northwest European Bewick's swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii using photographs. Only 14% (n = 33) identified this species correctly and distinguished it from sympatric and congeneric whooper swans C. cygnus and mute swans C. olor , with 15% of individuals admitting to accidentally hunting a Bewick's swan in the previous 3 years. We conclude that there is a risk of Bewick's swans being shot accidentally when mistaken for similar species with less legal protection. Improving hunters' skills in discerning protected from legitimate quarry species is likely to be an effective tool for conservation of morphologically similar species.Peter Smith Charitable Trust for NatureOlive Herbert Charitable Trus

STUDYING OF INTRACELLULAR PROCESSES BY RECORDING THE DYNAMIC SPECKLE

The objective of this work was to use a method of dynamic speckle interferometry for studying the cellular metabolism by averaging the data obtained from a small number of cells, as well as inside individual cells. The design of the experimental technique is presented. The technique allows assessing the activity of biological processes in various parts of the cell

Тенденції розвитку національної інноваційної системи в Україні

Проаналізовано національну інноваційну систему України. Розглянуто галузі промисловості України за ознаками інноваційної активності та досліджено темпи зростання показників, враховуючи індекс інфляції. Встановлено, що спад темпів зростання динаміки реалізованої продукції призводить до зменшення витрат на інноваційну діяльність.Дан анализ национальной инновационной системы Украины. Рассмотрены отрасли промышленности Украины по признакам инновационной активности и исследованы темпы роста показателей, учитывая индекс инфляции. Установлено, что спад темпов роста динамики реализованной продукции приводит к уменьшению затрат на инновационную деятельность.This article analyses national innovation system of Ukraine. Examined the industry of Ukraine based on innovative activity and investigated the growth indicators, taking into account inflation-index. It is established that the slowdown in the dynamics realized production leads to a decrease in the cost of innovation