Prion proteins: evolution and preservation of secondary structure

AbstractPrions cause a variety of neurodegenerative disorders that seem to result from a conformational change in the prion protein (PrP). Thirty-two PrP sequences have been subjected to phylogenetic analysis followed by reconstruction of the most probable evolutionary spectrum of amino acid replacements. The replacement rates suggest that the protein does not seem to be very conservative, but in the course of evolution amino acids have only been substituted within the elements of the secondary structure by those with very similar physico-chemical properties. Analysis of the full spectrum of single-step amino acid substitutions in human PrP using secondary structure prediction algorithms shows an over-representation of substitutions that tend to destabilize α-helices

The U.S.-Russia Joint Threat Assessment of Nuclear Terrorism

Nuclear terrorism is a real and urgent threat. Given the potentially catastrophic consequences, even a small probability of terrorists getting and detonating a nuclear bomb is enough to justify urgent action to reduce the risk. Al-Qaeda and North Caucasus terrorist groups have both made statements indicating that they seek nuclear weapons and have attempted to acquire them; these groups are presented together as a case study to assess nuclear terrorism as a present and future threat. (The only other terrorist group known to have systematically sought to get nuclear weapons was the Japanese cult group Aum Shinrikyo.) This study makes the case that it is plausible that a technically sophisticated group could make, deliver, and detonate a crude nuclear bomb if it could obtain sufficient fissile material. The study offers recommendations for actions to reduce this danger

Lepidoptera of South Ossetia (Northern Transcaucasia). Part II. Cossidae, Limacodidae, Erebidae (Lymantriinae, Arctiinae, Syntominae, Notodontinae), Lasiocampidae, Lemoniidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Drepanidae and Cimeliidae

In the third part of the publication, we present the faunal list of nine families of the Macrolepidoptera of South Ossetia, including 4 species of Cossidae, 2 species of Limacodidae, 40 species of Erebidae, 15 species of Sphingidae, 6 species of Lasiocampidae, 1 species of Saturniidae and Lemoniidae, 5 species of Drepanidae and 1 species of Cimeliidae. Fifty nine species are reported for South Ossetia for the first time

A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds

The Numeniini is a tribe of thirteen wader species (Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes) of which seven are near-threatened or globally threatened, including two critically endangered. To help inform conservation management and policy responses, we present the results of an expert assessment of the threats that members of this taxonomic group face across migratory flyways. Most threats are increasing in intensity, particularly in non-breeding areas, where habitat loss resulting from residential and commercial development, aquaculture, mining, transport, disturbance, problematic invasive species, pollution and climate change were regarded as having the greatest detrimental impact. Fewer threats (mining, disturbance, problematic native species and climate change) were identified as widely affecting breeding areas. Numeniini populations face the greatest number of non-breeding threats in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, especially those associated with coastal reclamation; related threats were also identified across the Central and Atlantic Americas, and East Atlantic flyways. Threats on the breeding grounds were greatest in Central and Atlantic Americas, East Atlantic and West Asian flyways. Three priority actions were associated with monitoring and research: to monitor breeding population trends (which for species breeding in remote areas may best be achieved through surveys at key non-breeding sites), to deploy tracking technologies to identify migratory connectivity, and to monitor land-cover change across breeding and non-breeding areas. Two priority actions were focused on conservation and policy responses: to identify and effectively protect key non-breeding sites across all flyways (particularly in the East Asian - Australasian Flyway), and to implement successful conservation interventions at a sufficient scale across human-dominated landscapes for species’ recovery to be achieved. If implemented urgently, these measures in combination have the potential to alter the current population declines of many Numeniini species and provide a template for the conservation of other groups of threatened species

Biological Earth observation with animal sensors

Space-based tracking technology using low-cost miniature tags is now delivering data on fine-scale animal movement at near-global scale. Linked with remotely sensed environmental data, this offers a biological lens on habitat integrity and connectivity for conservation and human health; a global network of animal sentinels of environmen-tal change

Research and Design of a Routing Protocol in Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

无线传感器网络，作为全球未来十大技术之一，集成了传感器技术、嵌入式计算技术、分布式信息处理和自组织网技术，可实时感知、采集、处理、传输网络分布区域内的各种信息数据，在军事国防、生物医疗、环境监测、抢险救灾、防恐反恐、危险区域远程控制等领域具有十分广阔的应用前景。 本文研究分析了无线传感器网络的已有路由协议，并针对大规模的无线传感器网络设计了一种树状路由协议，它根据节点地址信息来形成路由，从而简化了复杂繁冗的路由表查找和维护，节省了不必要的开销，提高了路由效率，实现了快速有效的数据传输。 为支持此路由协议本文提出了一种自适应动态地址分配算——ADAR（AdaptiveDynamicAddre...As one of the ten high technologies in the future, wireless sensor network, which is the integration of micro-sensors, embedded computing, modern network and Ad Hoc technologies, can apperceive, collect, process and transmit various information data within the region. It can be used in military defense, biomedical, environmental monitoring, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, remote control of haz...学位：工学硕士院系专业：信息科学与技术学院通信工程系_通信与信息系统学号：2332007115216

Polar pattern of ion-plasma beams formed in vacuum flashover of inclined surface of polymer in the field of a plane capacitor

Development of pulsed plasma thrusters raise the question of the mechanism of particle acceleration in the process of surface breakdown. One possible mechanism is the acceleration of ions during the Coulomb explosion of micro-clusters of the decomposition products of the dielectric under the influence of a powerful electrical pulse. The paper presents the radiation pattern of the particle beam formed by the flashover on the dielectric surface in near-uniform electric field. Voltage pulses with amplitude up to 140 kV and duration of 50 ns were applied to the samples. Dielectric surface and electric field vector E formed an angle of 30 degrees. We measured the velocity of the particles formed beam, the time delay from the supply voltage until the breakdown. Shows photographs of the breakdown channel with a marked complex structure. Dependence of the average mass of the particle velocity on the angle between the surface and the vector E were produced. It is shown that the preferential direction of propagation of the beam particles matches with the normal to the surface of an insulator and does not depend on its orientation relative to the electrodes, which confirms the assumption that the acceleration of particles in the plasma layer formed during the breakdown on a dielectric surface. © 2012 IEEE

Notes on Central Asian Furcula with description of a new species

Morozov, Pavel S., Prozorov, Alexey M., Korb, Stanislav K., Shovkoon, Dmitry F., Gorbunov, Pavel Y., Müller, Günter C., Saldaitis, Aidas, Yakovlev, Roman V. (2023): Notes on Central Asian Furcula with description of a new species. Zootaxa 5319 (3): 373-388, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5319.3.4, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5319.3.