The geological heritage of academic expeditions on the Arctic coast of European Russia

The work briefly describes the history and research results of geology of the Arctic territories. It reflects the scientific results obtained during field works of the Institute of Geology of Komi Science Centre of the UB of the RAS since 1958. The data on geological collections from the Arctic territories of the North-Eastern part of the East European platform, Timan and the Northern Ural with islands Vaigach, Novaya Zemlya is given. Geological Museum named after A.A. Chernov can be a regional research and education core for the conservation of historical, cultural and natural heritage of Arctic

Forming the ICT competency of future pedagogues under informational-educational environment at University

The article views the opportunities of forming the competency in the sphere of informationalcommunicational technologies (further − ICT competency) of future pedagogues under informational-educational environment at university. The stages of forming the ICT competency are substantiated, as well as tasks and content for each stage, methods and forms used. Special attention is paid to preparing the future pedagogues to organization of the educational process, based on activity approach and use of information-communicational technologies. When forming the ICT competency of future pedagogues, the great role belongs to the informational-educational environment at university, faculty, department and discipline, where the educational process takes place. The university professors must comprehend the need and efficiency of using modern information and pedagogical technologies in educational process, as well as the specificity of organizational forms of working with electronic educational resources. As an example of forming the ICT competency of future pedagogues, the article presents the experience of projecting the content of a discipline “Informational technologies in education” for Bachelors majoring in “Pedagogical education” and a discipline “Informational technologies in professional activity” for the future Masters of Pedagogy. The content of these disciplines was designed by the authors for the students of Nizhniy Novgorod State Pedagogical University named after Kozma Minin.Keywords: ICT competency of a pedagogue, informational-educational environment, professional standard of a pedagogue, project activit

Functional organization of hsp70 cluster in camel (Camelus dromedarius) and other mammals

© The Author(s), 2011. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PLoS One 6 (2011): e27205, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027205.Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a molecular chaperone providing tolerance to heat and other challenges at the cellular and organismal levels. We sequenced a genomic cluster containing three hsp70 family genes linked with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class III region from an extremely heat tolerant animal, camel (Camelus dromedarius). Two hsp70 family genes comprising the cluster contain heat shock elements (HSEs), while the third gene lacks HSEs and should not be induced by heat shock. Comparison of the camel hsp70 cluster with the corresponding regions from several mammalian species revealed similar organization of genes forming the cluster. Specifically, the two heat inducible hsp70 genes are arranged in tandem, while the third constitutively expressed hsp70 family member is present in inverted orientation. Comparison of regulatory regions of hsp70 genes from camel and other mammals demonstrates that transcription factor matches with highest significance are located in the highly conserved 250-bp upstream region and correspond to HSEs followed by NF-Y and Sp1 binding sites. The high degree of sequence conservation leaves little room for putative camel-specific regulatory elements. Surprisingly, RT-PCR and 5′/3′-RACE analysis demonstrated that all three hsp70 genes are expressed in camel's muscle and blood cells not only after heat shock, but under normal physiological conditions as well, and may account for tolerance of camel cells to extreme environmental conditions. A high degree of evolutionary conservation observed for the hsp70 cluster always linked with MHC locus in mammals suggests an important role of such organization for coordinated functioning of these vital genes.This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project 09-04-00643 and 09-04-00660, project from ‘‘Genofond dynamics’’ program, and Grant of the Program of Molecular and Cellular Biology RAN to Dr. Evgen’ev; and by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (State contract 14.740.11.0757 and Russia President Grant to young scientists MK-1418.2010.4. The research was supported by State Contract N16.552.11.7034 of Ministry of Education and Science

Influence of high-intensity CO2 laser irradiation on collagen matrix composition of normotrophic skin scars (experimental study)

The experiment was carried out in 25 laboratory rats. After modeling of normotrophic cutaneous scars, the procedure of laser dermabrasion with 50 Watt carbon dioxide laser was performed in superpulse mode with impulse-pause ratio of 0,5:100 ms and 500 µm spot diameter. Morphological, immunohistochemical and morphometric examination of skin histological sections were performed. A single exposure to CO2 laser radiation in this mode resulted in the early formation of mainly type III collagen and then type I collagen in ratios approaching to the intact skin.Проведено экспериментальное исследование на 25-ти лабораторных крысах, которым после моделирования нормотрофических кожных рубцов выполняли процедуру лазерной дермабразии излучением углекислого лазера мощностью 50 Вт в суперимпульсном режиме с соотношением импульс – пауза 0,5:100 мс и диаметром пятна 0,5 мм. Проводили морфологическое, иммуногистохимическое морфометрическое исследование гистологических срезов кожи. Установлено, что однократное воздействие излучением Со2 лазера в указанных режимах приводит к образованию в ранние сроки преимущественно коллагена III типа, а затем и коллагена I типа в соотношениях, приближающихся к показателям интактной кожи

cisRED: a database system for genome-scale computational discovery of regulatory elements

We describe cisRED, a database for conserved regulatory elements that are identified and ranked by a genome-scale computational system (). The database and high-throughput predictive pipeline are designed to address diverse target genomes in the context of rapidly evolving data resources and tools. Motifs are predicted in promoter regions using multiple discovery methods applied to sequence sets that include corresponding sequence regions from vertebrates. We estimate motif significance by applying discovery and post-processing methods to randomized sequence sets that are adaptively derived from target sequence sets, retain motifs with p-values below a threshold and identify groups of similar motifs and co-occurring motif patterns. The database offers information on atomic motifs, motif groups and patterns. It is web-accessible, and can be queried directly, downloaded or installed locally

Critical analysis of information security culture definitions

This article aims to advance the understanding of information security culture through a critical reflection on the wide-ranging definitions of information security culture in the literature. It uses the hermeneutic approach for conducting literature reviews. The review identifies 16 definitions of information security culture in the literature. Based on the analysis of these definitions, four different views of culture are distinguished. The shared values view highlights the set of cultural value patterns that are shared across the organization. An action-based view highlights the behaviors of individuals in the organization. A mental model view relates to the abstract view of the individual’s thinking on how information security culture must work. Finally, a problem-solving view emphasizes a combination of understanding from shared value-based and action-based views. The paper analyzes and presents the limitations of these four views of information security culture definitions

The role of cytokines in the mechanism of development of chronic generalized periodontitis

The article presents information on the role of cytokines in the pathogenetic mechanisms of development of chronic inflammation in periodontal tissues. The aim of the study was the investigation of the mechanisms of cytokine regulation in chronic inflammatory process in periodontal tissues in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis and brakesman. Methodology. The object of study steel 317 patients with periodontal disease easy and moderate severity. Investigated in oral fluid range of cytokines to determine their role in the pathogenetic mechanisms of development of chronic inflammation in periodontal tissues. The control group consisted of 112 people. Both groups were matched for age and sex. Results. Among patients with chronic generalized periodontitis were identified statisticheski significant imbalance of Pro - and anti-inflammatory cytokines. State changes in the status of cytokines has allowed to determine the informative criteria with prognathic value in the oral fluid, contributing to reduction in inflammation. Conclusions. The revealed changes testify to the breakdown of adaptive processes and the development of clinical symptoms of periodontal disease.В статье представлены сведения о роли цитокинов в патогенетических механизмах развития хронического воспаления в тканях пародонта. Целью исследования послужило изучение механизмов цитокиновой регуляции при хроническом воспалительном процессе в тканях пародонта у пациентов с хроническим генерализованным пародонтитом и брукизмом. Методология. Объектом изучения стали 317 пациентов, имеющих заболевание пародонта легкой и средней степени тяжести. Исследовали в ротовой жидкости спектр цитокинов для выявления их роли в патогенетических механизмах развития хронического воспаления в тканях пародонта. Группу контроля составили 112 человек. Обе группы были сопоставимы по возрасту и полу. Результаты. Среди пациентов с хроническим генерализованным пародонтитом был выявлен статитически значимый дисбаланс про- и противовоспалительных цитокинов. Изменения состояния в их статусе цитокинов позволили определить информативные критерии обладающие прогнатической ценностью в ротовой жидкости, способствующие купированию воспалительных процессов. Выводы. Выявленные изменения свидетельствуют о срыве адаптационных процессов и развитии клинических симптомов заболевания пародонта

Thyroid cancer risk in Belarus among children and adolescents exposed to radioiodine after the Chornobyl accident

BACKGROUND: Previous studies showed an increased risk of thyroid cancer among children and adolescents exposed to radioactive iodines released after the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) accident, but the effects of screening, iodine deficiency, age at exposure and other factors on the dose-response are poorly understood. METHODS: We screened 11 970 individuals in Belarus aged 18 years or younger at the time of the accident who had estimated (131)I thyroid doses based on individual thyroid activity measurements and dosimetric data from questionnaires. The excess odds ratio per gray (EOR/Gy) was modelled using linear and linear-exponential functions. RESULTS: For thyroid doses \u3c5 \u3eGy, the dose-response was linear (n=85; EOR/Gy=2.15, 95% confidence interval: 0.81-5.47), but at higher doses the excess risk fell. The EOR/Gy was significantly increased among those with prior or screening-detected diffuse goiter, and larger for men than women, and for persons exposed before age 5 than those exposed between 5 and 18 years, although not statistically significant. A somewhat higher EOR/Gy was estimated for validated pre-screening cases. CONCLUSION: 10-15 years after the Chornobyl accident, thyroid cancer risk was significantly increased among individuals exposed to fallout as children or adolescents, but the risk appeared to be lower than in other Chornobyl studies and studies of childhood external irradiation

Systems protobiology:Origin of life in lipid catalytic networks

Life is that which replicates and evolves, but there is no consensus on how life emerged. We advocate a systems protobiology view, whereby the first replicators were assemblies of spontaneously accreting, heterogeneous and mostly non-canonical amphiphiles. This view is substantiated by rigorous chemical kinetics simulations of the graded autocatalysis replication domain (GARD) model, based on the notion that the replication or reproduction of compositional information predated that of sequence information. GARD reveals the emergence of privileged non-equilibrium assemblies (composomes), which portray catalysis-based homeostatic (concentration-preserving) growth. Such a process, along with occasional assembly fission, embodies cell-like reproduction. GARD pre-RNA evolution is evidenced in the selection of different composomes within a sparse fitness landscape, in response to environmental chemical changes. These observations refute claims that GARD assemblies (or other mutually catalytic networks in the metabolism first scenario) cannot evolve. Composomes represent both a genotype and a selectable phenotype, anteceding present-day biology in which the two are mostly separated. Detailed GARD analyses show attractor-like transitions from random assemblies to self-organized composomes, with negative entropy change, thus establishing composomes as dissipative systemstextemdashhallmarks of life. We show a preliminary new version of our model, metabolic GARD (M-GARD), in which lipid covalent modifications are orchestrated by non-enzymatic lipid catalysts, themselves compositionally reproduced. M-GARD fills the gap of the lack of true metabolism in basic GARD, and is rewardingly supported by a published experimental instance of a lipid-based mutually catalytic network. Anticipating near-future far-reaching progress of molecular dynamics, M-GARD is slated to quantitatively depict elaborate protocells, with orchestrated reproduction of both lipid bilayer and lumenal content. Finally, a GARD analysis in a whole-planet context offers the potential for estimating the probability of life's emergence. The invigorated GARD scrutiny presented in this review enhances the validity of autocatalytic sets as a bona fide early evolution scenario and provides essential infrastructure for a paradigm shift towards a systems protobiology view of life's origin