Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

UNIVERSITY INNOVATION INFRASTRUCTURE MODEL AS A KEY PART OF A TERRITORAL CLUST

Over the recent decades there have been increasing efforts by developing countries to reduce the economic gap between developed and developing countries. Asian and Northern European countries demonstrate good progress in these areas.Sweden,Denmark,Chinashow stable high economic indicators that have been achieved by targeted government programs. These programs were aimed at creating a new type of economy based on knowledge and new technologies. Given the success of these countries, a number of developing countries, whose economies are dependent on resources, today, are looking to repeat their way; those countries areRussia,Indonesia,BrazilandChile. The modernization of the economy and the formation of innovative economy are key objectives of the state policies of these countries. The research by leading economists and scientists led to the conclusion that the regional level of national economy plays a key role in formation of knowledgebase economy, which indicates the need to differentiate the innovation policy of the state depending on the economy parameters of each region. This paper presents a model of the first stage of the formation of the entrepreneurialuniversityUniversityinnovation infrastructure model, which is a key part of a territoral cluster. The article consists of five parts. The first part covers the analysis of the two main models of regional development: clustering theory and Triple Helix. This section describes a positive result, which is achieved by using these models simultaneously. The second part of the article shows the importance and the role of the entrepreneurial university in the formation of innovative clusters. It will be explained how and under what conditions this formation is achieved. The third part of this paper will present University innovation infrastructure model. The fourth part will examine the practical first steps to create a cluster "Vorob’evi Gori" on the basis of theMoscowStateUniversity. The fifth, final part contains the main conclusions of the article and the next steps in the investigation of this subject

The Profile of MicroRNA Expression in Bone Marrow in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs) are a heterogeneous group of malignant lymphomas that can occur in both lymph nodes and extranodal sites. Bone marrow (BM) is the most common site of extranodal involvement in NHL. The objective of this study is to determine the unique profile of miRNA expression in BM affected by NHL, with the possibility of a differential diagnosis of NHL from reactive BM changes and acute leukemia (AL). A total of 180 cytological samples were obtained by sternal puncture and aspiration biopsy of BM from the posterior iliac spine. All the cases were patients before treatment initiation. The study groups were NHL cases (n = 59) and AL cases (acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 25) and acute myeloid leukemia (n = 49)); the control group consisted of patients with non-cancerous blood diseases (NCBDs) (n = 48). We demonstrated that expression levels of miRNA-124, miRNA-221, and miRNA-15a are statistically significantly downregulated, while the expression level of let-7a is statistically significantly upregulated more than 2-fold in BM in NHL compared to those in AL and NCBD. ROC analysis revealed that let-7a/miRNA-124 is a highly sensitive and specific biomarker for a differential diagnosis of BM changes in NHL from those in AL and NCBD. Therefore, we conclude that analysis of miRNA expression levels may be a promising tool for early diagnosis of NHL

G1 checkpoint is compromised in mouse ESCs due to functional uncoupling of p53-p21Waf1 signaling

<div><p></p><p>Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) lack of G1 checkpoint despite that irradiation (IR) activates ATM/ATR-mediated DDR signaling pathway. The IR-induced p53 localizes in the nuclei and up-regulates <i>p21/Waf1</i> transcription but that does not lead to accumulation of p21/Waf1 protein. The negative control of the p21Waf1 expression appears to occur at two levels of regulation. First, both <i>p21/Waf1</i> gene transcription and the p21/Waf1 protein content increase in mESCs treated with histone-deacetylase inhibitors, implying its epigenetic regulation. Second, proteasome inhibitors cause the p21/Waf1 accumulation, indicating that the protein is a subject of proteasome-dependent degradation in ESСs. Then, the dynamics of IR-induced p21Waf1 protein show its accumulation at long-term time points (3 and 5 days) that coincides with an increase in the proportion of G1-phase cells, down-regulation of <i>Oct4</i> and <i>Nanog</i> pluripotent gene transcription and activation of endoderm-specific genes <i>sox17</i> and <i>afp</i>. In addition, nutlin-dependent stabilization of p53 in mESC was also accompanied by the accumulation of p21/Waf1 as well as restoration of G1 checkpoint and an onset of differentiation. Thus, the lack of functional p21/Waf1 is indispensable for maintaining self-renewal and pluripotency of mESCs.</p></div

МОДЕЛЬ ОРГАНИЗАЦИИ ИННОВАЦИОННОЙ ИНФРАСТРУКТУРЫ ВУЗОВ КАК КЛЮЧЕВОЙ ЭЛЕМЕНТ РАЗВИТИЯ НАУЧНО-ТЕХНОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ КЛАСТЕРОВ В РОССИ

Over the recent decades there have been increasing efforts by developing countries to reduce the economic gap between developed and developing countries. Asian and Northern European countries demonstrate good progress in these areas.Sweden,Denmark,Chinashow stable high economic indicators that have been achieved by targeted government programs. These programs were aimed at creating a new type of economy based on knowledge and new technologies. Given the success of these countries, a number of developing countries, whose economies are dependent on resources, today, are looking to repeat their way; those countries areRussia,Indonesia,BrazilandChile. The modernization of the economy and the formation of innovative economy are key objectives of the state policies of these countries. The research by leading economists and scientists led to the conclusion that the regional level of national economy plays a key role in formation of knowledgebase economy, which indicates the need to differentiate the innovation policy of the state depending on the economy parameters of each region. This paper presents a model of the first stage of the formation of the entrepreneurialuniversityUniversityinnovation infrastructure model, which is a key part of a territoral cluster. The article consists of five parts. The first part covers the analysis of the two main models of regional development: clustering theory and Triple Helix. This section describes a positive result, which is achieved by using these models simultaneously. The second part of the article shows the importance and the role of the entrepreneurial university in the formation of innovative clusters. It will be explained how and under what conditions this formation is achieved. The third part of this paper will present University innovation infrastructure model. The fourth part will examine the practical first steps to create a cluster "Vorob’evi Gori" on the basis of theMoscowStateUniversity. The fifth, final part contains the main conclusions of the article and the next steps in the investigation of this subject. В статье проанализирована роль инновационной инфраструктуры отечественных вузов в развитии научно-технологических кластеров. На основе анализа двух моделей регионального развития: теории кластеров и теории ”Тройной спирали'' – доказана необходимость развития предпринимательской функции в университетах. Представлены первые инфраструктурные практические шаги по развитию научно-технологической долины на базе МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова.

Differences in spatial versus temporal reaction norms for spring and autumn phenological events

For species to stay temporally tuned to their environment, they use cues such as the accumulation of degree-days. The relationships between the timing of a phenological event in a population and its environmental cue can be described by a population-level reaction norm. Variation in reaction norms along environmental gradients may either intensify the environmental effects on timing (cogradient variation) or attenuate the effects (countergradient variation). To resolve spatial and seasonal variation in species' response, we use a unique dataset of 91 taxa and 178 phenological events observed across a network of 472 monitoring sites, spread across the nations of the former Soviet Union. We show that compared to local rates of advancement of phenological events with the advancement of temperature-related cues (i.e., variation within site over years), spatial variation in reaction norms tend to accentuate responses in spring (cogradient variation) and attenuate them in autumn (countergradient variation). As a result, among-population variation in the timing of events is greater in spring and less in autumn than if all populations followed the same reaction norm regardless of location. Despite such signs of local adaptation, overall phenotypic plasticity was not sufficient for phenological events to keep exact pace with their cues-the earlier the year, the more did the timing of the phenological event lag behind the timing of the cue. Overall, these patterns suggest that differences in the spatial versus temporal reaction norms will affect species' response to climate change in opposite ways in spring and autumn