A modified procedure for the evaluation of the amylose and amylopectin content in potato starch

The article is devoted to the development of a technique for determining the content of amylose and amylopectin, effective for potato starch. Since potato starch is an important renewable raw material for a number of industries, it is important to have a throughput approach that allows potato starch samples to be tested quickly for the content of its constituent polysaccharides for potato breeding for starch properties and for starch industrial application. The developed technique includes elements of previously disjointed procedures for dissolution and spectrophotometric determination of amylose in starch, and combines the following advantages: 1) starch samples dissolve in an organic solvent (0.5 % solution of lithium bromide in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMS)); 2) measurement of light absorption is performed at two wavelengths, 550 and 510 nm, and 3) the technique is adapted for use with a plate spectrophotometer. This procedure allows starch polysaccharides to avoid to avoid hydrolysis during dissolution, allows the precise spectrophotometric determination of the concentration of amylose complex with iodine in solution, and opens the possibility of using this technique for throughput phenotyping. Applying a certain dissolution procedure, it is also possible to avoid the formation of gelled starch clots in solutions for spectrophotometry, which is important for the preparation of solutions containing amylose and amylopectin in the same proportions as in the original starch. The technique was tested on starch isolated from potato tubers varieties Lina, Velikan, Golubizna, Favorit of domestic selection. The technique developed can be used for phenotyping starch of an extended set of potato varieties (determining the content and composition of amylose in potato starch samples) to identify "trait-genotype” associations

Patterns of soil cover organization within the northern part of the Kondinskaya lowland (Western Siberia)

The paper presents the results of the studies devoted to the morphological features and properties of soils representing different geomorphological conditions within the elevated relief forms of the Kondinskaya lowland, with the example of the Kondinskie Lakes Natural Park area. The northern part of the Kondinskaya lowland is characterized by a contrasting and diverse relief, which is generally not typical of the middle taiga zone of Western Siberia. Soil-morphological and -geomorphological methods formed the structural framework of this research. The results showed that Folic Albic Podzols (Geoabruptic) formed on the flat tops of ridges are characterized by a moderate thickness of the E horizon, the largest number of rock fragments, as well as by bedding with loams that have signs of paleocryogenic deformations. Albic Podzols of terraced slopes have more developed E and Bs horizons with large wedge like tongues having depth of about one meter. This group of soils is distinguished by the most diverse structure of the upper part of the profile due to the variability of morphological elements related to biogenic pedoturbations. Albic Lamellic Arenosols occupying steep slopes of the ridges are less developed, and erosional processes often interrupt soil development within this geomorphic position. Albic Gleyic Podzols (Turbic) formed under the steep slopes of high ridges develop over buried Podzols, and often contain charcoal-enriched interlayers in the bottom and middle parts of the profile. Formation of a complex profile, with series of burials, is possibly associated with the activation of erosional processes related to fires and ancient human activity. Study results showed that there is a strong relationship between the lithology on the one hand, and the intensity of podzolization and variability of soil morphological elements related to biogenic pedoturbations on the other hand

Assessment of sustainability of the lake ecosystems of Yamal-Nenets autonomous district to acidic deposition

Оригинальные результаты исследования количественных параметров атмосферных выбросов нефтегазодобывающих и транспортных предприятий Ямало-Ненецкого автономного округа и гидрохимических особенностей озер, не подверженных прямому антропогенному воздействию на химический состав озерных вод, показывают наличие факта закисления озер под влиянием атмосферных выпадений выбросов локальных источников азота и серы. Рассмотрен эффект закисления озер с учетом локального и глобального уровня загрязнения атмосферы, кислотных выпадений и переноса воздушных масс из западных, северо-западных промышленно развитых территорий севера Европы и Европейской территории России. Установлена взаимосвязь индекса интенсивности загрязнения природных сред с закисленностью озер исследуемой территории. На основе данных гидрохимических исследований 11 озер в пределах криолитозоны Западной Сибири оценена кислотонейтрализующая способность местных озерных экосистем, выявлено преобладание низких показателей этого свойства. На основе анализа анионного состава природных поверхностных вод выявлена низкая естественная устойчивость озер к кислотным выпадениям. Это связано с физико-географическими факторами формирования химического состава поверхностных вод в условиях криолитозоны, в частности, с низкой минерализацией вод, преобладанием атмосферного водного питания, мономинеральностью песчаных горных пород, значительной природной закисленностью озерных вод из-за значительной заболоченности водосборов и биохимических особенностей растительности. Установлена повышенная степень загрязнения вод исследованных озер свинцом и зависимость содержания свинца от степени сульфатного закисления озера.The paper outlines the results of the original study of the quantitative parameters of atmospheric emissions from oil and gas production and transport enterprises of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, as well as of hydrochemical characteristics of those lakes of the region which are not exposed to direct human impact on the chemical composition of the water in them. The results show the fact of the acidification of lakes due to the effect of the atmospheric deposition of emissions from local sources of nitrogen and sulfur. The effect of acidification of lakes is considered with due regard to local and global air pollution, acid deposition and air-mass transport from the western and north-western industrialized areas of Northern Europe and European Russia. The correlation is found between the index of intensity of natural environment pollution and the level of acidification of the lakes located within the area. The acid-neutralizing capacity of the local lake ecosystems is assessed based on the data of the hydrochemical study of 11 lakes within the permafrost zone of Western Siberia. The predominance of the low values of this property is revealed. The poor natural resistance of lakes to the acid deposition is stated based on the analysis of the anionic composition of natural surface waters. All of this is tied to physicogeographical factors in the formation of chemical composition of surface water inpermafrost conditions, in particular to low salinity of waters, the predominance of atmospheric water supply, monomineralic sandy rocks, as well to the high level of natural acidification of lake waters due to heavy waterlogging of catchment and biochemical features of vegetation. The paper reveals the high level of lead contamination of water in the investigated lakes as well as the dependence of the content of lead on the degree of sulfate acidification of lakes