Understanding the specific nature of the East Asia Neolithic transition

The main subject of this article is to define the specific nature of the Palaeolithic-Neolithic transition in East Asia. A comparative analysis of regional East Asian data was run in order to achieve this. As a result, three dissimilar models of the Neolithic transition were distinguished: Meso-Neolithic, Subneolithic, and Neolithic proper. The first and last are similar to their counterparts in the western part of Eurasia, but the Subneolithic is unique for East Asia. Regarding chronology, two stages of Neolithic transition can be clearly recognized in this region. The new Subneolithic type of hunter-gatherer cultures occurred during the first stage around the Sea of Japan. At the second stage, the transition to food production started in central and north-central China. In between, there was a cultural, spatial and temporal gap splitting up the transitional process into two isolated episodes

Avaliação do processo de imunização de murganhos vacinados com virus-like particles (VLPs) contendo candidatos antigénicos de Trypanosoma cruzi

A doença de Chagas, também denomianada de Tripanossomíase Americana, é uma infeção causada pelo protozoário flagelado Trypanosoma cruzi. Foi estimado que 7 milhões de pessoas do mundo estão infetadas com T. cruzi e mais de 25 milhões estão em risco de infeção. Ao longo dos anos têm sido testados vários antigénios com o intuito de produzir vacinas contra a doença de Chagas e até o presente nenhuma destas conseguiu chegar a ensaios clínicos em humanos, embora tenham sido aplicadas várias estratégias imunoterapêuticas para combater a infeção, tais como vacinas de DNA e antigénios recombinantes. A produção de vacinas baseadas nas Virus-like Particles (VLPs) ainda não foi completamente explorada no contexto da doença de Chagas. Neste trabalho pretendeu-se avaliar a resposta imune humoral em murganhos imunizados com VLPs de Triatoma virus (TrV-VLPs) que contêm peptídeos com sequências antigénicas de T. cruzi. Começou-se por caracterizar as propriedades imunoestimuladoras de TrV-VLPs através da otimização do processo de imunização. Por fim, definiu-se a resposta humoral nos murganhos avaliando a produção dos anticorpos anti-TrV-VLPs e anticorpos anti-T. cruzi. Foi selecionado o peptídeo sintético SATA-TLQPVERVL baseado no trabalho realizado por outros investigadores. Neste estudo, o peptídeo foi quimicamente conjugado à superfície das TrV-VLPs por meio dos ligantes com grupos específicos, posteriormente, foi submetido a ensaios de imunização em murganhos. Inicialmente, não foi possível verificar a indução de anticorpos IgG totais anti-peptídeo nos animais imunizados com TrV-VLP conjugado com peptídeo. Posteriormente, alterou-se a estratégia de produção do peptídeo, onde se adicionou uma D-ala para melhorar a sua biodisponibilidade. Com esta nova estratégia foi possível determinar a presença de anticorpos IgG totais anti-SATA-TLQPVERVL-D-ala, bem como as subclasses, IgG1 e IgG2a, nos murganhos imunizados. Em conclusão, os resultados finais sugerem que o peptídeo SATA-TLQPVERVL-D-ala conjugado à superfície da TrV-VLPS poderá ser um importante candidato para o desenvolvimento de potenciais vacinas para a doença de Chagas.Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It was estimated that 7 million people are infected with T. cruzi and over 25 million are at risk of infection. Over the years, several antigens have been tested with the goal of vaccine production against Chagas disease, but neither was able to reach human clinical trials. In an effort to revert this situation, various immunotherapeutic strategies were applied to try and oppose the spreading of the infection, namely the DNA vaccines, and recombinant antigens. Production of vaccines based on Virus-like Particles (VLPs) has not yet been explored on the context of Chagas desease. This work proposes to evaluate the humoral immunity on house mice (Mus musculus) immunized with VLPs of Triatoma virus (TrV-VLPs) that contain peptides with antigenic sequences of T. cruzi. The first step was to characterize the immunostimulant properties of TrV-VLPs by optimizing the immunization process. Then, humoral response on house mice was defined evaluating the production of antibodies anti-VLPs and antibodies anti-T. cruzi. The synthetic peptide (SATA-TLQPVERVL), based on work done by others, was selected. In this study, the peptide was chemically conjugated on the surface of TrV’s VLP via ligands with specific groups and posteriorly submitted to trials of immunization in house mice. Initially, it wasn’t possible to verify the production of total IgG antibodies anti-peptide on the animals immunized with TrV’s VLP conjugated with the peptide. Posteriorly, by changing the strategy of peptide production, where D-ala was added to improve its bioavailability. Following this new strategy, it was possible to detect the presence of total IgG antibodies anti-SATA-TLQPVERVL-D-ala with the associated subclasses, IgG1 and IgG2a. In conclusion, final results suggest that this peptide, SATA-TLQPVERVL-D-ala conjugated on the surface of TrV’s VLP might well be is an important candidate to the development of potential vaccines for Chagas desease

Термодинамическое описание фазовых равновесий в бинарных хлоридных системах

The paper considers the Saint-John-Bloch model and proves that this model is applicable for describing phase equilibrium in binary systems formed by pentachlorides of d-elements of groups V, Vl, Vll of the periodic system and lanthanide chlorides. The dependence of the possibility of forming solid solutions in LnCl3-Ln'Cl3 on the atomic number of a lanthanide was found.В работе рассмотрено применение модели Сент-Джон-Блоха к описанию фазовых равновесий в бинарных системах, образованных пентахлоридами d-элементов V - VII групп Периодической системы Д.И.Менделеева (Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Re) и трихлоридами лантанидов. Показано влияние порядкового номера лантанида на возможность образования твердых растворов в системах LnCl3-Ln'Cl3

Late Glacial hunter-gatherer pottery in the Russian Far East : Indications of diversity in origins and use

During the Late Glacial, hunter-gatherers began using ceramic cooking containers in three separate geographic regions of East Asia: China, Japan and in the Russian Far East. While recent research has clarified the use of early pottery in Japan, very little is known about what led to the emergence of pottery in the other two areas, including the likely environmental, economic or cultural drivers. In this paper we focus on a series of key sites along the Amur River in the Russian Far East, where early pottery has been recovered from securely-dated contexts that span ca. 16,200 to 10,200 years ago (cal BP). Interpreting how these ceramic vessels were used has been difficult because the region’s acidic soils make palaeo-economic reconstructions challenging. To address this gap in knowledge we undertook lipid residue analysis of 28 pot sherds from the sites of Khummi, Gasya, and Goncharka 1 on the Lower Amur River, and the Gromatukha site on the Middle Amur. Our results indicate that pottery was employed to process aquatic oils at sites on the Lower Amur, a pattern of use that aligns closely with studies conducted in Japan, and suggests that fishing – probably of salmonids and freshwater fish – was becoming increasingly important during this period. In contrast, the results from the Middle Amur show a significant contribution of lipids from ruminant animals, indicating that these vessels were being used in different ways. Interestingly, these regional differences in pottery use also map onto contrasting manufacturing techniques, with vessels from the Middle and from the Lower Amur forming distinct pottery-making traditions. These combined insights appear to indicate a greater degree of variability in the development and use of early pottery in East Asia than has hitherto been indicated

The impact of environmental change on the use of early pottery by East Asian hunter-gatherers

The invention of pottery was a fundamental technological advancement with far-reaching economic and cultural consequences. Pottery containers first emerged in East Asia during the Late Pleistocene in a wide range of environmental settings, but became particularly prominent and much more widely dispersed after climatic warming at the start of the Holocene. Some archaeologists argue that this increasing usage was driven by environmental factors, as warmer climates would have generated a wider range of terrestrial plant and animal resources that required processing in pottery. However, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. Here, in one of the largest studies of its kind, we conducted organic residue analysis of >800 pottery vessels selected from 46 Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites located across the Japanese archipelago to identify their contents. Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of aquatic resources, irrespective of the ecological setting. Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of Holocene warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader array of aquatic resources was processed in pottery after the start of the Holocene. We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding to an increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes, the rise of intensified fishing, the onset of shellfish exploitation, and reduced residential mobility

RNA delivery by extracellular vesicles in mammalian cells and its applications.

The term 'extracellular vesicles' refers to a heterogeneous population of vesicular bodies of cellular origin that derive either from the endosomal compartment (exosomes) or as a result of shedding from the plasma membrane (microvesicles, oncosomes and apoptotic bodies). Extracellular vesicles carry a variety of cargo, including RNAs, proteins, lipids and DNA, which can be taken up by other cells, both in the direct vicinity of the source cell and at distant sites in the body via biofluids, and elicit a variety of phenotypic responses. Owing to their unique biology and roles in cell-cell communication, extracellular vesicles have attracted strong interest, which is further enhanced by their potential clinical utility. Because extracellular vesicles derive their cargo from the contents of the cells that produce them, they are attractive sources of biomarkers for a variety of diseases. Furthermore, studies demonstrating phenotypic effects of specific extracellular vesicle-associated cargo on target cells have stoked interest in extracellular vesicles as therapeutic vehicles. There is particularly strong evidence that the RNA cargo of extracellular vesicles can alter recipient cell gene expression and function. During the past decade, extracellular vesicles and their RNA cargo have become better defined, but many aspects of extracellular vesicle biology remain to be elucidated. These include selective cargo loading resulting in substantial differences between the composition of extracellular vesicles and source cells; heterogeneity in extracellular vesicle size and composition; and undefined mechanisms for the uptake of extracellular vesicles into recipient cells and the fates of their cargo. Further progress in unravelling the basic mechanisms of extracellular vesicle biogenesis, transport, and cargo delivery and function is needed for successful clinical implementation. This Review focuses on the current state of knowledge pertaining to packaging, transport and function of RNAs in extracellular vesicles and outlines the progress made thus far towards their clinical applications

Peculiarities of Great Britain's Participation in the European Integration

The author analyzes the evolution of the Great Britain's approach to the integration processes in Europe, demonstrates the dual nature of it's policy as regards those processes and makes an attempt to reveal what lies at the basis of the UK's «European policy»