Peculiarities of structural organization of hemoglobin of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chiromonus plumosus</Emphasis> L. (Diptera: Chironomidae)

In Ch. plumosus and Ch. riparius there were revealed various structural hemoglobin variants including monomers, dimers, trimers, tetramers, hexamers, and octamers. The multitude of the protein organization ways seems to be based on diversity of monomers with the approximately equal molecular mass from 12 to 16 kDa in Ch. plumosus and from 11.8 to 15.2 kDa in C. riparus. In PAAG with 8 M urea, the hemoglobins were aggregated into high molecular complexes with mol. masses about 260 and 180 kDa in Ch. plumosus and about 523 and 174 kDa in C. riparus.     

Morphological diversity of mole vole mono- and polymorphic populations: Does Chernov’s “compensation principle” work within a population?

The ecological “compensation principle” enunciated by Yu.I. Chernov, who suggested a higher level of compensatory diversity in communities depleted in composition, proved to be also applicable to a single population, as demonstrated in a model rodent species, mole vole with mono- and polymorphic coat color, using the methods of geometric morphometrics. The mandible shape diversity was significantly increased in the monomorphic as compared to polymorphic populations, in which the division of foraging activities between animals of different morphs led to a suppression of general morphological diversity.     

A new species of the genus Pediasia (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) from Central Yakutia

A new species of the pyralid moth, Pediasia sinevi Shodotova et Bolshakov, sp. n., is described from Central Yakutia (locus typicus—Bestyakh). This species is very similar to P. jucundella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1847) in color and pattern of the wings and also similar to P. truncatella (Zetterstedt, 1839) in the structure of the male genitalia. The holotype and paratype are deposited at the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg).     

Position-effect variegation and intercalary heterochromatin: a comparative study

The behaviour of IH (intercalary heterochromatin) regions of Drosophila melanogaster polytene chromosomes was compared with that of euchromatin condensed as a result of position-effect variegation. Normally replicating regions, when subject to such an effect, were found to become among the last regions in the genome to replicate. It is shown that the factors which enhance position effect (low temperature, the removal of the Y chromosome, genetic enhancers of position effect) increase the weak point frequency in the IH, i.e. enhance DNA underreplication in these regions. We suggest that the similarity in the properties of IH, CH (centromeric heterochromatin) and the dense blocks induced by position effect is due to strong genetic inactivation and supercondensation caused by specific proteins in early development. The primary DNA structure is not likely to play a key role in this process.     

The sources of genetic variability in highly inbred long-term selected strains of Drosophila melanogaster

A highly inbred, long-term selected for low fitness strain LA of Drosophila melanogaster posesses a significant mutational load and unusually high rates of spontaneous mutability as revealed by CyL/Pm method. Our results indicate that during cross of CyL/Pm to LA strains, destabilization of copia-like and mobile elements and induction of H-E hybrid dysgenesis take place. The role of these processes in causing considerable genetic variability of LA strain is discussed.     

Surveillance,health promotion and control of Chagas disease in the Amazon Region - Medical attention in the Brazilian Amazon Region: a proposal

We refer to Oswaldo Cruz''s reports dating from 1913 about the necessities of a healthcare system for the Brazilian Amazon Region and about the journey of Carlos Chagas to 27 locations in this region and the measures that would need to be adopted. We discuss the risks of endemicity of Chagas disease in the Amazon Region. We recommend that epidemiological surveillance of Chagas disease in the Brazilian Amazon Region and Pan-Amazon region should be implemented through continuous monitoring of the human population that lives in the area, their housing, the environment and the presence of triatomines. The monitoring should be performed with periodic seroepidemiological surveys, semi-annual visits to homes by health agents and the training of malaria microscopists and healthcare technicians to identify Trypanosoma cruzi from patients'' samples and T. cruzi infection rates among the triatomines caught. We recommend health promotion and control of Chagas disease through public health policies, especially through sanitary education regarding the risk factors for Chagas disease. Finally, we propose a healthcare system through base hospitals, intermediate-level units in the areas of the Brazilian Amazon Region and air transportation, considering the distances to be covered for medical care.     

Characteristic Immunohematological Parameters of Migratory (Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758) and Resident (Myotis dasycneme Boie, 1825) Bat Species of the Ural Fauna

Doklady Biological Sciences - The results of the first comparative analysis of hematological parameters of bats from natural populations of the Ural region are presented: the pond bat (Myotis...     

Dramatic effect of glycolysis inhibition on the cerebellar granule cells bioenergetics

Cultured cerebellar granule cells were co-loaded with Ca²⁺-sensitive dye fura-2FF and rhodamine-123 sensitive to changes in the mitochondrial potential (????_m). A 60-min incubation of cells in glucose-free solution containing 2-deoxy-D-glucose (DG) induced a slow developing mitochondrial depolarization (sMD) without appreciable changes in basal [Ca²⁺]ⁱ. This sMD was insensitive to a removal of external Ca²⁺ or to the NMDA channels blocker memantine but could be readily suppressed by oligomycin due to inhibition of the inward proton current through the Fo channel of mitochondrial ATP synthase. In resting cells glucose deprivation caused a progressive decrease in mitochondrial NADH content ([NADH]), which strikingly enhanced the ability of glutamate to induce a delayed Ca²⁺ deregulation (DCD) associated with a profound mitochondrial depolarization. In glucose-containing medium this DCD appeared in young cells (usually 6?C8 days in vitro) after a prolonged latent period (lag phase). Substitution of glucose by DG led to a dramatic shortening of this lag phase, associated with a critical decrease in [NADH] in most neurons. Addition of pyruvate or lactate to DG-containing solution prevented the sMD and [NADH] decrease in resting cells and greatly diminished the number of cells exhibiting glutamate-induced DCD in glucose-free medium. Measurement of intracellular ATP level ([ATP]) in experiments on sister cells showed that glucose deprivation decreased [ATP] in resting cells and considerably deepened the fall of [ATP] caused by glutamate. This decrease in [ATP] was only slightly attenuated by pyruvate and lactate, despite their ability to prevent the shortening of lag phase preceding the DCD appearance under these conditions. Simultaneous monitoring of cytosolic ATP concentration ([ATP]_c) and ????_m changes in individual CGC expressing fluorescent ATP sensor (AT1.03) revealed that inhibition of either mitochondrial respiration or glycolysis caused a relatively small decrease in [ATP]_c and ????_m. Complete blockade of ATP synthesis in resting CGC with oligomycin in glucose-free DG-containing buffer caused fast ATP depletion and mitochondrial repolarization, indicating that mitochondrial respiratory chain still possess a reserve fuel to support ????_m despite inhibition of glycolysis. The data obtained suggest that the extraordinary enhancement of glutamate-induced deterioration in Ca²⁺ homeostasis caused by glucose deprivation in brain neurons is mainly determined by NADH depletion.     

Ichthyoplankton of the Arctic Seas of Russia: 2. Morphology of Larval Snailfishes of the Genus Liparis (Liparidae)

Journal of Ichthyology - The morphology of larvae of the genus Liparis from the Arctic seas of Russia (White, Kara, Laptev, and East Siberian seas) has been studied. Based on the analysis of...