Biochemical polymorphic systems and psychological characteristics in residents of the Soviet North-East

15 biochemical polymorphic systems (AcP, PGM, GPT, GLO-1, EsD, PGP, Pp, AK, Gc, Hp, Tf, BO, MN, Le, P) were comparatively studied which possess psychodiagnostic features investigated by means of all-round personality study and 16-factors Kettle personality inventory in 340 healthy residents of Magadan. With the aid of computer cluster analysis, psychodiagnostic features were revealed which authentically differentiate clusters consisting of 5 combined polymorphic systems, three of them being different. Frequency of particular loci participation in differentiation of persons for psychodiagnostic tests is well-coordinated with a degree of their participation in genotype differentiation in those who left and remained in the region. Interrelations between psychological personality features and individual heterozygosis for 12 loci with codominant inheritance are determined. Authentic differences between low- and highly-heterozygous individuals are revealed using the same psychodiagnostic parameters as those in the cluster analysis.     

Significance of indices of potential selection for residents of the USSR

Crow's indices of the opportunity for selection and their components connected with differential mortality (Im) and differential fertility (If) were estimated for populations of Soviet Union republics and for a number of USSR ethnic groups on the basis of demographic statistics. More than 10-fold decrease in the Im value was revealed in the total population of the USSR during 1926-1987. At present, the Im values in republics vary from 0.020 to 0.094 for urban population and from 0.030 to 0.121 in rural population, the ratio of perinatal mortality in the whole structure of prereproductive mortality being higher in the republics with lower values of the Im. The range of the If values for different peoples (0.148-0.643) is wider than for the populations of the republics (0.326-0.578). Interethnic differences contribute 47% of the variance in fertility. The structure of Crow's indices is given for urban and rural populations of the republics. Genetic implications of the data presented are discussed with respect to possible manifestation of the effects of inter-group selection.     

External respiration function of young male residents of northern Europe during the annual cycle

In young men (19.0 ± 0.9 years of age), the following parameters were studied during the annual cycle: the tidal and minute lung volumes, vital and forced vital capacities of the lungs, expiratory and inspiratory reserve volumes, 0.5-and 1-s forced expiratory volumes, and Tiffenau index. Young men working under the conditions of the North (62°N) proved to have deeper breathing; the minute volume and vital capacity of their lungs were increased. Analysis of the lung volume during the annual cycle demonstrated changes in most parameters studied (except the expiratory reserve volume and Tiffenau index). The maximum values of the lung volumes were recorded in the cold time of the year (from November to April), whereas the minimum values were observed in the warm time (from May to September).     

Distribution and Biological Features of Grayling Thymallus thymallus (Thymallidae) in the European North-East of Russia

Journal of Ichthyology - The distribution and some ecological features of the European grayling Thymallus thymallus are studied in the extreme European Northeast of Russia. In many water systems of...     

Computer-assisted Follow-up Register for the North-East of Scotland

An automated follow-up register for the detection of iatrogenic thyroid disease has been established as a joint venture between the general practitioners in the north-east of Scotland and the thyroid clinic of Aberdeen General Hospitals.The data-processing operations in the system are handled by an International Computers Limited 4/50 computer. Patients are followed up at predetermined intervals and the system has been designed to process, screen, and store clinical and biochemical follow-up data and report results to the patients, general practitioners, and the hospital records department.     

Problematic cap-shaped fossils from the Lower Cambrian of North-East Greenland

Three species ofOcruranus Liu, 1979 are described from the Bastion Formation of North-East Greenland, of late Early Cambrian (middle Dyeran of North American usage) age, representing the youngest record of a genus originally described from the earliest Cambrian Meishucunian Stage of China. An accompanying species, tentatively assigned toXianfengella He &Yang, 1982, seems also to be present in South Australia in strata of late Early Cambrian (Botoman of Siberian usage) age, although also this genus was described originally from the Meishucunian.Ocruranus andXianfengella from China have been interpreted as possibly parts of coeloscleritophoran scleritomes, perhaps halkieriids, rather than individual molluscan shells. Their shell form is not typical of helcionelloids which otherwise dominate the Early Cambrian molluscan record, but conclusive evidence of affinity is not forthcoming from the Greenland records. New taxa:Ocruranus septentrionalis n. sp. andOcruranus tunuensis n. sp.      

Trematode fauna in anseriformes from the North-East of European Russia

Zonal diversity of trematodes from anseriform birds in the North-East of the European part of Russia is investigated and analyzed. Characteristics of the differences in the diversity, abundance, faunistic structure, and distribution of the bird-infesting trematodes between the tundra subzones and forest zone of the studied region are shown. Regular southward decrease of the total abundance of trematodes in birds is recorded.     

Intertidal ecosystems of the seas of the USSR

Composition and distribution of intertidal ecosystem of rocky and unconsolidated facies were quantitatively studied from 1951 to 1975 in about 40 regions of the White, Barents, Bering, Okchotsk and Japan Seas. According to the degree of similarity (or to the degree of relationship), the investigated intertidal communities can be divided into the following 4 groups: (1) Uniform communities with identical forms as dominant species. A series of uniform communities constitutes a single association. (2) Parallel or vicarious communities with closely related vicarious forms as dominant species. A series of parallel communities constitutes a single formation. (3) Convergent or isomorphic communities with dominant species of the same, although not closely related life forms. A series of convergent communities constitutes a single formation type, or biome. (4) Anisomorphic, yet functionally analogous communities. Parallel communities ofFucus disticbus (northern Atlantic Ocean) andF. evanescens (northern Pacific Ocean), and uniform communities ofF. evanescens from various biogeographic provinces (southern Kuriles and eastern Kamchatka) are used for demonstrating the structure of intertidal biocenoses. In parallel communities, vicarious species are shown to dominate in number of species and, especially, in biomass. In uniform communities, common species are found to be leading forms.     

Seed dispersal by ants in the semi-arid Caatinga of North-East Brazil

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Myrmecochory is a conspicuous feature of several sclerophyll ecosystems around the world but it has received little attention in the semi-arid areas of South America. This study addresses the importance of seed dispersal by ants in a 2500-km(2) area of the Caatinga ecosystem (north-east Brazil) and investigates ant-derived benefits to the plant through myrmecochory. METHODS: Seed manipulation and dispersal by ants was investigated during a 3-year period in the Xingó region. Both plant and ant assemblages involved in seed dispersal were described and ant behaviour was characterized. True myrmecochorous seeds of seven Euphorbiaceae species (i.e. elaiosome-bearing seeds) were used in experiments designed to: (1) quantify the rates of seed cleaning/removal and the influence of both seed size and elaiosome presence on seed removal; (2) identify the fate of seeds dispersed by ants; and (3) document the benefits of seed dispersal by ants in terms of seed germination and seedling growth. KEY RESULTS: Seed dispersal by ants involved one-quarter of the woody flora inhabiting the Xingó region, but true myrmecochory was restricted to 12.8 % of the woody plant species. Myrmecochorous seeds manipulated by ants faced high levels of seed removal (38-84 %) and 83 % of removed seeds were discarded on ant nests. Moreover, seed removal positively correlated with the presence of elaiosome, and elaiosome removal increased germination success by at least 30 %. Finally, some Euphorbiaceae species presented both increased germination and seedling growth on ant-nest soils. CONCLUSIONS: Myrmecochory is a relevant seed dispersal mode in the Caatinga ecosystem, and is particularly frequent among Euphorbiaceae trees and shrubs. The fact that seeds reach micro-sites suitable for establishment (ant nests) supports the directed dispersal hypothesis as a possible force favouring myrmecochory in this ecosystem. Ecosystems with a high frequency of myrmecochorous plants appear not to be restricted to regions of nutrient-impoverished soil or to fire-prone regions.