Changes in wind regime around a nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk,northwestern Russia

Wind stress may significantly change plant damage by aerial pollutants. However, almost no information exists on pollution-induced changes in wind regime around the strong emission sources. Wind speed, measured in industrial barrens adjacent to the nickel-copper smelter at Monchegorsk (Kola Peninsula, NW Russia), was two to three times as high as in the slightly polluted and nearly unpolluted forests. The ratio between the maximum wind velocity within 30 s and the average velocity of that time interval showed no temporal variation, thus characterising the wind regime. This ratio was highest in unpolluted forests, suggesting the predominance of gusty winds; in industrial barrens the maximum wind speed was only slightly higher than the average value. Since topography did not explain the spatial variation in wind regime, I conclude that my data represent the first direct evidence for distinct changes in wind regime caused by pollution-induced habitat deterioration. The results suggest that initial (partly pollution-induced) forest disturbance causes secondary effects (like increased snow evaporation, followed by soil freezing and plant damage) that may enhance further disturbance in a positive feedback fashion.     

Fungal decomposition of oat straw during liquid and solid state fermentation

White rot fungi (Coriolus hirsutus, Coriolus zonatus, and Cerrena maxima from the collection of the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and filamentous fungi (Mycelia sterilia INBI 2-26 and Trichoderma reesei 6/16) were grown on oat straw-based liquid and solid media, as well as in a bench-scale reactor, either individually or as co-cultures. All fungi grew well on solid agar medium supplemented with powdered oat straw as the sole carbon source. Under these conditions, the mould Trichoderma reesei fully suppressed the growth of all basidiomycetes studied; conversely, Mycelia sterilia neither affected the development of any of the cultures, nor did it show any substantial susceptibility to suppression by their presence. Pure solid cultures of basidiomycetes, as well as the co-culture of Coriolus hirsutus and Cerrena maxima caused a notable bleaching of the oat straw during its consumption. When grown on the surface of oat straw-based liquid medium, the basidiomycetes consumed up to 40% polysaccharides without measurable lignin degradation (a concomitant process). Under these conditions, Mycelia sterilia decomposed no more than 25% lignin in 60 days, but this was observed only after polysaccharide exhaustion and biomass accumulation. In contrast, during solid state straw fermentation, white rot fungi consumed up to 75% cellulose and 55% lignin in 83 days (C. zonarus), whereas the corresponding consumption levels for co-cultures of Mycelia sterilia and Trichoderma reesei equaled 70 and 45%, respectively (total loss of dry weight ranged from 55 to 60%). Carbon dioxide-monitored solid-state fermentation of oat straw by the co-culture of filamentous fungi was successfully performed in an aerated bench-scale reactor.     

The Mechanism of Inhibitory Effect of Polyanions and Polycations on the Activation of the Complement First Component

Polyethyleneimine (PEI, 50 kDa) and polymethacrylic acid (PMA, 200 kDa) were shown to inhibit the lysis of sheep erythrocytes induced by the guinea pig complement. They twofold suppress the hemolysis at the concentrations of 0.47 and 0.89 g/ml, respectively. The inhibitory effect on the binding of the C1q subunit of human complement to the sensitized sheep erythrocytes (EA) was found to depend on the component of the reaction with which the inhibitors were preliminarily incubated. When an inhibitor, C1q, and EA were simultaneously incubated, the inhibition constants for PEI and PMA were 17 ± 6 and 8.1 ± 0.1 g/ml, respectively. The preincubation of EA with PEI and the subsequent washing out of the inhibitor resulted in the inhibition constant of 22 ± 3 g/ml. No inhibitory effect was observed after a similar preincubation of EA with PMA. No inhibition was also detected when the inhibitors were added after the formation of the C1q complex with antibodies. These observations suggest that the binding of antibodies to cationic PEI prevents the C1q–antibody complex formation, while the binding of anionic PMA to the active site of C1q impedes the interaction of this subunit with immunoglobulins. Moreover, within the range of concentrations studied, the studied inhibitors did not affect the subsequent C1q binding to the C1r and C1s enzymes.     

The biomolecule ubiquinone exerts a variety of biological functions

The chemistry of ubiquinone allows reversible addition of single electrons and protons. This unique property is used in nature for aerobic energy gain, for unilateral proton accumulation, for the generation of reactive oxygen species involved in physiological signaling and a variety of pathophysiological events. Since several years ubiquinone is also considered to play a major role in the control of lipid peroxidation, since this lipophilic biomolecule was recognized to recycle alpha-tocopherol radicals back to the chain-breaking form, vitamin E. Ubiquinone is therefore a biomolecule which has increasingly focused the interest of many research groups due to its alternative pro- and antioxidant activity. We have intensively investigated the role of ubiquinone as prooxidant in mitochondria and will present experimental evidences on conditions required for this function, we will also show that lysosomal ubiquinone has a double function as proton translocator and radical source under certain metabolic conditions. Furthermore, we have addressed the antioxidant role of ubiquinone and found that the efficiency of this activity is widely dependent on the type of biomembrane where ubiquinone exerts its chain-breaking activity.     

Caroverine, a multifunctional drug with antioxidant functions

Here we show that lipid peroxidation of liposomal membranes was suppressed in the presence of Caroverine, a spasmolytic drug used in some countries. In order to understand the mechanism of this antioxidant action of Caroverine we studied the interaction of Caroverine with superoxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals and peroxynitrite. The results of the study show that the reaction of Caroverine with O2-* radicals is of marginal significance. However, it is efficient in removing peroxynitrite and a particular high reaction constant was found for reaction with hydroxyl radicals. The strong antioxidant activity of Caroverine is therefore based both on the partial prevention of the formation and the highly active scavenging of hydroxyl radicals.     

Genetic and environmental influence on the asymmetry of dermatoglyphic traits

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is defined as random deviations from bilateral symmetry of the body. Thus, its magnitude is often used to evaluate developmental homeostasis. In this study we evaluate the following hypotheses: 1) FA of dermatoglyphic traits has a significant genetic component; 2) prenatal maternal environment (PME) has a significant effect on the FA of dermatoglyphic traits in developmentally healthy individuals; and 3) genetic or environmental factors affect FA on organismal or systemic levels. Therefore, their effect is better seen in composite scores of FA rather than in FA indices for single traits. We analyzed 15 dermatoglyphic traits from 140 pairs of monozygous twins, 120 pairs of dizygous twins, and 106 pairs of mothers and daughters. All individuals were developmentally healthy. The influence of genetic and environmental factors on FA was evaluated by analysis of variance and regression analysis. For a majority of the traits in our study, FA showed significant but weak heritabilities, with values falling within the 0.20-0.35 range. None of the traits taken separately demonstrated the effect of PME on FA to be significantly greater than zero. The composite score of FA tended to have greater heritability values than individual traits. One of them, obtained in principal components analysis, showed a significant PME effect, supporting the hypothesis that FA is a systemic property.     

The mosaic structure of the high-frequency range of neocortical electrical activity in dogs

The study was aimed to reveal the subbands of correlated changes in power spectral density of brain electrical activity (EA), including the low-voltage (up to 10 microV) high-frequency (HF) components (40-200 Hz) in dogs during instrumental conditioning by means of factor analysis. The values of the EA spectral density in interstimulus intervals calculated with a resolution of 1 Hz were used for subsequent factor analysis (the standard principle component technique with varimax rotation). Twenty factors could explain about 80% of total variance. The groups of frequencies which were presented by comparatively narrow peaks (2-3 points) of high loads (more than 0.6) of single factors ("stable" factors) were taken into consideration. In the process of conditioning the factor organization of the EA became substantially complicated, the number of the "stable" factors increased. It was originally shown that the high loads of these factors divided the HF band in comparatively narrow frequency subbands, which appear to reflect the functional mosaics in the neocortex.     

Effect of thymocytes on the quantity of polypotent hematopoietic mast cells in the spleen of sublethally irradiated mice]

With the aid of Till and McCulloch's method, 5 times 10(-6) thymic cells were found to cause an increase in the number of hemopoietic endogenous spleen colonies in syngeneic donor-recipient combination. Thymic cells of C57BL mice had no effect on the number of endogenous colonies in the spleen. 40 times 10(-6) thymic cells administered 24 hr after sublethal irradiation caused an increase in the number of colony forming units in the spleen within 14 days. Possible ways of the thymus effect on hemopoiesis are discussed.     

Changes in distribution of an archaic moth, Micropterix calthella, in St Petersburg, Russia, between 1989 and 2005

Aim  This work aimed to assess changes in the number of suitable habitats and habitat occupancy by Micropterix calthella (L.) moths (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae) in the city of St Petersburg between 1989 and 2005.
Location  The city of St Petersburg, Russia.
Methods  The study compares results of the survey conducted on 9–12 June 2005 with data collected in 1989 and is based on the assessment of the quality and occupancy of 103 habitats that were found potentially suitable for M. calthella in 1989. If habitats contained wet microsites with undisturbed litter and dense field layer vegetation with a high abundance of flowering Ranunculus sp., they were considered potentially suitable for M. calthella ; in these habitats, moths were searched for on flowers of Ranunculus – visually and/or by extensive sweep-netting.
Results  Both the number of habitats suitable for M. calthella and the number of habitats occupied by this species decreased since 1986 from 103 to 72 and from 58 to 34, respectively. The disappearance of habitats was primarily due to the building of residential blocks within the city (16 sites) and railway renovation (10 sites), while changes in habitat management, primarily in parks and recreation zones (five sites), were less important. The average distance from the city centre to the nearest population of M. calthella increased from 8.7 ± 1.5 to 12.9 ± 3.0 km (mean ± SE).
Main conclusion  The data for 2005 fit the prediction that M. calthella moths, which are unable to re-colonize potentially suitable habitats due to their low migratory ability, will disappear from the city. At the present rate of extinction, this process may take some 20–30 years to complete (or nearly complete).