Plant resistance to fungal diseases induced by the infection of cucumber mosaic virus attenuated by satellite RNA

Biological control agents (BCAs) composed of attenuated cucumber mosaic (CMV) and its satellite RNA for controlling CMV diseases were found to induce plant resistance to a number of fungal diseases. Tests conducted in both the field and greenhouse showed evident protective effects against fungal infections by the BCAs. Artificial inoculation with a fungal spore suspension using BCA-treated plants, satellite transgenic plants and plants infected with CMV alone indicated that the resistance to fungi was induced by the virus infection, not by the presence of satellite RNA.     

The temperature and temperature gradient distribution in the thermophysical model of the rabbit body subjected internal and external changes of temperature

In a laboratory heat-physical model of the rabbit reflecting basic heat-physical parameters of animal body (weight, heat absorption and heat production, size of a relative surface, capacity heat-production etc.), the changes of radial distribution of temperature and size of a cross superficial temperature gradient of the body were investigated with various parities (ratio) of environmental temperature and size of capacity heat production imitated by an electrical heater. Superficial layer of the body dependent from capacity heat production and environmental temperature can serve for definition of general heat content changes in the body for maintaining its thermal balance within the environment.     

Dynamics of the heat exchange in rats upon getting out of the state of artificial deep hypothermia

With the help of thermometry and general calorimetry the changes in the heat exchange were determined in the rats upon their getting out of artificial deep hypothermia (the temperature in the rectum was 20 degrees C) at the temperature in the calorimeter chamber 20 degrees C. An attempt was made to find out what part of the heat production during an animal self-warming is used for increasing its body temperature and what part of the heat production is released to the environment by the animal. The experiments revealed a complex relationship between the body temperature, the heat loss, and the total heat production during the animal selfwarming. The total heat production first increased and, after reaching the maximum, decreased gradually. Moreover, the experiments showed that during three and more hours of observation the body temperature did not reach the initial level, the same was true for the total heat production, which in these experiments was the sum of the heat loss and the production spent for warming the animal body.     

EGFR Pathway-Based Gene Signatures of Druggable Gene Mutations in Melanoma,Breast, Lung,and Thyroid Cancers

Biochemistry (Moscow) - EGFR, BRAF, PIK3CA, and KRAS genes play major roles in EGFR pathway, and accommodate activating mutations that predict response to many targeted therapeutics. However,...     

Distribution of mammals in boreal forests of European Russia: Historical and ecological analysis based on materials in the General Land Survey

Historical changes in the distribution of animals on the European territory of Russia attract constant interest of specialists. In this aspect, information contained in the Economic Notes to the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire (18th–19th centuries) is of particular importance. This article presents the first results of a data analysis of mammalian fauna in boreal forests of European Russia. The data are contained in a systematic sample arranged on the basis of the Economic Notes and cover 7 governorates, 32 uyezds, and 377 specific dachas. Mentions of 1774 mammals were found: 21 names of mammals (species), 10 families, and 5 orders. For some species that are most typical and significant for boreal forests, we conducted a comparison with the present situation based on known data about historical changes in environmental conditions in the study area.     

A genetic algorithm for maximum-likelihood phylogeny inference using nucleotide sequence data

Phylogeny reconstruction is a difficult computational problem, because the number of possible solutions increases with the number of included taxa. For example, for only 14 taxa, there are more than seven trillion possible unrooted phylogenetic trees. For this reason, phylogenetic inference methods commonly use clustering algorithms (e.g., the neighbor-joining method) or heuristic search strategies to minimize the amount of time spent evaluating nonoptimal trees. Even heuristic searches can be painfully slow, especially when computationally intensive optimality criteria such as maximum likelihood are used. I describe here a different approach to heuristic searching (using a genetic algorithm) that can tremendously reduce the time required for maximum-likelihood phylogenetic inference, especially for data sets involving large numbers of taxa. Genetic algorithms are simulations of natural selection in which individuals are encoded solutions to the problem of interest. Here, labeled phylogenetic trees are the individuals, and differential reproduction is effected by allowing the number of offspring produced by each individual to be proportional to that individual's rank likelihood score. Natural selection increases the average likelihood in the evolving population of phylogenetic trees, and the genetic algorithm is allowed to proceed until the likelihood of the best individual ceases to improve over time. An example is presented involving rbcL sequence data for 55 taxa of green plants. The genetic algorithm described here required only 6% of the computational effort required by a conventional heuristic search using tree bisection/reconnection (TBR) branch swapping to obtain the same maximum-likelihood topology.      

Genetic limitations of erythrocyte lysis by bacteria of the genus Salmonella]

Lytic effect of Salmonella bacteria on the erythrocates of 1301 humans (including 150 twins), 1059 hens, 600 mice, 33 guinea pigs, 47 rabbits, 22 horses, 16 sheeps, 7 dogs, 2 cats and 2 monkeys was investigated. Erythrocytes of all horses, guinea pigs and rabbits tested appeared to be sensible. The same cells of humans, sheeps, hens, dogs, monkeys and cats turned to be either sensible, or stable. Human erythrocytes were the most stable. Erythrocytes of humans having had typhus or other Salmonella infections appeared to be more sensible. Homozygous twins developed complete two by two concordance of the sign of sensibility in all details investigated. Relation of erythrocytes to Salmonella hemolysins was not influences with time and specific immunization, did not correlate with blood groups and factors ABO, MN, P and rhesis systems, with age, sex and nationality of people tested. It also did not correlate with the presence of anti-salmonella agglutinins, with different osmotic and acid stability of erythrocytes. The display of hemolytic activity of Salmonella is limited by genetically predestinated species and individual properties of erythrocytes.