Electrophysiologic and behavioral changes in cats following section of the brachia of the inferior colliculi]

Evoked potentials to acoustic stimuli were recorded in the temporal cortical area, the medial geniculate body and the posterior lateral thalamic nucleus in acute experiments on anaesthetized cats. Section of the brachia of the inferior colliculi in an acute experiment resulted in the disappearance of potentials in the examined structures. A distinct correlation has been revealed between the recovery of evoked potentials in the cortico-thalamic auditory structures (in four to six weeks) and the possible elaboration of conditioned reactions within this time period after lesion of the inferior colliculi brachia. The involvement of the temporal area in the general brain activity appears to be one of the major conditions for the formation of new conditioned connections. Possible ways of restoration of afferent input to the temporal cortical area after lesion of the inferior colliculi brachia are discussed.     

Selection of the conodont Idiognathodus simulator (Ellison) as the event marker for the base of the global Gzhelian Stage (Upper Pennsylvanian, Carboniferous)

Studies carried out for more than 10 years by the Task Group to establish GSSPs at the base of the Moscovian–Kasimovian and Kasimovian–Gzhelian boundaries have resulted in the proposal that the level at which the conodont species Idiognathodus simulator (Ellison, 1941) first appears be selected to mark the base of the Gzhelian Stage. This expands this eastern European chronostratigraphic unit to a global scale.I. simulator (sensu Barrick et al., 2008) has been identified so far in Midcontinent and eastern North America, the Moscow and Donets basins and southern Urals of eastern Europe, and in south-central China. Correlation of this level based on this species and other conodont species can be reinforced in some areas by ammonoid and fusulinid data.     

The evolutionary convergence of mid-Mesozoic lacewings and Cenozoic butterflies

Mid-Mesozoic kalligrammatid lacewings (Neuroptera) entered the fossil record 165 million years ago (Ma) and disappeared 45 Ma later. Extant papilionoid butterflies (Lepidoptera) probably originated 80–70 Ma, long after kalligrammatids became extinct. Although poor preservation of kalligrammatid fossils previously prevented their detailed morphological and ecological characterization, we examine new, well-preserved, kalligrammatid fossils from Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous sites in northeastern China to unravel a surprising array of similar morphological and ecological features in these two, unrelated clades. We used polarized light and epifluorescence photography, SEM imaging, energy dispersive spectrometry and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to examine kalligrammatid fossils and their environment. We mapped the evolution of specific traits onto a kalligrammatid phylogeny and discovered that these extinct lacewings convergently evolved wing eyespots that possibly contained melanin, and wing scales, elongate tubular proboscides, similar feeding styles, and seed–plant associations, similar to butterflies. Long-proboscid kalligrammatid lacewings lived in ecosystems with gymnosperm–insect relationships and likely accessed bennettitalean pollination drops and pollen. This system later was replaced by mid-Cretaceous angiosperms and their insect pollinators.     

Kasimovian (Upper Pennsylvanian) Conodonts of the Shcherbatovka Section (Oka-Tsna Swell)

Paleontological Journal - Kasimovian (Upper Pennsylvanian) conodonts are studied from the Shcherbatovka section (Oka-Tsna Swell, Ryazan Region). The Khamovnikian and Dorogomilovian substages are...     

New conodont species from the Kasimovian Stage (Upper Carboniferous) of Moscow and Moscow Basin

Three new conodont species, Streptognathodus neverovensis, S. isakovae, and Idiognathodus mestsherensis, which are widespread in the Kasimovian Stage of central Russia, are described.     

The suppression of cellular Na+/H+ exchange leads to the inhibition of influenza virus activity

It was shown that amiloride, orthovanade and uabain induced almost a two-fold decrease in the rate of incubation medium oxidation by the chick embryo fibroblasts due to the Na+/H+ exchange and inhibited by more than 95 per cent the influenza virus activity. The following mechanism for inhibition of the influenza virus multiplication in the cells under the effect of the above mentioned substances was proposed: suppression of the cellular Na+/H+ exchange responsible for the decrease in pH value in the virus-carrying endosomes----prevention of the decrease in the intraendosomal pH value to the critical level----blocking of the acid dependent process of the virus uncoating----inhibition of the influenza infection as a whole.     

The status of conditioned reflex activity in cats after unilateral vestibular neurotomy]

In chronic experiments on 6 cats the influence was studied of unilateral vestibular neurotomy on conditioned, oculographic and electrocardiographic reactions. In operated animals appeared sharply expressed posetonic and oculomotor disturbances, lowered general functional brain state, what was manifested in an increase of specific weight of slow spindle-shaped rhythmics and lowering of the conditioned activity level. Against the background of the lowered functional brain state interhemispheric asymmetry developed with relative predominance of the contralateral hemisphere, what was reflected in electrocorticographic manifestations and disturbance of conditioned spatial differentiations. Significance is grounded of the appearing interhemispheric asymmetry in the development of disturbances of spatial analysis in operated animals.     

Interaction of dialkyl(alpha-carbomethoxy-beta,beta,beta-trifluoro- ethyl) phosphates with mammalian esterases

The interaction of dialkyl (alpha-carbometoxy-beta,beta,beta-trifluoroethyl) phosphates (RO)2P(O) . OCH(CF3)COOMe (R = Me, Et, Pr, Pri, Bu, Bui, Am, Hex) (I-VIII) with human erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase, horse serum butyrylcholinesterase, pig liver carboxylesterase was studied and acute toxicity in mice was estimated. Compounds (I)-(VIII) were not hydrolyzed by carboxylesterase, slowly and irreversibly inhibited acetylcholinesterase (kII = 10(2)-10(4) M-1 X min-1) and more efficiently inhibited butyrylcholinesterase and carboxylesterase (kII = 10(3)-10(7) M-1 X min-1). The structure--antienzymatic activity relationships were investigated. With increasing of hydrophobicity of alkoxy groups, antienzymatic activity to butyrylcholinesterase and carboxylesterase ("sites of loss") rises equally and more significantly, than antiacetylcholinesterase activity (delta lg kII 1.0 and 2.4 for R = CH3 and C5H11 resp.). Branching at the alpha-position of alkoxy groups leads to sharp reducing of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibition constants, the carboxylesterase inhibition mechanism becoming reversible. Multiple regression analysis (the Kubinyi model) showed that influence of steric hindrances is revealed at the phosphorylation stage. It was found that phosphates (I)-(VIII) possess low acute toxicity in mice (900-2000 mg/kg). The toxicity of this homologous series appears to be independent of the hydrophobicity. Role of esterases in toxicological effect of compounds (I)-(VIII) is discussed.