Effect of a high-polymer, metal-containing biostimulator on the immunological reactivity of the body of experimental animals]

"Phodomos", a biostimulator of the "Biomos" group of metal complexes, considerably increases (2-3-fold) antibody production and the phagocytic ability of micro- and macrophages in experimental animals. The preparation has no essential influence on the ability of the bone marrow stem cells for colony formation in the body of irradiated animals.     

Iraida Pavlovna Morozova (1919–2007)

Paleontological Journal -     

Arthropods in contemporary and some fossil resins

More than 4800 arthropod inclusions were isolated and identified from resin of various contemporary conifer trees in various parts of northern Eurasia. Their composition is compared with that in representative collections of Baltic and Rovno ambers (Upper Eocene) and with that in Dominican amber (Lower Miocene). The original composition of inclusions of Dominican amber is reconstructed for the first time using a procedure intended to reduce the effect of human bias. Taphonomical characteristics of resins and their effects on the composition of inclusions are studied. The actuapaleontological approach reveals a trend towards a decrease in the relative abundance of arboreal springtails and nematoceran dipterans and an increase in that of the true bugs, beetles, lepidopterans, and hymenopterans (especially ants) between the Eocene and the present. Relative abundances of spiders and mites show no clear trend. The available data on other arthropods are still insufficient for elucidating evolutionary trends. Surprisingly, a small contemporary sample from Taimyr (N. Siberia) was inexplicably more similar to the Eocene amber than to other contemporary resins. No other significant differences in composition of inclusions, compared across different conifer genera or geographic areas, have been revealed. A more detailed comparison between contemporary and fossil hymenopteran and beetle inclusions reveals correlations with both age (= evolutionary change) and geography. The absolute dominance of ants, particularly Formicinae and Myrmicinae, and, among solitary hymenopterans, Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, and Pteromalidae, and a corresponding decline in the abundance of Scelionidae and Dolichoderinae in contemporary resins compared to amber reflect evolutionary changes. In contrast, the overwhelming abundance of Formicinae and consistent occurrence of sawflies in contemporary resins of northern Eurasia appear to be explained by geography. The Eocene assemblages of beetle inclusions are characterized by a wider and more variable set of dominant families, in sharp contrast to contemporary resins, which are uniformly dominated by Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae, and Staphylinidae. Additional analyses are needed to explain this difference.     

Search for lactate oxidase producer microorganisms

Using the method of enrichment cultures, eight lactate oxidase producer strains of the fungus Geotrichum candidum were identified. The microorganisms were isolated from diverse specimens of fermented vegetables and manure. Variation in (1) the content of glucose and lactate and (2) the degree of aeration made it possible to attain lactate oxidase activities of up to 130–140 U per 11 grown medium containing microbial cells.     

Paleontological Characterization of the Triassic Deposits of the Korotaikha Depression (Northern Cis-Urals)

Paleontological Journal - The revised and new paleontological data on tetrapods and insects from the Triassic stratons of the Korotaikha Depression are given. A new species of cockroaches (family...