Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Clupeonella abrau (Maliatsky, 1930) (Clupeiformes), an Endemic Freshwater Fish from the Lake Abrau (Russia).

The Abrau sprat (tyulka or sardelka) Clupeonella abrau (Maliatsky, 1930) is an endemic fish of the Lake Abrau (Krasnodar Krai, Russia). The full C. abrau mitochondrial genome (16 650 bp) showed a gene arrangement conserved in Clupeidae and 98.8% similarity with the mitochondrial genome of the related species Black and Caspian Sea sprat C. cultriventris from the Black Sea. The COX1 gene sequence was additionally studied in a museum specimen collected in the Lake Abrau in 1938. Variability in modern Abrau sprat COX1 gene locus was estimated at approximately 0.15%, the difference between C. abrau and C. cultriventris was 1.2%, and the difference between the museum and modern C. abrau specimens from the Lake Abrau was 0.92%. The study confirmed that the Abrau sprat is present in the fish community and is capable of reproducing in the lake. Various scenarios were proposed to explain colonization of the Lake Abrau by C. abrau.

[Dead-box RNA helicases in animal gametogenesis].

This review analyzes and summarizes a current knowledge about a role of RNA helicases in the development and maintenance of gametogenesis of eukaryotic organisms. Here we focused on three representatives of RNA helicase family containing the characteristic motifs in the amino acid sequence (DEAD-box) and carrying substantial and conservative functions in the germinal tissues of various species from drosophila to human. There are such proteins as Vasa/DDX4, BelIe/DDX3 and Spindle-E/TDRD9. They are involved in a wide range of activities that are associated with the regulation of transcription, splicing, nuclear export, and especially with the initiation of translation. The expression of genes required for the gametogenesis appears to be regulated mainly at the translational level. RNA helicases are involved in the formation of cytoplasmic RNP granules and in the implementation of gene RNA-silencing. "DEAD-box RNA helicases" that carry highly homologous central domain, which determines their basic biochemical activity in the ATP-dependent unwinding of short RNA duplexes, perform the essential and non-overlapping functions in the germinal tissues.

[Morphology and age variation of Daphnia galeata Sars (Cladocera: Daphniidae) in two adjacent water bodies of the Kola Peninsula].

The morphology and age variation of Daphnia galeata Sars (Cladocera: Daphniidae) in two adjacent water bodies of the Kola Peninsula are studied. The reliability of characters usually used for diagnosis of adult individuals of the given species was verified, and their formation in the postembryonic period was traced. If the identification of D. galeata from Lake Bolshoi Vudvyar caused no doubts, the population from Lake Malyi Vudvyar was atypical with respect to several morphological characters. We concluded that plastic characters, such as body shape, as well as the shape of the dorsal keel and helmet on the head are unreliable for distinguishing closely related species of water fleas. At the same time, some small-size characters, for instance, the relative depth of the medial crest on the posterior side of the head, allow us to diagnose this species with confidence.

[Activation of cell division in the quiescent center of excised maize root tip].

The phenomenon of activation of cell proliferation in the quiescent center of excised maize roots is described. The root tips were grown on wet filter paper in Petri dishes. This phenomenon was observed in 8 to 14 maize cultivars and was absent in excised Arabidopsis root tips. The distribution of mitoses in meristems greatly varied in roots of individual seedlings from the same seed lot and seedlings of different cultivars. Meristem opening was observed after the removal of small root tips not longer than 3 mm and intact seminal roots. Sucrose (2%) and 10(-6)-10(-8) M indole-3-acetic acid did not prevent meristem opening. These findings indicate that the state of quiescent center is maintained by a system of intercellular and interorgan relations, which are to be clarified.

Towards Semantic Brain Mapping Methodology Based on a Multidimensional Markup of Continuous Russian-Language Texts: an Attempt at Validation and Development.

In the present study, we combine linguistic annotation of oral texts in Russian with the registration of BOLD signal in functional MRI experiments to determine how and where semantic categories are represented in the human brain. Using the same stimuli material, we also analyze the differences in cortical activation in three thematic domains: description of nature, description of working principles of technical devices and more self-referential texts, addressing the question of human identity in conflict situations. We discuss methodological problems within the two approaches (microanalysis and macroanalysis) to study brain activation in natural conditions, i.e. under a continuous speech flow. Within the thematic domain studies, only minimally significant differences in brain activation were registered during the listening to texts from the three thematic groups. This outcome leads to the conclusion that the approach of thematic group contrasts (cognitive subtraction methodology) is not sufficient to study the mechanisms of text comprehension, and should be replaced by the modeling of multidimensional representations of semantic categories in time. Within the semantic category approach, we describe the neurolinguistic process of text understanding as the activation of 15 clusters responsible for semantic categories (e.g. "Conflict", "Mental", "Social"). Our data demonstrate that the clusters are widely distributed across the human brain. In contrast to the previous studies, we suggest that deep subcortical structures are involved in the processing of certain categories as well. The observed lateralization of category processing underlines the involvement of the right hemisphere in the processing of meaning.

The noncosmopolitanism paradigm of freshwater zooplankton: insights from the global phylogeography of the predatory cladoceran Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Crustacea, Onychopoda).

A major question in our understanding of eukaryotic biodiversity is whether small bodied taxa have cosmopolitan distributions or consist of geographically localized cryptic taxa. Here, we explore the global phylogeography of the freshwater cladoceran Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Crustacea, Onychopoda) using two mitochondrial genes, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16s ribosomal RNA, and one nuclear marker, 18s ribosomal RNA. The results of neighbour-joining and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses reveal an exceptionally pronounced genetic structure at both inter- and intra-continental scales. The presence of well-supported, deeply divergent phylogroups across the Holarctic suggests that P. pediculus represents an assemblage of at least nine, largely allopatric cryptic species. Interestingly, all phylogenetic analyses support the reciprocal paraphyly of Nearctic and Palaearctic clades. Bayesian inference of ancestral distributions suggests that P. pediculus originated in North America or East Asia and that European lineages of Polyphemus were established by subsequent intercontinental dispersal events from North America. Japan and the Russian Far East harbour exceptionally high levels of genetic diversity at both regional and local scales. In contrast, little genetic subdivision is apparent across the formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America, areas that historical demographic analyses suggest that were recolonized just 5500-24 000 years ago.

Calculation of rovibrational energy states for water vapor using the symmetric top approximation in the Pade form.

Considering the water vapor molecule for ka > or = J/2 >> 1 as a symmetric top, the simple analytical Pade form for vibrational rotational energy levels was proposed. The rotational spectroscopic parameters for ground and 010 vibrational states of H2O molecule in the framework of this model have been obtained with good prediction. The absorption coefficient of water vapor in the spectral range 725-925 cm(-1) has been calculated for 1000-6000 K temperatures taking into account the transitions to high-excited states up to J < or = 35 and J < or = 30 for the 000 and 010 vibrational states, respectively. It is shown that the prominent role of transitions to high-excited states is in 8-12 microm atmospheric transparency window.

[Assessment by industrial workers of their satisfaction with medical care]. / Otsenka promyshlennymi rabochimi udovletvorennosti meditsinskoi pomoshch'iu.

A total of 1252 workers from 21 enterprises were surveyed by means of questionnaires. The survey uncovered grave shortcomings in the delivery of medical care at all levels. In particular, only 58.2 per cent of the interviewed were satisfied with the work of feldshers providing medical care at health posts. An analysis was also made of workers' suggestions regarding the work of shop physicians, chiefs of health units, administration, public organisations at enterprises and their working collectives.