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AbstractLeading controls of terrain development in the permafrost zone are various types of ground ice. The paper deals with the formation of specific landforms in the continuous permafrost of Yamal Peninsula with tabular ground ice in the geological section. Processes related to tabular ground ice (TGI, thick and extended ground-ice layers) thaw are triggered by climate warming. Air temperature rise in most environments results in higher ground temperature and deeper active layer (the layer in the upper part of permafrost, which thaws in summer and freezes back in winter). Warming of the last decades had caused an increase in the rate of thaw reaching the upper surface of TGI and starting thermodenudation. Climate warming may also lead to increase in ground temperature, which triggers gas-emission crater formation through decomposition of methane clathrates up to formation of high pressure under the TGI layer until it breaks. Thus, TGI serves as a source of water for saturation of slope deposits and a shear surface for movement of these deposits down slope under the action of both heat and gravity. The role of TGI in the process of gas emission crater formation is not related to its melting as in thermodenudation, but serves as an impermeable to gas, plastic layer. Gas released from decomposition of methane clathrates accumulates beneath the ice layer deforming it to form a gas-inflated mound—predecessor of the crater. Thermocirques, resulting from thermodenudation, and gas emission craters evolve with time depending on the ice extent and warming trend.

The identification of spatial soil moisture patterns is of high importance for various applications in high-latitude permafrost regions but challenging with common remote sensing approaches due to high landscape heterogeneity. Seasonal thawing and freezing of near-surface soil lead to subsidence–heave cycles in the presence of ground ice, which exhibit magnitudes of typically less than 10 cm. Our investigations document higher Sentinel-1 InSAR (interferometric synthetic aperture radar) seasonal subsidence rates (calculated per thawing degree days – a measure of seasonal heating) for locations with higher near-surface soil moisture compared to drier ones. Based on this, we demonstrate that the relationship of thawing degree days and subsidence signals can be interpreted to assess spatial variations in soil moisture. A range of challenges, however, need to be addressed. We discuss the implications of using different sources of temperature data for deriving thawing degree days on the results. Atmospheric effects must be considered, as simple spatial filtering can suppress large-scale permafrost-related subsidence signals and lead to the underestimation of displacement values, making Generic Atmospheric Correction Online Service for InSAR (GACOS)-corrected results preferable for the tested sites. Seasonal subsidence rate retrieval which considers these aspects provides a valuable tool for distinguishing between wet and dry landscape features, which is relevant for permafrost degradation monitoring in Arctic lowland permafrost regions. Spatial resolution constraints, however, remain for smaller typical permafrost features which drive wet versus dry conditions such as high- and low-centred polygons.

IntroductionThe development of adolescent’s autonomy is influenced by both: family and culture. Cross-cultural studies show different autonomy development trajectories and culture-specific family organization tendencies. The comparison of autonomy development in different cultures can help in clarifying universal and culture-dependent aspects of autonomy development.ObjectivesThe present research studies adolescent’s autonomy in context of family functioning in Azerbaijani (Baku) and Russian (Moscow) adolescents.MethodsFamily Environmental Scale (FES), Method of unfinished sentences to study adolescent’s autonomy fields («I feel independent when…»), The Separation-Individuation Test of Adolescence (SITA) were used in the study with 201 adolescents, aged from 13 to 18.ResultsFamily functioning of adolescents from Moscow is less achievement oriented (U-test, p=0,000), family life is less organized (p=0,000) and controlling (p=0,000). Adolescents in Baku consider the value of independence in families higher (p=0,01).Context analysis of unfinished sentences shows universal categories of autonomy representation (autonomy in specific activities, autonomy as possibility to be alone) and culture specific representations: adolescents from Moscow describe autonomy more like «independence from others», whereas adolescents from Baku describe autonomy as «the presence of others nearby».Engulfment Anxiety shows negative correlations (р<0,01) with family cohesion (r=0, -0,474), conflict (r=-0,466) and independence (r=-0,326) for all adolescents, with expressiveness (r=-0,490) and achievement orientation(r=-0,286) by Moscow adolescence and with intellectual-cultural (r=-0,249) and recreational family orientation (r=-0,278) by Baku adolescents.ConclusionsAutonomy development in families has universal aspects (positive effects of cohesion, etc.), but Moscow adolescents are less focused on others and family in their autonomy development.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Polio and enterovirus surveillance may include a number of approaches, including incidence-based observation, a sentinel physician system, environmental monitoring and acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance. The relative value of these methods is widely debated. Here we summarized the results of 14 years of environmental surveillance at four sewage treatment plants of various capacities in Moscow, Russia. A total of 5450 samples were screened, yielding 1089 (20.0%) positive samples. There were 1168 viruses isolated including types 1–3 polioviruses (43%) and 29 different types of non-polio enteroviruses (51%). Despite using the same methodology, a significant variation in detection rates was observed between the treatment plants and within the same facility over time. The number of poliovirus isolates obtained from sewage was roughly 60 times higher than from AFP surveillance over the same time frame. All except one poliovirus isolate were Sabin-like polioviruses. The one isolate was vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 with 17.6% difference from the corresponding Sabin strain, suggesting long-term circulation outside the scope of the surveillance. For some non-polio enterovirus types (e.g., Echovirus 6) there was a good correlation between detection in sewage and incidence of clinical cases in a given year, while other types (e.g., Echovirus 30) could cause large outbreaks and be almost absent in sewage samples. Therefore, sewage monitoring can be an important part of enterovirus surveillance, but cannot substitute other approaches.

In this study, we put together a list of potentially the most beneficial bacteria that were associated with a responsiveness to melanoma immunotherapy. Another important result of this study is the list of functional biomarkers of responsiveness to immunotherapy, which are dispersed among different bacterial species. The human gut microbiome plays an important role in both health and disease. Recent studies have demonstrated a strong influence of the gut microbiome composition on the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, available studies have not yet succeeded in finding reliable and consistent metagenomic markers that are associated with the response to immunotherapy. Therefore, the reanalysis of the published data may improve our understanding of the association between the composition of the gut microbiome and the treatment response. In this study, we focused on melanoma-related metagenomic data, which are more abundant than are data from other tumor types. We analyzed the metagenomes of 680 stool samples from 7 studies that were published earlier. The taxonomic and functional biomarkers were selected after comparing the metagenomes of patients showing different treatment responses. The list of selected biomarkers was also validated on additional metagenomic data sets that were dedicated to the influence of fecal microbiota transplantation on the response to melanoma immunotherapy. According to our analysis, the resulting cross-study taxonomic biomarkers included three bacterial species: Faecalibacterium prausnitzii , Bifidobacterium adolescentis , and Eubacterium rectale . 101 groups of genes were identified to be functional biomarkers, including those potentially involved in the production of immune-stimulating molecules and metabolites. Moreover, we ranked the microbial species by the number of genes encoding functionally relevant biomarkers that they contained. Thus, we put together a list of potentially the most beneficial bacteria for immunotherapy success. F. prausnitzii , E. rectale , and three species of bifidobacteria stood out as the most beneficial species, even though some useful functions were also present in other bacterial species. IMPORTANCE In this study, we put together a list of potentially the most beneficial bacteria that were associated with a responsiveness to melanoma immunotherapy. Another important result of this study is the list of functional biomarkers of responsiveness to immunotherapy, which are dispersed among different bacterial species. This result possibly explains the existing irregularities between studies regarding the bacterial species that are beneficial to melanoma immunotherapy. Overall, these findings can be utilized to issue recommendations for gut microbiome correction in cancer immunotherapy, and the resulting list of biomarkers might serve as a good stepping stone for the development of a diagnostic test that is aimed at predicting patients’ responses to melanoma immunotherapy.

The possibility of designing the nutrient composition of invertebrate biomass was investigated. Two model species of terrestrial invertebrates, the house cricket Acheta domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) and the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826), were studied after feeding on substrates alternately enriched with certain nutrient precursors proposed in single and double doses. Crickets and earthworms showed similar tendencies to increase the B vitamin content of those vitamins whose initial level was high. Double-dose enrichment of the food substrate increased the levels of vitamin C, fat-soluble vitamins and most B vitamins. In a control group of crickets, vitamin C levels were 1.5 times lower than in a control group of earthworms. After enrichment of the feed substrate, the vitamin C content in the biomass of the crickets did not change significantly, but in the earthworms it increased significantly. The content of a wide range of minerals did not change after single-dose enrichment, but some micro-elements such as Pb and Se decreased significantly in earthworms after double-dose enrichment of the feed substrate. The calorific value of crickets was twice that of earthworms and did not change significantly after double-dose enrichment. It is shown that the nutrient composition of invertebrate biomass can be increased by enriching the feed substrate with precursors. The most effective increases are observed for all vitamins and several minerals. The results can be used to achieve specific nutrient concentrations in biomass for food and medical purposes.

Ethylene/propylene (E/P) and ethylene/propylene/5-ethylidene-2-norbornene (E/P/ENB) copolymers were obtained on rac-Et(2-MeInd)2ZrMe2 activated by a number of isobutylaluminium aryloxides: (2,6-tBu2PhO-)AliBu2 (1-DTBP) (2,6-tBu2,4-Me-PhO-)AliBu2 (1-BHT), (2,4,6-tBu2PhO-)AliBu2 (1-TTBP), (2,6-tBu2,4-Me-PhO-)2AliBu (2-BHT), (2,6-tBu2PhO-)2AliBu (2-DTBP), [(2-Me,6-tBu-C6H3O)AliBu2]2 (1-MTBP), [(2,6-Ph2-PhO)AliBu2]2 (1-DPP). This study shows how the structure of an activator influences catalytic activity and polymer properties, such as the copolymer composition, molecular weight characteristics, and thermophysical and mechanical properties. It has been shown that both the introduction of a bulky substituent in the para-position of the aryloxy group and the additional aryloxy group in the structure of an activator lead to a significant decrease in activity of the catalytic system in all studied copolymerization processes. Moreover, activation by bulkier aryloxides leads to lower levels of comonomer insertion and gives rise to higher molecular weight polymers. Broad or multiple endothermic peaks with different values of melting points are observed on the DSC curves of the copolymers obtained with different catalytic systems. The DSC of the thermally fractionated samples makes it possible to reveal the heterogeneity of the copolymer microstructure, which manifests itself in the presence of a set of lamellar crystallites of different thickness. The results also present the mechanical properties of the copolymers, such as the tensile strength (σ), elongation at break (ε), and engineering strain (EL). The synthesized E/P and E/P/ENB copolymers contain about 1–4 wt.% of the sterically hindered phenols obtained in situ as a residue of the hydrolyzed activators in the course of reaction quenching. This determines the increased thermooxidative stability of the copolymers.

Romanenko, A. Ye., Finch, S. C., Hatch, M., Lubin, J. H., Bebeshko, V. G., Bazyka, D. A., Gudzenko, N., Dyagil, I. S., Reiss, R. F., Bouville, A., Chumak, V. V., Trotsiuk, N. K., Babkina, N. G., Belyayev, Yu., Masnyk, I., Ron, E., Howe, G.;thR. and Zablotska, L. B. The Ukrainian-American Study of Leukemia and Related Disorders among Chornobyl Cleanup Workers from Ukraine: III. Radiation Risks. Radiat. Res. 170, 711–720 (2008). Leukemia is one of the cancers most susceptible to induction by ionizing radiation, but the effects of lower doses delivered over time have not been quantified adequately. After the Chornobyl (Chernobyl) accident in Ukraine in April 1986, several hundred thousand workers who were involved in cleaning up the site and its surroundings received fractionated exposure, primarily from external γ radiation. To increase our understanding of the role of protracted low-dose radiation exposure in the etiology of leukemia, we conducted a nested case-control study of leukemia in a cohort of cleanup workers identified from the Chornobyl State Registry of Ukraine. The analysis is based on 71 cases of histologically confirmed leukemia diagnosed in 1986–2000 and 501 age- and residence-matched controls selected from the same cohort. Study subjects or their proxies were interviewed about their cleanup activities and other relevant factors. Individual bone marrow radiation doses were estimated by the RADRUE dose reconstruction method (mean dose = 76.4 mGy, SD = 213.4). We used conditional logistic regression to estimate leukemia risks. The excess relative risk (ERR) of total leukemia was 3.44 per Gy [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.47–9.78, P < 0.01]. The dose response was linear and did not differ significantly by calendar period of first work in the 30-km Chornobyl zone, duration or type of work. We found a similar dose–response relationship for chronic and non-chronic lymphocytic leukemia [ERR = 4.09 per Gy (95% CI < 0–14.41) and 2.73 per Gy (95% CI < 0–13.50), respectively]. To further clarify these issues, we are extending the case-control study to ascertain cases for another 6 years (2001–2006).

We consider the problem of a rapidly rotating disk in the elastic-plastic state. The piecewise linear plasticity condition in general form is chosen. It is believed that all plastic curves have the common point of intersection which corresponds to uniaxial tension. For external parameters, we obtain the conditions that determine the probability of inception of plastic zones. It is shown that plastic zones could incept in the center of the disk and/or on the boundary of it. The problem in the plastic zone is statically determinate. The case when the plastic zone occupies some central part (core) of the disk, where one regime of plastic condition is fulfilled, is considered. In order to estimate the stress state inside the elastic zone of the disk, equivalent stress which is equal to the chosen plasticity function is defined. In order to define the relationship between plastic deformations and stresses, the piecewise linear plastic potential being equal to the plasticity function is chosen. The plastic incompressible body is considered. The associated flow rule can be integrated so that the problem of getting displacements turns into quasistatic one. The problem of determining displacements in the plastic region leads to a first-order differential equation with respect to the radial component of the displacement vector. Therefore the continuity condition for displacements at the elastic-plastic boundary and the assumption that the displacements in the center of the disk are equal to zero leads to an overdetermined problem. So, only the continuity condition for displacements at the elasto-plastic boundary is accepted. It is assumed that plastic deformations at the elastic-plastic boundary are equal to zero. It is shown that displacements at the center of the disk are equal to zero automatically for all piecewise linear conditions of plasticity apart from the Tresca yield criterion. For the Schmidt-Ishlinskii yield criterion, all deformations at the center of the disk attain finite values. Meanwhile, for other piecewise linear conditions, plastic deformations at the center of the disk attain infinitely large values. This explains the discontinuity of displacements at the center of the disk for the Tresca yield criterion. The calculation results are presented as graphs of stresses, displacements, and deformations.

The use of terrestrial invertebrates occurring in Siberia as a source of nutrients as an innovative form of new quality food production in North Asia is analysied. Two species, big slug Limacus flavus (Linnaeus, 1758) and rose chafer Cetonia aurata viridiventris Reitter, 1896 have been reared under laboratory conditions and prepared for nutrient analysis. Biomass have been taken from the instar stages of slugs and beetle larvae, animals have been killed by frozen and then presented for analysis. To determine the nutritive value, following macro- and micro- nutrients and dietary fibre have been revealed and determined from the biomass: В1 (thiamine), В2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinamide), B6 (pyridoxine), В9 (folacin), B12 (cyanocobalamin), Е (α- tocopherol), А (retinol palmitate), Fe, Se, Zn, Mn, Cu, Mg, F, lipid, protein, carbohydrate and chitin. In slugs and beetle larvae the mass fraction of protein is 20.6 and 20.8%, the fat percentage is 0.43 and 0.44%, and carbohydrate is 0.22 and 0.27%. Caloricity varied from 98 kilocalories in slugs to 96 in beetle larvae. All species are rich in magnesium (160 mg/100 g and 288 mg/100 g) and phosphorus (320 mg/100 g and 450 mg/100 g) (these elements are represented as macronutrients), and contains high level of iron (3.3 mg/100 g and 5.1 mg/100 g), copper (0.50 mg/100 g and 1.6 mg/100 g), selenium (0.0235 mg/100 g and 0.0334 mg/100 g), zinc (0.80 mg/100 g and 1.9 mg/100 g) and manganese (0.0076 mg/100 g and 0.0112 mg/100 g). Four vitamins detected, namely: А (0.0225 mg/100 g and 0.0337 mg/100 g), E (5.2 mg/100 g and 0.59 mg/100 g), В1 (2.5 mg/100 g) и В2 (5.2 mg/100 g and 0.59 mg/100 g). Almost completely lacking B3, B6, B9 and B12. Biomass both slugs and beetles is similar by nutrient composition and differs in presence of vitamin B3 in slugs, and 1.5 time higher vitamin A content in beetle larvae. The data revealed from the two terrestrial invertebrates show high level of natural nutrients, that could be used for food production, and in combination with not difficult raising hese species are perspective for farming in local conditions of different countries, excepting extremely hot and arid regions. Perspectives of terrestrial invertebrates farming for food production, safety aspects and comparative analysis with other edible species are discussed.