Computer modeling of genome complexity variation trends in prokaryotic communities under varying habitat conditions

There are two types of organisms’ grouping in nature: mono-species populations and multi-species communities. Here at during the process of evolution the adaptability of a trait is to be tested both at population and ecocenotic levels. Size of a genome is one of the major adaptive traits, which widely varies in eukaryotic species. By contrast, prokaryotes with their small genomes are considered to have genome reduction evolutionary trend. Domination of this trend is mostly founded on population-level models. In this paper we in silico study interactions of ecocenotic and population levels. The trend of genome and metabolism reduction in prokaryotic communities was shown to be major only in comfortable environmental conditions. In subcomfortable conditions, genome and metabolism reduction leads to community simplification (in extreme case to community death). Pessimum conditions promote metabolism integration of a community and induce reciprocal genes acquiring.     

Problems of the coasts erosion in the North–Eastern Black Sea Region

The seacoasts protection does not stand standard solutions. Every part of a shore needs to be creatively approached and its hydrodynamic, lithodynamic, geological, geomorphological and other peculiarities must be thoroughly studied for each particular situation. It takes a complex scientific approach considering not only local features, but also the reaction of the whole lithodynamic system in limits of which the coast protective activity is planned with consideration of calculated hydrodynamic parameters (waves, sea level, etc.).     

Correction to: Status and trends of circumpolar peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon populations

While collating contributions and comments from 36 researchers, the coordinating authors accidentally omitted Dr. Suzanne Carrière from the list of contributing co-authors. Dr. Carrière’s data are described in Tables 1 and 3, Figure 2 and several places in the narrative. The new author list is thus updated in this article.     

Documenting lemming population change in the Arctic: Can we detect trends?

Lemmings are a key component of tundra food webs and changes in their dynamics can affect the whole ecosystem. We present a comprehensive overview of lemming monitoring and research activities, and assess recent trends in lemming abundance across the circumpolar Arctic. Since 2000, lemmings have been monitored at 49 sites of which 38 are still active. The sites were not evenly distributed with notably Russia and high Arctic Canada underrepresented. Abundance was monitored at all sites, but methods and levels of precision varied greatly. Other important attributes such as health, genetic diversity and potential drivers of population change, were often not monitored. There was no evidence that lemming populations were decreasing in general, although a negative trend was detected for low arctic populations sympatric with voles. To keep the pace of arctic change, we recommend maintaining long-term programmes while harmonizing methods, improving spatial coverage and integrating an ecosystem perspective.     

High-resolution mass spectrometry analysis of secondary organic aerosol generated by ozonolysis of isoprene

The chemical composition of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) generated from the ozonolysis of isoprene (C₅H₈) in the presence of an OH scavenger was examined using high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in the mass range m/z = 50–1000. The chemical composition of SOA is complex, with more than 1000 assigned peaks observed in the positive and negative ion mode spectra. Only a small fraction of peaks correspond to known products of isoprene oxidation, such as pyruvic acid, glycolic acid, methylglyoxal, etc. The absolute majority of the detected peaks correspond to highly oxidized oligomeric constituents of SOA, with an average O:C molar ratio of 0.6. The corresponding organic mass (OM) to organic oxygen (OO) ratio is 2.4. Approximately 8% of oxygen atoms in SOA are in the form of peroxides, as quantified with an iodide test. Double bond equivalency (DBE) factors, representing the sum of all double bonds and rings, increase by 1 for every 1–2 additional carbon atoms in the molecule. The number of unoxidized CC double bonds is estimated to be less than 10%; the remaining DBE is due to CO carbonyl groups. Kendrick analysis suggests that the prevalent oligomer building blocks are small carbonyls with a C₁–C₂ skeleton. Formaldehyde (CH₂O) is identified as the most common repetitive building block in the observed oligomeric compounds.     

Multi-criteria risk management with the use of <Emphasis Type="Italic">DecernsMCDA</Emphasis>: methods and case studies

Emerging challenges of risk management, environmental protection, and land-use planning requires integration of stakeholder values and expert judgment. The process of decision making in situation of high uncertainty can be assisted through the use of decision support systems (DSSs). Such DSSs are often based on tools for spatial data representation (GIS) and environmental models that are integrated using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This paper presents DecernsMCDA implementing all major types of multi-criteria methods and tools (AHP, MAUT, Outranking) under the same user interface. In addition to providing ability for testing model uncertainty associated with selection of specific MCDA algorithms, DecernsMCDA implements new algorithms for parameter uncertainty analysis based on probabilistic approaches and fuzzy sets. The paper illustrates application of DecernsMCDA for selecting remedial alternative at radiologically contaminated sites.     

Biogeochemical assessment of the urban area in Moscow

The biogeochemical and ecological assessment of the industrial city territory including urban soils and trees was carried out. Chemical (macroelement and microelement) composition of the city soils, morphological and biochemical properties of the linden leaves, possible impact of de-icing salts on soil and tree state, the correlation between the content of trace elements, and the S-containing plant compounds (phytochelatins) were included in the assessment. It was found that concentrations of trace elements in the soils near road with intensive traffic are changed from the soils, located at a distance of 40–50 m from the road. They have higher concentrations of As, Fe, Mn, Se, and Sr and lower concentration of Zn. The linden leaves from the roadside were characterized by the increase in As, Cu, Fe, Zn, and Cr and sharp decrease in the Mn and Sr concentrations. The analysis of soil water extracts showed a slight decrease of pH and low content of Ca, Mg, K, and Na for the distant sites. The phytochelatin test of linden leaves was weakly effective as well as asymmetry degree study of leaf lamina. The main differences were observed in the damage symptoms of leaves (chlorosis and necrosis) and the content of pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoids). The biochemical and ecological assessment of soils and trees showed relatively satisfactory ecological state of the investigated area in Moscow. The data obtained shows the weak local impact of the application of de-icing salts and automobile emissions.     

Environmental change in the Selenga River—Lake Baikal Basin

Regional Environmental Change -     

Driver mortality in frontal crashes: comparison of newer and older airbag designs

In 1997, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration amended its requirements for frontal crash performance under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 to temporarily allow 30 mi/h (48 km/h) sled tests with unbelted dummies as an alternative to 30 mi/h head-on rigid-barrier vehicle tests. This change permitted automakers to reduce airbag inflation forces so that they would be less likely to injure occupants who are close to airbags when they first deploy. Most vehicle models were sled-certified starting in model year 1998. Airbag-related deaths have decreased since 1997; however, controversy persists about whether reduced inflation forces might be decreasing protection for some occupants in high-severity frontal crashes. To examine the effects of the regulatory changes, this study computed rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for passenger vehicle driver deaths per vehicle registration during 2000-2002 at principal impact points of 12 o'clock for 1998-99 model year vehicles relative to 1997 models. Passenger vehicles included in the study had both driver and passenger front airbags, had the same essential designs during the 1997-1999 model years, and had been sled-certified for drivers throughout model years 1998 and 1999. An adjustment was made for the higher annual mileage of newer vehicles. Findings were that the effect of the regulatory change varied by vehicle type. For cars, sport utility vehicles, and minivans combined, there was an 11 percent decrease in fatality risk in frontal crashes after changing to sled certification (RR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.82-0.96). Among pickups, however, estimated frontal fatality risk increased 35 percent (RR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.12-1.62). For a broad range of frontal crashes (11, 12, and 1 o'clock combined), the results indicated a modest net benefit of the regulatory change across all vehicle types and driver characteristics. However, the contrary finding for pickups needs to be researched further.