Seasonal Dynamics of Fruit Flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Natural Parks of Moscow City, Russia.

The insect fauna of natural parks in large cities has not been sufficiently studied in Russia. This study represents the first investigation of the seasonal dynamics and species diversity of Drosophilidae in Moscow city. Traps with fermenting liquid were placed on the ground under trees to collect flies from four natural park sites between early May and late September from 2021 to 2023. A total of 26,420 individuals belonging to 11 genera and 33 drosophilid species were identified, with 21 species from 6 genera being new to the fauna of Moscow. Drosophila obscura Fll., D. phalerata Mg., and D. testacea Roser were the most abundant species in the traps. Peaks in the abundance of drosophilids varied between years, but the lowest abundance was always observed in May. In 2022, the highest number of flies was collected (9604 specimens), with slightly fewer in 2023 (8496 specimens), and even fewer in 2021 (8320 specimens). In 2022, the highest species diversity of drosophilids was also recorded-33 species-while 28 species were found in both 2021 and 2023. The high variability in the abundance of individual drosophila species obscures the differences between the studied years due to the effects of the "Month" and "Site" factors. The diversity metrics exhibit similar patterns among drosophila communities inhabiting comparable biotopes. Specific climatic factors, such as the temperature and precipitation, impact the species abundance and community diversity indices primarily through their effects on the preimaginal stages of drosophila development. For several species, the population dynamics in the spring, post-hibernation, are influenced by the conditions preceding winter.

Transient Interphase Microtubules Appear in Differentiating Sponge Cells.

Microtubules are an indispensable component of all eukaryotic cells due to their role in mitotic spindle formation, yet their organization and number can vary greatly in the interphase. The last common ancestor of all eukaryotes already had microtubules and microtubule motor proteins moving along them. Sponges are traditionally regarded as the oldest animal phylum. Their body does not have a clear differentiation into tissues, but it contains several distinguishable cell types. The choanocytes stand out among them and are responsible for creating a flow of water with their flagella and increasing the filtering and feeding efficiency of the sponge. Choanocyte flagella contain microtubules, but thus far, observing a developed system of cytoplasmic microtubules in non-flagellated interphase sponge cells has been mostly unsuccessful. In this work, we combine transcriptomic analysis, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy with time-lapse recording to demonstrate that microtubules appear in the cytoplasm of sponge cells only when transdifferentiation processes are activated. We conclude that dynamic cytoplasmic microtubules in the cells of sponges are not a persistent but rather a transient structure, associated with cellular plasticity.

Conservative and Atypical Ferritins of Sponges.

Ferritins comprise a conservative family of proteins found in all species and play an essential role in resistance to redox stress, immune response, and cell differentiation. Sponges (Porifera) are the oldest Metazoa that show unique plasticity and regenerative potential. Here, we characterize the ferritins of two cold-water sponges using proteomics, spectral microscopy, and bioinformatic analysis. The recently duplicated conservative HdF1a/b and atypical HdF2 genes were found in the Halisarca dujardini genome. Multiple related transcripts of HpF1 were identified in the Halichondria panicea transcriptome. Expression of HdF1a/b was much higher than that of HdF2 in all annual seasons and regulated differently during the sponge dissociation/reaggregation. The presence of the MRE and HRE motifs in the HdF1 and HdF2 promotor regions and the IRE motif in mRNAs of HdF1 and HpF indicates that sponge ferritins expression depends on the cellular iron and oxygen levels. The gel electrophoresis combined with specific staining and mass spectrometry confirmed the presence of ferric ions and ferritins in multi-subunit complexes. The 3D modeling predicts the iron-binding capacity of HdF1 and HpF1 at the ferroxidase center and the absence of iron-binding in atypical HdF2. Interestingly, atypical ferritins lacking iron-binding capacity were found in genomes of many invertebrate species. Their function deserves further research.

Correction: Iron metabolic pathways in the processes of sponge plasticity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228722.].

Iron metabolic pathways in the processes of sponge plasticity.

The ability to regulate oxygen consumption evolved in ancestral animals and is intrinsically linked to iron metabolism. The iron pathways have been intensively studied in mammals, whereas data on distant invertebrates are limited. Sea sponges represent the oldest animal phylum and have unique structural plasticity and capacity to reaggregate after complete dissociation. We studied iron metabolic factors and their expression during reaggregation in the White Sea cold-water sponges Halichondria panicea and Halisarca dujardini. De novo transcriptomes were assembled using RNA-Seq data, and evolutionary trends were analyzed with bioinformatic tools. Differential expression during reaggregation was studied for H. dujardini. Enzymes of the heme biosynthesis pathway and transport globins, neuroglobin (NGB) and androglobin (ADGB), were identified in sponges. The globins mutate at higher evolutionary rates than the heme synthesis enzymes. Highly conserved iron-regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) presumably interacts with the iron-responsive elements (IREs) found in mRNAs of ferritin (FTH1) and a putative transferrin receptor NAALAD2. The reaggregation process is accompanied by increased expression of IRP1, the antiapoptotic factor BCL2, the inflammation factor NFκB (p65), FTH1 and NGB, as well as by an increase in mitochondrial density. Our data indicate a complex mechanism of iron regulation in sponge structural plasticity and help to better understand general mechanisms of morphogenetic processes in multicellular species.

Ni-functionalized submicron mesoporous silica particles as a sorbent for metal affinity chromatography.

In this research, a novel IMAC sorbent with high specificity for chlorine-containing compounds was developed. Ni-functionalized monodisperse spherical mesoporous silica particles of 500±25nm diameter were synthesized and their metal affinity properties were studied with the use of diclofenac as the model substance. The particles were aggregatively stable in the pH range of 3-12. The sorbent demonstrated a high adsorption capacity (0.60±0.06µg of DCF per 1mg of the sorbent) and high adsorption/desorption rate (20 and 5min was enough for the sorbent saturation and desorption of DCF, correspondingly). A mixture of eluents with addition of PFOS providing the almost complete recovery (98%) of diclofenac was first proposed. The monodispersity and the high sedimentation and aggregative stability of the particles provide the formation of a stable hydrosol even under ultrasound treatment which makes the mSiO2/Ni particles suitable for batch chromatography.

Complexation of κ-carrageenan with gelatin in the aqueous phase analysed by 1H NMR kinetics and relaxation.

The 1H NMR spectroscopy is used to study the kinetics of gelation in the aqueous mixtures of κ-carrageenan with gelatin. The time dependence of NMR signals intensities shows that the kinetics of gel formation consists of classical 'fast' (rate constant k≈6h-1) and 'slow' (k≈1h-1) periods, corresponding to a coil→helix transition and subsequent aggregation of helices. Upon increase of the κ-carrageenan/gelatin (w/w) ratio Z the rate of the fast process slows down by a factor of 1.6-2.4. Further analysis was done by studying the dependence of spin-spin relaxation times of protons of gelatin on Z in the aqueous phase. A qualitative scheme describing hydrogel formation in the complex solution is given. It is hypothesized that at higher concentration of PECs the hydrogel structure network is stabilized by three types of nodes: triple helices of gelatin and intra-/inter-molecular double helices of κ-carrageenan.

Formation of κ-carrageenan-gelatin polyelectrolyte complexes studied by (1)H NMR, UV spectroscopy and kinematic viscosity measurements.

The intermolecular interactions between an anionic polysaccharide from the red algae κ-carrageenan and a gelatin polypeptide, forming stoichiometric polysaccharide-polypeptide (bio)polyelectrolyte complexes in the aqueous phase, were examined. The major method of investigation was high-resolution (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Additional data were obtained by UV absorption spectroscopy, light scattering dispersion and capillary viscometry. Experimental data were interpreted in terms of the changing roles of electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds when κ-carrageenan-gelatin complexes are formed. At high temperatures, when biopolymer macromolecules in solution are in the state of random coil, hydrophobic interactions make a major contribution to complex stabilization. At the temperature of gelatin's coil→helix conformational transition and at lower temperatures, electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds play a defining role in complex formation. A proposed model of the κ-carrageenan-gelatin complex is discussed.

The chitosan-gelatin (bio)polyelectrolyte complexes formation in an acidic medium.

The interaction of cationic polysaccharide chitosan and gelatin accompanied by the stoichiometric (bio)polyelectrolyte complexes formation has been studied by the methods of capillary viscometry, UV and FTIR spectroscopy and dispersion of light scattering. Complexes were formed in the aqueous phase, with pH being less than the isoelectric point of gelatin (pIgel). The particle size of the disperse phase increases along with the growth of the relative viscosity in comparison with sols of the individual components-polysaccharide and gelatin. Possible models and mechanism of (bio)polyelectrolyte complexes formation have been discussed. It was shown that the complex formation takes place not only due to the hydrogen bonds, but also due to the electrostatic interactions between the positively charged amino-groups of chitosan and negatively charged amino acid residues (glutamic Glu and aspartic Asp acids) of gelatin.

Transplantation treatment of spinal cord injury patients.

The minimally manipulated cells from fetal nervous and hemopoietic tissues (gestational age 16-22 weeks) were subarachnoidally implanted into 15 patients (18-52 years old) with severe consequences of traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) at cervical or thoracic spine level. The times after SCI were from 1 month to 6 years. Each patient underwent from one to four cell transplantations (CT) with various time intervals. In 11 of 15 cases, CT was combined with an operative partial disruption of a connective tissue cyst and with implantation into a spinal cord lesion of a spinal cord fragment together with olfactory ensheathing cells. Before CT the patients showed complete motor and sensory function disorder consistent with a grade A of SCI according to Frankel classification. With CT treatment, six patients improved their neurological status from A to C grade of SCI, exhibiting incomplete restoration of both motor and sensory function. The status of other five CT-treated patients became consistent with SCI grade B and was characterized by appearance of contracting activity in some muscles and incomplete restoration of sensitivity. The remaining four patients did not exhibit any clinical improvements. No serious complications of CT were noted. The results suggest a clinical relevance of the CT-based approach to treating severe consequences of SCI.

Electron-phonon coupling and its evidence in the photoemission spectra of lead.

We present a detailed study of the influence of strong electron-phonon coupling on the photoemission spectra of lead. Representing the strong-coupling regime of superconductivity, the spectra of lead show characteristic features that demonstrate the correspondence of physical properties in the normal and the superconducting state, as predicted by the Eliashberg theory. These features appear on an energy scale of a few meV and are accessible for photoemission only by using modern spectrometers with high-resolution in energy and angle.

Role of bulk and surface phonons in the decay of metal surface States.

We present a comprehensive theoretical investigation of the electron-phonon contribution to the lifetime broadening of the surface states on Cu(111) and Ag(111), in comparison with high-resolution photoemission results. The calculations, including electron and phonon states of the bulk and the surface, resolve the relative importance of the Rayleigh mode, being dominant for the lifetime at small hole binding energies. Including the electron-electron interaction, the theoretical results are in excellent agreement with the measured binding energy and temperature dependent lifetime broadening.

Temperature dependence of the Kondo resonance and its satellites in CeCu2Si2.

We present high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy studies on the Kondo resonance of the strongly correlated Ce system CeCu2Si2. By exploiting the thermal broadening of the Fermi edge we analyze position, spectral weight, and temperature dependence of the low-energy 4f spectral features, whose major weight lies above the Fermi level E(F). We also present theoretical predictions based on the single-impurity Anderson model using an extended noncrossing approximation, including all spin-orbit and crystal field splittings of the 4f states. The excellent agreement between theory and experiment provides strong evidence that the spectral properties of CeCu2Si2 can be described by single-impurity Kondo physics down to T approximately 5 K.

Observation of a BCS spectral function in a conventional superconductor by photoelectron spectroscopy

We present high-resolution photoelectron spectra on the A15-type conventional superconductor V 3Si, where-for the first time-both singularities of the BCS density of states can be resolved by photoemission spectroscopy (PES). With a transition temperature of about T(c) approximately 17 K the gap Delta(gap) of this compound has a magnitude of approximately 5 meV. A measurement by PES on this small energy scale requires a very high energy resolution (DeltaE less, similar5 meV) and sample temperatures significantly below T(c).