Proteomic Dissection of a Giant Cell

Many individual proteins have been identified as having defined positions relative to cell polarity axes, raising the question of what fraction of all proteins may have polarized localizations. We took advantage of the giant ciliate Stentor coeruleus to quantify the extent of polarized localization proteome-wide. This trumpet-shaped unicellular organism shows a clear morphological anterior-posterior axis defined by a circular array of cilia known as a membranellar band at one end, and a holdfast at the other end. Because individual Stentor cells are over a millimeter in length, we were able to cut the cells into three pieces along the anterior-posterior axis, followed by proteomic analysis of proteins enriched in each piece. We find that approximately 30% of all detected proteins show a polarized location relative to the anterior-posterior cell axis. Proteins with polarized enrichment include centrin-like proteins, calcium-regulated kinases, orthologs of SFI1 and GAS2, and proteases. At the organelle level, nuclear and mitochondrial proteins are enriched in the anterior half of the cell body, but not in the membranellar band itself, while ribosome related proteins are apparently uniformly distributed. RNAi of signaling proteins enriched in the membranellar band, which is the anterior-most structure in the cell, revealed a protein phosphatase 2 subunit b ortholog required for closure of the membranellar band into the ring shape characteristic of Stentor. These results suggest that a large fraction of the Stentor proteome has a polarized localization, and provide a protein-level framework for future analysis of pattern formation and regeneration in Stentor as well as defining a general strategy for subcellular spatial proteomics based on physical dissection of cells.

Anthropological study of Kyrgyz population of the Pamirs. Part II. Dermatoglyphic characteristics of the Kyrgyz of Dzhirgatal

The dermatoglyphic collection (84 male and 62 female handprints) was collected as part of a genetic-anthropological expedition to the Pamirs (1984). Palm prints were taken using the ink method. The collection was processed according to the method of H. Cummins and Ch. Midlo. Finger and palm patterns were studied. The Cummins index and delta index were calculated. Circular polygons of signs of dermatoglyphics were built and the values of the Caucasian-Mongoloid complex were calculated. Literary data were used for comparative analysis. Results and discussion. As a result of the study, data on the dermatoglyphics of the Kyrgyz of the village of Dzhirgatal were introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Frequencies of finger and palmar patterns in the studied group are presented. It has been shown that bilateral and sex differences in dermatoglyphic signs reflect general distribution trends. Constructed on the basis of key dermatoglyphic features, the combination polygons for the male and female groups of the Kyrgyz of Dzhirgatal, on the whole, have a shape characteristic of the Mongoloids, while revealing features of both the South Siberian and Central Asian local races. Conclusion. The results obtained clearly demonstrate that skin patterns are a source of historical and biological information, and dermatoglyphics greatly support the data obtained by other methods in anthropology, showing its high value for anthropological analysis, which is a prerequisite for further analysis of the studied group in terms of racial diagnosis and search for associations signs of dermatoglyphics and other genetically determined systems.

The investigation of ground beetles shape (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and its relationship to the species structure of vegetation in a mixed forest (by the example of the Pustynsky sanctuary, Nizhny Novgorod Region)

This paper is devoted to the investigation of the relationship between the body shape of the imago of ground beetles and the structure of vegetation layers in the mixed boreal forest located in the State Natural Biological Sanctuary Pustynsky, Nizhny Novgorod Region. The materials were collected in the July 2019. 23 sampling sites were established. Vegetation was described at each site and ground beetles were sampled. Representatives of 8 carabid genera were found (Amara, Calathus, Carabus, Cymindis, Harpalus, Notiophilus, Pterostichus, Synuchus). Ground beetles shape analysis was carried out with methods of geometric morphometry. As a result of the analysis, a morphospace was formed. The analysis of shape variability was carried out, which showed that interspecific variability prevailed over intraspecific variability. The relationship between ground beetles shape and species structure of vegetation layers was carried out with a multivariate redundancy analysis. We did not find statistically significant influence of the structure of tree and shrub layers on ground beetles shape, but found the impact of the herb layer. A more heterogeneous herbaceous layer is preferred by species with a body shape characteristic of zoophages, and simplification of the structure of herbaceous vegetation leads to the prevailing of mixophytophages shape.

Utilization of CD and DVD Pick-Up Heads for Scratch Inspection of Magnetic Disk in Dynamic State Using Microcontroller

A non-destructive technique to inspect a scratch on all magnetic disks in the beginning process of hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturing by using CD and DVD pick-up heads as the detector is proposed. It requires a 100% disk inspection of micrometer-sized scratches in a quick measurement with low cost inventing. Most of the previous studies were in static state but this is the first time to be done in dynamic study using the microcontroller in order to promptly serve for industrial utilization. The size, position, and shape characteristic of scratches are examined using light reflection technique. The results show that, when the laser beam is targeted on a magnetic disk in a position, either scratch or non-scratch, the reflected light intensity differs. The DVD pick-up head can detect the width and the surface characteristic of the scratches, which is similar to the results from scanning electron microscope (SEM) for all scratches sizes less than 100 µm. It is also found that using a DVD pick-up head provides a better resolution of shape characteristic and roughness of scratches surface than a CD pick-up head. Hence, the scratch size of 10s µm scale on the magnetic disk can be accurately characterized by this proposed technique, which can be further utilized for magnetic disk inspection in the hard disk drive manufacturing process.

Weak Interactions and Conformational Changes in Core-Protonated A2- and Ax-Type Porphyrin Dications

Individual chemical motifs are known to introduce structural distortions to the porphyrin macrocycle, be it in the core or at the periphery of the macrocycle. The interplay when introducing two or more of these known structural motifs has been scarcely explored and is not necessarily simply additive; these structural distortions have a chance to compound or negate to introduce new structural types. To this end, a series of compounds with complementary peripheral (5,15-disubstitution) and core (acidification) substitution patterns were investigated. The single-crystal X-ray structures of 18 5,15-diphenylporphyrin, 5,15-diphenylporphyrindi-ium diacid, and related compounds are reported, including the first example of a 5,15-dialkylporphyrindi-ium. Normal-coordinate structural decomposition (NSD) analysis is used for a detailed analysis of the conformation of the porphyrin subunit within the crystal structures. An elongation of porphyrin macrocycles along the C5,C15- axis (B2g symmetry) is observed in all of the free base porphyrins and porphyrin dications; distance across the core is around 0.3 Å in the free base and diacid compounds, and more than doubled in 5,15-dipentylporphyrin and 5,15-dipentylporphyrindi-ium diacid. While the free base porphyrins are largely planar, a large out-of-plane distortion can be observed in 5,15-diphenylporphyrin diacids, with the expected “projective saddle” shape characteristic for such systems. The combination of these two distortions (B2u and B2g) from regular porphyrin structure results in a macrocycle best characterized in the chiral point-group D2. A rare structural type of a cis-hydrogen bond chelate is observed for 5,15-dipentylporphyrindi-ium diacid, which adopts an achiral C2v symmetry. Crystallographic data indicate that the protonated porphyrin core forms hydrogen bonding chelates (N-H⋯X⋯H-N) to counter-anions. Weaker interactions, such as induced intramolecular C-H⋯O interactions from the porphyrin periphery are described, with distances characteristic of charge-assisted interactions. This paper offers a conceptual framework for accessing porphyrin macrocycles with designable distortion and symmetry, useful for the selective perturbation of electronic states and a design-for-application approach to solid state porphyrin materials.

Ultrastructure of intracytoplasmic Rickettsia-like infection of the gills of the teleost Archosargus probatocephalus (Sparidae) in northeastern Brazil

A histopathological survey was conducted to investigate the presence of microparasites in fish Archosargus probatocephalus in a river near Maceió, Brazil. Light microscope observations of fragments of gill showed the presence of small cysts containing numerous myxospores that were morphologically identified as Henneguya. Transmission electron microscopy observations further revealed several gill cells containing groups of prokaryotic cells within large cytoplasmic vacuoles. Each infected host cell displayed a single vacuole containing a variable number of Rickettsia-like cells (up to 11), some of which presented the dumbbell shape characteristic of binary fission. The Rickettsia-like cells were pleomorphic, without a nucleus and with chromatin dispersed in the cytoplasm. They had a thin electron-dense wall of Gram-negative type. The morphology of these prokaryotic was similar to those of the order Rickettsiales and was described as a Rickettsia-like organism. Histopathological evaluation showed that several vacuole membranes had a lysed appearance. Some had ruptured, thus allowing direct contact between the Rickettsia-like organism and the cytoplasm of the host cell. The rupturing of the branchial epithelium may have contributed towards reduction of the surface area of the gills, but it is not possible to say that this was the cause of the host’s death.