Extreme Climatic Conditions Research Articles

Improving the efficiency of foundation construction in permafrost conditions on the example of the use of geopolymer materials

The development of the natural resources of the North and territories with permafrost is an urgent task for countries located in the northern regions, the solution of which is complicated by extreme climatic conditions. Competent arrangement of the base under any structure is an extremely important task, which is solved only by experienced and qualified specialists. This article describes models with the presented optimal methods and technologies for strengthening and strengthening soils and foundations during the construction and reconstruction of construction projects in the Far North using modern material - cryogel.

Shifting climate conditions affect recruitment in Midwestern stream trout, but depend on seasonal and spatial context

AbstractClimate change is a complex threat to freshwater ecosystems. Effects on aquatic species will likely differ among populations depending on seasonal and spatial context, which makes a detailed understanding of population responses to shifting climate conditions key to guiding strategic decision‐making. However, few empirical studies have tested for such context dependency on distinct populations across seasons or at large spatial scales. We used 26 years of standardized survey data on recreationally and economically important brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Wisconsin, USA to assess short‐ and long‐term variability in population trends, and quantify the influence of seasonal and spatial climate variability (air temperatures and precipitation) on annual recruitment strength (as indexed by young‐of‐year [YOY] relative abundance in summer). Some short‐term population fluctuations were spatially consistent across the state, indicative of broadscale environmental forcing. Over the longer term, average YOY and age 1 and older brook trout relative abundance has declined since 2006, especially for YOY, while brown trout abundance has substantially increased. The effects of climate conditions on recruitment varied by species, season, and latitude. Increasing maximum summer temperatures were associated with lower brook trout recruitment, but higher brown trout recruitment. The effect for both species was stronger at lower latitudes. Spring temperatures were positively related to brown trout recruitment at lower latitudes; in mid‐latitude and northern streams, they were related to increasing recruitment up to about 1 standard deviation, above which recruitment declined. High and low winter and spring precipitation were associated with precipitous declines in recruitment for both species. By contrast, summer precipitation was positively related to recruitment in northern streams for brook trout and southern streams for brown trout. Our results demonstrate that shifts in climate can affect recruitment in similar species differently depending on temporal (seasonal) and spatial (warm, southern regions compared with cool, northern regions) context. Given trout population trends in Wisconsin and climate projections for the Midwestern United States, location‐ and species‐specific management actions are needed that account for this context dependency. Management should aim to maximize the resiliency of populations to extreme climate conditions by buffering negative influences on recruitment.

Evaluasi Keberhasilan Pertumbuhan Vegetasi dalam Upaya Konservasi di Kawasan Wisata Tanjung Bastian Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara

Resources management nature becoming point to important especially in maintaining benefits, continuity and sustainable natural source.Natural resource potential available with proper management would be of avail for human life.Natural resource potential can be attraction the community and can be used as tourist destinations. The area of tanjung bastian is one of the area who was in District North Central Timor are identical to the beach and also the racetrack and natural scenery. The effort to maintain the condition ecology in tanjung bastian related in such as planting tourism areas with the aim of land conservation as vegetation regeneration. A condition of vegetation survival in a stable and being able to compete with the physical condition of extreme environmental and climate condition, it is necessary to evaluate the extent to which the level of success of tree growth and the factors that influence it. Based on the results of observation plants who succeeded life 53 a plant consisting of 6 species with the numbers of life most there are to a species Delonix regia as many as 15 plants and the least species is Senna siamea with 3 plants. The classification of the assessment criteria vegetation that the level of success of success in the vetegasi tanjung bastian included in a category in quite poor repair the % 57,3.

Plant species richness on the Tibetan Plateau: patterns and determinants

Whether current hypotheses for geographic patterns of species richness (SR) have a strong explanatory power for the Tibetan Plateau (TP) with extreme climatic conditions remains unclear. In comparison with the classic ‘water–energy dynamics hypothesis', the unique climate factors (e.g. extreme low temperature and low oxygen partial pressure) on the TP likely significantly affect the spatial variation of SR. Here, we investigate geographic patterns and determinants of SR on the TP through a systematic field investigation. We systematically analyzed a total of 2013 plant communities covering 11 different vegetation types on the TP. To compare this SR with that of other sites across the globe, we compiled a global database containing information on 87 forest and 3660 grassland plots. The SR per 400 m2 in the forests and shrubs and that per 1 m2 in alpine grasslands and deserts was 62.76 (± 1.80 SE), 44.53 (± 7.57 SE), 16.84 (± 0.39 SE) and 3.62 (± 0.55 SE), respectively. The SR of forests and shrubs decreased with latitude and altitude, whereas that of alpine grasslands and deserts showed a unimodal pattern along the altitudinal gradient. Unique climate factors, such as extreme low temperature, mean diurnal temperature and oxygen partial pressure, act synergistically with water–energy dynamics and influence the spatial pattern of SR on the TP. Furthermore, the tree SR on the TP was lower than that of global tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests but higher than that of temperate conifer forests. Alpine meadows had a higher SR than other sites; however, the SR in alpine desert grasslands and alpine deserts was lower. Our findings provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying the spatial variation in plant diversity, especially on plateaus and in high‐latitude regions. Our findings and the SR map with 1 km resolution provide important benchmarks for biodiversity conservation and may help to improve predictions of the effect of climate change on biodiversity.

Alluvial fans at Cala Gonone (Sardinia), a fast developing touristic village: origins, hazards and potential risks

The study area of Cala Gonone in NE Sardinia (Italy) consists of a wide terraced re-entrance/valley crowned inland by carbonate hills and, near the coast bounded laterally and partly floored by thin basaltic lava lying over carbonate bedrock. In this re-entrance, several inland alluvial fans (500 m length by 700 m wide) have developed, and a local ~ 30 m high, about 10 m wide (thick), 400 m long scarp body-remnant of semi-consolidated alluvial fan deposits is exposed along the coast. The fans experience depositional events mostly developed during the late Pleistocene. They although nowadays dormant may be reactivated by major rainstorms during strong climate changes. In these last few decades, the touristic village of Cala Gonone has been rapidly expanding over the mid to lower parts of two coalescing alluvial fans (Stadium and Gustui) and along the coastal marine scarp edge (Palmasera alluvial fan system). The village thus may become exposed to natural hazards if extreme climatic conditions may re-occur. Moreover, rock falls and the instability of the costal scarp due to wave erosion may add addition hazards for habitations built near the scarp crest and visitors to the frontal replenished beach. As commonly occurring elsewhere since antiquity, the risk perception of such events is low because of the centennial, millennial of longer recurrence. Such perception does not negate the hazards but a long event recurrence may be accepted as a reasonable risk for the human’s activity. Nevertheless, serious consideration should be given to potential problems and plan and build for amelioration and defense. The evidence of what environmentally did and could still happen in the Cala Gonone and similar other area is in part clearly imprinted on the landscape: geology, geomorphology, and relative details in the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the deposits.

Potential for rain water capture in semi-arid urban areas

The semi-arid region of Paraiba is devastated by extreme climatic conditions, in which the low index and the irregularity of the rains are factors of great negative impact for the development of the region. We found in rainwater collection systems, an important alternative for the region, which can increase the volume of water available to a municipality, for the same rainfall regime. Therefore, one of the main objectives of the study was to estimate the Potential Volumes of Rainwater Capture (VPC) for the urban area of ​​São João do Cariri. These volumes will be estimated based on the proposed use of the city's impermeable surfaces as rainwater catchment areas for non-potable purposes. Such an estimation is important for the adequate dimensioning of cisterns, in order to guarantee the supply of thenon-potablewater demands of the population during the dry season.

Thermal performance analysis of a passive hybrid earth-to-air heat exchanger for cooling rooms at Mexican desert climate

This research incorporates two passive technologies selected to offer thermal comfort conditions in a room exposed to extreme desert climatic conditions (Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico). On the one hand, a rectangular earth-air heat exchanger assisted with PCM (REAHE + PCM) is implemented. Its job is to supply cooled air to the room at temperatures below the comfort temperature. On the other hand, a room with PCM on its ceiling (room + PCM) is proposed, to reduce the thermal load towards the room and shift the thermal peak load, acting as thermal insulation. Hoping that the benefits of this combination of passive technologies provide the thermal comfort conditions required in a building in this region and thereby eliminate or reduce the consumption of electrical energy in conventional refrigeration systems. This article reports a detailed transient study of the thermal behavior of a passively cooled room. The effect of position, thickness, latent heat, and phase change temperature of the PCM in the room was investigated. Also, the different room configurations reported the time evolution of heat fluxes, temperatures, coefficient of performance (COP), and liquid fraction. A comparison between the proposed system and a room without PCM was made. Adding PCM to the roof can drop the peak heat flux in the ceiling by up to 33%. It was found that the most favorable system was with the PCM placed on the top of the room with a thickness between 1.5 cm and 2.0 cm. The best configuration kept an average room temperature of 0.6 K below the comfort temperature. The maximum temperature in the room only exceeded the comfort temperature by 0.33 K. The average COP varied between 264 and 288 for the room systems, while the average COP for the REAHE-PCM was 307. This combination of technologies is satisfactory for the climatic conditions studied.

Short-term characterisation of climatic-environmental variables and microbial community diversity in a high-altitude Andean wetland (Salar de Huasco, Chile)

Microbial community structures are shaped by geochemical factors and their interactions with the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere through the processes of chemical mobilisation and mineralisation. High-altitude wetlands and salt flats in the central Andes are characterised by pronounced physicochemical gradients and extreme climatic conditions, representing hotspots of microbial diversity. We here hypothesise about the existence of direct relationships between the local microbiology and the climate cyclicity variables based on meteorological and biogeochemical patterns that develop over a short time scale (five years). We have here analysed the interactions between hydrometeorological and biogeochemical variables and the microbial communities of the Salar de Huasco. These results were obtained by correlating 16S cDNA and DNA gene Illumina sequences with meteorological/satellite data collected both at monitoring stations and by remote sensing between the years 2015 and 2020. The precipitation levels and flooded areas (i.e., areas covered and/or saturated with permanent water) detected in the Salar de Huasco revealed a marked hydric cyclicity that correlated seasonally with intra-annual wet and dry seasons. Overall, at this site, wet periods occurred from December to April, and dry periods from May to November. Meteorological variables such as solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and wind direction were well-defined, showing a potential association with the hydrogeology of the area, which is directly related to the wetlands' flooded areas. Finally, the microbial presence and potentially active microbial communities were determined through the sequencing of the 16S gene (DNA and cDNA, respectively), this were associated with climatic seasonality and spatially distributed physical and chemical heterogeneity. Other non-local inter-annual scale processes, such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, modify the physical and chemical context of the wetland, thus forming unique ecological niches in the Andean Mountains.

Подготовка инженерных кадров с высшим образованием из числа местного коренного населения в Чукотском филиале Северо-Восточного федерального университета имени М. К. Аммосова

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the key role of branches of federal universities in the training of personnel for remote regions of the Russian Federation from among the indigenous local population using a branch of M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University (hereinafter NEFU) as an example. The paper sheds light on the stages of formation and the main areas of development of the Chukotka branch of NEFU, taking into account the needs of the region and trends in the diversification of economic sectors of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. Scientific novelty of the study lies in determining the organisational and pedagogical conditions necessary for the targeted development of branches of higher educational institutions in remote subjects of the Russian Federation in order to train engineering personnel from among the indigenous local population adapted to work in extreme natural and climatic conditions of the Far North. As a result, a target model for the development of the Chukotka branch of NEFU has been elaborated based on a specific strategy and a clear action programme, which will make it possible to replenish the talent pool for the main vital sectors of the economy, such as electric power and heat power industries, in the Far North from among the indigenous local population living in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.

Current state and prospects of breeding of the askaniya population of the gray Ukrainian cattle breed

Preservation of aboriginal breeds and populations of domestic animals is one of the main tasks set before the world community by the Convention on Biological Diversity. With the intensification of Ukrainian livestock breeding with the use of commercial imported breeds, there is a threat of loss of domestic unique gene pools that carry original sets of alleles responsible for high adaptability and resistance to environmental factors in combination with high productivity and reproduction. The article assesses the current state of the Askania gray Ukrainian breed population and the dynamics of its development based on the results of an expedition survey. Indicators of productivity and reproduction based on the results of the last valuation, dynamics of indicators of productivity and reproduction during 11 years for the period 2010-2020, genealogical structure and structure according to the degree of kinship were studied. The progressive development of the Askani population of the gray Ukrainian breed is determined, which is characterized by a probable increase in live weight, the intensity of growth of young, an increase in the intensity of reproduction and the efficiency of fertility with a decrease in the variability of indicators.
 The level of adaptability of the herd is high, which allows the animals to sustainably maintain the achieved phenotypic level, responding to the pressure of the external environment with insignificant annual deviations from the average herd. The high record indicators of live weight and growth of young animals revealed during the research put the Askani population of the gray Ukrainian breed at the level of world commercial meat breeds, such as Limousin, Hereford, Aberdeen Angus, light Aquitaine.
 The Askani population of the gray Ukrainian breed represents a highly valuable gene pool, promising for breeding in extreme climatic conditions, which must be distributed in different regions of Ukraine, increasing the number and area of breeding.

How weather impacts expressed sentiment in Russia: evidence from Odnoklassniki.

Prior research suggests that weather conditions may substantively impact people's emotional state and mood. In Russia, the relationship between weather and mood has been studied for certain regions-usually with severe or extreme climatic and weather conditions-but with quite limited samples of up to 1,000 people. Over the past decade, partly due to the proliferation of online social networks and the development of natural language processing techniques, the relationship between weather and mood has become possible to study based on the sentiment expressed by individuals. One of the key advantages of such studies based on digital traces is that it is possible to analyze much larger samples of people in comparison with traditional survey-based studies. In this article, we investigate the relationship between historical weather conditions and sentiment expressed in seven Russian cities based on the data of one of the largest Russian social networks, Odnoklassniki. We constructed a daily city-level expressed positive sentiment metric based on 2.76 million posts published by 1.31 million unique users from Odnoklassniki and studied its dynamics relative to daily weather conditions via regression modelling. It was found that a maximum daily temperature between +20 °C and +25 °C, light breeze (between 5 and 11 km/h) and an increase in the average daily temperature by 20-25 °C compared to the previous day are all associated with higher numbers of expressions of positive sentiment, whereas the difference between the maximum and minimum daily temperatures of 15-20 °C is associated with lower numbers of expressions of positive sentiment.

Comparing adventitious root-formation and graft-unification abilities in clones of Argania spinosa.

Argania spinosa trees have attracted attention in recent years due to their high resistance to extreme climate conditions. Initial domestication activities practiced in Morocco. Here we report on selection and vegetative propagation of A. spinosa trees grown in Israel. Trees yielding relatively high amounts of fruit were propagated by rooting of stem cuttings. High variability in rooting ability was found among the 30 clones selected. In-depth comparison of a difficult-to-root (ARS7) and easy-to-root (ARS1) clone revealed that the rooted cuttings of ARS7 have a lower survival rate than those of ARS1. In addition, histological analysis of the adventitious root primordia showed many abnormal fused primordia in ARS7. Hormone profiling revealed that while ARS1 accumulates more cytokinin, ARS7 accumulates more auxin, suggesting different auxin-to-cytokinin ratios underlying the different rooting capabilities. The hypothesized relationship between rooting and grafting abilities was addressed. Reciprocal grafting was performed with ARS1/ARS7 but no significant differences in the success of graft unification between the trees was detected. Accordingly, comparative RNA sequencing of the rooting and grafting zones showed more differentially expressed genes related to rooting than to grafting between the two trees. Clustering, KEGG and Venn analyses confirmed enrichment of genes related to auxin metabolism, transport and signaling, cytokinin metabolism and signaling, cell wall modification and cell division in both regions. In addition, the differential expression of some key genes in ARS1 vs. ARS7 rooting zones was revealed. Taken together, while both adventitious root-formation and graft-unification processes share response to wounding, cell reprogramming, cell division, cell differentiation and reconnection of the vasculature, there are similar, but also many different genes regulating the two processes. Therefore an individual genotype can have low rooting capacity but good graft-unification ability.

Field-based assessment of the design of lysimeters for landfill final cover seepage control

ABSTRACT Lysimeters are considered the most appropriate instrument for assessing percolations rates through landfill final covers. Their design, however, must take into consideration the unsaturated nature of water seepage, otherwise they may act as a sink or cause flow avoidance. The aim of this study was to investigate whether using a simple approach to lysimeter design produces reliable seepage control data. Two different design methods were compared using a three-year field database of suction and seepage data collected from large-scale lysimeters installed at the St-Nicephore landfill in Canada. The first, or control, whose side walls were as high as the thickness of the cover material, was inspired from lysimeters installed during the Alternative Cover Assessment Program (ACAP; USA). The second lysimeter was designed based on the proposed simple design methodology, which focuses on the unsaturated flow and hydraulic properties of the materials to determine the optimal wall height. Analysis of the database did not show any indication of significant preferential flow, or alteration of the flow regime by the second lysimeter, which collected as much percolation as the control one (less than 5% difference). The linear method has not been tested for extreme climatic conditions and the wall heights calculated using this method may be very high when designed for very fine-grained soil covers.

Environmental sensitivity assessment of land desertification in the Hexi Corridor, China

Due to extreme climatic conditions and unreasonable human activities, the Hexi Corridor is facing a serious threat of desertification. Based on the soil quality index (SQI), geomorphological quality index (GQI), climate quality index (CQI), vegetation quality index (VQI) and anthropogenic quality index (AQI), this study established a desertification environmental sensitivity index (DESI) model for arid and semiarid areas to identify the distribution pattern of potential desertification risks in the Hexi Corridor. On this basis, the five indicators were divided into three categories according to the risk attribute characteristics, and their development trend and distribution law were explored on the three-time scales of stable, slow change and seasonal change. Moreover, correlation analysis, cluster analysis and redundancy analysis were used to reveal the potential connection between decision factors and indicators of the DESI. The results showed that 67.4% of the total area had critical sensitivity to desertification in the study area, and the overall trend increased from southeast to northwest. The main decision factors for this phenomenon were the VQI and CQI, which were dominated by climate conditions. The VQI was the lowest in the area, but its sensitivity to desertification was significantly alleviated in summer and autumn, which was consistent with the seasonal variation in the CQI. However, the AQI showed the best land condition and showed no significant change from 2000 to 2020. The SQI and GQI showed moderate and good land conditions, respectively. These factors with strong stability have mainly played an initial limiting role in the process of desertification. This study can provide a scientific basis for the formulation of desertification control and ecological protection measures and is of great significance to the safety and stability of the ecological environment and the sustainable development of society and the economy in arid and semiarid areas.

SOME ECONOMIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SIMMENTAL CATTLE OF THE ALTAI MOUNTAIN REGIONS

In the article, the authors present data on the development parameters of replacement heifers, milk productivity, reproduction rates, and economic longevity of Simmental cows of domestic and foreign selection in the farms of the mountainous regions of the Altai Republic and the Altai Territory. For the first time, the authors determined the efficiency of breed use (EIP) according to the method of M.A. Svyazhenina (2012) and proposed to supplement this method with an indicator of the age of insemination of heifers. In all the herds studied, the authors note the optimal indicators of herd reproduction, which indicates the high adaptability of animals of these genotypes to extreme natural and climatic conditions. The productive longevity of cows of domestic selection is significantly higher (p<0.05) - by 53.5-96.0% than in animals of German-Austrian origin. In the mountainous regions of Altai, the use of cows of the Simmental breed of the German-Austrian selection is effective mainly due to their higher milk productivity. According to the average milk yield for 305 days of lactation - 5165.1 kg, full-aged cows of German-Austrian origin in the farm “Fokin” significantly (p <0.05) surpassed their peers of domestic selection by - 36.4-71.3%, the efficiency of using the breed in this farm amounted to 0.963. The efficiency of the use of the breed in the “OS “AESH” with an average milk yield per lactation of 3446.7 kg is also high - 0.925 due to the indices of economic longevity and reproductive ability. The average efficiency index was obtained in the Agricultural Production Cooperative Breeding Stud (APCBS) “Amursky” - 0.882 and Federal State Budgetary Institution “Experimental Station “Novotalitskoye” - 0.828. In the APCBS “Amursky” the decrease in the efficiency of the use of the breed was affected by the insufficient milk productivity of cows, and in the “Experimental Station “Novotalitskoye” - the late age of insemination of heifers, an extended service period and an insufficient period of economic use of animals.

Phylogenomics provides insights into the evolution of cactophily and host plant shifts in Drosophila

Cactophilic species of the Drosophila buzzatii cluster (repleta group) comprise an excellent model group to investigate genomic changes underlying adaptation to extreme climate conditions and host plants. In particular, these species form a tractable system to study the transition from chemically simpler breeding sites (like prickly pears of the genus Opuntia) to chemically more complex hosts (columnar cacti). Here, we report four highly contiguous genome assemblies of three species of the buzzatii cluster. Based on this genomic data and inferred phylogenetic relationships, we identified candidate taxonomically restricted genes (TRGs) likely involved in the evolution of cactophily and cactus host specialization. Functional enrichment analyses of TRGs within the buzzatii cluster identified genes involved in detoxification, water preservation, immune system response, anatomical structure development, and morphogenesis. In contrast, processes that regulate responses to stress, as well as the metabolism of nitrogen compounds, transport, and secretion were found in the set of species that are columnar cacti dwellers. These findings are in line with the hypothesis that those genomic changes brought about key mechanisms underlying the adaptation of the buzzatii cluster species to arid regions in South America.

What makes soil landscape robust? Landscape sensitivity towards land use changes in a Swiss southern Alpine valley

Landscape sensitivity is a concept referring to the likelihood that changes in land use may affect in an irreversible way physical and chemical soil properties of the concerned landscape. The objective of this study is to quantitatively assess the sensitivity of the southern Alpine soil landscape regarding land use change-induced perturbations. Alpine soil landscapes can be considered as particularly sensitive to land use changes because their effects tend to be enhanced by frequent extreme climatic and topographic conditions as well as intense geomorphologic activity. In detail, the following soil key properties for soil vulnerability were analysed: (i) soil texture, (ii) bulk density, (iii) soil organic carbon (SOC), (iv) saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), (v) aggregate stability and (vi) soil water repellency (SWR). The study area is characterized by a steep, east-west oriented valley, strongly anthropized in the last centuries followed by a progressive abandonment. This area is particularly suitable due to constant lithological conditions, extreme topographic and climatic conditions as well as historic land use changes. The analysis of land use change effects on soil properties were performed through a linear mixed model approach due to the nested structure of the data. Our results show a generally high stability of the assessed soils in terms of aggregate stability and noteworthy thick soils. The former is remarkable, since aggregate stability, which is commonly used for detecting land use-induced changes in soil erosion susceptibility, was always comparably high irrespective of land use. The stability of the soils is mainly related to a high amount of soil organic matter favouring the formation of stable soil aggregates, decreasing soil erodibility and hence, reducing soil loss by erosion. However, the most sensitive soil property to land use change was SWR that is partly influenced by the amount of soil organic carbon and probably by the quality and composition of SOM.

Features of immunological reactivity in Sami women

BACKGROUND: The Sami are a small group of indigenous people of the Russian Federation. The Sami have one of the lowest birth rates among all the peoples of the North of Russia. They often have more health problems than residents of other nationalities in the Murmansk region, due to a high incidence of acute respiratory infections. Extreme climatic and geographical conditions of the Arctic have a negative impact on immunological reactivity.
 AIM: To identify the features of immunological reactivity in Sami women.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine practically healthy Sami women aged from 21 to 44 years living in the Lovozero Village in the Murmansk region were examined. A control group consisting of 50 practically healthy Russian women of the Arkhangelsk region of the same age range was used. The hemogram, phagocytic activity of neutrophils of peripheral venous blood, and the content of lymphocytes with CD3, CD4, CD8, and CD10 phenotypes were studied by indirect immunoperoxidase reaction (Sorbent, Moscow) and flow cytometry (Beckman Coulter Immunotech, France). Additionally, concentrations of IgM, IgG, IgA, sCD54, and sCD62L (Bender MedSystems, Austria) were determined by enzyme immunoassay, circulating immune complexes (CIC) were determined by the precipitation method. The total amount of microflora, cytogram, phagocytic activity of neutrophils, the sorption capacity of epithelial cells, the content of sIgA and CIC IgG were studied in the separated mucous membranes of the pharynx, intestines, and urine. For comparison between groups, the independent samples t-test or the nonparametric MannWhitney U-test was used depending on the distribution.
 RESULTS: In Sami women, the frequency of deficiency of phagocytic activity of blood neutrophils and mucosal secretions was higher than in the control group. Increased reactions of cell-mediated and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity of lymphocytes were recorded. The frequency of elevated concentrations of CIC was higher in the Sami women than in the control group. A remarkable feature of the Sami immune reactivity was high concentrations of IgA and IgM against a background of low IgG content.
 CONCLUSION: In Sami women, the percentage of actively phagocytic neutrophil granulocytes of peripheral venous blood and mucous membranes was lower than in the control. A distinctive feature of the immunoglobulin profile of the blood serum of Sami women was the low IgG content against the background of increased concentrations of CIC, including immunoglobulins of this class. Sami women had higher levels of leukocyte migration into mucosa-associated mucosal tissue, which was correlated with a decrease in the sorption capacity of epitheliocytes, phagocytic activity of neutrophils, and concentrations of secretory immunoglobulins.

Mongolian Marmot (<i>Marmota sibirica</i>) Ecosystem Engineering Effects on Herpetofauna

The Mongolian marmot (Marmota sibirica) is a relatively large-bodied, social rodent that lives in colonies across the Mongolian steppes and adjacent parts of China and Russia. Marmots serve as ecosystem engineers that display multiple functions on the steppe environments they inhabit. Mongolian marmots experienced a 75% decline across Mongolia in the 1990s that led to their listing as endangered globally. The decline of marmots likely affected other species given their importance to the ecosystems they inhabit. To examine the role of marmots on herpetofauna, we established drift fence arrays with associated pitfall and funnel traps on active marmot colonies, inactive colonies, and control sites in the forest-steppe and semi-desert zones of Mongolia. In total, we identified 555 individuals representing 5 species of reptiles in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve (semi-desert) from 2010 – 2011 and 22 individuals of 3 species of reptiles and one amphibian species in Hustai National Park (forest-steppe) in 2014 and 2016. We found significantly higher species abundance and some diversity indices on active and inactive colonies compared to control sites in Hustai. Vegetation height and cover significantly affected the abundance and species richness of reptiles in Ikh Nart. In Ikh Nart, we found that under conditions of higher vegetation cover and height, reptiles were distributed more widely across the landscape, but with lower vegetation cover and height, reptiles associated more strongly with marmot burrows. Burrows likely provide shelter from extreme climatic conditions and refugia from predation. Our research provides insights into how marmots create important habitats for associated fauna. This and similar experimental approaches will allow us to better understand the biodiversity patterns in and around marmot burrows.

Seasonal dynamics in functional state of nervous system among skiers of the military age based on visual-motor response: cohort study

INTRODUCTION: Athlete’s training activity in conditions of the European North involves severe physical exertion in extreme climatic conditions. In this case emerging physiological and meteopathic reactions might have a negative impact on the functional state of persons of military age.OBJECTIVE: Identify the characteristics of seasonal changes in the state of nervous system among skiers of the military age.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 20 skiers of the military age took part in the study. It was carries out over a year and included 4 stages, complying with the stages of athletes’ preparation. During the work by means of the device «Psychophysiologist» there was recording indicators of mean, minimum and mean-square deviation of time of simple and complex visual-motor reaction and also the duration of cardiointervals. Statistics: Statistical software package SPSS 20.0 was used for analyzing the results.RESULTS: As a result of the study, it was found that the skiers experience deterioration of visual-motor reaction with the increasing impact of training activities and negative factors of the north.CONCLUSION: Functioning of the athlete’s body in conditions of the European North leads to deterioration of indicators of nervous system activation level and capacity in the winter training period.