Winter Sleep Research Articles

ОБРЯДЫ, ПРАЗДНИКИ И ИГРЫ ЗИМНЕГО ЦИКЛА ГОРЦЕВ ДАГЕСТАНА В КОНЦЕ XIX - НАЧАЛЕ XX В. (ЭТНОЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ)

Статья написана на полевом этнографическом материале, собранном автором по исследуемой проблеме. Обряды, праздники и игры зимнего цикла горцев Дагестана как компонент духовной культуры представляют большой интерес на современном этапе, так как отчасти входят в состав современного календаря, достаточно полно отражают экологические представления этносов и характеризуют разные области этнической культуры – приготовление и раздачу ритуальной пищи, ряжение, игры, песни, пляски и т.д. Целью данной статьи является выявление и рассмотрение (исследование) обрядов и праздников горцев Дагестана зимнего цикла, в связи с наметившимся в последнее время повышенным интересом к национальным истокам современной культуры, в частности, к духовной культуре. При написании статьи были использованы общенаучные методы (анализ, синтез), позволяющие рассматривать роль и место обрядов и праздников зимнего цикла горцев Дагестана в этнокультуре, показать общее и особенное в связи с различными условиями (социально-экономическими, этнографическими, экологическими), развитие отдельных регионов нагорного Дагестана. Вместе с общенаучными в статье использованы частные методы исследования: выявление конкретного, описательный метод и др. В статье мы пришли к следующим результатам. Рассматриваемые обряды и праздники зимнего цикла делятся на несколько групп. Первая группа связана с началом зимы и календарного года; вторая включает праздники середины зимы, которые содержали в себе идею пробуждения природы от зимнего сна и подготовки ее к весне. Значительное место в жизни народа занимали – зимние игры и развлечения. В заключении нашего исследования показано, что зима была временем отдыха после напряженного года. Помимо праздников чисто календарного характера (начало, середины зимы), в этнической культуре горцев Дагестана имелись различные формы традиционного досуга, создававшие праздничную ситуацию.

Cinema, educação e imaginários contemporâneos: estudos hermenêuticos sobre distopia, niilismo e afirmação nos filmes O som ao redor, O cavalo de Turim e Sono de inverno

Resumo O presente trabalho apresenta os resultados de pesquisa pós-doutoral2 que teve como objetivo estudar a relação entre cinema, educação e os imaginários contemporâneos da distopia, do niilismo e da afirmação por meio da investigação hermenêutica de três filmes da presente década: O som ao redor (2012), do brasileiro Kleber Mendonça Filho; O cavalo de Turim (2011), do húngaro Béla Tarr; e Sono de inverno (2014), do turco Nuri Bilge Ceylan. O artigo apresenta uma síntese da fundamentação educativa do cinema a partir de sete eixos – cognitivo, filosófico, estético, mítico, existencial, antropológico e poético –, justifica as opções metodológicas adotadas e a abordagem hermenêutico-simbólica, para então efetuar a análise dos referidos filmes em confrontação com os imaginários contemporâneos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que os três enfoques selecionados – distopia, niilismo e afirmação –, embora distintos entre si, não aparecem isoladamente nos filmes, mas matizados. Assim, O som ao redor não é puramente distópico, mas, em certa medida, também niilista; N’O cavalo de Turim, o imaginário niilista é acompanhado de certo grau de afirmação; e Sono de inverno só atinge a afirmação depois de percorrer degraus niilistas. Como conclusão, é possível sustentar que o contemporâneo se apresenta multifacetado, espaço de tensão de forças imaginário-discursivas que disputam uma imagem de mundo.

FACTORS AFFECTING PHENOLOGY OF DIFFERENT Citrus VARIETIES UNDER THE TEMPERATE CLIMATE CONDITIONS OF SANTA FE, ARGENTINA

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to characterize the phenology of different sweet orange, tangerines and tangerine hybrid varieties growing under the temperate climate conditions of Santa Fe Province, Argentina. Phenological stages were observed weekly during five consecutive years using a BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemical industry) scale adapted for Citrus trees. All varieties showed a winter rest period from June to August. ‘New Hall’ and ‘Navelina’ varieties were the first to reach sprouting stage, whereas ‘Okitsu’ was the last. Inception of flowering occurred from August 13th to September 6th; and full bloom from September 12th to October 2nd. Fruit harvest started with the ‘Okitsu’ cultivar in March, and continued over a 7-month period. Interannual variation for inception of sprouting was high (44 days), and sprouting was correlated with both thermal accumulation (above 13ºC) and the amount of solar radiation measured during July (p<0.0001; r2=0.79). Navel oranges and the ‘Murcott’ hybrid bloomed 5–15 days earlier than other varieties, increasing probability of damage by late frosts.

Melodramatic Ends: <em>Winter Sleep</em> (<em>Kiş Uykusu</em>)

Reviewed by: Melodramatic Ends: Winter Sleep (Kiş Uykusu) dir. by. Nuri Bilge Ceylan Susan Potter (bio) and Matias Perez (bio) Melodramatic Ends: Winter Sleep (Kiş Uykusu) Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Scr. Ebru Ceylan and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. 2014 This review arrives late to the red carpet, following the award in 2014 of the Palme d'Or, Cannes Festival's most coveted prize, to Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Winter Sleep. The accepted critical narrative is that the film is not Ceylan's best but that the recognition of his directorial talent was long overdue. Feted in the director's home country, the Turkish-French-German co-production had a wide national release and consequently generated the director's highest box office in his career to date. Reviewers across the period of festival releases were divided about the film's merits, some hailing it a masterpiece (Karin Badt, Film Criticism), while others experienced it as enervating literary exercise (Gavin Smith, Film Comment). For us, Winter Sleep, for all its stagey and durational faults, remains weirdly compelling, in part because of its seeming last-minute reliance on melodrama to conclude its two intertwined plotlines. It's not as if the Ceylans' films have not been identified with melodrama before. In the aftermath of another award, for Best Director at Cannes in 2008, Three Monkeys was described by critics as "distressingly empty melodrama" (J. Hoberman, The Village Voice) and, in a more negative evaluation of Ceylan's work, "failed melodrama" (Kent Jones, Film Comment). In some of the reviews of Winter Sleep, melodrama returns as a salient, if suppressed, genre. Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian, calls the film tragicomedy, but his review has the key words of melodrama written all over it: pathos, domestic drama, soap opera, and swells and surges of emotion. Moreover, he faults the director for failing to realize the full potential of the film's most dramatic scene, finding it "overstated and misjudged." Even if other critics endeavor to rescue the Ceylans' films from melodrama by [End Page 86] pointing to the quality of direction and the understated performance of the actors, overstatement and misjudgment are qualities that melodrama might happily lay claim to. Indeed, the film's melodramatic register is key to its subtle but trenchant theme of social inequality. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Nihal (Melisa Sözen) appears unbidden outside the imam's family home. Screen capture from Winter Sleep (Kiş Uykusu). Winter Sleep's opening sequence introduces the protagonist Aydin (Haluk Bilginer), a wealthy retired actor who has returned to his childhood province of Cappadocia to run a boutique hotel. His main income, however, comprises rents from local families who occupy properties that Aydin has inherited from his father. Aydin retreats from his role as landlord by employing Hidayet (Ayberk Pekcan) and a series of unnamed and unseen lawyers to manage his tenancies, freeing him to write a weekly column for a local newspaper, Voice of the Steppes, and to research his long-anticipated book on the history of Turkish theatre. While Aydin endeavors to sustain his identity as an educated, artistic, and literary man by distancing himself from his own status as landlord and the cruelties inflicted by his agents, he is drawn into a conflict with the family of the local hodja or imam, Hamdi (Serhat Kiliç), as their eviction looms. It is the action of a child, Hamdi's nephew Ilyas (Emirhan Doruktutan), that propels Aydin into closer proximity to those people with whom he has a relationship based less on community than on property. Seeing Hidayet driving Aydin in his distinctive orange jeep through the village, Ilyas lies in wait further down the road and throws a stone to smash the passenger window where Aydin sits. We soon discover in a following scene that the stone's throw is retribution not only for the repossession of the family's fridge and television but also for the humiliating beating suffered by Ilyas's unemployed father, Ismail (Nejat Isler), at the hands of the police who were also present during the repossession. With his stone's throw, Ilyas catalyzes one of the film's plotlines, which involves Hamdi [End...

Editorial

Editorial Drake Stutesman Framework 59.1 looks at various mediums in which creativity flourishes in unexpected ways. Television, as a vehicle for the poetic as much as for the prosaic, is examined by two writers. Ben Olin's "Reframing the New York School: Public Access Poetry and the Screening of Poetic Coterie" details the 1970s and '80s New York cable television show Public Access Poetry, which featured poets, most of whom were in emerging avant-garde literary movements, and discusses how the visual medium reflected and played with the verbal medium and how central it was to the development of the new writing. In his piece "Lyrical Television" Scott MacDonald, critic, programmer, and advocate of independent/avant-garde cinema, work that is often regarded as poetic, considers the way television also employs "lyrical," as he names it, avant-garde practices. Scholar and costume designer Lauren Boumaroun, in her essay "Costume Designer/Everything: Hybridized Identities in Animation Production," reveals the surprising world of costume design in animation, especially focusing on particular designers by exploring their experience in the workplace as well as their ingenuity in executing the task of creating outfits for stop-frame and drawn characters. One of the Framework 59.1 cover images, showing a close-up of fingers knitting a sweater on knitting needles the size of small straight pins, tells part of that story. In the section "New Looks: Film Review," in which authors reexamine a film released in the past few years, Susan Potter and Matias Perez ponder Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 2014 film, Winter Sleep, in "Melodramatic Ends: Winter Sleep (Kiş Uykusu)." [End Page 5] Copyright © 2018 Wayne State University Press

Abscisic Acid Related Metabolites in Sweet Cherry Buds (Prunus avium L.)

As our climate changes, plant mechanisms involved for dormancy release become increasingly important for commercial orchards. It is generally believed that abscisic acid (ABA) is a key hormone that responds to various environmental stresses which affects bud dormancy. For this reason, a multi-year study was initiated to obtain data on plant metabolites during winter rest and ontogenetic development in sweet cherry buds (Prunus avium L.). In this paper, we report on metabolites involved in ABA synthesis and catabolism and its effect on bud dormancy in the years 2014/15-2016/17. In previous work, the timings of the different phases of para-, endo-, ecodormancy and ontogenetic development for cherry flower buds of the cultivar ‘Summit’ were determined, based on classical climate chamber experiments and changes in the bud’s water content. Based on these time phases, we focused now on the different aspects of the ABA-metabolism. The results show that there is a continual synthesis of ABA about 5 weeks before leaf fall, and a degradation of ABA during ecodormancy and bud development until the phenological stage ‘open cluster’. This is confirmed by relating the ABA content to that of the total precursor carotenoids, neoxanthin and violaxanthin. The tentative monitoring of individual intermediate metabolites revealed that dihydroxyphaseic acid is the most abundant catabolite of ABA and ABA glucosyl ester is in terms of mass intensity, the most abundant ABA metabolite observed in this study. The results suggest that the direct route for ABA biosynthesis from farnesyl pyrophosphate may also be relevant in cherry flower buds.

Late season mineral foliar application improves nutritional reserves and flowering of kiwifruit

Abstract Proper management of late season mineral nutrition in kiwifruit orchards is necessary to maintain sufficient carbohydrate and mineral reserves for efficient growth and yield in the following season. The present study was conducted in order to investigate the influence of urea (0.25%, 0.5% and 1%), zinc sulfate (1000, 1500 and 2000 mg l−1) and boric acid (500, 1000 and 1500 mg l−1) foliar application, both alone and combined, on physiological and biochemical characteristics and mineral nutrients concentration in leaf and bud tissues and, flowering of kiwifruit cv Hayward in Guilan, Iran during two years. In order to determine the best application time in late season, foliar application was applied at three different times: September 17, October7 and October 28. Leaf and bud samples were collected three weeks after the last foliar application. Although combined foliar application of urea (1%), zinc sulfate (2000 mg l−1) and boric acid (1500 mg l−1) significantly increased leaves chlorophyll concentration and boron, zinc, soluble carbohydrate and starch content of leaf and bud tissues in the fall, however this consistent elevation in almost all measured parameters was not found in other experimental fertilization treatments compared to control vines. Likewise, bud break, and flowering shoot percentage, and total number of flowers and abnormal flowers percentage was significantly improved in the following growth season by urea (1%), zinc sulfate (2000 mg l−1) and boric acid (1500 mg l−1) treatment in comparison with control group. There were no significant differences among the treated and non-treated vines regarding shoots growth, leaf abscission and the beginning of winter rest of the kiwifruit vines. Considering all measured parameters, we conclude October 28 was the best spraying time. These results suggest that urea (1%), zinc sulfate (2000 mg l−1) and boric acid (1500 mg l−1) treatment on October 28 can be used as a proper way to improve mineral and carbohydrate reserves of kiwifruit orchards to use in next growing season.

Chilling accumulation, dormancy release temperature, and the role of leaves in olive reproductive budburst: Evaluation using shoot explants

Abstract Winter rest and release of axillary buds from dormancy have been frequently noted but scarcely studied systematically in the olive tree (Olea europaea L). A series of experiments was carried out over three consecutive fall-winter periods, with one-node and three-node leafy and defoliated explants from shoots sampled from nonbearing (OFF) and bearing (ON) trees and forced in a growth chamber at different constant temperatures (12.5, 15, 20 and 30 °C). Buds acquired reproductive budburst capacity after a period of chilling accumulation on the tree for both OFF and ON explants, with percentage of reproductive budburst substantially higher in the OFF explants. Reproductive budburst occurred on explants sampled from early January to the second half of February, with slight variation in dates among the different experiments and seasons. During this period, forcing temperatures and defoliation influenced bud growth and development. Reproductive budburst activity indicated that 12.5 °C forcing temperature added effective chilling and promoted earlier budburst, while 20 °C forcing was only effective in promoting reproductive budburst after buds had accumulated enough natural chilling and 30 °C forcing produced a delay in reproductive budburst. From early sampling dates defoliation promoted vegetative budburst, which was then substituted by reproductive budburst as natural chilling accumulation increased. In histological comparisons of the buds a “shell-zone” of active morphogenetic activity was observed in the third node axils of OFF buds at the start of reproductive budburst capacity, later forming an inflorescence branch by the end of the sampling period. Starch presence shown by staining increased during the natural chilling accumulation period and then progressively disappeared with reproductive budburst. These results indicate dormancy release in the potentially reproductive buds following chilling and prior to inflorescence initiation and development. In addition to the developmental information they provide, the results permit standardizing the protocol to determine the period of dormancy release in olive tree reproductive buds.

Feed in summer, rest in winter: microbial carbon utilization in forest topsoil

BackgroundEvergreen coniferous forests contain high stocks of organic matter. Significant carbon transformations occur in litter and soil of these ecosystems, making them important for the global carbon cycle. Due to seasonal allocation of photosynthates to roots, carbon availability changes seasonally in the topsoil. The aim of this paper was to describe the seasonal differences in C source utilization and the involvement of various members of soil microbiome in this process.ResultsHere, we show that microorganisms in topsoil encode a diverse set of carbohydrate-active enzymes, including glycoside hydrolases and auxiliary enzymes. While the transcription of genes encoding enzymes degrading reserve compounds, such as starch or trehalose, was high in soil in winter, summer was characterized by high transcription of ligninolytic and cellulolytic enzymes produced mainly by fungi. Fungi strongly dominated the transcription in litter and an equal contribution of bacteria and fungi was found in soil. The turnover of fungal biomass appeared to be faster in summer than in winter, due to high activity of enzymes targeting its degradation, indicating fast growth in both litter and soil. In each enzyme family, hundreds to thousands of genes were typically transcribed simultaneously.ConclusionsSeasonal differences in the transcription of glycoside hydrolases and auxiliary enzyme genes are more pronounced in soil than in litter. Our results suggest that mainly fungi are involved in decomposition of recalcitrant biopolymers in summer, while bacteria replace them in this role in winter. Transcripts of genes encoding enzymes targeting plant biomass biopolymers, reserve compounds and fungal cell walls were especially abundant in the coniferous forest topsoil.

Melanopsin-Mediated Acute Light Responses Measured in Winter and in Summer: Seasonal Variations in Adults with and without Cataracts.

Seasonal adaptation is a ubiquitous behavior seen in many species on both global hemispheres and is conveyed by changing photoperiods. In humans this seasonal adaptation is less apparent, in part because changes in daylength are masked by the use of electrical lighting at night. On the other hand, cataracts which reduce light transmission, may compound seasonal changes related to the reduced daylength of winter. To better understand the effects of different photoperiod lengths in healthy adults without and with cataracts, we tested their melanopsin-mediated light responses in summer vs. winter. Fifty-two participants (mean age 67.4 years; 30 with bilateral cataracts and 22 age-matched controls with clear lenses; pseudophakes) were tested twice, once in summer and once in winter. At each test session we assessed the electroretinogram and pupil responses during daytime and we determined melatonin suppression, subjective sleepiness and mood in response to light exposure in the evening. Circadian rest-activity cycles and sleep from activity recordings were also analyzed for both seasons. Both groups had similar visual function. There were no seasonal differences in the electroretinogram. For the pupil responses to bright blue light, the post-illumination pupil response (PIPR) was greater in winter than summer in pseudophakes, but not in cataract participants, whereas melatonin suppression to acute light exposure showed no differences between both groups and seasons. Overall, intra-daily variability of rest-activity was worse in winter but participants felt sleepier and reported worse mood at the laboratory in evening time in the summer. Those with cataracts had poorer sleep quality with lower sleep efficiency, and higher activity during sleep in winter than summer. In this study, the PIPR showed a seasonal variation in which a larger response was found during winter. This variation was only detected in participants with a clear intraocular lens. In the cataract group, visual function was not impaired yet these participants showed a lack of seasonal changes in the pupil response to blue light and poorer sleep in winter. These findings raise the question for tailored lighting conditions for cataract patients in order to counter potentially deleterious effects of living with chronically lower light exposure.

C-46 冬季の寝室温熱環境と睡眠に関する研究

C-46 冬季の寝室温熱環境と睡眠に関する研究

A review of the physiology of a survival expert of big freeze, deep snow, and an empty stomach: the boreal raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides).

The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is an invasive canid originating from eastern Asia. Here, we review its physiological adaptations to wintering, with an emphasis on northern Europe, where the raccoon dog spends the coldest part of the year in winter sleep. The timing of physiological changes related to wintering is connected to photoperiod by melatonin. In preparation to winter, raccoon dogs display autumnal hyperphagia and fattening probably regulated by the interaction of several peptide hormones. Sufficient fat deposition is essential for survival through the cold season and for reproduction in spring. The wintering strategy includes alternating periods of physical activity and passivity. Effective arousal and foraging during warmer bouts are enabled by normoglycaemia. During active periods, raccoon dogs are opportunistic participants in the food web, and they mainly utilize ungulate carcasses, plant material, and small mammals. Preferred wintertime habitats include watersides, forests, wetlands, and gardens. However, many food items become limited in mid-winter and snow restricts foraging leading to a negative energy balance. During passivity, energy is preserved by denning and by modest metabolic suppression, probably enabled by decreased thyroid hormone levels. Sleepiness and satiety could be maintained by high growth hormone and leptin concentrations. Several hormones participate in the extension of phase II of fasting with selective fatty acid mobilization and efficient protein conservation. The blood count, organ function tests, bone mass, and bone biomechanical properties exhibit high resistance against catabolism, and breeding can be successful after significant weight loss. The flexible physiological response to wintering is probably one reason enabling the successful colonization of this species into new areas.

Assessment of amino acids during winter rest and ontogenetic development in sweet cherry buds (Prunus avium L.)

This study examined changes in sweet cherry buds of ‘Summit’ cultivar in four seasons (2011/12–2014/15) with respect to the nitrogen (N) content and the profile of eight free amino acids (asparagine (Asn), aspartic acid (Asp), isoleucine (Ile), glutamine (Gln), glutamic acid (Glu), arginine (Arg), alanine (Ala), histidine (His)). The presented results are to our knowledge the first under natural conditions in fruit tree orchards with a high temporal resolution from the dormant stage until cluster development. The N content in the buds from October, during endo- and ecodormancy until the beginning of ontogenetic development was a relatively stable parameter in each of the four seasons. The N accumulation into the buds began after ‘swollen bud’ and significant differences were visible at ‘green tip’ with an N content of 3.24, 3.12, 3.08, 2.40 which increased markedly to the mean of ‘tight’ and ‘open cluster’ by 3.77%, 3.78%, 3.44% and 3.10% in 2012–2015, respectively. In the buds, levels of asparagine were higher (up to 44mgg−1DW−1) than aspartic acid (up to 2mgg−1DW−1) and aspartic acid higher than isoleucine (up to 0.83mgg−1DW−1). Levels of glutamine were higher (up to 25mgg−1DW−1) than glutamic acid (up to 20mgg−1DW−1). The course of the arginine content was higher in 2011/12 compared to 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 which showed only slight differences. The alanine content in the buds was denoted in the four seasons only by relatively minor changes. The histidine content was higher in 2011/12 and 2012/13 compared to 2013/14 and 2014/15 which showed a comparable pattern. For 6 amino acids (Asn, Asp, Ile, Glu, Arg, Ala), the highest content was observed in 2012/13, the warmest period between swollen bud and open cluster. However in 2014/15, the season with the lowest mean temperature of 8.8°C, only the content of Gln was the lowest. It was not possible to explain any seasonal differences in the amino acid content by environmental factors (air temperature) on the basis of few seasons. From none of the measured free amino acids could a clear determination of the date of endodormancy release (t1) or the beginning of the ontogenetic development (t1*) be derived. Therefore, these amino acids are no suitable markers to improve phenological models for the beginning of cherry blossom.

Money, Religion, and Symbolic Exchange in Winter Sleep

Winter Sleep is the latest film from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a Turkish director and screenwriter who has received international acclaim. For the purpose of social and cultural analysis, this article critically focuses on the film’s key themes and maneuvers that have diagnostic value from a social theoretical viewpoint. These themes are religion, the relationship between religion and capitalism, and symbolic exchange. Organized around these topics, the article examines the religion-capitalism-symbolic exchange nexus by analyzing the motifs of formation, intervention, and intelligibility as these themes arise. This site of intersection is the conceptual pivot around which the article configures itself. It explores Winter Sleep based on what the film shows and says on screen, how its thought processes emerge, and at what points this thought supports or conflicts with dominant societal opinions.

Thermal experience improvement and thermal requirement difference in bed warming conditions

The human body is exposed to nonuniform thermal environment due to asymmetric bedding coverage of head and covered body. The purpose of the study is to investigate the thermal requirement difference of local body parts during sleep. Experiments were performed both in bed warming and non-bed warming conditions. Twelve healthy postgraduates were recruited as subjects. The thermal states on different local body parts of subjects were obtained via objective measurement and subjective questionnaires. The results showed that thermal comfort during sleep in winter was not in accordance with the thermal neutral state. In order to achieve overall thermal comfort condition, discrepant thermal sensation should be kept be-tween the head and covered body, besides, the disparity in skin temperature was 1.5°C and in TSV was 0.5 between posterior and lateral body part. The study has implications in the energy saving design of the coupled sleeping thermal environment in winter.

Obrzędy, zwyczaje i śpiewy wielkanocne w życiu i pobożności ludowej mieszkańców Podkarpacia

The aim of the article is to present Easter rituals, customs and singing in life and piety of the people of the Podkarpacie region. The essence of Easter being experienced in spring are two inseparable elements: the revival of human life through the sacrifice of Christ and the rebirth of nature after the winter sleep. Their culture-creative meaning has a practical dimension in the rich Easter rituals and associated singing. The Resurrection Mass through performing various Easter songs is a manifestation of faith in salvation of our souls. It also provides opportunity for cheers through fireworks, drum plays, orchestra plays, and loud bells, which signify the triumph of Christ over Satan. Easter songs accompany the Easter custom of visiting homes with spring Gaik and greetings. The Śmigus-Dyngus secular custom shows a reference to sacrum because by the symbols of water that helps in rebirth of life in spring, it refers to the Sacrament of Baptism. The custom’s text layer is based on the passion bible content and the music layer uses the themes of Easter songs. Other Easter customs in the Podkarpacie region (Krzyżaki, Meus) and religious activities during Dni Krzyżowe are also accompanied by Easter songs, their contrafacta, songs about the cross and songs for the ordinary time.

DEPENDENCE OF VITAMIN CONTENT IN THE GEUM URBANUM AND GEUM RIVALE (GEUM, ROSACEAE) ORGANS ON THE RHYTHM OF SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT

The aim of the research is to determine the optimal terms of the accumulation of vitamins by the organs of Geum depending on the rhythms of their seasonal development. Methods. The method for determining the vitamin C is based on the ability of ascorbic acid to change the color to blue in the acidic medium - 2,6 - dichlorophenolindophenol - to the leucoform, while ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid. Determination of vitamins A and E was carried out by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Results. It was found that the highest indices of vitamin A and E in the leaves of G. urbanum and G. rivale are observed in July. In the rhizomes of avens, the maximum concentration of vitamins A and E is observed in March during their intensive growth, vitamin C in January. Decrease in the supply of rhizomes of plants with vitamins A and E continues in the autumn period, while for the vitamin C it is observed in the early spring. In the inflorescences, at the beginning of flowering, G. rivale L. and G. urbanum L. are characterized by the greatest content of vitamin A; by the end of flowering, vitamins E and C are accumulated more intensively. Conclusion. The leaves of wintering plants of G. urbanum L. and G. rivale L. continue to contain vitamins A, E, C despite low temperatures under snow cover and are not subject to significant destruction. During the winter rest period, the content of vitamin C in the roots reaches a maximum.

New Insights on the Composition and the Structure of the Acellular Extrinsic Fiber Cementum by Raman Analysis.

Acellular extrinsic fiber cementum is a mineralized tissue that covers the cervical half of the tooth root surface. It contains mainly extrinsic or Sharpey’s fibers that run perpendicular to the root surface to anchor the tooth via the periodontal ligament. Acellular cementum is continuously and slowly produced throughout life and exhibits an alternating bright and dark pattern under light microscopy. However, although a better understanding of the structural background of acellular cementum is relevant to many fields, such as cementochronology, periodontology and tissue engineering, acellular cementum remains rarely studied and poorly understood. In this work, we studied the acellular cementum at the incremental line scale of five human mandibular canines using polarized Raman spectroscopy. We provided Raman imaging analysis and polarized acquisitions as a function of the angular orientation of the sample. The results showed that mineral crystals were always parallel to collagen fibrils, and at a larger scale, we proposed an organizational model in which we found radial collagen fibers, “orthogonal” to the cementum surface, and “non-orthogonal” fibers, which consist of branching and bending radial fibers. Concerning the alternating pattern, we observed that the dark lines corresponded to smaller, more mineralized and probably more organized bands, which is consistent with the zoological assumption that incremental lines are produced during a winter rest period of acellular cementum growth.

Winter sleep with room service: denning behaviour of brown bears with access to anthropogenic food

AbstractLarge quantities of food subsidies provided by humans to animal communities have the potential to change a variety of animal life traits, including denning behaviour of facultative hibernators like bears. Brown bears Ursus arctos regularly use anthropogenic food, but it has remained unclear if human food subsidies affect their hibernation and denning behaviour, despite the consequences this could have for bear interactions with humans and other species. We studied denning behaviour of European brown bears in Slovenia, where intensive supplemental feeding with corn is practiced throughout the year, including winter. We used GPS telemetry data to locate den sites and to monitor bear denning chronology. We conducted a meta‐analysis to compare our results with other bear populations across Europe, Asia and North America. A consistent relationship between latitude and time spent denning was observed for male and female brown bears across the species’ range (for each degree of latitude northwards, denning period increased for 3.1 days), and males on average denned 10.3 days longer than females throughout the latitudinal gradient. However, our study area deviated strongly from regions where supplemental feeding was not practiced. In Slovenia, denning period averaged 82 days for females and 57 days for males, which was 45 and 56% shorter compared to the time predicted for this latitude, respectively. We also observed regular den abandonments (61% of bears abandoned dens, on average 1.9 times per winter). During the winter period bears increased use of supplemental feeding sites for 61% compared to the non‐denning period. We conclude that the availability of anthropogenic food is an important driver of denning behaviour in brown bears. Reduction in the denning period increases the potential for bear interactions with other species, including humans, and we highlight possible management and ecological implications of this human‐caused perturbation to denning behaviour of wild ursids.

Lipids of the liver microsomal fraction in the ground squirrel Spermophilus undulatus during hibernation

Winter sleep of the ground squirrel Spermophilus undulatus was accompanied by a 20% decrease in phospholipid content (µg phospholipid per 1 mg protein) in microsomal fractions of the liver as compared with summer-active squirrels. The phosphatidylcholine level (mol %) in hibernating squirrels was lower than in summer-active squirrels, and the content of sphingomyelin (mol %) during the torpor bout was higher than in winter- and summer-active squirrels. The cholesterol, fatty acid, monoglyceride, and diglyceride levels in the microsomal fraction of the liver were elevated during hibernation. Pronounced seasonal changes in the lipid/protein ratio implicate the lipids of the liver microsomal fraction in adaptation of the ground squirrel to hibernation.