The Crassulaceae family mainly comprises herbaceous leaf succulents, some of which are used as ornamentals. The development of the embryo suspensor in Sedum reflexum L. was investigated using cytochemical methods, light and electron microscopy. The full development and functioning of the suspensor occurs during the late globular and heart-stage embryos. The suspensor consists of a large basal cell and a single row of 6-10 chalazal cells. The basal cell produces a branched haustorium which invades ovular tissues. The walls of the haustorium and the micropylar part of the basal cell form the wall ingrowths that are typical for transfer cells. The dense cytoplasm filling the basal cell is rich in profiles of endoplasmic reticulum, active dictyosomes, mitochondria, plastids, microtubules, bundles of microfilaments, microbodies and lipid droplets. The present work reveals that the suspensor structure in S. reflexum markedly differs from that found in other representatives of Crassulaceae. Ultrastructural analysis and cytochemical tests (including proteins, insoluble polysaccharides and lipids) indicate that in S. reflexum the embryo suspensor is involved mainly in absorption and transport of metabolites from the ovular tissues to the developing embryo proper via the chalazal suspensor cells.

We examined the development of the endosperm chalazal haustorium of Rhinanthus serotinus, using histochemical assays and light and electron microscopy. The chalazal haustorium is a huge single cell containing two enlarged nuclei. The nuclei are located in the middle of the haustorium cell. At the chalazal end of the haustorium cell structure, ultrastructural study revealed the presence of a transfer wall forming wall ingrowths. At all examined stages of haustorium cell development we identified insoluble polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and lipid droplets. Macromolecules were especially abundant in the fully differentiated haustorium cell. Our results suggest that the endosperm chalazal haustorium is a site of intense metabolic activity

Zinc (II) removal using low-cost sorbents requires a proper process parametric study to determine

its optimal performance characteristics. In this respect, the present study proposes a new modeling and simulation procedure for heavy metal removal system and is carried out to optimize input variables such as initial pH,

adsorbent dosage, and contact time for biosorption of Zinc (II) by using bentonite. The proposed experimental

system is cost-effective and requires less calculation for determining optimal values, i.e., input variables and

their related removal capacity, Rem%. To optimize the adsorption process, cubic spline curve fitting and numerical differentiation techniques are used for required calculations. According to the proposed calculations, the

removal capacity is calculated as 98.66%, while the optimal values are calculated as initial pH – 6.76, adsorbent

dosage – 1.14 g L-1, contact time – 13 minutes. To evaluate the results, full factor experimental design and 3 way

ANOVA test are used for comparison.

The aim of this study was to assess the biological effect of the product Jodis Concentrate (JC) on the rabbit ovaries by evaluating the folliculogenesis and expression of oocyte-specific growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9).

The experiment was conducted with 30 female two month old New Zealand rabbits that were the F1 offspring born to mothers differently treated with Jodis concentrate. The control group (n=10), consisted of F1 offspring born to mothers without iodine treatment, and was not supple- mented with JC. The first experimental group (n=10), consisted of F1 offspring born to mothers treated with JC during pregnancy and the suckling period, and was supplemented with JC daily at a dose of 2 ml/L drinking. The second experimental group (n=10), consisted of F1 offspring born to mothers without iodine treatment, and was also supplemented daily with the same dose of JC - 2 ml/L drinking. All groups were fed with total mixed ration for growing rabbits. The trial lasted 48 days. The ovaries were weighed and prepared for histological examination. The GDF9 protein expression in the ovary was determined by immunohistochemical analysis. The addition of JC to the drinking water of female rabbits led to more active development of the ovarian follicles from primordial to tertiary stage in both experimental groups. More intensive GDF9 protein expression in the oocytes and cumulus cells of rabbits, supplemented with JC was observed.

Currently, the Republic of Kazakhstan is developing a new standard for symmetric data encryption. One of the candidates for the role of the standard is the Qamal encryption algorithm developed by the Institute of Information and Computer Technologies (Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan). The article describes the algorithm. Differential properties of the main operations that make up the Qamal cypher are considered in the questions of stability. We have shown that for a version with a 128-bit data block and the same secret key size for three rounds of encryption it is difficult to find the right pairs of texts with a probability of 2–120, which makes differential cryptanalysis not applicable to the Qamal cypher.

Pedunculate and sessile oaks (Quercus robur L.; Q. petraea [Matt] Liebl.) often coexist in mixed forest stands.

However, species-specific investigations and forest management actions in such populations require reliable

methods of identification of the species status of individuals. We investigated genetic diversity and species differentiation

of adult and naturally established seedling cohorts in a mixed forest stand composed of Q. robur and

Q. petraea, located in the Jamy Nature Reserve in north-central Poland. Using nineteen nuclear microsatellite

loci and a model-based clustering approach as a tool for species delineation, we efficiently identified 105 and

60 adults, as well as 191 and 456 seedlings of pedunculate and sessile oaks, respectively. While the adult trees

of both species were randomly distributed throughout the sample plot, the seedlings demonstrated significant

spatial clustering, which was particularly evident for Q. petraea. The two oak species exhibited similar levels of

genetic diversity in adult and offspring cohorts. Inbreeding was found to be low and significant only at the stage of

seedlings. The estimates of effective population size were higher for Q. robur than Q. petraea, despite the overall

greater reproductive success of the later one. There was a significant level of differentiation between the studied

oak species, as measured by Fst coefficient (0.084 – adults; 0.099 – seedlings). The results on genetic diversity and

species differentiation obtained in the studied indigenous near-natural stand of Q. robur and Q. petraea could be

considered as a reference for other population genetic studies of oaks.

This paper addresses the nonlinear Cucker–Smale optimal control problem under the interplay of memory effect. The aforementioned effect is included by employing the Caputo fractional derivative in the equation representing the velocity of agents. Sufficient conditions for the existence of solutions to the considered problem are proved and the analysis of some particular problems is illustrated by two numerical examples.

The paper presents results of numerical calculations and experimental data on the directional pattern of two 38-element parametric arrays composed of ultrasound sources. Two types of antenna arrays are considered, namely with parallel and coaxial connections of ultrasonic transducers (elements). The results of selecting and functional testing of unit elements are described in this paper. It is found that in the coaxial element connection of the antenna array, the level of side lobes is higher than that in the parallel element connection.

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious and economically important disease in the poultry industry caused by avian avulavirus-1, historically known as Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Control of ND primarily relies on prophylactic vaccination of flocks, and many vaccines are available on the market, both conventional and more recently introduced new generation recombinant types. To assess the protection level achieved by vaccination ELISA tests are typically used, they also are to track an infection with field strains in non-vaccinated flocks. Special modifications of ELISA can be used as a screening tool to detect infection in flocks vaccinated with new generation vaccines. In this study, we have developed an ELISA test for the detection of antibodies against the nucleoprotein (NP) of NDV and for differentiation of chickens vaccinated with commercial and prototype in-house recombinant vector vaccines from those infected with field NDV strains. The NP gene of LaSota NDV strain expressed in a baculovirus vector was used as a coating antigen in the ELISA. The developed test was optimized, validated and compared to other serological tests. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of recombinant NP protein-based ELISA were respectively 96.1%, 96.3%, and 96.2%. Inter-rater (kappa) agreement between the NP-ELISA and the gold standard HI test was calculated to be 0.995. In our comparisons, commercially available ELISA tests revealed different specificities ranging from 95.5–100% and sensitivities at variance, ranging from 90.1 to 99.0%. A high level of maternally derived antibodies was measured in the serum of 1-day-old broilers in the NP-ELISA assay. These antibodies had disappeared and were undetected at 3, 5 and 6 weeks post-vaccination but birds became positive again at 2 weeks after control infection with a velogenic NDV strain. In SPF chickens, antibodies against NP protein were detected only after a challenge. The recombinant NP protein-based ELISA test is sensitive, specific and accurate when compared to the gold standard HI test and commercially available kits. Moreover, the method could be also used for the differentiation between vaccinated and infected birds.

Some consider the multiculturality of Wrocław to be its obvious and socially legitimised “property”, whereas others view it as controversial and refutable construct. In the paper, we would like to investigate the multiculturality of the Lower Silesia’s capital taking into account its internal differentiation, which is mostly due to the adjudicating authorities – city authorities, its citizens and researchers — as well as observable dynamics. Hence, we propose to inspect the following: firstly, the real differentiation of the social structure of Wrocław’s inhabitants and its transformations related mostly to the influx of Ukrainians, who change the ethnic cityscape; secondly, the politics of municipal authorities regarding the promotion and strengthening of the city’s image as the multicultural, open and tolerant “meeting place”, as well as initiatives inscribed therein and other observable, contradictory events; thirdly, the evaluation of Wrocław’s multiculturality and its selected aspects performed by the city’s inhabitants and revealed in the research on this phenomenon in 2011 and in two editions of Social Diagnosis of Wrocław (2014 and 2017).

Pseudorabies (PR) outbreaks have devastated many swine farms in several parts of China since late 2011. The outbreak-associated pseudorabies virus (PRV) variant strains exhibited some typical amino acid changes in glycoprotein E (gE), a diagnostic antigen used for discriminating between PRV-infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA). To counteract the potential impact of epitope variations on current serological diagnostics of PRV, we produced monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against gE protein of one representative PRV variant strain and developed a blocking immunoperoxidase monolayer assay (b-IPMA) for DIVA. The b-IPMA was based on the inhibition of binding between PRV-infected cells and mAb by PRV-specific antibodies present in clinical swine sera and was validated by comparison with a commercial PRV gpI Antibody Test Kit (IDEXX Laboratories, USA). The diagnostic sensitivity, diagnostic specificity and agreement were determined to be 99.25%, 98.18% and 99.02% respectively upon testing 509 serum samples. b-IPMA detected only PRV-specific antibodies and showed no cross- -reactivity with antibodies elicited by gE-deleted vaccine or other common swine pathogens. Thus, b-IPMA has the potential to be used for high-throughput screening of PRV-infected animals in veterinary clinics.