Development of DEX-HOP multi-attribute decision model for preliminary hop hybrids assessment

Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) essentially contribute to the quality of the taste of beer and its flavor. Experimental hop breeding data from the Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing were used to create a model of an expert system based on the multi-attribute decision modeling methodology DEX. The DEX-HOP 1.0 model assessed and ranked individual hop hybrids’ and hop varieties’ breeding potential to be assessed and ranked. The model has 18 attributes, hierarchically grouped within four main attributes: Biology, Chemistry, Morphology and Brewing value. Furthermore, utility functions in the model were defined by sets of elementary decision rules throughout the entire hierarchy for all aggregated attributes. The central part of the model contains 144 decision rules, which were specified according to the model users’ previous breeding experiences. Four Slovenian hop hybrids, A1/54, A2/104, A3/112 and A4/122, and a reference hop variety Hallertauer Magnum with the target characteristics of plant resistance and brewing value were used for the model assessment. Based on the breeding experiences and model results, overall and individual attributes’ assessments were carried out. A3/112 and A4/122 reached the overall level of the reference variety and were thus assessed as appropriate for further breeding. In contrast, the attributes of A1/54 and A2/104 did not meet expectations in relation to the reference variety. Decisions based on the DEX-HOP 1.0 model assessment offered an additional tool for experts’ final decisions in selecting appropriate materials for further breeding or the commercial use of hop plants. Test results validate the application of the model for further research.     

Agro-energetic and economic efficiency of technologies for the creation and use of semishrub-grass pasture agrophytocenoses in the Caspian semi-desert

The article presents the results of 8 years of research for establishing the economic and agro-energetic efficiency of technologies for the creation and use by sheep of various types of seeded pastures (Kochia–Artemisia, Camphorosma–Artemisia, and Eurotia–Artemisia) in the semi-desert zone of Kalmykia. The technology of creation of Kochia–Artemisia pasture, which differed with high conditionally net income (8785 rub./ha) and the lowest cost of feed (1 rub. 85 kop. per 1 feed un.), showed the highest economic efficiency.     

Ngnochannel array glass

The fabrication and characterization of a glass containing a regular parallel array of submicrometer channels or capillaries are described. The capillaries are arranged in a two-dimensional hexagonal close packing configuration with channel diameters as small as 33 nanometers and packing densities as high as 3 x 10(10) channels per square centimeter. The high-temperature stability of the nanochannel glass array is well suited as a host or template for the formation of quantum confined semiconductor structures or as a mask for massively parallel patterned lithographic applications.     

Integration between the epibranchial placodes and the hindbrain

Developmental integration results from coordination among components of different embryonic fields to realize the later anatomical and functional relationships. We demonstrate that in the chick head, integration between the epibranchial placodes and the hindbrain is achieved as the neuroglial hindbrain crest cells guide the epibranchial neuronal cells inward to establish their central connections. This work defines a role for the neuroglial hindbrain crest in organizing the afferent innervation of the hindbrain.     

beta -Helical polymers from isocyanopeptides

Polymerization of isocyanopeptides results in the formation of high molecular mass polymers that fold in a proteinlike fashion to give helical strands in which the peptide chains are arranged in beta-sheets. The beta-helical polymers retain their structure in water and unfold in a cooperative process at elevated temperatures. The peptide architecture in these polymers is a different form of the beta-helix motif found in proteins. Unlike their natural counterparts, which contain arrays of large beta-sheets stacked in a helical fashion, the isocyanopeptide polymers have a central helical core that acts as a director for the beta-sheet-like arrangement of the peptide side arms. The helical structure of these isocyanopeptide polymers has the potential to be controlled through tailoring of the side branches and the hydrogen-bonding network present in the beta-sheets.     

Efficacy of using roncoleukin in combined therapy of experimental trichinellosis in mice

It is established on a model of experimental trichinellosis in mice that roncoleukin (rIL2) in a dose of 10000 IU/kg causes an increase in nonspecific resistance of the organism to invasion. A tendency of potentiation of the anthelmintic action of albendazole and reliable increase of the level of specific antibodies in blood serum is revealed when roncoleukin is prescribed together with specific drug.     

Animal versus wind dispersal and the robustness of tree species to deforestation

Studies suggest that populations of different species do not decline equally after habitat loss. However, empirical tests have been confined to fine spatiotemporal scales and have rarely included plants. Using data from 89,365 forest survey plots covering peninsular Spain, we explored, for each of 34 common tree species, the relationship between probability of occurrence and the local cover of remaining forest. Twenty-four species showed a significant negative response to forest loss, so that decreased forest cover had a negative effect on tree diversity, but the responses of individual species were highly variable. Animal-dispersed species were less vulnerable to forest loss, with six showing positive responses to decreased forest cover. The results imply that plant-animal interactions help prevent the collapse of forest communities that suffer habitat destruction.