Molecular phylogenies of the plague microbe : an environmental assessment.

Two approaches are applied to studies of the phylogeny of the plague microbe , i.e., the reconstruction of its history: Molecular genetic (MG) and ecological (ECO).

Parallelism in Speciation and Intraspecific Diversification of the Plague Microbe .

Modern "molecular genetic (MG) phylogenies" of the plague microbe , built on models of neutral evolution using statistical methods of phylogenetic analysis, contradict numerous obvious environmental (ECO) patterns and are not consistent with the concept of adaptatiogenesis. The reason for the discrepancy between MG and ECO phylogenies is seen in the underestimation by the MG approach of parallelisms in the processes of speciation and intraspecific diversification of the plague microbe. ECO methods showed the parallel tritope (almost) simultaneous speciation of three primary genovariants (populations, subspecies) 2.

Climate Changes in Central Asia as a Prerequisite and Trigger of Plague Microbe () Speciation.

Two physical and climatic factors that were distant and recent prerequisites and a transformation trigger for a clone of the ancestral pseudotuberculous microbe O:1b (the causative agent of the Far East scarlet-like fever (FESLF)) into a population of the plague microbe derivative are considered. One remote prerequisite was the aridification of the Central Asian landscapes in the second half of the Cenozoic period and the formation of the Gobi Arid Zone. The arid conditions of Central Asia determined the formation of adaptive species-specific protective behavior in the Tarbagan marmot () when installing the plug of a wintering hole, which later contributed to the massive infection of the animals with FESLF by the aberrant (traumatic, not alimentary) method during hibernation.

Can Implementation of Genetics and Pharmacogenomics Improve Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain?

Etiology of back pain is multifactorial and not completely understood, and for the majority of people who suffer from chronic low back pain (cLBP), the precise cause cannot be determined. We know that back pain is somewhat heritable, chronic pain more so than acute. The aim of this review is to compile the genes identified by numerous genetic association studies of chronic pain conditions, focusing on cLBP specifically.

[Sympatric Speciation of the Plague Microbe Yersinia pestis: Monohostal Specialization in the Host-Parasite Marmot-Flea (Marmota sibirica-Oropsylla silantiewi) System].

An ecological scenario of the origin of the plague microbe that is interpreted in the light of modern Darwinism (synthetic theory of evolution) is presented. It is shown that the plague microbe emerged from a clone of the psychrophilic saprozoonotic pseudotuberculosis microbe Yersinia pseudotuberculosis O:1b in the mountain steppe landscapes of Central Asia in the Sartan time, 22000-15000 years ago, in the monohostal Mongolian marmot (Marmota sibirica)-flea (Oropsylla silantiewi) host-parasite system. It was noted that the evolutionary process described corresponds to the sympatric form of speciation by transition ofthe clone of migrant founders to a new, already-existing ecological niche.

[On the origin of Yersinia pestis, a causative agent of the plague: A concept of population-genetic macroevolution in transitive environment].

An ecological scenario is proposed for the origin of causative agent of the plague (the bacterium Yersenia pestis) from the clone of pseudotuberculous microbe of the first serotype Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1b. Disclosed are the conditions of gradual intrusion of psychrophile saprozoonosis ancestor into the blood of the primary host, Mongolian tarbagan marmot Marmota sibirica.

[Origin of the plague microbe Yersinia pestis: structure of the process of speciation].

The origin and evolution of the plague microbe Yersinia pestis are considered in the context of propositions of modern Darwinism. It was shown that the plague pathogen diverged from the pseudotuberculous microbe Yersinia pseudotuberculosis O:1b in the mountain steppe landscapes of Central Asia in the Sartan: 22000-15000 years ago. Speciation occurred in the tarbagan (Marmota sibirica)--flea (Oropsylla silantiewi) parasitic system.

[Principles of speciation of the plague causative agent Yersinia pestis: gradualism or saltation?].

The saltation origin of the causative agent of the plague Yersinia pestis from the pseudotuberculosis microbe Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1b has been proclaimed in recent investigations on molecular genetics. The speciation process in this case is proposed to be connected with horizontal inclusion of exogenous genetic structures (such as specific plasmids pFra and pPst) into the genome of the ancestral form.

[Macro- and microevolution as related to the problem of origin and global expansion of the plague pathogen Yersinia pestis].

The ratio of macro- and microevolutionary processes is considered with reference to the ecological scenario of the origin of the plague pathogen and its subsequent natural and anthropogenic global expansion. The macroevolutionary transformation of the ancestral pseudotuberculosis microbe clone into the initial plague microbe Yersinia pestis tarbagani occurred in Central Asia at the end of the Late Pleistocene by a "vertical" Darwinian way in an inadaptive heterothermal continual intermediate environment--the Mongolian marmot Marmota sibirica-flea Oropsylla silantiewi system--via a sequence of unstable and currently extinct intermediate forms. Its natural geographic expansion on the "oil spot" principle in the postglacial time led to the microevolutionary formation of 20-30 hostal subspecies circulating in populations of the background species of burrowing rodents and pikas in arid areas of Eurasia.

[Peculiarities of saliva chemiluminescence and microelement hair content in children with various dental caries activity].

Integrated stomatological examination of 1002 children of Khabarovsk Territory was conducted. Besides carious process and oral hygiene indices the intensity of free radical oxidation in saliva (by chemiluminescence method) and basic microelement hair content (by spectral analysis method) in urban and rural children with compensated and decompensated forms of dental caries. High and equal prevalence and incidence of dental caries in urban and rural children was found.

Fleas (siphonaptera) collected from small mammals in Southern Viet Nam in 1997-1998.

We report on fleas collected from small mammals in two forests, a lowland semideciduous dipterocarp forest and a highland evergreen forest, in southern Viet Nam. In the lowland forest, only one species of flea (Xenopsylla vexabilis Jordan) infested a single species of rodent [Berylmys berdmorei (Blyth)]. In the highland forest, seven species of fleas were collected from eight species of small mammals.

[Ecological aspects of evolution of the plague microbe Yersinia pestis and genesis of natural reservoirs].

A new hypothesis of the origin of the plague microbe in the Mongolian bobak (Marmota sibirica Radde, 1862) populations in Central Asia during the Pleistocene is based on the ideas of its relative phylogenetic recency. The Late Pleistocene cooling, which induced a deep freezing of the grounds in southern Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria, is considered as an inducer of speciation. The main ecological factors of the plague microbe evolution include the species specific behavior of the Mongolian bobak during preparation to hibernation related to its occurrence in arid petrophytic landscapes and the larval parasitism of the flea Oropsylla silantiewi Wagn.

[The physicochemical aspects of ion transport across dental enamel].

Passive transport of K+, Na+ Ca2+, Cl-, and F- ions through dental enamel was studied with due consideration for its porous structure. Pore size was studied by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The size of pores allows penetration of large molecules and ions through the enamel.

[Selective synchronous inhalation and device for its conduction].

80 patients with exacerbation of chronic catarrhal and hypertrophic laryngitis were divided into groups who received selective synchroneous inhalation (SSI) only (n = 29), SSI plus common drug therapy (n = 29), SSI plus low-frequency magnetic field (n = 22). Control patients (n = 24) were given standard chemotherapy and inhalation. A statistically significant difference in duration of treatment was found between the control and study groups.

[A method for preventing and treating maxillodental anomalies related to disordered nose breathing].

Eleven children aged 5-9 years with maxillodental abnormalities were treated using positioners. Negative effects of positioners and activators (increase of dental caries, hygienic index, and acid resistance of the enamel) are analyzed.

Plague foci in Viet Nam: zoological and parasitological aspects.

Reported are the results of studies over the period 1989-94 on host-flea complexes in small mammals and their flea ectoparasites in and around a number of human settlements in Viet Nam in which human cases of plague had been found. Collections were also made in savanna and tropical forest areas within a 10-km radius of the settlements. The greatest numbers of small mammals, for the most part Rattus spp.

[The results of epidemiological studies of dental caries in children of the Siberian region].

Thorough epidemiologic studies are the basis for the development of effective methods and means of primary prevention of dental caries in children. With this aim in view, we examined 21,035 children living in various rural and urban regions of west Siberia. The duration of their stay in the Extreme North was taken account of, as well as levels of fluoride, selenium, and other odontotropic substances in drinking water and other biogeographical factors over the recent one or two decades.

[The structural characteristics of the masticatory apparatus and dental prophylaxis].

Maxillofacial anthropometric parameters (Pont's index, Tons' index, length of the anterior section of upper dental arch, ratio of upper dental arch to sizes of 12 teeth, ratio of apical basis width to sizes of 12 teeth, mandibular angle size, facial width index) were examined in 59 residents at the town of Omsk born there aged 20 to 25 with normal orthognathic occlusion and low intensity of carious involvement. The data helped define specific features of dental caries prevention measures in this population.

[Notes on fleas (Siphonaptera) in plague foci on the Tay Nguyen plateau (Vietnam)].

The fleas of wild and commensal small mammals, domestic animals (dogs, cats) and free-living flea forms in houses have been collected in plague nidi of Tay Nguyen plate, Dak-Lak province, Vietnam. Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis felis, Ct. felis orientis were found in the houses on dogs, cats and on the ground floor.