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Schizophrenia is a prototypical network disorder with widespread brain-morphological alterations, yet it remains unclear whether these distributed alterations robustly reflect the underlying network layout. We tested whether large-scale structural alterations in schizophrenia relate to normative structural and functional connectome architecture, and systematically evaluated robustness and generalizability of these network-level alterations. Leveraging anatomical MRI scans from 2439 adults with schizophrenia and 2867 healthy controls from 26 ENIGMA sites and normative data from the Human Connectome Project (n = 207), we evaluated structural alterations of schizophrenia against two network susceptibility models: (i) hub vulnerability, which examines associations between regional network centrality and magnitude of disease-related alterations; (ii) epicenter mapping, which identifies regions whose typical connectivity profile most closely resembles the disease-related morphological alterations. To assess generalizability and specificity, we contextualized the influence of site, disease stages, and individual clinical factors and compared network associations of schizophrenia with that found in affective disorders. Our findings show schizophrenia-related cortical thinning is spatially associated with functional and structural hubs, suggesting that highly interconnected regions are more vulnerable to morphological alterations. Predominantly temporo-paralimbic and frontal regions emerged as epicenters with connectivity profiles linked to schizophrenias alteration patterns. Findings were robust across sites, disease stages, and related to individual symptoms. Moreover, transdiagnostic comparisons revealed overlapping epicenters in schizophrenia and bipolar, but not major depressive disorder, suggestive of a pathophysiological continuity within the schizophrenia-bipolar-spectrum. In sum, cortical alterations over the course of schizophrenia robustly follow brain network architecture, emphasizing marked hub susceptibility and temporo-frontal epicenters at both the level of the group and the individual. Subtle variations of epicenters across disease stages suggest interacting pathological processes, while associations with patient-specific symptoms support additional inter-individual variability of hub vulnerability and epicenters in schizophrenia. Our work outlines potential pathways to better understand macroscale structural alterations, and inter- individual variability in schizophrenia.

Machine learning approaches using structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) can be informative for disease classification, although their ability to predict psychosis is largely unknown. We created a model with individuals at CHR who developed psychosis later (CHR-PS+) from healthy controls (HCs) that can differentiate each other. We also evaluated whether we could distinguish CHR-PS+ individuals from those who did not develop psychosis later (CHR-PS-) and those with uncertain follow-up status (CHR-UNK). T1-weighted structural brain MRI scans from 1165 individuals at CHR (CHR-PS+, n = 144; CHR-PS-, n = 793; and CHR-UNK, n = 228), and 1029 HCs, were obtained from 21 sites. We used ComBat to harmonize measures of subcortical volume, cortical thickness and surface area data and corrected for non-linear effects of age and sex using a general additive model. CHR-PS+ (n = 120) and HC (n = 799) data from 20 sites served as a training dataset, which we used to build a classifier. The remaining samples were used external validation datasets to evaluate classifier performance (test, independent confirmatory, and independent group [CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK] datasets). The accuracy of the classifier on the training and independent confirmatory datasets was 85% and 73% respectively. Regional cortical surface area measures-including those from the right superior frontal, right superior temporal, and bilateral insular cortices strongly contributed to classifying CHR-PS+ from HC. CHR-PS- and CHR-UNK individuals were more likely to be classified as HC compared to CHR-PS+ (classification rate to HC: CHR-PS+, 30%; CHR-PS-, 73%; CHR-UNK, 80%). We used multisite sMRI to train a classifier to predict psychosis onset in CHR individuals, and it showed promise predicting CHR-PS+ in an independent sample. The results suggest that when considering adolescent brain development, baseline MRI scans for CHR individuals may be helpful to identify their prognosis. Future prospective studies are required about whether the classifier could be actually helpful in the clinical settings.

Background. Preparation and publication of the nomenclatural standard is an important step in a cultivar’s documenting. Development of nomenclatural standards for cultivars of domestic breeding helps to make and maintain a national catalog of valuable crop genetic resources.Materials and methods. Biomorphological and agronomic plant characters are described for the spring oat cultivars ‘Foma’, ‘Tobolyak’ and ‘Raduzhny’ developed at the Research Institute of Agriculture for the Northern Trans-Ural Region, branch of the Tyumen Scientific Center, Tyumen Province, Russia. Nomenclatural standards for these cultivars are presented. The plant material for the nomenclatural standards was collected at the experimental plots of Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR. All plants of each cultivar were grown for the herbarium from a single seed sample. Each herbarium sheet contains an entire plant in the milk-ripeness stage, mature spikes, and grains samples.Results and conclusion. The nomenclatural standards were made in accordance with the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) and registered in the VIR Herbarium Database. The herbarium specimens are deposited with the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, Their Wild Relatives, and Weeds (WIR) at the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources. The nomenclatural standard for each cultivar is presented on one herbarium sheet, with three (‘Tobolyak’ and ‘Raduzhny’) or four (‘Foma’) duplicate sheets.

Background. According to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), a cultivar is regarded as documented when its nomenclatural standard has been formalized and published. This procedure attaches a cultivar name to a herbarium specimen, and makes it possible to refer to such specimens when the taxonomic affiliation of a cultivar is being disputed. It also helps to maintain a national catalogue of crops and protect breeders’ rights.Materials and methods. The nomenclatural standards are presented, along with morphological, biological, ecological and agronomic descriptions, for spring oat cvs. ‘Uralets’ and ‘Kross’ released by the Ural Research Institute of Agriculture, as well as those of collective authorship: ‘Blits’ (with Perm Federal Research Center) and ‘Ural 2’ (with the Siberian Research Institute of Feed). The herbarium material for nomenclatural standards was collected in the fields of Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR. All specimens of one cultivar are the plants grown from a single seed sample. Each herbarium sheet contains the entire plant in the state of milky ripeness, as well as mature spikes and grains.Results and conclusion. The nomenclatural standards for the four spring oat cultivars were formatted in line with the ICNCP recommendations and registered in the VIR Herbarium Database. The items are deposited in the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, Their Wild Relatives and Weeds (WIR), and are made part of the collections of the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources. The nomenclatural standard of each cultivar is presented on one herbarium sheet and has three duplicate sheets, except for cv. ‘Blits’ with its four duplicate standards.

Background. Biomorphological and geographic analyses conducted on long geographic gradients are relevant for identifying botanical and geographic features of segetal floras.Materials and methods. A comparative analysis was used to study biomorphological and geographic elements of segetal floras in nine regions of Russia: Vologda, Leningrad, Novgorod, Sverdlovsk and Rostov Provinces, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Crimea, the Udmurt Republic, and Altai Territory.Results. Biomorphological groups in the compared segetal floras contained approximately equal ratios of therophytes and hemicryptophytes, monocarpic and polycarpic herbaceous plants. Meanwhile, the indigenous fraction manifested a higher share of polycarpic herbs (about 60–70%), while monocarpic herbs predominated in the alien fraction (80–90%). For the most part, indigenous plants represented widespread species (Holarctic and Eurasian), mainly plurizonal ones. At the same time, the composition of geographic elements in segetal floras retained the features of their locations. Species of southern distribution prevailed in the segetal flora of Crimea, while Central and East Asian species in Altai Territory. Depending on the zonal arrangement of segetal floras, the shares of boreal, forest-steppe and steppe species changed. The ratios among geographic elements in the alien fractions of the compared segetal floras were relatively stable. The groups of Eurasian and American species were the most numerous.Conclusion. The ratio of life forms (an increased share of therophytes, and a decreased share of phanerophytes) is probably a characteristic feature of the segetal flora, associated with the living environments of plants in agricultural phytocenoses. Geographic analysis confirmed that segetal floras retained their biogeographical features.

The Siberian Arctic is warming rapidly, causing permafrost to thaw and altering the biogeochemistry of aquatic environments, with cascading effects on the coastal and shelf ecosystems of the Arctic Ocean. The Lena River, one of the largest Arctic rivers, drains a catchment dominated by permafrost. Baseline discharge biogeochemistry data are necessary to understand present and future changes in land-to-ocean fluxes. Here, we present a high-frequency 4.5-year-long dataset from a sampling program of the Lena River's biogeochemistry, spanning April 2018 to August 2022. The dataset comprises 587 sampling events and measurements of various parameters, including water temperature, electrical conductivity, stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, dissolved organic carbon concentration and 14C, colored and fluorescent dissolved organic matter, dissolved inorganic and total nutrients, and dissolved elemental and ion concentrations. Sampling consistency and continuity and data quality were ensured through simple sampling protocols, real-time communication, and collaboration with local and international partners. The data are available as a collection of datasets separated by parameter groups and periods at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913197 (Juhls et al., 2020b). To our knowledge, this dataset provides an unprecedented temporal resolution of an Arctic river's biogeochemistry. This makes it a unique baseline on which future environmental changes, including changes in river hydrology, at temporal scales from precipitation event to seasonal to interannual can be detected.

In recent years, the relationship between teachers' technology competencies and integration and student-centered learning has come to the forefront. It is a clear reality that teachers with a student-centered education paradigm tend to use technology to support student-centered curriculum and should have some competencies in this regard. In this study, it was aimed to determine the relationships between student-centered education and technology integration competencies of primary school teachers in terms of some variables. The sample of the survey model research consists of 290 teachers working in different primary schools in Kazakhstan. In the study, student-centered education and technology integration competencies of teachers were described and then these variables were compared according to gender and professional seniority variables. "Competency Scale for Student-Centered Education and Teacher Technology Integration Scale" were used to collect the data. Descriptive statistics, independent groups t-test, one-way ANOVA and Regression analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. According to the results obtained, primary school teachers' efficacy levels for student-centered education are at the middle level and their technology integration efficacy levels are below the middle level. Teachers' efficacy levels related to student-centered education showed significant differences according to gender and professional seniority variables. However, primary school teachers' technology integration competencies did not differ according to gender and professional seniority variables. There is a moderate positive relationship between student-centered education and technology integration competencies of primary school teachers. Teachers' student-centered education competencies significantly predict their technology integration competencies.

Aspects of the clinical use of herbal preparations for acute rhinosinusitis (ARS) are considered, in the pathogenesis of which swelling of the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses plays a key role. The irrational use of antibacterial drugs for the treatment of uncomplicated ARS has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and the need to search for alternative treatment methods. Convincing evidence is presented for the need to use herbal medicines in both complex and monotherapy of ARS of viral and bacterial origin. This review assessed the quality of the evidence for the use of herbal medicine for acute rhinosinusitis to determine its position among other treatments and future directions for research. Clinical studies of the effectiveness of the drug Sinupret extract are presented, the use of which promotes the outflow of exudate from the paranasal sinuses and upper respiratory tract, preventing the development of complications.

Triticale is a grain crop developed by man as a result of crossing wheat and rye in order to combine the best traits of the parent species in a single organism. Fast introduction of triticale into practice and its wide spread cultivation is prevented by the fact that many commercial cultivars have high potential of productivity while varying in insufficient resistance to lodging and to a number of dangerous diseases. In 2023-2024 there was studied juvenile resistance to four fungal diseases (leaf rust, dark-brown leaf spot blotch, septoria blotch, powdery mildew) in 118 varieties from the register of the Russian Federation and promising triticale cultivars (winter and summer) included to the State Variety Testing over the past 5 years. The seedlings were infected with combined Puccinia triticina population, mixture of Bipolaris sorokiniana, Stagonospora nodorum and Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici isolates collected in North-Western region of the Russian Federation. Disease resistance was evaluated according to the VIR methodology. By the results of one experiment, 93 samples of 118 were evaluated as resistant to powdery mildew. But according to the results of three independent experiments among winter and summer hexaploid triticale only 27 and 12 cultivars, respectively, were characterized by high juvenile resistance to powdery mildew. According to the results of the first experiment 10 samples were included into the class of leaf rust resistant. Only Pakhar winter cultivar was resistant to the disease according to the results of three independent experiments. All the samples of the research were highly susceptible to dark brown leaf spot blotch and septoriosis. Thus, among the triticale cultivars 39 were marked as powdery mildew resistant and 1 – as leaf rust resistant. They are of certain interest for breeding. It was also shown that for selection of reliable sources of resistance the plant material should be studied in not less than three independent experiments.

Background. In the post-pandemic period, Russia is characterized by a relatively high level of infectious morbidity, combined with the “infection surveillance” of the population and fear of possible epidemics. Managing health risks associated with the spread of infections requires a comprehensive approach that addresses both the healthcare system and individual behavior. Objective. To identify the features of subjective risk perception regarding infectious diseases and to describe behavior risk-associated strategies in a sample of urban populations in the Russian Federation. Methods. An empirical study was conducted using a mixed methodology. The first phase involved a formalized survey (n = 300) aimed at measuring the subjective perception of infectious disease risk and related behaviors. The second phase included an analysis of in-depth interviews (n = 11) in order to clarify the essence of behavior strategies aimed at managing the infectious disease risk. Descriptive statistics, odds ratio calculations, as well as correlation and factor analyses were employed for processing quantitative data by means of SPSS Statistics 21.0. Qualitative data analysis involved open and axial coding. Results. The development of infectious diseases is perceived as the most significant risk among residents of Russian metropolitan areas. The majority of respondents (80%) rate the risk at 0.5 or higher (indicating alarming and high levels of risk) and implement various measures for its management. Determinants influencing strategy choice include age (Pearson’s r = (-)0.539 at p < 0.001) and parental status (Spearman’s ρ = 0.360 at p < 0.05). Subjective risk assessment is not considered a statistically significant predictor of individual activity regarding risk. Factor analysis (model explanatory capacity 53%, p < 0.001) identified groups of actions aimed at risk reduction: 1) information seeking, 2) creating a protective space, and 3) interacting with the external environment. In-depth interview analysis clarified that despite a documented inclination towards action, individual behavior can be characterized as passive adaptation to the risk. Conclusion. Risk perception is found to be not a primary or necessary factor in choosing an active risk management strategy. The reluctance to take risk-reducing actions is associated with an external locus of control, which involves a belief that risk is uncontrollable and assigning responsibility to other subjects of the risk space. The findings may be considered in the development and improvement of measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including health risk communication strategies