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It is impossible to overestimate the importance of parks in large industrial cities. The problem of preservation of local flora together with cultivation of introduced species is more actual. The species composition of seed self-restoration of woody plants in the forest park and park parts of the Botanical Garden of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University was analyzed in order to determine the ratio of introduced and autochthonous species and whether the introduced species pose a threat to aboriginal flora. Quantitative and qualitative state of seed self-restoration determined. As a result of the research it was established that in the forest-park and park zones of the Botanical Garden artificial stands are capable of forming a sufficient number of viable undergrowth of autochthonous and introduced species, among which mainly aboriginal species dominate. The ratio of indigenous species to introduced ones in different parts of the park and forest park is 57–76 % and 24–43 %, respectively. There is no special competition between indigenous and introduced species. Each species of woody species has adapted well to the conditions of the ecotope and to the conditions of its place of growth. Bioecological features of wood species in the plantations are not an obstacle to the development of the internal space of the ecotope, but 43 % of self-regenerating woody plants in trial area 1 are introduced species, so further observation is needed.

The interaction of a host plant with pathogen implies an extremely complex process involving the outer waxy layer of the cuticle, cutin, cell membrane, and intracellular structures. However, the initial contact between plants and pathogens takes place in cuticular waxes covering the surface of leaves, stems and fruits. Despite many findings on the role of plant epicuticular waxes, there is a gap in the understanding of the relationship between individual compounds and their functions. The pathogenic fungus Clasterosporium carpohilum (Lev.) Aderh. parasitizes the tissues of many stone fruit trees, damaging leaf and fruit surface. The aim of this work was to find out if the quantity and composition of leaf epicuticular wax could be responsible for the resistance to clasterosporium disease. The study of differences of plants in fungal resistance was carried out on species and hybrids of the genus Prunus from the collection of the Botanical Garden of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (Dnipro city, Ukraine). The chloroform extracts of epicuticular waxes from the surface of mature leaves were analyzed by gas chromatography connected to mass-spectrometry. GC/MS assay was performed using Shimadzu GCMS-QP 2020 El equipped with capillary column (5% diphenyl/95% dimethyl polysiloxane), and helium as a carrier gas. Mass Spectrum Library 2014 for GSMS was used to identify the separated compounds of the wax extracts. The maximum total wax amount on the adaxial and abaxial leaf surface of hybrid 2 was twice the minimum wax accumulation for hybrid 4. Overall, 20 individual compounds belonging to six hydrocarbon classes were identified. Leaf epicuticular wax composition both in Prunus persica (L.) Batsch and P. dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb, and hybrids was dominated by long-chain n-alkanes with even carbon number (77.6–90.9% of total sum). The alkenes’ class was represented only by 17-pentatriacontene detected in the wax of both Prunus species. Octadecanaldehyde was found in epicuticular wax of P. dulcis while absent in wax of the more resistant species P. persica. Prime alcohols 1-tetradecanol and 1-hexacosanol were detected in leaf waxes of hybrid 4 and P. dulcis respectively. The ester class contained seven compounds found in leaf epicuticular waxes of both plant species and all hybrid forms. The identification of phthalic acid esters in leaf wax extracts was unexpected, and the phthalates’ origin is discussed. Strong positive correlation between leaf damage and tetrapentacontane content in epicuticular waxes could presumably be the result of infection-induced metabolism reprogramming in epidermal cells of infected leaves.

The study focuses on in vitro effect of aqueous tinctures of 48 species of herbaceous, shrub and tree plants on the first-third stage larvae of Strongyloides papillosus (Wedl, 1856) and third-stage larvae of Haemonchus contortus (Rudolphi, 1803) Cobb, 1898. The highest level of the effect was exerted by 3% aqueous tinctures of Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC., Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, Laburnum anagyroides Medik., Quercus petraea subsp. iberica (Steven ex M. Bieb.) Krassiln., Ginkgo biloba L., Colchicum autumnale L., Aristolochia manshuriensis Kom., Celastrus scandens L., Securigera varia (L.) Lassen, Magnolia kobus DC. Over 90% of the first and second non-invasive stage larvae of S. papillosus died at contact with these tinctures. The lowest parameters of LD50 were seen for L. anagyroides, Juniperus sabina L., C. scandens, M. kobus, A. manshuriensis, Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC. and Securigera varia (L.) Lassen. Invasive larvae of S. papillosus and H. contortus were resistant to the effect of all the 48 surveyed species of plants. Third-stage larvae of H. contortus remained vital when exposed for 24 h to all the studied concentrations up to 3% aqueous tincture of plants. The results of the experiments and also the analysis of the literature indicate the necessity to continue the survey on nematocidial activity of aqueous tinctures and alcveshol extracts of plants.

The study dealt with the patterns of adaptation of the genus Berberis L. low-abundant alien plants to the climatic conditions of the steppe zone of Ukraine. The success of the introduction, which was conducted on the territory of the Botanical Garden of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (city of Dnipro) near 60 years ago, was evaluated by a set of indicators. According to the study of phenological rhythms, introduced plants can be characterized as plants with a relatively short growing season, a relatively long shoot growth, a short flowering period and a long maturing period. This indicates the lability of the phenological rhythms of the introduced plants, which respond to changes in environmental conditions in terms of the beginning and end of the phenological phases. The aquatic regime of introduced plants reflects the level of their adaptation to the environment due to the ability of plant organism to withstand water consumption. The study of water exchange features of Berberis L. plants revealed a moderate decrease in the intensity of transpiration and a moderate water deficit in the plant leaves, which indicates the adaptation of the species to the difficult climatic conditions of the steppe zone. The response of introduced plants to the level of moisture in the steppe region confirmed the universal mechanism of plant adaptation to arid conditions. Comparative analysis of the reproductive ability of introduced plants of the genus Berberis L. in the conditions of the Botanical Garden revealed a significant variability of quantitative indicators. The weight of 100 fruits ranged from 12.5 g (B. vulgaris) to 16.3 g (B. declinata). Seed length varied from 4.5 mm (B. canadensis) to 5.2 mm (B. declinata, B. amurensis), seed width varied from 1.8 mm (B. amurensis, B. vulgaris) to 2.1 mm (B. koreana). The highest mass of 1000 seeds was observed in the species B. koreana. To compare sample averages, the criterion for the significant difference of Tukey's group averages was used. The investigated plants of the genus Berberis L. can be recommended for the introduction into large-scale and individual gardening in order to expand the range of fruit products and obtain biologically valuable raw materials for the industrial production of functional products.

The comparative analysis of the fruit and seed capacity of Chaenomeles Lindl., grew in the botanical garden of the Oles Honchar Dnipro National University, was carried out. It is shown that all studied taxa undergo a complete vegetation cycle. According to our observations, the duration of the growing season is as follows: the smallest in Chaenomeles japonica, the longest in C. × superba and C. maulei, the longest in C. speciosa, C. cathayensis and C. californica. Seed length in Chaenomeles plants ranged from 4.2 ± 0.10 mm (C. japonica var. maulei) to 8.5 ± 0.25 mm (C. сathayensis). Seed widths varied from 4.1 ± 0.32 mm (C. cathayensis) to 11.1 ± 0.10 mm (C. japonica var. maulei). According to the results obtained, the average number of seeds in one fruit of different Chaenomeles species differed, decreasing in the following order: C. cathayensis, C. speciosa > C. × californica > C. × superba > C. japonica > C. japonica var. maulei. Most of the Chaenomeles genus representatives were found to be in a good condition: C. japonica var. maulei vitality was estimated at 7 balls, C. japonica and C. × superba – 6 balls. This index is slightly lower for C. speciosa, C. × californica and C. cathayensis as 5 and 4 balls, respectively. It should be noted that the highest vitality was shown by C. japonica var. maulei, which was introduced in the Botanical Garden of DNU in 1955. In research, considerable attention has been paid to the antioxidant system, which is a powerful mechanism preventing the development of avalanche-free and radical peroxide reactions in living organisms. The antioxidant capacity of Chaenomeles fruits, determined in the range from 565.8 ± 15.7 (C. speciosa) to 1121.7 ± 27.5 (C. cathayensis) mg UAE / 100 g DW, can be considered quite high. The overall antioxidant capacity was highest for C. cathayensis fruits (1121.7 ± 27.5 mg AE / 100 g DW), which exceeded the indexes of other species by 1.2–2.0 times. The presence of antioxidants in raw materials and finished products provides for the prevention of their deterioration, reduction of losses, increase the shelf life and release of high quality products, retaining for a long time the characteristic features inherent in fresh, complete products. High taste qualities are characteristic of C. speciosa and C. × californica. Considering the large assortment of Chaenomeles, representatives differing in their biological, physiological and nutritional properties, we consider it promising to introduce their use in the food industry to obtain functional products with high consumer properties, namely, high content of antioxidants, catering for a variety of dishes or for exotic flavors, as well for direct consumption by the population of useful fruits with different flavors.

Plant fruits, leaves, stems, and other parts are of high nutritional value, and are the source of physiologically active compounds, which can contribute to the treatment of many diseases caused by oxidative stress. Enrichment of the species spectrum of the fruit plants expands the possibilities of their use in dietary nutrition and human treatment. Unfortunately, the introduction of the new fruit plant species in industrial gardens in the Steppe Dnieper is limited to a large extent by the unfavorable climate. In this regard, the assessment of the possibility of realizing the genetic potential of fruit plants from different geographical areas in the steppe climate acquires both scientific and practical significance. The study was conducted on the basis of the fruit plants collection collection of the Botanical Garden of the DNU including four introduced species and one natural species from the genus Berberis. The anomalous weather conditions during the growing season of 2017 (snowfall in April followed by a drought in June) were accompanied by an earlier stage appearance of leaves, flowering and fruit ripening of all introduced plants, especially the Asian species B. amurensis and B. koreana, compared to the native species B. vulgaris. In accordance with the results obtained, fresh weight of the ripe fruits of Berberis species decreased in the order of B. amurensis > B. vulgaris > B. canadensis > B. koreana > B. x declinata. The highest total phenolics content, determined in the isopropanolic fruit extracts by Folin – Ciocalteau assay, was found in the fresh ripe fruits of B. koreana (1362 ± 66 mg GAE/100 g WW), followed by B. x declinata and B. vulgaris fruits (91% and 77% of the B. koreana phenolics content respectively). The highest total flavonoids content determined using the aluminum chloride method was revealed in the fruits of B. koreana (210 ± 6 mg RE/100 g FW) exceeding the content in fruits of other Berberis species by 1.1–2.1 times, while the lowest value (103 ± 4 mg RE/100 g FW) was found in the fruits of B. amurensis. The total reducing power, determined by RP assay, varied in the range from 5.0 to 9.6 mg AAE/100 g DW, and the highest levels were found in the fruits of B. koreana and B. x declinata (respectively, 9.6 ± 0.6 and 8.6 ± 0.5 mg AE/100 g DW) exceeding the reducing capacity of other Berberis species by 1.7–1.9 times. In the fruits of genus Berberis species strong positive correlation was found between the total reducing power and the total content of phenols (r = 0.87), as well as between the reducing power and the total content of flavonoids (r = 0.84). High correlation coefficients confirm the significant contribution of the Berberis fruit phenolic compounds, including the flavonoids, to the antioxidant capacity. So, the study results showed that fruits of all examined Berberis species can be an easily accessible source of antioxidants, however, the antioxidant capacity of fruits decreased in order of B. koreana > B. x declinata > B. vulgaris > B. amurensis > B. canadensis.

A comparative analysis of the green plantation state in Volodya Dubinin Park and Pisarzhevsky Park is carried out. The species composition, age structure and health status of trees have been studied. The taxonomic diversity of of the Dibinin Park is rather poor and has 27 species and 2 cultivars. The Conifers are not presented. Dominating species are Acer platanoides L, Populus deltoides Marsh.and also invasive species Morus alba L., Acer negundo L., Robinia pseudoacacia L. Dendroflora of Pisarzhevsky Park is more multifarious and totals 40 species and 1 cultivar. There are many conifers. Dominating species are Pinus nigra Arnold. The number of invasive species is small. Almost half of all trees in Volodya Dubinin Park are young plants. However, such high indicator is provided by numerous self-sown plants of Morus alba, Acer negundo, Acer platanoides and Sambucus nigra L. The middle-aged, senescent and old specimens prevail in Pisarzhevsky Park. Health condition of the tree majority in both parks is right enough. It is revealed that 18% of trees in Volodya Dubinin Park and 21% in Pisarzhevsky Park are defective. Trees damaged by horse-chestnut leaf miner, Dutch elm disease and polypore are found. The order of actions for the recovery of urban parklands is determined. For improvement and recovery of both parks it is necessary to fulfill territory clearing, remove defective and dead trees, conduct sanitary and rejuvenating pruning. To replace low-value and invasive tree species it is recommended a range of new resistant ornamental types including exotic and indigenous. Keywords: urban parkland , dendroflora, monitoring, species structure, age, health, renovation

A number of comorbid health problems can be found in obese patients. These problems increase the surgical risk in obese patients.To determine the effectiveness of retrograde intrarenal surgery for renal stone treatment in obese patients.We retrospectively reviewed the data of 106 patients who had retrograde intrarenal surgery with the diagnosis of renal stone in our clinic. The patients were divided into three groups regarding their body mass indexes: ≥30 kg/mTwenty eight patients were obese (group 1), 49 patients were overweight (group 2), and 29 patients were normal weight (group 3). The mean ages of groups 1, 2 and 3 were 51.5 (29-84), 47 (30-76) and 35 (19-84) years, respectively (p = 0.001). SFR was 85.7 % in group 1, 89.8 % in group 2, and 75.9 % in group 3 (p = 0.24). The duration of surgery was similar in groups 1, 2, and 3, being 45.5 (25-95), 50 (30-120), and 45.5 (10-100) min, respectively (p = 0.23). None of the patients had major complications.Our results indicate that retrograde intrarenal surgery is a safe and efficient surgical method for renal stone treatment in obese and overweight patients.