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This article presents a reconstruction of a subsistence strategy at the Middle Bronze Age settlementRykan-3. The settlement is located in the centre of the Don forest-steppe and dates to 26th–24th century BC; it wasmostly excavated in 2009–2014. Rykan-3 is of particular interest because, unlike many other Bronze Age settlementsin the South of Eastern Europe, it yielded only a single cultural layer, which was deposited during the existenceof the settlement of the Middle Don Catacomb culture. Mainly for this reason, Evgenii Gak chose to conducta systematic excavation, and to combine it with zooarchaeological, archaeobotanical, and pedological investigations.Additionally, radiocarbon dating was provided. Various proxy data were obtained during the excavationfrom various laboratories. Pottery fragments and animal bones formed the bulk of the finds. The assessment of theanimal bones, the archaeobotanical and pedological information, and the interpretation of particular settlementfeatures make it possible to create a model of a temporary settlement inhabited mainly in winter. Its inhabitantswere mainly engaged in animal husbandry with special attention to cattle. The archaeobotanical survey could notreveal any evidence of agriculture during the period of occupation in the Middle Bronze Age. Radiocarbon datingproved that the isolated plant macro remains were clearly recent intrusions. Interdisciplinary research of thesettlement Rykan-3 and the inclusion of various information from accompanying scientific investigations havemade it possible, for the first time, to reconstruct a seasonal cattle breeding settlement, inhabited in winter, of theCatacomb Cultural Community in Eastern Europe.

Traditionally, the Soviet courtyard was presented in urban studies as a sphere of attraction for the interests of most neighbours. However, the changes in the post-Soviet period (the commercialisation of public space, the stratification and segregation of citizens) significantly weakened the activity of courtyard communities. Recently, under the influence of a number of factors (the Covid-19 pandemic, the growth of socio-political activity), cities, on the contrary, are experiencing a significant civic upsurge, the traditions of spending time together in residential courtyards are gradually being renewed. The revival of the activity of courtyard communities actualises the study of issues related to the perception of citizens of their "right to the city", the boundaries and possibilities of its practical implementation, as well as the influence of communicative factors. The neo-Marxist interpretation of critical theory (A.Lefevre, D.Harvey, D.Mitchell) has been used as the methodological basis for the analysis of courtyard communities. The empirical materials collected in the course of the study (results of a questionnaire survey, supplemented by the analysis of the content of neighbours chats) revealed a number of fundamental differences between “new” courtyard communities and traditional (“Soviet”) ones. In the "Soviet" courtyard communities, urban participation was not so much the realisation of the "right to the city" as an example of communal (rural) cooperation (a form of grassroots self-organisation to achieve the set goals at the lowest cost). In the case of the "new" courtyard communities, the driving force is "urbanity" as the ability to define oneself as a city dweller, the desire to leave one's mark in the urban environment. At the same time, the "right to the city" goes beyond its utilitarian understanding (as the improvement of the urban environment) and acquires the features of symbolic self-determination, becomes the right to produce one's own identity. Courtyard communities formed on the basis of the realisation of their own “right to the city” are characterised by the ability to reach a compromise and develop generally accepted rules of communication. If such trends continue, the “right to the city” will be closely correlated with such concepts as “communication”, “public sphere”, “forum”, and its practical implementation will be less and less tied to the direct “reconquest” of physical territories and will increasingly begin to unfold in the communicative plane.

International audience; Two millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica, were domesticated in northern China, around 6000 BC. Although its oldest evidence is in Asia, possible independent domestication of these species in the Caucasus has often been proposed. To verify this hypothesis, a multiproxy research program (Orimil) was designed to detect the first evidence of millet in this region. It included a critical review of the occurrence of archaeological millet in the Caucasus, up to Antiquity; isotopic analyses of human and animal bones and charred grains; and radiocarbon dating of millet grains from archaeological contexts dated from the Early Bronze Age (3500-2500 BC) to the 1 st Century BC. The results show that these two cereals were cultivated during the Middle Bronze Age (MBA), around 2000-1800 BC, especially Setaria italica which is the most ancient millet found in Georgia. Isotopic analyses also show a significant enrichment in 13 C in human and animal tissues, indicating an increasing C 4 plants consumption at the same period. More broadly, our results assert that millet was not present in the Caucasus in the Neolithic period. Its arrival in the region, based on existing data in Eurasia, was from the south, without excluding a possible local domestication of Setaria italica. Today, there are many genetic, archaeobotanical or biochemical resources to track the domestication processes and diffusion of plants and animals. Among them, the millets, Panicum miliaceum and Setaria italica, are two species that have their origins in China, but their path to Europe has been the subject of numerous studies for several years. Across Asia, researchers have looked at millets to describe the dispersal of peoples and languages 1 , to address the concept of food globalization 2 , to understand how these cereals have adapted to different environments 3,4 and to investigate the sedentary, semi-nomadic, or nomadic lifestyles of the early agropastoral communities 5,6. This article focuses on the Caucasus, a region that has hitherto not yet been explored

Pulmonary vascular endothelium dysfunction is one of the main pathogenic factors responsible for many clinical manifestations of the severe course of COVID-19. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are the endogenous regenerative reserve that maintains the integrity of the vascular endothelium and its restoration in case of damage by pathogenic factors. A decrease in the circulating EPCs is regarded as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in conditions associated with development of endothelial dysfunction, including COVID-19. The exact phenotype of progenitor cells capable of differentiating into endothelial cells has not been determined. In most laboratories antigens CD133+, CD34+, VEGFR-2+ (CD 309) or combination of these are used to identify EPCs. The process of EPCs mobilization and migration is controlled by molecular signals from immune cells located in the damage area. Stromal cell factor 1 (SDF-1), produced by the bone marrow and many other tissues, is an important chemoattractant for EPCs which express its receptors. The results of studies carried out in 2020 indicate that SARS-Cov-2 infects both hematopoietic stem cells, transforming into EPCs, and directly circulating EPCs, causing inflammatory and procoagulant reactions that complicate the COVID-19 course. There is no consensus on the mechanism of EPCs infection with coronavirus – directly through the expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE2) receptor or through an ACE2-independent mechanism. Today there is no effective therapy for COVID-19. The use of the EPCs regenerative potential, and the search for ways to enhance the EPCs mobilization from the depot, and increase their functional activity may become a promising approach to the prevention of severe complications and mortality from COVID-19. © 2021, Remedium Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

Цель исследования – изучить безвредность корма на основе модифицированной перги, определить влияние корма на биохимические показатели обмена веществ белых мышей. Корм включает гидролизат перги, соты с пергой смешивают с 3–4% раствором гидроксида натрия в соотношении 1:5, выдерживают 30–45 мин при температуре 95–100 °C. Исходя из проведенных исследований и полученных в результате этого данных, можно заключить, что корм не оказывает негативного влияния на изучаемые биохимические показатели функционирования печени белых мышей. Ключевые слова: корм, модифицированная перга, белые мыши, безвредность, биохимические показатели, функциональное состояние печени.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the protective effect of the inhaled glucocorticosteroids of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) using the experimental model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Materials and Methods . The COPD model was reproduced in rats ( n = 30) during a discrete 60-day exposure to nitrogen dioxide, 9 individuals formed an intact group. Inhalation of BDP (50 micrograms per day) and control ( n = 15) placebo inhalation were performed for 60 days in the rats in the experimental group ( n = 15). The cell composition and cytokine enzymatic profile of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), its content of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and surfactant protein D (SP-D) were determined by ELISA. Histological and morphometric lungs examination was performed. Results . Typical for COPD pathomorphological changes in the lungs were determined in the placebo group, the content of inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory mediators in BALF increased, the functional activity of bronchoalveolar epithelium (SP-D, sIgA) deteriorated. There was a clear trend in the activity of neutrophilic-lymphocytic inflammation decrease with normalization of the profile of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in BALF In the group of animals receiving BDP; there was also a restoration of the morphological structure of the bronchoalveolar epithelium and improvement of its functional activity. Conclusion . The using of BDP in rats with the experimental COPD model had an expressed anti-inflammatory effect associated with the activation of physiological repair processes in the lungs, manifested by the restoration of structural, immune barrier integrity and functional activity of the bronchoalveolar epithelium.

Heart rhythm of mammals changes during ontogenesis and postnatally. A study of electrophysiological properties of sinoatrial node during ontogenesis makes it possible to clarify cellular mechanisms of heart rhythm changes during cell development. Here we introduce novel results of the experimental study of action potential changes during ontogenesis. We present detailed information about changes of action potential phases during ontogenesis and postnatal development. An important area of the study of ionic mechanisms of action potential generation is a development of mathematical models of sinoatrial node cell and defining the ranges of model parameters which corresponds to different stages of ontogenesis. This paper outlines methods of model parameters variation for fitting action potential signals to the experimental data.

Starbound is a popular video game that has player companions as one of its features, but its AI lacks awareness about the player’s state, the enemies’ state and its own. This study aims to solve it by implementing a new companion AI which is based on utility theory. The AI was developed, and the user study was conducted to evaluate its ability to assist the player. The fighting ability was assessed by measuring AI’s ability to stay alive during the battle and dealing damage to enemies without the player’s interaction. As a result, the majority of user study participants did not notice the difference between the built-in AI and the one developed in this study. The participants that noticed the difference enjoyed each type of companion in equal measure. However, the fighting ability test showed that the utility-based AI stays alive longer and deals more damage compared to the built-in agent within the game currently.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the state of pulmonary vascular mediator systems during the stepwise formation of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The COPD model was induced in rats by nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) inhalation for 60 days. At different stages of COPD (15, 30, and 60 days), the effect of reagents-vasodilators (β-adrenoceptor agonist isoproterenol, nitric oxide donor nitrosorbide, acetylcholine, activator of C-fibers capsaicin, corticosteroid beclometasone) on the isolated pulmonary arteries (diameter

In the experimental studies it was found that open run-off settling in comparison with the close settling systems improves the effect of PP disposal by 1.3 times, hexane fraction of PP – nearby 2 times, separate alkanes C22–C27 – by 2–3 times. Duration of open settling of run-off, formed in the territory of suburban parking areas, shall be 3–10 days. The effect of run-off purification from PP under sedimentation is mainly conditioned by disposing of fraction of nominally complex PP.

Improving safety of the soft targets includes protection of the objects that surround them. Compulsory element of immediate surrounding of the soft targets in urban environment is utility systems of city essential services. The sewage networks are open into ground space by means of mines and wells, located in the immediate vicinity of the soft targets as well. One of the potential preventive measures for protection of the soft targets, that are found side by side to sewage mines is engineering solutions that minimize the secondary effects, formed in these facilities: fire hazard/explosion hazard and high concentration of toxic gaseous compounds (hydrogen sulphide, alkyl sulphydrate, carbonic oxide and others). Concentration of methane in gas air environment of the sewage pipelines presents special hazard, which concentration in some areas of the sewage network exceeds the lower explosive limit. The technical solution is experimentally deduced, that allows efficiently and cost-effectively to minimize concentration of gaseous compounds in the sewage networks. The lasting monitoring of gas air environment compound in the urban sewage pipelines has been executed, as well in the mines (17.7% of total amount), located in the immediate vicinity from the various soft targets. It is found that methane concentration in gas air environment of the urban sewage mines has significantly decreased over the last 20 years. And at present the mines with explosive methane content and hazard content of toxic compounds in the neighborhood of the soft targets are not detected.

The object of research is the processes of computer-aided design of the elements of complex measuring instruments intended to work under conditions of significant deviations in space caused by mechanical or thermal stresses. One of the most problematic places is that any protection state completely eliminates unwanted deviations of the elements. This is especially true for measurement objects that have large dimensions (tens of meters) and weight, opacity, high temperatures (hundreds of degrees), significant external influences of unpredictable nature, and the like. Models of behavior of such objects under load are extremely complex, and methods of their analysis and use in CAD are not available at all, which leads to the laying of significant errors of the future measurement already at the design stage. In the course of the study, the theory of analysis of technical systems, the theory of measurements, the theory of the resistance of materials and oscillations, the theory of computer-aided design were used. To develop a capacitive method for measuring the density of parts of large-sized reinforced concrete objects from heterogeneous materials, methods of pattern recognition and a virtual object are used. Theoretical and experimental virtual models of electrical characteristics of the elements of measuring instruments and models of their deviation are obtained. Models are used in automated design systems for complex means of capacitive measurement of concrete. The first is mathematical, in which compensation is performed solely by making changes to the measurement results. The second is mechanical, in which compensation is made by changing the geometry of the measuring tool (with static deviation) or depreciation of their elements (with dynamic). Thanks to this, it is possible to create a new subsystem of CAD «DEVICOM», with the help of which shock absorbers were designed to control the technological process of manufacturing the reinforced concrete product «Power transmission line support», which, as a result, reduced the amount of defective products by 7.4 %.

In experimental studies it is found that the petrol stations create the highest specific (based on 1 car traffic) emissions and contamination by petroleum products these pollutants of surrounding areas soils among the objects of the auto-road complex. Activity of soil “self-cleaning” from the petrochemicals depends on the concentration of organic carbon, which increases the activity of soil oxidoreductase enzymes carrying the oxidative degradation of hydrocarbons among the objects of the auto-road complex.

The role of mast cells in contractile bronchial smooth muscle activity has been evaluated in a model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease induced in rats that were intermittently exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for 60 days. Starting from the 31st day, one group of rats inhaled sodium cromoglycate before exposure to NO2 to stabilize mast cell membranes. The second group (control) was not treated. Isometric smooth muscle contraction was analysed in isolated bronchial samples in response to nerve and smooth muscle stimulation. Histological analysis revealed large numbers of mast cells in lung tissue of COPD model rats. The inhibition of mast cell degranulation by sodium cromoglycate prevented the development of nerve-stimulated bronchial smooth muscle hyperactivity in COPD model rats. Histamine or adenosine-induced hyperactivity on nerve stimulation was also inhibited by sodium cromoglycate in bronchial smooth muscle in both control and COPD model rats. This suggests that the mechanism of contractile activity enhancement of bronchial wall smooth muscle cells may be mediated through the activation of resident mast cells transmembrane adenosine receptors resulting in their partial degranulation, with the released histamine acting upon histamine H1-receptors which trigger reflex pathways via intramural ganglion neurons.

We present our research on the applicability of computer vision techniques for extracting various oil workers' performance metrics. This paper focuses on learning two metrics associated with the workers' location. The first metric $\boldsymbol{e}_{1}$ is the percent of frames in which only some part of the crew is present. If its value is bigger than some threshold value, the crew's performance is declared inefficient. We propose to perform human detection in each video frame and count people present in order to calculate $\boldsymbol{e}_{1}$ . The Faster R-CNN and single-shot detectors with several types of feature extractors were tested on a specially collected dataset. By finetuning the most accurate of them we've achieved 0.99 precision and 0.91 recall. The second metric $\boldsymbol{e}_{2}$ considers workers' distance from an automated gas control system, which is the main subject of maintenance. We propose using some markers on the uniform for worker recognition and estimation of his/her position relative to an automated gas control system. We've tested the ArUco and the RUNETag markers on synthetic data and proved that they cannot be applied to our problem. We've also carried out some preliminary research on uniform numbers detection, as they can be also considered as markers. The Connectionist Text Proposal Network (CTPN) used for text detection achieved an accuracy of 0.76. Text recognition performed by Tesseract OCR failed with 0.05 recall. However, we plan to collect a dataset for number detection and recognition in the future and test more approaches.

Goal: to evaluate the effect of induced immunosuppression on the nature and speed of structural-functional disturbances formation in the lungs on the COPD model. Methods: The COPD model was created in Wistar rats by exposure with nitrogen dioxide (NO2, 15-19 ppm): three 30-minute exposures per day with 30 min intervals for 60 days. To create immunosuppression, an alkylating agent cyclophosphamide was injected intraperitoneally twice, the control group got 0.9% NaCl. BAL fluid cytogram was determined. The presence of IL-8, IL-17, neutrophil elastase (NE), sIgA, SP-D in BAL fluid was measured by ELISA method. Histological preparations were stained with HE TNFα-up to 35.48±2.08 vs 25.45±1.33 pg/ml in control, p Conclusion: When aggressive pollutants damaging the respiratory epithelium are exposed, the initial immune dysfunction maycontribute to the formation of a pro-inflammatory environment and the phenotype of premature lungs aging, predisposing to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary pathology.

A small number of ecological-trophic groups of bacteria are noted in saline groundwater’s (30-50 g/L). The obtained data show, that thionic and halophilic forms of saprophytic bacteria dominated, developing in presence of 10% NaCl. Among saprophytic microorganisms, rod-shaped forms of the genus Microbacterium sp. significantly dominated. A significant accumulation of Cu, Co and light REEs by brine microbial communities is shown.

International audience

The concentration of hydrogen sulfide and other gases in the sewerage pipelines of the Kharkov city was measured during the experimental studies. Based on the obtained figures the emission of hydrogen sulphide through the sewer shafts in urban environment and its dispersion in the atmosphere of specific urban areas were estimated. The interface of the page for the monitored indicators of the environmental safety and operational reliability of specific areas of the water disposal pipelines was developed. It can be used for the geographic information system of the urban sewer networks.

On the model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the effect of therapy with low-molecular-weight peptides on restructuring and functional activity of bronchial epithelium for restoring the immune and barrier function of the lungs and prevention of inflammatory process progression was studied. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was modeled in rats by 60-day intermittent exposure to NO2. Administration of tetrapeptide Bronchogen for 1 month eliminates symptoms of remodeling of the bronchial epithelium and lung tissue typical of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (goblet cell hyperplasia, squamous metaplasia, lymphocytic infiltration and emphysema, and restoration of ciliated cells). Enhanced production of secretory IgA, a local immunity marker, attested to normalization of functional activity of bronchial epithelium, while normalization of cell composition and profile of proinflammatory cytokines in the bronchoalveolar space reflected reduction of neutrophilic inflammation.

Background. Acipenserid fishes may be divided into three groups in terms of their ploidy levels: 1) 120-chromosomes, 2) 250–270-chromosomes, and 3) about 370-chromosomes. The experimental crosses show that sturgeon species with the same ploidy often produce fertile hybrids, whereas the hybrids between species with different ploidy cannot reproduce because of female sterility or full sterility. To date, the only case of backcross hybrids obtained by hybridization of sturgeons with different ploidy is known: in these crosses, the sterlet, Acipenser ruthenus Linnaeus, 1758, with about 120 chromosomes and kaluga, Acipenser dauricus Georgi, 1775, with about 270 chromosomes were used as parental species; numerous progenies were obtained for females of both species and fertile hybrid males. The aims of this study were to determine the chromosome numbers in hybrid spermatozoa, involved in the production of viable backcross progenies, and to ascertain the chromosome numbers in backcrosses. Materials and methods. The experiments for obtaining backcrosses were conducted in the Luchegorsk experimental station of the TINRO Centre in 2010. 16 one-year-old backcross hybrids sterlet × (sterlet × kaluga) and 14 one-year-old backcrosses kaluga × (sterlet × kaluga) were karyologically studied by using previously described method. From one to 23 metaphase plates were analyzed from every studied fish. Results. Average chromosome numbers in 14 backcross hybrids sterlet × (sterlet × kaluga) varied from 139 to 157. It means that hybrid males (sterlet × kaluga), participated in their origin, produced spermatozoa with 79–87 chromosomes. Two other backcrosses sterlet × (sterlet × kaluga) had about 178 and 184 chromosomes. Thus, they got 118–124 chromosomes from their fathers. Among backcrosses kaluga × (sterlet × kaluga), 11 specimens had 201–214 chromosomes, and three specimens: 219–223. It means that hybrid males, participating in their origin, should produce spermatozoa with 66–84 and 84–93 chromosomes, respectively. Conclusion. This study suggests non-random generation of chromosome sets in spermatozoa of fertile sterlet × kaluga hybrids. However, the mechanisms of meiosis, providing a non-random production of spermatozoa with similar numbers of chromosomes, are still unknown.