FEATURES OF THE FORMATION OF CIVIC IDENTITY IN THE POLYETHNIC REGION OF RUSSIA (on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan)

The subject of the article is a comparative analysis of the state and features of the manifestation of civic identity in a multiethnic region of Russia on the example of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The work is based on the data of three ethnosociological surveys conducted in recent years with the direct participation of the authors of the article. The object of the study is the modern population of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The purpose of the article is to consider the level and significance for the residents of the region of various forms of group identity in time dynamics (over the past 10 years). The article shows the state of civic consciousness of the population of the region based on specific materials of mass surveys using methods adopted in political and sociological sciences, and identifies factors influencing it.

Genomic bases of insularity and ecological divergence in barn owls (Tyto alba) of the Canary Islands

Islands, and the particular organisms that populate them, have long fascinated biologists. Due to their isolation, islands offer unique opportunities to study the effect of neutral and adaptive mechanisms in determining genomic and phenotypical divergence. In the Canary Islands, an archipelago rich in endemics, the barn owl (Tyto alba) is thought to have diverged into a subspecies (T. a. gracilirostris) on the eastern islands, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Taking advantage of 40 whole-genomes and modern population genomics tools, we provide the first look at the origin and genetic makeup of barn owls of this archipelago. We show that the Canaries hold diverse, long-standing and monophyletic populations with a neat distinction of gene pools from the different islands. Using new method, less sensitive to structure than classical FST, to detect regions involved in local adaptation to the insular environment, we identified a haplotype-like region likely under positive selection in all Canaries individuals. Genes in this region suggest morphological adaptations to insularity. In the eastern islands, where the subspecies T. a. gracilirostris is present, genomic traces of selection pinpoint signs of locally adapted body proportions and blood pressure, consistent with the smaller size of this population living in a hot arid climate. In turn, genomic regions under selection in the western barn owls from Tenerife showed an enrichment in genes linked to hypoxia, a potential response to inhabiting a small island with a marked altitudinal gradient. Our results illustrate the interplay of neutral and adaptive forces in shaping divergence and early onset speciation.

An Ancient Mesiodens Investigated by Cone Beam CT

This article presents the complex case study of an ancient skeleton presenting a maxillary supernumerary tooth (mesiodens). The skeleton was found in an archaeological site in the western part of Romania and was dated back to the Eneolithic period, some 5500 years ago. The aim of this article is to analyze the mesiodens and the jaws in light of current knowledge regarding anomalies of dental development of past and present-time populations. The cranial remains were investigated from an orthodontic perspective through inspection and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan. The occlusion was analyzed according to Angle’s classification and observations were made regarding the presence of calculus, dental wear, presence of caries, bone loss and ante-mortem tooth loss. Observations were made regarding tooth dimensions and comparisons were made with modern population. In this specific case, the mesiodens caused minimum disruption within the upper dental arch and the occlusion. Additionally, it did not have any negative impact on the adjacent teeth or cause any other complication. Judging by the analysis of the jaws, the presence of the mesiodens had little impact on the overall oral health of the person. As suggested by other findings in the scientific literature, the mesiodens is an anomaly found throughout all historical periods, from the oldest archaeological sites to present day.

Selection and breeding work with a modern population of Sarboyan carp

Carp breeding in Western Siberia has been going on for about 1960. Here two breeds of Sarboyan and Altai mirror carp were bred and put into economic use. The Sarboyan carp is a cross with 1/8 of the blood of the Amur carp. The Sarboyan carp has now disappeared in the fish farm, there are its descendants who have not been subjected to selection for 4 generations. To work on the selection of a new intra-breed type, specimens corresponding to classes 1 and 2 were selected from the head reservoir of the fish farm. Specimens of class 1 accounted for 2.6% of all selected fish. The analysis of the exterior showed that as a result of the lack of selection and mating disorderly, the physique of the fish changed. It deviated and is closer to the wild Amur carp. In males, the length index increased by 21.30%, the body became longer and smaller. In females, the same changes are observed in exterior, in addition, there is a decrease in fertility, since in the studied population the correlation between progenity and fecundity is 0.42-0.72. The relative growth of the main exterior features has decreased.

Diffusion approximations in population genetics and the rate of Muller's ratchet

Diffusion theory is a central tool of modern population genetics, yielding simple expressions for fixation probabilities and other quantities that are not easily derived from the underlying Wright-Fisher model. Unfortunately, the textbook derivation of diffusion equations as scaling limits requires evolutionary parameters (selection coefficients, mutation rates) to scale like the inverse population size---a severe restriction that does not always reflect biological reality. Here we note that the Wright-Fisher model can be approximated by diffusion equations under more general conditions, including in regimes where selection and/or mutation are strong compared to genetic drift. As an illustration, we use a diffusion approximation of the Wright-Fisher model to improve estimates for the expected time to fixation of a strongly deleterious allele, i.e. the rate of Muller's ratchet.

NEW APPROACHES TO THE DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA IN PRETERM INFANTS

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remains a pressing problem of modern neonatology and pediatrics. Since this disease is chronic and often results in negative long-term consequences, the search for the optimal definition of BPD that would be accuratein predicting long- term respiratory and neurological outcomes is ongoing. It has been 20 years since the definition and classification of BPDs that are currently used had been approved. Over time, the patient population prone to BPD development has changed and new factors have emerged that make it difficult to apply this classification in contemporary clinical practice. In particular, it concerns greater survival of extremely premature infants, which form the majority of patients with BPD. Oxygen dependence during the first month in such infants may be determined by the immaturity of the respiratory system and may not be associated with the development of BPD. Also, new methods of respiratory support have been introduced into practice of intensive care units, which is not accounted for by the current classification. The population of infants with severe BPD, according to classical definition, is heterogeneous with different indicators of long-term chronic morbidity and development. All this justifies the need for new methodological approaches and criteria for the definition and classification of BPD in the modern population of premature infants.This review presents new data, proposals and clarifications for the definition and classification of BPD, which take into account modern features of clinical practice.

Isotopic analysis in teeth of contemporary brazilians with known diet and geolocation and its forensic value for human identification

Dental anthropological data may provide valuable information about an individual's life, including age at death, health, signs of violence, ancestry, diet features, intentional modifications, and geographic origin. These pieces of information may be further detailed by diet and residential mobility estimates provided by isotopic analyses. The use of isotope data in the modern population is strongly dependent on the diverse origin of food supply, thus requiring an updated and location-specific database. In this study, we have analyzed the isotopic ratio of strontium, carbon, and nitrogen in enamel and dentin collagen of third molars individuals from three main cities in Brazil. Besides the isotope data, we have also surveyed their diet in adolescence habits to develop models to be applied for forensic studies in the Brazilian territory. We show that the forensic value of the place of origin estimation based 87Sr/86Sr levels is reduced in these highly urbanized samples. Among the outliers, most individuals are older than the mean age (25.1) or had water from wells in childhood. The sample's diet has a robust C4 presence and mean trophic levels consistent with the declared high frequency of chicken, meat, and dairy products, also compatible with the high consumption of sugar, rice, and beans in the local culture. Individuals with special diets, either by choice or therapeutic needs, were potential outliers among the group. Our results also contribute to the international human tissues isotopic database and can contribute for human identification of Brazilians or foreigners with distinct isotopic signatures.

De novo developed microsatellite markers in gill parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus (Monogenea): revealing the phylogeographic pattern of population structure in the generalist parasite Dactylogyrus vistulae

Approaches using microsatellite markers are considered the gold standard for modern population-genetic studies. However, though they have found application in research into various platyhelminth taxa, they remained substantially underutilized in the study of monogeneans. In the present study, a newly-developed set of 24 microsatellite markers was used to investigate the genetic diversity of the generalist monogenean species D. vistulae. The analyzed parasite specimens were collected from 13 cyprinoid species from 11 sites in the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas. A total of 159 specimens were genotyped at each of the loci and the number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 16, with a mean number of 6.958 alleles per locus. Exceptionally high genetic diversity was observed among D. vistulae individuals in the southern Balkans, suggesting that this region might represent the center of diversification of the genus in Europe, from where Dactylogyrus parasites expanded into the north. The initial clustering analysis divided all investigated specimens into three major clusters; however, the results of the subsequent analyses revealed the existence of various subpopulations, suggesting that the population structure of D. vistulae is associated with the diversification of their cyprinoid hosts. In addition, partition of the parasite population was observed in regions of the sympatric occurrence of two host species, indicating that these hosts may represent a barrier to gene flow, even for generalist parasite species.