Neuronal cell signal analysis: spike detection algorithm development for microelectrode array recordings

Neural signal acquisition and processing techniques are rising trends among wide scientific and commercial areas. Microelectrode array (MEA) technology makes it possible to access and record the electrical activity of neural cells. In this work, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) -derived neuronal populations were grown on MEA plates. The activity of the cells was recorded and the research about modern signal processing methods for the neural spike detection was performed. A list of approaches was selected for detailed investigation and the most efficient one was chosen as the new technique for permanent use in the research group. The performed laboratory activities involved cell culture plating, regular medium changes, spontaneous activity recordings and pharmacological manipulations. The data acquired from pharmacological experiments were used for the comparison between the old and new spike detection algorithms in terms of the numbers of the detected events. The Stationary Wavelet Transform-based Teager Energy Operator (SWTTEO) shows prominent performance in the tests with synthetic data. The use of the proposed algorithm in conjunction with the common amplitude-based thresholding enables to lower the threshold and to detect more spikes without an excessive number of false positives. This mode is applicable for real cell data. The detection method was considered superior and was further distributed for the processing of all neural data of the research group which include signals acquired from neuronal populations derived from human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (hESCs and iPSCs) as well as rat cells

Renovation of Ventilation and Air-conditioning System in Old Russian Museums

The subject of this thesis is the renovation of VAC - Systems in old Russian public buildings . The study of the topic allows us to understand how we can reconstruct vac-systems in old buildings. This theme shows what requirements must be taken into account when updating these systems. Since these reconstructions are rather laborious and expensive, some examples of how you can update these systems using the features of old buildings are describing in this topic. In order to best represent the picture, in this study reconstruction design of vac-systems of museum of Suvorov was considered, the engineer of Russian museum was interviewed and the experience of the Denver museum was taken into account

Synodia. A Rare Type of Religious Community in Inscriptions from the Early Byzantine Pilgrimage Basilica of the Machkhomeri Fortress in Lazica

Introduction. The process of Christianization of the Lazica, poorly presented in written sources, received an important source in the recently found inscriptions from the Machkhomeri fortress near Khobi. Analysis. The inscriptions were discovered during the excavations of a three-nave basilica, built in the 6th c. by a certain Gorgonios in honour of Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. The next benefactor of the church was a certain Theonas, his wife and family. In the northern part of the basilica, there were also found fragments of two inscriptions, which contain the list of benefactors with their synodiai. The dedicants of the inscriptions were among others the carpenters/ builders of the church and their colleagues, who probably also formed a synodia. Results. Thus, we see in the 6th-c. Lazica a rare kind of religious community around a mighty person or institution – a synodia consisting mainly of lay people. The competition for the right to own objects inside the Machkhomeri Basilica shows that this church was the centre of attraction and pilgrimage in the region, perhaps thanks to the relics of the Martyrs of Sebaste

Princess Olga and Constantinople: Wandering Plots and Changeable Inscriptions

Introduction. The author proposes a new reconstruction of two episodes concerning Princess Olga in the chronicles and Prolog, which allows to clarify the overall picture of the development of the pre-Mongol legend about the baptism of Olga and her trip to Constantinople. Analysis. In the early chronicles, two layers of narrative about Olga’s trip to Constantinople are clearly distinguishable. The original story contained only the relationship between Olga and Emperor Ioannes Tzimiskes: the author had a good knowledge of the realities of Byzantine politics in the 960s, probably from the Byzantine chronicles. However, the story itself is too fictionalized, and its author, who inscribes Olga’s trip in 946 and her baptism in a completely different chronological frame – the turn of the 960–970s, had to work in the 1060s – early 1070s imitating stories about a wise pagan princess from an older chronicle. Probably, in the “Initial Compilation” this ‘secular’ story was ‘Christianized, but not quite harmoniously. In this form, the story of Olga’s trip and baptism was included in the “Tale of Bygone Years”, but in its recension the “unhistorical” Ioannes Tzimiskes was replaced – probably on the basis of Byzantine chronicles – by the ‘historical’ Constantine VII. However, the chronicles of the late 11th – early 12th century do not know Olga’s cross, which, according to the Prolog, stood in the 1160s in the altar of St. Sofia of Kiev. It was either a “fixation” of the historical memory of the first baptist of Rus’, or a contribution of a 12th century princess with the same name (e.g., of the daughter of Yuri Dolgorukiy and a Byzantine princess). The author of the Prolog combined excerpts from the “Tale of Bygone Years” with the story of Olga’s cross, also “historicizing” the patriarch, who became now Photios, and creating the basis for the entire further hagiographic tradition of the princess

New Inscriptions on Instrumenta from the Northern Periphery of the Byzantine World

Introduction. Byzantine inscriptions on instrumenta, i.e. portable objects (ceramics, tools, objects of personal piety, etc.), usually attract little attention by researchers. Meanwhile, such inscriptions make it easier to look into the world of an ordinary Byzantine. Analysis. The author publishes (in two cases – anew) seven non-standard inscriptions of this type, found recently or previously unpublished. These are the inscriptions on the phylactery, encolpion, amphorae, jug, and bowl. They have a different character: an apotropaic text, a business letter, a humorous poem, an owner’s inscription. Results. These seven monuments open a window to the world of medieval Rhomaios: the fear of the evil eye and the protective prayers, written from hearing; the cheerful world of wine and wine drinking during the voyage and on a bet; jokes about a broken cup, often expressed in verses, that the Byzantines used for any purpose, including the owner’s inscriptions; the world of merchants, who send their goods overseas, take care of its safety and the well-being of sailors. These inscriptions are distinguished by the peculiarities of spelling and style, which make it possible to better imagine the ordinary Byzantine environment. The travelling of the inscriptions on instrumenta, including pilgrims’ inscriptions, reflect, among other things, the ways of spreading Greek writing

The Features of Boris and Gleb Festivals in the Light of Byzantine Tradition

The present paper analyses the liturgical structure of the translation of SS. Boris and Gleb’s relics in 11th–12th centuries. All four feasts had a different structure: a one-day or two-day feast, with or without the consecration of the church. In two of three cases (under Yaroslav the Wise and in 1115), the consecration of the church in Vyshgorod was done next to the very relics of the holy princes themselves. The choice of the feast’s structure depended on the Greek metropolitan. This is particularly clear in the case of the third translation (1072), when the metropolitan, doubtful of the princes’ holiness, consecrated the church using other relics, and then transferred the relics of the princes into the already-consecrated church

О хронологии русских митрополитов XI в. (по поводу новой гипотезы А. П. Толочко)

The article deals with the amendments made by A. P. Tolochko to the traditional chronology of the Russian metropolitans of the 11th cent., compiled by A. Poppe, and shows the weaknesses of both chronologies. Based on the latest epigraphic finds, a new chronology of the Metropolitans until the last quarter of the 11th cent. is proposed: Theophylact was transferred to Russia from the Metropolitan see of Sebasteia sometime before 1015; Theopempt became the Metropolitan no later than 1039; John ascended the throne after 1039 and reigned until 1051; Hilarion became the Metropolitan in 1051 (probably after July 24) and ceased to be in 1052 (before November 4); Ephraim received the Metropolitan see in 1052 (until November 4) and retained it at least until 1055; George, mentioned under 1072, could have become the Metropolitan as early as 1055.DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2019.8.1.18В статье разбираются поправки А. П. Толочко к традиционной хронологии киевских митрополитов ХI в., сформулированной А. Поппэ, и показываются слабые стороны обеих хронологий. На основании новейших эпиграфических находок предлагается новая хронология митрополитов до последней четверти XI в: Феофилакт был переведен на Русь с Севастийской митрополичьей кафедры до 1015 г.; Феопемпт стал митрополитом не позднее 1039 г.; Иоанн Ι взошел на престол после 1039 г. и правил до 1051 г.; Иларион сделался митрополитом в 1051 г. (вероятно, после 24 июля) и перестал быть им в 1052 г. (до 4 ноября); Ефрем получил митрополичество в 1052 г. (до 4 ноября) и закончил его не ранее 1055 г.; Георгий, упоминаемый под 1072 г., стал митрополитом не ранее 1055 г. DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2019.8.1.1

Средневизантийские традиции церковного зодчества на южном, восточном и северном берегах Черного моря

Unlike other areas of Byzantine studies, in the history of architecture the Black sea was for a long time not considered comprehensively. This lacune has recently been partially corrected by R. Sharp’ thesis, which, however, is characterized by a lack of the material and the randomness of the datings. The present article examines the traditions of Middle Byzantine Church architecture on the Southern, Eastern and Northern shores of the Black sea, which demonstrate some common trends. Clearly visible here are two architectural styles of stone buildings (using plinths only in the arches). One is characteristic of Pontus and Abkhazia of the late 9th – mid-10th century, and penetrated also into Cherson; it based on the use of pilasters, buttress arches (stepped under the dome) and cross-shaped piers that can be replaced at the bottom by columns. This design is used both in the domed churches of the inscribed-cross type and basilicas; here, probably, belong also atrophied Greek crosses of Pontus and Egrisi. The second style origins apparently also from Pontus, but came to Cherson and Tamatarcha: of simple variant of inscribed crosses on 4 columns, with semicircular apses and without any articulation of the walls. Perhaps, this style of 10–11th centuries (?) was born as a provincial simplification of the inscribed crosses of the first style. A separate phenomenon is the Byzantine-Tao workshop of 960–970-ies. Other Middle Byzantine churches in these regions remain isolated.В отличие от других областей византинистики, в истории архитектуры Черное море долгое время не рассматривалось комплексно. Недавно этот пробел был частично заполнен диссертацией Р. Шарпа, которая, однако, отличается фрагментарностью материала и произвольностью датировок. В настоящей статье рассматриваются традиции средневизантийской церковной архитектуры на южном, восточном и северном берегах Черного моря, которые демонстрируют некоторые общие тенденции. Четко выделяется два архитектурных стиля каменного церковного зодчества (с использованием плинфы только в арках). Один, характерный для Понта и Абхазии конца IX – середины Х в. и проникший также в Херсон, основан на применении пилястров, выделенных подпружных арок (ступенчато повышающихся под куполом) и крещатых столпов, которые могут заменяться в нижней части колоннами. Такая конструкция используется как в купольных храмах типа вписанного креста (преимущественно сложного извода), так и в базиликах; сюда же, вероятно, примыкают и компактно вписанные кресты Понта и Эгриси. Второй стиль – видимо, также понтийский по происхождению, но проникший в Херсон и в Таматарху: это вписанные кресты простого извода на 4 колоннах, с полукруглыми апсидами и без всякой разделки стен. Возможно, этот стиль Х–XI вв. (?) возник в результате провинциального упрощения вписанного креста первого стиля. Как отдельный феномен следует выделить византийско-таоскую артель 960–970-х гг. Остальные средневизантийские храмы рассматриваемых регионов остаются изолированными

Еще одно раннее свидетельство о Руси?

The article discusses the question of the ethnonym Ῥουσ- in the Byzantine literature, attested in the tenth and eleventh centuries, either as part of an adjective, or in sources under Rus’ian influence, and then disappearing until the fifteenth century. In this connec- tion, the question arises whether the ethnonym Ῥούσιος actually existed, as documented by Liutprand of Cremona, but could be explained as an influence of the Latin language. The readers’ attention is drawn to the ethnonym Ῥούσιοι in the list of the peoples conquered by Alexander the Great, known in two manuscripts of the edition γ of the Greek Alexander Romance. Despite the presence of a number of fantastic peoples in this list, Ῥούσιοι were the real “barbarians” and, along with Χουνάβιοι, belonged to the source’s latest layer, dating from the tenth century. Several arguments make it necessary to identify them with Rus’. Thus, the first evidence of the ethnonym Ῥούσιοι appears on purely Greek soil, as well as the possibility to date this list of peoples. However, the use of the early ethnonym Ῥούσιοι allows the one to date to the period before the twelfth century this list of peoples from the edition γ of the Greek “Alexander Romance,” the earliest manuscripts of which date back to the fourteenth century.Статья посвящена проблеме этнонима Ῥουσ- в византийской письменности, который фиксируется в X–XI в., причем либо в составе прилагательного, либо в источниках, испытавших русское влияние, а затем исчезает до XV в. В связи с этим встает вопрос о том, существовал ли в действительности этноним Ῥούσιος, который зафиксирован у Лиутпранда Кремонского, но может объясняться влиянием латинского языка. Внимание читателей привлекается к этнониму Ῥούσιοι в списке народов, покоренных Александром Македонским, известном в двух рукописях редакции γ греческого «Романа об Александре». Несмотря на присутствие в этом списке ряда фантастических народов, Ῥούσιοι относятся к числу реальных «варваров» и, вместе с Χουνάβιοι, принадлежат к самому позднему его слою, датируемому Х в. Ряд аргументов заставляет отождествить их с Русью. Таким образом, появляется первое свидетельство этнонима Ῥούσιοι на чисто греческой почве. С другой стороны, употребление раннего этнонима Ῥούσιοι позволяет отнести ко времени до XII в. данный список народов из редакции γ греческого «Романа об Александре», самые ранние рукописи которой датируются XIV в