Stone Age and Early Metal Period Archaeology and Settlement Patterns in the Lake Pyhäjärvi Micro-Region, Karelian Isthmus, Russia

Recent Finnish-Russian research cooperation on the Karelian Isthmus, north-west Russia, has completely changed views on the area’s prehistory. In this paper we describe the methodology and results of archaeological field surveys and test excavations carried out in the so-called Lake Pyhäjärvi micro-region in 2005–2008. In the course of the project’s field studies, the number of Stone Age and Early Metal Period sites in the area increased tenfold, and the exceptional, well-stratified settlement site of Kunnianniemi with nearly three-metredeep archaeological deposits was located. Recent studies provide reference material for the recently studied nearby areas and a working framework for further inquiries related to, for instance, the spatio-temporal changes in the settlement pattern, material culture, subsistence base, socio-cultural structure, and contact networks

First evidence of human bone pendants from Late Mesolithic Northeast Europe

In this paper, we introduce the first evidence of the use of human bone for making pendants in Northeast Europe. Twelve of the 37 studied pendants made of long bone splinters turned out to be human bone. Here, we present the ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) identifications of artefacts and their traceological analysis, and we discuss their implications for the archaeology of Mesolithic burial practices. Our results indicate that the raw material for some of the items was in a fresh or semi-fresh state before making pendants. They were used before they were placed into the graves, and most likely in the same ways as animal bone pendants. This is the first study that has found the use of human bone as raw material in Russian Karelia and the first time that the ZooMS method has been applied to archaeological materials from this region. Together with previous human bone artefact finds from the European Mesolithic period, the bone pendants from Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov indicate that the tradition of using human bone as raw material may have been widespread.Peer reviewe

Stone Age Research in the Narva–Luga Klint Bay Area in 2005–2014

The Narva–Luga micro-region, situated on the border of Estonia and Russia in north-eastern Europe, has been the target of international and interdisciplinary research conducted annually between 2005 and 2014. During this time, altogether 42 new archaeological sites have been discovered, and many sites have also been excavated – in addition, a large amount of natural scientific data has been collected. All in all, over 60 Stone Age and Bronze Age sites are currently known in this micro-region. The sites date mostly between the late 6th and late 3rd millennia calBC, that is, to the cultural contexts of Narva Ware, Comb Ware, and Corded Ware. In this paper, some of the main results of the archaeological studies made during the last decade are briefly summarised

Archaeological cooperation in the Soviet Union and Russia from the 1950s to the early 2020s at the University of Helsinki

‘East archaeology’, research cooperation in the areas of present-day Russia, has been one part of the research activities of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Helsinki in the post-war era. The first steps were taken as part of the state-controlled Finnish-Soviet scientific cooperation between the 1950s and 1970s, but Glasnost and Perestroika opened up a whole new range of opportunities in the 1980s and 1990s. Initially, the collaboration focused primarily on the Karelian Iron Age, but soon expanded to the other periods of prehistory, the Stone Age and the Early Metal Period. A significant part of the research has been conducted in areas near Finland – the Karelian Isthmus and Ingria, the Karelian Republic, and the Kola Peninsula – but several other parts of Russia have also attracted attention over the years. The purpose of this article is to present the history of these ‘eastern’ studies from the beginning to the early 2020s; cooperation has currently been stopped as a consequence of Russian politics, which culminated in the war in Ukraine in 2022

Diagnostic Algorithm for Surgical Management of Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency

Background: Limbal stem cell deficiency (LCSD) presents several challenges. Currently, there is no clearly defined systematic approach to LSCD diagnosis that may guide surgical tactics. Methods: The medical records of 34 patients with LSCD were analyzed. Diagnostic modalities included standard (visometry, tonometry, visual field testing, slit-lamp biomicroscopy with corneal fluorescein staining, Schirmer test 1, ultrasonography) and advanced ophthalmic examination methods such as anterior segment optical coherence tomography, in vivo confocal microscopy, impression cytology, and enzyme-linked immunoassay. Results: Standard ophthalmological examination was sufficient to establish the diagnosis of LSCD in 20 (58.8%) cases, whereas advanced evaluation was needed in 14 (41.2%) cases. Depending on the results, patients with unilateral LSCD were scheduled to undergo glueless simple limbal epithelial transplantation (G-SLET) or simultaneous G-SLET and lamellar keratoplasty. Patients with bilateral LSCD with normal or increased corneal thickness were enrolled in the paralimbal oral mucosa epithelium transplantation (pLOMET) clinical trial. Conclusions: Based on the diagnostic and surgical data analyzed, the key points in LSCD diagnosis were identified, helping to guide the surgeon in selecting the appropriate surgical procedure. Finally, we proposed a novel step-by-step diagnostic algorithm and original surgical guidelines for the treatment of patients with LSCD

An Open-Source Wireless Electrophysiological Complex for In Vivo Recording Neuronal Activity in the Rodent’s Brain

Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) are a widely used tool for recording neuronal activity both in vitro/ex vivo and in vivo experiments. In the last decade, researchers have increasingly used MEAs on rodents in vivo. To increase the availability and usability of MEAs, we have created an open-source wireless electrophysiological complex. The complex is scalable, recording the activity of neurons in the brain of rodents during their behavior. Schematic diagrams and a list of necessary components for the fabrication of a wireless electrophysiological complex, consisting of a base charging station and wireless wearable modules, are presented

Comprehensive study on the reinforcement of electrospun PHB scaffolds with composite magnetic Fe3O4–rGO fillers: Structure, physico-mechanical properties, and piezoelectric response

This is a comprehensive study on the reinforcement of electrospun poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) scaffolds with a composite filler of magnetite−reduced graphene oxide (Fe3O4−rGO). The composite filler promoted the increase of average fiber diameters and decrease of the degree of crystallinity of hybrid scaffolds. The decrease in the fiber diameter enhanced the ductility and mechanical strength of scaffolds. The surface electric potential of PHB/Fe3O4−rGO composite scaffolds significantly increased with increasing fiber diameter owing to a greater number of polar functional groups. The changes in the microfiber diameter did not have any influence on effective piezoresponses of composite scaffolds. The Fe3O4−rGO filler imparted high saturation magnetization (6.67 ± 0.17 emu/g) to the scaffolds. Thus, magnetic PHB/Fe3O4−rGO composite scaffolds both preserve magnetic properties and provide a piezoresponse, whereas varying the fiber diameter offers control over ductility and surface electric potential