The educational process of Ukrainian university students following the full-scale Russian invasion

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its second year. The invasion disrupted higher education institutions across the country and forced both staff and students to adapt to the new reality. This article focuses on the experiences of university students to understand how their educational process was impacted by the invasion. The research data comprise written testimonies from 81 students at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Thematic analysis of the data resulted in three themes: organisation of studies by the university; self-organisation of studies; and personal experiences. The article concludes that the invasion shifted the educational process online; however, students are often prevented from accessing the virtual classrooms due to constant air raids, power outages and connectivity issues with the internet, thus leading students towards more self-studying

Rove beetles of the subfamily Aleocharinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) from the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park

This work is the first attempt to make up an inventory of the fauna of rove beetles in the Hutsulshchyna National Natural Park (Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast), which was created in 2002 and has an area of 32,271 hectares. The modern territory of the park has never been the object of special scientific research on the fauna of rove beetles of the Aleocharinae subfamily. As a result, information about the finds of representatives of the Aleocharinae subfamily has been obtained from the study of the largest collection of rove beetles in Ukraine, which contains both modern collections and collections of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection was formed by Marian-Aloiz Lomnitski and was further developed and replenished with collections from different parts of Ukraine and the world by several generations of Ukrainian and European entomologists. For the moment, the collection is kept in the funds of the State Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and contains more than 1,500 specimens, which belong to more than 300 species and are of great historical and scientific value. As a result of the conducted studies, 30 species belonging to 18 genera are reported for the first time for the fauna of the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park, of which 4 species (Atheta corvina (Thomson, 1856), Schistoglossa viduata (Erichson, 1837), Leptusa puellaris puellaris (C. Hampe, 1863), Silusa rubra (Erichson, 1839)) are reported for the first time for the territory of Ukraine. The species and specimens (with references, data of their distribution in Europe, as well as substrate and biotope preferences of adults) are listed. The obtained data will later on provide an opportunity to expand the understanding of the distribution of species – specifically for faunal research, as well as for biogeographic modelling

A review of species of the genus Mocyta (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae) in Ukraine

A review of the genus Mocyta Mulsant & Rey, 1874, which is represented in Ukraine; a description of the main morphological features and diagnostic features is made, data on ecological features, seasonal activity of adults, the distribution of representatives of the genus in Ukraine and the world and the keys to identify the species are presented. The information on the distribution of species of the genus Mocyta in the territory of Ukraine has been clarified and significantly supplemented by new findings. The results can be used to address a number of theoretical issues of faunistics, zoogeography, and ecology, as well as in compiling the inventory of the fauna of the Ukrainian Carpathians, for comparative faunal research, in the analysis of species distribution, in biogeographic constructions, studies of faunogenesis, ecological monitoring and prediction of consequences of the influence of human activities on natural ecosystems of the region. The genus Mocyta is a widespread genus, which in terms of the combination of morphological and biological features belongs to the tribe Athetini Casey, 1910 of the subfamily Aleocharinae Fleming, 1821 of the family Staphylinidae Latreille, 1802. There are 26 known species in the fauna of Palearctic, 5 of which (Mocyta clientula, M. fungi fungi, M. fussi, M. orbata, M. orphana) are represented in the fauna of Ukraine. However, it is likely that there are two more species (M. amplicollis and M. negligens), identified for the surrounding areas, for which characteristics and comparative diagnoses have also been provided. This paper is a continuation of the initiated series of reviews of genera and species of the tribe Athetini of the fauna of Ukraine. Taking into account the wide geographical distribution and significant individual variability in size, colour and shape of the spermatheca of representatives of the genus, the identification of the latter presents some significant difficulties

Differentiation of the regions of the central federal district of the Russian Federation according to the level of competitive advantages

The article reveals the methodology of competitive positioning of the regions, based on the clustering of the initial key competitive indicators, including those reflecting the regional resource potentia

ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЕ ЖИДКИХ ПЛОСКИХ ЭКРАНОВ С ГАЗОВЫМ ПОТОКОМ, ОГРАНИЧЕННЫМ СТЕНКАМИ КАНАЛА

The paper gives description of physical pattern of liquid screen interaction that are injected from the internal walls of a rectangular channel with gas flow. Criterion dependences for determination of intersection coordinates of external boundaries with longitudinal channel axis and factor of liquid screen head resistance.Приведено описание физической картины взаимодействия жидких экранов, инжектируемых с внутренних стенок прямоугольного канала с газовым потоком. Получены критериальные зависимости определения координаты пересечения внешних границ с продольной осью канала и коэффициента лобового сопротивления жидкого экрана

Systematic dissection of biases in whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing reveals major determinants of coding sequence coverage

Advantages and diagnostic effectiveness of the two most widely used resequencing approaches, whole exome (WES) and whole genome (WGS) sequencing, are often debated. WES dominated large-scale resequencing projects because of lower cost and easier data storage and processing. Rapid development of 3(rd) generation sequencing methods and novel exome sequencing kits predicate the need for a robust statistical framework allowing informative and easy performance comparison of the emerging methods. In our study we developed a set of statistical tools to systematically assess coverage of coding regions provided by several modern WES platforms, as well as PCR-free WGS. We identified a substantial problem in most previously published comparisons which did not account for mappability limitations of short reads. Using regression analysis and simple machine learning, as well as several novel metrics of coverage evenness, we analyzed the contribution from the major determinants of CDS coverage. Contrary to a common view, most of the observed bias in modern WES stems from mappability limitations of short reads and exome probe design rather than sequence composition. We also identified the similar to 500kb region of human exome that could not be effectively characterized using short read technology and should receive special attention during variant analysis. Using our novel metrics of sequencing coverage, we identified main determinants of WES and WGS performance. Overall, our study points out avenues for improvement of enrichment-based methods and development of novel approaches that would maximize variant discovery at optimal cost

Identification of Novel Candidate Markers of Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in Russia by Exome Sequencing with a Limited Sample Size

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity are common chronic disorders with multifactorial etiology. In our study, we performed an exome sequencing analysis of 110 patients of Russian ethnicity together with a multi-perspective approach based on biologically meaningful filtering criteria to detect novel candidate variants and loci for T2D and obesity. We have identified several known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as markers for obesity (rs11960429), T2D (rs9379084, rs1126930), and body mass index (BMI) (rs11553746, rs1956549 and rs7195386) (p < 0.05). We show that a method based on scoring of case-specific variants together with selection of protein-altering variants can allow for the interrogation of novel and known candidate markers of T2D and obesity in small samples. Using this method, we identified rs328 in LPL (p = 0.023), rs11863726 in HBQ1 (p = 8 × 10−5), rs112984085 in VAV3 (p = 4.8 × 10−4) for T2D and obesity, rs6271 in DBH (p = 0.043), rs62618693 in QSER1 (p = 0.021), rs61758785 in RAD51B (p = 1.7 × 10−4), rs34042554 in PCDHA1 (p = 1 × 10−4), and rs144183813 in PLEKHA5 (p = 1.7 × 10−4) for obesity; and rs9379084 in RREB1 (p = 0.042), rs2233984 in C6orf15 (p = 0.030), rs61737764 in ITGB6 (p = 0.035), rs17801742 in COL2A1 (p = 8.5 × 10−5), and rs685523 in ADAMTS13 (p = 1 × 10−6) for T2D as important susceptibility loci in Russian population. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of whole exome sequencing (WES) technologies for searching for novel markers of multifactorial diseases in cohorts of limited size in poorly studied populations

Clinical and radiological efficacy of corpectomy and anterior stabilization with titanium mesh cages in patients with myelopathic syndrome associated with cervical spine degenerative di

The aim of this study was to research the clinical and radiological efficacy of  corpectomy and anterior stabilization with titanium mesh cages in patients with myelopathic syndrome associated with cervical spine degenerative diseases.Material and methods. A retrospective observational cohort study was performed. The study included medical records of patients with cervical myelopathy associated with degenerative diseases of the cervical spine who underwent corpectomy and  anterior stabilization with titanium mesh cages. Clinical and instrumental parameters were assessed.Results. The study included 28  medical records of respondents who underwent corpectomy and anterior stabilization with titanium mesh implants. The average age of patients was 61.9 ± 11.3 years, males prevailed (60.7 %). By the 3rd month of  postoperative follow-up, the severity of myelopathy significantly decreased (p˂0.001). After 12  months, the severity of cervical myelopathic syndrome also significantly decreased (p = 0.009). The neurological status of 18 (64.2 %) respondents improved in the first 3  months after corpectomy and anterior stabilization with titanium mesh implants and 6 months after the surgery, the status improved in the remaining 8 (30.7 %) patients (p˂0.001). Preoperative values of the Cobb sagittal angle allowed us to conclude the following. In 13 (46.4 %) patients, the normolordotic axis of the cervical spine was noted, in 12  (42.8  %) – the  hypolordotic axis, and in 3 (10.8 %) respondents, the Cobb angle values corresponded to the kyphotic axis of the cervical spine.Conclusion. The technique of corpectomy and anterior fixation with mesh titanium implants in patients with myelopathic syndrome against the background of  degenerative diseases of the cervical spine makes it possible to improve the clinical status of the latter already 3 months after the operation was performed while maintaining normal biomechanical parameters of the cervical spine and complete decompression of the neural structures and supply their vessels