Scythian Barrow of the Second Half of the 5th Century BC in the Lower Dniester Region

Introduction. The article publishes and analyses the materials obtained during excavations of Scythian barrow 9 of the group Vodovod near the Glinoe village, Slobodzeysk district, on the left bank of the Lower Dniester. The barrow was surrounded by a ring ditch and contained two burials of medieval nomads - the main one, the Scythian, and the secondary, the inlet one. Methods. The mound was excavated by the method of parallel trenches, leaving stratigraphic profiles. When analyzing the materials obtained, a comparatively typological method was applied. Analysis. The main burial was made in a catacomb of unusual construction. The entrance well of the catacomb was filled with stone slabs and boulders characterized with utmost accuracy of production. Despite this, in antiquity the burial was robbed three times: through the entrance well, through the roof of the funeral chamber and through the robbery mine, which went to the burial chamber from the north-eastern floor of the mound. The preserved grave goods are represented with a handmade pot, an iron knife, an iron needle and an awl, a lead finial, a stone slab, a burned pebble, a piece of mineral paint, a wooden kneader, a bronze horse harness and golden pendants. The stone slab was made very carefully, and the wooden kneader is the second such find in the North-West Black Sea region. Bronze items of horse harness have no analogues in the Scythian burial complexes of the North Black Sea region. The construction of barrow 9 of the group Vodovod dates back to the second half of the 5th century BC and is determined on the basis of gold pendants, which analogies are known only in the Malyy Chertomlyk barrow in the Lower Dnieper region. Results.The most important is the fact that the studied barrow was found in the microzone (near the Glinoe village of the Slobodzeya district), where at the moment not only the Scythian burial sites of the 5th - 2nd centuries BC are known, but also a settlement of that time. This testifies to the continual dwelling of the Scythians on the left bank of the Lower Dniester River during this period

Disorders in the System of Mineral and Bone Metabolism Regulators—FGF-23, Klotho and Sclerostin—in Chronic Kidney Disease: Clinical Significance and Possibilities for Correction

The chapter discusses the current understanding of the system of mineral and bone metabolism regulators—FGF-23, Klotho and sclerostin—disturbances in chronic kidney disease (CKD). In the chapter we presented the date, including our own results, which allow to suggest the change in the ratio of FGF-23-Klotho-sclerostin in CKD as an early biomarker not only for the chronic kidney damage but also for high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Results of studies show that disorders in FGF-23-Klotho-sclerostin ratio correlate with the frequency and severity of hypertension, vascular calcification, cardiac remodelling, anaemia, malnutrition, inflammation and strong aggravate CV risk in CKD. It was found independent from blood pressure (BP) action of increased serum FGF-23 on the myocardium as well as the correlation of serum high-sensitive troponin I with increased serum FGF-23 and low Klotho levels in CKD patients. At the same time, it was shown that renoprotective therapy, including renin-angiotensin blockers, low-protein diet with amino/keto acid supplementation and phosphate binders, erythropoiesis stimulators, vitamin D metabolites used to get the target levels of BP, serum phosphorus, haemoglobin, parathyroid hormone and nutritional status disorders correction can reduce the risk of CV events, as the major cause of death in CKD patients

Nutritional Status Disorders in Chronic Kidney Disease: Practical Aspects (Systematic Review)

Despite the significant achievements in the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, the mortality rate of these patients still remains high. Nutritional status disorders (NSD) are considered now as one of the prognostic risk factors not only for dialysis but also for predialysis CKD stages. Since the publication of KDIGO 2012 guidelines for CKD patient’s management, there has been some significant advancement in our understanding of main NSD mechanisms in CKD, including different nosological group patients (first, in diabetic and systemic diseases patients). At the same time, there is still an urgent need for randomized trials for better-informed decisions and future optimization of CKD patients’ care. This chapter provides the current data on all aspects of NSD in CKD: etiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment approaches, as well as on risk factors of NSD at predialysis stages and in chronic hemodialysis patients. Considerable attention was devoted to the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of NSD in CKD patients. It was determined that the overall strategy for dietary treatment contributed to improving the life quality of patients and slowing down of CKD progression. The review is written based on the published results of clinical studies performed on the position of evidence-based medicine

Сравнительная характеристика радиофармацевтических препаратов для визуализации воспалительных и инфекционных процессов методом эмиссионной томографии

Emission imaging and radionuclide diagnostics of inflammation and infection are based on local physical and chemical changes of affected tissue. Emission imaging allows demonstrating functional status of pathology while other modern methods (CT, USG and MRI) are based on morphological changes. Imaging using radiopharmaceutical allows estimating foci of early development stage. Unfortunately, nowadays there is no “ideal” radiopharmaceutical (fast accumulation in inflammation, fast excretion, low toxicity, discrimination between inflammation and infection, low cost). Therefore, the world experience of radiopharmaceutical using for inflammation imaging and their positive results were providing foundation of sufficient number of radiopharmaceuticals for independent select of using different labeled agents.Визуализация и радионуклидная диагностика воспалительных и инфекционных процессов методами эмиссионной томографии, основывающейся на локальных физико-химических изменениях в пораженной ткани, позволяет отразить функциональный статус патологии, тогда как другие современные методы визуализации (КТ, МРТ, УЗИ) опираются на морфологические изменения в тканях, что лишает возможности оценить патологию на ранней стадии развития. К сожалению, на сегодняшний день нет “идеального” радиофармпрепарата, отвечающего определенным критериям, поэтому многолетний мировой опыт использования меченых агентов для визуализации воспалений и их конкретные позитивные результаты явились основанием в предоставлении достаточного количества препаратов для независимого выбора применения того или иного агента

Anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease and After Kidney Allotransplantation (Systematic Review)

Anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been recognized as a separate independent risk factor of cardiovascular (CV) events. The aim of the review is to provide a literature summary concerning early diagnosis and treatment of anemia in CKD that may be useful for clinicians and contribute to decrease CV mortality. Literature searches were made in such major databases as: PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Wiley Online Library, Scopus, Web of Science, e-library, and website of WHO. This search encompassed original articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses relevant to CKD and anemia over recent 15 years. A total of 54 references from 562 reviewed articles were selected as they met to the search criteria (anemia and CKD, including diabetes mellitus, systemic diseases and post-transplant anemia). The publications included 27 randomized controlled trials, 20 experimental studies representing new data on the links of CKD anemia and cardiovascular risk markers (cytokines, Klotho, fibroblast growth factor (FGF-23), hyperglycemia, hypoalbuminemia and some others), 4 systematic reviews and 3 clinical practice guidelines. The main attention was devoted to the analysis of the studies provided an early diagnosis of anemia, an ability to minimize the factors contributing to its severity that have allowed to improve CV and total outcomes and to reduce costs of hospital treatment of CKD patients with anemia

Distribution maps of vegetation alliances in Europe

Aim: The first comprehensive checklist of European phytosociological alliances, orders and classes (EuroVegChecklist) was published by Mucina et al. (2016, Applied Vegetation Science, 19 (Suppl. 1), 3–264). However, this checklist did not contain detailed information on the distribution of individual vegetation types. Here we provide the first maps of all alliances in Europe. Location: Europe, Greenland, Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cyprus and the Caucasus countries. Methods: We collected data on the occurrence of phytosociological alliances in European countries and regions from literature and vegetation-plot databases. We interpreted and complemented these data using the expert knowledge of an international team of vegetation scientists and matched all the previously reported alliance names and concepts with those of the EuroVegChecklist. We then mapped the occurrence of the EuroVegChecklist alliances in 82 territorial units corresponding to countries, large islands, archipelagos and peninsulas. We subdivided the mainland parts of large or biogeographically heterogeneous countries based on the European biogeographical regions. Specialized alliances of coastal habitats were mapped only for the coastal section of each territorial unit. Results: Distribution maps were prepared for 1,105 alliances of vascular-plant dominated vegetation reported in the EuroVegChecklist. For each territorial unit, three levels of occurrence probability were plotted on the maps: (a) verified occurrence; (b) uncertain occurrence; and (c) absence. The maps of individual alliances were complemented by summary maps of the number of alliances and the alliance–area relationship. Distribution data are also provided in a spreadsheet. Conclusions: The new map series represents the first attempt to characterize the distribution of all vegetation types at the alliance level across Europe. There are still many knowledge gaps, partly due to a lack of data for some regions and partly due to uncertainties in the definition of some alliances. The maps presented here provide a basis for future research aimed at filling these gaps

ABSOLUTE (RADIOCARBON) CHRONOLOGY OF THE EASTERN TRZCINIEC CULTURE IN THE DNIEPER BASIN (THE MALOPOLOVETSKE BURIAL SITE)

The Trzciniec Culture, Trzciniec Cultural Circle and Trzciniec Horizon are the names of a cultural area in the borderland of Western and Eastern Europe at the 2nd millenium BC. For over half a century a discussion has been going on over the taxonomic identification (chronological and spatial) and genetic and ethnic interpretation of this cultural unit. In the debate, the 1980's and 1990's mark a significant cognitive turn caused by the growth of the corpus of sources, the use of systematic methods for the study of mobile sources and the proliferation of regional 14C datings. The present volume of "Baltic-Pontic Studies" is an attempt to register this breakthrough and a proposal for a new fitting of the Trzciniec phenomenon into the synthesis of Early Bronze Age Europe. The records include rudiments of new regional systematizations, foundations of their chronologies based on radiocarbon datings and a discussion of the mechanisms of socio-cultural changes which gave rise to the Trzciniec cultural area and later contributed to its disintegration. A long-term intention of this volume giving a multifaceted view of the effects of the said cognitive breakthrough is to encourage a careful scrutiny of the development mechanisms of the European Early Bronze Age Civilization, in particular the role played in them by the societies inhabiting the drainages of the Baltic and Pontic Seas

Discrete Models in Research of Wave Processes in Rod Structures of Radio-Electronic Means

The article shows the relevance of the application of discrete models of rod structures of radio-electronic means (REM) for the study of their behaviour under transient loading. A discrete model of the propagation of harmonic waves in the rod and the study of standing waves are proposed. Computational experiments using the proposed model are conducted. The results show that the model accurately reflects qualitative dynamics of the physical processes in the elastic rod while the waves of elastic deformations are passing through. The proposed models are used for software implementations of systems of mechanical simulation of the behaviour of rod structures