Community practice and religion at an Early Islamic cemetery in highland Central Asia

Archaeological studies of Early Islamic communities in Central Asia have focused on lowland urban communities. Here, the authors report on recent geophysical survey and excavation of an Early Islamic cemetery at Tashbulak in south-eastern Uzbekistan. AMS dating places the establishment of the cemetery in the mid-eighth century AD, making it one of the earliest Islamic burial grounds documented in Central Asia. Burials at Tashbulak conform to Islamic prescriptions for grave form and body deposition. The consistency in ritual suggests the existence of a funerary community of practice, challenging narratives of Islamic conversion in peripheral areas as a process of slow diffusion and emphasising the importance of archaeological approaches for documenting the diversity of Early Islamic communities.Introduction Background and rationale The site of Tashbulak Islamic burial The Tashbulak cemetery - Burial forms - Body treatment - Demographic profile - Chronology Discussion Conclusio

Inverse spectral problems for energy-dependent Sturm-Liouville equations

We study the inverse spectral problem of reconstructing energy-dependent Sturm-Liouville equations from their Dirichlet spectra and sequences of the norming constants. For the class of problems under consideration, we give a complete description of the corresponding spectral data, suggest a reconstruction algorithm, and establish uniqueness of reconstruction. The approach is based on connection between spectral problems for energy-dependent Sturm-Liouville equations and for Dirac operators of special form.Comment: AMS-LaTeX, 28 page

Morphotype broadening of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) from Oxus civilization 4000 BP, Central Asia

The region of Transoxiana underwent an early agricultural-demographic transition leading to the earliest proto-urban centers in Central Asia. The agronomic details of this cultural shift are still poorly studied, especially regarding the role that long-generation perennials, such as grapes, played in the cultivation system. In this paper, we present directly dated remains of grape pips from the early urban centers of Sapalli and Djarkutan, in south Uzbekistan. We also present linear morphometric data, which illustrate a considerable range of variation under cultivation that we divide into four distinct morphotypes according to pip shape. While some of the pips in these two assemblages morphologically fall within the range of wild forms, others more closely resemble modern domesticated populations. Most of the specimens measure along a gradient between the two poles, showing a mixed combination of domesticated and wild features. We also point out that the seeds recovered from the Djarkutan temple were, on average, larger and contained more affinity towards domesticated forms than those from domestic contexts. The potential preference of morphotypes seems to suggest that there were recognized different varieties that local cultivators might aware and possibly propagating asexually.- Dating of archaeobotanical samples. - Morphotyping the archaeological grape pips. - Grape morphological diversity and human selection in Bronze Age Central Asia. - Grape seed morphology and early horticulture. - Conclusions. - Method

When did the chicken cross the road: archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia

The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals1,2. The lack of agreement regarding the timing and center of origin is due, in large part, to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin bird bones. Historical sources attest to the prominence of chickens in southern Europe and southwest Asia by the last centuries BC3. Likewise, art historical depictions of chickens and anthropomorphic rooster-human chimeras are reoccurring motifs in Central Asian prehistoric and historic traditions4-6. However, when this ritually and economically significant bird spread along the trans-Eurasian exchange routes has remained a mystery. Here we show that chickens were widely raised by people at villages across southern Central Asia from the third century BC through medieval periods for their eggs and likely also meat. In this study, we present archaeological and molecular evidence for the cultivation of chickens for egg production from 12 different Central Asian archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens were widely raised by people at villages across southern Central Asia from the third century BC through medieval periods and that they were an important part of the overall diet. Contrary to views that ancient peoples of Central Asia were primarily herding sheep, goat, and cattle, these data show that chicken was also important in the subsistence economy and that it was widely spread along the ancient Silk Road.Introduction - Rapid Dissemination across the Ancient World Results - Archaeological Eggshells - Peptide Mass Fingerprinting Discussion - Evidence for Non-Seasonal Egg Laying - The Rise in Symbolic and Economic Prominence of the Chicken in Central Asia Conclusion

Аномальное отхождение левой коронарной артерии от ствола легочной артерии: оценка роли КТ-ангиографии сердца (клиническое наблюдение)

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery (LCA) arising from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA or a Bland-WhiteGarland Syndrome) is a congenital heart pathology where the left main trunk (LM) originates from the pulmonary artery system (PA). Clinical signs of the defect were studied and described in 1933 by Cardiologists E. Bland, P. White, J. Garland; this anomaly took its name as “syndrome of Bland–White–Garland” (BWGS) from them. Frequency of LCA origin from LM is 0.025–0.05 per 1,000 newborns, 0.22% of all congenital heart defects (CHD) and 0.4–0.7% of critical CHD. Clinical supervision of a patient with BWGS first identified at age of 12 years, is exemplified. This example demonstrates that if CHD is suspected CT angiography of heart shall be made for the earliest and accurate diagnosis and determination of CHD type.Аномальное отхождение левой коронарной артерии от легочной артерии (АОЛКА, или синдром Bland–White– Garland) – врожденная патология сердца, при которой ствол левой коронарной артерии (ЛКА) берет начало от системы легочной артерии (ЛА). Клинические признаки порока были изучены и описаны в 1933 г. американскими кардиологами E. Bland, P. White, J. Garland, в честь которых данная аномалия получила название “синдром Бланда–Уайта–Гарланда” (СБУГ). При этом частота отхождения ЛКА от ЛА составляет 0,025–0,05 на 1000 новорожденных, 0,22% среди всех врожденных пороков сердца (ВПС) и 0,4–0,7% среди критических ВПС. Приведено клиническое наблюдение пациентки, у которой СБУГ был впервые выявлен в возрасте 12 лет. Данный пример демонстрирует, что при подозрении на наличие ВПС, для наиболее ранней и точной диагностики, определения вида ВПС необходимо проводить КТ-ангиографию сердца

The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia

By sequencing 523 ancient humans, we show that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Asians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. After the Indus Valley Civilization’s decline, its people mixed with individuals in the southeast to form one of the two main ancestral populations of South Asia, whose direct descendants live in southern India. Simultaneously, they mixed with descendants of Steppe pastoralists who, starting around 4000 years ago, spread via Central Asia to form the other main ancestral population. The Steppe ancestry in South Asia has the same profile as that in Bronze Age Eastern Europe, tracking a movement of people that affected both regions and that likely spread the distinctive features shared between Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages

Evolution of oasis agriculture since the Bronze Age in the Surhan-Darya Basin

Surkhandarya - the main tributary of the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan, played an important role in the birth and development of agriculture in Central Asia and the connection between eastern and western civilizations in Eurasia. This study combines archaeobotanical and chronological methods to reconstruct agricultural evolution and adaptation of the Surkhandarya basin from 4000 BC. E. (Late Bronze Age) of the Sassanid Empire.Сурхандарья - главный приток реки Амударья в Узбекистане, сыграла важную роль в зарождении и развитии сельского хозяйства в Центральной Азии и связи между восточными и западными цивилизациями в Евразии. В этом исследовании сочетаются археоботанические и хронологические методы, чтобы реконструировать сельскохозяйственную эволюцию и адаптацию бассейна Сурхандарьи с 4000 г. до н. Э. (поздний бронзовый век) империи Сасанидов.Surxon-Daryo - Amudaryoning Oʻzbekistondagi asosiy irmogʻi, Markaziy Osiyoda qishloq xo'jaligining kelib chiqishi va evolyutsiyasi hamda Evroosiyoda sharqiy va gʻarbiy sivilizatsiyalar oʻrtasidagi aloqada muhim rol oʻynagan. Ushbu tadqiqotda arxeobotanik va xronologik usullar birlashtirilib, qishloq xo'jaligi evolyutsiyasini qayta qurish va miloddan avvalgi 4000 yildan (soʻngi bronza davri) boshlab Sosoniylar imperiyasiga qadar Surxondaryo havzasini moslashtirildi.

Strength and deformability of fibrin clots: Biomechanics, thermodynamics, and mechanisms of rupture

Fibrin is the major determinant of the mechanical stability and integrity of blood clots and thrombi. To explore the rupture of blood clots, emulating thrombus breakage, we stretched fibrin gels with single-edge cracks of varying size. Ultrastructural alterations of the fibrin network correlated with three regimes of stress vs. strain profiles: the weakly non-linear regime due to alignment of fibrin fibers; linear regime owing to further alignment and stretching of fibers; and the rupture regime for large deformations reaching the critical strain and stress, at which irreversible breakage of fibers ahead of the crack tip occurs. To interpret the stress-strain curves, we developed a new Fluctuating Spring model, which maps the fibrin alignment at the characteristic strain, network stretching with the Young modulus, and simultaneous cooperative rupture of coupled fibrin fibers into a theoretical framework to obtain the closed-form expressions for the strain-dependent stress profiles. Cracks render network rupture stochastic, and the free energy change for fiber deformation and rupture decreases with the crack length, making network rupture more spontaneous. By contrast, mechanical cooperativity due to the presence of inter-fiber contacts strengthens fibrin networks. The results obtained provide a fundamental understanding of blood clot breakage that underlies thrombotic embolization. Statement of significance: Fibrin, a naturally occurring biomaterial, is the major determinant of mechanical stability and integrity of blood clots and obstructive thrombi. We tested mechanically fibrin gels with single-edge cracks and followed ultrastructural alterations of the fibrin network. Rupture of fibrin gel involves initial alignment and elastic stretching of fibers followed by their eventual rupture for deformations reaching the critical level. To interpret the stress-strain curves, we developed Fluctuating Spring model, which showed that cracks render rupture of fibrin networks more spontaneous; yet, coupled fibrin fibers reinforce cracked fibrin networks. The results obtained provide fundamental understanding of blood clot breakage that underlies thrombotic embolization. Fluctuating Spring model can be applied to other protein networks with cracks and to interpret the stress-strain profiles

PREVALENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CORONARY ARTERY CALCIFICATION IN ADULT POPULATION OF UZBEKISTAN

Background. The incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) varies depending on age, gender and ethnicity, but the precise differences remain to be firmly established. This study therefore evaluated the disparity in coronary artery calcification (CAC), as a marker of CAD, in adults of Uzbekistan. Materials and Methods. A total of 1541 patients were involved in our study, including 1093 (70.9%) males, with an average age of 52.4 ±10.6 years, and 448 (29.1%) females, with an average age of 57.5 ±9.9 years. Persons of Asian nationalities prevailed - 1356 (88%), Europeans accounted for 185 patients (12%). The study was carried out on the multidetector spiral CT scanners “Brilliance 64” and “Brilliance i-CT 256” (PHILIPS). Results. The majority patients (n=787, 51.1%) had a zero coronary artery calcium scoring (CACS). 378 (24.5%) patients had low CAC rates (1–100). Moderate CAC rates (100-400) were observed in 211 cases (13.7%). Patients with CACS\u3e 400 found the smallest number (n = 165, 10.7%). Zero CACS level was more common (92.3%) in the age group under 40 years. CAC and prevalence steadily rose with the increasing age. Patients within the age groups of 50–59 years and 60–69 years dominating the non-zero CACS population (n = 278, 36.9% and n = 290, 38.5%, respectively). Asian males were found to have lower calcium levels compared to European males (non-zero CACS 51.1% and 62.3% respectively), and the same trend was observed in Asian and European women (non-zero CACS in 32.5% and 44.4% respectively). Conclusion. Findings from this study showed that the distribution of CAC was markedly affected by the age, sex and race of our studied population. CAC increases with age in both men and women. The prevalence and severity of coronary atherosclerosis appeared lower in Asian population compared with Europeans