The coinage of qara khitay: a new evidence (on the reign title of the Western Liao Emperor Yelü Yilie)

The dual (Chinese and Inner Asian) nature of the Qara Khitay Empire (Western Liao dynasty) is a well-known and thoroughly investigated fact. The cited duality was evident in all aspects of life of the Qara Khitay society – political, economical, social, cultural, etc. No exception in this regard is the numismatic aspect as well, although the very existence of intrinsic Qara Khitay coinage has been disputable until recently. The problem of coin production and money circulation in the state of Western Liao still belongs to the least studied, first of all due to particular difficulties with singling the proper Qara Khitay coins out of the entire numismatic legacy of pre-Mongol Central Asia. For the moment being we know about a few coin issues undertaken in the Muslim (Qarakhanid) state, just most of those issues could be related to the Qara Khitays only on the basis of other sources witnessing that in the given years, mostly within the 2nd half of the 12th century, those towns or regions – in particular, Balkh and Tirmidh (modern Termez/Termiz) – were ruled by the Qara Khitay khans; however, the coins proper may not bear such indications at all – neither specific names nor any other obvious features; equally scarce are the respective publications on the topic [FEDOROV 2000; KOCNEV 2001; FEDOROV 2004; KOCNEV 2006]

Genome-wide signatures of population bottlenecks and diversifying selection in European wolves

Genomic resources developed for domesticated species provide powerful tools for studying the evolutionary history of their wild relatives. Here we use 61K single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) evenly spaced throughout the canine nuclear genome to analyse evolutionary relationships among the three largest European populations of grey wolves in comparison with other populations worldwide, and investigate genome-wide effects of demographic bottlenecks and signatures of selection. European wolves have a discontinuous range, with large and connected populations in Eastern Europe and relatively smaller, isolated populations in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. Our results suggest a continuous decline in wolf numbers in Europe since the Late Pleistocene, and long-term isolation and bottlenecks in the Italian and Iberian populations following their divergence from the Eastern European population. The Italian and Iberian populations have low genetic variability and high linkage disequilibrium, but relatively few autozygous segments across the genome. This last characteristic clearly distinguishes them from populations that underwent recent drastic demographic declines or founder events, and implies long-term bottlenecks in these two populations. Although genetic drift due to spatial isolation and bottlenecks seems to be a major evolutionary force diversifying the European populations, we detected 35 loci that are putatively under diversifying selection. Two of these loci flank the canine platelet-derived growth factor gene, which affects bone growth and may influence differences in body size between wolf populations. This study demonstrates the power of population genomics for identifying genetic signals of demographic bottlenecks and detecting signatures of directional selection in bottlenecked populations, despite their low background variability.Heredity advance online publication, 18 December 2013; doi:10.1038/hdy.2013.122

The forensic-medical expertise of injuries in elderly patients

The analysis of the literature data demonstrates that trauma often occur in elderly patients with underlying pathology. Preexisting diseases impact on the degree of bodily injuries and, conversely, bodily injury affects the progression of disease and complications. This problem requires further investigation

Dietary Differentiation and the Evolution of Population Genetic Structure in a Highly Mobile Carnivore

Recent studies on highly mobile carnivores revealed cryptic population genetic structures correlated to transitions in habitat types and prey species composition. This led to the hypothesis that natal-habitat-biased dispersal may be responsible for generating population genetic structure. However, direct evidence for the concordant ecological and genetic differentiation between populations of highly mobile mammals is rare. To address this we analyzed stable isotope profiles (δ13C and δ15N values) for Eastern European wolves (Canis lupus) as a quantifiable proxy measure of diet for individuals that had been genotyped in an earlier study (showing cryptic genetic structure), to provide a quantitative assessment of the relationship between individual foraging behavior and genotype. We found a significant correlation between genetic distances and dietary differentiation (explaining 46% of the variation) in both the marginal test and crucially, when geographic distance was accounted for as a co-variable. These results, interpreted in the context of other possible mechanisms such as allopatry and isolation by distance, reinforce earlier studies suggesting that diet and associated habitat choice are influencing the structuring of populations in highly mobile carnivores

Изучение социально-перцептивных способностей студентов технического университета

The paper gives insight into social and perceptive abilities of a personality that are a part of professional competence of an engineer-to-be. These abilities ensure efficient interrelation with colleagues, administration, subordinates and assist to establish and support necessary business relations. They also make it possible to interpret and forecast correctly behaviour of partners in communication and successfully work in a team. The paper contains results of the investigations pertaining to social and perceptive abilities of the Belarussian National Technical University students.Рассматривается понятие социально-перцептивных способностей личности, которые являются частью профессиональной компетентности будущего инженера. Они обеспечивают организацию эффективного взаимодействия с коллегами, администрацией, подчиненными; помогают устанавливать и поддерживать необходимые деловые контакты; правильно истолковывать и прогнозировать поведение партнеров по общению, успешно работать в команде. Приводятся результаты исследования социально-перцептивных способностей студентов БНТУ