Fantastic Beasts Of The Eurasian Steppes: Toward A Revisionist Approach To Animal-Style Art

Animal style is a centuries-old approach to decoration characteristic of the various cultures which flourished along the Eurasian steppe belt in the later half of the first millennium BCE. This vast territory stretching from the Mongolian Plateau to the Hungarian Plain, has yielded hundreds of archaeological finds associated with the early Iron Age. Among these discoveries, high-end metalwork, textiles and tomb furniture, intricately embellished with idiosyncratic zoomorphic motifs, stand out as a recurrent element. While scholarship has labeled animal-style imagery as scenes of combat, this dissertation argues against this overly simplified classification model which ignores the variety of visual tools employed in the abstraction of fantastic hybrids. I identify five primary categories in the arrangement and portrayal of zoomorphic designs: these traits, frequently occurring in clusters, constitute the first comprehensive definition of animal-style art. Each chapter focuses on the materiality and strategic placement of a different type of animal-style object: headdresses, torques and plaques often embellish the body of the deceased whereas felt, leather and silk textiles used as ceiling hangings, rugs, and coffin covers serve to define the tomb’s spatial parameters. Lastly, the dissertation also delves into the continuous retention of animal-style motifs in the arts of the Eurasian steppes after the dawn of the first millennium BCE thus challenging the narrative that animal art disappeared after the Iron Age. I demonstrate that elite members of the various pastoral societies perched along the peripheries of sedentary empires invented local interpretations of a common visual language made of tropes and devices (such as “visual synecdoche” and “frame narrative”) resulting from ingenious interpretations of the above-mentioned five categories. In so doing, they aimed to tackle an identical conceptual problem: the attendance of a real audience of a certain social stature during the funerary ceremony and the presence of an imagined (divine) one in the afterlife. The dissertation thus deconstructs the politically-motivated role of animal-style items in elite burials and argues that animal art was a constructed visual language intelligible to a small nucleus of elites whose sociopolitical status and network of influence were in fact inextricably linked to their level of fluency in it

Effectiveness of Current Therapy of Bacterial Vaginosis

The study was conducted in order to evaluate effectiveness of the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with different therapeutic regimes according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). During a one-year period (February 2000-February 2001) the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Center was visited by 482 women aged 14-51. The diagnosis of BV was established by standard methods: Amsel\u27s clinical criteria and Gram stain of vaginal discharge. The first-line treatment was oral Metronidazole 2 g single dose. Second line was Metronidazole 500 mg twice daily orally for 7 days or oral Clindamycin 300 mg twice daily for seven days. BV was confirmed in 74 women (15.4%). Most often it was observed in women aged 17-30 years of age. Thirty-three (44.6% of total) were young women 14-21 years of age. Thirty-one (42%) women received a follow-up examination and of those, 11 (38.7%) needed a repeat treatment for BV due to unsatisfactory results of this treatment. It is concluded that treatment of BV with standard methods was not always effective with no significant difference between women under 21 years and older women found in regards to response to treatment. Besides antibiotic treatment, the so-called Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus) can be taken into consideration as an alternative treatment. Additional research about the therapeutic effect of this type of drugs is needed

A picture of medically assisted reproduction activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe

STUDY QUESTION: How did coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact on medically assisted reproduction (MAR) services in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic (March to May 2020)? SUMMARY ANSWER: MAR services, and hence treatments for infertile couples, were stopped in most European countries for a mean of 7 weeks. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: With the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, non-urgent medical care was reduced by local authorities to preserve health resources and maintain social distancing. Furthermore, ESHRE and other societies recommended to postpone ART pregnancies as of 14 March 2020. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A structured questionnaire was distributed in April among the ESHRE Committee of National Representatives, followed by further information collection through email. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: The information was collected through the questionnaire and afterwards summarised and aligned with data from the European Centre for Disease Control on the number of COVID-19 cases per country. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: By aligning the data for each country with respective epidemiological data, we show a large variation in the time and the phase in the epidemic in the curve when MAR/ART treatments were suspended and restarted. Similarly, the duration of interruption varied. Fertility preservation treatments and patient supportive care for patients remained available during the pandemic. LARGE SCALE DATA: N/A. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Data collection was prone to misinterpretation of the questions and replies, and required further follow-up to check the accuracy. Some representatives reported that they, themselves, were not always aware of the situation throughout the country or reported difficulties with providing single generalised replies, for instance when there were regional differences within their country. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The current article provides a basis for further research of the different strategies developed in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Such conclusions will be invaluable for health authorities and healthcare professionals with respect to future similar situations.peer-reviewe

Effectiveness of Current Therapy of Bacterial Vaginosis

The study was conducted in order to evaluate effectiveness of the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with different therapeutic regimes according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). During a one-year period (February 2000-February 2001) the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Center was visited by 482 women aged 14-51. The diagnosis of BV was established by standard methods: Amsel\u27s clinical criteria and Gram stain of vaginal discharge. The first-line treatment was oral Metronidazole 2 g single dose. Second line was Metronidazole 500 mg twice daily orally for 7 days or oral Clindamycin 300 mg twice daily for seven days. BV was confirmed in 74 women (15.4%). Most often it was observed in women aged 17-30 years of age. Thirty-three (44.6% of total) were young women 14-21 years of age. Thirty-one (42%) women received a follow-up examination and of those, 11 (38.7%) needed a repeat treatment for BV due to unsatisfactory results of this treatment. It is concluded that treatment of BV with standard methods was not always effective with no significant difference between women under 21 years and older women found in regards to response to treatment. Besides antibiotic treatment, the so-called Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus) can be taken into consideration as an alternative treatment. Additional research about the therapeutic effect of this type of drugs is needed

Effectiveness of current therapy of bacterial vaginosis.

The study was conducted in order to evaluate effectiveness of the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV) with different therapeutic regimes according to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). During a one-year period (February 2000-February 2001) the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Center was visited by 482 women aged 14-51. The diagnosis of BV was established by standard methods: Amsel\u27s clinical criteria and Gram stain of vaginal discharge. The first-line treatment was oral Metronidazole 2 g single dose. Second line was Metronidazole 500 mg twice daily orally for 7 days or oral Clindamycin 300 mg twice daily for seven days. BV was confirmed in 74 women (15.4%). Most often it was observed in women aged 17-30 years of age. Thirty-three (44.6% of total) were young women 14-21 years of age. Thirty-one (42%) women received a follow-up examination and of those, 11 (38.7%) needed a repeat treatment for BV due to unsatisfactory results of this treatment. It is concluded that treatment of BV with standard methods was not always effective with no significant difference between women under 21 years and older women found in regards to response to treatment. Besides antibiotic treatment, the so-called Probiotics (Lactobacillus acidophilus) can be taken into consideration as an alternative treatment. Additional research about the therapeutic effect of this type of drugs is needed

Influence of Wave Climate on Intra and Inter-Annual Nearshore Bar Dynamics for a Sandy Beach

The study investigates cross-shore outer sand bar dynamics in an open-coast non-tidal beach at the Bulgarian Black Sea due to wave climate. On seasonal to short-term (1–2 years) time scale, monthly field measurements of the outer bar profiles were related to respective modeled nearshore wave data. Hereby, seaward-shoreward bar migration was examined depending on the wave forcing, wave non-linearity, wave transformation scenarios, storms and direction of wave incidence. Analysis revealed that intra-annually highly non-linear waves were responsible for outer bar displacement, while the direction of migration depended on wave period, duration of conditions with wave steepness >0.04, angle of approach and total duration of storms. Short-term bar evolution was mainly governed by wave height and storms’ parameters as the angle of approach and duration. The correlation between the outer bar location and wave height annual variations initiated the first for the explored Black Sea region examination of possible connection between wave height’s temporal fluctuations and the variability of climatic indices the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO), the East Atlantic Oscillation (EA), the Arctic Oscillation (AO), the East Atlantic-Western Russia (EA/WR) and the Scandinavian (SCAND) patterns. According to the results the inter-annual outer bar location may vary depending on periods of maximum annual wave fluctuations, which in turn predominantly depend on indices the EA (4–5, 10–11, 20–30 years), the EA/WR (2–4, 9–13 years) and the NAO (15 years)

Assessment of vulnerability to storm induced flood hazard along diverse coastline settings

European coasts suffer notably from hazards caused by low-probability and high-impact hydrometeorological events. The aim of the study is to assess in probabilistic terms the magnitude of storm‐induced flooding hazard along Varna regional coast (Bulgaria, western Black Sea) and to identify susceptible coastal sectors (hotspots). The study is performed employing the Coastal Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) developed within EU FP7 RISC-KIT project. It constitutes a screening process that allows estimation of relevant hazard intensities, extents and potential receptors’ exposure vulnerability within predefined sectors. Total water level was the chief property considered for calculation of coastal flooding hazard. It was estimated using Holman model (for sandy beaches) and EurOtop formulation (for artificial or rocky slopes). Resulting values were subjected to Extreme Value Analysis to establish that the best fitting distribution corresponds to Generalized Extreme Value distribution. Furthermore, hazard extents were modelled by means of bathtubbing or overwash estimation in order to form the flooding hazard indicator. Land use, social vulnerability, transport systems, utilities and business settings were considered as exposure indicators. Finally, potential risk was assessed by coastal indices following an index-based methodology, which combines hazard and exposure indicators into a single index, thereby providing base for comparison of coastal sectors’ vulnerability. The study found that the concentration of hotspots is highest in Varna Bay

Assessment of vulnerability to storm induced flood hazard along diverse coastline settings

European coasts suffer notably from hazards caused by low-probability and high-impact hydrometeorological events. The aim of the study is to assess in probabilistic terms the magnitude of storm‐induced flooding hazard along Varna regional coast (Bulgaria, western Black Sea) and to identify susceptible coastal sectors (hotspots). The study is performed employing the Coastal Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF) developed within EU FP7 RISC-KIT project. It constitutes a screening process that allows estimation of relevant hazard intensities, extents and potential receptors’ exposure vulnerability within predefined sectors. Total water level was the chief property considered for calculation of coastal flooding hazard. It was estimated using Holman model (for sandy beaches) and EurOtop formulation (for artificial or rocky slopes). Resulting values were subjected to Extreme Value Analysis to establish that the best fitting distribution corresponds to Generalized Extreme Value distribution. Furthermore, hazard extents were modelled by means of bathtubbing or overwash estimation in order to form the flooding hazard indicator. Land use, social vulnerability, transport systems, utilities and business settings were considered as exposure indicators. Finally, potential risk was assessed by coastal indices following an index-based methodology, which combines hazard and exposure indicators into a single index, thereby providing base for comparison of coastal sectors’ vulnerability. The study found that the concentration of hotspots is highest in Varna Bay

Relations between photosynthetic performance and polyphenolics productivity of Artemisia alba Turra in in vitro tissue cultures

Establishing optimal growth conditions for secondary metabolites production in vitro is vital for the biotechnological development of medicinal plants. In the present work we investigate the relations between the supplementation of plant growth regulators (benzyl adenine and indole-3-butyric acid) to in vitro shoot cultures of the medicinal plant Artemisia alba Turra, the productivity of antioxidant polyphenolic compounds and the structural and functional characteristics of the photosynthetic apparatus. We assayed the structural characteristics of isolated thylakoid membranes from the aerial parts by means of circular dichroism spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the photosynthetic performance by pulse amplitude fluorescence modulated imaging. Although a complex relationship between benzyl adenine and indole-3-butyric acid supplementation, the polyphenolic levels and the architecture and functionality of the photosynthetic thylakoid membranes was revealed, a clear correlation was established between the concentration of the produced polyphenolic compounds and the quantum yield of photosystem II. Our data demonstrate that there is an optimal combination of the applied plant growth regulators that triggers efficient photosynthesis and high phenolics production

Correlation between Cytogenetic Findings and Spermatogenic Failure in Bulgarian Infertile Men

The aim of our study was to determine the type and frequency of chromosomal aberrations and polymorphisms in men with different degrees of spermatogenic failure in comparison to men with normozoospermia, in order to find correlations between cytogenetic findings and the abnormal results of semen analysis. In our study, we performed cytogenetic analysis in 901 infertile men, divided into five groups according to semen analysis—normozoospermia (86), asthenozoospermia (394), oligoasthenozoospermia (182), severe male factor (100), and azoospermia (139). The frequency of polymorphisms was similar in all groups (11–16%, without significant differences). The frequency of numerical and structural aberrations increases with the degree of the spermatogenic failure (3.5% in normozoospermia, 5.6% in asthenozoospermia, 9.8% in oligoasthenozoospermia, 9% in severe male factor, and 13.5% in azoospermia). We found a significantly higher incidence of numerical chromosomal aberrations in severe male factor (7%) and azoospermia (9.3%). Oligoasthenozoospermia occured in 45% of cases with translocation, compared to 20% in the group with a normal karyotype. We revealed that chromosomal translocations are tightly associated with oligoasthenozoospermia, whereas numerical chromosomal aberrations—with severe male factor and azoospermia. The impact of chromosome polymorphisms on male infertility should be studied in greater detail