Expedition Route Research Articles

Species Suaeda Forssk. of the Aral-Balkhash region flora in the collections of the Herbarium (AA)

In the article a complete list of specimens of species of the genus Suaeda Forssk. ex J.F. Gmel. of the Aral-Balkhash region, stored in the herbarium fund of the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction (Almaty, Kazakhstan) was provided. Suaeda species are divided into 5 sections (Schanginia C.A. Mey, Lachnostigma Iljin, Conosperma Iljin, Physophora Iljin, Heterosperma Iljin). The aim of the research was to critically study the specimens of species of the genus Suaeda of the Aral-Balkhash region, available in the Herbarium (AA) for further revision of the genus. This territory includes 5 floristic regions (14 — Aral Sea, 15 — Kyzylorda, 16 — Betpakdala, 17 — Muyunkum (Moiynkum) and 18 — Balkhash-Alakul.). During the screening of species of the genus within the study region, 240 herbarium specimens were reviewed, belonging to 15 species. A comparison of the representation of species in the collection fund of the Herbarium with the data of literary sources was carried out. Floristic areas have been identified in which, despite the availability of information about the presence of the studied species on their territory, there is no herbarium material. At the same time, floristic areas are noted in which the presence of certain species of Suaeda was not previously cited in literary sources, but they are present in the collections of the Herbarium. The degree of study of each region was determined for the further compilation of the current expedition route in order to replenish the herbarium fund. The paper presents a synopsis of the studied group of species with an information block of herbarium labels for each taxon. The features of the distribution of Suaeda species of the Aral-Balkhash region in 5 floristic regions with an indication of the number of specimens for each taxon are revealed.

Discovery of Potent Antimalarial Type II Kinase Inhibitors with Selectivity over Human Kinases.

While progress has been made in the effort to eradicate malaria, the disease remains a significant threat to global health. Acquired resistance to frontline treatments is emerging in Africa, urging a need for the development of novel antimalarial agents. Repurposing human kinase inhibitors provides a potential expedited route given the availability of a diverse array of kinase-targeting drugs that are approved or in clinical trials. Phenotypic screening of a library of type II human kinase inhibitors identified compound 1 as a lead antimalarial, which was initially developed to target human ephrin type A receptor 2 (EphA2). Here, we report a structure-activity relationship study and lead optimization of compound 1, which led to compound 33, with improved antimalarial activity and selectivity.

Bio-inspired microfluidics: A review.

Biomicrofluidics, a subdomain of microfluidics, has been inspired by several ideas from nature. However, while the basic inspiration for the same may be drawn from the living world, the translation of all relevant essential functionalities to an artificially engineered framework does not remain trivial. Here, we review the recent progress in bio-inspired microfluidic systems via harnessing the integration of experimental and simulation tools delving into the interface of engineering and biology. Development of "on-chip" technologies as well as their multifarious applications is subsequently discussed, accompanying the relevant advancements in materials and fabrication technology. Pointers toward new directions in research, including an amalgamated fusion of data-driven modeling (such as artificial intelligence and machine learning) and physics-based paradigm, to come up with a human physiological replica on a synthetic bio-chip with due accounting of personalized features, are suggested. These are likely to facilitate physiologically replicating disease modeling on an artificially engineered biochip as well as advance drug development and screening in an expedited route with the minimization of animal and human trials.

Short synthesis of a broadly Reactive, cell permeable serine hydrolase Fluorophosphonate-Alkyne probe

An abbreviated synthesis of the cell permeable fluorophosphonate-alkyne probe (FP-alkyne) for the broad assessment of serine hydrolase activity has been developed. While FP-alkyne has proven pivotal in numerous chemical biology studies access has relied on a lengthy preparation over nine steps. We have developed a four-step synthesis, starting from commercially available compounds, with three purification steps to provide a new expedited route allowing easy access to a useful tool compound for exploring serine hydrolases chemistry and biology. This route was used in our own studies to generate FP-alkyne which in turn was used to identify the enzyme responsible for Fatty Acid Esters of Hydroxy Fatty Acids (FAHFA) biosynthesis. The use of this route can enable the syntheses of new tool compounds in addition to improving accessibility to FP-alkyne.

Coastal flora of high-altitude lakes of the Digor Gorge of North Ossetia-Alania

The article presents data on the flora of 10 high-altitude lakes of the Digor Gorge, which are located at an altitude above 2500 m above sea level, of which 5 lakes along the expedition route are described hydrographically for the first time. The floristic composition was studied by general field methods; photographs of growing plants were taken. The taxonomic composition of the riparian flora is given, life forms are identified. According to the results of the inventory of the flora of the studied lakes, 81 plant species were identified. Of the whole variety of families found, the share of Compositae (Compositae, or Asteraceae) accounts for 17.3%, the share of Sphagnaceae (Sphagnaceae) and Carnation (Caryophyllaceae) - 6.2% each, the share of Cereals (Gramineae, or Poaceae) - 4.9 %, the share of Labiaceae (Labiatae, or Lamiaceae), Buttercups (Ranunculaceae), Bell (Campanulaceae), Gentian (Gentianaceae), Buckwheat (Polygonaceae), Cruciferous (Cruciferae, or Brassicaceae) - 3.7 % each. The remaining families are represented by a smaller number of species. Most of the identified species belong to grasses - 79.0 %. Mosses account for 14.8% of the species composition, shrubs account for 3.7%, lichens and ferns account for 2.5 %. Despite a number of similarities and common patterns in the formation of communities, the coastal flora of each lake has individual characteristics, differing in floral composition, occupied area and spatial distribution.

An Expedited Route to Optical and Electronic Properties at Finite Temperature via Unsupervised Learning.

Electronic properties and absorption spectra are the grounds to investigate molecular electronic states and their interactions with the environment. Modeling and computations are required for the molecular understanding and design strategies of photo-active materials and sensors. However, the interpretation of such properties demands expensive computations and dealing with the interplay of electronic excited states with the conformational freedom of the chromophores in complex matrices (i.e., solvents, biomolecules, crystals) at finite temperature. Computational protocols combining time dependent density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) have become very powerful in this field, although they require still a large number of computations for a detailed reproduction of electronic properties, such as band shapes. Besides the ongoing research in more traditional computational chemistry fields, data analysis and machine learning methods have been increasingly employed as complementary approaches for efficient data exploration, prediction and model development, starting from the data resulting from MD simulations and electronic structure calculations. In this work, dataset reduction capabilities by unsupervised clustering techniques applied to MD trajectories are proposed and tested for the ab initio modeling of electronic absorption spectra of two challenging case studies: a non-covalent charge-transfer dimer and a ruthenium complex in solution at room temperature. The K-medoids clustering technique is applied and is proven to be able to reduce by ∼100 times the total cost of excited state calculations on an MD sampling with no loss in the accuracy and it also provides an easier understanding of the representative structures (medoids) to be analyzed on the molecular scale.

ФЛОРИСТИЧНА ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА РЕКРЕАЦІЙНОЇ ЗОНИ ПОБЛИЗУ СЕЛА САБАРІВ НА ВІННИЧЧИНІ

The urban factor affects not only the species composition of populations but also their absolute quantitative indicators. The purpose of the research was to carry out the floristic analysis of the characteristics of the meadow grouping of the recreation area, the structural analysis of the species composition of the phytocenosis, the identification of growth places of rare and medicinal plants, and the analysis of the development trends of this phytocenosis.
 The study of the floristic composition of the recreation area near the village of Sabariv in the Vinnytsia region was carried out by the expedition route method, as well as by using direct and indirect methods. The systematic belonging of plants was determined with the help of a designator. The abundance of species was determined according to the Gult-Drude scale (with the addition of A. A. Uranov and P. D. Yaroshenko).
 The article is a unique analysis of the species composition of plants in the recreation area near the village of Sabariv in the Vinnytsia region. 3 types of associations have been established: meadow slope, meadow lowland, and coastal.
 During floristic research throughout 2012–2020, a systematic analysis of the species composition was carried out: 39 species of plants belonging to 16 families were found in meadow slope associations, 37 species belonging to 17 families were found in lowland meadows, 25 species of plants belonging to 19 families were found in the coastal zone. The abundance of plants was calculated, and the participation of each species in the phytocenosis was determined. Medicine and rare plants were also discovered, in particular Pulsatilla grandis Wend., the place of growth of which has not been confirmed in recent years.
 The trends in the development of phytocenosis due to the increase in anthropogenic influence are described. In particular, a decrease in the participation of Campanula persicifolia L., Dianthus deltoides L. in meadow slope communities, and Alismaplantago-aquivatica L. in the coastal zone was revealed.
 Increasing anthropogenic load on this territory causes depletion of the species composition of natural flora. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically monitor the places of growth of rare and medicinal plant species, as well as to inform the population about the need for a careful attitude to natural resources in general and to raise awareness of the human impact on the environment.

Letter to Monticello

Letter to Monticello Bernard Quetchenbach (bio) Dear Mr. President Thomas Jefferson, It may seem presumptuous to disturb your rest, but I guess you know that the obligations of a founding father are co-extant with the full lifetime of the republic. I'm not expecting a reply. Oh, and please pardon the necessary anachronisms—the distance between us is measured in centuries. It might surprise you to know that this Great West is still Corps of Discovery country. Everything from colleges to breweries is named for your illustrious emissaries. Even here in Billings, where it was just Clark's half of the crew—Lewis was off harassing the Blackfeet farther north—we have a Lewis and Clark Middle School, on Lewis Avenue, a block over from Clark. All through the Yellowstone Valley, roadside markers follow the expedition's route, silhouetted explorers gesturing heroically toward whatever happens to be in front of them—"Look, Lewis, a Motel 6! A school named after us!" Downriver at Hysham, modern-day travelers are snagged by a signboard plea to exit the interstate highway for "STATUES!" And statues there are—full-color effigies of eagles, buffalo, even (Caribbean, not Barbary) pirates! The star of this municipal extravaganza is a colosal Captain Clark, accompanied by a somewhat less colossal figure known only as "The Hunter" and a merely oversized Sacagawea, accompanied by her son, Pompey. In keeping with racial stereotype and her role as guide, Sacagawea stoically points the way toward the Yucca Theatre, the burg's most impressive edifice. The party doesn't seem to notice the monumental woolly mammoth looming even larger than Clark, testifying, perhaps, to your alleged faith that such creatures still roamed somewhere in the vast lands beyond the settlements. As a resident of your Louisiana Purchase, I suppose my presence here is partly your doing. So you can see, Mr. President, why you'd be on my mind. I thought you might want to know that we haven't forgotten your undaunted trailblazers around these parts. I have to admit, though, that national expansion has been easier for your republic than fulfilling another of your aspirations. If you'll kindly indulge me, I have a story to tell. I may not be George Washington, but you have my word it's true. May 1983, two hundred years after you declared that "all men are created equal." The leaky Nova (I know you don't know what that is, but please bear with me) I've been coaxing through a section of your Purchase we call Oklahoma has blown its head gasket. The locals have [End Page 93] been kind, towing my friends and me through a bucolic landscape—young corn in the fields, kingbirds spaced on wires—to a vintage mid-century (twentieth, that is) garage. We know the news will be bad, but we make the most of our unplanned respite from the interstate, stretching our legs in the quiet shade of a rural American crossroads peopled by the honest, competent yeomen you envisioned spreading throughout the land. So it seems, anyway, until commotion leads us around a corner, where the young proprietor we've been waiting for faces off against an equally young black couple with, as I recall, three children, one of whom is in the bathroom. While waiting, someone has fooled around with a set of barbells. That's enough to make the owner call for his gun. He points it squarely at the unarmed father while the family huddles, collects their missing child, and backs into their car. I was moving northwest from the general vicinity of New Orleans to start a new life, as we Americans do, in a new place. Over the next few days, I would see for the first time the gradual opening of snow-swept prairies sprinkled with the antelope and elk described in your Captains' journals. The next year, I would get married in Utah (Mexico, in your day). A year later, my son would be born in the redwood country of California's North Coast. We were poor at times, but it was all beautifully mobile and hopeful, as we expected from an American life in those younger...

Increasing package delivery efficiency through the application of the prim algorithm to find the shortest route on the expedition route

One of the changes is in terms of shopping. Previously, people shopped through physical stores, but since the emergence of online shopping platforms, people have started to switch to using the marketplace as a place to make buying and selling transactions. This platform utilizes expedition services to send packages in the form of ordered goods from sellers to buyers. This activity presents a new problem, which is related to the efficiency of package delivery by courier services so that goods can arrive as quickly as possible in the hands of buyers. Graph modeling to solve a problem related to the shortest path and the fastest path is adapted in this paper. The algorithm used is Prim's Algorithm, which is an algorithm to determine the minimum spanning tree of a connected weighted graph. The test results show that the algorithm is suitable for increasing packet delivery efficiency by determining the shortest path based on the minimum spanning tree concept. By taking a sample of travel routes on the island of Java, the best route was obtained with a total distance of 1,771 kilometers connecting cities from the city of Jakarta to the city of Banyuwangi.

Impact of Slopes on ICESat-2 Elevation Accuracy Along the CHINARE Route in East Antarctica

As the follow-on study to the assessment of ICESat-2 ice surface elevations, we assessed how they are influenced by the surface slopes, which are derived from the ICESat-2 elevations of the received photons and available in the land-ice surface heights product (ATL06), by using coordinated GNSS observations along a 520 km long traverse of the 36th CHINese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) route in East Antarctica. We further analyzed the impact of the slopes on the ICESat-2 elevation accuracy, which is important for the studies of the local ice flow dynamics, mass balance, and Antarctic contribution to sea level rise. We found that the along-track surface slopes in the ICESat-2 ATL06 data have a high overall agreement of 0.18° ± 0.16° (1σ) and a correlation of 0.66 (R²) with the GNSS slopes. Furthermore, two waveform related corrections, first-photon and transmit-pulse shape bias corrections, were able to adjust on average a combined elevation bias of ∼1.0 cm. Finally, we found a high linear dependency of elevation errors on slopes, i.e., ∼6.2 cm per 1° slope (R² = 0.57, slope <0.7°). Although significantly smaller than those in ICESat elevation data, these slope-induced elevation errors in ICESat-2 ATL06 data should be carefully considered for studies using high precision elevations, such as the mass balance estimation in sloped areas in Antarctica.

Experiences With Internet Triaging of 9498 Outpatients Daily at the Largest Public Hospital in Taiwan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study.

BackgroundDuring pandemics, acquiring outpatients’ travel, occupation, contact, and cluster histories is one of the most important measures in assessing the disease risk among incoming patients. Previous means of acquiring this information in the examination room have been insufficient in preventing disease spread.ObjectiveThis study aimed to demonstrate the deployment of an automatic system to triage outpatients over the internet.MethodsAn automatic system was incorporated in the existing web-based appointment system of the hospital and deployed along with its on-site counterpart. Automatic queries to the virtual private network travel and contact history database with each patient’s national ID number were made for each attempt to acquire the patient’s travel and contact histories. Patients with relevant histories were denied registration or entry. Text messages were sent to patients without a relevant history for an expedited route of entry if applicable.ResultsA total of 127,857 visits were recorded. Among all visits, 91,195 were registered on the internet. In total, 71,816 of them generated text messages for an expedited route of entry. Furthermore, 65 patients had relevant histories, as revealed by the virtual private network database, and were denied registration or entry.ConclusionsAn automatic triage system to acquire outpatients’ relevant travel and contact histories was deployed rapidly in one of the largest academic medical centers in Taiwan. The updated system successfully denied patients with relevant travel or contact histories entry to the hospital, thus preventing long lines outside the hospital. Further efforts could be made to integrate the system with the electronic medical record system.

Assessment of ICESat-2 ice surface elevations over the Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) route, East Antarctica, based on coordinated multi-sensor observations

Abstract. We present the results of an assessment of ice surface elevation measurements from NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) along the CHINARE (CHINese Antarctic Research Expedition) route near the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica. The validation campaign was designed and implemented in cooperation with the 36th CHINARE Antarctic expedition from December 2019 to February 2020. The assessment of the ICESat-2 geolocated photon product (ATL03) and land ice elevation product (ATL06) was performed based on coordinated multi-sensor observations using two roof-mounted kinematic global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers, two line arrays of corner cube retroreflectors (CCRs), two sets of retroreflective target sheets (RTSs), and two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with cameras. This systematic validation of the ICESat-2 data covered a variety of Antarctic ice surface conditions along the 520 km traverse from the coastal Zhongshan Station to the inland Taishan Station. This comprehensive investigation is complementary to the 750 km traverse validation of flat inland Antarctica containing a 300 km latitude traverse of 88∘ S by the mission team (Brunt et al., 2021). Overall, the validation results show that the elevation of the ATL06 ice surface points is accurate to 1.5 cm with a precision of 9.1 cm along the 520 km CHINARE route. The elevation of the ATL03 photons has an offset of 2.1 cm from a GNSS-surveyed CCR and is accurate to 2.5 cm with a precision of 2.7 cm as estimated by using RTSs. The validation results demonstrate that the estimated ICESat-2 elevations are accurate to 1.5–2.5 cm in this East Antarctic region, which shows the potential of the data products for eliminating mission biases by overcoming the uncertainties in the estimation of mass balance in East Antarctica. It should be emphasized that the results based on the CCR and RTS techniques can be improved by further aggregation of observation opportunities for a more robust assessment. The developed validation methodology and sensor system can be applied for continuous assessment of ICESat-2 data, especially for calibration against potential degradation of the elevation measurements during the later operation period.

4족 보행 로봇을 활용한 달의 직선절벽(Rupes Recta)의 단층면 탐사를 통한 구름의 바다(Mare Nubium) 지역의 지질학적 형성 연구

On the moon as well as the earth, one of the easiest ways to understand geological formation history of any region is to observe the stratigraphy if it is available, the order in which the strata build up. By analyzing stratigraphy, it is possible to infer what geological events have occurred in the past. Mare Nubium also has an unique normal fault called Rupes Recta that shows stratigraphy. However, a rover moving with wheels is incompetent to explore the cliff since the Rupes Recta has an inclination of 10° – 30°. Therefore, a quadruped walking robot must be employed for stable expedition. To exploration a fault with a four-legged walking robot, it is necessary to design an expedition route by taking account of whether the stratigraphy is well displayed, whether the slope of the terrain is moderate, and whether there are obstacles and rough texture in the terrain based on the remote sensing data from the previous lunar missions. For the payloads required for fault surface exploration we propose an optical camera to grasp the actual appearance, a spectrometer to analyze the composition, and a drill to obtain samples that are not exposed outward.

Культовые предметы из сборов Приполярного этнографического отряда ИАЭТ СО РАН

Since the mid-80s of the 20th century, the ethnographic detachment of IAET SB RAS has been conducting research in the areas of compact residence of the Ob Ugrians in the Circumpolar Urals. The purpose of the study is to research changes in the traditional spiritual culture due to the intensity of civilizational processes. This year, the expedition route took place in the Berezovsky District of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Shuryshkarsky District of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, in the locations of traditional settlement of Khanty and Mansi. During the expedition, an extensive collection of cult and ritual objects, beaded jewelry worn on the chest, unique samples of the Mansi embroidery on the fabric made artistically from local vegetable fiber, counting tokens were collected. The article presents a detailed description and systematization of the objects of the collection found during a survey of abandoned houses and places of worship. The author pointed out the presence of products testifying to the tradition of making leadzoomorphic helper spirits and the rite of substitution of spirits, the use of cold weapons in the ritual practice, the custom of creating ittarmafigures as a receptacle for the soul of the deceased people with an anthropomorphic core, wooden for the Mansi and lead for the Khanty, cult attributes confirming the presence of the cult of Heavenly Horseman. The presence of cult attributes—sacrificial mantle and “heroic helmet”—confirm the cult of Heavenly Horseman. The heroic helmet is interesting due to the inclusion of a new plot—the image of a bird and the sun, the presence of an inner pocket with 7 coins of the 1920s in it, which testifies to the presence of a solar cult and worship of ancestors presented as a bird. Numerous sacral examples prove stability of a fishing cult with the indigenous population.

Mobilization of plant genetic resources from the territory of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic

Background. The Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is one of the floristically unique territories in the Russian Federation. Its vegetation, especially in the mountainous and foothill areas, is very rich due to, inter alia, the extremely complex and diverse relief. Over 50% of the entire Caucasian flora is present in the republic, representing all main groups of plant formations, except subtropical and tropical ones. It seems relevant to search for and collect crop wild relatives as well as landraces of vegetables and cucurbits cultivated for a long time in the surveyed territory and adapted to local environmental conditions in order to add new genetic resources of these crops to the VIR collection.Methods. The expedition route included explorations of the foothill and highland areas of Kabardino-Balkaria, and familiarization with the seed assortment available at the markets and agricultural stores in Nalchik and Prokhladny. The target areas were surveyed from August 18 through 26, 2019, by one- or two-day trips starting from Nalchik. The length of the itinerary was about 600 km.Results. The collecting mission examined local farms and homesteads, explored the mountains, and collected 256 local and commercial cultivars of vegetable and cucurbit crops, 69 seed and vegetative samples of vegetable crop wild relatives, plus a number of fodder plant samples. Russian and foreign breeding companies whose cultivars are popular in Kabar dino-Balkaria were identified.

Recent developments in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease typified by a movement disorder consisting of bradykinesia, rest tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. Treatment options for PD are limited, with most of the current approaches based on restoration of dopaminergic tone in the striatum. However, these do not alter disease course and do not treat the non-dopamine-dependent features of PD such as freezing of gait, cognitive impairment, and other non-motor features of the disorder, which often have the greatest impact on quality of life. As understanding of PD pathogenesis grows, novel therapeutic avenues are emerging. These include treatments that aim to control the symptoms of PD without the problematic side effects seen with currently available treatments and those that are aimed towards slowing pathology, reducing neuronal loss, and attenuating disease course. In this latter regard, there has been much interest in drug repurposing (the use of established drugs for a new indication), with many drugs being reported to affect PD-relevant intracellular processes. This approach offers an expedited route to the clinic, given that pharmacokinetic and safety data are potentially already available. In terms of better symptomatic therapies that are also regenerative, gene therapies and cell-based treatments are beginning to enter clinical trials, and developments in other neurosurgical strategies such as more nuanced deep brain stimulation approaches mean that the landscape of PD treatment is likely to evolve considerably over the coming years. In this review, we provide an overview of the novel therapeutic approaches that are close to, or are already in, clinical trials.

Geographical distribution and ecotope features of goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria)

Goutweed is a unique plant with multiple economically valuable features of an edible, excellent honey plant with medicinal properties and high feed value. It has a long history of use in medicine with all parts of the plant containing anti-rheumatic, diuretic, sedative and wound healing effects. An expedition was embarked to collect goutweed species in various regions across Russia. A unique collection consisting of 82 individual plants of goutweed from 48 different places was assembled. A total of 24 regions of the Russian Federation were examined, the route length was about 24000 km. This article presents the analysis of ecotopes and reveals the features of the development of goutweed based on the growing conditions. Throughout the expedition route, goutweed occurred mainly in deciduous forests and mixed forests (hardwoods). At the collection points, the most frequent woody plant (White birch), shrub (Hazel, Brittle buckthorn, Honeysuckle, etc.), herbaceous plant (Raspberry, Dioica nettle, yellow thistle, etc.) were found. Goutweed is a mesophyte, with discovery points mainly plains as the root system of goutweed is less adapted to steep territories with climate ranging between sharply continental to moderately continental under drought free conditions. In the laboratory conditions, plants from the southern regions continued the vegetative growth under shortening of daylight hours, therefore, under greenhouse conditions artificial lighting can be provided. Moreover, plants from the southern regions have more biomass, larger rhizomes, stems and leaves if grown in natural conditions, while the greenhouse plant phenotype remained practically the same. This will expedite the transition to environmentally friendly, sustainable agriculture, as a result of reduced application rates of chemical and biological protection products for plants, leading to the production of safe and high-quality food.

RODOS SEFERİ’NDE MENTEŞE SANCAĞI MİNYATÜRLERİNE BAKIŞ

The second major expedition of Suleyman the Magnificent after he ascended the throne was the Rhodes Campaign. On the expedition route from Istanbul to Marmaris, the sultan and the army passed through many important settlements, towns, mosques, madrasahs, inns, baths, ranges, rives, passages and bridges. Some of these have been on the expedition routes of the army before and after and they have been transferred to us, especially from the brush of the knocker Matrakci Nasuh. The most important resource about the expedition was the historical diary, and the source used for some issues that were not included in the diary was the travel book written by Evliya Celebi. The topics are organized taking into account the techniques, style and documentation features of the miniature. Historical, topographic miniatures in the Sanjak of Mugla and its surroundings, where the Ottoman Empire was ruled for seven months during the expedition, have not been studied before. In addition to the historical document features, the miniatures included in the article are expected to be a source for the next periods and today’s miniature art, directing the artists and researchers to new topics that have not been addressed before.

Alta California: From San Diego to San Francisco, A Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State by Nick Neely

Reviewed by: Alta California: From San Diego to San Francisco, A Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State by Nick Neely O. Alan Weltzien Nick Neely, Alta California: From San Diego to San Francisco, A Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint P, 2019. 411 pp. Cloth, $26. Nick Neely proved himself one talented naturalist with his debut collection Coastal Range (2016). His new book is nothing if not ambitious, the title scrolling us back into pre-nineteenth-century California history we either don't know or would prefer to ignore. Alta proves a nature ramble on an enormous scale as well as a version of historical pilgrimage. Neely has closely studied the 1769 Gaspar de Portola Expedition, which became the basis for El Camino Real, the chain of iconic California missions, and the accelerated quasi genocide of many of the tribal peoples of the region. Neely decided to retrace the expedition's route 247 years later, [End Page 206] beginning in downtown San Diego and culminating in his hometown near the southwest edge of San Francisco Bay. He follows its timeline, beginning in mid-July and ending 650 miles later in early November. Alta represents a considerable act of historical imagination as Neely trudges through 2016's summer and autumn, pursuing many intriguing angles. A gifted naturalist, Neely never sees or hears a bird he doesn't know and seems equally at home with plants and trees, whether native species or well-known exotics such as eucalyptus. Through his daily walks north/northwest, he investigates and incorporates fascinating local history. The focus upon this Spanish "Corps of Discovery" also includes well-handled stories of nineteenth-century rancheros and agricultural history, as he folds considerable research and vignette into the account of his trek. Along his dusty way, we're treated to quotidian detail as well as healthy doses of self-mockery. Neely "eats out" early in his trip, parking his backpack against the walls of the fast-food nation. He thanks himself for buying a one-man inconspicuous gray tent, which helps avoid detection. Sometimes he doesn't pitch it: too visible, too hot. Neely uses a practiced eye as he steers toward stands of foliage, sleeps near the homeless and coyotes, but is, surprisingly, never hassled. And his sense of trespassing relaxes as he traverses the central California coast. Unsurprisingly, Neely's path opens him to casual encounters, and Alta features quick character sketches and bits of conversation with myriad folks, most of them friendly even if incredulous about his undertaking. He occasionally joins tourists and steps out of his lone trek, at the Getty Museum, for example, and San Simeon. His detour around and through Camp Pendleton anticipates more harrowing moments, including his illegal, nocturnal transit across railroad property near Point Conception. Imagine walking across greater LA, the ultimate highway city. Faithful to the 1769 route, Neely sometimes veers away from the coast, traversing steep coastal mountains and drainages, the ocean's crash pounding his ears. In Big Sur country and then in the Salinas River valley, he nods, as expected, at Robinson Jeffers and John Steinbeck. How do Neely's historical strands, or the felt textures of his walk [End Page 207] distant from interstates and US routes, help us understand what California has become? If this place poses an extreme example of American historical amnesia, how does Neely's comparative lesson instruct us about what should be remembered? The invaluable histories of Kevin Starr teach us California's recent past and its impacts on California now and tomorrow. Neely gives some attention along his way, as he must, to the fates of local tribes hard upon the establishment of El Camino and the string of missions: sites of slave labor, disease, and death. We learn tribal names and occasional words, just as we learn about the Mexican class system upended by the John C. Frémonts and gold-hungry Anglos. I wish this California native had used his journey to speculate more overtly about what his huge state has become in light of his research and sweat. I wish there were more explicit application of his historical walk to contemporary...

Black carbon in the marine boundary layer over the North Atlantic and seas of the Russian arctic in june-september 2017

The paper presents the results of a study of the concentrations of black carbon in the marine boundary layer over the Baltic and North Seas, the North Atlantic, the Norwegian, the Barents, the Kara and the Laptev seas from June 30 to September 29, 2017 in the 68th and 69th voyages of research vessel "Akademik Mstislav Keldysh". Black carbon has a significant impact on climate change and the degree of pollution of the Arctic. Black carbon is formed as a result of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels (primarily coal, oil) and biomass or biofuel. It consists of submicron particles and their aggregates and can be transported a great distance from the source. Samples were taken by pumping air for 46 hours through quartz filters Hahnemule at an altitude of 10 m above sea level in a headwind to prevent smoke of the vessel from entering the filters. Subsequently, the black carbon content was determined in the laboratory by the aetalometric method. The backward trajectories of the air mass transfer and the black carbon particles transported by them to the sampling points were calculated using the HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model at http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready.html. The conducted studies show low values of black carbon concentrations (50 ng/m3) along the expedition route when air masses came from the background areas of the North Atlantic and the Arctic. High concentrations of black carbon (100200 ng/m3 and higher) are characteristic for areas with active navigation (the South-Eastern Baltic, the North Sea) and near ports (eg Reykjavik), as well as for incoming air masses from the industrialized regions of Europe to South-Eastern Baltic and from areas of oil and gas fields where associated gas is flared (the North, the Norwegian and the Kara seas).