High Informative Potential Research Articles

Impact of medical bloggers’ activities on the prevention of disease risk, public, population and individual health: the opinion of social media users

Due to the high information and communication importance and potential of the medical blogosphere in the formation of health literacy of the population, there is the increased need to study the opinions of Russian social media users on the impact of the content of medical blogs on personal and public health. Aim of the study was to find out the opinion of social media users on the extent to which the activities of bloggers specializing in public health and health care topics influence the prevention of major non-communicable and infectious diseases, public and personal health, within the changing boundaries of medical knowledge broadcasting (using sociological methods). Material and methods. The authors conducted a quantitative sociological survey of 178 respondents - users of social media: 55 (30.9 %) women and 123 (69.1 %) men about visiting blogs specializing in public health and healthcare. The collection of information was carried out by e-mailing a questionnaire developed by the authors, and analyzed the answers to questions from active blog users through a Google form in April – May 2023. Results. The study results of the impact of bloggers’ activities on personal and public health, including those related to the quality of medical information disseminated in social media, are described. Respondents believe that medical bloggers have a greater impact on public health than personal health. At the same time, according to the respondents, the spheres of influence in the field of public health do not coincide with the spheres of influence in the field of personal health. Thus, 74.7 % of respondents believe that medical bloggers have an impact on maintaining a healthy lifestyle of the population, prevention (61.8 % of all respondents think so) and treatment of infectious diseases (61.2 %). The requirements for the quality of information provided by bloggers are considered. Based on the analysis of Russian and foreign scientific literature, the authors developed a graphical diagram of the effect of dissemination through the blogosphere of information in the field of health care and disease prevention. Conclusions. The content published on medical blogs affects the health literacy of the population. That is why, medical blogs can be seen as a social determinant of health, because health blogs can be the key to the success of disease prevention and control efforts for public health maintaining. For organizing a communication intervention of medical personnel in social media to inform the population about methods for preventing the risk of developing major non-communicable and infectious diseases and increasing the level of health literacy of the population, medical blogs can and should be used to inform and educate patients as part of general or targeted multimodal educational practices or as a means of delivering electronic content. The risks of publishing inaccurate information in the blogosphere must be considered, whereby patients can easily become misinformed, which can have serious consequences for their health, and even increase their risk of mortality. To make the best use of the blogosphere, it is necessary to solve the problems of content accuracy and increase the level of professionalism of bloggers who write on medical topics. They need to be professionally trained to work for health, contributing to the prevention of the risk of developing major non-communicable and communicable diseases, improving the health of the population through education, and raising the level of health literacy. It makes sense to assess the success of the communicative intervention of doctors in social media and their management of the training of medical bloggers as a personnel determinant of public health, since it will depend on the personnel potential of the healthcare sector.

Optimizing aspect-based sentiment analysis using sentence embedding transformer, bayesian search clustering, and sparse attention mechanism

The aspect-based sentiment analysis of hotel reviews represents a critical yet underexplored area of research. Such reviews encompass a range of expressions that extend beyond simple positive, negative, or neutral sentiments, delving into specific aspects discussed within the review. For instance, a statement like 'the location is comfortable, the food is good, but unfortunately, the service is bad' encapsulates multiple aspects, including location, food, and service. Existing research in Aspect-Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) frequently employs word embedding techniques for feature extraction, utilizing both Term and Transformer models. This study introduces an innovative approach by transitioning from word to sentence embedding, employing the SBERT transformer model for this transformation. This study further innovates label creation and topic modeling by integrating Bayesian search clustering with Inverse Document Frequency (IDF) calculations. This approach enables the identification of relevant topics, categorizing IDF scores based on occurrence frequencies. Scores ranging between 4–6 are marked as having low value but high informative potential, making them suitable candidates for label-specific datasets, particularly those without pre-existing labels. Additionally, this study incorporates the BigBird model to enhance this classification methodology. Applying this comprehensive framework to hotel review datasets, the result of the ABSA evaluation achieved an impressive accuracy score of 99%, indicating the efficacy of the proposed methodology in this nuanced field.

Крушение императорского поезда у станции Борки в 1888 г. глазами очевидца

This is the first publication of the previously unknown testimony on the imperial train disaster at the Borki station of the Kursk—Kharkov—Azov railway. The diary of the Hofmarshal of Alexander III, Lord V. S. Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky, preserved in the Department of Written Sources of the State Historical Museum (OPI GIM), contains many details from the life of the imperial family and the court, including those of the catastrophe, which occurred on October 17, 1888. The diary reflects the condition of the survivors of the crash, their mood, behavior, as well as the experiences and assessments of those close to the imperial family who, although absent on the tsar's train, could nevertheless observe the survivors’ reaction. Due to his closeness to the royal couple, with whom he was connected not only by official, but also by friendly relations, the author of the diary had the opportunity to observe the emperor and empress in a family setting and knew their feelings hidden from the public. Of particular interest are the rumors about the causes of the crash that spread among the emperor's retinue (and still emerge in the literature), as well as the authorship of some initiatives, such as changing the route of the imperial train. The diary highlights the daily life of the imperial family and the relations between the aristocratic court and servants that have not attracted the attention of contemporaries or researchers. The analysis of all these themes has required maximum use of the source and its detailed commentary. The study draws on both published and unpublished materials, as well as on periodicals. Special attention has been paid to identifying data on the persons mentioned in the diary, many of whom have been researched for the first time. Identification of the author’s immediate environment was particularly problematic, as he used diminutive names (Sofa, Varya) and did not mention surnames. To determine the kinship and friendship ties of V. S. Obolensky, the historical and genealogical method has been widely used. The testimony of V. S. Obolensky about the Borki train disaster, as well as preceding and subsequent days of the journey, is characterized by high information potential and reliability. Not only it expands the source base, but also corrects some established notions on Alexander III, his environment, and era.

РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЯ КЛАСТЕРА «ОДЕЖДА» В РУССКОЙ И ЧУВАШСКОЙ ЯЗЫКОВЫХ КАРТИНАХ МИРА

The authors analyzed Russian and Chuvash words and phraseological units that make up the cluster “clothes” in the Russian and Chuvash linguistic world view in a comparative way. Within the framework of this cluster, the lexical categories “clothing”, “shoes”, “hats”, “accessories”, “jewelry” are considered. The study is carried out on the material of lexicographic and folklore sources. The lexemes that make up the cluster “clothes” are for the first time comprehensively analyzed in a comparative aspect in the context of national and cultural traditions as elements of the cultural code of an ethnic group. In the course of the research, such methods as dictionary definition analysis, distributive analysis, cluster analysis, conceptual analysis, and the comparative method are used. The high informative potential of the names of clothes, shoes, hats, accessories and jewelry in the aspect of national and cultural specificity, the richness of associative-semantic connections, symbolic meanings, a wide range of connotative meanings make this vocabulary an important element of the cultural code of the nation. In the cultural traditions of both peoples, clothing acts as a marker of a person’s belonging to a certain social group, indicates people’s gender, age, marital status, and the level of their material well-being.

Поздний верхний палеолит Нижнего Витима (по материалам стоянок Коврижка-III–IV и Большой Якорь-I)

The multilayer sites Kovrizhka-IV and Bol’shoi Yakor’-I, Kovrizhka-III (Baikal-Patom Highlands, Lower Vitim) make it possible to characterize the Late Upper Paleolithic (LUP) at the early, 19–17 Kyr BP, and late, 15–13 Kyr BC, stages, respectively. The high information potential makes it possible to highlight the culture and activities of the inhabitants in terms of lithic production and microblade splitting, living features, settling, hunting, the transportation of mineral resources from remote sources, sign-symbolic activity and art. Th e lithic assemblages of LUP appearance, in general, show continuity from the early stage to the late one. In microblade splitting, this is expressed in the translation of the Kovrizhka and Yubetsu-Bol’shoi Yakor’ techniques for preparing the wedge-shaped microcore and reducing the biface. For the early stage, chisel-shaped tools are more typical than for the late stage, for the late stage - transversal burins. On Kovrizhka-IV (early stage), the remains of dwelling features were found, art objects were discovered as well as numerous evidence of the use of ocher. Bol’shoi Yakor’-I and Kovrizhka-III (late stage) show various hearth complexes and specifi c structures made of gneiss slabs. Culturally and typologically, the LUP of the Lower Vitim correlates with the Studenovskaya culture of Southern Transbaikalia at an early stage, the Dyuktai culture of Yakutia, and the Verkholenskaya culture of Southwestern Cisbaikalia at a later stage. In the early Holocene, LUP traditions were continued in a number of sites. However, already along with the appeared complexes of the Mesolithic appearance.

Archives of dioeces bodies of Christian confessions in Belarus in the late 18th – early 20th century

The author of the article conducts a comparative analysis of the organisation of the archives of the bodies of administrative-territorial leadership and the spiritual court of Christian denominations in the Belarusian lands in the late 18th – early 20th century. Based on the changes in the regulations, two general periods of development of the consistory’ archives and the Lithuanian Synod are distinguished. It’s connected with the development of the Statute of spiritual consistories for Orthodox and instructions on the records management of consistories for other Christian denominations based on first mentioned in the 1840s. The second period can be divided into stages according to the development of the confessional leadership of each of the confessions. Based on a wide source, the author of the article concludes that archives in the bodies of the confessional leadership of Christian denominations in the late 18th – early 20th century corresponded to the legislation of the Russian Empire, and the attention of the confessional leadership and the scientific community of the 19th – early 20th century allowed to preserve significant documentary complexes of high information potential. The results would help expand the source base and diversify scientific research.

Changes in the national composition of the Red Army in 1942-1945: multidimensional statistical analysis of data taking into account various categories of military personnel

The subject of the study in this article is the dynamics of changes in the national composition of various categories of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, the object of the study is the summary albums of socio—demographic data of the list of the Red Army, compiled in the period under review in the General Staff with a frequency of once every six months in a single copy as a generalizing reference material for the top leadership of the state and the armed forces. The purpose of this work is to analyze the changes in the national composition of various categories of Red Army servicemen (commanding officer (since 1943 - officer), junior commanding officer (since 1943 – sergeant), enlisted and cadet personnel) that occurred from mid-1942 to early 1945 (this period is determined by availability of source data). Based on the nature of the source under study, the research approach is based on the use of cluster analysis – one of the most well-known methods of multidimensional statistical analysis. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time, using cluster analysis, an analysis of statistics from albums of socio-demographic data of the Red Army roster during the Great Patriotic War, which became available to researchers only in 2017 and have not yet been fully introduced into scientific circulation, was carried out. The analysis revealed the main directions of changes in the national composition of the Red Army, in particular, general and special in the dynamics of the distribution of servicemen of various nationalities by military categories. The conducted research has shown that this source has a very high information potential for statistical research on changes in the national composition of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War.

The Muslim Population of Ufa. Analysis and Visualization of the Data of the "Religious Census" of the NKVD in 1923

The subject of the analysis is the materials of the 1923 census of Muslim religious organizations in Ufa, compiled by the author into database «Muslims of Ufa according to the 1923 NKVD census». The issues of socio-territorial localization of the Muslim population are considered in the context of the functioning of a religious parish as an element of the urban structure. NKVD census (1923) testifies the territorial distribution of Ufa Muslims in accordance with the social characteristics of the parishioners, the most distinctive of which are class affiliation, type of labor activity, knowledge of the Russian language. Muslim parishes of the 1920 differ from modern ones. The former socio-territorial confessional organization turned into an ethno-confessional association without territorial boundaries and social homogeneity. Main conclusions: 1) the materials of the «religious census» of the NKVD (1923) have a high information potential for historical, socio-anthropological, religious studies; 2) 1923 data fixed social homogeneity of Muslim parishes in Ufa. A hundred years ago, the urban parish was the same organizational unit of the Muslim population as the rural one, uniting Muslims of a certain territory, social status, types of work, lifestyle, language of communication; 3) the materials of the «religious census» of the NKVD are important as a source for studying the social topography of the city, the history of religious organizations. The results of the analysis can be used in the study of ethno-confessional processes, in the teaching of history.

Проблемы сохранения и актуализации наследия народных художественных промыслов

Folk art crafts are a unique cultural phenomenon, the preservation and actualization the heritage of which seems to be the one of the ecological problems in the light of the recognition at the state level and in the scientific community of the importance of the successive development of culture in the interests of society. The heritage of folk-art crafts in all their type and species diversity has a high information potential as a cultural phenomenon and value as a carrier of the cultural code of national and local significance, however, being outside the understanding of cultural heritage as a valuable part of social memory, it is excluded from the process of sustainable development of society. Studying the history of folk-art crafts in a wide historical and cultural context, defining the episteme of the heritage of folk-art crafts – these are the priority tasks for introducing the heritage of folk-art crafts into the integral system of cultural heritage as its organic part with the aim of further developing measures for its preservation and inclusion in the current culture. For the first time, the article presents a scheme of periodization of the general development of folk art crafts on the basis of the adaptive-activity approach to the culture of E. S. Markaryan, the current directions of the study of folk art crafts at the same time as an economic and cultural phenomenon are identified, the forms of actualization of the heritage of crafts that exist today are analyzed and the current risks associated with the commodification of the heritage of folk art crafts are identified.

Correspondence of Front-Line Soldiers with Tyumen Residents as a Source on the History of Everyday Life during the Great Patriotic War (1941—1945).

The 1941—1945 correspondence between servicemen and fellow countrymen, kept in the State Archives of the Tyumen Region is examined in the article. Letters are considered as documents with high information potential, giving new knowledge about the war, obtained on the basis of studying the communications of ordinary participants in the events. The purpose of the publication is to show letters from the front as a source on the history of everyday life, filled with communication of close people on issues important to them, allowing them to reconstruct their life activities, analyze the experience of the past, and use the results of research in modern reality. Correspondence allows us to consider military everyday life as part of big politics and as a personal experience, to expand the source component of the discourse on the history of the Great Patriotic War, contributing to a scientific assessment of the experience and understanding of its historical significance. It is proved that collective and personal letters, appeals “to power” testify that the war, having become a time of difficult trials, stimulated the formation of an identity characterized by the unity of the state and society with the prevalence of socially significant values over individual ones.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis efficiently contributes to the identification of metastatic contralateral breast cancers

PurposeIn daily practice, a contralateral breast cancer (CBC) is usually considered as a new independent tumor despite the indications of several studies showing that the second neoplasia may be a metastatic spread of the primary tumor. Recognition of clonal masses in the context of multiple synchronous or metachronous tumors is crucial for correct prognosis, therapeutic choice, and patient management. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing shows high informative potential in the diagnosis of synchronous neoplasms, based on the fact that somatic mtDNA mutations are non-recurrent events, whereas tumors sharing them have a common origin. We here applied this technique to reveal clonality of the CBC with respect to the first tumor.MethodsWe analyzed 30 sample pairs of primary breast cancers and synchronous or metachronous CBCs with detailed clinical information available and compared standard clinico-pathological criteria with mtDNA sequencing to reveal the metastatic nature of CBCs.ResultsMtDNA analysis was informative in 23% of the cases, for which it confirmed a clonal origin of the second tumor. In addition, it allowed to solve two ambiguous cases where histopathological criteria had failed to be conclusive and to suggest a clonal origin for two additional cases that had been classified as independent by pathologists.ConclusionOverall, the mtDNA-based classification showed a more accurate predictive power than standard histopathology in identifying cases of metastatic rather than bilateral breast cancers in our cohort, suggesting that mtDNA sequencing may be a more precise and easy-to-use method to be introduced in daily routine to support and improve histopathological diagnoses.

Verbal Restrictions on the Communication of Turko-Mongols of Inner Asia

Verbal restrictions common among the Turko-Mongol peoples of Inner Asia and Siberia are analyzed on the basis of folkloric and ethnographic sources. Their principal forms are silence, circumlocution, and whisper. The socio-cultural context of these restrictions is reconstructed. They are seen in various domains of culture, in particular relating to social norms, and are believed to refl ect fear of human life and the well-being of man and society in the communication with nature represented by deities and spirits. This is a natural reaction that has evolved under the harsh environmental and climatic conditions of Inner Asia. The sa me concerns, extending to social communication, have regulated interpersonal interactions. In a nomadic culture, verbal restrictions stem from the importance of the ritual function of language and a specifi c attitude toward spoken language, which, over the centuries, was the principal means of information storage and transfer, cognition and adaptation. This concept of speech affected the emergence of the principal behavioral stereotypes. The rigid norms of behavior account for the importance of the nonverbal context of the nomadic culture— the high informative potential of the entire space inhabited by the nomads, and the rich symbolism of their material culture, traditional outfi t, and dwelling.

Accounting and insurance in the early modern age

This article aims to offer, through the use of sixteenth-century accounting sources, a contribution on a crucial issue for the development of Mediterranean transports and trades of the early modern age, such as the maritime insurance. The research focuses on the importance and high information potential of accounting records, even in this real economy sector. It analyzes a business case in one of the main maritime centers of the Mediterranean area, the city-state of Ragusa (present-day Dubrovnik), and is concerned with investigating the insurance activity of a Dubrovnik merchant. Through the analysis of the accounting records, in addition to the business dynamics and the economic and fiduciary relationships occurred between the merchant and the other actors of the security contract, aspects related to the insurance management, profits and losses of the same are taken into consideration. In addition, the relevance and close connection of insurance with the businesses and the ship owners’ interests of the company is also considered.

DWELLINGS AND HOUSEHOLDS OF THE LATE NEOLITHIC SOSNOVY OSTROV CULTURE IN THE TRANS-URALS: A MODEL OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

In this work, the author set out to test the procedure for studying the size of dwellings from the perspective of the household using the Sosnovy Ostrov culture of the Late Neolithic as an example. This implies considering the house collective as being maximally adapted to local environmental conditions and as being optimal in size for the implementation of a specific type of economic activity associated with the household. The study covers the south-ern taiga zone of the Tobol basin area (the border region between the Urals and Western Siberia) in the first half of 5th millennium Cal ВС. In the course of the systematic source analysis, the author employed the methods commonly used in natural science, geography and the humanities: topographic, hypsometric, planigraphic, com-parative ethnographic, etc. It was found that the dwellings of the Sosnovy Ostrov culture were large in sizes (60–125 m2) as compared to the dwellings of other Neolithic cultures in the Trans-Urals. In addition, a pattern in the location of villages relative to the water network was shown. They are situated close to lake isthmuses and well-head capes (located downstream of a tributary mouth). The analysis of settlements revealed in-depth long-term dwellings, as well as light structures and utility pits located inside and outside of dwellings. This fact, along with the material distribution, suggests the sedentary lifestyle of the population. A settled way of life in the context of appropriating economy is possible only if the population possess a highly productive skill. The modelling of the situation, drawing on the ethnographic data available for these territories, indicates that the population was en-gaged in weir fishing. This conclusion is consistent with paleoclimatic reconstructions and the topography of the settlements. In addition, it is indirectly confirmed by a large number of woodworking tools in the stone inventory. The construction and maintenance of a weir require the coordinated work of a large team, which correlates with the size of the Sosnovy Ostrov dwellings. The presence of a common hearth in the dwellings suggests that the Sosnovy Ostrov households were built on the principles of undivided authority and existed in the form of large (extended) families. The study results indicate a high informative potential of a dwelling when considered from the perspective of a household adapted to the specific conditions.

Semantic Earth Observation Data Cubes

There is an increasing amount of free and open Earth observation (EO) data, yet more information is not necessarily being generated from them at the same rate despite high information potential. The main challenge in the big EO analysis domain is producing information from EO data, because numerical, sensory data have no semantic meaning; they lack semantics. We are introducing the concept of a semantic EO data cube as an advancement of state-of-the-art EO data cubes. We define a semantic EO data cube as a spatio-temporal data cube containing EO data, where for each observation at least one nominal (i.e., categorical) interpretation is available and can be queried in the same instance. Here we clarify and share our definition of semantic EO data cubes, demonstrating how they enable different possibilities for data retrieval, semantic queries based on EO data content and semantically enabled analysis. Semantic EO data cubes are the foundation for EO data expert systems, where new information can be inferred automatically in a machine-based way using semantic queries that humans understand. We argue that semantic EO data cubes are better positioned to handle current and upcoming big EO data challenges than non-semantic EO data cubes, while facilitating an ever-diversifying user-base to produce their own information and harness the immense potential of big EO data.

The 1897 Census: The Acquisition of “Lost” Materials and Their Preliminary Analysis

This article reviews primary materials of the 1897 census stored in the archives of Siberia and the Far East, systematises and analyses them as well as compares information potential of aggregated and personal data. The primary materials of the census were considered completely lost for a long time, but it is evident now that some Russian and foreign archives store some of the copied census papers. Data on archival nominative sources emerged in academic research in the late 20 th century. Nowadays, personal census data are used both by historical and philological studies. Methodologically, the author relies on the principles of system analysis and methods of archival heuristics to search for primary census materials. In order to systematise and evaluate primary materials, the article employs the historical-comparative methods as well as historical-typological method. The analysis is carried out with reference to studies addressing primary census material, reference sources, and funds of the state archives of Siberia and the Far East as well as issues of the Central Statistics Committee with the 1897 census results. Census papers in the archives of Siberia and the Far East are represented by 1895—1896 test forms, the second and the “third” (abridged) copies of census papers. The most detailed complexes of census papers are those for the settlements of Tobolsk Province uyezds with the exception of Berezovsky and Surgut Uyezds (Tobolsk archive), some uluses of Yakutsk Oblast (archive of the Republic of Sakha), the city of Yeniseisk (archive of Krasnoyarsk Region). The “third” copies have been preserved in the archive of Altai Region (settlements of Borovlyanskaya Volost of Barnaul Uyezd, Tomsk Oblast) and the archive of the Republic of Buryatia (Kuytun Volost of Nizhneudinsk Uyezd, Irkutsk Province). The article concludes that 1897 census papers have a high information potential; at the same time, the author points out their incompleteness depending on the region and that they have not been preserved equally well.

Development and cross-validation of microsatellite markers for Rauvolfia weddeliana Müll.Arg. (Apocynaceae) species complex

Rauvolfia weddeliana is an endemic species restricted to plateau landscapes in South American savannahs. Rapid loss of habitat and expansion of agriculture in Central-West Brazil have critically reduced the original extent of savannahs, representing a major threat to its biotic diversity. Due to the discontinuous distribution of R. weddeliana and the vulnerability of its habitats, it is crucial to estimate the genetic diversity of remaining populations. The application of microsatellite markers is a useful approach with relative low cost and high informative potential for studies related to conservation genetics and population genetics. The development of specific libraries for endangered species may aid future studies about the connectivity of populations, reproductive biology, and genetic diversity. We developed microsatellite markers for R. weddeliana and tested the transferability of the markers to a closely related species, R. gracilis. Ten microsatellite markers were identified, and a set of primers for their amplification is presented. Most identified motifs were dimers, with lengths from 18 to 74 base pairs. Nine markers presented high informative potential (PIC > 0.5). The set of markers developed in this study will support further investigations in population genetics of R. weddeliana and possibility of closely related species.

Elektroniczna edycja rejestrów poborowych województwa kaliskiego z drugiej połowy XVI w.

The paper describes how GIS was used to prepare the electronic edition of historical sources of tax registers of the Kalisz voivodeship in the second half of 16th century. Source data from the tax registers were typed out into spreadsheets. Different sources, like parochial visitations, king’s domain’s inspections and others, were used to obtain information about the settlements that was omitted in tax registers. Simultaneously, topographical and physiographical layers (forests, swamps, rivers, lakes, borders of voivodeships and districts, later – borders of parishes) were prepared in GIS. By using the data from tax registers and old maps the map of settlements was developed. Connecting the GIS layers with the data from the tax registers we created a spatial database. Th is database is available for all persons interested at the „Atlas of sources and materials for history of old Poland” website. The users can work with it on the Internet, using the WebGIS application, or download all data on their computers. After that the data can be used by the user freely. Furthermore, the users have access to the scan of original manuscripts and, if they find an error in the edition, they can report it to the administrators. If the mistake is confirmed by one of the scientists, it will be corrected. Th e described way of editing the historical sources is a new method for presenting the results of historical inquiries and editions of historical sources. Th e data from this edition can be related with the data from other projects. Those relations can make a database of historical data with a very high information potential that can be used in historical research.

The Morphology of Permanent Molars from the Paleolithic Layers of Denisova Cave

The article describes the morphology of two permanent molars from the Pleistocene layers of Denisova Cave, the Altai Mountains. Denisova 4 is an upper left third or second molar, and Denisova 8 is an upper left third molar. Both specimens were examined using the extended trait battery. Results indicate a high informative potential of dental traits for the analysis of group variation within the genus Homo. They support the view that Denisovans, or H. altaiensis, were a distinct group of hominins differing from both H. sapiens and H. neanderthalensis not only genetically but morphologically as well. The distinctive dental features of Denisovans include extremely large dimensions and affi nities with Homo erectus of Sangiran and the Middle Pleistocene hominins of China such as Xujiayao. Based on the morphological analysis of Denisovan upper molars, it is proposed that the unidentifi ed part of the Denisovan genome may stem from Homo erectus. Dentally, Homo altaiensis is a very conservative taxon.

Immunohistochemical features of progesterone receptors expression of placental barrier in women with multiple pregnancies resulting from assisted reproduction

Hormonal disorders are one of the main known causes of miscarriage and preterm birth in multiple pregnancies resulting from assisted reproductive technology (ART). Progesterone and the number of its receptors play an important role in the preservation and prolongation of pregnancy and it is the pressing issue of our time. The study of placentas, as the main site of synthesis of progesterone, has high informative potential and it is the most important diagnostic object, and information received by its research is essential for the full conclusion on the causes, mechanisms, close and long-term effects of multiple pregnancy pathology. Aim. The aim of our study was to investigate immunohistochemical features of placentas from women with dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies in spontaneous fertilization and after use of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Methods and results. According to this goal we examined 94 women, 44 of whom had multiple pregnancies due to ART, 42 with separate multiple pregnancy and 38 women with a singleton pregnancy. We carried out clinical and statistical analysis of the course of pregnancy and childbirth in the studied groups. During the study it was found that multiple pregnancies due to assisted reproduction belong to the high risk of gestation, at which premature births occur much more frequently than in singleton pregnancies. We were the first to carry out the immunohistochemical study of placentas in which the highest expression of progesterone receptors in the nuclei of cells of decidua (45%) related to the parent structure of the placenta from women with multiple pregnancies caused by ART is found. It is also found that with increasing gestational age, there has been a significant decrease in the expression of the activity of progesterone receptors (from 45 to 2.5%), regardless of the method of conception and the number of fetuses. Conclusions. The results of the study point to the definitive link of structures of placental-endometrial relations as an important component of the appropriateness of hormone therapy.