Poltava Oblast Research Articles

Pathomorphological changes in the large intestine subject to chronic trichuriasis

Trichuris spp. are endoparasites identified in many neotropical rodents. The study was conducted on nutrias (Myocastor coypus Molina, 1782) – semi-aquatic rodents of the family Echimyidae Gray, 1825, held at individual private farms in Poltava Oblast. This study gives us understanding of the species Trichuris myocastoris (Enigk, 1933), diagnosed in the gastrointestinal canal of nutrias. Thus, the objective of the study was to describe pathomorphological changes occurring in the large intestine of nutrias suffering trichuriasis. During the dissection, by macroscopically examining the cavity of large intestine, we detected small white spindle-shaped helminths. Trichuris myocastoris was found to have specific morphological features. Nematodes had a long thread-like front part and thickened, shorter, posterior part. The cuticle was finely striped transversally. In the lumen of large intestine of the nutrias, the average numbers T. myocastoris (n = 15) were found to be 36.7 ± 2.1 in males and 47.7 ± 2.5 in females in summer; and 11.1 ± 1.3 and 16.5 ± 1.2 in winter, respectively. For the histological studies, we chose fragments of the wall of large intestine. Microscopically, in the intestinal lumen, there were recorded transversal or diagonal sections of bodies of the pathogens. The nematodes’ cuticle was stained basophically, and their internal organs eosinophilically. The superficial epithelium of the intestine was ruined in places, and some epitheloicytes were in the intestinal lumen. The intestinal glands were enlarged, filled with mucous content, mostly stained blue-violet, especially in the superficial sections of the glands, i.e. basophilous color. The lamina propria of the mucous membrane, especially between the intestinal glands, was notably infiltrated by lymphoid cells, and individual lymphoid cells were also found in the lumen of intestinal glands and even in the organ’s lumen. Single lymphoid cells also were present in the layer of the mucous membrane. Under large increases, we saw signs of mucous hypersecretion in the goblet cells of the intestinal glands in the form of concentrations of poorly stained mucus granules in cytoplasm. Some goblet cells were ruined, desquamated, and their remains were in the lumens of glands together with mucus. The provided data suggest the relevance of Trichuris invasion as an etiological factor in the emergence of chronic lymphohistiocytic colitis.

Effect of storage temperature on the change of microbiological indicators of fresh soft cheese

In Ukraine, there is a tendency to increase the production of soft, fresh cheeses due to their technological features. The advantages of producing this product include efficient use of raw materials; the ability to sell the product without ripening or with a short ripening period (no more than 14 days); and high quality indicators. In general, cheese is considered a complete food product that covers part of a person's daily needs for nutrients and biologically active substances. Due to martial law in the country, loyalty in the sale of products plays a unique role, but the temperature regime of storage affects the safety of cheese. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the sanitary quality of soft, fresh cheese and to justify the parameters of product storage at a temperature of 6 °C. The research was conducted at the Regional State Laboratory of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in Poltava Oblast and at the Department of Livestock Products Processing Technology laboratory of Poltava State Agrarian University. The research objects were samples of soft, fresh cheese without fillers produced at the Milk Local Product Expert Center of the Faculty of Animal Production and Food Technology. The indicators stipulated by the regulatory document for soft cheeses 4395:2005 “Soft cheeses. General technical conditions”. It was established that the investigated cheese (sample No. 6) met the requirements of the current standard in terms of organoleptic (appearance, taste and smell, consistency, dough color, pattern, shape), physicochemical (mass fraction of fat, table salt, water) and physicochemical parameters. Specific physicochemical characteristics (mass fraction of moisture, table salt, and fat in dry matter) of the cheese, according to the tests, were within the limits specified by SSTC. The studied samples of fresh soft cheese regarding microbiological parameters (pathogenic microorganisms, particularly Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus) complied with regulatory documents when they were stored at +6 °C for two days. At the same time, it has been proven that storage of fresh soft cheese without fillers at a temperature of +20 ± 0.5 °C leads to the growth and presence of coliform bacteria in the E. coli group. As early as 48 hours later, the products did not meet the regulated norms of the current national standards.

History of Educational Institutions Named After Borys Grinchenko as a Form of Representation of Pedagogical Biography

The article highlights and summarizes the history of the creation and activity of educational institutions named after Borys Grinchenko in the cities of Kyiv, Bila Tserkva, Lviv, Kharkiv, Uman, and Poltava Oblast. Examples of successful graduates of these institutions are given, and the names of teachers who worked in them are partially established. It is argued that Borys Grinchenko is a Ukrainian pedagogue, writer, ethnographer, and political figure, whose name is inscribed in the annals of national revival. Materials were found about individuals who participated in perpetuating the memory of Borys Grinchenko. It is noted that the gratitude of descendants for a person who made a noticeable mark in life as an individual or society in general can be manifested in different ways. Most often, honoring the memory of a person and his contribution to the development of science, education, culture, politics and other spheres of public life is manifested in the naming of a specific person to a street, alley, educational institution, which is issued by an order, and public discussion takes place. The research uses the methods of pedagogical biography, which in a structural dimension covers the life path and creative achievements of pedagogical personalities. It is noted that the actualization of research is strengthened in the conditions of today, when the past is understood, evaluated, compared with the present through the biographies of famous or less famous figures who, thanks to their life and creative successes, have become symbols of certain historical periods. The study of the history of educational institutions named after Borys Grinchenko as a form of representation of pedagogical biography made it possible to outline the main approaches to honoring the memory of Borys Grinchenko. It was concluded that separate comprehensive studies of the history of educational institutions named after Borys Grinchenko as a form of representation of pedagogical biography are not enough, which indicates the relevance and novelty of the materials of this article.

Сучасні знахідки хом’яка звичайного (Cricetus cricetus) у Полтавській області

Until recently, the distribution of the hamster in Poltava Oblast was known only by its finding in the summer of 1990, when two dead bodies were found in the meadows near the village of Leliaky in Pyriatyn Raion. Four new locations of this species have been described. In two cases, these were corpses found near the village of Deimanivka in November 2014 and in June 2021. The third and fourth findings also relate to Pyriatyn ATC (Lubny Raion): near the village of Mechenky, a hamster was found during hay harvesting, and near the village of Velyka Krucha, a hamster was found in a freshly ploughed field. The habitats of the species in the region are protected by the Pyriatynskyi National Nature Park.

POTTERY CENTERSAND SCHOOLS IN UKRAINE: EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POTENTIAL

Based on historical material, the article examines the current issue of researching the educational and professional potential of pottery centers and schools in Ukraine in the context of the problems of training specialists in decorative and applied art in educational institutions of our country in the 80s of the 20th century – at the beginning of the 21st century. Based on the study of a complex of diverse sources, it was found that traditional pottery centers were formed in the following regions: Kyiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, Podillia, Kherson Oblast, Volyn, Halychyna, Hutsul Oblast, Transcarpathia. Each of these centers had unique signs of technology techniques, decoration, design, name, and shape of products. At the same time, the long-standing leading educational and professional trend in the formation and development of folk pottery in Ukraine was training masters of decorative and applied art directly by well-known potters. Workshop schools, art and industrial schools, vocational and technical schools, artillery schools, workshops of folk art, art schools, etc., were founded later at the end of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century. Those institutions, i. e., Poltava Pottery School-Workshop, Myrhorod Ceramic Technical School, Opishne Vocational Technical School – Opishne Factory «Artistic Ceramics», Mezhehirsk Ceramic School-Workshop – Technological Institute of Ceramics and Glass, Kyiv Central Experimental Workshop of Folk Art at the State Museum of Ukrainian Art, Kyiv Art and Industrial Technical School, accumulated rich experience in training high-quality ceramic artists. It was found that in the 80s of the 20th century, the training of decorative and applied art specialists was started by culture colleges.

ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ АЛЬТЕРНАТИВНИХ ВИДІВ ПАЛИВА НА ПОЛТАВЩИНІ

The possibilities of using energy-resource solid household waste, agricultural waste, logging waste from forestry enter-prises, green waste from landscaping and growing energy crops as alternative renewable fuels to meet the goals of small-scale heat and power generation in Poltava Oblast are investigated. To study this issue, the specialists from the Departments of Applied Ecology and Nature Management and Heat and Gas Supply, Ventilation and Heat Power En-gineering of National University "Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic" were invited to join the project and a new specialization "Renewable Heat and Power Engineering, Alternative Fuels and Environmental Protection" was opened in the specialty 183 "Environmental Protection Technologies". The problem was included in the strategic development plan of Poltava region and included in the development of the Action Plan for Sustainable Energy Development and Climate of Poltava City Territorial Community until 2030 in accordance with the European initiative "Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy". The assessment of the bioenergy potential may become a significant environmental and economic basis for improving the regional bioenergy sector in Poltava Oblast in the future. A complex of methods of system analysis and the method of data analysis has been applied to achieve the goal of the research. An analysis of modern international literary sources, an analysis of the morphological composition of municipal and green waste, and an analysis of the energy potential of plant biomass were reviewed. As a result of research, the scientific and applied task of using local energy resources at the level of each individual community of the Poltava region, taking into account ecological, economic and social development, has been formulated and substantiated. Ref. 10, figure. Keywords: energy security, environmental security, alternative fuels, renewable energy sources, energy crops, solid household waste, small-scale energy, environmental impact.

Narrating war through visual language: Commemorative activity of ordinary people in Central Ukraine (Poltava oblast) in 2014–2021

This article examines how ordinary people in the Poltava oblast (Central Ukraine) commemorated the Russia-Ukraine war during the 2014–2021 period (prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022). Focusing on physical commemorative objects constructed by ordinary people, this article investigates the commemorative activity of ordinary people in Central Ukraine who are ‘activated’ to carry out commemorative work by this turbulent and emotionally charged event in Ukraine’s recent history and seek to project their individual, private memories into the public arena. This article’s central argument is that ordinary people in Central Ukraine actively exercise their agency in the area of commemoration, to ensure the memory of the Russia-Ukraine war is present in the commemorative landscape, playing an important role in public meaning-making. Thus, by utilising different types of visual language, ordinary people narrate soldiers’ sacrifice in the name of the nation, presenting Ukraine’s response to Russia’s aggression as a righteous and noble struggle. Through linking this event to other periods of Ukraine’s history, they create plotlines of Ukraine’s centuries-long struggle for sovereignty and self-determination. Therefore, ordinary people contribute to the construction of narratives about history and the identity of the Ukrainian nation. This article is an empirical contribution to the body of knowledge on the commemorative activity of ordinary people as social memory actors, and it also contributes to the knowledge of how ongoing violent conflicts are commemorated.

Вовк (Canis lupus) у степовій зоні України на зламі ХХ–ХХІ ст. та динаміка його чисельності

The article presents data on the extirpation of the wolf in southern Ukraine in the 18th to the 20th century, which was financially supported by landowners and the state. This contributed to keeping the wolf population at a low level and then led to a reduction in its range. In the 1970s, in the steppe and forest-steppe zones, wolves permanently lived only in Moldova; in the north of Odesa Oblast; in the Pavlohrad district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts, as well as in the north of Poltava Oblast. From here, they spread to neighbouring territories, where they were quickly extirpated. The level of wolf decline was so significant, that in 1970 only 18 wolves were recorded in the steppe zone, and 270 in the whole of Ukraine. This contributed to the dispersal of the roe deer, wild boar, and elk to the south. After the reduction in the size of wolf hunting premiums, hunting pressure on wolves also decreased. Since there is a significant positive correlation between wolf population and hunting pressure (r = 0.93), the wolf's range and population began to grow rapidly. While in 1970 it was found in 14 regions, in 1976 it was already recorded in 18, and in 1981 in 21; in 2000, the wolf occurred in all regions of mainland Ukraine, and in 2003 it entered the Crimea. The process of restoring the wolf's range was accompanied by the emergence of wolf–dog hybrids, some of which are still occurring. Despite the harvest of 616.8 ± 102.68 wolves per year in 1970–1981, the wolf population increased by 6.5 times in Ukraine, and by more than 10 times in the steppe zone. A significant increase in its numbers was facilitated by a decrease in hunting pressure due to the adoption of the USSR Law ‘On the Protection and Use of Wildlife’ in 1980, which prohibited the use of inhumane methods in hunting on wild animals. In 1982–1992, the volume of wolf culling in Ukraine reached 71.1% (45.3–81.5), and in 1993–1999 was equal to 43.1% (34.9–49.3) per year. Naturally, due to the decrease in wolf hunting, there was a sharp increase in the wolf population, which in the steppe zone increased by 1.51 times from 2000 to 2010, and in our country in general by 1.03 times. The process of intensive growth of its population stabilised only at the beginning of the 21st century, when the annual take increased from 34.9% (2000) to 84.0% (2009).

MODERN APPROACHES TO CAESAREAN SECTION AT THE THIRD LEVEL OF PERINATAL CARE

Between 2015 and 2020, the incidence of abdominal delivery in Ukraine increased annually and reached 26.7% of the total number of births in 2021. In Poltava Region, in 2022, the rate of caesarean delivery reached an all-time high of 28.7%. To outline the tendencies in providing quality obstetric care and to identify ways to reduce the frequency of abdominal delivery in the Poltava region, there has been conducted a statistical analysis of the annual reports for the period from 2017 to 2022 obtained from the perinatal centre of the M.V. Sklifosovskyi Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital and reports on medical care for pregnant women, women in labour, newborns and children in the first year of life (forms No. 21 and No. 21-a) from the Health Department of the Poltava Regional State Administration. The data show a notable rise in the percentage of abdominal deliveries in 2022 in hospitals of the first and second levels of perinatal care, with a 4% decrease in the share of caesarean deliveries at the third level hospitals, which primarily deal with patients having severe obstetric and extragenital pathologies. For instance, in 2022, more than one out of four women (25.7%) was reported as having caesarean delivery at the Municipal Clinical Maternity Hospital of Poltava, and one in three women (33.6%) was reported to have surgical delivery at the Kremenchuk Perinatal Centre of the second level. Since 2018, the average rate of caesarean sections performed as the level I obstetric hospitals in Poltava Oblast has been progressively rising and in 2022 reached 23.9% of all surgical interventions in the region. Conversely, in the perinatal centre of the M.V. Sklifosovskyi Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital, the number of abdominal deliveries has been decreasing annually, and in 2022 this figure was 35.8%. Notably, this decrease in abdominal delivery coincided with a reduction in the perinatal mortality rate, which declined from 22.06‰ in 2018 to 14.51‰ in 2022. Thus, the key strategy for reducing the rate of caesarean deliveries in the Poltava region lies in the adherence to regional peculiarities and requirements of perinatal care that entail timely referral of pregnant women at high risk of maternal and infant complications to the third level settings of perinatal care, where the decision regarding caesarean delivery can be appropriately assessed, ensuring a balanced approach that minimizes both the overall incidence of abdominal deliveries and perinatal mortality.

РОЗРОБКА МЕТОДУ АВТОМАТИЧНОГО ФОРМУВАННЯ ЗВІТНОСТІПРО КІЛЬКІСТЬ ПЕРЕВИЩЕНЬ ВСТАНОВЛЕНИХ НОРМАТИВІВ МАРКЕРІВ АТМОСФЕРНОГО ПОВІТРЯ

Ukraine is currently experiencing significant social changes that include the digitalisation of various aspects of social and scientific life. In particular, digital technologies are being introduced in the field of environmental monitoring, where the Municipal Enterprise "Scientific Centre for Environmental and Social Research" operates under the Kremenchuk City Council in Poltava Oblast. One of the main challenges for this enterprise is to standardise its internal document flow to meet new standards in environmental research. In this context, it is important to develop a method for automatically generating reports on the number of exceedances of the established standards of atmospheric air markers, which will reduce the time spent by the operator on reporting. The main purpose of this study is to create a method for automatically generating reports on the number of exceedances of air quality standards by markers in accordance with Resolution No. 827 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. To achieve this goal, we first analysed the key points of the resolution and identified the main provisions that should be followed when generating the report. Then, based on the excerpts from the annexes to the resolution, a data set containing all the identified markers and standards was generated in Excel for further testing of the developed method. Based on the generated data, a number of averaging tables were built: hourly; eight-hourly; daily; daily by the maximum eight-hour value; monthly; and annual. According to the averaging tables and the paragraphs of Annex 2 to the Procedure for State Monitoring in the Field of Atmospheric Air Protection, the general report is divided into three Excel sheets, which implement the functionality of calculating the number of exceedances of the established standards by atmospheric air markers. As a result of the study, a method was developed based on the use of a sliding cell selection area and the assumption that the set date starts from 01.01.2020 0:00:00.

O. K. NATALEVYCH TEACHING SCHOOL IN MEMORIES OF ITS STUDENTS AND ARCHIVE MATTERS

The materials of the article introduce a prominent personality in the art pedagogy of Poltava Oblast in the middle of the 20th century – Olena Kostyantynivna Natalevich, whose teaching school was known far beyond the borders of Ukraine. The authors of the article set themselves the goal of recreating the portrait of O.K. Natalevich – a teacher, mentor, musician, concertmaster – based on the memories of her students and archival files, to show the heredity of the generations of Olena Kostyantynivna's school in Ukraine and on European grounds, to emphasize her moral and human qualities, the cohesion of her class of students, their love for their the teacher The materials of the article include archival files of the Poltava College of Arts, as well as materials of two International Art Readings dedicated to the memory of O.K. Natalevich, to her 95th and 100th anniversaries. We can talk a lot about her pedagogical methods, but our task was to recreate the portrait of an outstanding personality, a teacher and educator, a musician, just a highly moral person. In the musical circles of Ukraine and beyond, the memory of O.K. Natalevich, musicians consult with her pedagogical principles, with her internal moral, aesthetic and musical orientations.

КРИЗА ЯК ЗАГРОЗА ТА ЯК МОЖЛИВІСТЬ: АМБІВАЛЕНТНИЙ АСПЕКТ

<p><strong><em>The purpose of the article</em></strong><em> is to study the crisis as a threat and as an opportunity using the example of the global pandemic crisis of the new coronavirus disease COVID-19.</em></p><p><strong><em>Research methodology.</em></strong><em> To achieve the stated purpose, the following general scientific research methods were used: theoretical analysis, functional analysis, the method of expert evaluations, and analysis of scientific works. Within this research, in order to conduct an expert evaluation of the crisis communications of government bodies during the pandemic crisis, we conducted a survey of experts who were included in three groups, namely: specialists who carried out their activities in the communications of government bodies; journalists who covered events related to the COVID-19 pandemic and followed the communication steps of representatives of public authorities, as well as employees responsible for communication who worked in non-governmental institutions.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results.</em></strong><em> By its nature, any crisis is ambivalent, it can carry a threat (that is, for an individual who is in a critical situation, a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness is characteristic, which can have a destructive aspect; it can carry the threat of social maladjustment and thereby negatively affect further overcoming the crisis), as well as an opportunity (due to the fact that a crisis is not only a “threat of disaster”, but also an opportunity for change, transition to a new level of personal development, a source of strength).</em></p><p><em>This article is an attempt to define the crisis as a threat and as an opportunity on the basis of the global crisis, that is the COVID-19 pandemic, which radically changed citizens’ lives of almost all world countries and led to the death of millions of people.</em></p><p><em>The crisis outlined in our study leads to increased tension and anxiety in society and contributes to the fact that actors have the opportunity to ignite new conflicts, which increases the threat of destabilization of the state, or to create new opportunities.</em></p><p><em>In addition, it was during the pandemic crisis when Ukraine became the object of a new wave of informational influences. As an example, we can cite the artificially inflamed situation in Novi Sanzhary urban-type settlement, Poltava Oblast (province), in February 2020, where Ukrainian citizens were placed for observation for the first time after their return from China, where, according to official data, the pandemic began.</em></p><p><strong><em>Practical importance.</em></strong><em> The findings obtained during the research will expand the perception of the crisis as a threat and as an opportunity, and the obtained results can be used in scientific and educational practice.</em></p><p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> crisis, threat, opportunity, COVID-19 pandemic, government bodies, crisis communication.</em></p>

Cocklebur in the Archaeological Chronicle of Ukraine

In the article, data on common cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) finds from the archaeological sites of modern Ukraine is collected and organized. Three of them come from the Scythian period sites. The first find (Bilsk, Poltava Oblast) comes from random sample. Two more finds (Tsyrkuny and Novoselivka, Kharkiv Oblast) are represented by prints on clay objects. They were discovered as a result of a purposeful inspection of ceramics in order to search for palaeoethnobotanical materials. Two other items were found on ancient Rus sites, where burnt material was collected. In the first case (Manzheliia, Poltava Oblast) the material was examined during the classical excavations. Palaeoethnobotanical remains were in clearly visible accumulations. In the second case (Peresopnytsia, Rivne Oblast) the material was obtained by soil flotation. The territory of modern Ukraine is located at the crossroads of land routes and waterways of Eurasia. It is a part of the path of constant migration from Asia to Europe. We can assume that at least in the early Iron Age, due to the nomads, the common cocklebur had already reached the territory of modern Ukraine. The earlier appearance of this plant in the area can be considered purely hypothetically, only on the grounds that in the western territories it was discovered at the sites of the end of the Bronze Age / beginning of the Early Iron Age. According to isolated materials from the Scythian period sites and from ancient Rus dwellings in Peresopnytsia, it is difficult to assume something about the use of common cocklebur. According to the materials from Manzhelia (several dozens of fruits), it is possible to presume purposeful collecting of cocklebur, probably as a medicinal plant. The presented findings are important for the restoration of the penetration history of common cocklebur into Europe.

CONTRIBUTION OF O. V. SUHOBOKOV TO THE RESEARCH OF THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE NORTH EAST OF THE LEFT BANK UKRAINE

This article is dedicated to O. V. Sukhobokov, Ukrainian archaeologist, researcher of Slavic and Rus’ history, Doctor of Historical Sciences. His scientific interests were focused on the Early Slavic and Old Rus’ archaeology of the left bank of the Dnipro forest-steppe area, and the history of the Eastern Slavic tribe of Siverians.
 The research conducted by O. V. Sukhobokov at the head of the Left Bank Slavic-Rus’ Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine became an important stage in the historical and archaeological study of the northeastern region of the Dnipro area, in particular the territory of the modern Sumy oblast. The expedition explored such significant sites as Kurgan-Azak, Bytytsia, Volyntseve, Monastyryshche, Kamiane, Nytsakha, Lukhtivka, Igorivka, and Zelenyi Gai. As a result, scientists confirmed the founding date of the cities from the Kievan Rus’ Chronicles such as Lubny, Putyvl, and Romny.
 After multiple years of research on the Left Bank the original concept of the historical process in the Dnipro—Don interfluve was developed by O. V. Sukhobokov. Scientists have brought together an immense amount of materials from field research and reconstructed the ethnic processes and development of the Slavic population of the left bank Dnipro at the second half of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD.
 The achievements of the Left Bank Slavic-Rus’ expedition became the basis for further research, scientific debates, and were discussed at conferences and seminars. They are presented in numerous articles, and five monographs. Three monographs are dedicated to the sites of the Sumy region: «Putyvl and its region in the Kievan Rus’ time (on the archeological materials)» (1990), «“Unknown Land”: the population of the Middle Psel basin in the 10th—13th centuries AD (on the materials of the Romny-Kievan Rus’ sites in the Kamennoe settlement)» (2012), «Ancient Putyvl» (2019) in co-authorship with S. P. Yurenko. V. Sukhobokov made a lot of efforts to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of Ukraine, popularize archaeological sites, and arrange archaeological sections of the Collection of Historical and Cultural Sites of Ukraine in the Sumy and Poltava oblast (as a scientific consultant).
 While working on the territory of Sumy oblast, the scientist established close cooperation with the Sumy Museum of Local Lore, as well as regional museums. The fund collections of the Putyvl, Romny, and Sumy museums have significantly grown and are represented in their exhibitions. For many years, O. V. Sukhobokov was a member of the editorial board of the journal Sumska Starovyna.
 The scientific and creative heritage of O. V. Sukhobokov is currently used by historians, archaeologists, as well as museologists, university professors, and school teachers in their professional studies.

Знахідки бабака степового у Дніпропетровській та Полтавській областях

On the background of a constant decrease in the number of the steppe marmot Marmota bobak over the past century in Ukraine, its findings were registered in July 2020 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and in September 2021 in Poltava Oblast. In Poltava Oblast, the steppe marmot was seen in the territory of the designated landscape reserves ‘Balka Garaganka’ and ‘Nelyubovsky.’ In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the species was recorded in the ravine-balka system of Yurivka (now Pavlograd) Raion. In all cases, the marmot burrows were located on the slopes of ravines, where the formation of relatively poor washed-out chernozems takes place. Photographic material is provided.

Вовчок сірий (Glis glis) на території Більського археологічного комплексу (Полтавщина)

During archaeological excavations at the Bilsk Archaeological Complex (Kotelva Raion, Poltava Oblast) in 2008–2013, the authors noted the activity of dormice and conducted catches. Catching was carried out by live traps in the floodplain oak-ash forest on the right bank of the Siversky Donets River. All dormice are identified as Glis glis. In total, about 20 individuals were caught, equally for each sex. Females caught between July and early August gave birth to 4 to 6 young. The animals tolerated captivity well and lived up to 8 years. This site is much further east (200 km) of recent record localities of the species.

REMOTE EFFECTS OF POST-CHORNOBYL IRRADIATION ON THE BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MALE SPERMATOZOA

The present research aim was analysis of long-term radiation effects on biochemical characteristics of sperm collected from donors originating from radioactive-polluted territories of Ukraine, namely Zhytomyr oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, Kyiv oblast and Poltava oblast. Apart from this, the role of radiation component in sperm damaging was assessed. It was found that in the most radiation polluted region - Zhytomyr the sperm samples were characterized by a large proportion of degenerative spermatozoa along with immobile sperms. Early signs of apoptosis development in spermatozoa were shown to progress gradually from Poltava to Zhytomyr. Thus, the apoptotic index for sperm samples was highest in Zhytomyr and lowest in Poltava. Also, raise in accumulated radiation dose was associated with elevation of ROS production in sperm samples. It was shown that the ROS production for Zhytomyr donors was threefold more than for Poltava’s donors and almost twofold more than for donors from Ivano-Frankivsk. Also we found differences in the mitochondrial potential (∆ψ) of spermatozoa too. The total ∆ψ tended to drop down depending on the mean value of radiation accumulated dose, for Kyiv and Zhytomyr the mean values being significantly less than for Poltava. Thus, our investigations have shown that subjects living on radiation polluted territories may generate a great deal of damaged spermatozoa with the hidden molecular and cellular lesions. The latter would predispose inhabitants of radiation polluted regions to male-infertility.

First Data on Bryoindication Mapping of Small Towns of Ukraine

Results of bryoindication mapping based on calculation of an index of atmospheric purity (IAP) of towns of the Left Bank Ukraine, i.e. the smallest Romny (Sumy oblast) and Myrhorod (Poltava oblast) towns, small Pryluky (Chernihiv oblast) and Lubny (Poltava oblast) towns as well as medium size Poltava town (Poltava oblast), are provided. It is found that isotoxic bryoindication zones of moderately polluted air are predominate and often forming entire areas in the centre / industrial / densely built-up areas of Poltava, Lubny and Pryluky towns while isotoxic zones with slightly polluted or unpolluted air are predominant or more widely distributed in smaller towns Romny and Myrhorod. Correlation of data on species diversity, community composition of bryophytes as well as data of the IAP zoning of the territory of all towns mentioned as well as natural conditions of their territory and anthropogenic pressure is discussed.

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL POTENTIAL OF POTTERY CENTERS AND SCHOOLS IN UKRAINE

Based on historical material, the article examines the current issue of researching the educational and professional potential of pottery centers and schools in Ukraine in the context of the problems of training specialists in decorative and applied art in educational institutions of our country in the 80s of the 20th century – at the beginning of the 21st century. Based on the study of a complex of diverse sources, it was found that traditional pottery centers were formed in the following regions: Kyiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, Podillia, Kherson Oblast, Volyn, Halychyna, Hutsul Oblast, Transcarpathia. Each of these centers had unique signs of technology techniques, decoration, design, name, and shape of products. At the same time, the long-standing leading educational and professional trend in the formation and development of folk pottery in Ukraine was training masters of decorative and applied art directly by well-known potters. Workshop schools, art and industrial schools, vocational and technical schools, artillery schools, workshops of folk art, art schools, etc., were founded later at the end of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century. Those institutions, i. e., Poltava Pottery School-Workshop, Myrhorod Ceramic Technical School, Opishne Vocational Technical School - Opishne Factory «Artistic Ceramics,» Mezhehirsk Ceramic School-Workshop – Technological Institute of Ceramics and Glass, Kyiv Central Experimental Workshop of Folk Art at the State Museum of Ukrainian Art, Kyiv Art and Industrial Technical School, accumulated rich experience in training high-quality ceramic artists. It was found that in the 80s of the 20th century, the training of decorative and applied art specialists was started by culture colleges.

Commemoration in the midst of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict

Since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2014, new memory actors in Ukraine (veterans, families of the fallen soldiers, and other activists) seek to commemorate those Ukrainians who lost their lives on the frontline. By examining the construction of memorials in the Poltava oblast (Central Ukraine), the article demonstrates that in the context of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict the commemorative activity of ordinary people is impacted by the continued human losses, ordinary people’s perception of the future (grounded in their present-day experiences), and their desire to ensure that their memories are preserved for future generations.