Zhitomir Region Research Articles

Quantitative comparison of models of 137Cs cycling in forest ecosystems

The predictions of nine mathematical models of radiocesium ( 137Cs) cycling in forest ecosystems were evaluated through a model–data comparison on the basis of a scenario consisting of an acute dry deposition of 137Cs over a pine forest located in the Ukrainian territory affected by the Chernobyl accident (Zhitomir region). The forest compartments included in the comparisons were: organic and mineral soil layers, bilberries, fungi, roe deer, and different parts of the tree: bark, needles, shoots, and wood. The model predictions and the data agreed within a factor of 1.1 to 65 depending on the model and forest compartment. Statistically significant differences in the degree of agreement between model predictions and experimental data could be demonstrated for some models and forest compartments. The observed differences suggest that efforts for improving model predictions of radiocesium transfer to tree wood, needles, and shoots should be directed to a better simulation of the processes of root uptake and translocation of the radionuclide within the tree.

Elevated Minisatellite Mutation Rate in the Post-Chernobyl Families from Ukraine

Germline mutation at eight human minisatellite loci has been studied among families from rural areas of the Kiev and Zhitomir regions of Ukraine, which were heavily contaminated by radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident. The control and exposed groups were composed of families containing children conceived before and after the Chernobyl accident, respectively. The groups were matched by ethnicity, maternal age, parental occupation, and smoking habits, and they differed only slightly by paternal age. A statistically significant 1.6-fold increase in mutation rate was found in the germline of exposed fathers, whereas the maternal germline mutation rate in the exposed families was not elevated. These data, together with the results of our previous analysis of the exposed families from Belarus, suggest that the elevated minisatellite mutation rate can be attributed to post-Chernobyl radioactive exposure. The mechanisms of mutation induction at human minisatellite loci are discussed.

Prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine excretion levels in children around Chernobyl.

The prevalence of goiter among children living in areas affected by the Chernobyl accident was investigated by analysis of data on approximately 120,000 children examined at five medical diagnostic centers in Belarus, Russia, and the Ukraine. Examinations of thyroid gland were conducted with an arch-automatic ultrasonographic instrument at the five centers under the same protocol. The diagnosis of goiter was established when the thyroid volume exceeded a limit calculated from age, height, and body weight of a child. A considerable variation by region was noted in the prevalence of goiter. Highest in the Kiev region, the prevalence in the five regions was 54% in Kiev, 38% in the Zhitomir regions of the Ukraine, 18% in Gomel, 22% in the Mogilev regions of Belarus, and 41% in the Bryansk region of Russia. Urinary iodine content was measured in approximately 5700 children, and an endemic iodine deficient zone was confirmed in the Bryansk, Kiev, and Zhitomir regions. A significant negative correlation was observed between the prevalence of goiter and the median level of urinary iodine content (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was -0.35, P = 0.025).

Sources on the history of Jewish enlightenment and culture in the Zhitomir region state Archives

Sources on the history of Jewish enlightenment and culture in the Zhitomir region state Archives

The German Gendarmerie, the Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft and the 'Second Wave' of Jewish Killings in Occupied Ukraine: German Policing at the Local Level in the Zhitomir Region, 1941-1944

The German Gendarmerie, the Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft and the 'Second Wave' of Jewish Killings in Occupied Ukraine: German Policing at the Local Level in the Zhitomir Region, 1941-1944

The German Gendarmerie, the Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft and the 'Second Wave' of Jewish Killings in Occupied Ukraine: German Policing at the Local Level in the Zhitomir Region, 1941-1944

The German Gendarmerie, the Ukrainian Schutzmannschaft and the 'Second Wave' of Jewish Killings in Occupied Ukraine: German Policing at the Local Level in the Zhitomir Region, 1941-1944

The Party's Direction of Legal Upbringing

In implementing the decisions of the Twenty-Third [sic] Congress of the CPSU, Party, soviet, and administrative organs in the Zhitomir Region are working extensively to prevent crime and to eradicate violations of the law. A prominent place in preventive work is held by legal upbringing: clarification of Soviet laws, consultation, question-and-answer evenings, and reports and lectures by jurists at enterprises, on collective and state farms, and in educational institutions.

Vocational Guidance for Students in Rural Schools

This article is devoted to problems in vocational guidance for upper-grade students in the course of their out-of-class activity. It is based on the results of studying the work of rural schools in Zhitomir and Rovno Regions in the Ukrainian SSR and on data obtained in studying students' vocational interests. In the course of vocational guidance work, every school should follow a plan that would provide for a balanced system of activities — hobby-group work, excursions, discussions, meetings with front-rank workers, investigation of students' interests, etc.