Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Research Articles

Cultural identity in the architecture of individual dwelling in the conditions of industrialization

The development of fast construction methods that allow to speed up and cheapen the procedure of housing construction will form conditions for simplifying mortgage programs by financial institutions. Despite the positive aspects of industrialization, this process is characterized by signs of depersonalization and loss of regional authenticity in architecture. This leads to the erosion of national mentality and loss of cultural identity. The search for signs of cultural identity of the Russian individual dwelling is based on the volumetric and spatial analysis of the architecture of the traditional Russian dwelling house of the North-Western regions of the Russian Federation. Since this area corresponds to the third and fourth climatic zone, in which most of the territory of the Russian Federation is located. As a result of the analysis, the characteristic planning features of individual residential houses formed under the influence of natural and climatic conditions of the region are determined and the stable, not changing in time signs of identity are revealed. As a result of the study, the parameters of the optimal percentage ratio of warm and cold zones in the volume of the house for the formation of a sustainably developing system of national housing, and the stylistic and typological characteristics formed on their basis.

Содержание изотопов плутония в объектах окружающей среды Полесского государственного радиационно-экологического заповедника

The study was carried out in the territory of the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve. For the study of long-term environmental effects of the Chernobyl accident in the territory of Belarus, the Polesie State Radioecological Reserve was established in 1988. It is located in the Belarus sector of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The objective of the study was to estimate the content of plutonium isotopes in the environmental samples inside and outside of the Reserve area. Determination of plutonium isotopes was carried out by alpha spectrometry. The method includes complete decomposition of samples, radiochemical purification, preparation of alpha sources, alpha spectrometric analysis. The content of Pu-239+240 and Pu-238 in soil samples is in the range of 1.8-141 and <0.82-55 Bq/kg, respectively. The concentration of Pu-239+240 was at the level of n·10Е+0 Bq/kg in areas of the Kozeluga branch of the Khoiniki forestry, located outside the Reserve. Plutonium isotopes concentration outside the Reserve was an order of magnitude higher than it was in global fallout. The concentration of Pu-239+240 in pine cones in the study areas was <0.001-0.0041 Bq/kg. The Pu-239+240 transfer factor in Scots pine cones grown in the Reserve territory was at the level of n·10-4. The obtained value of the plutonium transfer factors for pine cones was comparable with the plutonium transfer factor for pine needles grown in the Reserve territory.

Long-Term Observations over the Structure of Macrophyte Communities in Floodplain Water Bodies of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

The study is based on long-term observations (1998-2021) over the species richness and cenotic activity of macrophytes of floodplain water bodies of the Chornobyl exclusion zone. During this period, the species composition of macrophytes of the studied water bodies remained almost unchanged. The lists of species found in 1998 differ from those registered in 2021 only by three species, including <i>Nymphaea alba, Trapa natans</i> (registered only since 2007), and <i>Utricularia minor</i> (found only in 1998, whereas in subsequent years was not observed at all). In the studied water bodies, macrophytes are not diverse in their species composition; their cenotic structure is simple, whereas overgrowing intensity of water surface is high. The presence of rare species of the boreal complex, including primarily <i>Hottonia palustris, Potamogeton acutifolius</i>, and <i>Callitriche cophocarpa</i>, makes these water bodies objects of protection and research. In 1998, a common feature of the vegetation cover of all studied floodplain water bodies was a predominance of macrophyte communities, in which the species of river and lake ecosystems, as well as indicator species of increased water logging processes, were registered. At the present time, natural structure of macrophyte communities of floodplain water bodies of the Prypyat River, which was deteriorated as a result of the construction of flood-protection hydraulic structures, is gradually recovered. The peculiarities of the distribution of macrophytes at the present time are indicative of the improvement of water exchange in floodplain water bodies. The chronic ionizing radiation influencing the biota of the studied water bodies for more than 30 years did not result in significant changes in the floristic and cenotic composition of macrophytes. Certain changes are conditioned by changes in hydrological and hydrochemical regime of the floodplain of the Prypyat River.

Метод оценки радиационных рисков смертности ликвидаторов чернобыльской аварии, учитывающий возможные ошибки в постановке и регистрации диагнозов причин смерти

In the past decade the lawful use of radiation risks of non-cancer diseases estimates to solve ra-diation safety problems has become more significant. The highest statistical power of low dose (less than 0.2 Gy) radiation risks research is possible in the cohort of the Chernobyl clean-up workers (liquidators) registered and been under medical monitoring in the system of the National Radiation Epidemiological Register (NRER) since 1986. The liquidators total number exceeds 130 thousand people. Because of the large-scale annual collection of health data, carried out in the NRER system, verification of the diseases diagnoses and medically certified causes of death, a natural question of radiation risk estimates compatibility with consideration to probable errors in a disease diagnosis and cause-of-death reporting on death certificates arises. The work is aimed at estimating the radiation risk of mortality from diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the digestive organs in the Russian cohort of liquidators, with account of possible errors in the disease diagnosis and certified causes of death. The size of the cohort considered for mortality analysis was 91,013 people, the average age at the Chernobyl zone entry was 33.6 years, average radiation dose was 0.133 Gy. In this study, the method of maximizing the partial likelihood function was used to assess radiation risks, with consideration of individual radiation doses to liquidators and the assessment of background mortality using the Breslow method. The specificity of the diagnosis of the primary causes of death in the NRER system significantly exceeds the level of 0.99. Considering the specificity index of 0.99, the estimates of radiation risk coefficients ERR/Gy for mortality from diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the digestive system in the cohort of Russian liquidators do not differ from the estimates obtained in the assumption that there are no first kind errors (false positive diagnosis) in the diagnoses of the primary causes of death in the NRER database. The results obtained confirm the high stability and validity of the assessments of radiation risks of mortality from diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the digestive system, obtained earlier from the data on liquidators registered in the NRER.

The Russian-Chinese Borderland in the Late Imperial Period in the Revision of Trade and Economic Relations

The article based on the analysis of modern Russian historiography, archival materials, and press information characterizes a number of problems of economic policy in the Russian-Chinese borderland from 1880–1890 until the crisis in relations between the two powers in 1911. The methods of the 19th century were becoming less and less effective as the economy of the Qing Empire was being put on new capitalist “tracks”. Materials of periodicals, documents of personal origin received by governmental chanceries of Russia allow to reveal patterns of social thought of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, describing the eastern lines of internal and foreign policy. The article outlines the opinions of the involved Russian regional population and the administration on trade and economic relations. The principles of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg and trade rules of 1881 did not stand the test of time. The Russian population in Eastern Turkestan, Mongolia, and later in the alienation zone of the Chinese Eastern Railway faced numerous problems related to property rights, illegal expropriation, barriers to commerce from the residents and the Chinese Qing authorities who saw in Russia a threat to their territory and even to the existence of the Qing dynasty. Foreign invasion into Manchzhuria, the construction of Russian settlements and cities in Chinese land, and then Russia’s defeat in the war with Japan forced the authorities of the two powers to look for new approaches to resolving trade and economic conflicts.

Рись євразійська (Lynx lynx) в Українському Поліссі: біогеографічний аналіз

New and previous data on patterns of the geographical distribution of the Eurasian lynx in the Ukrainian part of Polissia is summarised with attention to the estimates of distribution limits of the species (the entire data set for 1847–2022 with attention to data after 2000). Inventory data for five groups of locations—Volyn–Rivne group, Zhytomyr Polissia, Chornobyl zone, Dniprо–Desna interfluve (Mizhrichia), and Chernihiv Polissia—are given, respectively 15, 25, 14, 12, and 13 records (80 in total). Important information, which does not contain accurate inventory data though characterises the distribution of the species, primarily in relation to the west of Polissia and the Chornobyl zone, for which there are many new publications, is also commented. The growth of the Polissian lynx population is naturally accompanied by the expansion of its distribution limits and, in fact, the restoration of the former Polissian range of the species in general. This process, however, significantly limits poaching—both because of the undesirability of living with a predator (i.e. persecution) and because of hunting (i.e. trophy hunting). A high rate of lynx deaths is shown, and in some regions a significant proportion of records (in particular, in the left-bank Polissia and throughout the southern distribution of the species in the region) are based on reports of animals caught by hunters (9 records). Taking into account the range of the species in the Polissia and the specifics of its current configuration, the article considers the importance of modern biogeographical coordinates in the distribution of the species, compares these boundaries with the previously established boundaries of the Polissia subprovince, and shows the growing significance of coordinates of anthropogenic origin, in particular large highways. In particular, the range limit of the species in the central part of the Polissia is determined by the highway M07, whereas in eastern Polissia by the M01+M02 routes, which generally outlines the Desna River. In all cases, we can talk about the process of restoration of the Polissian range of the lynx, but essentially all attempts of the species to ‘do so’ end in the death of colonist individuals. Practically being the last ‘indicative’ mammal species of the Polissia, the lynx has now actually lost this role and is unable to restore its former range; therefore, the current limits of its distribution are not natural.

Олень шляхетний (Cervus elaphus) Чорнобильського радіаційно-екологічного заповідника: моніторинг, екологія, поведінка

Data on the number, monitoring system, ecology, and behaviour of red deer are presented. The most effective survey methods of the number and spatial distribution of deer turned out to be the survey of the number per roar (during the mating season) and transect survey for piles of faeces. The most significant factors limiting the population were established: wolf predation, the spread of invasive tree species, clonal marten grass, weak recovery of heather on the fires, and changes in behaviour (digging wells-watering holes). Under the conditions of the Chernobyl Reserve, the species is an effective ecosystem engineer able to a certain extent to restrain undesirable phenomena of ecosystem development. But this species is not able to independently restore degraded ecosystems, and in the Chernobyl Reserve, special projects are needed to restore natural forests, grazing areas for ungulates, and degraded ecosystems. Photos of antlers of adult deer makes it possible to reliably identify them. The specific shape of the antlers is preserved in the following year with the possibility of identification. The process of deer reintroduction in the Chornobyl Reserve, after the phase of intensive population growth, entered a state of dynamic equilibrium of the predator-prey system. After the fall in the number of wild boars (Sus scrofa) in 2015 the pressure of wolf predation probably increased. The current abundance of deer in the exclusion zone fluctuates around 30% throughout the year and is 3.8–2.6 thousand individuals with a population of about 3.4 thousand individuals during rut. Foraging conditions for deer and other herbivores slowly deteriorate over time due to the overgrowth of fallows with pine (Pinus sylvestris), expansion of invasive trees and clonal marten grass (Calamagrostis epigejos). Fires on a large area with piles of wood do not contribute to the creation of mosaic productive biotopes for deer. In the future, the number of deer and other herbivores may increase in the case of successful implementation of re-wilding projects, restoration of heather wastelands, natural forests, reduction of the spread of martens, introduction of a system of targeted fires to create patches of early successional vegetation. The creation of a scientific hub in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the involvement of volunteers in monitoring work, and the development of ecotourism will contribute to the strengthening of technical capabilities of conducting fieldwork, attracting volunteers and funding for restoration projects.

Long-term monitoring of the European roller (Coracias garrulus) in Ukraine: is climate behind the changes?

The European range of the roller was formerly more extensive, but since the 1980s there has been a long-term decline in numbers and in range, particularly towards the north, including much of north-western Ukraine. Our specific goals were to reconstruct the environmentally suitable range of the species in Ukraine before the 1980s, gain better knowledge on its requirements, compare the past and current suitable areas, infer the regional and environmental variables that best explain its occurrence, and quantify the overall range change in the country. For these purposes we created a database consisting of 584 findings made in Ukraine, based on a lengthy record of occurrences extending back to 1851: 203 for the period prior to 1980, 91 for records made between 1985 and 2009, and 290 records made between 2010 and 2020. We employed a species distribution modelling (SDM) approach to hindcast changes in the suitable range of the roller during historical times across Ukraine and to derive spatially explicit predictions of environmental suitability for the species under current climate and a set of factors that were hypothesised to be of importance to roller presence and securing a sufficient food base. SDMs were created for three time intervals (before 1980, 1985–2009, 2010–2020) using corresponding climate data. SDMs show a decline of suitable for rollers areas in the country from around 86 to 44%. Several factors, including land cover and land use, human population density etc. that could have contributed to the decline of the species in Ukraine, were considered. For example, the loss of area of ‘short vegetation’ appears detrimental, although recent gains in this respect have favoured the bird in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and around, where Landsat images show the change from a previously vibrant agricultural and forestry economy, when crops have been replaced by grasslands. Threats posed to the roller by habitat and land use change are also likely to be compounded by the effects of global climate change. In summary, we suggest climate change, in particular velocity, have been responsible for shaping the contemporary home range of the European roller in Ukraine and perhaps beyond.

Influences of Regional Cultural Breaks and Migration Processes on Children’s and Winter Calendar and Ritual Song Folklore of Kirovohrad Oblast

Kirovohrad Oblast, founded in 1939, is situated in the central part of Ukraine, on the right bank of the Dnipro. The southern center of Ukraine, in particular the territory of Kirovohrad Oblast, has been settled quite late, in the 17th–18th centuries. The conglomeration of East-Podillian, Central-Ukrainian and Trans-Dnieper singing has formed a specific folklore zone here. Resettlers from the northern and western lands have also brought well-preserved folklore traditions to these lands. They have formed a peculiar marginal culture here, which is defined by a number of distinctive features in the folklore works of the region. We consider them after the sources of children’s and winter calendar-ritual folklore. Only some versions of ancient lullabies have been recorded in the Kirovohrad Oblast. The lullabies of the Eastern type predominate on the rest of the territories, although there are also Western ones, recorded from the resettlers mainly. Ancient lullabies from the Podillian part of Kirovohrad Oblast have a syncopated Western-type chant. Eastern-type lullabies of Kirovohrad Oblast differ in their textual and melodic variety. On the melodic side, lullabies of the Eastern type belong mainly to the song-recitative type. The melody is dominated by the repetition of one chant-formula of the ascending-descending type, which contributes to lulling the child with its monotony. In the recordings of eastern lullabies from a resettled woman from the Chornobyl zone of the Zhytomyr region, we observe a significant melismatic enrichment of formulaic intonations. In the western, Podillian regions of Kirovohrad Oblast, samples of children’s folklore are distinguished by dialectal peculiarities of the language. Published works and modern expeditionary records of children’s koliadky and shchedrivky are the evidence of the distribution of such songs as Koliadnytsia, Koliadnytsia, Shchedrivochka Shchedruvala on the territory of the region. Children’s sowing songs have become especially popular. The motifs of Illia walking on Vasyl, who wears a magical rye peacock (whip) are introduced into them from the northern regions. The historical situation in the Kirovohradshchyna, and partly the cultural policy of the last century, have influenced the existence of winter calendar and ritual song folklore here perniciously. Only a few examples of secular carols and shchedrivky have been recorded in the region. At the same time, winter songs of the Gospel themes are more preserved in church and folk usage. In general, the repertoire of koliadky and shchedrivky of the Kirovohrad region is preserved to a greater extent in the western, Podillian districts, where the koliadky prevail, and only fragmentarily, much more modestly, in the central part of the region, where the shchedrivky predominate. The peculiarities of the folklore tradition of the region consist in the inclination of the bearers of folk songs for numerous contaminations of various types. We have observed this phenomenon by the way of example of recordings of children’s and winter calendar-ritual song folklore because of its border location between the Trans-Dnieper, Steppe and Podillia zones. There is the inclination of the bearers of folk songs to numerous contaminations of various types. The enrichment of the song folklore of the Kirovohrad Oblast is introduced due to the migratory waves of various times, starting from the period of intensive settlement of the region to modern processes of emigration because of the natural causes, man-made disasters and military actions. Thanks to the recordings of the expeditions of the Baba Yelka project during the 2018–2022, it is possible to study the peculiarities of functioning of the song folklore of the region in the latest times.

Dependency of radioiodine root uptake by crops on soil characteristics

The aim of this study was to quantify the parameters of root uptake of radioiodine by agricultural crops under steady state conditions depending on the main soil characteristics. For this purpose, a long-term (483-days) pot experiment was conducted under natural conditions in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone to grow radish in soils of four different types with added isotope 125I. The experiment demonstrated an increase in root uptake of radioiodine by radish roots in the following sequence of soil types: clay soil < loam soil ≪ sandy soil (Chernozem ≈ Phaeozem < Greyzem ≪ Podzoluvisol). The obtained results have been analyzed in conjunction with the results of our previous studies to identify the factors determining the parameters of root uptake of radioiodine by the studied crop species. The 125I concentration ratios (CRs) in edible parts of crop species (radish roots: from 0.003 for Chernozem to 0.02 for Podzoluvisol; lettuce leaves: 0.004–0.04; bean pods: 0.0003–0.004; wheat straw: 0.01–0.1; and wheat seeds: 0.0001–0.001) anticorrelated with the characteristics of the soils studied: the distribution coefficients Kd of 125I (from 112 L kg−1 for clay soils to 19 L kg−1 for sandy soil, R2 = 0.56–0.97) and Kd’ of stable iodine (93-19 L kg−1, R2 = 0.43–0.74), stable iodine concentration in soil (6.2–0.5 mg kg−1, R2 = 0.71–0.88), and humus content (4.0–0.8%, R2 = 0.44–0.78). The obtained steady-state CR values and their dependence on the soil characteristics can be used to model the root uptake of 129I, a long-lived radiological contaminant, and to predict its accumulation in human food and animal feed.

Радіоекологічні дослідження на осушених ділянках ложа водойми-охолоджувача ЧАЕС

The results of radioecological monitoring of the research sites located on the drained areas and the coastal of the ChNPP cooling pond are presented. The features of the spatial distribution of the exposure dose rate, the density of soil radionuclide contamination by the emergency radionuclides were determined. The content of incorporated radionuclides in representatives of the genera Myodes and Sylvaemus were studied, the individual and interspecies variability of 137Cs and 90Sr levels in animals within the limits of one research site was determined. Currently, the indicators of radioactive contamination of biota in the drained areas of the cooling pond are within the variation of those values that are characteristic of most areas of the Chornobyl exclusion zone.

Clean feed as countermeasure to reduce the 90Sr and 137Cs levels in fish from contaminated lakes

Glubokoye Lake situated within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is highly contaminated with respect to radioactive caesium and strontium isotopes, which also is reflected in the contaminated fish. To utilize the fish resources in contaminated lakes, the present work presents for the first time the effectiveness of using clean feed to counteract contamination of radionuclides in fish. The study is based on a series of repeated experiments with Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782)) kept in cages in the contaminated Glubokoye Lake during summer 2018–2021. By the addition of clean feed, the activity concentration of 137Cs in fish muscle tissues was lowered with a factor of 2–5 due to biodilution. Surprisingly, additional clean feed did not lead to further decrease in the uptake of 137Cs in fish.In contrast to 137Cs, the addition of clean feed increased the 90Sr activity concentration in fish by a factor of 2–4 compared to fish fed with naturally occurring feed items. Radioactive strontium accumulated mainly in the fish bones and the muscle tissue level was 2 orders of magnitude lower, similar to the distribution observed for stable Sr. By utilizing a new kinetic model describing the dynamics of strontium isotopes in bone tissues of fish, predictions fitted well with site-specific data, taking growth rates and aging into account. Results showed that clean feeding can be used to counteract high activity concentration of 137Cs in fish due to biodilution, but cannot counteract bioaccumulation of 90Sr. Findings highlighted that it is essential to understand underlying factors influencing the uptake pathways for contaminants, as access to clean feed could increase the growth and thereby reduce the body activity concentration of dietary associated radionuclides such as 137Cs (biodilution), as well as increase the transfer of dissolved compounds such as 90Sr directly from water to fish.

Ecological Half-Life of 137Cs in Fungi

The ecological half-life of 137Cs was calculated individually for four symbiotrophic fungi species (Boletus edulis, Imleria badia, Suillus luteus, Paxillus involutus) at 10 sampling sites in the Chornobyl exclusion zone and in the Kyiv region. It was found that the maximum rate of excretion of 137Cs from the fungi organisms is characteristic for the territory with the maximum levels of soil contamination, i.e., for a zone near Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. In areas with low 137Cs content, a slowing down of the excretion rate predominates. These results reveal different fungal response to the distinct concentration levels of 137Cs in forest ecosystems. This observation further suggests that radiocaesium can be selectively accumulated by fungi and used in their life processes. Presence of this 137Cs retention mechanism in fungi leads to a longer contamination of woody plants-symbionts.

Chernobyl dreams: investigating visitors’ storytelling in the Chernobyl exclusion zone

PurposeLittle is known about the overall meaning of the Chernobyl exclusion zone (CEZ) from the visitors’ point of view. Conceptualizing the zone as a storyscape and its narratives as intangible heritage resources, this study aims to investigate the visitors’ engagement with these resources and the resulting articulations from the engagements as translated into verbal and visual storytelling.Design/methodology/approachParticipant observation and participant generated images in combination with in-depth interviews with different types of tourists were conducted. This paper uses the photographs chosen by the interviewees themselves as a photo essay to explore the evocation of stories through narrative engagement.FindingsThrough participant-oriented research, this study identified three dominant storytelling themes through which visitors focus their understanding of the CEZ. Visitors’ narrative engagements and visual storytelling co-produce the site and entail fluid and even conflicting narrative articulations about the CEZ and its cultural significance.Research limitations/implicationsThe discoveries of this study stem from a unique developing heritage site. This study provided a more nuanced understanding of the different visitor categories in the CEZ and their group-specific ways to articulate, imagine and co-produce the storyscape of Chernobyl.Originality/valueGaining insight into the verbal and visual storytelling of tourists will contribute to the discussion of narrative consumption of different consumption profiles in tourism sites in addition to the mediation and construction of entangled memory spaces.

Policies of Sustainable Economic Zones under the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR): A Case Study on Suez Canal Area Using Fuzzy Geographic Information System (Fuzzy GIS)

Industrial zones are considered one of the most important sectors of economic development in any country. All countries seek to develop these zones and transform them into the fourth and fifth industrial revolution zones. This paper relies on an extrapolation approach and comparative analysis of the industrial and economic zones that include the currently enforced policies dealing with these zones all over the world. Accordingly, this study consists of three main stages. The first stage concerns reviewing the concepts and definitions of industrial and economic zones, defining policies for dealing with them, and then concluding the bases and criteria of those policies. The second stage focuses on defining the criteria of the fourth industrial revolution industrial zones, then determining the criteria for differentiating between the current economic zones according to their suitability to absorb the fourth-generation industries, and finally determining the criteria for the localization of these industries spatially, relying on Fuzzy GIS methods to identify the best sites for localizing high-quality industries. The third stage is about conducting a field application to the Suez Canal area in Egypt to determine the best high-tech industrial site within the selected area in Egypt. The site identified as the most suitable for the settlement of high-tech industries is the area located in the northwest and southeast of the special economic zone (SEZ), northwest of the Suez Canal, with an area of 22 km², a weight of 0.357724, and a score of 20.

Th137Cs radionuclides, folate cycle and physical development of children living near the Chornobyl exclusion zone

The purpose of the study: to assess the impact of incorporated 137Cs radionuclides on the physical development of boys and girls living near the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, taking into account the state of the folate cycle and the MTHFR:C677T genetic polymorphism. Research methods: іnstrumental, laboratory, mathematical and statistical. Results: Within the framework of international projects, an assessment of physical development was carried out according to the Rohrer index (IR), the levels and relationship of incorporated 137Cs, vitamins B6, B9, B12, homocysteine (Hcy), allelic variants of the MTHFR:C677T genetic polymorphism were determined in 260 children aged 13-17 years old from Ivankivskyi and Polisskyi districts of the Kyiv region, bordering the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. It has been established that among the surveyed, the more proportion is the subgroup of adolescents with harmonious physical development (respectively, for boys - 70.40%, for girls - 65.93%). It was shown that boys and girls with disharmonious high physical development (respectively 15.20% and 25.19%) contained significantly less 137Cs radionuclides in their bodies, compared with children from the subgroups of harmonious and disharmonious low physical development. In the analyzed groups of boys and girls, an inverse correlation was recorded between the specific activity of 137Cs and the values of anthropometric indicators. The most pronounced inverse relationship between the specific activity of 137Cs and the values of mass, as well as body length and IR, was found in the subgroup of harmoniously developed girls. The subgroup of harmoniously developed boys differed from the subgroup of harmoniously developed girls by a higher specific activity of 137Cs in the body and a higher level of Hcy in the blood. The decrease in the level of Hcy in the blood of harmoniously developed girls, compared with harmoniously developed boys, may be associated with a higher level of vitamin B12 in the blood, as well as with a more intense functioning of the trans-sulfurization cycle. Comparative analysis showed that in the subgroup of girls with overweight, the proportion of cases of carriage of genotypes composed of neutral alleles of the C/C polymorphism MTHFR:677 is greater than in the subgroup of harmoniously developed girls. At the same time, a lower specific activity of 137Cs in their body was registered. It is concluded that incorporated 137Cs radionuclides cause a decrease in body weight in children living in the area affected by the accident at the Chоrnobyl nuclear power plant. At the same time, there is a metabolic disorder, in the form of an increase in the content of Hcy in the blood, more pronounced in boys. The process of incorporation of 137Cs radionuclides into the body of children may be associated with the T allele of the MTHFR:C677 polymorphism, which affects the activity of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase.

Experimental evaluation of fire weather conditions during periods of wildfires in Ukraine in 2020

Introduction. Almost every year, the territory of Ukraine is affected by drought of different intensity and duration, what is a favorable condition for wildfires. In the forest areas of the country arose about 106.8 thousand fires with a total area of 139.2 thousand hectares during 1990-2017. An analysis of the long-term dynamics shows that wildfires in Ukraine are a sustainable phenomenon. In 2020, under the severe drought conditions, 209 forest fires occurred, the most significant of them were in the Chernobyl zone and in the Lugansk region. Formulation of the problem. There is still no universally accepted method to describe all drought related processes due to complexity of drought phenomena. Although drought indices and fire weather indices usually have different time scales, their combination can be a basis in the prediction scheme in which the drought index acts as a background indicator, which enhances or decreases the current fire weather index. The purpose of this study is evaluate informativeness of a new fire weather index HDW (Hot-Dry-Windy Index) for the territory of Ukraine, which takes into account the main meteorological parameters necessary to describe the degree of wildfire danger due to weather conditions, so this index may become a component of the drought and fire monitoring system. Data and methods. The HDW index has a physical justification as the atmosphere affects the fire, namely, the combination of three atmospheric parameters characterizes the current conditions for the ignition and distribution of fire: wind, temperature, humidity. For the calculation of the HDW index, the data of GFS global numerical model with grid step 0.25 degrees is used. The calculation of the daily fields of the HDW index was carried out for the territory of Ukraine and for local areas. To localize areas of wildfires, in the study were used daily hotspots data provided by the web-resource Firms (https://firms2.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/), which are determined using satellite instruments MODIS (AQUA and Terra Satellites) and VIIRS (S-NPP and NOAA-20 satellites). Research results. Comparison of the calculated HDW fields in Ukraine with the position of hotspots showed that the maximum values of the HDW index are generally concentrated in fire areas. Comparison with the synoptic situation showed that the maximum values of the HDW are located in the zones of advection of warm and dry air in the lower troposphere and zones of strong surface winds, which usually correspond to the periphery of anticyclone or the warm sector of cyclone. The analysis of the time courses of the HDW index showed the typical feature, which expressed in the fact that in all cases there was an increase in the index values in the period before the wildfire, maximum of the HDW is fixed at the time of ignition and after that the index values sharply decreases. Scientific novelty and practical significance. The fields of new HDW index reflects the weather conditions typical for wildfires periods in the territory of Ukraine. The presence of specific features and extreme values in the index time course can be used to track the process of increase of fire danger under changing weather conditions to make short- and medium-range fire danger forecasts with evaluation of fire danger classes.

Cretaceous potassic igneous activity in the Raniganj Basin, eastern India: Compositional variations in mica and apatite as recorders of lamproite magma evolution

Two early Cretaceous potassic sill intrusions from Ramnagore and Rajpura in the Raniganj Gondwana Sedimentary Basin of eastern India consist of macrocrysts and microcrysts of olivine, together with phenocrysts and microphenocrysts of mica, apatite and diopside set in a groundmass of mica, diopside, K-feldspar, apatite and rutile. Titanian magnesian aluminous chromite occurs as a groundmass phase in the Ramnagore rocks. The compositional characteristics of olivine are similar to those of peridotite-derived mantle xenocrysts in terms of their high forsterite and Ni contents coupled with low Mn, Ca, Al and Ti. Mineralogically, the sill intrusions are classified as phlogopite–diopside–K-feldspar–apatite olivine lamproites. Mica and apatite crystals commonly show core–overgrowth rim textures with up to three distinct compositional zones. The mica zones are M-I core: high Ti, low-to-high Cr and moderate Ba; M-II inner rim: moderate Ti, low Cr and high Ba; and M-III outer rim: low Ti, Cr and Ba. Rajpura mica show a fourth zone (M-IV), which occurs as patches at the crystal margins, characterized by higher Fe T and lower K compared to the other three zones. M-I phlogopite is interpreted to be “antecrystic”, whereas M-II and M-III mica represent magmatic growth zones. M-IV mica has probably developed during hydrothermal alteration. Both the Rajpura and Ramnagore mica exhibit a trend of decreasing Al 2 O 3 with increasing FeO T , which is typical for bona fide lamproites. Rajpura apatite crystals show three distinct compositional zones, viz. Ap-I core: high-Sr–low-LREE; Ap-II inner rim: high-Sr–high-LREE; and Ap-III microporous outer rim: moderate-Sr–low-LREE and considerable quantities of Ba and Na. The Ap-I and Ap-II generations represent two distinct magmatic growth zones, whereas Ap-III developed during hydrothermal alteration. Ramnagore apatite exhibit oscillatory zoning with fluctuations in Sr and LREE contents. Diopside has Al–Na-poor compositions, typical of lamproitic clinopyroxene. The study demonstrates how the mineralogy of lamproites records crystallization from multiple pulses of mantle-derived K-rich magmas, with protracted magmatic differentiation and late-stage hydrothermal evolution. • Two phlogopite–diopside–K-feldspar–apatite olivine lamproites from eastern India. • High-Fo olivine grains are peridotite mantle-derived xenocrysts. • High Cr Ti phlogopite record earlier failed lamproite activity at mantle depths. • Magmatic mica and apatite zones reflect different stages of magma differentiation. • Metasomatic mica and apatite record late-stage hydrothermal alteration.

Arabidopsis thaliana Accessions from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Show Decreased Sensitivity to Additional Acute Irradiation.

Chronic ionising radiation exposure is a main consequence of radioactive pollution of the environment. The development of functional genomics approaches coupled with morphological and physiological studies allows new insights into plant adaptation to life under chronic irradiation. Using morphological, reproductive, physiological, and transcriptomic experiments, we evaluated the way in which Arabidopsis thaliana natural accessions from the Chernobyl exclusion zone recover from chronic low-dose and acute high-dose γ-irradiation of seeds. Plants from radioactively contaminated areas were characterized by lower germination efficiency, suppressed growth, decreased chlorophyll fluorescence, and phytohormonal changes. The transcriptomes of plants chronically exposed to low-dose radiation indicated the repression of mobile genetic elements and deregulation of genes related to abiotic stress tolerance. Furthermore, these chronically irradiated natural accessions showed higher tolerance to acute 150 Gy γ-irradiation of seeds, according to transcriptome and phytohormonal profiles. Overall, the lower sensitivity of the accessions from radioactively contaminated areas to acute high-dose irradiation may come at the cost of their growth performance under normal conditions.

Якби не було війни: прогноз демографічних показників для громад Вишгородського району Київської області

Demographic processes have been disturbed on those Ukrainian territories which have undergone occupation as a result of Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. However, in order to rebuild such territories, local authorities need information on the prospects of demographic situation. Therefore, determining possible information sources and choosing models to forecast demographic indicators for local communities is relevant. The purpose of this work is identifying possible information sources and choosing models to predict demographic indicators for local communities; forecasting of population numbers, birth rate and mortality via splines for Vyshgorodsky district, Kyiv oblast communities. Novelty: forecasting of demographic indicators for local communities via spline functions. It has been shown that retrospective demographic research at local communities level is possible, if the communities’ contemporary borders correspond to the past administrative and territorial division. However, there are certain limitations regarding the indicators set. The analysis of 1979-2020 data on population numbers, birth rate and mortality for Ivankivsky and Polisky local communities has shown that the 1986-1988 data cannot be used for forecasting, since it varies considerably. This has been caused by the evacuation of residents from Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and administrative and territorial changes. The usage of spline functions in forecasting has shown that splines which have 5-7 knots are optimal. The most adequate forecasts of population numbers can be obtained via cubic splines, whereas the most trustworthy forecasts of birth rate and mortality – via linear continuous splines. It has been determined that the last years’ trends in population numbers, birth rate and mortality would continue in Vyshgorodsky district, Kyiv oblast local communities during 2021-2024. Due to hostilities on the territory of the district, there is no true data on demographic situation, and actual data may turn out to be far from the forecasted because of families with children emigration and mortality growth. Further research to improve the methodology of demographic forecasting by taking into account accidents that cause unfavorable demographic consequences is necessary.