[The ecological determinancy of development of bronchial asthma in adult population (as exemplified by the Republic of the North Ossetia-Alania]

The intensive impact of anthropogenic factors on health causes more than 40% of all human diseases. First of all, it has to do with respiratory organs and comes out as the main determinant of development of chronic respiratory pathology. The article presents an assessment of negative impact of environmental factors on dynamics of increasing of incidence of bronchial asthma morbidity in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The indicators of the general morbidity that increased up to 75.6% and for the first time detected up to 97.5% over six-year period. The results of present study correspond with the results of similar studies implemented in various territories of Russia indicating at mediation of increasing of bronchial asthma morbidity by negative impact of environment risk factors. In the Republic, over a period of many decades, contribution of the metallurgical plant producing zinc, cadmium, sulfuric acid and zinc-aluminum alloys, to atmospheric air pollution made up not less than 40%. Only two out of eight rural municipal districts are relatively environmentally problem-free today. In rural areas, more than 50% of atmospheric air pollutants is related to carbon oxide. Nowadays, along with industrial emissions into atmospheric air and their accumulation, increases importance of motor transport in environmental pollution. The cars account for 50-70% of all harmful emissions. The presence of harmful substances contained in exhaust gases exceeds permissible standards by 2-3 times. According to the data of systematic analysis of urban air quality, most of the year citizens breathe atmospheric air not meeting normative requirements. The actual situation favors development of bronchial asthma. In the Republic, its morbidity has not decreased for many decades. To improve indicators of bronchial asthma morbidity can be achieved by leveling harmful effects of environment through identification of main sources of environmental troubles. The priority is both to decrease industrial emissions that pollute atmosphere and to transit to more ecologically safe modern power supplies of motor transport facilities.

Ancient DNA of narrow-headed vole reveal common features of the Late Pleistocene population dynamics in cold-adapted small mammals

The narrow-headed vole, collared lemming and common vole were the most abundant small mammal species across the Eurasian Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra environment. Previous ancient DNA studies of the collared lemming and common vole have revealed dynamic population histories shaped by climatic fluctuations. To investigate the extent to which species with similar adaptations share common evolutionary histories, we generated a dataset comprised the mitochondrial genomes of 139 ancient and 6 modern narrow-headed voles from several sites across Europe and northwestern Asia covering approximately the last 100 thousand years (kyr). We inferred Bayesian time-aware phylogenies using 11 radiocarbon-dated samples to calibrate the molecular clock. Divergence of the main mtDNA lineages across the three species occurred during marine isotope stages (MIS) 7 and MIS 5, suggesting a common response of species adapted to open habitat during interglacials. We identified several time-structured mtDNA lineages in European narrow-headed vole, suggesting lineage turnover. The timing of some of these turnovers was synchronous across the three species, allowing us to identify the main drivers of the Late Pleistocene dynamics of steppe- and cold-adapted species.

Fossil Asiatic Brush-Tailed Porcupine Atherurus macrourus (Hystricidae, Rodentia) from Northern Vietnam (Bud Cave, Pleistocene-Holocene Transition)

The lower jaw and dental remains of the brush-tailed porcupine are described from the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary deposits of the Bud cave in northern Vietnam. In terms of the average length of the cheek teeth, this porcupine is somewhat larger than the modern Atherurus macrourus (Linnaeus, 1758), but slightly smaller than the Pleistocene A. karnuliensis Lydekker, 1886; relatively small incisors make it possible to assign the form from the Bud сave to A. macrourus. The finding is the first fossil record of this species in Vietnam.

Pleistocene Mammals from the Lang Trang Cave (Vietnam): New Data

The following mammal assemblage was identified among the materials collected in 2020 from the Pleistocene of the Lang Trang cave (northern Vietnam): the primates Pongo sp., Trachypithecus sp., Macaca cf. nemestrina (Linnaeus, 1766), and Macaca sp.; the carnivorans Arctonyx collaris rostratus Matthew et Granger, 1923 and Panthera sp.; the chiropteran Ia io Thomas, 1902; the rodent Hystrix kiangsenensis Wang, 1931; the proboscidean Elephas sp.; the perissodactyls Tapirus indicus (Desmarest, 1819) and Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Fischer, 1814); the artiodactyls Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758, S. barbatus Müller, 1838, Tragulus kanchil (Raffles, 1821), Hydropotes inermis Swinhoe, 1870, Muntiacus muntjak (Zimmermann, 1780), Axis porcinus (Zimmermann, 1780), Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792), and Capricornis sumatraensis (Bechstein, 1799). I. io, S. barbatus, T. kanchil, H. inermis, and A. porcinus were detected in the Lang Trang fauna for the first time. The mammal assemblage is dominated by inhabitants of tropical forests (from lowlands to mountains), subtropical forms are also present.

A Finding of a Frozen Mummy of a Lemming (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Lemmus) in the Upper Pleistocene of Yakutia

The external morphological, X-ray, and tomographic study of a frozen rodent mummy from the Upper Pleistocene Yedoma deposits on the Tirekhtyakh River (a Semyuelyakh River tributary, Abyi ulus, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia) showed its belonging to Lemmus sp. The radiocarbon age of the finding is 41 305-41 885 cal B.P. This is the first Pleistocene discovery of a frozen mummy of a genus Lemmus representative. In terms of the body and skull sizes, coat color, the lower incisor length, and the molar structure, the specimen studied is similar to the recent Lemmus sibiricus (Kerr, 1792). Comparison of the mitochondrial COB gene sequence with the DNA sequences presented in the GenBank database also testified to the maximum similarity with the Recent Siberian brown lemming.

New data on the internal organs of a frozen Yukagir bison mummy (Bison priscus Bojanus, 1827), Yakutia, Russia

The paper presents the first morphological description of the internal organs of a frozen corpse of the steppe bison Bison priscus (Bojanus, 1827) from the Holocene of northern Yakutia. Necropsy revealed that most of the internal organs, including the brain, heart with the main vessels, and reproductive system were well preserved. It demonstrated that the anatomy of this bison was close to that of the genera Bos and Bison. Trauma or pathological changes in the organs were not detected. The cause of death of the bison remains unknown.