| 1. |
- Librado, P., et al.
(författare)
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The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 598, s. 634-640
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Analysis of 273 ancient horse genomes reveals that modern domestic horses originated in the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region. Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare(1). However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling(2-4) at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc(3). Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia(5) and Anatolia(6), have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association(7) between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc(8,9) driving the spread of Indo-European languages(10). This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture(11,12).
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| 2. |
- Boeskorov, G G, et al.
(författare)
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The Preliminary Analysis of Cave Lion Cubs Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) from the Permafrost of Siberia
- 2021
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Ingår i: Quaternary. - : MDPI AG. - 2571-550X. ; 4:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A preliminary description is presented of the well-preserved frozen mummies of two cubs of the extinct cave lion Panthera spelaea (finds of 2017–2018, Semyuelyakh River, Yakutia, eastern Siberia, Russia). The fossil lion cubs were found in close proximity, but they do not belong to the same litter, since their radiocarbon ages differ: the female (named ‘Sparta’) was dated to 27,962 ± 109 uncal years BP, and the male (named ‘Boris’) was dated to 43,448 ± 389 uncal years BP. The lion cubs have similar individual ages, 1–2 months. The general tone of the colour of the fur coat of Sparta is greyish to light brown, whereas, in Boris, the fur is generally lighter, greyish yellowish. It is, therefore, possible that light colouration prevailed with age in cave lions and was adaptive for northern snow-covered landscapes. The article discusses the results of computed tomography of cubs of the cave lion, the possible reasons for their death, and the peculiarities of their existence in the Siberian Arctic.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Edwards, Ceiridwen J., et al.
(författare)
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Ancient Hybridization and an Irish Origin for the Modern Polar Bear Matriline
- 2011
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Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 21:15, s. 1251-1258
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are among those species most susceptible to the rapidly changing arctic climate, and their survival is of global concern. Despite this, little is known about polar bear species history. Future conservation strategies would significantly benefit from an understanding of basic evolutionary information, such as the timing and conditions of their initial divergence from brown bears (U. arctos) or their response to previous environmental change. Results: We used a spatially explicit phylogeographic model to estimate the dynamics of 242 brown bear and polar bear matrilines sampled throughout the last 120,000 years and across their present and past geographic ranges. Our results show that the present distribution of these matrilines was shaped by a combination of regional stability and rapid, long-distance dispersal from ice-age refugia. In addition, hybridization between polar bears and brown bears may have occurred multiple times throughout the Late Pleistocene. Conclusions: The reconstructed matrilineal history of brown and polar bears has two striking features. First, it is punctuated by dramatic and discrete climate-driven dispersal events. Second, opportunistic mating between these two species as their ranges overlapped has left a strong genetic imprint. In particular, a likely genetic exchange with extinct Irish brown bears forms the origin of the modern polar bear matriline. This suggests that interspecific hybridization not only may be more common than previously considered but may be a mechanism by which species deal with marginal habitats during periods of environmental deterioration.
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| 5. |
- Frantz, Laurent A. F., et al.
(författare)
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Ancient pigs reveal a near-complete genomic turnover following their introduction to Europe
- 2019
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 116:35, s. 17231-17238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by similar to 10,500 y before the present ( BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA ( mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers similar to 8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local European wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process.
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| 6. |
- Baryshnikov, G. V., et al.
(författare)
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Application of Bader's atoms in molecules theory to the description of coordination bonds in the complex compounds of Ca2+ and Mg2+ with methylidene rhodanine and its anion
- 2012
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Ingår i: Russian journal of general chemistry. - 1070-3632 .- 1608-3350. ; 82:7, s. 1254-1262
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the framework of Bader's atoms in molecules theory a complete analysis of the distribution function of electron density in molecules of complexes of Ca2+ and Mg2+ with methylidene rhodanine and its anion was carried out. The role of mutual polarization of the metal cation and the ligand in the formation of coordination bonds was demonstrated. The accumulation of electron density in the interatomic space of coordination bonds is assumed to be a consequence of the deformation of the ligand electron shell under the influence of the cation electric field. Based on the magnitude and sign of the Laplacian and the electron energy density at the critical points of coordination bonds the interactions were classified the in terms of the atoms in molecules theory. The energy of the coordination bonds was evaluated using the Espinoza's formula. The stability of metal-containing rings was considered basing on the values of the bond ellipticity.
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| 7. |
- Baryshnikov, G. V., et al.
(författare)
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Structure and Spectral Properties of Truxene Dye S5
- 2012
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Ingår i: Optics and Spectroscopy. - 0030-400X .- 1562-6911. ; 112:2, s. 168-174
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On the ground of functional theory with the B3LYP and BMK functionals, we have studied the structure and optical properties of a truxene dye sensitizer S5 for photoelectric transducers. Based on the calculations of the vertical excitations energy of the dye molecule and accounting the influence of the solvent, we have revealed a positive solvatochromic effect that is weak compared to results obtained in the vacuum approximation. We have studied new features describing stabilization of the planar structure of the cyanothiophene-acrylic fragment of the S5 dye.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Campos, Paula F., et al.
(författare)
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Ancient DNA sequences point to a large loss of mitochondrial genetic diversity in the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) since the Pleistocene
- 2010
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Ingår i: Molecular Ecology. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 19:22, s. 4863-4875
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior to the Holocene, the range of the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) spanned from France to the Northwest Territories of Canada. Although its distribution subsequently contracted to the steppes of Central Asia, historical records indicate that it remained extremely abundant until the end of the Soviet Union, after which its populations were reduced by over 95%. We have analysed the mitochondrial control region sequence variation of 27 ancient and 38 modern specimens, to assay how the species' genetic diversity has changed since the Pleistocene. Phylogenetic analyses reveal the existence of two well-supported, and clearly distinct, clades of saiga. The first, spanning a time range from >49 500 C-14 ybp to the present, comprises all the modern specimens and ancient samples from the Northern Urals, Middle Urals and Northeast Yakutia. The second clade is exclusive to the Northern Urals and includes samples dating from between 40 400 to 10 250 C-14 ybp. Current genetic diversity is much lower than that present during the Pleistocene, an observation that data modelling using serial coalescent indicates cannot be explained by genetic drift in a population of constant size. Approximate Bayesian Computation analyses show the observed data is more compatible with a drastic population size reduction (c. 66-77%) following either a demographic bottleneck in the course of the Holocene or late Pleistocene, or a geographic fragmentation (followed by local extinction of one subpopulation) at the Holocene/Pleistocene transition.
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| 10. |
- Minaev, B., et al.
(författare)
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DFT calculations of IR and Raman spectra of Ru(bpy)2(CN) 2 complex
- 2009
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Ingår i: Technical Proceedings of the 2009 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Expo, NSTI-Nanotech 2009. - : CRC Press. - 9781439817834 - 9781439817841 ; , s. 152-155
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Harvesting energy directly from sunlight using photovoltaic technology is an essential component of the future global energy production programs [1]. Photovoltaic devices, or solar cells, are based on the photoelectric effect, in which the incoming solar photons are absorbed in a sensitized semiconductor material freeing electric charges that are used to energize an external circuit [2]. The solar cells on the bases of nanocrystalline TiO2 are usually sensitized by metal-organic dyes such as Ru-complexes with phenylpyridine and bipyridine ligands. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCCE) in the wavelength region 400-600 nm can be rather high [1, 2]. In order to improve the IPCCE value the heavier metal ions could be tested. Such sensitizers as coumarin, porphyrins, chlorophyll derivatives, antenna-sentsitizer polynuclear complexes and eosin have been studied and reported to be less efficient than the most effective Ru-based sensitizing dyes, called the black dye (BD) and N3 dye [2-4], used for the nanocrystalline TiO2 solar cell. In this paper we are planning to understand the IPCE of a new dye-sensitizer in order to predict the higher absorption efficiency to solar spectrum and higher electron transfer rate from redox systems to oxidized dye. Some simple Ru(II)(bpy)2(CN)2 complex is studied by DFT method with optimized structure and vibrational analysis in order to predict the role of vibronic perturbations in spectra and interface electron transfer rate.
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