OAM-mode coupling by segmented helical-ring-core waveguides inscribed with a femtosecond laser beam.

Azimuthally segmented helical-ring-core waveguides (HRCWs) were fabricated in silica glass by direct laser writing. Triple-segmented waveguides provided single-mode or few-mode light guidance depending on the core diameter. Bragg resonance reflection of the light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) was registered confirming the generalized angular phase-matching condition, which considers the azimuthally segmented structure of the waveguides.

Genetic History of the Altai Breed Horses: From Ancient Times to Modernity.

This study focuses on expanding knowledge about the genetic diversity of the Altai horse native to Siberia. While studying modern horses from two Altai regions, where horses were subjected to less crossbreeding, we tested the hypothesis, formulated on the basis of morphological data, that the Altai horse is represented by two populations (Eastern and Southern) and that the Mongolian horse has a greater genetic proximity to Eastern Altai horses. Bone samples of ancient horses from different cultures of Altai were investigated to clarify the genetic history of this horse breed.

Lions and brown bears colonized North America in multiple synchronous waves of dispersal across the Bering Land Bridge.

The Bering Land Bridge connecting North America and Eurasia was periodically exposed and inundated by oscillating sea levels during the Pleistocene glacial cycles. This land connection allowed the intermittent dispersal of animals, including humans, between Western Beringia (far northeast Asia) and Eastern Beringia (northwest North America), changing the faunal community composition of both continents. The Pleistocene glacial cycles also had profound impacts on temperature, precipitation and vegetation, impacting faunal community structure and demography.

High genetic diversity of ancient horses from the Ukok Plateau.

A growing number of researchers studying horse domestication come to a conclusion that this process happened in multiple locations and involved multiple wild maternal lines. The most promising approach to address this problem involves mitochondrial haplotype comparison of wild and domestic horses from various locations coupled with studies of possible migration routes of the ancient shepherds. Here, we sequenced complete mitochondrial genomes of six horses from burials of the Ukok plateau (Russia, Altai Mountains) dated from 2.

Timing of archaic hominin occupation of Denisova Cave in southern Siberia.

The Altai region of Siberia was inhabited for parts of the Pleistocene by at least two groups of archaic hominins-Denisovans and Neanderthals. Denisova Cave, uniquely, contains stratified deposits that preserve skeletal and genetic evidence of both hominins, artefacts made from stone and other materials, and a range of animal and plant remains. The previous site chronology is based largely on radiocarbon ages for fragments of bone and charcoal that are up to 50,000 years old; older ages of equivocal reliability have been estimated from thermoluminescence and palaeomagnetic analyses of sediments, and genetic analyses of hominin DNA.

Fiber-optic dosimeter based on radiation-induced attenuation in P-doped fiber: suppression of post-irradiation fading by using two working wavelengths in visible range.

The design of a fiber-optic dosimeter, which determines the radiation dose from the difference of radiation-induced attenuation (RIA) Δα measured in a P-doped silica fiber at λ = 413 and 470 nm, is presented along with its first test results under gamma-radiation (dose rates 0.00064 and 0.0066 Gy/s, maximal dose ~2Gy).

Mitochondrial phylogenomics of modern and ancient equids.

The genus Equus is richly represented in the fossil record, yet our understanding of taxonomic relationships within this genus remains limited. To estimate the phylogenetic relationships among modern horses, zebras, asses and donkeys, we generated the first data set including complete mitochondrial sequences from all seven extant lineages within the genus Equus. Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic inference confirms that zebras are monophyletic within the genus, and the Plains and Grevy's zebras form a well-supported monophyletic group.