The objective of the article is to provide a general description of the rural Russian population of the Republic of Tatarstan and types of settlements, with an emphasis on their ethnic and cultural potential. This approach allows to identify the prospects for development of rural settlements, the possibility of their inclusion in the ethnic tourism system. The study is based on a variety of sources (documentary, ethnographic, ethno-sociological, statistical ones) including the authors' field data, and is actual due to the following reasons: insufficient studies of the issue; a number of negative trends in the development of ethnic Russian villages; the need to preserve historical and cultural heritage. The authors analyze the statistical parameters that describe the settlements of Russians, such as their density on the territory of major administrative units (districts); proportion among the settlements with a different ethnic composition; population size. It is shown that ethnic Russian settlements are characterized by a rich ethnic and cultural landscape, i.e. presence and maintenance of monuments of material and spiritual heritage, existence of ethnically marked elements in everyday life, festive and ritual practices; results of inter-ethnic contacts with the outside multiethnic population which is dominated by the Tatars and other peoples of the Volga-Ural region (the Chuvashs, Bashkirs, Mari people, Mordvins, Udmurts). The positive experience of the use of the national public resources to promote the equality of the Tatars and Russians, Orthodox and Muslim cultures in the Republic of Tatarstan is shown. Described are the measures of support for preservation of cultural heritage, including those on maintenance of material objects (religious buildings, monuments) as well as arrangement of folk festivals and traditional crafts, being taken at the national level. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of their potential, the article proposes a few models (the complex, historical, architectural ones, etc.) of ethnic and cultural landscapes of the Russian rural settlements.
Abstract The study of gene expression (i.e., the study of the transcriptome) in different cells and tissues allows us to understand the molecular mechanisms of their differentiation, development and functioning. In this article, we describe some studies of gene-expression profiling for the purposes of understanding developmental (age-related) changes in the brain using different technologies (e.g., DNA-Microarray) and the new and increasingly popular RNA-Seq. We focus on advancements in studies of gene expression in the human brain, which have provided data on the structure and age-related variability of the transcriptome in the brain. We present data on RNA-Seq of the transcriptome in three distinct areas of the neocortex from different ages: mature and elderly individuals. We report that most age-related transcriptional changes affect cellular signaling systems, and, as a result, the transmission of nerve impulses. In general, the results demonstrate the high potential of RNA-Seq for the study of distinctive features of gene expression among cortical areas and the changes in expression through normal and atypical development of the central nervous system.
Abstract The origins of Ashkenazi Jews remain highly controversial. Like Judaism, mitochondrial DNA is passed along the maternal line. Its variation in the Ashkenazim is highly distinctive, with four major and numerous minor founders. However, due to their rarity in the general population, these founders have been difficult to trace to a source. Here we show that all four major founders, ~40% of Ashkenazi mtDNA variation, have ancestry in prehistoric Europe, rather than the Near East or Caucasus. Furthermore, most of the remaining minor founders share a similar deep European ancestry. Thus the great majority of Ashkenazi maternal lineages were not brought from the Levant, as commonly supposed, nor recruited in the Caucasus, as sometimes suggested, but assimilated within Europe. These results point to a significant role for the conversion of women in the formation of Ashkenazi communities, and provide the foundation for a detailed reconstruction of Ashkenazi genealogical history.
Summary We have analyzed mtDNA HVI sequences and Y chromosome haplogroups based on 11 binary markers in 371 individuals, from 11 populations in the Caucasus and the neighbouring countries of Turkey and Iran. Y chromosome haplogroup diversity in the Caucasus was almost as high as in Central Asia and the Near East, and significantly higher than in Europe. More than 27% of the variance in Y‐haplogroups can be attributed to differences between populations, whereas mtDNA showed much lower heterogeneity between populations (less then 5%), suggesting a strong influence of patrilocal social structure. Several groups from the highland region of the Caucasus exhibited low diversity and high differentiation for either or both genetic systems, reflecting enhanced genetic drift in these small, isolated populations. Overall, the Caucasus groups showed greater similarity with West Asian than with European groups for both genetic systems, although this similarity was much more pronounced for the Y chromosome than for mtDNA, suggesting that male‐mediated migrations from West Asia have influenced the genetic structure of Caucasus populations.
Gene expression is one of the main molecular processes regulating the differentiation, development, and functioning of cells and tissues. In this review a handful of relevant terms and concepts are introduced and the most common techniques used in studies of gene expression/expression profiling (also referred to as studies of the transcriptome or transcriptomics) are described. The main foci of this review are the advancements in studies of the transcriptome in the human brain, the transcriptome's variability across different brain structures, and the systematic changes that occur through different developmental stages across the life span in general and childhood in particular. Finally, the question of how the accumulating data on the spatial and temporal dynamics of the transcriptome may shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the typical and atypical development of the central nervous system is addressed.
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