Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

This study re-examines the linguistic phylogeny of the South Caucasian linguistic family (aka the Kartvelian linguistic family) and attempts to identify its Urheimat. We apply Bayesian phylogenetics to infer a dated phylogeny of the South Caucasian languages. We infer the Urheimat and the reasons for the split of the Kartvelian languages by taking into consideration (1) the past distribution ranges of wildlife elements whose names can be traced back to proto-Kartvelian roots, (2) the distribution ranges of past cultures and (3) the genetic variations of past and extant human populations. Our best-fit Bayesian phylogenetic model is in agreement with the widely accepted topology suggested by previous studies. However, in contrast to these studies, our model suggests earlier mean split dates, according to which the divergence between Svan and Karto-Zan occurred in the early Copper Age, while Georgian and Zan diverged in the early Iron Age. The split of Zan into Megrelian and Laz is widely attributed to the spread of Georgian and/or Georgian speakers in the seventh-eighth centuries CE. Our analyses place the Kartvelian Urheimat in an area that largely intersects the Colchis glacial refugium in the South Caucasus. The divergence of Kartvelian languages is strongly associated with differences in the rate of technological expansions in relation to landscape heterogeneity, as well as the emergence of state-run communities. Neolithic societies could not colonize dense forests, whereas Copper Age societies made limited progress in this regard, but not to the same degree of success achieved by Bronze and Iron Age societies. The paper also discusses the importance of glacial refugia in laying the foundation for linguistic families and where Indo-European languages might have originated.

Using properties of simple sets we study ‐degrees of c.e. sets. In particular, we prove: (1) If A and B are c.e. sets, A is a simple set and , then there exists a simple set C such that and . (2) the c.e. ‐degrees (‐degrees) do not form an upper semilattice. (3) The c.e. ‐degrees are not dense, but are upwards dense. (4) The ‐degrees are not dense.

Для одного класса гиперболических систем второго порядка изучена смешанная задача с граничными условиями Дирихле и Пуанкаре. В линейном случае дается представление решения задачи в явном виде, исследованы также вопросы единственности и разрешимости поставленной задачи в зависимости от характера нелинейностей, присутствующей в системе. Библиография: 15 названий.

Using the effective-range expansion for the two-body amplitudes may generate spurious sub-threshold poles outside of the convergence range of the expansion. In the infinite volume, the emergence of such poles leads to the breakdown of unitarity in the three-body amplitude. We discuss the extension of our alternative subtraction scheme for including effective range corrections in pionless effective field theory for spinless bosons to nucleons. In particular, we consider the neutron-deuteron system in the doublet S-wave channel explicitly.

This article looks at de-Europeanization as a progressive disengagement between domestic authorities and EU actors manifested through their discourses. The authors view discursive disengagement as consisting of two major aspects: Discursive opposition between domestic authorities and the EU reflected in their conflicting statements and the intensification of this discursive opposition, whereby the domestic authorities’ discourses shift from defensive to offensive ones. The authors trace the respective developments based on the case of Georgia, looking at the discursive interaction between domestic and EU actors in the Georgian TV media from July 2021 to June 2022. The research has revealed Georgian authorities’ discursive opposition to EU actors behind the façade of seemingly pro-European statements. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this discursive opposition has escalated and become offensive. The authors use quantitative content analysis to map actor-discourse networks, as well as critical discourse analysis to reveal deeper layers of de-Europeanization discourse.

In the present study, a comparison was performed between chiral stationary phases (CSPs) prepared by coating or covalent immobilization of cellulose tris(3-chloro-5-methylphenylcarbamate) onto silica. The columns were evaluated in HPLC separation of enantiomers of various acidic, basic, and neutral chiral analytes in acetonitrile, methanol, and mixtures of n-hexane and propan-2-ol as mobile phases. A difference in enantiomer-resolving ability of coated and covalently immobilized CSs was observed.

Introduction: Psoriasis is a multifactorial, immune-mediated condition with predominant skin involvement. It may develop at any age. In one-third of patients, the first symptoms of psoriasis start during childhood or adolescence. A marked impairment of the quality of life of patients and their caregivers is often associated. Areas covered: Databases including PubMed and Clinicaltrials.gov were used to identify clinical studies involving pediatric patients with psoriasis. In the last few years, the implementation of therapy with drugs targeting cytokines like interleukin (IL)-12/23 and IL-17A has expanded the number of available therapeutic options in pediatric psoriasis. This review focuses on the latest evidence on the clinical efficacy and safety profile of drugs licensed for severe pediatric psoriasis. Expert opinion: Increasing knowledge about the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying pediatric psoriasis is leading to an improvement in disease management. Effective treatment is crucial in patients affected with moderate to severe disease to reduce the burden of the disease and avoid stigmatization. The treatment of pediatric psoriasis remains challenging for specific clinical subtypes, when difficult areas are involved, after resistance to multiple treatments, and when psoriatic arthritis is associated. A personalized approach and a thorough understanding of the disease are required to advance pediatric psoriasis care.

In modern pharmaceutical and biomedical research, molecular modeling represents a useful tool to explore processes and their mechanistic bases at the molecular level. Integrating experimental and virtual analysis is a fruitful approach to study ligand-receptor interaction in chemical, biochemical and biological environments. In these fields, molecular docking and molecular dynamics are considered privileged techniques for modeling (bio) macromolecules and related complexes. This review aims to present the current landscape of molecular modeling in pharmaceutical and biomedical research by examining selected representative applications published in the last years and highlighting current topics and trends of this field. Thus, a systematic compilation of all published literature has not been attempted herein. After a brief overview of the main theoretical and computational tools used to investigate mechanisms at molecular level, recent applications of molecular modeling in drug discovery, ligand binding and for studying protein conformation and function will be discussed. Furthermore, specific sections will be devoted to the application of molecular modeling for unravelling enantioselective mechanisms underlying the enantioseparation of chiral compounds of pharmaceutical and biomedical interest as well as for studying new forms of noncovalent interactivity identified in biochemical and biological environments. The general aim of this review is to provide the reader with a modern overview of the topic, highlighting advancements and outlooks as well as drawbacks and pitfalls still affecting the applicability of theoretical and computational methods in the field of pharmaceutical and biomedical research.

To elucidate the population history of the Caucasus, we conducted a survey of genetic diversity in Samegrelo (Mingrelia), western Georgia. We collected DNA samples and genealogical information from 485 individuals residing in 30 different locations, the vast majority of whom being Mingrelian speaking. From these DNA samples, we generated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences for all 485 participants (female and male), Y-short tandem repeat haplotypes for the 372 male participants, and analyzed all samples at nearly 590,000 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) plus around 33,000 on the sex chromosomes, with 27,000 SNP removed for missingness, using the GenoChip 2.0+ microarray. The resulting data were compared with those from populations from Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Near East, and Europe. Overall, Mingrelians exhibited considerable mtDNA haplogroup diversity, having high frequencies of common West Eurasian haplogroups (H, HV, I, J, K, N1, R1, R2, T, U, and W. X2) and low frequencies of East Eurasian haplogroups (A, C, D, F, and G). From a Y-chromosome standpoint, Mingrelians possessed a variety of haplogroups, including E1b1b, G2a, I2, J1, J2, L, Q, R1a, and R1b. Analysis of autosomal SNP data further revealed that Mingrelians are genetically homogeneous and cluster with other modern-day South Caucasus populations. When compared with ancient DNA samples from Bronze Age archaeological contexts in the broader region, these data indicate that the Mingrelian gene pool began taking its current form at least by this period, probably in conjunction with the formation of a distinct linguistic community.

Objectives The aim of the present study was to test a safety of a fixed minimal (0.5 l/min) fresh gas flow (FGF) anesthesia as a method ensuring adequate oxygenation during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting operations. Design A randomized, prospective study. Setting Single-center clinical hospital affiliated with a university. Participants 208 patients underwent off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. Interventions All patients received endotracheal inhalational anesthesia with fixed minimal FGF. Half of them were anesthetized by sevoflurane and another half by isoflurane. The fresh (carrier) gas was pure oxygen in the control groups and a mixture of medical air and oxygen (FiO2 0.8) in the trial groups. Measurements and main results In the control groups inhaled oxygen concentration changed minimally during the operation. In the trial groups in 28.8 % of cases inhaled oxygen concentration dropped below preliminary margin (0.4). Body surface area (BSA) (B = 38.7; p = 0.002) and patient's age (B = −0.47; p = 0.004) were retained into final logistic regression model as independent predictors. We divided BSA into subcategories and analyzed data by survival cox regression with Forward LR method. Patients with BSA>2.3 (Exp.B = 183) and BSA [2.2–2.3] (Exp.B = 59) had high chance to get less than 0.4 of inhaled oxygen concentration compared to the patients with BSA <2.0 (p < 0.001). Exp(B) or OR for the patients’ age as independent predictor tested in multiple logistic regression was 0.628 In other words, for every year less the patient had 1/0.628 = 1.6 times more chance to reach the preliminary low margin (0.4) of oxygenation. Conclusions Fixed minimal FGF 0.5 l/min with FiO2 0.8 may not be sufficient for the younger patients with BSA >2.0 to maintain inhaled oxygen concentration above 0.4. Using pure oxygen as a carrier gas during fixed minimal flow long term anesthesia is much safer and more reliable.

The aim of the paper is to investigate of homogeneous Dirichlet problem for the vibration problem of porous elastic prismatic shell-like bodies within the framework of known models of mathematical problems arising in connection of complicated geometry of bodies under consideration (see [18]). We consider cusped bodies for them BVPs and IBVPs are non-classical in general. The classical and weak setting of the problem are formulated. The weighted Sobolev spaces \(X^\kappa \) are introduced, which are crucial in our analysis. The coerciveness of the corresponding bilinear form is shown and uniqueness and existence results for the variational problem are proved.

In this paper we consider a boundary value problem for an infinite plate with a circular hole. The plate is the elastic material with voids. The hole is free from stresses, while unilateral tensile stresses act at infinity. The state of plate equilibrium is described by the system of differential equations that is derived from three-dimensional equations of equilibrium of an elastic material with voids (Cowin-Nunziato model) by Vekua’s reduction method. its general solution is represented by means of analytic functions of a complex variable and solutions of Helmholtz equations. The problem is solved analytically by the method of the theory of functions of a complex variable.

Analogues of the well-known Kolosov-Muskhelishvili formulas for homogeneous equations of statics in the case of elastic materials with double voids are obtained. It is shown that in this theory the displacement and stress vector components are represented by two analytic functions of a complex variable and two solutions of Helmholtz equations. The constructed general solution enables one to solve analytically a sufficiently wide class of plane boundary value problems of the elastic equilibrium with double voids.

In this work we analyze Schwarz-Christoffel (SC) transformation for polygonal quadrilaterals and by its geometric properties introduce generalised modulus. The function holds many interesting properties and allows to algorithmically solve parameter problem for quadrilaterals.

The history of humankind has faced numerous contacts between nations and states. A permanent or temporal interrelation influenced lifestyles, languages and cultures of contacting parties. A linguistic impact often resulted in the appearance of loan words, barbarisms, neologisms, etc. The present paper deals with the impact of the language contacts from a diachronic perspective. It discusses the Old Franconian terms and the possibility of their integration into the British “lingual soil”. The research is based on the study of the manuscript materials and the data of several dictionaries. The results of the research reveal that the historically determined interrelation of Old Low Franconian, Old English and Middle English significantly influenced the development of the latter. The borrowings and derivatives created by means of a back formation enriched the legal English, especially, the semantic field of the trust. The trust-related loan words started being used for naming new concepts that appeared after the transformation of the legal institution use of land into the common law trust. The former as well as the latter were the apparent results of the cross-national relations. It is noteworthy that some borrowings are still widely used in the UK during the contemporary entrusting relationships.

As there is lack of a research synthesis on metaphor in tourism discourse up to date, the paper offers a novel contribution by summarising empirical literature on metaphor use in print and digital tourism promotional materials and identifying the existing research gaps. The review uncovers that figuration is largely underexplored in tourism promotion literature revealing only general functions and specific examples of metaphors. The paper also presents preliminary results from ongoing research on metaphor use in English e-promotional tourism discourse. Thereby, the paper provides new insights into metaphor as a multifaceted phenomenon integrating discursive, conceptual, and cultural elements and contributes to our understanding of the role of metaphor in cross-cultural communication.

Love is a phenomenon that occurs across the world and affects many aspects of human life, including the choice of, and process of bonding with, a romantic partner. Thus, developing a reliable and valid measure of love experiences is crucial. One of the most popular tools to quantify love is Sternberg’s 45-item Triangular Love Scale (TLS-45), which measures three love components: intimacy, passion, and commitment. However, our literature review reveals that most studies (64%) use a broad variety of shortened versions of the TLS-45. Here, aiming to achieve scientific consensus and improve the reliability, comparability, and generalizability of results across studies, we developed a short version of the scale—the TLS-15—comprised of 15 items with 5-point, rather than 9-point, response scales. In Study 1 (N = 7,332), we re-analyzed secondary data from a large-scale multinational study that validated the original TLS-45 to establish whether the scale could be truncated. In Study 2 (N = 307), we provided evidence for the three-factor structure of the TLS-15 and its reliability. Study 3 (N = 413) confirmed convergent validity and test–retest stability of the TLS-15. Study 4 (N = 60,311) presented a large-scale validation across 37 linguistic versions of the TLS-15 on a cross-cultural sample spanning every continent of the globe. The overall results provide support for the reliability, validity, and cross-cultural invariance of the TLS-15, which can be used as a measure of love components—either separately or jointly as a three-factor measure.

The problem of food with functional ingredients, characterized by low energy intake and a variety of phytonutrients with biological activity, is one of the concerns of the population. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of pumpkin powder and its bioactive components on the quality, color and textural properties of shortbread cookies. In the drying process of pumpkin powder (Cucurbita moschata) at 60 ± 2 °C, the physicochemical parameters did not change significantly in relation to fresh pulp. The chromatic parameters L*, a* and b* showed that the pumpkin powder was brighter than the pulp, with a greater presence of yellow pigments. Pumpkin powder presented a rich source of bioactive compounds (polyphenols flavonoids, carotenoids) with an antioxidant potential of 161.52 mmol TE/100 g DW and 558.71 mg GAE/100 g DW. Antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus), Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella Abony and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria and high antifungal activity against Candida albicans were attested. The sensory, physicochemical, texture parameters and color indicators of shortbread cookies with yellow pumpkin powder (YPP) added in a proportion of 5–20% were analyzed. The optimal score was given to the sample of 15% YPP. The use of 15–20% YPP contributed to improved consistency due to the formation of complexes between starch and protein.