When DNA can't help: The osteobiographical profile and stable isotope analysis as auxiliary tools for refining genealogical relationships,on the example of the Swéerts-Sporck family

Research into the family of the Counts Swéerts-Sporck raised doubts regarding their biographical data, particularly concerning a child who died in 1817, later identified as Philipp Swéerts-Sporck, and his siblings Joseph and Barbara. These were alleged to include a pair of dizygotic twins, but DNA could not be used to clarify their relationships. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes were therefore measured in their first permanent molars, whereas Philipp's biological age was estimated based on his skeleton. Philipp died at an older age than the written sources claim; an isotopic similarity was found between Joseph and Barbara, but Philipp differed.     

Evolution of knowledge bases in European regions: searching for spatial regularities and links with innovation performance

This paper aims at a greater comprehension of the distribution of differentiated knowledge bases and their association with innovation performance. Drawing on evolutionary economic geography, we applied a combinatorial and dynamic view on knowledge bases. The main contribution is the examination of changes and transformations of knowledge bases over time in particular group of regions in Europe and links with innovation performance. Our study revealed systematic regularities between regions with different innovation performance and their knowledge bases. With decreasing regional innovation performance the volatility of knowledge bases over time increases. Innovation leaders evinced stability over time and the most balanced composition of knowledge bases (compared with Central and Eastern Europe regions). Western European countries and regions exhibit the most balanced structure of knowledge bases. An important complementarity and synergy has been identified in the close relatedness of the symbolic knowledge base to the analytical knowledge base. The highest intensity of SME cooperation takes place in regions with a strong analytical base and in regions with the most balanced mix among all three bases (particularly in the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. Underperforming in innovation show a balanced mix of synthetic and symbolic knowledge bases.     

They Fear Us,yet Cling to Us: Russian Negotiations with Tsushima Domain Officials during the 1861 Tsushima Incident

Over six months in 1861, Commander Birilëv of the Russian Navy constructed a base on the island of Tsushima and attempted to negotiate with local domain officials to turn the island into a Russian protectorate. While official Japanese documents, including Tsushima reports to the Tokugawa government in Edo, claim they vigorously resisted these most unwelcome Russian efforts, Birilëv records the Tsushima officials themselves as the ones who first requested Russian patronage. How can we reconcile these two dramatically different versions of the same event? Due to the relatively isolated position of Tsushima, separated from mainland Japan by the sea, the Russians incorrectly believed they were dealing with a borderland that could be detached from the Tokugawa polity, or even with an independent state, tied to Japan merely by flimsy ‘feudal’ bonds. At the same time, Tsushima officials, afraid of antagonizing the volatile Birilëv, resorted to various stratagems that were misinterpreted by him as signals of desire to switch feudal overlords. The resultant negotiations reveal much about international diplomacy across different political cultures in mid-19^th century Asia, the influence of Russia on the development of the Japanese polity, and the conduct of gunboat diplomacy at the apogee of European imperialism.     

Two cases of leprosy from Žatec (Bohemia), dated to the turn of the 12th century and confirmed by DNA analysis for Mycobacterium leprae

The leprosy known today primarily from tropical areas was a relatively common disease in European Middle Ages. This article describes two skeletons bearing palaeopathological indications of leprosy from a cemetery at ?atec in North-West Bohemia (Czech Republic). The archaeological context clearly shows that these individuals were buried prior to the second decade of the 12th century, and most probably in the second half of 11th century. This rules out the possibility that these individuals might have contracted the disease in connection with the Crusades, in which a Bohemian contingent under Prince Vladislav II participated from 1141 to 1142. Molecular genetic methods were applied to detect specific DNA fragments of the causative agent of leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae. The nasal concha of one individual yielded DNA that could be directly sequenced after isolation and amplification. The vertebral body of the second individual, on the other hand, did not provide DNA of sufficient quality for direct sequencing and only weak amplification was detectable. The morphological and genetic analyses both indicate that leprosy existed prior to the Crusades in medieval Bohemia, albeit that its prevalence was probably not as great as in northern or western Europe.     

THE LOCATION OF METAL-INTENSIVE AND LABOR-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES IN THE EASTERN REGIONS

The author argues against the widespread view (stated in several articles in Soviet Geography) that labor-intensive industries should be kept out of Siberia because of the shortage of labor resources in that region. Taking the specific example of labor-intensive machinery industry such as instrument-making, as opposed to steel-intensive industry, he points out that labor-intensive plants, by virtue of their smaller size, usually have smaller labor requirements than large heavy-machinery manufacturing plants. Moreover, he argues, location must not be based on total population or total labor resources of a region, but on the availability of so-called free (nonemployed) labor resources, which consist largely of women and of young people just entering upon a career. This category of labor resources happens to be greater in the eastern regions than in the western regions of the Soviet Union. In fact, one reason for the net out-migration from Siberia, according to the author, is that second and third members of households find it difficult to obtain jobs in a regional economy that is largely oriented toward male employment (in extractive industry, timber felling, etc.). The introduction of labor-intensive industries into existing Siberian industrial complexes would thus help provide employment to other household members and eliminate one reason for out-migration.     

Variety in cereal cultivation in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages in relation to environmental conditions

The objective of this paper is to assess the relationship between the cereals cultivated in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages (ca. 1250–400 BC) within the area of the present-day Czech Republic, and their environmental settings. The various charred caryopses of cereal species represented in the archaeobotanical assemblages from 35 archaeological sites differ, especially in the proportion of wheat and barley. The cereal assemblages were compared regarding site altitude, weather conditions, soils and soil productivity. The most important environmental variable influencing the choice of a particular crop seemed to be altitude which is correlated with other variables such as the length of growing season, mean annual temperature, soil quality etc. Although the ecological requirements of cereals cultivated in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages are not known, they presumably thrived under similar conditions to present-day species/varieties, and the strategy of past crop husbandry was based on similar principles as today, e.g. flexible adaptation to local environmental conditions, in an effort to achieve optimal yields and reduce the danger of crop failure.