The Pattern of Mandibular Third Molar Impaction and Assessment of Surgery Difficulty: A Retrospective Study of Radiographs in East Baltic Population

Classifications of impacted teeth allow defining the type and degree of retention, as well as assessing the degree of difficulty of the procedure. The aim of this study was to conduct retrospective analysis of the degree of retention and difficulty in the surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars in the clinical material of the Department of Oral Surgery in 2013–2018. This study included 1585 dental panoramic radiographs of patients of the Department of Oral Surgery, who reported in 2013–2018, in order to perform surgical removal of the impacted mandibular third molar. Based on dental panoramic radiographs, the degree of retention was determined based on classifications according to Winter, according to Pell and Gregory, according to Tetsch and Wagner, and according to Asanami and Kasazaki. The difficulty of the procedure was also assessed based on the Pederson index. The most common types of lower wisdom tooth impaction are as follows: in Winter’s classification, mesial-angular impaction; in Tetsch and Wagner’s classification, oblique medial-angular impaction; in Pell and Gregory’s classification, impaction grade 2A; and in Asanami and Kasazaki’s classification, 3A and anterior inclination. In most cases of surgical removal of an impacted tooth, the anticipated difficulty of the procedure was rated as very difficult.

Sudovians in Sambia in the 13th–14th centuries

The aim of the proposed work is to ascertain, based on archeological data and written sources, the presence of individuals of the easternmost tribe from the community of the Western Balts — Sudins/Yotvingians. Both scien-tific data from old German excavations and the latest archaeological research in the Zelenogradsk district of the Kaliningrad region are introduced into the scientific discourse. There are no funeral monuments of the Teutonic Order in the territory of the ‘Sudovian corner’ (Lat. Campus Sudowitarum) in the northwestern part of the Sambia peninsula. Ethnographic data on this part of the Amber Coast, provided by the local history manuscripts of the 16th–17th c., include data on the West Baltic population of Western Sambia without actual confirmation of its tribal affiliation. In fact, authors of Polish written sources of the Order time do not draw distinction between the Sudins and Prussians either. Individual burials of male warriors and women with features characteristic of the Sudovian funeral rituals were found at the Prussian burial grounds of the Northern Sambia. Anthropological data confirm this conclusion. In the eastern part of the Prussian tribal area, occupied by the Prussians in the pre-Order times, according to the dating of the burial grounds, two burials with spearheads were encountered amongst the com-plexes of the 14th c., which can be tentatively associated with bearers of the Sudovian traditions. The low repre-sentation of the Sudovian burials at Prussian burial grounds attests to the fact that the Order authorities could have appointed individual representatives of the Sudovian aristocracy, who sided with the conquerors, in order to strengthen the Order in the local polcas (volosts). Using the linguistic and cultural closeness with the Sembians, these Sudins possessed military power (presence of spearheads in the burials, with the common absence of weapons in the Prussian community graves) and could have been collecting taxes on behalf of the Order (the presence of a Western European moneybag in burial Ve-161). The seemingly unnatural presence of the Baltic warriors in the service of the Teutonic Order is symbolized by the decoration of the buckle from burial Ve-161, which bears the coat of arms of the Order and a stylized image of the mythical companion of God Perkuno — the sacred goat, an object of the Prussian sacrifices, presented here as a symbol of the native spiritual traditions.

Genetic population structure and tools for the management of European sprat (Sprattus sprattus)

This study used RAD-seq-derived SNPs to explore population connectivity, local adaptation, and individual assignment in European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and inform the alignment of management units with biological processes. FST, clustering, and outlier analyses support a genetically cohesive population spanning the Celtic Sea-English Channel-North Sea-Kattegat (NE Atlantic) region. The lack of structure among the NE Atlantic samples indicates connectivity across current management boundaries. However, the assumption of demographic panmixia is cautioned against unless verified by a multidisciplinary approach. The data confirm high genetic divergence of a Baltic population (average FST vs. NE Atlantic samples = 0.051) with signatures compatible with local adaptation in the form of outlier loci, some of which are shown to occur within exonic regions. The outliers permit diagnostic assignment of individuals between the NE Atlantic and Baltic populations and thus represent a “reduced panel” of markers for monitoring a potential mixed stock fishery within the western Baltic. Overall, this study provides information that may help refine spatial management boundaries of sprat and resources for genetic-assisted management.

Duch narodowościowy a mniejszość rosyjska na Łotwie. Rozważania i analiza problemu

The aim of the article is to present the phenomenon of demographic crisis in Latvia and the problem with the broadly incoming Russian minority (often also defined as Eastern or non-native minority), throughout the country. In the face of World War II, Latvia lost its centuries-old multiculturalism, as well as progressive climate and tolerant society. The losses of the indigenous Baltic population reached almost 30%, therefore, with the effects of these events, the Republic of Latvia is struggling to this day using a multi-layered national policy. The characteristics of new actions, the participation of national minorities in the structures of society and the assessment of the effectiveness of implemented modifications are the subject of this study.

The largest Baltic population of sea trout (Salmo trutta L.): its decline, restoration attempts, and current status

The sea trout, Salmo trutta L. population in the Vistula River was the largest in the Baltic Sea. Its primary spawning grounds were located in the Carpathian tributaries in the upper river basin. The fish ascended to spawn in two runs: in winter when the fish were immature and spent nearly a whole year in the river, and in summer when mature fish ascended the river and spawned within a few months. This work presents the fisheries and stocking history and scientific studies of this population from the late nineteenth century. The consequences of the most important changes in the sea trout habitat are tracked from construction in the upper river basin in the 1940s and the damming of the river in its middle reaches in Włocławek in 1969. Despite intense stocking that has been conducted for over one hundred years, catches have declined from over 100 tons to nearly zero in recent years. The current state of the population and the possibilities of restoring it are discussed in light of genetic studies.

Livonian landscapes in the historical geography of Livonia and the division of Livonian tribes

There is no exact consensus on the division and sub-division of the former Livonian territories at the end of the ancient independence period in the 12th century. Even the question of the Coastal Livonians in Courland – were they an indigenous Livonian tribe or a replaced eastern Livonian tribe – remains unsolved. In this paper the anonymously published treatise on the historical geography of Livonia by Johann Christoph Schwartz (1792) will be analysed and compared with the historical modern views. There is an agreement on the division of the Eastern Livonian territories into four counties: Daugava, Gauja, Metsepole, and Idumea. Idumea had a mixed Livonian-Baltic population. There is no consensus on the parochial sub-division of these counties.Kokkuvõte. Urmas Sutrop: Liivi maastikud Liivimaa ajaloolises geograafias ja liivi hõimude jaotus. Tänapäeval puudub täielik konsensus, kuidas liivlaste territoorium jagunes muinasmaakondadeks ja/või -kihelkondadeks muistse iseseisvuse lõpul 12. sajandil. Lahendamata on isegi küsimus sellest, kas Kuramaa rannaliivlased on muistsete liivlaste või sinna 16. sajandil ümber asunud liivlaste järeltulijad. Käesolevas artiklis vaadeldakse 1792. aastal Johann Christoph Schwartzi anonüümselt ilmunud käsitlust Liivimaa ajaloolisest geograafiast ning võrreldakse seda tollaste ja tänapäevaste arusaamadega. Kokkulepe teadlaste vahel on üldisem idapoolsete liivlaste territoriaalses suurjaotuses: Väina jõe liivlase alad, Koiva jõe liivlaste alad, Metsapoole ja Idumea. Neist viimast peetakse liivlaste ja balti hõimude segaalaks. Samas puudub konsensus nende liivi maakondlike alade edasisest kihelkondlikust jaotusest.Märksõnad: Johann Christoph Schwartz, ajalooline geograafia, liivi hõimud, LiivimaaKubbõvõttõks. Urmas Sutrop:Līvõ mōpālgõd Līvõmō istōrilis geogrāfijs. Tämpõ tuņšlijid äb ūotõ īdmēļizt, kui līvlizt terītori vȯļ jagdõd muinižiz mōgõniž ja/agā pagāstõdõksks muiniz īžpīlimiz lopāndõksõs 12. āigastsadā āigal. Äb ūo arāntõt, või Kurāmǭ līvlizt ātõ muinizt līvlizt tagāntuļļid agā 16. āigastsadā āigal sīņõ lǟnõd līvlizt tagāntuļļid. Sīes kēras um vaņţõltõd 1792. āigastõs ulztund Johann Christoph Schwartz tuņšlõkst iļ Līvõmǭ istōriliz geogrāfij (ulzõtuldsõ se tuņšlõks vȯļ anonīmi). Siedā um ītõltõd sīeaigizt ja paldīņizt arusǭmiztõks. Tuņšlijid ātõ dižānist īdmēļizt mǭgõrpūoļizt līvlizt teritorij jagdõksõs: Vēna joug līvlizt mō, Koiva joug līvlizt mōd, Mõtsāpūol ja Idūmō. Idumō um mō, kus um līvlizt ja baltõd sugūd jelīzt siegāmõl. Īdmīel äb ūo, kui mōgõnd jagīzt kīlgõniž.

Comparative study of ecophysiological and biochemical variation between the Baltic and North Sea populations of the invasive soft shell clam Mya arenaria (L. 1758)

Seasonal variations of environmental factors, such as temperature and salinity, require metabolic acclimatization in sedentary benthic fauna distributed over a wide geographical range. The soft-shell clam Mya arenaria inhabits the coastal waters of the North Atlantic including North America and Europe. In Europe, M. arenaria populations are distributed from Iceland to the Mediterranean Sea, including the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Seasonal changes in physiological parameters (gonad index, condition index, biochemical composition and respiration rate) of M. arenaria from the Baltic Sea (the Gulf of Gdańsk, Poland), and the North Sea (Versee Meer, the Netherlands) were studied. The sex ratio of both populations did not differ from 1:1 and the seasonal gonad index was higher in the Baltic population. The average condition index changed seasonally at both studied sites, and was also higher in the Baltic population (except the autumn) compared to the North Sea. In both studied populations, the content of proteins, lipids and carbohydrates in the soft tissue followed the seasonal variations, and it was higher in the Baltic population. The respiration rate was lower in the Baltic population, and seasonal changes in the respiration rate seem to be correlated with changes in the water temperature. Based on the results obtained in the present study, we suggest that Mya arenaria is characterized by a large phenotypic plasticity and differences in the observed physiological traits are due to acclimatization to ambient environmental conditions.