Genetic Relationship Among the Kazakh People Based on Y-STR Markers Reveals Evidence of Genetic Variation Among Tribes and Zhuz

Ethnogenesis of Kazakhs took place in Central Asia, a region of high genetic and cultural diversity. Even though archaeological and historical studies have shed some light on the formation of modern Kazakhs, the process of establishment of hierarchical socioeconomic structure in the Steppe remains contentious. In this study, we analyzed haplotype variation at 15 Y-chromosomal short-tandem-repeats obtained from 1171 individuals from 24 tribes representing the three socio-territorial subdivisions (Senior, Middle and Junior zhuz) in Kazakhstan to comprehensively characterize the patrilineal genetic architecture of the Kazakh Steppe. In total, 577 distinct haplotypes were identified belonging to one of 20 haplogroups; 16 predominant haplogroups were confirmed by SNP-genotyping. The haplogroup distribution was skewed towards C2-M217, present in all tribes at a global frequency of 51.9%. Despite signatures of spatial differences in haplotype frequencies, a Mantel test failed to detect a statistically significant correlation between genetic and geographic distance between individuals. An analysis of molecular variance found that ∼8.9% of the genetic variance among individuals was attributable to differences among zhuzes and ∼20% to differences among tribes within zhuzes. The STRUCTURE analysis of the 1164 individuals indicated the presence of 20 ancestral groups and a complex three-subclade organization of the C2-M217 haplogroup in Kazakhs, a result supported by the multidimensional scaling analysis. Additionally, while the majority of the haplotypes and tribes overlapped, a distinct cluster of the O2 haplogroup, mostly of the Naiman tribe, was observed. Thus, firstly, our analysis indicated that the majority of Kazakh tribes share deep heterogeneous patrilineal ancestries, while a smaller fraction of them are descendants of a founder paternal ancestor. Secondly, we observed a high frequency of the C2-M217 haplogroups along the southern border of Kazakhstan, broadly corresponding to both the path of the Mongolian invasion and the ancient Silk Road. Interestingly, we detected three subclades of the C2-M217 haplogroup that broadly exhibits zhuz-specific clustering. Further study of Kazakh haplotypes variation within a Central Asian context is required to untwist this complex process of ethnogenesis.

"One belt – one road": historical aspects development and regulation of trade

The article is devoted to a topic that has been significantly updated in the last 5 years – the study of the ancient Great Silk Road as the historical predecessor of the Chinese initiative "One Belt – One Road". This initiative has involved dozens of countries on all continents of the Earth in its sphere. Many of them continue to wonder about the effectiveness of this project for China, other countries, the world economy and trade in general. The purpose of the article is to study the deep historical roots and significance for the socio-economic evolution in the past – with an emphasis on foreign trade aspects-and their role in general economic and humanitarian processes. The historical objectivity and validity of both the ancient Silk Road and the modern "One Belt, One Road" initiative are shown. The author comes to the conclusion that the ancient Great Silk Road played an extremely important role in the socio-economic development of China and other countries along the way, and at the same time provided the opportunity for intercivilizational communication, which together is extremely important in the conditions of the modern unstable world. The following research methods were used in the article: historical and economic analysis, induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis.

Developmental Historiography of the Ancient Silk Road

This study seeks to explain the history of the ancient Silk Road and also explain its strategic importance as a network of trade routes connecting China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe. Using the library's documented instrument and historical descriptive methodology, findings show that the Silk Road is historically connected with the Eastern and Western civilizations and culture. Merchants on the Silk Road transported goods and traded at bazaars along the way. They traded goods such as silk, spices, tea, ivory, cotton, wool, precious metals, and ideas. The Silk Road also enabled cultural transfers, for instance when Genghis Khan and the Mongols invaded China, they came along with their own culture, e.g., buttons on clothes were introduced in China as a cultural import from Central Asia especially under the rule of Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty. The paper concludes that the Silk Road rose to prominence during the Han and Tang dynasties. The long-distance trade at this time did not just transport goods and luxuries, it was also a lifeline of ideas and innovations from Persia, India and countries of the Middle East and Central Asia.

Ancient Pigments in Afrasiab Murals: Characterization by XRD, SEM, and Raman Spectroscopy

The Afrasiab murals discovered in the northeast of Samarkand, Uzbekistan—the center of the ancient Silk Road—are presumed to date to the mid-seventh century during the Sogdian era. Although previous studies have examined the primary materials of the pigments used in these murals using chemical and microscopic analyses, in-depth investigations of the pigment raw material composition have not been conducted to verify the results of these studies. We applied X-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for the first time to identify the raw materials of ancient pigments in fragments obtained from the Afrasiab murals. The results show that lazurite, cinnabar, and amorphous carbon were used as blue, red, and black pigments, respectively. Moreover, we identified that pigments were not directly painted on the wall surface; instead, they were painted on a white undercoat of gypsum plaster, similar to other ancient Silk Road wall paintings. The results of this study can benefit the provision of more accurate information with regard to the composition of raw materials and further support the selection of appropriate substances for the purposes of conservation and restoration of Afrasiab murals.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analysis of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 in the tax gene and it association with adult t-cell leukemia/lymphoma disorders

Background and Objectives: Human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) belongs to retrovirus family that causes the neurological disorder HTLV-1 adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). Since 1980, seven subtypes of the virus have been recognized. HTLV-1 is prevalent and endemic in some regions, such as Africa, Japan, South America and Iran as the endemic regions of the HTLV-1 in the Middle East. To study HTLV-1 subtypes and routes of virus spread in Iran, phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses were performed and for as much as no previous phylogenetic studies were conducted in Tehran, we do this survey. To this purpose, the Tax region of HTLV-1 was used. Materials and Methods: In this study 100 samples were collected from blood donors in Tehran. All samples were screened for anti-HTLV-I antibodies by ELISA. Then, genomic DNA was extracted from all positive samples (10 people), and for confirmation of infection, ordinary PCR was performed for both the HBZ and LTR regions. Moreover, the Tax region was amplified and purified PCR products were sequenced and analyzed, and finally, a phylogenetic tree was constructed using Mega X software. Results: Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that isolates from Iran, Japan, Brazil, and Africa are located within the extensive ‘‘transcontinental’’ subgroup A clade of HTLV-1 Cosmopolitan subtype a. The Japanese sequences are the closest to the Iranian sequences and have the most genetic similarity with them. Conclusion: Through phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses HTLV-1 strain in Tehran were characterized in Iran. The appearance of HTLV-1 in Iran was probably happened by the ancient Silk Road which linked China to Antioch.

Belt and Road Initiative alias Chinese Dream: How Are the Cards Dealt for This Game?

An old Chinese proverb says, “if you want to be rich, build a path”. The People’s Republic of China (from now on, China) has already verified this proverb’s validity in the old Silk Road. The oldest and most famous trade route in history has managed to help China and the surrounding region reach an imaginary peak in its time. Today, after centuries of unrest, wars, economic decline, and international isolation, China is once again building a path to help it return to the world’s most developed nations, the New Silk Road, respectively the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI has been defined as “the most eye-catching and possibly the one with the longest-term significance” (Ferdinand, 2017) [“Westward Ho — The China Dream and ‘One Belt, One Road’: Chinese Foreign Policy under Xi Jinping,” in Weiqing Song, ed., China’s Relations with Central and Eastern Europe: From “Old Comrades” to New Partners (London: Routledge, 2017), pp. 1–18]. The Silk Road project was introduced in 2013 by the Chinese President Xi Jinping in response to the economic crisis and the subsequent effort to find new markets and trading partners. The BRI restores the idea of the ancient Silk Road. The BRI is thus the result of a changed approach to foreign policy and the idea of opening up China. However, this policy cannot be perceived only as economic cooperation, but a well-thought-out Chinese foreign policy to expand its influence not only in Asia. The Sinocentric view of the world is thus one of the fundamental aspects of Chinese foreign policy formation. What will the country have to deal with in the future and, above all, what can we expect from China? This paper aims to provide insights into the visions proposed by the BRI, i.e. to capture the main milestones in the current development of the BRI, detailed analysis of its nature, and its current situation and implementation.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road initiative announced by China’s President Xi Jinping has introduced a novel economic model that seeks to shift the site and purpose of development outside China. The initiative proposes the construction of a series of transportation platforms along the ancient Silk Road that connected China with Central Asia, Europe and West Asia. This outward thrust of investment and capital construction envisages significant reduction of distance and in spatial barriers between and China and the world that will form the road traversing different geographies of nations, territories and cultures. I call China’s Belt and Road initiative a transnational development model as it aims to coordinate factors of economic circulation across different national spaces controlled by different governance models, legal norms and political contingencies. Centuries ago when the original trading route of the Chinese Silk Road was formed, this overland route was a contiguous territory where boundaries remained too fluid for any authorities to impose its will. But today the Silk Road is an imagined geography as this route is controlled by sovereign national territorial states having effective authority structures over each of these units. The initiative then requires China to entail a broad-based economic coordination with a diverse governance systems. My paper will explore how the transnational scope of the Belt and Road initiative come to negotiate diverse authority structures in particular national contexts.