Food Hypersensitivity in Children Aged 0–3 Years of the Lviv Region in Ukraine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Aim: To determine the prevalence and to estimate factors associated with food hypersensitivity in young children of the Lviv region in Ukraine.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey study was conducted between 2016 and 2017 in the Lviv region of Ukraine. A specially designed questionnaire about food hypersensitivity of young children developed and validated by M. J. Flokstra-de Blok was used after translation into the Ukrainian language. The questionnaire included 34 questions, grouped into general and detailed information. Parents of children aged 0–3 years were asked to complete the questionnaire at pre-schools and medical institutions.Results: Among 4,500 distributed questionnaires, 3,214 (71%) were completed and processed. Parents reported that 25% of their young children had food hypersensitivity. According to the survey the most common agents involved in food hypersensitivity in young children were cow's milk (34%), egg (28%), and wheat (24%). Hypersensitivity to milk occurred in 50% of children in the age group of 1–2 years. Regional differences associated with food hypersensitivity were also found. Namely, in the Carpathians, there was more hypersensitivity to fish (27%) and honey (22%) than in other regions, while hypersensitivity to soy was detected mostly in Lviv City residents (8.5%). Unknown causes of food hypersensitivity were highly reported (34%) in the Carpathians.Conclusion: Prevalence and some distinctiveness of food hypersensitivity revealed in four geographic and climate zones as well as in Lviv City have a considerable practical use for formulation of recommendations for children with food hypersensitivity.

New faunistic data on the family Capniidae (Plecoptera) from the Carpathians (Romania and Ukraine)

Zwicknia acuta is reported for the first time from the South-Eastern Carpathians (Romania and Ukraine). Additionally, another stonefly species, Zwicknia kovacsi, previously described from Romania, is added to the Plecoptera fauna of Ukraine. New faunistic data are presented for two other winter-active species, Capnia vidua rilensis and Zwicknia bifrons. Based on a combination of personal and literature data we present a checklist of Capniidae from Romania and provide a key for them.

Dynamics of the Species Composition of Phytocenoses of Floodplain Mountain Meadows of the Carpathians Subject to Superficial Improvement

The conducted research of various authors has developed a number of measures for surface improvement of meadowland in various soil and climatic conditions. However, studies on the influence of such surface improvement measures as the use of organic and mineral fertilizers and sowing of perennial grasses and legumes in the sod on the dynamics of the species composition of Floodplain Mountain meadows of the Carpathians have not yet been conducted, which confirms the relevance of this study. The article presents the results of three-year studies conducted during 2017-2019 in the peasant farm of V.F. Martyshchuk (the Verkhovinsky District of the Ivano-Frankivsk region) to study the features of transformation of the species composition of natural phytocenoses of floodplain Meadows of the Black Cheremosh river of the mountain and forest belt of the Carpathians under the influence of their surface improvement with the use of organic and mineral fertilizers and sowing of a cereal mixture for haymaking use and Tribolium repens L. for multipurpose use. It was found that floodplain Meadow phytocenoses were mainly cereals and mixed grasses with a share of wild cereals of 57-58% (up to 15 of them % Festuca rubra L. s. str. and 5-6% of low-value ones in feed terms Calamagrostis arundinaceae (L.) Roth and Deschampsia caespitosa (L.) Beauv.), mixed grasses – 35-38% and unseeded Fabaceae 5-7%. When applying a set of measures for surface improvement of cereals and mixed grasses, low productive (within 1.95-2.15 t/ha of dry weight) floodplain mountain meadowlands, their species composition improved. For making P30K60 the content of wild plants increased by 2-5% Fabaceae, and N60P30K60 – by 9-10% unseeded Poaceae. For haymaking use, Poaceae with Phleum pratense L. and Festuca pratensis Huds. against the background of making N60P30K60 for sowing a mixture in the sod in the spring, their share increased to 74%, and for multi-year use and sowing Trifolium repens L. against the background of making P30K60 the quantity of Fabaceae increased to 44% or by 32%. The highest floral saturation (43 species from 19 families and 93-98% from perennials) was observed in variants without fertilization and with the introduction of P30K60 for multi-year use, which is 4-14 species more compared to haymaking use, or with the introduction of N60P30K60 and or with sowing a mixture of cereals on the background of N60P30K60 for haymaking use, or sowing Trifolium repens L. against the background of P30K60 for multipurpose use

Memorialization of the "liberators" in Transcarpathia during the period of preventive Sovietization (1944 – 1946)

In 1944 – 1946, during the preventive Sovietization of Transcarpathian Ukraine, the local communist authorities initiated radical changes in its symbolic landscape in order to influence the collective memory of the population. The result of this policy was the appearance in the region in 1945 of monuments in honor of the Heroes of the Carpathians (soldiers of the Red Army), who died as a result of active hostilities in October 1944. Officially, the perpetuation of the memory of the fallen Red Army soldiers took place as a manifestation of the people's initiative of the local population in gratitude for the liberation from fascism, including from the “centuries-old Hungarian slavery”. However, archival materials and oral historical research prove that this process was an element of the traditional Soviet policy of memory, initiated by the command of the 4th Ukrainian Front. As a result, a number of memorial resolutions of the People's Council of Transcarpathian Ukraine were adopted in a short time. As a result, the graves of the Red Army were enlarged, fundraising was organized among the population, and the construction of monuments to the fallen liberators was started and successfully completed in all regional centers of the region. The peculiarity was that the installation of monuments in honor of the Heroes of the Carpathians took place long before the end of the Great Patriotic War / World War II, which was not observed in other territories of the Ukrainian SSR. One of the other paradoxes was that, so, the representatives of the Hungarian minority of the region demonstrated their appreciation for their "liberation from Hungarian domination".

SEISMICITY of the CARPATHIANS in 2015

The article describes seismic observations in the Carpathian region in 2015, which were carried out, as before, by two organizations from two states: in Ukraine – the Seismicity department of the Carpathian region of the Institute of Geophysics of the NAS of Ukraine, in Moldova – the Seismology laboratory of the Institute of Geology and Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova. 20 stationary digital stations with a processing center in L'viv and six stations with a center in Chisinau operated in Ukraine and Moldova respectively. Different programs, local hodographs and magnitudes were used. The consolidated catalogue of earthquakes was created in L'viv. The total number of earthquakes in 2015 was NΣ=164 in the ranges: KR=4.7–12.2, h=1–160 km. The total seismic energy ΣE=5.381012 J. 23 earthquakes with depths h=50–160 km were located in the Vrancea zone. The maximum earthquake with KR=12.2 was registered on January 24 in the Vrancha mountains with hрР=89 km. In the Precarpathian region, nine events with energy classes KR=4.7–8.9 were registered, the total seismic energy of which is ΣЕ=1.25109 J. Increased seismic activity was observed in Transcarpathia. A series of tangible earthquakes with aftershocks was recorded in the Tyachiv area. Their total number was NΣ=77. The strongest tangible earthquake occurred in the area of Okrugla village on July 19 with KR=11.1. The earthquake source is located in the Earth's crust at a depth of h=7.7 km. The earthquake was felt by the population in the epicentral area with an intensity of I=6. In addition, this earthquake, like 5 others, was felt in the territory of northern Romania. In general, a decrease in the seismicity level in the Carpathians in 2015 was observed compared to that in 2013 and 2014.

Applicability of Data Acquisition Characteristics to the Identification of Local Artefacts in Global Digital Elevation Models: Comparison of the Copernicus and TanDEM-X DEMs

Several global digital elevation models (DEMs) have been developed in the last two decades. The most recent addition to the family of global DEMs is the TanDEM-X DEM. The original version of the TanDEM-X DEM is, however, a nonedited product (i.e., it contains local artefacts such as voids, spikes, and holes). Therefore, subsequent identification of local artefacts and their editing is necessary. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of the original TanDEM-X DEM and its improved edited version, the Copernicus DEM, in three major European mountain ranges (the Alps, the Carpathians, and the Pyrenees) using a digital surface model derived from airborne laser scanning data as a reference. In addition, to evaluate the applicability of data acquisition characteristics (coverage map, consistency mask, and height error map) and terrain characteristics (slope, aspect, altitude) to the localization of problematic sites, we modeled their associations with the TanDEM-X DEM error. We revealed local occurrences of large errors in the TanDEM-X DEM that were typically found on steep ridges or in canyons, which were largely corrected in the Copernicus DEM. The editing procedure used for the Copernicus DEM construction was evidently successful as the RMSE for the TanDEM-X and Copernicus DEMs at the 90 m resolution improved from 45 m to 12 m, from 16 m to 6 m, and from 24 m to 9 m for the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Carpathians, respectively. The Copernicus DEM at the 30 m resolution performed similarly well. The boosted regression trees showed that acquisition characteristics provided as auxiliary data are useful for locating problematic sites and explained 28–50% of deviance of the absolute vertical error. The absolute vertical error was strongly related to the height error map. Finally, up to 26% of cells in the Copernicus DEM were filled using DEMs from different time periods and, hence, users performing multitemporal analysis or requiring data from a specific time period in the mountain environment should be wary when using TanDEM-X and its derivations. We suggest that when filling problematic sites using alternative DEMs, more attention should be paid to the period of their collection to minimize the temporal displacement in the final products.

Aniela Walewska’s Carpathian trail

The aim of the article is to bring back from obscurity a travel account, Wycieczka z Szczawnicy do Szmeks (A Trip from Szczawnica to Szmeksy) by a forgotten writer of the Romantic period, Aniela Walewska (1826–1873). During her Carpathian trip in the summer 1854 she admired mountain landscapes and visited historically attractive localities. The traveller began her several-day-long trip in Szczawnica, subsequently visiting, among others, Lubowla, Podoliniec, Kieżmark, Szmeks and Nowa Wieś. As she traversed the Carpathians, she got to know the local architecture, paint-ings and sculptures, saw buildings in fashionable resorts, enthused over the picturesque sight of the Pieniny range and the forbidding beauty of the Tatras, fully sensing the unique aura of the mountain scenery. The extraordinary landscapes were a source of many unforgettable emotional and aesthetic experiences for the writer. She was absorbed particularly by the Tatra waterfalls, which moved her heart and soul. In addition, Aniela Walewska made observations concerning the methods and condition of travel, noted down historical and tourist information, and revealed sensations and impressions accompanying her during the excursion. Thus her account can be regarded not only as a culturally and socially interesting document of the period, but also as a record of a personal, female experience of a newly explored space. In addition, it is also a document of the life of an individual — a nineteenth-century woman of letters — which should be classified as a valuable source for the study of her biography and work.