The provenance study of archaeological materials is an important step in understanding the cultural and economic life of ancient human communities. One of the most popular approaches in provenance studies is to obtain the chemical composition of material and process it with chemometric methods. In this paper, we describe a combination of the total-reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method and chemometric techniques (PCA, k-means cluster analysis, and SVM) to study Neolithic ceramic samples from eastern Siberia (Baikal region). A database of ceramic samples was created and included 10 elements/indicators for classification by geographical origin and ornamentation type. This study shows that PCA cannot be used as the primary method for provenance purposes, but can show some patterns in the data. SVM and k-means cluster analysis classified most of the ceramic samples by archaeological site and type with high accuracy. The application of chemometric techniques also showed the similarity of some samples found at sites located close to each other. A database created and processed by SVM or k-means cluster analysis methods can be supplemented with new samples and automatically classified.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing number of patients with secondary immunodeficiencies, reliable data on their prevalence, diagnostic criteria, and treatment are lacking, which underscores the requirement for research in this area. AIM: To characterize the clinical and immunological features, and treatment approaches for various forms of secondary immunodeficiencies observed in clinical practice. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of medical records from 180 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of secondary immunodeficiency was conducted. The database included information on primary and comorbid conditions, the scope of administered therapy, characterization of secondary immunodeficiencies clinical signs, data from general clinical and immunological investigations, and specific treatment options for immunodeficiency. RESULTS: Three groups of patients with secondary immunodeficiencies were identified: group 1 — 51 (34.0 %) patients with oncohematological diseases, group 2 — 33 (22.0 %) patients with chronic bacterial infections, group 3 — 41 (27.3 %) patients with chronic viral infections. In group 1, lymphomas accounted for 82.3 % of the underlying pathologies. Manifestations of infectious syndrome in 80.3 % were associated with respiratory tract disorders, with pneumonia diagnosed in 21.5 %. This cohort showed a significant B-lymphocytopenia, associated with reduced immunoglobulin G levels, alongside phagocytosis depression. Immunodeficiency was managed with intravenous immunoglobulin. In group 2, respiratory tract, skin, and soft tissue lesions (57.6 % and 36.4 %, respectively) occurred in the setting of depressed phagocytosis, necessitating more frequent antibacterial therapy. However, patients with oncohematological diseases had 3.2 times higher odds of developing recurrent infections requiring prolonged or parenteral antibiotic therapy (odds ratio 3.257 [confidence interval 1.303–8.142]; p = 0.01300). For immunodeficiency correction, azoximer bromide was prescribed to 66.6 % of patients. The majority of patients in group 3 (97.5 %; n = 40) had infection induced by various types of herpes viruses, with frequent relapses and resistance to standard therapy. Laboratory assessment revealed reduced phagocytic indices CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates the relevance of the problem of secondary immunodeficiencies in clinical practice, which requires a multidisciplinary approach and the involvement of physicians of various specialties, followed by rational patient referral to a specialized clinical immunology center.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy has been proven in studies. Studying the level and expanded spectrum of Th1, Th2, Treg and Breg cytokines against the background of allergen-specific immunotherapy, as well as allergen-specific IgG4 (asIgG4), is promising, which will clarify the mechanisms of the effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis. AIM: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis and to identify the most significant biomarkers of the formation of early immunological tolerance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined 30 patients with allergic rhinitis aged 19 to 60 years who received allergen-specific immunotherapy. The clinical effectiveness was assessed using the validated Combined Symptom Medication Score (CSMS). All patients had their serum levels of IL-4, IL-13, IFN-γ, IL-12, IL-10, TGF-β, and asIgG4 of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay recorded at baseline and 6 months after the start of allergen-specific immunotherapy. RESULTS: Allergen-specific immunotherapy has been demonstrated to be highly clinically effective in achieving control of allergic rhinitis. At baseline, the total CSMS score was 3.75 [3.33; 4.5], at the end of 6 months ― 1.83 [1.17; 2.67] (p=0.000002). When analyzing the dynamics of the cytokine profile and asIgG4, an increasing in the level of TGF-β (p=0.000002), IL-12 (p=0.000002) and asIgG4 (p=0.000003) was revealed, as well as a decreasing in the level of IL-4 (p=0.000024) 6 months after the start of allergen-specific immunotherapy. We did not register an increase in IFN-γ and the expected increase in IL-10 and decrease of IL-13. The correlation and principal component analysis showed that the clinical effect of allergen-specific immunotherapy was associated with an increase in TGF-β and IL-12, a moderate increase in asIgG4 with a decrease of IL-4. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate the high clinical effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy within 6 months from the moment of its initiation. Significant marker of the effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy at the stage of early tolerance formation is TGF-β, which increasement was in correlation with an increased IL-12 with a decrease of IL-4. The increase in asIgG4 is less pronounced. The conducted correlation and principal component analysis showed the relationship of the discussed biomarkers with the CSMS, which may indicate in favor of their choice as potential biomarkers for assessing the effectiveness of allergen-specific immunotherapy.