Police sexual coercion and its association with risky sex work and substance use behaviors among female sex workers in St. Petersburg and Orenburg, Russia.

BackgroundExtensive research documents that female sex workers (FSWs) in Russia are very vulnerable to abuses from police, including police sexual coercion. However, despite qualitative data suggesting abusive policing practices are more likely for FSWs contending with substance abuse issues and risky sex work contexts, there is a paucity of quantitative study evaluating these associations specifically in terms of police sexual coercion. Such research is needed to guide structural interventions to improve health and safety for FSWs in Russia and globally.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of police sexual coercion among FSWs from two Russian cities, St. Petersburg and Orenburg, and to determine whether riskier sex work behaviors and contexts and substance use behaviors, including both IDU and risky alcohol use, are associated with increased risk for sexual coercion from police.MethodFSWs in St. Petersburg and Orenburg were recruited via time-location and convenience sampling and completed structured surveys on demographics (age, education), sex work risks (e.g., violence during sex work) and substance use. Logistic regression analyses assessed associations of substance use and risky sex work with police sexual coercion, adjusting for demographics.ResultsParticipants (N=896) were aged 15 and older (94% were 20+ years). Most (69%) reported past year binge alcohol use, and 48% reported IDU the day before. Half (56%) reported 4+ clients per day. Rape during sex work ever was reported by 64%. Police sexual coercion in the past 12 months was reported by 38%. In the multivariate model, both current IDU (AOR=2.09, CI=1.45-3.02) and past year binge alcohol use (AOR=1.46, CI=1.03-2.07) were associated with police sexual coercion, as was selling sex on the street (not in venues) (AOR=7.81, CI=4.53-13.48) and rape during sex work (AOR=2.04, CI=1.43-2.92).ConclusionCurrent findings document the substantial role police sexual violence plays in the lives of FSWs in Russia. These findings also highlight heightened vulnerability to such violence among self-managed and substance abusing FSWs in this context. Structural interventions addressing police violence against FSWs may be useful to improve the health and safety of this population

Vasily Dokuchaev (to the 175-th anniversary)

The idea of this paper is to highlight the scale of Dokuchaev's personality through the prism of readers' perception and comparison of the scientist's achievements, timed to certain milestones in his life, with their own successes. Dokuchaev's biography, filtered through his own life experience, provides a better understanding of the magnitude of the first soil scientist, and a respect for his significant scientific heritage. The work will give an insight into the extensive and varied activities of the pioneer in the comprehensive study of soils and the environment

Anna Egorovna Dokuchaeva – the first Russian woman soil scientist

In 2021 we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Soil Science – Vasiliy Vasilievich Dokuchaev, and his wife and colleague – Anna Egorovna Dokuchaeva (Sinclair). V.V. Dokuchaev personally highly appreciated the outstanding role of Anna Egorovna in the formation of the Russian school of soil scientists, calling her the first Russian woman soil scientist. The article is devoted to the life of A.E. Dokuchaeva and based on the analysis of a few archival materials and literature. He emphasized its importance not only in his own life and scientific work, but also noted its influence on the formation of young soil scientists. By the moment of the meeting with V.V. Dokuchaev, Anna Egorovna was an educated and financially independent woman, had teaching experience and was the head of a private girls’ school, that belonged to her, and led an active social life. A successful, active, but at the same time the fragile young woman, being the head of educational institution, became for her husband not just a loving and beloved wife, but also a loyal companion and assistant, in whom he always found understanding and encouragement, his reliable support. Anna Egorovna helped her husband with translations with scientific articles, participated with him in the preparation and work of the VIII Congress of Russian Naturalists and Doctors, traveled with Vasiliy Vasilievich on expeditions, and processed the materials collected. This is only a small part of what Anna Egorovna did in Soil Science and of what we know today from documents and memoirs, most likely her scientific activity was much wider. In the Dokuchaevs’ house, there was a close connection between the family and Anna Egorovna’s scientific activities, which only people close to the family, friends, and students of Vasiliy Vasilievich knew about, but for most people Anna Egorovna was not a scientist

Enhanced critical current density of YBa2Cu3Ox films grown on Nd1/3Eu1/3Gd1/3Ba2Cu3Ox with nano-undulated surface morphology

We report a simple and easily controllable method where a nano-undulated surface morphology of Nd1/3Eu1/3Gd1/3Ba2Cu3Ox (NEG) films leads to a substantial increase in the critical current density in superconducting YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) films deposited by pulsed laser deposition on such NEG layers. The enhancement is observed over a wide range of fields and temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy shows that such YBCO films possess a high density of localized areas, typically 20 x 20 nm2 in size, where distortion of atomic planes give rotational (2 to 5 degrees) moire patterns. Their distribution is random and uniform, and expected to be the origin of the enhanced flux pinning. Magneto-optical imaging shows that these films have excellent macroscopic magnetic uniformity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure