On the state and outlooks of cooperation of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with IIASA

The paper is dedicated to the analysis of the history and perspectives of one of the priorities of international cooperation of the NASU with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). A brief history of the establishment and early development of IIASA is described. Key research directions of the initial period of IIASA and input of scientists of Ukrainian institutes are mentioned. Research methodology, approaches and models developed at IIASA in cooperation with Ukrainian scientists are described. In particular, the role of Academician Glushkov and Academician Mikhalevich is well marked. Specific attention is focused on the period since 1994 leading to the independent National Member Organization of Ukraine. The role played by Academician Paton and Academician Shpak in this process is described. The existing IIASA network of research institutes and universities is also described. Important scientific and applied joint projects are listed. Existing perspectives in both scientific and policy making fields are discussed

Territorial Disputes and Problem of Border Demarcation of USSR (Russia) and China in 1960-1990

The article is devoted to problems of Russian-Chinese border demarcation. Russian-Chinese relations, with all its positive dynamics, are characterized by the presence of a number of acute problems, although somewhat moved “by the wayside” because of the more important bilateral priorities, have objectively high “destructive” potential. The research urgency is caused by the fact that the most complex, sensitive and explosive issue, until recently, remained border and territorial issue. Its decision in 2004 was a historic event in Russian-Chinese relations. This problem requires further research into the complex of relations between two great states. It is emphasized that the Soviet-(Russian)-Chinese border disputes are not the new trend of the time. In different historical stages of the Soviet Union the preservation of the existing borders was always important for the structures involved in the solution of border issues. The aim of Soviet government was to preserve the contractual framework, carrying out clarification of the boundary in certain areas, their redemarcation. Since the middle of 1960-ies, the Soviet government approved the conclusion of a new Agreement on the border, its demarcation, with the exception of the Islands near Khabarovsk. In making this decision the representatives of the Central office of the border police took part. The article is devoted to one of the episodes of cooperation with the People’s Republic of China in establishing boundaries

Problems of defining concepts

People have been studying the notion of concept for a long time - since the beginning of the 20th c. But still it can not be strictly defined. In this article we examine different approaches to the notion of concept and try to define its place in the system of language

Electrical properties and local domain structure of LiNbO3 thin film grown by ion beam sputtering method

The nanocrystalline ferroelectric LiNbO3 films on (001) Si substrates with the random orientation of polycrystalline grains and the predominance of the grains with lateral orientation of the polar axis were grown using the ion beam sputtering method. The remanent polarization and the coercive field are 12 μC/cm2 and 29 kV/cm, respectively. The thermal annealing leads to the coarsening of the grains. The appearance of the "local texture," which gives rise to the unipolarity of the heterostructures caused by the predominance of the one direction in the vertical component of the spontaneous polarization, is investigated. © The Chinese Society for Metals and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Problems of defining concepts

People have been studying the notion of concept for a long time - since the beginning of the 20th c. But still it can not be strictly defined. In this article we examine different approaches to the notion of concept and try to define its place in the system of language

Innovative technologies in the treatment of short bowel syndrome

Introdiction. In recent years, many new technologies for the management of patients with short bowel syndrom (SBS), including SBS-IF (short bowel syndrom with intestinal failor), have appeared. The implemented surgical techniques are aimed at slowing down the progress of intestinal contents (antiperistaltic inserts, the creation of artificial valves in the small intestine, loops or pockets from the small intestine, etc.); surgical elongation of the small intestine (the most common STEP, Bianchy technique); intestinal transplantation. At the same time, when the intestine is shortened to 1.5–2,0 m, the adaptive rearrangements are still able to provide (albeit suppressed), but partially preserved absorption processes (in 80% of cases, the surface of the intestine is sufficient for slow transport of nutrients from the intestine to the blood). Therefore, it is important to increase the efficiency of adaptive rearrangements in any conservative way shown.Аim. Тo evaluate the role of hormonal stimulation of adaptive rearrangements in the residual bowel stump.Materials and methods. Рarameters of the well-known alimentary-volemic diagnosis, assessment of adaptive changes in the gastrointestinal tract (performed by determining citruline and GLP-2, as well as by morphological method). To stimulate the regulation of adaptive processes, a hormone preparation GLP-2 (teduglutide) was used in the nutritional support program.Results. It was shown that the length of the intestinal stump up to 1.5–2.0 m allows for digestive and transport processes due to adaptive rearrangements of the intestinal epithelium. With a super-short intestine, it is advisable to choose surgical methods of correction.Conclusion. For conservative correction of adaptive processes in the intestine, it is advisable to use a GLP-2 hormone preparation, in particular, teduglutide

Robust Rescaling Methods for Integrated Water, Food, and Energy Security Management under Systemic Risks and Uncertainty

The aim of this presentation is to discuss robust, non-Bayesian, probabilistic, cross-entropy-based disaggregation (downscaling) techniques. Systems analysis of global change (including climate) processes requires new approaches to integrating and rescaling of models, data, and decision-making procedures between various scales. For example, in the analysis of water security issues, the hydrological models require inputs that are much finer than the resolution of, say, the economic or climatic models generating those inputs. In relation to food security, aggregate national or regional land-use projections derived with global economic land-use planning models give no insights into potentially critical heterogeneities of local trends. Many practical studies analyzing regional developments use cross-entropy minimization as an underlying principle for estimation of local processes. However, the traditional cross-entropy approach relies on a single prior distribution. In reality, we can identify a set of feasible priors. This is relevant, in particular, for land-cover data. Existing global land cover maps (GLC2000, MODIS2000, GLOBCOVER2000) differ in terms of spatially resolved estimates of land use, (e.g., crop, forest, and grass lands). We present novel general approach to achieving downscaling results that are robust with respect to a set of potential prior distributions reflecting non-Bayesian uncertainties, that is, data that are incomplete or not directly observable. The robust downscaling problem is formulated as a probabilistic inverse problem (from aggregate to local data) generally in the form of a non-convex, cross-entropy minimization model. The approach will be illustrated by sequential downscaling aggregate model projections of land-use changes using the Global Biosphere Management Model, with case studies from Africa, Brazil, China, and Ukraine. The approach is being used to harmonize alternative land-cover maps and to develop hybrid maps