Ethnic and confessional factors of comfort of the urban space in the Russian Arctic

The article deals with the influence of the ethnic and religious structure of the population of large cities of the Russian Arctic on the comfort of the urban space. The authors highlight the basic requirements for the urban area by social groups, based on their ethnic and religious affiliation. The main urban objects and spaces naturally and historically created for the needs of ethnic and religious groups are determined. The study used methods of social mapping, observation, analysis of statistical data. On the example of large cities in the regions of the Russian Arctic, the authors show the unsystematic nature of meeting ethnic and religious needs in the creation of comfortable urban space. According to the authors, this is primarily due to the diverse history of urban settlements in the Arctic zone, as well as the functional purpose of settlements, which differ in number and composition of residents. Based on this differentiation, the corresponding types of urban settlements are distinguished. Based on the relatively successful example of the policy of the capital region, the article makes recommendations for improving the proper administration of the urban municipalities of the Russian Arctic. Attention is drawn to the possible features of such a policy, considering the specifics of the Arctic cities and migration processes taking place in the region

The Correlation of Social Capital, Social Trust and Population’ Entrepreneurial Activity in the Arctic Region (a Case Study of the Arkhangelsk Oblast)

The article considers the relationship of social capital, institutional and interpersonal trust, and entrepreneurial activity on the data of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The authors, following R. Putnam, analyti-cally distinguish two types of social capital — bonding and bridging. The level of the former is measured by interpersonal trust indices, while the latter is measured by general and institutional trust indices. Based on the analysis of the sociological survey results, conducted by the authors of the article, it is shown that the level of bonding capital, based on trust in the nearest social environment, is quite high in the Arkhangelsk Oblast, but there is a shortage of bridging capital that based on trust in public institutions and civil solidarity. It is shown that the deficit of bridging social capital, associated with a low level of trust in institutions, increases the transaction costs of market agents like entrepreneurs, which negatively affects the implementation of the region's entrepreneurial potential. Thus, it is proved that the amount of social capital is a key non-economic factor that reduces the investment rating and entrepreneurial activity indicators in the region against the backdrop of low dynamics of gross regional product and population incomes and increasing government spending to stimulate small and medium-sized businesses

Methodical issues of the ethnopolitical and ethnosocial processes’ empirical researches in the regions of the Russian Arctic

The article considers the methodic aspects of empirical ethnopolitical and ethno-social research in the regions of the modern Russia. It is demonstrated that the tools for quantitative sociological research of interethnic and interdenominational relations should be adapted for large-scale cultural-historical groups of the regions. E.g., in the case of the Russian Arctic, the indigenous small-numbered peoples are an important subject of the ethnic policy, which requires the use of additional indicators that represent their cultural development and participation in ethnopolitical relations. The toolkit of empirical cross-regional studies usually includes the measurement of individual variables. The article proposes a more complex and systematic methodology based on the idea of constructing integral indices, aggregating the values of a set of related indicators. To analyze the dynamics of the ethnic components of the region's social system, a set of categories is proposed, through which it is possible to describe the configuration of the main ethnic actors and the state of political and cultural institutions. The categories were operationalized for the political, societal and socio-cultural subsystems of the region, resulting in a system of indicators for monitoring ethnopolitical and ethno-social processes. The article shows an example of the procedure for constructing an integral index of the ethnic policy' quality (nationalities policy index) based on indicators proposed by the authors for measuring ethnopolitical processes in the region. In the end of the paper, the major issues for the measuring the data unification got with the use of different methods from qualitatively different sources is set

Sociocultural and socio-psychological factors of entrepreneurial potential in the Russian Arctic

The article discusses the theoretical problems of the entrepreneurial potential of the population on value orientations dependence, understood as the behavioral imperatives of a particular culture. The text of the article considers entrepreneurship primarily as a socio-psychological and sociocultural phenomenon. Entrepreneurship as a socio-psychological phenomenon is considered in the context of theories of behavioral economics, but as a sociocultural - based on the research tradition established by M. Weber. The authors postulate a thesis on the determining nature of the influence of the value system that domi-nates in a particular society on the level of entrepreneurial potential. The authors briefly set out the main approaches to the measurement of values in the social sciences, in particular, the approaches of M. Rokeach, R. Inglehart, G. Hofstede and S. Schwartz. The situation with the development of entrepreneur-ship in the regions of the Russian Arctic is presented in general terms, the specific problems that businesses face in the Arctic zone of the Russia are shown. The uniqueness of the Russian Arctic as a cultural macro-region is emphasized, on the basis of that a hypothesis is put forward about the special sociocultural conditions for the development of Arctic entrepreneurship compared to other territories of the country, manifested primarily in a specific system of values. Authors propose a synthesis of the methodologies M. Rokeach, R. Inglehart and S. Schwartz for a comprehensive study of the Russian Arctic' inhabitants value system

Association of Vital Exhaustion with Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases, Quality of Life and Lifestyle in 41–44-Year-Old Muscovite Men

(1) Background: Vital exhaustion (VE) is no less of an important risk factor (RF) for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cardiovascular events than the well-known RFs. Insufficient knowledge of the relationship between VE and CVD RF, quality of life, and lifestyle was the rationale for this study. (2) Methods: We examined 301 Muscovite men 41–44 years of age. The categorization of RFs for CVD was carried out in accordance with conventionally considered criteria. In order to evaluate the lifestyle and quality of life in study participants, we were offering them a self-filling questionnaire developed by I.A. Gundarov. The presence of VE signs was assessed using a 14-item short version of the Maastricht Vital Exhaustion Questionnaire scale (MVEQ). All study subjects were classified into three ordered groups depending on the distribution of VE indicators by tertiles: Group 1 consisted of men with a low VE (0–2 points), Group 2 included males with a medium VE score (3–5 points), and Group 3 comprised subjects with high VE scores (6–14 points). To analyze the obtained data, we used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s chi-squaredtest (χ2), Goodman and Kruskal’s gamma, and linear regression analysis. (3) Results: We established that every third male (36.8%) had VE signs, while 10.6% of men had high VE levels. With an increase of VE in men, the frequency of arterial hypertension (AH) was increasing as well, and it was significantly higher in men with a high VE compared to their peers with a low VE (48.4% versus 33%; p = 0.03). A significant linear relationship was discovered between VE levels and excessive alcohol consumption (p = 0.001). The strongest linear associations were found between the VE level, and both psychosocial stress indicator and the amount of consumed ethanol. Self-assessment of personal happiness, job and sleep satisfaction, residential living conditions, and spiritual needs, as well as psychosocial stress indicator, total amount of consumed ethanol, and muscle strength (hand-grip dynamometry), were independent determinants of the VE level, and, collectively, they explained 46.6% of its variability. The greatest contribution to VE was made by the personal happiness level, explaining 25.5% of its variability. The proportions of the VE variance uniquely explained by various factors were as follows: 9.3% by the psychosocial stress, 4.9% by job satisfaction, 2.8% by sleep satisfaction, 2.3% by total consumption of ethanol, 1.6% by muscle strength, 1.1% by living conditions in the residential neighborhood, and just 0.8% by spiritual needs. (4) Conclusion: High VE levels in 41–44-year-old men are associated with AH, sedentary behavior, excessive alcohol consumption, and lower values of most indicators of both lifestyle and quality of life

Alkylresorcinols as a New Type of Gut Microbiota Regulators Influencing Immune Therapy Efficiency in Lung Cancer Treatment

Background. Alkylresorcinols (ARs) are polyphenolic compounds of microbial origin with a wide spectrum of biological activities and are potentially involved in host immune functioning. The present study is aimed at evaluating alterations in AR content in blood serum and faeces from healthy donors and patients with lung cancer in connection with response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy to estimate the regulatory potential of AR. Methods. Quantitative analysis of AR levels, as well as other microbial metabolites in blood serum and faeces, was performed using gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection; estimation of lymphocyte subsets was performed by flow cytometry; faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from lung cancer patients after ICI therapy to germ-free mice was performed to explore whether the intestinal microbiota could produce AR molecules. Results. AR concentrations in both faeces and serum differ dramatically between healthy and lung cancer donors. The significant increase in AR concentrations in mouse faeces after FMT points to the microbial origin of ARs. For several ARs, there were strong positive and negative correlations in both faeces and serum with immune cells and these interrelationships differed between the therapy-responsive and nonresponsive groups. Conclusions. The content of ARs may influence the response to ICI therapy in lung cancer patients. ARs may be considered regulatory molecules that determine the functioning of antitumor immunity