An Assessment of the Economic Performance of the EU Baltic Region States

The paper explores how the common economic space, a product of the EU, influenced the economies of the Baltic Sea Region states in 1995-2015. The authors investigate changes in the economic performance of the developed (Germany, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden) and Eastern European countries (Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) during the integration of the latter states into the EU. Performance dynamics is analyzed for eight EU Baltic Sea Region countries. Three Russian Baltic regions constitute a control group. The authors conduct a production-function-based comparative analysis of development dynamics in individual countries to identify distinctive features for each group. Despite a rapid growth of Eastern European economies, the difference between the region’s eastern and western countries remains substantial. Economic convergence between eastern and western EU countries in terms of investment does not lead to convergence in labour efficiency. The capital-labour ratio and the growth rate of labour efficiency in the Russian Baltic are close to the Eastern European average

The Physics of the B Factories

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C

The First and Second Waves of the COVID‑19 Pandemic in the Russian Regions: Comparison of the Change in the Mortality Rate

Возникновение пандемии COVID‑19 стало для всего человечества новым глобальным вызовом, который затронул все сферы жизнедеятельности общества. Цель данной статьи заключается в выявлении комплексного влияния различных факторов на уровень смертности в российских регионах во время первой и второй волн пандемии коронавируса. В качестве информационной базы исследования были использованы официальные статистические издания Федеральной службы государственной статистики (ФСГС), а также данные официального интернет-ресурса о ситуации с заболеваемостью COVID‑19 в регионах России. С помощью экономико-математического инструментария выполнена оценка влияния демографических, социально-экономических, экологических, медицинских и географических факторов на уровень смертности в российских регионах. Проведенные расчеты позволили установить причины значительного роста смертности в российских регионах, а также выявить существенные различия между первой и второй волнами пандемии. Исследование показало, что ведущую роль играли демографические и географические факторы, однако их влияние в разные периоды имело свои характерные особенности. Пандемия коронавируса ускорила процесс сокращения численности населения страны, а также нанесла значительный урон экономике России. Результаты исследования могут быть использованы в области медико-демографической политики, направленной на сохранение общественного здоровья нацииThe emergence of the COVID‑19 pandemic has become a new global challenge for the whole humankind affecting all spheres of society. The purpose of this article is to identify the complex effect of various factors on the mortality rate in Russian regions during the first and second waves of the coronavirus pandemic. As the information base of the study, official statistical publications («Regions of Russia», «Natural Population Movement») were used, as well as data from the official Internet resource on the situation with the incidence of COVID‑19 in the regions of Russia. With the help of economic and mathematical tools, the impact of demographic, socio-economic, environmental, medical and geographical factors on the mortality rate in Russian regions was assessed. The calculations allowed to establish the causes of a significant increase in mortality in the Russian regions, as well as to identify significant differences between the first and second waves of the pandemic. The study showed that demographic and geographical factors played the leading role, but their influence at different time periods had its own characteristics. The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the process of reducing the country’s population, and also caused significant damage to the Russian economy. The results of the study can be used in the field of medico-demographic policy aimed at preserving the social (population) health of the natio

Reduction of the volume redundancy in combined embedded elements/cohesive zone modelling - Comments on the paper: Liu Q, Gorbatikh L, Lomov SV. A combined use of embedded and cohesive elements to model damage development in fibrous composites, Composite Structures, 2019, 223: 110921 (doi 10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.110921)

status: publishe

Sputum Microbiota in Coal Workers Diagnosed with Pneumoconiosis as Revealed by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) is an occupationally induced progressive fibrotic lung disease. This irreversible but preventable disease currently affects millions across the world, mainly in countries with developed coal mining industries. Here, we report a pilot study that explores the sputum microbiome as a potential non-invasive bacterial biomarker of CWP status. Sputum samples were collected from 35 former and active coal miners diagnosed with CWP and 35 healthy controls. Sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes was used to study the taxonomic composition of the respiratory microbiome. There was no difference in alpha diversity between CWP and controls. The structure of bacterial communities in sputum samples (β diversity) differed significantly between cases and controls (pseudo-F = 3.61; p = 0.004). A significant increase in the abundance of Streptococcus (25.12 ± 11.37 vs. 16.85 ± 11.35%; p = 0.0003) was detected in samples from CWP subjects as compared to controls. The increased representation of Streptococcus in sputum from CWP patients was associated only with the presence of occupational pulmonary fibrosis, but did not depend on age, and did not differ between former and current miners. The study shows, for the first time, that the sputum microbiota of CWP subjects differs from that of controls. The results of our present exploratory study warrant further investigations on a larger cohort

Application of New Approaches to the Hydropower Combined Complex Creation for Autonomous Energy Supply

The report examined new scientific approaches to the creation of a combined cogeneration energy complex based on small or micro-hydropower. The most effective approaches to micro-hydropower facilities were considered to create a workable structural layout. A criterion has been developed that allows to evaluate the energy efficiency of hydroturbines at an early stage of design using the calculation method, including a predictive estimate of the hydraulic resistance function ξHT = f(Re) of a particular penstock geometry. The results of the theoretical task of creating a technologically advanced configuration of a blade system using Zhukovsky theory. By calculating and numerically (CFD) simulating the hydrodynamic lattices of flat profiles, the theoretical nomograms for determining the coefficients Cx and Cy are confirmed and supplemented. A series of comparative results of computational and experimental studies of the combined energy complex hydraulic part – microhydroturbines with experimental blade systems, including those modified by the principle of biomimetics (nature imitation technologies) is presented. Based on the calculated and experimental studies, the prospects of the chosen direction of development of small and microhydroenergy are shown, as well as the effectiveness of the approaches that were used in the design of the working bodies of microhydroturbines