Foreign lobbying as an instrument of defense cooperation between Poland and the United States

Defence cooperation between Poland and the United States significantly affects the security agenda of Russia, the Baltic region, and Europe as a whole. On the one hand, Poland intends to become a key partner of the US in ensuring European security. On the other hand, it has ambitions to take the leading position in the security area among the Baltic States. The Polish leadership sees an additional advantage in expanding military cooperation with the United States, regarding it as a jumping board to accelerating its economic and technological development. This article examines a mechanism underlying defence cooperation between the US and Poland, i.e. lobbying Poland’s interests in another state. This allows Warsaw to actively promote its interests in the US. The research methodology employed includes the periodisation of Polish lobbying activities in the US and an empirical study of lobbying based on analysis of original documents, many of which have been analysed for the first time. It is shown that, under the existing party system, Poland will not abandon strategic partnership with the United States, primarily in security and defence. Over the study period, Poland quickly gained experience in promoting its interests in the US through direct lobbying, showing flexibility in negotiations, relying on the two-party support in the US Congress, successfully coordinating the activities of its governing bodies and various corporations which are submitted to tight state control

Challenges of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in agriculture

The underlying assumption of the study is that ERP systems can crucially facilitate information exchange; yet, the agricultural sector is slow in their adoption due to different reasons, including a shortage of skilled personnel as well as a lack of knowledge about ERP capabilities among top managers and key employees. The study intends to identify challenges and prospects for ERP implementation in agriculture. The applied methods include the analysis of WoS publications and questionnaire surveys of executives of 55 companies operating in the Middle Urals’ agricultural sector. ERP systems can be defined as comprehensive software solutions aimed to integrate business and management processes through a holistic approach and a single information system. According to expert estimates, in today’s Russia the projects related to the agro-industrial sector account for 1-2% to 10-15% of the projects from the leading ERP vendors, including 1C, Bars Group, and Navigator-Agro. ERP systems in agriculture help improve business performance, reduce and monitor costs. These systems are effective in decision-making and can serve as the basis for precision agriculture. The main barriers are poor personnel skills and competencies, shortage of funds for ERP adoption, poorly developed or absent infrastructure, difficulties of fitting and adapting of ERP systems to agricultural business. In addition, agricultural business owners show no confidence in high-tech solutions and poor knowledge of the above systems. Other problems include operation complexity and insufficient government support in ERP implementation. The results of the study can be used by government authorities in their programs for innovative development and technical upgrading of the agriculture industry. © 2020 by author(s) and VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center.Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001, 19-41-000001The reported study was funded by RFBR and Sverdlovsk region, project number 19-41-000001, Russian FederationThe reported study was funded by RFBR and Sverdlovsk region, project number 19-41-000001, Russian Federatio

750 Natalia the economic and legal analysis of the terms of international delivery contracts involving Russian suppliers

Purpose: The article presents an economic and legal analysis of the terms of contracts for international delivery of goods involving Russian suppliers. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors analysed the international norms of regulating relations for the goods’ delivery involving the foreign element. Terms of the goods delivery are investigated according to the national legislation of the Russian Federation. Findings: As a result, it is necessary to use an economic and legal approach when developing contract terms for the goods’ delivery to take into account norms of international law, the national legislation of the supplier country and in accordance with the calculations of the contract price and payment terms. Practical Implications: The proposed method is in accordance with the international legal framework and it can be adopted by the Russian Federation easily. Originality/Value: There is no such an approach eligible to modernize the existing system in the country.peer-reviewe

Methods of the determination of inorganic arsenic species by stripping voltammetry in weakly alkaline media

Two methods are considered for the direct determination of trace amounts of As(III) and As(V) in solutions by stripping voltammetry (SVA) using an ensemble of gold microelectrodes (Au-MEA) previously developed by the authors of this paper. In both methods, analyzing a mixture of As(III) and As(V), analysts first record an SVA signal of As(III) in a supporting Na2SO3 electrolyte. To record an analytical SVA signal of As(V), in the first method one should use the reduction of As(V) to As(III) on the surface of an Au-MEA catalyzed by the system Mn(II)/Mn(0) and followed by the formation of As(0) and its anode dissolution. In the second method, the photoreduction of As(V) to As(III) in a Na2SO3 solution is conducted under UV irradiation followed by the reduction of As(III) to As(0) and its electrooxidation on Au-MEA. The two methods are compared taking into account their performance characteristics and interfering ions. To improve the reliability of the results of analysis at an insignificant increase in its cost, we propose the consecutive use of both methods. The procedures are simple and rapid, do not require the removal of dissolved oxygen or toxic reactants, and can be used for the analysis of aqueous solutions at the place of sampling. The results of analyses of real objects, snow, river water, and process solutions are presented

The use of disstance lerning in higher education

The authors investigated the questions of the use of distance education in higher education. Experience of Liberal Arts University on the use of electronic educational resources is showedВ статье авторы рассматривают вопросы использования дистанционного образования в вузовском обучении. Представлен опыт Гуманитарного университета по использованию электронных образовательных ресурсо

E-learning as a modern resource of education

E-learning is becoming increasingly popular today. It is being widely implemented not only in educational institutions but in business and industrial enterprises demanding the fastest and the cheapest means of information exchange and communication. This article is dedicated to eliciting of the background factors of successful implementation and favourable environment to develop e-learning programs. It analyses the e-learning teaching process and methods practiced in several countries, including Russia, and empathizes the major issues and problems the national systems of education have had to face recentl

Magnetic Relaxation Probing of the State of Diheptyl Dithiophosphate Ions in Water and Aqueous Triton X-100 Solutions

The nuclear magnetic relaxation was used to study the state of diheptyl dithiophosphoric acid (D7DTP, L7) anions in water and aqueous solutions of the nonionic surfactant, Ttiton X-100, at 298 K in the presence of paramagnetic probes, Mn2+ ions. It was found that increase in the spin-lattice relaxation rate of water protons is caused by formation of simple and mixed (with surfactant) aggregates of D7DTP. Unlike the Mn2+-sodium dodecyl sulfate -Triton X-100 system, studied previously an influence of a probe concentration was found at surfactant concentration close to the CMC. It was suggested that two types of mixed species containing diheptyl dithiophosphate ions, Mn(II), and nonionic surfactant can be formed: micellar aggregates, {Mn(L7)2(TX)}, and polynuclear associates, [Mnx(L7)y(tx)z]. The associates likely contain surfactant in the form of monomers (tx)

Kaposi's sarcoma associated with Wegener’s granulomatosi

A case of Kaposi's sarcoma development in a pt with Wegener's granulomatosis during immunosupres- sive treatment with cyclophosphane and prednisolone

Isolation of two strains of West Nile virus during an outbreak in southern Russia, 1999.

From July to September 1999, a widespread outbreak of meningoencephalitis associated with West Nile virus (Flavivirus, Flaviviridae) occurred in southern Russia, with hundreds of cases and dozens of deaths. Two strains of West Nile virus isolated from patient serum and brain-tissue samples reacted in hemagglutination-inhibition and neutralization tests with patients' convalescent-phase sera and immune ascites fluid from other strains of West Nile virus

Case of meningitis in a neonate caused by an extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-producing strain of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae

© 2017 Khaertynov, Anokhin, Davidyuk, Nicolaeva, Khalioullina, Semyenova, Alatyrev, Skvortsova and Abrahamyan. Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important infectious agents among neonates. This pathogen has a potential to develop an increased antimicrobial resistance and virulence. The classic non-virulent strain of K. pneumoniae, producing an extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), is associated with nosocomial infection mainly in preterm neonates. Hypervirulent K. pneumoniae strains are associated with invasive infection among previously healthy ambulatory patients, and most of them exhibit antimicrobial susceptibility. During the last few years, several cases of diseases caused by hypervirulent K. pneumoniae producing ESBL have been registered in different geographical regions of the world. However , reports of such cases in neonates are rare. Here, we reported that this pathogen can cause pyogenic meningitis in full-term neonate with poor prognosis. A previously healthy, full-term, 12-day-old neonate was admitted to the infectious diseases hospital with suspected meningitis. The clinical symptoms included loss of appetite, irritability, fever, seizures, and a bulging anterior fontanelle. The analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid confirmed the diagnosis of meningitis. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures were positive for K. pneumoniae, producing ESBL. K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to aminopenicillins, 3rd generation cephalosporins but were sensitive to imipenem and meropenem. The "string test" was positive. The study of the virulence factors of K. pneumoniae by PCR revealed the presence of the rmpA gene. A combination of K. pneumoniae virulence and drug resistance complicated by cerebral oedema led to the death of the neonate. We concluded that both the risk of developing severe forms of infection and the outcome of the disease due to K. pneumonia are associated with the phenotypic features of the pathogen such as its antibiotic susceptibility and virulence factors. Emergence of the ESBL-producing strain of hypervirulent K. pneumoniae could represent a new serious threat to public health, suggesting an urgent need to enhance clinical awareness and epidemiological surveillance