Model Estimation of Land-Use Effects on Water Levels of Northern Prairie Wetlands

Wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region exist in a matrix of grassland dominated by intensive pastoral and cultivation agriculture. Recent conservation management has emphasized the conversion of cultivated farmland and degraded pastures to intact grassland to improve upland nesting habitat. The consequences of changes in land-use cover that alter watershed processes have not been evaluated relative to their effect on the water budgets and vegetation dynamics of associated wetlands. We simulated the effect of upland agricultural practices on the water budget and vegetation of a semipermanent prairie wetland by modifying a previously published mathematical model (WETSIM). Watershed cover/landuse practices were categorized as unmanaged grassland (native grass, smooth brome), managed grassland (moderately heavily grazed, prescribed burned), cultivated crops (row crop, small grain), and alfalfa hayland. Model simulations showed that differing rates of evapotranspiration and runoff associated with different upland plant-cover categories in the surrounding catchment produced differences in wetland water budgets and linked ecological dynamics. Wetland water levels were highest and vegetation the most dynamic under the managed-grassland simulations, while water levels were the lowest and vegetation the least dynamic under the unmanaged-grassland simulations. The modeling results suggest that unmanaged grassland, often planted for waterfowl nesting, may produce the least favorable wetland conditions for birds, especially in drier regions of the Prairie Pothole Region. These results stand as hypotheses that urgently need to be verified with empirical data

Vulnerability of Northern Prairie Wetlands to Climate Change

The prairie pothole region (PPR) lies in the heart of North America and contains millions of glacially formed, depressional wetlands embedded in a landscape matrix of natural grassland and agriculture. These wetlands provide valuable ecosystem services and produce 50% to 80% of the continent\u27s ducks. We explored the broad spatial and temporal patterns across the PPR between climate and wetland water levels and vegetation by applying a wetland simulation model (WETSIM) to 18 stations with 95-year weather records. Simulations suggest that the most productive habitat for breeding waterfowl would shift under a drier climate from the center of the PPR (the Dakotas and southeastern Saskatchewan) to the wetter eastern and northern fringes, areas currently less productive or where most wetlands have been drained. Unless these wetlands are protected and restored, there is little insurance for waterfowl against future climate warming. WETSIM can assist wetland managers in allocating restoration dollars in an uncertain climate future

DNA authentication technologies for product quality monitoring in the wine industry

Identification of wine product authenticity is a topical question in theRussian Federation. A solution to this problem can be DNA authentication of wines, which is a technological process of product authenticity control using genetic identification of the main plant ingredient — wine grape varieties. This type of wine verification is carried out by analyzing residual amounts of Vitis vinifera L. nucleic acids extracted from cell debris of final products by molecular genetic methods. The aim of this work is the analysis of the existing methods for extraction of nucleic acids from grapes, wine raw materials and commercial wines, as well as description of the molecular genetic approaches to technical genetic identification of grape varieties and authentication of wines made from them. The obtained data suggest suitability of DNA authentication of wine products as a supplement to earlier approved analytical methods (documentary, visual, sensory, physico-chemical)

Analysis of social efficiency of the orthotics department in municipal hospital

In this article we analyzed social efficiency of orthotics department at the Central Municipal Hospital of Ulyanovsk. The study was conducted in the period of 2013-2014 years in patients with different diseases. All respondents of experimental (n = 150) and control (n2 = 150) groups who participated in the study expressed positively about the purpose and use of orthoses - "good" (nt = 63,7 %; n2 = 80,7 %) or "no answer" (nt = 36,3 %; n2 = 19,3 %). It shows a high level of social efficiency of provided type of care. Work of orthotics department will increase the number of orthotic devices used to improve the quality of life of patients

MODELS OF FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION AND MEDICO-ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF THE ORTHOTICS DEPARTMENT IN A HOSPITAL

This publication shows the relationship of one of the three proposed financial and economic models of orthotics offices, assisting patients with different pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, depending on the category of the hospital. The models of orthotics offices subjected to the analysis differ by a financing source; the system of an assessment of the dominating and minor indicators of their functioning is developed. Possible economic efficiency of the work of this office, working in the compulsory health insurance system is shown in the group of patients (n = 30) with a fracture of the distal end of the radius, and has made more than 377 000,0 rubles per year (according to 2014)

Pre- and postoperative left atrial appendage visualization: selecting the optimal method

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is reported to be one of the main etiological factors of ischemic stroke. Transcatheter occlusion of the left atrial appendage (LAAO) is an alternative to anticoagulant therapy in the thromboembolism prevention in atrial fibrillation patients with a high bleeding risk. The role of contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomography (CT) for preoperative assessment and postoperative control has not been sufficiently studied to the present moment.Objective: Comparison of the possibilities of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and computed tomography in pre- and postoperative imaging in the context of LAAO interventions.Material and methods: This retrospective cohort study included 38 patients divided into 2 groups: in the first group TEE was used for intervention planning and postoperative control, patients of the second group were examined with CT. The indicators obtained during LAA measurements were assessed, as well as the result of the intervention – according to the risk of peripheral leakage into the left atrial appendage.Results: The average left atrial appendage depth and orifice diameter according to transesophageal echocardiography were significantly smaller compared to computed tomography data (25.58 ± 4.65 versus 31.05 ± 6.41, p = 0.011; 17.21 ± 2.70 versus 18.55 ± 3.05 p = 0,006, respectively). In the computed tomography group, there was a not statistically significant trend towards a lower risk of leakage for 4–5 mm leaks (RR = 0.500; 95% CI 0.060–3.710) and for 2–3 mm leaks (RR = 0.500; 95% CI 0.150–1.540). In addition, 45 days after the intervention computed tomography revealed 5 cases of incomplete endothelialization of the device with the contrast agent leak into the LAA in the absence of peripheral leakage.Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced cardiac computed tomography, unlike transesophageal echocardiography, allows to detect incomplete occlusive device endothelialization, which may influence the choice of postoperative antithrombotic therapy. The use of computed tomography in an intervention planning for the LAAO may reduce the risk of peripheral leakage, however, this hypothesis needs to be confirmed in studies with a larger number of patients

Thomas Mann and F. M. Dostoyevsky: on the Essential Dialogue between Germany and Russia

The article was submitted on 01.07.2018.This paper deals with the dialogue between East and West in the creative work of T. Mann and F. Dostoyevsky. The dialogue is focused on issues of essentialism: the truth and the simulacrum and the cultural and artistic activity of two different types (will to live and will to die). T. Mann’s prose is considered in the context of the author’s perception of Dostoyevsky’s oeuvre, which allows the authors to single out the main cultural codes and civilizational constants in the creative work of the two authors (the Western Faustian idea of rationality and the Russian idea of the soul). The article seeks to study T. Mann’s spiritual and creative antinomies, which manifest themselves in the writer’s motto “Dostoyevsky, but in moderation”. The complex interdisciplinary methodology of the research is based on the principle of dialogue between the artistic and the philosophical, the scholarly and the scientific, the religious and the irreligious, and academic and journalistic discourses. A hermeneutic study of literary text means considering it holistically in the context of culture. The authors refer to Dostoyevsky’s Diary of a Writer and Mann’s essays, along with other works by both writers. The main problematic contexts of the study include Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept God is dead and Oswald Spengler’s decline of Europe, along with the philosophical ideas of Western postmodernism (including the theory of simulacra by J. Baudrillard), Jung’s psychoanalytic studies, and the eschatological diagnoses and forecasts of Russian religious philosophy (V. S. Solovyov, N. A. Berdyaev, and I. A. Ilyin). The main results of the study are related to the opposing ideas of Dostoyevsky’s eschatological openness and Mann’s temporal dimension, associated respectively with metaphysical transcendence and humanistic immanence based on Kant’s philosophy of practical reason. A conclusion is drawn about the isomorphism of Dostoyevsky’s prose fiction and journalism and the anti-isomorphism of Mann’s fiction and essays. Choosing between the philosophy of the Nietzschean superman and Dostoyevsky’s Christ-centred ethics, Thomas Mann opts for Dostoyevsky. However, Mann’s perception of Dostoyevsky’s ideas retains a dialogical incompleteness, reflecting the insoluble contradiction between the rational and the irrational conceptions of the German classic.Исследуется диалог между Западом и Востоком в творчестве Т. Манна и Ф. М. Достоевского по эссенциальной проблематике (истины и симулякра, культуротворческой деятельности двух разных типов – воли к жизни и воли к смерти). Проза Манна рассматривается в контексте восприятия Достоевского, что позволяет выявить основные культурологические коды и цивилизационные константы в творчестве исследуемых писателей (западная «фаустовская» идея рациональности и «русская идея» сердца). Цель работы – раскрытие духовно-творческих антиномий Т. Манна, наиболее ярко воплотившихся в лозунге «Достоевский – но в меру». Методология исследования базируется на принципе диалога художественного и философского, гуманитарного и естественнонаучного, религиозного и арелигиозного, научно-академического и публицистического типов дискурса. Герменевтическое исследование предполагает понимание художественного текста в целостном контексте культуры. Основными источниками являются «Дневник писателя» Достоевского и эссеистика Манна, а также художественные произведения обоих писателей. К определяющим проблемным контекстам исследования относятся концепции «смерти Бога» Ф. Ницше и «заката Европы» О. Шпенглера, философские идеи западного постмодерна (в том числе учение о симулякрах Ж. Бодрийяра), психоаналитические исследования К. Юнга, эсхатологические диагнозы и прогнозы русской религиозной философии (В. С. Соловьев, Н. А. Бердяев, И. А. Ильин). Основные результаты исследования связаны с противопоставлением идей эсхатологической откровенности Достоевского и темпоральной мерности Манна, соотносимых с метафизической трансцендентностью и гуманистической имманентностью, основанной на философии практического разума Канта. Делается вывод об изоморфности художественной прозы и публицистики Достоевского и антиизоморфности художественной прозы и эссеистики Манна. Выбирая между философией сверхчеловека Ницше и христоцентризмом Достоевского, Т. Манн делает выбор в пользу Достоевского, однако восприятие им идей последнего сохраняет в себе диалогическую незавершенность, отражает неразрешимое противоречие между рациональным и иррациональным началом творчества немецкого классика

Scientific-methodological knowledge and its development in the educational process

Introduction. For students, mastering the methodological foundations of scientific research plays an important role in professional education, providing scientifically proven support for professional thinking and readiness to scientifically substantiate the practical activities of a specialist to form a mechanism for intellectual and personal self-development. Today, numerous educational literature is being published, and educational disciplines devoted to the methodology of science and scientific research are being introduced. However, in most of the educational and scientific works created by students (course projects, final qualification papers, etc.), methodological provisions are formulated with errors; descriptions of the organisation of research, interpretation and design of their results are unsatisfactory. Therefore, there is the problem of finding ways to improve methodological literacy, methodological competence, and methodological culture of students. The relevance of such research is conditioned by the need to study the causes of such a situation, to develop ways for improving student methodological competence, to highlight and summarise the experience of teaching methodological knowledge, and to suggest ways for improving the educational process. The solution to this problem is especially significant for the humanities specialists (in particular, for educators and psychologists), who deal with the influence on the personality and human consciousness included in the social regulation of human behaviour. Aim. The present research aims to: 1) substantiate the theoretical approach to the scientific and methodological support of the process of mastering the methodological foundations of scientific research by students as to the development of scientific-methodological knowledge (SMK) based on the analysis of scientific and educational literature, the practice of teaching disciplines aimed at studying the methodological aspects of psychological and pedagogical research; 2) to identify the main guidelines for improving the ways to support the formation of SMK using examples from empirical studies of its development by students in the educational process, from the generalisation of the practical experience of the authors. Methodology and research methods. The research methodological framework was based on the approaches of Russian scientists to the methodological foundations of science and scientific research as a holistic knowledge, in which principles, norms, methods and scientific and cognitive activity are developed at the philosophical, general scientific, concrete scientific, methodical levels. Analysis, generalisation and systematisation were used as theoretical research methods; testing, survey, included observation and generalisation of experience were applied as empirical methods. To prove the propositions put forward by the authors, four empirically verifiable hypotheses were formulated. Two of them were confirmed: one was partially confirmed; the second one (about the absence of a connection between direct and remote forms with the formation of SMK) was not confirmed. In the mathematical and statistical interpretation of individual research results (correlation and variance types of analysis), the IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was employed. Results. The guidelines for supporting the development of SMK by students in the educational process were outlined: reliance on the creation of a research project by the trainee; placing the trainees in the position of an independent researcher; developing an understanding of the content and scope of the key concepts of research, its unity and integrity; paying special attention to the transformation of information and its presentation in various forms. Scientific novelty. The authors proposed and substantiated the idea of the study of the research methodological foundations as the development of SMK, which equips the researcher with an arsenal of guidelines, means and methods of action, providing the closest possible approach to the truth in the search for new scientific knowledge. Practical significance. The proposed approaches to the development of SMK can be used in the practice of studying disciplines devoted to the research methodological foundations in the social sciences and humanities, in support of students’ course projects and final qualifying works.Введение. Освоение студентами методологических основ научных исследований играет в профессиональном образовании важную роль, обеспечивая научную оснащенность профессионального мышления и готовность научно обосновывать практическую деятельность специалиста, формируя механизм интеллектуального и личностного саморазвития. Однако хотя сегодня издается многочисленная учебная литература, вводятся образовательные дисциплины, посвященные методологии науки и научных исследований, в большинстве создаваемых студентами учебно-научных продуктов (курсовые проекты, выпускные квалификационные работы и др.) методологические положения формулируются с ошибками, организация исследований, интерпретация и оформление их результатов неудовлетворительны. Это свидетельствует о наличии проблемы поиска способов повышения методологической грамотности, методологической компетентности, методологической культуры студентов и обусловливает острую актуальность исследований, в которых изучаются причины такой ситуации, разрабатываются способы повышения методологической компетентности студентов, освещается и обобщается опыт обучения методологическим знаниям, предлагаются способы совершенствования учебного процесса. Особенно значимо решение этой проблемы для специалистов гуманитарного профиля, имеющих дело с влиянием на сознание и личность человека, включенных в социальное регулирование поведения людей, в частности, для педагогов и психологов. Целями данной статьи являются: 1) обоснование теоретического подхода к научно-методическому обеспечению процесса овладения студентами методологическими основами научных исследований как к освоению научно-методологического знания (НМЗ) на основе анализа научной и учебно-методической литературы, практики преподавания дисциплин, направленных на изучение методологических аспектов психолого-педагогических исследований; 2) обозначение основных ориентиров совершенствования способов поддержки формирования НМЗ на примерах из эмпирических исследований его освоения студентами в образовательном процессе, из обобщения практического опыта авторов. Методология, методы и методики. Методологической основой исследования являются подходы отечественных ученых к методологическим основам науки и научных исследований как к целостному знанию, в котором на философском, общенаучном, конкретно-научном, методическом уровнях разрабатываются принципы, нормы, методы и научно-познавательной деятельности. В качестве теоретических методов исследования применялись анализ, обобщение, систематизация; использовались такие эмпирические методы, как тестирование, опрос, включенное наблюдение, обобщение опыта. Для доказательства положений, выдвинутых авторами, сформулированы четыре эмпирически верифицируемые гипотезы, две из которых подтвердились, одна подтвердилась частично, одна (об отсутствии связи между непосредственными и дистанционными формами с формированием НМЗ) не подтвердилась. При математико-статистической интерпретации отдельных результатов исследования (корреляционный и дисперсионный виды анализа) использовался статистический пакет IBM SPSS, версия 23. Результаты. Намечены ориентиры поддержки освоения студентами научно-методологического знания в учебном процессе: опора на создание обучаемым проекта исследования; постановка обучаемых в позицию независимого исследователя; выработка понимания у обучаемых содержания и объема ключевых понятий исследования, его единства и целостности; особое внимание преобразованию информации и представлению ее в различных формах. Научная новизна. Предложено и обосновано представление об изучении методологических основ исследований как освоении научно-методологического знания, вооружающего исследователя арсеналом ориентиров, средств и способов действий, обеспечивающих максимально возможное приближение к истине в поиске нового научного знания. Практическая значимость. Предложенные подходы к освоению НМЗ могут использоваться в практике изучения дисциплин, посвященных методологическим основам исследований в социально-гуманитарных науках, в поддержке выполнения студентами курсовых проектов и выпускных квалификационных работ

Принципиальное значение запрета на поворот к худшему для уголовно-процессуальной системы

The article deals with the problem of the expediency of a criminal case’s returning to the prosecutor at the stage of appointment and preparation of a court session in Russian criminal proceedings. This problem is relevant to the science of criminal procedure.The purpose of the study is to analyze critically the practice of returning of a criminal case back to the prosecutor in order to correct mistakes made at the pre-trial stages of the proceedings according to the new concept of justice independence and the absence of an accusatory bias in the court functioning.The methodological basis of the study is a set of scientific techniques, focused mostly on the dialectical approach, which made it possible to determine the essential characteristics of the prohibition to turn the criminal proceedings in Russia for the worse. Both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, systematic method) and specific scientific methods (formal-legal, historical-legal, comparative-legal) of knowledge were also used. The analysis helped to formulate the position of understanding the turn for the worse as an independent principle of criminal procedural law, to study the procedural form of the turn for the worse. The synthesis method made it possible to determine the return of the criminal case to the prosecutor at the stage of appointment and preparation of the court session as a holistic institution of the criminal procedure. The systematic approach allowed to determine not only the mixed nature of the mechanism for changing the prosecution to a more serious one, but the investigative organization of pre-trial proceedings and its place in the structure of criminal proceedings, the separation of the investigative and “accusatory powers” of the prosecutors as well as their balance. The historical method let us trace the evolution of the prohibition to turn the Soviet and Russian criminal procedural systems for the worse. The comparative-legal method made it possible to assess the potential of domestic legislators' reception of foreign experience of regulating the prohibition to turn for the worse and formulate proposals to improve the Russian criminal procedural legislation.The main scientific results of this research consist of justification of the conclusion of the conversion expediency of the domestic judicial proceedings to the adversarial model of accusation which is carried out within the trial on the previously filed charge. The presentation of a new charge (criminal action) in court and the procedure of supplementing the charge change it for the worse. This model of re-indictment for the worse for the defendant appears to be fairer and more convenient both for the prosecuting authority and for the legal organization of combating crime. The changeover to the suggested form of implementation of the ban to turn for the worse in the institution of bringing and changing charges in court is possible only in a systematic link with the reform of the preliminary investigation. Conclusion. The institution of the criminal case returning by the court to the prosecutor in order to change the charge to a more serious one when implementing the adversarial model of bringing charges in the criminal procedure system of Russia will fully satisfy the concept of independence of justice administration and the absence of an accusatory bias in the activities of the court, while at the same time with fairly organized the prosecutorial power aimed at countering crime.The section 1 was prepared by N.N. Lysov, section 2 by K.D. Vanyan (together with M.T. Tashilin), section 3 by A.S. Shuisky (together with I.R. Gilmanov), section 4 by V.V. Kosterin.Исследование посвящено актуальной для уголовно-процессуальной науки проблеме целесообразности существования в российском уголовном судопроизводстве института возвращения прокурору уголовного дела на стадии назначения и подготовки судебного заседания. По мнению авторов, запрет на поворот к худшему имеет более фундаментальное значение для уголовно-процессуальной системы, чем ему обычно приписывает теория. Справедливость и эффективность процедуры возвращения судом дела на доследование, позволяющей следователю изменить положение подсудимого посредством предъявления нового обвинения, сомнительны. Предпочтительнее выглядит модель изменения государственным обвинителем обвинения в суде с соблюдением состязательной процедуры, существующая в ряде государств, имеющих состязательный тип уголовного судопроизводства.Раздел 1 подготовлен Н.Н. Лысовым, раздел 2 – К.Д. Ванян (совместно с М.Т. Тащилиным ), раздел 3 – А.С. Шуйским (совместно с И.Р. Гильмановым), раздел 4 – В.В. Костериным

Efficacy of Esophageal Protector in Treating Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease with Extraesophageal Symptoms: a Multicenter, Open-Label, Observational Study

Aim: to assess effects of esophageal protector Alfasoxx on extraesophageal symptoms in patients with GERD.Materials and methods. A prospective open multicenter post-registration observational study was conducted. The study included 546 patients aged 6 to 85 years (the average age of patients is 42.4 ± 16.9 years) with a verified diagnosis of GERD (endoscopically and/or pH-metrically), the presence of extraesophageal symptoms of the disease (according to the results of an objective examination and consultations of specialists), to whom the attending physician prescribed a course of treatment with a medical device Alfasoxx in accordance with the instructions for medical use. The patients were recruited by 51 researchers in 26 cities of Russia. The study in chronological order consisted of a screening visit and two recorded visits (the observation period within the framework of the use of the Alfasoxx esophagoprotector). The screening visit was conducted on the day of the patient's admission. Visit 1 could be conducted on the same day as the screening visit, whereas visit 2 was conducted 4–5 weeks after visit 1 at the end of the course of treatment.Results. According to the results obtained, at the end of the study, 42.7 % (95 % CI: 38.5–46.9) had complete disappearance of extraesophageal GERD symptoms (questionnaire RSI = 0 points). When comparing the average values of the total RSI score before and after treatment, there was also a statistically significant regression from 13.8 points (95 % CI: 13.2–14.4) at visit 1 to 2.0 points (95 % CI: 1.8–2.2) at visit 2. Thus, the decrease in the total score was significant and exceeded 80 % of the initial value. When analyzing the dynamics of individual indicators of the RSI scale before and after treatment, a significant regression in the severity of all symptoms of the disease was noted. In addition, the results showed that the proportion of patients taking antacid-containing drugs at visit 1 significantly decreased from 58.2 % (95 % CI: 54.0–62.4) to 15.2 % (95 % CI: 12.1–18.3) by visit 2. The average score on the Likert scale of satisfaction with treatment was 4.8 (95 % CI: 4.8–4.9), whereas the convenience of using Alfasoxx is 4.7.Conclusion. This prospective observational multicenter study demonstrated that the addition of Alfasoxx to standard GERD therapy contributes to a significant regression of both esophageal and extraesophageal symptoms, as well as a decrease in the need for antacid medications