Tiotropium versus Salmeterol for the Prevention of Exacerbations of COPD

BACKGROUND Treatment guidelines recommend the use of inhaled long-acting bronchodilators to alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of exacerbations in patients with moderate-tovery-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but do not specify whether a long-acting anticholinergic drug or a β2-agonist is the preferred agent. We investigated whether the anticholinergic drug tiotropium is superior to the β2-agonist salmeterol in preventing exacerbations of COPD. METHODS In a 1-year, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group trial, we compared the effect of treatment with 18 μg of tiotropium once daily with that of 50 μg of salmeterol twice daily on the incidence of moderate or severe exacerbations in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD and a history of exacerbations in the preceding year. RESULTS A total of 7376 patients were randomly assigned to and treated with tiotropium (3707 patients) or salmeterol (3669 patients). Tiotropium, as compared with salmeterol, increased the time to the first exacerbation (187 days vs. 145 days), with a 17% reduction in risk (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77 to 0.90; P<0.001). Tiotropium also increased the time to the first severe exacerbation (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.85; P<0.001), reduced the annual number of moderate or severe exacerbations (0.64 vs. 0.72; rate ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.96; P=0.002), and reduced the annual number of severe exacerbations (0.09 vs. 0.13; rate ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.82; P<0.001). Overall, the incidence of serious adverse events and of adverse events leading to the discontinuation of treatment was similar in the two study groups. There were 64 deaths (1.7%) in the tiotropium group and 78 (2.1%) in the salmeterol group. CONCLUSIONS These results show that, in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD, tiotropium is more effective than salmeterol in preventing exacerbations. (Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00563381.

Efficiency of use of waste heat energy on the example of Chelyabinsk

We consider the possibility of improving the existing heat-suppling system in Chelyabinsk through the introduction of heat pump technology for the disposal of waste low-grade heat. Sources of information concerning the ways of utilization of waste thermal energy, the principles of work of heat pumps, classification of city sources of waste heat are analyzed. The technique directed to assess the effectiveness of applying heat pumps for each category of city sources of waste thermal energy is designed. The calculated assessment showed that the utilization of waste heat in the conditions of Chelyabinsk will reduce the annual energy of fuel consumption by 2.2 million tons of conventional fuel (24.9%). At the same time, thermal pollution will decrease by 1.5 million tons of equivalent fuel. This effect is possible with the use of heat pumps with a total heat output of 1,145 MW

Розробка методичного підходу до формування конкурентної стратегії Білгород-Дністровського торговельного морського порту

The object of research is the process of forming directions of increasing the competitiveness of ports, which is the result of the interaction of all elements of their production system and the external environment of providing port services. The article proposes to start the formation of a competitive strategy for the calculation of market shares of ports and the establishment of priority competitors on the basis of separation from the whole complex of those that are in close proximity to the port or have a significant impact on its activities.In the process of development of a competitive strategy of the port, it is expedient to allocate the goods which have the greatest weight in the structure of cargo turnover of the port. Such goods for port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi  in 2016–2017 years are timber (89.61–59.15 %) and grain (1.28–10.61 %).The share of port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi for timber in the  structure of the Ukraine’s ports  is rather significant and overwhelming (67.76 %).Thus, the main factor in the competition of the port is not only the quality of port services, but its accessibility to internal transport systems, the development of cross-border rates of practice. The paper proposes a systematic approach to substantiate the competitive strategy of a seaport using an economic-mathematical model of cargo distribution between ports in the process of forming cargoes delivery schemes from senders to consumers.Mathematical model of the problem in the general form and the results of calculations of a control example for substantiation of the competitive strategy of the sea trading port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi are presented in the article.The effect in the transport system is achieved by saving expenses from transportation and handling of cargoes in the amount of 1010 thousand UAH. It can be concluded that the use of the system approach allows obtaining the synergy effect in achieving the optimal strategy of competitiveness of the port infrastructure of the region. It is proposed to determine the optimal cargo turnover of ports in condition of optimal organization of their work. The method of modeling the entire transport system for the delivery of cargoes through the sea ports of transshipment can be the basis of state management in Ukraine of regional seaports competitivenessРассмотрены методические аспекты формирования конкурентной стратегии морского порта как регионального транспортного узла. Описано использование для этих целей экономико-математической модели транспортной системы доставки грузов от отправителей до получателей через порты перевалки. Моделирование рыночной среды позволяет обосновать структуру грузооборота портов и их специализацию по родам грузов. Приведены результаты расчетов контрольного примера для обоснования конкурентної стратегии Белгород-Днестровского морского торгового портаРозглянуто методичні аспекти формування конкурентної стратегії морського порту як регіонального транспортного вузла. Описано використання для цих цілей економіко-математичної моделі транспортної системи доставки вантажів від відправників до одержувачів через порти перевалки. Моделювання ринкового середовища дозволяє обґрунтувати структуру вантажообігу портів та їх спеціалізацію по видах вантажів. Наведено результати розрахунків контрольного прикладу для обґрунтування конкурентної стратегії Білгород-Дністровського морського торговельного порт

Розробка методичного підходу до формування конкурентної стратегії Білгород-Дністровського торговельного морського порту

The object of research is the process of forming directions of increasing the competitiveness of ports, which is the result of the interaction of all elements of their production system and the external environment of providing port services. The article proposes to start the formation of a competitive strategy for the calculation of market shares of ports and the establishment of priority competitors on the basis of separation from the whole complex of those that are in close proximity to the port or have a significant impact on its activities.In the process of development of a competitive strategy of the port, it is expedient to allocate the goods which have the greatest weight in the structure of cargo turnover of the port. Such goods for port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi  in 2016–2017 years are timber (89.61–59.15 %) and grain (1.28–10.61 %).The share of port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi for timber in the  structure of the Ukraine’s ports  is rather significant and overwhelming (67.76 %).Thus, the main factor in the competition of the port is not only the quality of port services, but its accessibility to internal transport systems, the development of cross-border rates of practice. The paper proposes a systematic approach to substantiate the competitive strategy of a seaport using an economic-mathematical model of cargo distribution between ports in the process of forming cargoes delivery schemes from senders to consumers.Mathematical model of the problem in the general form and the results of calculations of a control example for substantiation of the competitive strategy of the sea trading port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi are presented in the article.The effect in the transport system is achieved by saving expenses from transportation and handling of cargoes in the amount of 1010 thousand UAH. It can be concluded that the use of the system approach allows obtaining the synergy effect in achieving the optimal strategy of competitiveness of the port infrastructure of the region. It is proposed to determine the optimal cargo turnover of ports in condition of optimal organization of their work. The method of modeling the entire transport system for the delivery of cargoes through the sea ports of transshipment can be the basis of state management in Ukraine of regional seaports competitivenessРассмотрены методические аспекты формирования конкурентной стратегии морского порта как регионального транспортного узла. Описано использование для этих целей экономико-математической модели транспортной системы доставки грузов от отправителей до получателей через порты перевалки. Моделирование рыночной среды позволяет обосновать структуру грузооборота портов и их специализацию по родам грузов. Приведены результаты расчетов контрольного примера для обоснования конкурентної стратегии Белгород-Днестровского морского торгового портаРозглянуто методичні аспекти формування конкурентної стратегії морського порту як регіонального транспортного вузла. Описано використання для цих цілей економіко-математичної моделі транспортної системи доставки вантажів від відправників до одержувачів через порти перевалки. Моделювання ринкового середовища дозволяє обґрунтувати структуру вантажообігу портів та їх спеціалізацію по видах вантажів. Наведено результати розрахунків контрольного прикладу для обґрунтування конкурентної стратегії Білгород-Дністровського морського торговельного порт

Development of the Methodical Approach to the Formation of a Competitiveness Strategy Bilgorod-Dnestrovskiy Sea Trading Port

The object of research is the process of forming directions of increasing the competitiveness of ports, which is the result of the interaction of all elements of their production system and the external environment of providing port services. The article proposes to start the formation of a competitive strategy for the calculation of market shares of ports and the establishment of priority competitors on the basis of separation from the whole complex of those that are in close proximity to the port or have a significant impact on its activities.In the process of development of a competitive strategy of the port, it is expedient to allocate the goods which have the greatest weight in the structure of cargo turnover of the port. Such goods for port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in 2016–2017 years are timber (89.61–59.15 %) and grain (1.28–10.61 %).The share of port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi for timber in the structure of the Ukraine's ports is rather significant and overwhelming (67.76 %).Thus, the main factor in the competition of the port is not only the quality of port services, but its accessibility to internal transport systems, the development of cross-border rates of practice. The paper proposes a systematic approach to substantiate the competitive strategy of a seaport using an economic-mathematical model of cargo distribution between ports in the process of forming cargoes delivery schemes from senders to consumers.Mathematical model of the problem in the general form and the results of calculations of a control example for substantiation of the competitive strategy of the sea trading port of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi are presented in the article.The effect in the transport system is achieved by saving expenses from transportation and handling of cargoes in the amount of 1010 thousand UAH. It can be concluded that the use of the system approach allows obtaining the synergy effect in achieving the optimal strategy of competitiveness of the port infrastructure of the region. It is proposed to determine the optimal cargo turnover of ports in condition of optimal organization of their work. The method of modeling the entire transport system for the delivery of cargoes through the sea ports of transshipment can be the basis of state management in Ukraine of regional seaports competitivenes

Numerical Modeling of the Ash Cloud Movement from the Catastrophic Eruption of the Sheveluch Volcano in November 1964

This paper reconstructs, for the first time, the motion dynamics of an eruptive cloud formed during the catastrophic eruption of the Sheveluch volcano in November 1964 (Volcanic Explosivity Index 4+). This became possible due to the public availability of atmospheric reanalysis data from the ERA-40 archive of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the development of numerical modeling of volcanic ash cloud propagation. The simulation of the eruptive cloud motion process, which was carried out using the FALL3D and PUFF models, made it possible to clarify the sequence of events of this eruption (destruction of extrusive domes in the crater and the formation of an eruptive column and pyroclastic flows), which lasted only 1 h 12 min. During the eruption, the ash cloud consisted of two parts: the main eruptive cloud that rose up to 15,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.), and the co-ignimbrite cloud that formed above the moving pyroclastic flows. The ashfall in Ust-Kamchatsk (Kamchatka) first occurred out of the eruptive cloud moving at a higher speed, then out of the co-ignimbrite cloud. In Nikolskoye (Bering Island, Commander Islands), ash fell only out of the co-ignimbrite cloud. Under the turbulent diffusion, the forefront of the main eruptive cloud rose slowly in the atmosphere and reached 16,500 m a.s.l. by 04:07 UTC on November 12. Three days after the eruption began, the eruptive cloud stretched for 3000 km over the territories of the countries of Russia, Canada, the USA, Mexico, and over both the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is assumed that the well-known long-term decrease in the solar radiation intensity in the northern latitudes from 1963&ndash;1966, which was established according to the world remote sensing data, was associated with the spread of aerosol clouds formed not only by the Agung volcano, but those formed during the 1964 Sheveluch volcano catastrophic eruption

Numerical Modeling of the Ash Cloud Movement from the Catastrophic Eruption of the Sheveluch Volcano in November 1964

This paper reconstructs, for the first time, the motion dynamics of an eruptive cloud formed during the catastrophic eruption of the Sheveluch volcano in November 1964 (Volcanic Explosivity Index 4+). This became possible due to the public availability of atmospheric reanalysis data from the ERA-40 archive of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the development of numerical modeling of volcanic ash cloud propagation. The simulation of the eruptive cloud motion process, which was carried out using the FALL3D and PUFF models, made it possible to clarify the sequence of events of this eruption (destruction of extrusive domes in the crater and the formation of an eruptive column and pyroclastic flows), which lasted only 1 h 12 min. During the eruption, the ash cloud consisted of two parts: the main eruptive cloud that rose up to 15,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.), and the co-ignimbrite cloud that formed above the moving pyroclastic flows. The ashfall in Ust-Kamchatsk (Kamchatka) first occurred out of the eruptive cloud moving at a higher speed, then out of the co-ignimbrite cloud. In Nikolskoye (Bering Island, Commander Islands), ash fell only out of the co-ignimbrite cloud. Under the turbulent diffusion, the forefront of the main eruptive cloud rose slowly in the atmosphere and reached 16,500 m a.s.l. by 04:07 UTC on November 12. Three days after the eruption began, the eruptive cloud stretched for 3000 km over the territories of the countries of Russia, Canada, the USA, Mexico, and over both the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is assumed that the well-known long-term decrease in the solar radiation intensity in the northern latitudes from 1963–1966, which was established according to the world remote sensing data, was associated with the spread of aerosol clouds formed not only by the Agung volcano, but those formed during the 1964 Sheveluch volcano catastrophic eruption

Classification of Video Observation Data for Volcanic Activity Monitoring Using Computer Vision and Modern Neural NetWorks (on Klyuchevskoy Volcano Example)

Currently, video observation systems are actively used for volcano activity monitoring. Video cameras allow us to remotely assess the state of a dangerous natural object and to detect thermal anomalies if technical capabilities are available. However, continuous use of visible band cameras instead of special tools (for example, thermal cameras), produces large number of images, that require the application of special algorithms both for preliminary filtering out the images with area of interest hidden due to weather or illumination conditions, and for volcano activity detection. Existing algorithms use preselected regions of interest in the frame for analysis. This region could be changed occasionally to observe events in a specific area of the volcano. It is a problem to set it in advance and keep it up to date, especially for an observation network with multiple cameras. The accumulated perennial archives of images with documented eruptions allow us to use modern deep learning technologies for whole frame analysis to solve the specified task. The article presents the development of algorithms to classify volcano images produced by video observation systems. The focus is on developing the algorithms to create a labelled dataset from an unstructured archive using existing and authors proposed techniques. The developed solution was tested using the archive of the video observation system for the volcanoes of Kamchatka, in particular the observation data for the Klyuchevskoy volcano. The tests show the high efficiency of the use of convolutional neural networks in volcano image classification, and the accuracy of classification achieved 91%. The resulting dataset consisting of 15,000 images and labelled in three classes of scenes is the first dataset of this kind of Kamchatka volcanoes. It can be used to develop systems for monitoring other stratovolcanoes that occupy most of the video frame

Використання економетричних моделей для аналізу розвитку підприємства на прикладі морських торговельних портів

Гіріна, О. Б. Використання економетричних моделей для аналізу розвитку підприємства на прикладі морських торговельних портів = Use of econometric models for analysis of enterprise development on the example of sea trading ports / О. Б. Гіріна, А. С. Литвиненко // Зб. наук. пр. НУК. – Миколаїв : НУК, 2021. – № 4 (487). – С. 59–65.У статті розглядаються економетричні моделі для цілей аналізу та прогнозу розвитку підприємства. Охарактеризовано двофакторні виробничі функції, які дозволяють пов’язати розмір результатів виробничої діяльності з витратами ресурсів підприємства: функції з фіксованими пропорціями чинників (функція Леонтьєва), мультиплікативної виробничої функції (функції Кобба-Дугласа), лінійної функції, функції Аллена, функції постійної еластичності заміщення чинників (функції CES). Наведені приклади ситуацій в економіці для їх використання. Для аналізу та прогнозу розвитку морських торговельних портів визначено два напрями використання економетричних моделей, як-от вивчення динаміки вантажопотоків морських портів і оцінка впливу обсягів ресурсів на валовий дохід. Подано огляд наукових досліджень у цих напрямах. Методом дослідження є статистичне моделювання функції Кобба-Дугласа, розрахунок її параметрів із використанням методу найменших квадратів за допомогою програми Excel «Пошук рішення». Об’єктом дослідження є порти України. Предметом – вплив виробничих ресурсів на розвиток цих підприємств. На основі статистичних даних побудована функція Кобба-Дугласа в темпах приросту, розраховані загальні частки основних виробничих фондів, чисельності працівників у темпах приросту доходу, аналізується вплив інтенсивного та екстенсивного виробництва на темп приросту доходу. Вивчаються частки екстенсивного та інтенсивного приросту доходу за рахунок фондів та чисельності. Рівноважний розвиток характеризується рівністю темпів приросту валового доходу та обсягу основних виробничих фондів. Використовуючи рівноважну норму капітальних вкладень, підприємство досягає найбільш сталого розвитку. Для аналізу характеру розвитку розглянуто показники фактичної рівноважної норми капітальних вкладень та їх ефективності. Ці показники пов’язані з коефіцієнтами еластичності функції Кобба-Дугласа та темпами приросту ресурсів підприємства. Застосування функції Кобба-Дугласа дозволило виявити сильні та слабкі сторони підприємств, визначити умови збалансованого розвитку та підвищення ефективності виробництва. Розрахунки дають змогу прогнозувати та аналізувати валовий дохід або обсяги виробництва залежно від факторів виробництва екстенсивного та інтенсивного характеру.The article considers econometric models for the purposes of analysis and forecasting of enterprise development. The characteristics of two-factor production functions are given: functions with fixed proportions of factors (Leontief function), multiplicative production function (Cobb-Douglas function), linear function, Allen function, functions of constant elasticity of substitution of factors (CES functions). They allow to connect the size of production results with the costs of enterprise resources: production assets and the number of production workers. The situations in economics for their use are given. For the analysis and forecast of development of sea trade ports two directions of use of econometric models are defined: first, studying of dynamics of cargo flows of sea ports; second, the assessment of the impact of resources on gross income. An overview of scientific research in these areas is given. The research method is statistical modeling of the Cobb-Douglas function, calculation of its parameters using the least squares method using Excel Solution Search. The object of research is the ports of Ukraine. The subject of the study is the impact of production resources on the development of these enterprises. Based on statistics the Cobb-Douglas function in the growth rate was constructed, the total shares of fixed assets, the number of employees in the income growth rate were calculated, the influence of intensive and extensive production on the income growth rate was analyzed. The shares of extensive and intensive income growth at the expense of funds and numbers were studied. Equilibrium development is characterized by equal growth rates of gross income and the volume of fixed assets. Using the equilibrium rate of capital investment, the company achieves the most sustainable development. The indicators of the actual, equilibrium rate of capital investment and their efficiency were analyzed. These figures are related to the coefficients of elasticity of the Cobb-Douglas function and the growth rate of enterprise resources. Application of Cobb-Douglas function allowed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of enterprises, to determine the conditions for balanced development and increase production efficiency. Calculations make it possible to forecast and analyze gross income or production volumes depending on the factors of production of extensive and intensive nature