The role of Greek culture representation in socio-economic development of the southern regions of Russia

This article researches how the Greek lingvoculture represented in onomasticon of the South of Russia. The South Russian anthroponyms, toponyms and pragmatonyms are considered in this article and how they verbalize the most important values and ideological views. It is proved in the article that the key concepts of the Greek lingvoculture such as: “Peace”, “Faith”, “Love”, “Heroism”, “Knowledge”, “Alphabet”, “Power”, “Charismatic person” and “Craft” are highly concentrated in the onomastic lexis of the researched region. The mentioned above concepts due to their specific pragmatic orientation are represented at different extend.peer-reviewe

The budgeting mechanism in development companies

Relevance of the researched problem is caused by the fact that today there is a requirement for a unique, generalized, theoretically and methodically elaborated budgeting mechanism disaggregating the aims of strategic level to the level of structural units of the company. The aim of article is to develop methodical provisions and practical recommendations to harmonize a budgeting mechanism of development companies on the basis of direct interrelation of current budgeting and strategic objectives of company development. The leading approach to a research of this problem is the classical approach allowing revealing sources and directions of financial resources application of commercial organizations and also ensuring their balance. The main results of a research are the expansion of a budgeting concept as a type of financial planning, the author’s technique of budgeting is suggested that is based on the indicators of assets turnover ratio, sales profitability and return on assets as the main characteristics of activity efficiency of a development company. Materials of the article can be useful in financial management enhancement and forming an effective budgeting mechanism in development companies. © 2016 Kovaleva et al

Udmurt Folk Calendar and Rural Society

The present paper aims to analyze rituals and festivals of the Udmurt calendar which convey the idea of interrelationship between the producing energy of the nature and of the human being taking into consideration folk beliefs about time as well as age and gender stratification of a rural community. It is established that men played an important role in the process of praying, while “female” theme was the quintessence of spring rites the main functions of which were fertility and production. Elderly women played a special role - not only did they supervise ritual activities, but also initiated some occasional rites, and, if required, they could also establish a contact with the other world. The youth took an active part in festivals held in the beginning of half-years considered as equivalent periods ( palar ) of a calendar cycle, i.e. in spring and in autumn. Young boys and girls were main participants in spring and summer merrymaking and round dances as well as autumn and winter gatherings. The rituals of this cycle were aimed at making pairs with a view of entering into a marriage. A holiday eve could be associated with puberty. Children participated in games which corresponded to rituals. The research presents main characters of the ritual scenario which symbolize quality changes in the nature’s cycle and human life. The article focuses on the functions of those characters and peculiarities of their behavioural stereotypes

Organolanthanide complexes supported by thiazole-containing amidopyridinate ligands: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity in isoprene polymerization

© 2014 American Chemical Society. Neutral bis(alkyl)-organolanthanide complexes supported by tridentate {N-,N,N} monoanionic 5-methylthiazole- or benzothiazole-amidopyridinate ligands have been prepared and completely characterized: (LThiaMe2)Ln(CH2SiMe3)2 [Ln = Lu3+ (3), Er3+ (7), Yb3+ (8)] and (LBnThMe2)Lu(CH2SiMe3)2 (5). Similarly to related Y3+ systems, the nature of the thiazole unit controls the ultimate catalyst stability in solution. In the diamagnetic Lu3+ complex 5, a progressive and complete rearrangement of its metal coordination sphere takes place through a metal-to-ligand alkyl migration with subsequent benzothiazole ring-opening and generation of the Lu3+ mono(alkyl)-arylthiolate species stabilized by a tetradentate {N-,N,N,S-} dianionic ligand. On the other hand, the 5-methylthiazole-containing complexes 3, 7, and 8 showed no evidence of any ligand rearrangement. Complexes 3-8 have been tested as homogeneous catalysts in isoprene (IP) polymerization, after activation with selected organoborates. Binary systems 3/TB and 7/TB [TB = tritylium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate] show the highest activity and living character toward IP polymerization, affording polymers with relatively high trans-1,4-selectivity (up to 76.4%), moderate molecular weights (Mn up to 146′000 g/mol), and narrow polydispersities (Mw/Mn). Depending on the rare-earth ion of choice, a prevalent trans-1,4 (Lu3+, Er3+, Yb3+; up to 76.4%) or a dominant 3,4 (Y3+; 92.7%) polymer structure is observed. The influence of the ligand type, metal ion, and activator(s) on the ultimate catalyst activity and selectivity is discussed

The UV Effect on the Chemiresistive Response of ZnO Nanostructures to Isopropanol and Benzene at PPM Concentrations in Mixture with Dry and Wet Air

Towards the development of low-power miniature gas detectors, there is a high interest in the research of light-activated metal oxide gas sensors capable to operate at room temperature (RT). Herein, we study ZnO nanostructures grown by the electrochemical deposition method over Si/SiO$_{2}$ substrates equipped by multiple Pt electrodes to serve as on-chip gas monitors and thoroughly estimate its chemiresistive performance upon exposing to two model VOCs, isopropanol and benzene, in a wide operating temperature range, from RT to 350 °C, and LED-powered UV illumination, 380 nm wavelength; the dry air and humid-enriched, 50 rel. %, air are employed as a background. We show that the UV activation allows one to get a distinctive chemiresistive signal of the ZnO sensor to isopropanol at RT regardless of the interfering presence of H$_{2}$O vapors. On the contrary, the benzene vapors do not react with UV-illuminated ZnO at RT under dry air while the humidity’s appearance gives an opportunity to detect this gas. Still, both VOCs are well detected by the ZnO sensor under heating at a 200–350 °C range independently on additional UV exciting. We employ quantum chemical calculations to explain the differences between these two VOCs’ interactions with ZnO surface by a remarkable distinction of the binding energies characterizing single molecules, which is −0.44 eV in the case of isopropanol and −3.67 eV in the case of benzene. The full covering of a ZnO supercell by H$_{2}$O molecules taken for the effect’s estimation shifts the binding energies to −0.50 eV and −0.72 eV, respectively. This theory insight supports the experimental observation that benzene could not react with ZnO surface at RT under employed LED UV without humidity’s presence, indifference to isopropanol

Features of Obtaining Biomethane from Organic Waste

В статье рассмотрен биогаз, который является экологически чистым видом энергии. Представлены преимущества и недостатки биогазовой установки, принцип работы данного устройства. Также приводится источники биогаза и его химический состав.The article considers biogas, which is an environmentally friendly type of energy. The advantages and disadvantages of a biogas plant, the principle of operation of this device are presented. The sources of biogas and its chemical composition are also given

Efficacy and tolerability of abatacept treatment: results of 12 months observation

Objectives: This article reports 1-year clinical outcomes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving abatacept (ABA) therapy. Materials and methods: Patients (n=91) with high RA activity (DAS28 = 5.1 ± 1.0) and an inadequate response on synthetic DMARDs (mainly methotrexate, 70.3%) and biologics (mainly TNF-α inhibitors, 93%) were included in the study. The majority of patients were middle-aged (49 ± 13.5) womens, RF (72.5%) and ACPA (77%) positive, with moderate functional impairment - HAQ = 1.4 (0.9-2). ABA were administered IV, 10 mg/kg according to the standard scheme. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the therapy was carried out according to the EULAR / ACR 2011 criteria using SDAI, CDAI, HAQ and the intention to treat approach. Results: ABA led to a significant (

THE TIME COURSE OF CHANGES IN BIOMARKER LEVELS AND THE ULTRASONIC SIGNS OF INFLAMMATION IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Subclinical inflammation detected by ultrasonography (USG) promotes the progression of joint injury in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Performed studies ambiguously assess the association of disease activity indices with the Doppler ultrasonic signs of synovitis and the serum concentration of cytokines in patents with RA.Subjects and methods. Thirty-eight patients with early RA, who were followed up within the framework of the REMARCA program, were examined. All the patients' therapy was started with subcutaneous methotrexate (MTX) with its rapid dose escalation up to 20–30 mg/week and assessment of the achievement of the treatment goal (low disease activity or remission) every 3 months according to the reason why a decision had been made to add biological agents to the therapy. Clinical and standard laboratory parameters with calculated disease activity indices (DAS28, CDAI, SDAI) were analyzed immediately before and 12, 24, and 48 weeks after treatment. Blood cytokine concentrations were determined by the xMAP multiplex technology before and then 12 and 24 weeks after therapy. USG of 8 joint areas of the hands and feet was undertaken prior to and then 12, 24, and 48 weeks following treatment. Gray-scale synovial hypertrophy and synovial power Doppler (PD) signals were rated for each joint area (0 to 3 scores).Results and discussion. During the drug therapy, all the patients showed improvement with a reduction in activity indices (DAS28, SDAI, CDAI; p < 0.001) and PD signals (p < 0.05). After 12 months of therapy, the ultrasonic signs of remission were found in 4 (21%) patients with clinical remission, amounting to 11% of all the patients included in the study. In a group of patients with active inflammation persisting after 48 weeks of therapy, the basal concentration of interleukin-6 (IL-6) was significantly higher than that in a group without signs of inflammation (p = 0.025). There was a trend for higher tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in the persistent inflammation group (p = 0.06); however, following 24 weeks, the concentration of TNF-α in the patients with persistent synovitis was significantly higher than in those without the latter (p = 0.045). The baseline level of IL-6 as a prognostic factor showed satisfactory sensitivity (71%) and specificity (67%) for a cut-off value of 46.02 pg/ml (p < 0.025). The TNF-α level of ≤51.79 pg/mg achieved after 6 months was associated with the absence of active inflammation, as evidenced by PD with 64% sensitivity and 62.5% specificity (p < 0.046). The predictive value of DAS28 following 24 weeks (3.26) was lower than that of IL-6. Thus, PD USG of hand and foot joints is a sensitive and specific method to assess RA activity. The association of the basal level of IL-6 (and TNF-α to a lesser extent) with ultrasonic changes after 48 weeks of therapy may suggest that PD USG can more accurately characterize inflammation activity than can the disease activity indices

EVALUATION OF THE EFFICIENCY OF TOCILIZUMAB THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS BY ULTRASOUND AND X-RAY DATA

Objective: to estimate the time course of changes in the ultrasound signs of wrist joint synovitis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during tocilizumab (TCZ) treatment and to determine whether the progression of joint X-ray changes can be predicted by ultrasonography (USG). Subjects and methods. The investigation enrolled 46 patients with the diagnosis of RA that met the American College of Rheumatology 1987 criteria. All the patients were given TCZ during insufficiently effective previous therapy (median DAS28 was 6.7 [range 5.9—7.2]). They were divided into 2 groups: 1) early RA (ERA) with a disease history of less than 2 years (n = 11); 2) RA with a history of over 2 years (n = 35). Hand USG (Voluson-i GE, USA) with a 4—13-MHz linear probe using an energy Doppler (ED) was carried out before and 6 months after therapy. Structural changes were evaluated by hand and foot X-ray study (before and at 12-month follow-up) according to the Sharp method modified by van der Heide. Results. Dynamic evaluation of the ultrasound signs of inflammation indicated a significant reduction in the magnitude of synovitis in accordance with the gray-scale data in both groups and only in the patients with ERA in the ED mode. There was a clear association of the annual increment in joint X-ray changes with the result of estimation of the magnitude of synovitis according to the ED data (r = 0.669; p < 0.01). Conclusion. Wrist joint sonography allows evaluation of the efficiency of the performed therapy in patients with RA and the presence of moderate or severe synovitis, as evidenced by ED, is a predictor for the progression of joint destruction