Machuella hippy sp. n. (Acarina, Oribatida, Oppiidae) from Austria

Machuella hippy sp. n. is described from Austria, Vienna Leopoldsberg. It difflers from other species of Machuella in the two chitinous lines on the notogaster, in the extremely long curled epimeral hairs and in the lack of epimeres III and IV

Medioppia centrodentata sp. n. (Acarina, Oribatei, Oppiidae) from Bulgaria

<i>Medioppia centrodentata</i> sp. n. is described from the Pirin mountains, Bulgaria. It differs from the other species of <i>Medioppia</i> in the form and size of the medial tooth on the rostrum, the form of the tubercles and bothridia, the central base of the prodorsum and the hairs on epimeron IV

Portable potentiometric device for determining the antioxidant capacity

At present, the development of portable devices for the express assessment of the content of biologically active objects, such as antioxidants, is one of the relevant technological problems of modern chemistry, medicine, and engineering. The main advantages of such devices are the simplicity and rapidity of analysis, small volumes of analyte, as well as miniaturization of equipment, making it possible to carry out the on-site analysis and, thus, to take a step towards the personalized medicine. The potentiometric method using the K3[Fe(CN)6]/K4[Fe(CN)6] system, which in the laboratory-scale version proved to be the most accurate, reproducible, and express, was the basis for the developed prototypes of portable devices. In this study, two versions of prototypes of the portable device are proposed, namely, the open microcell with the 0.2 ml volume and the microfluidic device with flow control. The correctness of the antioxidant capacity (AOC) determination in both systems was confirmed by comparing the results of the "introduced-found" method on model solutions of antioxidants and their mixtures with the AOC results obtained in a standard laboratory electrochemical cell. The relative standard deviation did not exceed 10%. The AOC of some beverage industry was determined using the microfluidic device. The correlation coefficient of the results, obtained in the microfluidic device and the laboratory cell, was 0.90, which indicates good data convergence and the possibility of using the potentiometric method implemented in the microfluidic device to assess the AOC of multicomponent objects

Обеспечение Качества Высшего Образования: Российские Особенности И Международный Опыт

The development of trends in modern society (with its fast expansion of innovative technologies and scientific-technical progress) requires education to be more efficient when training highly qualified specialists. It has become relevant to provide high-quality educational services in order to ensure that the training of personnel complies with the labor market’s requirements and needs. In the article, the authors have determined factors influencing the quality of educational services in a university and the goals for which university students get a higher education. Moreover, the authors have identified students’ satisfaction with the quality of education in higher education institutions. The authors have analyzed the assessment of educational services provided to university students. In the article, the authors characterize the meaning and functions of institutions at various levels in assuring the quality of higher education. Special attention has been paid to European institutions involved in the assessment and quality assurance of higher education.El desarrollo de tendencias en la sociedad moderna (con su rápido desarrollo de tecnologías innovadoras, progreso científico y técnico) requiere un aumento de la eficiencia en la educación de especialistas altamente calificados en educación. El tema de proporcionar servicios educativos de alta calidad con el objetivo de hacer coincidir el nivel de capacitación del personal con los requisitos y necesidades del mercado laboral se está convirtiendo en un tema de actualidad. El artículo identifica los factores que afectan la calidad de los servicios educativos en la universidad, el objetivo de obtener una educación superior para los estudiantes y los estudiantes universitarios, su nivel de satisfacción con la calidad de la educación y el proceso educativo en una institución de educación superior se ha aclarado. El análisis de la evaluación de los servicios educativos, que reciben los alumnos y universitarios. El artículo describe la importancia y las funciones de las instituciones de diferentes niveles para garantizar la calidad de la educación superior. Se presta especial atención a las instituciones europeas para la evaluación y el aseguramiento de la calidad de la educación superior.Развитие трендов в современном обществе (с его быстрым развитием инновационных технологий, научно-техническим прогрессом) требует от образования повышение эффективности в подготовке высококвалифицированных специалистов. Актуальным становится вопрос предоставления качественных образовательных услуг с целью соответствия уровня подготовки кадров требованиям и потребностям рынка труда. В статье определены факторы, влияющие на качество образовательных услуг в университете, цель получения высшего образования студентами и слушателями университета, выяснен уровень их удовлетворенности качеством образования и учебным процессом в учреждении высшего образования. Проведен анализ оценки образовательных услуг, которые получают студенты и слушатели университета. В статье дана характеристика значения и функций институтов разного уровня в обеспечении качества высшего образования. Отдельное внимание уделено европейским институтам оценки и обеспечения качества высшего образования

Yield and Quality in Purple-Grained Wheat Isogenic Lines

Breeding programs for purple wheat are underway in many countries but there is a lack of information on the effects of Pp (purple pericarp) genes on agronomic and quality traits in variable environments and along the product chain (grain-flour-bread). This study was based on unique material: two pairs of isogenic lines in a spring wheat cv. Saratovskaya-29 (S29) background differing only in Pp genes and grain color. In 2017, seven experiments were conducted in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey with a focus on genotype and environment interaction and, in 2018, one experiment in Turkey with a focus on grain, flour, and bread quality. The eect of environment was greater compared to genotype for the productivity and quality traits studied. Nevertheless, several important traits, such as grain color and anthocyanin content, are closely controlled by genotype, offering the opportunity for selection. Phenolic content in purple-grained lines was not significantly higher in whole wheat flour than in red-colored lines. However, this trait was significantly higher in bread. For antioxidant activities, no differences between the genotypes were detected in both experiments. Comparison of two sources of Pp genes demonstrated that the lines originating from cv. Purple Feed had substantially improved productivity and quality traits compared to those from cv. Purple

Eco-Economic Security of the Region: Expanding the Management System for Assessing the State of Development

Abstract- The problem of ensuring environmental and economic security for quite a long time remains relevant in the world community. It is the subject of continual scientific debates. The alignment of IT strategy which is a necessity. Information technology is useful for companies when they can be used in the right way. In this regard, learning can be an effective step in transferring knowledge to human and financial management. Unfortunately, in many cases the priority in strategic planning, namely in the mechanisms for implementing the existing strategies, is given to the interests of large manufacturers, whose goals (increase in profits, business costs, etc.) are often diametrically opposed to socio-ecological goals (for example, decrease of harmful emissions through spending more money on treatment plants in order to prevent natural degradation and morbidity of the population, etc.). The solution of this problem should be based on the concept of balanced eco-economic development and changes in the paradigm of entrepreneurship education. It is very important that any economic project is environmentally sound, and any environmental decision is economically feasible. At the same time every environmental decision should take into account the development of the well-being of citizens and the development of the region. All this requires the development of a whole system of stimulating the social and environmental responsibility of contaminating plants, both at the level of the state as a whole and at the regional level. In Russia, scientific research on this issue has been actively conducted for 10-15 years. Based on this research, some standard methods for assessing the eco-economic development of the territories were developed. However, in the context of current conditions, they need radical changes and new approaches. Let us consider this problem in more detail

Current Antimicrobial Stewardship Practice and Education in Russian Hospitals:Results of a Multicenter Survey

Proper antibiotic usage education and training of medical students and healthcare professionals is the cornerstone to implement antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs worldwide. We conducted this voluntary and anonymous survey on current and preferred educational provision of AMS in Russia. Among 1358 polled respondents from six participating Centers located in geographically remote Federal Districts of Russia, the majority were nurses (52.8%) and doctors (42.0%). Results of the survey demonstrated better coverage of education in AMS on an undergraduate level (57.1%). More than half of respondents in total (52.4%) stated they had not received any postgraduate training. Those 38.4% respondents who received postgraduate teaching in AMS stated that it had been provided substantially by an employing hospital (28.4%) or by a medical university/college (22.3%). According to the conducted survey, the methods of education in AMS in Russian Federation mainly include traditional face-to-face lectures, presentations and provision with clinical guidelines, recommendations and printed materials. The involvement of e-learning and web-based online approaches was lacking. The survey allowed us the identify the key problems associated with training of healthcare workers in this field, in particular the varying availability of under- and postgraduate education in different parts of Russia

Homely social practices, uncanny electricity demands: Class, culture and material dynamics in Pakistan

This research seeks to address the gap in studies of energy consumption in developing countries from a social science perspective. The research uses Social Practice Theory (SPT) to gain better understanding of homeowners’ practices and resulting electricity demand in middle-class households in Pakistan, with broader implications for other developing countries with similar climatic and socio-material contexts. Drawing on the works of Bourdieu (1984, 1997), Schatzki (2011) and Shove and Pantzar (2005), the study aims to unravel the connection between familiar domestic practices and the ‘uncanny’ electricity demand. Material and social constructs of ‘homely’ household practices related to comfort, lighting, cleanliness, cooking and ICT were studied in ten middle-class households in Lahore, Pakistan. The material arrays of the intermittent electricity provision system, modernistic prefigurations of spaces preferred by the middle-class and electrical appliances play an intrinsic role in shaping, and in turn being shaped by, everyday practices. Practices shaped by specific socio-cultural dimensions, such as social acceptance within the neighbourhood community, religious meanings, joint family structures, age disparities and gender segregation. The empirical study aims to further the conceptualisation of socially differentiated practices in domestic socio-material and cultural context of developing countries.The research was part of an on-going PhD sponsored by Cambridge Trus

Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe