The parallax distorsion via a weak microlensing effect

Parallax measurements allow distances to celestial objects to be determined. Coupled with measurement of their position on the celestial sphere, it gives a full three-dimensional picture of the location of the objects relative to the observer. The distortion of the parallax value of a remote source affected by a weak microlensing is considered. This means that the weak microlensing leads to distortion of the distance scale. It is shown that the distortions to appear may change strongly the parallax values in case they amount to several microseconds of arc. In particular, at this accuracy many measured values of the parallaxes must be negative.Comment: 34 LaTeX pages, 12 PostScript figure (epsfig.sty

Microarcsecond instability of the celestial reference frame

The fluctuation of the angular positions of reference extragalactic radio and optical sources under the influence of the irregular gravitational field of visible Galactic stars is considered. It is shown that these angular fluctuations range from a few up to hundreds of microarcseconds. This leads to a small rotation of the celestial reference frame. The nondiagonal coefficients of the rotation matrix are of the order of a microarcsecond. The temporal variation of these coefficients due to the proper motion of the foreground stars is of the order of one microsecond per 20 years. Therefore, the celestial reference frame can be considered inertial and homogeneous only to microarcsecond accuracy. Astrometric catalogues with microarcsecond accuracy will be unstable, and must be reestablished every 20 years.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted to MNRA

Evolution of the Bavarian dialect lexical system

The article deals with the specific features of the German language on the Bavarian dialect lexical level. The dialect is remarkable for its innovations and variety of linguistic forms on all levels of its system. The notion “Bavarian dialect” and its correlation with literary German language is being researched. The comparative analysis reveals the facts of deviation from the standards of the literary German language, especially in vocabulary and semantic

Medico-social rationale for adaptation of regional drug supply systems to personalized pharmaceutical care for persons of different ages

In this study, we identified indicators of the state of personalized pharmaceutical care for target population groups at the regional level, in a model region, with the aim to develop a differentiated approach to such care. The rationale for the choice of Moscow Region as a model region is based on its specific socioeconomic indicators and a comparison of these with respective average Russian values. A need was shown to modernize patient-oriented pharmaceutical care, especially for certain population groups, such as children, women of working age (mothers), and the elderl

Preparation of alumina nanoparticle suspensions with narrow particle size distribution

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was applied to the study of the process of the preparing deaggregated water suspensions of alumina nanopowders with specific surface areas of 20-140 m2/g. Nanopowders were prepared by the electric explosion of wire and laser evaporation and, according to electron microscopy (TEM), consisted of nonagglomerated spherical nanoparticles with lognormal size distribution. According to DLS, nonsedimenting water suspensions of alumina nanoparticles, stabilized by sodium citrate at a 5 mM concentration, contain substantial fraction of aggregates. The dynamics of the change in the mean average size of aggregates under exhaustive ultrasound treatment of suspensions with 10 g/l concentration for 1.5-4 h by two types of ultrasonic processors was studied. It was shown that the mean average size of aggregates exponentially diminishes by 1.5-2 times and the fraction of individual particles in suspension enlarges from 45 to 85%. Sequentially centrifuging the suspension at 18000 g separates the remaining aggregates and results in suspensions of individual alumina nanoparticles. Particle size distributions in these suspensions obtained by TEM and DLS are the same within experimental error. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Ocean loading effects from tidal tilt observations in Lanzarote Island

Comunicación presntada a la 3ª Asamblea Hispano-Portuguesa de Geodesia y Geofísica = 3ª Assembleia Luso-Espanhola de Geodesia e Geofisica, celebrada en Valencia entre el 4 y el 8 de febrero de 2002.Since 1995 two short base-length horizontal pendulums are continuously recording at the station Cueva de los Verdes (Geodynamics laboratory of Lanzarote). Both tilt-meters are modified from the classical Ostrovsky pendulums and are adapted to the local features of the station. The tilt-meters have a working range of measurements of +-20seconds of arc and can resolve up to one second of arc. Such technical properties allow determining the precise tilt response to Earth tides. The tidal tilt models obtained show an important influence from ocean tides. Thus, the estimated amplitude for the main harmonic constituents is of some 4-5 times larger than values measured at continental stations. In this work, the ocean loading and attraction effect, which are computed from global ocean tidal models supplemented with precise regional and local ones will be evaluated. Hence, tidal tilt observations can be corrected from this effect.Peer reviewe

COSTS OF THE HEALTH CARE IN RUSSIA ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING

Aim. To analyze costs of health care in Russia associated with smoking in 2009. Material and methods. Cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) were included in the analysis. Calculation was performed on the basis of the relative risks of diseases associated with smoking, and obtained from foreign surveys, official statistics on morbidity and health system resources expenditure, and costs of health-seeking in line with state program of guaranteed free medical care.  Results. In 2009 total costs of the health care system associated with smoking exceeded RUR 35.8 bln. It corresponded to 0.1% of gross domestic product in Russia in 2009. The costs structure was the following: hospitalization – RUR 26.2 bln, emergency calls – RUR 1.4 bln, and outpatient health-seeking – RUR 8.2 bln. Costs of outpatient pharmacotherapy were not included into analysis because of lack of baseline data needed for calculations. Cardiovascular diseases caused 62% of the health care costs associated with smoking, cancers – 20.2%, and COPD – 17.8%. Conclusion. The smoking in Russia is associated with significant health care costs. It makes needed resources investment in preventive programs to reduce smoking prevalence

Research of the Russian companies’ potential and the success factors

The article presents the results of the key factors of the chemical and petrochemical companies’ success which are in the “Expert-400” rating. This rating includes the most successful companies with highest yields, profits and efficiency. While researching, the grouping of companies according to their industry affiliation to the chemical and petrochemical industry was done. The number of companies affiliated to the selected industry rated as the best ones is 14 or 3% from the total number. One company of each form of ownership to reveal the main regularities and key success factors of the companies of the given industry are taken to be analyzed. The success factors have been identified and researching prospects in the given field have been formulated for a company of each form of ownership.peer-reviewe