Economic aspects of organizing high-technology resource saving production in the forest sector of Russia

Purpose: The article aims at assessing the possibility of organizing high-tech production in the Russian forest industry. Structure/Methodology/Approach: To switch to high-tech and resource-saving technologies in the production of sleepers, it is necessary to assess the influence of a few factors: the cost of production of innovative products, the demand for innovative products, the lifetime of innovative products. To assess the demand, we have used an expert survey. Results: The cost of producing railroad sleepers from modified wood has been established. The use of cheaper softwood wood as raw material (birch, aspen, alder, poplar, etc.) which makes it possible to reduce the cost of production of the sleepers is a competitive advantage of the innovative technology. Practical implications: It has been established that in the future we should expect an increase in demand for the sleepers made of modified wood, especially in the European part of Russia. Originality/Value. The main contribution of this study is the rationale for the transition to the concept of environmental savings in the Russian forest industry. The use of modified wood in the production of sleepers is economically viable and can be an alternative when diversifying production.peer-reviewe

Investigation of the Respiration Rate During Storage of Fruit Vegetables Under the Influence of Abiotic Factors

The aim of the work was to establish the influence of most important abiotic planting factors (temperature, precipitation quantity) on the respiratory rate of fruit vegetables at storage and also a possibility of correction of respiratory metabolism by post-harvest thermal processing by antioxidant compositions. Fruits of cucumbers of the hybrids Masha and Afina, bush pumpkins Kavili and Tamino, sweet pepper of the hybrids Nikita and Hercules, tomato of the varieties Novachok and Rio Grande Original were used for the studies. It was established, that the respiratory rate of pumpkin fruit vegetables is importantly influenced by the variety specificity. The respiratory level of pumpkin vegetables directly correlates with the sum of active temperatures of the period of fruits formation and reversibly – with precipitation and hydrothermal coefficient.The influence of the variety specificity for nightshade vegetables is leveled, and among meteorological planting conditions the important intense influence on the respiratory rate is realized by the sum of active temperatures of the period of fruits formation and ripening. Precipitation and hydrothermal coefficient have the important influence only on pepper fruits.It was established, that the use of post-harvest thermal processing by antioxidant compositions results in inhibition of respiratory processes in fruit vegetables at storage

SPUTNIK-V REACTOGENICITY AND IMMUNOGENICITY IN THE BLOOD AND MUCOSA: A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY

Sputnik-V (Gam-COVID-Vac) is a heterologous, recombinant adenoviral (rAdv) vector-based, COVID- 19 vaccine now used in > 70 countries. Yet there is a shortage of data on this vaccine’s performance in diverse populations. Here, we performed a prospective cohort study to assess the reactogenicity and immunologic outcomes of Sputnik-V vaccination in Kazakhstan. COVID-19-free participants (n = 82 at baseline) were followed at day 21 after Sputnik-V dose 1 (rAd5) and dose 2 (rAd26). Self-reported local and systemic adverse events were captured using questionnaires. Blood and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected to perform SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic and immunologic assays. We observed that most of the reported adverse events were mild-to-moderate injection site or systemic reactions, no severe or potentially life-threatening conditions were reported, and dose 1 appeared to be more reactogenic than dose 2. The seroconversion rate was 97% post-dose 1, remaining the same post-dose 2. The proportion of participants with detectable virus neutralization was 83% post-dose 1, increasing to 98% post-dose 2, with the largest relative increase observed in participants without prior COVID- 19 exposure. Dose 1 boosted nasal S-IgG and S-IgA, while the boosting effect of dose 2 on mucosal S-IgG, but not S-IgA, was only observed in subjects without prior COVID-19. Systemically, vaccination reduced serum levels of growth regulated oncogene (GRO), which correlated with an elevation in blood platelet count. Overall, Sputnik-V dose 1 elicited both blood and mucosal SARS-CoV-2 immunity, while the immune boosting effect of dose 2 was minimal. Thus, adjustments to the current vaccine dosing regimen are necessary to optimize immunization efficacy and cost-effectiveness. While Sputnik-V reactogenicity is similar to that of other COVID-19 vaccines, the induced alterations to the GRO/platelet axis warrant investigation of the vaccine’s effects on systemic immunology

Development of Innovative TECHNOLOGY for Sauce with Lecithin

Consumers of catering establishments especially value their health and therefore give preference to dishes that correspond to modern concepts of healthy eating. In this regard, the development of such dishes is an important task. Thus, the object of the study was an emulsion sauce made using the spherification technique. Agar-agar was used as a material for encapsulating the sauce. The recipe composition of the sauce contains irreplaceable nutritional components: plant phospholipids (soy lecithin), monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids of olive oil and camelina oil, natural food fibers of agar-agar. Each recipe component of the developed emulsion sauce contains physiologically active substances with a high efficiency of health-improving effect. Synergy The combination of the positive effects of these prescription components makes it possible to create a therapeutic and prophylactic product. One of the most problematic areas is the formation of a lecithin-oil-water composition with a lamellar structure. Such a structure as a multilayer «container» helps to preserve the biologically active substances that make up the sauce from destruction and to better assimilate them by the human body. Due to the choice of a certain number of recipe components and their sequential combination under certain conditions (temperature 45 °C, mixing), it is possible to obtain a lamellar structure. In the course of the study, recipe components were selected that correspond to healthy food products, recipes and technologies for the preparation of an emulsion sauce with a lamellar structure were developed. And also provided with the help of spherification an attractive appearance and determined the organoleptic, microbiological indicators and shelf life of the product. To confirm the presence of the lamellar structure of the sauce, carry out optical studies and presented a micrograph in polarizing light. The research carried out makes it possible to expand the range of sauces with an extended shelf life (three days) for the restaurant industry

Permafrost Boundary Shift in Western Siberia May Not Modify Dissolved Nutrient Concentrations in Rivers

Identifying the landscape and climate factors that control nutrient export by rivers in high latitude regions is one of the main challenges for understanding the Arctic Ocean response to ongoing climate change. This is especially true for Western Siberian rivers, which are responsible for a significant part of freshwater and solutes delivery to the Arctic Ocean and are draining vast permafrost-affected areas most vulnerable to thaw. Forty-nine small- and medium-sized rivers (10-100,000 km(2)) were sampled along a 1700 km long N-S transect including both permafrost-affected and permafrost-free zones of the Western Siberian Lowland (WSL) in June and August 2015. The N, P, dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC, respectively), particular organic carbon (POC), Si, Ca, K, Fe, and Mn were analyzed to assess the role of environmental parameters, such as temperature, runoff, latitude, permafrost, bogs, lake, and forest coverage on nutrient concentration. The size of the watershed had no influence on nutrient concentrations in the rivers. Bogs and lakes retained nutrients whereas forests supplied P, Si, K, Ca, DIC, and Mn to rivers. The river water temperature was negatively correlated with Si and positively correlated with Fe in permafrost-free rivers. In permafrost-bearing rivers, the decrease in T northward was coupled with significant increases in PO4, P-tot, NH4, pH, DIC, Si, Ca, and Mn. North of the permafrost boundary (61 degrees N), there was no difference in nutrient concentrations among permafrost zones (isolated, sporadic, discontinuous, and continuous). The climate warming in Western Siberia may lead to a permafrost boundary shift northward. Using a substituting space for time scenario, this may decrease or maintain the current levels of N, P, Si, K, Ca, DIC, and DOC concentrations in rivers of continuous permafrost zones compared to the present state. As a result, the export flux of nutrients by the small- and medium-sized rivers of the Western Siberian subarctic to the Arctic Ocean coastal zone may remain constant, or even decrease

Permafrost and lakes control river isotope composition across a boreal Arctic transect in the Western Siberian lowlands

The Western Siberian Lowlands (WSL) store large quantities of organic carbon that will be exposed and mobilized by the thawing of permafrost. The fate of mobilized carbon, however, is not well understood, partly because of inadequate knowledge of hydrological controls in the region which has a vast low-relief surface area, extensive lake and wetland coverage and gradually increasing permafrost influence. We used stable water isotopes to improve our understanding of dominant landscape controls on the hydrology of the WSL. We sampled rivers along a 1700 km South-North transect from permafrost-free to continuous permafrost repeatedly over three years, and derived isotope proxies for catchment hydrological responsiveness and connectivity. We found correlations between the isotope proxies and catchment characteristics, suggesting that lakes and wetlands are intimately connected to rivers, and that permafrost increases the responsiveness of the catchment to rainfall and snowmelt events, reducing catchment mean transit times. Our work provides rare isotope-based field evidence that permafrost and lakes/wetlands influence hydrological pathways across a wide range of spatial scales (10-105 km2) and permafrost coverage (0%-70%). This has important implications, because both permafrost extent and lake/wetland coverage are affected by permafrost thaw in the changing climate. Changes in these hydrological landscape controls are likely to alter carbon export and emission via inland waters, which may be of global significance

HIGH SARS-COV-2 SEROPREVALENCE IN KARAGANDA, KAZAKHSTAN BEFORE THE LAUNCH OF COVID-19 VACCINATION

COVID-19 exposure in Central Asia appears underestimated and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence data are urgently needed to inform ongoing vaccination efforts and other strategies to mitigate the regional pandemic. Here, in a pilot serologic study we assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody-mediated immunity in a multi-ethnic cohort of public university employees in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Asymptomatic subjects (n = 100) were recruited prior to their first COVID-19 vaccination. Questionnaires were administered to capture a range of demographic and clinical characteristics. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR testing. Serological assays were performed to detect spike (S)- reactive IgG and IgA and to assess virus neutralization. Pre-pandemic samples were used to validate the assay positivity thresholds. S-IgG and -IgA seropositivity rates among SARSCoV- 2 PCR-negative participants (n = 100) were 42% (95% CI [32.2–52.3]) and 59% (95% CI [48.8–69.0]), respectively, and 64% (95% CI [53.4–73.1]) of the cohort tested positive for at least one of the antibodies. S-IgG titres correlated with virus neutralization activity, detectable in 49% of the tested subset with prior COVID-19 history. Serologically confirmed history of COVID-19 was associated with Kazakh ethnicity, but not with other ethnic minorities present in the cohort, and self-reported history of respiratory illness since March 2020. Overall, SARS-CoV-2 exposure in this cohort was ~15-fold higher compared to the reported all-time national and regional COVID-19 prevalence, consistent with recent studies of excess infection and death in Kazakhstan. Continuous serological surveillance provides important insights into COVID-19 transmission dynamics and may be used to better inform the regional public health response