The increase in geopolitical competition as a challenge (threat) to Russia's national security

This article attempts to make a comprehensive analysis of the impact of "geopolitical competition" policy on the state and future development of national security of the Russian Federation. We believe that geopolitical competition is caused not only by the need to protect national interests, but also acts as the condition that generates threats (challenges) to national security. The article deals with external factors, such as the transformation of geopolitical competition, changes in the post-Soviet space, and the development of the Arctic, as well as two internal factors, which concern the attainment of national identity and the militarization of public life, because we believe that these factors have the most negative impact on the state of national security in the Russian Federation. Geopolitical competition is currently increasing because of the aggravation of relations between states because of the distribution of spheres of influence.peer-reviewe

Climate Change and Future Food Security: Predicting the Extent of Cropland Gain or Degradation

Agriculture is crucial in sustaining human life and civilization that relies heavily on natural resources. This industry faces new challenges, such as climate change, a growing global population, and new models for managing food security and water resources. Through a machine learning framework, we estimate the future productivity of croplands based on CMIP5 climate projections on moderate carbon emission scenario. We demonstrate that Vietnam and Thailand are at risk with a 10\% and 14\% drop in rice production, respectively, whereas the Philippines is expected to increase its output by 11\% by 2026 compared with 2018. We urge proactive international collaboration between regions facing crop land gain and degradation to mitigate the climate change and population growth impacts reducing our society's vulnerability. Our study provides critical information on the effects of climate change and human activities on land productivity and uses that may assist such collaboration.Comment: 24 pages, 21 figure

Climate Change Impact on Agricultural Land Suitability: An Interpretable Machine Learning-Based Eurasia Case Study

The United Nations has identified improving food security and reducing hunger as essential components of its sustainable development goals. As of 2021, approximately 828 million people worldwide are experiencing hunger and malnutrition, with numerous fatalities reported. Climate change significantly impacts agricultural land suitability, potentially leading to severe food shortages and subsequent social and political conflicts. To address this pressing issue, we have developed a machine learning-based approach to predict the risk of substantial land suitability degradation and changes in irrigation patterns. Our study focuses on Central Eurasia, a region burdened with economic and social challenges. This study represents a pioneering effort in utilizing machine learning methods to assess the impact of climate change on agricultural land suitability under various carbon emissions scenarios. Through comprehensive feature importance analysis, we unveil specific climate and terrain characteristics that exert influence on land suitability. Our approach achieves remarkable accuracy, offering policymakers invaluable insights to facilitate informed decisions aimed at averting a humanitarian crisis, including strategies such as the provision of additional water and fertilizers. This research underscores the tremendous potential of machine learning in addressing global challenges, with a particular emphasis on mitigating hunger and malnutrition

Genetic variation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis circulating in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A persistent increase of tuberculosis cases has recently been noted in the Ukraine. The reported incidence of drug-resistant isolates of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>is growing steadily; however, data on the genetic variation of isolates of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>circulating in northern Ukraine and on the spectrum and frequency of occurrence of mutations determining resistance to the principal anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid and rifampicin have not yet been reported.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Isolates of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>from 98 tuberculosis patients living in Kharkiv Oblast (Ukraine) were analyzed using VNTR- and RFLP-IS6110-typing methods. Mutations associated with resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid were detected by RFLP-PCR methods, and also confirmed by sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified 75 different genetic profiles. Thirty four (34%) isolates belonged to the Beijing genotype and 23 (23%) isolates belonged to the LAM family. A cluster of isolates belonging to the LAM family had significant genetic heterogeneity, indicating that this family had an ancient distribution and circulation in this geographical region. Moreover, we found a significant percentage of the isolates (36%) belonged to as yet unidentified families of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>or had individual non-clustering genotypes. Mutations conferring rifampicin and isoniazid resistance were detected in 49% and 54% isolates, respectively. Mutations in codon 531 of the <it>rpoB </it>gene and codon 315 of the <it>katG </it>gene were predominant among drug-resistant isolates. An association was found for belonging to the LAM strain family and having multiple drug resistance (R = 0.27, p = 0.0059) and also for the presence of a mutation in codon 531 of the <it>rpoB </it>gene and belonging to the Beijing strain family (R = 0.2, p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Transmission of drug-resistant isolates seems to contribute to the spread of resistant TB in this oblast. The Beijing genotype and LAM genotype should be seen as a major cause of drug resistant TB in this region.</p

The origins and spread of domestic horses from the Western Eurasian steppes

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData availability: All collapsed and paired-end sequence data for samples sequenced in this study are available in compressed fastq format through the European Nucleotide Archive under accession number PRJEB44430, together with rescaled and trimmed bam sequence alignments against both the nuclear and mitochondrial horse reference genomes. Previously published ancient data used in this study are available under accession numbers PRJEB7537, PRJEB10098, PRJEB10854, PRJEB22390 and PRJEB31613, and detailed in Supplementary Table 1. The genomes of ten modern horses, publicly available, were also accessed as indicated in their corresponding original publications57,61,85-87.NOTE: see the published version available via the DOI in this record for the full list of authorsDomestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare. However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 BC. Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia and Anatolia, have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 BC, synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 BC driving the spread of Indo-European languages. This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium BC Sintashta culture

Umgang mit Vielfalt an Hochschulen. Diversity-Strategien an deutschen Hochschulen

Sievers I. Umgang mit Vielfalt an Hochschulen. Diversity-Strategien an deutschen Hochschulen. In: Kovalev V, Karpov V, Robak S, eds. Interkulturelle Kommunikation im globalen Bildungsraum. Hamburg: Anchor Academic Publishing; 2017: 99-120

Features of the Development of Processing Flow Sheets of Carbon-Gold-Sulphide Ores

При разработке технологии переработки упорных золотосульфидных руд часто основное внимание уделяется металлургическому переделу, хотя выбор эффективной технологии обогащения может существенно облегчить работу металлургов и снизить затраты на переработку концентратов. Схемы обогащения углеродсодержащих золотосульфидных руд имеют выраженную специфику, понимание которой позволяет обеспечить высокие технико- экономические показатели переработки этого сырьяDesigners often focus on metallurgical aspects in the development of technologies for processing of refractory gold-ores, although the choice of an efficient mineral processing technology can greatly facilitate the work of metallurgists and reduce the cost of concentrates processing. Schemes enrichment of carbon-gold-ores have some specificity and only it understanding ensures high technical and economic effect of the processing of this materia

Features of the Development of Processing Flow Sheets of Carbon-Gold-Sulphide Ores

При разработке технологии переработки упорных золотосульфидных руд часто основное внимание уделяется металлургическому переделу, хотя выбор эффективной технологии обогащения может существенно облегчить работу металлургов и снизить затраты на переработку концентратов. Схемы обогащения углеродсодержащих золотосульфидных руд имеют выраженную специфику, понимание которой позволяет обеспечить высокие технико- экономические показатели переработки этого сырьяDesigners often focus on metallurgical aspects in the development of technologies for processing of refractory gold-ores, although the choice of an efficient mineral processing technology can greatly facilitate the work of metallurgists and reduce the cost of concentrates processing. Schemes enrichment of carbon-gold-ores have some specificity and only it understanding ensures high technical and economic effect of the processing of this materia