Financial and credit mechanism for attraction of real investments in a system of money flows regulation

Optimization of funding sources of real investments is a key stage in development and successful functioning of enterprises' investment activity. Currently big attention is drawn to questions of state and private partnership during development of investment projects, as well as to possible prospects of development of state and private interaction forms in investment sphere, and concessions particularly. Improvement of forms of interaction between state and corporate sector of economy in the sphere of real investments and as a part of development of specific priority investment programs requiring considerable investments has a strategic federal and regional value. Thus, it is important to understand role and benefit of each participant of the investment market, to define clear statutory, legislative and contractual base, and to swiftly analyze financial efficiency of real investments at all stages of realization. In modern conditions, stable development of economy of any country depends on condition of investment process. Need to integrate finance capital and to promote investment activity is obvious in new management conditions of market relations development. The main condition of successful investment activity at each stage is a choice of effective and correct finance and credit mechanism as a tool of real investments financing. Prior to suggest modern tools of such financing, it is necessary to analyze theoretically proved program and targeted method of real investments financing within the state and private partnership, in order to improve previously examined methodology. © 2015, Mediterranean Center of Social and Educational Research. All rights reserved

Symmetries and modelling functions for diffusion processes

A constructive approach to theory of diffusion processes is proposed, which is based on application of both the symmetry analysis and method of modelling functions. An algorithm for construction of the modelling functions is suggested. This algorithm is based on the error functions expansion (ERFEX) of experimental concentration profiles. The high-accuracy analytical description of the profiles provided by ERFEX approximation allows a convenient extraction of the concentration dependence of diffusivity from experimental data and prediction of the diffusion process. Our analysis is exemplified by its employment to experimental results obtained for surface diffusion of lithium on the molybdenum (112) surface pre-covered with dysprosium. The ERFEX approximation can be directly extended to many other diffusion systems.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

Studies of Biofilm Formation in Non-Pigmented and Plasmid-Deprived Mutants of <I>Yersinia pestis</I> on Biotic Surfaces, <I>in vivo</I> and <I>in vitro</I> Conditions

In non-pigmented and plasmid-deprived mutants – isogenic variants of highly virulent Yersinia pestis 231 strain – studied is the mechanism of biofilm formation on biotic surfaces, both in vitro (on the laboratory model of nematode Caenorhabdiitis elegans) and in vivo (inside the alimentary tract of Nosopsyllus laeviceps flea). It is determined that spontaneous loss of ability to form biofilms and generate pigmented colonies in the mutants is probably caused not only by the deletion of the whole chromosome pigmentation fragment, but also by a point(single base) mutation in structural hms operon. It is demonstrated that the absence of pCad, pFra or pPst plasmids does not have an impact on the ability of plasmid-deprived mutants to form biofilm on the cuticle of nematode C. elegans

Glutathione Precursor N-Acetyl-Cysteine Modulates EEG Synchronization in Schizophrenia Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Glutathione (GSH) dysregulation at the gene, protein, and functional levels has been observed in schizophrenia patients. Together with disease-like anomalies in GSH deficit experimental models, it suggests that such redox dysregulation can play a critical role in altering neural connectivity and synchronization, and thus possibly causing schizophrenia symptoms. To determine whether increased GSH levels would modulate EEG synchronization, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, was administered to patients in a randomized, double-blind, crossover protocol for 60 days, followed by placebo for another 60 days (or vice versa). We analyzed whole-head topography of the multivariate phase synchronization (MPS) for 128-channel resting-state EEGs that were recorded at the onset, at the point of crossover, and at the end of the protocol. In this proof of concept study, the treatment with NAC significantly increased MPS compared to placebo over the left parieto-temporal, the right temporal, and the bilateral prefrontal regions. These changes were robust both at the group and at the individual level. Although MPS increase was observed in the absence of clinical improvement at a group level, it correlated with individual change estimated by Liddle's disorganization scale. Therefore, significant changes in EEG synchronization induced by NAC administration may precede clinically detectable improvement, highlighting its possible utility as a biomarker of treatment efficacy

Внедрение цифрового управления проектами строительства и эксплуатации энергоэффективных жилых домов

The paper considers an issue of transition to digital management technologies in the field of construction and housing and communal services in Russia, as well as in other countries. An optimization methodology for the application of  the digital  economy  has been developed using  the example of  the existing  real  estate  management  system in the  Stolichny Microdistrict of Izhevsk city (Udmurt Republic, Russian Federation). The existing and developed new projects of digital technologies are described, the introduction of which will increase the efficiency of the construction and operation of residential buildings. A methodology has been formed for creating an optimization mathematical model for managing construction and operation projects of energy-efficient residential buildings. Prerequisites and a scheme for the joint implementation of this model and digital technologies are given to improve the quality of construction and operation of residential buildings. The paper proposes a phased methodology for the introduction of digital technologies in urban planning, as well as in the field of housing and communal services within the framework of the national program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation”. The advantages of using block-chain technology in the management of projects for the construction and operation of energy-efficient residential buildings have been studied in the paper. The application of the developed methods that meet the needs of participants in construction activities, as well as the housing and utilities sector, will improve the efficiency of not only the management system for the construction and operation of energy-efficient residential buildings, but also the overall effectiveness of the introduction of digital management in real estate. The proposed ABRIS software can be used in housing and communal services to optimize and track the expenditure of resources vital for a comfortable living of the population.Рассмотрен вопрос о переходе на цифровые технологии управления в сфере строительства и жилищно-коммунального хозяйства в России, а также в других странах. Разработана оптимизационная методика применения цифровой экономики на примере существующей системы управления недвижимостью – в микрорайоне «Столичный» города Ижевска (Удмуртская Республика, Российская Федерация). Описаны существующие и разработаны новые проекты цифровых технологий, внедрение которых повысит эффективность реализации строительства и эксплуатации жилых домов. Сформирована методика создания оптимизационной математической модели управления проектами строительства и эксплуатации энергоэффективных жилых домов. Даны предпосылки и схема совместного внедрения данной модели и цифровых технологий для улучшения качества строительства и эксплуатации жилых домов. В рамках национальной программы «Цифровая экономика Российской Федерации» предложена поэтапная методика внедрения цифровых технологий в градостроительную деятельность, а также в сферу жилищно-коммунального хозяйства. Рассмотрены преимущества использования технологии блокчейн в управлении проектами строительства и эксплуатации энергоэффективных жилых домов. Применение разработанных методик, удовлетворяющих запросам участников строительной деятельности и сферы жилищно-коммунального хозяйства, позволит повысить эффективность не только системы управления строительством и эксплуатацией энергоэффективных жилых домов, но и общую эффективность внедрения цифрового управления в сферу недвижимости. Предложенное программное обеспечение «АБРИС» может использоваться в жилищно-коммунальном хозяйстве для оптимизации и отслеживания расхода ресурсов, жизненно необходимых для комфортного проживания населения

A Novel Interhemispheric Interaction: Modulation of Neuronal Cooperativity in the Visual Areas

Background: The cortical representation of the visual field is split along the vertical midline, with the left and the right hemi-fields projecting to separate hemispheres. Connections between the visual areas of the two hemispheres are abundant near the representation of the visual midline. It was suggested that they re-establish the functional continuity of the visual field by controlling the dynamics of the responses in the two hemispheres. Methods/Principal Findings: To understand if and how the interactions between the two hemispheres participate in processing visual stimuli, the synchronization of responses to identical or different moving gratings in the two hemi-fields were studied in anesthetized ferrets. The responses were recorded by multiple electrodes in the primary visual areas and the synchronization of local field potentials across the electrodes were analyzed with a recent method derived from dynamical system theory. Inactivating the visual areas of one hemisphere modulated the synchronization of the stimulus-driven activity in the other hemisphere. The modulation was stimulus-specific and was consistent with the fine morphology of callosal axons in particular with the spatio-temporal pattern of activity that axonal geometry can generate. Conclusions/Significance: These findings describe a new kind of interaction between the cerebral hemispheres and highlight the role of axonal geometry in modulating aspects of cortical dynamics responsible for stimulus detection and/or categorization

Current State of Natural Foci of Dangerous Infectious Diseases in the Territory of the Russian Federation

Objective of the study is to evaluate the current state of epizootic activity of natural zoonotic foci, as the basis for the development of prophylactic measures aimed at prevention of natural-focal infections during mass events. Materials and methods. Utilized have been reports from the Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Republic of Tatarstan, the data provided by Rospotrebnadzor Administration in the Republic of Tatarstan over the period of 2009-2014, and literature references. Results and conclusions. The most pressing natural-focal infectious diseases are hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, tick-borne borreliosis, and tick-borne viral encephalitis. Yersinioses, leptospiroses, and West Nile fever are rarely registered. Tularemia infections have not been reported within the past 20 years. The period of 2009-2013 is characterized by the decrease in the numbers of carriers and vectors of the diseases, as well as epizootic activity of natural foci, which came up to minimum values in 2013. Emerged since 2014 increment in the abundance rates of the carriers and later the vectors can lead to the increase in the incidence of natural-focal diseases. In the territory of the Republic, allocated are the spatial combination areas of natural foci of the diseases of various etiology with high risk of population exposure. Previous to conduction of mass events it is necessary to enhance the epizootiological surveillance in the natural foci, the results of which lay premises for the development of complex prophylactic activities

Director Characteristics and Firm Performance

The traditional methodology examining optimal boards relates a simple board variable (e.g. independence or board demography) to firm performance, however, ig- noring other board characteristics. This paper investigates how the education and business experience of directors affect firm performance. The sample consists of 1,574 directorships from 224 listed firms in Switzerland. Using OLS and including control variables, the results show that graduates of minor Swiss universities are negatively related to Tobin’s Q, and industrial knowledge and Tobin’s Q are nega- tively correlated if the firm has more divisions. In addition, director fixed effects (or unobserved characteristics) are significant, but improve the explanatory power of the models only by 5 percent

EEG-Based Functional Brain Networks: Does the Network Size Matter?

Functional connectivity in human brain can be represented as a network using electroencephalography (EEG) signals. These networks – whose nodes can vary from tens to hundreds – are characterized by neurobiologically meaningful graph theory metrics. This study investigates the degree to which various graph metrics depend upon the network size. To this end, EEGs from 32 normal subjects were recorded and functional networks of three different sizes were extracted. A state-space based method was used to calculate cross-correlation matrices between different brain regions. These correlation matrices were used to construct binary adjacency connectomes, which were assessed with regards to a number of graph metrics such as clustering coefficient, modularity, efficiency, economic efficiency, and assortativity. We showed that the estimates of these metrics significantly differ depending on the network size. Larger networks had higher efficiency, higher assortativity and lower modularity compared to those with smaller size and the same density. These findings indicate that the network size should be considered in any comparison of networks across studies