Creative views on solving the problems of social policy in Russia and Belarus in rural areas

The article raises the issues of the ultimate effectiveness of regulatory measures of a social nature carried out by the state in rural areas of Russia and Belarus. For this purpose, the results of individual government directives are compared with the dynamics of demographic indicators, employment, real incomes, housing provision in rural areas, the structure of household expenditures. The problem areas of social policy in rural areas of Russia and Belarus are considered. As creative views on the solution of social problems in rural areas, options for the introduction and development of innovative agro-industrial ecosystems, which are defined by the authors as a set of economic, social, energy, information, marketing, financial and other entrepreneurial business structures that cover all the problem areas of development, are proposed

Vocal group signatures in the goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa

Abstract The potential for vocal modification in mammals has recently been of great interest. This study focuses on the potential for vocal matching in juvenile and adolescent goitred gazelles Gazella subgutturosa that were group housed as part of an animal management programme. Two groups of animals (16 and 19 unrelated individuals, respectively) were recorded at two different ages, juvenile and adolescent, regarding 20-25 calls per individual per age; each group was evaluated in a separate year. Vocal similarity of group members compared to nonmembers was prominent in both ages, but higher in juveniles. Individual identity was prominent in both ages and higher in adolescents. The more prominent vocal indicators of group membership in juveniles could be related to their higher social dependence compared to adolescents. The more individualized calls of adolescents could be a mechanistic consequence of more stable growth at older age. Our results suggest vocal plasticity of goitred gazelles under social influences. These data add to recent evidence about domestic goat kids Capra hircus, suggesting that vocalizations of species that are not capable of imitation are more flexible than previously thought

Difficulties in diagnosis of adenomas with mixed prolactin and growth hormone secretion: case presentation

Hyperpolactinemia is a persistent excess of prolactin in the blood serum. The symptom complex of hyperprolactinemia primarily consists of disturbances in function of the reproductive system. The secretion of prolactin is under complex neuroendocrine control, which involves factors of different nature: neurotransmitters, hormones of the peripheral endocrine glands. In most cases, prolactin is secreted by pituitary cells - lactotrophs, but in some cases, hypersecretion of prolactin is combined with an excess production of growth hormone, which is typical for tumors originating from the line of progenitor cells of lactotrophs and somatotrophs of the pituitary gland, mammosomatotrophs. In this case, the symptom complex of hyperprolactinemia is accompanied by clinical manifestations of acromegaly. In patients with acromegaly, the cause of hyperprolactinemia may be pituitary stalk compression or mixed secretion of prolactin and growth hormone. Differentiation of lactotropic and somatotropic pituitary cells is determined by transcription factor Pit-1. These cell lineages are closely connected,  and this may be one of the reasons for formation of tumors with mixed secretion. Reports of late presentation of acromegaly in patients previously diagnosed with prolactinomas have also been described in literature.Clinical manifestations of hyperprolactinemia can cause the patient to seek doctor’s attention before acromegalic changes in appearance develop. Careful attention is needed both to the primary diagnosis and to the clinical course of the disease in patients with hyperprolactinemia and pituitary adenoma: full assessment of hormonal status with mandatory evaluation of IGF-1 is crucial at initial examination, during further observation it may be advised to consider periodic evaluation of IGF-1 in addition to assessment of prolactin and the size of adenoma.  Pituitary adenomas with mixed secretion may have a poorer prognosis

Overview: Recent advances in the understanding of the northern Eurasian environments and of the urban air quality in China – a Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) programme perspective

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) Science Plan, released in 2015, addressed a need for a holistic system understanding and outlined the most urgent research needs for the rapidly changing Arctic-boreal region. Air quality in China, together with the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, was also indicated as one of the most crucial topics of the research agenda. These two geographical regions, the northern Eurasian Arctic-boreal region and China, especially the megacities in China, were identified as a "PEEX region". It is also important to recognize that the PEEX geographical region is an area where science-based policy actions would have significant impacts on the global climate. This paper summarizes results obtained during the last 5 years in the northern Eurasian region, together with recent observations of the air quality in the urban environments in China, in the context of the PEEX programme. The main regions of interest are the Russian Arctic, northern Eurasian boreal forests (Siberia) and peatlands, and the megacities in China. We frame our analysis against research themes introduced in the PEEX Science Plan in 2015. We summarize recent progress towards an enhanced holistic understanding of the land-atmosphere-ocean systems feedbacks. We conclude that although the scientific knowledge in these regions has increased, the new results are in many cases insufficient, and there are still gaps in our understanding of large-scale climate-Earth surface interactions and feedbacks. This arises from limitations in research infrastructures, especially the lack of coordinated, continuous and comprehensive in situ observations of the study region as well as integrative data analyses, hindering a comprehensive system analysis. The fast-changing environment and ecosystem changes driven by climate change, socio-economic activities like the China Silk Road Initiative, and the global trends like urbanization further complicate such analyses. We recognize new topics with an increasing importance in the near future, especially "the enhancing biological sequestration capacity of greenhouse gases into forests and soils to mitigate climate change" and the "socio-economic development to tackle air quality issues".Peer reviewe

Creative views on solving the problems of social policy in Russia and Belarus in rural areas

The article raises the issues of the ultimate effectiveness of regulatory measures of a social nature carried out by the state in rural areas of Russia and Belarus. For this purpose, the results of individual government directives are compared with the dynamics of demographic indicators, employment, real incomes, housing provision in rural areas, the structure of household expenditures. The problem areas of social policy in rural areas of Russia and Belarus are considered. As creative views on the solution of social problems in rural areas, options for the introduction and development of innovative agro-industrial ecosystems, which are defined by the authors as a set of economic, social, energy, information, marketing, financial and other entrepreneurial business structures that cover all the problem areas of development, are proposed