USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, volume 2, no. 3

Soviet scientists are making significant contributions to the field of space medicine and biology through their active manned space program, frequent biosatellites, and extensive ground-based research. An overview of the developments and direction of the USSR Space Life Sciences Program is provided

Discretionary policy in a monetary union with sovereign debt

This paper examines the interactions between multiple national fiscal policymakers and a single monetary policy maker in response to shocks to government debt in some or all of the countries of a monetary union. We assume that national governments respond to excess debt in an optimal manner, but that they do not have access to a commitment technology. This implies that national fiscal policy gradually reduces debt: the lack of a commitment technology precludes a random walk in steady-state debt, but the need to maintain national competitiveness avoids excessively rapid debt reduction. If the central bank can commit, it adjusts its policies only slightly in response to higher debt, allowing national fiscal policy to undertake most of the adjustment. However, if it cannot commit, then optimal monetary policy involves using interest rates to rapidly reduce debt, with significant welfare costs. We show that in these circumstances the central bank would do better to ignore national fiscal policies in formulating its policy

Fiscal sustainability in a new Keynesian model - additional appendix

Additional appendix relating to the article 'Fiscal sustainability in a new Keynesian model', forthcoming in the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking

Preformed stiffeners used to fabricate structural components for pressurized tanks

Process of fabricating stiffened section components of pressurized tanks for aerospace use was developed. A potential use of the fabrication process is the production of gore and quarter-panel sections of hydrogen and oxygen tanks for space vehicle boosters

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest

Research in exobiology, life sciences technology, space biology, and space medicine and physiology, primarily using data gathered on the Salyut 6 orbital space station, is reported. Methods for predicting, diagnosing, and preventing the effects of weightlessness are discussed. Psychological factors are discussed. The effects of space flight on plants and animals are reported. Bioinstrumentation advances are noted

Entitled to a sustainable career? Motherhood in science, engineering and technology

Sustaining careers and motherhood is particularly challenging in highly masculinised science, engineering and technology (SET) sectors. We explore this issue using a social comparison theory perspective, drawing on interviews with professional engineers and scientists from four companies, located in Italy, France and the Netherlands. We examine how decisions to reduce working hours are influenced by perceived ideological, normative and policy contexts. Despite contextual differences in opportunities and perceived entitlements and supports for family-friendly working hours, we found that sense of entitlement to do so without forfeiting career progression is limited across all the contexts. This attests to the enduring power of gendered organizational assumptions about ideal SET careers. Nevertheless we present examples of three women who achieved senior roles despite working reduced hours and discuss combinations of conditions which may facilitate sustainable careers and caring roles

Community, work and family and the metamorphosis of social change

On the ten year anniversary of this biannual conference we revisit our hopes/aims and expectations when Community, Work and Family was first developed, as a journal and later as a conferences. We reflect on where we are now; and to look forwards to the challenges posed by current and future contexts. We note a number of gathering storms – global social trends which can be described as crises and form the contemporary context for communities, workplaces and families and their interface. These include: economic crisis; demographic crisis including population mobility; gender crisis; crisis of care and crisis of violence

Enzymatic functionalization of carbon-hydrogen bonds

The development of new catalytic methods to functionalize carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bonds continues to progress at a rapid pace due to the significant economic and environmental benefits of these transformations over traditional synthetic methods. In nature, enzymes catalyze regio- and stereoselective C–H bond functionalization using transformations ranging from hydroxylation to hydroalkylation under ambient reaction conditions. The efficiency of these enzymes relative to analogous chemical processes has led to their increased use as biocatalysts in preparative and industrial applications. Furthermore, unlike small molecule catalysts, enzymes can be systematically optimized via directed evolution for a particular application and can be expressed in vivo to augment the biosynthetic capability of living organisms. While a variety of technical challenges must still be overcome for practical application of many enzymes for C–H bond functionalization, continued research on natural enzymes and on novel artificial metalloenzymes will lead to improved synthetic processes for efficient synthesis of complex molecules. In this critical review, we discuss the most prevalent mechanistic strategies used by enzymes to functionalize non-acidic C–H bonds, the application and evolution of these enzymes for chemical synthesis, and a number of potential biosynthetic capabilities uniquely enabled by these powerful catalysts (110 references)