Directions of digital transformation of international trade in services in the context of the global crisis

International trade is an integral part of the economy of any country. In recent decades, the role of various services in the structure of international exchange has increased. Their range is expanding under the influence of the scientifc and technological revolution, which leads to signifcant changes in this area. At the same time, the regimes of international trade in services, as well as approaches to its national and multilateral regulation, are becoming more complex. All areas of activity, including cross-border service provision, are transforming in a rapidly changing world. In the context of the pandemic, the “digit” has become widespread, and the urgency of streamlining and further developing the international exchange of services has increased. Digitalisation, which has become one of the key features of the development of the world economy in the last decade, has accelerated the development of the service sector, but also contributed to the formation of new challenges for the development of trade in services. The digital transformation of international trade is shaping the new “digital realities” of the industry. Statistics from the ofcial regulators of international trade confrm these changes. The paper analyzes the dynamics of changes in international trade in services in the context of the global crisis and the impact of digitalization on it. The article shows how new patterns of international exchange of services are formed in the context of increased economic interdependence of countries

Symphony on strong field approximation

This paper has been prepared by the Symphony collaboration (University of Warsaw, Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, DESY/CNR and ICFO) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the 'simple man's models' which underlie most of the phenomena that occur when intense ultrashort laser pulses interact with matter. The phenomena in question include high-harmonic generation (HHG), above-threshold ionization (ATI), and non-sequential multielectron ionization (NSMI). 'Simple man's models' provide both an intuitive basis for understanding the numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and the motivation for the powerful analytic approximations generally known as the strong field approximation (SFA). In this paper we first review the SFA in the form developed by us in the last 25 years. In this approach the SFA is a method to solve the TDSE, in which the non-perturbative interactions are described by including continuum-continuum interactions in a systematic perturbation-like theory. In this review we focus on recent applications of the SFA to HHG, ATI and NSMI from multi-electron atoms and from multi-atom molecules. The main novel part of the presented theory concerns generalizations of the SFA to: (i) time-dependent treatment of two-electron atoms, allowing for studies of an interplay between electron impact ionization and resonant excitation with subsequent ionization; (ii) time-dependent treatment in the single active electron approximation of 'large' molecules and targets which are themselves undergoing dynamics during the HHG or ATI processes. In particular, we formulate the general expressions for the case of arbitrary molecules, combining input from quantum chemistry and quantum dynamics. We formulate also theory of time-dependent separable molecular potentials to model analytically the dynamics of realistic electronic wave packets for molecules in strong laser fields. We dedicate this work to the memory of Bertrand Carre, who passed away in March 2018 at the age of 60

Tune in to your emotions: a robust personalized affective music player

The emotional power of music is exploited in a personalized affective music player (AMP) that selects music for mood enhancement. A biosignal approach is used to measure listeners’ personal emotional reactions to their own music as input for affective user models. Regression and kernel density estimation are applied to model the physiological changes the music elicits. Using these models, personalized music selections based on an affective goal state can be made. The AMP was validated in real-world trials over the course of several weeks. Results show that our models can cope with noisy situations and handle large inter-individual differences in the music domain. The AMP augments music listening where its techniques enable automated affect guidance. Our approach provides valuable insights for affective computing and user modeling, for which the AMP is a suitable carrier application

Aqueous extract of Terminalia arjuna prevents carbon tetrachloride induced hepatic and renal disorders

BACKGROUND: Carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) is a well-known hepatotoxin and exposure to this chemical is known to induce oxidative stress and causes liver injury by the formation of free radicals. Acute and chronic renal damage are also very common pathophysiologic disturbances caused by CCl(4). The present study has been conducted to evaluate the protective role of the aqueous extract of the bark of Termnalia arjuna (TA), an important Indian medicinal plant widely used in the preparation of ayurvedic formulations, on CCl(4 )induced oxidative stress and resultant dysfunction in the livers and kidneys of mice. METHODS: Animals were pretreated with the aqueous extract of TA (50 mg/kg body weight) for one week and then challenged with CCl(4 )(1 ml/kg body weight) in liquid paraffin (1:1, v/v) for 2 days. Serum marker enzymes, namely, glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were estimated in the sera of all study groups. Antioxidant status in both the liver and kidney tissues were estimated by determining the activities of the antioxidative enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST); as well as by determining the levels of thiobarbutaric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH). In addition, free radical scavenging activity of the extract was determined from its DPPH radical quenching ability. RESULTS: Results showed that CCl(4 )caused a marked rise in serum levels of GPT and ALP. TBARS level was also increased significantly whereas GSH, SOD, CAT and GST levels were decreased in the liver and kidney tissue homogenates of CCl(4 )treated mice. Aqueous extract of TA successfully prevented the alterations of these effects in the experimental animals. Data also showed that the extract possessed strong free radical scavenging activity comparable to that of vitamin C. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that the aqueous extract of the bark of TA could protect the liver and kidney tissues against CCl(4)-induced oxidative stress probably by increasing antioxidative defense activities