The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) of Three Spectrometers for the ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter

The Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) package is an element of the Russian contribution to the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars 2016 Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. ACS consists of three separate infrared spectrometers, sharing common mechanical, electrical, and thermal interfaces. This ensemble of spectrometers has been designed and developed in response to the Trace Gas Orbiter mission objectives that specifically address the requirement of high sensitivity instruments to enable the unambiguous detection of trace gases of potential geophysical or biological interest. For this reason, ACS embarks a set of instruments achieving simultaneously very high accuracy (ppt level), very high resolving power (>10,000) and large spectral coverage (0.7 to 17 μm—the visible to thermal infrared range). The near-infrared (NIR) channel is a versatile spectrometer covering the 0.7–1.6 μm spectral range with a resolving power of ∼20,000. NIR employs the combination of an echelle grating with an AOTF (Acousto-Optical Tunable Filter) as diffraction order selector. This channel will be mainly operated in solar occultation and nadir, and can also perform limb observations. The scientific goals of NIR are the measurements of water vapor, aerosols, and dayside or night side airglows. The mid-infrared (MIR) channel is a cross-dispersion echelle instrument dedicated to solar occultation measurements in the 2.2–4.4 μm range. MIR achieves a resolving power of >50,000. It has been designed to accomplish the most sensitive measurements ever of the trace gases present in the Martian atmosphere. The thermal-infrared channel (TIRVIM) is a 2-inch double pendulum Fourier-transform spectrometer encompassing the spectral range of 1.7–17 μm with apodized resolution varying from 0.2 to 1.3 cm−1. TIRVIM is primarily dedicated to profiling temperature from the surface up to ∼60 km and to monitor aerosol abundance in nadir. TIRVIM also has a limb and solar occultation capability. The technical concept of the instrument, its accommodation on the spacecraft, the optical designs as well as some of the calibrations, and the expected performances for its three channels are described

Invasive aspergillosis in patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units: results of a multicenter study

Objective. To study risk factors, clinical and radiological features and effectiveness of the treatment of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in adult patients with COVID-19 (COVID-IA) in intensive care units (ICU). Materials and Methods. A total of 60 patients with COVID-IA treated in ICU (median age 62 years, male – 58%) were included in this multicenter prospective study. The comparison group included 34 patients with COVID-IA outside the ICU (median age 62 years, male – 68%). ECMM/ISHAM 2020 criteria were used for diagnosis of CAPA, and EORTC/MSGERC 2020 criteria were used for evaluation of the treatment efficacy. A case-control study (one patient of the main group per two patients of the control group) was conducted to study risk factors for the development and features of CAPA. The control group included 120 adult COVID-19 patients without IA in the ICU, similar in demographic characteristics and background conditions. The median age of patients in the control group was 63 years, male – 67%. Results. 64% of patients with COVID-IA stayed in the ICU. Risk factors for the COVID-IA development in the ICU: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 3.538 [1.104–11.337], p = 0.02), and prolonged (> 10 days) lymphopenia (OR = 8.770 [4.177–18.415], p = 0.00001). The main location of COVID-IA in the ICU was lungs (98%). Typical clinical signs were fever (97%), cough (92%), severe respiratory failure (72%), ARDS (64%) and haemoptysis (23%). Typical CT features were areas of consolidation (97%), hydrothorax (63%), and foci of destruction (53%). The effective methods of laboratory diagnosis of COVID-IA were test for galactomannan in BAL (62%), culture (33%) and microscopy (22%) of BAL. The main causative agents of COVID-IA are A. fumigatus (61%), A. niger (26%) and A. flavus (4%). The overall 12-week survival rate of patients with COVID-IA in the ICU was 42%, negative predictive factors were severe respiratory failure (27.5% vs 81%, p = 0.003), ARDS (14% vs 69%, p = 0.001), mechanical ventilation (25% vs 60%, p = 0.01), and foci of destruction in the lung tissue on CT scan (23% vs 59%, p = 0.01). Conclusions. IA affects predominantly ICU patients with COVID-19 who have concomitant medical conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, hematological malignancies, cancer, and COPD. Risk factors for COVID-IA in ICU patients are prolonged lymphopenia and COPD. The majority of patients with COVID-IA have their lungs affected, but clinical signs of IA are non-specific (fever, cough, progressive respiratory failure). The overall 12-week survival in ICU patients with COVID-IA is low. Prognostic factors of poor outcome in adult ICU patients are severe respiratory failure, ARDS, mechanical ventilation as well as CT signs of lung tissue destruction

Normative method of strategic cost management in the supply chain at the stage of product development

© ExcelingTech Pub, UK. This paper is devoted to the research and application of normative method of management on target costs in supply chain management. The normative method is a widespread method among foreign companies, but Russian enterprises apply this method not often because of its possible using difficulties. Two aspects of using this method are presented and problems of standards determination are revealed in this study, i.e. at the stage of development product and the stage of it output in supply chain process. Besides that, the existence of conception by management on target costs are discovered and the concrete procedures for application of target norms are presented. The authors lay great stress on control system of enterprise, so for this purpose the algorithm of normative control forming on responsibility centers are developed and presented by scheme. The results of this study allow to increase the competitiveness and the efficiency of enterprise's activity through cost management in the supply chain process

Development of cost analysis process based on the supply chain strategy

© ExcelingTech Pub, UK. This paper discusses the methodology of research and development costs analysis through the supply chain management. Peculiarities of costs formation at early stages of development life cycle are defined, aims and tasks of analysis, method of cost budget analysis in terms of responsibility centers, individual projects and cost items are disclosed. The supply chain management discipline suggests that information sharing is paramount when attempting to achieve cost reductions and quality improvements. Factors have been identified and impact of such factors on costs assessed. Special attention is devoted to the ratio between costs and results and to the ratio between costs and work duration. The analysis of plan and fact costs of separate projects is carried out in supply chain process and by examples of projects creation is considered. Besides that, the algorithm of average costs estimation through the determination of dependence between costs and work duration are presented by formula. The research identifies a theoretical model that can be used to explain the relationships and themes associated with supply chain costing and strategic decision making. Evidence suggests that there is some movement to implement managerial accounting techniques within these two industries to capture supply chain costing information. The results of this study allow to make decisions by supply chain managers for increasing of research and development work efficiency and for cost reduction

ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND MATERIAL MISSTATEMENT RISK AT THE PRECONDITIONS LEVEL

© 2020. All Rights Reserved. This paper discusses some problems relating to assessment of environmental and material misstatement risk. The paper begins with a short discussion about different methods of audit risk and risk of material misstatement assessment. For that the authors describe definitions of audit risk components, such as inherent risk, control risk and risk of material misstatement. Besides that, the authors point out some methods of its assessments given by domestic and foreign scientists. Then the authors go on to the problems of modern and widespread audit risk assessment in audit practice. For the decision of revealed problems, the universal model for evaluating the hazards of material misstatement at the prerequisite level are proposed to introduce. This model is presented into three modifications. The final paragraph ends with consideration of different situations about how the auditor can use the supposed model of material misstatement risk assessment according to various level of internal control system efficiency

BENCHMARKING AS A COMPREHENSIVE MODERN TOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM IN CONDITIONS OF DIGITALIZATION

© 2020. All Rights Reserved. This article is devoted to the tools and methods that allow to control the environmental and financial condition of the organization, in terms of its position relative to many other similar companies. The authors also present the modern methods of collecting and processing information which are relevant to contemporary requirements and necessary for analysis carrying out. The result of research is a visual representation of proposed tools and methods in practice. The possibilities of using the Python programming language, as well as its various libraries are considered. Also, it is described how to find the required information from the library database. The opportunities of using such methods are presented by examples of construction companies’ data. A comparative analysis of construction companies based on the indicators of sales profitability on net profit and on profit from sales was also carried out. In addition, the article describes the possibilities of applying the management methods for company’s activities control and its position on the market by the company’s employees