A memoryless, stochastic mechanism of timing of phases of behavior by a neural network controller

For a sensorimotor network to generate adaptive behavior in the environment, the phases of the behavior must be appropriately timed. When the behavior is driven simply by the sensory stimuli from the environment, these can supply the timing. But when the behavior is driven by an internal "goal" that ignores and perhaps even opposes the immediate sensory stimuli, the timing must be generated internally by the network. We have modeled a realistic behavioral scenario that requires such internal timing.

When the sea slug Aplysia feeds, it incrementally ingests long strips of seaweed, driven by ingestive stimuli emanating from the seaweed. But if, having ingested a strip, the animal fails to break the strip off the substrate, it must incrementally egest the entire strip again. To do this, it must ignore the inherent ingestiveness of the seaweed and generate the opposite, egestive behavior, driven by an internal egestive goal, for a length of time that is appropriate for the length of the strip to be egested.

In previous work, we found that a differential-equation model of the Aplysia feeding network, with dynamics like those experimentally observed, performed this task extremely well. In this model, the goal-driven egestion was appropriately timed by a slowly decaying dynamical transient that "remembered" the time elapsed since the beginning of the egestion.

We have now used genetic algorithms to evolve very simple artificial neural network controllers that perform the task equally well. But these networks time the egestion by a completely different mechanism. Their dynamics are characterized by discrete ingestive and egestive attractors, to which they switch in response to ingestive and egestive stimuli. However, the switch in behavior follows the switch in stimulus only with a considerable delay, during which the network continues to generate the old behavior. Existing always near an attractor, the network has no long-term memory. Instead, the switch in behavior finally occurs when a sufficiently high local stimulus density appears in the stochastic stimulus input stream. This complex event occurs rarely. To perform the task, the evolution of the network tunes its connection weights so that the switch requires a density that occurs, on average, about as often as the time that is required to egest the typical length of seaweed strip with which the network is evolved. Thus a simple memoryless network, aware of only the local stimulus, is nevertheless able to organize behavior over arbitrarily long time scales

Прибуток і рентабельність підприємства - обліково-аналітичний аспект

The economic essence of the concept of "profit" and "profitability" of the enterprise is considered. Profit is the part of the revenues remaining after covering all expenses for production and non-productive activities, serves as a means of reproduction and an important motive for realizing such activity of the enterprise in the current and prospective period. Modern accounting and analytical provision of profit management is in the process of systematization and structuring of information generated by accounting and economic analysis systems in order to use and dist ribute financial results of an enterprise. The accounting of financial results of the enterprise is considered, namely the reflection by the debit and the credit of the result from the operating activity, the calculation of the tax on profit, the write-off of the profit tax on the financial results and the reflection of profit in the accounting of the enterprise. In the analysis of production, profitability indicators are more complete than profit, characterizing the final results of management, because their magnitude shows the ratio between available and used resources. The indicator of profitability reflects the ratio of company profits and factors that are prerequisites for its occurrence. Accounting allows you to calculate a large number of indicators of profitability, so they need to be systematized in the analytical groups in order to streamline and ensure optimality in the conduct of analytical procedures. The approaches to the estimation of profitability and ways of its increase are analyzed. Proposed increase in profitability of the enterprise as a result magnification production volumes and reduction of all expenses. In order to obtain the maximum strategic effect of the enterprise, the enterprise should effectively use the profit received in past periods and conduct accounting policy.Розглянуто економічну сутність поняття "прибуток" і "рентабельність" підприємства. Прибуток – це та частина виторгу, яка залишається після покриття усіх витрат на виробничу і невиробничу діяльність, слугує засобом відтворення та важливим мотивом здійснення саме такої діяльності підприємства в поточному та перспективному періоді. Сучасне обліково-аналітичне забезпечення управління прибутком полягає в процесі систематизації та структурування інформації, який генерується системами бухгалтерського обліку та економічного аналізу, з метою використання та розподілу фінансових результатів підприємства. Розглянуто бухгалтерський облік фінансових результатів підприємства, а саме відображення за дебетом і кредитом результату від операційної діяльності, нарахування податку на прибуток, списання податку на прибуток на фінансові результати й відображення прибутку у бухгалтерському обліку підприємства. При аналізі виробництва показники рентабельності більш повно, ніж прибуток, характеризують кінцеві результати господарювання, тому що їх величина показує співвідношення між наявними та використаними ресурсами. Показник рентабельності відбиває співвідношення прибутку підприємства і факторів, які є передумовами його виникнення. Бухгалтерська звітність дозволяє розрахувати велику кількість показників рентабельності, тому їх необхідно систематизувати в аналітичні групи з метою впорядковування і забезпечення оптимальності при виконанні аналітичних процедур. Проаналізовано підходи до оцінки рентабельності та шляхи її підвищення. Зроблено висновки про трактування прибутку й рентабельності підприємства. Запропоновано підвищення рентабельності підприємства завдяки збільшенню обсягу виробництва продукції та зменшення всіх статей витрат. Для отримання максимального стратегічного ефекту діяльності підприємства підприємство має ефективно використовувати прибуток отриманий у минулих періодах й проводити облікову політику

Social and Economic Components of Well-being

The article examines the relationship between economic development and social components of human well-being. The definitions of basic concepts that describe the position of the person in the economic environment are given. The authors examine the different components of well-being, both objective and subjective, based on the personal perception of a person. Economic growth on the one hand and social policy on the other should contribute to improving the living standards of the population. A man should feel comfortable and safe in the economic environment not only due to the social support of the state. It is very important to have a sense of self-realization for a man, self-worth, which he can attain with close people in a family

Evaluation and improvement of economic efficiency in the sphere of bore-hole drilling methods

One of the important requirements for the methods and technologies, especially in the extractive industry, is cost-effective use of resources. The amount of exploration and industrial bore-hole drilling for various purposes is increasing in today’s world. Since drilling is the main type of exploration, it is necessary to improve the technology and to reduce costs. The article discusses an alternative to the existing method of bore-hole drilling developed in Tomsk Polytechnic University on the basis of the discovery made by scientists of the University. Electric pulse drilling technology is an innovation with the estimated base of evidence. The technique consists of rock breaking without drilling in it. This technology is fundamentally different from the existing ones; therefore, its application requires modification and updating of all operation systems. High barriers to entry and introduction to the industry are specific to electric pulse drilling. The authors concluded that the technology of electric pulse drilling provides an alternative of production methods and tools, which allows finding the best option to reduce costs and thereby to increase resource efficiency of production or project

Quality of life - the factor of Russia success at present and in the future

The quality of life and human development - these concepts are substantial characteristics of contemporary approaches to the challenges of economic growth and development of society. The quality of life in contemporary quality concepts means the integrated characteristics of social-economic, political, cultural-ideologic, ecologic factors and living conditions and social status of a person. State policy in the field of regulating population’s quality of life and living standards is the basis of creating totally new work force, essential needs in material wealth, life quality and working conditions indicators. We consider the definition "quality of life" within the concept of human development to define the system of the factors influencing it. We review the modern approaches to the analysis of the quality of life. Features and aspects of quality of life are considered, its role in social and economic development of the country is analysed. The main criteria define specifics of human development and social wellbeing of the population. To evaluate the quality of life of the population we use the statistical analysis of the United Nations (UN), Human Development Index (HDI).We conclude that the level of life is an integrated social and economic category that presents the level of development of physical, immaterial and social needs which influence the quality of life and population wellbeing Index

Three Naturally-Occurring Psychedelics and Their Significance in the Treatment of Mental Health Disorders

Classical psychedelics represent a family of psychoactive substances with structural similarities to serotonin and affinity for serotonin receptors. A growing number of studies have found that psychedelics can be effective in treating various psychiatric conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Mental health disorders are extremely prevalent in the general population constituting a major problem for the public health. There are a wide variety of interventions for mental health disorders, including pharmacological therapies and psychotherapies, however, treatment resistance still remains a particular challenge in this field, and relapse rates are also quite high. In recent years, psychedelics have become one of the promising new tools for the treatment of mental health disorders. In this review, we will discuss the three classic serotonergic naturally occurring psychedelics, psilocybin, ibogaine, and N, N-dimethyltryptamine, focusing on their pharmacological properties and clinical potential. The purpose of this article is to provide a focused review of the most relevant research into the therapeutic potential of these substances and their possible integration as alternative or adjuvant options to existing pharmacological and psychological therapies

Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson dementia distinguished by cognitive marker

Background:  Temporary memory binding (TMB) has been shown to be specifically affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) when it is assessed via free recall and titrating the task demands to equate baseline performance across patients. Methods:  Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) were subdivided into patients with and without cognitive impairment and compared with AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients on their performance on the TMB. Results:  The results show that only patients with AD dementia present with impaired TMB performance. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses showed that TMB holds high sensitivity and specificity for aMCI and AD relative to PD groups and healthy controls. Conclusion:  The TMB is sensitive to the neurodegenerative mechanisms leading to AD dementia but not to those underpinning PD dementia. As such, TMB task can aid the differential diagnosis of these common forms of dementia

Predicting Adaptive Behavior in the Environment from Central Nervous System Dynamics

To generate adaptive behavior, the nervous system is coupled to the environment. The coupling constrains the dynamical properties that the nervous system and the environment must have relative to each other if adaptive behavior is to be produced. In previous computational studies, such constraints have been used to evolve controllers or artificial agents to perform a behavioral task in a given environment. Often, however, we already know the controller, the real nervous system, and its dynamics. Here we propose that the constraints can also be used to solve the inverse problem—to predict from the dynamics of the nervous system the environment to which they are adapted, and so reconstruct the production of the adaptive behavior by the entire coupled system. We illustrate how this can be done in the feeding system of the sea slug Aplysia. At the core of this system is a central pattern generator (CPG) that, with dynamics on both fast and slow time scales, integrates incoming sensory stimuli to produce ingestive and egestive motor programs. We run models embodying these CPG dynamics—in effect, autonomous Aplysia agents—in various feeding environments and analyze the performance of the entire system in a realistic feeding task. We find that the dynamics of the system are tuned for optimal performance in a narrow range of environments that correspond well to those that Aplysia encounter in the wild. In these environments, the slow CPG dynamics implement efficient ingestion of edible seaweed strips with minimal sensory information about them. The fast dynamics then implement a switch to a different behavioral mode in which the system ignores the sensory information completely and follows an internal “goal,” emergent from the dynamics, to egest again a strip that proves to be inedible. Key predictions of this reconstruction are confirmed in real feeding animals

Індивідуалізація навчального процесу студентів на практичних заняттях з шейпінгу

Методичні рекомендації до практичних занять «Індивідуалізація навчального процесу студентів на практичних заняттях з шейпінгу» з дисципліни «Фізичне виховання» для студентів навчального відділення шейпінгу укладені к. п. н., доцентом Г.Л.Бойко та старшими викладачами: С.У.Шарафутдіновою, Т.Г.Козловою, Н.В.Іванютою, Н.В.Гавриловою. Враховуючи, що сучасні освітні тенденції у вищих навчальних закладах спрямовані на підтримку своєрідності кожного студента, вивчення та врахування його індивідуальних відмінностей при здійсненні навчально-виховного процесу, то на заняттях з фізичного виховання це особливо важливо, так як мова йде про здоров’я та гармонійний розвиток кожного студента. В посібнику дається класифікація типів статури. Детально описуються особливості будови тіла осіб з Т, А, О, Н, І, Х-типами статури. Також приводяться рекомендації щодо корекції фігури з допомогою фізичних навантажень та особливостей харчування для кожного з даних типів. Знання та врахування відомостей про тип статури студенток дають змогу фахівцеві з фізичного виховання визначати необхідну індивідуальну програму фізичних навантажень (видів і об’єму фізичних вправ), дати рекомендації щодо правильного харчування для досягнення гармонійних пропорцій тіла.Methodical recommendations for practical classes "Individualization of the students' educational process in practical classes on shaping" from the discipline "Physical education" for students of the education department of shaping concluded by the professor, associate professor G. L. Boyko and senior lecturers: S.U. Sharafutdinova , T.G.Kozlova, N.V.Ivanyuta, N.V.Gavrilova. Given that the current educational trends in higher educational institutions are aimed at supporting the individuality of each student, studying and taking into account his individual differences in the implementation of the educational process, then in physical education classes this is especially important, since it is a matter of health and harmony The development of each student. The manual gives a classification of the types of physique. Details of the structure of the body of persons with T, A, O, H, I, X-types of constitution are described in detail. Also, recommendations for body shape correction with exercise and nutritional characteristics for each of these types are given. Knowing and taking into account information on the type of student body build allows a physical education specialist to identify the individual program of physical activity (types and amount of physical exercises), give advice on proper nutrition to achieve harmonious body proportions.Методические рекомендации к практическим занятиям «Индивидуализация учебного процесса студентов на практических занятиях по шейпингу» по дисциплине «Физическое воспитание» для студентов учебного отделения шейпинга составлены к. п. н., доцентом А.Л.Бойко и старшими преподавателями: С.У.Шарафутдиновой, Т.Г.Козловой, Н.В.Иванютою, Н.В.Гавриловой. Учитывая, что современные образовательные тенденции в высших учебных заведениях направлены на поддержку своеобразия каждого студента, изучения и учета его индивидуальных различий при осуществлении учебно-воспитательного процесса, то на занятиях по физическому воспитанию это особенно важно, так как речь идет о здоровье и гармоничном развитие каждого студента. В пособии дается классификация типов телосложения. Подробно описываются особенности строения тела лиц с Т, А, В, Н, И, Х-типами телосложения. Также приводятся рекомендации по коррекции фигуры с помощью физических нагрузок и особенностей питания для каждого из данных типов. Знание и учет сведений о типе телосложения студенток позволяют специалисту по физическому воспитанию определять необходимую индивидуальную программу физических нагрузок (видов и объема физических упражнений), дать рекомендации по правильному питанию для достижения гармоничных пропорций тела

COVID-19-induced coagulopathy: Experience, achievements, prospects

The presence of coagulopathy as part of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome is a characteristic feature of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Hematological changes (increased DD-dimer, prolonged activated partial thromboplastin clotting time [APTT] and prothrombin time [PT], high fibrinogen levels) have been observed in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, which characterize the risk of thrombotic events. Against the background of COVID-19 there is endothelial dysfunction, hypoxia and pulmonary congestion, mediated by thrombosis and microvascular occlusion. Up to 71.4% of patients who died from COVID-19 had disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome, compared with only 0.6% of survivors. The main manifestation of COVID-19-associated coagulopathy is a significant increase in DD without a decrease in platelet count or prolongation of APTT and PT, indicating increased thrombin formation and the development of local fibrinolysis. An increase in DD levels of more than 3–4 times was associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Therefore, COVID-19 requires assessment of the severity of the disease for further tactics of thromboprophylaxis. The need for continued thromboprophylaxis, or therapeutic anticoagulation, in patients after inpatient treatment for two weeks using imaging techniques to assess of thrombosis assessment