Cost-benefit analysis for health project evaluation (example of a Russian outpatient clinics' project in the Novosibirsk region)

IntroductionThe development of social infrastructure projects in medicine corresponds to transforming public priorities toward social development in general and health care in particular. Therefore, there is a need to develop comprehensive quantitative methods for evaluating such projects.MethodsThis paper uses a combination of two approaches: first, cost-benefit analysis taking into account the relationship between financial and economic efficiency; second, the study of the efficiency of participation in a public-private partnership concerning project efficiency. The model's financial bloc is focused on analyzing the return on investment in fixed and working capital, considering the terminal value. The economic bloc includes social and tax effects (along with environmental, price, indirect, and other specific public effects). We apply fixed effects regression models to calculate multipliers used to estimate the social effects. Multipliers are based on: public health expenditure, human development index, and life expectancy. The proposed methodology has been adapted for evaluating the Seven Polyclinics' project as a flagship project for developing social infrastructure in the Novosibirsk Region.Results and discussionThe evaluation results revealed a deficient level of financial efficiency of the project characterized by negative net present value and low internal rate of return. Simultaneously, the efficiency of participation in the project for private investors using the public-private partnership mechanism is characterized by high rates of return on private investment. In the transition to the economic analysis, the results fundamentally change, taking into account social and tax effects and detecting an exceptionally high level of all economic indicators of the project. As the project's primary beneficiaries, the economic analysis identified polyclinic patients who received the opportunity to acquire new medical services. At the same time, within the financial analysis framework, the mechanisms for implementing the project were determined, ensuring the consistency of interests. The distribution of effects among the project participants was compared for various funding methods, including the public-private partnerships mechanism. It is shown that the project implementation leads to significant social effects and provides a noticeable improvement in population health. The proposed methodology can be used for decision making on the implementation of similar projects

The use of foresight in technical systems

The study is intended for engineers designing technical systems. The analytic hierarchy process was used as the main tool of foresight. Nowadays, some experience in the design of technical systems is accumulated. However, in most cases, designers have to sort through all possible factors and parameters of devices. The involvement of experts will reduce the time range of research. The research results show a high Kendall’s coefficient of concordance 0.738. Research materials will allow planning experiments only with the most important factors. This will adjust the protocols for testing new technical systems and significantly reduce costs

Obesity: Ethnic and Regional Differences in the Diet and Gut Microbiota (Review)

Problems of obesity, nutrition and microbiota are discussed in this review. In a world of constant economic and cultural changes traditional diet is being replaced by western diet, rich in free sugars, saturated fats, salt, and characterized by increased average daily dietary energy consumption intake. Such «western-style» diet is associated with high weight gain, leading to metabolic disorders, namely diet-related obesity, which is rapidly increasing globally. The impact of ethnicity to the development of obesity as inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic differences in dietary habits is showed. Dietary habits of different countries, including ethnic minorities, provide a specific pattern of gut microbiota and microbiome. In the context of globalization, international migration and rapid urbanization, changes in dietary habits occurred without proper adaptation of gut microbiota. Gut microbiota plays the fundamental role in regulation and pathogenesis of metabolic disorders due to making metabolites for normal human development, therefore gut microbiota dysbiosis may lead to metabolic dysfunction, including obesity. The review shows actual worldwide data of evolution of adult obesity over time, dietary energy consumption in different country and different climatic regions. It analyzes changes in gut microbiota composition depending on traditional or western diet, and on nationality and race

QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM SUCH AS A DOCUMENT OF THE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF AN ENTERPRISE IN THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY

В настоящей статье рассмотрена роль Программы обеспечения качества как ключевого документа системы менеджмента предприятия атомной отрасли. Выполнено сравнение Программы обеспечения качества с Руководством по качеству, рассмотрена их взаимосвязь.This article examines the role of the Quality Assurance Program as a key document in the management system of a nuclear industry enterprise. A comparison was made between the Quality Assurance Program and the Quality Manual, and their relationship was examined

Reforestation pipeline: case for quality management of NIR-region grading of Scots pine seeds and FLR-algorithm for information processing

When controlling the process of improving the quality of seeds by separating on a spectrometric basis, the primary information about the state of Scots pine seeds is carried by the wavelengths of optical fluxes and their amplitudes. The algorithm for analyzing the required characteristics of small forest seeds in the infrared range is a corresponding sequence of logical terms that provide the ability to determine the specified seed parameters by a combination of spectral frequencies and light flux amplitudes taken from the corresponding photodetectors. At ΔС = 0.5, the efficiency of the algorithm was 77.6 %, and at ΔС = 0.9, respectively, 99.5 %. In this regard, the choice of ΔС is the result of a compromise between the cost of rejection of high-quality seeds and losses when using unrecognized low-quality seeds and it is made according to the results of relevant experiments

Evaluation of Ukrainian banks’ business models by the structural and functional groups analysis method

A method of identifying banks’ business models and studying the features of their risk profile, considering the system of indicators featuring the structure of assets, liabilities, income, expenses, and other qualitative indicators based on monthly statistical reporting. Kohonen's self-organizing maps (SOM) are used to process large data sets, revealing objects’ hidden features by forming homogeneous groups according to similar values of a large system of indicators. The choice of the system of indicators that play the most significant role in describing the business models of modern banks is substantiated. The proposed method makes it possible to group banks with homogeneous characteristics into so-called structural-functional groups and studies the change in the characteristics of groups of banks over time to compare their behavior during periods of active development of the system and during a crisis. That approach is useful for studying the banking system at the macro level, as it provides a quantitative measure of its financial stability. The more banks are in groups with negative values of parameters, increased risks, and unprofitable performance, the worse the general state of the system. The method also allows studying the features of each structural and functional group and the business models’ features at the meso-level. The number and composition of banks inherent in any group change dynamically, which characterizes the features of the relevant business model in a particular period. The averages of each group reflect the objective changes in the banking system structure. In addition, the SOM trajectory can be built for each individual bank determining the development of its strategy, features of a particular business model, and risk profile. At the micro-level, it allows comparing the features of individual banks within the SFGB and models ways to improve efficiency and financial stability by forecast values for SOM. An extensive system of indicators used to form structural and functional groups of banks allows to quickly respond to changes in the banking system, identify areas of increased risk and explore the adequacy and effectiveness of banks’ business models

Changes in the biological activity of typical chernozem under different pea cultivation technologies

The preservation of soil fertility is a critical task in modern agriculture, necessitating the adoption of technologies that conserve soil resources. This study aimed to investigate the biological activity of typical chernozem under various pea cultivation technologies. The research was conducted on the experimental field of the Kursk Federal Agrarian Research Center, utilizing traditional, differentiated, minimal, and direct sowing methods. The soil used was typical thick heavy loamy chernozem. The study employed the gravimetric method to measure humidity, the application method for the decomposition of flax to assess biological activity, and the Kravkov method to determine the nitrification capacity of the soil. The results showed that differentiated, minimal, and direct sowing technologies for pea cultivation significantly enhanced the nitrifying ability and biological activity of the soil, with average increases of 1.2-1.8 times compared to traditional technology in the 0-20 cm soil layer. These findings highlight the potential benefits of adopting alternative pea cultivation technologies to promote soil conservation and fertility preservation

A evolução do ensino superior na década de 1920 do século XX na Rússia

In the period of global social transformations, it is important to see their perspective, the outcome to which these changes lead. To look into this issue, it is better to turn to history, building a definite retrospective in this way of those social processes that happened to society at the given moment, which will help to understand the general meaning of the development of education in society. To this end, using the methodology of the evolution of higher education, we turn to the period of the history of Russia from 1917 to 1927 - the period of the Revolution, the Civil War, the concomitant period of War Communism, and the subsequent period of the New Economic Policy (NEP). It is this period that can be characterized as the period of social anomie in Russian society, when the old system of education was demolished, and a new, Soviet, system ​​was created to replace it. As a result of such a historical retrospective, it was shown that the utopian aspirations of the Soviet leaders led to destructive consequences, but society, in spite of these social cataclysms, still demonstrated the ability to live in harmony and return to a universal and educational system.En el período de las transformaciones sociales globales, es importante ver su perspectiva, el resultado al que conducen estos cambios. Para profundizar en este tema, es mejor volver a la historia, construyendo así una retrospectiva definida de aquellos procesos sociales que le sucedieron a la sociedad en el momento dado, lo que ayudará a comprender el sentido general del desarrollo de la educación en la sociedad. Con este fin, utilizando la metodología de la evolución de la educación superior, nos dirigimos al período de la historia de Rusia de 1917 a 1927: el período de la Revolución, la Guerra Civil, el período concomitante del Comunismo de Guerra y el período posterior. de la Nueva Política Económica (NEP). Este es el período que puede caracterizarse como el período de anomia social en la sociedad rusa, cuando el antiguo sistema de educación fue demolido y se creó un nuevo sistema soviético para reemplazarlo. Como resultado de tal retrospectiva histórica, se demostró que las aspiraciones utópicas de los líderes soviéticos llevaron a consecuencias destructivas, pero la sociedad, a pesar de estos cataclismos sociales, aún demostró la capacidad de vivir en armonía y regresar a una universalidad y educación. sistema.No período das transformações sociais globais, é importante ver a sua perspectiva, o desfecho a que essas mudanças conduzem. Para se debruçar sobre essa questão, convém voltar-se para a história, construindo assim uma retrospectiva definitiva daqueles processos sociais ocorridos na sociedade em determinado momento, o que ajudará a compreender o sentido geral do desenvolvimento da educação em sociedade. Para tanto, usando a metodologia da evolução do ensino superior, nos voltamos para o período da história da Rússia de 1917 a 1927 - o período da Revolução, a Guerra Civil, o período concomitante do comunismo de guerra e o período subsequente da Nova Política Econômica (NEP). É este período que pode ser caracterizado como o período de anomia social na sociedade russa, quando o antigo sistema de educação foi demolido e um novo sistema soviético foi criado para substituí-lo. Como resultado de tal retrospectiva histórica, foi mostrado que as aspirações utópicas dos líderes soviéticos levaram a consequências destrutivas, mas a sociedade, apesar desses cataclismos sociais, ainda demonstrou a capacidade de viver em harmonia e retornar a um sistema universal e educacional

DEUTERIUM AS A TOOL FOR CHANGING THE PROPERTIES OF PHARMACEUTICAL SUBSTANCES (REVIEW)

The review is devoted to the influence of the hydrogen isotope–deuterium on biological models of organisms and the biological activity of pharmaceutical substances. The positions of the influence of deuterium on the properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients are examined from different perspectives. The first position reflects an increase in the kinetic isotope effect (KIE) in processes involving known pharmaceutical substances in aqueous solutions with a deuterium/protium ratio (D/H) below natural. For the first time, the dose-response diagram shows the identity of deuterium with essential trace elements, when a deficiency and excess of an element reduces the organism's vitality. Improved kinetic characteristics are demonstrated for the molecular and organism levels of different hierarchical gradations. In particular, they consist in the possibility of increasing the dissolution rate of substances by influencing the carbohydrate mutarotation processes and the optical activity of chiral substances, increased accumulation of essential elements in medicinal plants and other processes associated with a possible change in metabolic pathways in the cell and the organism as a whole. The second considered position of the influence of deuterium is associated with the use of deuterated substances–new compounds or obtained by substitution of protium in known protium analogues. The KIE is presented, which is expressed in a decrease in the biotransformation rate as a result of deuteration, it allows predicting a rapid development of the new direction in the development of drugs. Having an identical therapeutic effect, deuterated analogs provide improved pharmacokinetic characteristics, such as reduced toxicity, blocked epimerization of optically active substances, and a change in the mechanisms of biotransformation. The obtained results make it possible to predict the mechanisms of the effect of deuterium on the biochemical transformations of pharmaceutical substances in the organism