Justification of anti-crisis measures in the management of dairy cattle breeding based on mathematical modeling

Milk and dairy products occupy a significant share in the human diet. Every year the demand for it increases, and the current production is unable to satisfy it. There is a need to develop a set of measures to improve dairy cattle breeding and aimed at maintaining the food security of the region as a whole. Thus, the purpose of the research is to develop a methodology for the design and substantiation of anti-crisis measures in dairy cattle breeding in the region based on the resources of the state program. In connection with this goal, the article discusses the contribution of scientists to the problems of anti-crisis management and increasing the efficiency of dairy cattle breeding. The role of state regulation of the market for dairy products of the Smolensk region is substantiated on the basis of data obtained as a result of a computer experiment, set on a partial equilibrium model. A systematic approach was used to develop and substantiate measures aimed at overcoming the crisis in dairy farming. An assessment is made of the feasibility of applying the system modeling methodology to coordinate the investment plan of an organization with the sectoral anti-crisis program on the example of two agricultural organizations. Projects for solving the problems of releasing land and labor resources that have arisen as a result of optimizing the structure of production are substantiated. In conclusion, the scope of application of the presented methodology and further directions of its development are considered

Iodouracil-mediated photocrosslinking of DNA to EcoRII restriction endonuclease in catalytic conditions

We used a XeCl excimer laser with 50 ns pulses, a frequency of 0.3 Hz and a wavelength of 308 mn in appropriate conditions for the photocrosslinking of EcoRII restriction endonuclease to a 14-mer DNA duplex, containing a 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine residue (IdU). IdU replaced the thymidine residue within the EcoRII recognition sequence 5′-CCT/AGG. The binding of EcoRII endonuclease to the IdU-containing DNA duplex was analyzed by gel retardation assay in the presence of Ca2+ or Mg2+ ions. Photocrosslinking of EcoRII to the IdU-containing DNA duplex occurred in a pre-reactive complex formed in the presence of Ca2+ ions. Photocrosslinking yields as a function of time and UV-laser light intensity were studied.We thank Professor Alexander Yu. Borisov for valuable discussions and Robin Rycroft for assistance in preparation of the manuscript. We are grateful to Professor Ashok Bhagwat for providing us with the pR224 plasmid containing the ecoRII gene. This study was supported by the Russian Foundation of Fundamental Investigation (project no. 01–04–48637).Peer reviewe

Sociality is Not Lost with Monetary Transactions within Social Groups

This paper investigates how the group membership fee influences the cooperation rate within the groups formed through the socialization. Our previous findings suggest that socialization, or social interactions in groups, create sociality and, therefore, establish a society with sustained cooperation and fairness. In line with Social Identity Theory, we assert some esteem or value to be gained through group differentiation. What will happen with this additional value once we try to quantify it? For this purpose, we observed two cases: socialized participants should pay the fee to stay in-group; participants should pay the fee to join the group, socialize and stay there. We find that monetary transactions are not determinative on their own; rather the consequences of these transactions can hurt collective action through a forced division of participants into those who paid enough (in-group) and those who did not (out-group). More over, despite the fact that being in-group and out-group is an economically equal situation, participants are willing to pay the fee to stay in their socialized group or pay the fee to join the group before socialization

Sociality is Not Lost with Monetary Transactions within Social Groups

This paper investigates how the group membership fee influences the cooperation rate within the groups formed through the socialization. Our previous findings suggest that socialization, or social interactions in groups, create sociality and, therefore, establish a society with sustained cooperation and fairness. In line with Social Identity Theory, we assert some esteem or value to be gained through group differentiation. What will happen with this additional value once we try to quantify it? For this purpose, we observed two cases: socialized participants should pay the fee to stay in-group; participants should pay the fee to join the group, socialize and stay there. We find that monetary transactions are not determinative on their own; rather the consequences of these transactions can hurt collective action through a forced division of participants into those who paid enough (in-group) and those who did not (out-group). More over, despite the fact that being in-group and out-group is an economically equal situation, participants are willing to pay the fee to stay in their socialized group or pay the fee to join the group before socialization

Choice of the Group Increases Intra-Cooperation

This research investigates how variation in sociality, or the degree to which one feels belonging to a group, affects the propensity for participation in collective action. By bringing together rich models of social behavior from social psychology with decision modeling techniques from economics, these mechanisms can ultimately foster cooperation in human societies. While variation in the level of sociality surely exists across groups, little is known about whether and how it changes behavior in the context of various economic games. Specifically, we found some socialization task makes minimal group members behavior resemble that of an established group. Consistent with social identity theory, we discovered that inducing this type of minimal sociality among participants who were previously unfamiliar with each other increased social identity, and sustained cooperation rates in the newly formed groups to the point that they were comparable to those in the already established groups. Our results demonstrate that there are relatively simple ways for individuals in a group to agree about appropriate social behavior, delineate new shared norms and identities

Influence of reaction conditions on catalytic properties of rac-Et(2-MeInd)2ZrMe2/(2,6-tBu2PhO-)AliBu2 in ethylene-propylene copolymerization

Ethylene-propylene copolymerization reactions were carried out using rac-Et(2-MeInd)2ZrMe2 catalyst and (2,6-tBu2PhO-)AliBu2 as activator under varying reaction conditions. We demonstrate that reaction conditions such as monomer concentration, Al/Zr molar ratio and solvent type (toluene and heptane) all have significant effect on activity of the system and copolymers composition. The decrease in reaction pressure from 11 to 3 atm leads to: a) 1.6-fold increase in specific activity (from 3030 to 4840 kg copolymer/(mol Zr•h•atm)), b) increase of Mn value from 38 to 89 kg/mol, and c) increase of ethylene content in copolymer from 87 to 92 mol %. The increase of ethylene/propylene molar ratio from 0.7 to 2 does not significantly affect activity but leads to the rise in the ethylene content in copolymer from 92 to 97 mol % and, correspondingly, to the increase of copolymer crystallinity from 43 to 48%. As a result, thermal and mechanical properties of the obtained polymers also change, according to the shifts in copolymers composition. The change in Al/Zr molar ratio is confirmed to have great effect on the catalytic activity of our systems. In a row of Al/Zr= 100, 150, 200, 300 mol/mol, the lowest activity of 80 and the highest one of 8550 kg copolymer/(mol Zr•h•atm) are observed at 100 and 150 molar ratios correspondingly. We have also demonstrated the ability of catalytic systems with isobutylaluminum aryloxide activators to operate in aliphatic medium (heptane). On another note, during the reaction quenching, aryloxide activator hydrolyzes the polymer infused with 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol antioxidant. This results in the increased resistance of copolymers to the thermal-oxidative degradation. The presence of 4 wt% phenol in the copolymer leads to an increase in the 5% mass loss temperature by 67°C. Moreover, increasing the residual phenol content from 2 to 4 wt% affects the mechanical properties of the copolymers: the elongation-at-break increases from 500 to 600%, and the tensile strength decreases from 10 to 8 MPa

Implementation of differential scanning calorimetry when studying polymerization of compounds based on glycolic acid ether

Using differential scanning calorimetry and synchronous thermal analysis under dynamic conditions, kinetic regularities of copolymerization of α- glycolide and a mixture of α-β-glycolide with D,L-lactide in the presence of stannous octoate as a catalyst have been investigated. Some thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of cationic copolymerization of monomers have been determined

Implementation of differential scanning calorimetry when studying polymerization of compounds based on glycolic acid ether

Using differential scanning calorimetry and synchronous thermal analysis under dynamic conditions, kinetic regularities of copolymerization of α- glycolide and a mixture of α-β-glycolide with D,L-lactide in the presence of stannous octoate as a catalyst have been investigated. Some thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of cationic copolymerization of monomers have been determined

The effectiveness of using visualization tools and forms in distance learning

The purpose of the article is to comprehensively consider the concept of visualization, which is one of the main factors of effective learning of educational material, as well as to analyze the possibilities of using visualization in distance learning. The article shows the relevance of visualization of distance education, describes visualization technologies as a tool for improving the effectiveness of distance learning, defines the essence of visualization in education, finds out the possibilities of using visualization to ensure the professional training of future specialists in the course of distance learning of academic disciplines, as well as considers the visualization tools used in students’ distance learning. Based on an empirical study of using visualization in the course of distance learning of the "Pedagogical Skills" course, the formedness of the cognitive and operational components of students' educational activities was evaluated. This allowed concluding that using contemporary visualization technologies in the educational process creates prerequisites for improving the quality and effectiveness of training, acts as a key factor in improving the effectiveness of the educational process. Visualization allows solving a set of pedagogical problems, such as making the complicated educational material of various disciplines understandable, accessible for awareness, without reducing the level of its scientific character, creating conditions for informal assimilation of the training content by learners, contributing acquisition of deep, systematic knowledge, and so on.O objetivo do artigo é considerar de forma abrangente o conceito de visualização, que é um dos principais fatores para a aprendizagem efetiva de materiais educacionais, bem como analisar as possibilidades de utilização da visualização na educação a distância. O artigo mostra a relevância da visualização na educação a distância, descreve as tecnologias de visualização como uma ferramenta para melhorar a eficácia da educação a distância, define a essência da visualização na educação, descobre as possibilidades do uso da visualização para garantir a formação profissional de futuros especialistas na área. curso de EAD de disciplinas acadêmicas, bem como considerando as ferramentas de visualização utilizadas na EAD dos alunos. Com base no estudo empírico do uso da visualização no curso de educação a distância do curso "Habilidades Pedagógicas", avaliou-sea formação dos componentes cognitivos e operacionais das atividades educacionais dos alunos. Isso permitiu concluir que o uso de tecnologias contemporâneas de visualização no processo educacional cria pré-requisitos para a melhoria da qualidade e eficácia do treinamento, atua como um fator chave na melhoria da eficácia do processo educacional. A visualização permite resolver um conjunto de problemas pedagógicos, como tornar o complicado material didáctico de várias disciplinas compreensíveis, acessível à sensibilização, sem reduzir o nível do seu carácter científico, criando condições para a assimilação informal dos conteúdos formativos pelos formandos, contribuindo para a aquisição de aprofundamento, conhecimento sistemático e assim por diante.El propósito del artículo es considerar de manera integral el concepto de visualización, que es uno de los principales factores del aprendizaje efectivo del material educativo, así como analizar las posibilidades de utilizar la visualización en el aprendizaje a distancia.El artículo muestra la relevancia de la visualización de la educación a distancia, describe las tecnologías de visualización como una herramienta para mejorar la efectividad del aprendizaje a distancia, define la esencia de la visualización en la educación, descubre las posibilidades del uso de la visualización para asegurar la formación profesional de futuros especialistas en el curso de aprendizaje a distancia de disciplinas académicas, así como también considera las herramientas de visualización utilizadas en el aprendizaje a distancia de los estudiantes.Con base en un estudio empírico del uso de la visualización en el curso de educación a distancia del curso "Habilidades Pedagógicas", se evaluó la conformación de los componentes cognitivos y operativos de las actividades educativas de los estudiantes. Esto permitió concluir que el uso de tecnologías de visualización contemporáneas en el proceso educativo crea prerrequisitos para mejorar la calidad y efectividad de la formación, actúa como factor clave para mejorar la efectividad del proceso educativo. La visualización permite resolver un conjunto de problemas pedagógicos, como hacer comprensible el complicado material educativo de diversas disciplinas, accesible a la conciencia, sin reducir el nivel de su carácter científico, creando condiciones para la asimilación informal de los contenidos formativos por parte de los educandos, contribuyendo a la adquisición de conocimientos profundos. , conocimiento sistemático, etc

Abundance of Opisthorchis felineus Metacercariae in cyprinid fish in the middle Ob River basin (Tomsk region, Russia)

Infection with the liver fluke, Opisthorchis felineus, caused by the consumption of infected raw or undercooked cyprinid fish is common in humans and carnivores in the middle Ob River basin (Tomsk region, Russia) and can lead to diseases in humans. The goal of this study was the status of fish infection with O. felineus metacercariae in order to assess the role of fish in the infection of the human population in the middle Ob River basin. Of the 14 Cyprinidae species recorded in the middle Ob River basin, we examined 6 cyprinid species for prevalence and intensity of infection with O. felineus metacercariae. Five of these species (Leuciscus idus, Leuciscus leuciscus, Rutilus rutilus, Abramis brama, and Carassius gibelio) are of commercial value, while the common bleak is an object of amateur fishing. In addition, we conducted a survey of the fish consumption habits as part of a community-based crosssectional study in the rural Shegarsky district, Tomsk region, Russian Federation. O. felineus metacercariae were observed in muscles of all examined species except for the Prussian carp. The ide is the main infection source in the Ob River (prevalence of infection, 100%, and intensity, 50.5 metacercariae per fish) and the common dace in the Tom River (91.1% and 12.7 metacercariae). Although the two alien species (bream and common bleak) are susceptible to infection with O. felineus metacercariae, the prevalence of infection in these fish and in the roach did not exceed 3%. The prevalence and intensity of infection in fish increased with age and size. The infection characteristics of fish in different water flows were different. The cyprinid species account on average for 69.8% of the commercial fish harvested in the Tomsk region. According to epidemiological survey, among 600 participants, 87.5% (n = 525) of respondents consumed river fish, with the most popular fish being cyprinids including Prussian carp, dace, ide and bream, followed by pike and perch. Thus, the epizootological state of the water flows in the middle Ob River basin is adverse with respect to opisthorchiasis, as indicated by high infection rates of liver fluke metacercariae in ide and common dace, which are abundant species of high commercial value. An extremely high prevalence of infection suggests a strong transmission cycle with a high rate of infection from infected humans and/or animal reservoir hosts to snails and fish. In addition to treating humans, there should be a strong focus on identifying these potential reservoir hosts to reduce subsequent infection in humans. Furthermore, since the intensity of infection in humans is determined by the presence of fish species such as ide and dace in the diet, they should be included in a dietary change campaign by eliminating the consumption of raw fish