Implementation of Efficient Energy Policy in Russia: Energy Consumption Monitoring and Problem Analysis

The implementation of an efficient energy policy in Russia as an integral part of the social and economic strategy as a whole gives a high profile to the issues of energy consumption monitoring. The importance of the energy sector to the industrial development of all Russian regions requires close attention to the accounting and rational use of energy resources in order to reduce the energy dependence of all industries and make Russian economy less energy-intensive whilst more energy-efficient. The analysis of strategic documents in the field of energy saving proves the importance of the Russian Federation, which is one of the leaders of the world energy sector. The purpose of the article is to study the energy aspects of energy consumption in the regions of the Russian Federation, to conduct their comparative analysis and evaluation, and to identify problems in the supply of energy resources. The methods of research applied to study this problem include data collection and synthesis methods; a balance method; a time-series method; tabular and graphical methods of the study results visualization. The article presents the dynamics of electricity consumption in the regions of the Russian Federation broken down by federal districts and macro-regions set out in the Russian Federation spatial development strategy; also, the consumption balance by types of energy resources is provided for various fuels. In addition, it provides a brief description of the Russian integrated power system operation reflecting the generation and consumption of electricity among the main power systems of the country. Based on the analysis of Russia's energy development forecast, using scenario approaches, the article concludes that the energy efficiency of the national economy requires improvement and there is a need to implement energy-saving projects. The information contained herein is of practical value for the professionals involved in the analysis and evaluation of energy resources consumption and assessment of their contribution to the national economy. The results of the study reveal fundamental differences in the consumption and use of energy resources throughout Russia's regions. Keywords: energy resources monitoring, energy consumption, energy security, energy saving, energy strategy. JEL Classifications: D24; Q43; M31 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.796

Fungus Metarhizium robertsii and neurotoxic insecticide affect gut immunity and microbiota in Colorado potato beetles

Fungal infections and toxicoses caused by insecticides may alter microbial communities and immune responses in the insect gut. We investigated the effects of Metarhizium robertsii fungus and avermectins on the midgut physiology of Colorado potato beetle larvae. We analyzed changes in the bacterial community, immunity- and stress-related gene expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and detoxification enzyme activity in response to topical infection with the M. robertsii fungus, oral administration of avermectins, and a combination of the two treatments. Avermectin treatment led to a reduction in microbiota diversity and an enhancement in the abundance of enterobacteria, and these changes were followed by the downregulation of Stat and Hsp90, upregulation of transcription factors for the Toll and IMD pathways and activation of detoxification enzymes. Fungal infection also led to a decrease in microbiota diversity, although the changes in community structure were not significant, except for the enhancement of Serratia. Fungal infection decreased the production of ROS but did not affect the gene expression of the immune pathways. In the combined treatment, fungal infection inhibited the activation of detoxification enzymes and prevented the downregulation of the JAK-STAT pathway caused by avermectins. The results of this study suggest that fungal infection modulates physiological responses to avermectins and that fungal infection may increase avermectin toxicosis by blocking detoxification enzymes in the gut

Radiophysical Microwave Installation for Investigating Biological Effects in Mice with Tumor

Текст статьи не публикуется в открытом доступе в соответствии с политикой журнала.Designing radiophysical devices for investigating the effect of microwave radiation on biological objects is one of the main directions in applied modern radio-electronics. An installation for investigating the radiophysical microwave radiation effects on laboratory animals has been developed, with the frequency being 915 MHz, power of electromagnetic radiation being 10 μW/cm2. The results obtained demonstrate the survival rate of mice with tumor under the influence of electromagnetic field

Cervical and Endometrial Cancer Incidence in the Female Population from the Bryansk Region Living in Conditions of Chemical, Radioactive and Combined Environmental Contamination (2000–2020)

At the end of 36 years after the Chernobyl disaster, about 5 million people still live in the radioactively contaminated territories of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, and the density of radioactive contamination by Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 will remain radiologically significant for decades. We assessed cervical and endometrial cancer primary incidence (new cases) in the female population from the Bryansk region living in conditions of chemical, radioactive, and combined environmental contamination for 2000–2020. We found a significant increase in the long-term trend in the primary incidence of cervical and endometrial cancer in all the studied groups, regardless of the environmental conditions of residence (p < 0.00001). We did not find statistically significant differences in the incidence of cervical and endometrial cancer in women, regardless of the level of chemical, radioactive, and combined environmental contamination. However, women living in environmentally unfavorable areas (in total, in the territories of chemical, radioactive, and combined contamination) are statistically significantly more likely to develop endometrial cancer in terms of relative risk compared to environmentally safe (control) areas (RR 1.17 (1.08–1.27)). No such pattern was found for cervix cancer. It should be noted, since environmentally safe (control) areas have a certain level of contamination (albeit low), RR is underestimated

Comparative analysis of the immune response of the wax moth Galleria mellonella after infection with the fungi Cordyceps militaris and Metarhizium robertsii

Entomopathogenic fungi form different strategies of interaction with their insect hosts. The influence of funga

Conformational fingerprint of blood and tissue ACEs: Personalized approach.

BackgroundThe pattern of binding of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to 18 epitopes on human angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)-"conformational fingerprint of ACE"-is a sensitive marker of subtle conformational changes of ACE due to mutations, different glycosylation in various cells, the presence of ACE inhibitors and specific effectors, etc.Methodology/principal findingsWe described in detail the methodology of the conformational fingerprinting of human blood and tissue ACEs that allows detecting differences in surface topography of ACE from different tissues, as well detecting inter-individual differences. Besides, we compared the sensitivity of the detection of ACE inhibitors in the patient's plasma using conformational fingerprinting of ACE (with only 2 mAbs to ACE, 1G12 and 9B9) and already accepted kinetic assay and demonstrated that the mAbs-based assay is an order of magnitude more sensitive. This approach is also very effective in detection of known (like bilirubin and lysozyme) and still unknown ACE effectors/inhibitors which nature and set could vary in different tissues or different patients.Conclusions/significancePhenotyping of ACE (and conformational fingerprinting of ACE as a part of this novel approach for characterization of ACE) in individuals really became informative and clinically relevant. Appreciation (and counting on) of inter-individual differences in ACE conformation and accompanying effectors make the application of this approach for future personalized medicine with ACE inhibitors more accurate. This (or similar) methodology can be applied to any enzyme/protein for which there is a number of mAbs to its different epitopes