Understanding Human and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Kola Arctic : A Participatory Integrated Study

The Lake Imandra watershed is located in one of the most developed regions in the Arctic - the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Approximately 300 000 people live on the roughly 27 000 km² watershed, making it one of the most densely populated areas of the Arctic. Most of the people are involved in large-scale mineral extraction and processing and the infrastructure needed to support this industry. This paper reports the results of a pilot project staged for the Lake Imandra watershed that has put human dynamics within the framework of ecosystem change to integrate available information and formulate conceptual models of likely future scenarios. The observation period is one of both rapid economic growth and human expansion, with an overall economic decline in the past decade. We are applying the Participatory Integrated Assessment (PIA) approach to integrate information, identify information gaps, generate likely future scenarios, and link scientific findings to the decision-making process. We found an increasingly vulnerable human population in varying states of awareness about their local environment and fully cognizant of their economic troubles, with many determined to attempt maintenance of relatively high population densities in the near future even as many residents of northern Russia migrate south. A series of workshops have involved the citizens and local decision makers in an attempt to tap their knowledge of the region and to increase their awareness about the linkages between the socioeconomic and ecological components.Le bassin hydrographique du lac Imandra est situé dans l'une des régions les plus développées de l'Arctique, soit la presqu'île de Kola, en Russie. Près de 300 000 personnes vivent dans la zone du bassin qui couvre environ 27 000 km², ce qui en fait l'une des régions les plus peuplées de l'Arctique. La plupart des habitants travaillent dans l'extraction et le traitement miniers à grande échelle ainsi que dans l'infrastructure qui soutient cette industrie. Le présent article rapporte les résultats d'un projet pilote mis sur pied pour le bassin du lac Imandra, projet qui a placé la dynamique humaine dans le cadre du changement des écosystèmes, afin d'intégrer l'information disponible et de formuler des modèles conceptuels de scénarios probables dans l'avenir. La période d'observation en est une à la fois de croissance économique et d'expansion démographique rapides, suivie d'un déclin général au cours de la dernière décennie. On a recours à la méthode d'évaluation participative intégrée (EPI) pour intégrer l'information, y dégager des lacunes, générer des scénarios probables dans l'avenir et établir un lien entre résultats de la recherche et processus décisionnel. On a trouvé qu'il y avait une population humaine de plus en plus vulnérable qui était sensibilisée à divers degrés aux problèmes locaux de l'environnement et pleinement consciente des difficultés économiques, population dont une bonne part était fermement décidée à tenter de maintenir à brève échéance des densités de population relativement élevées, alors même que les résidents du nord de la Russie migrent en grand nombre vers le Sud. On a tenu une série d'ateliers avec citoyens et décideurs locaux pour chercher à capter leurs connaissances de la région et à accroître leur sensibilisation aux liens existant entre les composantes socio-économiques et écologiques

ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ МОДЕРНИЗАЦИИ СИСТЕМЫ ЭКСПОРТА АРКТИЧЕСКОГО ПРИРОДНОГО ГАЗА НА ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЙ РЫНОК

A research purpose is the analysis of the European natural gas market environment and the modernization opportunities of the delivery system from Russia in connection with the current geo-economic changes. The main methods are the factorial approaches and the content analysis, which allows allocate and structure this sector’s driving forces.Export of the Russian natural gas on the European market still remains the dominating activity, in terms of the total amounts of deliveries, though over the last ten years its specific weight has been considerably reduced. The situation has sharply become aggravated both in connection with the "Ukrainian" crisis, and that of the European Union policy, which is taking the active measures for the gas supply system diversification. As a result of the conducted research it is proved that the Russian gas transportation system in the Arctic regions requires the strategic upgrade which shall go in two main directions.The first direction is the forming of the new pipeline schemes replacing the unreliable transit routes. The second direction is a rather innovative development of exploration and transportation of the liquefied natural gas which amount exceeds thirty percent in world export and in Russian has not yet reached ten percent.Scientific novelty of the received results consists in system approval of the opportunities of adaptation of Russian export deliveries to the market demand changes. The proposals of increase of the liquefied natural gas exploration in the Arctic regions and formation of the basic centers (special zones) have also a practical importance.Целью исследования является анализ конъюнктуры европейского рынка природного газа и возможности модернизации системы российских поставок в связи с происходящими геоэкономическими изменениями.Основными методами при этом выступают факторный подход и контент-анализ, позволяющие выделить и структурировать движущие силы этого сектора. Экспорт российского природного газа на европейский рынок все еще остается доминирующим в общих объемах поставок, хотя за последние десять лет его удельный вес значительно сократился. Cитуация резко обострилась как в связи с «украинским» кризисом, так и вследствие политики Европейского Союза, принимающего активные меры по диверсификации системы газоснабжения.В результате проведенного исследования обосновано, что российская система транспортировки газа, добываемого в основном в арктических регионах, требует стратегической модернизации, которая должна идти по двум основным направлениям. Первое – формирование новых трубопроводных схем, заменяющих ненадежные транзитные маршруты. Второе – сравнительно инновационное развитие выпуска и транспортировки сжиженного природного газа, которое в мировом экспорте превышает тридцать процентов, а у нас не достигло и десяти. Научная новизна полученных результатов состоит в системном обосновании возможностей адаптации экспортных поставок российского природного к изменению рыночного спроса. Предложения по увеличению выпуска сжиженного природного газа в арктических регионах с формированием опорных центров (особых зон) имеют также практическую значимость

Sustained Release of an Anti-Glaucoma Drug: Demonstration of Efficacy of a Liposomal Formulation in the Rabbit Eye

Topical medication remains the first line treatment of glaucoma; however, sustained ocular drug delivery via topical administration is difficult to achieve. Most drugs have poor penetration due to the multiple physiological barriers of the eye and are rapidly cleared if applied topically. Currently, daily topical administration for lowering the intra-ocular pressure (IOP), has many limitations, such as poor patient compliance and ocular allergy from repeated drug administration. Poor compliance leads to suboptimal control of IOP and disease progression with eventual blindness. The delivery of drugs in a sustained manner could provide the patient with a more attractive alternative by providing optimal therapeutic dosing, with minimal local toxicity and inconvenience. To investigate this, we incorporated latanoprost into LUVs (large unilamellar vesicles) derived from the liposome of DPPC (di-palmitoyl-phosphatidyl-choline) by the film hydration technique. Relatively high amounts of drug could be incorporated into this vesicle, and the drug resides predominantly in the bilayer. Vesicle stability monitored by size measurement and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) analysis showed that formulations with a drug/lipid mole ratio of about 10% have good physical stability during storage and release. This formulation demonstrated sustained release of latanoprost in vitro, and then tested for efficacy in 23 rabbits. Subconjunctival injection and topical eye drop administration of the latanoprost/liposomal formulation were compared with conventional daily administration of latanoprost eye drops. The IOP lowering effect with a single subconjunctival injection was shown to be sustained for up to 50 days, and the extent of IOP lowering was comparable to daily eye drop administration. Toxicity and localized inflammation were not observed in any treatment groups. We believe that this is the first demonstration, in vivo, of sustained delivery to the anterior segment of the eye that is safe and efficacious for 50 days