Сценарії оптимальної військово-практичної взаємодії ЄС та НАТО у постбіполярну епоху

У статті визначено основні проблеми, що існують у від­носинах між ЄС та НАТО у сфері безпеки. Проаналізовано погляди науковців та експертів на можливі шляхи розвитку взаємин між організаціями у постбіполярну епоху

The nature and structure of ethnic pedagogical competence of the modern teacher

The article examines the nature and structure of ethnic pedagogical competence in accordance with the demand by the multiculturalism of the society of the position of the teacher as expert on multiculturalism based on the analysis of the professional standard of the teacher and the requirements of the FSES HPE teacher education.В статье на основе анализа профессионального стандарта педагога и требований ФГОС ВПО педагогического образования рассматриваются сущность и структура этнопедагогической компетентности в соответствии с востребованной поликультурностью социума позиции педагога как специалиста по поликультурности

A note on the predictability of the Russian stock market

Over the past 20 years, the problem of low investment activity of private investors has been featuring the Russian stock market. There are various reasons for that, among them the financial crises, limited access to information, a high subjectivity and lack of developed and simple methods for making investment decisions. Therefore, this research aims to study the predictability of the Russian stock market in the conditions of instability due to crises, as well as the limited access of private investors to information and the low investment literacy in general. This research addresses the predictability of the equity premium on the Russian stock market from 31 January 2008 to 31 January 2017. This is the period of two economic crises for the Russian economy: from 2008 to 2013 and from 2014 to 2017. The authors investigate whether the returns of industry portfolios can predict future stock market returns. The particular set of traditional macroeconomic variables functioning as predictors of stock returns and the economy, in general, is determined. Thus, the selection of approaches, methods, and indicators for the analysis and forecasting of the Russian stock market was carried out according to three criteria: the instability (crises) periods, the information available for the private investor (generally accepted indicators), and the clarity and ordinariness of analysis and forecasting methods. A macroeconomic indicator-based approach or an industry-based approach is more often used for these purposes. Taking into account the instability caused by the economic crises in Russia, the authors combined two approaches. Using traditional linear regression modeling, three out of nine industries and five out of eight macroeconomic predictors have been found statistically significant. However, all the models based on these predictors have negative pseudo-R-squared values; therefore, they underperform the historical out-of-sample mean model. It has also been revealed that two out of nine forecast models, based on significant predictors, provide utility gains for the mean-variance investor

Discrimination between Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus mitis based on sorting of their MALDI mass spectra

AbstractAccurate species-level identification of alpha-hemolytic (viridans) streptococci (VGS) is very important for understanding their pathogenicity and virulence. However, an extremely high level of similarity between VGS within the mitis group (S. pneumoniae, S. mitis, S. oralis and S. pseudopneumoniae) often results in misidentification of these organisms. Earlier, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been suggested as a tool for the rapid identification of S. pneumoniae. However, by using Biotyper 3.0 (Bruker) or Vitek MS (bioMérieux) databases, Streptococcus mitis/oralis species can be erroneously identified as S. pneumoniae. ClinProTools 2.1 software was used for the discrimination of MALDI-TOF mass spectra of 25 S. pneumoniae isolates, 34 S. mitis and three S. oralis. Phenotypical tests and multilocus gene typing schemes for the S. pneumoniae (http://spneumoniae.mlst.net/) and viridans streptococci (http://viridans.emlsa.net/) were used for the identification of isolates included in the study. The classifying model was generated based on different algorithms (Genetic Algorithm, Supervised Neural Network and QuickClassifier). In all cases, values of sensitivity and specificity were found to be equal or close to 100%, allowing discrimination of mass spectra of different species. Three peaks (6949, 9876 and 9975 m/z) were determined conferring the maximal statistical weight onto each model built. We find this approach to be promising for viridans streptococci discrimination

TRANSFORMATION OF APPROACHES AND MEANS OF DIAGNOSING RISKS OF INVESTMENT PROJECTS AND GOVERNMENT TARGETED PROGRAMS

The article is devoted to the problem of risk assessment in the development of state programs and the implementation of investment projects, analysis of methods and techniques of risk management applied in this area today. The authors theoretically describe the place of evaluation in risk analysis and management as a new emerging function of government bodies. The article opens the scientific discussion on new challenges facing the scientific community in the field of methodological support and support of the processes of modernization of public administration in the field of risk management. The authors summarize the Ukrainian practice of risk assessment in the development of state target programs, designate areas for further research on the stated problem.Key words: risk management, government targeted programs, public administration, investment project

Synthesis and properties of 2′-deoxy-2′,4′-difluoroarabinose-modified nucleic acids

© 2015 American Chemical Society. We report the synthesis, thermal stability, and RNase H substrate activity of 2′-deoxy-2′,4′-difluoroarabino-modified nucleic acids. 2′-Deoxy-2′,4′-difluoroarabinouridine (2,′4′-diF-araU) was prepared in a stereoselective way in six steps from 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoroarabinouridine (2′-F-araU). NMR analysis and quantum mechanical calculations at the nucleoside level reveal that introduction of 4′-fluorine introduces a strong bias toward the North conformation, despite the presence of the 2′-βF, which generally steers the sugar pucker toward the South/East conformation. Incorporation of the novel monomer into DNA results on a neutral to slightly stabilizing thermal effect on DNA-RNA hybrids. Insertion of 2′,4′-diF-araU nucleotides in the DNA strand of a DNA-RNA hybrid decreases the rate of both human and HIV reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H-mediated cleavage of the complement RNA strand compared to that for an all-DNA strand or a DNA strand containing the corresponding 2′-F-araU nucleotide units, consistent with the notion that a 4′-fluorine in 2′-F-araU switches the preferred sugar conformation from DNA-like (South/East) to RNA-like (North).Peer Reviewe

Friedreich's ataxia-associated childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a national cohort study

OBJECTIVE: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an important predictor of long-term outcomes in Friedreich's ataxia (FA), but the clinical spectrum and survival in childhood is poorly described. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics of children with FA-HCM. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of children with FA-HCM from the UK. PATIENTS: 78 children (<18 years) with FA-HCM diagnosed over four decades. INTERVENTION: Anonymised retrospective demographic and clinical data were collected from baseline evaluation and follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary study end-point was all-cause mortality (sudden cardiac death, atrial arrhythmia-related death, heart failure-related death, non-cardiac death) or cardiac transplantation. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis of FA-HCM was 10.9 (±3.1) years. Diagnosis was within 1 year of cardiac referral in 34 (65.0%) patients, but preceded the diagnosis of FA in 4 (5.3%). At baseline, 65 (90.3%) had concentric left ventricular hypertrophy and 6 (12.5%) had systolic impairment. Over a median follow-up of 5.1 years (IQR 2.4-7.3), 8 (10.5%) had documented supraventricular arrhythmias and 8 (10.5%) died (atrial arrhythmia-related n=2; heart failure-related n=1; non-cardiac n=2; or unknown cause n=3), but there were no sudden cardiac deaths. Freedom from death or transplantation at 10 years was 80.8% (95% CI 62.5 to 90.8). CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest cohort of childhood FA-HCM reported to date and describes a high prevalence of atrial arrhythmias and impaired systolic function in childhood, suggesting early progression to end-stage disease. Overall mortality is similar to that reported in non-syndromic childhood HCM, but no patients died suddenly

Similarity analysis of silage, rumen and milk microbiota in dairy cows

Diseases that occur in such a multifactorial system as animal husbandry are determined not only by internal factors of the body, for example, the composition of the microflora of the digestive system, but also by external factors, such as feed. The aim of the study was to analyze the similarity of the microbiota of silage fed to cows with the composition of the microflora of their rumen and milk using the NGS sequencing method. The experiment was carried out on one of the commercial farms of the Leningrad region. The bacterial community of the contents of rumen, milk and silage from perennial cereals and legumes was evaluated by NGS sequencing on the MiSeq platform (Illumina, Inc., USA) with primers for the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. As a result of the study, 22 phylum of attributed microorganisms were found in the microflora of silage, 24 to 30 phylum of rumen, 18 phylum of milk. Similar taxa of microorganisms were identified in silage, rumen and milk, the main difference was noted in quantitative ratios (P≤0.05). For example, the amount of Firmicutes in silage was 52.9 ± 3.45%, in milk - 11.8 ± 0.78%. This suggests that there may be some relationship between the studied biotopes. Pathogenic microorganisms, including the causative agents of mastitis, were present in many samples. The genera Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Streptococcus and Fusobacterium were identified by us as the most represented (P≤0.05) in the composition of the milk microflora. Their content was 0.24±0.023, 1.8±1.23, 1.0±0.06 and 0.35±0.031%, respectively. Probably, the microflora of the rumen can influence the formation of the milk microbiota

USAGE EFFICIENCY OF THE AIR AND THE DISPERSE ENVIRONMENT AS HEAT-CARRIERS

The estimation of the air and the disperse environment (fluidized bed) in the heat exchange intensity with identical energy expenses on a heat-carriers transportation is carried out in the work.В работе проведена оценка эффективности воздуха и дисперсной среды (псевдоожиженного слоя) по интенсивности теплообмена при одинаковых затратах энергии на перемещение теплоносителей

Comparison of methods of organization of air-exchange production premises

The article discusses the use of vortex air distribution to improve the energy efficiency of ventilation in industrial buildings of industrial enterprises. For the analysis, an object with a source of harmful heat and gas emissions was selected. Sources of harmful emissions are distributed over the premises. A comparative analysis of the methods of the organization of ventilation at the investigated facility is carried out.В статье обсуждается применение вихревой воздухораздачи для повышения энергоэффективности вентиляции производственных зданий промышленных предприятий. Для анализа выбран объект с источником вредных теплогазовыделений. Источники вредных выделений распределены по помещению. Проведен сравнительный анализ способов организации вентиляции на исследуемом объекте