Plastic raw materials in Neolithic pottery production

The paper is dedicated to the investigation of various natural silts as the most ancient type of raw material used in pottery production. The authors describe the specific features of the composition of plain and mountain silts, and discover the same features in ancient ceramics from different regions in Russia. It can be concluded that silts were the earliest raw material used, a tradition that faded away during the evolution of pottery production.V članku predstavljamo raziskave različnih vrst naravnega mulja, ki predstavlja najstarejšo vrsto surovine za proizvodnjo lončenine. Opisujemo specifične značilnosti sestave mulja, dosegljivega tako v ravnini kot v gorah, ter jih primerjamo z najstarejšo lončenino iz različnih regij v Rusiji. Sklepamo, da predstavlja naravni mulj najzgodnejšo vrsto surovine za izdelavo keramike, in da se je ta tradicija proizvodnje lončenine sčasoma izgubila

Repositioning of Regional High-Tech Products in the Global Sales Markets

Разрывы глобальных цепочек создания стоимости, обусловленные сложившейся мировой экономической и политической повесткой, вызвали объективную необходимость пересмотра подходов регионов России к формированию экспортных стратегий и позиционированию промышленных компаний на мировых товарных рынках. Цель исследования – предложить подход к разработке стратегического перепозиционирования экспортной высокотехнологичной продукции региона на мировых товарных рынках с учетом масштабов и стадии жизненного цикла спроса, уровня технологического лидерства. В исследовании применяются методы структурного и динамического анализа и группировок, позволяющие дифференцировать региональных производителей высокотехнологичной продукции по масштабам и темпам роста мирового спроса; методы стратегического перепозиционирования видов экспортной продукции с использованием параметров по доле экспорта высокотехнологичной продукции региона в удовлетворении мировой потребности, позволяющие обосновать выбор вида стратегии перепозиционирования с учетом минимизации рисков и обеспечения целевых параметров развития экономики региона. Предложенный подход к исследованию позволяет формировать научно обоснованные управленческие решения по выбору экспортных стратегий с учетом потенциала технологического лидерства и оптимизации объемов высокотехнологичной продукции региональных производителей для национальных и мировых товарных рынковThe gaps in global value chains (GVCs) caused by the current global economic and political agenda have served as a reason an objective need to revise the approaches of Russian regions to the formation of export strategies and the positioning of industrial companies in the world commodity markets. The purpose of this research is to propose an approach to the development of strategic repositioning of regional export high-tech products in the world commodity markets, taking into account the scale and life cycle stage of demand and the level of technological leadership. The methods of structural and dynamic analysis and grouping are used as research methods; this makes it possible to differentiate regional manufacturers of high-tech products according to the scale and tempo of global demand growth; strategic repositioning methods of types of export products using the parameters “ the share of regional export high-tech products in meeting global demand – “the ratio of the share of high-tech products in the total regional exports to the share of high-tech products in world exports”; it allows to justify the type choice of repositioning strategy, taking into account risk minimization and ensuring the target parameters of the development of the regional economy. The mapping results of the repositioning manufacturers from the Krasnoyarsk Territory in the world commodity markets are presented on the example of export high-tech products (code of the commodity nomenclature of foreign economic activity (CNFEA) – 71). The proposed approach to the research makes it possible to form scientifically-based managerial decisions on the choice of export strategies, taking into account the potential of technological leadership and volume optimization of high-tech products from regional manufacturers for national and global commodity market

Clarithromycin for community-acquired pneumonia in adults: focus on anti-inflammatory properties

Aim. To evaluate clinical efficacy, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity of clarithromycin in adults with severe community-acquired pneumonia (sCAP). Materials and methods. A prospective observational study recruited adult hospitalized patients with verified sCAP. Clarithromycin was prescribed as a component of combination antibiotic therapy (ABT) with a -lactam antibiotic (AB). The choice of -lactam AB was carried out by the attending physician in accordance with national clinical guidelines and routine practice of the medical institution. Along with assessment clinical efficacy, the dynamics of inflammatory markers in blood serum was recorded: C-reactive protein, procalcitonin (PCT), tumor necrosis factor , interleukins 1-beta (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). The total duration of ABT was 714 days. Results. Altogether 20 patients (13 males, 7 females) aged from 18 to 84 years old were enrolled. As a result of the use of combined ABT with -lactam AB and clarithromycin, a significant decrease in the level of C-reactive protein was noted by the 35th day of therapy (from 74.6 to 14.1 mg/l). An increase in serum PCT was observed in half of the patients; during treatment, the level of PCT significantly decreased. Similar dynamics was detected for IL-6 its content in the blood serum decreased by the time of the end of ABT by 6.8 times compared with the baseline. A decrease in the level of tumor necrosis factor to the reference value was observed in most patients already in the early stages by 35 days of ABT. The majority of patients showed positive dynamics of clinical signs and symptoms with resolution of respiratory failure and other complications of sCAP. In almost half of the patients, the criteria for clinical stability were achieved in the early stages, which made it possible to switch to oral ABT. Conclusion. The results of the study are consistent with literature data indicating a rapid decrease in inflammatory markers when clarithromycin is administered to patients with sCAP. Its results can be a starting point for comparative randomized trials assessing both clinical outcomes and immunological parameters when using different classes of antibiotics for the treatment of sCAP

ABOUT ANCIENT CERAMIC TRADITIONS OF THE POPULATION OF THE NORTHERN CASPIAN REGION

Introduction. The territory of the Northern Caspian region plays an important role in the study of the Neolithic of Eastern Europe. The main criterion of this period is clay pottery. One of the difficult issues is the time of the ceramic technology appearance. Methods and materials. The study of the pottery technology of the Neolithic population of the Northern Caspian region is carried out in the framework of the historical and cultural approach to the study of ceramics, according to the method of A. Bobrinsky. The technique is based on binocular microscopy, tracology and experiment in the form of physical modeling. The basis for identifying technological traces on ceramics is the comparative analysis of the vessels under study with the base of standards. It is made by means of physical modeling in field and laboratory conditions. The age of the Neolithic monuments was determined using traditional methods in radiocarbon laboratories in Russia and Ukraine, as well as using AMS at universities in Sweden and Finland. Analysis. Over the past 10 years, more than 68 radiocarbon dates on different materials such as charcoal, bones, organics from ceramics, charred crusts, humus have been obtained. They give the possibility to determine the time of appearance and spread of the earliest pottery in the Northern Caspian region. This is the middle 7th millennium BC. The chronological framework for the development of the Neolithic in the Northern Caspian region is ca. 6600-5500 BC. The paper establishes the main and specific features of ceramic traditions. Results. The technical and technological analysis allows to reveal the genesis, the features of dynamics and further development of pottery in this region. The complex of results obtained allows to attribute the Neolithic sites of the Caspian region to the earliest pottery areal in Eastern Europe.Peer reviewe

Plaster Mask from the Oglakhty Cemetery Grave no. 1/2021: Comprehensive Study Experience

Статья представляет результаты изучения женской погребальной маски из захоронения таштыкской культуры на Оглахтинском грунтовом могильнике 2–3 вв.н.э. Основным в нашей работе был материаловедческий подход к изучению маски и связанных с ней остатков. Исследование предпринято с использованием ряда (комплекса) аналитических методов: оптической и сканирующей электронной микроскопии, 3D‑микротомографии, ИК‑рефлектографии и ИК‑микроспектроскопии, рентгенофлюоресцентного анализа и др. Среди основных пигментов росписи – киноварь и гематит, первая была нанесена по сырому гипсу. В качестве добавки в гипсовую смесь впервые идентифицированы оболочки зерен проса обыкновенного (Panicum miliaceum L.). Отпечатки текстиля у глазниц маски проанализированы с точки зрения вида и структуры оставившей их ткани. «Наглазники» были выполнены из шелка простого прямого переплетения с оснóвным настилом, что подтвердилось и сравнением отпечатков на маске с фрагментами шелковых тканей из оглахтинских погребений. Впервые обнаружены и изучены скопления микроскопических волокон вблизи описанных отпечатковThe paper deals with a study of a death mask from the Tashtyk culture grave at the Oglakhty cemetery, 2nd‑3rd centuries AD, and presents its results. Our main approach was that of material science. The study was undertaken using a series of analytical methods such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D microtomography, IR reflectography, IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV luminescence, X‑ray reflectometry. Cinnabar and hematite were identified as the main pigments of the painting; the former was applied on raw plaster, whereas the latter above dry plaster surface. Shells of the grains of common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) turned out to be an additive to the gypsum mixture. Textile imprints near the eye sockets were analyzed to get an insight of the type and structure of the fabric. Clusters of tiny fibers near the textile imprints were noticed and studied for the first time. They are explained as remains of the silk pieces with unhemmed borders, “cought” by liquid plaster in the process of applying it to the person’s face. The fibers could be preserved inside the plaster due to the absence of air and mechanical influence

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

The time of Appearance and Spread of the Neolithic Pottery Traditions in the Volga Region

The paper presents the results of a complex radiocarbon analysis of the Neolithic pottery, including its radiocarbon dating and a comparative analysis of data on pottery technologies used by the Neolithic population of the Lower and Middle Volga Region. The research is based on the data of the technological analysis of more than 4,000 pottery samples from 125 Neolithic and Eneolithic sites located in the studied region. Radiocarbon dates were obtained for more than 300 samples of the Neolithic vessels, and then the absolute dates were checked against radiocarbon analysis of other materials (bone, charcoal, charred organic remains). These data are then used to question the time of appearance of the early ceramic traditions in this region and their spread, and also to consider the mixing of culturally different groups of the ancient population in the Volga Region

Benefits and challenges of social media utilization for academic purposes: faculty perspective

Social media have created zones for information sharing, collaboration, community formation and development, but despite their widespread use, little is known about the benefits or challenges of social media technology (SMT) use for academic purposes. Some publications declare that social media can make a good tool to blend pedagogy and technology in education, thus enhancing involvement of students who regard social networks as an inseparable part of their life. Furthermore, SMT is regarded useful to add to the repertoire of learning resources providing opportunities to make learning more individualized and flexible, developing student and faculty autonomy and self-management. One of the revealed concerns is regarding SMT potentially disruptive, able to divert students’ attention from classroom participation tempting them to go to entertainment sites and put assignments aside. Organizational challenges include additional workload for faculty and students, especially for teachers who are not technologically savvy and have difficulty in adapting available tools. The purpose of this article is to explore the benefits and challenges of using SMT for education purposes by analyzing publications and the results of the survey conducted in one of the largest universities in Russia - Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk. The results revealed mostly positive attitude of the faculty to SMT use in training students of Economics, Marketing and Management, the major benefits for students being motivation and better self-management in individual work. As for teachers, they reported enriched learning experiences and availability of resources for self and teacher development. Among major challenges are faculty and students’ heavy workloads and not good and safe enough technology infrastructure. To conclude, there are numerous opportunities for researchers and educators to continue the research on SMT integration in educational environments and determining the ways to limit the challenges of social media used for academic purposes