Practices of forest exploitation in priority investment projects: Benefits and implications

The paper discusses the topical issues of investment activities enhancement in the forest sector of the Russian economy by implementing the mechanism of priority investment projects in the field of forest exploitation - economic model of public-private partnership proposed by the forest owner (the State) for the private sector. The aim of the considered investment projects is the development of a timber-processing infrastructure, which is reliably provided with wood raw materials. It becomes possible to ensure certain preferences for businessmen that encourage them to invest money into the forest sector. Thus, the other objective is to develop recommendations for attracting investments into the forest sector of the Russian economy in the framework of priority investment projects. The paper analyzes a ten-year experience in the practice of applying priority investment projects in forest exploitation using an integrated approach to studying project management issues and method of comparison. The research identifies positive moments and a number of organizational and methodological shortcomings related to the development and implementation of investment projects in the forest sector of the Russian Federation. A number of areas contributing to the development of investment activities in forest exploitation is proposed. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Practices of forest exploitation in priority investment projects: Benefits and implications

The paper discusses the topical issues of investment activities enhancement in the forest sector of the Russian economy by implementing the mechanism of priority investment projects in the field of forest exploitation - economic model of public-private partnership proposed by the forest owner (the State) for the private sector. The aim of the considered investment projects is the development of a timber-processing infrastructure, which is reliably provided with wood raw materials. It becomes possible to ensure certain preferences for businessmen that encourage them to invest money into the forest sector. Thus, the other objective is to develop recommendations for attracting investments into the forest sector of the Russian economy in the framework of priority investment projects. The paper analyzes a ten-year experience in the practice of applying priority investment projects in forest exploitation using an integrated approach to studying project management issues and method of comparison. The research identifies positive moments and a number of organizational and methodological shortcomings related to the development and implementation of investment projects in the forest sector of the Russian Federation. A number of areas contributing to the development of investment activities in forest exploitation is proposed. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Rational use of forest as a renewable natural resource

This article is devoted to the formation of a mechanism for the rational use of forests as a renewable natural resource, including transfer of forest areas in rent taking into account market indicators, advantages and disadvantages in the process of timber sales. The total income received in the form of fees for the use of forest fund and for the use of forests in 2016 in the Russian Federation is amounted to 24.4 billion rubles, which is 0.9 billion rubles (by 3.8%) more compared with the previous year. According to the state report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology, in the reporting 2016 year this payment was received in the amount of 27.8 billion rubles, which is 3.4 billion rubles (almost 14%) more than in 2015. Thus, due to the fact that Russia's natural forest resources constitute powerful strategic competitive advantage in the world economic system, the article, on the basis of the system approach, reveals correlation between the level of rent payments and profitability from the sale of round wood, taking into account harvested and considered assortments, which allows forming forest payments on the basis of domestic and export market prices and as a result increasing financial contribution from the use of forests to the national budget.peer-reviewe

Current issues of the regional forestry planning on the example of the Sverdlovsk region (Russian Federation)

The publication addresses the problematic issues of the regional forestry planning. The object of research is the forest sector of the Sverdlovsk region. The subject of research is the mechanism of regional forestry planning. The purpose of the work is to describe the current mechanism of regional forest planning and make individual proposals to improve its functioning. One decade of experience in applying the first forestry plans of the subjects of the Russian Federation have shown their failure. The new forestry plans, developed in the subjects of the Russian Federation using a unified methodology for the period from 2018 to 2029, do not inspire optimism either. The main reasons for the failure of forestry plans are the lack of a scientific concept and the usage of a forest management approach in their development. The conclusions are drawn on a number of organizational and methodological problems associated with the development and implementation of the existing regional forestry planning mechanism, as well as on the need to develop an up-to-date scientifically proven methodological basis for planning in the forest sector at the regional level. © 2020 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

LIN-44/Wnt Directs Dendrite Outgrowth through LIN-17/Frizzled in C. elegans Neurons

Nervous system function requires proper development of two functional and morphological domains of neurons, axons and dendrites. Although both these domains are equally important for signal transmission, our understanding of dendrite development remains relatively poor. Here, we show that in C. elegans the Wnt ligand, LIN-44, and its Frizzled receptor, LIN-17, regulate dendrite development of the PQR oxygen sensory neuron. In lin-44 and lin-17 mutants, PQR dendrites fail to form, display stunted growth, or are misrouted. Manipulation of temporal and spatial expression of LIN-44, combined with cell-ablation experiments, indicates that this molecule is patterned during embryogenesis and acts as an attractive cue to define the site from which the dendrite emerges. Genetic interaction between lin-44 and lin-17 suggests that the LIN-44 signal is transmitted through the LIN-17 receptor, which acts cell autonomously in PQR. Furthermore, we provide evidence that LIN-17 interacts with another Wnt molecule, EGL-20, and functions in parallel to MIG-1/Frizzled in this process. Taken together, our results reveal a crucial role for Wnt and Frizzled molecules in regulating dendrite development in vivo

Multiple Wnts Redundantly Control Polarity Orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans Epithelial Stem Cells

During development, cell polarization is often coordinated to harmonize tissue patterning and morphogenesis. However, how extrinsic signals synchronize cell polarization is not understood. In Caenorhabditis elegans, most mitotic cells are polarized along the anterior-posterior axis and divide asymmetrically. Although this process is regulated by a Wnt-signaling pathway, Wnts functioning in cell polarity have been demonstrated in only a few cells. We analyzed how Wnts control cell polarity, using compound Wnt mutants, including animals with mutations in all five Wnt genes. We found that somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs) are properly polarized and oriented in quintuple Wnt mutants, suggesting Wnts are dispensable for the SGPs' polarity, which instead requires signals from the germ cells. Thus, signals from the germ cells organize the C. elegans somatic gonad. In contrast, in compound but not single Wnt mutants, most of the six seam cells, V1–V6 (which are epithelial stem cells), retain their polarization, but their polar orientation becomes random, indicating that it is redundantly regulated by multiple Wnt genes. In contrast, in animals in which the functions of three Wnt receptors (LIN-17, MOM-5, and CAM-1) are disrupted—the stem cells are not polarized and divide symmetrically—suggesting that the Wnt receptors are essential for generating polarity and that they function even in the absence of Wnts. All the seam cells except V5 were polarized properly by a single Wnt gene expressed at the cell's anterior or posterior. The ectopic expression of posteriorly expressed Wnts in an anterior region and vice versa rescued polarity defects in compound Wnt mutants, raising two possibilities: one, Wnts permissively control the orientation of polarity; or two, Wnt functions are instructive, but which orientation they specify is determined by the cells that express them. Our results provide a paradigm for understanding how cell polarity is coordinated by extrinsic signals

Cell-specific microarray profiling experiments reveal a comprehensive picture of gene expression in the C. elegans nervous system

A novel strategy for profiling Caenorhabditis elegans cells identifies transcripts highly enriched in either the embryonic or larval C. elegans nervous system, including 19 conserved transcripts of unknown function that are also expressed in the mammalian brain