bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fully densely linked and strongly correlated road scene instance segmentation
Authors: Wang Hao , Shi Ying , Xie Changjun , Lin Chaojun , Hou Hui , Hua Jie
Published: September 2022

Unlike conventional indoor or outdoor scenes, road images in driverless scenes usually have the characteristics of high resolution, large width (indicating a large span and containing many targets), and variable background. As a mainstream algorithm for the instance segmentation task, Polar-Mask can balance segmentation accuracy and real-time performance to some extent. However, confronted with the road scene images, its feature extraction is inadequate, and the regression branch and the classification branch in its network structure are disjoint, ignoring the potential correlation between instance contour and instance category. To overcome this shortcoming, a Polar-Mask-based fully densely linked and strongly correlated instance segmentation network (FCSIS-Polar) is proposed. Specifically, the original cascaded convolutional layers in Polar-Mask are densely connected to enhance the feature extraction of the residual network. In addition, the category features are co-encoded with the original mask prediction results as a priori information to establish a contour-category correlation. The experiment results based on the Cityscapes dataset corroborate its performance, which can achieve a segmentation accuracy of 26.4 % and a segmentation speed of 14.2 FPS even in small images.
Is Income Inequality Important for Foreign Aid Effectiveness?
Authors: Skarda Ieva
Published: September 2022

This paper presents new evidence that foreign development aid only boosts growth in aid recipient countries with sufficiently low levels of income inequality, with less income inequality associated with better aid effectiveness. This finding holds irrespective of other determinants of aid effectiveness such as institutional quality, trade openness, budget balance, inflation, colonial history, geography and climate. I focus on aid intended to boost growth, by excluding categories of aid with other primary aims and by focusing on aid from OECD countries rather than China, India, Russia and the Gulf states. I use growth regressions using data on 53 countries over the years 1971-2015, controlling for numerous country-level factors previously associated with aid effectiveness. An increase of one standard deviation in the aid-to-GDP ratio is associated with nearly 2 percentage points of higher growth in the least unequal aid recipient countries but has no significant effect on growth in those recipient countries with inequality above the median level. The results are robust to sensitivity analysis using different control variables and specifications, and can be replicated using different estimators to address dynamic panel bias. This new evidence also supports the hypothesis, which I have developed in previous theoretical work, that economic inequality increases the power of rich elites to re-purpose aid expenditure in ways that further their own narrow economic interests.
JEL Classification: F35 – O15 – O47 – O1 – O43
A finite difference analysis of complex wavy bacterial locomotion
Authors: Asghar Zeeshan
Published: September 2022

The microscale gliders are regularly affected by the local surrounding environment, like liquid rheology and physical (nearby) boundaries. This article focuses on the numerical simulations of bacterial speed over a non-Newtonian slime and its power expenditure. The flow rate generated by the swimmer, slime speed and level curves are also the point of interest. To fulfill the purpose Oldroyd-4 constant model is assumed over a rigid boundary. A complex undulating sheet is approximated as a bacterial surface. Since a slime (present below the undulating sheet) is a non-Newtonian fluid so a modeling approach of peristaltic flow problem is adopted, and dynamic equilibrium conditions are implemented for steady motion. Implicit finite difference method (FDM) is employed to calculate the numerical solution of reduced Boundary value problem (BVP). To compute the flow rate and cell speed, Broyden’s root finding algorithm is integrated with FDM. These computed values are further utilized to perceive the behavior of work done, velocity of slime and streamlines.
Diagnostic efficiency of adropin as a preliminary test to exclude acute pulmonary embolism: a prospective study
Authors: Orun Serhat , Celikkol Aliye , Basol Batuhan Ilbey , Yeniay Elif
Published: September 2022

Background: This study aims to investigate the efficiency of adropin as a biomarker to exclude the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism. Methods: Patients admitted to the emergency department of a tertiary health center (a university hospital) between August 2019 and August 2020 and diagnosed with pulmonary embolism were included in this prospective cohort study. The amount of serum adropin was determined in patients with pulmonary embolism (who were diagnosed using computerized tomography pulmonary angiography) and compared with healthy volunteers. Results: There were 57 participants in the study (28 controls and 29 PE patients). The mean value of the adropin level in the pulmonary embolism group was 187.33 ± 62.40 pg/ml which is significantly lower than the control group (524.06 ± 421.68 pg/ml) (p < 0.001). When the optimal adropin cut-off value was 213.78 pg/ml, the likelihood ratio of the adropin test was 3.4, and the sensitivity of the adropin test at this value was 82% with specificity of 75% (95% CI; AUC: 0.821). Conclusion: The adropin test can be used to exclude the diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism in the emergency department. However, more research is required to verify and support the generalizability of our study results.
FDR Adjustment for Achieving Desired Minimum Distance of Marine ESIM from the Shore
Authors: Doost Roghayeh , hajipour Pedram , Shahidzadeh Saber
Published: September 2022

Determining and observing the minimum allowable distance of the marine earth station in motion (M-ESIM) from the shore prevents its destructive interference on the co-frequency shore fixed station. These earth stations are providing broadband Fixed Satellite Services (FSS). This paper studies the parameters involved in the minimum allowable distance of the ship from the shore by simulating the interference from an M-ESIM on a shore fixed station. This distance is determined versus the latitude, carrier frequency and the annual number of crossings ships along the shore. The results show that with decreasing the carrier frequency, decreasing latitude or increasing the number of annual passing vessels, this minimum distance increases. A solution to eliminate these effects and keep constant the minimum distance is shifting the transmitter frequency band. This frequency shift increases the frequency dependent rejection (FDR). In this paper, values of FDR are obtained separately versus three variables of latitude, carrier frequency, and the number of passing ships so that the minimum allowable distance of the M-ESIM from the shore will remain a constant value. The minimum distance of 100, 105 and 110 Km is evaluated in this paper. In this way, the M-ESIM can be close to the shore as near as desired distance using the FDR adjustment.
SYNTHESIS MODEL FOR THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF INLAND CARGO VESSELS TO OPERATE ON THE MAGDALENA RIVER
Authors:   COTECMAR, Alvarado David Ricardo , Paternina Luis Alejandro , Paipa Edwin Giovanny
Published: September 2022

Inland waterways are presented both as a need and an opportunity for developing an intermodal transport system to boost Colombian economic growth. Riverine transportation as part of an intermodal system represents conveying a significant amount of cargo at a low cost and therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To competitively include this cargo transportation alternative in an intermodal context, the development of effective container vessels is required. Most of the Colombian rivers present sedimentary, high flow, and low depth nature. Then, the design of riverine cargo vessels capable of navigating in shallow waters with less brake power requirements is needed. A synthesis model: an automatic and integrated design procedure, has been programmed to generate and evaluate feasible vessel dimensions at a conceptual design stage. Through systematic variations of the main dimensions, this procedure allows evaluating a design space in which the most effective concept-vessel solution is selected. At the end of this procedure, the main characteristics for container vessels in the Magdalena River at a conceptual design stage, are defined. Validation of the synthesis model with a riverine logistic support ship is provided.
XXIV Encuentro Nacional de Investigación
Authors:   Universidad Católica Luis Amigó, Posada Bedoya Estefanía , Yepez Ramírez Luisa Fernanda ,   Universidad Católica Luis Amigó
Published: September 2022

Las memorias del XXIV Encuentro Nacional de Investigación realizado bajo el lema “Conocemos más que ayer, pero menos que mañana, ¿hacia dónde vamos?”, compiladas en la presente publicación, dan cuenta de las ponencias realizadas por los docentes y estudiantes interesados en investigación en diversas áreas del conocimiento, quienes mediante los estudios y sus resultados buscan contribuir de manera satisfactoria a la transformación social.
The quality of higher education and its funding in countries with different levels of socio-economic development
Authors: Hryhorash Olha , Bocharov Dmytro , Korneyev Maxim , Rudyanova Tatyana , Hryhorash Tetiana
Published: September 2022

Higher education institutions train professional and scientific personnel. Therefore, the quality of higher education and its funding are vital for training highly qualified specialists. This study analyzes the annual volume of expenses (investments) per student in groups of countries, divided according to their socio-economic development, and competitiveness of higher education. The division of countries into groups is based on simultaneous compliance with the criteria for the quality of higher education and the level of social and economic development. The Ward’s clustering method was applied. The analysis was conducted based on data from 32 OECD countries and partner countries. The paper found a significant direct correlation between the level of competitiveness of higher education and the amount of its funding per student (R = 0.895). At the same time, a significant direct correlation was revealed between the level of competitiveness of higher education and the human development index (R = 0.787) and the global competitiveness index (R = 0.888). Finally, a significant direct correlation between the amount of expenditures and the level of competitiveness of higher education was found only in the cluster with the highest indicators of socio-economic development (Rs = 0.707). In other clusters, the correlation is weak or weakly inverse.
A ANÁLISE DA MOBILIDADE URBANA NO ENTORNO DO TERMINAL RODOVIÁRIO DE MANHUAÇU - MG
Authors: Zanuti Franklin Arthur , Matos Gonçalves Raphaela , Santos Vargas Amanda
Published: September 2022

O município de Manhuaçu-MG passou por elevado crescimento urbano e populacional nas últimas décadas do século XX e primeiras décadas do século XXI e se tornou a maior referência da sua microrregião, sendo considerado um polo regional. Devido a essas questões e ao grande fluxo de visitantes das cidades vizinhas, os problemas na mobilidade urbana se tornaram realidade no dia a dia do município. Pode-se considerar que a mobilidade urbana é o combustível para o progresso econômico e social da cidade. Dentro da mobilidade urbana, existem os polos geradores de viagem, que são construções, obras e edifícios em uma cidade que atrai grande público devido a sua função. Em Manhuaçu, o terminal rodoviário pode ser considerado um polo gerador de viagem, por estar localizado em uma região que está no encontro de duas importantes avenidas da cidade, sendo uma pertencente a rodovia MG-111 e está localizado próximo a BR-262, o que gera acúmulo de fluxos de pessoas e veículos automotores, além disso, seu entorno possui uma dinâmica comercial muito contundente no município, o que faz com que pessoas de toda região utilizem da área para o comércio. O objetivo deste presente trabalho, portanto, está em pontuar os problemas na mobilidade urbana no entorno do terminal rodoviário. Para tal, foram realizados, primeiramente, estudos sobre mobilidade urbana e polos geradores de viagem e, após, visitas in-loco foram realizadas para entender a dinâmica da mobilidade urbana no entorno do Terminal Rodoviário de Manhuaçu. Desta forma, concluiu-se que a localização do Terminal Rodoviário de Manhuaçu é preponderante para os problemas de mobilidade urbana encontrados em seu entorno.
The Educational Differentiation of the Russian Nobility during the Reign of Elizabeth
Authors:   St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University for the Humanities, Feofanov Aleksandr M.
Published: September 2022

This article analyses the educational differentiation of the nobility during the reign of Elizabeth expressed in the status of their property (number of “souls”); the geographical location of their estates; the educational institutions where they were sent; and the age when they began education. It is based on a wide array of historical sources, among which archival records from the collections of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. The data of registration of gentry were supplemented by materials from educational institutions (The Noble Land Cadet Corps, The Naval Cadet Corps, artillery and engineering schools, Gymnasium of Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences). The article demonstrates the career achievements; establishes which schools gave a higher percentage of students who replenished the elite of the Russian Empire. The median value of the estate for all gentry was 20 souls, including those who did not have peasants. The poorest representatives of the “noble proletariat” were students of garrison schools, more than half of whom did not have peasants at all. The highest was the median value of serf-ownership among the students of the Noble Land Cadet Corps. Average and big noble landowners (owners of hundreds and thousands of “souls”) studied in the Noble Land Cadet Corps. The percentage of generals from the families of major and middle-rank landowners was also the highest among graduates of the Noble Land Cadet Corps. The presented figures clearly show the preferences of different layers of nobility, their educational strategies, the results of their career advancement.
The Aksakov Labor Assistance Circle as an Experience of Commemorative Practice
Authors:   Samara State Institute of Culture, Artamonova Ludmila M. , Smirnov Yurii N. ,   Samara National Research University
Published: September 2022

The article presents the results of a research based on modern methods of memory studies. These results complement the history of Russian commemorative practices in the early 20th century with economic and industrial examples. New forms of cultivating historical memory emerged with modernization processes. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the death of S. T. Aksakov (1909), the nobility of Samara province organized the Aksakov labor assistance circle. Its main activity was setting up educational workshops named after the writer in the village described in his works under the name of Bagrovo. Sources about the Aksakov circle and these workshops are archival documents, published reports, and other materials. The nobility paid tribute to the memory of the outstanding writer and the bygone era of flourishing of provincial “nests of the gentry” by purchasing the Aksakov estate from the Peasant Bank; by creating conditions there for teaching crafts; by taking care of the historical house with a garden. Practical needs and search for funds for maintenance forced the organizers to turn to the zemstvo for assistance. The initiative of the nobility received material and moral support from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. This resulted in the emphasis on the loyalist dimension of the memorial events in Samara region. The research of the experience of the specific commemorative practice contributes to the general understanding of social, cognitive, and ethical communications between history and historical memory, prompting further studies of the problem.
The Heads of the Logging Industry during the Russian Civil War
Authors:   Penza subsidiary of Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Voeikov Evgeny V.
Published: September 2022

The article examines under-researched aspects of the activity of managers of the forest industry during the Civil war. It is mainly based on archival documents that are introduced into the scholarship for the first time. The author used materials from two central and four regional archives. The territorial scope of the study covers the Penza, Samara, Saratov, Simbirsk provinces, and the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1918–1921, logging managers were under severe pressure from Cheka. The article deals in detail with the example of investigation on the implementation of the decree of 1919 on the procurement of wood by forest workers by personal labor in the provinces of the Volga region conducted in the summer of 1920 by the provincial emergency commissions. Frequently, in the context of the economic crisis and the legal chaos of the Civil war, some of the leading personnel of the forest industry were tempted to break the law for personal gain. However, both real criminals and falsely accused employees were arrested. According to the author, despite the spread of cases of crime among managers, most of the logging managers in extreme wartime conditions honestly fulfilled their official and civil duty, providing the country with fuel. The author comes to the conclusion that the business manager in Russia inevitably finds himself in a situation of balancing between finding the solution to the problem and malpractice bordering on a crime.
The Role of Pilgrimage in the Formation of a Religious Identity (on the Basis of the Kazakh Culture)
Authors:   Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Stasevich Inga V.
Published: September 2022

This paper discusses the role of pilgrimage in the modern Kazakh culture. Studies of the individual religious experience of modern Kazakhs allow researchers to distinguish at least two basic points of view on the tradition of making pilgrimages to sacral places. Thus, representatives of official Islamic institutions often condemn the practice of pilgrimage, wheras common people see no contradiction between the tradition of visiting holy places and the norms of Islam. Moreover, they consider themselves ‘true Muslims’ while admitting the specificity of Islam in Kazakhstan and referring to the long-standing custom of ancestors. The inclusion of the ‘new’ objects of pilgrimage related to the names of national heroes into the general context of the worshiped objects suggests that the traditional notions of sanctity remain still topical at present and form the religious consciousness of the modern Kazakhs. The cult of saints is officially recognized as part of the national culture and constitutes, along with other ethnical and historical symbols of the present-day Kazakhstan, a particular direction of the state cultural politics. The positioning of religious objects in the historical context allows for a compromise of its kind between the views of those who stand up for the Islamization of the ritual sphere and the traditionalists fighting for the preservation of the ethnic specifics of the Kazakh culture. On the basis of the conducted research, the author concludes that, notwithstanding the official prohibitions and disapproval of pilgrimage by the adherents of the Islamization of the Kazakh culture, pilgrimage remains an integral part of the modern religious life of Kazakhstan and has distinct links with the national and religious identity.
Cooperage as an Occupation of Novgorod’s Peasants in the Post-reform Years
Authors:   Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nikulin Valery N.
Published: September 2022

It is common knowledge that harsh climate, the predominance of poor soils, a short growing season, and low crop yield in Novgorod Governorate did not allow peasants to provide themselves with everything they needed only through agricultural labour. Therefore, the Novgorod peasants were forced to look for additional sources of income: leaving the village to work or engaging in different occupations. In particular, cooperage was widely popular in the peasant economy, which was determined by the availability of the necessary raw materials in the form of extensive forests in all the counties of the governorate. The article examines the state of cooperage as an occupation among the peasants of Novgorod Governorate in the second half of the 19th — early 20th century based on archival and published sources and literature. Primarily, attention is given to the analysis of the role of the occupation within the peasant economy. The stable nature of production of coopers’ goods was due to the widespread nature of nail-making and fishing industries among peasants, as well as due to an increase in the number of creameries in landowners’ estates. Thus, various products of coopers were used — mainly as containers. There is no doubt that the steady demand for coopers’ products from the local rural population played a significant role in the formation and development of the cooperage industry. The paper gives a brief description of the tools used by peasant coopers and notes the emergence of an artel as a form of occupational organization. The article shows peasants’ growing dependence on raw materials from landowners and timber producers due to the sharp decrease in allotted timber because of the intensive felling of trees by peasants. With the decline in allotted timber, coopers increasingly bought wood harvested in neighboring state-owned, appanage, or landowner forests. As a result, the raw material dependence of the workers engaged in the cooperage trade on the owners of the forest and the buyers of their products grew. The paper concludes that at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries cooperage in Novgorod Governorate still held a meaningful place in the peasant household economy, acquiring an increasingly pronounced commercial character.
Documents on the Role of Prince Vasily Dolgorukov in the Case of Tsarevich Alexei (1718)
Authors:   St Petersburg Institute of History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Anisimov Evgenii V. ,   HSE University, St Petersburg branch
Published: September 2022

Prince Vasilii Dolgorukov was one of the charismatic figures of the Petrine epoch when he came to the fore among the closest associates of Peter I. He proved himself as a talented military commander and an active administrator. He enjoyed a special trust of Peter, who gave him difficult assignments. V. Vl. Dolgorukov’s career was suddenly cut short in 1718, when the case of Tsarevich Alexei, Peter’s heir, began. During the investigation in 1718, Alexei betrayed a lot of people involved in his escape, including Dolgorukov. It turned out that at the time of the aggravation of conflict, when the tsar demanded that his son reject the throne and become a monk, Dolgorukov tried to establish relations with the prince to gain his favor in the case of the death of the tsar. However, this attempt failed as he was an adversary for the circle of Alexei. Therefore, Alexei and his supporter A. V. Kikin tried to discredit Prince Dolgorukov during the investigation. They largely succeeded. Prince Dolgorukov could not refute most of their testimonies. He was saved from the death penalty by the petitions of influential figures and the fact that he was not involved in organizing the escape of the tsarevich. The archival documents published for the first time (materials of the investigative case of Prince V. Vl. Dolgorukov) allow us to consider the whole intrigue around Dolgorukov; the complex tense situation at the court; the relationships between people at the time of the conflict between Peter and Alexei, and during the investigation of the case of Tsarevich Alexei.
New Edition of the Travel Notes of Erich Lassota von Steblau
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Prokopiev Andrei Yu. , Tairova Tatiana G. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: September 2022

The review analyzes the new edition of the travel notes of the Silesian nobleman Erich Lassota von Steblau (1550–1616). It was prepared by an international team of authors from Scandinavia and Germany led by Thomas Riis. Lassota’s travel notes are the most important source on the history of the 16th century and a number of European countries. Lassota traveled as a mercenary commander and diplomat to Spain, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine. Until now, only historians of these countries have been interested in his testimonies. The focus of researches was mainly on ethnographic and political aspects. Meanwhile, for the first time since 1866, the new edition has united the entire corpus of Lassota’s records known to us and enables to widen the scope of the discussion. How was the religious climate of the era reflected in his texts and to which extent? Were they written by a Catholic or a Protestant? Can we talk about the national or political preferences of the author? Finally, what was Lassota’s gentry worldview, and how did he construct his own estate identity? In addition, a nobleman from Silesia was keenly interested in military affairs, in particular, in Spanish combat tactics. His notes also demonstrate the level of book culture, the author’s acquaintance with the works of prominent contemporaries. All these aspects nowadays are noteworthy to European historians on a wide interregional material.
Collusion identification in the English auction with a small price reduction: The case of St. Petersburg public hospitals’ procurement
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Ivanov Andrey E. , Golubeva Anastasia A. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Gilenko Evgeniy V. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Bezhenar Olga N. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: September 2022

In the Russian Federation, the topicality of the problem of collusion between suppliers at public auctions is caused by the fact that since 2006 the Russian public procurement legislation has been aimed at limiting the discretionary power of the public buyer to a much greater extent as compared to the modern international procurement practice. Such limitation was set, basically, by selecting the English auction (least suitable for effective collusion counteraction) as the main public procurement procedure. This paper studies the collusion problem as related to the purchases of St. Petersburg public hospitals over the period of 2014–2020. An important attribute of these purchases is that most of them use the English auction as the procurement method. The collected empirical evidence on 91 999 public purchases of the medical organizations in St. Petersburg demonstrated that almost half of them resulted in a slight (no more than 1,5%) decrease of the initial contract price. The paper identifies the main issues of the Russian procurement legislation in general and those related to the healthcare sector, in particular, that increase incentives for collusion. Recommendations on how to deal with these issues are provided. For the auctions with a slight initial contract price decrease, the paper formulates sufficient conditions for identification of collusion between suppliers. The conditions are based on the information of suppliers’ behavior during the auction. As demonstrated in the paper, the application of these conditions to the results of conducted auctions can significantly help the Russian Federal Antitrust Service in its activities to identify the public purchases suspected of collusion between suppliers.
The restaurant business value proposition: Intellectual text analysis of online customer reviews
Authors:   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Serova Elena G. , Fainshtein Elizaveta M. ,   National Research University Higher School of Economics
Published: September 2022

The purpose of the paper is to study value proposition factors in online customer reviews that characterize consumer inquiries in the catering industry by using text-mining techniques. Research design focuses on the analysis of chain restaurants, which focuses on the usefulness of the service indicated in a quantitative system of scores, and pleasure factors for customers. Empirical data from 201 online reviews were collected from TripAdvisor service, which contains information about consumer preferences from St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition to text mining, the study used a correlation analysis of rating scores for chain restaurant customers, comparing the online reviews of satisfied and dissatisfied customers. The results of the study identified certain categories of factors of high importance for customers, which were revealed in both positive and negative online reviews. The results of the analysis help the restaurant management system to manage the value proposition properly taking into account various consumer factors of the preferences indicated in reviews. The research implications allow managers to purposefully select those factors that will achieve the desired effect in the relationship marketing. This study gives an opportunity to management specialists of the company explore and account for the emotional sentiment of online reviews.
Business models transformation of Russian airlines: Influence of the coronavirus crisis
Authors:   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Fokeev Maksim A.
Published: September 2022

The article discusses the business-model transformation of Russian airlines in 2020 and for the first half of 2021 caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research interest in Russian air transport market is considerable due to its heterogeneity in terms of airline business models, the level of federal (regional) regulation, passenger traffic on different routes. The theoretical part of the study analyzes approaches to defining airlines business-model. The pattern of business model by J. Daft and S. Albers based on a quantitatively defined finite set of carriers’ characteristics is most appropriate for the objectives of the study. Due to lack of primary data the empirical part is based on the media coverage of Russian airlines in the period of 2020 and 2021. The data was verified using text analysis methods in SPSS Modeler and primary data on the operational activities of airlines. Further, through a series of expert panels, which included representatives of airports and airlines, the number of carriers’ media coverage was arranged into components and dimensions of business model. It was found that the actions of Russian and foreign airlines differed according to the territorial and institutional characteristics of the Russian air transport market. There was a transition to direct regional flights, the expansion of the customer way and the competition between carriers based on a set of available services. With the novelty of the study, the conclusions are limited because the analysis based on media coverage does not reveal a full range of reactions of airlines, in particular, internal transformations which companies do not report. The results can serve as a pattern for the formation of industry monitoring of airline reactions, as well as a starting point for studying the sustainability of changes in the business models of Russian airlines.
German Propaganda of Anti-Semitism in the Occupied Soviet Territory (on the Example of the General District of Belarus)
Authors:   Belgorod State University, Pushkarenko E. A.
Published: September 2022

This article examines anti-Semitic propaganda of German authorities in the occupied Soviet territory in the General District of Belarus. The author identifies the main directions of anti-Semitic propaganda, analyzes its content, determines the effectiveness of the ideological influence of the German occupation authorities on the Belarusian population, and proves that the occupiers tried to appeal to national feelings of Belarusians using anti-Semitism. The author concludes that the odious, false, anti-Semitic propaganda did not find a response among the Belarusian population of the district. Belarusians practically did not participate in the organization of the “new order”; in contrast to Ukraine and the Baltic States, it was difficult to create police battalions and a national administration. Mass actions of extermination of Belarusian Jews could not arouse any feelings among the witnesses, except horror and fear for their own lives. Together with the SS punitive expeditions against partisans and civilians, the genocide of the Jews leveled all the efforts of German propagandists and reduced the effectiveness of enemy propaganda to zero. A major role in exposing the content of Nazi propaganda and the true plans of the occupiers was played by partisan counter-propaganda and the very existence of a mass partisan movement. The occupiers’ calculations to incite hatred of Belarusians against Jews did not justify themselves: Belarusian and Jewish partisans fought shoulder to shoulder for the freedom of their common homeland — Soviet Belarus.
The Communist University of the Toilers of the East. 1921– 1938: A Look through a Century
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Daudov A. Kh. , Mamysheva E. P. ,   Khakass State University
Published: September 2022

The article discusses the problem of creation and functioning in 1921–1938 of a higher education institution for immigrants from the East countries and for Eastern national minorities of the USSR: the Stalin Communist University of the Toilers of the East. Within the 100-year anniversary, the appeal to the history of the KUTV, called the “forge of personnel”, becomes particularly relevant. Under the conditions of socio-economic, political, and cultural transformations in the USSR in 1920s–1930s, the issue of attracting the natives familiar with traditions and everyday life to the authorities, administration, and courts demanded an urgent solution. Based on the analysis of the latest literature and materials of the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI), the article considers the conditions of opening this educational institution. The authors pay special attention to university reorganization that happened under the influence of domestic and foreign political circumstances. The authors considered the conditions of admission to the university, the faculty, defined by the international nature of the KUTV and having the Soviet and foreign sectors. In both sectors, significant attention was paid to the disciplines forming the Marxist revolutionary worldview. Because of the problem in teaching cadets native languages at the university, the main emphasis was placed on Russian. An integral part of the curriculum was industrial practice at enterprises in Moscow and then in the regions. The foreign sector opening was prompted not only to export the revolution, but also to create, with future leaders’ help, a loyal environment of the world’s first socialist state. During the country’s development, the emergence of new state’s tasks, changes in national policy, in the system of party education led to a revision of the necessity for the KUTV. Due to the recognition of the inexpediency of its existence, the university was liquidated in 1938.
Projects of Mobilization of Oil Resources for the Needs of Forced Industrialization
Authors:   MIREA — Russian Technological University, Bodrova E. V. , Kalinov V. V. ,   Gubkin University
Published: September 2022

Using on published and unpublished documents, the problem of “searches” at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s is investigated. Mechanisms to achieve growth of oil production and oil exports to meet the needs of forced industrialization in the USSR are a central theme. The documents studied suggest that there were projects in this period that provided various options for the reorganization of the management of the oil industry and the use of mechanisms to ensure the implementation of five-year plans. While the management of Grozneft proposed strengthening cost accounting, expanding independence, and expanding the rights of each business unit and to increase the pace of technical reconstruction, representatives of the most important Azerbaijani oil region at that time insisted on the need to send significant financial resources to the government, complained about staff shortages and equipment. However, for central authorities, deficiencies in trust management seemed to be a preferable explanation for the failure to fulfill plans. The documents also indicate a very difficult situation for the Soviet oil trusts that developed on the world energy market during this period. The study concludes that projects that assumed greater independence of oil regions and an increase in government funding could not be arranged by the central government. The stake was placed on an ever-increasing centralization of management, strict submission to dictated from above plans. Their failure was accompanied by the arrests of a cohort of brilliant oil workers. Despite the repressions, a very difficult geopolitical situation, thanks to experienced specialists and previously gained positions in the world energy market, it was possible to force production and oil export of Soviet oil products. Moreover, the share of crude oil export in the late 1930s was very minor.
Weak Secretaries: How the Central Committee Assessed the Professionalism of Soviet Regional Leaders in 1946–1948
Authors:   Chelyabinsk State University, Fеdorov A. N.
Published: September 2022

The article explores the reasons, course, and results of studying the professional qualities of the first secretaries of regional party committees in 1946–1948. This survey was prompted by the desire of the Soviet top leadership in the first post-war years to improve regional leadership and thereby increase the efficiency of the management system. For this purpose, the Cadres department of the Central Committee of the AUCP(b) compiled special characteristics for the first secretaries of obkom, kraikom and republican committees, which included an assessment of their organizational skills and career prospects. The assessment of these leaders was not based on the usual formal criteria (education level, political training and work experience), but according to the fulfillment of the center’s tasks, leadership style and authority among local managers. In the opinion of the Central Committee, the ability to establish work of the party apparatus and normal relations with local managers allowed regional leaders to cope with their duties. Despite the weak analysis of the data, vague assessment criteria and their arbitrary application, softening and correcting the estimates, disappointing results were obtained. It turned out that many of the first secretaries of regional party committees did not have elementary managerial skills, practiced a dictatorial leadership style, and chronically failed to perform economic tasks. Based on this, it was necessary to replace half of the regional leaders, but Cadres department of the Central Committee proposed to dismiss only 10 % of the first secretaries and keep at work another 20 % due to short-term retraining. Nevertheless, in 1946–1948, even such modest plans could not be implemented due to the lack of a cadre reserve, and therefore the renewal of the corps of regional leaders was delayed until the early 1950s.
The Situation of Religious Communities in Western Siberia in the Context of the State Confessional Policy in the Mid-1950s — Early 1960s
Authors:   Altai State University, Dashkovskiy P. K. , Zibert N. P. ,   Altai State University
Published: September 2022

State resolutions issued during the period under review were aimed at strengthening scientific and atheistic propaganda and eradicating religion in society, as a result of which religious communities trying to obtain registration faced hidden opposition from the authorities. At the same time, registered communities were forced to account for numerous regulations of the state authorities. Otherwise, they could lose their state registration and cease their activities. This situation provoked the emergence of a large number of unregistered religious groups, and on the other, strengthened the position of registered associations due to the constant influx of new believers into them. Special attention is paid to the study of the situation of religious communities in Western Siberia in the late 1950s — early 1960s, when a new wave of church closures took place within the framework of the anti- religious campaign of N. S. Khrushchev. During this period, not only clergymen, but also ordinary parishioners came under the special control of state authorities. In addition, the activities of the so-called “forbidden sects” were completely banned, the list of which was defined in the instructions for the application of legislation on cults, published in 1961. In addition, in order to reduce the role of religion in Soviet society, resolutions were issued that negatively affected the economic situation of churches. The study concluded that the administrative pressure exerted by the authorities on religious associations, the introduction of a system of registration of persons who attend church, and the repressive methods of work of state regulatory bodies, not only provoked the growth of illegally operating religious groups, but also increased the number of people hiding their religious beliefs.
The Problem of Sustainability and Mutability of Values in Historical Toponymy
Authors:   Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Volodina T. A.
Published: September 2022

This article analyzes the process of value transforming in the course of renaming various objects in recent Russian history (names of cities, streets, squares, etc.). This phenomenon is not unique to Russia. The author points out the significance of this problem in present works of Western scholars working in the interdisciplinary field of history, cultural anthropology, and geography. The article raises the question of the causes and limits of the sustainability and mutability of toponymic structures. Special attention is paid to the consideration of the competition between St Petersburg — Leningrad and Volgograd — Stalingrad in the public and power discourse. The author concludes that there are two semiotic layers in this process: the “text” as a phenomenon of “rewriting” meanings, i. e., the renaming properly, and a “palimpsest” that continues to exist in the public consciousness under a layer of written “text”. As a result of the analysis, the author concludes that there are deep limitations in the construction of the socio-cultural toponymic landscape. The relationship between the “text” and the “palimpsest”, according to the author, is determined by several factors. The sustainability of the “palimpsest” is directly proportional to the historical and event content that the “old name” managed to absorb during its existence. The intensity, effectiveness and success of writing a new “text” — all these points directly depend on the scale of changes in the social development as well as the degree of changes in the socio-cultural view of the world. The outcome of the competitive struggle between the meanings of “text” and “palimpsest” is ultimately a marker that demonstrates the degree and limits of society’s readiness to strengthen civil confrontation in the struggle for the values of the toponymic landscape.
Personality in the Science: Professor Paul Dukes
Authors:   Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Goldin V. I.
Published: September 2022

This article describes the life path and scientific activity of the famous British historian professor Paul Dukes (1934–2021). He received his higher education in England and the USA and initially studied and taught American history. However, later on Dukes defended his PhD thesis on Russian history. Receiving recognition as a specialist in the history of 17th and 18th century Russia, Dukes fruitfully studied other epochs of the Russian past. He was the author of several editions of History of Russia. Medieval, Modern, Contemporary. The history of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its influence on the world occupied an important place in his studies. Dukes worked fruitfully in the International Commission for the study of the Russian revolutions of the International Congress of Historical Sciences. He successfully combined the study of the all-Russian history with the history of the regions of Russia: the Urals, Russian North, and Far East. Professor Dukes facilitated collaboration of Russian and British historians. He made a great contribution to the study of European history. Studying Russia and Europe Dukes considered Russia an integral and organic part of Europe. The American history also occupied an important place in his studies including the relations between USA and Russia. During the 2010s, Professor Dukes referred to the topic of Antropocene Era. He studied from the point of view of historical science the impact of human activity on the natural environment and climate and called for the interdisciplinary approach in the understanding the climate agenda as a global problem of nowadays.
Separate determination of arsenite and arsenate in groundwater samples by simple analytical methods
Authors: Matsunaga Koji , Nakaya Yuki , Satoh Hisashi
Published: September 2022

We investigated the interaction of As(III) with As(III)-binding DNA aptamers (Ars-3). The binding of Ars-3 to As(III) was investigated using an Ars-3 sequence and a few control DNA sequences. As a result, we conclude that Ars-3 cannot bind As(III) and As(III) can adsorb onto gold nanoparticles with selectivity. However, the As(III) concentration could be determined by a simple As(III) analysis method using Ars-3, and we measured the As(III) and As(V) concentrations separately in As(III)/As(V) mixed samples in ultrapure water and groundwater using a simple analytical method for As(III) and As(V), respectively. As(III) in the sample was measured by a simple As(III) analytical method using DNA aptamers and gold nanoparticles, and As(V) in the sample was measured by a simple As(V) analysis method using cerium oxide nanoparticles and fluorescence-labeled DNA. We can measure As(III) and As(V) concentrations in ultrapure water and groundwater in the simple analytical method for As(III) and As(V), separately.
Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors
Authors: Reitz David B. , Isakson Peter C.
Published: September 2022

Prostaglandins are synthesized by the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), which is the target for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Recently a second form of COX was discovered (COX-2) that is induced by inflammatory stimuli. The identification of an inducible form of COX led to the hypothesis that COX-2 is responsible for inflammatory prostaglandins, whereas the constitutive COX-I produces physiologically important prostaglandins, e.g., in stomach and kidney. Selective COX- 2 inhibitors have been shown to be anti-inflammatory but do not cause ulcers in the stomach or intestines. It is anticipated that drugs which selectively inhibit COX-2 will be superior anti-inflammatory agents with clear benefits over existing NSAIDs. In this
review, the expression of human COX-I and COX-2 are discussed. A survey of the different chemical classes of COX-2 inhibitors with structure-activity relationships (SAR) and relevant pharmacological profiles are also presented.