bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Folk Principles of the Organization of Cossack Fisheries in the Azov and Caspian Regions
Authors:   Volgograd State University, Ryblova Marina A.
Published: February 2024

The article reveals the folk principles of the organization of fisheries and the worldviews behind them in the Cossack communities of the Azov and Caspian regions in the imperial period of their history. Despite the participation of official structures in organization of industries, they were based on the people’s own ideas about the proper use of natural resources in which human labor was not invested, as well as about their fair distribution. In the first case, in all Cossack troops, with the exception of that of the Ural, there was a gradual transition from the free use of water resources to an equalizing transfer, which took into account only the interests of the Cossack population of the region, and Cossack widows and orphans. In the Ural Cossack army, until the beginning of the 20th century, the ancient principles of using water lands were preserved, the basis of which was the idea of equal opportunities for all participants in the fishery. When distributing the fish catch, the people’s ideas about the collective (communal) share and its symbolic distribution were fundamental, which involved allocating three main “pieces”: to the tsar (in the Urals), to the church and for the commemoration of the dead, as well as to the “disadvantaged” categories of the Cossack population (in the whole army). The Cossack communities also showed extreme concern for the safety of fish resources determining the timing of fishing, types of tools, and introducing multiple prohibitions and regulations. The organization of some types of fishing in the region shares some principles with the military organization of Cossacks.
New Books and Old Trends in the Study of the Russian Middle Ages
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Dvornichenko Andrey Yu.
Published: February 2024

Kiev Rus’ is a common “antiquity” for the East-European countries and nations. During the previous century it became one of the most popular themes for the historians, particularly, for the Soviet scholars. It is gratifying that an understanding of the significance of this epoch for the adequate perception of complex East-European history has not faded. This article analyzes new books devoted to Kiev Rus’ written by S. N. Temushev. His first work about the “formation of the state” of Ancient Rus’ is not of great scholarly interest but the second one is indicative of the current processes of the complex situation in the humanities. This author’s approach to the historical sources is very disputable — he evidently underestimates the significance of Russian chronicles. His perception of historiography is also arguable because he blurs the boundaries between different trends. There is a combination and mixture of different notions in his work. The author of the monograph puts forward some “tax-tribute system” and tries to show it role in formation of some “state and feudalism”. He does not take in account such scholarly achievement of Western historiography as identification of “chiefdom”, but at the same time does not propose any new concept. He begins with a critique of feudalism but ends up as an adherent of so called “state feudalism” — in its most artificial and meaningless sense in our historiography. His interpretation of the relationships of eastern Slavs with their neighbours, particularly, with the Lithuanians is also doubtful. In his opinion, Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes were not the objects of foreign policy of Rus’, but some “foreign confederates”.
Socio-Demographic Analysis of the Chief Trustees of the Kalmyk People in Late Imperial Period
Authors:   The Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lidzhieva Irina V.
Published: February 2024

The imperial policy aimed at integrating the population of the peripheries into the general imperial space largely depended on the conceptual decisions made by the immediate leaders of the administrations of the national minorities (inorodtsy). The author, based on the positions of historical elitology, focuses on the socio-demographic characteristics of the chief trustees (managers) of the Kalmyk steppe in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. For the first time, the identified sources made it possible to consider the social composition, educational level, family and property status of the officials who headed the Kalmyk administration. During the period under review, this institution underwent cardinal changes. The completely autonomous position of the chief trustee, which had been held by six people from 1867 to 1892, was transformed into that of the head of the Kalmyk people, whose scope of power was significantly reduced. The merging of the power of the head of the administration and the Astrakhan governor marked the next stage in the process of integrating the national minorities of the peripheries. Until 1917, the established position of the head of the Kalmyk people had been held by seven people successively. The absolute majority of the trustees were individuals of the privileged class of the Russian society, whereas the social composition of the head of the Kalmyk people was more varied. In terms of career growth, the latter circumstance indicates the lack of attractiveness of the newly introduced position. As far as the family and marital status was concerned, they were all married, but not all of them owned land or immovable property. Each of them had experience in civil or military service. Even without the civil experience, after the end of their military career, they actively joined in managing the process of integration of the Kalmyk population into the all-Russian space.
The Ideology of Women’s Emancipation as Ontogenesis of the Subject
Authors:   Institute of Literature named after Manuk Abeghian, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, Hambardzumyan Naira V.
Published: February 2024

The article focuses on the issues of Christian national minorities (Armenians) who lived in the Ottoman Empire during and after the Tanzimat period: their national identity, women’s issues, the possibilities of developing the ontogenetic concept of female subjectivity. Such de-velopment can be defined as ontogenesis of a social and a literary-cultural subject, which in-volves capacities of a woman and potential for social and cultural integration. The study aims to identify the features of the subject in the context of the transformations of literary-cultural and historical-political concepts based on the philosophical and anthropological worldview of female authors and typology of culture in the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19thcentury. The study examines and interprets how an Armenian woman living in the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 19th century underwent a gradual transformation from being a silent object of subjugation and domestic captivity into a social, literary-cultural, and historical-political subject. The actuality of the research lies in its interdisciplinary nature: the material was analyzed through connections between Literary Studies, History, Philosophy, and Sociology, by means of historical-comparative, phenomenological, and socio-philosophical research methods. Following the geopolitical changes in the historical-political, socio-economic, and legal systems of the Ottoman Empire during the period in question, the social role of women was reconsidered based on the ideology of women’s emancipation, which was defined as ontogenesis of the female subject. The analysis of this kind has been attempted for the first time.
Outlines of the Archaeological Study of the Stone Age in the Russian Eastern Arctic
Authors:   Institute of the History of Material Culture, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pitulko Vladimir V.
Published: February 2024

The East Siberian Arctic is an enormous territory. In many respects it still remains little explored. The main matrix for assembling versatile knowledge about the nature and man of the region is the Bering Land concept. In this article, the history of the development of theorethical grounds of the research and exploration of the region is discussed. The history of human settlement in arctic West Beringia spans approximately 50,000 years. More than two-century-long practice of archaeological study comprises three periods: the initial stage ending before WWII; post-war period, or Soviet stage (1940s to 1991); and the modern post-Soviet stage (1991 to the present day). Basic ideas on geology and paleogeography of the region were formed during the first two stages; then methodological grounds were expanded in archaeological studies. The first Pleistocene site was discovered in the area in the early 1970s. The knowledge on the ancient past of Beringia has been largely obtained within the modern stage of research when various evidence of the past human activity has been received, which enables to reconstruct the process of human settlement in the area. Unique objects of the world cultural heritage, such as Zhokhov and Yana sites, have been revealed. These materials allow identification of the complex technologies of the Stone Age, thanks to which people occupied these areas, and evaluation of the features of the socio-cultural development of the ancient population of the region. Results of the studies performed recently demonstrate a giant scholarly potential for further research in that area. Qualitative changes in the examination of the region are largely associated with the expansion of scholarly tools.
The experience of calculating distances between different types of settlements in Russia to assess the range of population migration
Authors:   HSE University, Karachurina Liliya B. , Mkrtchyan Nikita V. ,   HSE University
Published: February 2024

The problem of measuring distances in migration is not trivial, but important, for example, for delimiting the concepts of population migration and housing mobility. In conditions of limited access to detailed spatial data, researchers solve this issue in different ways. Only a few countries, such as Sweden, have the ability to calculate migration distances between point locations using Euclidean distance (in a straight line). In this article, as applied to Russia, the measure of correspondence between Euclidean distances and real distances along transport routes is investigated. For this purpose, 3407 pairs of distances were calculated for randomly selected 23 municipal districts of Russia directly and along transport routes - roads. Also, 411 pairs of distances were calculated for settlements with no auto connection, using air traffic. These distances give an idea of the migrations of different distances in Russia. As a result, for hypothetical resettlements within the selected municipal districts, real road distances exceed Euclidean distances by 51%. For resettlements between the centers of districts and urban districts within the region, this indicator exceeds 40%, and for interregional resettlements, the differences are 33%. The air service used “straightens” the distances, but even taking it into account, the real distances (mainly long-range, interregional) exceed the Euclidean ones by 28.5%. The calculations performed to give an idea of the deviations of real, transport distances from the relatively easy-to-calculate Euclidean ones, which can be used in the analysis of migration distances in Russia.
Socio-economic situation of Russian urban agglomerations in 2015–2021
Authors:   The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration,, Abdullaev Alexander M. ,   HSE University, Zemlianskii Dmitrii Yu. ,   The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration,,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Kalinovskii Leonid V. ,   The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration,, Medvednikova Darina M. ,   The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration,,   Lomonosov Moscow State University
Published: February 2024

The article provides a comparative assessment of the key socio-economic features and trends in the development of urban agglomerations of Russia in 2015–2021. A distinguishing characteristic of the study is the approbation of a method for assessing the level of economic development of agglomerations using data from the Federal Tax Service of Russia on the volume of tax revenues. The analysis confirms that agglomerations provide an extremely high contribution to the economic development of the country and continue to form the basis for the growth of the taxable economy. The most part of contribution to country development indicators is still provided by the largest Moscow metropolitan agglomeration, the concentration of resources within its borders has only intensified in recent years. The differentiation of the other agglomerations also stays great, and the cumulative contribution of them (in sum) by a number of indicators is comparable to one of Moscow agglomeration. The best economic results are shown by agglomerations with industrial specialization, but the development of the economic complex in them does not have a significant stimulating effect on the growth of labor market indicators, household incomes and service sectors. The least developed agglomerations are ones with a high role of «shadow» sectors in the economy and «administratively designated» ones (Ulan-Ude, Penza, Ryazan), located in regions of the country with a depressed economic situation. Reduced values of development are also typical for agglomerations of the Volga region. At the spatial level within individual agglomerations, there is a clear manifestation of center-peripheral differences by most indicators, however, the study showed that the level of development of the cores of agglomerations and their suburbs is not always high, and the positive influence of the agglomeration core (with the exception of Moscow) rarely spreads beyond the nearest belt of municipalities. The results of the study suggest a narrowing of the approach to delimiting the boundaries of agglomerations and prove that the current state measures for the development of the agglomerations (except Moscow one) have not yet made a significant impact on accelerating economic growth and expanding the geography of the influence of agglomeration factors.
Barotropic response of the Baltic Sea dynamic system to sea level fluctuations in the Kattegat strait
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Zakharchuk Evgenii A. ,   Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sukhachev Vladimir N. ,   St. Petersburg State University,   N. N. Zubov’s State Oceanographic Institute, Tikhonova Natalia A. ,   St. Petersburg State University,   N. N. Zubov’s State Oceanographic Institute
Published: February 2024

With the help of numerical experiments with a three-dimensional barotropic hydrodynamic model, the response of the level surface of the Baltic Sea to different-scale level disturbances propagating into the Baltic through the Danish straits from the North Sea is studied. For this, 53 harmonic oscillations with amplitudes of 10 cm and periods from 3 hours to 1 year, which in the article are called "external", in contrast to the perturbations of the level inside the sea induced by them. The same amplitudes for all initial oscillations were set so that when analyzing the results, quantitative differences in the amplitude spectra of "external" and "internal" oscillations were clearly visible. It is shown that, with the exception of the frequency range of natural barotropic oscillations of the Baltic Sea, in the Danish Straits there is an almost complete filtration of oscillations specified at the boundary of the region with periods from 3 hours to 10 days. In the range of periods from 15 to 35 hours, there is an increase in "internal" oscillations due to the resonance of the initial oscillations with the natural oscillations of the Baltic. In the mesoscale frequency range (periods from hours to several days), the response of the level surface of the Baltic Sea to the impact of "external" oscillations is manifested in the generation of progressive-standing Kelvin waves with pronounced amphidromic systems and antinodes. For oscillations with periods of more than 10 days, with a decrease in frequency, the filtering effect of the Danish Straits is weakened and for periods of about 60 days, their amplitudes decrease by only 50%. In the range of seasonal variability, hydraulic resistance in the Danish Straits has the least effect on the propagation of "external" sea level fluctuations, reducing their amplitudes by only 6 - 22%. The highest amplitude is observed in semi-annual oscillations, which are amplified due to the influence of the semi-annual overtone in the annual oscillation generated by nonlinear effects.
Melting modeling of mixed peridotitic and mafic lithologies at shallow depths of the continental metasomatized lithospheric mantle: Implementation for the Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks of Eastern Mongolia
Authors:   Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kuznetsov Maksim V. , Savatenkov Valery M. ,   Institute of Precambrian Geology and Geochronology of the Russian Academy of Sciences,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: February 2024

The Eastern Mongolia volcanic area formed in the Late Mesozoic–Early Cenozoic within Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The main volcanic events of the area occurred in the Early Cretaceous when alkaline basaltic lavas erupted and formed the so-called cover volcanic complex. Geochemical and isotope features of the cover volcanic complex allowed researchers to identify the following mantle rocks as their source: metasomatized peridotites, eclogites, and pyroxenites. Thermodynamic modeling in alphaMELTS program was performed to determine whether the simultaneous melting of these rocks with subsequent processes of crystallization differentiation could lead to the formation of the studied rocks. The modeling results show that the melting of the most enriched with incompatible trace elements peridotites, eclogites, and pyroxenites cannot produce the rocks of the cover volcanic complex. At the same time, the mixing of peridotite- and eclogite-derived melts corresponds most closely to the mechanism of rock formation. However, Ti, K, P, Rb, and Sr enrichment of the studied rocks also requires participation in magma generation processes of mantle metasomatic veins enriched with rutile, apatite, phlogopite, and amphibole.
Mediatization of health in the Russian blogosphere
Authors:   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Osipova Nadezda G. , Liadova Anna V. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University, Zapletnuk Maria A. ,   Lomonosov Moscow State University
Published: February 2024

Due the fast development of information and communication technologies, social reality is increasingly transforming into a special media space, permeated with a variety of channels and means of communication. Its characteristic features include such as: the convergence of virtual and real, public and private, networking of social interactions, a certain media language, plurality of content and special media technologies for its construction and broadcasting, which allow to effectively influence a wide audience of new media. Modern media extend their transformative ability to all spheres of public life, influencing their institutional, regulatory and legal structure and established practices. The health sphere is not an exception. Under the conditions of mediatization, health is considered as a media product. The image of health and its maintenance practices constructed by modern media set certain attitudes and patterns of perception of health risks, diseases and ways to prevent them, which, in the process of their articulation through sedimentation and internalization, form social representations and behavior of the population in the field of health. At the same time, these samples often have an ambivalent and even destructive influence. Blogs are one of the dominant media consumption formats today. The article presents an analysis of mediatization of health on the base of studying the Russian blogosphere.
The concept of educational services in Russian legislation
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Linskaya Yulia V.
Published: February 2024

The article examines the concept of “educational service” in the context of the public discussion that has arisen about the possibility of its use in relation to education and educational relations. The current situation with the gradual abandonment of the term in the current educational legislation is considered, which corresponds to the provisions of the new version of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the policy in the field of traditional spiritual and moral values, but is not an effective enough measure to solve all emerging problems in the segment of legal regulation of higher education. The analysis of the existing educational relations was carried out, as a result of which it was concluded that education and educational services are not identical, the first is one of the most significant human rights and one of the largest public institutions, the second is rather a technical tool for describing financial and civil law relations related to the realization of everyone’s right to education. The author examines the problems with the use of the term “educational service” in the current legislation, as well as the difficulties arising in this regard in the course of law enforcement. The author pays special attention to the further improvement of the legal regulation of educational relations in this part.
Violation of official discipline: The principle of nulla poena sine lege and the effectiveness of disciplinary responsibility
Authors:   Povolzhsky Institute of Management named after P. A. Stolypin, Presnyakov Mikhail V.
Published: February 2024

The article analyzes the problem of the effectiveness of disciplinary responsibility from the point of view of implementation in the legislation on the public service of the principle of nulla poena sine lege. The author notes that a necessary condition for the social effectiveness of the institution of disciplinary responsibility is the achievement of the goals of its establishment— the prevention of disciplinary offenses. A necessary condition here is the principle of legal certainty, according to which the law establishing legal liability must be predictable to the extent that the subjects can foresee the legal consequences of their actions. From this position, the work analyzes the concept of a disciplinary offense, as well as its transformation in the field of public relations. The issue of duplication of the grounds for termination of the contract is considered as a measure of disciplinary responsibility and not disciplinary dismissal. The author justifies the conclusion that the contract cannot be terminated for a guilty unlawful act outside of disciplinary proceedings, bypassing the rules for applying disciplinary sanctions. Moral and ethical norms included in the wording of a disciplinary offense (for example, violation of the oath of a civil servant) deserve special attention. This is due to the desire of the legislator to outline as wide a range of acts as possible that constitute disciplinary offenses, including moral, ethical and other social offenses. However, such an approach only leads to inflation of disciplinary misconduct and devaluation of disciplinary responsibility in general.
Problems of prosecutorial strategy in jury trials: A situational approach
Authors:   Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Volchetskaya Tatyana S. , Matkova Natalya V. ,   Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
Published: February 2024

The article reveals the problems of enhancement of efficiency of prosecutor’s activity during court with participation of jurors and offers the ways of their solution on the basis of development of the strategy of state charge maintenance. The notion of strategy of maintaining state charge in a jury trial has been developed and the essence of its applied meaning has been revealed. The structure of strategy has been determined and the contents of its elements depending on the emerging judicial situations. Familiarization with the pre-trial investigation materials by prosecutor as a basis for building the strategy of state charge maintenance has been proposed to divide into two stages: initial information review and building the evidentiary basis. Judicial situations depending on the existing informational and psychological context of court proceedings with the participation of jurors were singled out and characterized as well as the ways of their solution were worked out. The most effective procedure of evidence presentation during the jury trial according to the chronology of crime development has been determined on the basis of modeling; the problem of surprise factor has been considered and the ways of its solution from the situational approach have been suggested; a number of tactical and psychological techniques of presenting indirect or contradictory evidence during the jury trial have been suggested. The typical models of behavior of the defense during the jury trial, illegal and acceptable ways of psychological influence of the defense have been identified. The analysis of defense lawyer’s activity aimed at “scandalization of justice” has been performed on the basis of the judicial practice study. On the example of typical situations arising during the formation of the jury panel the role of realization of the state prosecutor’s strategy in the situational model of court proceedings with the participation of jurors is shown.
Impact of COVID-19 on crime in Russia
Authors:   South Ural State University, Gostkova Dinara Zh. , Rezepin Aleksandr V. ,   South Ural State University, Telyubayeva Anara Zh. ,   South Ural State University
Published: February 2024

The government of the Russian Federation, like most countries, has taken a number of measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We analyzed the crime rate in the Russian Federation before the introduction of the COVID-19 containment measures and during their implementation to assess the effectiveness of measures to combat crime during the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe the tendencies in the development of the main types of crimes: murder and attempted murder, intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, robberies, and residential burglaries. Our analysis used econometric research methods: we built correlation regression models of the number of registered crimes and calculated seasonal indices of changes in the crime rate, the results of which made it possible to calculate the predicted crime level in Russia. We determined that before the introduction of the COVID-19 containment policy, the number of current registered crimes in the Russian Federation was characterized by a high dependence on the dynamics of previous years; the number of investigated types of crimes was steadily decreasing, but in the months with official holidays(January, March, May) the number of murders and crimes related to deliberate harm to health increased. Over the 9 months after the introduction of COVID-19 in Russia, the number of murders, crimes related to the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, and the number of reported robberies was higher than the expected values, while the number of residential burglaries was reduced.
Development of legal-tech prospects in the Federal Republic of Iraq: The predictive justice in Anglo-Saxon and Latin perspectives
Authors:   Duhok Polytechnic University, Abdulkareem Fahil Abdulbasit A.
Published: February 2024

The research presents an academic study which examines according to a deep critico-analytical approach, one of the most controversial modernist issues in Western jurisprudence circles, specifically French, and by which we mean the reality of judicial justice in the digital age according to the concept “Predictive Justice”, and the consequent effect of this justice on judicial justice within the legal justice system in legislation. The French system, with the highlighting the Anglo-Saxon experiences, this is according to a research scheme that presents in its first section the opportunities which offering by this concept to the judicial justice system as a whole, especially in light of strengthening the principle of Democracy of Justice; and in its second section, the challenges which this concept poses to this traditional justice system and the fear that it could remould the judicial justice system digitally and regionally, concluding research with a set of results and recommendations, which stimulates the Iraqi criminal legislator with a scientific mechanism to introduce the Predictive Justice to the Iraqi criminal doctrine. The research shows the state of anxiety and anticipation that prevails in this new justice concept in the French legal environment, explains the concept of Glass Justice, Digital Computational Justice, and Capitalist Justice, as well as the fear of stereotyping judicial work with a duplicate digital template, and modelling justice with the Anglo-Saxon’s justice features(source and identity).
The subject of proof and the burden of proof in civil proceedings in the Anglo-Saxon and continental legal systems of foreign countries
Authors:   North-Western Branch of the Russian State University of Justice, Voitovich Lilia V. , Nakhova Elena A. ,   St. Petersburg Institute (Branch) of the All-Russian State University of Justice, Silina Elena V. ,   North-Western Branch of the Russian State University of Justice
Published: February 2024

The article deals with the problems of the concept and legal nature of the subject of proof and the distribution of the burden of proof in civil proceedings in the countries of the Anglo-Saxon and continental legal systems. The authors point out the need for a fundamental revision of the Russian theory of evidence and making the necessary changes to procedural legislation, taking into account the positive experience of the legal regulation of the subject of proof in the procedural legislation of other states and the reception of certain positively tested norms of procedural legislation of foreign countries in terms of the regulation of the subject of proof and the distribution of the burden of proof in Russian procedural legislation. The authors note that the advantage of English and American law is the detailed consolidation of the mechanism of the disclosure of evidence and the sanctions for violation of its order, which amount to the inability to refer to evidence that has not been disclosed in accordance with the established procedure or disclosed with its violation. Currently, the rules for the disclosure of evidence are also fixed in the current civil procedural legislation. The sanctions for violation of the procedure for the disclosure of evidence have not been established. The paper notes that the legislative structure of the active role of the court in evidentiary activities according to the model of the French court could find consolidation in Russian civil proceedings. The authors conclude that the mechanism for determining the subject of proof is fixed in the procedural legislation of Russia, taking into account the type of substantive law applicable to disputed legal relations, detailing the general rule for the distribution of the burden of proof, fixing the mechanism of private rules for the distribution of the burden of proof.
Fiat digital currencies: from idea to implementation
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Andreeva Elena M.
Published: February 2024

This publication is devoted to the study of a new financial and legal instrument central bank digital currencies (CBDC) that is had distributed worldwide. Fiat digital currencies are being issued already in some countries, in others the issue of their introduction is under discussion only. Based on the method of comparative law and other methods of scientific research, the author opens out the common legal features of digital currencies of various countries and their differences as well. The foreign experience made it possible for author to generate the advantages and disadvantages of the digital currencies of central banks. Among the first, the simplification of cashless payments, the reduction in the costs of making money transfers, transparency for central banks and financial supervisory authorities of operations with digital currency, an increase the level of security and safety of funds, etc. Disadvantages CBDC are the distrust of citizens in digital currencies, the inability to solve the problem of weakness and instability national currency with the help of a new digital tool, the enormous costs of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, credit institutions of creating this system, developing special programs for clients integrated with the digital platform, the possibility of leakage of personal information, as well as full openness of information about users. The Russian practice of introducing the digital ruble has not been left without attention. The publication also touches upon some legal problems of this subject and proposes their solutions. The author, in addition to general scientific methods, primarily uses such special methods of scientific knowledge as the formal legal method, the method of comparative law, empirical methods such as collecting of the data on the distribution of digital currencies of the central banks of the world, comparative analysis of legal documents, observation.
Hydrological effects of open ditch damming and controlled subsurface drainage in a Nordic agricultural field
Authors: Isomäki Kielo , Salla Aleksi , Salo Heidi , Koivusalo Harri
Published: February 2024

Controlled drainage (CRD) is an agricultural water management practice designed to adjust the capacity of a drainage system under varying hydrological conditions. This simulation study aimed to quantify the potential of combining a controlled subsurface drainage (CS) with open ditch damming (CD) to manage the water table depth (WTD) and field water balance in Nordic conditions. Simulations with and without controlled drainage were run using a hydrological model that had been set up for a flat loamy field in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland, for the period 2010–2021. All CRD scenarios reduced the probability of deep WTDs during growing seasons (May–Sep). The impact of CS on WTDs was greater and more uniform than CD. The CRD effects on water balance were seen in water outflow pathways, as CS reduced drain discharge while CD had the opposite effect. When both methods were applied simultaneously, annual evapotranspiration increased 5–12% compared with the free drainage scenario. The effects of CRD on evapotranspiration were greatest during the dry years indicating that CRD has potential to reduce drought in food production areas. None of the CRD scenarios could maintain optimal WTDs during the entire growing season, highlighting the complexity of optimizing field water management using CRD alone.
Effect of mountainous rainfall on uncertainty in flood model parameter estimation
Authors: Lee Jeonghoon , Choi Jeonghyeon , Jang Suhyung , Kim Sangdan
Published: February 2024

Explaining the significant variability of rainfall in orographically complex mountainous regions remains a challenging task even for modern raingauge networks. To address this issue, a real-time spatial rainfall field estimation model, called WREPN (WRF Rainfall-Elevation Parameterized Nowcasting), has been developed, incorporating the influence of mountain effect based on ground raingauge networks. In this study, we examined the effect of mountainous rainfall estimates on the uncertainty of flood model parameter estimation. As a comparison, an inverse distance weighting technique was applied to ground raingauge data to estimate the spatial rainfall field. To convert the spatial rainfall fields into flood volumes, we employed the ModClark model, a conceptual rainfall–runoff model with distributed rainfall input. Bayesian theory was applied for parameter estimation to incorporate uncertainty analysis. The ModClark model demonstrated good flood reproducibility regardless of the estimation method for spatial rainfall fields. Parameter estimation results indicated that the WREPN spatial rainfall field, which accounted for the influence of the mountain effect, led to lower curve numbers due to higher estimated rainfall compared to the IDW spatial rainfall field, while the concentration time and storage coefficient showed minimal differences.
Bivariate regional drought frequency analysis using multivariate approaches: a case study in southwestern Iran
Authors: Pashaie Hanie , Nadoushani S. Saeid Mousavi , Moridi Ali , Ahani Ali
Published: February 2024

Bivariate approaches in Regional Frequency Analysis (RFA) address two issues: first, to evaluate the homogeneity of regions, and second, to estimate the joint return periods. This study was conducted to investigate the joint return period of a severe historical drought in southwestern Iran. Fifty-nine rain gauges were first clustered into three, four, and five regions using the fuzzy c-means clustering (FCM) algorithm. Then bivariate discordancy and homogeneity tests were applied to adjust the initial clusters. The results showed that only in the case of three clusters were all the regions homogeneous. Therefore, it can be inferred that combining clustering analysis and discordancy test is insufficient to form homogeneous regions. Finally, the joint return period, by choosing Generalized Logistic and Wakeby as marginal distributions and Clayton as a copula, was estimated for all the sites in the three regions. Since no three-parameter distribution function fitted well to the variable severity, the bivariate homogeneity index does not necessarily attest to region homogeneity regarding the marginal distribution functions. It is also deduced that sites with higher mean annual precipiataion (MAP) and, correspondingly, higher elevation are more likely to experience shorter return periods of same drought events, in contrast to sites with lower MAP or lower elevation.
High-expression of FABP4 in Tubules is a Risk Factor for Poor
Prognosis in DKD Patients
Authors: Huang Yao , Cui Xinyuan , Li Zheng , Yuan Shuguang , Han Yachun , Xu Xiangqing , Fu Xiao , Shi Kewen , Zhang Zurong , Wei Jinying , Xia Shiyu , Xiao Yang , Xue Song , Sun Lin , Liu Hong , Zhu Xuejing
Published: February 2024

Background::

Lipid metabolism imbalance is involved in the mechanism of renal
tubular injury in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Fatty acid binding protein 4
(FABP4) has been reported to participate in cellular lipid toxicity. However, the expression
of FABP4 in renal tissues of DKD and its correlation with clinical/ pathological parameters
and prognosis have not been studied.

Method::

A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 108 hospitalized Type 2 diabetes
(T2D) patients with renal injury, including 70 with DKD and 38 with NDKD
(non-DKD). Clinical features, pathological findings, and follow-up parameters were collected.
Serum and urine FABP4 were detected by ELISA. An immunohistochemistry
stain was used to determine FABP4 in renal tubulointerstitium. A double immunofluorescence
stain was employed to assess FABP4- and CD68-positive macrophages. Correlation
analysis, logistic regression models, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and
Kaplan-Meier survival curve were performed for statistical analysis.

Results::

DKD patients had increased expression of FABP4 and ectopic fat deposition in
tubules. As shown by correlation analyses, FABP4 expression in renal tubules was positively
correlated with UNAG (r=0.589, p=0.044) and ESRD (r=0.740, p=0.004). Multivariate
regression analysis revealed that UNAG level was correlated with FABP4 expression
level above median value (odds ratio:1.154, 95% confidence interval:1.009-1.321,
p=0.037). High-expression of FABP4 in renal tubules of DKD was at an increased risk
of ESRD. Increased FABP4 expression in inflammatory cells was also associated with
ESRD in DKD.

Conclusion::

High-expression of FABP4 is involved in the pathogenesis of renal tubular
lipid injury and is a risk factor for poor prognosis in DKD patients
Liver-derived Exosomal miRNA in NAFLD: Mechanisms of Action,
Biomarkers, and Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Yang Jun , Tang Xiaolei , Chen Liang , Hu Junjie , Li Shan , Yuan Ming , Tian Xianxiang , Qiu Zhenpeng
Published: February 2024

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is of global concern due to its high
prevalence worldwide. NAFLD, as one of the most common causes of liver function abnormalities, is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus,
and there are no medications available to treat NAFLD. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are
nanosized, membrane-bound vesicles that deliver biomolecules between cells. Exosomes are a subtype of EVs that mediate intercellular communication by delivering proteins and RNAs. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a highly conserved class of small tissue-specific non-coding RNAs that influence the expression of many functionally interacting
genes. Hepatic-derived exosomal miRNAs are tightly associated with NAFLD occurrence and progression through multiple mechanisms. In addition, the characterization of
miRNAs suggests that they may serve as multifunctional biomarkers for NAFLD, be
used as clinical therapeutic targets for NAFLD, and be significant predictors of patient
prognosis. Here, we review recent advances in the regulation and function of exosome-derived miRNAs in NAFLD, focusing on miRNAs specifically expressed or enriched in hepatocytes (HCs), hepatic macrophages, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and
other immune cells in the liver. Finally, we discuss future research directions on exosomal miRNAs as biomarkers for NAFLD's diagnosis and clinical therapeutic targets
Recent Updates on the Therapeutics Benefits, Clinical Trials, and Novel
Delivery Systems of Chlorogenic Acid for the Management of Diseases with a
Special Emphasis on Ulcerative Colitis
Authors: Harwansh Ranjit K. , Bhati Hemant , Deshmukh Rohitas
Published: February 2024

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a multifactorial disorder of the large intestine, especially the colon, and
has become a challenge globally. Allopathic medicines are primarily available for the treatment and prevention
of UC. However, their uses are limited due to several side effects. Hence, an alternative therapy is of utmost
importance in this regard. Herbal medicines are considered safe and effective for managing human health
problems. Chlorogenic acid (CGA), the herbal-derived bioactive, has been reported for pharmacological effects
like antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, anticancer, etc.
This review aims to understand the antiinflammatory and chemopreventive potential of CGA against UC.
Apart from its excellent therapeutic potential, it has been associated with low absorption and poor oral bioavailability.
In this context, colon-specific novel drug delivery systems (NDDS)are pioneering to overcome these
problems. The pertinent literature was compiled from a thorough search on various databases such as ScienceDirect,
PubMed, Google Scholar, etc., utilizing numerous keywords, including ulcerative colitis, herbal
drugs, CGA, pharmacological activities, mechanism of actions, nanoformulations, clinical updates, and many
others. Relevant publications accessed till now were chosen, whereas non-relevant papers, unpublished data,
and non-original articles were excluded. The present review comprises recent studies on pharmacological activities
and novel drug delivery systems of CGA for managing UC. In addition, the clinical trials of CGA against
UC have been discussed.
A Narrative Review on Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Children
Authors: Leung Karen K.Y. , Tung Joanna Y.L. , Lee Yan Tung Kelly , Tsang Stephanie , Hon Kam Lun
Published: February 2024

Background:

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication in children
with diabetes mellitus. There are considerable differences in the management approaches for
DKA between different countries. One of the main areas of differences between guidelines is the
administration of fluid, with most guidelines adopting a restrictive approach. This is based on the
concern over cerebral oedema, a lethal sequela allegedly to be caused by excessive fluid administration.
However, in recent years, new clinical studies suggest that there is no causal relationship
between intravenous fluid therapy and DKA-related cerebral injury. The British Society of Paediatric
Endocrinology updated its guideline in 2020 to adopt a more permissive approach to fluid administration,
which has sparked controversy among some paediatricians.

Objectives:

The purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review on the management of
DKA.

Methods:

A PubMed search was performed with clinical queries using the key term “diabetic ketoacidosis”.
The search strategy included randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, meta-analyses,
observational studies, guidelines, and reviews. The search was restricted to English literature
and the age range of 18 years and younger. Moreover, we reviewed and compared major guidelines.

Conclusion:

The management of DKA involves early recognition, accurate diagnosis, meticulous
fluid and insulin treatment with close monitoring of blood glucose, ketones, electrolytes, renal
function, and neurological status. There is still limited clinical evidence to support either a restrictive
or permissive approach in the fluid management of paediatric DKA patients. Clinicians
should exercise caution when applying different guidelines in their clinical practice, considering
the specific circumstances of individual paediatric patients.
What Do We Know about Neonatal Diabetes caused by PDX1 Mutations?
Authors: de Souza Ritiele Bastos , Cabello Pedro Hernán , Rosado Eliane Lopes , Junior Mário Campos , de Medeiros Abreu Gabriella
Published: February 2024

Introduction:

Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is characterized by severe hyperglycemia,
usually diagnosed in the first few months of an individual’s life. It is a genetic disease
and one of the main forms of monogenic diabetes. Changes in different genes have already been
associated with NDM, including changes in the gene PDX1.

Methods:

In this review, we intend to summarize all neonatal diabetes cases caused by PDX1
mutations reported in the literature. For this purpose, we searched keywords in the literature
from PubMed and articles cited by the HGMD database. The search retrieved 84 articles, of
which 41 had their full text accessed. After applying the study exclusion criteria, nine articles
were included.

Results:

Of those articles, we detected thirteen cases of NDM associated with changes in PDX1;
the majority in homozygous or compound heterozygous patients. Until now, variants in the
PDX1 gene have been a rare cause of NDM; however, few studies have included the screening of
this gene in the investigation of neonatal diabetes.

Conclusion:

In this review, we reinforce the importance of the PDX1 gene inclusion in genetic
NGS panels for molecular diagnosis of NDM, and systematic morphological and functional exams
of the pancreas when NDM is present.