bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on predicting alrm of Signaling Storm by hybrid LSTM-AM optimized with improved PSO
Authors: Tong Ying , Jia Xiang , Deng Yong , Liu Yang , Tong Jiangang , Liang Baolin
Published: December 2023

For the voice services under 5G, the prediction of the IMS signaling storm is the foundation for ensuring the stable operation of Voice over New Radio (VoNR) services and strengthening the intelligent management of 5G networks. Simultaneously, it is also an important approach for operators to enhance their core competitiveness. However, the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) signaling storm prediction alarm function for live network systems is still not robust, with most attention being directed towards equipment fault detection and network element health monitoring. Given this limitation of the live network management system, a method combining 2 modules of prediction and judgment is proposed in this research to realize a more advanced prediction of IMS signaling storms. Among this proposed method, a new neurally network model named Trigonometric Particle Swarm Ptimization-Long Short Term Memory-Attention Mechanism (TRIGPSO-LSTM-AM) is constructed and served as the cornerstone of the method. Firstly, the LSTM-AM model, which combines temporal recurrent neural networks with attention mechanism, is established to predict the key index values of the IMS. At the same time, the traditional Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is improved, and a more intelligent particle swarm optimization algorithm based on trigonometric transformation, named TRIGPSO, is proposed to enhance the convergence of the prediction model. Then, an alarm judgment module is built, and the output of the prediction module is utilized as the input for this module. Clustering is achieved based on the KMeans algorithm, and each class is mapped to the alarm level, thereby informing the network management to execute the corresponding alarm operation. Finally, the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed method are validated through several groups of comparative experiments.
Medical and Psychological Consequences of War-Related Sexual Violence among Women and Girls in Tigray, Ethiopia
Authors: Fisseha Girmatsion , Adhanu Hadgay Hagos , Aregawi Abera Berhe , Wuneh Alem Desta , Tesfay Freweni , Lema Gebretsadik Kiros , Dimstu Balem , Teka Hale , Yemane Awol , Gidey Hagos , Gebreseassie Kibrom Berhanu , Hagos Tigist , Tareke Helen Bitew , W/gebriel Tensay Kahsay , Berhane Yemane , Ayele Brhane , Atsbaha Ataklti Hailu , Zegeye Teame , Redda Yaynshet Gebreyohannes , Hassen Abrahim , Godefay Hagos , Mulugeta Afework
Published: December 2023

Background
War-related sexual violence is becoming an increasing feature of conflict and security challenges and is used as a weapon of war to achieve military or political goals. It has tremendous negative short and long-term consequences for the victims, their families, and communities. Since the eruption of war in November 2020 in Tigray, many women reported sexual violence and the destruction of health facilities. Thus, this study aimed to assess the health consequences of sexual violence victims in severely war-affected areas of the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Methods
The study employed mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative study during the war in Tigray, Ethiopia. A total of 528 sexually abused women and girls were included in the quantitative study from a community survey conducted in August 2021. To support the quantitative study, six in-depth interviews with rape survivors were conducted to share their experiences. A standardized interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for the community survey and a semi-structured checklist recorded by audio was used for qualitative study. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson chi-square test were used to assess the relationship between health consequences, different socio-demographics, and types of sexual violence. Thematic analysis was performed using ATLAS ti version 7 after the recorded audios were transcribed.
Result
Most, 435 (82.4%) victims had been raped and 404 (76.5%) had experienced triple trauma burden of sexual, physical, and psychological violence. Most victims had experienced consequences ranging from mild (34.5%) to severe injuries (42.1%), mental health and behavioral problems (75.6%) like posttraumatic stress disorder (12.1%), stress (63.5%), anxiety (38.6%), depression (27.5%), sleeping disturbance (35.2%), nightmare (29.0), flashbacks and social isolation. More than one-fifth, (21.8%) of rape survivors experienced sexual and reproductive health problems such as exposure to STIs, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, and HIV. Survivors encountered the worst rape scenarios such as gang rape by troops and combatants.
Conclusion
Survivors experienced severe forms of physical injuries, posttraumatic stress disorder, and sexual and reproductive health problems. Humanitarian agencies and civic organizations need to provide immediate medical and psychological support to victims to reduce further health consequences and harm.
An Advanced Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Patient Benefits from Personalised Immunotherapy and FGFR2 Inhibiter
Authors: Zhu Sihui , Liu Chenxi , Jin Yunchen , Zhang Hailong , Zhou Mingzhen , Xu Chen , Shao Jie , Liu Qin , Wei Jia , Shen Jie , Liu Baorui
Published: December 2023

Advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly aggressive malignancy which shows poor response to first-line treatments including radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Its prognosis is extremely poor, with an overall survival of less than one year. Individualised neoantigen vaccines have shown to be effective in boosting the immune response against tumours, and neoantigen-based peptide as well as DNA and dendritic cell vaccines are now under investigations in clinical trials. Here we reported a case of a patient with advanced ICC who progressed after receiving targeted combination immunotherapy after relapsing and received immunotherapy based on personalised neoantigen nanovaccine. This patient administered a neoantigen-based peptide nanovaccine customised according to her gene mutation spectrum after progression on first-line therapy. Clinical efficacy and anti-tumour immune responses were assessed by imaging, interferon-γ ELISPOT assay and intracellular cytokine staining. A specific tumour killing effect was effectively produced by the T cells mediated by neoantigen nanovaccine, and the response lasted up to 25 months. This provides a new possibility to treat advanced ICC with neoantigen-based immunotherapy.
The effect of daily usage of Listerine Cool Mint mouthwash on the oropharyngeal microbiome
Authors: Laumen J. G.E. , Dijck C , Manoharan-Basil S. S. , Block T , Abdellati S , Xavier B. B. , Malhotra-Kumar S , Kenyon Chris
Published: December 2023

Listerine is a bactericidal mouthwash used to prevent oral health problems such as dental plaque and gingivitis. It is unknown whether it promotes or undermines a healthy oral microbiome. We aimed to assess if daily usage of Listerine Cool Mint® influenced the composition of the pharyngeal microbiome. The current microbiome substudy is part of the PreGo trial conducted in 2019-2020, wherein sixty-four MSM taking HIV PrEP were enrolled. In this crossover trial, participants were received 3 months of daily Listerine followed by 3 months of placebo mouthwash or vice versa. Oropharyngeal swabs were taken at baseline and after 3 months use of each mouthwash. DNA was extracted for shotgun metagenomic sequencing (Illumina Inc.,). Non-host reads were taxonomically classified with MiniKraken and Bracken. The diversity indices alpha and beta diversity were compared between baseline and after each mouthwash use. Differentially abundant bacterial taxa were identified using ANOVA-Like Differential Expression analysis. Streptococcus was the most abundant genus in most samples (n=103, 61.7%) with a median relative abundance of 31.5% [IQR 20.6 to 44.8], followed by Prevotella (13.5%, [IQR 4.8 to 22.6]) and Veillonella (10.0%, [IQR 4.0 to 16.8]). Compared to baseline, the composition of the oral microbiome at the genus level (beta diversity) was significantly different after 3 months Listerine (P=0.006, pseudo-F = 2.29) or placebo (P=0.003, pseudo-F = 2.49, PERMANOVA) use. Fusobacterium nucleatum and Streptococcus anginosus were significantly more abundant after Listerine use compared to baseline. Listerine use was associated with an increased abundance of common oral opportunistic bacteria previously reported to be enriched in periodontal diseases, oesophageal and colorectal cancer, and systemic diseases. These findings suggest that the applications of Listerine mouthwash should be carefully considered.
Multiscale Modelling of the Poroviscoelastic Rheology of Cell Cytoplasm
Authors: Thekkethil Namshad , K\"{o}ry Jakub , Guo Ming , Stewart Peter S. , Hill Nicholas A. , Luo Xiaoyu
Published: December 2023

Eukaryotic cell rheology has important consequences for vital processes such as adhesion, migration, and differentiation. Experiments indicate that cell cytoplasm can exhibit both elastic and viscous characteristics in different regimes, while the transport of fluid (cytosol) through the cross-linked filamentous scaffold (cytoskeleton) is reminiscent of mass transfer by diffusion through a porous medium. To gain insights into this complex rheological behaviour, we construct a multi-scale computational model for the cell cytoplasm as a poroviscoelastic material formulated on the principles of nonlinear continuum mechanics, where we model the cytoplasm as a porous viscoelastic scaffold with an embedded viscous fluid flowing between the pores to model the cytosol. Baseline simulations (neglecting the viscosity of the cytosol) indicate that the system exhibits seven different regimes across the parameter space spanned by the viscoelastic relaxation timescale of the cytoskeleton and the poroelastic diffusion timescale; these regimes agree qualitatively with experimental measurements. Furthermore, the theoretical model also allows us to elucidate the additional role of pore fluid viscosity, which enters the system as a distinct viscous timescale. We show that increasing this viscous timescale hinders the passage of the pore fluid (reducing the poroelastic diffusion) and makes the cytoplasm rheology increasingly incompressible, shifting the phase boundaries between the regimes.
Exploring Different Encodings and Distance Metrics for a Quantum Instance-based Classifier
Authors: Berti Alessandro , Bernasconi Anna , Corso Gianna M. Del , Guidotti Riccardo
Published: December 2023

Over the past few years, we observed a rethinking of classical artificial intelligence algorithms from a quantum computing perspective. This trend is driven by the peculiar properties of quantum mechanics, which offer the potential to enhance artificial intelligence capabilities, enabling it to surpass the constraints of classical computing.
However, redesigning classical algorithms into their quantum equivalents is not straightforward and poses numerous challenges. In this study, we analyze in-depth two orthogonal designs of the Quantum K-Nearest Neighbor classifier. In particular, we show two solutions based on amplitude encoding and basis encoding of data, respectively. These two types of encoding impact the overall structure of the respective algorithms, which employ different distance metrics and show different performances. By breaking down each quantum algorithm, we clarify implementation aspects ranging from data preparation to classification.
Eventually, we discuss the difficulties associated with data preparation, the theoretical advantage of quantum algorithms, and their impact on performance with respect to the classical counterpart.
Photobiomodulation Therapy Moderates Cancer Cachexia-associated Muscle wasting through Activating PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a Pathway succinct title: PBMT Alleviates Muscle Wasting via PI3K/AKT/FoxO3a Pathway
Authors: Li Yonghua , Chen Yibing , Lai Dongming , Huang Ting , Chang Haocai , Liao Yuan , Xia Qing , Li Hongsheng , Xu Liu , Li Haolong , Xing Da , Liu Quentin , Zou Zhengzhi
Published: December 2023

Cancer cachexia-associated muscle wasting as a multifactorial wasting syndrome, is an important factor affecting the long-term survival rate of tumor patients. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) has emerged as a promising tool to cure and prevent many diseases. However, the effect of PBMT on skeletal muscle atrophy during cancer progression has not been fully demonstrated yet. Here, we found PBMT alleviated the atrophy of myotube diameter induced by cancer cells in vitro, and prevented cancer-associated muscle atrophy in mice bearing tumor. Mechanistically, the alleviation of muscle wasting by PBMT was found to be involved in inhibiting E3 ubiquitin ligases MAFbx and MuRF-1. In addition, transcriptomic analysis using RNA-seq and GSEA revealed that PI3K/AKT pathway might be involved in PBMT-prevented muscle cachexia. Next, we showed the protective effect of PBMT against muscle cachexia was totally blocked by AKT inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, PBMT-activated AKT promoted FoxO3a phosphorylation and thus inhibiting the nucleus entry of FoxO3a. Lastly, in cisplatin-treated muscle cachexia model, PBMT had also been shown to ameliorate muscle atrophy through enhancing PI3K/AKT pathway to suppress MAFbx and MuRF-1 expression. These novel findings revealed that PBMT could be a promising therapeutic approach in treating muscle cachexia induced by cancer.
Unsteady gust interaction with tidal rotors: Importance of 3D wake effects and implications for turbine load modelling
Authors: Smyth Amanda S. M. , de Arcos Federico S. Zilic , Young Anna M.
Published: December 2023

This study investigates the blade loads on a model tidal turbine subject to unsteady gust forcing in the form of uniform small-amplitude oscillations in the axial inflow velocity. The validity of industry-standard 2D strip-theory models for calculating unsteady hydrodynamic loading on 3D rotor geometries is evaluated, by comparing predictions by the Theodorsen function to numerical Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) simulations and three-dimensional inviscid vortex lattice modelling (VLM). The results show that the 2D function captures neither the trends nor the magnitudes of the unsteady turbine loads. The inviscid VLM corresponds well to the unsteady RANS simulations, suggesting that 3D wake effects are highly consequential for the unsteady loads. The primary non-dimensional parameters determining the unsteady load magnitudes are identified, and it is observed that industrial turbines are likely to experience operation at the "critical forcing period" corresponding to peak unsteady load amplitudes in realistic wave conditions. These peak loads exceed those predicted by assuming quasi-steady conditions, which is otherwise often considered to give conservative load estimates. We demonstrate the potential hazard in applying quasi-steady tip-loss corrections and induction factors in unsteady flow conditions, as this can substantially under-predict the loads, and show that the shortcomings of strip-theory models stem from their lack of 3D unsteady wake effects. These outcomes have implications for the evaluation of peak and lifetime loads on tidal devices, and for any rotor application which relies on 2D strip-theory for load predictions.
Quantum Diffusion Models
Authors: Cacioppo Andrea , Colantonio Lorenzo , Bordoni Simone , Giagu Stefano
Published: December 2023

Denoising diffusion probabilistic models have become increasingly important in machine learning, but their quantum counterpart has not been studied yet. In this work, we propose a quantum version of a generative diffusion model. In this algorithm, artificial neural networks are replaced with parameterized quantum circuits, in order to manipulate quantum states directly. We present both a full quantum version and a latent classical-quantum version of the algorithm. In the latent model, the parameterized quantum circuits are trained in a low dimensional representation of data, obtained by employing a pre-trained classical autoencoder. For both models, we show a method for conditioning the output distribution, utilizing ancillary qubits. The models' performance have been evaluated using quantitative metrics complemented by qualitative assessments. For the latent model, we show the implementation of a simplified version on real quantum hardware. The execution on a NISQ device allows to evaluate the performance of the algorithm in the presence of noise.
Sustained ecological impacts of invasive crayfish following claw injury
Authors: Soto Ismael , Hen Gwendaline Le , Buřič Miloš , Cuthbert Ross N. , Haubrock Phillip J. , Sentis Arnaud , Veselý Lukáš , Kouba Antonín
Published: December 2023

The rapid acceleration of human-mediated translocation of species has led to the introduction of thousands of species outside their native range with severe consequences for global biodiversity. Freshwater crayfish are a particularly successful group of invasive species as exemplified by the increasingly widespread marbled crayfish. A significant portion of crayfish populations has regenerating or missing claws. At the same time, claws play important roles in e.g., feeding and intraspecific interactions, altering crayfish ability to invade new areas and impact native communities. Here, we combined laboratory experiments and modeling to investigate whether the number of claws on marbled crayfish modulates its ecological impact (focusing on predation rate) using functional response analyses, as well as its intraspecific interactions via population dynamic modeling. We found that the number of claws did not affect the marbled crayfish's functional response type (hyperbolic type II), attack rates, or handling times when preying on chironomid larvae. However, claw numbers had a significant effect on the partial consumption rate of prey, which tended to increase with the number of claws and prey density. The presence of multiple intraspecific predators influenced marbled crayfish non-trophic behavior, with antagonistic effects prevalent between crayfish pairs regardless of claw status. Moreover, the impact of multiple predators was prey density-dependent, with highest levels of antagonism shown at the lowest prey density across crayfish groups. Our findings show that the potential impacts of invasive crayfish was not affected by the number of claws, highlighting the growing context-independent risk that these species pose to freshwater ecosystems.
Change in control intermittency with practice during humanpostural balancing on an unstable unrestrained platform
Authors: Rao Aishwarya , Palanthandalam-Madapusi Harish
Published: December 2023

Purpose: The central nervous system (CNS) employs an intermittent control strategy in humanquiet stance and other balancing activities as stated in the literature. We investigate the less exploredaspect of how the intermittent control strategy changes as humans practice balancing on an unstableunrestrained platform.
Method: We perform human subject experiments with a rocker board, obtain the Center of Pres-sure (COP), ankle and rocker board angle, and EMG data for the Medial Gastrocnemius (MG) and Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscles for the right leg (active leg). We analyze the trends in various postur-ography, kinematic, and muscle-firing parameters while taking reference from simulation analysis todraw insights about the nature of changes in the intermittent control strategy with practice.
Result: Multi-modal or skewed histograms of COP, power law in power spectrum, and 2-slope diffu-sion stabilogram are observed in all data. Total kernel density of the peaks in the COP histogramsincrease with practice trials and increases with decrease in intermittent threshold during simulation.The low-frequency slope sL of the ankle angle power spectrum decreases with practice and decreaseswith decrease in intermittency threshold in simulations. Average Energy AE and Simple SquareIntegral SSI decrease with practice. Wavelet spectrum of MG and TA muscle EMG show intermit-tent bursts in the signals.
Conclusion: The intermittent control strategy is retained throughout the balanc-ing practice on the rocker board. The trends in parameters with practice are bestexplained by a decrease in intermittency threshold in the control strategy with practice.
Comparison of two methods in multi-criteria decision-making: application in transmission rod material selection
Authors: Thinh Hoang Xuan , Mai Nguyen Trong
Published: December 2023

Transmission rod is an indispensable part in diesel and gasoline engines. Its job is to convert rotation into translational motion or vice versa. The transmission rod material selection plays a very important role, affecting its working function and durability. This study was conducted to compare two Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods in transmission rod material selection. They are PIV (Proximity Indexed Value) method, and FUCA (Faire Un Choi Adéquat) method. Seven types of steel commonly used in transmission rods were reviewed for ranking, inclusive of: 20 steel, 40 steel, 45 steel, 18Cr2Ni4WA steel, 30 CrMoA steel, 45Mn2 steel and 40CrNi steel. Nine parameters were used as criteria to evaluate each steel including minimum yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, minimum elongation ratio, contraction ratio, modulus of elasticity, mean coefficient of thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, specific thermal capacity, and density. The weights of the criteria were calculated using three methods inclusive of MEAN weight method, Entropy weight method and MEREC weight method (Method based on the Removal Effects of Criteria). Each MCDM method was combined with the three weight methods mentioned above to rank the alternatives. The obtained results show that when using both PIV and FUCA methods to rank the alternatives, the best and worst alternatives are found regardless of the weight of the criteria. The best alternative determined using the PIV method is also the best alternative determined using the FUCA method. It means that the two PIV and FUCA methods have been shown to be equally effective. Among the seven transmission rod materials reviewed, 20 steel was identified as the best, and 40CrNi steel was identified as the worst
A UTILIZAÇÃO DA REALIDADE AUMENTADA COMO FERRAMENTA TECNOLÓGICA NO PROCESSO DE ENSINO DA ENGENHARIA MECÂNICA
Authors: Da Silva Jonathan Felipe , César Silveira Jucá Sandro , Almeida da Silva Solonildo
Published: December 2023

O ambiente escolar contemporâneo precisa estar atualizado com as inovações tecnológicas. As lousas tradicionais são substituídas por projetores e lousas digitais, o que permite maior interação com o conteúdo abordado, potencializando assim a relação entre ensino e aprendizagem. O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é discutir o uso do recurso tecnológico denominado Realidade Aumentada (RA) voltado para o ensino das disciplinas voltadas à Engenharia Mecânica. Esta proposta visa mitigar uma dificuldade, comumente encontrada entre os alunos, relacionada à visualização tridimensional dos elementos representados de forma bidimensional. A metodologia adotada consiste em uma revisão bibliográfica com obras relevantes, a fim de definir o estado de arte do tema em questão. Como resultado, apresenta-se a viabilidade de utilização da RA em sala de aula nas disciplinas de Engenharia Mecânica, necessitando de uma prévia qualificação do docente responsável pelas disciplinas, uma vez que este se apresentará como intermediador do processo de construção do conhecimento pelo aluno. Os resultados e conclusões obtidos afirmam que o uso da RA potencializa significativamente o ensino deste campo, trazendo uma maior compreensão dos conteúdos relacionados à Engenharia Mecânica de forma abrangente, destacando-se pela viabilidade de uso em sala de aula.
The influence of corporate social responsibility on repurchase intention: The mediating effect of satisfaction
Authors: Vo Minh Sang , Phan Nguyen Thao Uyen , Truong Tan Khanh , Pham Van Phung
Published: December 2023

The study evaluates the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention in the fast food service business in Vietnam. This study used quantitative research methods with a sample of 414 customers aged 18 and older who have used fast food service in Vietnam. Primary data were collected based on customers’ willingness to provide information through questionnaire links on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Zalo. Structural equation modeling and mediating effect analysis were used to test the correlation between components in the research model. Research results have identified three components of CSR, including community responsibility, environmental responsibility, and ethical responsibility in business, that directly and positively influence customer satisfaction. The results validate the mediating influence of satisfaction on the correlation between CSR components (community, environmental, and ethical responsibility) and repurchase intention, which very few previous studies have performed. These findings theoretically contribute to the literature, verifying three CSR components from the customer’s point of view in the fast food service business, including community, environmental, and ethical responsibility. Expanding the theory on factors affecting customer satisfaction and promoting cause-related marketing, prosocial behavior, and competitive advantage theory is necessary. As for managerial contributions, fast food business brands are suggested to invest and increase their CSR activities.
Level of pandemic consequences for the indebtedness of the Slovak hospitality sector
Authors: Valaskova Katarina , Durana Pavol , Kliestik Tomas , Vojtekova Simona
Published: December 2023

The financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on entire economies has been proven. The current necessity is to determine the level of consequences for distinct industries and sectors. The local lockdowns and travel restrictions shocked the hospitality industry and its performance. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explain the effect of the pandemic on a particular economic sector, specifically NACE I (Accommodation and food service activities), and changes in financial indicators in Slovak circumstances for the period 2016–2021. The study focuses on debt ratios that reflect the financial stability of businesses. Friedman’s test was run to determine how the chosen indebtedness indicators developed over the chosen years. Based on a sample of 321 Slovak companies, statistically significant differences were found. But only the interest coverage ratio was significantly different between the pre-pandemic and pandemic eras, according to the post-hoc tests. In addition, there was a hint of a positive overall transformation in the sector of accommodation and food service activities. The decline of the number of enterprises by total indebtedness from the alarming threshold in 2021 declared this fact. The conclusions implicate that Slovak businesses are becoming more mindful of debt financing and are attempting to reduce the risks of going bankrupt. AcknowledgmentThis research was financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency – Grant Vega 1/0121/20: Research of transfer pricing system as a tool to measure the performance of national and multinational companies in the context of earnings management in conditions of the Slovak Republic and V4 countries and faculty institutional research 1/KE/2022: Analysis of the determinants of indebtedness and profitability of business entities in the European area.
Executive education (MBA) as a factor of career development of women managers
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Zavyalova Elena K. , Posokhova Svetlana T. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Lisovskaya Antonina Yu. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Kosheleva Sofia V. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Sokolov Dmitri N. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: December 2023

The purpose of the study is to answer the question whether postgraduate education (Master of Business Administration — MBA) is a factor of creating women’s career capital, which is “converted” into income and social status. The theoretical basis of the study is the theory of career capital. The empirical base includes the results of a survey of 241 MBA program graduates of one of the leading Russian business schools two years after their graduation. The analysis of the results showed that postgraduate education contributed to the formation of career capital of the managers, which is further used to achieve income and status. Gender differences were most prominent in the increase of income after school: the female managers did not reach the level of income received by the male MBA graduates. The career capital of female managers, who managed to increase their income to a greater extent, was distinguished by the ability to use the social bondings received during MBA training. It is necessary to pay attention to the development of women's business communication skills, to introduce them to modern technologies for creating social networks in order to level off the situation on the labor market which ensures professional growth and reduces social inequality in the highly competitive professional environment.
Alternative investments: Motives and risks for investors on crowdfunding platforms
Authors:   HSE University, Berezinets Irina V. , Ilina Yulia B. ,   St. Petersburg State University, Bobrov Konstantin A. , Koptsev Vladimir S. ,   HSE University
Published: December 2023

With the development of financial markets and digital technologies, private companies are starting to actively use alternative financing tools, which, in turn, are becoming an alternative for investors to put money in traditional financial assets. Among these instruments, equity crowdfunding (crowdinvesting) plays a special role, an innovative method of financing through which issuers raise funds on online portals — crowdfunding platforms, and investors make investments in exchange for company shares. The subject of many academic and practical studies is the motives and risks of investing in this instrument. Due to the information asymmetry that exists between issuers and investors, the high uncertainty of future cash flows, the dominance of nonprofessional investors in the market, and a short history of the equity crowdfunding market, currently the issues of investors’ motives and risks remain poorly studied and the results of research are mixed. The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the motives for investing in shares of small and medium-sized businesses on crowdfunding platforms, the risks associated with them, and the relationship between investment motives and characteristics of investors and crowdfunding campaigns. The research methodology was based on a review of contemporary studies on the issues under consideration. Based on the academic concepts, the experience of experts in this field and the authors’ own expertise acquired in the field of alternative investments, the authors put forward their own view building on the existing ideas. The results of the study are valuable for all participants of the equity crowdfunding process: issuing companies, investors, crowdfunding platforms. The authors contribute to the existing research on equity crowdfunding by proposing new approaches to identification of the motives of different categories of investors in relation to the factors which were not previously studied.
Brand management through building a loyalty chain of the target audience
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Staroverova Irina I.
Published: December 2023

The paper examines theoretical approaches to brand management and loyalty management. The method used is the analyses of academic publications, scientific articles on brand management and loyalty management. The author argues that brand management aims at a customer’s loyalty to a brand, whereas loyalty management considers branding as one of the techniques to obtain customer loyalty towards a company. However, none of these two subject matters fully defines the mechanics of how brand loyalty is formed and how a brand can manage that. The author introduces the notion of customer loyalty chain which consists of positive brand attitude formation, trust, forming satisfaction from brand interacting, and as a consequence, creation of loyalty. Understanding of customer’s cognitive and affective processes including customer’s reasons, drivers and barriers at every stage of brand loyalty formation helps a company manage more precisely the process of brand loyalty formation, integrate these data into a new brand creation making the brand native for the customer. The paper provides mechanisms of customer loyalty chain integration into brand management and evaluation metrics system of such integration.
Spanning the boundaries: International business theories in a complex global environment
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Ameyaw Abdul-Kadir
Published: December 2023

The field of international business is constantly evolving, and there is much debate about what exactly constitutes international business and how its definition influences theorizing. Traditionally international business has focused on cross-border activities of multinational enterprises, including foreign direct investment, multinational enterprises’ strategies, and organization, along with the understanding of the process of internationalization. Changes in the global environment have necessitated a broader, multidisciplinary approach to international business theorizing. This paper explores how international business emerged as a field of inquiry and how the interrelated fields such as international management, international entrepreneurship, and international strategy can inform international business theorizing. A more complementary approach would be beneficial rather than treating these fields as distinct ones. Moreover, this paper recognizes the complex nature of the global environment and highlights the myriad of challenges and opportunities it presents for businesses operating internationally. It proposes a future research agenda that considers this intricate global context, and challenges international business scholars to adopt a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to develop comprehensive theories that capture the dynamic and interconnected nature of the complex global business environment.
Letter from the old Bolshevik M. S. Olminsky to the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR V.I.Lenin on the issue of ensuring the safety of the valuables of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin (May 7, 1922)
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Krapivin Mikhail Yu.
Published: December 2023

In the autumn of 1921 — in the spring of 1922, the Soviet government initiated a large-scale confiscation campaign. The jewels brought to Moscow from all over the country were destined for subsequent sale on the foreign market. Seizures were made (among other things) from operating liturgical buildings and prayer rooms of various denominations, as well as from some museums. Employees of the Main Committee for Museum Affairs and the Protection of Ancient Art and Nature Monuments of the People’s Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR took part in the seizure procedure. Museum workers interpreted the normative documents in force at that time as the right of the museum community to fundamentally influence the course and scale of the confiscation process (up to the right of veto). Party and Soviet functionaries were convinced that among the museum workers there were many persons closely associated with church circles, counter-revolutionary seeking to disrupt the work of seizing church gold. On May 7, 1922, in the midst of a “conflict” between museum staff and state structures, the chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR V.I.Lenin receives a letter from Olminsky, one of the oldest figures in the Russian revolutionary movement, about the need to prevent the possibility of theft of the values of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin by museum workers. For the first time we publish 6 documents concerning the discussion. These documents were found in the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History among the materials of one of the “thematic folders” of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RKP(b) — VKP(b) — CPSU: 21st “group of documents”. The archivalsources clarify the role played by the Glavmuseum (and its local branches) in saving the country’s cultural heritage during the large-scale confiscation measures of 1921–1922.
Collection of Russian manuscripts in the Chester Beatty Library and Museum
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Veselov Fedor N.
Published: December 2023

A significant part of Russian handwritten monuments, due to various circumstances, ended up outside of Russia. The lack of detailed descriptions, and often even information about such rarities, especially those that ended up in private collections, creates certain difficulties in conducting special studies of the Russian manuscript heritage, results of such works may turn out to be incomplete without taking into account information about “emigrant” monuments. The processes of accumulation of such monuments in private Western collections also deserve special attention: they allow us to identify the general patterns of the emergence of interest in Russian medieval and Old Believer art, to trace the ways in which monuments came to Europe and America from Russia in connection with the tragic events of the 20th century. The object of our study is a little-known collection of Russian-by-origin manuscripts of the Chester Beatty Library and Museum in Dublin (Ireland). The collection’s founder, British-American mining magnate Alfred Chester Beatty, collected Russian manuscripts during the interwar period. Apparently, the interest in Russia was due to the influence on Beatty of the largest bibliophiles in Western Europe of that time, the concession business in the Soviet Union and connections with the firm A la Vieille Russie, which was engaged in the trade of Russian antiques. The second part of the article contains detailed descriptions of the monuments of the collection. The need is caused by the fact that the only published catalog of Cyrillic manuscripts in the British and Irish collections (1988), although being the first to introduce them into academic use, does not define the material of the codices, their origin, it provides extremely extensive dating.
Documentary archive of Alexander Gaush (1873–1947) in the Simferopol Art Museum collection. Letters of Igor Grabar
Authors:   Simferopol Art Museum, Kugusheva Alexandra Yu.
Published: December 2023

This article classifies the archive of Alexander Gaush in the Simferopol Art Museum funds and studies the texts of individual documents. Alexander Gaush (1873–1947) was an artist and graphic artist, participant of exhibitions of the Academy of Arts and the World of Art artistic movement, one of the founders of the New Society of Artists, curator of the Museum of Old Saint Petersburg, professor of painting, a talented teacher. A number of archive documents were previously studied by the chief curator of museum funds Leonarda Rybnikova, the Crimean art critic Sergey Pushkarev; individual pages of the artist’s biography were illuminated by the employee of the State Museum of Saint Petersburg History Lyudmila Aksenova. The archive documents can be classified into two sections: the first includes letters and handwritten documents authored by Alexander Gaush; the second includes letters addressed to A.Gaush and various documents related to the life and work of the artist and his wife Lyubov Gaush (1873–1943). Among A.Gaush’s correspondents are prominent artists: Eugene Demmeni (1898–1969), Nikolay Root (1870–1960), Alfred Eberling (1872–1951), Igor Grabar (1871–1960). The letters of Igor Grabar, sent in 1946–1947, allow us to see a picture of the artistic life of this time. The text of these letters sheds light on the history of the portrait, which A.Gaush, with the assistance of Igor Grabar, tried to transfer to the Russian Museum through the Leningrad Purchasing Commission. A number of facts suggest that this work of art was the Portrait of Lyubov Gaush created by Alexander Sokolov, which was transferred by A.Gaush for temporary storage to the Simferopol Art Gallery in 1946 and accepted into the main fund in 1949.
95 years of the foundation of the Bureau of Educational Work of the Russian Museum (1928). Archival documents
Authors:   State Russian Museum, Tuminskaya Olga A.
Published: December 2023

The departmental archive of the Russian Museum stores documents that are only now being put into circulation by scientific researchers. The enlightenment business, which has existed and developed for a century, has been the subject of point-by-point scientific study until now. The relevance of this study is to restore the identified gap. The Government of the Country of Soviets has set the task of educating a new person. For this purpose, the best forces of the country were gathered and cultural and educational institutions were founded for the development of various aspects of the personality of a child and a teenager. Since 1922, the Cultural and Educational Commission has been working in the Russian Museum, its task is “work among the masses”: lectures at enterprises, in leisure institutions. Her tasks included collecting applications for excursions, mastering the material with the help of library resources, advising single visitors. The School Commission is also well deployed, in addition to school education, clubs and sections have opened in the Russian Museum. On February 28, 1928, the Bureau of the Educational Service was established in the Russian Museum. The birth of a special unit in the structure of museum construction of the Soviet state marked the beginning of a new stage of museology — excursion and educational. The museum’s research and educational activities are increasingly converging and becoming an important means of cultural and educational activities.
Implementation of the Master plan for the restoration and development of Leningrad in terms of organizing cultural and educational work in 1945
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Amosova Alisa A.
Published: December 2023

After the Great Patriotic War, the interest towards the history of the city increased among Leningraders, also the regional cultural identity developed, reinforced by the tragic experience of the siege. During this period, the organization of cultural and educational work in Leningrad became one of the most important activities of local authorities. The article is devoted to aspects of the implementation of the cultural and educational policy in Leningrad in 1945, viewed through the prism of the key principles reflected in the Master Plan for the Reconstruction and Development of Leningrad. The main emphasis in the article is made on the consideration of organizational issues that were under the jurisdiction of the executive committee of the Leningrad City Council of Workers’ Deputies. Even before the end of the war, on March 15, 1945, the Department of Cultural and Educational Work was formed. The key vectors of work were: to restore the tourism potential of the suburbs of Leningrad, organization of museum work in terms of preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War and the blockade, erection of memorials dedicated to the Leningrad epic… The post-war Master Plan was not fully implemented because of the Leningrad affair. This research problem has not been studied enough, although certain aspects of the topic were reflected in historical, museological and cultural literature. The source base for the study was the regulatory and legal materials and office documentation of the Leningrad City Executive Committee of the 1940s, materials from periodicals, data from official museum sites.
Valentin Petrovich Gritskevich: Scientist, teacher, personality
Authors:   St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture, Mastenitsa Elena N. , Shlyakhtina Lyudmila M. ,   St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture
Published: December 2023

The article is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scientist and talented teacher Valentin Petrovich Gritskevich, candidate of medical sciences, doctor of cultural studies, professor, member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, Union of Belarusian Writers, honorary member of the Public Association “International Association of Belarusians”, organizer and chairman of the Belarusian Public and Cultural Association in St. Petersburg (since 1989) and many others. He had three higher educations. He worked as a doctor in Uzlyany, Minsk, Leningrad. Since 1971 — Senior Researcher at the Military Medical Museum of the USSR Ministry of Defense. He taught at the Department of History of the Leningrad State Institute of Culture, since 1988 — Associate Professor, and since 2003 Professor of the Department of Museum Studies. He is the author of more than 300 scientific papers. The article emphasizes the extensive scientific heritage of the scientist has not yet received a deep and comprehensive understanding. No less significant are the achievements of V.P.Gritskevich as a teacher and mentor, who was at the origin of the creation of one of the first departments of museology in Russia and who made a personal contribution to the development of training courses, including textbooks on the history of museum work, source studies, which are still used by students. The merits of the scientist in the formation of the scientific school of historical museology are especially significant. The authors of the article, as colleagues who personally knew V.P.Gritskevich for 25 years of his work at the Department of Museology and Cultural Heritage of St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture, note also the high moral qualities and principles of the unique personality of a scientist and teacher.
Aron Gidalevich and his collection in the State Museum-Reserve “Tauric Chersonesos” (exhibition dedicated to the 155th anniversary of his birth)
Authors:   State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Tauric Chersonesos”, Kolesnik Evgenia V. , Prokhorova Tatiana A. ,   State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve “Tauric Chersonesos”
Published: December 2023

In this article the exhibition “Volunteer of eternity: the legacy of Aron Gidalevich. To the 155th anniversary of his birth (about Sevastopol and Sevastopol residents…)”, which took place in the State Museum-Reserve “Tauric Chersonesos”, is discussed. The authors describe the exposition, which was created in order to fully present the part of A.Gidalevich’s collection preserved in the museum. Taking into account the fact that no special exhibitions of this kind have been held, the authors of the exposition in this article reconstruct the history of the existence of the collection on the basis of authentic objects and documents, trace the fate of objects, the processes of their transfer from one owner to another, as well as curious moments related to the study and restoration of individual things. In the process of working on the exhibition, the authors came to the conclusion that the identity of the collector A.Gidalevich arouses considerable interest among researchers, and in the conditions of the information vacuum that has developed around his person, the reconstruction of his biographical line comes to the fore. In this regard, additional archival research was carried out, which made it possible to identify a group of documents on the history of pre-revolutionary Sevastopol and the activities of A.Gidalevich. The article is intended for a wide range of historians, students, specialists in the history of Russia and in the field of museology, primarily from regions remote from the Crimea, who could not attend the exhibition, but are interested in getting acquainted with the materials presented at it. This explains the narrative style of the article written as a guided tour of the exposition.
Uma pausa para falar de literatura e violência
Authors: Simon da Silva Regina , Luna Claudia , Soto-Ramírez Marybel
Published: December 2023

Editorial do volume 8, número especial, 2023