Search Results (20)

This article is devoted to the determination of the average daily electric load and the average electric load during the hours of maximum load, taking into account the generalized coefficient A_i, using data on electricity consumption for apartment buildings and individual residential buildings in Chelyabinsk and the cities of Dushanbe and Khorog in the Republic of Tajikistan. The results of modeling the average daily electric load, taking into account the developed generalized coefficient A_i, showed that the specific power values for apartments in apartment buildings and in individual residential buildings in the city of Chelyabinsk and the cities of Dushanbe and Khorog of the Republic of Tajikistan were overestimated, taking into account the applicability in the Republic of Tajikistan of the same standard values of specific electric loads (SELs) for apartments in apartment buildings (ABs) as in the Russian Federation. According to the results of modeling using data on the average monthly electricity consumption for 226 apartments in ABs and for individual residential buildings in Chelyabinsk, and according to the proposed approach, the average daily electric load on days during the month varied in the range of 2–3.5 kW/sq and below, while that for the cities of Dushanbe and Khorog of the Republic of Tajikistan varied in the range of 2–5 kW/sq and below, which did not exceed the SEL given by RB 256.1325800.2016. However, because of the lack of other energy sources (gas supply and hot water supply) in the conditions of the Republic of Tajikistan, on the basis of the obtained maximum load time factor and the generalized coefficient ${\mathrm{A}}_{\mathrm{i}\left(\mathrm{E}\right)}$, the obtained values of actual capacity exceeded the maximum during peak hours by 1.2–2.5 times the SEL given by RB 256.1325800.2016. To increase the durability and serviceability of power supplies and enhance the effectiveness of forecasting, the authors propose an approach based on the clustering of meteorological conditions, where each cluster has its own regression model. The decrease in mean absolute error due to clustering was 0.52 MW (57%). The use of meteorological conditions allowed the forecast error to be reduced by 0.22 MW (27%). High accuracy in electrical consumption forecasting leads to increased quality of power system management in general, including under such key indicators as reliability and serviceability. Full article

An unavoidable adverse consequence of industrial development is the contamination of urban atmospheres. Deterioration of air quality leads to a decrease in the quality of life of the population, creates a lot of risks of serious diseases, and threatens to increase life expectancy. This phenomenon is particularly evident in many large Russian cities, where historically a powerful industry has developed. In recent decades, the Russian government has acknowledged environmental remediation as a pivotal priority for the National Development Goals. The dedicated funding from the National ‘Ecology’ Project in 2018–2024 allowed for large-scale public and private investments to address the problem of improving the air quality of urban areas in Russia. What is the effectiveness of this spending? In this article, we answer this question by analyzing the effectiveness of the Federal ‘Clean Air’ Project, part of the National ‘Ecology’ Project, which aimed to improve air quality in 12 of the most polluted Russian cities. We show that the project’s key performance indicators (KPIs) underwent significant changes over the 2018–2024 period. The emissions reduction target was lowered from 22% to 20%, the methodology for measuring pollution was revised, and new targets were set. One of the main reasons for this was the suboptimal quality of the data on which the initial plan was based. As a result, the revised emissions estimates produced by the project were found to exceed not only the target benchmarks but also the baseline. The planned targets are largely on track, and it is likely that the target of a 20% reduction in emissions from the 2017 baseline will be met. However, the link between the KPIs and the improvement in urban air quality is questionable. The initial phase of the ‘Clean Air’ Project was a valuable first step, particularly in establishing an air quality monitoring network and conducting detailed pollution assessments in 12 cities. However, to further improve project performance, it is essential to base project KPIs on estimates of air pollution-related health damage and economic losses. Full article

City services and infrastructures are focused on consumers and are able to effectively and qualitatively implement their functions only under conditions of normal workload. In this regard, the correct organization of a public service system is directly related to the knowledge of the quantitative and qualitative composition of people in the city during the day. The article discusses existing solutions for analyzing the distribution of people in a territory based on data collected by mobile operators, payment terminals, navigation systems and other network solutions, as well as the modeling methods derived from them. The scientific aim of the study is to propose a solution for modeling the daily distribution of people based on open statistics collected from the Internet and open-web mapping data. The stages of development of the modeling software environment and the methods for spatial analysis of available data on a digital cartographic basis are described. The proposed approach includes the use of archetypes of social groups, occupational statistics, gender and age composition of a certain territory, as well as the characteristics of urban infrastructure objects in terms of composition and purpose. Solutions for modeling the 48 h distribution of city residents with reference to certain infrastructure facilities (residential, public and working) during working and weekend days with an hourly breakdown of the simulated values were created as a result of the study. A simulation of the daily distribution of people in the city was carried out using the example of the city of Volgograd, Russian Federation. A picture of the daily distribution of city residents by district and specific buildings of the city was obtained as a result of the modeling. The proposed approach and the created algorithm can be applied to any city. Full article

To achieve sustainability, industrial systems need to be modernized to improve resource efficiency while optimizing environmental and social performance. The implementation of environmental and technological projects is a complex management process and requires sufficient innovative potential and serious investments, which not every company can provide. Network integration of companies, providing synergy of resources and potentials, is an effective tool for the development and implementation of innovative technologies that allow achieving optimal resource efficiency indicators. An integrated complex approach to the formation of a cross- industrial system on the principles of network integration and partnerships ensures technological interaction between companies, optimizes the methods and forms of their economic activities, allows integration participants to achieve strategic goals and ensure environmental and social effects for the territory of presence. The sustainability of such a system is expressed in its ability to withstand internal threats and external challenges. Approaches to balancing environmental and technological effects while simultaneously analysing social efficiency have not received sufficient development in scientific research. This article discusses an approach to the selection of environmental-technological projects based on criteria for assessing the sustainability and resilience of industrial systems. The authors’ approach has been tested using two industrial symbioses of advanced socio-economic development territories in the city of Novotroitsk (Orenburg region, Russian Federation). The authors presented calculated indicators of resource efficiency before and after the formation of a cross-sectoral industrial system in order to identify social and environmental effects in Novotroitsk. This approach to the assessment of environmental and technological projects allows to concentrate government support measures on the general priorities of the implementation of regional economic and industrial policies. Full article

Objective: Many persons with opioid use disorders (OUDs) have HIV disease and experience clinically significant stress after they enroll in abstinence-based treatment and undergo medically assisted withdrawal. We examined whether opioid withdrawal affects virologic control, inflammatory markers, cognition, and mood in persons with an OUD and HIV, and explored whether measures of withdrawal stress, such as activation of the HPA axis, contribute to alterations in immune function, cognition, and mood. Method and participants: Study participants were 53 persons with HIV who were admitted for OUD treatment at the City Addiction Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. Participants were examined at admission, at the anticipated peak of withdrawal 3 to 7 days after the last day of a clonidine-based withdrawal process lasting 7 to 14 days, and 3 to 4 weeks after completing withdrawal. At these times, participants received medical exams and were evaluated for symptoms of withdrawal, as well as cognition and mood. Viral load, plasma cortisol, DHEA sulfate ester (DHEA-S), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and soluble CD14 (sCD14) were determined. Multivariable models examined the relationships between markers of HPA activation and the other parameters over time. Results: HPA activation as indexed by cortisol/DHEA-S ratio increased during withdrawal, as did markers of immune activation, IL-6 and sCD14. There were no significant associations between viral load and indicators of HPA activation. In longitudinal analyses, higher cortisol/DHEA sulfate was related to worse cognition overall, and more mood disturbance. Increase in IL-6 was associated with worse cognitive performance on a learning task. There were no significant associations with sCD14. Conclusions: Worsening of cognition and measures of mood disturbance during withdrawal were associated with activation of the HPA axis and some measures of inflammation. Whether repeated episodes of opioid withdrawal have a cumulative impact on long-term HIV outcomes and neurocognition is a topic for further investigation. Full article

This article analyzes the operation of hydro generators based on the operation modes of a hydroelectric power plant operating in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The main load of the hydropower plant is an aluminum smelter. The nonlinear load of the smelter is a powerful source of harmonic disturbances. This load produces current and voltage distortions not only in the electrical networks of the smelter but also in those of the city and in generating voltage busbars of the hydropower plant. As a consequence, higher harmonics cause additional losses in the supply networks and have a negative impact on the hydro generators’ condition. The article analyzes the influence of current impacts of the smelter load on the hydro generators under imbalanced conditions by estimating torsional and tangential vibrations emerging in the generators. The tangential forces of double frequency (100 Hz) have been shown to produce practically no significant vibration displacement when detuning the natural frequency of the basket-type end-winding parts. The values of vibration and surge displacement increase significantly in the near-resonance zone. The intense impact of superimposed surge currents has been shown to result in reduction in the hydraulic turbines’ service life and increase in frequency of repairs. Full article

The paper presents the result of assessing the antiradical status of consumers (in the context of Russia) in connection with their well-being. This approach is based on a multistage study, in which the results of sociological surveys were applied, as well as estimates of the antiradical potential (ARP) of diets obtained using neural networks, bootstrapping the chemical composition of diets, and calculating reference values using mathematical models. The paper presents data collected from residents living in the territories of at least 21 regions and cities of Russia: Magadan, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Krasnodar, Lipetsk, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Voronezh, etc. A total of 1001 people were interviewed, which, according to our calculations, gives a margin of error in value of approximately 3.1%. To calculate the lack of vitamins in the diets of residents of the Russian Federation, data on the chemical composition of food products from the FNDDS database were used. The assessment of dietary habits showed a lack of vitamins below the recommended level in 73% of Russians for vitamin D, 59% for retinol, 38% for β-carotenes, 13% for vitamin E, and 6% for ascorbic acid. The study showed that at least 36% of the Russian population has a low antiradical status, while it was found that “poor” consumers are more likely to consume economically more expensive foods (in terms of their nutritional value). The “poor” segments of the population consume 180–305% more canned food and 38–68% more sweet carbonated drinks than other social groups, but their consumption of vegetables is 23–48% lower. On the contrary, “wealthy” consumers consume 17–25% more complex (varied) dishes, 10–68% more fresh vegetables, and 8–39% more fish. From the obtained values it follows that consumers with low levels of ARP in their diets are in a group with an increased probability of a number of “excess” diseases (diseases of the cardiovascular system, obesity, etc.). In general, the ARP values of food consumed for low-income segments of the population were 2.3 times lower (the ratio was calculated as the percentage of consumers below the level of 11,067 equivalents necessary for the disposal of free radicals generated in the human body per day) than for those who can afford expensive food (consumers with high income). A simple increase in consumption of unbalanced foods, in our opinion, will only contribute to the entry of these consumers into the “average diet trap”. All this makes it imperative to develop comprehensive measures to create a new concept of public catering; otherwise, we can expect a reduction in both the health of the population and the performance of the economy of the whole country. Full article

Climate change and natural disasters caused by hydrological, meteorological, and climatic phenomena have a significant impact on cities. Russia, a continental country with a vast territory of complex geographic–ecological environments and highly variable climatic conditions, is subject to substantial and frequent natural disasters. On 29 June 2019, an extreme precipitation event occurred in the city of Tulun in the Irkutsk oblast, Russian Federation, which caused flooding due to the increase in the water level of the Iya River that passes through the city, leaving many infrastructures destroyed and thousands of people affected. This study aims to determine the flooded areas in the city of Tulun based on two change detection methods: Radiometric Rotation Controlled by No-change Axis (RCNA) and Ratioing, using Sentinel 2 images obtained before the event (19 June 2019) and during the flood peak (29 June 2019). The results obtained by the two methodologies were compared through cross-classification, and a 98% similarity was found in the classification of the areas. The study was validated based on photointerpretation of Google Earth images. The methodology presented proved to be useful for the automatic precession of flooded areas in a straightforward, but rigorous, manner. This allows stakeholders to efficiently manage areas that are buffeted by flooding episodes. Full article

This article is devoted to the study of the entropic orderliness of road safety systems of various dimensionalities. The author’s methodology for quantitative assessment of the quality of the road safety systems is based on the use of information entropy analysis, the essence of which is to assess the significance (or “weights”) of various information-technological stages of the road traffic accident rate formation process. The main emphasis in this paper is on the philosophical interpretation of the results of entropic evaluation of the orderliness of urban road safety systems. The article aimed to philosophically understand the reasons for the diversity in the results of assessing the entropy of road safety (RS) in Russian cities. Within the framework of this goal, the results of the analysis of the state of the issue, ideological approaches and methods for assessing the relative entropy of urban road safety systems were presented. The study was based on analyzing statistics that characterize the processes of the formation of road traffic accidents in Russian cities classified into three groups based on population size. The experimental results obtained were explained from the point of view of human psychology. Rather, results were explained from the perspective of human psychology. The final results of the study once again illustrated the objectivity of Hegel’s dialectical laws and, perhaps, once again shattered illusions about the possibility of achieving high levels of road safety in cities by building rigid systems to regulate the actions of traffic participants. In the author’s opinion, the results of the presented philosophical analysis will be useful to managers specializing in the management of complex systems (not only transport but also other fields) to comprehend the contradictions of the complex nature of humans and the paradoxes of their behavior when their freedom of action is restricted through external control. Full article

The article reflects the role of society in an era of uncertainty and people’s behavior in response to big challenges. The aim is to consider the responsibility for resolving crisis situations by state power. Comprehending is possible on the theory formed by the concepts of social turbulence and aggravated regimes, which are based on such characteristics of processes as nonlinearity, spontaneity, uncertainty, and high speeds. This study offers the hypothesis about the shift in the value orientations of the population from the rational to the irrational area in the face of growing uncertainty and turbulence in the environment, which should become the subject of managerial influence when forming a corrective or anti-crisis policy, and about the formation public demand for “strong” state intervention, protecting the population from the negative consequences of regimes with escalations. The article concludes the practical significance and applicability of the research, but also as a theoretical basis for the development of methods and technologies for diagnostics of public demand within the framework of information and analytical support of public administration. Full article

The urban development of areas in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is a relevant and important task to be tackled by contemporary urban planners. This focus is largely explained by the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and its port cities. Last but not least, to develop these cities means to ensure a comfortable living environment for local residents and visiting specialists. However, given the harsh climate in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, this task requires a more elaborate approach. Current building techniques, designed for flatlands with relatively comfortable climates, cannot be applied to this territory without degrading the quality of the living environment. Environmental comfort is influenced by many factors, and one of them is the aeration regime. This study is aimed at researching the aeration regime of built-up areas on the sloping lands of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and identifying the features of its formation. The object of this study is a residential development on the sloping lands of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The subject of the study is the external aeration regime at the level of 1.2 m from the ground level of the residential development on the sloping lands of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. These parameters were explored, and the aeration regime was assessed using such advanced software packages as QG for the GIS analysis of the area and ANSYS Fluent for the mathematical modeling of the aeration regime. The results of the research are presented in the form of graphs, dependency tables, and petal diagrams visually demonstrating the distribution of discomfortable zones for different morphotypes of development on various slopes most widely spread in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The theoretical research was pilot-tested in the existing residential development area in Murmansk. The results of the study are usable in practice if respective land use documents are drafted for residential areas of settlements in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Full article

Male infertility is a multi-factorial and multi-genetic disorder, and the prevalence of male infertility in the world is estimated at 5–35%. The search for the causes of male infertility allowed for identifying a number of genetic factors including a single X-linked gene of the androgen receptor (AR), and some of its alleles are assumed to negatively affect male fertility. Our aim was (1) to study the variability of the length of CAG repeats of the AR gene and possible associations in the AR CAG genetic variants with semen quality and reproductive hormone levels in a population-based cohort of men and (2) to estimate distributions of AR CAG repeat alleles and associations with semen parameters in different ethnic subgroups. The cohort of 1324 young male volunteers of different ethnicities (median age 23.0 years) was recruited from the general population of five cities of the Russian Federation, regardless of their fertility status. Semen quality (sperm concentration, motility and morphology), reproductive hormone levels (testosterone, estradiol, LH, FSH and inhibin B) and trinucleotide (CAG) n repeat polymorphism in exon 1 of the AR gene were evaluated. The semen samples were analyzed according to the WHO laboratory manual (WHO, 2010), serum hormones were measured by enzyme immunoassay, and the AR CAG repeat length was analyzed by direct sequencing of leukocyte DNA. The median AR CAG repeat length in men of our multi-ethnic population was 23 (range 6–39). In the entire study population, a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) was found in the frequency distribution and the mean values for the CAG repeat length between the groups with normal (23.2 ± 3.3) and impaired semen quality (23.9 ± 3.2). Additionally, we demonstrated that the total sperm count, sperm concentration, progressive motility and normal morphology were lower in the category of long CAG repeats (CAG ≥ 25) compared with those in the category of short CAG repeats (CAG ≤ 19); however, hormonal parameters did not differ between the long and short CAG categories, with the exception of estradiol. Significant differences were observed in the AR CAG repeat length between the most common ethnic cohorts of Slavs (Caucasians), Buryats (Asians), and Yakuts (Asians). The Buryats and Yakuts had a higher number of CAG repeats than the Slavs (medians: Slavs—23; Buryats—24; Yakuts—25). The range of alleles differed among ethnicities, with the Slavs having the largest range (7–36 repeats, 24 alleles total), the Yakuts having the smallest range (18–32 repeats, 14 alleles total) and the Buryats having the middle range (11–39 repeats, 20 alleles total). The longer CAG repeats were associated with an impaired semen quality within the Slavic (CAG ≥ 25) and Buryat (CAG ≥ 28) groups, but this effect was not found in Yakuts. Hormonal parameters did not differ between the three CAG repeat categories in men of all ethnic groups. This is the largest Russian study of the distribution of AR CAG repeats and the search for association between length of AR CAG repeat tract and impaired spermatogenesis in men from the general population. Our results confirmed the association of longer CAG repeats with a risk of impaired semen quality, but this association can be modified by ethnic origin. Identification of the number of AR CAG repeats can be an effective tool to assess the risk of male subfertility and the control of androgen hormone therapy of reproductive diseases. Full article

This paper investigates the impact of the moderate growth of government borrowing on debt sustainability in 11 Russian regions over about 10 years, starting in 2010. The current study aims to assess the debt sustainability of the Russian region’s budget by determining Euclidean distance budget constraints and cluster analysis. This study is based on the methodology of hierarchical cluster analysis, which makes it possible to isolate regions of accumulation of objects from the aggregate data and combine them into homogeneous segments. The central hypothesis of this study is that by using this method, it is possible to increase the accuracy of the values that limit budget constraints in a region’s financial system. This study, using open data from the Federal State Statistics Service, is based on a database of statistical, financial, and economic indicators of the Russian economy. The calculations include about 45 macroeconomic indicators, which reflect the ratios of socio-economic development of the region’s financial system. The methodology described in the paper for assessing the debt sustainability of budget policy proves the need to calculate six indicators and determine the debt limits for the regions of each cluster. It finds a need to reduce the high debt burden of 46% of the regions belonging to the Northwestern Federal District. Confidence intervals for the debt limit suggest that the negative growth effect of high debt may start from levels of around 5% of the debt-to-GDP ratio and about 43% of the debt-to-revenue ratio. The results indicate that regions with a high level of debt sustainability include St. Petersburg city, the Leningrad region, and the Kaliningrad region. From a state debt policy perspective, the results provide additional arguments for debt reduction for the Republic of Komi, the Republic of Karelia, the Arkhangelsk region, and the Pskov region. The general conclusion of the study boils down to the need to reduce the debt burden of the budgets of some regions of the SFZO, as well as to the need to change the upper limits of debt, which are equally set for all regions by the Budget Code of the Russian Federation, to differentiated values of public domestic debt, taking into account the results obtained in the study. Full article

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of smoking on BMI in male adolescents and explore the relationship between smoking status and diet. Methods: A cross-sectional epidemiological study into the health and diet of adolescents was carried out based on a representative sample of 375 vocational school male students aged 16–17 in the city of Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation). The students and their parents filled out verified questionnaires on their socioeconomic status, diet, and smoking status. Students’ height and body weight were measured. A comparative analysis of diets was performed between groups of smokers and non-smokers (149 and 226 individuals, respectively), and the relationship between smoking, body mass index, and actual diet was estimated. The methods used included descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, comparison of proportions, and moving average. Results: Non-smoking adolescent boys tended to have excess body mass compared with smokers (19.0% and 12.1%, respectively). Smokers (adolescent boys) consumed less meat, cereals, beans, and cheeses and more sweet beverages, added sugar, coffee, and alcohol. The bulk of the smokers’ diet was composed of carbohydrates (p = 0.026) and, to a lesser extent, proteins (p = 0.006). Conclusions: Significant differences were discovered in the diet between smokers and non-smokers (among adolescent boys), and smoking was associated with several indicators of unhealthy diet patterns. This is an important conclusion for developing a future program that could additionally protect at-risk groups of adolescents. Full article

The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia; RS(Y)) is located in the northeast of Siberia (Russia) in the basins of the Lena, Yana, and Indigirka rivers, in the lower reaches of the Kolyma River. Yakutia is an industrial–agrarian republic with a developed mining, fuel, and energy industry. Indigenous peoples live mainly in the Arctic regions, where the large-scale development of mineral resources is planned, and South Yakutia, where the mining industry is well developed. The aim of this study is the development of methodological approaches to assessing the impact of the mining industry on the natural environment and the social sphere in the places of residence and traditional economic activities of the indigenous peoples of the North. We used the results of research work (R&D), materials of expeditionary work, and regulatory documents of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Russian Federation (RF). The state of the environment (ES) was assessed on the basis of the analysis of indicators for three areas: (a) anthropogenic load, (b) environmental and social consequences, and (c) resistance of natural complexes to technogenic impacts. In total, 22 indicators were used for the 3 areas, for example, population density, person/km²; the volume of extraction of rock mass, million m³; and emissions, t/year. To bring dissimilar indicators into comparable ones, we used a methodological approach with the use of the social risk index (SRI). In Arctic regions (mainly agricultural), the ES is in a favorable and relatively favorable state: SRI 0.61–0.70; in the central regions (mainly agricultural), it is satisfactory and relatively satisfactory: SRI 0.71–1.0; in the southern and western regions with a developed mining industry, it is relatively tense and tense: SRI 1.01–3.0. An extremely tense state of environmental conditions has developed in the city of Yakutsk: SRI ≥ 3. Generally, the deterioration of the environmental situation and vital activity of the indigenous peoples in investigated Arctic region correlated with the impact of the mining industry. Full article