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The aims of the study are to explore available archival files about Daugavpils pharmacies from 1944 till 1991, to make a comprehensive evaluation of the importance of the information provided by those documents, to reveal what kind of actual information the documents contain, as well as to describe the actual physical condition of historical sources. The methods of the study: data interpretation, comparison, and analysis. The paper tries provides an overall insight into the importance and actual informative value of the archival materials about Daugavpils pharmacies in 1944-1991 that are preserved at Daugavpils Region State Archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil tillage is one of the most power consuming and expensive processes in agricultural production. Minimum tillage practices have a significant ecological as well as agronomic impact by reducing the soil disturbance and enhancing the soil system stability. The paper presents the results of stationary field experiments carried out at the Study and Research Farm "Peterlauki" of the Latvia University of Agriculture during the period 2010--2014. Two soil primary tillage treatments were investigated: conventional ploughing or plough tillage (0.22--0.23 m) with a mouldboard plough was compared with the minimum or shallow (0.10--0.12 m) tillage with a disc harrow. The weed control with herbicides was applied. The hypothesis states that the decreasing intensity of soil tillage has an important influence on the weed population because an amount of weeds may increase. The significantly higher amount of annual and perennial weeds was determined in the winter rape before harvesting on soils with ploughless tillage. Statistically significant differences in weed weight were not observed in the investigations when ploughing was replaced by minimum tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorous turnover in agricultural soils has high agronomic and environmental importance. Therefore relevant studies were performed during 2009--2012. Field experiments with winter wheat varieties 'Bussard' un 'Zentos' were carried out in two places in Latvia. In each trial treatments were compared starting from unfertilized, fertilized with PK, as well as PK with increasing nitrogen input: 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 kg ha-1 N (ammonium nitrate). In experimental farm "Peterlauki" experiments were carried out on Endoprotocalcic Chromic Stagnic Luvisol (Clayic, Cutanic, Hypereutric), silty clay loam/clay; organic matter (OM) 20--31 g kg-1, pH KCl 6.6--7.0 and medium phosphorous and potassium content easily utilized by plants. In Stende experiments were carried out on Eutric Stagnic Retisol (Cutanic, Drainic, Loamic), sandy clay loam; OM 21--23 g kg-1, pH KCl 5.8--6.7 and high to very high phosphorous and medium potassium content. PK application rates for all plots (except no fertilisation) included 30 kg ha-1 P2O5 and 90 kg ha-1 K2O. Phosphorous utilisation from soil resources and fertilisers applied were studied and are discussed in this paper. Higher soil phosphorous uptake by winter wheat as well as its relatively high apparent recovery was obtained in Peterlauki. Application of PK fertilizers without nitrogen showed small effect on phosphorous uptake by wheat. A significant increase of phosphorus uptake in Stende was observed by increasing nitrogen rates up to 120 kg ha-1 N. As regards "Peterlauki", only applications of 30 and 60 kg ha-1 N showed a significant increase of phosphorous uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artist is a significant participant in nation formation processes, who can help society to identify with nation and, in case of necessity, interpret certain elements in compliance with contemporary context. Paper is focused on issue about creation of nation symbols. Art is interconnected with the time and place it is created, as well as with an author, who takes certain stand in the field of art. So an artist, participating in creating national symbols, is describing the period he lives in, in addition - idea material is processed into generalized images what are brought to spectators and are able to maintain the acquired qualities during several centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to highlight that influenced the development of Latvia's and Daugavpils pharmacy (drugstores) after World War II. During the Second World War, the pharmacy in Latvia suffered greatly. The invasion of Red Army and later of German army affected Daugavpils pharmacy in a very bad way. Many apothecaries were exiled from Latvia. Some of them lost their jobs, bet the others left Latvia by their own volition. After the Second World War, the Soviet regime was established in Latvia. The pharmacy industry was renewed; however, it did not reach the amount of production and quality of service that had been before the war. The number of apothecaries was low. To improve the situation the Soviet authorities implemented a shorter version of apothecaries' education. In conclusion, the author states that pharmaceutical branch in Daugavpils suffered greatly after World War II. However, the situation had improved in the course of time. New drugstores were opened, and more apothecaries gained education. At the same time, because of the Soviet economic policy and ideological pressure, the development of the pharmacy in scientific field did not happen and in time it became weaker than western pharmacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, the English term gender has become a keyword in the studies concerning the equality of male and female human beings. The supporters of the feminist movement were the first who started to analyse the social aspect of the issue in the 1970s. Later, anthropologists, historians, philosophers, and linguists turned to the studies of the gender issue as well. In the present paper, the gender issue in the Spanish language is treated both from the sociolinguistic standpoint and from the terminological and semantic aspect. Like in the English language, in Spanish there also exists the opposition sexo/género. Each of these words is polysemantic, and the main difficulty refers to defining the mutual relationships of these lexemes and comparing them with the correlation of sex/gender which exists in the English language. This is due mainly to its scientific and abstract nature, as well as the complex semantic. The semantic analysis of the Spanish lexemes sexo and género made it possible to reveal some difficulties which appear when translating these terms in other languages. The semantics of the word género partly differs from that of the English equivalent and overlaps in some aspects with the semantics of the biological term sex, which results in some problems when translating this term into the Spanish language and in the translations from Spanish into English, Latvian and other languages. Women's entering the labour force and their active involvement in politics created new challenges for linguists and the society how to reflect gender equality in the names of various professions and titles. When analysing the development of non-traditional grammatical forms (la letrado, la médico, la cónsul) and the use of compound forms of titles (mujer sacerdote, mujer torero) it can be concluded that agglutination processes are developing in the Spanish language; however, its structure is quite flexible, both at the grammatical and lexical level, and can react to the actual social changes and situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the analysis of the creative search in the development of the concept of human, particularly, the 'New Man' and 'New Woman' in the play "The Germ of Life" ("Dzīvībai", 1922) written by the Latvian author Birznieku Sofija (1876 - 1956). In Latvian contemporary literary studies the little known writer, poet, playwright and translator takes the liberties to supplement her personal viewpoint on the conception of human and his / her role in the society with significant foreign philosophical and literary standpoints important in Latvia at the beginning and in the first half of the 20th century. The texts created in various cultural spaces (Germany, Russia, Britain) and in different epochs (the beginning of the 17th century, the beginning and the end of the 19th century) become the impetus and inspirations for the development of the complicated multi-layered image of the 'New Man' / 'New Woman' that falls in the framework of Modernism literary paradigm. Different approaches in the processing of the image of human provoke the emergence of the synthesized character. The most important features found among the influences are: - the collision between the harmonious and the disharmonious, as well as between the old and the new as seen in the representation of woman as a creator and birth-giver and a woman as a destroyer in William Shakespeare's play "The Macbeth" (1606); - the destructive essence of human as expressed in Goethe's tragic play "Faust" (1808 - 1832) and the image of the devilish Mephisto; - Nietzsche's idea of the superman, individuality, his radical statement on the 'death of God' and nihilism; - re-evaluation of the role of a woman in the society and discussion of the theme of abortion in Lev Tolstoy's novella "The Kreutzer Sonata" (1890) and other texts; - the mysterious and seductive 'Femme Fatale' as the synthesis of the Apollonian and Dionysian as represented in Oscar Wilde's tragedy "Salome" (1891 / 1894). The impact of the foreign authors' literary works and their philosophical ideas are seen in the Latvian writer's play as direct borrowings perceived through personal acquaintance with the texts and their translations, as well as typological similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech development is a major component in the process of the child's psycho-physical development and an important factor that determines the child's readiness for school. Speech development occurs in interaction with the environment, where the child reaches psychological readiness for speech development and masters the skill of using language as a means of interaction and communication among humans. Children with speech or language disorders find it more difficult to cope in different real-life situations, especially when starting school. Such children may encounter problems when they mishear certain words or fail to grasp their meaning, struggle to remember verbal information or attempt to interact with peers and teachers. In view of the above, the present paper focuses on speech development as an important precondition for the child's readiness for school and successful mastering of the primary education curriculum. In addition, the general conditions that affect second-formers' speech development are analysed. Theoretical writings are analysed on why speech development occurs at uneven pace in same-age cohorts of learners. Findings are analysed and interpreted from an empirical study on the effectiveness of didactic games to facilitate speech development among second-formers. Insights from pedagogical observation are used to draw conclusions about speech development in a group of 15 learners from an unnamed primary school in the city of Daugavpils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The image of the illustrated magazines published in Soviet Latvia reflects political as well as cultural tendencies of the period. This paper focuses on the visual narratives within the magazine „Veselība“ one of the most popular magazines printed in Soviet Latvia. The author analyses mainly front covers of the magazine. These are considered to be the most important elements of the magazine from the stand point of the effect of the visual content. Besides that in the magazines published in Soviet Latvia (especially during the first years after Soviet occupation) large scale colored images were printed mainly on magazine covers. One of the key conclusions is that art reproductions are important part of the visual image of the illustrated magazines in Soviet Latvia. Many of the well known works of Socialist realism as well as other artworks by outstanding Latvian artists of the period are often published on the magazine covers. It seems logical in the visual context of magazine "Zvaigzne" as besides the actual political and socially important issues the visual art works and exhibitions and other cultural events are discussed there. It is common that art reproductions are printed on the covers of for example magazine "Veselība" where different health care issues and medical problems are discussed, and very often outer image of the magazine contradicts with its content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All parents are interested in a harmonious development of their children that entails acquisition and development of many-sided abilities, knowledge, skills, and values. Childhood is the period of life when children perceive the world sensually, they are curious, open to society from which they learn both the positive and the negative, thus developing certain habits that constitute their character, will, psycho-emotional state, etc. and that may affect their 1) socialization, 2) adaptivity, 3) tradition of music culture, understanding of its system and success in their in their future life action. Musical education and upbringing are mechanisms that by their multifunctional meaning may affect the child's (learner's) development in general. The author of the present paper suggests a sustainable model of musical education and upbringing and reflects the opportunities of its implementation in pre-school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local newspapers have been having significant value in everyday life of local communities in Latvia. Since the end of the World War II the Soviet mass media system provided for the compulsory existence of newspapers in every region and in every city of republican status. Although Latvian journalism has experienced both structural and also professional changes in core values due to historical events and political regime, the confidence of the audience to local newspapers, the tradition to consume them showed just a minimal drop. Regional newspapers, along with weekly and monthly papers, are still the most consumed ones in the press group. Journalists play a significant role in constructing the understanding of reality and therefore have impact on the life of the local community. Journalists taking part in the formation of local identity have a significant uniting importance in the life of representatives of local communities. Mutual symbiosis between a specific area, its main inhabitants and local media forms a unifying feeling of togetherness, belonging, trust and safety. People working as journalists have a possibility to talk to and to inform people every day, and to influence as well, the society about direct actualities and events, and therefore the level of understanding of the ethics of journalism and professional standards (neutrality, accountability, objectivity, truth) is an essential factor. My research confirms the fact, that journalists who worked in Soviet Latvia and who are working in Post-Soviet Latvia have a very different experiences and professional values, therefore very different results of journalists work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stylistic peculiarities of the baroque music are analysed and summarized in the paper, as well as peculiarities of performing the expanded form Stabat Mater, its character and the most appropriate methodological ways of acquiring Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper mainly is focused on the secondary school of Baltinava and Baltinavas Boarding special school in period from 1951st to 1990th year. The study proved that high school of Baltinava and Baltinavas Boarding special school in that period had significant and important function - educating children, school and educational work and goal setting and implementation in accordance with the Communist Party and the Soviet lines. Evaluating school work, financial situation and social life, the author reconstructed in detail their management and discovered the importance of the local school community. The study uses archival materials, periodicals, and oral history sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides information about the research of a specific social phenomenon - marginals in Daugavpils city during the Soviet period. The materials of prosecutor's office that formed a basis for the research, present criminogenic situation in the city in the early 1960s and provide clues for understanding lifestyles of those groups, which were identified as "social parasites" (panhandlers, pronounced lazybones, speculators). This research gives a retrospective view of the problem of "social parasites" and the way they became out of law - starting from the Soviet Constitution of 1936 and ending with Criminal Code of 1960 and official lawyers' commentaries in 1965. The research draws the picture of "underground city environment" and reveals the realities of Soviet marginal life via dint of some social portraits, with all its strangeness, drama and conflicts between the marginals and law enforcement officers. This work provides generalization about some aspects of marginal mobility in the Soviet Union and in Latvia in particular, variegated ethnic, gender, and educational composition, and arbitrariness of police (militia) and prosecutors in most cases of social deviance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eduard Mörike -- one of the greatest writers of the German Biedermeier. He became famous with his lyrics and his novel "Mozart on his Trip to Prague" (1856). In addition to novels and lyrics Mörike created four fairy tales: "The Treasure", "Plowman and his Son", "The Hand of Jezerte", and "Leprechaun of Stuttgart". The current paper investigates fairy tales of the author. Among the other tales "The Hand of Jezerte" stands out with its space, structural unity and a small amount of protagonists. Despite of the oriental world and typical attributes of the Eastern culture, there are a lot Christian elements hidden in the current text. In other fairy tales, Mörike deepens the borders of time and space using insertional stories. With these stories Mörike creates three-dimensional views. The action with a very limited space and time border expands far away from these margins. It makes his texts difficult to perceive, but at the same time immerses readers to the wonderful world on the border between the reality and dream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to the variations of religious segment represented in the creative works by a marginal Latvian author Pērsietis (Kārlis Zemītis; 1862 - 1901). His texts, mostly created in the end of 1890s, are closely connected with different literary traditions: the ancient literature (Aesop), German literature (G. Lessing, F. Schiller, J.W. von Goethe, H. Heine), Russian literature (I. Krylov, A. Kolcov, A. Pushkin, M. Lermontov, A. Chekhov), and other possible impulses. At the same time as one of the most effective creative techniques for Pērsietis the actualisation of separate religious codes and levels of the Bible could be mentioned. Methods consistently applied by the Latvian writer in his works are: 1) the frequent usage of the name of God in a variety of semantic positions demonstrating situations from a human's everyday life, 2) the original description of a church (looking for its alternative, in other words, pantheism) and censure of country priests, 2) the varied actualisation of Old and New testaments' codes: a) quotations from Gospel according to Luke, Mark and Matthew, b) parallels with the Bible topoi (Eden, Babel, Sodom, etc.), c) associations with the Bible characters (Adam, Eva, Joseph, Noah, etc.), sometimes presented with a sense of humour, d) experiments with the Bible material as an indicator of Pērsietis' creative potential (the cult of beauty in the poem "When from the Peaceful Eden Garden.." ("Kad iz paradīzes dārza jaukā.."; no date mentioned) and the precious description of Pontius Pilate's inner world in the poem "Excommunication" ("Pazudināšana", 1896). All techniques mentioned make it possible to include the creative work of the marginal Latvian writer to the wider cultural and literary context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the study of dealing with the problem of the life quality of school learners in a particular general education school in Latvia. It provides the analysis of literary sources, home pages of holistic schools and, using the methods of action research, values oriented environment principles set by folk high school educators. The study elaborates 11 principles that correspond to the definition of values oriented environment of folk high school and general human values: those of freedom, cooperation, kindness, you reap as you have sown, truth, purity, courage to face oneself, love, self, trust, and serving. The study proves the correspondence of the principles set by folk high school educators with a holistic understanding of sustainable education, their personal and general significance as well as the potential readiness of the educators to build a values oriented environment of folk high school in line with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prevalence of papillae pattern prints on the crime scene and their probability to be found on different surfaces play a major role in detection of crimes, especially in cases when a trace-bearing object is a human skin. Theoretically human skin is the same trace-bearing object as any other trace-bearing object. Taking into consideration the fact that the skin is one of the largest organs of the human body and the skin of an adult covers a surface area approximately 2 m² there is a strong likelihood that under certain conditions there may be left papillae pattern prints. That is why this theme is topical and significant for the author. The author analyses the methods of visualization of papillae pattern prints on human skin, as well as describes the process of visualization and compares the results obtained. Different visualization methods, their usage and possibilities of fixation of prints visualized are in detail researched in the course of the work. Analysing the experience of other countries the author gives her own view about usage of these visualization methods and describes the theoretical and practical aspect of them. Such methods of visualization of papillae pattern prints as processing of prints by cyanoacrylate fumes making whole of partly fuming of a corpse, processing of prints by iodine fumes, processing of prints by dactyloscopic powder are described and analysed in the paper. The author also analyses advantages of these methods, problematics of their use and succession of their use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, information systems are very important as they are used in many businesses, government offices, banks and other institutions. The information systems are able to manage the information flow, which is a quick and convenient way to how they can be treated. As well as the manner is provided in part, "paperless" processes of institutions. In this way, ensures data accuracy, and reduce calculation errors. Companies, government departments, banks and other institutions are increasingly trying to use an electronic type systems to reduce costs and time-consuming, more competitive and permeability of customs checkpoints, as well as using the speed and quality of processing information system users' requests. Given the EU's policies and vision for the future, in the context of information systems, it is appropriate to establish such electronic systems in passenger vehicles flow customs checkpoints. Already there are a number of custom information systems that interact with each other and with other information systems. These systems have several years worked effectively, facilitating not only the work of customs officers, but also by traders. Similar systems are also available in other countries. Information systems are increasingly being applied in other areas, taking into account the experience of electronic recording systems in use. Developing the information system must take into account organizational changes, the company's competitiveness, end users, etc. problems and failures. It is important that the company is exempt from the piles of paper. Has introduced a number of information systems, which greatly facilitates and accelerates the daily work of customs officers. Established and available information systems are secure and can interact with other information systems. Information systems to improve and facilitate supply chain control process. This system includes both the customs authorities of organizational development, as well as inter-related customs information systems in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research paper is to present an account of the legal doctrines underlying the investors' rights to securities in foreign legal systems. The research covers the analysis of the legal nature of securities investors' rights in the legal systems of England, France and Germany. Securities regulations of these countries represent three different legal models of securities investors' rights characterization: trust model, undivided property model and co-ownership model. The overview illustrates the core differences in doctrinal analysis of securities holding in European states, but also highlights significant common feature - the tendency to analyze securities investor' s legal position in terms of the property rights, considering the scope of the property rights the most beneficiary and protective of the investors' interests. This tendency currently is not followed by the Latvian legal doctrine which tends to analyze securities us intangibles and thus, according to the leading doctrinal view, as not a subject of the property rights. The comparative analysis of foreign legal doctrines in author's view will contribute to the critical analysis of the Latvian legal doctrine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomonitoring is the use of biological responses to assess changes in the environment, generally changes due to anthropogenic causes. Bryophytes or mosses have been recognized as the effective type of organisms for biomonitoring of air quality based on their numerous physiological and anatomical features, widespread occurrence and tendency to accumulate and retain pollutants. In this paper is we investigated how different pollutants affect chemical content of bryophytes more specific total amount of phenoloics and antioxidant activity. The aim of the project is to evaluate pollutant influence on bryophytes and their secondary metabolites. This research provides information on bryophytes, use of mosses as bioindicators, physiological, anatomical and ecological advantages of bryophytes use in biomonitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the impact of the support of the Rural Development Programme of Latvia measure for less favourable areas (LFA) on the economic situation of the supported farms. This type of support has been provided in Latvia since 2004, defining 74.4% of the total area as less favourable areas. Regarding the number of support beneficiaries, LFA is the most popular measure of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) of Latvia. On average around LVL 27 million of public financing is paid out annually accounting for about 20% of total RDP public financing. To date there have been several research studies about the impact of support on the use of land but there is a lack of data about how it has affected the economic viability of the supported farms. The research was performed with the aim to evaluate the dynamics of the production output value and the net value added (NVA) of the farms in 2008 - 2012 by comparing farms that are located outside LFA territories and those farms that have received the LFA support. The analysis has been performed across both, distribution by LFA categories and the main types of farm specialization and groups of the economic size. The main data source is FADN. The results indicate that farms that have received the LFA support show significantly better net added value performance. The analysis of different size groups reveals that the LFA support is very important for small and medium farms, but it is the most significant for crop cultivation farms regarding specialization groups. The importance of the LFA support was not the same every year - it was the largest during the recession (year 2009) when the share of the LFA support in the farms' NVA was 21% while in the other analysed years it was 12%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land-use change in Latvia (from agricultural land to forest and other non-agricultural uses) has became topical in the last decades. This process is raising awareness of the sustainable use of soil and other natural resources therefore it should be properly managed on the basis of a clear strategy. Decisions and actions should be based on the local conditions and soil properties. The objective of the current paper is to discuss the research findings of the detailed investigation of soil properties carried out in the time period of 2010 - 2012 in the experimental plantation. The experimental plantation consisted of pine, spruce and birch trees planted in 1995 - 1996. Due to the fact that soil had been formed on chemically rich two-membered (more sandy on the top and more heavy in subsoil) glaciolacustrine deposits, having large proportion of silt particles, significant changes in soil properties were not found by comparing the afforestated area with the adjacent field where agricultural activities were still going on. At the same time a significant variation of soil properties (soil texture, reaction, plant available phosphorous and potassium content) was found in a relatively small area (3.7 ha) of the experimental site. The variability of soil properties within a short distance should be taken into account when land use planning is carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil tillage is one of the most power consuming and expensive processes in agricultural production. The minimum tillage practices have significant ecological as well as agronomic impact by reducing the soil disturbance and enhancing the soil system stability. The paper presents the results of stationary field experiments carried out at the Study and Research Farm "Peterlauki" of the Latvia University of Agriculture during the period 2010 - 2013. Two soil primary tillage treatments were investigated: conventional ploughing, plough tillage (0.22 - 0.23 m) with a mouldboard plough, was compared with the minimum or shallow (0.10 - 0.12 m) tillage with a disc harrow. The weed control with herbicides was applied. The hypothesis stated that the decreasing intensity of soil tillage has a significant influence on the weed population - the number of weeds in crops may increase. A significant higher total number of weeds and perennial weeds was determined in the crops on soils with ploughless tillage. Statistically significant differences in weed weight were not observed during the research when ploughing was replaced by minimum tillage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting biogas production to generate energy is associated with several EU policy initiatives such as increasing the output of electricity and thermal energy, energy independence, and the reduction of GHG emissions. Besides, one of the topical problems is the increasing amount of organic waste and residue from agriculture, industry, and households, thereby making waste management, recycling, and waste reduction one of the government policy priorities. Therefore, energy production from biogas that forms in the fermentation process of various (including agricultural) wastes provides environmental, social, and economic gains, and it plays a significant role from both bioeconomic and energy policy perspectives. Owing to the support mechanisms for biogas production in the EU and Latvia, 38 biogas production units with a total capacity of 42.93 MWel operated in Latvia in 2013; 32 of these units produced biogas from biomasses of agricultural origin. Yet, presently, the expansion of this sector is almost stopped, as obligatory purchases of electricity are not held anymore. In the present paper author reveals risk evaluation results of the biogas production plants that produce biogas form agricultural biomasses. Risk evaluation was made in 2013 and it showed that risks in this sector were mainly caused by the political decisions and arises in the biogas production process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycolysis, proteolysis and lipolysis occur during cheese ripening, liberating chemical compounds that impart cheese with characteristic flavour notes. It is generally accepted that there is no individual compound which defines cheese flavour completely, and the flavour sensation is the result of numerous compounds in the correct proportions. Manipulation with ripening conditions such as temperature and time changes rates of biochemical reaction of main cheese components and influences formation of product flavour due to changing of diversity, proportions and concentrations of aroma compounds. Hence the aim of the paper was to analyse diversity and concentrations of aroma compounds during Krievijas cheese ripening at the temperature of 6 °C and 12 °C. Aroma compounds were detected using solid phase GC/MS. The extraction of headspace volatiles was carried out using 75 µm CAR-PDMS fibre. Helwett-Packard G 1530A with a J&W Scientific DB-Wax column (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 µm) coupled with masspectrometer Hewlett-Packard 5973 was used for aroma compound isolation and identification. In total, 26 aroma compounds were detected in commercial and experimental Krievijas cheeses. Analysing the concentrations of aroma compounds, differences were observed between the cheeses and between the samples ripened at 6 °C and 12 °C. This only points to differences in biochemical processes which are influenced also by the temperature and the qualitative and quantitative content of microflora. As a result, the sensory properties of analysed cheeses differed considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on health care in general has taken various forms; however neither publications in the field literature nor newspapers provide the study on social infrastructure development of the medical practices. Consequently, this problem has launched a new research topic. Health and social care sector is identified as the field, which requires substantial resources, and rational and efficient use of the resources. The first task for the professionals working in medicine is to harmonise the issue of resources according to the national requirements. The paper includes results on medical practices in several districts and towns, their activities and several possibilities of practices to frame the financial model as well as factors facilitating or hindering successful operation of medical practices. The research covers the study of regulatory and information base - research publications of Latvian scientists, laws of the Republic of Latvia, orders of state institutions, reports, studies, statistical data, theoretical literature, survey data, and other materials. The following methods are used to describe the regulatory framework: abstract, logical, analysis and synthesis, and a constructive method of calculation. The research is also based on statistical research methods: descriptive statistics and correlation analysis as well as sociological research method - a survey is applied to clarify the problems of social infrastructure development. The questionnaire was aimed to identify the types of medical practices, their technical and financial provision, problems, and possible solutions for the improvement of their performance. The research object is services provided by medical practices. The questionnaire was organised to achieve the research aim. It was conducted from May, 2009 to August, 2009, when 450 questionnaires were sent to the managers of medical practices by e-mail. As a result 106 valid responses were received fully representing all regions of Latvia. The research novelty - updated information on social infrastructure development problems of medical practices related to funding, and the government support as well as proposals for the improvement of social infrastructure development and optimisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk production has traditionally been the main Latvian agricultural sub-sector. Due to low market prices in the past two years, the sector experiences very hard times, and therefore it is necessary to increase the production efficiency to reach the cost level, which is not above the level observed in other EU countries. Thus the paper analyses milk production cost structure in dairy specialisation farms in Latvia compared with the production costs and profitability indicators in other EU countries. The cost analysis shows that during the period of 2004-2007, when significant investments were made in the sector, the main objective of investments was not to reduce the production costs per unit, as farms considered additional rise in prices and the state support. Therefore milk production costs per produced unit have increased considerably and relative competitiveness of Latvian dairy sector has decreased during recent years. Regarding the urgent necessity to reach the production cost level per unit in Latvia which is not above the EU level and especially the level in the neighbouring countries, it is recommended to give the priority to the projects that envisage increase in resource utilisation efficiency consequently facilitating the increase in the sector competitiveness when planning the investment activities in the sector. The previous state policy goals to promote large and specialised farms could be revised, since such farms are not flexible on the changing market conditions. The methods of economic analysis are used in the research. The research has been supported by the European Social Fund within the project "Support for the Implementation of Doctoral Studies at the University of Latvia", Agreement No. 2009/0138/1DP/1.1.2.1.2/09/ IPIA/VIAA/004. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to characterise the production of grain in the EU member states. Food products made of grain are important in a human diet. The total output of grain in various regions of the world is different for the period of two years. On average, 330-350 kg of grain is produced per capita; its distribution among various countries of the world is very uneven, ranging from less than 100 kg to more than 1 ton per capita, hence an acceptable amount would be around 500 kg per capita. The highest yields are gained in the West European countries: the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Belgium where yields are within a range of 6-8 t/ha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains the research results on some production and entrepreneurship problems in Latvian agriculture. The characteristics and analysis of the situation in agriculture showed that there are considerable areas of unutilised agricultural land in Latvia, and the productivity is low. The entrepreneurs in agriculture have to face different factors, affecting the production. Expert methods may help in combination of these factors. Different models may be elaborated on the basis of the factor combination. These models are convenient for entrepreneurs, and allow taking into consideration the regional specifics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the current economic situation, it is necessary to ensure sustainable development of Latvia's power sector, since now Latvia imports up to 70% of the required energy resources. The use of local biomass in cogeneration facilities would greatly increase Latvia's energy independence. The paper provides the discussion of factors, and availability of local resources and competitive price for sustainable development of Latvia's power sector. The least energy loss, when processing forest biomass, is monitored in the production of granules and woodchips. There is a great amount of energy-wood in Latvia. It is possible to produce 8 million MWh of energy per year if Latvia's exported energy-wood is used in local cogeneration facilities. Properly and rationally processed logging scraps can be used to produce an extra 12.5 million MWh of energy, thus slightly decreasing the import of energy resources. Thermal energy producers using woodchips instead of gas can save up to LVL 456 per day to produce 1 MWh of heat. These thermal energy producers which use woodchips instead of gas provide lower heat tariffs and make rational usage of local resources possible, thus increasing Latvia's energy independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional policy is a government statement and focused action for regional development. Regional policy reflects changes that can be planned or not planned, and either be useful or even create new disparities. To avoid the latter it is necessary to evaluate regional policies, which are a key factor in guaranteeing the quality and rationality of the implementation of regional policy, and are intended to promote regional development. The evaluation provides directions for the correction of programmes and at the same time is the starting point for planning new actions. The aim of the paper is to display the main aspects for the evaluation of regional policy implementation, and to prove the necessity for the evaluation of regional policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides the information for the research period of 2005 - 2007 for passenger traffic in "Ventspils reiss" Ltd. As a result the research focuses on the risk analysis method - FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) in the passenger traffic. This is the first research in Latvia, and analogical FMEA research in the passenger traffic is not met in the literature available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]