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The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica L., 1766, S) is a prominent ungulate mammal species inhabiting Central Asia. Over the latter half of the 20th century, saiga populations, including the Volga-Ural (Kazakhstan) population, experienced a continuous decline. However, there was a resurgence in their numbers in the 1980s. This study aims to assess the present status of saiga populations, particularly the Volga-Ural (V-U) population, by analyzing existing retrospective data. Our findings reveal that during the 21st century, the saiga population has increased in two key regions: the Volga-Ural and Betpak-Dala (B) populations. Notably, the Northern-Western Population (NWP) habitat saw a drastic 50-fold decline in population, while other populations decreased by 2.0-5.0 times. Despite this decline, the NWP habitat exhibited higher juvenile saiga yields compared to other regions. The resurgence of saiga populations has been significantly influenced by the support of the Government of Kazakhstan, along with the effective efforts of international wildlife conservation organizations and local community engagement.

The article deals with a complex study of the materials obtained during archaeological excavation of the kurgan Novopokrovka 16 in the middle Irtysh river basin (Omsk region). The site, which is attributed to the Sargat culture (5th century BC – second half of the 3rd century AD), was located farmost on the right bank of the river Irtysh, nearby the group of “Princely kurgans”. Despite almost total disturbance by robbers and agricultural activity, common scholars’ efforts demonstrate high informative capacity of the multidisciplinary approach, while modern level of undertaken research is not just being declared but enables to reconstruct seemingly lost information. The kurgan erection stages and mound structure features have been decoded using the results of a geophysical survey and soil morphology data. The paleoanthropological study of the incomplete skeletal remains does not support multiple or inlet interment inside the central grave, and provides sexing and aging of the buried individuals as well as some paleopathological observations. Apart from species examination, archaeozoological data testify that a warm period from spring to early autumn was the season of animal slaughter. Characteristics of mortuary rituals and direction of intercultural contacts of the ancient forest-steppe groups have been completed by new details based on the results of strontium isotope analyses (dental enamel of humans and animals) and evidence non-local origin of the individual buried under the excavated kurgan, what is different from local origin of horses butchered for funereal feasts. The proposed hypothesis supports previously suggested archaeological, paleoanthropological and paleogenetic facts on the origin of the forest-steppe population, indicating an involvement of various population groups with notable external components. Based on the archaeological materials, the kurgan under study might be dated back to mid-4th – 3rd centuries BC.

All agricultural facilities in Russia are currently going through digital transformation. However, the process needs a unified approach for the entire agricultural sector. Neural network methods have already proved extremely effective in various areas of IT. The authors used neural networks to analyze statistic data and assess the performance of agricultural infrastructure. This study involved technical data from the production cycle of agro-industrial enterprises, namely packaging and greenhouses. The data obtained were analyzed using artificial neural networks. The procedure included identifying a set of factors that described an agro-industrial complex or some of its properties that corresponded to a specific task. These data were used in planning and making managerial decisions. The program identified five factors that described the state of an agricultural enterprise. These factors were used to build a model while its elements served as output data for the neural network. The model calculated the future state of the object. Trials were run on a limited data set on a multilayer perceptron. The neural network showed reliable results for a small data set. The root mean square error of was 0.1216; the mean modulus deviation was 0.0911. In this research, modern neural network technologies demonstrated good prospects for the domestic agro-industrial complex as a method of control, management, and dispatching. However, specific operational patterns require further studies.

The objective wasto evaluate the efficiency of the highly realistic simulator “Test Chest” in training residents in the specialty “Anesthesiology and Resus-citation” in the alveolar recruitment maneuver and the de-escalation option for setting positive end-expiratory pressure in ARDS during a practical session.Materials and methods. The study included 28 residents of the first year of study in the specialty «Anesthesiology and Resuscitation», who were divided into two groups. The 1st group – residents who were given theoretical classes before the study: lectures and a seminar on the topic: «Respiratory support in ARDS» and the 2nd group (simulation) – in addition to the lectures, the trainees had preliminary practical classes in the simulation center with a demonstration of the method of selecting ALV parameters in ARDS and independent performance of the alveolar recruit[1]ment maneuver, setting the positive pressure at the end of exhalation. In the simulation center, students were offered a situational task, the solution of which involved determining the clinical picture and selecting the necessary ALV parameters. The evaluation was carried out by two teachers independently using a checklist modified for objective student evaluation.Results. In the 1st group, 4 (28%) trainees coped with the task, in the 2nd group, in 13 cases (95%), the task was successfully completed. In the course of the study, the trainees of both groups revealed difficulties in selecting ALV parameters in ARDS, which required a more detailed consideration of these issues, both in theoretical and practical classes. Conclusion. The use of the highly realistic simulator “Test Chest” in the selection of ALV parameters in ARDS during a practical session makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of training in the alveolar recruitment maneuver and the de-escalation option for setting positive end-expiratory pressure in ARDS for residents in the specialty “Anesthesiology and resuscitation”.

The need to determine the priorities of the scientific and technological development of the country and the effective financing of research and development dictates the application in practice of the ideas of the scientific budget. Based on the conducted research, the authors proposed the principles of the scientific budget, of which the most significant are: the priority of financing the most significant areas of research and development; ensuring a single targeted approach to managing the costs of RD at all stages of the life cycle of scientific research and experimental development. The procedure for developing a scientific budget, from the point of view of the authors, consists of a number of stages. In particular, it is envisaged to assign additional functionality to the Unified State Accounting Information System of RD related to the evaluation and selection of scientific topics (RD projects), as well as determining the amount of funding for work from the federal budget. The algorithm for implementing the additional functionality of the system includes a procedure for determining the compliance of the RD project with the priorities of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, evaluating the scientific and scientific and technical results of the project according to the criteria of the technology readiness level, as well as conducting a comparative analysis of the project under consideration with the average indicators of a sample of analog projects generated in the system automatically. The application of a methodological approach to assessing the effectiveness of the tools of the state program “Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation” in the formation of the scientific budget allows us to draw conclusions about the need to optimize, expand or reduce the list of program tools. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the program tools is carried out according to the criteria: 1) necessity; 2) sufficiency; 3) the degree of contribution to the achievement of the goal.

Among the various causes of acute vestibular vertigo, vascular factors are of particular importance. Numerous studies show that the diagnosis of vascular vertigo remains inadequate, often leading to overdiagnosis of stroke and transient ischemic attacks in patients with peripheral vestibular disorders and vestibular migraine, on the one hand, and underestimation of the importance of cerebrovascular pathology, especially in patients with the first attack of persistent vestibular vertigo, on the other.The International Barany Society has developed and published diagnostic criteria for vascular vertigo. These criteria are intended to facilitate the identification of vascular causes of acute vestibular syndrome. Particular emphasis is placed on clinical signs because imaging techniques often do not allow detection of foci small in volume and area, especially in cases when stroke is manifested by an isolated vestibular syndrome. Key clinical signs to analyze when a vascular etiology of acute vestibular syndrome is suspected include nystagmus, corrective saccades on the Halmagyi test, smooth visual pursuit, visual saccades, severity of trunk ataxia, and hearing loss.

Saiga antelope and Turkmenian kulans are considered critically endangered and near threatened, respectively, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Due to these species’ fragile status, it is important to understand the pathogens infecting their remaining populations. A total of 496 faecal samples were collected from Ural saiga antelope in western Kazakhstan during June, September, and November of 2021 and May and August of 2022 and 149 faecal samples were collected from kulans in the Altyn-Emel nature reserve in south-eastern Kazakhstan from June to August of 2021. Additionally, endo- and ecto-parasites were collected from 17 saiga that were found deceased due to natural causes. Nine helminths (3 cestodes, 6 nematodes) and two protozoans were found in Ural saiga antelope. In addition to intestinal parasites, one case of cystic echinococcosis due to Echinococcus granulosus infection and one case of cerebral coenurosis due to Taenia multiceps infection was identified on necropsy. None of the collected ticks (all Hyalomma scupense) were found positive for Theileria annulate (enolase gene) or Babesia spp. (18 S ribosomal RNA gene) via PCR. Three intestinal parasites (Parascaris equorum, Strongylus sp., and Oxyuris equi) were found in kulans. All identified parasites, in both saiga and kulans, are also found in domesticated livestock, suggesting a need for better understanding of how parasites are maintained within and between regional wild and domestic ungulate populations.

Abstract The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) was a yearlong expedition supported by the icebreaker R/V Polarstern, following the Transpolar Drift from October 2019 to October 2020. The campaign documented an annual cycle of physical, biological, and chemical processes impacting the atmosphere-ice-ocean system. Of central importance were measurements of the thermodynamic and dynamic evolution of the sea ice. A multi-agency international team led by the University of Colorado/CIRES and NOAA-PSL observed meteorology and surface-atmosphere energy exchanges, including radiation; turbulent momentum flux; turbulent latent and sensible heat flux; and snow conductive flux. There were four stations on the ice, a 10 m micrometeorological tower paired with a 23/30 m mast and radiation station and three autonomous Atmospheric Surface Flux Stations. Collectively, the four stations acquired ~928 days of data. This manuscript documents the acquisition and post-processing of those measurements and provides a guide for researchers to access and use the data products.

Introduction. Incidence of brain metastases rises in recent years. Local control after surgical resection of brain metastases is a priority for patients with limited intracranial disease and controlled primary tumor. Surgery should be combined with other methods because of the high risk of local recurrences.Aim. To analyze the overall survival (OS) and influencing factors for patients with brain metastasis after combined therapy. Materials and methods. The retrospective study included 196 patients with stable systemic cancer or available systemic therapy in cases of progressive disease. All patients had from 1 to 3 brain metastasis. Overall survival and influencing factors after surgical and combined therapy were analysed.Results. Median OS for the entire cohort was 16.9 months. The highest levels of OS were achieved for patients with renal cancer (median OS 32.5 months). For patients with non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, melanoma and other cancers OS were 18.8; 19.9; 11.0 and 15.3 months, appropriately. Age, continuation of local therapy in brain (surgical intervention, stereotactic radiosurgery), using of the cisplatin for patients with non-small lung cancer brain metastasis were independent factors that have influenced OS.Conclusion. Application of combined therapy for brain metastasis can provide reasonable OS for patients with controlled systemic disease. Using of the cisplatin as a part of combined therapy provide statistically meaningful rise in OS for patients with non-small lung cancer brain metastasis.

The paper considers the efficiency and possibility of implementing into the operational practice of VVER-1000 power units the campaign extension mode at the sliding pressure of the second circuit. The history of research of Russian nuclear scientists in terms of extending the campaign of VVER reactors is considered. It is shown that reducing the pressure of fresh steam within the permissible limits will release additional reactivity due to the release of the temperature effect and generate additional energy during the operation of the unit on the power effect. A mathematical model of changes in the main parameters of the reactor plant has been compiled, including the reactivity balance equations, the Stodola-Flugel equation for the turbine, the equations of thermal balance and heat transfer in the steam generator. The calculation of the expected increase in electricity generation for modern fuel loads of VVER-1000 reactors has been performed. The degree of compliance of the proposed regime with the current technological limitations of the VVER-1000 «large series» power unit is analyzed. The results of the analysis were confirmed by numerical experiment on a multifunctional mode analyzer of the VVER-1000 reactor unit developed by the MEPhI Research Institute, built on the basis of the ENIKAD medium and the certified diffusion neutron-physical code PROSTOR. Conclusions are drawn about the possibility of introducing the proposed regime into the operational practice of modern VVER-1000 power units.

The case of the large lateral ventricle tumor total removal using the minimally invasive bilateral burr hole microsurgical approach is reported.

The reasons for the occurrence of increased vibration of the engine rotor due to aerodynamic imbalance of the fan of the first stage of the impeller are determined. A method for estimating the aerodynamic imbalance of the gas turbine engine fan is proposed, taking into account the influence of the following factors: geometric errors in the manufacture of blade airfoils and their positioning in the disk; deformation of the blade airfoil during the assembly of the impeller, as well as the factors of the working process occurring in the impeller. The use of the technique makes it possible to evaluate the aerodynamic imbalance of the impeller at the stage of its balancing and significantly reduce the amount of aerodynamic imbalance by determining the parameters for removing a layer of material or adding corrective masses. The influence of geometric errors of the blades on the value of the aerodynamic imbalance of the impeller was analyzed. Based on the results of the research, the type of dependence of unbalanced gas forces on the influence of technological and operational factors of the impeller under consideration was determined.

Magnetic fields of various astrophysical objects are described using the dynamo mechanism. Corresponding equations in the three-dimensional case are quite difficult to be solved. So, the two-dimensional models can be useful for such problems. For galactic and accretion discs, it is convenient to use the no-zz approximation. The initial conditions for the magnetic field have a special interest. It seems that the seed field is generated by the Biermann mechanism, and after that they are transformed by the small-scale dynamo which gives a random structure of the field. Previously it has been shown that random initial conditions can lead to generation of large-scale magnetic field structures which correspond to the galaxies at the moment. In this work, we have studied generation of the magnetic field for the case of Kepler rotation curve, which is mostly suitable to the accretion discs. Here, we have studied the field generation in the thin disc for rapidly changing angular velocity in the case of simple model assumptions.