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The goal of this article is to analyze emergency economic measures to support culture during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis (2020—2021). The article presents a classification of economic measures to support the industry during that period, analyzes the actions taken in Russia and four European countries (France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany). There are described the effectiveness and practical implementation of a wide range of financial mechanisms that stimulate the restoration and preservation of the industry’s sustainability, including non-refundable subsidies, credits and loans, insurance coverage for canceled and postponed cultural events, compensations for lost income due to reduced ticket sales, job retention programs. The article presents the results of a comparative analysis of the anti-crisis expenditures incurred by the five countries’ central governments (at the republican or federal level) to support culture in the crisis. The author pays special attention to state measures to support cultural workers, including those self-employed. In conclusion, the article presents recommendations on further directions of economic policy in the field of culture, taking into account the analysis of relevant foreign literature and the latest reports of European governments with a high level of state support for the industry.

Aim. The presented study aims to comprehensively assess the risks and possible consequences of sanctions imposed by foreign countries for Russian artists and cultural organizations.Tasks. The authors develop an anti-sanction mechanism for all spheres of activity and identify the major areas of the cultural industry that require anti-sanction regulation to reduce risks and costs for the producers of socially significant goods.Methods. This study uses statistical and factual analysis of sanctions that affect the cultural sector both directly and indirectly to comprehensively investigate the economic and legal aspects of the negative impact of sanctions.Results. Opportunities for reducing the import dependence of some sectors (media, technological infrastructure of organizations) are considered; the social phenomenon of cancel culture is assessed in terms of its impact on the further development of art organizations; the essence of the decriminalization of intellectual property offenses is revealed. The study analyzes a set of actions that seem appropriate in the context of sanctions, including the identification of importdependent sectors in the cultural industry, risk insurance, and the application of international law to protect the interests of artists.Conclusions. The obtained results can be used in the further strategy for the import substitution of products and services in the field of culture. Recommendations for the medium term are given.

The article demonstrates the possibilities of corporate governance methods and investment decision-making models for the cultural organizations and events (on the examples of federal theaters). Financial and investment analysis was applied in the study. The article discusses the hypothesis of the possibility of balancing budgets for new theatrical productions, taking the rehearsal period, premiere and running as a whole. The productions are not considered as deadweight losses, but are analysed as assets with risky returns. The results of the financial analysis of the staging activities of the leading theaters demonstrate their limited possibilities in balancing the budgets for new productions. The most popular performance (with an average ticket price above the market and a stable occupancy rate of over 90 %) requires at least 5–6 years of active running to recoup the initial investment. The author’s are expected to help the performing arts organizations to identify and assess losses during the pandemic crisis. The scientific novelty is to the approach to calculating and forecasting the return on production costs.

The article demonstrates the cost-output-profit method possibilities for use by cultural organisations, studies the hypothetical cost recovery possibility from entertainment events, develops practical tools for their financial analytics. Managerial and financial analysis, econometric and graphical construction functions methods have been used. The “proof to the contrary” methods have been applied to investigate the performing arts organisations unprofitability, first substantiated by W. Baumol and W. Bowen. With regard to cultural organisations in the conditions of two-year epidemiological restrictions, a normative threshold occupancy of the hall has been established. Retaining a certain revenue share from ticket sales is not enough to cover current rental costs. In this context, economic performance analytics (operational leverage calculation, break-even analysis) is necessary to analyse the performing arts organisations losses in a pandemic. On the example of the “increased demand” performance, the hypothesis on the existence of a break-even point in which incomes and expenses are balanced has been rejected. The novelty of the study lies in fact that different methods of calculating production costs for theatres have been summarised and a methodology for checking the break-even points existence for organising entertainment events in the long and short term has been presented.

The article analyses current public management and funding practices of cultural organisations in Italy by using comparative and statistical analysis. The structure of the sector’s governing bodies and approaches to budgeting for culture at national level have been explored. Trends in decreasing funding from provincial, regional and local budgets have been identified. The status, legislative and institutional conditions for the emergence of Italy’s unique multichannel cultural financing system have been described. An analysis of the Italian museum system’s reform has been presented. The activities of private opera foundations have been discussed in detail. The main similarities between Russian and Italian cultural policies have been described. These are the drive to expand the boundaries and activities associated with the cultural sector, the significant burden on local and regional authorities in the field of cultural heritage preservation, the “quantitative approach” and the application of financial performance indicators to assess cultural organisations performance.The article’s scientific novelty lies in the complex approach to the study of Italian cultural policy using the criteria proposed by D. Montias and A. I. Glagolev, and in the study of the activities of Italian opera foundations and museums, which had not previously been sufficiently covered in the Russian and foreign literature. The prospect of the topic, the practical significance and relevance of the research are due to the need to implement regulations in Russia which set a course for the creation of a multi-channel system of funding and a broad understanding of the cultural sector, and ensuring inter-agency and inter-regional cooperation between the authorities in the implementation of cultural policy.The article analyses a wide range of financial support mechanisms for culture, most of which are named in the “Strategy of State Cultural Policy of Russia as Targets by 2030”, while Italy has accumulated considerable experience in this area for several decades.

Characteristics of new implant coating of materials obtained by the method of induction heat treatment and modified by flavonoids nanoaggregates are studied and the prospects for their use in dental animal implantology are presented. It has been established that for a non-toxic biofunctional coating forming on a surface of implantation materials, it is had to apply the following concentrations of substances: propolis - 1.25 mg / 1 ml, polymer - no more than 0.0001%. Research has shown that experimental implants coatings do not inhibit erythropoiesis and leucogenesis. In addition, absence of sharp dispersion in calcium, phosphorus, creatinine and urea level, recovery of primary AST, ALT activity and the minimum values of C-reactive protein in experimental group animals in early term indicate implants have not any toxic effect.

This chapter offers an overview of the main aspects of digital consumption in Russia with an emphasis on the late 2010s. It also sheds light on the tendencies that digitalization of the sphere of consumption has brought to Russian retail and consumers. In particular, we look at how digitalization has changed retail trade; what kind of digital retail platforms gained popularity in Russia; how Russian retailers utilize data related to consumption; how cross-border internet trade has been developing and how it has been regulated; and what the profile is of the typical online consumer. We also look at platforms and practices of online exchange and the sharing economy. The chapter is based on the analysis of scholarly literature on digital consumption, marketing research data and media publications to identify the current trends in consumption. It addresses the question of what challenges and opportunities the digitalization of consumption has brought about for Russia.

This article explores the careers of young fashion designers as entrepreneurs in Russia. It discusses entrepreneurial experiences and labour practices of fashion designers in the context of precarity: that is, the structural conditions characterized by a lack of social, economic and emotional security caused by a shift of responsibilities for the labour market from the state to the citizens. The article takes the perspective of designers’ agency and answers the question of how young fashion entrepreneurs deal with such structural conditions using state support, community support, organizational practices and emotional management. The article also focuses on creative labour in the broader context of the circumstances of a creative class in an authoritarian state. We argue that in today’s Russia, the discourse on the creative class is perhaps more important than the discourse on precarity, since belonging to the creative class is a source of political identity for fashion designers. The issue of precarity, then, can become a further basis for solidarity and political action. The research draws from 21 in-depth interviews with fashion designers and experts conducted in the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk between 2015 and 2016.

Although creativity is almost universally considered a uniquely human faculty that will help humans keep their jobs and compete against artificial agents (robots, artificial intelligence), little r...

This article takes the idea of a critical approach to sustainable fashion and applies it to the practices of clothing designers and seamstresses in the Kallio neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. These practices are described by the umbrella term “sustainable fashion.” The main questions are how do clothing designers and seamstresses practice sustainable fashion, what challenges do they face, and how do they interpret these challenges. The article offers an empirical definition of “sustainable fashion,” discusses innovative practices of sustainable fashion design in an urban context, considers the tensions within this production concept, and examines ways in which designers address and resolve such tensions. The article contributes to the discussion of a critical approach to fashion, sustainability, and entrepreneurialism in contemporary urban culture.

Humans increasingly interact with artificial agents (Hortensius and Cross, 2018), intelligent technologies able to receive and interpret inputs and communicate with humans. Collaborative robots, in...

Permafrost-affected soils are characterized by a high abundance and diversity of methanogenic communities, which are considered suitable model organisms for potential life on Mars. Methanogens from Siberian permafrost have been proven to be highly resistant against divers stress conditions such as subzero temperatures, desiccation, and simulated thermophysical martian conditions. Here, we studied the radiation resistance of the currently described new species Methanosarcina soligelidi SMA-21, which was isolated from a Siberian permafrost-affected soil, in comparison to Methanosarcina barkeri, which is used as a reference organism from a nonpermafrost soil environment. Both strains were exposed to solar UV and ionizing radiation to assess their limits of survival. Methanosarcina soligelidi exhibit an increase in radiation resistance to UV (2.5- to 13.8-fold) and ionizing radiation (46.6-fold) compared to M. barkeri. The F10 (UVC) and D10 (X-rays) values of M. soligelidi are comparable to values for the well-known, highly radioresistant species Deinococcus radiodurans. In contrast, the radiation response of M. barkeri was highly sensitive to UV and ionizing radiation comparably to Escherichia coli and other radiosensitive microorganisms. This study showed that species of the same genus respond differently to UV and ionizing radiation, which might reflect the adaptation of Methanosarcina soligelidi SMA-21 to the harsh environmental conditions of the permafrost habitat.Methanogenic archaea-Environmental UV-Ionizing radiation-Permafrost-Radiation resistance-Mars.

To study the effects of gas storage, long-term autoclave experiments with rock cores originating from a natural gas reservoir and brines taken from a gas well were conducted at 40 bar and 80 o C in a CO 2 atmosphere. While the main mineral composition of the sandstones was not affected due to CO 2 exposure over a period of 31 months, the dissolution of rock-forming minerals such as feldspar, quartz or pore-filling anhydrite and calcite was noted. Changes in the brine composition were also detected. A release of iron and total organic carbon (TOC) from the rock samples to the saline fluid was observed. Temporary changes in the acetic acid concentration might have contributed to the dissolution processes. Precipitation and dissolution of minerals in sandstones were mostly related to diagenetic fluid-rock reactions and CO 2 exposure, but in general the impact of CO 2 on rock composition was only minor.

Two geological formations at the CO_{2} storage pilot site in Ketzin (Germany) were geochemically and microbiologically characterized to further evaluate changes resulting from CO_{2} injection. Well fluids were collected from both Stuttgart (storage formation, ~650 m depth) and Exter Formations (~400 m depth, overlying the caprock) either through pump tests or downhole samplings. Rock samples were retrieved during a deep drilling into the Exter Formation and primarily comprised quartz, ferrous dolomite or ankerite, calcite, analcime, plagioclase and clay minerals, as determined through X-ray diffraction analyses. In the rocks, the total organic carbon (TOC), which potentially contributes to microbial growth, was mostly below 1000 mg kg^{-1}. The geochemical characterization of fluids revealed significant differences in the ionic composition between both formations. The microbial characterization was performed through fluorescence in situ hybridization and 16S rRNA gene fingerprinting. In the fluids obtained from the Stuttgart Formation, the microbial activity was affected by the relatively high TOC, introduced by the organic drill mud. The total cell counts were approximately 106 cells mL^{-1}. The microbial community was characteristic of a saline deep biosphere environment enriched through increased carbon availability, with sulfate-reducing bacteria as the most abundant microorganisms (up to 60 % of total cells). Species belonging to halophilic/halotolerant Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were primarily detected. In Exter Formation rocks, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were detected. These data provide an explicit reference to further evaluate environmental changes and community shifts in the reservoir during CO_{2} storage and provide information for evaluating the storage efficiency and reliability.

In this study the first results of the microbial monitoring within the framework of the CLEAN project are described. The microbial community of a 3.5 km deep depleted gas reservoir in Altmark, Germany was analyzed by molecular genetic techniques. Sequence analyses indicated the presence of microorganisms similar to previously identified microbes from saline, thermophilic and anaerobic environments in the deep hypersaline and hot reservoir environments. The results of the phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of the different H2-oxidising bacteria (Hydrogenophaga sp., Acidovorax sp., Ralstonia sp., Pseudomonas sp.), thiosulfate-oxidising bacteria (Diaphorobacter sp.) and biocorrosive thermophilic microorganisms.

This study characterized the composition and activity of the autochthonous microbial community in formation fluids of a saline CO 2 storage aquifer during CO 2 injection and during an N 2 lift. The clean-up of the wells prior CO 2 injection by N 2 lift decreased the total microbial cell numbers, and the number of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) was reduced by at least two orders of magnitude. Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation (FISH) and molecular fingerprinting demonstrated that the microbial community was strongly influenced by the CO 2 injection. Before CO 2 arrival, up to 106 cells ml-1 were detected by DAPI-staining at a depth of 647 m below the surface. The microbial community was dominated by fermentative halophilic bacteria and sulphate reducing bacteria. Both the FISH and fingerprinting analyses revealed quantitative and qualitative changes after CO 2 arrival. An enhanced activity and quantity of the microbial population after five months of CO 2 storage indicated that the community was able to adapt to the extreme conditions of the deep biosphere and to the extreme changes of these anthropogenically modified conditions.

This study reveals the first analyses of the composition and activity of the microbial community of a saline CO2 storage aquifer. Microbial monitoring during CO2 injection has been reported. By using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), we have shown that the microbial community was strongly influenced by the CO2 injection. Before CO2 arrival, up to 6 × 106 cells ml−1 were detected by DAPI staining at a depth of 647 m below the surface. The microbial community was dominated by the domain Bacteria that represented approximately 60% to 90% of the total cell number, with Proteobacteria and Firmicutes as the most abundant phyla comprising up to 47% and 45% of the entire population, respectively. Both the total cell counts as well as the counts of the specific physiological groups revealed quantitative and qualitative changes after CO2 arrival. Our study revealed temporal outcompetition of sulphate-reducing bacteria by methanogenic archaea. In addition, an enhanced activity of the microbial population after five months CO2 storage indicated that the bacterial community was able to adapt to the extreme conditions of the deep biosphere and to the extreme changes of these atypical conditions.

The onshore CO2-storage site Ketzin consists of one CO2-injection well and two observation wells. Hydraulic tests revealed permeabilities between 50 and 100 mD for the sandstone rock units. The designated injection well Ktzi 201 showed similar production permeability. After installation of the CO2-injection string, an injection test with water yielded a significantly lower injectivity of 0.002 m3/d kPa, while the observation wells showed an injection permeability in the same range as the productivity. Several possible reasons for the severe decline in injectivity are discussed. Acidification of the reservoir interval, injection at high wellhead pressure, controlled mini-fractures and back-production of the well are discussed to remove the plugging material to re-establish the required injectivity of the well. It has been decided to perform a nitrogen lift and analyse the back-produced fluids. Initially during the lift, the back-produced fluids were dark-black. Chemical and XRD analyses proved that the black solids consisted mainly of iron sulphide. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were detected in fluid samples with up to 106 cells/ml by fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) indicating that the formation of iron sulphide was caused by bacterial activity. Organic compounds within the drilling mud and other technical fluids were likely left during the well completion process, thus providing the energy source for strong proliferation of bacteria. During the lift, the fraction of SRB in the whole bacterial community decreased from approximately 32% in downhole samples to less than 5%. The lift of Ktzi 201 succeeded in the full restoration of the well productivity and injectivity. Additionally, the likely energy source of the SRB was largely removed by the lifting, thus ensuring the long-term preservation of the injectivity.

Stable carbon isotopes may serve as useful tracers to monitor the fate and migration of injected CO2 gas in the subsurface. This is true as long as the already present dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) has a different isotopic composition (δ13CDIC) than the injected CO2 ( δ C C O 2 13 ). After dissolution and turnover of the injected CO2 to DIC, mixture of both sources ( δ C C O 2 13 and δ13CDIC) enables isotope and mass balance calculations to quantify the degree of dissolution of the injected CO2 (geochemical trapping). Furthermore, δ13CDIC may be used as a sensitive tool to determine its source, as well as to indicate the arrival of CO2 at observation wells. Isotope measurements from before and after injection of CO2 at the Ketzin site near Berlin are presented here. Before injection bacterial activity, especially in the injection well, was observed. After injection, most of the DIC present originates from injected CO2 and, generally, an inverse trend exists between the expected increase in DIC contents and its corresponding, decreasing isotope signal. The stable isotopic composition of the water ( δ O H 2 O 18 ), however, remained relatively homogeneous throughout the monitoring period. In order to shift the δ O H 2 O 18 signal, large amounts of CO2 are expected to be required. In order to verify the results, and to see how the observed trends evolve, further monitoring, including more isotope measurements combined with further biogeochemical data, will be necessary.

We examined the survival potential of methanogenic archaea exposed to different environmental stress conditions such as low temperature (down to -78.5 degrees C), high salinity (up to 6 M NaCl), starvation (up to 3 months), long-term freezing (up to 2 years), desiccation (up to 25 days) and oxygen exposure (up to 72 h). The experiments were conducted with methanogenic archaea from Siberian permafrost and were complemented by experiments on well-studied methanogens from nonpermafrost habitats. Our results indicate a high survival potential of a methanogenic archaeon from Siberian permafrost when exposed to the extreme conditions tested. In contrast, these stress conditions were lethal for methanogenic archaea isolated from nonpermafrost habitats. A better adaptation to stress was observed at a low temperature (4 degrees C) compared with a higher one (28 degrees C). Given the unique metabolism of methanogenic archaea in general and the long-term survival and high tolerance to extreme conditions of the methanogens investigated in this study, methanogenic archaea from permafrost should be considered as primary candidates for possible subsurface Martian life.

The characterizations of survival potential of microorganisms which are able to thrive in extreme environments are receiving a great attention in astrobiological research as driven by the possibility of their existence in extraterrestrial extreme niches. Speculations about lithoautotrophic subsurface life on Mars are arising since ESA mission Mars Express determined water existence on Mars, fundamental requirement for life, and presence of CH4 in the Martian atmosphere, which could be originated only from active volcanism or from biological sources. Comparable conditions exist in permafrost regions on Earth.Methanogenic archaea, which colonized Siberian permafrost, are highly specialized organisms which can gain energy by the oxidation of H2 and use CO2 as the only carbon source. We present the investigations of resistance of methanogens from Siberian permafrost complementary to the already well-studied methanogens from non-permafrost habitats to different extreme life conditions of terrestrial or extraterrestrial permafrost: desiccation, temperature extremes, radiation, starvation, high salt concentration and simulated Mars conditions. The methanogenic archaea in pure cultures as well as in their natural environment of Siberian permafrost represent high survival potential under these extreme conditions. In contrast, these conditions were lethal for the reference organisms from non-permafrost habitats1,2. Our data suggest that in scenario of subsurface lithoautotrophic life on Mars methanogenic archaea from Siberian permafrost could be used as appropriate candidates for possible life on Mars.

This study reports a procedure combining a cell extraction method and Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation (FISH) for monitoring and quantification of bacteria in aquifer samples with high particulate loads from the CO2 storage reservoir at Ketzin (Germany). FISH was applied to cells extracted by density centrifugation. This method was tested and evaluated on slurry from the injection well amended with E.coli cells and applied to fluid samples from the observation well. Cell extraction efficiency averaged out at 80-90%. Up to 106 cells ml-1 were detected at a depth of 675 m, with dominance of the domain Bacteria.

One aim of the CLEAN project was to develop and test monitoring methods for the reservoir cap rock and the reservoir itself. It is shown here that advanced injection and production profile evaluation can be achieved using a combination of pressure, temperature and spinner flow meter data. Using distributed temperature sensing, temperature profiles in gas-filled wells can be acquired, as the sensor cable can be stationary during the measurement allowing for simultaneous thermal equilibration along the entire logged profile. A first field test of the developed hybrid wireline logging system was successfully performed under static conditions and the feasibility of warm-back monitoring was shown based on the results of numerical simulations for a possible CO2 injection scenario. A combined approach using the developed hybrid system for enhanced production logging during injection followed by warm-back monitoring within a subsequent shut-in period would allow for accurate determination of the spatial extent and injectivity of individual CO2 injection intervals.

A methanogenic archaeon, strain SMA-21T, was isolated from a permafrost-affected soil by serial dilution in liquid medium. The cells were non-motile, stained Gram-negative and grew as irregular cocci with a diameter of 1.3–2.5 µm. Optimal growth was observed at 28 °C, pH 7.8 and 0.02 M NaCl. The strain grew on H2/CO2, methanol and acetate, but not on formate, ethanol, 2-butanol, 2-propanol, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine or dimethyl sulfide. Major membrane lipids of strain SMA-21T were archaeol phosphatidylglycerol, archaeol phosphatidylethanolamine and the corresponding hydroxyarchaeol compounds. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 40.9 mol%. The 16S rRNA gene sequence was closely related to those of Methanosarcina mazei DSM 2053T (similarity 99.9 %) and Methanosarcina horonobensis HB-1T (similarity 98.7 %). On basis of the level of DNA–DNA hybridization (22.1 %) between strain SMA-21T and Methanosarcina mazei DSM 2053T as well as of phenotypic and genotypic differences, strain SMA-21T was assigned to a novel species of the genus Methanosarcina , for which the name Methanosarcina soligelidi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is SMA-21T ( = DSM 20065T = JCM 18468).

The CO 2 SINK project in Ketzin represents a field laboratory for the storage of CO 2 in a 650-m deep saline aquifer. The project is accompanied by a microbiological monitoring programme to characterise the composition and activity of the autochthonous microbial community in rock and brine samples and their changes in response to CO 2 storage. A prerequisite of these studies is the acquisition of samples free of contamination from microorganisms and organic and inorganic components. Drilling mud and technical fluids are the main sources of contamination. This study describes the application of the fluorescent dye tracers fluorescein and rhodamine B as contamination controls for rock core and brine samples. Fluorescein was added to drilling mud that was used during the coring phase of the Ketzin wells Ktzi 200, 201 and 202. In addition, total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations, reflecting the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) component of the drilling mud, were determined to verify the tracer results. The fluorescence and TOC analyses revealed that drilling mud filtrate penetrated the outer 20 mm of mildly permeable sandstone cores. Rhodamine B was added to brines that were used to displace the drilling mud and to flush the wells after completion. The tracer monitoring during the discharge of drilling mud and displacement brines from the wells during hydraulic tests and nitrogen lifts enabled the quantification of reservoir fluid quality. After the production of 140–190 m 3 (16–21 borehole volumes) of fluid, the drilling mud concentration was reduced to about 0.05%. The use of fluorescein emerged as a field-capable, sensitive and reliable method during the sampling of rock core and formation brine samples.