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The article aims to define how the main principles of the Swedish welfare state, i.e., the “multi-stakeholder principle” and the principle of trustfulness and collaboration, affect activity of the anti-corruption civil society. For the study, the following empirical methods have been used: the analysis of documents and in-depth-interviews with experts. The author demonstrates that the anti-corruption activity of civil society in Sweden can be considered as part of wider social movements for human rights, democracy and integrity, especially at international level. There are a lot of associations and unions in Sweden that, among other joint activities, promote anti-corruption practices and rules in state organisations and commercial enterprises. The state and government need to be oriented to social challenges and keep pace with civic movements. A partnership with different stakeholders is the main type of the Swedish ACS’s activities that help to reach their goals in preventing corruption behaviour, e.g., “Anti-corruption policy networks”, and it is the result of two types of collaboration: anti-corruption participation and anti-corruption services. The research has shown that the civil society’s ability to create networks with the state, business and other agents is the main condition for the so-called horizontal accountability and sustainability and for preventing corruption in Swedish society that, in its turn, has been established over a long period of time building the culture of integrity and civic institutions. KEYWORDS: corruption, civil society, policy networks. JEL CODES: H7, I0, I3. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/rfds.v26i3.1812

As an object of research, we have chosen a well-known elastic polymer material – polyetherurethane urea SKU-PFL, which is a typical segmented block copolymer. Powdered microdispersed fillers capable to improve wear resistant such as calcium stearate and molybdenum disulfide were added to this material at the manufacturing stage in varying amounts (up to 1.5% by weight). The found level of the optimal filler concentration for the investigated elastomers in the region close to 0.5 wt% makes it possible to consider calcium stearate and molybdenum disulfide as not only effective but also economical components of promising wear-resistant polymeric materials.

New analgetic tridecapeptide (TDP) with an octaarginine vector was proposed for clinical use in chronic pain syndrome. The aim of the work was to investigate pharmacokinetic properties of TDP in the form for oral administration. Special analytical approach was proposed because classical chromatographic methods are low powerful for peptides quantification in biological matrices. The study was carried out on male rats and rabbits with a single oral administration of the drug in three doses, a single intravenous administration in one dose and multiple administrations to rats in one dose. To determine TDP concentration in blood plasma, tissues, and excretes, enzyme immunoassay with commercially available reagent kit for similar target analyte (Elisa kit for 1-Deamino 8D-Arginine Vasopressin (DDAVP), Cloud Clone Corp., USA) have been developed and validated. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartment method of statistical moments.The pharmacokinetics of TDP was found to be linear after single administration in the dose range 10-50 mg/kg for rats and 5-25 mg/kg for rabbits. The absolute bioavailability of the TDP after oral (intragastrical) via intravenous administration for rats and rabbits was about 8-16%.The active substance was intensively distributed into muscles, liver, spleen, the lowest tissue distribution was detected for kidneys. TDP was excreted with urine in trace amounts (about 0.2%), with feces – about 1.2%; repeated administration did not lead to its cumulation. Pharmacokinetics parameters of new analgetic tridecapeptide with an octaarginine vector were evaluated after original analytical approach. Final study included all main areas necessary to characterize the original drug pharmacokinetic.

Ethionamide and prothionamide are now included in group C of the WHO recommended drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis resistant to rifampicin and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. The clinical relevance of ethionamide and prothionamide has increased with the wide spread of resistant tuberculosis.We retrospectively analyzed 349 clinical isolates obtained between 2016 and 2020. The susceptibility to ethionamide was tested using both the BactecThe MIC of ethionamide increases with the total resistance of the isolates in a row from susceptible to XDR strains. A significant part of the isolates have a MIC below the breakpoint: 25%, 36%, and 50% for XDR, pre-XDR, and MDR strains. Sensitivity and specificity of detection of mutations were 96% and 86% using MGIT resistance as a reference.Phenotypic methods for testing ethionamide are imperfectly correlated, and the isolates with MIC of 5 mg/L have the intermediate resistance. A significant proportion of resistant TB cases are susceptible and eligible for ethionamide treatment. Resistance could be explained using only analysis of loci

BACKGROUND There were gaps between guidelines and practice when surgery was the only treatment for aortic stenosis (AS). OBJECTIVES This study analyzed the decision to intervene in patients with severe AS in the EORP VHD (EURObservational Research Programme Valvular Heart Disease) II survey. METHODS Among 2,152 patients with severe AS, 1,271 patients with high-gradient AS who were symptomatic fulfilled a Class I recommendation for intervention according to the 2012 European Society of Cardiology guidelines; the primary end point was the decision for intervention. RESULTS A decision not to intervene was taken in 262 patients (20.6%). In multivariate analysis, the decision not to intervene was associated with older age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.34 per 10-year increase; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.61; P = 0.002), New York Heart Association functional classes I and II versus III (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.16 to 2.30; P = 0.005), higher age adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (OR: 1.09 per 1-point increase; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.17; P = 0.03), and a lower transaortic mean gradient (OR: 0.81 per 10-mm Hg decrease; 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.92; P < 0.001). During the study period, 346 patients (40.2%, median age 84 years, median EuroSCORE II [European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation II] 3.1%) underwent transcatheter intervention and 515 (59.8%, median age 69 years, median EuroSCORE II 1.5%) underwent surgery. A decision not to intervene versus intervention was associated with lower 6-month survival (87.4%; 95% CI: 82.0 to 91.3 vs 94.6%; 95% CI: 92.8 to 95.9; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS A decision not to intervene was taken in 1 in 5 patients with severe symptomatic AS despite a Class I recommendation for intervention and the decision was particularly associated with older age and combined comorbidities. Transcatheter intervention was extensively used in octogenarians. (J Am Coll Cardiol 2021;78:2131-2143) (c) 2021 by the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

The main objective of the article is to define the main strategies of discourse of an anti-corruption civil society (ACS) and to analyse functioning of its main models, which are presented by the activity of three organisations: The All-Russia People's Front, the Transparency International–Russia, and the Anti-Corruption Foundation. For this analysis, we selected the content analysis and critical discourse analysis of anti-corruption investigations and used other documents demonstrating the organisations’ activities. According to the research results, all three models exist in Russia but their correlation is asymmetric. All-Russia People's Front acts on behalf of the state as the main anti-corruption agent. Transparency International presents itself as a part of the global anti-corruption movement based on the principles of professionalism and political independency. The Anti-Corruption Foundation declares that state authorities are corrupt and therefore cannot fight against corruption using adequate measures. The asymmetry of the models presented is determined by the lack of checks and balances in the country, where the state presents itself as the single agent of curbing corruption and creates fictive anti-corruption civil society.

In order to increase the resolution of traditional MFM and extend its applications in the past, we created an Alternating Magnetic Force Microscopy (A-MFM) with a magnetic force modulation by applying an off-resonance AC magnetic field. A new magnetic tip has been developed for A-MFM in this work. Perpendicular magnetic recording medium with 500 kfci recording density is successfully imaged and analyzed by using the new tips coated by 6–15 nm amorphous FeCoSiB-based soft magnetic film. The effect of Si doping to the magnetic film on the A-MFM imaging was studied. It was found that Si additive had no effect on the imaging properties, such as signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution (kept at ∼5 nm level). But on other side, Si additive significantly degraded the chemical stability of FeCoSiB film due to oxidation in ambient atmosphere. Surface passivation by metal and boron oxides is considered to have a main effect on improvement of chemical stability of Si-free magnetic coating. The results have shown that Si-free FeCoB-based magnetic tips are appropriate candidates for A-MFM imaging in ambient conditions.

In this article, the main factors of academic cheating and plagiarism in four countries (Russia, US, Poland, and Latvia) are analyzed. Three groups of factors are investigated, namely individual, motivational, and contextual. A mixed method approach has been used, with material including student surveys, interviews with university teachers and administrators, and analysis of university documents. The survey results show that the role of individual social-demographic factors are not significant for predicting misconduct. Students are prone to neutralize their own blame in misconduct, and refer to the external conditions by the proposition that it is difficult to avoid cheating and plagiarism during university studies. Students are also more likely to cheat and plagiarize in the conditions of weak teachers’ control and deterrents. Such results demonstrate the importance of an integrity policy at the national, institutional and classroom levels, and that the social and cultural environment can be important factors in cheating. Integrity systems and the level, which they have been implemented, have a significant impact on student misconduct and attitudes toward cheating.

A 61-year-old woman, an ex-smoker with a 10 pack year smoking history, was referred to our clinic for the evaluation of insidious dyspnea and diffuse, bilateral infiltrates on a chest radiograph. She reported that she had been experiencing dyspnea on exertion and dry cough for the past 1.5 years. She denied fevers, chills, hemoptysis, or weight loss. Aside from a smoking history, there were no comorbidities or environmental exposures. She had no family history of lung diseases or other disorders. She worked as a school teacher and had no occupational exposures. There were no pets in the home and no prior occupational exposures.

The main features of the Total Dictation as a form of a flash mob are considered in the article. The main characteristics of a flash mob are illustrated, especially its ephemerity, the simultaneous and public action that is based on strict rules and scenario, and its organization through the Internet and contemporary communication networks, or social media. The main factors of the development of flash mobs are a dissatisfaction with existing forms of social participation, and the improvement of new electronic forms of social communication. Flash mobs come under the two headings of classic and modernized. A classical flash mob does not have any goals. The modernized flash mob has some ideology defining it and can be organized during a specific time. The Total Dictation is the mass action for people who want to evaluate his or her literacy through writing dictation in different places in Russia, around the world, and online. It is organized in Russia and fulfilled by the experts from the Novosibirsk State University, and also serves the rising interest in the Russian language. During the process of the analysis, it is discovered that the Total Dictation is the one of the forms of the modernized flash mobs. It is a mass event because its popularity has grown to a global level. It also has its own ideology, and it is carried out at the same time in different places. It is also a public action, has a clear scenario, and rules for its manifestation. The main function of organization belongs to the website, and to the groups in social media. The Total Dictation also has leaders, clear goals, and a differentiation of the participants, what means that it can be defined as the modernized form of flash mobs. The results of the interviews with participants confirmed the existence of the flash mobs’ features, especially special emotional situations (“like before an exam”), and the identification with the group of patriotic intellectuals who are fond of the Russian language.

The article offers research on the study of mineral nutrition levels on sunflower productivity in the conditions of the Ryazan region. The objects of research are guy-brides VA-306, Samanta, Poseidon 625 variety. It was revealed that the use of mineral fertilizers in sunflower crops at a dose of N120P60K60 contributes to an increase in the basic biometric indicators of plants, which, in turn, has a positive effect on the yield of oilseeds. On average, over the years of research, 2.4-3.1 tons of oilseeds were obtained from 1 hectare. The highest productivity was observed in variants with the Poseidon 625 variety. Keywords: SUNFLOWER, DARK GRAY FOREST SOIL, MINERAL NUTRITION LEVEL, YIELD, OIL CONTENT

The study of lateritic bauxite by electron microscopy revealed abundant products of interaction between organic matter and minerals. Abundant biomineral films of different genesis and composition were found, including Al, Fe, Al-Fe, Al-Si, Al-Fe-Si, sorbed rare and rare-earth elements (REE). The evolution of these films from amorphous to crystallized and the conversion into druse crystals of gibbsite, hematite, kaolinite etc. was traced. New data were obtained on mineralization of deposits of wood, roots, biofilms and bacteria in tropical conditions. Mono- and multilayer films were identified. Different composition biofilms occurred before and after seasonal monsoon rains. The mineral composition of the films is influenced by micro-local conditions and the introduction of chemical elements, including rare and rare-earth elements, with capillary water during the dry seasons. The products of biomineralization are microscopic in size, but are of universal and global importance to all weathered rocks and associated bauxite deposits.

Conditions and principal geochemical trends in the formation of bauxite-bearing lateritic mantles are considered on the example of Fouta Djalon-Mandingo Bauxite-bearing Province as the best natural model. Input and output dynamics of petrogenic components was calculated on the isovolumetric base and the obtained data were used to interpret the zoned structure of weathered profile as resulting from its hydrogeological and gas regimes. Although Al separates from Fe in the formation of bauxite horizon, three-valence iron is a typomorphic element of the lateritic landscape as a whole, with 50% Al leaching from lateritic mantle.

Complex investigations of the thermal stability as well as Mn-dopant distribution depending on chemical composition and processing condition have been performed in heavily doped SrTi1-xMnxO3 nanoparticles with x = 0.2 and 0.4. Prepared nanopowders reveal stable enough cubic perovskite structure even after treatment in oxidizing atmosphere up to 1000 °C. At the same time treatment in reducing atmosphere leads to decrease of the Mn solubility limit. Mn distribution evidences a weak tendency of Mn ions to migrate to surface. This migration increases in air and decreases at treatment in oxygen atmosphere.

The main aim of the research is to discover the ways of the realization of the main strategies of the anticorruption discourse using the method of critical discourse analysis. The sources of the investigation are the texts of international anticorruption organizations, specifically, “Transparency International”. The intertextuality and interdiscoursivity of the anticorruption discourse demonstrate not only all of the trends that characterized the discourse of later capitalism, but also led to the creation of a new type of discourse. Anticorruption discourse is the kind of neoliberal discourse oriented to the dissemination of democratic regimes and principles of the free market on the global level. Referential and predicative strategies show that civil society takes the leadership in global anticorruption activity, emphasized by the demonstration of the weaknesses of governments and business. Both argumentation strategies and strategies of legitimation demonstrate the main aims of fighting corruption and the conditions of its effectiveness. The topoi of anticorruption discourse represent the features of anticorruption-ism that are formed according to the principle of the “mirror answer”; to be efficient, the curbing of corruption should have the same characteristics. Another kind of opposition includes the plain contrast between corruption and anticorruption-ism, which represents the “positive representation of the in-group (anticorruption civil society) and the negative representation of the out-group (corruption and corruptioners)”.

The chromium doped SrTiO3 nanopowders with particles size of 100, 50, 20 nm sizes have been synthesized and studied by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). Along with chromium impurity it was found the powder contained small concentration of manganese as a residential impurity. Mn4+ ions on Ti4+ lattice sites were identified, with spin-Hamiltonian parameters closed to even in the bulk material. It was found that the linewidth depends on particle size. This effect may be traced back to changes of the small parameter of fine structure D due to its dependence on the particle size of the individual nanocrystallite. It seems, the most of Cr3+ ions did not substitute for Ti4+ and form some phase at the surface of SrTiO3 particles.

Cubic perovskite SrTi1−xMnxO3 nanopowders with x = 0–0.5, which is much higher than the conventionally believed Mn incorporation limit, and particles sizes 10–80 nm have been successfully synthesized using the citrate sol–gel method. The crystalline structure, the morphology, the chemical composition and the lattice constant behavior versus the annealing temperature and the Mn concentration have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and proton-induced X-ray emission techniques. Studies of Raman light scattering and the magnetic properties revealed the activation of the TO2 polar mode and the magnetic ordering effects at low temperatures. Such features are treated as possible evidence of non-d0 Mn-driven transition to a polar phase with multiferroicity in heavily concentrated perovskite SrTi1−xMnxO3 nanopowders.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra were studied in solvothermal- and citrate sol–gel-grown (CSGG) SrTiO3:Cr(0.1%) crystalline nanopowders. Various growth conditions and thermal treatments were used to determine defects and to tailor nanoparticles structure and crystallization processes. Solvothermal-grown nanopowders with 5 nm particle size revealed the dominant presence of the single perovskite-type phase. Annealing of the CSGG nanoparticles in air up to 800 °C leads to an increase of the particles size and the amount of the titanium dioxide (rutile and/or anatase) phase, which is initially present in small amounts in CSGG powders. It was found that paramagnetic Cr3+, Cr5+, , O−, O2− ions are present in solvothermal-grown nanopowders and in all CSGG powders. In the annealed particles the majority of paramagnetic centers (PC) are located in the particle surface and in the TiO2 phase. The nature of the PC in nanopowders exhibiting different degrees of catalytic activity in nanopowders was studied too. A correlation between O− and O2− content, synthesis conditions and particle size was found. The NMR spectra of 47Ti (I = 5/2) and 49Ti (I = 7/2) reveal a pronounced dependence of the spectral line intensity on synthesis conditions, evidencing coexistence of Ti3+ and Ti4+ ions in SrTiO3:Cr nanoparticles.

cited By 1; International audience; Single crystal sapphire and diamond surfaces are used as planar, atomically flat insulating surfaces, for the deposition of the diacetylene compound 10,12-nonacosadiynoic acid. The surface assembly is compared with results on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and MoS2 surfaces. A perfectly flat-lying monolayer of 10,12-nonacosadiynoic acid self-assembles on h-BN like on HOPG and MoS2. On sapphire and oxidized diamond surfaces, we observed assemblies of standing-up molecular layers. Surface assembly is driven by surface electrostatic dipoles. Surface polarity is partially controlled using a hydrogenated diamond surface or totally screened by the deposition of a graphene layer on the sapphire surface. This results in a perfectly flat and organized SAM on graphene, which is ready for on-surface polymerization of long and isolated molecular wires under ambient conditions.

cited By 2; International audience; The electrical characterization of single-polymer chains on a surface is an important step towards novel molecular device development. The main challenge is the lack of appropriate atomically flat insulating substrates for fabricating single-polymer chains. Here, using atomic force microscopy, we demonstrate that the (0001) surface of an insulating hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate leads to a flat-lying self-assembled monolayer of diacetylene compounds. The subsequent heating or ultraviolet irradiation can initiate an on-surface polymerization process leading to the formation of long polydiacetylene chains. The frequency of photo-polymerization occurrence on h-BN(0001) is two orders of magnitude higher than that on graphite(0001). This is explained by the enhanced lifetime of the molecular excited state, because relaxation via the h-BN is suppressed due to a large band gap. We also demonstrate that on-surface polymerization on h-BN(0001) is possible even after the lithography process, which opens up the possibility of further electrical investigations.

Although single-molecule electronic devices have been of great interest for several decades, the fabrication of practical circuits remains challenging due to the lack of reliable ways to wire individual molecules. On-surface synthesis of single conductive polymer chains will be a key technology to solve this problem. We already found that stimulating a molecular layer of diacetylene compound by the tip of scanning tunneling microscope (STM) could initiate chain polymerization. As a result, we could systematically fabricate a single conjugated polydiacetylene chain at designated positions. Subsequently, we developed a novel method (‘chemical soldering’) for connecting the conjugated polymer chains to single organic molecules. The connection of two polydiacetylene chains to a single phthalocyanine molecule was demonstrated. Nanoscale characteristics of the connection were also experimentally and theoretically investigated. Here, we briefly review tip-induced chain polymerization and the chemical soldering methods. This work will help to advance single-molecule electronics.

For the development of various molecular nanostructures such as single-molecule electronic circuits, it is very important to fix the molecular components at predetermined positions on a substrate. We report the fixation of the thiol derivatives dodecanethiol and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPS) on a MoS2(0001) substrate at prefabricated sulfur vacancies. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) reveals the selective bonding of thiol groups to the Mo atoms at the vacancy defects. In addition, we report STM tip-induced dissociation of the S–C bond, which essentially results in the repair of the vacancy defects with sulfur atoms from the thiols. This is consistent with the high desulfurization reactivity of MoS2. Because of its structure and composition, MPS has a higher dissociation reactivity than that of dodecanethiol.

Russian higher education institutions need to improve forms of preparation for the unified state examination and develop appropriate courses. Schools in Russia do not have the resources to do this, as a result of which school students have less confidence in their school knowledge and supplement it with various alternative forms of preparation for university admission.

A set of KTaO 3 nanopowders has been prepared at T = 180 °C using various aliphatic alcohols and water as solvents. Pronounced connection between the solvent type and potassium tantalate structures was found. Structural X-ray, TEM and Raman scattering experiments have shown that the solvent dielectric constant ɛ is an important critical parameter. At ɛ ∼ 24 the cubic perovskite-type phase was formed. Mixed perovskite and pyrochlore phases were formed at larger values of ɛ . Only pure pyrochlore phase is realized when ɛ ∼ 80. Pyrochlore-free perovskite-structure nanopowder phase formation with the particle size of ∼18 and 28 nm was achieved when ethanol and isopropanol solvents were used. Under annealing the coherent domain size decreased down to 6 and 18 nm respectively, since the amorphous phase crystallized. Crystallinity of both as-prepared and annealed powder is the best when isopropanol solvent is used.

A brief survey of chemical synthesis methods for SrTiO3 nanoparticle fabrication is presented. The principal features of microwave, mechano-chemical, coprecipitation, sol–gel, solvothermal and template methods as well as the limits of their application are described. Special attention was paid to nominally pure and transition metals doped SrTiO3 nanoparticles of 100–12 nm size, prepared by citrate method, their characterization, and dependence of lattice constant and optical band gap on particle size.

Since β2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI) was described as the major antigenic target for antiphospholipid antibodies, many studies have focused their attention to the physiological role of β2GPI and anti-β2GPI antibodies on autoimmune-mediated thrombosis. Studies reporting the physiological role of β2GPI have been numerous, but the exact mechanism of action(s) has yet to be completely determined. β2GPI’s epitopes for anti-β2GPI autoantibodies have been characterized, however, not all of the heterogeneous anti-β2GPI antibodies are pathogenic. The pathophysiologic role of β2GPI has been reported in the fields of coagulation, fibrinolysis, angiogenesis, and atherosclerosis. Our understanding of the impact of β2GPI, its metabolites and autoantibodies to β2GPI on these physiological functions may contribute to the development of better therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent autoimmune-mediated atherothrombotic vascular disease. Lupus (2010) 19, 379—384.

Chemical composition, crystal structure, as well as short-range atomic arrangement of nanocrystalline Ru1−xNixO2−δ oxides with x ranging between 0 and 0.3 were studied using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The prepared materials form single-phase nanocrystals with rutile structure. Regardless of the chemical composition, the surface of Ru1−xNixO2−δ oxides is Ni-enriched with respect to overall chemical composition. According to both XPS and XANES, the oxidation state of Ru remains +4 in the studied materials. Ni ions are present in both divalent and trivalent states with the fraction of trivalent ions decreasing with increasing Ni content. The refinement of local structure using EXAFS data based on Ru−K and Ni−K edge absorption spectra shows that Ru preserves local arrangement characteristic for ruthenium dioxide. The incorporated Ni shows a tendency to form clusters within a rutile structure for low Ni concentrat...

Optical absorption and photoluminescence of Cr3+ impurity ion probe were studied on nanocrystalline SrTiO3/Cr(0·1%) powders with an average particle size between 13 and 100 nm prepared by the Pechini type polymeric sol–gel method. Only Oh1 cubic perovskite phase was revealed in the powders at room temperature. The optical absorption edge and the position of the zero-phonon emission R-line of the octahedral Cr3+ centres shifted to higher energies with decreasing particle size. The temperature shift of the R-line position appeared for all powders nearly the same as the 'dielectric related' one in the bulk crystals, evidencing that SrTiO3 retains quantum paraelectric behaviour down to a particle size of about 10 nm. However, behaviour of the R-line position was unstable at low temperatures in powders with a particle size of about 13 and 20 nm. This instability was speculated as a manifestation of a possible low temperature ferroelectric phase transition in small enough SrTiO3 nanoparticles.

The mechanism of the oxygen evolution on RuO2 and Ru0.9Ni0.1O2−δ anodes was studied in 0.1 M HClO4 using 18labeling combined with differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS). It was shown that the mechanism of the oxygen evolution is potential sensitive. At potentials negative to 1.12 V vs. SCE all the evolved oxygen originates from the electrolyte solution. At higher potentials an additional mechanism involving an exchange of the oxygen between electrolyte and electrocatalyst starts to apply. The extent of this oxygen exchange mechanism reflects the chemical composition of the electrocatalyst and is significantly higher at Ru0.9Ni0.1O2−δ electrodes. Keywords: Oxygen evolution, DEMS, Ruthenium dioxide, Electrocatalysis

On the basis of statistical data on applicants and interviews with those responsible for admissions at the Udmurt university, the authors discover and analyze a discrepancy between the level of competition at the stages of application and of admission to the university. The authors call this phenomenon pseudo-competition. This article discusses the main factors contributing to this situation: the growing popularity of higher education, the demographic decrease, the introduction of Unifi ed State Exams, the possibility for prospective students to simultaneously apply to several programs, etc. Under these conditions, a regional university needs to develop a new education policy, based on increased attention to the quality of education and on innovative forms of interaction with all social institutions of modern society.