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Mulching is widely used in agriculture to improve soil structure and agrochemical parameters. This is especially true for agroecosystems of steppe chernozems with strong wind erosion and occasional drought. The effect of mulch introduction to the springtail communities was studied in a multi-year field experiment using different mulch quantities (0 tons/ha, 4 tons/ha, 8 tons/ha, 12 tons/ha and 16 tons/ha) and composition (pea and wheat plant residues). No-till technology was applied in a six-field crop rotation (peas — winter wheat— sunflower— winter wheat — corn— winter wheat). Collembola or springtails, playing a significant role in soil formation, were set as a model group for assessing the state of soil animals. Both the general characteristics of the springtail community and the response of individual species to the introduction of plant residues were studied. Their total abundance was correlated positively with an increase in the amount of plant residues of any composition, while no significant changes in species richness (number of species) were noted. Species diversity, assessed by the Shannon-Weaver index, significantly differed when plant residues of different compositions were introduced, while the amount of mulch did not affect this indicator. Different groups of springtail life forms reacted differently to the composition and amount of mulch. The number of springtails increased mainly due to hemiedaphic springtail species, both when plant residues of peas and wheat were introduced. Certain springtail species increased in abundance to the maximum (P. notabilis) and minimum (S. elegans, S. niger, C. succinea) amount of plant residues, while other species were associated with the composition of the mulch (D. tigrina, S. pumilis, P. alba) were identified. These results show that mulch management has pronounced impacts on springtail communities, which can inform management practices to improve the functioning of sustainable soil ecosystems in the future.

Collembola is a group of numerous ubiquitous small soil-dwelling arthropods decomposing the plant residues. The study analyses the diversity structure of this group in mesic conditions of coniferous, mixed, and broad-leaved forests. Sample plots were located in three Protected Areas in the Moscow Region (Losiny Ostrov National Park and the Valuyevsky Forest Park) and Smolensk Region (Smolenskoe Poozerye National Park). In total, 70 species of Collembola were registered in the forest litter. Two Collembola species were of Asian origin, namely Appendisotoma stebayevae (noted in Europe for the first time) and Vertagopus asiaticus (the second record of this species in the study area). The number of species was close to the number of genera, indicating the allochthonous character of the forest fauna of Collembola of the central Russian Plain. A multiscale approach was applied for sampling design. This allowed us to assess the diversity of Collembola at various spatial scales: from 1 m to hundreds of kilometres. The study scheme included two regions, four localities, 12 sample sites, and 36 plots; the latter was 1 m2 (the smallest area unit). The data analysis was based on the concept of alpha-beta diversity accompanied by the additive partitioning method. The region (the largest area unit) was the most important factor in forming the species diversity. The type of forest litter (coniferous vs. broad-leaved) was less significant; the habitat heterogeneity factor made even a less contribution. On average, 1 m2 of forest litter comprised about a quarter of the entire list of Collembola species in the studied forests. The species richness of Collembola in the broad-leaved forests was more variable in space and in time compared to coniferous forests and mixed forests; a transitional pattern was observed. The species composition of Collembola varied between the seasons of the year by about a quarter when considering the same sites of coniferous and mixed forests. In broad-leaved forests of various areas, seasonal changes in species composition varied highly, from very pronounced to insignificant. The new concept of plant litter traits is discussed as a factor for affecting the patterns of the structure and dynamics of the Collembola species diversity.

Abstract Background Highly malignant high-grade gliomas are tumors of the central nervous system (CNS). They are solid tumors arising from transformed cells of the brain and/or the spinal cord. In recent years, the expression of genes and regulating miRNAs in glial brain tumors has been actively studied. The present study is devoted to assessing the expression levels of miR-215-5p, miR-22-3p, miR-122-5p, miR-107, miR-324-5p, miR-34a-5p, miR-155. -5p, miR-21-5p, miR-497-5p, miR-330-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-92a-1-5p, miR-326 and target genes EGFR, SMAD4, SMAD7, SMO, NOTCH1, NOTCH2, HIF1A, EGLIN1/3, KDM1B, KDM1A, MSI1, MSI2, TET1 in high-grade glioma tissues. Results As a result of the analysis of the levels of relative expression of the studied genes, there are significant changes (p

The article investigates the essence of skills gap as one of the types of skills mismatches. The importance of having progressive cognitive, socio-emotional and technical skills for the employee and the employer is substantiated individually. It is found out that when hiring applicants for a qualified job and appointing them to the position, their skills are assessed by employers in terms of their importance and level of satisfaction (compliance with the employers’ requirements). The difference, which demonstrates the inconsistency of the required skills with the existing ones, forms a skills gap. The study of the essence of the terms identical to skills gaps enables the author to define skills gap as an existing type of their mismatch, namely the lack of each specialized key skill required to sustain high job performance at the appropriate level (medium, high) within the position (professional duties). Based on the generalization and study of the opinions of labour market research experts, three key factors that cause a skills gap are identified. They are technology, education and training. The technological factor determines the importance of educational and training factors, as technological revolutions cause global changes in the world of labour, the emergence of new professions and positions, and, accordingly, affect the need for the formation of new professional skills. Acquisition of modern professional qualifications and mastery of the necessary skills are provided through high-quality education and lifelong learning. Based on the global survey of the existing gap in key skills among university graduates, conducted by QS Global Employer Survey 2018 taking into account the survey among employers and university graduates, a discrepancy is found in almost all 15 skills available in the analysis, in terms of both importance and satisfaction for employers. At the same time, the results of the survey among university graduates show differences in assessments between the two groups of respondents on the criterion of priority of key skills. According to the author, this discrepancy is the result of the diversity of focus on results and expectations of the use of skills among respondents. On the one hand, it is explained by the differences in experience and deep understanding of business fundamentals. On the other hand, it is caused by the mental gap between generation X (most employers belong to this category), Y (millennials) and Z (represented by young people who have recently graduated from educational institutions). Based on the study of behavioral and mental characteristics of these generations, an important role of generation Z in the formation of the world labor force and its growing influence on future global trends in the labor market are highlighted. The study identifies the main causes that deepen the existing skills gap. It is explained by the uncertainty of the procedure for identifying key skills in the employers’ personnel policy, which complicates the process of planning the need for these skills. The other factors include the imperfection of enterprise personnel policy in terms of employment; maladaptation of traditional education to digital transformations; weakness of integration links between business and education, which makes it impossible to bridge the existing skills gap; pandemic COVID-19. The paper outlines the main ways to overcome the skills gap, which is becoming especially important in the post-pandemic period. They include the formation of a modern system for forecasting skills needs for the long term at the macro level; reforming the employment policy at the micro level, more active use of outsourcing services by employers; introduction of the transformed (adapted to modern conditions of viral crisis) model of training enterprise employees through apprenticeship.

Socio-economic development of a region is based on its production capacity. However, most regions in Russia are characterized by financial instability of local enterprises and the lack of a balanced structure of the regional economy. Insurance is an instrument of financial protection against risks, and its effective functioning is important for the development of the manufacturing sector, especially in depressed regions.This paper aims to highlight the mechanisms for increasing the production capacity of a region and reducing business risks with the help of insurance instruments and to provide appropriate recommendations for the development of the insurance market. This is planned to be achieved on the basis of analysis and processing of existing scientific research in this field and statistical materials.For this, a typology of regions was developed, which reflects the level of production in the region and is important in terms of developing the regional insurance market. This allows assessing the impact of insurance coverage in the region on the development of its production capacity. The proposed typology allows determining the causes of production inefficiency. The conformity of the development of the regional insurance market to the needs for insurance coverage of the production sector in the region was assessed. The identified imbalance between the provision of insurance coverage and the need for it allowed demonstrating an additional need for insurance, as well as working out a program for its development.The obtained results are illustrated using the example of the Republic of Khakassia, a constituent entity of the Siberian Federal District of the Russian Federation. To implement risk management in the manufacturing sector, schemes of interaction between insurance market participants using commercial and non-commercial insurance are proposed. AcknowledgmentThe paper was written under the grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research – Development of a Methodology for Green and Infrastructure Investment by Institutional Investors in the Context of Pension Reforms.

Insurance is the most important institution for social and financial protection. Therefore, the development level of the regional insurance market not only determines the volume and quality of this protection, but also influences the social and economic development of the region through the coverage of risks and the provision of additional jobs. In turn, many factors have a significant impact on the development of the regional insurance market itself. This study is aimed at developing a model for governing the development factors of the regional insurance market, which (governance) focuses on improving the development efficiency of not only the regional insurance market itself, but also the socio-economic development of the relevant region. In this regard, the model for governing the factors of development of the regional insurance market involves solving the following scientific problems: identifying national factors for the functioning and development of the Russian insurance market that influence the development of the regional insurance market; determining regional development factors affecting the regional insurance market; identifying the impact of the regional insurance market on the socio-economic development of the region; developing recommendations on the effective impact of national and regional factors on the regional insurance market development and, through it, on the socio-economic development of the region. Implementation of the proposed model for governing the factors for the regional insurance market development will increase its efficiency and strengthen the socio-economic development of the region.

The answer to the question about the labor migrants attraction economic effect on the national economy of the recipient countries remains uncertain. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to determine the necessity and significance of mass labor migration for the economic development of recipient countries in general and Russia in particular. During the study, the authors implemented the following tasks:1) to identify and assess the contradictions that occur at the micro and macro levels in the host country using migrant labor;2) to calculate the most essential economic indicators of the efficient use of foreign labor in Russia (based on 2016 data);3) to assess the contribution of migrant labor to the GDP; and4) to clarify the impact of all levels of taxes and fees for patents by legal migrants and evasion of such payments by illegal migrants on revenues and expenditures of budgets, accompanied with state budget expenditures to investigate illegal activities (sometimes criminal in nature) with the subsequent deportation of such migrants from the country.Marketing research has shown that contradictions arising at the micro and macro levels are revealed, which explains the effect of the “migration trap”; the low efficiency of using foreign labor in the Russian economy has been proved, as evidenced by the insignificant share of GDP produced by migrants and significant leaks of a part of GDP from the country’s economy through the transfer of funds to donor countries; an imbalance between the needs of the national economy for additional labor by industries and the actual use of foreign labor entering the Russian market is shown; weak influence of the state on the national labor market and the lack of systemic regulation of the quality of training and the scope of migrant labor are revealed.