Criteria for assessing the quality of activated water for the production of cement concrete and polymer concrete have been established, including redox potential and refraction. It is shown that the more significantly the values of these indicators differ from the initial ones, the higher the activity of the treated water in relation to the materials used and the higher the performance properties of the final polymer building materials.

Biodegradation is one of the main factors limiting the efficiency and life time of gel-forming soil conditioners. The study quantifies this process using a laboratory analysis of biological oxygen demand (BOD) in innovative composite superabsorbents with an acrylic polymer matrix, amphiphilic agents (humates, peat), and silver ions as an inhibitor of biological activity. A simple kinetic model of BOD was proposed to standardize the analysis and calculate the half-life of polymers after their incubation in VELP precision respirometers (Italy). A half-life of hydrogels swollen in a distilled water (1 : 100) at a temperature of 30°C varied in the range from 0.8 ± 0.2 to 2.4 ± 1.6 years. The addition of water extract from the compost sharply enhances biodegradation and decreases the half-life of hydrogels to 40–60 days. Doses of 0.1–1

Biodegradation is one of the main factors limiting the efficiency and service life of gel-forming soil conditioners. The study quantifies this process using laboratory analysis of biological oxygen uptake (BOD) in innovative composite superabsorbents with an acrylic polymer matrix, amphiphilic agents (humates, peat) and silver ions as an inhibitor of biological activity. A simple kinetic model of BOD is proposed to standardize the analysis and calculation of the half-life of polymers after their incubation in precision VELP respirometers (Italy). The half-life of hydrogels swollen in distilled water (1:100) at a temperature of 30°C varied in the range from 0,8±0,2 to 2,4±1,6 years. The addition of an aqueous extract from compost sharply enhances biodegradation and reduces the half-life of hydrogels up to 40–60 days. Doses of 0,1–1% silver in a polymer matrix or 10-100 ppm in swollen hydrogels increase their half-life by 5–20 times. The new methodological approach makes it possible to fully automatically evaluate the biodegradation of gel–forming polymers in laboratory conditions, however, for stable materials with a half-life of more than 2,5–3 years, the accuracy of manometric BOD analyzers is insufficient for a statistically reliable assessment of the kinetics of biodegradation even in long (120 days) incubation experiments.

A quantitative study of the biodegradability of polymer soil conditioners is necessary for a reasonable prediction of their stability and functioning in soils. For this purpose, a new methodological approach based on PASCO (USA) equipment was proposed. This approach allows recording continuous kinetic curves of CO 2 emission in laboratory experiments based on incubation of composite gel-forming soil conditioners. Several characteristic types of respiration curves have been identified, and new physically based models have been proposed for their description with subsequent calculation of the half-lives of composite hydrogels. For the traditionally considered non-biodegradable acrylic superabsorbents of soil water, the possibility of rapid biodegradation was shown for the first time in the case of the addition of a biologically active compost extract into their liquid phase. With this treatment, which brings laboratory experiments closer to real soil conditions, the half-lives of both the well-known European Aquasorb and Zeba superabsorbents and the Russian Aquapastus hydrogel decreased by an order of magnitude from the initial values of 2–6 years to 0.1–0.3 years. In practice, this can negatively affect the profitability of using such materials for soil conditioning due to their rapid destruction and loss of functionality. The addition of silver ions into innovative Aquapastus composite superabsorbents at a dose of 0.1% or 10 ppm in swollen gel structures effectively reduces their biodegradability, prolonging the half-life to 10 years or more, which is twice the German standard DüMV 05.12.12 of the stability of polymer ameliorants.

High water retention and water capacity of detritus determine its potential hydrological significance in the formation of the water regime of soils and phytoproductivity of forest landscapes. Using computer modeling of water exchange in the soil–plant–atmosphere HYDRUS-1D system, we preliminarily studied the hydrological function of detritus of retention of precipitation water and of root water consumption at different amounts and variants of the arrangement of detritus layers in the soil profile. The soil structures designed on the basis of this information for sustainable afforestation with increased carbon sequestration in field experiments with water balance monitoring demonstrated high efficiency in optimizing soil water retention capacity and water consumption by roots of the test crop (Picea pungens Engelm.) with a two- to threefold reduction in unproductive water losses and a 1.5-to 2-fold increase in the current plant growth relative to untreated control. The physical mechanism of the detritus hydrological function consists in the formation of capillary barriers, blocking evaporation and capillary resorption of soil water due to accumulation at the surface (forest litter) or in layers inside the soil (peat layers in constructozems).

Quantification of the biodegradability of soil water superabsorbents is necessary for a reasonable prediction of their stability and functioning. A new methodological approach to assessing the biodegradability of these polymer materials has been implemented on the basis of PASCO (USA) instrumentation for continuous registration of kinetic CO2 emission curves in laboratory incubation experiments with various hydrogels, including the well-known trade brands Aquasorb, Zeba, and innovative Russian Aquapastus composites with an acrylic polymer matrix. Original kinetic models were proposed to describe different types of respiratory curves and calculate half-life indicators of the studied superabsorbents. Comparative analysis of the new approach with the assessment by biological oxygen demand revealed for the first time the significance of CO2 dissolution in the liquid phase of gel structures during their incubation. Experiments have shown a tenfold reduction in half-life up to 0.1–0.3 years for a priori non-biodegradable synthetic superabsorbents under the influence of compost extract. The incorporation of silver ions into Aquapastus innovative composites at a dose of 0.1% or 10 ppm in swollen gel structures effectively increases their stability, prolonging the half-life to 10 years and more, or almost twice the Western stability standard for polymer ameliorants.

The lithic industries of the sites Kermek, Ciscaucasia (2.1-2.0 Ma) and Karakhach, South Caucasus (1.85-1.78 Ma) contain almost all the components of the Acheulian, indicating that this technocomplex appeared in the different areas of the Caucasus region not later than at the end of the Gelasian. Such extremely old ages of these industries as well as a number of their features due to the influence of the local raw material (tabular clasts) suggest that they were formed independently of the Early Acheulian industries known in Africa and the Near East. The very early appearance and further dispersal of Early Acheulian in the Caucasus can be explained by the presence there of raw materials with qualities supporting the production of large tools inherent of Acheulian, and by the very favorable natural conditions of the region in the final Gelazian-initial Calabrian (low or medium altitude terrain with subtropical climate and savanna-like landscape). @ 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The research analyzes technological properties and stability of innovative gel-forming polymeric materials for complex soil conditioning. These materials combine improvements in the water retention, dispersity, hydraulic properties, anti-erosion and anti-pathogenic protection of the soil along with a high resistance to negative environmental factors (osmotic stress, compression in the pores, microbial biodegradation). Laboratory analysis was based on an original system of instrumental methods, new mathematical models, and the criteria and gradations of the quality of gels and their compositions with mineral soil substrates. The new materials have a technologically optimal degree of swelling (200–600 kg/kg in pure water and saline solutions with 1–3 g/L TDS), high values of surface energy (>130 kJ/kg), specific surface area (>600 m2/g), threshold of gel collapse (>80 mmol/L), half-life (>5 years), and a powerful fungicidal effect (EC50 biocides doses of 10–60 ppm). Due to these properties, the new gel-forming materials, in small doses of 0.1–0.3% increased the water retention and dispersity of sandy substrates to the level of loams, reduced the saturated hydraulic conductivity 20–140 times, suppressed the evaporation 2–4 times, and formed a windproof soil crust (strength up to 100 kPa). These new methodological developments and recommendations are useful for the complex laboratory testing of hydrogels in small (5–10 g) soil samples.

The article summarizes multivariate field trials of gel-forming soil conditioners for agriculture and urban landscaping in various climatic conditions from arid (O.A.E., Uzbekistan) to humid (Moscow region, Russia). The field test program included environmental monitoring of weather data, temperature, water–air regimes, salinity, alkalinity, and biological activity of various soils (sandy and loamy sandy Arenosols, Retisols, loamy Serozems), productivity and yield of plants (lawns, vegetables) and their quality, including pathogen infestation. The evolutionary line of polymer superabsorbents from radiation-crosslinked polyacrylamide (1995) to the patented “Aquapastus” material (2014–2020) with amphiphilic fillers and biocidal additives demonstrated not only success, but also the main problems of using hydrogels in soils (biodegradation, osmotic collapse, etc.), as well as their technological solutions. Along with innovative materials, our know-how consisted in the intelligent soil design of capillary barriers for water accumulation and antipathogenic and antielectrolyte protection of the rhizosphere. Gel-forming polymer conditioners and new technologies of their application increase the productivity of plant crops and the quality of biomass by 30–50%, with a 1.3–2-fold saving of water resources and reliable protection of the topsoil from pathogens and secondary salinization. The results can be useful to a wide range of specialists from chemical technologists to agronomists and landscapers.

Hygroscopicity is an important technological property of composite materials for the conservation and treatment of water in modern technologies for sustainable green environment and agriculture. Using a thermodynamic approach, this study analyzes the hygroscopicity of composite gel-forming soil conditioners as a function of water activity and temperature. A simple and generally available method of water thermo-desorption is proposed for the quantitative assessment of hygroscopicity, dispersity and potential resistance of composite materials to osmotic collapse. It is based on the fundamental thermodynamic dependence of water potential and temperature of the dried material in a thermodynamic reservoir (laboratory) with constant relative humidity. The hygroscopicity of the studied composite materials in humid air (relative humidity over 90%) reaches a water content of 80–130% (wt); however, this water has too high retention energy and cannot be consumed by green plants, which calls into question the technology of obtaining water from the air using hygroscopic materials. The high hygroscopicity of hydrogels and its dynamics, depending on the controlling factors of temperature and air humidity, must necessarily be taken into account in the materials trade and in the technological calculation of doses for the use of these materials in sustainable agriculture and landscaping.

Digitalization of the economy is the widespread introduction of digital technologies into the economy.This phenomenon is caused by the rapid development of information technology, microelectronics and communications in most countries of the world.The digitalization of the economy is a global process.Development of advanced manufacturing technologies, end-to-end information technologies, neurotechnologies, the internet of things and artificial intelligence.Russian experience in the development and implementation of digital technologies both at the federal and regional levels has been studied very little.As a result, the Russian features of the development of the digital economy, the systematization of existing approaches and their institutional adaptation to their application in Russian conditions are of high scientific and practical interest.The relevance of the research topic is due to the rapidly developing new information and communication technologies in all areas of modern life.The aim of the study, the results of which are presented in this article, is to study the problems and prospects for the development of the regional digital economy.The transfer of the economy to a new level of development is one of the central places at the federal and regional levels.The article considers the main programs for digitalization of the economy in the Kursk region.Also, recommendations were developed to increase the level of development of the digital economy in Russian regions.

The main components of the CO 2 balance—emission from the surface, removal with lysimetric runoff, and dynamics of reserves in a 1.5 m soil layer with interphase equilibria taken into account—were quantitatively assessed in a two-year soil-lysimetric experiment. A significant (up to 20–90%) contribution of lysimetric runoff to the total gas exchange in cold weather (autumn–winter) against the background of a small (0.3–3.7%) share during the growing season (spring–summer) is shown. Due to the inertia and unsteadiness of gas accumulation/unloading processes inside the soil, emission from the surface does not adequately reflect the gross CO 2 production by the soil volume, underestimating in the spring–summer period and overestimating in autumn. The obtained two-year correlation between emission and gross production of CO 2 indicates the possibility of a 1.3–1.4-fold underestimation of the dissimilation component of the carbon cycle in the traditional emission assessment of soil respiration.

The capillary effect in polydisperse porous systems of soils and sediments is discussed. This effect is quantified using a new fundamental model of capillary rise depending on the parameters of dispersion of soil particles, soil bulk density, density of soil solid phase, wettability, and the amount of tightly bound water. In contrast to a well-known Jurin’s law, the model takes into account the particle-size distributions and the change in pore size associated with soil density. The model adequately predicts the capillary rise in both artificial monodisperse porous systems and real soils with the particle size ranging from 0.006 to 1 mm. The effects of natural and synthetic hydrophobizers on the kinetics and maximum height of capillary rise are examined. The laboratory and field data on the efficiency of imperfect (with hydraulic connection) and perfect (with its rupture) capillary barriers are compared to the Hydrus-1D predictive modeling data. The results are used to evaluate the capillarity in soils and to design soil constructions with capillary barriers.

The article starts by examining the reasons behind the relatively recent growth of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Russian higher education institutions, from internationalization to more altruistic motives. While internationalization in Russia has recently been facilitated through a top-down approach at a national level, the quantity and quality of courses and programs taught in English are the responsibility of Russian universities and are primarily managed at an institutional level. Russian higher education institutions (HEIs) have been employing several strategies such as international recruiting, long-term university partnerships and faculty development. The authors take a closer look at each strategy, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and illustrating it with some examples. Comparative analysis of the strategies under scrutiny allows to highlight more effective ones which are likely to positively impact the quantity and quality of EMI in Russian higher education in the years to come.

Nowadays, it has been reliably established that the Early Paleolithic people producing both Oldowan and Early Acheulian industries initially occupied the volcanic upland of the South Caucasus not later than 1.9.1.85Myr(Olduvai subchron).This period was characterized by a much lower relief than at present and subtropic climate that favored a dispersal of the early humans.The volcanic activity created there fertile paleosols with grass covers feeding hunted herbivores as well as rocks suitable for manufacturing lithic artifacts.In the subsequent periods of the Early and the Middle Pleistocene the upland underwent uplifting that led to a gradual deterioration of climate and appearance of glacial-interglacial rhythms with an increasingly pronounced difference between warm and cold periods.However, the chronological ranges of the studied Acheulian sites suggest that the humans continued to occupy the region under both more and less favorable conditions.The early humans are believed to have spread most widely in the region in the Late Acheulian, supposedly during in the Holstein interglacial.

A description of the development stages of a polymer composition designed to ensure the restoration of the operational characteristics of large-diameter pipelines (d = 1100–1400 mm) using metal split sleeves, as well as for filling and sealing mixtures in the repair and construction industry, is presented. It is shown that the developed epoxy–urethane composition of a low-temperature curing adhesive paste provides a stable and safe pipeline restoration without interrupting the product transportation cycle.

The mechanism of disjoining pressure controlling the swelling and water absorption of gel structures for soil conditioning is discussed. Its quantitative description is based on the fundamental ion-electrostatic model of soil water sorption isotherms containing the phase variable of gel swelling degree and specific surface area index of the soil substrate. The model adequately reproduces the s-shape of soil water sorption isotherms in a wide range of water activity from 0.05 to 0.999 depending on the working doses of hydrogels in the range of 0.05-0.3 mass%. Reinforcement of gel structures with amphiphilic dispersed particles increases the effect of disjoining pressure and water absorption.

For a long time, the scientific community assumed that the Acheulean culture was expressed on the territory of the Armenian Plateau as well as in the neighboring regions of the Caucasus only by its late phase; therefore, it appeared in the second half of the Middle Pleistocene. In recent years, the Armenian-Russian mission has discovered and studied much older Acheulean industries sites, located in northern Armenia (the Lori intermountain Depression). These industries, represented by archaic type tools (large hand axes, picks, choppers, chisel-like tools, scrapers, points, etc.), are discovered in three deposits of origin of proluvial genesis. In the Karakhach site, this type of industry is deposited in the lower levels of volcanic tuff and below; the U/Pb study of this level of tuff proposes a series of dates, assigned to the time interval between 1.944 + 0.046 and 1.75 + 0.02 Ma. The paleomagnetic study demonstrated the inverse polarity on the tuff and the normal polarity of the underlying deposits; in correlation with other dating, this fact allows to attribute the Acheulean layers of the site of Karakhatch to the Lower Pleistocene, in particular to the Oldoway episode and to the Upper Matuyama time period. The estimated age and the techno-morphological characteristics of the tools indicate the Lower Acheulean period. The dating of the Muradovo site does not seem possible, however its very old industries and the archaeological layers, where they were discovered, find equivalents in the layered layer, surmounted by tuffs, of the Karakhatch site. The Kutran I site presented a paleosol sequence with similar Acheulean tools (hand axes, picks, choppers, etc.). Its oldest layer is older than 1.5 Ma, the upper layer is attributed to the early Middle Pleistocene; this fact means that it is possible to speak of the Lower Acheulean and of its transition to the Middle Acheulean period. The specific character and the age of the Lower Acheulean of Armenia admit that it could have formed independently of the Lower Acheulean of Africa, whose estimated age does not rise before 1.76 Ma. It should also be noted that on the neighboring territory of Georgia about the same time when appeared the Acheulean culture in Armenia, the Oldowan Dmanisi site already existed. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

In modern conditions, the danger of harmful results of all kinds of adverse circumstances related to the development of scientific and technological progress and the increased risk of losses related to entrepreneurial activity is growing, the value of the financial relations industry, namely insurance, is significantly increasing. Insurance is designed to protect the interests of legal entities and citizens in the event of any kind of harm due to the influence of adverse factors that are objective in nature. At the current stage of the progress of market relations in addition to the traditional purpose of insurance a new one is being fixed: insurance of such objects as property interests related to compensation of property or person damage caused by the insured. It is through insurance that a person fulfills his most important need - the need for security. As a result of this, the functioning of such an element of the financial market as the insurance services market acquires specific relevance. The methodological basis of the research is the methods of system analysis, comparison and analogy, logical and semantic modeling. These methods are used as a theoretical basis in the works of domestic and foreign scientists in the planning and analysis insurance services Sources of information are economic and other special literature, articles from periodicals, research results and experience of leading foreign companies. The results of this study are the conclusions based on the assessment of the dynamics of the insurance services in the Russian Federation.

The modified, technologically advanced in preparation and processing, low-temperature curing epoxy binders have been developed. They ensure the maximum possible realization of the properties of UHMWPE fibers in the organic composite. The structural-kinetic role of modifiers of various chemical nature to control the performance properties of epoxy binders cured in the temperature range 20-95ºС is shown.