Cause Of Significant Differences Research Articles

The main directions of sustainable socio-economic development of the Caspian littoral areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the existing environmental problems


 
 
 
 In Azerbaijan, since the earliest times, the Caspian Sea has contributed to the Received in revised form: 07.10.2021 settlement of population and structure of the economy. The favourable natural geographical conditions of the coasts, exploitation of offshore oil and gas fields and rich tourist-recreational potential favoured the economy of Azerbaijan significantly. However, sea-level fluctuations and environmental damage observed due to exploitation of natural resources served as curbing factor in the development. In modern times, planning of residential areas in the coastal areas, improvement of industrial, agricultural and tourism infrastructure, and successful management of the ecological situation are achievable through effective use of the natural resources and human potential of the Caspian Sea. The coastal region of the Caspian Sea, composed of three zones, is favourable for the development of Azerbaijan’s economy. Theattractiveness of coastal areas is related mainly to preferences of natural conditions and resources and the advantages of their transport- geographical location. As a result, the development level of the economy of the Pre-Caspian region is higher compared to other regions of the country. The region accounts for 88.7 % of the total industrial output in the country. The main part of it, i. e. 95.7 % is shared by the city of Baku. The cause of significant difference in development level between the regions and the capital Baku is associated with the use of oil and gas resources of the Caspian. Thus, offshore oil and gas reserves in the Caspian have played a notable role in the development of coastal areas, and of the country’s whole economy. This has led to inequality in terms of regional development. This factor prompted the need to study the role of the use of resources of the Caspian Sea in the sustainable development of Azerbaijan’s economy. In order to achieve the goal, a comparative analysis of the leading economic branches in the Pre-Caspian regions was carried out from a historical point of view. The obtained information was systematized, and the socio-economic aspects of sustainable development were identified based on statistical-mathematical materials. Aerospace data were used as well.
 
 
 

ON MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS TO STUDY AT AN AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE MOTIVATION OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Students' motivation is studied quite regularly, but most often it occurs from psychological and pedagogical positions [1; 6; 7; 9]. However, students do not just go to university, they work to acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for the development of their future profession, so the learning process must be viewed through the prism of work motivation. The peculiarity of this research is the reliance on research methods that allow us to study this aspect of students’ activity, in particular, the V.I. Gerchikov’s method with some changes that are inevitable due to the specifics of an educational process. The purpose of the study is to determine the factors that affect the motivation of educational activities. The theoretical part of the study describes the main approaches to motivating students' learning activities, as well as the specifics of relationships in the process of studying at the university, which does not allow direct use of methods and practices that have appeared in the framework of theories of labor motivation. As a result of the research conducted in 2019 on the main massif of the 1st and 4th years of full-time education in the Izhevsk State Agricultural Academy by questionnaire (n=781), significant differences in the motivation of students of different groups and faculties were revealed, which allowed us to assume that there are problems in the educational process, which we have not previously recorded. To determine the causes of significant differences in the motivation of individual groups, focus group studies were conducted (n=92) in 6 study groups, where 2 with low average motivation, 2 with middle average motivation, 2 with high average motivation. The authors analyzed the reasons for failure and non-attendance of classes, the organization of the educational process, the specifics of relationships in groups, the impact of the division into subcultures on the learning process and relationships in a group, leisure-time of students, their ideas about the desired changes in the educational process.

Metabolic and endocrine effects of bisphenol A exposure in market seller women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the synthetic monomer which can be found in the environment. Limited animal and human studies have demonstrated that BPA alters endocrine and or metabolic functions. The aims of the present study were to evaluate serum BPA level in marketing seller women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hormonal and metabolic effects of this exposure compared to a control paired group. In a case-control study, 62 PCOS women who work as marketing sellers and 62 healthy women with similar jobs were included. The two groups were body mass index (BMI)- and age-matched. Serum samples were analyzed for BPA content, fasting blood sugar (FBS), triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL and LDL levels, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentration, and LH:FSH ratio. Significant higher serum BPA content (0.48±0.08 vs. 0.16±0.04ng/ml), triglyceride (103.05±13.10 vs. 91.65±12.52mg/dl), cholesterol (165.05±10.79 vs. 161.21±10.31mg/dl) levels and LH:FSH ratio (3.64±0.86 vs. 0.62±0.14) and significant lower TSH concentration (1.56±0.68 vs. 2.15±1.09IU/ml) were detected in case against control group, respectively (P<0.05). No significant differences were detected in FBS, LDL, and HDL levels between the two groups. Also, there were no significant associations between serum TSH concentration and BPA level neither in case (P=0.269) nor in control (P=0.532) groups. In BPA-exposed PCOS women, BPA level was higher than healthy women and this difference maybe the cause of significant differences in levels of triglyceride, cholesterol, TSH, and LH:FSH ratio. These observations confirm the potential role of BPA in PCOS pathophysiology.

Reproductive Isolation between Host Races of Phytomyza glabricola on Ilex coriacea and I. glabra

Recently diverged taxa often show discordance in genetic divergence among genomic loci, where some loci show strong divergence and others show none at all. Genetic studies alone cannot distinguish among the possible mechanisms but experimental studies on other aspects of divergence may provide guidance in the inference of causes of observed discordances. In this study, we used no-choice mating trials to test for the presence of reproductive isolation between host races of the leaf-mining fly, Phytomyza glabricola on its two holly host species, Ilex coriacea and I. glabra. These trials inform our effort to determine the cause of significant differences in the degree of divergence of nuclear and mitochondrial loci of flies collected from the two host plants. We present evidence of reproductive isolation between host races in a controlled greenhouse setting: significantly more mate pairs consisting of flies from the same host plant species produced offspring than inter-host mate pairs, which produced no offspring. We also tested whether the presence of the natal or non-natal host plant affects reproductive success. Flies collected from I. coriacea were more likely to produce offspring when in the presence of the natal host, whereas the presence or absence of either the natal or non-natal host had no effect on flies collected from I. glabra. The results indicate discordant patterns of nuclear and mitochondrial divergence among host races of P. glabricola are likely due to incomplete lineage sorting, and the host races may be well on their way to becoming biological species.

Testosterone Doping: Dealing with Genetic Differences in Metabolism and Excretion

The first documented use of testosterone as a performanceenhancing substance in sport began in the 1950s. The success of Russian weightlifters during this era led Dr. John B. Zeigler to surreptitiously obtain information from their trainers that they were using testosterone. Later, Zeigler would use Dianabol to enhance the performance of weightlifters at the York Barbell Club beginning in 1958. Once Pandora’s Box was open, it was impossible to close. The growth and widespread use of anabolic steroids in many competitive sports eventually led the U.S. Congress to schedule testosterone and other anabolic agents under the Anabolic Steroids Control Act in 1990 (Public Law 101647). For many years, the medical community argued that there was no proof that testosterone enhanced athletic performance. Finally, in 1996, Bhasin and co-workers showed that supraphysiological doses of testosterone indeed produced performance benefits (1), something the athletes had known for four decades. The urinary testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E) ratio was the first test to be used for evaluation of abuse of a natural (or endogenous) substance such as testosterone to enhance performance in sport. The production of reliable quadrupole gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers in the mid-1970s allowed more widespread study of urinary steroid profiles. Donike and coworkers (2) observed an unusual distribution of testosterone concentrations in samples collected at the Moscow Olympics in 1980. In 1982, Donike proposed the use of the urinary T/E ratio based on the observation that epitestosterone was excreted in the urine in a relatively constant amount and as such constituted a way to compensate for the variability in testosterone concentration that occurred as a function of the diluteness of the urine (2). Because the primary metabolite of testosterone is testosterone glucuronide, the procedure developed by Donike used -glucuronidase in the preparation of the samples for analysis. In 1983, the International Olympic Committee accepted a T/E ratio of greater than 6:1 as evidence of testosterone doping, based on the 99th percentile of the log normal distribution of ratio values established by Donike and his co-workers. It was soon clear that the T/E ratio based on population reference ranges had limitations. For example, it had been noted in 1970 that genetic make-up could have a significant effect on urinary testosterone excretion, whereas epitestosterone excretion was unaffected (3). As population T/E ratio data accumulated in the anti-doping laboratories, it was clear that there were two distributions of urinary T/E ratios in both men and women, one with a maximum frequency at a T/E ratio of about 0.1 and a much larger population with a maximum frequency at a T/E ratio of about 1. Within the anti-doping community, the smaller population was referred to as low mode, and it was known that administration of testosterone to low-mode individuals did not result in a T/E ratio above the population threshold (4). Jakobsson and her colleagues (5) provided the mechanism for lowmode excretion in 2006 when they demonstrated that the UGT2B17 gene deletion was the cause of significant differences in testosterone glucuronide excretion between Korean and Swedish men. In their current paper in this issue, JakobssonSchulze et al. (6) report that when subjects deficient in the UGT2B17 gene (del/del) receive exogenous testosterone, their T/E ratio does not rise above the current population-based threshold of 4:1. One potential route of excretion of testosterone in UGT2B17 del/del genotypes is through other phase II metabolites such as testosterone sulfate. Borts and Bowers (7) directly measured the concentrations of testosterone and epitestosterone sulfate and glucuronide using HPLC/tandem mass spectrometry. Low-mode excretors did not produce larger than normal amounts of testosterone or epitestosterone sulfate. There was also no change in the relative production of sulfate conjugates. Because phase II metabolism does not explain the difference in testosterone handling in these individuals, it would be interesting to know what phase I metabolism products are increased in individuals with the UGT2B17 del/del polymorphism. This information may help develop a more sensitive test for testosterone

Different types of low‐latitude boundary layer as observed by Interball Tail probe

Interball Tail probe crossed dayside magnetopause during late winter to middle autumn months. The high‐latitude magnetopause was crossed outbound orbit, while the low‐latitude magnetopause was crossed inbound. We analyze 31 low‐latitude magnetopause/low‐latitude boundary layer (LLBL) crossings recorded in 1996 in the fast mode of SCA‐1 ion spectrometer. Data from the MIF/FM‐3 magnetometers and ELECTRON spectrometer are also used. The majority of magnetopause/LLBL crossings fall into two categories: (1) highly structured LLBL (14 cases) and (2) weakly structured LLBL (9 cases). The highly structured LLBL usually consists of short‐time (0.5–5 min) transients including fast‐moving (of an order of magnetosheath velocity) plasma as well as density transients that are nearly stationary relative to the magnetospheric plasma. The observed ensemble of transients shows evolution of plasma parameters from magnetosheath‐like to magnetosphere‐like. Fast‐moving transients frequently have flux transfer event (FTE) magnetic signatures. This type of LLBL is usually accompanied by various reconnection signatures and is more frequently observed when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and/or magnetosheath magnetic field has a negative Bz component. The weakly structured LLBL shows a significantly smaller variation of number density and hotter plasma temperature. Strong velocity shear is frequently observed at the magnetopause in the weakly structured case. Dispersed ion signatures are often seen within this type of LLBL. The ion and electron temperatures within the weakly structured LLBL are more elevated in respect to the magnetosheath values compared to the highly structured LLBL. The weakly structured LLBL has a tendency to occur at positive IMF and/or magnetosheath magnetic field Bz. The cause of significant differences between the two kinds of LLBL lies, apparently, in the significantly larger distance of the plasma entry site from the observation point, for weakly structured LLBL, as opposed to highly structured LLBL. While the highly structured LLBL originates at low latitudes, the weakly structured LLBL is most probably formed at high latitudes.

Antibodies to delta antigen in asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen-reactive blood donors in the United States and their association with other markers of hepatitis B virus.

A total of 1,915 sera collected in 1979 from asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers were tested for delta antigen, antibody to delta antigen (anti-delta), hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and antibody to hepatitis B e antigen (anti-HBe) in addition to HBsAg and its subtypes. These sera represented blood donated by volunteers to 49 of 57 regions of the American Red Cross located in nine geographic regions of the United States and Puerto Rico. A total of 72 (3.8%) sera had anti-delta activity while none had a detectable level of delta antigen. A significantly higher (p less than 0.01) prevalence of anti-delta (12.1%) was found in San Jose, California (Pacific Region); on the other hand, the East South Central region covering Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee had a significantly lower (p less than 0.05) prevalence (1.4%) of anti-delta when compared with all other regions combined. Anti-delta was, however, detected in all regions of the United States and in Puerto Rico. The cause of significant differences in the prevalence of anti-delta was not clear. The distribution of anti-delta was not associated with age, sex or blood type of the donor. Sixty-nine of 70 samples with anti-delta were found among the 1,527 samples that had either HBeAg or anti-HBe. And among 149 that lacked both HBeAg and anti-HBe, only one sample had anti-delta. The difference is statistically significant (p less than 0.05). The presence of anti-delta was not associated with HBsAg/ad (2.7%) or HBsAg/ay (4.6%).

Factors Affecting Crossing Over in the Tomato

An experimental technique utilizing two seedling mutants permitted an extensive survey, involving over 129,000 observations, of environmental and genetic factors affecting crossover frequency in the tomato. A significant decrease in crossing over associated with aging was demonstrated for a plant pruned to bear fruit clusters only on the main stem. Aging appeared to be the main cause of significant differences in crossing over detected between data collected for different branches on an unpruned plant.