Size Of Reserves Research Articles

235 Uterine Function During Maternal Recognition of Pregnancy Differs Due to Size of the Ovarian Reserve in Beef Heifers

Abstract The relationship of ovarian reserve parameters to fertility in mammalian females continues to be debated. We demonstrated improved uterine function, creating an environment that is more supportive of early embryonic development in beef heifers with increased numbers of follicles. In the present study we hypothesized that timing of luteolysis differs between heifers with increased compared to heifers with diminished numbers of follicles. Angus heifers (n = 20/ group) were classified as low (14.7 ± 1.1) or high (32 ± 1.1) antral follicle number based on ovarian ultrasonography, and artificially inseminated (d0) following a Select Synch protocol. At d16 after insemination, heifers were slaughtered, and reproductive tracts collected. Tracts were flushed with 20 mL of physiological saline to determine pregnancy status by presence of a conceptus and endometrial samples from the horn ipsilateral to the CL were frozen for determination of transcript abundance. Real-time RT-PCR was performed to determine relative transcript abundance of oxytocin receptor (OXTR) and interferon-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15) with glyceraldehyde-3-phospate dehydrogenase as the endogenous reference gene. Transcript abundance was analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with follicle group, pregnancy status and the interaction as fixed effects. Transcript abundance of ISG15 was greater in pregnant endometrium than non-pregnant endometrium (2.75 ± 0.25 vs 0.16 ± 0.22-fold; P < 0.0001) with no influence of follicle group or the interaction. The interaction of follicle group and pregnancy status influenced OXTR transcript abundance (P = 0.06). Luteolytic mechanisms were activated in non-pregnant heifers with diminished numbers of follicles (1.46 ± 0.25-fold) and were not activated in pregnant heifers (0.06 ± 0.22-fold) or heifers with increased numbers of follicles that were not pregnant (0.32 ± 0.30-fold). These data indicate a wider window of recognition of pregnancy in beef heifers with increased numbers of ovarian follicles. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

The Impact of Fleet Size, Harvesting Site Reserve, and Timing of Machine Relocations on the Performance Indicators of Mechanized CTL Harvesting in Finland

Upscaling an operation typically results in economies of scale, i.e., cost advantages in business, especially when the production unit’s utilization rate can be improved. According to economic studies of mechanized timber harvesting, large wood harvesting entrepreneurs tend to be more successful in business than small entrepreneurs. What are the factors that influence harvesting costs, and how great is their effect on costs? These questions were investigated in mechanized cut-to-length timber harvesting in Eastern Finland by varying (a) the size of the harvesting fleet, (b) the harvesting site reserve, and (c) the timing and duration of the working day of machine relocations, in the case of an entrepreneur using a discrete-event simulation method. Prior to the simulations, harvesting site data were generated from the National Forest Inventory data by the MELA software, and the spatial data analyses by ArcGIS. According to the results, largely because of the low utilization rate of the contractor’s own relocation truck, the harvesting cost of a 2-harvesting-unit (2 HU) scenario was 9% or 6% higher than 4 HU, and 13% or 8% higher than 8 HU, with or without a specifically employed driver of a relocation truck, respectively (the harvesting unit consists of a harvester and a forwarder). In the 4 and 8 HU scenarios, harvesting costs decreased on average by 1% (0.3–1.5), when doubling the size of the harvesting site reserve. With fleet sizes of 6 and 8 HU, good utilization of a relocation truck reduced relocation costs, whereas machine costs only increased a small amount because of a longer machine relocation waiting time than with smaller entrepreneurs. The study raised the importance of entrepreneur-specific planning of machine relocations in the cost-efficient timber harvesting in Finland.

Timing of Calanus finmarchicus diapause in stochastic environments

In environments with strong seasonality, many herbivorous zooplankton remain active only during the productive season and undergo a period of inactivity and suppressed development termed ‘diapause’ during the unproductive season. The ability to time the diapause entry and exit in response to the seasonality of the environment is thus essential for their survival. However, timing of diapause may become challenging when environmental conditions vary stochastically across shorter and longer timescales, and particularly when zooplankton lack external cues to predict these variations. In this study, we used a novel individual-based model to study the emerging patterns of diapause timing of the high-latitude marine herbivorous copepod Calanus finmarchicus under shorter- (6-h) and longer-term (interannual) environmental stochasticity. The model simulated growth, development, survival and reproduction (income breeding) of a C. finmarchicus population over multiple calendar years and traced the emergence of behavioral responses and life history strategies. The emergent timing of diapause entry and exit were robust to shorter-term environmental stochasticity, which was manifested through morphological (i.e., body and energy reserve sizes) and behavioral plasticity (i.e., diel vertical migration). Longer-term stochastic variations of temperature and food environments altered the timing of diapause entry, which occurred earlier in warmer years with higher growth potential and vice versa. Irrespective of the modelled environmental variability, diapause exit occurred asynchronously throughout the year. This appeared to be a consequence of a diversified bet hedging strategy, where parents spread the starvation mortality risk of ascending to the upper pelagial at food-deprived times of the year among their offspring. This was a potent strategy, particularly in simulations where the timing of the algal bloom varied stochastically between years, since a fraction of the population was present in the upper pelagial year-round and those that coincided with the emergence of the pelagic primary production survived and produced the next generation.

Nightly torpor use in response to weather conditions and individual state in an insectivorous bat

Torpor is a well-known energy conservation strategy in many mammal and bird species. It is often employed when environmental conditions are unfavourable to maximize survival probabilities. However, torpor often carries with it the physiological costs of a low body temperature and of rewarming in addition to potential missed opportunities for foraging. Therefore, we hypothesised that decision making regarding when to use torpor should reflect the most important environmental conditions for species distributions, and thus how they may be impacted by ongoing climate change. We investigated how weather conditions affect nightly torpor patterns in the nocturnal insectivorous Australian eastern long-eared bat (Nyctophilus bifax). By measuring the skin temperature of 37 free-ranging individuals, we confirmed that torpor was used more frequently during the winter and at subtropical compared to tropical locations. Using mixed-effect models we show that lower ambient temperatures were the main driver of individual torpor use, probably due to lower roost temperatures and prey availability. However, increased rain, wind and humidity, and decreasing barometric pressure, as well as brighter moonlight, also led to more time spent torpid per night. We suggest that bats evaluate multiple environmental cues to make decisions regarding torpor use versus active foraging based upon their expectations of the energetic benefits, prey availability and relative predation risk. Interactions between some of these effects and body mass (whilst controlling for forearm length) indicate that individual variation in body size and/or state-dependent effects of energy reserves also partly determined the use of nightly torpor in these bats.

Energy Security in the United States: A Glance at the Major Issues

The article analyzes U.S. energy security and begins with an examination of the U.S. energy profile. The article then explores some of the major threats to U.S. energy security. Today, the U.S. is in a comfortable position in terms of its energy supply. However, great debates exist with regard to the size of hydrocarbon reserves. Disputes also continue regarding how long the U.S. will be able to use technology to extract gas and oil. While the U.S. has witnessed a boom in natural gas, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has caused many Americans to worry about the consequences of such practices.

Fat storage influences fasting endurance more than body size in an ungulate

Abstract The fasting endurance hypothesis (FEH) predicts strong selection for large body size in mammals living in environments where food supply is interrupted over prolonged periods of time. The Arctic is a highly seasonal and food‐restricted environment, but contrary to predictions from the FEH, empirical evidence shows that Arctic mammals are often smaller than their temperate conspecifics. Intraspecific studies integrating physiology and behaviour of different‐sized individuals may shed light on this paradox. We tested the FEH in free‐living Svalbard reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus. We measured daily energy expenditure (DEE), subcutaneous body temperature (Tsc) and activity levels during the late winter in 14 adult females with body masses ranging from 46.3 to 57.8 kg. Winter energy expenditure (WEE) and fasting endurance (FE) were modelled dynamically by combining these data with body composition measurements of culled individuals at the onset of winter (14 years, n = 140) and variation in activity level throughout winter (10 years, n = 70). Mean DEE was 6.3 ± 0.7 MJ/day. Lean mass, Tsc and activity had significantly positive effects on DEE. Across all 140 individuals, mean FE was 85 ± 17 days (range 48–137 days). In contrast to the predictions of the FEH, the dominant factor affecting FE was initial fat mass, while body mass and FE were not correlated. Furthermore, lean mass and fat mass were not correlated. FE was on average 80% (45 days) longer in fat than lean individuals of the same size. Reducing activity levels by ~16% or Tsc by ~5% increased FE by 7% and 4% respectively. Our results fail to support the FEH. Rather, we demonstrate that (a) the size of fat reserves can be independent of lean mass and body size within a species, (b) ecological and environmental variation influence FE via their effects on body composition and (c) physiological and behavioural adjustments can improve FE within individuals. Altogether, our results suggest that there is a selection in Svalbard reindeer to accumulate body fat, rather than to grow structurally large. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Persistent organic pollutants and the size of ovarian reserve in reproductive-aged women

Industrial chemicals such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been associated with reduced fertility in women, including longer time-to-pregnancy (TTP), higher odds for infertility, and earlier reproductive senescence. Fertility is highly dependent on the ovarian reserve, which is composed of a prenatally determined stock of non-growing follicles. The quantity and quality of the follicles decline with age, thereby eventually leading to menopause. In the clinical setting, assessing ovarian reserve directly through the histological analysis of follicular density in ovaries is not practical. Therefore, surrogate markers of ovarian reserve, such as serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) are typically used. Here, we studied associations between chemical exposure and ovarian reserve in a cohort of pregnant women undergoing elective caesarean section (n = 145) in Stockholm, Sweden. Full data (histological, clinical, serum) were available for 50 women. We estimated the size of the reserve both directly by determining the density of follicles in ovarian cortical tissue samples, and indirectly by measuring AMH in associated serum samples. Concentrations of 9 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 3 polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) and 9 perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were determined in serum, and clinical data were retrieved from electronic medical records. Healthy follicle densities (median 0, range 0–193 follicles/mm3) and AMH levels (median 2.33 ng/mL, range 0.1–14.8 ng/mL) varied substantially. AMH correlated with the density of growing follicles. Twenty-three chemicals detected in more than half of the samples were included in the analyses. None of the chemicals, alone or as a mixture, correlated with AMH, growing or atretic follicles. However, HCB, transnonachlor, PCBs 74 and 99 were associated with decreased non-growing follicle densities. HCB and transnonachlor were also negatively associated with healthy follicle density. Further, mixture of lipophilic POPs (PBDE 99, p,p’-DDE, and PCB 187) was associated with lower non-growing follicle densities. In addition, exposure to HCB, p,p’-DDE, and mixture of OCPs were significantly associated with higher odds of infertility. The results suggest that exposure to chemicals may reduce the size of ovarian reserve in humans, and strongly encourage to study mechanisms behind POP-associated infertility in women in more detail.

MODEL OF AN INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY SYSTEM FOR CONSTRUCTION

Objective . Every year, issues are becoming more and more critical. Experts predict no more than ten years of reaching the point of no return when problems will move into a phase of uncontrolled chaos. Most often, catastrophic changes are associated with climate warming due to greenhouse gas emissions from industry and transport. However, the root cause of everything, as established in the research by Slesarev et al., is the construction industry as the primary source of problems. The problem of safety especially concerns cities and large settlements. The conducted research has established that safety is determined as the sum of the impacts of construction projects on a unit area of residential territory. For an objective assessment of safety, pollution, the impact of various factors, and the resulting effect of the indirect impact of construction projects on the environment were considered. Methods . New conceptual approaches and principles were applied in assessing the environmental safety of construction sites and territories, taking into account the current status of the built-up areas, which makes the problem of safety manageable, and provides modern and future generations with health, a comfortable environment, and health. Results . As a result of process modeling, the real estate concentration degree ratio was adopted as an integrating concept of safety of the area, and the concepts of environmental reserve, environmental safety threshold, and sustainable state were introduced. The stability ratio concept (r stab ) is introduced, a method for calculating this ratio is developed to assess the range of the sustainable environment state – the magnitude of the variation in the size of the ecological reserve depending on climatic conditions, time of day, week, year. As a result, the numerical values of the above-mentioned indicators for the studied areas are obtained. As the main document reflecting the state of the safety of the construction object, the development of the environmental facility certificate and the area certificate is proposed. To create an certificate, the structure of safety has been developed and justified, which includes four main blocks: external safety, internal safety, energy efficiency, and autonomy of the facility (area). Conclusion . The proposed approach to the assessment of safety makes it possible to reliably assess the possibilities of areas for the placement of construction projects with various industry-related potential, plan measures to ensure a range of sustainable conditions of the areas, which ultimately ensures the quality of life and health of the population, a comfortable and safe environment of residential areas, as well as the wildlife preservation.

A Probabilistic Method for Reserve Sizing in Power Grids With High Renewable Penetration

Power systems employ reserves to ensure there is adequate generation and storage to meet demand. With the increased use of volatile and uncertain sources of electricity such as solar and wind, the need for reserves is becoming more critical to ensure reliable supply of electricity. Due to the high cost of reserves, methods are required to determine minimal reserves needed. This work proposes a probabilistic data-driven method to determine the minimum reserve size (both power and energy) to satisfy a specified reliability requirement for a bulk power grid. The proposed method is applied to data from two balancing authorities (BPA and CAISO), and the results are compared with those from an alternate deterministic method and to those from the current reserve sizing methods employed by BPA and CAISO. The reserve requirements do not seem to be predicted by simple indicators of volatility, such as installed capacity of wind and solar, which has implications for grid planning in a renewable rich future.

The Size and the Main Determinants of China’s Official Currency Reserves in the Period 1990-2019

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze the size of China's Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves and the main determinants of changes in China's foreign reserves. The publication attempts to prove two theses. According to the first thesis, the current foreign exchange reserves level in China has been higher than the optimal level suggested by the foreign exchange reserves adequacy ratios. However, in line with the second thesis, the most important factors determining China's foreign exchange reserves were changes in the value of imports and changes in the level of China's short-term foreign debt. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses a research method based on literature studies in the field of banking and international finance and econometric methods (the classic least squares method). The selection of these research methods and their use are elements of the author's approach to the problem of the optimal level of foreign exchange reserves in China. Findings: Research revealed that for almost the entire period 1990-2019, the value of China's foreign exchange reserves was higher than the optimal values, as suggested by the adequacy ratios of currency reserves. The exceptions were the ratio of the optimal level of foreign exchange reserves, calculated as 20% of the M2 money supply, and the ratio calculated by the IMF methodology for countries with constant exchange rates. China's relatively high foreign exchange reserves were adequately hedged against the possible effects of economic crises, while the relatively high level of these reserves led to their low profitability. The analysis results indicated that changes in the value of China's foreign exchange reserves were, to the greatest extent, determined by the inflow of foreign direct investment and changes in import expenditure. Practical Implications: The discussion on the accumulation of foreign reserves should have practical implications and be set to eliminate threats, not to individual economies but to maintain global financial stability in the world. On the other hand, the currency reserves adequacy indicators themselves should be used flexibly and should reflect individual countries' economic specificities. Originality: So far, no such comprehensive research has been carried out on the magnitude and determinants of China's foreign reserves changes. What is more, the analysis covers a long period of research (1990-2019) and is based on the proprietary model, estimated with the use of econometric tools.

Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and Malaysia’s Production Sharing Contract (PSC)

The oil and gas industry is governed by policies with the aim of smoothening the business relationship between the Government, the International Oil Companies (IOC’s) and the Host communities. Different oil producing countries have their own laws governing petroleum activities and these laws vary from country to country based on the B-PEST factors which are Biological, Political, Environmental, Social and Technology. However, reserve size and oil type can also influence petroleum laws. Countries like Nigeria relies strongly on petroleum bills such as the PIB in which this research will be analyzing the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) which is a significant subset of the PIB. Comparison between the existing PSC of Malaysia and that of Nigeria was captured in this research and the analysis of the PSC was done based on the Government Take, National Oil Company (NOC) and the Contractor’s benefits. 26.67% and 56.58% recovery cost, 28.67% and 26.28% Government revenue, 23.14% and 7.64% NOC share, 21.52% and 9.50% Contractor share of revenue per barrel was arrived at for Malaysia and Nigeria respectively, showing that the Malaysian PSC model yields more income to the country when compared to that of Nigeria without necessarily short-changing the contractors or the IOCs. Finally, the reasons behind these deficits were highlighted and recommendations made to improve the PSC and benefits for all parties to the contractual agreements.

Dynamic Reserve and Transmission Capacity Allocation in Wind-Dominated Power Systems

The large shares of wind power generation in electricity markets motivate higher levels of operating reserves. However, current reserve sizing practices fail to account for important topological aspects that might hinder their deployment, thus resulting in high operating costs. Zonal reserve procurement mitigates such inefficiencies, however, the way the zones are defined is still open to interpretation. This paper challenges the efficiency of predetermined zonal setups that neglect the location of stochastic power production in the system, as well as the availability, cost and accessibility of flexible generating units. To this end, we propose a novel reserve procurement approach, formulated as a two-stage stochastic bilevel model, in which the upper level identifies a number of contiguous reserve zones using dynamic grid partitioning and sets zonal requirements based on the total expected operating costs. Using two standard IEEE reliability test cases, we show how the efficient partitioning of reserve zones can reduce expected system cost and promote the integration of stochastic renewables.

Do Central Banks Rebalance Their Currency Shares?

Do central banks rebalance their currency shares? The answer matters because the dollar’s predominant role in large official reserve holdings means that widespread rebalancing requires central banks to buy (sell) a depreciating (appreciating) dollar, stabilising its value against other major currencies. We hypothesise that larger reserve holdings have led central banks to approach their investment more systematically and to make rebalancing in the face of exchange rate changes the norm. We illustrate the choice with two polar case studies: the US clearly does not rebalance its small FX reserves; Switzerland does rebalance its very large reserves, so that changes in exchange rates do not move its currency allocation. Our hypothesis finds partial support in global aggregated data. They reject both no rebalancing and full rebalancing and point to emerging market economies as the source of the aggregate result. We also test for rebalancing with panel data and find that our sample economies on average again behave in intermediate fashion, partially but not fully rebalancing. However, when observations are weighted by the size of reserves, the panel analysis finds full rebalancing. A variety of control variables and splits of the panel sample do not alter the thrust of these findings. Central banks rebalance their FX reserves extensively but not uniformly. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

ДВУХКОМПОНЕНТНАЯ ВОССТАНАВЛИВАЕМАЯ ИНСТРУМЕНТАЛЬНАЯ СИСТЕМА МНОГОЦЕЛЕВОГО СТАНКА С МГНОВЕННО ПОПОЛНЯЕМЫМ ВРЕМЕННЫМ РЕЗЕРВОМ

The object of the research is the technical system of a multipurpose machine tool, the tools of which can fail and be restored. A failed tool remains functional for some time due to a temporary reserve until a parametric failure occurs, the magnitude of which is random. All random variables describing the system have general distributions. The apparatus for constructing a mathematical model of the described system is a semi–Markov process with a discrete–continuous phase space of states. The stationary distribution of the embedded Markov chain is found explicitly. For systems with parallel connection, series connection with disconnection and without disconnection of elements, the stationary time between failures of the system, the stationary time spent in the state of failure and the stationary system availability factor are found. A numerical example shows the dependence of the stationary characteristics of the system on the size of the time reserve.

Spatial ecology of Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus in Mediterranean deep-water environments: implications for designing no-take marine reserves

The Norway lobsterNephrops norvegicusis one of the most important marine resources for European fisheries. However, overfishing has caused the stocks to decline over the last decades, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea. The implementation of no-take marine reserves could change these current trends, thus achieving a more sustainable fishery. The effectiveness of no-take reserves depends on optimal size design, and because of this, new behavioural data on the spatial ecology of the species are of pivotal importance. Here, for the first time, we investigated the spatial movements and daily activity patterns of Norway lobster in a deep-water (315-475 m depth) no-take marine reserve of 10 km2in the continental slope of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea, by combining acoustic tracking and tagging-recapture procedures. The results revealed the territorial behaviour of Norway lobster, centred in small exclusive individual areas where most displacements took place at midday. We found that once settled in a place, their home ranges reached approximate sizes of 17.75 to 736.25 m2, suggesting that no-take marine areas focussed on recovering Norway lobster populations do not require large extents to be effective. Tag-recapture data indicated minimal spillover of biomass, implying that Norway lobsters are site settled and do not perform large movements. Future studies on larval spread and recruitment would be necessary to focus on the possible spillover benefit for fisheries. The acoustic telemetry system used in the present experiment effectively revealed the range of movement of individuals, and thus represents a promising monitoring tool to assess no-take marine reserve sizes and reciprocal spacing for deep-water demersal resources.

ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ЗАЛЕЖНОСТІ ЗМІНИ ОБСЯГУ ПРОМИСЛОВИХ ЗАПАСІВ ВІД СЕРЕДНЬОЇ ПОТУЖНОСТІ ТОРФОВОГО ПОКЛАДУ

Purpose. One of the aspects of energy saving and increasing the level of the state energy security is the replacement of expensive imported energy by cheaper domestic ones. The surface location of peat deposits and the relatively low cost of organizing and conducting mining operations make this mineral a potentially efficient resource and energy saving tool. Currently, in the development of peat deposits, a mandatory element of the source data for the project is the availability of detailed exploration materials, which requires significant material costs and time, so it is proposed to develop a simplified method of calculating industrial reserves, based on studying the dependence of the industrial reserves size on the depth of the deposit. The use of the method proposed by the authors allows to develop multivariate solutions, both individually and in different deposits. The positive aspect of the methodology is also the minimum amount of initial data: balance sheets and average capacity of the deposit. Methodology. To obtain the dependences of the balance stocks utilization ratio on the average depth of the deposit, the tightness of the connection was previously estimated by the pairwise correlation coefficient (r). Analytical expressions of these dependences were detected using a regression analysis apparatus. 21 peat deposits were selected for the study, which are located in 10 regions of Ukraine. Results. Balance reserves and reserves within development; deposit losses taking into account different options; industrial stocks and utilization of balance stocks were determined during analyzing the types of losses in deposits. To determine the balance reserves of the deposit, the deposit was divided into layers and the area of the deposit was calculated for each of them. Based on the performed calculations, a study of the dependence of the utilization ratio of balance reserves on the average depth of the deposit was conducted. It has been found that balance stocks utilization ratios are closely related to the average depth of the deposit. Thus, for the maximum utilization ratio of balance stocks r = +0.854, and for the minimum r = + 0.932. Analytical expressions of these dependences were detected using a regression analysis apparatus. Practical significance. According to the results of research, the part of each type of losses was determined. The received technique allows: to select raw material base for the enterprise, to minimize quantity of source data (are accepted from available sources), to receive multivariate decisions, simplifies calculations of volumes of industrial stocks. Key words: peat use, peat resources, balance stocks, industrial stocks, technological indicators, stock utilization ratio.

УПРАВЛІННЯ РОЗВИТКОМ ІНТЕЛЕКТУАЛЬНОГО КАПІТАЛУ ПІДПРИЄМСТВА З ОРІЄНТАЦІЄЮ НА ЦІЛІ, МОЖЛИВОСТІ, ЕФЕКТИВНІСТЬ ТА ІННОВАЦІЙНІСТЬ

The work is devoted to the substantiation of the system of management decisions to increase the level of development of intellectual capital of the enterprise as a whole and its individual components with a focus on goals, opportunities, efficiency and innovation. Determined following criteria for selection of measures to increase the level of development of certain types of intellectual capital of the enterprise: the size of vertical development reserves, the size of horizontal development reserves, the efficiency of investment in reproduction. Economic and statistical tools are recommended to formalize the task of forming a system of measures taking into account determined criteria. Approaches to setting thresholds for selection criteria depending on the characteristics of the internal and external environment of the enterprise, management targets are proposed. The expediency of checking the implemented measures for pareto-optimality in order to prevent the implementation of measures that will have a negative impact on the development of certain types of intellectual capital of the enterprise is revealed. The expediency of using the cost of reproduction of intellectual capital of the enterprise as an indicator of investment efficiency is substantiated. Proposed to use single-criteria optimization for the selection of specific measures on the principle of the highest cost effectiveness for their implementation. The structural and logical model of achieving the target settings of intellectual capital development management of the enterprise, which takes into account internal and external conditions, management objectives and results of performance evaluation, levels and reserves of intellectual capital development and its components, is presented in six stages. A system of standard measures to increase the level of development of certain components of the intellectual capital of the enterprise is recommended.

К диверсификации рудодобывающего комплекса как направления развития экономической системы депрессивного типа

The priorities for the development of the industrial complex are to compensate for market risks by dispersing activities into several types of business with the development of new products, the cost of which is reduced due to the use of the existing infrastructure. The prospects of mining enterprises of the North Caucasus in the implementation of production diversification are outlined. The results of substantiating the effectiveness of diversification at various volumes of ore mining in the conditions of the unprofitable Sadonsky lead-zinc plant with a graphical interpretation of economic calculations are given. The results of calculating the efficiency of involving substandard technogenic ores in the development, obtained by comparing alternative options that differ in the size of reserves, are given. An equation for the balance of values is proposed, which establishes the relationship between the volume of production and the completeness of extraction of reserves of deposits during the development of reserves of substandard ores and wastes. To assess the effectiveness of actions during diversification, an integral indicator of flexibility is proposed and the method of marginal analysis is used to reduce the uncertainty of situations. A graph of the relationship between the volume of ore production, economic indicators and the break-even point is shown. Okha-characterized the mineral resource base of diversified enterprises and diversification products for consumption by related industries. It is shown that the diversification of the ore mining complex is still a little used reserve for the development of the economic system of the depressive type.

MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF ENSURING FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE BANKING SYSTEM OF UKRAINE

The system paradigm, which is the basis of the concept of ensuring the financial stability of the banking system, involves the definition of external relations and macroeconomic factors. This necessitates an appropriate assessment of the volatility of the financial stability index from determinants.Using multidimensional factor analysis and selection of indicators with the highest values of factor loads, it is established that the first factor has the highest correlation with the exchange rate, minimum wage, deposit interest rate in foreign currency, loan interest rate in foreign currency, gold reserves; the second factor is formed by indicators of real GDP and consumer price index; the third factor is closely related to the deposit interest rate in hryvnia.Determining macroeconomic factors to ensure the financial stability of the banking system are: deposit interest rate in foreign currency, exchange rate, consumer price index and the size of gold and foreign exchange reserves. The assessment of the level of sensitivity of the financial stability of the banking system to changes in determining macroeconomic factors should be based on the coefficients of elasticity obtained taking into account the results of regression analysis. An increase in the parameters that characterize macroeconomic factors by 1% of the average level, both positively and negatively affects the value of the index of financial stability of the banking system.Determining the sensitivity of the financial stability index of the banking system to changes in determinants through the calculation of elasticity factors allowed us to state that among macroeconomic factors, changes in the level of stability of the banking system of Ukraine are most determined by consumer prices and exchange rates.

33 Influence of age of dam on daughter reproductive performance and follicle numbers in beef heifers

Abstract Heifers born to heifers have fewer primordial follicles in their ovaries at a year of age than heifers born to mature cows. We, therefore, hypothesized that heifers born to heifers would have decreased reproductive efficiency compared to heifers born to mature cows. Data were extracted from the USMARC database for replacement heifers (n = 7053) born between 2003 and 2010, representing 4631 dams. Ovaries were collected from neonatal (< 20 d) heifers born to heifers (n = 53) or heifers born to mature cows (n = 96) to examine influence of age of dam on follicle numbers immediately after birth. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with age of dam as a class effect. For production data, dam was a random effect to account for dams having more than one daughter represented in the data. Heifers born to dams less than 6 years of age produced fewer calves than heifers born to cows greater than 5 years of age (5.2 ± 0.1 or 5.5 ± 0.1 calves, respectively; P < 0.0001). Heifers born to heifers weighed less at birth and weaning than heifers born to mature cows (P < 0.0001). Age of dam, however, did not influence number of antral follicles in the ovaries of neonatal heifers between heifers born to heifers and heifers born to mature cows (9.6 ± 1.4 and 8.0 ± 1.0; P = 0.36). As hypothesized, age of dam influences daughter reproductive performance; however, this does not appear to be completely driven by mechanisms associated with size of the ovarian reserve. Divergence in number of follicles in the ovaries does not occur until after 1 month of age, but this could be a carry-over effect of intra-uterine growth restriction in heifers born to heifers. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.