A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARY RADIOCARBON RESEARCH: USE OF NATURAL-LEVEL AND ELEVATED-LEVEL 14C IN ANTARCTIC FIELD RESEARCH

ABSTRACT Radiocarbon (14C) is an isotopic tracer used to address a wide range of scientific research questions. However, contamination by elevated levels of 14C is deleterious to natural-level laboratory workspaces and accelerator mass spectrometer facilities designed to precisely measure small amounts of 14C. The risk of contaminating materials and facilities intended for natural-level 14C with elevated-level 14C-labeled materials has dictated near complete separation of research groups practicing profoundly different measurements. Such separation can hinder transdisciplinary research initiatives, especially in remote and isolated field locations where both natural-level and elevated-level radiocarbon applications may be useful. This paper outlines the successful collaboration between researchers making natural-level 14C measurements and researchers using 14C-labeled materials during a subglacial drilling project in West Antarctica (SALSA 2018–2019). Our strict operating protocol allowed us to successfully carry out 14C labeling experiments within close quarters at our remote field camp without contaminating samples of sediment and water intended for natural level 14C measurements. Here we present our collaborative protocol for maintaining natural level 14C cleanliness as a framework for future transdisciplinary radiocarbon collaborations.

A FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF RESWITCHING

The classical Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) is based on an inverse relationship between the so-called Average Period of Production (APP) or ‘roundaboutness’ and the interest rate. According to Böhm-Bawerk (1884 [1891]), the APP is the weighted average time that a unit of labor is locked up in the production process1; moreover, there is a positive relationship between savings (the ‘subsistence fund’) and the APP: the higher the latter the higher the former, which implies an inverse relationship between interest rates and the APP. Thus, a lower interest rate will lead to a higher APP ceteris paribus. Hayek (2008) based his Hayekian triangles on Böhm-Bawerk’s work: a lower (higher) interest rate leads to a more (less) rounda- bout structure of production, increasing (decreasing) the APP. Including Mises’s (1921) business cycle theory into the analysis, whenever the interest rate is pushed lower than its ‘natural level’, either by the central bank or the banking system, there is an unsus- tainable extension of the APP that will generate an economic boom; the crisis will irremediably follow, as the APP will pull back towards its natural level. From this brief characterization of the ABCT, it is easy to notice the key role of the inverse relationship between interest rates and roundaboutness; without it, there is no connection from changes in interest rates and roundaboutness, and the ABCT falls apart. The reswitching of techniques is precisely a counterexample to that relationship, as it claims there are situations in which lower interest rates do not lead to more roundabout productive struc- tures. The organization of this paper is as follows: the next section describes the reswitching of techniques as stated by Samuelson (1966) and the implication for the classical ABCT, based on a phys- ical measure of roundaboutness; section 3 analyzes the alternative of applying corporate finance to the ABCT following Cachanosky and Lewin (2014). Section 4 is a financial analysis of Samuelson’s example, argues why modified duration should replace Böhm- Bawerk’s APP as a measure of roundaboutness, and shows why it does not represent a paradox to the ABCT when the financial approach is used. Sections 5 and 6 address the question from two additional perspectives: a neoclassical with fully flexible prices but fixed techniques and the Austrian related dynamic efficiency.

Human teeth enamel as a test for assessing the consequences of radiation pollution of the environment

Technogenic radioactive contamination of the external environment has a radiation effect on flora and fauna, including humans. Radionuclides entering the biosphere become a source of external, contact and internal radiation in a variety of combinations. The electron paramagnetic resonance dosimetry is a technique that allows a retrospective assessment of an individual dose to be made. Purpose of the study. Assessment of the long-term consequences of the impact of radiation contamination of the territories adjacent to the landfill on the health of the population using biotesting methods. Material and methods. A reconnaissance and radioecological survey of environmental objects was carried out using analytical methods, which made it possible to determine the quantitative content of toxic components, priority pollutants and radioactive isotopes. The objects of study are the Bokeyordinsky and Zhanibeksky districts of the West Kazakhstan region (WKR), adjacent to the Kapustin Yar test site. The values of the volumetric activity of natural and technogenic radionuclides in soil samples, drinking water and biosubstrates (teeth, samples of human peripheral blood) from settlements of the surveyed areas were studied. Results and discussion. Measurements of gamma radiation showed that along the perimeter of the polygon and in nearby settlements, the radiation level is in the range of 0.06–0.14 µSv/h. An insignificant excess of the level of radioactivity persists near the fall of missiles in the Bokeyordin region. The indicators of the general morbidity of the adult population of maternal and child mortality in the indicated regions were also studied. It was found in the inhabitants of the Bokeyordinsky district with a reliability of p = 95% in the studied teeth, betta and gamma activity is less than the natural level and indicates that the content of radionuclides in the studied teeth is not higher than their natural level. A noticeable excess of the activity of radionuclides K40 and Ra226 is noted among residents of Zhanibeksky district. Conclusions. In the surveyed districts of the region, there is an unsatisfactory state of health of children and women, especially of fertile age, a high level of primary morbidity, maternal mortality; there is a tendency for the growth of eco-dependent human diseases (previously unrecorded forms of oncological diseases, congenital malformations, diseases of the hematopoietic and nervous systems). The conclusions can be used to implement measures to improve the ecological state of the region and the health of the population. Keywords: radionuclides, radioactivity, biosubstrate, polygon, ecology, eco-dependent diseases.

Labor adaptation of nurses: a system of professional orientation, adaptation and promotion in a medical organization

Currently, the shortage of personnel in medical organizations is one of the urgent problems. The natural level of turnover is 3–5 % of the headcount; everything over 5 % is an increased level. One of the solutions to this issue is the organization of personnel adaptation in the organization and the development of a program of «entry into office».

Social and Humanitarian Education and Environmental Identity of the Individual

в статье вводится понятие экологической идентичности личности, определяемое и рассматриваемое в связи с понятиями социализации и образования. Социально-гуманитарной образование понимается как основа образования вообще. Указывается на то, что реализация личностной идентичности возможно только при комплексной трактовке мировоззрения как единство индивидуального, социального и природного. При этом социальность служит универсальным опосредованием индивидуального и природного уровня. Реализация такого мировоззрения становится возможным только при экологическом подходе к проблеме личности. the article introduces the concept of environmental identity of a person. This concept is defined and considered in connection with the concepts of socialization and education. Social and humanitarian education is understood as the basis of education in general. It is pointed out that the realization of personal identity is possible only with a comprehensive interpretation of the worldview as the unity of the individual, social and natural. At the same time, sociality serves as a universal mediation of the individual and natural level. The realization of such a worldview becomes possible only with an ecological approach to the problem of personality.

Impact of Remittances on Natural Rate of Dollarization—Trends in Caucasus and Central Asia

This paper discusses migration and remittances trends, and calculates the natural (or benchmark) level of dollarization in Caucasus, Central Asia and others in the region. This natural level of dollarization is conceptually linked to the currency allocation in a portfolio of deposits to maximize welfare, in line with Ize and Levy Yeyati (2003). The fall in remittances due to the economic slowdown since the spread of COVID-19 affects the macroeconomic fundamentals that determine demand for foreign currency deposits. We calculate the natural dollarization level by integrating structural macroeconomic characteristics. We show that despite the reduction in deposit dollarization, there is still a gap with respect to the natural level of dollarization, especially in a scenario of (persistent) lower remittance inflows.

Spatial Distribution of 14C in Tree Leaves from Bali, Indonesia

ABSTRACTThe increase of fossil-fuel-derived CO2 in the atmosphere has led to the dilution of the atmospheric radiocarbon concentration, but due to the costly instrumentation, the continuous atmospheric 14C/12C data is incomplete in developing countries, such as in Indonesia. These data give useful information about the level of local and regional fossil emissions. In this study, 14C AMS measurements of local vegetation and woody plant species samples have been used to estimate the rate of fossil-fuel-derived carbon in the plants, which fix the CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Evergreen leaf samples were collected in September 2018 on the island of Bali in different, diverse districts in local and urban areas. The samples from the densely populated areas show observable fossil fuel emissions and show that the Δ14C level is close to zero ‰, similar to the natural level.