Estimation of Individual Demand for Alcohol

Using individual data from RLMS, the longitudinal survey of the representative sample of the Russian population, we study static and dynamic models of demand for alcohol. We show the demand curve has traditional negative slope for any type of alcoholic drink: vodka, beer, and wine. We find substitution of moonshine for vodka with higher price on vodka and between vodka&beer with higher price on one of them. As a result of substitution vodka price has no impact on total ethanol consumption, while higher price on beer and wine reduce demand for ethanol. We also demonstrate that income has important effect on demand for alcoholic drinks. Risk to be drinker is rising with individual income. Higher income results in lower consumption of moonshine and in higher consumption of vodka, beer, and wine.Alcohol; Demand; Russia

Simultaneous calculation of the helical pitch and the twist elastic constant in chiral liquid crystals from intermolecular torques

We present a molecular simulation method that yields simultaneously the equilibrium pitch wave number q and the twist elastic constant K2 of a chiral nematic liquid crystal by sampling the torque density. A simulation of an untwisted system in periodic boundary conditions gives the product K2q; a further simulation with a uniform twist applied provides enough information to separately determine the two factors. We test our new method for a model potential, comparing the results with K2q from a thermodynamic integration route, and with K2 from an order fluctuation analysis. We also present a thermodynamic perturbation theory analysis valid in the limit of weak chirality

Critical phenomena soft modes and negative Poisson’s ratio

The article phenomena, soft modes and negative Poisson’ ratio are considered on bases at statistical theory

The impact of alcohol consumption on patterns of union formation in Russia 1998–2010: An assessment using longitudinal data

Using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, 1998–2010, we investigated the extent to which patterns of alcohol consumption in Russia are associated with the subsequent likelihood of entry into cohabitation and marriage. Using discrete-time event history analysis we estimated for 16–50 year olds the extent to which the probabilities of entry into the two types of union were affected by the amount of alcohol drunk and the pattern of drinking, adjusted to allow for social and demographic factors including income, employment, and health. The results show that individuals who did not drink alcohol were less likely to embark on either cohabitation or marriage, that frequent consumption of alcohol was associated with a greater chance of entering unmarried cohabitation than of entering into a marriage, and that heavy drinkers were less likely to convert their relationship from cohabitation to marriage

Strain fluctuational theory of elastic constants of nematic elastomers

In this communication some aspects of strain fluctuation theory of linear elasticity of nematic elastomers are represented

Alcohol and fatal life trajectories in Russia: understanding narrative accounts of premature male death in the family

Background: In the post-Soviet period, Russian working-age men have suffered unusually high mortality rates. Earlier quantitative work found that part of this is attributable to hazardous and harmful patterns of alcohol consumption, which increased in the period of transition at a time of massive social and economic disruption and uncertainty. However, there has been very little work done to document and understand in detail the downward life trajectories of individual men who died prematurely from alcohol-related conditions. Building on an earlier case-control study, this unique qualitative study investigates the perceived interplay between men's drinking careers, their employment and family history, health and eventual death.Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with close relatives (most often the widow) of 19 men who died between 2003 and 2005 aged 25-54 years whose close relatives reported that alcohol contributed to their death. The study was conducted in a typical medium-sized Russian city. The relative's accounts were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results: The accounts describe how hazardous drinking both contributed to serious employment, family and health problems, and was simultaneously used as a coping mechanism to deal with life crises and a decline in social status. The interviews highlighted the importance of the workplace and employment status for shaping men's drinking patterns. Common themes emerged around a culture of drinking in the workplace, peer pressure from colleagues to drink, use of alcohol as remuneration, consuming non-beverage alcohols,Russian-specific drinking patterns, attitudes to treatment, and passive attitudes towards health and drinking.Conclusions: The study provides a unique insight into the personal decline that lies behind the extremely high working-age mortality due to heavy drinking in Russia, and highlights how health status and hazardous drinking are often closely intertwined with economic and social functioning. Descriptions of the development of drinking careers, hazardous drinking patterns and treatment experiences can be used to plan effective interventions relevant in the Russian context

Social factors influencing Russian male alcohol use over the life course: a qualitative study investigating age based social norms, masculinity, and workplace context

The massive fluctuations occurring in Russian alcohol-related mortality since the mid-1980s cannot be seen outside of the context of great social and economic change. There is a dearth of qualitative studies about Russian male drinking and especially needed are those that address social processes and individual changes in drinking. Conducted as part of a longitudinal study on men’s alcohol consumption in Izhevsk, this qualitative study uses 25 semi-structured biographical interviews with men aged 33–60 years to explore life course variation in drinking. The dominant pattern was decreasing binge and frequent drinking as men reached middle age which was precipitated by family building, reductions in drinking with work colleagues, and health concerns. A minority of men described chaotic drinking histories with periods of abstinence and heavy drinking. The results highlight the importance of the blue-collar work environment for conditioning male heavy drinking in young adulthood through a variety of social, normative and structural mechanisms. Post-Soviet changes had a structural influence on the propensity for workplace drinking but the important social function of male drinking sessions remained. Bonding with workmates through heavy drinking was seen as an unavoidable and essential part of young men’s social life. With age peer pressure to drink decreased and the need to perform the role of responsible breadwinner put different behavioural demands on men. For some resisting social pressure to drink became an important site of self-determination and a mark of masculine maturity. Over the lifetime the place where masculine identity was asserted shifted from the workplace to the home, which commonly resulted in a reduction in drinking. We contribute to existing theories of Russian male drinking by showing that the performance of age-related social roles influences Russian men’s drinking patterns, drinking contexts and their attitudes. Further research should be conducted investigating drinking trajectories in Russian men

Identification of regions in multiple sequence alignments thermodynamically suitable for targeting by consensus oligonucleotides: application to HIV genome

BACKGROUND: Computer programs for the generation of multiple sequence alignments such as "Clustal W" allow detection of regions that are most conserved among many sequence variants. However, even for regions that are equally conserved, their potential utility as hybridization targets varies. Mismatches in sequence variants are more disruptive in some duplexes than in others. Additionally, the propensity for self-interactions amongst oligonucleotides targeting conserved regions differs and the structure of target regions themselves can also influence hybridization efficiency. There is a need to develop software that will employ thermodynamic selection criteria for finding optimal hybridization targets in related sequences. RESULTS: A new scheme and new software for optimal detection of oligonucleotide hybridization targets common to families of aligned sequences is suggested and applied to aligned sequence variants of the complete HIV-1 genome. The scheme employs sequential filtering procedures with experimentally determined thermodynamic cut off points: 1) creation of a consensus sequence of RNA or DNA from aligned sequence variants with specification of the lengths of fragments to be used as oligonucleotide targets in the analyses; 2) selection of DNA oligonucleotides that have pairing potential, greater than a defined threshold, with all variants of aligned RNA sequences; 3) elimination of DNA oligonucleotides that have self-pairing potentials for intra- and inter-molecular interactions greater than defined thresholds. This scheme has been applied to the HIV-1 genome with experimentally determined thermodynamic cut off points. Theoretically optimal RNA target regions for consensus oligonucleotides were found. They can be further used for improvement of oligo-probe based HIV detection techniques. CONCLUSIONS: A selection scheme with thermodynamic thresholds and software is presented in this study. The package can be used for any purpose where there is a need to design optimal consensus oligonucleotides capable of interacting efficiently with hybridization targets common to families of aligned RNA or DNA sequences. Our thermodynamic approach can be helpful in designing consensus oligonucleotides with consistently high affinity to target variants in evolutionary related genes or genomes

Statistical-Mechanical investigation of viscoelastic properties of systems with non-central intermolecular interactions

We obtain relations between the two stress tensors and the two velocity-strain tensors for a medium with non-central interactions. An approximation method of integration of autocorrelation functions based on statistically calculated average relaxation times of coordinates and momenta is suggested