Soil Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change and Land-Use Simulations and Estimation of Carbon Stocks in Steppe and Forest Ecosystems in Northern Mongolia

Northern Mongolia currently sequesters 31 Tg C yr-1 but it may become a carbon source if respiration rates increase due to climate change and overgrazing, or if projected boundary shifts between forest and steppe cause a change in the carbon storage of ecosystems. The objectives of the thesis are to study soil ecosystem response to simulated climate change and grazing, and to assess C stocks in the steppe and forest. Open-top chambers (OTCs) have been frequently used for simulating climate change. However, the pattern of temperature increase by OTCs contradicted the IPCC predictions. An alternative method, open-sided chambers (OSCs), was evaluated based on its effects on abiotic and biotic factors. The results indicated that OSCs manipulated air temperature in a pattern that was predicted by IPCC models, but the overall effect was too small, hence it is not an optimal device. In the subsequent study, OTCs were used to study soil respiration response to experimental warming in three ecosystems. Temperature increase by OTCs had no effect on soil respiration in the steppe but increased soil respiration in the forest (by 0.20 g CO2 m-2 h-1), demonstrating the importance of ecosystem setting. Although warming increased soil respiration, it decreased its temperature sensitivity as well (Q10 = 5.82 in control versus 2.22 in OTC). In addition to OTCs, watering and grazing effects on CO2 effluxes (ecosystem and soil respiration) were studied across the topographical gradients in the steppe. Our results show a robust, positive effect of soil moisture on CO2 effluxes across topography, and the contrasting effects of grazing on CO2 effluxes. Interactive effects of the treatments were minimal. Soil carbon of the forest was the same (8.3 kg C m-2) as the steppe (8.1 kg C m-2) but aboveground carbon in the forest (2.9 kg C m-2) was 3-7 times greater than that in the steppe. In summary, the results show that warming will slightly increase soil respiration in the forest, but in steppe precipitation will have stronger effect on CO2 flux than temperature change. The results also indicated that overgrazing and deforestation could trigger a greater loss of carbo

Китай: на пути к новой налоговой реформе

В результате налоговой реформы 1994 г. в Китае была создана современная налоговая система, обеспечившая плавный переход от старой налоговой системы к рыночной. В настоящее время значительные изменения внутренней и внешней среды ставят перед налоговой системой новые, серьезные задачи. Если прежде основной целью было «создание базовой структуры налоговой системы, соответствующей социалистической рыночной экономике», то спустя 20 лет это «движение к современной налоговой системе в рамках модернизации национальной административной системы». В статье подробно описываются причины и направления современных преобразований в налоговой системе. Анализ сложившейся структуры доходов бюджета позволил сделать выводы о сохранившемся влиянии принципов плановой экономики, так как значительную часть составляют неналоговые доходы и отчисления от прибыли государственных предприятий, а в налоговых доходах преобладают налоги на потребление. Кроме того, до настоящего времени налоговое бремя зависит не от налогового законодательства, а от ежегодно формируемых планов по сбору налогов. Таким образом, выявлены основные предпосылки современной налоговой реформы: обеспечение социальной справедливости становится приоритетной целью государственной политики; меняется структура экономики и тип экономического развития; продолжается рост налогового бремени; уровень налогового администрирования отстает от современных требований к управлению. Основными целями проводимых реформ являются: поддержание стабильности налогового бремени на макроуровне; снижение доли косвенных налогов путем расширения круга плательщиков НДС, упрощение ставок и изменение порядка распределения налога между бюджетами различных уровней; значительное увеличение доли прямых налогов за счет личного подоходного налога и налога на квартиры. Однако все эти изменения требуют адекватного совершенствования налогового администрирования, так как переход к налогообложению индивидуальных налогоплательщиков не возможен без изменения строения и функций налоговых органов.China’s existing tax system was established via the famous comprehensive fiscal reform conducted in 1994. In the next 20 years a series of incremental measures have been taken to improve this tax system framework. However, along with the increasingly deepened economic reform process, both outside and inside environments and the constrain condition facing the tax system have changed greatly. People have new adequate expectations for the tax policy. Responding to this changing circumstance, the direction of the tax system reform has undergone a fundamental change with its goal switching from «establishing the basic framework of the tax system suitable to the socialist market economy» to «establishing the modern tax regime in line with the modernization of the national administration system and administration capability» since the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC) on November 12, 2013. Against this background, we comprehensively analyze the causes, main contents, focuses, supporting measures and enforcement roadmaps of this fundamental tax reform

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SECONDARY PARTICLES FROM π-C INTERACTIONS AT 40 GEV/C IN DIFFERENT NUCLEAR MATTER PHASES

In this paper we have presented the angular and momentum characteristics of the secondary particles from Π–C interactions at 40 GeV/c in different phase transition regions of nuclear matter

The Results of National Oral Health Survey, Mongolia

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the status of oral health in Mongolia. Methods: The studied population was 1754 subjects who were selected from 4 age groups and from 11 regions of Mongolia. We collected data about dentition, gingival health, dental calculus, intervention urgency and denture usage. Results: The prevalence of dental caries and mean Decayed, Missed, Filled permanent teeth (DMFt)/ decayed, missed, filled primary teeth (dmft) were 82.9% and 5.9±4.6 among 5 year olds, 80.9% and 2.5±2.2 among 12 year olds, 97.8% and 9.5±5.2 among 35-44 year olds, 99.1% and 19.9±8.1 among 65-74 year olds (p<0.001). The prevalence of gingivitis was 4.6% , 21.2% , 36.3% , 11.5% and of calculus 0.5% , 7.1% , 53.1%, 24.2% , respectively above groups. The status of intervention urgency was 16.4%, 21.4% , 43.6% , 37.3% in the prompt treatment and 5.9%, 4.2% , 7.0% , 0.7% in immediate treatment recommended. The percent of people with removable denture among 65-74 year olds was higher than among 35-44 year olds. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental caries and their complications were in the high in Mongolia, and most of elderly people did not have their own natural teeth. These data indicate that effort to improve oral hygiene and prevent tooth decay are greatly needed throughout Mongolia

A Relationship between Uterine Cervical Cytopathology and Histopathology in Mongolia

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between uterine cervical squamous cell abnormalities by conventional cytology and corresponding histopathology, and to assess the accuracy between them. Methods: A total of 192 cytological smears of patients with squamous cell abnormalities who underwent colposcopy examination from April – December 2015 were included in this study. The final agreement between cytology and histopathology was defined by the evaluation of histology as a golden standard. Results: The agreement between cytology and histopathology evaluation was 65.6%, and the discrepancy was 33.6% (k=0.512). When the classes of cytology were evaluated for accuracy, it was discovered that NILM* had a higher sensitivity of 77.0%, a specificity of 87.0%, a false positive of 23% and a false negative of 13.0% (k=0.711). Among the LSIL cases a sensitivity was discovered of 39.0%, a specificity of 82.7%, a false positive of 61.0% and a false negative of 17.3% (k=0.392. However, in HSIL sensitivity dropped to 37.8%, specificity increased to 91.6%, false positive were 62.0% and false negative were 8.4% (k=0.501). Conclusion: The agreement for diagnosis of uterine cervical cytology and histopathology was 65.6% (n = 126) and the discrepancy was 33.6% (n = 64) (p = 0.001). The correlation between cervical cytology and histopathology remained moderate (kappa=0.512). Thus, it is proposed that an appropriate quality control system for the cytopathological confirmation may contribute to the further detection and treatment for uterine cervical cancer in Mongolia

Prevalence of Blue Spot among Mongolian Newborn Infants

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and characteristics of Mongolian spots in Mongolian infants. Methods: This hospital-based, descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted nationwide among 2641 newborn infants in Ulaanbaatar and in 21 provinces hospitals within 96 hours postpartum in 2015. Results: The prevalence of Mongolian spots in Mongolian infants was 91.3%. The prevalence of spots in females was 92.1% and in male newborns it was 90.6% (p>0.05). The prevalence of Mongolian spots in the Western provinces was lower than in the rest of other provinces (98.3% and 95% CI: 96.4-99.4). For of infants with Khalkha parentage, 92.7% had Mongolian spots, while 64.7% of infants with Kazakh parentage had Mongolian spots. The Mongolian spots are commonly located in infant’s lower back (88.3%) and had an average length of 3.7±2.7 cm, width of 2.7±1.9 cm and an average area of 14.2±23.3 cm2. The appearance of Mongolian spots on the infant’s legs, face, chest, hands, feet, knee, and cheeks were less frequent. Conclusion: The prevalence of Mongolian spots among Mongolian infants was 91.3% [95%CI: 87.2-95.3] and significant difference was observed between Mongolian and Kazakh infants