Vol 94, No 11 (2024)

The article studies the impact of intensive decarbonization on the economic dynamics of large GHGs emitting countries based on a unified methodological approach and complex modeling tools. The most important factors determining the economic efficiency of decarbonization policies are the level of economic development, the sectoral and technological structure of the economy, and dependence on energy imports. For several developing countries, ambitious decarbonization scenarios imply quite serious losses in GDP. The beneficiaries of the low-carbon agenda are the EU and China, where the rise in prices necessary to recoup decarbonization costs is offset by a reduction in hydrocarbon imports and an increase in revenues in industries shaping the low-carbon economy. Russia is characterized by medium sensitivity to ambitious decarbonization. Russia’s competitive advantages lie in the significant potential for relatively inexpensive measures and a high share of low-carbon sources of electricity generation.

The article analyses the concept of social and demographic development. These concepts are predominantly interpreted as a progressive movement towards a better state, as changes for the better in the quality of life and demographic characteristics of the population. According to the authors, positive demographic dynamics should not be evaluated only as progress, and negative - as regression, without taking into account the socio-economic context and the stage of demographic transition in a particular society. In the context of global demographic changes, including the large-scale spread of depopulation, a new idea of the demographic optimum is constructed, allowing for the absence of population growth and the priority of qualitative socio-demographic parameters (health status, level of education of the population, etc.).

The study shows that demographic processes in different groups of countries pose serious social challenges. These challenges are specific to these territories and have a significant impact on their social development. At the same time, due to the commonality of key population shifts in more and less developed regions of the world, similar social consequences are likely to occur both there and there. The direct effect of life expectancy on the Social Progress Index (SPI) is found to be stronger in the global North than in the South. SPI is used as a composite indicator of quality of life, and the study found an inverse relationship between SPI and the rate of natural population growth. In the North, demographic rather than economic indicators are found to have a more significant impact on SPI.

In order to increase the healthy life expectancy and reduce the total temporary disability of the working population, special attention should be paid to the prevention of diseases. The modern level of scientific and technical progress allows to increase the efficiency of solving the problems of preventive medicine through the application of digital technologies. Digital preventive medicine must become an independent research field. The article characterizes the status and prospects of digitalization of key areas of preventive medicine with an emphasis on technologies to preserve the health of the working population. The current issues of digitalization of preventive medicine and priorities of its further development are identified.

The article is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Russian scientist Nikolai Alfredovich Plate, whose ninetieth birthday is celebrated in 2024. The authors analyze his contribution to the development of polymer chemistry, his role as an organizer of science, his significance in the international cooperation of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The article presents an overview of the scientific achievements of V.M. Bekhterev, his students, and his followers in the field of anatomy and histology of the nervous system in normal and pathological conditions. The main works of Bekhterev on the study of localization of functions in the central nervous system, as well as the work of employees of the morphology department of the Institute for the Study of the Brain and Mental Activity, were carried out under the supervision of L.Ya. Pines, are noted. Special attention is paid to the scientific discoveries of Pines in the field of neuromorphology, as well as a large-scale study of the brain anatomy of outstanding scientists of the early twentieth century, conducted by the staff of the V.M. Bekhterev scientific school.