Vol 86, No 1 (2016)

Safeguarding the population and economic facilities from natural disasters is not only a capitalintensive endeavor, but also a science-intensive sphere. It requires a powerful knowledge base in basic and applied science. It also needs the integration of efforts of the scientific community and the community of practitioners—RAS scientists, field-specific specialists, and the corporate sector. The synergy of joint actions would help not only find and implement efficient ways of solving an important problem of the country’s national security but also overcome the current crisis and move the economy onto a path of stable growth.

The ontogeny and phylogeny of ore-bearing elements and minerals are closely related to sedimentation, magmatism, and metamorphism. Previously, this problem was considered in works by D.P. Grigor’ev, D.V. Rundkvist, and other geologists. By ontogeny, we mean the “fate” of elements and minerals, and by phylogeny, the development of mineral associations and deposits. This article considers the history of ore ontogeny and phylogeny studies by the example of ore deposits. The example of gold and silver demonstrates the diversity of ontogeny and phylogeny forms most illustratively because accumulations of these minerals, different in terms of scale, were registered in all ore “families”—jaspillitic, sulfidic, and polymetallic. It is rather difficult to determine the boundaries of the above families because they form in different physicochemical conditions. Ore formational analysis is a necessary initial operation to study regularities in the distribution of ore matter, as well as to understand the ontogeny and phylogeny of elements and minerals in the earth’s crust. The elaboration of the theory of ontogeny and phylogeny, as well as the identification of regularities of the intensity and extensity of ore formation, will make it possible to create new multidimensional classifications of ore deposits for the purposes of theoretical and practical analysis.

This article contains the experimental results of studying the dynamics of sol–gel processes in freshwater bodies of the Lake Ladoga basin. A set of specific profiles of the distribution of potentially hazardous nanoparticles and nanosized metal associates in water ecosystems of the Ladoga basin was obtained for the first time with account for standards on the content of metals in surface waters, the geochemical traits of the catchment basin territories, and hydrodynamic and seasonal changes. The ecosystem of Lake Ladoga is characterized by an expressed specificity of the inherent sol–gel processes; most likely, this is an important cause of morbidity among the population of St. Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, and Novgorod oblast. Analysis of nanoscale measurements shows that the spectrum of water dispersion is unique for each tributary of Lake Ladoga and, hence, can serve as an identification feature.

Although economic science has a theory and a model of overlapping (uneven-aged) generations of a population, it lacks a similar theory for fixed capital. The authors of this article attempted to fill this gap. The basic prerequisites of the new theory and model are, first, the unjustly forgotten theory of the circulation and reproduction of capital and, second, evolutionary economic theory, according to which an economy is coordinated and ordered only in motion. This type of coordination is fundamentally different from that used in the economic mainstream. US statistics–based tests of the model have shown its realism.

China’s science and technology complex has shown vividly in this new century: the country has literally burst into the club of the world’s leaders. In considering the formation history, recent achievements, potential, and foreign assessments of Chinese science and technology, the authors relate this breakthrough to the consistent materialization of the modernization strategy and complex experience. The institutional structure of Chinese science combines planning and coordination “from above” with competition, initiatives of developers of technologies and industrial enterprises, and the growing protection of intellectual property. This competitive and full-blooded organism rests on a powerful information system and strong scientific–technological diplomacy, enabling it to counter external challenges successfully.