Capital Accumulation and Capital-Labor Relations: A Critique of the Social Structure of Accumulation Theory

The social structure of accumulation (SSA) theory seeks to bridge the gap between highly abstract Marxian categories and concrete history in the analysis of institutional structures of capitalist society. More specifically, the theory focuses on the temporal transformation and national specificity of capital–labor relations. However, SSA theory cannot adequately explain why these relations take specific forms in time and space. In general, the theory fails to reconcile the concrete and the abstract, falling back on unmediated historical explanations. These explanatory limitations derive from an empiricist methodology, which can be examined through the lens of Juan Iñigo Carrera's development of Marxian theory. Iñigo Carrera additionally offers an alternative approach to the historical transformation of capital–labor relations and their national specificities. This explanation derives from Marx's analysis of the transformation of the materiality of the capitalist labor process, and explains concrete phenomena through the further development of abstract categories.

Spatial-temporal Transformation of the Volga Reservoirs’ Soil Complex. Communication 7. Sediment Formation in the Highly Running Reservoirs of the Volga Cascade

Large plain reservoirs are water bodies of a slow water exchange with Кw less than 10 year-1 contributing to multi-year (annual) flow regulation. All reservoirs of the Volga-Kama cascade belong to this type of reservoirs, except the Cheboksary and Saratov reservoirs with Кw about 20 year-1. Weekly and daily fluctuations of the runoff are observed in these reservoirs. This mode of operation of hydraulic constructions leads to an increase in the flow rate and fluctuations of the level, which determines the specific conditions for the formation and accumulation of bottom sediments characteristic of river systems. It is shown that the areas of coarse-grained sediments are 55 and 70%, respectively. The reservoirs under consideration are transit reservoirs for suspended substances and aerators for the oxidation of chemical pollutants and their neutralization, so they play a crucial role in the natural self-purification and management of natural water quality. Methods. The aim of the study is to characterize the spatial and temporal transformation of the lower layer of the ecosystem in reservoirs with high water exchange (by the example of the Cheboksary and Saratov reservoirs) and to identify its role in water self-purification taking into account biomarkers. It is known that river systems or systems similar to them are more efficient and are characterized as potentially saturated with food organic/mineral resources for hydrobionts. The assessment of water quality and bottom sediments of different hydro-morphometric characteristics, dynamics of water masses and operating conditions is presented using methods of bioassay and toxicology by the example of chironomid larvae and antioxidant defense system of benthic fish. Results. Based on the data of the integrated hydrobiological cruises during the growing season 2014–2020, it is difficult to say that the quality of water and bottom sediments, biotic and toxicological parameters depend on the flow rate, so further studies are required. The work is original, because there are no analogues in the world for monitoring of bottom sediments in reservoirs and quantitative assessment of sedimentation processes in space and time. The results of the biogeochemical analysis indicate, that in terms of the degree of deterioration of the eco/toxicological state, the Volga reservoirs are in a series: Volgograd = Saratov > Kuibyshev > Cheboksary > Gorky.

Research of Spatial-Temporal Transformation of the Qualitative Composition of the River Salgir Waters

The main objective of the research is a complex assessment of the actual ecological status of Salgir River waters based on several methods: visual survey of the watercourse as well as studying spatial and temporal transformation of water quality and determining the degree of water pollution by means of an integral criterion –water pollution index (IES) and bioassay techniques carried on seeds of two test crops (cress salad and wheat), and also zoning a watercourse according to several criteria. The assessment found a tendency to increasing degradation of water quality due to the increase of the anthropogenic load (increase in water abstracted from the river). The typical pollutants in the Salgir river are petroleum products, phosphates, lead, copper, biological oxygen uptake (BOU5). Phosphate content is in the range of 5.5–27.5, lead – 3.06–6.67, copper –1.02–4.52 MPC. The most powerful source of pollution of the river is the treatment facilities of Simferopol. The results of this comprehensive study made it possible not only to reflect the real situation at the water facility, but also to highlight sections of the river where a set of measures aimed at reducing/preventing the consequences of anthropogenic impact should be carried out as a priority.

NON-STATISTICAL METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM OF THE PSKOV REGION (ACCORDING TO THE VKONTAKTE NETWORK AND THE YANDEX SERVICE)

The spatial and temporal transformation of a territory and its settlement system is a classic subject of study in socio-economic geography. The aim of our research was to develop tools for applying non-statistical methods when analyzing these processes. This article discusses the possibility of using non-statistical methods for evaluating processes that describe the population and the regional development. The authors have analyzed databases collected through the Vkontakte social network and the Yandex search engine. The spatial heterogeneity in the development of the Pskov region’s territory, reflected in the Internet activity of the population, is demonstrated; six types of municipal districts have been identified according to the attractiveness and intensity of their development. There has been revealed heterogeneity in the gravitation of external actors of the territory’s transformation (primarily those from St. Petersburg). The obtained data are compared with data presented in some statistical sources.

Premotor Cortex Provides a Substrate for the Temporal Transformation of Information During the Planning of Gait Modifications

We tested the hypothesis that the premotor cortex (PMC) in the cat contributes to the planning and execution of visually guided gait modifications. We analyzed single unit activity from 136 cells localized within layer V of cytoarchitectonic areas 6iffu and that part of 4δ within the ventral bank of the cruciate sulcus while cats walked on a treadmill and stepped over an obstacle that advanced toward them. We found a rich variety of discharge patterns, ranging from limb-independent cells that discharged several steps in front of the obstacle to step-related cells that discharged either during steps over the obstacle or in the steps leading up to that step. We propose that this population of task-related cells within this region of the PMC contributes to the temporal evolution of a planning process that transforms global information of the presence of an obstacle into the precise spatio-temporal limb adjustment required to negotiate that obstacle.