Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.), a valuable essential oil plant, is cultivated mainly in the south of Russia. A comparative analysis of productivity parameters and biochemical indicators of 'Mertsishor' and 'Oksamit Cryma' fennel cultivars bred by the Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea was conducted in the conditions of the Crimean piedmont and Belgorod region from 2022 to 2024. The aim of the research was to investigate prospects of fennel cultivation in Belgorod region. Analysis of main indicators was carried out according to the developed methodologies in a small-plot experiment (plots were three-row, row length – 5 m, row spacing width – 0.7 m, plot area – 9 m², with three replications). On average over the years of the research the yield of the 'Mertsishor' and 'Oksamit Cryma' cultivars in the first year of vegetation was significantly lower under conditions of Belgorod region (0.22–0.28 t/ha) than in the piedmont zone of Crimea (0.55–0.42 t/ha, respectively). Average essential oil content in fruits of both cultivars in most cases did not differ significantly between regions, nor did content of the main essential oil components – anethole (68.1–71.5 %) and fenchone (11.7–15.6 %) which meets requirements of GOST 3902-82. However essential oil yield of the 'Oksamit Cryma' and 'Mertsishor' cultivars was significantly lower (1.6 and 2.9 times, respectively, P ≤ 0.05) in Belgorod region (12.8–15.2 kg/ha). Comparative data on productivity of the second-year plants across two ecological locations could only be obtained for a single test year as plants in the Belgorod region perished during winter of 2022-2023. Fruit yield of the studied cultivars in 2024 (0.51–0.72 t/ha in the Crimean piedmont and 0.90–0.92 t/ha in Belgorod region) as well as essential oil yield (31.6–38.5 and 44.4–51.6 kg/ha, respectively) were higher in two-year-old plants. Results of the ecological trials for these fennel cultivars do not support their recommendation for cultivation in Belgorod region due to a high probability of plant loss during winter and low first-year productivity

The aim : to characterize sea current influence on the direction of the Azov anchovy overwintering migration into the Black Sea. Material and methods : the assessment was based on long-term Azov anchovy catch statistics from ship and coastal fisheries and data of currents in the Kerch pre-strait area in 2015-2024 based on the Copernicus monitoring project dataset. The hypothesis of a relationship between spatio-temporal changes in sea currents and the direction of the Azov anchovy migration was tested using nonparametric statistics (Mann-WhitneyWilcoxon test) and spatial analysis. Results : the relationship between the eastern and northern currents, that related with the direction of the Azov anchovy migration in the Kerch Strait area, was shown. Spatial patterns in the eastern and northern components of the currents that determine the migration direction have been identified. The key factors in determining the migration direction are: 43rd, 45th and 46th weeks of the year for the eastern component of the currents, 46th week for the northern component of the currents. Novelty : using statistical spatio-temporal analysis of long-term data the relationship between currents and Azov anchovy overwintering migration was showed. Practical significance : long-term spatial patterns of sea currents and their influence on the direction of the Azov anchovy migration into the Black Sea can make it possible to increase the efficiency of organizating Russian fisheries.

The Byzantine theme in the Crimea was established in 841 and was called the theme of the Klimata in official documents. It existed in this form for a short time and was transformed into the theme of Cherson in no later than 860. This name change reflects reduction of the theme’s territory in result of the complex military and political situation in the region and the limited resources of the Byzantine strategos. This article examines the meaning of the toponym “five Klimata” reading on one of the seals of its strategos. Its interpretation depends largely on the understanding of the term Klimata, which ninth- and tenth-century Byzantine sources used to designate Byzantine lands in the said region. Historiography presents different interpretations of the case. The first suggests that the Klimata refers exclusively to the territory of the Crimean Gothia, i. e. the Mountainous Crimea. Additionally, the Klimata were also the name of administrative districts of the Gothia, each having a central fort where the local archon resided. Among them were Cherson, Mangup, Eski-Kermen, Chufut-Kale, and Bakla, holding the status of archontiai within the theme of the Klimata. However, the above-said interpretation contradicts to the sources. In fact, the Byzantine Klimata in the Crimea referred to all the coastal and mountainous regions of the peninsula, from Cherson in the west to Bosporos in the east, which traditionally were in the sphere of political, economic, and ecclesiastical interests of the Byzantine Empire. The territorial limits and internal structure of the early Byzantine theme in the Crimea are best reflected by the toponym “five Klimata” which occurred on a mid-ninth-century seal and in the notitia from the age of Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos, where are five archbishoprics of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the peninsula: Cherson, Bosporos, Gothia, Sougdaia, and Phoulloi. Moreover, the internal administrative units of the theme of the Klimata should not be designated as archontiai or associated with the large forts known from archaeological records in the region. This specific administrative structure of the outlying provinces of Byzantium is represented in the Crimea only by the archontate of Cherson, which ceased to exist ca mid-ninth century.

In this work, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a method for measuring the orbital Stokes parameters of structured Laguerre–Gaussian beams in the critical planes formed in a first-order optical system consisting of a cylindrical and a spherical lens. The positions of the critical planes are determined by the condition of equality of the beam radii in the x- and y-directions at the Rayleigh length $${{z}_{0}} = 2{{f}_{{CL}}}$$ . These planes are characterized by specific values of the Gouy phase difference $${{\Gamma }_{{xy}}}$$ : in the first critical plane it equals $$\Gamma _{{xy}}^{{\left( 1 \right)}} = \pi {\text{/}}2$$ , while in the second it takes discrete values $$\Gamma _{{xy}}^{{\left( 2 \right)}} = 2\pi n,\,\,n = 0,1,2, \ldots ~$$ . By employing the reciprocity effect between the transverse intensity moment $${{W}_{{xy}}}$$ and the orbital angular momentum $${{\ell }_{z}}$$ , related through $${{\ell }_{z}}$$ = 4Wxy, we carried out the measurement of the third orbital Stokes parameter. Owing to the self-healing effect in this system, it was shown that a structured Laguerre–Gaussian beam is reconstructed in the second critical plane, while its astigmatic analogue is formed in the first. For an astigmatic structured Laguerre–Gaussian beam, the situation is reversed: reconstruction occurs in the first critical plane, and its astigmatic analogue appears in the second. This behavior ensures the applicability of the method to both structured Laguerre–Gaussian beams and their astigmatic modifications. The experimental results demonstrate good agreement with numerical modeling with a measurement error not exceeding four percent. It is also shown that structured Laguerre–Gaussian beams can be mapped onto the orbital Poincaré sphere, which opens up prospects for their practical use.

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation of the influence of sector perturbations on the polarization structure of azimuthal and radial modes. To quantify the degree of polarization restoration, an integral metric based on normalized Stokes parameters is introduced. Numerical simulations demonstrate that for small sector angles, the polarization structure recovers at propagation distances exceeding the Rayleigh length. As the sector angle increases, only partial restoration is observed. Although the radial mode exhibits locally more stable polarization behavior, the integral restoration metric shows only minor differences compared to the azimuthal mode. The results are supported by experimental data and are in good agreement with the theoretical model.

Amid the thriving e-commerce, traditional marketing methods are getting obsolete in examining consumer behaviour. Using the case study of cheese, the paper aims to reveal peculiarities of forecasting consumers’ online shopping choices with the help of eye-tracking technology. The concept of sensory marketing constitutes the methodological basis of the study. The evi dence base was formed by the results of a neuromarketing experiment (30 experimental subjects) on investigating three online stores with different shelf space allocation (low, middle or high density of products). The research employs general scientific and economic-statistical methods, as well as neurophysiological methods to assess consumers’ reaction during the visual examina tion of goods on the stores’ virtual shelves. Having analysed eye movement patterns, we determined gender differences in view ing web pages. The visual reaction to a product expressed in the maximum number of fixations was found to be a determining metric that allows predicting consumer choice when shopping online. The products were ranked according to the likelihood of them being chosen by consumers based on ABC analysis that was tested using online pages with low and medium product density. The results showed that the number of fixations on products on the virtual shelf is associated with cognitive consumer behaviour when making a choice. The proposed method allows predicting consumers’ online shopping choices, which can help manufacturers more rationally plan their assortment and inventory and effectively promote products in a virtual environment.

The article provides a translation of chapter 369 («Thalami nervorum opticorum») of an Austrian anatomist Josef Hyrtl's monograph «Onomatologia anatomica» (1880), where he analyzed the origin of the term «thalamus».

ABSTRACTThe stability of interfacial flows between electrically conducting fluids is a critical factor in various industrial and natural processes, such as metallurgical casting, magnetohydrodynamic power systems, and geophysical fluid dynamics. This study aims to investigate the linear interfacial stability of two conducting fluids confined between solid planes, focusing on the effects of an applied magnetic field on the lower plate. It seeks to understand how parameters like the Hartmann number, oblique angle, load parameter, and electrical conductivity influence flow stability and velocity profiles. The governing partial differential equations for the flow are derived using fluid mechanics principles and appropriate boundary conditions. Linear stability analysis is employed to analyze the system, leading to the Orr–Sommerfeld equations. These equations are solved numerically using the Chebyshev collocation method in MATLAB to explore the magnetic field's influence.

The aim: to characterize the Black Sea water temperature influence on the anchovy fishing.Methods: the assessment is based on long-term data of anchovy catch statistics and oceanographic data on water surface temperature during the period 1992–2023 by the Copernicus marine project. The main hypothesis about the relationship between changes in water temperature and annual catches of European anchovy was carried out by methods of cross-correlation and spatial correlation analysis.Novelty: statistical analysis of long-term data allowed us to find significant spatio-temporal patterns between parameters of anchovy fishing and changes in water temperature.Results: a significant positive relationship between anchovy catches in the northwestern part of the Black Sea and the water surface temperature is shown: the average annual (with a lag of 1 year, rs = 0,50) and the average winter (without lag, rs = 0,42) temperature. Positive trends of average annual and average winter sea surface temperatures have been described. There were significant positive spatial correlations between water temperature and anchovy catches in November-February, the most significant in December-January. The areas of spatial correlations between water temperature and anchovy catches increased in period 2008–2021 relative to 1993–2007. The existence of a relationship between the indicator of climate change (water temperature) and fishing parameters in the northwestern part of the Black Sea has been confirmed.Practical significance: the established long-term correlation patterns between changes in water temperature and the parameters of anchovy fishing in the nortwestern part of the Black Sea allows to increase the efficiency and sustainability of Russian fisheries in these waters.