This conceptual article aims at analyzing the impact of political and economic actions taken by states during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on their academic attractiveness for international students. The resulting crisis conditions demanded to make a lot of decisions in a very short time, thus speeding up the dynamic of the situation development and allowing to more accurately trace necessary interconnections over a short observation period.The authors focus their attention on English-speaking countries, which traditionally attract large numbers of international students: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA. The research is based on the analysis of secondary empirical data obtained from foreign sources, as well as on official statistics. The short-term impact of political and economic decisions, made by heads of states and responsible institutions, on countries’ academic attractiveness and their perception by international students is assessed via critical and reflective analysis of surveys and researches, as well as via available data on international students’ enrollment in 2020/2021 academic year.The authors found a correlation between the decisions taken by the countries during Spring – Summer 2020 and the subsequent transformation of their academic attractiveness under the increasing competition between countries and the students’ choice of the best opportunities for their future career and life. The authors assessed the following factors affecting the attractiveness of a state as a studying destination: economic support measures taken by the governments of the considered countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, new adjustments in visa rules for foreign students and related regulatory changes, as well as the most significant public statements by officials. The research topic can be further expanded and supplemented through data actualization, including additional factors into the analysis and expanding the time period of the study. The findings and recommendations given in the conclusion of the article can be practically applied when developing state education export strategies or universities’ and educational agencies’ recruiting approaches.

The hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory drive, gas exchange, blood lactate and pyruvate concentrations, acid-base balance, and physical working capacity were determined in three groups of healthy males: 17 residents examined at sea level (group I), 24 sea-level natives residing at 1,680-m altitude for 1 yr and examined there (group II), and 17 sea-level natives residing at 3,650-m altitude for 1 yr and examined there (group III). The piecewise linear approximation technique was used to study the ventilatory response curves, which allowed a separate analysis of slopes during the first phase of slow increase in ventilation and the second phase of sharp increase. The hypoxic ventilatory response for both isocapnic and poikilocapnic conditions was greater in group II and even greater in group III. The first signs of consciousness distortion in sea-level residents appeared at an end-tidal O2 pressure level (4.09 +/- 0.56 kPa) higher than that of temporary residents of middle (3.05 +/- 0.12) and high altitude (2.90 +/- 0.07). The hypercapnic response was also increased, although to a lesser degree. Subjects with the highest hypoxic respiratory sensitivity at high altitude demonstrated greater O2 consumption at rest, greater ventilatory response to exercise, higher physical capacity, and a less pronounced anaerobic glycolytic flux but a lower tolerance to extreme hypoxia. That is, end-tidal O2 pressure that caused a distortion of the consciousness was higher in these subjects than in those with lower hypoxic sensitivity. Two extreme types of adaptation strategy can be distinguished: active, with marked reactions of "struggle for oxygen," and passive, with reduced O2 metabolism, as well as several intermediate types.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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