Essential oils are highly volatile, aromatic concentrated extracts from plants with wide applications. In this study, fast, easy-to-use attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was combined with chemometric techniques to verify essential oils’ taxonomy and purity. Principal component analysis (PCA) clustered 30 essential oil samples into three different groups based on plant botanical family and concentration. The first group contained highly concentrated oils from the Asteraceae family, the second group contained highly concentrated oils from the Lamiaceae family, while the last group contained three highly concentrated essential oils from different botanical families and commercial-grade essential oils. Thus, commercial-grade oil samples did not cluster with the corresponding concentrated oil samples despite their similar spectral patterns or botanical family. A loading plot identified infrared (IR) bands that correspond to carbonyl, vinyl, methyl and methylene group vibrations as the most important spectral bands that can be used as marker bands for discrimination between different botanical plant family groups. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) confirmed the results obtained by PCA. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric algorithms provides a direct and non-destructive method for chemotaxonomic classification of medicinal and aromatic essential oils and an assessment of their purity.

The article is devoted to determination of the role of agricultural clusters in provision of food security. The authors analyzed the statistics of The Global Food Security Index of 2014 in the developing and developed countries and found out that the problem of provision of food security is very urgent in developing countries, which necessitates the search for effective tools for increasing the food security, one of which is creation of agricultural clusters. For the purpose of solving this task, the authors offer the model of uniting manufacturers and processers of agricultural production into a system which allows determining the mechanisms of their organization into the system of agricultural cluster. The authors allocated the following main courses of the increase of the food security by means of development of agricultural complex, through formation of agricultural clusters: development of the sectors of agricultural cluster, implementation of deep specialization, attraction of young specialists into agricultural cluster, increasing the qualification of staff in agriculture and agricultural processing, stipulating the promotion and consumption of local production, creation of regional association for the increase of efficiency of cooperation between members, attraction of investments, cooperation with regional bodies of executive power and federal bodies of state power.

The ongoing changes in the modern world - represented with nano-, bio-, info- and cognitive technological development - requires a certain skill set, mastering of which is necessary for any professional and above all - a STEM-specialist. Thus, alongside the technological advancement, leading global corporations seek to employ candidates exhibiting particular soft-skills, among which leadership and emotional intellect are in especially high demand. The purpose of the article is to formulate a comprehensive STEM portfolio, consisting of soft, emotional and leadership skills (SELS). Consequently, a new method of developing leadership skills in the STEM educational process is offered. As opposed to traditional methods of management, the new approach is based on the principle of emotional intellect, thus allowing to influence employees on a level that engages them personally, hence more effectively. The offered methodology is applicable in both educational and corporal spheres of professional STEM activity.

Background: The role of preventive measures increases significantly in the absence of effective specific COVID-19 treatment. Mass population immunization and the achievement of collective immunity are of particular importance. The future development of public attitudes towards SARS-CoV-2 immunization depends significantly on medical students, as future physicians. Therefore, it seemed relevant to determine the percentage of COVID-19-vaccinated medical students and to identify the factors significantly affecting this indicator. Methods: A total of 2890 medical students from years one to six, studying at nine leading Russian medical universities, participated in an anonymous sociological survey. The study was performed in accordance with the STROBE guidelines. Results: It was found that the percentage of vaccinated Russian medical students at the beginning of the academic year 2021 was 58.8 ± 7.69%, which did not significantly differ from the vaccination coverage of the general population in the corresponding regions (54.19 ± 4.83%). Student vaccination rate was largely determined by the region-specific epidemiological situation. The level of student vaccination coverage did not depend on the gender or student residence (in a family or in a university dormitory). The group of senior students had a higher number of COVID-19 vaccine completers than the group of junior students. The lack of reliable information about COVID-19 vaccines had a pronounced negative impact on the SARS-CoV-2 immunization process. Significant information sources influencing student attitudes toward vaccination included medical professionals, medical universities, academic conferences, and manuscripts, which at that time provided the least information. Conclusion: The obtained results make it possible to develop recommendations to promote SARS-CoV-2 immunoprophylaxis among students and the general population and to increase collective immunity.

The study describes the effectiveness of digital technological solutions in education. Students, postgraduates, teachers, and medical business representatives have tested a comprehensive educational product based on the capabilities of learning management system (LMS) platforms. The online course was implemented on the e-learning platforms such as Moodle, Schoology, TalentLMS, Canvas LMS, Docebo, iSpringLearn's, Brightspace, Absorb LMS. The implementation of advanced e-learning models ensured the effectiveness of the educational process. The focus on the development of the personal potential of each educational process participant made it possible to create a personalized learning environment and evoke a sense of personal significance and importance. The focus on feedback has created a creative communication environment for the exchange of knowledge, thoughts and ideas satisfying participants' educational needs for self-expression and creativity. The collective creativity of the educational process participants made it possible to develop a high-quality corporate culture of the students involved, which became the basis for establishing business partnerships in the system of education, science, and business. Based on the observations, a universal model of an effective educational process in the digital age has been developed.