In recent years, nanoporous alloys have presented the advantages of a large specific surface area, low density, and simple operation, and they have been widely used in the fields of catalysis, magnetism, and medicine. Nanoporous Pt-Si alloy was prepared by melt-spun and chemical dealloying, and was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscopy. Pt-Si alloys possess a three-dimensional bicontinuous structure and an average size of 5 nanometers. Compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts, nanoporous Pt-Si alloys exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability in ethanol-catalyzed oxidation reactions. It is taken into consideration to be a promising catalyst in direct ethanol fuel cells.

Dushan county, Guizhou province, is located in the southernmost tip of Guizhou province. It belongs to the temperate climate of the subtropical region and is one of the centers of the karst east Asia area. The total area of the county is 242220 hectares, of which 169142 hectares are rocky desertifi cation or endangered desertification state. At present, the problem of rocky desertification has seriously affected the ecological environment of the county, which is one of the important factors that restrict the local social living standard and economic development. Therefore, it is of great significance to promote the social and economic development of the county by investigating and analyzing the spatial differentiation rules, present situation and harm of rocky desertification in Dushan county.

The article discusses the actual problems of practical training in the tourism and hospitality industries in Russia and identifies the main problems of training specialists at Russian specialized universities. The main focus is on building partnerships between universities and employer organizations in order to train highly qualified specialists. Purpose: The research is aimed at creating an effective model of practical training based on the interaction of the university with employer organizations within the framework of the training of specialists in the tourism and hospitality industries. Design/Methodology/Approach: The work is based on scientific publications devoted to evaluating the effectiveness of the existing system of personnel training for the tourism and hospitality industries, studying its features, building models of vocational education, and using practice-oriented programs in the training of specialists. To study the problems of practical training of personnel for tourism and hospitality, systematic and structural approaches were used as a methodological basis, as well as methods of analysis and synthesis, the study of models of cooperation between universities and employers, and methods of monitoring and evaluating the quality of training specialists. To obtain empirical data, an analysis of the needs of the labor market for specialists in the hospitality industry was carried out, as was the study of models of cooperation between universities and employers. Results: In the course of the work, the author has formed a model of practical training for specialists in the tourism and hospitality industries, including the purpose and objectives, process requirements, organization conditions, and requirements for the results of the process. The innovative nature of the proposals lies in the development of new models of practical training based on gamification technology. The direction of further research may include the development of a methodology for the organization of the university’s interaction with employer organizations in the framework of practical training. Conclusion: The results of the study can be used by professional educational organizations to organize the process of practical training of students, which will effectively solve the problem of training personnel for tourism and hospitality. The social consequences of organizing the process of practical training for students will include increasing the competitiveness of graduates in the labor market, improving the quality of tourist and hotel services, introducing innovations into the tourism and hospitality industries, and developing startups.

Given the importance of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in stimulating stock market development, many researchers have investigated their influences on the developed markets and high-income economies. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of ICT diffusion on stock market development for a panel of 17 selected emerging countries over the period 1990–2020 and employed the system-generalized method of moments (S-GMM) to test its objective. Three stock market development indicators are also used, namely: stock market capitalization (SMC), stock market total value traded (SMTT), and stock market turnover (SMT). Three ICT indicators are also employed, namely: Fixed telephone subscriptions (FTS), Individuals using the Internet (IUI), and Mobile cellular subscriptions (MCS). Three financial development indicators (deposit money among bank assets (DMB), liquid liabilities (LLB), and private credit by deposit money bank (PCM)) were employed as control variables. In its findings, all selected ICT dynamics positively affect stock market development and its constituents. Secondly, no proof was confirmed in relation to the impact of fixed telephone and stock market development with its elements. Thirdly, evidence of a positive relationship is sparingly apparent in financial development and its components. Fourthly, compared with fixed telephone, internet users more positively and significantly affect stock market development indicators. Policy implications are discussed.

Beta macrocarpa, Guss is an interesting species showing very low germination rates. The leading objectives of this work were to investigate the dormancy mechanism and to find methods to break dormancy in order to achieve rapid, uniform and high germination. Macro and micro-morphologic analyses were performed by stereo microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed two fruit coats. The yellow external coat or persistent perianth coat (PPC) was accrescent with 5 erect segments contiguous to the operculum of the seed capsule. This coat forms spongy layers (50 to 300 µm thick) that could be eliminated manually. The narrow internal coat or pericarp or achene coat (AC) forms woody joined seed capsules, each presenting a pressed operculum that cannot be manually opened. This coat was not adherent to seeds and was composed of compressed cells (50 to 200 µm thick) which form pockets for salt cristal. Seeds were lentiform (1 to 2 mm diameter and 0.5 to 0.8 mm thick) and highly fragile. The embryo was whitish surrounded peripherally by the perisperm with two highly developed cotyledons and radical. Polyphenol concentrations in both coats showed that after 4 months of collection, total polyphenol concentrations were 4-fold higher in the pericarp than in the persistent perianth. However, after one year, this parameter decreases significantly in the pericarp, whereas, it increases to a larger extent in the perianth. Different germination tests indicated that the pericarp provides a chemical and a physical resistance to seed germination during the first 4 months of the experiment after collection. The chemical dormancy was released to higher levels of total polyphenol compounds that inhibited seed germination and seedling growth. However, the physical dormancy was associated with the hardness of this intern coat which caused a mechanical resistance to radicle emergence. After one year of storage, total polyphenol pericarp concentration decreased notably, and chemical resistance disappeared, whereas the physical one persisted. Consequently, one year of storage pericarp removal is sufficient to break this exogenous dormancy.