Search

Infrared visualization was employed to observe the decay of a hydrogen-air flame front propagating in a narrow gap similar to a Hele-Shaw cell. Based on the images, the flame front speeds and sizes for mixtures with hydrogen concentrations of 7 % and 10 % by volume in gaps with widths of 3–5 mm were calculated. The shapes of the individual cells formed were determined, the mechanism of flame front decay due to the critical influence of diffusive-thermal instability was described, and a criterion for flame front decay was proposed. The obtained results may be used in the design of fuel cells and MEMS hydrogen devices to ensure the safety of their operation.

Studying pup isolation calls of wild rodents provides background for developing new early-life animal models for biomedical research and drug testing. This study discovered a highly complex acoustic phenotype of pup isolation calls in 4–5-day-old Mongolian hamsters Allocricetulus curtatus. We analyzed the acoustic structure of 5,010 isolation calls emitted in the broad range of frequencies (sonic, below 20 kHz, and ultrasonic, from 20 to 128 kHz) by 23 pups during 2-min isolation test trials, 1 trial per pup. In addition, we measured 5 body size parameters and the body weight of each pup. The calls could contain up to 3 independent fundamental frequencies in their spectra, the low (f0), the medium (g0), and the high (h0), or purely consisted of chaos in which the fundamental frequency could not be tracked. By presence/absence of the 3 fundamental frequencies or their combinations and chaos, we classified calls into 6 distinctive categories (low-frequency [LF]-f0, LF-chaos, high-frequency [HF]-g0, HF-h0, HF-g0 + h0, and HF-chaos) and estimated the relative abundance of calls in each category. Between categories, we compared acoustic parameters and estimated their relationship with pup body size index. We discuss the results of this study with data on the acoustics of pup isolation calls reported for other species of rodents. We conclude that such high complexity of Mongolian hamster pup isolation calls is unusual for rodents. Decreased acoustic complexity serves as a good indicator of autism spectrum disorders in knockout mouse models, which makes knockout hamster models prospective new wild animal model of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Introduction The modern interconnected information environment and the nuclear-restrained competition between global actors have changed the position of armed conflict within the realm of international relations. This evolution of war [...]

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the standard of care for eligible patients with multiple myeloma (MM) to prolong progression-free survival (PFS). While several factors affect survival following ASCT, the impact of social determinants of health such as the CDC Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) is not well documented. This single-center retrospective analysis evaluated the impact of SVI on PFS following ASCT in MM patients. 225 patients with MM who underwent ASCT participated, with 51% transplanted in the last 5 years. At 5 years post-transplant, 55 (50%) achieved PFS and 66 (60%) remained alive. Higher SVI values were significantly associated with lower odds of PFS (OR = 0.521, p< 0.01, 95% CI [0.41, 0.66]) and OS (OR = 0.592, p< 0.01, 95% CI [0.46, 0.76]) post-transplant. Greater vulnerability scores in the socioeconomic status (OR = 0.890; 95% CI: [0.82, 0.96]), household characteristics (OR = 0.912; 95% CI: [0.87, 0.95]), and racial and ethnic minority status (OR = 0.854; 95% CI: [0.81, 0.90]) themes significantly worsened the odds of PFS. These results suggest high SVI areas may need more resources to achieve optimal PFS and OS. Future studies will focus on addressing factors within the socioeconomic status, household characteristics, and racial and ethnic minority subthemes, as these have a more pronounced effect on PFS.

We report the synthesis, structures, magnetic, and luminescence properties of a new series of tetranuclear lanthanide-based germsesquioxanes [NEt4]2[(Ph4Ge4O8)2(Ln4)(NO3)6(EtOH)2(MeCN)2]·n(CH3CN) (where Ln = Eu3+(1), Tb3+(2), Tb3+/Eu3+(3), Dy3+/Y3+(4), and Dy3+(5)). These paramagnetic compounds exhibit characteristic Ln3+-based emission in solid state at room and liquid nitrogen temperature. Temperature-dependent luminescence investigated between 293 and 373 K reveals that mixed Tb3+/Eu3+(3) compound works as a self-referenced ratiometric optical thermometer with a maximum relative sensitivity of 0.87%·°C–1achieved at 57.6 °C.

•Omidubicel is an ex vivo expanded stem cell product derived from umbilical cord blood (UCB).•We conducted a pooled analysis of long-term outcomes from 5 clinical trials evaluating omidubicel transplantation.•The 3-year overall survival and disease-free survival were 62.5% and 54.0%, respectively.•Durable long-term trilineage hematopoiesis and immune competence up to 8 years were noted.•One case of donor-derived myelodysplastic syndrome each was seen with omidubicel and standard UCB transplantation.

In this article, the concept of J-uniform integrability of a sequence of random variables Xkwith respect to ankis introduced where Jis a non-trivial ideal of subsets of the set of positive integers and ankis an array of real numbers. We show that this concept is weaker than the concept of Xkbeing uniformly integrable with respect to ankand is more general than the concept of B-statistical uniform integrability with respect to ank. We give two characterizations of J-uniform integrability with respect to ank. One of them is a de La Vallée Poussin type characterization. For a sequence of pairwise independent random variables Xkwhich is J-uniformly integrable with respect to ank, a law of large numbers with mean ideal convergence is proved. We also obtain a version without the pairwise independence assumption by strengthening other conditions. Supplements to the classical Mean Convergence Criterion are also established.

AimTo investigate whether the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical category cT2b needs to be subclassified by the type and distribution of retinoblastoma (RB) seeding.MethodsMulticentre, international registry-based data were collected from RB centres enrolled between January 2001 and December 2013. 1054 RB eyes with vitreous or subretinal seeds from 18 ophthalmic oncology centres, in 13 countries within six continents were analysed. Local treatment failure was defined as the use of secondary enucleation or external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsClinical category cT2b included 1054 eyes. Median age at presentation was 16.0 months. Of these, 428 (40.6%) eyes were salvaged, and 430 (40.8%) were treated with primary and 196 (18.6%) with secondary enucleation. Of the 592 eyes that had complete data for globe salvage analysis, the distribution of seeds was focal in 143 (24.2%) and diffuse in 449 (75.8%). The 5-year Kaplan-Meier cumulative globe-salvage (without EBRT) was 78% and 49% for eyes with focal and diffuse RB seeding, respectively. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis confirmed a higher local treatment failure risk with diffuse seeds as compared with focal seeds (hazard rate: 2.8; p<0.001). There was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove an association between vitreous seed type and local treatment failure risk(p=0.06).ConclusionThis international, multicentre, registry-based analysis of RB eyes affirmed that eyes with diffuse intraocular distribution of RB seeds at diagnosis had a higher risk of local treatment failure when compared with focal seeds. Subclassification of AJCC RB category cT2b into focal vs diffuse seeds will improve prognostication for eye salvage.

Effective recovery of dyes and salts from textile wastewater by nanofiltration (NF) remains a serious challenge due to the high consumption of water and energy caused by the limited performance of the available membranes. Herein, a novel strategy is described to prepare loose polyester NF membranes by using renewable quercetin as the aqueous monomer for fractionation of high salinity textile wastewater with minimal water and energy consumption. Compared with NF270, taken as the reference membrane, the QE-0.2/TMC-0.2 membrane significantly improved the efficiency for dye/salt fractionation by 288%. The water consumption was also decreased by 42.9%. The efficiency is attributed to an ultrahigh water permeance of 198 ± 2.1 L–1m–2h–1bar–1with a high selectivity of 123 (extremely low NaCl rejection of 1.6% and high Congo red rejection of 99.2%). The optimal quercetin-based membrane had an ultrathin separation layer of about 39 ± 1.2 nm with good hydrophilicity and negative charge density. Moreover, this work includes a novel method of comparison with a theoretically ideal membrane, which shows that both the energy and water consumption are near their theoretical minimum. This strategy is expected to save energy and minimize carbon emissions for membrane-based wastewater treatment systems.

ABSTRACTThis study provides the first evidence of ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) in a truly subterranean rodent, the northern mole vole Ellobius talpinus. Calls were recorded by attracting callers with a bait to burrow entrances, where they were mostly visible to researchers. USVs recorded from 14 different burrows in southern Russia were verified as belonging to Ellobius talpinusby comparison with USVs of two wild-captured young males and by comparison with USVs of four adults from a captive colony. As a first attempt at exploring the function of USV diversity, we defined upward-intense USVs, with a maximum fundamental frequency (f0) of 35.32 ± 5.11 kHz, and variable-faint USVs, with a maximum f0 of 31.40 ± 7.78 kHz. Compared to variable-faint USVs, the upward-intense USVs were longer, had a larger depth of frequency modulation and were produced at high intensity in regular series. The upward-intense USVs were lower in the maximum and peak frequencies in the wild than in captivity, whereas the variable-faint USVs did not differ between recordings from the wild and from captivity. We discuss that similar ranges of acoustic variables found in USVs of Ellobius talpinusand surface-dwelling Arvicolinae species do not support the hypothesis that subterranean life has drastically reduced ultrasonic vocalisation in rodents.

In the present research, the ability for direct electron transfer between aromatic molecules of benzene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene located, respectively, inside and outside the ZSM-5 zeolite channels is observed and reported. The performed quantum chemical calculations allowed the first time identification of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene radical cations stabilized on the outer surface of zeolite. The obtained data provide an explanation of the mechanism of reversible influence of benzene adsorption and desorption on the formation of its radical cations that was experimentally discovered a long time ago for high silica zeolites. It was revealed that the key factor responsible for the spatial charge division and formation of benzene radical cations, detectable by means of EPR spectroscopy, was electric fields inside the zeolite, facilitating the ejection of positive charges to the terminal benzene molecule in a chain [•(C6H6)+(C6H6)···(C6H6)···•As–] localized inside zeolite’s channels. This process is accompanied by the disappearance of •(C6H6)+radical cations and the appearance of •(C9H12)+radical cations detected by the EPR technique. The effect of adsorption-induced reversible charge transfer between aromatic molecules inside the zeolite matrix discovered in the present research can be useful for analysis of the conditions of allowed electron transfer within the 1D structures formed by such molecules.

Abstract—: A search for promising nonselective sorbents based on composite materials, including using carbon nanomaterials, is an urgent task of resuscitation and toxicology. The synthesis and estimation of the biocompatibility of sorbents based on gamma-aluminum oxide and polydimethylsiloxane, modified with single-walled carbon nanotubes or carbon nanofibers, are carried out. It is detected that the synthesized sorbents adsorb low and medium molecular weight substances on their surface. Moreover, it is found that there is a toxic effect on red blood cells (hemolysis) occurs with prolonged exposure (120 h), short-term (5 min) exposure of the components of human peripheral blood with the sorbents leads to a loss in the number of platelets and leukocytes, mainly granulocytes, of mononuclear cells of the peripheral blood, as well as short-term and long-term contact of the blood components with the samples of sorbents contributes to a decrease in the metabolic activity of the cells and the activation of nitric-oxide production. Based on the results obtained, it can be assumed that the sorbent based on γ aluminum oxide and polydimethylsiloxane, modified with carbon nanomaterials, is promising for the development of nonselective sorbents.

The aim of this paper is to present a technique that enables one to visualize DEA modelling results. A family of parametric optimization methods developed by our group allows us to construct an intersection of the frontier with a two-dimensional plane determined by any pair of given directions. Thus, we can investigate the structure of the frontier over any production unit. This paper also demonstrates an application of this approach to efficiency analysis of Russian banks. JEL classification: C61; G21

ABSTRACTAmong ruminants, some species of cervids, bovids and camelids are capable of producing very high-frequency (HF) calls potentially produced by the aerodynamic whistle mechanism. We analysed the HF calls of six individual adult captive camels: three male and one female two-humped Camelus bactrianusand one male and one female one-humped C. dromedarius. Context of emission differed between sexes and individuals. Males of both species vocalised when guarding females during the rut. Females of both species vocalised towards their mates, postpartum (female C. bactrianus) or when protesting against preventing locomotion over enclosure (female C. dromedarius). In either species or sex, the HF calls were faint tonal vocalisations slightly modulated in fundamental frequency (f0). Between species, the calls were significantly lower-frequency (1.7 ± 0.16 kHz) and longer (0.23 ± 0.08 s) in C. bactrianusthan in C. dromedarius(3.12 ± 0.11 kHz; 0.16 ± 0.05 s). Nonlinear vocal phenomena (subharmonics and sidebands) occurred in both species but not in all individuals. We discuss the relationship of the f0 of the HF calls with body size and vocal fold length in ruminants. We conclude that the ‘whistling’ HF calls of C. dromedariusare the highest-frequency vocalisations in Artiodactyla.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a common and life-threatening complication of allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); there is an urgent unmet need for effective therapies. We aimed to evaluate the Janus kinase 1 inhibitor itacitinib versus placebo, both in combination with corticosteroids, for initial treatment of acute GVHD.

Aim:Many economic evaluations used linear or log-transformed additive methods to estimate the disutility of hypoglycemic events in diabetes, both nonsevere (NSHEs) and severe (SHEs). Methods:We conducted a literature search for studies of disutility for hypoglycemia. We used additive, minimum and multiplicative methods, and the adjusted decrement estimator to estimate the disutilities of joint health states with both NSHEs and SHEs in six scenarios. Results:Twenty-four studies reported disutilities for hypoglycemia in diabetes. Based on construct validity, the adjusted decrement estimator method likely provides less biased estimates, predicting that when SHEs occur, the additional impact from NSHEs is marginal. Conclusion:Our proposed new method provides a different perspective on the estimation of quality-adjusted life-years in economic evaluations of hypoglycemic treatments.

•Analysis of heat transfer performance in two ribbing-pitched microstructure tubes.•Both microstructure tube bundles show superior boiling heat transfer performance.•Best performance observed in microstructure tube bundles at the highest P/D.•Maximum enhancement of 420 % is observed in high-pitched microstructure tubes.

This document is a collection of letters from readers of the journal "World" expressing their appreciation for various articles and features. The letters cover a range of topics, including artistic tributes, political commentary, and coverage of international conflicts. Readers express gratitude for the informative and balanced reporting in the magazine, and some share personal experiences and opinions related to the articles. The letters reflect a diverse range of perspectives and opinions, and readers appreciate the opportunity to form their own opinions based on the information presented in the magazine. [Extracted from the article]

Colonial lagomorphs warn conspecifics of potential danger with alarm calls encoding information about attributes of presumptive predators as well as the caller. In this study, we show that alarm calls of Daurian pikas, Ochotona dauurica(Pallas, 1776), encode information about caller identity. We recorded the alarm calls produced toward a surrogate predator (researcher), slowly moving (0.5–1 km/h) between densely distributed colonies. The alarm calls of most (32 of the 35) callers started in the ultrasonic range at 22.41 kHz on average and rapidly decreased to 3.88 kHz on average at call end. Call duration was very short (0.057 s on average). The accuracy of classifying alarm calls to correct callers with discriminant function analysis (DFA) was 93.71% for the manually measured set of 12 acoustic variables and 95.43% for the semiautomatically measured set of 12 acoustic variables; in both cases exceeding the level of chance (17.28% or 17.33%, respectively). Nonlinear vocal phenomena (biphonations) only were detected in one individual. We discuss the relationship between vocal traits, individuality, vocal production mechanisms, and functions, of pika alarm calls. We propose a potential divergence of alarm calls in Asian pikas to high-frequency whistles (> 20 kHz in Daurian pikas) and in American pikas to low-frequency emissions (0.4–1.3 kHz in Ochotona princeps) during the evolutionary radiation of pikas at the center of the origin of lagomorphs in East Asia and their subsequent geographic dispersal.

In domestic dogs Canis familiaris, vocal traits have been investigated for barks and growls, and the relationship between individual body size and vocal traits investigated for growls, with less corresponding information for whines. In this study, we examined the frequency and temporal traits of whines of 20 adult companion dogs (9 males, 11 females), ranging in body mass from 3.5 to 70.0 kg and belonging to 16 breeds. Dog whines (26–71 per individual, 824 in total) were recorded in conditioned begging contexts modeled by dog owners. Whines had 3 independent fundamental frequencies: the low, the high and the ultra-high that occurred singly as monophonic calls or simultaneously as 2-voice biphonic or 3-voice polyphonic calls. From the smallest to largest dog, the upper frequency limit varied from 0.24 to 2.13 kHz for the low fundamental frequency, from 2.95 to 10.46 kHz for the high fundamental frequency and from 9.99 to 23.26 kHz for the ultra-high fundamental frequency. Within individuals, the low fundamental frequency was lower in monophonic than in biphonic whines, whereas the high fundamental frequency did not differ between those whine types. All frequency variables of the low, high, and ultra-high fundamental frequencies correlated negatively with dog body mass. For duration, no correlation with body mass was found. We discuss potential production mechanisms and sound sources for each fundamental frequency; point to the acoustic similarity between high-frequency dog whines and rodent ultrasonic calls and hypothesize that ultra-high fundamental frequencies function to allow private, “tete-a-tete” communication between members of social groups.

Introduction of finely disperse mineral additives of natural and man-made origin to Portland cement in order to improve the indicators of its physical-mechanical properties and partially replace clinker is one of the urgent directions for solving the resource and energy saving problems, as well as environmental protection problems in the production and application of building materials. The expansion of the raw material base of mineral additives can be achieved by using calcined polymineral clays, which are common in many regions of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Mordovia. The article presents the results of research on the effects of calcination temperature and time of thermally activated polymineral clays of the Republic of Mordovia on their physical-chemical efficiency in cement systems. According to the study results of dehydration processes of clay minerals using the synchronous thermal analysis, it is established that the optimum calcination temperature for clays of Nikitsky and Staroshaigovsky deposits located in the area of 500–800 °C. This temperature range corresponds to the processes of the initial crystal structure restructuring of clay minerals of the kaolinite and illite groups, associated with their dehydroxylation, which contributes to the transition of these phases to the active form. The optimization of calcination parameters of polymineral clays based on the study results of influence of their additives on the mixed cement binder activity confirmed the thermal analysis data. It was found that the production of mineral additives with the highest values of the activity index is facilitated by 2-hour heat treatment of clays at 700 °C. At the specified calcination parameters, the replacement of 10% of Portland cement with the additive of thermally activated Nikitsky clay allows achieving the mixed binder activity that exceeds by 3 % the same indicator of mixed binder based on Portland cement and high-quality metakaolin.

Flow batteries (FBs) currently are one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies for energy grids with a large share of renewable electricity generation. Among the main technological challenges for the economic operation of a large-scale battery technology is its calendar lifetime, which ideally has to cover a few decades without significant loss of performance. This requirement can only be met if the key parameters representing the performance losses of the system are continuously monitored and optimized during the operation. Nearly all performance parameters of a FB are related to the two electrolytes as the electrochemical storage media and we therefore focus on them in this review. We first survey the literature on the available characterization methods for the key FB electrolyte parameters. Based on these, we comprehensively review the currently available approaches for assessing the most important electrolyte state variables: the state-of-charge (SOC) and the state-of-health (SOH). We furthermore discuss how monitoring and operation strategies are commonly implemented as online tools to optimize the electrolyte performance and recover lost battery capacity as well as how their automation is realized viabattery management systems (BMSs). Our key findings on the current state of this research field are finally highlighted and the potential for further progress is identified.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:A computational model has predicted parameters for using a navigated microsecond pulsing laser system to treat central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC).PATIENTS AND METHODS:A prospective, single-center, interventional case series was conducted for patients with acute CSC who were enrolled following screening and informed consent. Treatment involved laser pulse duration of 50 μs, 2.4% Duty Cycle, 100 μm spot size, and 10 ms pulse duration.RESULTS:Average best-corrected visual acuity (decimal) of 12 patients improved from 0.86 ± 0.03 at baseline to 0.97 ± 0.01 at 3 months. Baseline central retinal thickness decreased from 452.58 μm ± 24.53 μm at baseline to 249.25 μm ± 2.92 μm at 3 months. Retinal sensitivity improved from 24.1 dB ± 1.09 dB at baseline to 28.98 dB ± 0.23 dB at 3 months. In all cases, subretinal fluid was resorbed.CONCLUSION:The parameter sets derived from the computer model can be applied safely and effectively for CSC treatment using the navigated microsecond pulsing laser system.[[Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2020;51:512–520.]

The novel class of gallium catalysts based on cationic gallium phthalocyanines (RPcGa+) with SbF6–and Sb2F11–weakly coordinating anions was developed in order to using in the catalytic version for gallium-specific chemistry. Two cycloaddition/annulation processes of styrylmalonates with aromatic aldehydes and styrene were implemented in the catalytic version using this approach. The synthetic strategy to gallium phthalocyanines and their structural features were studied in details, including the use of specially adapted 71Ga NMR spectroscopy in combination with 19F and 121Sb ones, as well as the mechanistic aspects.

Abstract: Films of nonstoichiometric germanium–silicon glasses of two types—GeOx[SiO](1 –x)and GeOx[SiO2](1 –x)—are deposited onto cold Si (001) substrates by evaporating GeO2and SiO (or SiO2) powders simultaneously in high vacuum. Film samples in their initial (as-deposited) state and after being annealed at 550 and 650°C for 1 h are investigated using IR and Raman spectroscopies and electron microscopy, and their photoluminescence (PL) is studied as well. Raman spectroscopy shows that, in contrast to the initial GeO[SiO2] film, the initial GeO[SiO] one contains clusters of amorphous germanium, their size being ~3 nm, as found by electron microscopy. The presence of Si–O, Ge–O, and Si–O–Ge bonds in the films is established by IR spectroscopy. Clusters of amorphous germanium are found in both films after annealing at 550°C, while germanium nanocrystals are formed in the films subjected to annealing at 650°C. For the initial films, a broad band with a maximum at 1050 nm is registered in their low-temperature PL spectra, which may originate from such defects as oxygen vacancies and overstoichiometric germanium atoms. Annealing causes structural changes in the films and affects their PL behavior. The films containing germanium nanoclusters give rise to PL with a maximum at 1400–1600 nm, with the defect-related signal being diminished. The temperature dependence of PL intensity exhibits a decreasing behavior, but PL is observed to temperatures as high as 200 K. The contribution of germanium nanocrystals formed at the annealing stage to PL is discussed.

Roll forging for the preliminary profiling of heated material is one of the methods used to optimise material utilisation and minimise the waste of metal as flash in preforming operations as well as to improve material distribution for the subsequent operations. Processes of roll forging using calibres were presented and the technology using 16 different experiments were analysed to validate the propositions regarding roll forging in multiple stages. The presented process was evaluated using the finite-element method, and an elementary formula was obtained to determine the spring back amount during the roll forging and investigations conducted to analyse the obtained results.

An increase in gut microbial diversity during Stem cell transplant (HSCT) has been associated with improved treatment-related mortality (TRM) and Gastro-intestinal (GI) Graft versus host disease (GI GVHD). Implementation of a diet rich in pre-biotics could increase gut microbial diversity. We report clinical results from single-center Phase I study NCT04629430 on feasibility of consuming a Prebiotic rich diet in patients undergoing HSCT.

Abstract: This work was devoted to studying the atomic structure and electron spectrum of a-SiOx: H films created on silicon and glass substrates by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Depending on the conditions of oxygen supply into the reactor, the stoichiometric parameter xof the films was varied from 0.57 to 2. The structure of the films and the specific features of their electron structure were characterized depending on the parameter xwith a complex of structural and optical methods and ab initio quantum-chemical simulation for the model SiOxstructure. The studied SiOx: H films were established to consist predominantly of silicon suboxides SiOy, SiO2clusters, and amorphous silicon. Based on the spatial fluctuations of their chemical composition, the model of bandgap width and potential fluctuations was proposed for SiOxelectrons and holes. The obtained data would provide the charge transport in a-SiOx: H films with more precise modeling important for the creation of nonvolatile random-access memory (RAM) elements and memristors on their basis.

ABSTRACTThe peculiar acoustic structure of ultrasonic bouts of blind climbing rodents Typhlomysmight provide insight on their potential function. We examined 1481 bouts consisting of 1-6 pulses; 49.7% of them were single-pulse bouts. Bout duration and inter-bout interval depended on the number of pulses per bout, whereas period from start of a previous bout to start of the next bout was constant (80.0±2.9 ms). Ultrasonic pulses (540 pulses measured in a subset of 234 bouts) were short (0.68±0.15 ms) sweeps with fundamental frequency slopes from 127.3±6.3 kHz to 64.1±4.6 kHz and peak frequency at 93.3±7.4 kHz, emitted within bouts with inter-pulse periods of 13.03±3.01 ms. Single pulses and start pulses of multi-pulse bouts were lower in frequency than other pulses of the bouts. In contrast, pulse duration was independent on pulse position within bout. Pulses of Typhlomyswere reminiscent of echolocation calls of Murinaand Myotisbats, but higher in frequency, much shorter, fainter, displayed a convex contour of frequency modulation and only the fundamental frequency band without harmonics and were organized in bouts, that is not characteristic for bat echolocation. Most probably, Typhlomysuses their ultrasonic pulses for call-based orientation during locomotion, including climbing and jumping among bush branches.

A course of medication with the Kardisten dietary supplement normalizes an elevated blood cortisol level and optimizes the activity of brain vasculature to improve the functional state and enhance short- and long-term memory performance, especially in subjects younger than 50. Kardisten evokes a more pronounced decrease of cortisol level and improves memory performance more efficiently in the case of initial organic changes in the brain vasculature as compared to advanced atherosclerosis. Kardisten activates the natural mechanisms of enhanced functional capacity in the human organism, exerts a favorable effect on mature and elderly persons, and can be recommended for physical and mental health improvement and the preservation of an active lifestyle during aging.

Membranes with a high water flux and excellence in separating NaCl are required in pervaporation (PV) for water desalination. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are low cost and hydrophilic with good mechanical properties. Therefore, they could potentially enhance the water flux of PV membranes. Cellulose triacetate/cellulose nanocrystals (CTA/CNCs) nanocomposite PV membranes were successfully fabricated via solution casting, aiming to improve the water desalination performance. The effects of CNCs on the membrane morphology, hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, water flux, and rejection were investigated. Incorporating CNCs changed the membrane structure from spongelike to self-assembled structure. PV experiments showed incorporating 3% CNCs into a CTA membrane effectively enhanced the water flux by a factor of 3, from 2.16 kg m–2h–1to 5.76 kg m–2h–1. This was further optimized by reducing the casting blade height from 200 to 100 μm, thus obtaining a flux of 11.68 kg m–2h–1, while the NaCl rejection remained 99.9%. The CNCs 3%-CTA PV membrane with a casting blade height of 100 μm also showed a good performance for 12 h of separation. This newly developed PV membrane allows for an excellent separation of water from NaCl. Moreover, it has a substantially increased water flux compared to a pristine membrane and is thus potentially applicable for desalination.

Lanthanum and zirconium oxides are well known to be applied as an additive to improve the properties of the commercial alumina. Such modified aluminas are widely used in different catalytic fields including three-way catalysis. In the present research we have paid attention to the possible effects of the doping on the catalytic performance and stability of bimetallic Pd-Rh catalysts. The samples were prepared via an incipient wetness impregnation of the commercial supports, tested in CO oxidation under prompt thermal aging regime and characterized by physicochemical methods.

Zirconium oxide was obtained via traditional precipitation from a ZrOCl2 solution with ammonia followed by drying at 110 °C. The carbon-coated samples were synthesized by calcination of the pristine zirconia mixed with polyvinylalcohol. The obtained ZrO2@C samples of core-shell structure as well as the reference samples of pristine zirconia were calcined at different temperatures from 500 to 1400 °C. All the materials were examined by a set of physicochemical methods (a low-temperature argon adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, photoluminescence spectroscopy). It was found that the carbon coating prevents the sintering of the oxide nanoparticles, which allows one to maintain the specific surface area, the size of the oxide core and, finally, stabilize its phase composition. Transformation of the cubic phase into monoclinic phase becomes significantly complicated. Thus, 40% of the cubic phase was detected even after calcination of the ZrO2@C sample at 1400 °C. Moreover, the carbon-coated samples treated at elevated temperatures with subsequent removal of the carbon shell were found to possess the highest concentration of the defects related to a presence of the anion vacancies in zirconia.

In this paper, we study the complete f-moment convergence for arrays of rowwise extended negatively dependent (END) random variables. A general result on the complete moment convergence for arrays of rowwise END random variables is established, which generalizes and improves the corresponding ones of Wu et al. (Glasnik Matematički 49(69):447–466, 2014) and Hu et al. (Sankhya A 77(1):1–29, 2015). As applications, we present some new results on complete moment convergence for END random variables.

This article analyses the dynamics of the development of the nuclear rivalry between India and Pakistan and identifies two central factors. First, the India-China border war of 1962 and the latter's accession to the "nuclear club" in 1964, left India with no alternative but to develop its "nuclear option". Second, the India-Pakistan armed conflicts of 1965 and 1971 prompted the Pakistani ruling circles to develop their own nuclear weapons. This paper examines and evaluates the main stages in the development of the nuclear programmes of India and Pakistan and analyses their impact on the geopolitical situation in the region. It draws attention to the presence of the "China factor" in the bilateral relationship and its influence on the political processes in South Asia. It also highlights the need for the creation of a system of collective security on the Asian continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of organosilicon products with a “polar” functional group within organic substituents is one of the most fundamentally and practically important challenges in today’s chemistry of silicones. In our study, we suggest a solution to this problem, viz., a high-efficiency preparative method based on aerobic Co-/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHSI) catalyzed oxidation of p-tolylsiloxanes to p-carboxyphenylsiloxanes. This approach is based on “green”, commercially available, simple, and inexpensive reagents and employs mild reaction conditions: Co(OAc)2/NHSI catalytic system, O2as the oxidant, process temperature from 40 to 60 °C, atmospheric pressure. This reaction is general and allows for synthesizing both mono- and di-, tri-, and poly(p-carboxyphenyl)siloxanes with p-carboxyphenyl groups at 1,1-, 1,3-, 1,5-, and 1,1,1-positions. All the products were obtained and isolated in gram amounts (up to 5 g) and in high yields (80–96%) and characterized by NMR, ESI-HRMS, GPC, IR, and X-ray data: p-carboxyphenylsiloxanes in crystalline state form HOF-like structures. Furthermore, it was shown that the suggested method is applicable for the oxidation of organic alkylarene derivatives (Ar–CH3, Ar–CH2–R) to the corresponding acids and ketones (Ar–C(O)OH and Ar–C(O)–R), as well as hydride silanes ([Si]–H) to silanols ([Si]–OH). The possibility of synthesizing monomeric (methyl) and polymeric (siloxane-containing PET analogue, Sila-PET) esters based on 1,3-bis(p-carboxyphenyl)disiloxane was studied. These processes occur with retention of the organosiloxane frame and allow to obtain the corresponding products in 90 and 99% yields.

The results of the study on the physical and mechanical characteristics of fine-grained fibre-reinforced concretes with multifunctional modifying additives are given. The influence of modifying additives and dispersed fibres on the water demand of fibre-reinforced concrete mixtures, the density in normal humidity conditions, and the limits of flexural and compressive strength of cement composites was established. The analysis of deformation diagrams for three-point bending of modified fine-grained fibre reinforced concretes was performed. According to the results of the study, compositions characterised by increased fracture toughness and the highest values of strength properties were identified.

In the present work, self-disintegration of the bulk metallic Ni–Cr alloy in the presence of different polymer compounds under the conditions of closed volume and elevated temperatures is studied. It was found that in the cases of polymers containing in addition to carbon only hydrogen atoms (polyethylene) or only halogen atoms (polytetrafluoroethylene), self-disintegration does not proceed noticeably even at temperatures as high as 800 °C. The predominating form of the solid product is non-catalytic carbon shaped as microspheres or their sintered agglomerates. On the contrary, for decomposition of the polymer containing hydrogen and halogen atoms (polyvinylchloride), self-dispersion of the bulk alloy is significantly facilitated. This process is accompanied with formation of catalytically derived forms of structured carbon within all the studied temperature range (500–800 °C). The most common form of the carbon deposits is nanofibers. At the same time, some unusual carbon structures were observed, among which the solid-phase carbon–nickel microcrystals of a regular cubic shape with pyramidal cavities on each facet are of special interest. The studied process can be considered as an alternative approach for utilization and recycling of the plastic wastes.

There is a framework providing some general guidance to interpret the levels of parameter uncertainty of the probabilistic analysis in economic evaluations. Given that this framework may not fully address underlying causes for the uncertainty, we sought to extend it for two specific scenarios. We provided the mathematical interpretations and conducted simulation studies for two scenarios. The first study examined a case where the intervention and control strategies were associated with different health states (e.g., active surveillance versus surgery for treatment of non-invasive cancer). The second study evaluated the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), estimated from reported summary statistics (i.e., mean and standard deviation) of longitudinal post-treatment utility data from a clinical trial. The first simulation study showed that the magnitude of uncertainty of cost-effectiveness results was much greater if a decision model considered different health states for the intervention and control strategies than if the model considered the same health states. The second study showed that variance in the estimates of QALYs and incremental QALYs using the summary statistics was substantially underestimated when the correlations of repeated measures which are generally not available in the literature were omitted. We further discussed the implications of our findings for the economic modeling. In addition to qualitative categorization of uncertainty proposed by the general framework to assist with decision-making, we also need to comprehend methods used to address uncertainty in economic evaluations to enable informed policy making.