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This paper considers psycho-educational aspects of training and assignment of a crew commander for a remote space mission. An algorithm for selecting commander candidates is proposed and their personality traits and important professional qualities are specified. The preparation program should include training in practical psychology, prevention, and settlement of problems in interpersonal communication, and managerial actions.

Results from experiments on the radial distribution of the magnetic fields in axial plasma flows formed during the compression of a plasma–current sheath carried out at the KPF-4-PHOENIX plasmafocus installation are presented. The plasma flows were generated in a discharge with stationary filling of the chamber with a working gas of argon or hydrogen, and also with a pulsed injection of argon. Analysis of the radial profiles of the magnetic field distribution and their time variations are used to localize regions of trappedmagnetic field, as well as regions where a return current flows at the periphery of the plasma flow. It is shown that the transverse (radial) size of the plasma flow depends on the density of the ambient medium (background gas) through which it propagates. These experiments were carried out in the framework of a project on laboratory simulations of non-relativistic jets from young stars.

The aim of the study whose results are discussed in this paper was to conduct experimental and numerical research on improving a high-accuracy method, developed by the authors, of positioning underwater objects. For this, experimental testing of an improved range-finding technology was carried out, based on the inclusion into the measuring scheme of a block that can measure and monitor the sound velocity on the shelf area of a track connecting a source of navigation signals and an a receiver system imitator consisting of autonomous underwater apparatus. In addition, under natural conditions, we implemented a scenario in which range-finding data was provided to an autonomous underwater apparatus carrying out a mission in the water area at a distance of 300 km from the source of navigation signals using technical tools for controlling variability of the sound velocity on the shelf. A specific example was used to test the acoustic range-finding technology on a track with complex hydrological and bathymetric conditions, and an estimate was obtained for the accuracy of measuring distances during a 4 h drift of the autonomous underwater apparatus imitator.

Results are presented from experimental studies of the plasma flows generated in the KPF-4 Phoenix Mather-type plasma focus device (Sukhum Physical Technical Institute). In order to study how the formation and dynamics of the plasma flow depend on the initial distribution of the working gas, a system of pulsed gas puffing into the discharge volume was developed. The system allows one to create profiled gas distributions, including those with a reduced gas density in the region of plasma flow propagation. Results of measurements of the magnetic field, flow profile, and flow deceleration dynamics at different initial distributions of the gas pressure are presented.

The results of experiments aimed at investigating axial plasma flows forming during the compression of a current–plasma sheath are presented. These experiments were carried out at the KPF-4-PHOENIX plasma-focus installation, as part of a program of laboratory simulations of astrophysical jets. The plasma flows were generated in a discharge when the chamber was filled with the working gas (argon) at initial pressures of 0.5–2 Torr. Experimental data obtained using a magnetic probe and optical diagnostics are compared. The data obtained can be used to determine the location of trapped magnetic field relative to regions of intense optical glow in the plasma flow.

The paper deals with the relevance of using electrical discharge technology for construction works in the city. The technical capabilities of the installation for the multi-borehole electro-discharge splitting off and destruction of rocks and concrete are described. The ways to increase the efficiency of the electrical discharge method for the destruction of solids are proposed. In order to augment the discharge circuit energy, the energy storage is separated into two individual capacitor batteries. The throttle with the inductance of 28.6 μH is installed in one of the batteries, which increases the duration of the channel energy release to 400 μs and the efficiency of electrical discharge splitting off of concrete.

The paper examines how hydrological conditions affect manifestation of the acoustic “landslide” effect, which consists in focusing of acoustic energy in the near-bottom layer on the shelf and its transition to the axis of an underwater sound channel in deep water. We compare the results of experiments performed in the Sea of Japan in April 2014 and August 2006 on the same acoustic track, where the distance between corresponding points was more than 100 km. In April, the hydrological conditions in the shelf region of the track and in the upper layer of the deep-water part of the sea were characterized by the presence of a relatively weak (~0.35 s–1) negative vertical sound velocity gradient, whereas in August 2006, it was ~1.5 s–1. Experimental and numerical studies showed that the acoustic landslide effect also manifests itself under conditions of a weak negative sound velocity gradient, but the structure of the acoustic field trapped by the underwater sound channel has a more complex character with a time-expanded pulse characteristic. Nevertheless, its ordered, stable, and well-identified structure at all track points chosen for measurements make it possible to reliably create an efficient (with accuracies to hundredths of a percent) underwater navigation systems like GLONASS and GPS for the spring hydrology season.

The review considers the development of a new science—metabolomics. The metabolome is mainly regarded as a set of primarily biochemical parameters, each of which or their ratio can serve as a potential biomarker that increases the sensitivity and/or specificity of diagnostics of diseases.

Results are presented from magnetic probe measurements in the pinching region formed during the compression of the plasma current sheath (PCS) in a discharge in deuterium at the KPF-4-Phoenix plasma focus facility. The fine structure (shock front-magnetic piston) of the PCS and its time evolution in the course of plasma compression toward the facility axis was studied by means of magnetic probes. It is shown that the fraction of the current transported into the axial region by the PCS does not exceed 65% of the total discharge current. The integral neutron yield Yn is well described by the formula Yn ≈ (1.5–3) × 1010Ip4, where Ip (in MA) is the pinch current flowing in the region r ≤ 22 mm.

The effects of ABA treatment on the contents of polyamines (PAs) and proline (Pro) in the glycophyte Phaseolus vulgaris L. during plant adaptation to salt stress were studied. Two-week-old common bean seedlings grown in the phytotron chamber on the Jonson nutrient medium were subjected to salinity for 6 days by one-time NaCl addition to medium up to final concentrations of 50 and 100 mM. During first three days of salinity, the root system was daily treated with ABA (1, 5, 10, or 50 μM) for 30 min. Salt stress (100 mM NaCl) elevated the level of endogenous ABA, increased the content of Pro 14-fold, reduced sharply the content of free PAs (putrescine, spermidine, spermine, and cadaverine), and the accumulation of 1,3-diaminopropan, a product of oxidation of high-molecular PAs. Common bean plant treatment with 1 μM ABA weakened the adverse effects of salt stress (100 mM NaCl), which was manifested in the maintenance of plant growth, stimulation of chlorophyll (a and b) and carotenoid accumulation, a stabilization of water and Na+ balance. Seedling treatment with ABA suppressed NaCl-induced Pro and intracellular ABA accumulation and restored the levels of putrescine and spermidine. The content of spermine in the leaves of plants subjected to salt stress and treated with ABA was approximately threefold higher than in control plants, whereas the content of cadaverine increased under similar conditions more than fivefold. Simultaneously, the contents of 1,3-diaminopropan and malondialdehyde as well as activity of superoxide dismutase were reduced, which indicates a weakening of oxidative stress, one of the possible causes of defensive ABA effects against salt stress. In addition, the suppression by exogenous ABA of Pro accumulation and stimulation of PA content under salt stress confirm indirectly our hypothesis that ABA is involved in the coordinated regulation of two biosynthetic pathways, Pro and PA formation, which use a common precursor, glutamate, and play an important protective role during stress in plants.

This paper presents experimental data on the penetration of shaped charges with porous liners into metal targets located at distances smaller than or comparable to the diameter of the charge and some experimental data on the velocity of the jets from the investigated charges with liners of metal powders.

A measuring complex has been designed for experimental investigations of the effects that hydrophysical processes in a marine environment have on the quality of navigation using on-board equipment of submersibles in the process of signal reception from hydroacoustic beacons installed near the shoreline. The main systems and characteristics of the measuring complex are described.

It has been shown in a series of works that famine experienced in early ontogenesis may have remote consequences for human health. The present study contains an analysis of the prevalence of type II diabetes (T2DM) among those of Ukraine’s residents who were born during the famine of 1932–1933, as well as before and after it. The study results have revealed a significantly higher prevalence of T2DM in individuals whose development in utero was exposed to the period of maximally expressed starvation (1933), compared to that of the subjects unexposed to the famine during their prenatal development phase. These differences were clearly manifested in the individuals born within the first half of the year and were completely absent in the subjects born in the second half, which may serve as evidence of the involvement of seasonal natural factors in the pathological processes. Our possible explanation for the above is that if a person’s development happens to be exposed to famine, this may lead to the induction of remote metabolic changes, which have an adaptive importance in early postnatal ontogenesis, but which raise the risk of T2DM developing later in life.

Amorphous Co-P alloy films containing 18–20 at % P are shown to have a network-type microstructure with structural heterogeneity sizes of 30–100 A on nanometer and atomic spatial scales. The degree of short-range ordering is different in these heterogeneities: high-density regions mainly consist of disordered atoms; in some places, there are 10- to 20-A clusters with signs of atomic ordering; and there are regions with a low material density characterized by the absence of atomic ordering. The use of aberration corrected microscopy allowed us to establish that the network microstructure is complex: the regions of high and low densities observed on the nanometer spatial scale as homogeneous media have, on the atomic scale, a structural heterogeneity that manifests itself as further separation into regions with different material densities and different degrees of short-range atomic ordering. Surface defects as pores and holes in the amorphous films are shown to be activating factors of the onset of crystallization.

Current recommendations for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation are based on the linear no-threshold (LNT) model for radiation carcinogenesis under which every dose, no matter how low, bears some cancer risk. In this review, epidemiological evidence is discussed that the LNT hypothesis is incorrect at low doses. A large set of data was accumulated that show that cancer risk after ordinarily encountered radiation exposure (natural background radiation, medical X-rays, etc.) is much lower than estimates based on the LNT model. The discovery of low-level radiation hormesis (stimulating effect) implies a non-linear dose-response curve in the low-dosage region. Further studies in this field will provide new insights into the mechanisms of radiation carcinogenesis.

The dynamics of the grid structures of Co-Ni-P alloys is investigated via transmission electron microscopy under thermal action and irradiation by γ quanta. Statistical processing of the electron-microscopic images of grid structures makes it possible to construct the empirical functions of size distribution of grid cells in the presence of different types of actions. Analysis of empirical distribution functions and their moments has been performed to study the statistics of distribution functions corresponding to different stages of structural relaxation during thermal and radiation actions and to classify structural relaxation processes. The presence of correlative interaction between structure components has been found in the initial state of an amorphous alloy; the type of correlation has been determined. The correlation behavior is analyzed under irradiation by γ quanta and thermal action. It has been revealed that grid cells exhibit different correlative interactions determined by the type of action.

Concentration-induced reorientation phase transitions in thin magnetic films of FeCo alloys have been investigated taking into account “planar” or “bulk” magnetoelastic interaction. The critical concentrations of Co corresponding to the phase transition points, as well as the types of the phase transitions, have been determined. The phase diagrams have been plotted.

Many studies have shown that organism is mostly sensitive to different influences in pre- and postnatal periods of ontogenesis. During the critical periods of development, these influences induce changes in the organism that relate to ontogenetic plasticity and lead to permanent changes in structure and function of different organs and systems of the organism. It is suggested that the main molecular mechanisms of so-called “ontogenetic programming” are based on changes that occur on the epigenetic level, including changes in the genetic expression not connected with modifications of DNA structure. The present review deals with experimental and epidemiologic evidences of the role of epigenetic processes in aging and determination of susceptibility to some age-related diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and insulin-independent diabetes.

The review systematizes the evolutionary genetic approaches to the problem of aging, basing on the concepts of different reliabilities of separate biological processes and of balance between the reliabilities of these processes at a level that guarantees survival and reproduction in aggressive environment. The basic concepts of the Kirkwood’s disposable soma theory, according to which the viability potential is determined by a compromise in the allocation of the organism’s resources between reproduction and repair and maintenance of the soma are discussed. The basic concepts of the balance evolutionary genetic theory of aging are presented.

Foaming and stabilizing capacities of sodium salts of carboxylic acids (lauric, myristic, palmitic) in the presence of aliphatic alcohols (hexanol, butanol) and inorganic electrolytes was studied.

The interaction of nickel hydroxocarbonate, ammonium paramolybdate, and ammonium metatungstate (Ni: Mo: W = 3: 1: 1) is reported. Under mechanical activation conditions, nickel hydroxocarbonate particles undergo comminution and ammonium paramolybdate and ammonium metatungstate particles soften and aggregate. It is demonstrated by DTA, X-ray diffraction, and IR spectroscopy that heat treatment of the mechanically activated mixture at 400–450°C yields the salts NiMoO4 and NiWO4.

Results of studying the chemically induced synthesis of colloidal silver in microorganism cells are reported. It is suggested that three-dimensional structures that comprise colloidal silver crosslinked with matrix biopolymers are formed over the course of synthesis. Bactericide properties of synthesized biocomposite materials are studied before and after the lyophilization on Gramnegative bacteria and yeasts in both solid and liquid nutrients. Correlations between disperse characteristics of forming silver nanoparticles, surface properties, and the biological activity of preparations are demonstrated. Biocomposite preparations of ultradispersed silver synthesized by the reduction with sodium borohydrid are characterized by enhanced microbicide activity compared to analogous preparations synthesized with hydrazine.

Electrophysical characteristics of yeast cells in which precipitates are formed by the chemical-microbiological method from colloidal solutions with different concentrations are studied. The cell ζ-potential and dc surface conductivity at frequencies of 100–600 kHz are calculated using the data from measuring the electrophoretic mobility and dispersion of cell conductivity. In our calculations, we used known electric cell model (isolating cytoplasmic membrane that separates conducting cytoplasm and external solution) supplemented by an external ion-exchange layer that models the cell wall. A comparison of changes in the dc and ac surface conductivities of cell testifies to the formation of clusters of metal silver nanoparticles in the cell wall.

The REE distribution patterns and Nd whole-rock and mineral isotope ratios of the Kingash ultramafic-mafic massif enabled us to propose a multistage history for its evolution at 1410 and 875 Ma. These stages reflect the magmatic evolution of the Siberian paleocontinent margin during the Late Precambrian. The age of metamorphism of the massif during collision and accretion in the Early Paleozoic (∼500 Ma) was obtained based on a Sm-Nd mineral isochron from rheomorphic veined albitite. The Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of rocks from the Kingash massif suggest mantle sources for picritic and basic magmas, which are thought to have originated by mixing of different proportions of depleted (PREMA or DM) and enriched (EM) melts. The initial isotope ratios of the parental melts transformed during interaction with Sr-rich material from the host metasedimentary complexes.

The first data are presented on the distribution of rare elements and isotope composition of neodymium and strontium in the rocks of the alkaline-ultramafitic association of the Kresty volcanoplutonic structure (one of the probable satellites of the Gulinian massif being the largest in the Maimecha-Kotui alkaline province in Polar Siberia). On the basis of the results of geochemical studies performed and formerly obtained geophysical and isotope data, a new model is proposed for the plume nature of magmatism in the region, based on the action of a single mantle source of the PREMA type and its active interaction with the matter of the Earth’s crust.

The pretreatment of Fechral support for preparing a methane pyrolysis catalyst was studied. The Fechral support after high-temperature (1000°C) treatment in air was examined by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with chemical analysis, and X-ray phase analysis of the surface layer. The morphological, chemical, and phase changes on the support surface were studied. A mechanism of formation of the dispersed α-Al2O3 phase on the Fechral surface was suggested.

Prenatal administration of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) at a high dose (120 μg per 100 g of body weight) and low dose (12 μg per 100 g of body weight) and prenatal emotional stress resulted in aggressive behavior of two-month-old male progeny of DD mice in the resident-intruder test. However, no increase in the aggressiveness of male progeny of the highly aggressive C57BL mice, which we studied previously, was observed. These data suggest that the prenatal effect of DSIP on the behavior of DD and C57BL mice depended on the individual genotype. The aggressiveness of two-month-old male progeny of the DD mice that were subjected to prenatal treatment with DSIP was accompanied by enhanced activity of monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) in the cerebral hemispheres. These results suggest that DSIP should be considered as a regulatory peptide that controls the expression of the MAO A gene, and that MAO A was probably involved in the development of aggressiveness of the male progeny of the DD mice after the prenatal administration of DSIP. Prenatal emotional stress had no significant influence on the activity of MAO A in the brain of two-month-old male progeny of DD mice. Development of the aggressiveness of two-month-old male progeny of DD mice which were produced by stressed mothers was possibly not associated with fluctuations in the activity of MAO A in the brain.

Synthesis of amorphous zinc cadmium ammine aqua monophosphates Zn3−xCdx(PO4). 2n(NH3) · m(H2O) (x = 0.6–2.4, n = 1.3–3.1, m = 2.3–3.4) with variable molar ratio of the cations described. The sequence of thermal transformations of compound [Zn1.5Cd1.5(NH3)1.4(H2O)3.2(PO4)2] with equimolar ratio of cations is studied, and schemes of its transformation into the crystalline zinc cadmium monophosphate Zn1.5Cd1.5(PO4)2 are suggested.

A hardware and software system for measuring the angular structure of acoustic fields using the vector-phase methods for processing the complex M-sequence probing signals is described. The results of testing the system are given. A unique relationship between the change in the temperature condition on the stationary acoustic route and the times and angles of arrival of the acoustic energy is determined under controlled hydrological conditions. It is shown that, using vector receivers in tomographic schemes, it is possible to obtain an independent additional parameter of the pulse response of the diagnosed waveguide and increase thereby the efficiency of reconstruction of hydrophysical fields from acoustic probing data.

The possibility of the heterogeneous synthesis of crystalline nickel(II) cobalt(II) aqua ammine orthophosphates with a specified ratio of cations was studied. The substances were studied by IR spectroscopy, X-ray phase analysis, and thermal analysis. Owing to a wide color spectrum, they show promise as pigments for ceramic industry.

Formation of R1R2 associates between hexadecylammonium chloride and sodium carboxylates (octanoate, laurate, and palmitate) was studied by IR spectroscopy and chemical methods, and their foaming activity was characterized.

The differential tunnel conductance GS of the junction between a normal metal and a superconductor with a charge density wave (CDW) is calculated as a function of the voltage V across the junction. The results are averaged over the spread of superconducting and CDW energy gaps in the nanoscale-inhomogeneous superconductor. It is shown that, if both order parameters are nonzero, a dip-hump structure is formed beyond the superconducting gap of GS(V). If the phase of the CDW order parameter is not equal to π/2, a dip-hump structure will appear solely or mainly for one sign of the bias polarity. The results agree with the experimental data for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ and other high-temperature oxides

Heterometal (copper-nickel, copper-zinc, copper-cadmium, and nickel-zinc) ammineaqua diphosphates are synthesized. Their composition and structure are determined by chemical analysis, paper chromatography, electronic, IR, and ESR spectroscopy, and X-ray phase analysis.

Influence of short-chain soda soap (sodium pentanoate) on the foaming and stabilizing activity of long-chain sodium carboxylates (laurate, myristate, and palmitate) is studied.

A tunnel junction between a metal partially gapped by charge density waves metal (CDWM) and a ferromagnet (FM) in an external magnetic field is considered. Only the Zeeman paramagnetic effect is taken into account. It is shown that the peaks in the dependence of differential conductance versus voltage, induced by the CDW gap, split, with each peak having a predominant spin polarization. This effect makes it possible to electrically measure the polarization of current carriers in FMs.

The energy of dynamic image forces acting on a charged particle moving normally to the semiconductor-vacuum interface or in a vacuum gap between two semiconductors is calculated in the framework of the perturbation theory. The dielectric approach allows for spatial and time dispersions of the dielectric functions of electrodes. It is shown that the quantum-mechanical character of the screening should be taken into account. In particular, the dynamic corrections to the static image forces appear to be less than those in the quasi-classical model. The perturbation method used in this work is applicable in wider ranges of external electrostatic fields and particle energies.

Exposure characteristics that were obtained when growing various films on natural low Miller index surfaces of several crystals were collected and analyzed. An evolution theory that explains their special form was constructed. The type of dose characteristics obtained suggests that the surface underwent a reconstruction, i.e., a nonequilibrium phase transition that occurs on the surface. A quantitative analysis of the experiments available has been performed. In particular, a quantitative estimation was obtained of to what extent coverage with lead hinders the oxidation of the surface of a nickel crystal. Upon intense light or electron irradiation of silicon, divacancies are the predominant centers of the formation of point and extended radiation defects, as well as of local regions of melting. For some two-dimensional systems (divacancies, sulfur atoms on the surfaces of passivated semiconductors, oxide films), delay times and evolution times for the self-organized structure formed were determined.

The current-voltage characteristics (CVC) are calculated for the Josephson, interference, and quasiparticle components of the current through a tunneling junction formed by two superconductors with spin density waves (SDW). The treatment is based on the model of partial dielectrization (gapping) of the Fermi surface and the assumption of pinning of the spin density waves. The following particular cases are studied in detail: asymmetric SDW superconductor-ordinary superconductor junctions and symmetric junctions between two identical SDW superconductors. The positions and nature of the singularities in the CVC are determined. For a symmetric contact the possibility of the existence of asymmetric CVC’s is predicted. The calculations are in qualitative agreement with the experimentally observed behavior of the CVC’s of tunneling junctions and microcontacts containing the SDW superconductor with heavy fermions URu2Si2.

The paper reports the development of a high-sensitivity technique for measurement of inelastic electronic light-scattering spectra in the near-IR region, which are excited by a stable single-mode cw YAG:Nd laser operating at 1064.4-nm. This technique has permitted detection for the first time of quasielastic scattering of light by a photoexcited electron-hole plasma generated in a GaAs layer with an embedded self-organized ensemble of InAs quantum dots. A considerable resonant enhancement of the quasielastic electronic scattering intensity exceeding the level characteristic of the bulk material by two orders of magnitude has been revealed. The main scattering mechanism, involving joint diffusion of electrons and holes, has been elucidated.