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A child, 5 years and 3 months old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and severe problem behavior was taught to stop playing and move to the learning activities. The study demonstrates the result of 2 phases of skill-based treatment (SBT) developed by Dr. Gregory Hanley: a) relinquish reinforcement phase (CAB 1) and b) transition phase (CAB 2). This is an individual case analysis, the study was conducted in a multiple baseline design across behaviors, lasted 8 weeks, and included the measurements of problem behaviors and learned skills during each training trial. As a result of 15-hour training, the child was taught the skill of stopping the play and transition to the learning area. Learners’ responses as willingness to listen to a teacher and ready to learn have emerged. At the same time, dangerous problem behavior was reduced to zero during the transition from a preferred activity to a learning area while being instructed. Transition responses were spontaneously generalized with people who were not present in the classroom (parents, tutors) and transferred to the new conditions (home and pre-school).

Aurumacryl is an incomplete metal salt of poly(acrylic acid) that exhibits hemostatic activity and inhibits the growth of transplantable carcinomas in vivo. The samples of aurumacryl synthesized following the original technique are insufficiently soluble, which complicates the study of the mechanisms involved in their synthesis and underlying their cytotoxic effect. The aim of this work was to study the impact of the following factors on aurumacryl properties: the molecular weight of the polyacrylate polymer in a range between 2 and 1,000 kDa, the presence of a counterion H+ or Na+, the molar ratio of AuCl– to the polyacrylate polymer (1 : 5 and 1 : 10), the total concentration of the polyacrylate polymer during synthesis (0.1 and 3%), and the type of drying (lyophilization). By comparing the cytotoxicity of aurumacryl samples with significantly different molar ratio of gold ions to the polyacrylate polymer against human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7), we established that the proportion of the polymer and its molecular weight in the sample do not affect the biological properties of the synthesized substance. Using UV spectroscopy, we revealed that the concentration of Au (III) ions in aurumacryl determines its cytotoxicity.

Summary Alterations in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were studied on chlorotic grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) grown under natural conditions on soil containing 30–35% CaCO3, and in lupins (Lupinus luteus L.) grown in a greenhouse with addition of 20% CaCO3 to the soil. In both series of experiments SOD activity in leaves of chlorotic plants was from 20 to 30%, higher. The efficiency and absolute rate of superoxide anion radical formation were found to rise as a result of iron deficiency in the lupin leaves. Increased SOD activity and greater amounts of enzyme isoforms were observed in the leaves of grapevine cultivars resistant to lime-induced chlorosis as compared to less resistant cultivars. The present investigation suggests that initiation of lime-induced chlorosis is determined not only by reduced chlorophyll biosynthesis but also by other consequencies of iron deficiency in tissues, particularly by the high rate of formation of superoxide and other activated oxygen species, causing destructive changes in the photosynthetic apparatus. The increased SOD activity may be regarded as a protective mechanism against the formation of superoxide.

The interaction of the functional groups in the polyurethane foam adsorbent Penopurm® with the cations of some 3d-metals upon their extraction from aqueous solutions has been studied by atomic emission spectroscopy, UV/Vis and vibrational IR spectroscopy, and quantum chemical simulation using density functional theory. Penopurm® absorbs 3d-metal cations from aqueous solutions in the pH range 5–7. Some spectral criteria have been found indicating a predominant interaction of Ni2+ ions with various fragments of the polyurethane foam structure.

Physicomechanical and electrophysical characteristics of a polyurethane composite doped with carbon-containing materials have been investigated. It has been found that the roughness of the sample’s surface and also the porosity increase with the concentration of the dopant. Volt-ampere characteristics of composite materials point to the activated type of conductivity in these materials; however, at a temperature of nearly 340 K, the type of conductivity is changed. Also, the frequency dependence of the conductivity has been established.

We have studied the vibrational spectra and thermal curves (DTA, DTG, and TG) for the products of reaction between total shale phenols and boric acid, and also the polymer matrix of a gas-filled alkyl resorcinol polymer modified by mixtures of boric acid and aluminum oxide. Based on analysis of the IR absorption spectra, we show that the reason for the change in the physicochemical properties of the foam polymer is complex formation between the polymer and the additive.

It is shown that the wettability of diamond can be tailored in a broad range by the surface modification via ion bombardment. The polished MPCVD diamond films were oxidized in air at 550 °C to make the surface hydrophilic and then were irradiated with Ar+ ions at 1 keV energy at doses ranging from 1×1014 to 5×1016 cm−2. The surface state evolution was monitored in situ with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES). A progressive sp3 to sp2 bond transformation took place with the dose increase, while the irradiated surface becomes hydrophobic with the water contact angle increasing from 24° to 67° as measured with a sessile drop method. The heating of the ion-treated samples in air at 450 °C restores the hydrophilic properties inherent to oxidized diamond surface.

In the approximation for the valence force field with quantum-chemical estimation of the intensities of the absorption bands of IR spectra, calculation of the main spectral-structural and energy characteristics of dioxy-benzenes is performed. This made it possible to suggest energetically more favorable conformations and assign the frequencies of normal vibrations to individual types of symmetry.

The syntheses, structures, electrochemical properties of the series of ferrocenylalkyl azoles, FcAlkAz, as well as the antitumor activity of ferrocenylmethyl benzimidazole ( 8 ) have been studied. Above mentioned compounds were investigated by the method of cyclic voltametry. All of them exhibited a reversible one-electron oxidation–reduction wave owing to the ferrocene–ferrocenium redox couple with a positive shift (0.50–0.65 V) compared with that of ferrocene (0.42 V). The X-ray determination of molecular structures of 1-(ferrocenylmethyl)imidazole ( 4 ), 1-(ferrocenylbenzyl)imidazole ( 7 ) and 1-(ferrocenylmethyl)bezimidazole ( 8 ) was carried out. Compound 4 with imidazolyl substituent was found to be present in N -protonated form. Antitumor activity of 1-(ferrocenylmethyl)benzimidazole ( 8 ) against some solid tumor models such as adenocarcinoma 755 (Ca755), melanoma B16 (B16) and Lewis lung carcinoma was studied. The antitumor activity of compound 8 was compared with cisplatin effectiveness against some experimental tumor systems.

The a-C:H films were deposited on monocrystalline silicon (001) substrates from RF (13.56 MHz) discharge plasma in a capacity-type reactor. The stability of a-C:H films in different aggressive liquids was investigated by the methods of wettability and thermodesorption (TD) using a mass spectrometer to detect particles being desorbed in the temperature range 20–800°C. Comparative analysis of the data on film wettability and TD has allowed us to suggest the mechanism of a-C:H film destruction. The mechanism is based on the catalytic activity of ions in solution, which interact intensively with surface carbon atoms. The highest destabilisation of carbon bonds in the film near-surface layer, which causes film destruction to form CO2, is found to occur in contact with an alkali solution. In this case the CO2 ion flow intensity is two orders of magnitude higher than that from the initial film surface. This finding corresponds to the best wettability (wetting angle θ=10–12°) and the highest work of adhesion (Wa=158.5 mJ/m2) of alkali solution to a-C:H film surface. The replacement of hydrogen by nitrogen in the film structure increases its chemical stability when contacting with aggressive media.

A new approach to the assessment of protective properties of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films is suggested that is based on studying the film wettability by solutions of different physico-chemical compositions. For a wide spectrum of water solutions of acids, bases, salts, organic liquids, surface-active substances and amorphous hydrogenated films, capillary properties (wettability, adhesion, interphase energy at the film–liquid interface) have been studied. The greatest change in σsl is shown to occur in the film–alkali solution system. A protective action of a-C:H films from the point of view of their interaction with a medium has been verified for all types of contact systems under study.