Search

Abstract Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) utilizing MeV ion beams provides valuable insights into surface elemental composition across the entire periodic table. While ion beam measurements have advanced towards high throughput for mapping applications, data analysis has lagged behind due to the challenges posed by large volumes of data and multiple detectors providing diverse analytical information. Traditional physics-based fitting algorithms for these spectra can be time-consuming and prone to local minima traps, often taking days or weeks to complete. This study presents an approach employing a Mixture Density Network (MDN) to model the posterior distribution of Elemental Depth Profiles (EDP) from input spectra. Our MDN architecture includes an encoder module (EM), leveraging a Convolutional Neural Network-Gated Recurrent Unit (CNN-GRU), and a Mixture Density Head (MDH) employing a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP). Validation across three datasets with varying complexities demonstrates that for simple and intermediate cases, the MDN performs comparably to the conventional automatic fitting method (Autofit). However, for more complex datasets, Autofit still outperforms the MDN. Additionally, our integrated approach, combining MDN with the automatic fit method, significantly enhances accuracy while still reducing computational time, offering a promising avenue for improved analysis in IBA.

The urgency of the problem of studying the refractive properties of the troposphere is determined by the increasing rate of use of radio meteorological parameters in the design and operation of GLONASS-GPS and GSM radio-electronic systems in various physical and climatic regions of the Earth, in particular in eastern Russia. Specialists are faced with an urgent need to study the laws governing the propagation of VHF-UHF radio waves taking into account the influence of all layers of the atmosphere as a medium with a variable refractive index. The article presents the calculation of the refractive index N based on meteorological data of the atmospheric-soil measuring complex, located on the measuring station in the Eravninsky district of the Republic of Buryatia. The dependences of the refractive index on atmospheric pressure, water vapor elasticity, and absolute air temperature are established.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of the thymus are rare, usually aggressive, and prone to metastatic lesion. Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion in thymic NET (TNEN) is associated with poor prognosis. Most of TNET express somatostatin receptors, it allows the use of somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) and SPECT/CT or PET/CT with 68Ga-labeled peptides for diagnosis and staging of the disease. Surgery (macroscopic-complete resection) is the mainstay treatment for TNET. Now, there are no unequivocal data in adjuvant therapy and its effectiveness. We present a case report of the pediatric patient with well differentiated atypical ACTH-producing thymic carcinoid. This localization was verified by whole body somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with 111In-DTPA-octreotide (Octreoscan). The patient proceeded with the surgical treatment followed by remission of hypercorticism without adjuvant chemotherapy. Tumor recurrence with redevelopment of ACTH-ectopic syndrome was detected after 67 months of observation.

Abstract On the path to full understanding of the structure-function relationship or even design of RNA, structure prediction would offer an intriguing complement to experimental efforts. Any deep learning on RNA structure, however, is hampered by the sparsity of labeled training data. Utilizing the limited data available, we here focus on predicting spatial adjacencies ("contact maps”) as a proxy for 3D structure. Our model, BARNACLE, combines the utilization of unlabeled data through self-supervised pre-training and efficient use of the sparse labeled data through an XGBoost classifier. BARNACLE shows a considerable improvement over both the established classical baseline and a deep neural network. In order to demonstrate that our approach can be applied to tasks with similar data constraints, we show that our findings generalize to the related setting of accessible surface area prediction.

Questions concerning the effect of environment on appearance, development and disappearance of archaeological cultures in the territory of southern Primorye have been addressed in the article. The chronological framework of the research is from the Late Palaeolithic through to the Middle Ages. Thirty three natural sections of different genesis have been examined for reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene — Holocene environment. Palynological, diatomic and radiocarbon methods have been used for their examination. The data on archaeological periods and cultures have been provided based on the analysis of materials of Primorye archaeological sites (including 14 Palaeolithic, 33 Neolithic, 30 Paleometal, and 15 Medieval). Climatic changes have been discussed in terms of their effect on the resource base of people. The earliest Palaeolithic sites, which 14C date approximately 16,000 years BP, were found in Eastern part of Primorye. Climate warming and rise of sea level in the Early Neolithic (ca. 8,000 years 14C BP) facilitated the growth of resource base and expansion of the Neolithic people with sustainable adaptation models in Primorye. This manifested in the appearance of long-term settlements and differentiation of the tool sets. The beginning of the sea regression around 6,000 14С years BP resulted in the extinction of the Boysman Culture. Slight cooling and aridization of the climate 5,600–5,400 14C years BP contributed to the appearance of a new cultural tradition involved with agriculture. The long existence of cultures in the Late Neolithic and Paleometal periods, with significant climatic shifts, can be explained by introducing mixed economy model with increased role of the economy of producing type. In the Late Paleometal and Medieval periods, economic, political and military factors had a great impact on communities, along with environment and climatic factors. Correlation of palaeogeographical and archaeological data demonstrated a certain synchronicity of environmental changes and cultural events. Climatic fluctuations led to migrations, variations in local population density, changes in adaptation strategies of the people, and changes of direction of economic activities.

Introduction. The Peace of Adrianople (June 13, 1713) ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1710– 1713. The Prut (1711) and Constantinople (1712) treaties signed by the Russian ambassadors were not ratified by the Turkish side. In Adrianople, there were also problems related to the confirmation of the treaty. Methods and materials. The source base was formed by documents stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (F. 89 “Relations between Russia and Turkey”), as well as in the Scientific and Historical Archive of the Saint Petersburg Institute of History of RAS (F. 83 “Field Chancellery of Alexander D. Menshikov”). A comprehensive study of archival and published materials, a comparison of the information contained in them made it possible to formulate and analyze the main problems associated with the signing and ratification of the peace treaty. Analysis. The basis of the Adrianople peace, which the ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary P. Shafirov and M. Sheremetev concluded with the Sublime Porte, was the provisions of the Peace Treaty of Constantinople (April 5, 1712). The additions made by the Ottoman ministers related to the Polish and Crimean problems did not meet the interests of Peter I. The wording “on the Crimean payment” was the result of a long diplomatic struggle and left the problem open. On June 22, 1713, Russian ambassadors and Ottoman ministers exchanged by the texts of the treaty. The countdown of the delivery time (90 days) of the confirmation of the peace agreement by Peter I began on June 13. The demand to send an ambassador with the ratification is also connected with the intention of the Sublime Porte to continue negotiations on Crimean payments. Results. The Russian ambassadors managed to prevent the revision of the agreement confirmed by the tsar. The Sublime Porte was no less interested than Russia in ending the war. The provisions of the Adrianople peace reflected the interests of the Ottoman government, which refused to support by force the demands of the Crimean Khan.

BACKGROUND: Non-pharmacological treatments are an integral part of the treatment of all patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, due to many factors, doctors and patients themselves tend to underestimate or completely neglect such effective methods in managing the course of the disease. Despite the high level of evidence of the effectiveness of this type of treatment for T2D, every year scientists around the world continue to actively study the effect of various non-drug methods on the course of the disease.AIM: To study the effect of a 24-week structured non-pharmacological treatment program on glycated hemoglobin reduction and weight loss in middle-aged patients with compensated T2D taking metformin.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-group, randomized, parallel-group, blinded trial was designed. Patients with an established diagnosis of T2D in the stage of compensation (HbA1c ≤7%), aged 45–59 years, taking metformin, were randomized to receive either standard non-pharmacological treatment of diabetes according to clinical protocol of T2D treatment in Kazakhstan, or an intensive course of non-pharmacological treatment according to a structured program developed by researchers. The duration of the intervention was 24 weeks. Primary outcomes were glycated hemoglobin, body weight. Secondary outcomes: blood pressure, waist circumference, insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), lipid profile: total cholesterol, high and low density lipoproteins, triglycerides. The outcomes of the participants in both groups were assessed at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after randomization. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04632823.RESULTS: The study included 200 patients, 67 patients completed the study: intervention group n=33, control group n=34. After 24 weeks of observation, patients in the intervention group showed a significant decrease in HbA1c from 6.34% to 6.22%, p

A facile and environmentally benign method for single-phase barium titanate synthesis in a water vapor medium was studied to reveal the mechanism of phase transformation of the initial simple oxide mixture and estimate the capability of the product to be used as a raw material for low-frequency dielectric ceramics. The composition and structure of the reactants’ mixture, treated in vapor at 130–150 °C as well as at 230 °C for various time periods, were investigated by means of XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX, and FTIR methods. The kinetics of the occurring phase transformation can be described using the Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Erofeev equation. The reaction between the initial oxides was considered as a topochemical process with an apparent activation energy of 75–80 kJ mol−1. A crucial role in this process belonged to the water vapor medium, which facilitated the generation of the reaction zone and the spreading inward of the solid particles. The synthesized tetragonal barium titanate powder (mean particle size of 135 nm) was sintered using a conventional technique at 1250 °C to obtain ceramics with grains of about 2 μm. Capacitance measurements identified a permittivity and dielectric loss factor of the ceramics that reached 3879 and 6.7 × 10−3, respectively, at 1 kHz and room temperature.

An analysis of the scientific literature in recent years reliably indicates the importance of molecular diagnostics in the field of nephrology. Research contains information on the role of genetic factors in the chronicization of the process of nephritic syndrome, ongoing research in this area. The pathology of development is explained by the fact that the chronicity of the process occurs primarily due to genetic inferiority of parts of the nephron, which leads to changes in the structure of the protein. The results of the study show the relationship between changes in the genotype of MMP9 (Matrix metalloproteinase-9) (A-8202G) rs11697325 with the development of the chronicization process. Our results provide evidence that cystatin C is an accurate diagnostic and prognostic marker of chronic nephritic syndrome in the pediatric population. At the same time, chromosomal polymorphic MMP9 genes affect the glomerular filtration rate by increasing the amount of Cystatin C, which is a gold marker in the diagnosis of chronic nephritic syndrome in children, determining the prognosis of the disease, which makes it possible for timely treatment and further tactics of the doctor.

The agrarian sector of Kazakhstan’s economy is dynamically developing in the system of market relations. The system of market relations, production and economic relations are transformed, new forms of interaction between the subjects of the agrarian sector are used. Today, agrarians are actively using information technologies to improve production efficiency. They see the importance of digitalization of agribusiness, the advantages of information technology implementation in practice. Ultimately, the digitalization of the studied sphere of economy will ensure the normal functioning of the industry. In order to ensure efficient production, any enterprise is interested in reducing the costs associated with the production of crop and livestock products. The agricultural products produced for consumers must also meet the required quality characteristics and withstand competition in the market. And this can be achieved only through intensive factors of production and digitalization of agro-industrial complex. The need to implement digital technologies in the sphere of agriculture is the purpose of writing this study.

For the first time palynological research was carried out on the Abrikosovsky settlement, located in the Krounovka river valley. This site is dated back to the epoch of the Bohai state (698–926). It was determined that during its existence there were transformations of surrounding landscape associated with climatic and anthropogenic causes. Several stages of the settlement development have been defined. Pollen of cultivated, edible wild plants and industrial crops were found in the cultural layer sediments. The inhabitants of the settlement could use stalks of nettle or hemp for the production of textiles. Reed could be one of the building materials (fascine making), its phytoliths were found in the cultural layer. It was determined that one of the natural disasters was recurring strong freshets and floods in the second half of the summer.