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The plasma opacity in stars depends mainly on the local state of matter (the density, temperature, and chemical composition at the point of interest), but in supernova ejecta it also depends on the expansion velocity gradient, because the Doppler effect shifts the spectral lines differently in different ejecta layers. This effect is known in the literature as the expansion opacity. The existing approaches to the inclusion of this effect, in some cases, predict different results in identical conditions. In this paper we compare the approaches of Blinnikov (1996) and Friend and Castor (1983)–Eastman and Pinto (1993) to calculating the opacity in supernova ejecta and give examples of the influence of different approximations on the model light curves of supernovae.

The physical origin of Type-I (hydrogen-less) superluminous supernovae (SLSNe-I), whose luminosities are 10 to 500 times higher than normal core-collapse supernovae, remains still unknown. Thanks to their brightness, SLSNe-I would be useful probes of distant Universe. For the power source of the light curves of SLSNe-I, radioactive-decays, magnetars, and circumstellar interactions have been proposed, although no definitive conclusions have been reached yet. Since most of light curve studies have been based on simplified semi-analytic models, we have constructed multi-color light curve models by means of detailed radiation hydrodynamical calculations for various mass of stars including very massive ones and large amount of mass loss. We compare the rising time, peak luminosity, width, and decline rate of the model light curves with observations of SLSNe-I and obtain constraints on their progenitors and explosion mechanisms. We particularly pay attention to the recently reported double peaks of the light curves. We discuss how to discriminate three models, relevant models parameters, their evolutionary origins, and implications for the early evolution of the Universe.

Superluminous supernovae are a new class of supernovae that were recognized about a decade ago. Both observational and theoretical progress has been significant in the last decade. In this review, we first briefly summarize the observational properties of superluminous supernovae. We then introduce the three major suggested luminosity sources to explain the huge luminosities of superluminous supernovae, i.e., the nuclear decay of 56Ni, the interaction between supernova ejecta and dense circumstellar media, and the spin down of magnetars. We compare these models and discuss their strengths and weaknesses., 45 pages, 6 figures, a refereed review article to be published in Space Science Reviews

Upcoming high-cadence transient survey programmes will produce a wealth of observational data for Type Ia supernovae. These data sets will contain numerous events detected very early in their evolution, shortly after explosion. Here, we present synthetic light curves, calculated with the radiation hydrodynamical approach Stella for a number of different explosion models, specifically focusing on these first few days after explosion. We show that overall the early light curve evolution is similar for most of the investigated models. Characteristic imprints are induced by radioactive material located close to the surface. However, these are very similar to the signatures expected from ejecta-CSM or ejecta-companion interaction. Apart from the pure deflagration explosion models, none of our synthetic light curves exhibit the commonly assumed power-law rise. We demonstrate that this can lead to substantial errors in the determination of the time of explosion. In summary, we illustrate with our calculations that even with very early data an identification of specific explosion scenarios is challenging, if only photometric observations are available., 15 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Phase equilibria in the LiF-KCl-KVO3-K2MoO4-LiKMoO4 stable pentatope of the Li,K‖F,Cl,VO3,MoO4 reciprocal five-component system were studied using differential thermal analysis (DTA). A eutectic was found to have a composition (mol %) of 50.0 LiF, 11.5 KCl, 6.0 KVO3, 1.6 K2MoO4, and 25.0 LiKMoO4 and a melting temperature of 394°C.

The first powerful burst of photon radiation in a supernova appears when the shock front is a few photon mean-free paths below the star photosphere. This is called “shock breakout” and it is the first observable event after the neutrino and gravitational wave bursts in core-collapsing supernovae. Any early information about collapse is vitally important for understanding the physics of explosion, constraining speed of neutrino propagation etc. Direct observations of shock breakouts have been carried out in a few supernovae. We discuss some puzzles related to those objects. Finally, we describe our current understanding of the most luminous (hyper-)supernovae. Their long living radiative shocks pause many interesting problems in numerical and laboratory astrophysics and may have important applications in cosmology.

The Li,K‖Cl,VO3,MoO4 system was partitioned into simplexes using graph theory, and the tree of phases for this system was constructed. The equations of the main reactions describing the chemical interaction in the quaternary mutual systems Li,K‖F,Cl,VO3(MoO4) and Li,K‖F(Cl),VO3,MoO4 were derived using the conversion patterns of partitioning elements. Based on the reaction equations and the data on the boundary elements, the prediction of phases crystallizing in the studied systems was made and confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction analysis.

We calculate multicolor light curves (LCs) of supernovae (SNe) from red supergiants (RSGs) exploded within dense circumstellar medium (CSM). Multicolor LCs are calculated by using a multi-group radiation hydrodynamics code STELLA. If CSM is dense enough, the shock breakout signal is delayed and smeared by CSM and kinetic energy of SN ejecta is efficiently converted to thermal energy which is eventually released as radiation. We find that explosions of RSGs are affected by CSM in early epochs when mass-loss rate just before the explosions is higher than 10^{-4} Msun/yr. Their characteristic features are that the LC has a luminous round peak followed by a flat LC, that multicolor LCs are simultaneously bright in ultraviolet and optical at the peak, and that photospheric velocity is very low at these epochs. We calculate LCs for various CSM conditions and explosion properties, i.e., mass-loss rates, radii of CSM, density slopes of CSM, explosion energies of SN ejecta, and SN progenitors inside, to see their influence on LCs. We compare our model LCs to those of ultraviolet-bright Type IIP SN 2009kf and show that the mass-loss rate of the progenitor of SN 2009kf just before the explosion is likely to be higher than 10^{-4} Msun/yr. Combined with the fact that SN 2009kf is likely to be an energetic explosion and has large 56Ni production, which implies that the progenitor of SN 2009kf is a massive RSG, our results indicate that there could be some mechanism to induce extensive mass loss in massive RSGs just before their explosions.

Red supergiants (RSGs) are progenitors of Type IIP supernovae (SNe). It is suggested that RSGs can experience a mass loss with a very high mass-loss rate (even as high as 0.01 M⊙ yr−1) due to, e.g., dynamical instabilities of their envelopes (e.g., Yoon & Cantiello (2010)). Because of the extensive mass loss, RSGs can have very dense circumstellar medium (CSM) around them. If a SN explosion occurs soon after the extensive mass loss of a RSG, the SN ejecta will collide with the dense CSM. Due to the collision, the kinetic energy of the ejecta is converted to radiation energy and such SNe with collision can be brighter than usual Type IIP SNe. By performing one-dimensional multi-group radiation hydrodynamical calculations, we investigate the effects of the collision on Type IIP SN LCs. We show that if RSGs explode within a dense CSM, the SN will be very bright, especially in ultraviolet, at early epochs. We also compare our models with the ultraviolet-bright Type IIP SN 2009kf and show that the progenitor of SN 2009kf can be a massive RSG which experienced extensive mass loss just before its explosion. We conclude that this is evidence that massive RSGs experience extensive mass loss and the existence of such mass loss can actually be the cause of the contradiction between theoretical and observational mass ranges of Type IIP SN progenitors.

We investigate the consequences of fairly normal Type Ia supernovae being embedded in compact and dense envelopes of carbon and oxygen rich circumstellar material by means of detailed radiation hydrodynamic simulations. Our main focus rests on exploring the effects of the interaction between ejecta and circumstellar material on the ejecta evolution and the broad-band light curve. In our calculations, we find that a strong reverse shock efficiently decelerates and compresses the ejecta material. This leads to a significant broadening of the optical light curve, a longer rise to maximum and a slower decline in the tail phase. During the interaction, substantial radiative energy is generated, which mostly emerges in the extreme ultraviolet and X-ray regime. Only if reprocessing due to radiation-matter interactions is very efficient, a significant boost in the optical light curve is observed. We discuss these findings in particular in the context of the super-luminous event SN 2009dc. As our calculations are able to reproduce a number of its peculiar properties, we conclude that the flavour of the interaction scenario investigated in this work constitutes a promising candidate to explain such 'Super-Chandrasekhar' supernovae., Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures; published in MNRAS

We present synthetic bolometric and broad-band UBVRI light curves of SNe Ia, for four selected 3-D deflagration models of thermonuclear supernovae. The light curves are computed with the 1-D hydro code STELLA, which models (multi-group time-dependent) non-equilibrium radiative transfer inside SN ejecta. Angle-averaged results from 3-D hydrodynamical explosion simulations with the composition determined in a nucleosynthetic postprocessing step served as the input to the radiative transfer model. The predicted model UBV light curves do agree reasonably well with the observed ones for SNe Ia in the range of low to normal luminosities, although the underlying hydrodynamical explosion models produced only a modest amount of radioactive Ni56 and relatively low kinetic energy in the explosion. The evolution of predicted B and V fluxes in the model with a Ni56 mass of 0.42 M_sun follows the observed decline rate after the maximum very well, although the behavior of fluxes in other filters somewhat deviates from observations, and the bolometric decline rate is a bit slow. Using our models, we check the validity of Arnett's rule and the accuracy of the procedure for extracting the Ni56 mass from the observed light curves. We find that the comparison between theoretical light curves and observations provides a useful tool to validate SN Ia models. The steps necessary to improve the agreement between theory and observations are set out., Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, 4 tables; accepted to publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We examine and analyze the physical processes that should be taken into account when modeling young type-Ia SNRs, with ages of several hundred years. It is shown, that energy losses in the metal-rich ejecta can be essential for remnants already at this stage of evolution. The influence of electron thermal conduction and the rate of the energy exchange between electrons and ions on the temperature distribution and the X-radiation from such remnants is studied. The data for Tycho SNR from the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope have been employed for the comparison of calculations with observations., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures

Supernovae of type Ia (SNe Ia) are very important for cosmography. To exclude systematic effects in linking the observed light of distant SNe Ia to the parameters of cosmological models, one has to understand the nature of supernova outbursts and to build accurate algorithms for predicting their emission. We review the recent progress of modeling the propagation of nuclear flame subject to numerous hydrodynamic instabilities inherent to the flame front. The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability is the main process governing the corrugation of the front on the largest scales, while on the smallest scales the front propagation is controlled by the Landau-Darrieus instability. Based on several hydrodynamic explosion models, we predict the broad-band UBVI and bolometric light curves of SNe Ia, using our 1D-hydro code which models multi-group time-dependent non-equilibrium radiative transfer inside SN ejecta. We employ our new corrected treatment for line opacity in the expanding medium, which is important especially in UV and IR bands. The results are compared with the observed light curves. Especially interesting is a recent 3D-deflagration model computed at MPA, Garching, by M. Reinecke et al., 16 pages, 7 figures; invited talk at the JENAM-2002 meeting (Porto, Portugal, September, 3-8); minor corrections

We computed the thermal time-dependent X-ray spectrum of a hot plasma in the vicinity of a gamma-ray burst (GRB). An allowance for time-dependent processes in a hot rarefied plasma is shown to strongly affect the observed spectrum. These computations can give an alternative explanation for the observed X-ray emission lines in the early afterglows of GRBs (e.g., GRB 011211). Our technique allows the GRB collimation angle and the environment clumpiness parameters to be independently constrained.

The most massive stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), so called super-AGB stars, are thought to produce supernovae (SNe) triggered by electron captures in their degenerate O+Ne+Mg cores. Super-AGB stars are expected to have slow winds with high mass-loss rates, so their wind density is high. The explosions of super-AGB stars are therefore presumed to occur in this dense wind. We provide the first synthetic light curves (LCs) for such events by exploding realistic electron-capture supernova (ecSN) progenitors within their super-AGB winds. We find that the early LC, i.e. before the recombination wave reaches the bottom of the H-rich envelope of SN ejecta (the plateau phase), is not affected by the dense wind. However, after the plateau phase, the luminosity remains higher when the super-AGB wind is taken into account. We compare our results to the historical LC of SN 1054, the progenitor of the Crab Nebula, and show that the explosion of an ecSN within an ordinary super-AGB wind can explain the LC features. We conclude that SN 1054 could have been a Type IIn SN without any extra extreme mass loss which was previously suggested to be necessary to account for its early high luminosity. We also show that our LCs match Type IIn SNe with an early plateau phase (`Type IIn-P') and suggest that they are ecSNe within super-AGB winds. Although some ecSNe can be bright in the optical spectral range due to the large progenitor radius, their X-ray luminosity from the interaction does not necessarily get as bright as other Type IIn SNe whose optical luminosities are also powered by the interaction. Thus, we suggest that optically-bright X-ray-faint Type IIn SNe can emerge from ecSNe. Optically-faint Type IIn SNe, such as SN 2008S, can also originate from ecSNe if their H-rich envelope masses are small. Some of them can be observed as `Type IIn-b' SNe due to the small H-rich envelope mass., 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics, abstract abridged

The calculations of the light curves of thermonuclear supernovae are carried out by a method of multi-group radiation hydrodynamics. The effects of spectral lines and expansion opacity are taken into account. The predictions for UBVI fluxes are given. The values of rise time for B and V bands found in our calculations are in good agreement with the observed values. We explain why our results for the rise time have more solid physical justification than those obtained by other authors. It is shown that small variations in the chemical composition of the ejecta, produced in the explosions with different regimes of nuclear burning, can influence drastically the light curve decline in the B band and, to a lesser extent, in the V band. We argue that recent results on positive cosmological constant Lambda, found from the high redshift supernova observations, could be wrong in the case of possible variations of the preferred mode of nuclear burning in the earlier Universe.

We present results of a systematic study of the mass-loss properties of Type IIn supernova progenitors within decades before their explosion. We apply an analytic light curve model to 11 Type IIn supernova bolometric light curves to derive the circumstellar medium properties. We reconstruct the mass-loss histories based on the estimated circumstellar medium properties. The estimated mass-loss rates are mostly higher than 1e-3 Msun/yr and they are consistent with those obtained by other methods. The mass-loss rates are often found to be constantly high within decades before their explosion. This indicates that there exists some mechanism to sustain the high mass-loss rates of Type IIn supernova progenitors for at least decades before their explosion. Thus, the shorter eruptive mass loss events observed in some Type IIn supernova progenitors are not always responsible for creating their dense circumstellar media. In addition, we find that Type IIn supernova progenitors may tend to increase their mass-loss rates as they approach to the time of their explosion. We also show a detailed comparison between our analytic prediction and numerical results., 11 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, matched to the published version

We present an analytic model for bolometric light curves which are powered by the interaction between supernova ejecta and a dense circumstellar medium. This model is aimed at modeling Type IIn supernovae to determine the properties of their supernova ejecta and circumstellar medium. Our model is not restricted to the case of steady mass loss and can be applied broadly. We only consider the case in which the optical depth of the unshocked circumstellar medium is not high enough to affect the light curves. We derive the luminosity evolution based on an analytic solution for the evolution of a dense shell created by the interaction. We compare our model bolometric light curves to observed bolometric light curves of three Type IIn supernovae (2005ip, 2006jd, 2010jl) and show that our model can constrain their supernova ejecta and circumstellar medium properties. Our analytic model is supported by numerical light curves from the same initial conditions., 29 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

We numerically investigate light curves (LCs) of shocked circumstellar shells which are suggested to reproduce the observed LC of superluminous SN 2006gy analytically. In the previous analytical model, the effects of the recombination and the bolometric correction on LCs are not taken into account. To see the effects, we perform numerical radiation hydrodynamic calculations of shocked shells by using STELLA, which can numerically treat multigroup radiation transfer with realistic opacities. We show that the effects of the recombination and the bolometric correction are significant and the analytical model should be compare to the bolometric LC instead of a single band LC. We find that shocked circumstellar shells have a rapid LC decline initially because of the adiabatic expansion rather than the luminosity increase and the shocked shells fail to explain the LC properties of SN 2006gy. However, our synthetic LCs are qualitatively similar to those of superluminous SN 2003ma and SN 1988Z and they may be related to shocked circumstellar shells., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Shock breakout is the brightest radiative phenomenon in a supernova (SN) but is difficult to be observed owing to the short duration and X-ray/ultraviolet (UV)-peaked spectra. After the first observation from the rising phase reported in 2008, its observability at high redshift is attracting enormous attention. We perform multigroup radiation hydrodynamics calculations of explosions for evolutionary presupernova models with various main-sequence masses $M_{\rm MS}$, metallicities $Z$, and explosion energies $E$. We present multicolor light curves of shock breakout in Type II plateau SNe, being the most frequent core-collapse SNe, and predict apparent multicolor light curves of shock breakout at various redshifts $z$. We derive the observable SN rate and reachable redshift as functions of filter $x$ and limiting magnitude $m_{x,{\rm lim}}$ by taking into account an initial mass function, cosmic star formation history, intergalactic absorption, and host galaxy extinction. We propose a realistic survey strategy optimized for shock breakout. For example, the $g'$-band observable SN rate for $m_{g',{\rm lim}}=27.5$ mag is 3.3 SNe degree$^{-2}$ day$^{-1}$ and a half of them locates at $z\geq1.2$. It is clear that the shock breakout is a beneficial clue to probe high-$z$ core-collapse SNe. We also establish ways to identify shock breakout and constrain SN properties from the observations of shock breakout, brightness, time scale, and color. We emphasize that the multicolor observations in blue optical bands with $\sim$ hour intervals, preferably over $\geq2$ continuous nights, are essential to efficiently detect, identify, and interpret shock breakout., Comment: 26 pages, 23 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series

We simulate shock propagation in a wide range of core-collapsing presuper- novae: from compact WR stars exploding as SNe Ib/c through very extended envelopes of the narrow-line SNe IIn. We find that the same physical phenomenon of radiating shocks can produce outbursts of X-ray radiation (with photon energy 3kT � 1 keV) lasting only a second in SNe Ib/c, as well as a very high flux of visual light, lasting for months, in SNe IIn.

Extensive light and colour curves for the Type Ia supernova SN 2002er are presented as part of the European Supernova Collaboration. We have collected UBVRI photometry from ten different telescopes covering the phases from 7 days before until 619 days after maximum light. Corrections for the different instrumental systems and the non-thermal spectrum of the supernova (S-corrections) have been applied. With the densely sampled light curves we can make detailed comparisons to other well-observed objects. SN 2002er most closely resembles SN 1996X after maximum, but clearly shows a different colour evolution before peak light and a stronger shoulder in V and R bands compared to other well-observed SNe Ia. In particular, the rise time appears to be longer than what is expected from rise-time vs.decline-rate relation. We use several methods to determine the reddening towards SN 2002er based on the colour evolution at near peak and at late phases. The uvoir (bolometric) light curve shows great similarity with SN 1996X, but also indications of a higher luminosity, longer rise time and a more pronounced shoulder 25 days past maximum. The interpretation of the light curves was done with two independent light curve codes. Both find that given the luminosity of SN 2002er the 56Ni mass exceeds 0.6 Msun with prefered values near 0.7 Msun. Uncertainties in the exact distance to SN 2002er are the most serious limitation of this measurement. The light curve modelling also indicates a high level of mixing of the nickel in the explosion of SN 2002er., Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Time-dependent thermal effects should accompany standard non-thermal afterglows of GRB when gamma-rays pass through inhomogeneous surroundings of the GRB site. Thermal relaxation of an optically thin plasma is calculated using time-dependent collisional ionization of the plasma ion species. X-ray emission lines are similar to those found in the fading X-ray afterglow of GRB 011211. Thermal relaxation of clouds or shells around the GRB site could also contribute to the varying late optical GRB afterglows, such as in GRB021004 and GRB030329., Comment: Revised vesrion. Minor changes, typos corected, reference added. To appear in Proc. 2d BeppoSAX Symposium, Eds. E.P.J. van den Heuvel, J.J.M. in 't Zand, and R.A.M.J. Wijers. Nucl. Physics B.Suppl. Ser

We present results of hydrodynamical simulations of young supernova remnants. To model the ejecta, we use several models (discussed in literature) of type Ia supernova explosions with different abundances. Our hydro models are one-dimensional and spherically symmetrical, but they take into account ionization kinetics with all important processes. We include detailed calculations for the X-ray emission, allowing for time-dependent ionization and recombination. In particular, we compare the computed X-ray spectra with recent XMM-Newton observations of the Tycho SN remnant. Our goal is to find the most viable thermonuclear SN model that gives good fits to both these X-ray observations and typical SN Ia light curves., 6 pages, 6 figures, poster presented at the 34th COSPAR Sci. Assembly, Houston, 10-19 october 2002

Contrast baths proved effective in reducing obesity as they influence body weight index, waist and hip circumferences, improve carbohydrate metabolism, lower insulin resistance. Ultrasound plus contrast baths complex is more effective in hynoid obesity while contrast baths plus electrostimulation with SMC is good in abdominal obesity.

Time-dependent thermal X-ray spectra are calculated from physically plausible conditions around GRB. It is shown that account for time-dependent ionization processes strongly affects the observed spectra of hot rarefied plasma. These calculations may provide an alternative explanation to the observed X-ray lines of early GRBs afterglows (such as GRB 011211). Our technique will allow one to obtain independent constraints on the GRB collimation angle and on the clumpiness of circumstellar matter., Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 8 figures; talk given at COSPAR meeting on October, 12 (2002), Houston; short version to appear in the proceedings, extended version submitted to Astron. Letters (November, 2002)

Modelling of high resolution Balmer line profiles in the early-time spectra of SN 1998S shows that the inferred fast (roughly 400 km/s) circumstellar (CS) gas on days 23 and 42 post-explosion is confined to a narrow, negative velocity gradient shell just above the photosphere. This gas may be identified with a slow (v < 40 km/s) progenitor wind accelerated at the ejecta-wind interface. In this scenario, the photosphere coincides with a cool dense shell formed in the reverse shock. Acceleration by radiation from the supernova or by a shock-accelerated relativistic particle precursor are both possible explanations for the observed fast CS gas. An alternative, equally plausible scenario is that the fast CS gas is accelerated within shocked clouds engulfed by the outer shock, as it propagates through the intercloud wind., 9 pages, 6 figures. MNRAS, accepted. Typos added, acknowledgments corrected

Contrast baths effects on hemostasis were studied in 72 patients with postinfarction cardiosclerosis and stable angina pectoris. Hemostasis was assessed by recalcification time, blood plasma tolerance to heparin, fibrinolytic activity, functional activity of antithrombin, soluble fibrin-monomeric complex, platelet count and aggregation. The results were compared to those in patients exposed to laser irradiation. Hydrotherapy with contrast baths was hemostatically effective in 70.9% of patients. Blood coagulation and platelet aggregation improved, the risk of intravascular microthrombogenesis diminished. Contrast baths had more pronounced beneficial effects on coagulation in ischemic heart disease of NYHA functional class II.

Ninety-three patients with stages I-II essential hypertension treated with microwave electromagnetic fields (460 MHz) with collar exposure were studied. Microwave therapy was found to produce an antihypertensive effect in 74%, chiefly by lowering the increased cardiac output, to improve blood pressure responses to exercises, to make catecholamine excretion normal and coronary and cerebral circulation better.

Several highly luminous Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have been discovered. Their high luminosities are difficult to explain with the thermonuclear explosions of the Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarfs (WDs). In the present study, we estimate the progenitor mass of SN 2009dc, one of the extremely luminous SNe Ia, using the hydrodynamical models as follows. Explosion models of super-Chandrasekhar-mass (super-Ch-mass) WDs are constructed, and multi-color light curves (LCs) are calculated. The comparison between our calculations and the observations of SN 2009dc suggests that the exploding WD has a super-Ch mass of 2.2-2.4 solar masses, producing 1.2-1.4 solar masses of Ni-56, if the extinction by its host galaxy is negligible. If the extinction is significant, the exploding WD is as massive as \sim2.8 solar masses, and \sim1.8 solar masses of Ni-56 is necessary to account for the observations. Whether the host-galaxy extinction is significant or not, the progenitor WD must have a thick carbon-oxygen layer in the outermost zone (20-30% of the WD mass), which explains the observed low expansion velocity of the ejecta and the presence of carbon. Our estimate on the mass of the progenitor WD, especially for the extinction-corrected case, is challenging to the current scenarios of SNe Ia. Implications on the progenitor scenarios are also discussed., 12 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ on July 18, 2012

Examining the impact of contrast baths (CB) having temperatures of 38-40 and 25-26 degrees C on the physical fitness, blood pressures, and autonomic regulatory parameters of patients with Stages I and II hypertensive disease has demonstrated that CB exerts a hypotensive effect, reduces the tonicity of the sympathetic nervous system, enhances physical fitness and saves oxygen for cardiac performance. The outcomes remained for 3-12 months. The findings provide evidence for that CB is a pathogenetic and effective hydrotherapeutic technique for patients with Stages I and II hypertensive disease. CB was ascertained to have a more pronounced action on the tonicity of the sympathetic nervous system, when it ends with a cool bath (25-26 degrees C), so it is mostly indicated for hypertensives with severe hypersympathicotonia.

The analysis of the reports made by 77 local medical administrations in the Russian Federation indicates unsatisfactory employment of sanatorium facilities for improving health of radiation-exposed population. Health resorts and sanatoria of the Russian Middle Zone should extend care for those who suffer from the Chernobyl accident aftereffects.

Catalyse activity and lipid peroxidation were studied in the sera of patients with coronary heart disease who had been exposed to red and infrared low-energy laser radiation (LLR) applied to the skin projections of the heart and its reflexogenic areas. It was found that the optimal normalizing effect occurred with the red band of LLR applied in the rehabilitative period to patients with prior myocardial infarction concurrent with hypertensive disease and stable angina of functional classes I and II. In functional class III stable angina, infrared LLR had advantages over the red on when they acted on the blood antioxidative system.

An inquiry was made into the chief indices of external respiration in man during the action of accelerations (up to 15 g) directed along the dorso-thoracic axis at an angle of 65o to the back of the arrnchair. A definite regularity was established in the changes of the indices studied with various accelerations. Definite stages were noted in the development of individual reactions; this regularity reflected the essence of the general biological laws concerring body adaptation to new environmental conditions.