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The problem of maintaining the sanitary function of soils of agroecosystems is one of the main ones, since it determines the danger for reproduction of various types of microorganisms, including human and animal pathogens. Within the study, the authors assessed the number of bacteria (Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli) in samples of chernozem with introduction of organic fertilizers. The dynamics of the number of Salmonella enterica shows that organic matter in soils contributes to a sharp decrease in their number at the initial stages of biological pollution, and in the long term it contributes to total loss. By the 60th day, Salmonella was found only in the control option of the experiment, but continuation of the experiment showed their total loss on the 80th day. Introduction of organic ameliorants into the chernozem samples led to a decrease in the number of E. coli by the 80th day, but their total loss was not noted.

We present the first experimental study of plasmoid formation in a magnetic reconnection layer undergoing rapid radiative cooling, a regime relevant to extreme astrophysical plasmas. Two exploding aluminum wire arrays, driven by the Z machine, generate a reconnection layer (S_{L}≈120) in which the cooling rate far exceeds the hydrodynamic transit rate (τ_{hydro}/τ_{cool}>100). The reconnection layer generates a transient burst of >1  keV x-ray emission, consistent with the formation and subsequent rapid cooling of the layer. Time-gated x-ray images show fast-moving (up to 50  km s^{-1}) hotspots in the layer, consistent with the presence of plasmoids in 3D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations. X-ray spectroscopy shows that these hotspots generate the majority of Al K-shell emission (around 1.6 keV) prior to the onset of cooling, and exhibit temperatures (170 eV) much greater than that of the plasma inflows and the rest of the reconnection layer, thus providing insight into the generation of high-energy radiation in radiatively cooled reconnection events.

An X-pinch load driven by an intense current pulse (>100 kA in ∼100 ns) can result in the formation of a small radius, runaway compressional micro-pinch. A micro-pinch is characterized by a hot (>1 keV), current-driven (>100 kA), high-density plasma column (near solid density) with a small neck diameter (1-10 µm), a short axial extent (<1 mm), and a short duration (≲1 ns). With material pressures often well into the multi-Mbar regime, a micro-pinch plasma often radiates an intense, sub-ns burst of sub-keV to multi-keV x rays. A low-density coronal plasma immediately surrounding the dense plasma neck could potentially shunt current away from the neck and thus reduce the magnetic drive pressure applied to the neck. To study the current distribution in the coronal plasma, a Faraday rotation imaging diagnostic (1064 nm) capable of producing simultaneous high-magnification polarimetric and interferometric images has been developed for the MAIZE facility at the University of Michigan. Designed with a variable magnification (1-10×), this diagnostic achieves a spatial resolution of ∼35 µm, which is useful for resolving the ∼100-μm-scale coronal plasma immediately surrounding the dense core. This system has now been used on a reduced-output MAIZE (100-200 kA, 150 ns) to assess the radial distribution of drive current immediately surrounding the dense micro-pinch neck. The total current enclosed was found to increase as a function of radius, r, from a value of ≈50±25 kA at r ≈ 140 µm (at the edge of the dense neck) to a maximal value of ≈150±75 kA for r ≥ 225 µm. This corresponds to a peak magnetic drive pressure of ≈75±50 kbar at r ≈ 225 µm. The limitations of these measurements are discussed in the paper., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

This paper reviews information about a unique and iconic breed of the Orenburg Oblast, the homeland and the only place where the best herds of Orenburg down-hair goats in Russia are concentrated. Three types of these small ruminant animals are widespread on the territory of the region: Orenburg purebred gray goats, Orenburg purebred white goats, as well as crossbred white goats of F 1 White Don × White Orenburg. Currently, at the farms of the Orenburg region, animals are selected according to their phenotype, with selected traits being color, weight and length of down hair. In recent years, the Orenburg goat breed has become an object of genetic research using various marker systems including immunogenetic, microsatellite, mtDNA and SNP markers. Overall, these studies evidence about the uniqueness of the allele pool in the landmark native breed of the Orenburg goats, which is a complex dynamic genetic system, prioritizing its further in-depth genome research and breeding applications.

Background and Aim: Improving the feed efficiency of beef cattle is necessary to increase the profitability of meat production. Implementing marker-assisted selection breeding systems can improve the genetic potential of beef cattle for increased productivity. This research aimed to study the effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 C472T, growth hormone (GH) C2141G, and GH receptor (GHR) T914A polymorphisms on growth performance and feed efficiency in young Kazakh white-headed cattle., Materials and Methods: Young Kazakh white-headed cattle (n = 50) were grouped after weaning according to sex (28 bulls and 22 heifers) and they were genotyped according to the IGF-1 C472T, GH C2141G, and GHR T914A polymorphisms. The test period was conducted from 8 to 15 months of age. The experimental animals were evaluated for live weight (LW) at the beginning and end of the test period. They were also assessed for average daily gain, hip height, metabolic mid-weight (MMWT), actual dry matter intake (DMI), and residual feed intake (RFI)., Results: Significant differences in MMWT were found between the bulls with the IGF-1 TT and IGF-1 CT genotypes, which was a 2.2 kg increase in heterozygous cattle (p < 0.05). Heterozygous IGF-1 CT bulls differed with a higher DMI of 0.087 kg/day (p < 0.05) compared to IGF-1 TT homozygotes. Carriers of the IGF-1 TT genotype had the greatest feed efficiency at 0.068 kg/day (p < 0.05). Heifers with the GH CC genotype differed in their maximum DMI with an increase of 1.17%-1.57% (p < 0.05) relative to the other genotypes. The G allele in the GH C2141G polymorphism was associated with better (p < 0.05) feed efficiency in the Kazakh white-headed breed. The minimum DMI and RFI in GHR T914A heterozygous heifers were significantly inferior (p < 0.05) to the other genotypes., Conclusion: Association studies of the IGF-1 C472T, GH C2141G, and GHR T914A polymorphisms indicate a relationship between growth, development, and feed efficiency with the genetic characteristics of young Kazakh white-headed cattle. A significant (p < 0.05) dominant effect was found in the IGF-1 gene in bulls and in the GHR gene in heifers, which should be considered when breeding with heterogeneous parental pairs. The negative effect of the allele substitution in the IGF-1 C472T polymorphism was observed in the LW of heifers (-3.25 kg) at the age of 8 months and bulls (-6.05 kg) at 15 months. The substitution in the GH C2141G polymorphism was associated with a significant reduction in DMI by 0.036 kg (p < 0.05) and an increase in feed efficiency by 0.023 kg (p < 0.05) during the rearing of heifers. These results can improve the production efficiency of mature herds of Kazakh white-headed cattle., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Gerasimov, et al.)

We present results from pulsed-power driven differentially rotating plasma experiments designed to simulate physics relevant to astrophysical disks and jets. In these experiments, angular momentum is injected by the ram pressure of the ablation flows from a wire array Z pinch. In contrast to previous liquid metal and plasma experiments, rotation is not driven by boundary forces. Axial pressure gradients launch a rotating plasma jet upward, which is confined by a combination of ram, thermal, and magnetic pressure of a surrounding plasma halo. The jet has subsonic rotation, with a maximum rotation velocity 23±3  km/s. The rotational velocity profile is quasi-Keplerian with a positive Rayleigh discriminant κ^{2}∝r^{-2.8±0.8}  rad^{2}/s^{2}. The plasma completes 0.5-2 full rotations in the experimental time frame (∼150  ns).

The heterogeneity of grain quality can lead to limited predictability of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the wheat yield, especially with an increase in the importance of drought and salinity caused by climate change. This study was undertaken with the aim of creating basic tools for phenotyping and assessing the sensitivity of genotypes to salt effects at the level of some wheat kernel attributes. The study considers 36 variants of the experiment, including four wheat cultivars-Zolotaya, Ulyanovskaya 105, Orenburgskaya 10, Orenburgskaya 23; three treatment variants-control (without salt) and two salts exposure (NaCl at a concentration of 1.1 g L -1 and Na 2 SO 4 at a concentration of 0.4 g L -1 ); as well as three options for the arrangement of kernels in a simple spikelet-left, middle, and right. It has been established that the salt exposure had a positive effect on the percentage of kernel fulfilling in the cultivars Zolotaya, Ulyanovskaya 105, and Orenburgskaya 23 compared to control. The kernels of the Orenburgskaya 10 variety matured better in the experiment with Na 2 SO 4 exposure, while the control variant and NaCl gave the same effect. When exposed to NaCl, significantly greater values of weight, transverse section area, and transverse section perimeter of the kernel were noted in the cv Zolotaya and Ulyanovskaya 105. Cv Orenburgskaya 10 responded positively to the use of Na 2 SO 4 . This salt caused an increase in the area, length, and width of the kernel. The fluctuating asymmetry of the left, middle, and right kernels in the spikelet was calculated. In the cv Orenburgskaya 23 the salts affected only the kernel perimeter among parameters examined. The indicators of the general (fluctuating) asymmetry were lower in the experiments with the use of salts, i.e., kernels were more symmetrical than in the control variant, both for the cultivar as a whole and when compared taking into account the kernel location in spikelet. However, this result was unexpected, since salt stress inhibited a number of morphological parameters: the number and average length of embryonic, adventitious, and nodal roots, flag leaf area, plant height, dry biomass accumulation, and plant productivity indicators. The study showed that low concentrations of salts can positively affect the fulfilling of kernels (the absence of a cavity inside the kernel) and the symmetry of the left and right sides of the kernel.

Studies in the field of microelement speciation in the body of farm animals, in particular dairy cattle, are almost completely absent. The average concentration of Mn in the blood serum of all the studied animals (n = 80) was 2.5 μg/L, which corresponds to normal values. Of the total number of animals, 21% were the cows with the low normal values (serum Mn concentration ≤ 2 µg/L, i.e. less than Q 25 of the total sample) and 25% were the animals with the high normal values (serum Mn concentration ≥ 2.72 µg/L, i.e. more than Q 75 of the total sample). The data obtained in the course of the study indicate that the change in the Mn level, even in the range of normal values, is accompanied by the redistribution of this element over various protein fractions. The six found Mn blood serum forms are presumably represented by α2-macroglobulin (tetramer, dimer, and monomer), transferrin/albumine, manganese citrates, and "free" metal ions. The analyzed fractions of Mn found in the blood serum of cows had the following hierarchy of concentrations: in the group with low-normal values of Mn ("free" Mn >> tetrameric form of α2-macroglobulin >> transferrin/albumine >> dimeric form of α2-macroglobulin >> monomeric form of α2-macroglobulin >> citrate), in the group with high normal manganese values ("free" Mn >> monomeric form of α2-macroglobulin >> transferring/albumine >> citrate >> tetrameric form of α2-macroglobulin >> dimeric form of α2-macroglobulin). In the group with high normal Mn values relative to the group with low normal values, there was a percentage decrease in the tetrameric fraction of a2-macroglobulin from 17.2 to 4.4%, dimeric fraction of a2-macroglobulin from 6.9 to 2.2%, "free" Mn from 54.3 to 44.4% and an increase in monomeric fraction of a2-macroglobulin from 6.7 to 23.1%, transferrin/albumine from 10.1 to 17.7%, citrate from 4.8 to 8.2%. Our data demonstrate the features of Mn redistribution of dairy cows, which can be used for an extended assessment of the microelement status of animals., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

We present a study of perpendicular subcritical shocks in a collisional laboratory plasma. Shocks are produced by placing obstacles into the supermagnetosonic outflow from an inverse wire array z pinch. We demonstrate the existence of subcritical shocks in this regime and find that secondary shocks form in the downstream. Detailed measurements of the subcritical shock structure confirm the absence of a hydrodynamic jump. We calculate the classical (Spitzer) resistive diffusion length and show that it is approximately equal to the shock width. We measure little heating across the shock (<10% of the ion kinetic energy) which is consistent with an absence of viscous dissipation.

We present a technique to measure the time-resolved velocity and ion sound speed in magnetized, supersonic high-energy-density plasmas. We place an inductive ("b-dot") probe in a supersonic pulsed-power-driven plasma flow and measure the magnetic field advected by the plasma. As the magnetic Reynolds number is large (R M > 10), the plasma flow advects a magnetic field proportional to the current at the load. This enables us to estimate the flow velocity as a function of time from the delay between the current at the load and the signal at the probe. The supersonic flow also generates a hydrodynamic bow shock around the probe, the structure of which depends on the upstream sonic Mach number. By imaging the shock around the probe with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, we determine the upstream Mach number from the shock Mach angle, which we then use to determine the ion sound speed from the known upstream velocity. We use the sound speed to infer the value of Z̄T e , where Z̄ is the average ionization and T e is the electron temperature. We use this diagnostic to measure the time-resolved velocity and sound speed of a supersonic (M S ∼ 8), super-Alfvénic (M A ∼ 2) aluminum plasma generated during the ablation stage of an exploding wire array on the Magpie generator (1.4 MA, 250 ns). The velocity and Z̄T e measurements agree well with the optical Thompson scattering measurements reported in the literature and with 3D resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations in GORGON.

Background and Aim: The leptin (LEP) gene plays a role in the regulation of the activity required to obtain food, energy metabolism, and fat deposition and affects the body composition of animals. Lipogenesis is an ineffective process. A lot of energy from feed is expended on the synthesis of adipose tissue. This study aimed to determine the effect of LEP C528T and LEP C73T polymorphisms and pregnancy on adipose tissue formation and carcass grade in Aberdeen Angus heifers and first-calf cows., Materials and Methods: Heifers (n = 49) and first-calf cows (n = 30) were grouped according to their genotype for LEP C528T and LEP C73T polymorphisms at the age of 24 months. DNA samples were isolated from whole blood. Experimental animals were slaughtered at the age of 24 months, and a chemical analysis of samples of longissimus dorsi muscle and ground beef was performed., Results: The maximum internal fat weight, back-fat thickness, and fat content of the longissimus dorsi muscle and ground beef were determined in heifers heterozygous for both LEP C528T and LEP C73T polymorphisms. The ranking of genotypes in terms of adipose tissue formation did not change in first-calf cows compared to heifers carrying the same LEP gene variants. Pregnancy had a more significant (p < 0.05-0.001) effect on slaughter parameters and lipogenesis in animals of different genotypes than studied polymorphisms. Heterozygosity of the LEP gene was much more strongly expressed in the carcass grade of heifers. "Prime" grades were assigned to 66.7% of carcasses heterozygous for LEP C528T and "Top Choice" to 58.8% of carcasses with LEP C73T nucleotide substitutions., Conclusion: LEP C528T and LEP C73T polymorphisms were shown to affect the extent of fat formation in Aberdeen Angus heifers and first-calf cows. Animals with heterozygous genotypes exhibited the maximum development of internal fat, back-fat, and intramuscular fat. Pregnancy had a more significant effect on slaughter parameters and adipose tissue formation than studied polymorphisms. First-calf cows had a significantly lower fat content in carcasses than heifers. These results can aid in the production of efficient mature herds of Aberdeen Angus cattle., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Dzhulamanov, et al.)

A diagnostic capable of recording spatially and temporally resolved x-ray self-emission data was developed to characterize experiments on the MAGPIE pulsed-power generator. The diagnostic used two separate imaging systems: a pinhole imaging system with two-dimensional spatial resolution and a slit imaging system with one-dimensional spatial resolution. The two-dimensional imaging system imaged light onto the image plate. The one-dimensional imaging system imaged light onto the same piece of image plate and a linear array of silicon photodiodes. This design allowed the cross-comparison of different images, allowing a picture of the spatial and temporal distribution of x-ray self-emission to be established. The design was tested in a series of pulsed-power-driven magnetic-reconnection experiments.

Aim      To study features of diagnosis and treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Russian hospitals, results of the treatment, and early and late outcomes (6 and 12 months after AMI diagnosis); to evaluate the consistence of the treatment with clinical guidelines; and to evaluate patients' compliance with the treatment.Material and methods  The program was designed for 3 years, including 24 months for recruitment of patients to the study. The study will include 10, 000 patients hospitalized with a confirmed diagnosis (I21 according to ICD-10) of ST segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (MI) (STEMI) or non-ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI) based on criteria of the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on Forth Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction (2018). The follow-up period was divided into three stages: observation during the stay in the hospital and at 6 and 12 months following inclusion into the registry. The primary endpoint included cardiac death, nonfatal MI during the hospitalization and after one-year follow-up. Secondary endpoints were 6-months and one-year incidence of repeated MI, heart failure, ischemic stroke, clinically significant hemorrhage, unscheduled revascularization after discharge from the hospital, and the proportion of patients who continue on statins, antiplatelet drugs, and drugs of other groups for 6 months and 1 year.Results The inclusion of patients into the registry started in 2020 and will continue for 24 months. By the time of the article publication (June, 2021), more than 2,000 patients will be included.Conclusion      REGION-MI (Russian rEGIstry Of acute myocardial iNfarction) is a multicenter, retrospective and prospective observational cohort study that excludes any interference with the clinical practice. Results of the registry will help to analyze a real picture of medical care provided to patients with myocardial infarction and to schedule ways to improve the situation.

A compact neutron spectrometer based on the BC-501A liquid organic scintillator was applied to neutron measurements at the TUMAN-3M tokamak. The spectrometer was calibrated using measurements from the ion beam of the cyclotron accelerator. Neutron spectra were measured during discharges using a neutral deuterium beam injection into the TUMAN-3M D-plasma. An energy distribution of the neutrons from the plasma that hit the spectrometer was obtained from the measured BC-501A instrumental spectra by the DeGaSum code using detector response functions obtained in the course of the calibration. This allowed for the estimation of the 2.45 MeV neutron yield and the evaluation of both the time evolution of the DD fusion rate and the characteristic time of the injected deuterium slowing down in discharges with neutral beam injection heating.

We report on a recently developed laser-probing diagnostic, which allows direct measurements of ray-deflection angles in one axis while retaining imaging capabilities in the other axis. This allows us to measure the spectrum of angular deflections from a laser beam, which passes through a turbulent high-energy-density plasma. This spectrum contains information about the density fluctuations within the plasma, which deflect the probing laser over a range of angles. We create synthetic diagnostics using ray-tracing to compare this new diagnostic with standard shadowgraphy and schlieren imaging approaches, which demonstrates the enhanced sensitivity of this new diagnostic over standard techniques. We present experimental data from turbulence behind a reverse shock in a plasma and demonstrate that this technique can measure angular deflections between 0.06 and 34 mrad, corresponding to a dynamic range of over 500.

Optical collective Thomson scattering (TS) is used to diagnose magnetized high energy density physics experiments at the Magpie pulsed-power generator at Imperial College London. The system uses an amplified pulse from the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser (3 J, 8 ns, 532 nm) to probe a wide diversity of high-temperature plasma objects, with densities in the range of 10 17 -10 19  cm -3 and temperatures between 10 eV and a few keV. The scattered light is collected from 100 μm-scale volumes within the plasmas, which are imaged onto optical fiber arrays. Multiple collection systems observe these volumes from different directions, providing simultaneous probing with different scattering K-vectors (and different associated α-parameters, typically in the range of 0.5-3), allowing independent measurements of separate velocity components of the bulk plasma flow. The fiber arrays are coupled to an imaging spectrometer with a gated intensified charge coupled device. The spectrometer is configured to view the ion-acoustic waves of the collective Thomson scattered spectrum. Fits to the spectra with the theoretical spectral density function S(K, ω) yield measurements of the local plasma temperatures and velocities. Fitting is constrained by independent measurements of the electron density from laser interferometry and the corresponding spectra for different scattering vectors. This TS diagnostic has been successfully implemented on a wide range of experiments, revealing temperature and flow velocity transitions across magnetized shocks, inside rotating plasma jets and imploding wire arrays, as well as providing direct measurements of drift velocities inside a magnetic reconnection current sheet.

This article addresses the monitoring problem of the telecommunication networks. We consider these networks as multilevel dynamic objects. It shows that reconfigurable systems are necessary for their monitoring process in real life. We implement the reconfiguration abilities of the systems through the synthesis of monitoring programs and their execution in the monitoring systems and on the end-user devices. This article presents a new method for the synthesis of monitoring programs and develops a new language to describe the monitoring programs. The programs are translated into binary format and executed by the virtual machines installed on the elements of the networks. We present an example of the program synthesis for real distributed networks monitoring at last., Competing Interests: Andrey Kalmatskiy and Natalia Alexandrovna Zhukova were employees of Zodiac Systems, Russia & USA. Andrey Kalmatskiy is currently an employee of Google, USA., (©2020 Tianxing et al.)

Investigation of SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) effect on Eisenia fetida showed no toxic effect of the metal at a concentration of 250, 500 and 1000 mg per kg of soil, but conversely, a biomass increase from 23.5 to 29.5% (at the protein level decrease from 60 to 80%). The reaction of the earthworm organism fermentative system was expressed in the decrease in the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on the 14th day and in the increase in its activity to 27% on the 28th day. The catalase level (CAT) showed low activity at average element concentrations and increase by 39.4% at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. Depression of malonic dialdehyde (MDA) was established at average concentrations of 11.2% and level increase up to 9.1% at a dose of 1000 mg/kg with the prolongation of the effect up to 87.5% after 28-day exposure. The change in the microbiocenosis of the earthworm intestine was manifested by a decrease in the number of ammonifiers (by 42.01-78.9%), as well as in the number of amylolytic microorganisms (by 31.7-65.8%). When the dose of SiO 2 NPs increased from 100 to 1000 mg/kg, the number of Azotobacter increased (by 8.2-22.2%), while the number of cellulose-destroying microorganisms decreased to 71.4% at a maximum dose of 1000 mg/kg. The effect of SiO 2 NPs on Triticum aestivum L. was noted in the form of a slight suppression of seed germination (no more than 25%), an increase in the length of roots and aerial organs which generally resulted in an increase in plant biomass. Assessing the soil microorganisms' complex during introduction of metal into the germination medium of Triticum aestivum L., there was noted a decrease in the ammonifiers number (by 4.7-67.6%) with a maximum value at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. The number of microorganisms using mineral nitrogen decreased by 29.5-69.5% with a simultaneous increase in the number at a dose of 50 mg/kg (+ 20%). Depending on NP dose, there was an inhibition of the microscopic fungi development by 18.1-72.7% and an increase in the number of cellulose-destroying microorganisms. For all variants of the experiment, the activity of soil enzymes of the hydrolase and oxidoreductase classes was decreased.

For the purpose of safe modulation of the intestinal microflora, probiotics have been increasingly used in recent years. In the present work, the effect of the probiotic sporobacterin (Bacillus subtilis 534) (I group) and soybean-bifidum (Bifidobacterium longum) (II group) on male rats of the Wistar line was evaluated. In assessing nonspecific immunity in vitro, there was an increase in the level of baseline level in the first and second groups (by 8.3 and 12.2% more control). The influence of probiotic preparations on the intestinal normoflora was assessed using PCR. Bifidumbacterin increased the normal microflora, in particular, Escherichia coli 1.55 times, Lactobacillus 1.26 times, Enterococcus 1.3 times as much control; the level of conditionally pathogenic microflora, in particular, Proteus spp. decreased by 1.3 times in comparison with the control. Sporobacterin also contributed to an increase in the amount of E. coli (1.55 times) and Lactobacillus (0.9 times). When a culture of Bifidobacterium longum was introduced, a selective reduction in the loss of chemical elements was observed against the background of the diet used. At the end of the experiment, the content of calcium in the body tissues of animals of group II exceeded this indicator in group I by 3.9%, phosphorus by 17.6%, copper by 28.5%, and zinc by 15.2%. The totality of the results obtained by us indicates that inclusion of Bifidumbacterium longum in the diet of animals makes the use of this preparation in the correction of mineral imbalance and improves the microflora of the intestines of animals by reducing the number of representatives of opportunistic microflora against the background of an increase in the number of basic representatives of normal microbiocenosis. Also, the use of probiotic drugs as additives leads to a slight increase in the level of nonspecific immunity, which increases the natural resistance of the organism.

We present new experiments to study the formation of radiative shocks and the interaction between two counterpropagating radiative shocks. The experiments are performed at the Orion laser facility, which is used to drive shocks in xenon inside large aspect ratio gas cells. The collision between the two shocks and their respective radiative precursors, combined with the formation of inherently three-dimensional shocks, provides a novel platform particularly suited for the benchmarking of numerical codes. The dynamics of the shocks before and after the collision are investigated using point-projection x-ray backlighting while, simultaneously, the electron density in the radiative precursor was measured via optical laser interferometry. Modeling of the experiments using the 2D radiation hydrodynamic codes nym and petra shows very good agreement with the experimental results.

The rapid development of nanotechnology raises questions assessment of their impact on living objects. In the present study, we evaluated the impact of nanoparticle (NP) CuO at concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 63.5 g/l in the test on wheat seedlings Triticum vulgare during 1-72 h. In the viability test (WST-test), cells were isolated from the roots of seedlings T. vulgare, 12 h not observed increase reductase activity after 24 h decreased rate of not more than 19% compared with the control. The number of dead cells in seedlings of T. vulgaris after exposure with CuO nanoparticles to the test with Evans blue increased by 5-15% compared to control. We observed that a significant increase in copper revenues leaves 4.5-8.9 times more in relation to the control and the roots-in 5-9.7 times. During the determined amount of active oxygen species, a significant proportional increase in the total pool of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in roots increased to 27.6% after exposure to NP CuO compared with the control. It is shown that in the introduction in medium, the NP CuO in the doses ranging from 3.2 to 63.5 g/l leads to DNA fragmentation and increases the fragments less than 3000 bp on 51.4-62.8%. The totality of our results influences nanoforms of copper oxide on the amount of ROS, and the viability of the genomic component of the cells shows different mechanisms of damage in the activation of a metabolic reaction, to determine the concentration of nano-CuO.

Numerical simulations of laboratory astrophysics experiments on plasma flows require plasma microscopic properties that are obtained by means of an atomic kinetic model. This fact implies a careful choice of the most suitable model for the experiment under analysis. Otherwise, the calculations could lead to inaccurate results and inappropriate conclusions. First, a study of the validity of the local thermodynamic equilibrium in the calculation of the average ionization, mean radiative properties, and cooling times of argon plasmas in a range of plasma conditions of interest in laboratory astrophysics experiments on radiative shocks is performed in this work. In the second part, we have made an analysis of the influence of the atomic kinetic model used to calculate plasma microscopic properties of experiments carried out on magpie on radiative bow shocks propagating in argon. The models considered were developed assuming both local and nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium and, for the latter situation, we have considered in the kinetic model different effects such as external radiation field and plasma mixture. The microscopic properties studied were the average ionization, the charge state distributions, the monochromatic opacities and emissivities, the Planck mean opacity, and the radiative power loss. The microscopic study was made as a postprocess of a radiative-hydrodynamic simulation of the experiment. We have also performed a theoretical analysis of the influence of these atomic kinetic models in the criteria for the onset possibility of thermal instabilities due to radiative cooling in those experiments in which small structures were experimentally observed in the bow shock that could be due to this kind of instability.

We present a detailed study of magnetic reconnection in a quasi-two-dimensional pulsed-power driven laboratory experiment. Oppositely directed magnetic fields (B=3  T), advected by supersonic, sub-Alfvénic carbon plasma flows (V&#95;{in}=50  km/s), are brought together and mutually annihilate inside a thin current layer (δ=0.6  mm). Temporally and spatially resolved optical diagnostics, including interferometry, Faraday rotation imaging, and Thomson scattering, allow us to determine the structure and dynamics of this layer, the nature of the inflows and outflows, and the detailed energy partition during the reconnection process. We measure high electron and ion temperatures (T&#95;{e}=100  eV, T&#95;{i}=600  eV), far in excess of what can be attributed to classical (Spitzer) resistive and viscous dissipation. We observe the repeated formation and ejection of plasmoids, consistent with the predictions from semicollisional plasmoid theory.

The remarkable discovery by the Chandra X-ray observatory that the Crab nebula's jet periodically changes direction provides a challenge to our understanding of astrophysical jet dynamics. It has been suggested that this phenomenon may be the consequence of magnetic fields and magnetohydrodynamic instabilities, but experimental demonstration in a controlled laboratory environment has remained elusive. Here we report experiments that use high-power lasers to create a plasma jet that can be directly compared with the Crab jet through well-defined physical scaling laws. The jet generates its own embedded toroidal magnetic fields; as it moves, plasma instabilities result in multiple deflections of the propagation direction, mimicking the kink behaviour of the Crab jet. The experiment is modelled with three-dimensional numerical simulations that show exactly how the instability develops and results in changes of direction of the jet.

We present experiments characterizing the detailed structure of a current layer, generated by the collision of two counterstreaming, supersonic and magnetized aluminum plasma flows. The antiparallel magnetic fields advected by the flows are found to be mutually annihilated inside the layer, giving rise to a bifurcated current structure-two narrow current sheets running along the outside surfaces of the layer. Measurements with Thomson scattering show a fast outflow of plasma along the layer and a high ion temperature (T&#95;{i}∼Z[over ¯]T&#95;{e}, with average ionization Z[over ¯]=7). Analysis of the spatially resolved plasma parameters indicates that the advection and subsequent annihilation of the inflowing magnetic flux determines the structure of the layer, while the ion heating could be due to the development of kinetic, current-driven instabilities.

A monochromatic X-ray backlighter based on Bragg reflection from a spherically bent quartz crystal has been developed for the MAGPIE pulsed power generator at Imperial College (1.4 MA, 240 ns) [I. H. Mitchell et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 67, 1533 (2005)]. This instrument has been used to diagnose high energy density physics experiments with 1.865 keV radiation (Silicon He-α) from a laser plasma source driven by a ∼7 J, 1 ns pulse from the Cerberus laser. The design of the diagnostic, its characterisation and performance, and initial results in which the instrument was used to radiograph a shock physics experiment on MAGPIE are discussed.

A suite of laser based diagnostics is used to study interactions of magnetised, supersonic, radiatively cooled plasma flows produced using the Magpie pulse power generator (1.4 MA, 240 ns rise time). Collective optical Thomson scattering measures the time-resolved local flow velocity and temperature across 7-14 spatial positions. The scattering spectrum is recorded from multiple directions, allowing more accurate reconstruction of the flow velocity vectors. The areal electron density is measured using 2D interferometry; optimisation and analysis are discussed. The Faraday rotation diagnostic, operating at 1053 nm, measures the magnetic field distribution in the plasma. Measurements obtained simultaneously by these diagnostics are used to constrain analysis, increasing the accuracy of interpretation.

The interpenetration and interaction of supersonic, magnetized tungsten plasma flows has been directly observed via spatially and temporally resolved measurements of the Thomson scattering ion feature. A novel scattering geometry allows independent measurements of the axial and radial velocity components of the ions. The plasma flows are produced via the pulsed power driven ablation of fine tungsten wires in a cylindrical wire array z pinch. Fits of the data reveal the variations in radial velocity, axial velocity, and temperature of the ion streams as they interpenetrate and interact. A previously unobserved increase in axial velocity is measured near the array axis. This may be the result of v[over →]×B[over →] bending of the ion streams by a toroidal magnetic field, advected to and accumulated about the axis by the streams.

Unlabelled: Study of the role of biliopancreatoduodenal pathological changes in the development of postcholecystectomy syndrome., Material and Methods: Diagnostic complex, including endosonography has been performed in 138 patients with calculous cholecystitis with a significant risk of choledocholithiasis and 112 patients with postcholecystectomy syndrome., Results: The same spectrum of pathological changes of biliopancreatoduodenal zone in both groups was discovered., Conclusions: The pathological changes of biliopancreatoduodenal zone in patients with postcholecystectomy syndrome most likely to appear before the operation.

The effect of repeated intramuscular injection into the organism of copper nanoparticles (CNP) with the diameter of 103 nm on the index of cell readiness to apoptosis and the structure of liver, spleen, kidney, as well as sensomotor cerebral cortex, was studied in 78 male Wistar rats. CNP were injected once per week for 12 weeks. The organs were studied using histological, immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. It was found that after the injections, CNP were distributed into organs and tissues of animals causing structural changes that were specific for eaach tissue. Toxicity of CNP in respect to microgliocytes was demonstrated at a dose of 2 mg/kg, hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity--at 6 mg/kg. The increase of CNP load on the organism up to toxic threshold (maximum tolerated dose) resulted in the appearance of signs of dystrophy and tissue necrosis. The data obtained suggest the application of an index of cell readiness to apoptosis, as assessed by caspase 3 expression, as a criterion for evaluation of CNP injection safety.

Critical limb ischemia is a syndrome that combines several peripheral artery diseases with different ethiology and pathogenesis but with similar prognosis, high morbidity and mortality. Possibility of surgical and conservative treatment of critical limb ischemia almost completely exhausted. Some hopes have arisen due to progress in cell technology. The article provides a critical analysis of pathogenic prerequisites of stem/progenitor cells for the treatment of patients with a critical limb ischemia in detail the basic results of preclinical and clinical studies on the safety and efficacy of cell technology. Unsolved problems and prospects of practical application are also discussed.

A Thomson scattering diagnostic has been used to measure the parameters of cylindrical wire array Z pinch plasmas during the ablation phase. The scattering operates in the collective regime (α>1) allowing spatially localized measurements of the ion or electron plasma temperatures and of the plasma bulk velocity. The ablation flow is found to accelerate towards the axis reaching peak velocities of 1.2-1.3×10(7) cm/s in aluminium and ∼1×10(7) cm/s in tungsten arrays. Precursor ion temperature measurements made shortly after formation are found to correspond to the kinetic energy of the converging ablation flow., (© 2012 American Physical Society)

A new wire array configuration has been used to create thin shell-like implosions in a cylindrical array. The setup introduces a ~5 kA, ~25 ns current prepulse followed by a ~140 ns current-free interval before the application of the main (~1 MA) current pulse. The prepulse volumetrically heats the wires which expand to ~1 mm diameter leaving no dense wire core and without development of instabilities. The main current pulse then ionizes all the array mass resulting in suppression of the ablation phase, an accelerating implosion, and no trailing mass. Rayleigh-Taylor instability growth in the imploding plasma is inferred to be seeded by μm-scale perturbations on the surface of the wires. The absence of wire cores is found to be the critical factor in altering the implosion dynamics.

Ischemic stroke was modeled in the sensorimotor zone of the brain cortex in adult rats. Rat embryonic nervous tissue, neural stem cells from human olfactory epithelium, and rat fibroblasts (cell control) were implanted into the peri-infarction area of rats of different groups immediately after stroke modeling. Expression of BDNF mRNA was analyzed 7 days after surgery by real-time PCR. BDNF expression in cell preparation before their implantation was minimum. The expression of BDNF mRNA increased by 5-6 times in the areas of implantation of rat fibroblasts and human olfactory epithelium and by 23 times in the area of implantation of rat embryonic nervous tissue compared to periinfarction areas without cell implantation. These findings confirm the possibility of realization of the therapeutic effects of neural stem cells via expression of trophic factors.

Seven-day old rats were subjected to unilateral ligation of the common carotid artery followed by 2-h exposure to a gas mixture consisting of 8% oxygen and 92% nitrogen. Locomotor function of rats was monitored weekly. Functional deficit in these animals persisted for at least 3 months. The exercise tests of rotarod, hanging, and narrowing track were most informative. Our results can be used in preclinical studies of new drugs for the therapy of perinatal brain injury.

Human ensheating neural stem cells of the olfactory epithelium were transplanted to adult male rats immediately after contusion trauma of the spinal cord at T9 level rostrally and caudally to the injury. Voluntary movements (by a 21-point BBB scale), rota-rod performance, and walking along a narrowing beam were monitored weekly over 60 days. In rats receiving cell transplantation, the mean BBB score significantly increased by 11% by the end of the experiment. The mean parameters of load tests also regularly surpassed the corresponding parameters in controls. The efficiency of transplantation (percent of animals with motor function recovery parameters surpassing the corresponding mean values in the control groups) was 62% by the state of voluntary motions, 37% by the rota-rod test, and 32% by the narrowing beam test. Morphometry revealed considerable shrinking of the zone of traumatic damage in the spinal cord and activation of posttraumatic remyelination in animals receiving transplantation of human neural stem cells.

Ischemic stroke was modeled in white pedigreeless rats by the superficial blood vessel devascularization in the sensorimotor cortex. The preparations of neural progenitors--rat embryonic neural stem cells (rENSC) and human olfactory epithelium-derived neural stem cells (hOENSC) and differentiated fibroblasts ("cell control") were transplanted at the perimeter of the devascularized region. These cells marked with vital tracer stayed alive in the brain parenchyma for at least 16 days. The monitoring of contralateral forepaw motor deficit during 8 weeks demonstrated that only rats with rENSC transplantation had the stable and significant improvement of performance in cylinder test and swimming test (forepaw inhibition test) in comparison to "cell controls" and rats without cell transplantation. The maximal difference in the relative values (the efficacy) was 25% to the end of the experiment. There was no difference in the indicators of vibrissae-elicited forelimb placing test between experimental groups. The methodological approach used makes it possible to broaden the study of mechanisms of neural stem cells' therapeutic effect in stroke.

We evaluated the effect of "sidedness" of focal stroke induced by pial blood vessel devascularization in sensorimotor cortex of right or left hemisphere on neurological deficit in rats. Animals were preliminary examined for paw preference (hemispheric "dominance") by means of food reaching test. Data of cylinder-test, vibrissae-elicited forelimb placing test and swimming task (forepaw inhibition test) were assessed to monitor functional deficit weekly for 8 weeks after stroke. No difference between rats with right or left cortical damage was observed during the experiment. Rats with ischemia in "dominant" hemisphere performed significantly better than those with "nondominant" hemisphere lesion. The revealed effect of functional brain asymmetry on the neurological rehabilitation after stroke should be considered in design of preclinical investigation of new therapeutic approaches to stroke.

In this study we present the comparative sequence analysis of the parental haemagglutinating (daf+) and mutant non-haemagglutinating (daf-) clones of echovirus 11 (EV11) isolated from the prototype strain Gregory. The sequence comparison revealed only a single amino acid substitution in the capsid protein VP2 of each mutant clone. These substitutions were located in the area of viral receptor-binding site for DAF. Since daf- mutants of EV11 did not interact with DAF, they used an alternative receptor for the cell entry. To elucidate the nature of the alternative receptor we used subvariant clones of EV11 adapted to human rhabdomyosarcoma (RD), human carcinoma (HEp-2) and African Green monkey kidney (BGM) cell lines. The usage of the subvariant clones with altered host range and the cell cultures of human and simian origin allowed us to map the amino acid substitutions associated with the adaptation of EV11 to the alternative cellular receptors. These amino acid substitutions were located on the surface of the virion in the canyon area. Hence the virus canyon may serve as the receptor-binding site for the alternative (in respect to DAF) cellular receptor(s).

Perinatal hypoxy-ischemic brain lesions are one of the main causes of mortality and dysfunction of the central nervous system in the neonatal period accounting for high disability rate among survivors. Numerous animal models were proposed to study this problem in ante-, intra-, and neonatal periods of ontogenesis. This paper is devoted to the analysis of the adequacy of these models. The processes of brain development in laboratory animals are considered along with etiopathogenetic factors that can be reproduced on the models of perinatal hypoxy-ischemic lesions in CNS. The available data on such models and their correspondence to known clinical syndromes are summarized. Current trends in the development of new models of hypoxy-ischemic brain lesions are discussed.

Contusion spinal injury of different severity was induced by the weight drop method in male rats by dropping standard weight from the heights of 6.5, 12.5, 25, and 50 mm on the spine after laminectomy at the Th9 level. The dynamics of recovery of voluntary movements was evaluated over 8 weeks after the operation by comparing the traditional semiquantitative BBB score with objective parameters of exercise tests. Exercise tests detected cessation of spontaneous recovery of impaired functions 1-2 weeks earlier than the BBB method. The maximum performance according to the rotarod and narrowing track tests was 20-40% lower than the level of voluntary movement recovery evaluated by the BBB score. No appreciable differences between the levels of maximum recovery of voluntary movements (BBB score) and swimming velocity were detected. According to morphometric analysis of the volumes of pathological cavities and intact white matter in the focus of injury, exercise tests adequately reflected the severity of spinal contusion in rats. Exercise tests used in the study are recommended for objective preclinical evaluation of the efficiency of new means for the treatment of spinal injuries.

Short-implosion-time 20-mm diameter, 300-wire tungsten arrays maintain high peak x-ray powers despite a reduction in peak current from 19 to 13 MA. The main radiation pulse on tests with a 1-mm on-axis rod may be explained by the observable j x B work done during the implosion, but bare-axis tests require sub-mm convergence of the magnetic field not seen except perhaps in >1 keV emission. The data include the first measurement of the imploding mass density profile of a wire-array Z pinch that further constrains simulation models.

A new wire-array configuration has been used to control the modulation of ablated plasma flow for the first time. Cylindrical aluminum coiled arrays, in which each straight wire is replaced with a single helix, were driven by a 1 MA, 240 ns current pulse. Ablated plasma is directed away from the coiled wire cores in a manner that can be understood in terms of Lorentz forces that arise from a complex current path modeled by 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Outside the diameter of the helix, the flow of ablated plasma is axially modulated at the wavelength of the coil.

The first laboratory astrophysics experiments to produce a radiatively cooled plasma jet with dynamically significant angular momentum are discussed. A new configuration of wire array z pinch, the twisted conical wire array, is used to produce convergent plasma flows each rotating about the central axis. Collision of the flows produces a standing shock and jet that each have supersonic azimuthal velocities. By varying the twist angle of the array, the rotation velocity of the system can be controlled, with jet rotation velocities reaching approximately 18% of the propagation velocity.