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Highly uniform arrays of site-controlled GaN nanowires are synthesized by selective area growth using a Si3N4 mask and molecular beam epitaxy. Systematic modulation of the emission along the nanowire axis is observed in spectrally resolved cathodoluminescence linescans. We show that this intensity change is an indicator of unintentional Si incorporation during growth resulting from the interaction between the impinging Ga atoms and the mask material. The gradual reduction of the cathodoluminescence intensity along the nanowire highlights the important role of the growth geometry within the synthesis reactor, with shadowing from the elongating nanowires inhibiting the reaction with the mask. This gradient in Si doping is confirmed by the quenching of the longitudinal optical phonon line measured in Raman spectra along the nanowire axis. The corresponding carrier density is derived from the frequency of the coupled phonon–plasmon mode. The spectroscopic identification of inversion domain boundaries in the majority of the nanowires is also attributed to the Si incorporation. From temperature dependent cathodoluminescence experiments, we derive the activation energy for excitons bound to these defects.

Purpose Regular physical activity is recommended by the WHO for women in the perinatal period as one of the basic factors determining the physiological course of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The study aimed to identify the relationship between regular physical training of pregnant women, carried out in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and postural stability during the perinatal period. Methods 58 women in the first trimester of pregnancy took part in the study and were divided into two groups according to their own choice. The exercise group participated in physical training three times a week during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The non-exercise group did not engage in additional physical activity. All subjects underwent three postural stability tests using a stabilograph. Results In assessing posture stability parameters, significant differences were found only in body coordination in the active group of women. The exercise group showed statistically significantly lower values of the stabilogram parameters (better postural stability) obtained postpartum compared to those taken during pregnancy. There were no significant differences between the results taken during pregnancy. In the group of non-exercising women, no significant differences were observed between the second measurement during pregnancy and the measurement made postpartum. Conclusions It has been shown that physical activity has a significant impact on improving the coordination of women during pregnancy and postpartum. Women participating in regular physical training were characterised by smaller stabilogram deflections and better postural control compared to the control group.

The aim of the article is to study and substantiate approaches to the formation of information provision of business activity management by dividing it into the accounting, control and analytical components, allocating in their structure the main elements that will provide the possibility of forming relevant and reliable data to assess the key indicators of development of an economic entity. The article substantiates the effective and evaluative content of business activity, the possibility of its assessment with the help of both quantitative and qualitative indicators that characterize the main aspects of financial and economic activity and indicate its strengths and weaknesses, potential opportunities and threats in achieving the set development goals. The necessity of an individual approach to the identification of indicators of business activity has been proved, which is associated with the need to take into account the factors of the type and extent of activity, the stage of the life cycle, investment attractiveness, the specifics of the production programs being implemented, the volume of investments, the chosen strategy, management model, etc. The need to prepare rational information provision for assessing the level of business activity, which is formed on the basis of accounting data, carrying out control measures, and applying analytical procedures, has been determined. It is defined that each of the components of information provision of the management of business activity of an economic entity should be considered independently, and the organization of their functioning should be carried out within the framework of maximum ensuring the reliability of the initial data and compliance with the specifics of the economic operations performed. It is substantiated that the adaptation of the accounting, control and analytical provision to the tasks of business activity management will ensure the formation of a relevant information response to the requests of managerial staff.

Digital transformation is a key driver of changes in the established state of the banking sector both in Ukraine and in the world as a whole. Digital transformation is a lever for strengthening the level of efficiency of banks and increasing the level of profitability of activities by optimizing costs, deepening customer analytics, and accelerating managerial decision-making in the bank. Digital transformation also poses a number of challenges for the established work of banks that have not prioritized their work in the field of digitalization. Accordingly, the problems of planning and implementing strategic plans of the Ukrainian banking sector within the framework of digital transformation are becoming more acute. The aim of the article is to analyze the specifics of the digital transformation of banks at the present stage and the formation of a set of actions to strengthen the results of digital transformations for banks in Ukraine. The article examines the current context of digital transformation of the banking sector. The key challenges for banks in the direction of digital transformations are allocated. The main priorities for banks in the framework of digital transformation are considered. The ramification of the effects of digital transformation for banks is emphasized, in particular in terms of increasing the level of efficiency and increasing the profitability of the banking business. An analysis of the context of the main trends in the digital transformation of the banking sector from the point of view of the regulator based on the experience of the European Central Bank (ECB) is carried out. The main challenges of digital transformations of the Ukrainian banking sector are allocated. A comprehensive set of key measures has been formed that will contribute to strengthening the efficiency of the digital transformation of Ukrainian banks. The presented study may be of scientific and practical interest to specialized researchers, the expert community of the banking market, digital transformation consultants, public authorities, and the NBU. Prospect for further research is an extended study of the problems of integrating digital transformation into the development strategies of Ukrainian banks in the plane of various groups of stakeholders, as well as adapting the process of digital transformation of banks in Ukraine to the requirements of the EU banking sector in the context of the European integration movement.

Over last century in Europe a tendency of change in species ranges has occurred for insects of different taxonomic groups. We analyzed the changes that have taken place in the distribution of some soft-winged beetles (Malachiinae, Melyridae) species in the Carpathian region. The obtained data are based on a study of museum beetles’ collections and the authors’ collected materials. Data comparison relating to species distribution shows that the Carpathian fauna during the second half of the 20th century increased by 12 species. Some species have significantly changed their ranges. Species of Southern European and Mediterranean (Anthomalachius strangulatus, Clanoptilus spinipennis), Central-East European (Apalochrus femoralis, Clanoptilus falcifer) origin spread to the East Carpathian region. And vice versa, some species (e.g. Malachius scutellaris) from Central European and the Carpathian regions have spread beyond their borders of ranges to the East and North. Malachiinae species are anthophilic insects. Their life cycles, flight period, and distribution depend on the phenology of host plants. Acceleration of phenophases of the host plants and intensification of the metamorphosis processes due to increase in air temperature has caused an earlier appearance of soft-winged beetles in recent years and contributed to expansion of the ranges of some species of them. In our opinion, expansion of the species ranges and penetration of new beetle species into the Carpathian region from surrounding areas are related to the climate changes, in particular to warming. This thesis is confirmed by multiyear air temperature data of the Transcarpathian Centre of Hydrometeorology. On a background of increase in regional air temperature by about 0.8 °C an average air temperature in foothills of Ukrainian Carpathians has increased by 1.7 °C during last 50–60 years.

Abstract Studies in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) have shown that although formation of the pair bond is accompanied by a suite of behavioral changes, a bond between two voles can dissolve and individuals can form new pair bonds with other conspecifics. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this behavioral flexibility have not been well-studied. Here we examine plasticity of nonapeptide, vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT), neuronal populations in relation to bonding and the dissolution of bonds. Using adult male and female prairie voles, animals were either pair bonded, co-housed with a same-sex sibling, separated from their pair bond partner, or separated from their sibling. We examined neural densities of VP and OT cell groups and observed plasticity in the nonapeptide populations of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). Voles that were pair bonded had fewer PVN OT neurons, suggesting that PVN OT neural densities decrease with pair bonding, but increase and return to a pre-pair bonded baseline after the dissolution of a pair bond. Our findings suggest that the PVN nonapeptide cell groups are particularly plastic in adulthood, providing a mechanism by which voles can exhibit context-appropriate behavior related to bond status.

This overview focused on the recent advances in rust cleaning and conservation of iron-based historical artefacts. Archaeological iron artefacts undergo various forms of corrosion, including soil and atmospheric. In general the main corrosion products are goethite α-FeO​​(OH), acaganeite β-FeO (OH), lepidocrocite γ-FeO (OH), magnetite Fe3O4, siderite FeCO3, vivanite Fe3(PO4)2 ∙ 8H2O, etc. A number factors contribute to the process corrosion, but Cl- anion embedded in the crystal lattice of acagenite is crucial. It has been considered corrosion product removers from the artefact surface, and found out that all of them should contain inhibitors slowing down the interaction of the artefact iron core with acids. Organic acids, in particular citric, maleic and acetic acids are considered to be non-aggressive and environmental-friendly. After removing corrosion product layer, iron historical heritages are affected by atmospheric corrosion thus stabilizing substances and protective coatings must be applied. The most common protectors are tannin-iron complex compounds, which provide an anti-corrosion coatings and prevent further destruction of artefacts. Preservation of iron-based historical artefacts with synthetic polymer waxes, resins and synthetic polymers is thought to be promising.

Highly uniform arrays of site-controlled GaN nanowires are synthesized by selective area growth using a Si3N4 mask and molecular beam epitaxy. Systematic modulation of the emission along the nanowire axis is observed in spectrally resolved cathodoluminescence linescans. We show that this intensity change is an indicator of unintentional Si incorporation during growth resulting from the interaction between the impinging Ga atoms and the mask material. The gradual reduction of the cathodoluminescence intensity along the nanowire highlights the important role of the growth geometry within the synthesis reactor, with shadowing from the elongating nanowires inhibiting the reaction with the mask. This gradient in Si doping is confirmed by the quenching of the longitudinal optical phonon line measured in Raman spectra along the nanowire axis. The corresponding carrier density is derived from the frequency of the coupled phonon–plasmon mode. The spectroscopic identification of inversion domain boundaries in the majority of the nanowires is also attributed to the Si incorporation. From temperature dependent cathodoluminescence experiments, we derive the activation energy for excitons bound to these defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mammal collection of the Zoological Museum of Uzhhorod University consists of more than 4 800 specimens of 125 mammal species of world fauna. Among them, 115 mammal species are displayed in the exhibition halls. The mammal collection of the Zoological Museum is kept in scientific repositories, while a part of specimens is represented in three exhibition halls (210 exhibits). The geographic origin of specimens in the museum’s collection covers all continents but Antarctica. Most of the species represented in the exhibition (34 or 29.57 %) belong to Rodentia, followed by species of Carnivora (28 or 24.35%) and Artiodactyla (15 or 13.04 %). The most common species in the collection are rodents (Rodentia): common vole (Microtus arvalis) and striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), a total of 1422 specimens. The general systematic representativeness of the exhibited part of the collection of mammals of the Carpathian region is 80 species, which is 77.22 % of the total number of mammals of the Ukrainian part of the Carpathians. In a systematic regard, the mammal collection of the Zoological Museum includes specimens of 34 species of 14 orders of the world fauna (41.18%), representing 44 families and 89 genera. The collection contains 38 species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine, most of them belong to Chiroptera (9 species), Rodentia (9 species), and Carnivora (8 species). All bat species are listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. There are 497 bat specimens in the Zoological Museum, 13 of which are displayed in the exhibition halls. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which covers six categories of conservation status, is additionally noted. The rarest species having endangered status (Endangered, EN) are the Russian desman (Desmana moschata), Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), tiger (Panthera tigris), Caspian seal (Phoca caspica), barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Some other species are critically endangered (CR): Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), European mink (Mustela lutreola), saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica), and Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

Abstract Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a two-step therapeutic process that utilizes Boron-10 in combination with low energy neutrons to effectively eliminate targeted cells. This therapy is primarily used for difficult to treat head and neck carcinomas; recent advances have expanded this method to cover a broader range of carcinomas. However, it still remains an unconventional therapy where one of the barriers for widespread adoption is the adequate delivery of Boron-10 to target cells. In an effort to address this issue, we examined a unique nanoparticle drug delivery system based on a highly stable and modular proteinaceous nanotube. Initially, we confirmed and structurally analyzed ortho-carborane binding into the cavities of the nanotube. The high ratio of Boron to proteinaceous mass and excellent thermal stability suggest the nanotube system as a suitable candidate for drug delivery into cancer cells. The full physicochemical characterization of the nanotube then allowed for further mechanistic molecular dynamic studies of the ortho-carborane uptake and calculations of corresponding energy profiles. Visualization of the binding event highlighted the protein dynamics and the importance of the interhelical channel formation to allow movement of the boron cluster into the nanotube. Additionally, cell assays showed that the nanotube can penetrate outer membranes of cancer cells followed by localization around the cells’ nuclei. This work uses an integrative approach combining experimental data from structural, molecular dynamics simulations and biological experiments to thoroughly present an alternative drug delivery device for BNCT which offers additional benefits over current delivery methods.

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on a complex in which clusters of boron in the form of molecules of the nanodiamond ortho-carborane (C2B10H12) have been inserted into the four large nonpolar cavities of a nanotube of the right-handed coiled-coil (RHCC)tetrabrachion. The techniques of multi-configurational thermodynamic integration, steered molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling have been combined to investigate the energetics of storage of ortho-carborane in the cavities and to map out the free energy landscape of the RHCC-tetrabrachion-ortho-carboranecomplex along the central channel and along directions transverse to the central channel. The purpose of the study was to explore potential pathways for the diffusion of ortho-carborane between the cavities and the solvent and to assess the stability of the complex as a possible drug delivery system for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The investigation reveals a complex free energy landscape with a multitude of peaks and valleys, all of which can be related to specific architectural elements of the RHCC-nanotube, and the activation barriers for ortho-carborane capture and release support the requirements for rapid cargo uptake coupled with tight binding to the cavities.

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of vibrational energy flow induced by the imposition of a thermal gradient have been performed on the μ2-dimeric enzyme glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminomutase (GSAM), the key enzyme in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll, in order to identify energy transport pathways and to elucidate their role as potential allosteric communication networks for coordinating functional dynamics, specifically the negative cooperativity observed in the motion of the two active site gating loops. Fully atomistic MD simulations of thermal diffusion were executed with a GROMACS simulation package on a fully solvated GSAM enzyme by heating various active site target ligands (initially, catalytic intermediates and cofactors) to 300K while holding the remainder of the protein and the solvent bath at 10K and monitoring the temperature T(t) of all the enzyme residues as a function of time over a 1ns observation window. Energy is observed to be deposited in a relatively small number of discrete chains of residues most of which contribute to specific structural or biochemical functionality. Thermal linkages between all thermally active chains were established by isolating a specific pair of chains and performing a thermal diffusion simulation on the pair, one held at 300K and the other at 10K, with the rest of the protein frozen in its initial atomic configuration and thus thermally unresponsive. Proceeding in this way, it was possible to map out multiple pathways of vibrational energy flow leading from one of the active sites through a network of contiguous residues, many of which were evolutionarily conserved and linked by hydrogen bonds, into the other active site and ultimately to the other gating loop.

Abstract Oral health monitoring is highly desired, especially for in home use, however, current methods are not sensitive enough and technically convoluted for this purpose. This paper presents incorporation of bioactive materials and colorimetric chemical sensors into routinely used oral appliances transforming them into bioresponsive, conformable interfaces. Specifically, endodontic paper points and dental floss can be functionalized to locally sense and monitor pH variations within the oral cavity via color changes. Moreover, edible colorimetric indicators are developed and used to make sensing, edible devices in the form factor of candies that can dynamically and visually respond to acidity changes in saliva. These interfaces would enable early detection of caries (e.g., using dental floss and paper points) providing low‐cost point of care devices that respond in real‐time by detecting pH variations in biological fluids thus bringing monitoring to home settings .

Tetrabrachion forms the key component of the S-layer of Staphylothermus marinus. Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to study the energetics of occupancy of cavity 3 of the right-handed coiled-coil stalk of tetrabrachion by both water molecules and cyclooctasulfur S8 crowns, as well as to determine possible pathways and free energy barriers for the diffusion of both water and cyclooctasulfur through the peptide walls of RHCC tetrabrachion between cavity 3 and bulk solvent. Calculations of the transfer free energy from solvent to cavity show that clusters of six, seven and eight water molecules are marginally stable in cavity 3, but that occupancy of the cavity by a cyclooctasulfur ring is favoured significantly over water clusters of all sizes. Thermal activation simulations at T = 400K revealed that water molecules diffusing through the wall pass through a sequence of metastable configurations where they are temporarily immobilized by forming networks of hydrogen bonds with specific wall residues. Calculations of the free energy of these metastable configurations using multi-configurational thermodynamic integration yielded a free energy profile with a principal free energy maximum ∆G~50 kJ/mol and a slight activation asymmetry in favour of the direction from cavity to solvent. Potential exit pathways for cyclooctasulfur were investigated with the methods of steered molecular dynamics and umbrella sampling. The cyclooctasulfur was steered through a gap in the tetrabrachion wall along a linear path from cavity 3 into the solvent and the resulting trajectory was subdivided into 22 sampling windows. The free energy profile created for the trajectory by umbrella sampling showed a sharp principal maximum as a function of the reaction coordinate with asymmetric free energy barriers ∆Gexit~220 kJ/mol and ∆Gentrance~100 kJ/mol for cavity exit and entrance, respectively. Keywords: Nonpolar cavities, Archaea S-layer proteins, Right-handed coiled coil, Hydration, Cyclooctasulfur, Molecular dynamics simulations, Free energy, Double-decoupling, Multi-configurational thermodynamic integration (MCTI), Steered molecular dynamics, Umbrella sampling, Weighted histogram analysis method (WHAM), Bootstrapping

The article is aimed at substantiation and approbation on the example of gas transportation enterprise the methodical approach to estimation of the level of financial potential. Several approaches to the assessment of financial potential are considered: on the basis of a complex analysis of indicators of financial status of enterprise without bringing to the single indicator; by means of a single integrated indicator; by determining the score of system of indicators. Each of these approaches to assess the financial potential of enterprise has certain advantages and disadvantages. On the basis of retrospective analysis of PJSC «Ukrtransgas» is determined that the enterprise has low level of financial potential, therefore the reorganized on its assets PJSC «Mahistralni hazoprovody» has necessity to carry out measures on improvement of financial status of the enterprise, taking account of the influence of both external and internal factors.

Purpose. Regular physical activity is recommended by the WHO for women in the perinatal period as one of the basic factors determining the physiological course of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. The study aimed to identify the relationship between regular physical training of pregnant women, carried out in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, and postural stability during the perinatal period. Methods. 58 women in the first trimester of pregnancy took part in the study and were divided into two groups according to their own choice. The exercise group participated in physical training three times a week during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The non-exercise group did not engage in additional physical activity. All subjects underwent three postural stability tests using a stabilograph. Results. In assessing posture stability parameters, significant differences were found only in body coordination in the active group of women. The exercise group showed statistically significantly lower values of the stabilogram parameters (better postural stability) obtained postpartum compared to those taken during pregnancy. There were no significant differences between the results taken during pregnancy. In the group of non-exercising women, no significant differences were observed between the second measurement during pregnancy and the measurement made postpartum. Conclusions. It has been shown that physical activity has a significant impact on improving the coordination of women during pregnancy and postpartum. Women participating in regular physical training were characterised by smaller stabilogram deflections and better postural control compared to the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]