Search

Data on the new records of 14 species from 7 families of caddisflies from 12 places in southern, southeastern and northern Kazakhstan are given. Hydropsychidae: Hydronema persica Martynov, 1914, Hydropsyche carbonaria McLachlan, 1875, Hydropsyche demavenda Malicky, 1977; Hydrobiosidae: Apsilochorema turanicum Martynov, 1924; Hydroptilidae: Hydroptila sp. aff. desertorum Mey, 1993, Hydroptila sanghala Schmid, 1960; Leptoceridae: Setodes sp. aff. punctatus (Fabricius, 1793), Parasetodes respersella (Rambur, 1842); Apataniidae: Apataniana cornuta, ssp. nov., Apataniana sp. nov.; Phryganeidae: Agrypnia varia (Fabricius, 1793); Limnephilidae: Limnephilus martynovi Kumanski 1994, Limnephilus major Martynov, 1909, Philarctus bergrothi McLachlan, 1880. The family Hydrobiosidae is the new for Kazakhstan. Currently 169 species of 66 genera of 18 families are known from Kazakhstan.

Wide areas of the Siberian Arctic shelf are covered by freshened surface water layers, which are among the largest in the World Ocean. River discharge is the main freshwater source for formation of these layers; therefore, they are commonly referred to as river plumes (the Ob-Yenisei plume in the Kara Sea and the Lena plume in the Laptev and East Siberian seas). The contribution of sea ice meltwater (SIM) to the Ob-Yenisei and Lena plumes is pointed out to be small, albeit its actual volume remains unknown. In this study, we use a novel dataset of satellite-derived sea ice thickness in the Arctic Ocean during the melt period to quantify the annual volume of SIM, which was received by the Ob-Yenisei and Lena plumes during 2012–2020. We reveal that SIM is a significant source for the Lena plume providing, on average, 20% of total annual freshwater content. Moreover, the share of SIM in the Lena plume shows large inter-annual (14%–29%) variability, i.e., during certain years, SIM provides almost one-third of freshwater volume of the Lena plume. This variability is governed by inter-annual variability of ice thickness, as well as seasonal variability of sea ice melting conditions. Conversely, the contribution of SIM to the Ob-Yenisei plume is relatively low (8% on average), and its total annual share varies from 6% to 11% during the study period. This difference is mainly caused by significantly smaller area of the Ob-Yenisei plume as compared with the Lena plume. The forecasted earlier onset of ice melting in the Arctic Ocean in future decades due to climate change could decrease the contribution of SIM to the Ob-Yenisei plume, whereas its influence on the Lena plume remains unclear.

The paper develops the methods for computer simulation of the dynamics of absolutely rigid body systems with a tree structure. The equations of motion are presented in compact matrix form. The case of holonomic constraints is also considered. Since the independent parameters uniquely determine the positions and velocities of the bodies of the system in space, the generalized coordinates and variables with the dimension of impulses are chosen. A feature of the system of equations is that it is resolved with respect to the derivatives of the generalized momenta and does not contain constraint reactions. The derivation of the proposed form of the equations of motion from the Hamilton principle using the matrix-geometric approach is given. Recursive formulas for determining all kinematic and dynamic variables included in the equations are obtained. As an example of a mechanical system with six degrees of freedom, all stages of preparing primary information and compiling equations of motion in the proposed form are demonstrated. Three algorithms are presented that allow resolving the obtained extended system of equations with respect to the generalized velocities and momenta without direct formation of the Hamilton equations. The classification of the equations of motion of rigid body systems is carried out from their structure point of view. The place of the deduced equations in the general classification is also demonstrated. A comparative analysis of the computational complexity of the considered methods for various classes of mechanical systems is carried out. Some diagrams are constructed that allow choosing the most effective modeling method depending on the characteristics of the mechanical system: the number of bodies, the number of degrees of freedom and the structure of the system.

Статья посвящена оригинальным математическим моделям боевых действий, разработанным в России в начале XX века. Одной из первых работ, в которой излагались подходы к математическому моделированию боевых действий, можно считать статью Я. Карпова «Тактика крепостной артиллерии», опубликованную в 1906 году. В ней рассматривалась задача обороны крепости от атакующих пехотных цепей противника. Исходя из идеи непреодоления атакующими рубежа обороны, были получены математические соотношения, увязывающие параметры выстрела заряда шрапнели с перемещениями пехотинца. Аналогичным образом рассматривалась задача использования для обороны крепости пулемета. Проанализировав полученные соотношения, Я. Карпов пришел к выводу, что все средства обороны крепости можно соотнести через длину обороняемого этим средством участка. Идеи Я. Карпова развил П. Никитин. Им был рассмотрен широкий спектр средства поражения. Опираясь на результаты проведенных исследований, автором сделаны рекомендации по распределению сил и средств при обороне крепостей. М. Осипов в 1915 году опубликовал яркие и самобытные модели двухсторонних боевых действий, на год раньше известной теории Ланчестера. Суммируя численности сражающихся сторон на бесконечно малых интервалах времени, а затем, переходя к пределам, он получает линейный и квадратичный законы влияния соотношения численности сражающихся сторон на их потери, исследует разнородные средства поражения. Все это проверяется практикой различных сражений. М. Осипов показал, что коэффициенты в законах потерь зависят от выучки личного состава, рельефа местности, наличия укреплений, морально-психологического состояния войск и т.д. Опираясь на результаты математического моделирования, М. Осипов впервые обосновал ряд положений военного искусства. Он показал, что ни линейный, ни квадратичный законы потерь в общем случае не соответствуют практике проведенных сражений. Для удобства использования при том уровне развития вычислительной техники и для получения более достоверного результата М. Осипов предлагал использовать в законах потерь степень «три вторых», хотя сам понимал ее приближенный характер. Много внимания уделено проблеме авторства, поискам прототипа создателя первой двухсторонней модели боевых действий, применению теории для решения современных прикладных задач.

Link for citation: Soldatova E.A., Sidkina E.S., Kiriukhin B.A., Maximov P.N., Krivenok L.A., Ivanov V., Tananaev N.I. Geochemical conditions of Sullar spring: formation of authigenic minerals and methane fluxes. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 10, рр. 16-33. In Rus. Relevance and the research object. Interpermafrost aquifers and areas of their discharge with seasonal ice covers are special permafrost-hydrogeological and hydrochemical systems that are not typical for the thick continuous permafrost zone of Central Yakutia. Differences in chlorofluorocarbon content indicate the anaerobic conditions of some springs suggesting microbial degradation of these compounds by methanogenic bacteria. In the discharge area of such springs, a sharp change in the geochemical conditions takes place leading to a transformation in the water chemical composition and boosting the processes of authigenic mineral formation in this buffer area. In current work we considered the geochemical system of the Sullar spring – the most northern and the least studied among interpermafrost groundwater discharge zones of the Lena River right bank. Intensive accumulation of authigenic minerals was found in the Sullar discharge area during field research. It was Fe compounds with bacterial mats as an opalescent film. Some researchers state the connection between the transformation of Fe compounds during permafrost melting and the migration and transformation of organic matter, including its consumption by microorganisms with further methane emission. We assumed that there is a relationship between the authigenic mineral formation and the content and emission of methane in the discharge area of the spring. This research is the first comprehensive description of the hydrochemistry of the interpermafrost water of the Sullar spring. The aim of the research was to explore influence of geochemical conditions and microbial communities on formation of authigenic minerals and methane fluxes, in particular the effect of the change of geochemical conditions due to groundwater discharge on Fe precipitation and to analyze the relation of that process with methane fluxes. For this purpose, we study water chemical composition of the Sullar spring, measure methane fluxes from water surface and analyze mineral and microbial composition of secondary mineral crusts and bottom eluvium collected near water sampling points. Methods. The main element content was determined by ion chromatography. The concentrations of the bicarbonate ion and dissolved carbon dioxide were calculated by the equilibrium modeling method based on the pH and Eh values of the system. The content of trace elements was measured by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. To identify seasonal and annual variability, a retrospective analysis of the water chemical composition of the Sullar spring for the period from 1962 to 2020 was carried out. Methane fluxes were measured using the chamber method. The methane concentration was determined by gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. The features of the secondary mineral crusts and bottom eluvium were determined using a petrographic microscope. The chemical composition of individual mineral phases was evaluated using a scanning electron microscope equipped with a detector for energy dispersive X-ray spectral microanalysis. The DNA concentration was measured on a fluorimeter. Amplicon libraries were generated by polymer chain reaction with universal primers for the V4 region. Equilibrium modeling was carried out using the HCh software.

IntroductionOpisthorchis felineus, Opisthorchis viverrini, and Clonorchis sinensis are the most medically important species of fish-borne zoonotic trematodes. O. felineus is endemic to the river plains of Western Siberia and Eastern Europe, and it is estimated that more than 1.6 million people could be infected with this parasite. Chronic opisthorchiasis may lead to significant gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary pathology. This study aimed to identify and characterize proteins from the secreted and tegumental proteomes of O. felineus. MethodsAdult flukes were collected from experimentally infected hamsters and cultured in vitro in serum-free media. We extracted proteins from different compartments of the O. felineus secretome, including (i) soluble excretory/secretory (ES) products; (ii) secreted 15K-extracellular vesicles (EVs); and (iii) tegument. ResultsWe also generated a transcriptome using long-read sequencing, and when this was combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry, sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) separation, and protein digestion, we identified 686, 894, 389, 324, and 165 proteins from the ES, 15K-EV, and the three sequentially extracted tegument (TEG) protein fractions, respectively. We conducted in-depth gene ontology and protein family analyses on the identified proteins and discussed comparisons against similar proteome data sets acquired for the Southeast Asian liver fluke O. viverrini and the Chinese liver fluke C. sinensis. DiscussionThe information from this study will form a biologically relevant data set of O. felineus proteins that could be used to develop diagnostic and therapeutic tools to manage the human cost of O. felineus infection and its associated comorbidities.

This paper presents action research to analyze an approach for assessment of the alleged agile transformation. This approach was implemented at AK Bars Digital Technologies, an IT spin-off of one of the largest banks in Russia using the Scaled Agile Framework. The approach is based on the Goal-Question-Metric approach, non-invasive measurement collection, and systemic analysis. It uses data from several different sources, including interviews, code repositories, user ratings in the play stores, and templates for agile assessment. The effectiveness of the approach is subjectively validated by the adoption of the proposed recommendations by the banks’ senior management. Details are provided on the approach, the required effort from the side of both those assessing and of the people being assessed and the results. The final part of the paper is devoted to the discussion of its generalizability and the plan for future experimentation and refinement.

Abstract Phase 3 trials Viale-A and Viale-C evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with AML unfit for intensive chemotherapy who received venetoclax (VEN) + (AZA) (Viale-A) or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) (Viale-C) or placebo (PBO) + AZA or LDAC. Patient-reported outcomes included: EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS/QoL) and physical functioning (PF), PROMIS Cancer Fatigue Short Form 7a (Fatigue), and EQ-5D-5L health status visual analog scale (HS-VAS). Time to deterioration (TTD), defined as worsening from baseline in meaningful change thresholds (MCT) of ≥10, 5, or 7 points for GHS/QoL or PF, fatigue, and HS-VAS, respectively, was assessed; differences between groups were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and unadjusted log-rank analyses. VEN + AZA vs PBO + AZA patients had longer TTD in GHS/QoL (P = 0.066) and fatigue (P = 0.189), and significantly longer TTD in PF (P = 0.028) and HS-VAS (P MCT in GHS/QoL. Overall, VEN may positively impact HRQoL in patients with AML ineligible for intensive chemotherapy, leading to longer preservation of functioning and overall health status.

Abstract VIALE-C compared the safety and efficacy of venetoclax or placebo plus low-dose cytarabine (+LDAC) in patients with untreated AML ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. Overall, 211 patients were enrolled (n = 143, venetoclax; n = 68, placebo). At the primary analysis, the study did not meet its primary endpoint of a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS), however, ~60% of patients had been on study for ≤6-months. Here, we present an additional 6-months of follow-up of VIALE-C (median follow-up 17.5 months; range 0.1–23.5). Median OS was (venetoclax +LDAC vs. placebo +LDAC) 8.4 vs. 4.1 months (HR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.50,0.99; P = 0.040); a 30% reduction in the risk of death with venetoclax. Complete response (CR)/CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) rates were 48.3% vs. 13.2%. Transfusion independence rates (RBC) were 43% vs.19% and median event-free survival was 4.9 vs. 2.1 months (HR = 0.61; 95% CI 0.44,0.84; P = 0.002). These results represent improved efficacy over the primary analysis. Incidence of grade ≥3 adverse events were similar between study arms and overall safety profiles were comparable to the primary analysis. These data support venetoclax +LDAC as a frontline treatment option for patients with AML ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03069352.

Abstract Background Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is a very rare condition, develops both in patients with other hematological neoplasms, and as isolated tumor. MS of the gynecologic tract is extremely rare. An available literature data about diagnosis and management of MS is summarized in the article. The role of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and bone marrow transplantation in the treatment is discussed. Polychemotherapy and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation were suggested to be the optimal treatment strategy of MS of the gynecological tract. The use of new targeted agents results in promising clinical data. Case presentation We are presenting a rare clinical case of a MS of the uterine cervix with concomitant bone marrow involvement and describe all the peculiarities of the clinical course, diagnosis, and treatment. The patient received chemotherapy followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The pre-transplant therapy allowed us to perform allogeneic bone marrow transplantation with the deepest response possible: complete PET-negative and MRD-negative remission of the disease. Conclusions MS remains a subject of discussion regarding its diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. The use of novel targeting agents can be perspective option for patient with extramedullary disease.

Introduction. Interventional cardiac procedures are often associated with high patient exposure and therefore require special care in protecting patients from radiation-induced effects.Materials and methods. A retrospective study of typical patients’doses was performed in nine hospitals, with a total number of fourteen angiography systems. The typical values for kerma-area product (KAP), cumulative dose (CD) and fluoroscopy time (FT) for two of the most commonly performed procedures - percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary arteriography (CA), were calculated and compared with the Bulgarian National Diagnostic Reference Levels (NDRL). Data analysis, regarding the risk of radiation-induced skin effects due to interventional cardiac procedures, was performed.Aim. 1) to present and analyze the typical KAP values for PCI and CA procedures in cardiology departments with high workload and to compare them with the NDRL; 2) to compare the patient doses with the follow-up levels published in Ordinance 2, to identify patients at risk for radiation-induced effects.Results. The results show that typical values for PCI and CA procedures for some of the angiography systems are higher than the NDRL. In all investigated departments there are patients with at least one exceeded follow-up level for PCI.Conclusions. The results show a potential for optimization in the departments with both high or very low typical dose or FT values. No radiation-induced effect was observed in the followed-up group of patients. The introduction of procedure with "Instruction to the patient after an interventional cardiac procedure(s) with greater complexity and a long fluoroscopy time" for patient follow-up and its regular implementation into the routine clinical practice will help for timely diagnosis and treatment of radiation-induced skin effects after cardiac procedures under fluoroscopy control.

In state-of-the-art mobile devices (MDs), non-radio contexts (i.e., non-real-time data) provided by various sensors have been excluded in determining the modem configuration because of the problems in applying them in real-time modem operations. This paper presents a reconfiguration procedure and hardware implementation of a European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)-standard reconfigurable MD with a multi-antenna system. Borrowing the ETSI-standard architecture, the proposed MD can exploit a high-level abstraction of configuration-related operations, which consequently provides its application processor operating in non-real-time domain a uniform way of managing the multi-antenna-related hardware platform operating in real time. The configuration of the proposed MD is determined in accordance with non-radio and radio context information for opportunistically utilizing multiple antenna resources. From an implemented multi-antenna MD system operating in an indoor layout and computer simulations of the multi-antenna MD operating in a modeled outdoor layout, we verify that the MD configuration can be optimized in accordance with radio and non-radio contexts not only for fixed indoor but also for mobile outdoor environments. This enables the multi-antenna MD to efficiently utilize its antenna resources, such that the throughput maximization and/or power consumption minimization can be achieved.

Since the mid-1990s, there has been a marked decrease in the sea ice extent (SIE) in the Arctic Ocean. After reaching an absolute minimum in September 2012, the seasonal variations in the SIE have settled at a new level, which is almost one-quarter lower than the average climatic norm of 1979–2022. Increased melting and accelerated ice export from marginal seas ensure an increase in the open water area, which affects the lower atmosphere and the surface layer of the ocean. Scientists are cautiously predicting a transition to a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean as early as the middle of this century, which is about 50 years earlier than was predicted just a few years ago. Such predictions are based on the fact that the decrease in sea ice extent and ice thinning that occurred at the beginning of this century, initially caused by an increase in air temperature, triggered an increase in the thermal and dynamic contribution of the ocean to the further reduction in the ice cover. This paper reviews published evidence of such changes and discusses possible mechanisms behind the observed regional anomalies of the Arctic Sea ice cover parameters in the last decade.

Over the past century, substantial changes in land use have taken place in the boreal zone of northern Eurasia. The consequences of these large-scale changes for the ecosystems of Europe have been well studied; however, they have not been addressed for the large expanses of Russia. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the landscape dynamics of the middle reaches of the Ob floodplain (Western Siberia) using multitemporal maps of the vegetation cover and land use for five time points (1830, 1910, 1950, 1976, and 2019). By the 1830s, all the land that was suitable for haymaking and plowing (rarely flooded and not swamped) had been put to agricultural use. The meadows of the Ob floodplain are human-controlled and were mainly formed before the 1830s. From the 1830s to the 1990s, the meadows were used in agriculture and their areas increased. The maximum development of the floodplain occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, when previous wetlands were put into operation through the construction of drainage systems. A massive abandonment of pastures and reclaimed land occurred in the late 20th century. According to the data over the last 30 years, abandoned meadows are resistant to overgrowth with trees and shrubs. The spatial configurations of the floodplain landscapes have also been quite stable. The main spatial changes are confined to the near-channel floodplain, with the formation of new near-channel shallows. The floodplain landscapes of the Ob River demonstrate substantial spatial and temporal stabilities, and long-standing agricultural development.

Wildfires are a serious problem in many countries. In 2022, the President of Russia tasked the leadership of the different regions to reduce the average annual area of forest fires by two times by 2030. To implement this, the amount of funding has been doubled. For each region, a standard for annual forest burnability was established to prevent excessive burning, to satisfactorily protect forests from fires. At the same time, when calculating the standard, a simplified approach was used, where a value that decreased from the current level was inversely proportional to an increase in funding. This paper presents an alternative approach to the calculation of the standard, based on the rate of restoration of the initial (to fire) reforestation and taking into account the correction coefficients.

The problem of sentiment analysis has been widely studied in the past several decades. The research in the area has been predominantly based on data collated from online messages, microblogs, reviews, etc. Significantly fewer studies have been conducted based on academic discourse and especially school textbooks. However, sentiment analysis of academic texts can help answer pressing issues relating the ways in which different referents are presented in contemporary Russian school textbooks. In this paper, we analyze the distribution of sentiment words and phrases in a Corpus of Russian school textbooks on History (Grades 10-11) and Social Sciences (Grades 5-11). The results of the study demonstrate that the discourse within (1) History textbooks used in the 10th and 11th grades of Russian schools and (2) Social Studies textbooks written by Nikitin for Russian schools (Grades 5-11) contains predominantly negative sentiment: the writers select negatively valenced words and prefer presenting negative referents. By contrast, the discourse within the set of Social Studies textbooks written by Bogolubov revealed a predominantly positive bias. The authors discuss the implications of these trends in relation to the potential impact of the tone of educational discourse on learning.

This paper addresses how to achieve efficient programmability and software portability in the data plane of a software-defined radio access network (SDRAN). We assume a cloud RAN environment that builds on multi-vendor hardware components. Recent literature on SDRAN data plane indicates that software portability remains an issue in terms of efficient execution of software, even if the software is abstracted from the underlying hardware. In addition, software interfaces typically vary across different hardware components in the SDRAN data plane, leading to platform-dependent software management. Generalizing the European Telecommunications Standards Institute approach for a mobile device architecture, this paper presents a novel SDRAN data plane framework, providing efficient hardware platform-independent programmability and software portability. First, to resolve the software portability issue, the proposed data plane framework employs a specific (radio) virtual machine as well as a radio library; the heterogeneous hardware platforms are abstracted, enabling the joint optimization of the radio application code and hardware platform. Second, to achieve platform-independent software management, the proposed data plane framework adopts a double-layered structure enabling users to exploit high-level software management for the SDRAN data plane. Third, the feasibility of the proposed data plane framework is verified through a proof-of-concept (PoC) system with the proposed double-layered structure. Based on this PoC system, we show that users can efficiently perform software management. According to the numerical results obtained from the PoC system, the proposed double-layered structure introduces negligible additional footprint in terms of computational resources, memory requirements, and latency.

In a great deal of theoretical and applied cognitive and neurophysiological research, it is essential to have more vocabularies with concreteness/abstractness ratings. Since creating such dictionaries by interviewing informants is labor-intensive, considerable effort has been made to machine-extrapolate human rankings. The purpose of the article is to study the possibility of the fast construction of high-quality machine dictionaries. In this paper, state-of-the-art deep learning neural networks are involved for the first time to solve this problem. For the English language, the BERT model has achieved a record result for the quality of a machine-generated dictionary. It is known that the use of multilingual models makes it possible to transfer ratings from one language to another. However, this approach is understudied so far and the results achieved so far are rather weak. Microsoft’s Multilingual-MiniLM-L12-H384 model also obtained the best result to date in transferring ratings from one language to another. Thus, the article demonstrates the advantages of transformer-type neural networks in this task. Their use will allow the generation of good-quality dictionaries in low-resource languages. Additionally, we study the dependence of the result on the amount of initial data and the number of languages in the multilingual case. The possibilities of transferring into a certain language from one language and from several languages together are compared. The influence of the volume of training and test data has been studied. It has been found that an increase in the amount of training data in a multilingual case does not improve the result.

The atmospheric composition in urban areas is one of the primary tasks in air pollution studies. The research aims to provide a statistically reliable assessment of the atmospheric composition climate of the city of Sofia—typical and extreme features of the special/temporal behavior, annual means, seasonal and diurnal variations. For that purpose, extensive numerical simulations of the atmospheric composition fields in Sofia city have been performed. Three models were chosen as modeling tools. We used WRF as a meteorological pre-processor, CMAQ as a chemical transport model, and SMOKE as the emission pre-processor of Models-3 system. We developed the following conclusions. The daily concentration changes of the two essential air pollution species—nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particle matters (FPRM, particulate matter (PM2.5), which has a diameter between 0 and 2.5 micrometers)—have different magnitudes. Second, the emissions relative contributions to the concentration of different species could be different, varying from 0% to above 100%. The contributions of different emission categories to other species surface concentrations have various diurnal courses. Last, the total concentration change (ΔC) is different for each pollutant. The sign of the contributions of some processes is evident. Still, some may have different signs depending on the type of emissions, weather conditions, or topography.

Ferromanganese crusts from four different areas of the North-West Pacific Ocean—the Detroit (northern part of the Imperial Ridge) guyot, the Zubov (Marshall Islands) guyot, the “Gummi Bear” seamount (an intraplate volcano near the Krusenstern FZ), and Belyaevsky volcano (the Sea of Japan)—were studied. Samples from the Detroit and Zubov guyots and the “Gummi Bear” seamount have similar chemical and mineral compositions of hydrogenetic cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts. Crust from the Sea of Japan seems to reflect a hydrothermal influence. The gold content in most samples from the Detroit guyot was 68 ppb and from the Zubov guyot varied from 180 to 1390 ppb, which is higher than the average for the Pacific crusts (55 ppb). Gold content in two other samples was less than 10 ppb. Based on the electron microscopic studies, aggregation of gold particles with a size of 680 μm were identified in the Detroit guyot crust. The sizes of the Au particles are up to 10–15 μm, which has not been previously noted. Gold particles similar in morphology and size were also found in the Zubov guyot crust, which is located far from the Detroit guyot. The largest particle of gold (≈60 μm), represented by electrum, was found in the clay substrate from the “Gummi Bear” seamount. The lamellar, rudaceous morphology of the gold particles from the Detroit and Zubov guyots reflects their in situ formation, in contrast to the agglutinated, rounded with traces of dragging gold grain found in the substrate of the sample from the “Gummi Bear” seamount. Three-component (Ag-Au-Cu) gold particles were found in the hydrothermal crust from the Belyaevsky underwater volcano. Grains similar in composition were also found in Co-rich crust. The research results show that the gold was probably added to by hydrothermal fluid in the already-formed hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts during rejuvenated volcanic stages. Biogeochemical processes may have played a major role in the formation of submicron solid-phase gold particles.

The present study reports a green chemistry approach for the rapid and easy biological synthesis of silver (Ag), gold (Au), and bimetallic Ag/Au nanoparticles using the callus extract of Lithospermum erythrorhizon as a reducing and capping agent. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were characterized with ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our results showed the formation of crystalline metal nanostructures of both spherical and non-spherical shape. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy showed the characteristic peaks in the silver and gold regions, confirming the presence of the corresponding elements in the monometallic particles and both elements in the bimetallic particles. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy affirmed the role of polysaccharides and polyphenols of the L. erythrorhizon extract as the major reducing and capping agents for metal ions. In addition, our results showed that the polysaccharide sample and the fraction containing secondary metabolites isolated from L. erythrorhizon were both able to produce large amounts of metallic nanoparticles. The biosynthesized nanoparticles demonstrated cytotoxicity against mouse neuroblastoma and embryonic fibroblast cells, which was considerably higher for Ag nanoparticles and for bimetallic Ag/Au nanoparticles containing a higher molar ratio of silver. However, fibroblast migration was not significantly affected by any of the nanoparticles tested. The obtained results provide a new example of the safe biological production of metallic nanoparticles, but further study is required to uncover the mechanism of their toxicity so that the biomedical potency can be assessed.

In this paper we deal with System-on-Chip (SoC) system (transaction and higher abstraction) level modeling. The traditional approach based on libraries of custom IPs and SystemC/TLM-2.0 framework is saddled with issues, which prevents wider dissemination of system modeling technology in the industry. Incompatible interfaces of custom IPs give rise to integration issues. Current SystemC/TLM-2.0 framework requires highly skilled developers having software and hardware expertise. We propose a new approach that looks promising and overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks. The essence of our approach is an infrastructure library that hides the complexity of SystemC. System level models are assembled from infrastructure elements with functional cores expressing hardware capabilities. Implementation results and proof-of-concept are presented.

Numerous studies demonstrated an importance of cytochrome P-450 epoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acids metabolism for the pathogenesis of essential hypertension (EH). The present study was designed to investigate whether common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of CYP2C gene subfamily such as CYP2C8 (rs7909236 and rs1934953), CYP2C9 (rs9332242), and CYP2C19 (rs4244285) are associated with susceptibility to EH in Russian population. A total of 816 unrelated Russian individuals comprising 425 EH patients and 391 normotensive controls were included into the study. Genotyping of SNPs was performed using the MassARRAY 4 system. SNP rs7909236 of CYP2C8 was significantly associated with increased risk of EH (OR adjusted for sex and age was 2.99 95% CI 1.39-6.44, P = 0.005). SNPs rs1934953 CYP2C8 and rs4244285 of CYP2C19 showed association with EH risk but at a borderline statistical significance (P ≤ 0.04). Combination of genotypes CYP2C8 rs7909236 TT and CYP2C19 rs4244285 GG was associated with increased EH risk (OR 3.34 95%CI 1.48-7.51, P = 0.004). Genotype–phenotype correlation analysis showed that the levels of CYP2C8 mRNA were significantly correlated with SNP rs7909236 (P = 0.01). in silico functional prediction analysis revealed the functionality of majority of investigated SNPs. Thus, genes of CYP2C subfamily are important genetic determinants of susceptibility to essential hypertension in Russians.

The subject matter of the article is the physicochemical processes occurring in a battery under different conditions and operating times. The goal of the study is to develop, a methodology for estimating the residual life-span of the batteries to make recommendations on the extension of their service life on the basis of an analysis of the conditions of use of the batteries. The tasks to be solved are: to analyze the influence of starter battery conditions on their performance and service life; to analyze the existing methods of determining the residual life of the batteries; to study the dependences of the deviation of the impedance from the standard value for the batteries at different moments of their normal life and to develop a method for predicting the residual life of the rechargeable batteries (RB). General scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge are used. The following results are obtained. On the basis of the readings of the ammeter and voltmeter when switching on the battaries in the circuit at different load values and according to the data obtained during the control-training cycle (CTC), the dependence of the impedance deviation from the base value at different regular battery life was investigated. According to the proposed method, it is easy to determine in which batteries the degradation has just begun and in which they have reached the level when they need to be replaced without waiting for a fatal failure, by obtaining a minimum number of values of the electric parameters of the battery and comparing the data obtained at different times. Proper selection of chargers, skilled operation and timely monitoring of battary's residual life are the most important requirements for their operation. In full-time batteries, the internal resistance begins to increase over time due to natural wear and tear. Significant deviation from the norm in the smaller side indicates a clear malfunction such a battery must be replaced regardless of its useful life. When the deviation from the baseline exceeds 25%, it is time to replace the battery. The conducted studies revealed nonlinear relationships between the battery life and its predicted residual life. Conclusions. Ensuring that the equipment is ready for use depends largely on the state of the RB. The greatest impact on the performance and life of the batteries is due to the temperature conditions, the degree of sparseness of the batteries on the machine and the level of charging voltages on the network. In the actual operating conditions of the RB, there is a need to assess their technical condition, disassemble them for troubleshooting, maintain their availability and extend their service life. RB degradation is reflected in the internal support of the battery cells. Determining the internal resistance of the RB is based on the Ohm dependencies of the complete circle and reduces to a system of two equations. RB life can be considered one of its most important performance characteristics. The relationship between battery life and its estimated residual service life is nonlinear. Proper selection of chargers, skilled operation and timely monitoring of RB's residual life are the most important requirements for their operation.

The variety of coals in origin, properties and quality make it necessary to unify them, so there are different classifications of coals based on material composition, structure, genesis, consumption and so on. The greatest need of coal classification is dividing them into groups for rational use in industry and in the energy sector. The main aim of the study is to develop industrial and energetic classification based on the proposed parameters of coal value: genetic advantage, coking and coke-forming abilities, and standardized parameters: ash content, yield of volatile matter, plastic layer thickness, heat of combustion, which are used to determine coal quality. The methods used in the study. Critical analysis of GOST 25543-2013 (grade classification by genetic and technologic parameters for defining the direction of their consumption) with new parameters: KGA (genetic advantage of coals between themselves), KCA (coking ability) and KITV (coke-forming ability), shows the impossibility of distinguishing coking coals among caking only by yield of volatile matter and caking power (thickness of the plastic layer). Assessment of energetic ability allows reasonably distinguishing the energetic coals among others, including antracites. The results. The proposed industrial and energetic classification is aimed on improvement of coal classification and allows to distinguish cocking coals among caking, and coke-forming among them, and to distinguish energetic and fuel coals among non-caking. Proposed to divide humic coals coals on technological, energy-technological and fuel coals by main directions of their use for deep processing, with industrial and genetic value, technological and energetic value as assessment criteria. Industrial-energetic classification is positioned as addition to GOST 25543-2013 in part of dividing coal by direction of their consumption.

N/A

The author of this article aims to draw the attention of his colleagues – researchers of the history and archaeology of the Golden Horde – on the state of the source base on the culture of the nomadic Golden Horde population. In his view, currently the source base could be characterized as being in paradoxical situation. According to the data, which the author has at his disposal, so far 1179 burials of pagan nomads of the 13th–14th centuries were examined and for the most part published. This number is 1,2 times greater than the number of nomadic burials of the 10th–14th centuries, which G.A. Fedorov-Davydov described in 1966 and who developed a typology and chronology of nomadic medieval antiquities of Eastern Europe. This amount will increase by 2–3 times if we also take into account the Muslim burials. At the same time, discovered and studied nomadic burials of the 13th–14th centuries in the steppes of Eurasia for the most part are found in the steppes of Eastern Europe and they are virtually unknown in the east of the Eurasian Steppe – in the area of the historical “generator” of nomadic peoples. We can explain this paradox either by using the S.A. Pletneva’s concept about three stages of nomadism, according to which the first stage did not leave any archeological monuments, or by the sources lacuna caused by the reduced interest of researchers of eastern Eurasian steppe toward the steppe nomadic monuments of the Middle Ages. The absence of a truly empirical approach to the archaeology of the Golden Horde nomads causes the knowledge stagnation of their history and culture. This is manifested in the creation of narrative discourse understandable only to the meta-ontological perception: about the White Horde – an extensive state east of the Yaik / Ural River; about sedentarization of the Kipchaks in the Jochid Ulus; about autochthonous subbase of the nomads of the 13th–14th centuries in the Ural-Volga region, and the like.

Objectives: To the best of our knowledge, data from Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients with failure of organ functions and poor performance status are extremely lacking. Moreover, the fast recovery from organ failure, after Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration, has never been reported. This study aimed to demonstrate the efficacy and rapid response of Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with pulmonary and kidney failure and poor performance status. Three refractory AML patients, with organ dysfunction, are described. One patient was pre-treated with intensive chemotherapy, and two other patients progressed during Azacitidine treatment. Two patients had respiratory failure grade 2 and one patient suffered from acute kidney insufficiency. Two patients were highly febrile with an elevated С-Reactive Protein (CRP) level. The WHO performance status of three was measured in all patients. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration was performed in three patients, followed by a further switch to Gemtuzumab ozogamicin + Azacitidine or “7+3” treatment. Results: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration resulted in abrupt fever cessation in two febrile patients simultaneously with a rapid decrease in CRP level and fast resolution of respiratory failure. Recovery of kidney function was noticed rapidly in patients with renal insufficiency. The WHO performance status was elevated in all three patients. No adverse grade II−III effects were noticed. Further treatment made two patients eligible for intensive chemotherapy, one patient underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and the patient with kidney failure obtained complete remission. Conclusions: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin therapy appeared to be safe and highly efficacious in relapsed/refractory AML patients with organ dysfunction, like pulmonary or renal failure and poor performance status, and may contribute to rapid recovery from organ failures.

Eastern Fram Strait and the shelf slope region north of Svalbard is dominated by the advection of warm, salty and nutrient-rich Atlantic Water (AW). This oceanic heat contributes to keeping the area relatively free of ice. The last years have seen a dramatic decrease in regional sea ice extent, which is expected to drive large increases in pelagic primary production and thereby changes in marine ecology and nutrient cycling. In a concerted effort, we conducted five cruises to the area in winter, spring, summer and fall of 2014, in order to understand the physical and biogeochemical controls of carbon cycling, for the first time from a year-round point of view. We document (1) the offshore location of the wintertime front between salty AW and fresher Surface Water in the ocean surface, (2) thermal convection of Atlantic Water over the shelf slope, likely enhancing vertical nutrient fluxes, and (3) the importance of ice melt derived upper ocean stratification for the spring bloom timing. Our findings strongly confirm the hypothesis that this “Atlantification,” as it has been called, of the shelf slope area north of Svalbard resulting from the advection of AW alleviates both nutrient and light limitations at the same time, leading to increased pelagic primary productivity in this region.

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of Southeast Asia are analyzed with special attention to the Sunda Islands to evaluate the zoogeographic effects of island isolation and potential influence from the neighboring continental faunas. Results of recent Trichoptera collections and synopsis of previously published data for the islands of Java, Bali, and Lombok are presented along with their zoogeographical interpretation on the islands as well as on the adjacent regions. A total of 202 Trichoptera species is known to occur on the three islands; 146 species are known in Java, 73 in Bali and 61 in Lombok. 43 species are common to Java and Bali, 27 to Java and Lombok, 30 to Bali and Lombok, 70 to Java and Sumatra. A significant decrease in species richness has been observed in comparison to the Asian mainland. The caddisfly fauna of the three islands is of Asiatic origin, no Australian influence was noted. The well-known Wallace’s line does not act as a faunistic border between Bali and Lombok for Trichoptera.

Composites of montmorillonite K10 (MMT K10) and ionic liquid (IL) containing a 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation ([BMIm]+) and various anions, such as bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([NTf2]−), trifluoromethanesulfonate ([OTf]−), and dicyanamide ([DCA]−) have been obtained in this work. A number of methods, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and nitrogen adsorption−desorption have been used to characterize clay, and to study the structure and thermal behaviour of the composites. It has been found that the MMT K10 powder has a narrow particle size distribution with a peak at 246 nm and a mesoporous structure (SBET=195 m2/g). According to the FTIR spectra, MMT K10/IL interaction depends on the IL type. It has been identified that confined ionic liquid interacts with both clay and adsorbed water in accordance with the hydrophilicity and size of the anion, in the following order: [DCA]− > [OTf]− > [NTf2]−. Characteristic temperatures of glass transition, crystallization, and melting have been determined for the ionic liquids under study and their MMT K10 composites. It has been revealed that when IL is adsorbed on the surface of clay, the phase transitions in IL change. The greatest changes are observed in the case of BMImNTf2. By applying the method of thermogravimetric analysis, it is shown that composite formation is accompanied by a decrease in the IL thermal stability. Apparently, the highly developed surface of montmorillonite K10, obtained by acid treatment, plays a major role in the decrease in the IL’s thermal stability. The influence of the IL anion on the thermal and spectral characteristics of an MMT K10/IL composite was studied for the first time.

This study is focused on the specific features of ocean–air interaction in the Laptev Sea, in the late summer, on the basis of recurrent measurements during four expeditions in the 2000s and 2010s, atmospheric reanalysis products, and satellite ice concentration data. It was established that in the “icy„ years, the accumulation of heat in the upper ocean layer is insignificant for the subsequent ice formation. In the “ice-free„ years, the accumulated heat storage in the upper mixed layer depends on the duration of open water and the distance of the point of interest to the nearest ice edge. In a broader context, we considered possible links between the average ice area/extent in the August–September–October (ASO) period, and in the December–January–February (DJF) period, for two representative Arctic regions; that is, the Eurasian segment, defined within the bounds 60–120° E, 65–80° N, and the American segment, defined within the bounds 150° E–150° W, 65–80° N. Significant “seasonal memory„, characterized by the consistent change of the ice cover parameters in sequential seasons, was revealed in the Eurasian segment between 2007 and 2017. No linkage on a seasonal time scale was found in the American segment. A possible explanation for the distinguished contrast between the two geographical regions is proposed.

In the present work, we provide evidence for visible light irradiation of the Au/TiO2 nanoparticles’ surface plasmon resonance band (SPR) leading to electron injection from the Au nanoparticles to the conduction band of TiO2. The Au/TiO2 SPR band is shown to greatly enhance the light absorption of TiO2 in the visible region. Evidence is presented for the light absorption by the Au/TiO2 plasmon bands leading to the dissolution of Au nanoparticles. This dissolution occurs concomitantly with the injection of the hot electrons generated by the Au plasmon into the conduction band of TiO2. The electron injection from the Au nanoparticles into TiO2 was followed by femtosecond spectroscopy. The formation of Au ions was further confirmed by the spectral shift of the transient absorption spectra of Au/TiO2. The spectral changes of the SPR band of Au/TiO2 nanoparticles induced by visible light were detected by spectrophotometer, and the morphological transformation of Au/TiO2 was revealed by electron microscopy techniques as well. Subsequently, the fate of the Au ions was sorted out during the growth and biofilm formation for some selected Gram-negative bacteria. This study compares the bactericidal mechanism of Au ions and Ag ions, which were found to be substantially different depending on the selected cell used as a probe.

Here, we discuss the fabrication and problems of application of chitosan-based composite materials for the removal of hazardous metal ions from tap water and wastewater. The chitosan-based composites containing iron oxides for the uptake of Sr2+ ions were fabricated via a co-precipitation method with variation of the iron/chitosan ratio and pH of the medium. The morphology and composition of the fabricated sorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy⁻energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM⁻EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. We have shown that the suggested fabrication approach allows for a homogeneous distribution of the inorganic phase in the polymer matrix. Investigations of the sorption performance of the composites have shown that they are efficient sorbents for 90Sr radionuclides uptake from tap water. The composite sorbent containing amorphous iron oxide in a chitosan matrix and calcined at 105 °C showed the best sorption characteristics. We have also demonstrated that there is an optimal iron oxide content in the composite: with increasing oxide content, the efficiency of the sorbents decreases due to poor stability in solution, especially in alkaline media. The alternative approach yielding magnetic chitosan-based composites with sufficiently good sorption performance and stability in neutral and weakly alkaline media is suggested.

The preparation of NaLnF4 complexes, LnF3 (Ln = La, Ce, Y) rare earth binary fluorides, CaF2 and SrF2 alkali earth fluorides, as well as mixtures of these compounds from their nitrates dissolved in molten NaNO3 has been studied in order to select the ideal solvent for fluoride synthesis by spontaneous crystallization from flux. Sodium fluoride (NaF) was used as a fluorinating agent. The results of our experiments have confirmed that NaNO3 melt is one of the most promising media for precipitating said inorganic fluoride materials within a broad temperature range (300–500 °С). Also, in contrast with precipitation/co-precipitation from aqueous solutions, our syntheses have resulted in obtaining equilibrium phases only.

Interactions of nanoparticles with biological matter—both somatically and in nature—draw scientists’ attention. Nanoparticulate systems are believed to be our saviors, acting as versatile drug delivery vehicles. However, they can also cause life-threatening bodily damage. One of the most important properties of nanocrystalline cerium dioxide is its antioxidant activity, which decreases the abundance of reactive oxygen species during inflammation. In this paper, we report on synergistic effects of inorganic cerium oxide (IV) nanoparticles conjugated with the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase on scavenging oxygen and nitrogen radicals.

Gene encoding flavin-containing monooxygenase 3 (FMO3), a microsomal antioxidant defense enzyme, has been suggested to contribute to essential hypertension (EH). The present study was designed to investigate whether common functional polymorphism E158K (rs2266782) of the FMO3 gene is associated with EH susceptibility in a Russian population. A total of 2 995 unrelated subjects from Kursk (1 362 EH patients and 843 healthy controls) and Belgorod (357 EH patients and 422 population controls) regions of Central Russia were recruited for this study. DNA samples from all study participants were genotyped for the FMO3 gene polymorphism through PCR followed by RFLP analysis. We found that the polymorphism E158K is associated with increased risk of essential hypertension in both discovery population from Kursk region (OR 1.36 95% CI 1.09–1.69, P=0.01) and replication population from Belgorod region (OR 1.54 95% CI 1.07–1.89, P=0.02) after adjustment for gender and age using logistic regression analysis. Further analysis showed that the increased hypertension risk in carriers of genotype 158KK gene occurred in cigarette smokers, whereas nonsmoker carriers of this genotype did not show the disease risk. This is the first study reporting the association of the FMO3 gene polymorphism and the risk of essential hypertension.