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INTRODUCTION Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is increasingly performed in patients with severe aortic stenosis. A novel dual-filter system to reduce cerebral embolism during TAVI recently became available. We aimed to assess the feasibility, safety, and clinical and neurocognitive outcomes of TAVI with cerebral protection in Asian patients. METHODS 40 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI with cerebral protection were enrolled. All procedures were performed via femoral access using the self-expanding Evolut R/PRO or Portico, or the balloon-expandable SAPIEN 3 bioprostheses. Baseline characteristics, procedural and clinical outcomes were recorded. Cognition was assessed at baseline and 30 days using the abbreviated mental test (AMT). RESULTS The mean age of the patients (75% male) was 76.4 ± 8.4 years. TAVI was uncomplicated in all patients. The filter device was successfully deployed in 38 (95.0%) patients without safety issues. There was no stroke or death at 30 days, and the survival rate at nine months was 95.0%. There was no overall cognitive change (baseline vs. 30-day AMT: 9.2 ± 1.1 vs. 9.0 ± 1.5, p = 0.12), and only 1 (2.5%) patient developed impaired cognition at 30 days. Patients with a decreased AMT score at 30 days were significantly older than those without (82.1 ± 4.5 vs. 74.4 ± 7.7 years, p = 0.019). All patients with decreased AMT scores were aged ≥ 76 years. CONCLUSION In this early Asian experience of TAVI under cerebral protection, the filter device was successfully deployed in 95% of patients, with 100% procedural success. There were no filter-related complications and no stroke or mortality at 30 days. Overall cognition was preserved, although increased age was associated with a decline in AMT score.

Актуальность исследования. В северных районах Западной Сибири в отложениях танетского яруса отмечаются перерывы осадконакопления, масштабность проявления и диапазон которых остаются неясными. В частности, для доказательства их существования на южных окраинах бассейна требуется привлечение дополнительных палеонтологических и седиментологических данных, которые могут фиксировать кризис привноса осадочного материала. Одним из наиболее надежных источников информации о перерывах в осадконакоплении и других седиментационных событиях могут являться ископаемые ходы. Цель: ихнофациальный анализ кремнистых отложений верхнего палеоцена Западной Сибири. Объект: ископаемые норы Thalassinoides серовской свиты (среднее Зауралье, верхний палеоцен), вмещающие ходы породы (темные опоки с афанитовой структурой), заполняющие ходы породы (светлые опоки с тонкоглобулярной структурой). Методика: полевые исследования, растровая электронная микроскопия, литолого-петрографический, ихнотекстурный, ихнофациальный и седиментологический анализы Результаты. Приведены данные о находках ископаемых следов Thalassinoides в кремнистых породах серовской свиты (верхний палеоцен, среднее Зауралье), и дана характеристика особенностей их морфологии. Рассматриваются вопросы возможных условий, при которых происходило формирование нор и их сохранение в ископаемом состоянии. Микроскопические исследования кремнистых пород серовской свиты позволяют определить особенности и различия в постседиментационных изменениях вмещающих и выполняющих норы отложений. В качестве наиболее вероятных продуцентов ходов Thalassinoides в танетском бассейне определены десятиногие ракообразные. Ископаемые следы в кремнистых формациях палеогена ранее не изучались и приводятся в научной литературе впервые. The relevance of the research. In the northern margins of Western Siberia, depositional breaks are indicated in the sediments of Tanetian stage. Global nature of such hiatuses and possibility of their existence in the southern margins remain debatable. This requires the use of additional paleontological and sedimentological data that capture the crisis of the introduction of sedimentary material. One of the most reliable source of information about interruptions to introduction of sedimentary material and other events in sedimentation can be fossil burrows. The aim of the research is the ichnofacial analysis of siliceous sediments of the Upper Paleocene of Western Siberia. Objects: fossil traces of Thalassinoides from silica rocks Serov suite (Middle Trans-Urals, Upper Paleocene), burrow-filling rock (light gaize with a thin-globular structure), burrow-containing rock (dark gaize, represented by a structureless mass of silica) Methods: field work, scanning electron microscopy, lithologic-petrographic, ichno-structure, ichno-facies and sedimentological analyzes. Results. Information on fossil traces of Thalassinoides from Serov suite gaizes and fossil traces morphology are given. The paper considers the issues of possible environmental conditions, under which the burrow marks were formed and preserved in fossil state. Microscopic studies of Serov suite gaizes allow identifying the features of changes in rocks, that contain and fill burrows, during further diagenetic transformation. Also the article highlights the most likely producers for Thalassinoides burrows of Tanetian time in the West Siberian basin. The study of fossil traces in siliceous rocks of the Paleogene period has not been undertaken before and has not been noted in scientific literature.

Актуальность исследования обусловлена получением материалов по неизученным ранее природным водам юго-восточного склона кряжа Чекановского (арктические районы Сибирской платформы). Исследуемый район относится к труднодоступным, со сплошным распространением многолетнемерзлых пород. Цель: выявить геохимические особенности природных вод юго-восточного склона кряжа Чекановского. Методы. Полевое опробование проведено в соответствии с общепринятыми методиками. Химико-аналитические исследования выполнены методами титриметрии, ионной хроматографии и масс-спектрометрии с индуктивно связанной плазмой. Анализ изотопных отношений [sigma]D, [sigma]18O, [sigma]13С проводился на приборе Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer FinniganTM MAT 253, снабженном приставками пробоподготовки H/Device (для анализа отношений [sigma]D) и GasBench II (для анализа отношений [sigma]18O и [sigma]13СDIC). При анализе гидрогеохимической информации использовались коэффициенты: геохимические (Ca/Na, Ca/Mg, Ca/Si, Mg/Si, Na/Si, Si/Na, rNa/rCl и SO4/Cl), концентрации и водной миграции по А. И. Перельману. Результаты. Представлены первые результаты изотопно-геохимических исследований природных вод юго-восточного склона кряжа Чекановского, расположенного в низовьях реки Лены, в арктических районах Сибирской платформы. Изучены реки и временные водотоки, образующиеся в период таяния многолетнемерзлых пород. Установлено, что воды ультрапресные с величиной общей минерализации от 63 до 100 мг/дм3, по показателю pH (6,9-7,9) нейтральные и слабощелочные. Характеризуются показателем химического потребления кислорода от 1,6 до 9,7 мгО/дм3. Речные воды имеют преимущественно гидрокарбонатный кальциевый состав. Временные водотоки отличаются преобладанием сульфат-иона, а также низкими значениями ХПК от 1,6 до 3,1 мгO/дм3. Рассчитанные коэффициенты водной миграции распределились следующим образом: очень сильная интенсивность миграции I, Se, Br; сильная Sr, B, Sb; средняя As, P, Ni, Cu, Li, Ba, Zn, U, Sn, Mo; слабая (инертная) Sc, Y, Be, Mn, Pb, Si, Ge, Cr, Rb, Co, V, Fe, Ga, Th, Al, Zr, Ti. Изотопные отношения кислорода и водорода изучаемых вод варьируют в широком диапазоне для [sigma]18O: от -24,2 до -19,5 ‰, и для [sigma]D - от -183,0 до -149,3 ‰. По изотопному составу воды имеют метеорное происхождение. Наблюдается смещение акцента питания вод от зимнего к летнему для рек, в то время как для временных водотоков в большей степени проявляются зимние (снеговые) источники. Изотопные отношения [sigma]13CDIC варьируют от -9,7 до -7,2 ‰. В речных водах наблюдаются как положительные (до -7,2 ‰), так и отрицательные (до -9,7 ‰) отклонения [sigma]13CDIC относительно проб, отобранных из временных водотоков. Для них характерны значения от -8,0 до -7,7 ‰. Можно предположить, что обогащение углекислотой и изотопом 13CDIC происходит, в первую очередь, за счет карбонатных пород и углекислоты, образованной в ходе вегетации растений типа C4.The relevance of the study is caused by the obtaining of the previously unexplored isotope-hydrogeochemical data on the natural waters of the south-east slope of the Chekanovsky ridge (Arctic regions of the Siberian Platform). The study area is difficult due to the access continuous distribution of permafrost. The aim of the research is to identify the geochemical features of the natural waters of the south-east slope of the Chekanovsky ridge. Methods. Field sampling was carried out in accordance with generally accepted methods. Chemical analytical studies were performed by titrimetry, ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The analysis of the isotope ratios ([sigma]D, [sigma]18O, and [sigma]13СDIC) was carried out on an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer FinniganTM MAT 253 equipped with H/Device (for analyzing [sigma]D ratios) and GasBench II (for analyzing [sigma]18O and [sigma]13СDIC ratios) sample preparation attachments. In the study of hydrogeochemical data, we used geochemical coefficients (Ca/Na, Ca/Mg, Ca/Si, Mg/Si, Na/Si, Si/Na, rNa/rCl and SO4/Cl), coefficients of concentration and water migration according to A. I. Perelman. Results. The paper presents the first results of isotope-geochemical studies of the natural waters of the south-east slope of the Chekanovsky ridge, located in the downstream of the Lena river, in the Arctic regions of the Siberian Platform. The rivers and temporary streams formed during the period of thawing of permafrost have been studied. It was established that the waters are ultra-fresh with a total salinity of 63 to 100 mg/dm3, neutral and slightly alkaline in terms of pH (6,9-7,9), characterized by chemical oxygen demand (COD) from 1,6 to 9,7 mgO/dm3. River waters have a predominantly bicarbonate calcium composition. Temporary streams are characterized by the predominance of sulfate ion, as well as low COD values - from 1,6 to 3,1 mgO/dm3. The calculated coefficients of water migration were distributed as follows: very high intensity of migration of I, Se, Br; high Sr, B, Sb; average As, P, Ni, Cu, Li, Ba, Zn, U, Sn, Mo; low Sc, Y, Be, Mn, Pb, Si, Ge, Cr, Rb, Co, V, Fe, Ga, Th, Al, Zr, Ti. The isotopic ratios of oxygen and hydrogen were studied in a wide range for [sigma]18O - from -24,2 to -19,5 ‰, and for [sigma]D - from -183,0 to -149,3 ‰. According to the isotopic composition the waters has a meteor origin. A shift in the water supply from winter to summer is observed for rivers, while winter (snow) sources are more pronounced for temporary streams. The [sigma]13CDIC isotopic ratios range from -9,7 to -7,2 ‰. In river waters, both positive (up to -7,2 ‰) and negative (up to -9,7 ‰) deviations of [sigma]13C relative to samples taken from temporary streams (characterized by values from -8,0 to -7 ‰), are observed. It supposed enrichment of water with carbon dioxide and heavy isotope 13C firstly due to material and isotopic exchange with the carbonate rocks weathered by soil CO2 formed from plants of type C4.

Previous research shows seventeen-year periodical cicadas feed on tree roots as nymphs and adult females oviposit on branches resulting in scars. Most studies evaluating periodical cicada oviposition preferences were conducted in mature forests sites. In this study oviposition preferences were evaluated on a planted savanna habitat at the Linsly campus. While nymphs feed underground on roots of a variety of tree species, where do females oviposit on above-ground branches? Initial observations suggested oviposition scar distribution was not random. This study’s objective was to evaluate periodical cicada oviposition preferences regarding tree species, branch diameter and branch aspect in a savanna landscape that included non-native trees. During the fall of 2018 eight trees representing eight species were chosen and for each tree five branches within 3m of the ground were studied as replicates. Within 100 cm standard sampling lengths of the branch, total oviposition scarring length, average ovipositon scar length, diameter of branch at the scar, and scar aspect were measured. Ovipositing cicadas showed some species preferences, but used angiosperm species such as the Japanese Scholar Tree, Black Oak, Silver Maple and Red Mulberry heavily regardless of their native or non-native status. White Pine was not used at all. Periodical cicadas favored branches 0.7 to 0.35 cm in diameter. Most tree branches had oviposition scars on bottom surfaces, but some heavily utilized trees had scars on the top and the side, suggesting competition for preferred lower spaces during egg-laying. These patterns suggest females may be selecting oviposition sites to maximize egg survival.

Heterogeneous computing platforms with multiple types of computing resources have been widely used in many industrial systems to process dataflow tasks with pre-defined affinity of tasks to subgroups of resources. For many dataflow workloads with soft real-time requirements, guaranteeing fast and bounded response times is often the objective. This paper presents a new set of analysis techniques showing that a classical real-time scheduler, namely earliest-deadline first (EDF), is able to support dataflow tasks scheduled on such heterogeneous platforms with provably bounded response times while incurring no resource capacity loss, thus proving EDF to be an optimal solution for this scheduling problem. Experiments using synthetic workloads with widely varied parameters also demonstrate that the magnitude of the response time bounds yielded under the proposed analysis is reasonably small under all scenarios. Compared to the state-of-the-art soft real-time analysis techniques, our test yields a 68% reduction on response time bounds on average. This work demonstrates the potential of applying EDF into practical industrial systems containing dataflow-based workloads that desire guaranteed bounded response times.

The Bitcoin ecosystem has grown tremendously in recent years. While the main sectors of growth and venture capital funding have been infrastructure for the Bitcoin ecosystem itself as well as financial services, there is also a more recent evolution in sectors beyond financial services. We classify the venture-capital backed start up ecosystem accordingly and present its evolution over time. Thereby, we identify interesting sectors, i.e. digital assets, marketplaces, and notary services. Each sector is further subdivided, and six representative venture-backed start-up companies are presented in com- prehensive case studies. We extract the core innovations and Bitcoin features on which these are based. Finally, we critically discuss their disruptive potential.