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The Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3(LAGP) and Li1.6Al0.5Ge1.5P2.9Si0.1O12(LAGPS) compounds with the NASICON structure have been studied both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical approach involved analyzing free space in crystal structures (geometrical-topological analysis, GT), calculating ion migration energies using the bond valence site energy (BVSE) method, and determining ionic conductivity at various temperatures through kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also applied to obtain precise results. While the GT and BVSE analyses revealed similar three-dimensional lithium-ion migration maps for both LAGP and LAGPS structures, DFT calculations indicated a difference in the migration energies: LAGP exhibited a 3D migration energy of 0.84 eV, whereas LAGPS showed a lower energy of 0.57 eV. At the same time, 1D and 2D Li ion diffusions have a lower migration energy. LAGP and LAGPS glass-ceramics were obtained successfully, and their samples were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. This confirmed the absence of residual glass phases in the samples, as expected. Atomic force microscopy data showed the formation of a continuous texture in both samples. Impedance spectroscopy was used to measure conductivity in the range of −45 to 140 °C. This revealed the absence of any phase transitions in the structures. At various temperatures, the contributions of the bulk and grain-boundary components to the total conductivity were determined. The LAGPS sample showed a higher grain-boundary conductivity and total conductivity compared to those of the LAGP sample, which coincides well with the theoretical results.

Abstract: The surface of monocrystalline silicon irradiated with a high-power pulsed beam of carbon ions and protons is studied using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The surface is irradiated using a TEMP-2 accelerator in a vacuum of ~10–3Pa. The ion beam consists of 70% carbon ions (C++ C+2) and 30% protons. The sample is irradiated with one pulse with a dose of 1.5 × 1013ions/cm2. Craters characterized by a hexagonal shape are obtained on the silicon surface. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the presence of carbon content inside the crater.

Management of Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) infection requires co‐treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and the use of antibiotics to achieve successful eradication. To evaluate the role of dosage of PPIs and the duration of therapy in the effectiveness of H. pylorieradication treatments based on the ‘European Registry on Helicobacter pylorimanagement’ (Hp‐EuReg). Hp‐EuReg is a multicentre, prospective, non‐interventionist, international registry on the routine clinical practice of H. pylorimanagement by European gastroenterologists. All infected adult patients were systematically registered from 2013 to 2022. Overall, 36,579 patients from five countries with more than 1000 patients were analysed. Optimal (≥90%) first‐line‐modified intention‐to‐treat effectiveness was achieved with the following treatments: (1) 14‐day therapies with clarithromycin‐amoxicillin‐bismuth and metronidazole‐tetracycline‐bismuth, both independently of the PPI dose prescribed; (2) All 10‐day (except 10‐day standard triple therapy) and 14‐day therapies with high‐dose PPIs; and (3) 10‐day quadruple therapies with clarithromycin‐amoxicillin‐bismuth, metronidazole‐tetracycline‐bismuth, and clarithromycin‐amoxicillin‐metronidazole (sequential), all with standard‐dose PPIs. In first‐line treatment, optimal effectiveness was obtained with high‐dose PPIs in all 14‐day treatments, in 10‐ and 14‐day bismuth quadruple therapies and in 10‐day sequential with standard‐dose PPIs. Optimal second‐line effectiveness was achieved with (1) metronidazole‐tetracycline‐bismuth quadruple therapy for 14‐ and 10 days with standard and high‐dose PPIs, respectively; and (2) levofloxacin‐amoxicillin triple therapy for 14 days with high‐dose PPIs. None of the 7‐day therapies in both treatment lines achieved optimal effectiveness. We recommend, in first‐line treatment, the use of high‐dose PPIs in 14‐day triple therapy and in 10‐or 14‐day quadruple concomitant therapy in first‐line treatment, while standard‐dose PPIs would be sufficient in 10‐day bismuth quadruple therapies. On the other hand, in second‐line treatment, high‐dose PPIs would be more beneficial in 14‐day triple therapy with levofloxacin and amoxicillin or in 10‐day bismuth quadruple therapy either as a three‐in‐one single capsule or in the traditional scheme.

A fiber-optic current sensor implementing the differential measurement to measure currents up to tens of megaamperes is proposed. The sensor is based on a reflective interferometer with a sensing coil made up of two spliced highly birefringent spun fibers with different sensitivities and wound in opposite directions around the current conductor. Mode coupling occurring at the splice has been shown to disturb the output signal, requiring modifications to the signal processing. The 50 MA range sensor has been experimentally demonstrated.

Development of effective vaccine candidates against tuberculosis is currently the most important challenge in the prevention of this disease since the BCG vaccine fails to guarantee a lifelong protection, while any other approved vaccine with better efficiency is still absent. The protective effect of the recombinant fusion protein ESAT6–CFP10–dIFN produced in a prokaryotic expression system (Escherichia coli) has been assessed in a guinea pig model of acute tuberculosis. The tested antigen comprises the Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) proteins ESAT6 and CFP10 as well as modified human γ-interferon (dIFN) for boosting the immune response. Double intradermal immunization of animals with the tested fusion protein (2 × 0.5 μg) induces a protective effect against subsequent Mtbinfection. The immunized animals do not develop the symptoms of acute tuberculosis and their body weight gain was five times more as compared with the non-immunized-infected animals. The animal group immunized with this dose of antigen displays the minimum morphological changes in the internal organs and insignificant inflammatory lesions in the liver tissue, which complies with a decrease in the bacterial load in the spleen and average Mtbcounts in macrophages.

The direct, efficient, and controllable patterning of fluorescent materials on polymers is crucial for fundamental research and industrial application but very challenging. Herein, a DBD plasma method was used to deposit rare-earth-doped nanophosphors on the surface of polymeric substrates without thermal annealing steps, aiming to realize fluorescent patterning of thermally sensitive polymers through a simple and low-temperature process. Eu- and Tb-doped yttria (Y2O3) nanoparticles of different fluorescence properties were synthesized from rare-earth acetylacetonates to verify the feasibility of the process, followed by the formation of desirable fluorescent patterns on poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) membranes using relief printing to demonstrate the flexibility of this novel strategy. The results showed that crystalline rare-earth-doped Y2O3nanophosphors were rapidly generated in plasma and can be deposited on the PVDF membranes to form fluorescent patterns without damaging the polymeric substrates. This method was further expanded to diverse substrates like polypropylene (PP), polyether sulfone (PES), and nylon, revealing the versatility of direct fluorescent patterning on thermally sensitive polymers. The efficient, flexible, and rapid plasma process combined with the desirable high-fluorescence patterns is expected to supply guidance for the design and fabrication of functional polymers.

Abstract: This article studies the influence of plastic deformation, thermal treatment, and electron irradiation on the structural-phase state of Cu–40 at % Pd. Initial specimens, specimens obtained by rolling to 0.2 mm, specimens annealed after rolling in an argon environment at 950°C for 1 h, and specimens irradiated with high energy electrons in air at 300°C were exposed to X-ray diffraction analysis. The phase composition of the specimens changed after rolling: about ~6% of the ordered β phase with BCC structure was formed, which disappeared after annealing. As a consequence of irradiation, a layer of copper oxide CuO was formed on the alloy surface, which under normal thermal conditions was formed at 400–500°C; in addition, the reflections of the ordered β phase in the near surface layers disappeared. The elemental composition of the alloy changed over depth starting from the irradiated metal surface. Phases with a low extent of long range order and higher palladium content were formed. The existence of these phases was due mainly to selective oxidation of copper.

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was applied to reactivate palladium on alumina (Pd/Al2O3) waste catalysts at extreme conditions, addressing a common problem of reusing the spent catalysts instead of discarding them. Experimental studies of the effect of gas composition in the plasma process reveal different extent of coke elimination and different electrochemical performance of the reactivated Pd/Al2O3catalysts, ranked as Ar-treated > N2-treated > O2-treated > untreated spent catalyst at fixed gas flow rate and regeneration time. The effect of the regeneration time and gas flow rate on the electrochemical performance of the reactivated Pd/Al2O3catalysts was systematically studied. The results show that for Ar and N2process gas, the electrochemical performance of the plasma-treated spent catalyst is improved with the increase of the gas flow rate and the treatment time. However, if O2is used, then the electrochemical performance of the spent catalyst decreases with the increase of the gas flow rate and the treatment time. The XPS results show that higher oxidation degrees of Pd reduces the electrochemical performance. This study demonstrates a new strategy for reusing the otherwise waste catalyst in a simple and environment-benign solvent-free manner.

The demand for platinum group metals (PGMs) continues to grow. To reduce the negative environmental impact, it is necessary to switch to secondary sources of PGMs and to improve the separation and purification processes of these metals. In this work, new phosphonium-based ionic liquids (diphosphonium salts) were synthesized as extractants for the selective recovery of palladium(II) and platinum(IV) from hydrochloric acid solutions. Substances synthesized contain a doubly-charged cation, which significantly affects the selectivity of extraction compared to singly charged phosphonium extractants. It was found that diphosphonium salts have a high extraction efficiency of metallic ions that form stable doubly-charged chloride anionic complexes. Thus, solutions of synthesized ionic liquids in 3-nitrobenzotrifluoride can selectively extract palladium(II) and platinum(IV) in the presence of all d‐metal ions studied, which are contained in PGMs secondary sources. The extraction efficiency under optimal conditions is 99.6 % and 98.5 % for palladium(II) and platinum(IV), respectively. The extraction mechanism has been investigated by X-ray diffraction, DFT calculations and 31P, 111Cd NMR spectroscopy. Extraction proceeds through the anion-exchange mechanism, however, in the case of the studied compounds, the significant role of bromide as a counterion of ligands was shown. It was found that bromide is likely included in the extracted ion pair, displacing chloride ions from anionic metal complexes during extraction.

Freezing of water droplets placed on the bare and superhydrophobic surfaces of polymer wedges is studied both experimentally and computationally. Two-dimensional numerical calculations of the transient temperature field in a chilled polymer wedge show that the direction of heat flux from the droplet through the thermal contact region with the wedge differs significantly from that from the normal to the wedge surface. A novel approximate computational model is proposed that takes into account the variable area of the water freezing front in the droplet. This model gives a quantitative estimate of the faster freezing of the droplet on the bare surface. The obtained numerical results agree with the laboratory measurements. The velocity of the crystallization front and the droplet deformation including the so-called freezing tip formation are monitored in the experiment. The direction of the freezing cone axis appears to be noticeably different for the cases of bare and superhydrophobic wedge surfaces. This is explained by the fact that the direction of the freezing cone axis is controlled by the local direction of the heat flux. For a hydrophobic wedge surface, the deviation of the freezing tip from the vertical is smaller, because the reduced thermal contact area reduces the influence of the heat flux direction at the wedge surface.

The first comprehensive structural and extraction study of a 2,2′-bipyridine-6,6′-dicarboxamide (Ldiamide) extractant for U, Np, Pu, Th, Am, and Eu ions showed great potential for actinide separation due to steric hindrance of the amidic side phenyl ring of the given compound. The study of the complexes of An(VI) and Th(IV) with 2,2′-bipyridyldicarboxamide-type extractants demonstrated the structure of the extraction species for the first time. Investigation of the extraction properties with the radiometric and millimolar quantities of actinides showed similar extraction trends. For the first time, a metal-ion-induced phenyl-ring rotation restriction was found for the U, Th, and Eu complexes by employing temperature-dependent dynamic NMR. A study of the solution behavior of the complexes accompanied by density functional theory modeling studies elucidated the mechanism of the unusual C–N bond rotation restriction induced by metal coordination.

This work reports on an effective approach for the continuous synthesis of Ag–Au nanoparticles (NPs) by integrating low-temperature plasma with a microfluidic technique. Crystalline Ag–Au nanoalloys are demonstrated to be produced, and the composition of the nanoalloys can be effectively tuned in-flight by controlling the concentrations or the flow rates of the reactants. The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties of the NPs are further validated through the detection of rhodamine 6G and crystal violet (CV) analytes. The silicon substrates coated with the Ag–Au NPs have reproducible morphology and thickness, and can significantly enhance the Raman signals, where nanoalloys show much higher Raman responses compared to monometallic Ag and Au NPs. The Ag–Au-functionalized SERS platforms show excellent reproducibility and stability, with the detection limits of 10–8and 10–10M for the rhodamine 6G (R6G) and CV molecules, respectively. These results indicate that the developed microfluidic plasma method is promising for the continuous and in-flight synthesis of tunable monometallic or multimetallic nanoparticles.

The paper is the first in a planned two-part series, whose main goals are to conduct a general lexicostatistical survey of the Tuu, or South Khoisan, family of languages; to reconstruct a reliable approximation of the Swadesh wordlist for Proto-Tuu; and to clarify certain as of yet unresolved issues about the internal classification of Tuu languages. In the first part of the study, I survey the main data sources, identify the main obstacles to historical reconstruction in the Tuu domain, and make observations on some aspects of Tuu diachronic phonology. The main bulk of the paper is actually represented by the Appendix, in which I attempt to reconstruct the equivalents of the first 50 Swadesh list items for the three intermediate nodes of the Tuu family (Proto-!Ui, Proto-Nossob, and Proto-Taa).

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major cause of liver disease, and patients have a risk of liver cancer and needing transplantation. Patients with advanced NAFLD are usually recommended to use medication. Clinical trials in patients with NAFLD showed that essential phospholipids (EPLs) comprising phosphatidylcholine improved liver fat accumulation (known as steatosis), so treatment guidelines in several countries recommend they be added to the usual therapy. EPLs have been associated with both objective and subjective improvements. This real-world study evaluated three observational studies to assess how patient adherence and satisfaction with EPL treatment were related to changes in clinical parameters in 3384 Russian patients with NAFLD. Overall, 82.2% of patients were adherent with 12 weeks of EPL therapy, and almost two-thirds of patients (64.4%) and clinicians (65.9%) reported very high satisfaction with treatment. Patients’ adherence and satisfaction increased alongside significant improvements in liver enzymes, lipid levels, liver fat content (steatosis), and fewer symptoms after 24 weeks of EPL therapy. Male patients, those with an unhealthy lifestyle, and those with other comorbid conditions had the best response to EPL therapy. This study shows that Russian patients with NAFLD have good adherence and satisfaction with EPL therapy in routine clinical practice and highlights the importance of adherence to EPL therapy in these patients.

Abstract: The effect of pulsed ion-plasma irradiation in the Plasma Focus Vikhr setup and irradiation with 20-MeV electrons at the Microtron-ST accelerator on the mechanical properties of the Inconel 718 precipitation-hardened alloy obtained by the selective laser fusion method has been studied. It was found that ion-plasma and electron irradiation does not affect the properties of the alloy, which is explained by the small thickness of the modified layer during irradiation at the Plasma Focus setup and insufficiently high electron fluence for the manifestation of radiation-stimulated process of redistribution and dissolution of dispersed precipitates of the strengthening phases. The results obtained bear evidence of a high resistance to crack propagation and the absence of a tendency of the studied alloy to embrittlement.

The electrochemical dealloying of Ag40Pd60alloy in (LiCl)57(CsCl)26(KCl)17melt with the addition of 3 mol% silver chloride has been studied. Selective anodic dissolution of the alloy was carried out both in the potentiostatic and in galvanostatic regimes at temperatures ranging from 300 to 500 °C. The obtained voltammetry characteristics of the initial alloy, chronoamperograms and chronopotentiogram during the dealloying are presented and discussed. At a temperature near 500 °C, the second maximum was observed in the chronoamperograms at two different values of the set potential. The unusual shape of the current curves is due to the superposition of several diffusion processes, which intensities in this case are greater than at lower temperatures. Bi-continuous structures of practically pure palladium with pores and ligaments of sizes ranging from a few to tens of micrometers were obtained in the potentiostatic regime. As the dealloying temperature increased, the sizes of pores and ligaments increased naturally. The same effect was also caused by the increase in applied potential. In the galvanostatic mode similar metallic structures were obtained, but the residual silver content reached 5%, and, in addition, the effects of samples sintering appeared.

Abstract: Data on geology of bauxite deposits associated with rich iron ores of the weathering crust of Precambrian ferruginous-siliceous shale formation within the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) are summarized. High -grade iron ores and bauxites occur under a predominantly Paleozoic sedimentary cover at depths of over 400 m. The main potential of iron–aluminum raw materials in the region is concentrated in Bolshetroitskoe, Vislovskoe, Olimpiyskoye and Melikhovo-Shebekinskoe deposits. Bauxite and ferralite deposits were formed during pre-Visean time after phyllitic shales of Yakovlev and Korobkovsky Formations. They consist mainly of boehmite with hematite impregnation, often with a significant admixture of kaolinite and chlorite. Average content (%) is usually Al2O3~50.1, SiO2~6.0, Fetot. ~14.0. The total bauxite potential of KMA is 1201.7 mln t (P1+ C1+ C2+ B). Subsurface mining even with small projected capacity of 1.0–2.5 mln t/year would cover the deficit of alumina presently covered through import.

Currently, there is a lot of clinical data on the basics of lung ultrasound (US) examination in patients with COVID-19. This article is focused on the principles of pneumonia diagnosis. It is established that the use of ultrasound can be informative at the prehospital stage and triage of patients and also detection of mild forms of the course of the disease.

Abstract—The electrical conductivity, thermo-emf, and elasticity coefficient were experimentally studied in multilayered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) exposed to room-temperature irradiation. The initial CNTs with dimensions of 18 ± 7 nm were obtained via chemical vapor deposition using propane–butane as precursor. The irradiation of CNTs was implemented on Mikrotron-ST cyclic electron accelerator at the energy of 21 MeV and electron doses of 0.3 × 1017, 0.7 ×1017, 1.1 ×1017, and 1.5 × 1017cm–2. The characteristics of initial and irradiated samples were measured in a dielectric cylinder. The following critical parameters of dielectric–metal transition in CNTs were established: array density (ρ1), elastic strain of CNT (ρrel), maximum electrical conductivity (σmax), and elastic strain coefficient (ε). The irradiated CNTs exhibit a decrease in thermo-emf (Seebeck coefficient (α)) by 50% or more in comparison with the initial samples, which is due to the formation of radiation defects.

The results of the research on development of technology for welding polymer pipes at low climatic temperatures in open air without the use of temporary heated structures are presented. The most common welding methods are considered: butt welding with a heated tool, electrofusion welding with embedded heating element and socket welding. Tests on welded joints show that the developed technology for welding in open air without the construction of shelters provides the same level of quality as when welding at admissible temperatures.

Fluid inclusions in calcite and diopside from the Xishimen skarn iron deposit in China were studied. The deposit ores were formed from chloride solutions with salinity ranging from 8.4 to 59.6 wt % NaCl equiv within the temperature range of 210 to 590°C. The model of skarn ore formation involving high-temperature magmatic fluids is discussed.

Using the new limit on the neutrino anomalous magnetic moment recently obtained by GEMMA experiment we get an order-of-magnitude estimation for possible new direct upper bound on the neutrino electric millicharge |qν|∼1.5×10−12e0(e0is the absolute value of the electron charge) by comparing the neutrino magnetic moment and millicharge contributions to the total cross section at the electron recoil energy threshold of the experiment. This estimation is confirmed by the performed analysis of the GEMMA data using established statistical procedures and a new direct bound on the neutrino millicharge absolute value |qν|<2.7×10−12e0(90%CL) is derived. This limit is more stringent than the previous one obtained from the TEXONO reactor experiment data that is included to the Review of Particle Properties 2012.

Thin strips or sheets with in-plane curvature have a natural tendency to adopt highly symmetric shapes when forced into closed structures and to spontaneously fold into compact multi-covered configurations under feed-in of more length or change of intrinsic curvature. This disposition is exploited in nature as well as in the design of everyday items such as foldable containers. We formulate boundary-value problems (for an ODE) for symmetric equilibrium solutions of unstretchable circular annular strips and present sequences of numerical solutions that mimic different folding modes. Because of the high-order symmetry, closed solutions cannot have an internal force, i.e., the strips are forceless. We consider both wide and narrow (strictly zero-width) strips. Narrow strips cannot have inflections, but wide strips can be either inflectional or non-inflectional. Inflectional solutions are found to feature stress localisations, with divergent strain energy density, on the edge of the strip at inflections of the surface. 'Regular' folding gives these singularities on the inside of the annulus, while 'inverted' folding gives them predominantly on the outside of the annulus. No new inflections are created in the folding process as more length is inserted. We end with a discussion of an intriguing apparent connection with a deep result on the topology of curves on surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter is a review of the status of gas diffusion barrier film synthesis on polymers by atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (AP PECVD). Nowadays the atmospheric pressure plasma is more and more recognized as an attractive and versatile tool in thin film technology, capable of both surface modification and synthesis of thin functional layers. In comparison to the well-established vacuum technology, atmospheric pressure plasma processing of materials has considerable advantages but also imposes serious challenges. The synthesis of gas diffusion barrier layers with a high density and free of defects on a polymeric substrates can be considered as one of the grand challenges in thin film deposition. Nevertheless, over the past 10 years a remarkable progress was achieved, primarily related to the development of the high current diffuse dielectric barrier discharge as a plasma source. This review will attempt to summarize the main results that have been accomplished with respect to the plasma source characteristics, deposition process and the properties of the gas diffusion barrier film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of polarisation states (PS's) of broadband light propagating through a bent optical fibre with a helical structure of its refractive index anisotropy (hi-bi spun fibre) has been studied theoretically and experimentally. It has been shown that there exists a coordinate system of PS's in which the differential Jones matrix can be replaced by a diagonal matrix, which allows the polarisation parameters of the output broadband light to be readily calculated with sufficient accuracy. We have derived a formula for evaluating the magneto-optical sensitivity of a bent spun fibre. An approach has been proposed for restoring the degree of polarisation of light in a bent hi-bi spun fibre and, as a consequence, the visibility (contrast) of the interferometer in a current sensor with a sensing element based on the fibre under consideration.

An all-spun-fibre linear reflective interferometer with two linked Faraday fibre coils is studied. It is found experimentally that there is mutual influence of Faraday fibre coils in this interferometer. It manifests itself as an additional phase shift of the interferometer response, which depends on the circular birefringence induced by the Faraday effect in both coils. In addition, the interferometer contrast and magneto-optical sensitivity of one of the coils change. A probable physical mechanism of the discovered effect is the distributed coupling of orthogonal polarised waves in the fibre medium, which is caused by fibre bend in the coil.

Development of cheap substrates that are not competing with food stuffs for the cultivation of microorganisms is one of the possible ways of reducing the costs of biotechnological production. We analyzed the possibility of using commercially available enzymes with cellulosolytic activity for saccharification of miscanthus biomass of the Soranovsky variety, a new crop registered in Russia in 2013, compared to saccharification of biomasses of Phalaris arundinacea, Thrachomitum lancifolium, and Sida hermaphrodita. For enzymatic hydrolysis we used the commercially available fungal cellulases: Thermomyces lanuginosusxylanase, Aspergillus nigercellulase, and Pen. verruculosumcellobiase and cellulase. Preprocessing with alkaline peroxide preceded enzymatic hydrolysis. The highest rate of hydrolysis was observed in the Phalaris arundinaceabiomass. We tested various combinations of enzymes and achieved 100% conversion for all samples relative to the weight of the hydrolyzable components, which corresponds to 70% conversion of biomass.

The method of microorganism identification by their protein profiles (or direct protein profiling) has been increasingly used in the last decade, along with classical and molecular biological methods of micro-organism identification. This method is not inferior to indicators such as accuracy and specificity of identification; however, it is profitably distinguished by rapidity and a lower cost of analysis. In this review, modern ideas about the possibilities of the method and comparisons with the used microorganism identification methods are given.

In a mathematical model of the thermal process in the electrofusion welding of gas-line polyethylene pipes, it is proposed that phase transition in a range of temperatures be taken into account. By comparing theoretical time dependences of temperature with experimental dependences, the effectiveness of this approach to determining the temperature field dynamics in the welded joint is shown.