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Marked by the expansion of ice sheets in the high latitudes, the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation across the Plio/Pleistocene transition at ~ 2.7 Ma represents a critical interval of late Neogene climate evolution. To date, the characteristics of climate change in North America during that time and its imprint on vegetation has remained poorly constrained because of the lack of continuous, highly resolved terrestrial records. We here assess the vegetation dynamics in northwestern North America during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene (c. 2.8–2.4 Ma) based on a pollen record from a lacustrine sequence from paleo-Lake Idaho, western Snake River Plain (USA) that has been retrieved within the framework of an International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) coring campaign. Our data indicate a sensitive response of forest ecosystems to glacial/interglacial variability paced by orbital obliquity across the study interval, and also highlight a distinct expansion of steppic elements that likely occurs during the first strong glacial of the Pleistocene, i.e. Marine Isotope Stage 100. The pollen data document a major forest biome change at ~ 2.6 Ma that is marked by the replacement of conifer-dominated forests by open mixed forests. Quantitative pollen-based climate estimates suggest that this forest reorganisation was associated with an increase in precipitation from the late Pliocene to the early Pleistocene. We attribute this shift to an enhanced moisture transport from the subarctic Pacific Ocean to North America, confirming the hypothesis that ocean-circulation changes were instrumental in the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.

The article presents the results of studying the bactericidal and disinfecting activity of directed aerosols of the new drug UK-Anolyte in laboratory experiments. It was found that preparation UK-Anolyte has a high bactericidal and disinfectant activity. Bactericidal activity of UK-Anolyte against E. coli bacteria, pcs. 1257, is 0.0976%, and in relation to S. aureus, pcs. 209-P, – 0.1953%. Disinfection of test objects with protein protection was achieved with anolyte at a drug consumption of 130...250 ml/m2 for 3...6 hours.

A synthesis of paleoclimate responses from Lake Baikal during the MIS 11 interglacial is presented based on proxy records from two drill sites 245 km apart. BDP-99 is located in vicinity of the delta of the major Baikal tributary, whereas the BDP-96 site represents hemipelagic setting distant from riverine influence. The comparison of thicknesses of interglacial intervals in these contrasting depositional settings confirms the extended ca. 33-kyr duration of the MIS 11 interglacial. The new BDP-99 diatom biostratigraphic record matches that of the BDP-96-2 holostratotype and thus allows establishing establishes robust correlation between the records on the same orbitally-tuned timescale. The first detailed MIS 11 palynological record from the BDP-99 drill core indicates the dominance of boreal conifer (taiga) forest vegetation in the Baikal region throughout the MIS 11 interglacial, since at least 424 ka till ca. 396 ka. The interval ca. 420–405 ka stands out as a "conifer optimum" with abundant Abies sibirica, indicative of climate significantly warmer and less continental than today. The closest Baikal analog to this type of vegetation in the history of the current Holocene interglacial is at ca. 9–7 ka. The warm conifer phase lasted for ca. 15 kyr during MIS 11 interrupted by two millennial-scale cooling episodes at ca. 411–410 and 405–404 ka. Reconstructed annual precipitation of 450–550 mm/yr during the MIS 11 interglacial is by ca. 100 mm higher than during the Holocene; regional climate was less continental with warmer mean temperatures both in summer and in winter. At both drill sites, the two-peak structure of the MIS 11 diatom abundance profiles reflects the orbital signature of precession in the interglacial paleoclimate record of continental Eurasia. MIS 11 interglacial was characterized by the sustained high level of primary production and accumulation of autochthonous organic matter at both study sites. The responses of paleoclimate-sensitive indices in the mineralogy of the MIS 11 sediments in BDP-96-2 are consistent with those during the Holocene. Illitization of secondary clay minerals in the Baikal watershed was an important process, but it appears to have been subdued during the first half of the MIS 11, apparently due to elevated humidity and muted seasonality of regional climate.

Spectral, photophysical, photochemical characteristics for mononuclear and binuclear dipyrromethenes in complexes with BF2 (BODIPY), bis-BODIPY and bis-helicates ([Zn2(L)2]) are described. The role of substituents (type and location in the ligand) and the medium in which dipyrromethene complexes are placed (solvents, solid-state matrices), the effect of different complexing agents (p- and d-elements) on the photonics of the complexes are discussed. The results of studying the lasing and photochemical properties of complexes under the action of laser irradiation are presented. In addition, for the described complexes the stability in the ground and excited states in protic media are estimated. Based on the analysis of the results discussed possibilities of practical application of these compounds to creating various optical devices.

The article considers the problem of fault-tolerant satellite control software design. To provide the control software fault-tolerance the N-version programming based on program redundancy is used. In the paper the peculiarities of the design of control software for communications satellite system are presented. The article suggests the model for the choice of optimal structure of N-version software under resource requirement constraints. To solve the optimization problem it is proposed an algorithm. Numerical example illustrates how fault-tolerant control software for communications satellite system can be designed in order to increase software reliability using N-version programming.

We discuss laser pulse propagation with the self-similar shape in a medium with instantaneous nonlinear absorption. We consider two cases of the laser pulse propagation. First one corresponds to problem of laser-induced plasma generation in silica under action of TW laser pulse. The second one corresponds to femtosecond laser pulse propagation in medium with nanoparticles of noble metals. In both cases the mode of the self-similar shape of pulse is of interest. We discuss also a physical mechanism of non-linear acceleration or slowing-down for laser pulse propagation in a medium with nanoparticles. The last phenomena are important, in particular, for a problem of data processing of all optical method. We used analytical approach for considered problem as well as computer simulation.