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Background. Currently, during the construction of new nuclear power plants (NPP), its service life has been extended to 60 years, which requires the modernization of information and measurement systems that control many parameters of the dome of the NPP, including temperature parameters. The safety of the NPP as a whole depends on the accuracy of measuring the temperature of the cement base of the dome of the NPP. The measuring instruments used should not create additional electromagnetic interference during measurements, therefore, the use of fiber-optic measuring instruments is considered more preferable. The object of the study is a fiber-optic information and measurement system (FOIMS) of the stress-strain state of the protective shell of the NPP. The subject of the research is scientific and technical solutions of fiber-optic temperature sensors (FOTS) with a compensation channel, which are part of the nuclear power plant protective shell, installed in rigid deformable environments. The purpose of the study is to develop constructive, technological and structural solutions of the FOTS, providing the possibility of its application in rigid deformable environments with minimal dynamic error due to inertial processes in the sensor housing. Materials and methods. The main approach to achieve this goal is to adapt the previously developed technical solutions of the FOTS to the measurement conditions in rigid deformable media, which are the supporting parts of the dome of the NPP. Results. The structure is determined and the design of the FOTS with a compensation channel of the reflective type is developed. The relations between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials from which the structural elements of the FOTS are made, providing a reduction in the deformation of the protective housing and the sensitive element of the FOTS when the temperature changes, are determined. The initial distance between the mirror surface and the ends of the optical fibers located opposite the mirror surface, at which the sensor conversion function is linear, and the maximum sensitivity (up to 30%) and the modulation depth of the optical signal conversion (up to 50%) are determined. Conclusions. The design, technological and structural solutions of the FOTS with a reflective type compensation channel for the FOIMS of the protective shell of NPP placed in rigid deformable environments have been developed. The use of the developed fiber-optic temperature sensor will provide: reduction of internal stresses inside the deformable environment of the protective shell when its temperature changes; reduction of the dynamic error of temperature measurement; increase in the accuracy of measuring the temperature of the protective shell.

Test-taking behavior in reading comprehension tests is explained, among other things, by meta-cognitive skills, which can be described by indicators of test behavior. These indicators include reading time, respondent-item interaction time, returning to the text, etc. This study is based on the analysis of the test-taking behavior of fourth graders (N=2168) during a reading comprehension test. Two types of indicators of test behavior were described: 1) timing and action speed control; and 2) nonlinear test navigation from item to item and returns to the text. Based on these indicators and using cluster analysis, we identified groups of students with typical patterns of behavior. These groups were described in the context of student gender and test score in the test. The results showed that the data about nonlinear transitions helps to find out the groups of students with regulatory difficulties, however the presence or absence of nonlinear transitions is not associated with test results. Higher results of students are associated with taking test in a linear pattern and a moderately long time.

Gaslighting is typically viewed as a form of psychological manipulation that makes the victim doubt his or her sense of reality and leads to a loss of agency and mental stability. It was spotted over 60 years ago and has long been the subject of study by psychiatrists. Recently, interest in the phenomenon of gaslighting has grown significantly, becoming the subject of research by scientists of various scientific disciplines, which inevitably leads to the expansion of the meaning of this phenomenon and endowing it with additional properties. Psychology is thought to have contributed to this process through the study of symbolic interactionism, attachment theory, self-verification theory, and shared reality. This article presents the dynamics of the development of this term, defines the main features of this phenomenon, and analyzes the basis on which new approaches to the study of gaslighting in modern international psychology are built. The most common assumption in the latest studies is that gaslighting is possible when standard social-cognitive mechanisms are involved in atypical social situations. Relationships with significant others largely determine people's epistemic needs: close people shape and reflect an individual's self-image and perception of the surrounding reality. It is this special position of loved ones that gives gaslighters leverage over the victim.

The paper addresses the interaction of the focus category and the semantic and syntactic aspects of the cleft sentence of the English language. The features of the focus in a cleft sentence are discussed, taking into account the relationship between the information structure and the category of definiteness-indefiniteness. The authors present a review of studies that investigate the information structure of it-clefts in terms of generative grammar. Two groups of studies are distinguished: the one of the groups integrates the focus into the deep structure of it-clefts; the other group of studies attributes the focus to the surface structure of it-clefts. It is concluded that the study of the role of the focus of clefts in isolation from the discourse leads to the interpretation of the focus exclusively in terms of semantic and structural relations. Consequently, the transformational rules formulated in the studies reviewed may not be universal and differently describe the process of transition to the surface structure of a cleft sentence in different languages.

Background. Nowadays during modernization of domestic rocket-space and aviation equipment (RS and AT) special attention is paid to the accuracy of measurement of spatial position of large-size test stands. Design and technological parameters of RS and AE products depend on the accuracy of measuring the stand inclination angle. The used measuring instruments, including the tilt angle, should not create additional electromagnetic interference during testing of RS and AT products; therefore, the use of fiber-optic measuring instruments is considered more preferable. The object of the research is fiber-optic information- measuring systems (FIMS) of large-size RS and AT test benches. The subject of the research are scientific and technical solutions of fiber-optic tilt angle sensors (FOTAS) of attenuator type, which are a part of FOTAS of large-size test benches. The purpose of the study is to extend the functionality of FIMS in measuring the tilt angles of large-size test benches in the range of ±20 degrees. Materials and methods. The main approach to achieve the set goal is adaptation of known technical solutions of fiber-optic sensors (FOS) of linear and angular displacements to the conditions of tilt angle measurement by modernization of optical-mechanical system (MOMS) of FOTAS. The provisions of the theory of measurements, methods of geometrical optics, mathematical processing of the obtained results, modeling and graphical constructions in Microsoft Office, MathCAD programs were used in the research. Results. The structural scheme of FIMS on the basis of attenuator-type FOTAS has been developed, which is characterized by the possibility of simultaneous measurement of inclination angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration with the help of one inclination angle sensor, since the change of stand position in space is an inertial process. A schematic representation of the mutual spatial position of the light rays and elements of the FOTAS when the pendulum is deflected when the stand is tilted is presented, on the basis of which the possibility of measuring the angle in the range of ±20 degrees is proved. The structure of a two-channel pendulum-type attenuator-type FOTAS is determined. Conclusions. Implementation of FIMS on large-size RS and AT test benches provides their absolute spark-explosion-fire safety. Improvement of the MOMS, in which the attenuator is formed in the body of the pendulum, allowed to extend the range of measurement of the FIMS angle up to ±20 degrees. The new structure of FIMS will allow to significantly reduce hardware costs for measurement of such parameters as tilt angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of a large-size test stand.

Purpose/objective(s): The growing use of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in metastatic cancer has led to its use in varying anatomic locations. The objective of this study was to review our institutional SBRT experience for axillary metastases (AM), focusing on outcomes and process. Materials/methods: Patients treated with SBRT to AM from 2014 to 2022 were reviewed. Cumulative incidence functions were used to estimate the incidence of local failure (LF), with death as competing risk. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Univariate regression analysis examined predictors of LF. Results: We analyzed 37 patients with 39 AM who received SBRT. Patients were predominantly female (60 %) and elderly (median age: 72). Median follow-up was 14.6 months. Common primary cancers included breast (43 %), skin (19 %), and lung (14 %). Treatment indication included oligoprogression (46 %), oligometastases (35 %) and symptomatic progression (19 %). A minority had prior overlapping radiation (18 %) or surgery (11 %). Most had prior systemic therapy (70 %).Significant heterogeneity in planning technique was identified; a minority of patient received 4-D CT scans (46 %), MR-simulation (21 %), or contrast (10 %). Median dose was 40 Gy (interquartile range (IQR): 35–40) in 5 fractions, (BED10 = 72 Gy). Seventeen cases (44 %) utilized a low-dose elective volume to cover remaining axilla.At first assessment, 87 % had partial or complete response, with a single progression. Of symptomatic patients (n = 14), 57 % had complete resolution and 21 % had improvement. One and 2-year LF rate were 16 % and 20 %, respectively. Univariable analysis showed increasing BED reduced risk of LF. Median OS was 21.0 months (95 % [Confidence Interval (CI)] 17.3-not reached) and median PFS was 7.0 months (95 % [CI] 4.3–11.3). Two grade 3 events were identified, and no grade 4/5. Conclusion: Using SBRT for AM demonstrated low rates of toxicity and LF, and respectable symptom improvement. Variation in treatment delivery has prompted development of an institutional protocol to standardize technique and increase efficiency. Limited followup may limit detection of local failure and late toxicity.

ABSTRACT: Dairy goat kids are commonly disbudded in the United States without pain relief. Our objective was to identify an efficient pain management strategy by monitoring changes in plasma biomarkers and behavior of disbudded goat kids. A total of 42 kids (5–18 d old at the time of disbudding) were randomly allocated to 1 of 7 treatments (n = 6/treatment): sham treatment; 0.05 mg/kg i.m. xylazine (X); 4 mg/kg subcutaneous buffered lidocaine (L); 1 mg/kg oral meloxicam (M); xylazine and lidocaine (XL); xylazine and meloxicam (XM); and xylazine, meloxicam, and lidocaine together (XML). Treatments were administered 20 min before disbudding. One trained individual, blinded to treatment, disbudded all kids; sham-treated kids were handled similarly except the iron was cold. Jugular blood samples (3 mL) were obtained before (−20, −10, and −1 min) and after (1, 15, and 30 min, and 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 h) disbudding and analyzed for cortisol and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) testing was performed at 4, 12, 24, and 48 h after disbudding, and kids were weighed daily until 2 d post-disbudding. Vocalizations, tail flicks, and struggle behavior during disbudding were recorded. Cameras were mounted over home pens; continuous and scan observations over 12 periods of 10 min each, in the 48 h after disbudding, captured frequency of locomotion and pain-specific behaviors. Repeated measures and linear mixed models assessed treatment effects on outcome measures during and after disbudding. Models accounted for sex, breed, and age as random effects, and Bonferroni adjustments accounted for multiple comparisons. At 15 min after disbudding, XML kids had lower plasma cortisol concentrations compared with L (50.0 ± 13.2 vs. 132.8 ± 13.6 mmol/L) and M kids (50.0 ± 13.2 vs. 145.4 ± 15.7 mmol/L). Cortisol was also lower in XML kids over the first hour after disbudding compared with L kids (43.4 ± 9 vs. 80.2 ± 9 mmol/L). Change from baseline PGE2 was not affected by treatment. Behaviors observed during disbudding did not differ by treatment group. Treatment affected MNT such that M kids were more sensitive overall compared with sham kids (0.93 ± 0.11 kgf vs. 1.35 ± 0.12 kgf). None of the recorded post-disbudding behaviors were affected by treatment, but study activities did influence behavior over time, with kid activity levels declining in the first day after disbudding but largely recovering thereafter. We conclude that none of the drug combinations investigated here appeared to fully attenuate pain indicators during or after disbudding, but triple modality seems to have offered partial relief compared with some of the single-modality treatments.

The article addresses ekphrasis as a kind of polycode text that combines elements of different sign systems. The purpose of the work is to study the relationship between verbal and visual (iconic) elements in a detailed portrait ekphrasis, represented by the poem of the modern Irish poetess M. McGuckian «The Seed-Picture». The study discovered the main functions and forms of the interaction between verbal and non-verbal components in the polycode structure of the poetic text. Linguistic and stylistic means of creating a visual image underlying the analyzed ekphrasis were identified. It was concluded that the combination of all these factors affects the generation of new meanings and produces the process of artistic communication.

In the present work, a modified Pressure Swirl Atomizer (PSA) was introduced to operate as an Assisted Pressure Swirl Atomizer (AAPSA). Different mass flow rates of assisted air were experimentally tested. The studied parameters are the orifice length to diameter ratio (L/Do), swirl chamber length/diameter ratio (Ls/Ds) and swirling passage size (width × depth). The spray characteristics were studied using water as the atomized liquid. The spray was photographed using a high-speed camera to determine the spray shape, the cone angle and the spray breakup length. Moreover, photos taken by the high-speed camera were processed using IMAGE J software to obtain the droplet size diameters. The spray concentrations were measured by the patternator tubes technique. The results indicated that the spray cone angle increased by increasing the value of the L/Do ratio or by decreasing the assisted air mass flow rate. The spray concentration maximum value is shifted inward with the assist air injection. The breakup length decreased by about 65% for the PSA and 77% for the AAPSA when the value of the Ls/Ds ratio is decreased from 1.163 to 0.664. With the injection of assist air at a rate of 2 g/s, the Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) is reduced by about 64% compared to a PSA having the same geometry.

TAE Technologies’ fifth-generation fusion device, C-2W (also called ‘Norman’), is the world’s largest compact-toroid device and has made significant progress in field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma performance. C-2W produces record breaking, macroscopically stable, high-temperature advanced beam-driven FRC plasmas, dominated by injected fast particles and sustained in steady state, which is primarily limited by neutral-beam (NB) pulse duration. The NB power supply system has recently been upgraded to extend the pulse length from 30 ms to 40 ms, which allows for a longer plasma lifetime and thus better characterization and further enhancement of FRC performance. An active plasma control system is routinely used in C-2W to produce consistent FRC performance as well as for reliable machine operations using magnet coils, edge-biasing electrodes, gas injection and tunable-energy NBs. Google’s machine learning framework for experimental optimization has also been routinely used to enhance plasma performance. Dedicated plasma optimization experimental campaigns, particularly focused on the external magnetic field profile and NB injection (NBI) optimizations, have produced a superior FRC plasma performance; for instance, achieving a total plasma energy of ∼13 kJ, a trapped poloidal magnetic flux of ∼16 mWb (based on the rigid-rotor model) and plasma sustainment in steady state up to ∼40 ms. Furthermore, under some operating conditions, the electron temperature of FRC plasmas at a quiescent phase has successfully reached up to ∼1 keV at the peak inside the FRC separatrix for the first time. The overall FRC performance is well correlated with the NB and edge-biasing systems, where higher total plasma energy is obtained with higher NBI power and applied voltage on biasing electrodes. C-2W operations have now reached a mature level where the machine can produce hot, stable, long-lived, and repeatable plasmas in a well-controlled manner.

This article is devoted to the study of the phenotypic manifestations of transformation induced by the Agrobacterium rhizogenes strain K599 in Nicotiana tabacum L., a model plant sensitive to agrobacteria. For this purpose, we carried out a genetic transformation of tobacco leaf disks that resulted in spontaneous callus and shoot formation on hormone-free media. On average, 6 regenerated shoots per leaf explant were obtained. Overall, 2 out of 87 transplanted shoots spontaneously formed roots, and 21 shoots died. In the remaining shoots, rooting was observed only when the growth regulator IAA was added to the medium. Using the above protocol, a total of 39 transgenic plantlets adapted to the given soil conditions were produced from spontaneous points of regeneration. The transformation also initiated the formation of hairy roots, but there were very few of them – 0.77 roots per explant on average. The isolated cultures of tobacco hairy roots generated using strain K599 did not phenotypically differ from those induced by strains A4 and 15834. On the hairy roots, 10 shoots transgenic for rol genes were regenerated by the induction of shoots using growth regulators, 8 of them were later rooted and acclimated to the given soil conditions. The PCR analysis showed the presence of rol genes in all transgenic plants that regenerated spontaneously or were induced on roots by growth regulators. Thus, strain K599, unlike other strains of A. rhizogenes, has a potential to be used to grow transgenic tobacco plants on hormone-free nutrient media by direct regeneration of shoots on explants.

Background. High requirements for spark-explosion-fire safety, as well as the absence of harmful electromagnetic influences, ease of installation, measurement accuracy and preservation of operability in severe operating conditions are imposed on the means of measuring the fuel supply rate on board the aircraft. Fiber-optic measuring instruments have proven themselves well for use in such conditions. Despite the obvious advantages, fiber-optic sensors (FOS) in the domestic market are still inferior in demand for electrical measuring instruments, the reason for which was the lack of sufficient information about the technological features of their assembly, alignment and adjustment. Now, it is necessary to conduct experimental studies confirming the operability of mock-up samples of fiberoptic systems for measuring the stability of liquid flows. Materials and methods. To conduct experimental studies of a fiber-optic system for measuring the fluid flow velocity, a methodology for conducting experimental studies of mock-up samples has been developed. Results. Based on the conducted experimental studies, data on the main technical characteristics of fiber-optic information and measurement systems (FOIMS), which includes a FOS of the fluid flow velocity, were obtained. Conclusions. According to the conducted studies, experimental confirmations of the operability of the FOIMS of the velocity of liquid flows in severe operating conditions and under conditions of temperature differences have been obtained.

Background. The military-political situation in the modern world order is undergoing significant changes. Military conflicts affect the national interests of the Russian Federation. Under the current conditions, it has become an objective necessity to create qualitatively new domestic models of military and special equipment devices based on the use of safe, reliable, energy-saving technologies. Such modern promising methods and measuring instruments include fiber-optic technologies and measuring devices developed on their basis. The purpose of this study is to adapt, generalize and classify the designs of devices and elements of information-measuring and control systems based on fiber optics for military purposes. Materials and methods. Prospects of application of fiber-optic technologies and means in the Russian troops are evaluated. Their purposes, tactical and technical characteristics and capabilities are disclosed. Combinations of methods were chosen for the study: analysis of scientific literature and statistical data, deconstruction. Results. The models of fiber-optic systems for military purposes and their structural elements are grouped, the distinctive feature of which is the simplicity and reliability of the design, safety of use, measurement accuracy, durability. Conclusions. New technical solutions of measuring and control devices based on the fiber-optic principle of operation will ensure safe, accurate and reliable measurement of the required physical quantities at military facilities in different operating conditions.

Background. Currently, during the modernization of domestic rocket, space and aviation equipment (RS and AE), special attention is paid to the accuracy of manufacturing large-sized body parts that are part of responsible products. The accuracy of manufacturing large-sized parts is determined by minimizing dimensional tolerances, as well as the measuring instruments used for this. The object of the study is optical-electronic informationmeasuring systems (OEIMS) for determining the linear dimensions of large-sized parts of objects of RS and AE and determining the absolute position of the measured object in space. The subject of the research is scientific and technical solutions for determining the design parameters and connections of optical and electrical circuits, providing the creation of OEIMS with the determination of the absolute position of the measured object in space when measuring the linear dimensions of large-sized products. The purpose of the research is to increase the measurement accuracy and reliability of the linear dimensions of largesized body parts of RS and AE products by improving the optical system of OEIMS and developing new methods for determining the absolute position of the measured object in space. Materials and methods. During the research, the theory of accuracy of measuring systems, mathematical analysis, integral and differential calculus, methods of geometric optics, mathematical processing of the results obtained, modeling and graphical constructions in the programs Microsoft Office, Libre Office, MathCAD, SolidWorks, the provisions of the theory of measurements were used. Results. A method for determining spatial points has been developed that reduces the accumulated measurement error, characterized in that the optical beams are separated by polarization and frequency, with one optical beam passing along vertical and the other along horizontal polarization, the absolute value of the phase difference of the two optical measuring signals determines the absolute position of the object in space. The structure of OEIMS with acousto-optic conversion of optical signals implementing the proposed method is determined. Conclusions. Based on the proposed method for determining spatial points, an OEIMS with increased accuracy of measurement results has been developed to determine the absolute position of the measured object in space when measuring linear displacements during the manufacture of large-sized body parts of aircraft.