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The paper presents an experimental study of an assembly of five stages of an electric centrifugal pump (ECP) installation, the flow part of which is modified according to the principles of biomimetics, namely using the “lotus leaf effect”. The object of the study was a 5A-35 ECP. The surfaces of the blade systems of impellers and guide devices of stages 5 A-35 were hydrophobized using the method of applying surfactant layers. The degree of impellers hydrophobicity was estimated by the wetting angle average value measured by three drops at three different points on the impeller surface. The impellers surface roughness under study was determined by the arithmetic mean profile deviation Ra and the profile height irregularities Rz. The issues related to the surfactant coating modification effect salt deposition and corrosion were studied. For this purpose, the surfaces of the original and modified impellers were subjected to intensive forced salt deposition as a result of prolonged exposure to saline solution. The conclusion about the samples corrosion resistance degree was made by changing their mass, which was due to the salt deposits formation during 15 hours of stay in solution, as well as using the drop method. Both methods have shown that the surfactant coating can serve as a salt deposition inhibitor, and the pump impeller modified by it has increased corrosion resistance. Thus, during comparative tests, a smaller mass of salt was deposited on the modified impeller sample during 15 hours of exposure in saturated saline solution than on the original sample. This indicates that the surfactant layer prevents the salt deposits fixation on the working surfaces of the pump stage. On the modified sample examined by the drop method, the indicator color changed in 20 minutes, and on the original one – in 2 minutes. Experimental studies have been carried out, during which the operation energy parameters of a five stages 5A-35 pumping package with initial and modified surfactant-coated impellers have been determined. The studies have shown a 2 % increase in efficiency in the pum-ping package of stages with modified impellers. The results of the study can be useful in the oil production, chemical industry, as well as in the housing and communal services sector.

The subject of constant support development is currently becoming increasingly important in connection with the national strategy of transition to a closed nuclear fuel cycle. At the same time, the importance of the tasks of refining calculation models and minimizing methodological, statistical, and constant errors is increasing. In this connection, the idea of creating a universal system of constants describing with equal accuracy both uranium loading and loading with mixed oxide uranium-plutonium fuel and the possibility to perform on its basis both precision Monte Carlo calculations (data format – ACE) and multigroup calculations (formats – ABBN and ANISN) was laid in the basis of this work. In this paper we analyze the freely available libraries of evaluated nuclear data in order to justify the choice of source files for the formation of a new system of group constants for neutron-physical calculations of fast reactor cores, describe the process of formation of a new library of reactor constants, and verify the obtained system on computational test models of BN-800 reactor and critical systems. The process of formation of the new system of group constants included selection of initial neutron data files, updating of data tables of basic neutron cross-sections, self-shielding factors and Doppler coefficients, as well as data on fission spectra for the main fuel nuclides. The methodological component of the error for test models of the BN-800 core was evaluated. Using the ABBN-RF22 system of group constants it was possible to estimate the correction in the 299 groups calculation, which amounted to 0.3%. Previously, when using the ABBN-93 library, there was no such possibility due to the lack of continuity between the files of evaluated neutron data and the group constants used.

The purpose of the study: To demonstrate the ideological justification for the annexation of Siberia to Russia in the story of the Remezov Chronicle, “On the Ancient Prophecy”, associated both with the traditional motive of revenge for violation of borders by the Tatars, and with fundamentally new reasoning that corresponds to the historical situation of the late 17th century. Research materials: Siberian chronicles of the 17th century: Esipov Chronicle, Stroganov Chronicle, Remezov Chronicle. The main place is occupied by the story found in the Remezov Chronicle about the “Ancient prophecy”. Results and novelty of the research: Russia’s advance into Siberia in the 17th century had pragmatic economic grounds, but the Siberian chronicles were obliged to have shown other, more sublime reasons. The first Siberian chronicles believed that the reasons for Russian successes were Divine Providence, and the invasion of military detachments was associated with the need to conduct missionary work. But only the Remezov Chronicle of the late 17th century first offered the reader logical reasons for the need to conquer the vast, rich lands of Siberia. Without denying the factor of Divine agency, there was a traditional motive of revenge on the Tatars for violating sacred borders during the invasion of the 13th century. The Russians took revenge for the Tatar yoke. This idea of sacred boundaries is very early for Russian literature. The destruction of the Siberian kingdom of Kuchum by the Cossacks was a logical aim in Moscow’s fight against the Horde. The original idea was mainly framed as the need to conquer Siberia to prevent a new Mongol-Tatar invasion.

Introduction. Numerous researchers of the reliability of building structures pay attention to hardness, an important characteristic of the structural material. It is determined by indentation — pressing the tip of the tool into the surface. The advantages of dynamic indentation methods and the distribution of stress intensity on the surface and inside the sample are investigated. However, the condition of layered materials on impact has been poorly studied. The objective of the presented work is to consider indentation for a two-layer sample and determine the sensitivity of the top layer to the strength of the substrate. This will allow us to identify significant characteristics of the strength properties of homogeneous and heterogeneous structures.Materials and Methods. An elastoplastic model of material behavior and a shock indentation scheme were used, which took into account the masses of the indenter and the striker coupled by linear springs. The surface of the indenter was conical, the opening angle was 120°. The impact was simulated in the MATLAB system. Finite element model in Ansys APDL was used to verify the data and analyze the results of the experiment. Traditional models of elasticity theory were used for calculations. The behavior of the material in the zone of plastic deformation was described using the options of multilinear isotropic hardening and the von Mises plasticity criterion.Results. The results of comparing three versions of varying the level of yield strength in the bottom layer are presented: when the yield strength in the bottom layer is half as high as the top one, equal to it, and twice as high. Displacements at different observation points for samples with a top layer of 2 mm and 1 mm were analyzed. In the first case, under horizontal shear, the displacement indices inside the sample did not change if the yield strength level was twice lower or higher than in the top one. If these indicators were equal, the difference became noticeable. In the second case (layer 1 mm), the difference in displacement was visible at all observation points. Thus, it can be reasonably concluded that a structure with a smaller top layer is more sensitive to impact. In the course of the research, it became known that vibrations associated with the transition to the plasticity zone occurred in the 2 mm zone, and elastic damping vibrations occurred below this zone. We solved the classification problem for the top layer of the material with changing characteristics of the base. The indicator for comparison was the Brinell hardness (HB) in the range of 200–600. The results were processed using a neural network and visualized in the form of graphs. The accuracy of its calculations was 98%.Discussion and Conclusion. To determine the strength properties of homogeneous structures, it is sufficient to characterize the speed of displacement inside the sample. For an inhomogeneous structure, additional parameters should be introduced — displacements on the surface and inside the sample at fixed observation points. An integrated approach to determining the strength properties of an inhomogeneous structure improves the accuracy of calculations, and the use of neural networks increases their speed.

Introduction. Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a congenital severe narrowing of the aortic isthmus, which in turn is often accompanied by impaired organ perfusion or even cardiogenic shock. In newborns with critical CoA in the case of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) closure, the clinical condition of patients with this congenital heart defect (CHD) sharply worsens and leads to multiple organ failure. In this group of children, mortality ranges from 30 to 50% of infant mortality from CHD. This case demonstrates the positive effect of palliative stenting of a narrowed section of the aorta, which made it possible to safely perform radical surgery for CHD.Case description. Nine-year-old male patient with body weight of 3,5 kg and body length of 53 cm was admitted to the clinic with a diagnosis of CHD: Critical CoA. Secundum atrial septal defect. PDA. Multiple organ failure. Taking into account the severe comorbidity status in the form of multiple organ failure, the high risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, case conference decided to perform a step-by-step CHD treatment as follows: palliative endovascular stenting of critical CoA, followed by radical surgery after stabilization of the patient's condition. The plan was successfully implemented.Conclusion. Сritical CoA stenting can be used as a bridge to radical surgery of the defect in newborns with multiple organ failure. This palliative intervention helps to stabilize the child for up to 3 weeks and more safely perform radical surgery of CoA.

The sphere of public procurement and the disbursement of budget funds in all countries is an environment that attracts not only respectable entrepreneurs who want to make guaranteed money, but also various “criminal white-collar elements.” According to various estimates, the volume of financing for public procurement in the Russian Federation occupies up to one third of the total GDP. A large number of labor and financial resources are involved in this area, while regularly changing legislation in this area, as well as the complexity of procurement procedures for different categories of goods, works, and services create favorable conditions and allow unscrupulous bidders, as well as corrupt customer representatives, to obtain unjustified profits and illegal remuneration. In the current situation, the introduction of new control measures becomes vital to ensure fair competition and efficient use of budget funds. That is why additional research and measures aimed at eliminating these problems and the preconditions for their occurrence are an integral part of ensuring the effectiveness of the public procurement system and protecting public interests.Purpose of the research is to study the genesis of cartel agreements in public procurement and their impact on the implementation of national projects in the Russian Federation, as well as the impact of cartel agreements on the presence of healthy competition and the efficiency of spending budget funds. As part of the paper, the state of crime in this area was examined; the signs of cartel agreements, methods for identifying cartels, as well as signs of collusion between the customer and the participant in public procurement were identified.Methods and materials. The author in his paper applies a comprehensive methodological approach, including analysis of statistical data, methods of the general theory of statistics, as well as methods of synthesis and analysis. The main attention is paid to the analysis of the current legal regulation in the field of public procurement. Graphical and tabular methods were used to visualize statistical data. The study is based on data provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia, the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation and the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court.Results of the study. The paper made a quantitative assessment of the scope of public procurement in recent years, and assessed the work carried out by law enforcement officials and the antimonopoly service. Typical violations of antimonopoly legislation during public procurement are given and methods for identifying them are proposed. The illegal schemes used by cartel participants in electronic trading are analyzed, as well as problematic issues and ways to resolve them that arise in practice. The paper proposes various approaches to increasing the efficiency of law enforcement and control agencies. An analysis of law enforcement practice revealed problems associated with proving crimes in this area, and noted an insufficient level of interaction between law enforcement agencies and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation.Conclusion. In the study, the author analyzed the main features of cartels, proposed methods for identifying them, as well as ways to improve the verification activities carried out. The presented measures do not exhaust the topic of the study, and to effectively combat cartels, a systematic approach is recommended, including not only improving the quality of work of law enforcement and control agencies, but also improving the software and hardware used in carrying out inspections. Cartels in public procurement are a relatively new phenomenon for Russia; statistical data obtained from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation indicate that law enforcement and control authorities are just beginning their work to counter the criminal behavior of participants in cartel agreements. Only the fruitful joint work of law enforcement and control agencies will ensure the economic security of the state and protect the national interests of the Russian Federation.

Thymectomy in a number of clinical situations is an unavoidable step of cardiac surgical treatment of congenital heart defects, but the issue of its effects on development of immunity in early ontogenesis remains open. There is still debates among scientists about the risk of immune deficiency states in children who underwent thymectomy at an early age. One may see completely different opinions, both in domestic and foreign publications. A tool for resolving this issue may be provided by morpho-functional studies of the removed thymic tissue by means of modern scanning electron microscopy techniques. The objective of our study was to assess the possibilities of EMbedding and backscattered scanning electron microscopy for morphological and functional evaluation of the thymus, which was forcedly removed in the infant patients with congenital heart defects over the first weeks of life. The thymus of a newborn infant (postnatal day 27) with congenital heart disease: ventricular septal defect was examined using EMbedding and backscattered scanning electron microscopy imaging after embedding in epoxy resin. The mass of thymus gland was 15.7 g, the dimensions of thymus were: transverse, 3.4 cm; longitudinal, 4.1 cm; thickness, 1.7 cm; volume, 12.4 cm3. The study showed ability of EMbedding and backscattered scanning electron microscopy in morphological and functional assessment of thymus gland considered the central organ of the immune system. Step-bystep visualization from low to high magnifications, from tissues to cells and intracellular structures, as well as layer-by-layer examination of thymic cortex, medulla, interlobular septa and vessels, allows you to effectively assess the functionality of the thymus. This research method is sufficient for scientific research of the forcedly removed thymus since it enables us to visualize its microanatomy, allowing cell phenotyping at different layers of the thymus, studying intercellular interactions of thymocytes with reticulo-epithelial cells, subtle features of Hassall’s bodies and, finally, the process of T lymphocytes’ release from thymus gland.

Introduction. Inverse problems are a specific type of tasks where the consequences of phenomena are studied to identify their causes. They are widely used in scientific studies, specifically, those dealing with large amounts of experimental data. In the presented paper, inverse problems in mechanical engineering and structural diagnostics are considered. These areas require precise methods to identify internal defects in various materials, which can be critical to ensure the safety and efficiency of technical structures. Despite the many flaw detection methods available, there is a need for innovative developments that can provide higher accuracy and efficiency. This study integrates different scientific methods and technologies. It opens up new perspectives in nondestructive testing for the detection of internal defects in various materials and structures. Its objective is to develop and implement nondestructive testing methods based on a neural network device to improve the accuracy of defect identification, as well as to build a neural network model and evaluate its effectiveness for the refinement of ultrasonic visualization of internal defects in solid materials. In this regard, the task to be solved is to create a reliable tool for accurate visualization of sizes, shapes, location and orientation of internal defects in various materials.Materials and Methods. The technique of determining the geometric parameters of defects in materials through nondestructive testing is used. The approach combining modeling of ultrasonic wave propagation in acoustic medium and artificial neural network technologies is applied. This approach identifies nonlinear relationships between the geometry of defects and the amplitude-frequency and amplitude-time data obtained during signal analysis. Artificial neural networks are a model that can be trained on examples, which provides for an effective solution to problems that are difficult to express in traditional forms. The study uses the finite difference method in the time domain. It is applied to identify and visualize internal defects in materials using ultrasonic nondestructive testing and convolutional generative neural networks.Results. A convolutional neural network has been developed to visualize internal defects using ultrasonic nondestructive testing techniques. This neural network successfully determines the size of defects, their location, shape and orientation with high accuracy and reliability.Discussion and Conclusion. The authors highlight the key influence of defect size on the accuracy of ultrasonic imaging in various scenarios. The validation of the model for three different cases of defects with different mechanical parameters has shown that for successful visualization of defects, the wavelength of the ultrasonic pulse must be ten times smaller than the size of the defect. When analyzing the impact of defect size on the accuracy of the neural network, it is found that the visualization error increases for defects of smaller size. It has also been found that the relative speed of sound in materials has a greater effect on the accuracy of the method than the relative density of the material. Based on the results obtained by the authors, it can be argued that the developed methods and technical solutions are of great importance for future research in the field of flaw detection. They have significant potential for scientific and practical applications.

Energy supply to remote areas remains a technical and social challenge. Construction of transmission lines to provide electricity to such areas is expensive and not always possible. One of the promising areas in this area is local energy generation based on local resources, in particular small watercourses, using small hydroelectric power plants. Small hydroelectric power plants are small hydropower facilities that use the energy of small watercourses to generate electricity. They have a number of advantages over traditional energy sources, such as environmental friendliness, low operating costs and high efficiency. However, the widespread introduction of small hydroelectric power plants is hampered by the lack of mass production of small hydraulic turbines and difficulties in designing low-power plants. Designing hydraulic turbines is a complex task that requires solving the inverse problem of hydrodynamics and finding the optimal shape of the flow path. To simplify the design of hydraulic turbines in the modern world, specialized software is used using various methods, including flow analysis, energy loss and blade shape optimization. This article based on an analysis of existing methods for designing and using a mathematical model of a hydraulic turbine with simplified blades, proposes a method for designing and analyzing the theoretical characteristics of the resulting hydraulic turbine. In conclusion, taking into account the use of the methodology for designing a hydraulic turbine for given parameters, its assessment is given, as well as ways to possibly improve the accuracy of the results obtained. Possible areas of application of the outlined design methodology are indicated.

Introduction. The article is devoted to the history of the local territory of the village of Panikovets, Yelets district in the 17th century. The authors analyze the demographic processes and economic development of this region. The article is written from the standpoint of a microhistorical approach. Materials and methods. The specificity of the development of the local society in the regional context of the colonization ofthe Upper Don has been studied in detail. Several observations have been made about the features of the development of the marginal lands of the South of Russia. The main sources of the study were mass historical documents related to the history of the development of local service land ownership: scribe and census books of 1615, 1628/30, 1646, 1678 and 1691, as well as materials of military reviews of landowners in 1604, 1622 and 1648. Results.The authors conclude that the demographic development of the village wasnot stable, and the plowing of land also slightly increased. It is concluded that before the beginning of the XVIII century. full economic development of the territory did not occur. The main task for the locals was to stay on the new lands in the face of constant hostilities. Only the new century became the time of fullfledged economic development of the village and the territory as a whole. Despite the fact that the village of Panikovets was located in a relatively good place, the economic and demographic development of its local territory was insignificant. Conclusion. Despite the fact that the village of Panikovets was located in a relatively convenient place, the economic and demographic development of its territory did not achieve great success. It has been established that for 100 years the composition of the villagers has changed by 90%. New settlers often had to start economic activities from the beginning. These circumstances significantly delayed the colonization of the region. The authors believe that there were many examples of such development of individual lorcal territories. They testify to the difficulties of the region's development.

Introduction. The article is devoted to the review of the book of Doctor of Historical Sciences Professor Arkady Dolgikh about the history of serfdom. Today, the agrarian theme is one of the most important topics for understanding the historical process that has taken place on the territory of the Russian state since the formation of the Muscovite state in the 15th-16th centuries. and up to the 20th century.Materials and methods. The technique of the article is connected with the analysis of the article from general historical positions. The fundamental importance of the question of serfdom lies in the fact that this phenomenon has dragged on considerably. Obviously, it interfered with the full development of Russia, turning most of its population into a mass, devoid of any interest in the results of their own work, which means that it formed entire generations of people deprived of an active life position with a low level of political culture and education.Results. There is no doubt that the reforms carried out by Peter I, which almost completely subordinated all the estate groups of the country to the interests of the state, needed to be adjusted after the end of the Northern War and the introduction of a new poll tax. The ruling circles of Russia, for the most part, were aware of the importance of this adjustment and the danger of stagnation of the serf regime, but until 1861 no one dared to do this due to various subjective and objective reasons. As a result, literally every year a real ―powder magazine‖ grew and increased in size under the building of the House of Romanov, which not only interfered with the full development of their state, but also doomed it to death.Conclusion. The author of the review comes to the conclusion that the new book on serfdom shows the importance of this problem and once again reminds the reader of this phenomenon as a terrible evil hindering the development of Russia.

The paper provides a review of publications devoted to the study of the hydrodynamic effect of «shark skin» and its possible applications in technical systems, in particular in vane pumps. The hydrodynamic effect of «sharkskin» occurs due to roughness (riblets) oriented along the flow and allows to reduce the amount of hydraulic resistance in the near-wall region. An analysis of studies on the morphology and replication of shark skin, as well as some options for applying this effect in technical systems, is carried out. Examples of a number of the most interesting, according to the authors, works that are in the public domain are given. Some features of the presented studies are noted. A conclusion is made about the current state of biomimetic technologies in hydraulic engineering and about the development trends in this area.

The issue of the evolution of the behavioral model of a rural society is raised on the example of three territories, the centers of which were large rural settlements of the Oryol (Navesnoye village), Lipetsk (Panikovets village) and Voronezh (Dankovo village) regions. The chronological framework of the work coincides with the first stage in the development of these settlements from their origin to the formation of Orthodox parishes with a developed settlement district, which historically had a close connection with the central settlement. Mass economic and other documentation of the 17th—18th centuries was chosen as the main source. The research methodology is associated with the use of the problem-chronological method within the local boundaries of three rural settlements, the historical-system method and modern approaches, including microdemographic ones. The social organization of the rural population of the local territories studied by the authors was dynamic, especially in the 17th century, when the military factor played a significant role in the history of the region. It is noted that during the 18th century the odnodvortsy gradually lose their economic initiative, and by the end of the century, landowners and their owning peasants began to play an important role in the development of territories. It is shown that single-dvor collectivism continued to exist at a later time, actually surviving until the beginning of the 20th century.

Introduction. In 1635, construction began on the Belgorod line, a large-scale military-defensive complex on the southern borders of Russia. This construction was completed in 1658. The Belgorod line played an important role in history, made possible to start the process of full-fledged economic development of a vast fertile region, and had a beneficial effect on population growth and the development of the local market. Erecting the line was a difficult task; it took much effort in this process. It is important for us to understand the events before construction. Methods. The author of the article focuses on the history of the organization of the defense of the South of Russia according to the data of the “Brown List of Servicemen” (1625). This interesting archival source is almost unknown in the scientific world. The list reflects not only the organization of border defense, but also the social composition of the population. As a result, it is concluded that maintaining the combat capability of the southern borders was possible only under conditions of permanent deployment of large regiments in the area of the Oka River. Results. The organization of this service required much money and effort, but at the same time the fertile southern region could not fully develop. Farming was impossible. Tatars often attacked. As soon as the weakening of the local garrisons began in 1630, the Crimean authorities sent huge troops to the Russian borderlands. The outbreak of the “Big War” forced Moscow to reconsider the organization of the defense and move to a systematic military-defensive construction. This was the background of the Belgorod line.

The article deals with the circumstances of the private life of Prince Semyon Shakhovsky, an outstanding writer, poet, publicist, religious figure of the first half of the 17th century. It is known that Semyon Shakhovskoy was married four times, contrary to the prohibitions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The fourth marriage caused his conflict with Patriarch Filaret, after which the writer went into exile in Tobolsk. However, he was soon forgiven and returned to Moscow to work for the patriarch. In his ―Home Notes‖, the prince, recalling life, omitted this episode and hid the fact of the fourth marriage. However, rumors that the fourth marriage was officially annulled by the patriarch were strong. In 1662, the son of Semyon Shakhovsky, Fyodor, began a lawsuit with his relatives. They accused him of being illegitimate and asked him to deprive his father of his land holdings. The investigation ultimately failed to find evidence that Prince Shakhovskoy was officially divorced. The author concludes that the refusal to divorce the fourth wife and the justification of this act are evidence of the departure of medieval traditions into the past.

This article reviews A.Yu. Kabanov and Ya.N. Rabinovoch’s book “The Honest and the Unscrupulous in the Time of Troubles in Russia” published in 2022, which is a vivid description of the most prominent figures during the Russian political crisis of the early 17th century. It is argued that the book is timely, as well as highly important and influential for further evolution of history as a field of study. The connection of the authors’ historical narrative with the earlier historiographic traditions is traced. The structure and content of the book are analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the book stands out by its organization and approach. The authors contribute a lot into both a better understanding of the general situation in Russia of the 17th century and to disentangling the complicated issues associated with the Time of Troubles. They describe the dramatic and turbulent events through the fates of specific individuals, thereby proving the key role of the behavioral aspect in historical research. At the end of the review, the need to keep on analyzing historical problems from this angle in modern Russian historiography is substantiated.

The article compares two works of the 17th century: the poetic prayer of Prince S. I. Shakhovsky, dedicated to St. Demetrius of Vologda, and the prayer to the locally venerated Vologda ascetic Procopius Ustyansky, which was not recognized by the official church. These texts are almost identical. The author proves that the first was a poem by Shakhovsky, and it became the basis for creating a prayer to Procopius Ustyansky. This conclusion allows us to obtain new information about the creative biography of Shakhovsky, which are associated with problems with the authorities in the 1620s.

We consider a multidimensional difference equation in a simplicial lattice cone with coefficients from a field of characteristic zero and sections of a generating series of a solution to the Cauchy problem for such equations. We use properties of the shift and projection operators on the integer lattice $Z^{n}$ to find a recurrence relation (difference equation with polynomial coefficients) for the section of the generating series. This formula allows us to find a generating series of a solution to the Cauchy problem in the lattice cone through a generating series of its initial data and a right-side function of the difference equation. We derived an integral representation for sections of the holomorphic function, whose coefficients satisfy the difference equation with complex coefficients. Finally, we propose a system of differential equations for sections that represent D-finite functions of two complex variables.

The article deals with the images of eccentric characters in the short stories “Jerry and Molly and Sam” (1972), “Fat” (1971), “They Are Not Your Husband” (1973), “Neighbors” (1971), “The Idea” (1972) written by an outstanding American writer of the second half of the 20th century R. Carver. The definitions of the concepts of “eccentricity” and “grotesque” are given, the fundamental difference between “eccentric” and the related concepts of “jester” and “rogue” is highlighted, examples of the interpretation of “eccentricity” in the previous literary tradition are given. The selected stories are analyzed and the main features inherent in Carver’s eccentrics, such as passivity, self-deception, substitution of values, following false ideas about future happiness, and others, are highlighted. In his stories, the author again actualizes the problems of loneliness, control, alienation and mutual misunderstanding, traditional for American literature of the 20th century; touches upon the themes of voyeurism, appearance and personality, midlife crisis, invasion of personal space and private property, portrays characters who happen to be victims of broken communication, who make attempts to identify themselves, but invariably fail. The infantile and absurd actions of Carver’s heroes not only hide the mental discord and the tragic inability of an individual to gain control over their own life, but at the same time reflect the general social disorder and spiritual trouble. Thus, the characters in the stories of R. Carver stand on a par with other eccentric heroes of American and world literature, in particular with the grotesque heroes of one of the founders of the modern American short story, S. Anderson.

Introduction. Determination of mechanical properties of layered structures of highways is an urgent task. This is due, firstly, to the need to control the quality of new sections during the construction of highways. Secondly, to assess the condition of existing roads with the accumulation of damage and defects is of interest. The formation of multiple defects (cracks) changes the averaged viscoelastic properties of the components of the structure, specifically, the surface asphalt-concrete layers. The article discusses the use of neural network technologies to improve the accuracy of the recovery of viscoelastic properties. This approach is based on experimental methods. As an example, we can give the definition of the dynamic deflection of a structure from a falling weight, FWD.Materials and Methods. The elastic modulus of a three-layer structure was determined on the basis of a neural network. To find out the solution accuracy, it was compared to the results of mathematical modeling and experimental data.Results. The experimental and calculated parameters of the elastic modulus of individual layers of the road structure turned out to be very close. The proposed approach to determining the mechanical properties of materials of road structures allowed us to apply the obtained results to examination of the condition of individual elements and the entire road structure.Discussion and Conclusions. The prospects of using artificial intelligence to determine the mechanical properties of layered structures was shown. Further improvement of methods and tools for analyzing the behavior of road structures under dynamic loading will expand existing approaches to assessing the condition of road structures.

The aim was to present the experience of using mobile laboratory for monitoring and diagnostics (MLMD) during the epizootiological monitoring of the northern provinces of Vietnam. MLMD was transferred by Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as part of implementation of cooperation programs on combating infectious diseases. The use of MLMD made it possible to obtain new information on the circulation of pathogens of natural-focal infectious diseases on the territory of Vietnam. It also provided the necessary conditions for conducting research using methods of express diagnostics, bacteriological analysis, performing a full cycle of work – from the receipt of samples to the disinfection and destruction of infected material in compliance with the requirements of biological safety in the field. The effectiveness of using mobile laboratories in response to the emergencies of sanitary and epidemiological nature, both to strengthen stationary laboratory bases and to organize diagnostic studies in remote regions, has been shown. The use of MLMD for the diagnosis of COVID‑19 has been an effective component of countering the new coronavirus infection in Vietnam and significantly increased the volume of testing in the country.

В книге А. И. Папкова, Н. Н. Петрухинцева, Д. А. Хитрова «Белгородская черта. История. Фортификация. Люди» (2020) обобщены и актуализированы имеющиеся на данный момент достижения в области изучения Белгородской черты. Раскрывается история строительства военно-оборонительной линии в широком историческом контексте XVII в., демонстрируется предыстория событий (до 1635), а также социальные процессы, последовавшие после ее возведения (1658). Отдельное место уделяется военным реформам Алексея Михайловича, предшествовавшим знаменитым петровским преобразованиям. Книга позволяет научному сообществу перейти на новый этап понимания взаимосвязанных особенностей социальной и военной истории южного пограничья России в политическом контексте событий. До 1645 г. возведение укреплений не имело систематического характера, только после восшествия на престол Алексея Михайловича строительство Белгородской черты обретает четкую логику. В 1654 г. Россия вступает в войну с Речью Посполитой, и военный потенциал южнорусского пограничья используется для решения иных задач. Этот политический вектор развития событий находит свое отражение на страницах рецензируемой книги.

In the processes of determining the properties of materials and structures based on the study of the response to a given dynamic impact, the problem of analysing a one-dimensional time signal and its classification arises. One of the effective approaches to solving it is the use of artificial neural networks with generalized properties of approximation and data filtering. The paper investigates the effectiveness of using fully connected, recurrent and convolutional neural networks to problems of impact indentation to determine the strength properties of metals and elastic moduli of layered structures of non-rigid highways.

We extend existing functional relationships for the discrete generating series associated with a single-variable linear polynomial coefficient difference equation to the multivariable case.