Advantages and disadvantages of wind power plants

Many of the described problems can be solved in the process of technology development. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, despite all the cons, at the end of 2017 the capacity of wind farms was over 18.7 GW. This is almost half of the total capacity of Ukraine’s energy facilities. So, the advantages of WPP definitely outweigh the disadvantages

Invisibility in billiards

The question of invisibility for bodies with mirror surface is studied in the framework of geometrical optics. We construct bodies that are invisible/have zero resistance in two mutually orthogonal directions, and prove that there do not exist bodies which are invisible/have zero resistance in all possible directions of incidence

Особенности мозговой активности при алкогольной зависимости в задаче на ингибиторный контроль

Objective. To study neurophysiological correlates of inhibitory control to determine the features of inhibitionprocesses in alcohol dependence.Materials and methods. 77 patients with alcohol dependence were examined (42 men and 35 women) (F10.2 according to ICD-10). Patients were examined using a test to assess inhibitory control – Go/No – go. According to the task performance, patients were divided into two groups: group 1 – without inhibitory control impairments, group 2 – with impaired inhibitory control. During execution of test, electroencephalogram recordings were made according to the 10–20 system. The values of spectral power and coherence of θ-, α- and β-rhythms were analyzed. Statistical processing was carried out using nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon W-test.Results. In patients with impaired inhibitory control, there was a decrease in the spectral power of the α-rhythm in the frontal cortex (p = 0.003), whereas in patients without inhibitory control disorders – in the Central cortex (p = 0.036). Patients with impaired inhibitory control responded by increasing β-power to cognitive stimulus in the occipital (p = 0.014), left temporal (p = 0.009) and right temporal (p = 0.008) cortex, while patients without inhibitory control disorders showed an increase in β-power only in the occipital (p = 0.007) and left temporal (p = 0.002) cortex. According to coherence data, patients with impaired inhibitory control have greater involvement of brain structures during the “Go/No – go” test in all frequency ranges.Conclusions. Patients with and without impaired inhibitory control have regional differences in changes in brain bioelectric activity during the “Go/No – go” test.Цель. Изучить нейрофизиологические корреляты ингибиторного контроля для определения особенностей процессов торможения при алкогольной зависимости.Материалы и методы. Обследованы 77 пациентов (42 мужчины и 35 женщин) с  алкогольной зависимостью (F10.2 по МКБ-10). Пациенты обследованы с помощью теста  для оценки ингибиторного контроля – Go/No – go. По результатам этого теста пациенты были разделены на две группы: группа 1 – без нарушения ингибиторного контроля, группа 2 – с нарушением ингибиторного контроля. Во время выполнения теста проводилась запись электроэнцефалограммы по системе «10–20». Анализировались значения спектральной мощности и когерентности θ-, α- и β-ритмов.  Статистическая обработка проводилась с применением непараметрического U-критерия Манна – Уитни и W-критерия Вилкоксона.Результаты. У пациентов с нарушенным ингибиторным контролем происходило снижение спектральной мощности α-ритма во фронтальной коре головного мозга (р = 0,003), тогда как у пациентов без нарушений ингибиторного контроля – в центральной  коре (р = 0,036). Пациенты с нарушенным ингибиторным контролем реагировали повышением β-мощности на когнитивный стимул в затылочной (р = 0,014), левой височной (р = 0,009) и правой височной (р = 0,008) коре, при этом у пациентов без нарушений ингибиторного контроля наблюдалось повышение β-мощности только в  затылочной (р = 0,007) и левой височной (р = 0,002) коре. По данным когерентности, у пациентов с нарушением ингибиторного контроля наблюдается большая вовлеченность  мозговых структур во время выполнения теста Go/No – go во всех частотных диапазонах.Заключение. Пациенты с нарушением и без нарушения ингибиторного контроля имеют региональные различия в изменениях биоэлектрической активности головного мозга в процессе выполнения теста Go/No – go

PREOPERATIVE CORRECTION OF ENDOGENOUS INTOXICATION AND RESPIRATORY DISORDERS IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL CANCER

The detection of the symptoms of endogenous intoxication in patients colorectal cancer patients is a difficult problem and should include not only evaluation of quantitative changes of blood clinical analysis but otheг standard methods. It was shown that adequate preoperative preparation of patients with eespieatory disorders con:ection let us to decrease the risk of perioperative complications in descnbed cases

Modeling tourists' personality in recommender systems: how does personality influence preferences for tourist attractions?

Personalization is increasingly being perceived as an important factor for the effectiveness of Recommender Systems (RS). This is especially true in the tourism domain, where travelling comprises emotionally charged experiences, and therefore, the more about the tourist is known, better recommendations can be made. The inclusion of psychological aspects to generate recommendations, such as personality, is a growing trend in RS and they are being studied to provide more personalized approaches. However, although many studies on the psychology of tourism exist, studies on the prediction of tourist preferences based on their personality are limited. Therefore, we undertook a large-scale study in order to determine how the Big Five personality dimensions influence tourists' preferences for tourist attractions, gathering data from an online questionnaire, sent to Portuguese individuals from the academic sector and their respective relatives/friends (n=508). Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, we extracted 11 main categories of tourist attractions and analyzed which personality dimensions were predictors (or not) of preferences for those tourist attractions. As a result, we propose the first model that relates the five personality dimensions with preferences for tourist attractions, which intends to offer a base for researchers of RS for tourism to automatically model tourist preferences based on their personality.GrouPlanner Project under the European Regional Development Fund POCI-01-0145-FEDER29178 and by National Funds through the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) within the Projects UIDB/00319/2020 and UIDB/00760/202

Web Based Postgraduate Thesis/Dessertation System - A Prototype

With the advancement of information communication technology in Malaysia, education field should take advantage to upgrade their learning and management techniques. Students should be allowed to learn anytime, anywhere and at their own place. However administration and lecture should be able to manage their work more effective and flexible. The web-based system is effective way to learning and managing education works. This report outlines the development of a web-based postgraduate thesis/dissertation management system (WPTS), which aimed to assist thesis/dissertation administration, supervisor and students in the better integration during students doing the thesis/dissertation works. This prototype system base on case study with a group of MSC(IT), administration, lecturer and students who participate in thesis/dissertation management activities. This report also presenting the tests conducted with users, it also contributed some perspective regarding benefits that gain by administration, supervisor and students, and recommends future application of the approach

A new design for a green calcium indicator with a smaller size and a reduced number of calcium-binding sites

Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) are mainly represented by two- or one-fluorophore-based sensors. One type of two-fluorophore-based sensor, carrying Opsanus troponin C (TnC) as the Ca2+-binding moiety, has two binding sites for calcium ions, providing a linear response to calcium ions. One-fluorophore-based sensors have four Ca2+-binding sites but are better suited for in vivo experiments. Herein, we describe a novel design for a one-fluorophore-based GECI with two Ca2+-binding sites. The engineered sensor, called NTnC, uses TnC as the Ca2+-binding moiety, inserted in the mNeonGreen fluorescent protein. Monomeric NTnC has higher brightness and pH-stability in vitro compared with the standard GECI GCaMP6s. In addition, NTnC shows an inverted fluorescence response to Ca2+. Using NTnC, we have visualized Ca2+ dynamics during spontaneous activity of neuronal cultures as confirmed by control NTnC and its mutant, in which the affinity to Ca2+ is eliminated. Using whole-cell patch clamp, we have demonstrated that NTnC dynamics in neurons are similar to those of GCaMP6s and allow robust detection of single action potentials. Finally, we have used NTnC to visualize Ca2+ neuronal activity in vivo in the V1 cortical area in awake and freely moving mice using two-photon microscopy or an nVista miniaturized microscope

Окислительная деструкция ибупрофена в присутствии Фентон-катализатора на основе наночастиц MgFe2O4

Catalytic properties of MgFe2O4 nanoparticles during oxidative destruction of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen were studied. The influence of the conditions of the catalytic process on the efficiency of ibuprofen decomposition was established. It was shown that at the catalyst content of 0.5 g/L, H2O2 concentration of 20.0 mmol/L and pH of 6.0 for 40 min, a decrease in the ibuprofen concentration from 10.0 mg/L to less than detected limit is achieved. It was found that in the process of catalytic destruction the degree of ibuprofen mineralization reached 100 %. The conducted research shows the prospects of practical application of the developed Fenton-like heterogeneous catalyst for wastewater treatment from pharmaceutically active compounds.Изучены каталитические свойства наночастиц MgFe2O4 в процессе окислительной деструкции нестероидного противовоспалительного препарата ибупрофена. Установлено влияние условий проведения каталитического процесса на эффективность разложения ибупрофена. Показано, что при содержании катализатора 0,5 г/л, концентрации H2O2 20,0 ммоль/л и рН 6,0 в течение 40 мин достигается снижение концентрации ибупрофена с 10,0 мг/л до концентрации ниже предела обнаружения. Выявлено, что в процессе каталитической деструкции степень минерализации ибупрофена достигает 100 %. Проведенные исследования свидетельствуют о перспективности практического применения разработанного Фентон-подобного гетерогенного катализатора для очистки сточных вод от фармацевтически активных соединений

Potential effects of oilseed rape expressing oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) and of purified insecticidal proteins on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis

Despite their importance as pollinators in crops and wild plants, solitary bees have not previously been included in non-target testing of insect-resistant transgenic crop plants. Larvae of many solitary bees feed almost exclusively on pollen and thus could be highly exposed to transgene products expressed in the pollen. The potential effects of pollen from oilseed rape expressing the cysteine protease inhibitor oryzacystatin-1 (OC-1) were investigated on larvae of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis (= O. rufa). Furthermore, recombinant OC-1 (rOC-1), the Bt toxin Cry1Ab and the snowdrop lectin Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) were evaluated for effects on the life history parameters of this important pollinator. Pollen provisions from transgenic OC-1 oilseed rape did not affect overall development. Similarly, high doses of rOC-1 and Cry1Ab as well as a low dose of GNA failed to cause any significant effects. However, a high dose of GNA (0.1%) in the larval diet resulted in significantly increased development time and reduced efficiency in conversion of pollen food into larval body weight. Our results suggest that OC-1 and Cry1Ab expressing transgenic crops would pose a negligible risk for O. bicornis larvae, whereas GNA expressing plants could cause detrimental effects, but only if bees were exposed to high levels of the protein. The described bioassay with bee brood is not only suitable for early tier non-target tests of transgenic plants, but also has broader applicability to other crop protection products