Dynamics of Alfvén waves in the night-side ionospheric Alfvén resonator at mid-latitudes

International audienceA numerical solution of the problem on dynamics of shear-mode Alfvén waves in the ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR) region at middle latitudes at nighttime is presented for a case when a source emits a single pulse of duration ? into the resonator region. It is obtained that a part of the pulse energy is trapped by the IAR. As a result, there occur Alfvén waves trapped by the resonator which are being damped. It is established that the amplitude of the trapped waves depends essentially on the emitted pulse duration ? and it is maximum at ?=(3/4)T, where T is the IAR fundamental period. The maximum amplitude of these waves does not exceed 30% of the initial pulse even under optimum conditions. Relatively low efficiency of trapping the shear-mode Alfvén waves is caused by a difference between the optimum duration of the pulse and the fundamental period of the resonator. The period of oscillations of the trapped waves is approximately equal to T, irrespective of the pulse duration ?. The characteristic time of damping of the trapped waves ?dec is proportional to T, therefore the resonator Q-factor for such waves is independent of T. For a periodic source the amplitude-frequency characteristic of the IAR has a local minimum at the frequency ?/?=(3/4)T, and the waves of such frequency do not accumulate energy in the resonator region. At the fundamental frequency ?=2?/T the amplitude of the waves coming from the periodic source can be amplified in the resonator region by more than 50%. This alone is a basic difference between efficiencies of pulse and periodic sources of Alfvén waves. Explicit dependences of the IAR characteristics (T, ?dec, Q-factor and eigenfrequencies) on the altitudinal distribution of Alfvén velocity are presented which are analytical approximations of numerical results

Interview with Vladimir M. Alpatov

This paper is an interview with Vladimir M. Alpatov, Doctor of Philology, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, distinguished linguist, and expert on Japanese studies. The focus of the interview is intercultural communication and the problems associated with translating languages and cultural realities. The difference between cultures makes it necessary to provide extensive commentaries to make the text comprehensive to foreign readers. Though, Vladimir M. Alpatov notes, the comments depend on the purposes and types of translation, such as academic or literary translation. Symbols are part of a greater symbolic and cultural system. Often it is not the symbol but one’s attitude towards the object that causes misunderstanding and requires clarification. Vladimir A. Alpatov gives many examples of how the Japanese view and treat life differently from Russian people. Many discrepancies come from domestic life and economic practices: the Japanese are less knowledgeable about cattle than many other nations. At the same time, insects that are found all around the world receive special treatment and admiration. Vladimir A. Alpatov makes a critical point on the absence of a proper method of studying cultural differences. We observe and list numerous cultural differences, but explanations and theories we come up with have no solid methodological basis. Another topic discussed is machine translation and AI Linguistics used to be considered exact science that implied the possibility of machine translation not assisted by humans. However, it did not happen yet, and the need for human-to-human translation or post-editing is obvious. With literary translation and translation from unrelated languages, the case against AI is stronger — human intuition in translating cultural specifics is indispensable, and various translations rather than a single canonic one should be welcome. Differentiation of sciences brought about cultural studies and linguistic-cultural studies that finally embraced the study of language as one of the vital elements of culture. Today many students study foreign languages and are interested in intercultural communication. They need to learn that we can overcome bias and prejudices through personal contact. One more way to promote a different vision of one’s culture and country — is to speak about it in an understandable language, for example, on the Internet

Regulation and standardization of state and municipal services as imperative of their quality and affordability

© 2016 Alpatov et al.The urgency of the problem stated in the article is reasoned by the fact that the development of the idea of state management “state for the citizens” requires effective mechanisms to ensure quality and accessibility of public and municipal services. The purpose of the article is to develop recommendations on the regulation and standardization of state and municipal services. The leading approach to the study is the institutional approach that allows considering of regulation and standardization as tools for typing of state and municipal services for their automotive presentation in electronic form, assessing of their quality and availability. The main results of the study is to generalize the experience of multifunctional centers’ activities providing services and quality assessment experience and availability of services; determining of the nature of administrative regulations and service standards; identifying of criteria to assess the quality and availability of services; clarifying of the content for complex ensuring of the services’ quality and accessibility and the development of evaluation algorithm. The significance of these results is that the generalization of the experience of multi-functional centers’ activities allows minimizing of the costs in providing of high-quality and affordable services; the revealed essence of administrative regulations and standards allow eliminating of contradictions between them; generalization of quality assessment practices and the availability of services allows determining of the methods for identifying of public confidence to the service providers; the proposed services’ quality and availability assessment criteria allow us to calculate the index of customers’ satisfaction; the revealed content of the complex support of the services’ quality and accessibility and their developed evaluation algorithm help to systemize the powers of the state and municipal authorities

Identification of clouds and aurorae in optical data images

In this paper we present an automatic image recognition technique used to identify clouds and aurorae in digital images, taken with a CCD all-sky imager. The image recognition algorithm uses image segmentation to generate a binary block object image. Object analysis is then performed on the binary block image, the results of which are used to assess whether clouds, aurorae and stars are present in the original image. The need for such an algorithm arises because the optical study of particle precipitation into the Earth's atmosphere by the Ionosphere and Radio Propagation Group at Lancaster generates vast data-sets, over 25 000 images/year, making manual classification of all the images impractical

Vaccination as an immune system status optimization tool for the high-performance sports: review

Objective: consideration of the importance of vaccination as a preventive measure of support the athlets immunne system in conditions of extreme physical exertion and increased epidemic risks.Materials and methods: analysis of local and foreign dates of immunocorrection and vaccination problems.Results: the presented review provides an integral assessment of the transitory immunosuppression, developing by the intensive training and competitive activities — exercise-induced immunosuppression. These dates described as an “open window” syndrome and characterized by an increased risk of viral and/or bacterial infection with predominant damage of the upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract. Widespread immunoprophylaxis provides an effective and relatively safe method of infectious control at risk groups including athletes.Conclusion: Vaccines of National Immunization Schedule and Epidemiological Immunization Schedule provide complex impact to the athletes immune status in wide variety of physical and psychological stresses. Vaccination increases the ability of specific and nonspecific resistance to infections that provide significant prevention of the “open window” syndrome

The effect of preventive immunotherapy on indicators of cellular immunity of high-class martial art athletes depending on the level of sporting achievements

Objective: to evaluatethe preventive immunotherapy's (PIT) influence on indicators of cellular immunity of highly qualified combat athletes, depending on the level of sporting achievements. Materials and methods: research included 79 sportsmen with average age of 25,2 years, average weight 76,9 kg, sports experience no less than 10 years and sports rank no less than master of sports. Participants were stratified by the level of achievements in sports. The group 1 with highest level of achievements consisted of 31 sportsmen, each of who earned victory or a prize place on biggest international competitions (such as championships of Europe, World and Olympic Games). Remaining 48 participants didn't have such achievements, but theywere a part of national team (Group 2). PIT included probiotic - Fervital, a complex preparation of omega 3-6-9 fatty acids, vitamin-mineral complex - the Alphabet-biorhythm; antioxidant complex - Ubigold Q10 (coenzyme Q + vitamin E); antihypoxant - Hypoxen; sedative - Novo-Passit; adaptogenic drug - Gerimax Ginseng; polyenzyme complex - Wobenzym. Results: there was a great balance of cellular immunity in the group 1 before the PIT due to the higher content of CD4+ and CD19+ cells. A statistically significant increase in the relative content of CD3+ and CD8+ cells and a decrease in the relative and absolute content of CD16+ cells was detected against the background of PIT in the group l. But the group 2, on the contrary, showed an increase in the relative and absolute content of CD16+ cells. Conclusions: the obtained results showed a different reaction in the both groups to the conducted preventive immunotherapy, which, apparently, was due to the initial difference in the biochemical, genetic, psychological potential of athletes of these two groups

Biochemical indicators of sports achievements in highly qualified wrestlers

Objective: to conduct comparative analysis of blood biochemical parameters (urea, ALT, AST, creatinkinase, cortisol, testosterone and testosterone / cortisol ratio) in groups of high­class wrestlers with different levels of sports achievements.Materials and methods: male athletes (n = 78), members of the Russian national team in one of the types of wrestling (the average age is 25.2 (21.5–28.9) years, the average weight is 76.9 (68.4–83.4) kg) were recruited to this study. The examined athletes were divided into two groups according to their sporting achievements. The first one — SHA group (super­high achievements) which included athletes (n = 19) who had victories and prizes at the largest international competitions (European, World, Olympic Games), and the second group — MNT group (members of the national team) which included athletes that did not have similar achievements (n = 59). The following biochemical parameters were studied: urea, creatine kinase, ALT, AST, testosterone, cortisol, anabolic index (AI).Results: the absolute values of all metabolites in the examined athletes were within the reference intervals. Statistically significant differences in most of the biochemical parameters were revealed between the compared groups in terms of the level of sports achievements. The SHA group showed a statistically significant shift in relation to MNT group, in direction of increasing the level of metabolites that characterize the predominance of anabolic processes — ALT, testosterone, AI. Metabolite levels, increase which reflects catabolic processes activity and inadequate or insufficient adaptation processes, in the SHA group were significantly lower than in the MNT group. The above changes of the absolute values of biochemical parameters were confirmed by correlation analysis.Conclusions: the obtained results allow us to state the optimal adaptation of this sport, the adequacy of metabolic processes in the group of highly qualified athletes

Observation of the electromagnetic field effect via charge-dependent directed flow in heavy-ion collisions at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

The deconfined quark-gluon plasma (QGP) created in relativistic heavy-ion collisions enables the exploration of the fundamental properties of matter under extreme conditions. Non-central collisions can produce strong magnetic fields on the order of $10^{18}$ Gauss, which offers a probe into the electrical conductivity of the QGP. In particular, quarks and anti-quarks carry opposite charges and receive contrary electromagnetic forces that alter their momenta. This phenomenon can be manifested in the collective motion of final-state particles, specifically in the rapidity-odd directed flow, denoted as $v_1(\mathsf{y})$. Here we present the charge-dependent measurements of $dv_1/d\mathsf{y}$ near midrapidities for $\pi^{\pm}$, $K^{\pm}$, and $p(\bar{p})$ in Au+Au and isobar ($_{44}^{96}$Ru+$_{44}^{96}$Ru and $_{40}^{96}$Zr+$_{40}^{96}$Zr) collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=$ 200 GeV, and in Au+Au collisions at 27 GeV, recorded by the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. The combined dependence of the $v_1$ signal on collision system, particle species, and collision centrality can be qualitatively and semi-quantitatively understood as several effects on constituent quarks. While the results in central events can be explained by the $u$ and $d$ quarks transported from initial-state nuclei, those in peripheral events reveal the impacts of the electromagnetic field on the QGP. Our data put valuable constraints on the electrical conductivity of the QGP in theoretical calculations