Fast-activating reserve power sources: is lead dead indeed?

The purpose of this research is to improve the performance and reduce the activation time of reserve power sources based on lead-acid systems at lower temperatures, down to –50 °C. Physico-chemical factors affecting the activation speed of reserve power sources based on Pb–HClO4–PbO2 and Zn–HClO4–PbO2 systems are investigated using chronopotentiometry, scanning electron microscopy, and standard contact porosimetry. Two approaches to the improvement of the low-temperature performance of power sources are used. The first one is based on the substitution of lead as anodic material with zinc. This allows the increase in discharge voltage and simultaneous decrease in activation time, but brings about the instability of discharge characteristics and, finally, deteriorates the reliability of power sources. The second approach is based on the use of PbO2 cathode material with enhanced nanoporosity. The chronopotentiometric method in galvanostatic mode is applied to the quality estimation of cathodes. The criterion of applicability of cathodes for reserve power sources consists in the low discharge overvoltage (0.1–0.2 V). Efficient performance of reserve power sources possessing the stable discharge voltage (1.5–1.8 V per cell) and the unprecedentedly short activation time (under 30 ms) even at lower temperatures (down to –50 °C) is achieved. The results are verified by fabrication and testing of pilot batches of miniaturized reserve power sources having microcells’ volume of 0.02 ml. The second approach to the improvement of power sources is transferred into the industrial production

Isolation, characterization and molecular cloning of Duplex-Specific Nuclease from the hepatopancreas of the Kamchatka crab

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nucleases, which are key components of biologically diverse processes such as DNA replication, repair and recombination, antiviral defense, apoptosis and digestion, have revolutionized the field of molecular biology. Indeed many standard molecular strategies, including molecular cloning, studies of DNA-protein interactions, and analysis of nucleic acid structures, would be virtually impossible without these versatile enzymes. The discovery of nucleases with unique properties has often served as the basis for the development of modern molecular biology methods. Thus, the search for novel nucleases with potentially exploitable functions remains an important scientific undertaking.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using degenerative primers and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) procedure, we cloned the Duplex-Specific Nuclease (DSN) gene from the hepatopancreas of the Kamchatka crab and determined its full primary structure. We also developed an effective method for purifying functional DSN from the crab hepatopancreas. The isolated enzyme was highly thermostable, exhibited a broad pH optimum (5.5 – 7.5) and required divalent cations for activity, with manganese and cobalt being especially effective. The enzyme was highly specific, cleaving double-stranded DNA or DNA in DNA-RNA hybrids, but not single-stranded DNA or single- or double-stranded RNA. Moreover, only DNA duplexes containing at least 9 base pairs were effectively cleaved by DSN; shorter DNA duplexes were left intact.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We describe a new DSN from Kamchatka crab hepatopancreas, determining its primary structure and developing a preparative method for its purification. We found that DSN had unique substrate specificity, cleaving only DNA duplexes longer than 8 base pairs, or DNA in DNA-RNA hybrids. Interestingly, the DSN primary structure is homologous to well-known Serratia-like non-specific nucleases structures, but the properties of DSN are distinct. The unique substrate specificity of DSN should prove valuable in certain molecular biology applications.</p

Algorithm for selecting predictors and prognosis of atrial fibrillation in patients with coronary artery disease after coronary artery bypass grafting

Aim. To develop an algorithm for selecting predictors and prognosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Material and methods. This retrospective study included 886 case histories of patients with CAD aged 35 to 81 years (median age, 63 years; 95% confidence interval [63; 64]), who underwent isolated CABG under cardiopulmonary bypass. Eighty-five patients with prior AF were excluded from the study. Two groups of persons were identified, the first of which consisted of 153 (19,1%) patients with newly recorded AF episodes, the second — 648 (80,9%) patients without cardiac arrhythmias. Preoperative clinical and functional status was assessed using 100 factors. Chi-squared, Fisher, and Mann-Whitney tests, as well as univariate logistic regression (LR) were used for data processing and analysis. Multivariate LR and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to develop predictive models. The boundaries of significant ranges of potential predictors were determined by stepwise assessment of the odds ratio and p-value. The model accuracy was assessed using 4 metrics: area under the ROC-curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.Results. A comprehensive analysis of preoperative status of patients made it possible to identify 11 factors with the highest predictive potential, linearly and nonlinearly associated with postoperative AF (PAF). These included age (55-74 years for men and 60-78 years for women), anteroposterior and superior-inferior left atrial dimensions, transverse and longitudinal right atrial dimensions, tricuspid valve regurgitation, left ventricular end systolic dimension &gt;49 mm, RR length of 1000-1100 ms, PQ length of 170-210 ms, QRS length of 50-80 ms, QT &gt;420 ms for men and &gt;440 ms for women, and heart failure with ejection fraction of 4560%. The metrics of the best predictive ANN model were as follows: AUC — 0,75, specificity — 0,73, sensitivity — 0,74, and accuracy — 0,73. These values in best model based on multivariate LR were lower (0,75; 0,7; 0,68 and 0,7, respectively).Conclusion. The developed algorithm for selecting predictors made it possible to verify significant predictive ranges and weight coefficients characterizing their influence on PAF development. The predictive model based on ANN has a higher accuracy than multivariate HR

PLM-COMPETENCE FORMATION USING COMPUTATIONAL-GRAPHICAL PRACTICE

The description of a new kind of learning activity “Computational - graphical practice” is presented. This practice aimed at consolidating the knowledge and skills acquired by students in the study of the basic engineering disciplines and bridge the gap in the training of students in the field of PLM-technology. The goals, objectives, program practices and competencies, which should have a student after passing the training practice, are liste

Observation of two new Ξb−\Xi_b^- baryon resonances

Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the $\Xi_b^0 \pi^-$ mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb experiment. In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content $bds$ are expected in this mass region: the spin-parity $J^P = \frac{1}{2}^+$ and $J^P=\frac{3}{2}^+$ states, denoted $\Xi_b^{\prime -}$ and $\Xi_b^{*-}$. Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass differences and the width of the heavier state to be $m(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 3.653 \pm 0.018 \pm 0.006$ MeV$/c^2$, $m(\Xi_b^{*-}) - m(\Xi_b^0) - m(\pi^{-}) = 23.96 \pm 0.12 \pm 0.06$ MeV$/c^2$, $\Gamma(\Xi_b^{*-}) = 1.65 \pm 0.31 \pm 0.10$ MeV, where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of $\Gamma(\Xi_b^{\prime -}) < 0.08$ MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative production rates of these states are also reported.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Observation of the decay Bc→J/ψK+K−π+B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+

The decay $B_c\rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+$ is observed for the first time, using proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb$^{-1}$. A signal yield of $78\pm14$ decays is reported with a significance of 6.2 standard deviations. The ratio of the branching fraction of \B_c \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- \pi^+ decays to that of $B_c \rightarrow J/\psi \pi^+$ decays is measured to be $0.53\pm 0.10\pm0.05$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure