Studies of changes in the structure of vermiculite as a filler of building materials by the method of electron microscopy

In this article, construction materials are considered, which are used as a lightweight aggregate for concretes and mortars as well as for thermal insulation designs. Particular attention is paid to materials based on expanded vermiculite. The methods of using vermiculite in construction are analyzed. The study is carried out by electron microscopy of vermiculite crystals burnt traditionally and treated with chemical solutions (fired at 400 ° C). Based on the above study, the developed method for baking vermiculite can be considered the most suitable for technological parameters and operational requirements for use in the construction industry

Толкование условий применения условно-досрочного освобождения от отбывания наказания

The subject of the research is the public relations governing the serving of the sentence by the convicted person and the exercise of the right to parole.The purpose of the article is to determine the content and formulate proposals for improving the criminal legislation and the practice of its application on the basis of established approaches to the interpretation of the conditions for the application of parole, provided for in Art. 79 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The hypothesis of the research is the legislative wording of the conditions for the application of parole, provided for by Russian Criminal Code (paragraph "g" of Part 3 of Art. 79) – “at least three-quarters of the sentence imposed for crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors, as well as for grave and especially grave crimes related to the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors” – do not have a sufficient degree of specificity and does not allow to unambiguously determine the moment of emergence of the right to parole.The methodology. General scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) as well as private scientific methods of criminal law research (formal-legal and linguistic interpretation of legal acts) – were used. The authors propose to correct the provisions of the Russian Criminal Code and to consolidate the content of the concepts used in the criminal law on the basis of the analysis of various normative legal acts, acts of judicial interpretation and provisions of the doctrine of criminal law.The main scientific results. During the analysis of the provisions of Part 3 of Art. 79 of the Russian Criminal Code, regulating the conditions for the application of parole, the authors reveal a number of inaccuracies in the provisions of the criminal law. Such inaccuracies do not allow to unambiguously determine the grounds for parole of persons who have com-mitted crimes against the sexual integrity of minors, as well as persons who have committed grave and especially grave crimes connected with the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors. The content of the prescriptions of clause "g" of Part 3 of Art. 79 of the Russian Criminal Code does not have an exact legislative basis, and the interpretation given by the judicial authorities does not always allow us to exclude the uncertainty of the concepts used.Conclusions. The contradictions were identified by the authors related to the inaccuracy of the legislative prescriptions used in determining some conditions for the application of pa-role. The authors conclude the need to amend the criminal law and formulated proposals that clarify the wording of Art. 79 of the Russian Criminal Code. Such corrections will eliminate the duality of understanding of certain conditions of parole and increase the effectiveness of law enforcement practice in this area.В процессе анализа положений ч. 3 ст. 79 Уголовного кодекса РФ, регламентирующей условия применения условно-досрочного освобождения, выявляется ряд неточностей в предписаниях уголовного закона, которые не позволяют однозначно определить основания условно-досрочного освобождения лиц, совершивших преступления против половой неприкосновенности несовершеннолетних, а также лиц, совершивших тяжкие и особо тяжкие преступления, связанные с незаконным оборотом наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и их прекурсоров. Содержание предписаний п. «г» ч. 3 ст. 79 Уголовного кодекса РФ не имеет точного законодательного закрепления, а толкование, даваемое судебными органами, не всегда позволяет исключить неопределенность используемых понятий. На основании анализа различных нормативных правовых актов, актов судебного толкования и положений доктрины уголовного права предлагается скорректировать предписания Уголовного кодекса РФ и закрепить содержание используемых в уголовном законе понятий

Interspecific competition delays recovery of Daphnia spp. populations from pesticide stress

Xenobiotics alter the balance of competition between species and induce shifts in community composition. However, little is known about how these alterations affect the recovery of sensitive taxa. We exposed zooplankton communities to esfenvalerate (0.03, 0.3, and 3 μg/L) in outdoor microcosms and investigated the long-term effects on populations of Daphnia spp. To cover a broad and realistic range of environmental conditions, we established 96 microcosms with different treatments of shading and periodic harvesting. Populations of Daphnia spp. decreased in abundance for more than 8 weeks after contamination at 0.3 and 3 μg/L esfenvalerate. The period required for recovery at 0.3 and 3 μg/L was more than eight and three times longer, respectively, than the recovery period that was predicted on the basis of the life cycle of Daphnia spp. without considering the environmental context. We found that the recovery of sensitive Daphnia spp. populations depended on the initial pesticide survival and the related increase of less sensitive, competing taxa. We assert that this increase in the abundance of competing species, as well as sub-lethal effects of esfenvalerate, caused the unexpectedly prolonged effects of esfenvalerate on populations of Daphnia spp. We conclude that assessing biotic interactions is essential to understand and hence predict the effects and recovery from toxicant stress in communities

Do contaminants originating from state-of-the-art treated wastewater impact the ecological quality of surface waters?

Since the 1980s, advances in wastewater treatment technology have led to considerably improved surface water quality in the urban areas of many high income countries. However, trace concentrations of organic wastewater-associated contaminants may still pose a key environmental hazard impairing the ecological quality of surface waters. To identify key impact factors, we analyzed the effects of a wide range of anthropogenic and environmental variables on the aquatic macroinvertebrate community. We assessed ecological water quality at 26 sampling sites in four urban German lowland river systems with a 0–100% load of state-of-the-art biological activated sludge treated wastewater. The chemical analysis suite comprised 12 organic contaminants (five phosphor organic flame retardants, two musk fragrances, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, octylphenol, diethyltoluamide, terbutryn), 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and 12 heavy metals. Non-metric multidimensional scaling identified organic contaminants that are mainly wastewater-associated (i.e., phosphor organic flame retardants, musk fragrances, and diethyltoluamide) as a major impact variable on macroinvertebrate species composition. The structural degradation of streams was also identified as a significant factor. Multiple linear regression models revealed a significant impact of organic contaminants on invertebrate populations, in particular on Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera species. Spearman rank correlation analyses confirmed wastewater-associated organic contaminants as the most significant variable negatively impacting the biodiversity of sensitive macroinvertebrate species. In addition to increased aquatic pollution with organic contaminants, a greater wastewater fraction was accompanied by a slight decrease in oxygen concentration and an increase in salinity. This study highlights the importance of reducing the wastewater-associated impact on surface waters. For aquatic ecosystems in urban areas this would lead to: (i) improvement of the ecological integrity, (ii) reduction of biodiversity loss, and (iii) faster achievement of objectives of legislative requirements, e.g., the European Water Framework Directive

Spectra of self-adjoint extensions and applications to solvable Schroedinger operators

We give a self-contained presentation of the theory of self-adjoint extensions using the technique of boundary triples. A description of the spectra of self-adjoint extensions in terms of the corresponding Krein maps (Weyl functions) is given. Applications include quantum graphs, point interactions, hybrid spaces, singular perturbations.Comment: 81 pages, new references added, subsection 1.3 extended, typos correcte

Evidence for Exotic J^{PC}=1^{-+} Meson Production in the Reaction pi- p --> eta pi- p at 18 GeV/c

Details of the analysis of the eta pi- system studied in the reaction pi^{-} p --> eta pi^{-} p at 18 GeV/c are given. Separate analyses for the 2 gamma and pi+ pi- pi0 decay modes of the eta are presented. An amplitude analysis of the data indicates the presence of interference between the a(2)(1320)- and a J^{PC}=1^{-+} wave between 1.2 and 1.6 GeV/c^2. The phase difference between these waves shows phase motion not attributable solely to the a(2)(1320)-. The data can be fitted by interference between the a(2)(1320)- and an exotic 1^{-+} resonance with M = 1370 +-16 +50 -30} MeV/c^2 and Gamma = 385 +- 40 +65 -105 MeV/c^2. Our results are compared with those of other experiments.Comment: 50 pages of text and 34 figure

Elevational Patterns of Species Richness, Range and Body Size for Spiny Frogs

Quantifying spatial patterns of species richness is a core problem in biodiversity theory. Spiny frogs of the subfamily Painae (Anura: Dicroglossidae) are widespread, but endemic to Asia. Using spiny frog distribution and body size data, and a digital elevation model data set we explored altitudinal patterns of spiny frog richness and quantified the effect of area on the richness pattern over a large altitudinal gradient from 0–5000 m a.s.l. We also tested two hypotheses: (i) the Rapoport's altitudinal effect is valid for the Painae, and (ii) Bergmann's clines are present in spiny frogs. The species richness of Painae across four different altitudinal band widths (100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m) all showed hump-shaped patterns along altitudinal gradient. The altitudinal changes in species richness of the Paini and Quasipaini tribes further confirmed this finding, while the peak of Quasipaini species richness occurred at lower elevations than the maxima of Paini. The area did not explain a significant amount of variation in total, nor Paini species richness, but it did explain variation in Quasipaini. Five distinct groups across altitudinal gradient were found. Species altitudinal ranges did not expand with an increase in the midpoints of altitudinal ranges. A significant negative correlation between body size and elevation was exhibited. Our findings demonstrate that Rapoport's altitudinal rule is not a compulsory attribute of spiny frogs and also suggest that Bergmann's rule is not generally applicable to amphibians. The study highlights a need to explore the underlying mechanisms of species richness patterns, particularly for amphibians in macroecology

An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 2: impacts on organisms and ecosystems

New information on the lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on organisms is presented in this review, complementing the previous WIA in 2015. The high toxicity of these systemic insecticides to invertebrates has been confirmed and expanded to include more species and compounds. Most of the recent research has focused on bees and the sublethal and ecological impacts these insecticides have on pollinators. Toxic effects on other invertebrate taxa also covered predatory and parasitoid natural enemies and aquatic arthropods. Little, while not much new information has been gathered on soil organisms. The impact on marine coastal ecosystems is still largely uncharted. The chronic lethality of neonicotinoids to insects and crustaceans, and the strengthened evidence that these chemicals also impair the immune system and reproduction, highlights the dangers of this particular insecticidal classneonicotinoids and fipronil. , withContinued large scale – mostly prophylactic – use of these persistent organochlorine pesticides has the potential to greatly decreasecompletely eliminate populations of arthropods in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Sublethal effects on fish, reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals are also reported, showing a better understanding of the mechanisms of toxicity of these insecticides in vertebrates, and their deleterious impacts on growth, reproduction and neurobehaviour of most of the species tested. This review concludes with a summary of impacts on the ecosystem services and functioning, particularly on pollination, soil biota and aquatic invertebrate communities, thus reinforcing the previous WIA conclusions (van der Sluijs et al. 2015)