Finite Element Modeling of the Behavior of a Hollow Cylinder in a Hydrogen-Containing Environment

The two main research orientations on the problem of hydrogen embrittlement are examined: the study of fundamental principles and the disclosure of micromechanisms and the relation between hydrogen embrittlement and metal aging; the development of models and methods for predicting the kinetics of change in stress-strain state and for evaluating the longevity of structures subjected to hydrogen embrittlement. The state of the problem of hydrogen embrittlement of metals in the first direction is briefly analyzed. More attention is paid to the importance of predicting the behavior of charged metal structures under the influence of hydrogen embrittlement. We then examine the use of finite element modeling using the ANSYS software to compute the calculation analysis of a hollow cylinder subjected to internal and external pressures and hydrogen embrittlement. The cylinder material is nonlinear elastic and its properties depend on the hydrogen concentration at each point of the cylinder. Consideration is given to the influence of the rigidity of the stress state and the hydrogen concentration on the diffusion kinetics of hydrogen in the cylinder body.  The problem is solved in time steps. The distributions of the hydrogen concentration and the stresses for a quarter of the volume of the cylinder are given, as well as the graphs of these values ​​according to the thickness of the wall of the cylinder at different times. It is shown that the ANSYS software package adapted to the resolution of such problems can model the behavior of different structures in a hydrogen-containing environment, taking into account the effects caused by both the influence of hydrogen on mechanical properties of the material and by the stress state of the structures, as well as by the influence of the stress state on the interaction kinetics of hydrogen with the structures

The analysis of methylation of DNA promoter of SFRP2 gene in patients with hyperplastic processes of the endometrium

The hyperplastic processes of the endometrium can arise not only against the background of excessive influence of estrogen, but also against the background of epigenetic damages that affect apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, and adhesion, and DNA reparation. The aim of our study was to investigate and analyze the status of methylation of the promoter of SFRP2 gene in patients with hyperplastic processes of the endometrium. Materials and Methods: The study groups were the following: I — patients with endometrial hyperplasia (EH, n = 9); II — patients with endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN, n = 10), III — control groups: 1) with endometrial cancer (EC, n = 4), and 2) healthy women (n = 4). Determination of promoter methylation of SFRP2 gene was carried out by the semiquantitative method of methylation-specific PCR assay. Results: The maximum level of methylation of SFRP2 gene promoter had been revealed in patients with EC — 42.80 ± 3.55% (р < 0.05). The patients of the I group had the lowest values of methylation of SFRP2 gene promoter — 10.66 ± 0.85%, while in patients of the II group this indicator was higher — 20.60 ± 0.95% (р < 0.05). In healthy women of the control group, methylation of SFRP2 gene promoter was detected in none of the samples. Conclusion: The content of the methylated SFRP2 gene in endometrial tissue of patients with hyperplastic processes higher than 20–25% allows relate these women to the risk group of EC development and dictates the need of intensive observation of such patients

Аналіз експресії протоонкогену STAT3 у жінок із передраковими ураженнями шийки матки

Обстежено 90 жінок віком від 25 до 45 років (середній вік 36,4±1,3 років). Всі пацієнтки проходили загальноприйняте клінічне, гінекологічне, інструментальне та лабораторне обстеження на базі МКЛ № 9 ім. проф. О. І. Мінакова, згідно чинних клінічних протоколів. Стан шийки матки оцінювали за допомогою цитологічного, кольпоскопічного досліджень, з подальшим патогістологічним дослідженням біопсійного матеріалу, який був взятий з піхвової частини шийки матки після проведення кольпоскопічного дослідження та виконання гістеректомій з 2010 по 2013 рік. Наявність генітальної папіломавірусної інфекції, визначення типу вірусу проводилось методом полімеразної ланцюгової реакції у реальному часі. Було зібрано 90біоптатів шийки матки, серед яких 70 передракових (CIN I – 10 (14,3%), CIN II – 32 (45,7%), CIN III – 28 (40,0%)) та 20 нормальних контрольних зразків. Частина кожного зі зразків, була поміщена в охолоджений 1 фосфатний буфер сольового розчину (PBS), які відправлені для молекулярно-біологічних робіт, а друга половина для патогістологічного дослідження в розчині формаліну. Патогістологічний діагноз встановлений згідно класифікації Всесвітньої організації Охорони Здоров’я

Digital receivers for low-frequency radio telescopes UTR-2, URAN, GURT

This paper describes digital radio astronomical receivers used for decameter and meter wavelength observations. This paper describes digital radio astronomical receivers used for decameter and meter wavelength observations. Since 1998, digital receivers performing on-the-fly dynamic spectrum calculations or waveform data recording without data loss have been used at the UTR-2 radio telescope, the URAN VLBI system, and the GURT new generation radio telescope. Here we detail these receivers developed for operation in the strong interference environment that prevails in the decameter wavelength range. Data collected with these receivers allowed us to discover numerous radio astronomical objects and phenomena at low frequencies, a summary of which is also presented.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figure

A study on L-threonine and L-serine uptake in Escherichia coli K-12

In the current study, we report the identification and characterization of the yifK gene product as a novel amino acid carrier in E. coli K-12 cells. Both phenotypic and biochemical analyses showed that YifK acts as a permease specific to L-threonine and, to a lesser extent, L-serine. An assay of the effect of uncouplers and composition of the reaction medium on the transport activity indicates that YifK utilizes a proton motive force to energize substrate uptake. To identify the remaining threonine carriers, we screened a genomic library prepared from the yifK-mutant strain and found that brnQ acts as a multicopy suppressor of the threonine transport defect caused by yifK disruption. Our results indicate that BrnQ is directly involved in threonine uptake as a low-affinity but high-flux transporter, which forms the main entry point when the threonine concentration in the external environment reaches a toxic level. By abolishing YifK and BrnQ activity, we unmasked and quantified the threonine transport activity of the LIV-I branched chain amino acid transport system and demonstrated that LIV-I contributes significantly to total threonine uptake. However, this contribution is likely smaller than that of YifK. We also observed the serine transport activity of LIV-I, which was much lower compared with that of the dedicated SdaC carrier, indicating that LIV-I plays a minor role in the serine uptake. Overall, these findings allow us to propose a comprehensive model of the threonine/serine uptakesubsystem in E. coli cells

Stokes flow in a rectangular cavity by rotlet forcing

The Stokes flow inside a two-dimensional rectangular cavity |x|a, |y|b is analyzed for a highly viscous, incompressible fluid flow, driven by a single rotlet placed at position (0,c). Specifically, a rigorous solution of the governing two-dimensional biharmonic equation for the stream function is constructed analytically by means of the superposition principle. With this solution, multicellular flow patterns can be described for narrow cavities, in which the number of flow cells is directly related to the value of the aspect ratio A=b/a. The solution also shows that for a certain rotlet position (0,c0), which depends on a and b, the flow has a stagnation point (0,-c0) symmetrically placed inside the rectangle. As the flow would not be affected by placing a second (inactive) rotlet in this stagnation point, this allows us to construct a blinking rotlet model for the rectangular cavity, with the inactive rotlet in the stagnation point of the flow induced by the active rotlet. For rectangular cavities, it holds that more than one of these special rotlet positions can be found for cavities that are elongated to sufficiently large aspect ratios. The blinking rotlet model is applied to illustrate several aspects of stirring in a Stokes flow in a rectangular domain

Superconducting Receivers for Space, Balloon, and Ground-Based Sub-Terahertz Radio Telescopes

We give a review of both our own original scientific results of the development of superconducting receivers for sub-terahertz astronomy and the main leading concepts of the global instrumentation. The analysis of current astronomical problems, the results of microwave astroclimate research, and the development of equipment for sub-terahertz radio astronomy studies justify the need and feasibility of a major infrastructure project in Russia to create a sub-terahertz telescope, as well as to enhance the implementation of the ongoing Millimetron and Suffa projects. The following results are discussed: i) superconducting coherent receivers and broadband subterahertz detectors for space, balloon, and ground-based radio telescopes have been developed and tested; ii) ultrasensitive receiving systems based on tunnel structures such as superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) and superconductor-insulator-normal metal-insulator-superconductor (SINIS) have been created, fabricated, and examined; iii) a receiving array based on SINIS detectors and microwave readout system for such structures has been implemented; iv) methods for manufacturing high-quality tunnel structures Nb/AlOx/Nb and Nb/AlN/NbN based on niobium films with a current density of up to 30 kA/cm(2) have been developed. Receivers operated at 200 to 950 GHz and having a noise temperature only a factor of 2 to 5 higher than the quantum limit have been created and tested